Breaking News, August 18 I HIGHLIGHTS

The country's first long-range side swing revolver 'Prabal' with "twice the range of other revolvers" was launched on Friday for civilians and arms dealers. Manufactured by the state-owned enterprise Advanced Weapons and Equipment India (AWEIL) based in Kanpur, the Prabal revolver boasts of a firing range of up to 50 metres, officiating director Rajiv Sharma said.

The government has released a new cover design for fertilizer bags with an appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to farmers to reduce the use of chemical crop nutrients, official and industry sources said on Friday.

A man thrashed a mobile shop owner to death with a baseball bat over a monetary dispute here, police said. The body was recovered and police arrested the accused on Friday. Ayush Sharma, a gym trainer, killed Dixit Pal (26) for allegedly not returning Rs 3.5 lakh paid by the accused a fortnight ago to bring expensive phones from abroad, they said.

Alleging that the police were not taking any action against the culprits who drove his brother and sister-in-law to suicide, a 43-year-old man on Friday chopped off his finger on camera in Maharashtra's Satara district. If the state government did not take action, he would chop off a body part every week, said Dhananjay Nanavare in a video which went viral.

Expressing concern over the rising cases of student suicide in Kota, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday directed officials to form a committee to provide suggestions on preventing them. The committee will be composed of all stakeholders, including representatives from coaching institutes, parents and doctors, and it will submit its report in 15 days, Gehlot said.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday said his government was concerned about the future of assistant police personnel engaged in 12 Maoist-hit districts and announced that a decision would be taken soon for the extension of their services.

Three more persons were arrested on Friday in connection with the death of a first-year undergraduate student after being allegedly ragged and sexually harassed last week, taking the total number of senior students and ex-students apprehended in the case which has hit national headlines to 12.

A man was beaten to death a group of people while two others were injured in the incident in Kotputli-Behror district of Rajasthan, police said on Friday. While the deceased man's family have alleged that forest department personnel thrashed him and two others, police said they are yet to ascertain facts. The incident happened on Thursday night in Narol village.

Six persons were booked on Friday for allegedly beating up a man who trespassed into a neighbour's house in a village here, police said.

TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday told a gathering of intellectuals to use their experience to bring progress to Andhra Pradesh. Speaking at the 'Pragathi Kosam Praja Vedika' (People's platform for progress) seminar at Amalapuram in Konaseema district, as part of 'Bhavishyathuku Guarantee' (guarantee for the future) programme here, he said anything can be achieved if awareness is created among the masses.

India will showcase its growth story to the Global CEOs, who are coming to participate in the three-day B20 summit, beginning from August 25, a senior government official said on Friday.

The Maharashtra government on Friday decided to scrap a more than 45-year-old Act connected to casinos and also announced that it would provide ration under the 'Anand Shidha' scheme for Ganpati and Diwali festivities to above poverty line as well as orange card holders in 14 districts which have witnessed farmer suicides.

Researchers have found that the virus responsible for chikungunya fever can spread directly from cell to cell, an advance that could help in developing effective vaccines or treatments for the debilitating and increasingly common mosquito-borne disease.

India's first 3D-printed post office built with a robotic printer using 3D printing technology that deposits concrete layer-by-layer in accordance with computerised 3D model drawing input was inaugurated in the city on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the effort in a tweet saying that it represents the spirit of a self-reliant India.