India

It all stems from a simple invite sent out for a dinner on the sidelines of the G20 summit, which referred to India's President Droupadi Murmu as the "President of Bharat".

So, what is Bharat and why has this invite led to suspicions India will soon change its name?

The president of Bharat

By convention, invitations issued by Indian constitutional bodies have always mentioned the name India when the text is in English, and the name Bharat when the text is in Hindi.

Key points:

• More than 20 countries had formally applied to join BRICS ahead of this year's summit and more than 20 others had expressed interest
• China and Russia have been pushing for expansion, while Brazil and India have been wary
• The five BRICS leaders were in closed-door discussions for two days before announcing the expansion

The United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia were also set to enter BRICS from January 1, 2024.

“On behalf of the Government and People of Papua New Guinea, I would like to take this time to express our sincere condolences and sympathies to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his people.”

Close to 300 people have lost their lives and over 1000 injured in the Indian state of Odisha in what is believed to be India’s worst rail crash in 20 years.

A passenger train hit a stationary freight train which then resulted in the pile-up of another passenger train travelling in the opposite direction of the first train.

Key points:

Police said the victims - all women and children - were sitting on a metal slab covering the well when it collapsed under their weight.

Two more people have been injured in the accident, which took place in Kushinagar district.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the deaths "heart-wrenching".

The tragedy took place on Wednesday evening during the traditional "haldi" ceremony, in which relatives apply turmeric paste to the faces of the bride and groom as a marker of prosperity.

Mangeshkar, whose voice was the soundtrack to hundreds of Bollywood films, died aged 92 on Sunday.

PM Narendra Modi and stars of the entertainment industry attended the funeral, where large crowds gathered to pay their respects.

Her extraordinary career spanned more than half a century and she recorded thousands of songs in 36 languages.

Two days of national mourning will follow the funeral and the national flag will be flown at half-mast throughout the country.

. Now, a plea in the city's high court seeks to send him back home.

The petition - filed by 16-year-old Nikita Dhawan, founder of the non-profit Youth For Animals - alleges that Shankar has been living in isolation for years. It demands that he be removed from the zoo and rehabilitated in a wildlife sanctuary that houses other African elephants.

It also accuses zoo authorities of mistreating the animal - the BBC contacted officials but they declined to comment.

The merged entity will include more than 75 television channels, film assets and two streaming platforms.

It is poised to become a major player in the country's fast-growing entertainment industry, challenging rivals such as Walt Disney's Hotstar.

India has more than 900 million TV viewers and some 800 channels.

These channels offer a variety of shows ranging from sports, melodramas to reality television.

The incident took place during a prayer service at the city's Golden Temple on Saturday, according to local media.

The man allegedly barged into the inner sanctum, where Sikhism's holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, is kept.

He then grabbed a ceremonial sword placed next to the book, but was overpowered by guards and worshippers.

Sikhs regard the Guru Granth Sahib as not just the holy scripture of their religion but also as the living Guru, and believe it should be treated with respect as a human might be.

The men, who are 66 years and 46 years old, are currently under observation, a government spokesperson said.

These are the first cases of the new Omicron variant to be reported in India.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Omicron poses a "high infection risk".

Officials said all primary contacts and secondary contacts of the two men have been traced and are being tested as well.