NewsBytes

Gukesh turns tables; Carlsen bangs one after Indian triumphs in Norway Chess showdown

World champion D Gukesh got his revenge on Magnus Carlsen as he pounced on a blunder by the world no.1 to defeat him for the first time in a classical game, leaving the Norwegian superstar so frustrated that he banged his fist on the board after Round 6 of Norway Chess Tournament here. The win propelled 19-year-old Gukesh to third position with 8.5 points and he is just one point shy of joint leaders Carlsen and American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana. Five-time world champion Carlsen seemed to have the upper-hand almost throughout the four-hour-long contest but a critical mistake allowed Gukesh to turn the tables on the Norwegian and secure a remarkable win. Carlsen realised his mistake but by then it was too late. The Norwegian superstar vented his frustration by banging his fist on the table, causing the chess board to be dishevelled.

Pre-partition era's 'Picture House' cinema in Pak's Peshawar city demolished

The historic 'Picture House' cinema, once a cultural landmark of Peshawar, has been demolished, marking the symbolic end of once-thriving movie culture in this city of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The theatre at once-vibrant "Cinema Road" near the historic Qissa Khwani Bazaar in Peshawar was established in 1931, before the partition of India and Pakistan, by Sikh trader Daswat Singh. The grandfather of Tayyab Raza, the current owner of the cinema, acquired it in 1947 from Singh. The 'Picture House', demolished to make way for a commercial plaza, remained a key cultural and entertainment hub in Peshawar for over eight decades and regularly hosted three shows a day. The cinema, which showcased films in Pashto, Urdu, and Punjabi, gained immense popularity in the 1940s with the screening of Sohrab Modi's film Pukar in 1940 and Sikandar in 1941. The 'Picture House', a part of the once bustling, famous entertainment city, drew audiences from across Peshawar and its surrounding areas.

Ukraine, Russia end their latest round of direct peace talks in Istanbul

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine ended their latest peace talks Monday in Turkey after just over an hour, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian state media said. Speaking in Vilnius, Lithuania, Zelenskyy said both sides "exchanged documents through the Turkish side, and we are preparing a new release of prisoners of the war”. Expectations were low for any breakthrough on ending the 3-year-old war after a string of stunning attacks over the weekend. Kyiv officials said a surprise drone attack Sunday destroyed more than 40 warplanes at air bases deep inside Russia, including the remote Arctic, Siberian and Far East regions more than 7,000 km from Ukraine. The complex and unprecedented raid, which struck simultaneously in three time zones, took over a year and a half to prepare and was “a major slap in the face for Russia's military power", said Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Ukrainian security service who led its planning.

India underscores urgency of glacial retreat at high-level summit in Tajikistan

In a significant diplomatic outreach, India's Minister of State for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, is leading a high-profile official visit to Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, aimed at deepening India's strategic, economic and environmental partnerships in Central Asia. In Dushanbe, Singh attended the High-Level International Conference on Glacier Preservation, where he delivered a strong message about the urgent threat posed by glacial retreat. Addressing the plenary session, Singh warned that the accelerating pace of glacial melt -- particularly in the Himalayas -- has become an "immediate global crisis" with far-reaching consequences for water security, biodiversity, and the livelihoods of billions. Representing India at the climate-focused summit, Singh highlighted national efforts under the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) -- part of India's broader National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).