Rakesh Kumar

The global premium smartphone segment (wholesale average selling price of $600 and above) accounted for a record 29% of global smartphone sales in the first half of 2026, up from 25% in H1 2025 and 20% in H1 2022, says a new report by Counterpoint Research.

Every year, Samsung launches two foldable smartphones—the book-style Fold and the clamshell Flip. This year, the South Korean tech giant added a third foldable to its lineup, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which comes with a compact, passport-sized design.

Chandigarh: As part of the observance of World Breastfeeding Week 2026 (1–7 August), the Department of Social Welfare, Women & Child Development, Chandigarh Administration, in collaboration with the Department of Pediatrics, PGIMER, organised a Capacity Building Programme for around 150 Anganwadi Workers at the Advanced Pediatrics Centre, PGIMER, Chandigarh. Based on this year's global theme, “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works,” the programme focused on strengthening the knowledge and skills of frontline workers to promote optimal breastfeeding practices and improve maternal and child nutrition.

Background Stroke is a leading cause of death and long-term disability worldwide, yet the biological determinants of post-stroke recovery remain incompletely understood. Recent evidence implicates the gut microbiome as a key regulator of neuroinflammation, metabolic signalling, and immune response through microbiota-gut brain axis. However, the extent to which gut microbial dysbiosis influences neurological severity and functional recovery across ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke remains unclear. Methods This systematic review examined the relationship between gut dysbiosis and functional outcomes following stroke. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and the Cochrane Library identified eligible studies published up to July 2025. Twenty-three clinical studies comprising 2,951 participants were included. Microbiome diversity indices, microbial taxa, and microbiota-derived metabolites were evaluated in relation to standardized stroke outcomes, including acute neurological severity (NIHSS) and functional outcomes (mRS, Barthel Index. The study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Cochrane risk-of-bias framework. Results Across the included cohorts, stroke patients exhibited consistent alterations in gut microbial ecology compared with healthy controls. Alpha diversity analyses demonstrated a significant reduction in microbial richness and evenness in several cohorts, while beta diversity metrics revealed pronounced restructuring and clear separation between stroke and control microbiomes. Differential abundance analysis consistently identified depletion of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing commensals, including Roseburia, Faecalibacterium, and Coprococcus, alongside enrichment of opportunistic and pro-inflammatory taxa such as Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus, and Escherichia/Shigella. Metabolomic analysis further revealed a convergent disruption of key microbial metabolic pathways, including reduced SCFA production, increased endotoxin-associated signalling and trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) metabolism. These microbial and metabolic perturbations were significantly associated with greater neurological severity, higher disability scores, increased infection risk, and poorer functional outcomes following stroke. Conclusion This systematic synthesis demonstrates that stroke is accompanied by a reproducible pattern of gut microbial dysbiosis characterized by ecological contraction, expansion of inflammatory pathobionts, and disruption of microbial metabolic signalling. These findings support the existence of a conserved gut-brain-metabolic axis influencing stroke severity and recovery trajectories. Integrating microbiome-derived biomarkers with clinical prognostic models may enable earlier risk stratification and the development of microbiota-targeted therapeutic strategies to improve post-stroke outcomes. Systematic review registration PROSPERO (Identifier: CRD420251106958).

Amid reports raising concerns over moisture and chloride contamination in ethanol-blended petrol (E20), Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) on Friday said extensive nationwide testing has confirmed that fuel quality remains well within the prescribed limits across the supply chain.

FIJI’S property market may look busy on paper, with more than 4000 properties changing hands in just 16 months. But beneath the numbers is a more sobering reality. The market is not booming. A study by South Pacific Property Consulting Services (SPPCS) Limited Managing Director Dr Abdul Hassan has found that property activity across Fiji […]

The ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran has brought into sharp focus an often-overlooked human cost of conflict: the vulnerability of seafarers who keep global trade moving.

The under-recovery on domestic LPG fell sharply to Rs 188 per 14.2-kg cylinder in August 2026 from more than Rs 700 in June, as the cost of LPG supplies eased after disruptions caused by the West Asia conflict.

Net loss of Vodafone Idea, country's third-largest telecom service provider, narrowed to Rs3,754 crore in the first quarter of FY27, compared to a net loss of Rs6,608 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

FIJI does not have a shortage of powers to fight financial crime — it has a shortage of capacity to turn those powers into convictions, Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor Ariff Ali has warned. Mr Ali said giving the Financial Intelligence Unit greater powers would mean little if complex financial and cybercrime cases continued to […]