1.Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Wednesday that Ukraine and the United States have reached preliminary agreement on a broad economic deal that includes US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals amid its three-year war with Russia.

2.The state government has sanctioned Rs10 crore for the development of Akhandalamani temple and its periphery, Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida said after offering prayers at the Shiva shrine in Bhadrak district Wednesday.

3.Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Navy conducted successful fl ight trials of the fi rst-of-itskind naval anti-ship missile (NASM-SR) from Chandipur’s Integrated Test Range (ITR), offi cials said Wednesday.

4.The Supreme Court has ruled that a landowner cannot be denied the right to use their land indefi nitely due to prolonged government inaction.

5.The Odisha Parents Federation (OPF) has raised objections to the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) proposal to conduct Class X board exams twice a year, calling it a reversal of stress-free education principles.

6. India's first 24-hour ham radio learning marathon, Ether Nite, held in West Bengal, saw the participation of 155 enthusiasts who designed and built antennas for communicating with amateur radio networks across the world.

7.The doors of the Kedarnath temple in the Garhwal Himalayas will be reopened for devotees May 2, after remaining closed for about six months during the winter season.

8. AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal has a big responsibility of the party’s pan India expansion and he will will not become a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, party leaders said Wednesday.

9.The CBI has seized cryptocurrencies worth more than `23.94 crore during its two-day countrywide search operation in the GainBitcoin scam case that concluded Wednesday, offi cials said.

10.A small group of foreign tourists has visited North Korea in the past week, making them the fi rst international travellers to enter the country in fi ve years except for a group of Russian tourists who went to the North last year.

11.India must double its annual solar and wind capacity additions over the next five years to meet its 2030 clean-energy targets, despite record additions in 2024, Global Energy Monitor (GEM) said in a report Wednesday.

12.Disbursement of microfinance loans has declined 35.8 per cent to `22,091 crore during the third quarter ending December 2024 as compared to the similar previous corresponding period, Microfinance Institution Network (MFIN), an umbrella body of the microfinance institutions (MFIs), said in its report.

13.Budget airline SpiceJet Wednesday reported a profi t after tax of Rs26 crore for the three months ended December 2024, helped by overall improved performance.

14.Former India opener and Mumbai stalwart Wasim Jaffer believes Virat Kohli will continue to play for at least three to four more years and is well on track to break Sachin Tendulkar's record of 100 international centuries.

15.A soccer fan who racially abused former Cádiz defender Carlos Akapo during a league match at Granada three years ago has been given a one-year prison sentence by a Spanish court.