A British mother of six has invented the Easidream cot mattress, using inflatable pads and a mother's heartbeat to settle babies faster. A new cot mattress designed to recreate the feeling of the womb is set to go on sale in London this October, offering hard-pressed parents a fresh way to settle unsettled babies at night. The device, called Easidream, was created by Lynda Harding, a 44-year-old British mother of six. The system works through a set of inflatable pads that sit beneath a cot's standard mattress. The pads slowly take in air and then release it, producing a gentle rocking effect. According to its inventor, the design can cut the time it takes to settle a baby by as much as 90 percent. Harding said she came up with the idea after struggling to get her youngest son, Bradley, to sleep during his early months. She described the exhaustion of broken nights and said a product like this would have made a real difference to her at the time. Her hope, she said, is that it now helps other families facing the same struggle. Alongside the mattress, a soft toy sheep attaches to the side of the cot and plays audio meant to comfort the child. Parents can select the recorded sound of a mother's heartbeat or other options, including the hum of a vacuum cleaner and music. The rocking action also nudges infants to rest on their backs. That position is advised as the safest sleeping posture for babies under six months old. Researchers at the University of Brighton have built a working prototype of the product, which is scheduled to make its debut at the Baby Show in London in October. Jeanne Tarrant of the Royal College of Midwives said the approach fits with how young children typically respond to soothing cues. She noted that a mother's heartbeat and white noise often help babies drift off, and that gentle motion can have a similar calming effect. Anything that echoes the experience of being in the womb, she said, can be helpful. Easidream mattress, womb-mimicking cot, Lynda Harding, baby sleep aid, University of Brighton, Royal College of Midwives, safe infant sleep, Baby Show London

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Aryna Sabalenka paused her US Open clash with Kamilla Rakhimova over a strong cannabis smell, then won 6-3 6-4 to reach the fourth round in New York. Top seed Aryna Sabalenka stopped her US Open match against Kamilla Rakhimova to complain about a powerful cannabis smell drifting across the court, then recovered to win 6-3 6-4 and book a place in the fourth round in New York. The Belarusian raised the concern with umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore after opening a 3-0 lead in the first set on Louis Armstrong Stadium, telling the official that someone nearby was smoking marijuana and asking her to step in because the odour was overpowering. Asderaki-Moore contacted an official over her radio and signalled the problem before the match resumed. Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, said afterwards that she could not pinpoint where the smell had come from and urged spectators to show more consideration. "It's a bit tricky to handle that smell while you're trying to compete at your best," she said. "I don't know if it was coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium. I just hope they're going to be a bit more aware of that stuff." Smoking is banned across the grounds at Flushing Meadows, but the scent of cannabis occasionally drifts onto the courts from neighbouring Corona Park. In New York, adults aged 21 and over are legally permitted to smoke it. Sabalenka is not alone in raising the issue at this year's tournament. Britain's Katie Boulter described the smell as a distraction, and fellow players Harriet Dart and Francesca Jones both said they had noticed it. In previous editions, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev voiced similar complaints. The 28-year-old, chasing a fifth Grand Slam singles title, dominated from the outset. She leaned on her trademark power to lose only four points on serve in the opening set. Rakhimova, of Uzbekistan, offered stiffer resistance in the second, but Sabalenka broke to lead 5-4 before serving out the match. Sabalenka struck 10 aces to her opponent's two and did not concede a single break point. The result extended her unbeaten run at Flushing Meadows to 16 matches as she attempts to become the first woman since Serena Williams, who won three in a row from 2012 to 2014, to claim three consecutive US Open singles crowns. Her next opponent will be home favourite Taylor Townsend, who defeated Russian 15th seed Diana Shnaider 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 to set up a last-eight showdown. Elsewhere in the women's draw, Karolina Muchova became the highest seed to exit so far. The world number seven was beaten by Emma Navarro. American third seed Jessica Pegula kept her hopes of a maiden Grand Slam title alive by fighting back from a set down to overcome Canadian 31st seed Leylah Fernandez 1-6 6-4 6-3. Pegula lost the 2023 US Open final at Flushing Meadows to Sabalenka. Aryna Sabalenka, US Open 2025, cannabis smell tennis, Flushing Meadows, Kamilla Rakhimova, Taylor Townsend, Grand Slam, women's tennis

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Kia has revealed its Syros Flex Fuel Concept in India, a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol demonstrator able to run on anything from pure petrol to E100 ethanol. Kia has unveiled the Syros Flex Fuel Vehicle Concept in India, its first flexible-fuel car aimed at the Indian market. The company presented the concept at its Sorento launch event, where it stood alongside the new Carnival Hybrid and Carens CNG. The demonstrator is built to run on pure petrol, pure ethanol, and any petrol-ethanol mixture in between, stretching all the way to E100 fuel. For now, the Syros Flex Fuel is only a technology showcase. Kia has given no date for a production model and has not confirmed that the car will ever reach showrooms. The company has framed it as proof that its powertrain can handle the higher ethanol content that India may adopt in the years ahead. What Kia changed under the bonnet The concept is driven by a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder direct-injection turbo-petrol engine. Kia has kept power and torque numbers under wraps. To let the motor cope with fuel that swings between petrol and ethanol in varying proportions, engineers reworked the engine control unit, the transmission control unit, and the fuel system. The gearbox is also new. Where the regular Syros turbo-petrol pairs its engine with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, the flex-fuel version switches to a six-speed torque-converter automatic. Together, these revisions let the car read and adjust to whatever blend sits in the tank. A response to India's ethanol drive The reveal lands as New Delhi presses ahead with wider use of ethanol in road fuel. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has championed flex-fuel technology, tying it to the goal of cutting the country's reliance on imported crude oil. Regulation has begun to catch up. In May 2026, the government issued standards for higher ethanol-petrol blends. That was followed in June by the approval of rules governing E100-compatible vehicles. The Syros Flex Fuel Concept offers an early look at how Kia might react if such blends spread across the country. India's pumps currently supply E20 fuel, well below the levels the concept is engineered to accept. Rivals lining up their own flex-fuel models Kia joins a growing field. Maruti Suzuki has already put its Wagon R Flex Fuel on sale, and other carmakers are building comparable systems. Toyota has run flex-fuel demonstrations in India before, and Tata Motors is tipped to bring a flex-fuel model to market in late 2026 or early 2027. Hyundai, MG, and Mahindra are also studying or developing the technology. Kia sees the Syros as a natural test bed. The model already carries a compact turbo-petrol engine, which made it straightforward to adapt for alternative fuels. Even so, the company has stopped short of promising a production launch. The concept stands as a statement of intent, signalling that Kia wants to be ready should Indian rules one day require vehicles to run on far higher ethanol blends than they do today. Kia Syros Flex Fuel, flex fuel car India, E100 ethanol vehicle, Kia Syros turbo petrol, ethanol blended fuel, Nitin Gadkari flex fuel, India ethanol policy, flexible fuel vehicle concept

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With two-thirds of Google searches ending without a click in early 2026, marketers face a new challenge defending SEO spend for 2027. The case for spending money on search engine optimization used to fit on a slide or two: better rankings, more organic traffic, done. That argument is now much harder to make. In the first four months of 2026, more than two-thirds of U.S. Google searches ended without anyone clicking through to a website, and the arrival of AI-generated summaries is pulling clicks away from traditional results. According to the Pew Research Center, users clicked a standard search result on just 8% of Google visits when an AI summary appeared on the page. When no summary was shown, that figure rose to 15%. The gap points to a shift in how people find information, and it creates a direct problem for anyone trying to defend an SEO line item heading into 2027. The core difficulty is timing. Search behavior is changing fast enough that the assumptions behind an annual budget can break long before the year is over. A forecast built on last year's traffic patterns may no longer hold by spring. That instability pushes marketers to frame SEO in the terms a chief financial officer already tracks: business risk, customer acquisition costs, and sales pipeline. Treat the budget as a portfolio The recommended approach for 2027 is to stop treating SEO as a single channel with one lump-sum budget and instead manage it like a portfolio. The spending splits into two distinct categories, each judged by different rules. The first is the maintenance floor. A significant share of SEO money should go toward protecting assets the business already depends on. A mature website carries pages, local listings, technical infrastructure, and third-party references that generate qualified demand. Those assets do not sustain themselves. Search changes, and published information goes stale. Rather than relying on a growth forecast, marketers are advised to calculate the actual cost of keeping these existing assets in working order. That figure represents the price of protecting the value SEO already delivers. Fund growth where the evidence is Everything spent above that floor is a bet on future value. Funding a project last year does not entitle it to funding next year. The guidance is to translate each line item into the specific business problem it is meant to solve, and to fund growth only where there is evidence of a real problem or opportunity tied to a plausible business outcome. That means being honest about the difference between what can be proven and what the data only hints at. Some results connect cleanly to the business: qualified leads, revenue, and pipeline. Others merely suggest that search played a role. Appearing as a blue link or a mention in responses to high-value questions, a rise in branded search, and citations inside AI answers all signal that SEO is contributing, but none of them close the loop on their own. Google has started making some of these signals easier to observe. Its rollout of dedicated Search Console reports for generative AI features gives marketers more visibility into how their content surfaces in AI-driven results. Even so, those reports do not trace every step a customer takes from first encountering a brand to buying from it. Perfect attribution remains out of reach, and budgets have to be built with that limitation in mind. The practical upshot is a budget that leads with what the investment protects, justifies growth spending against measurable outcomes, and treats speculative bets as tests rather than commitments. In a search landscape where most queries never produce a click, that structure gives leadership a clearer view of what their SEO money is actually buying. SEO budget 2027, zero-click searches, AI search, Google Search Console, customer acquisition cost, organic traffic, Pew Research SEO, search marketing

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Five gaming laptops under Rs. 1.5 lakh in India from Dell, Asus, HP, Lenovo and Acer, with prices, processors, GPUs and display specs compared. Shoppers in India with a budget of Rs. 1,50,000 have several capable gaming laptops to choose from, spanning Dell, Acer, Asus and Lenovo. Each ships with a dedicated Nvidia graphics card, a high-refresh-rate screen and Windows 11. Recent increases in memory component prices have begun to reach the market, but the options below still run popular games while staying within the cap. Prices in this segment range from Rs. 94,999 for the Acer ALG to Rs. 1,49,990 for the Asus TUF Gaming F16. The Dell Alienware 16 Aurora offers the sharpest screen of the group, a 16-inch 2.5K panel, while the HP Victus 15.6 carries the newest graphics chip, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050. Here is how the five models compare. Dell Alienware 16 Aurora and Asus TUF Gaming F16 The Dell Alienware 16 Aurora sells for Rs. 1,47,990 in an Interstellar Indigo colour. It pairs an Intel Core 7 240H processor with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU that has 6GB of GDDR6 memory. The machine ships with 16GB of DDR5 RAM as two 8GB modules and 1TB of M.2 PCIe NVMe storage. Its 16-inch 2.5K screen uses a 16:10 aspect ratio, an anti-glare finish and 300 nits of brightness. A 96Whr battery, an HD camera and dual-array microphones round out the package, and it arrives on Windows 11 Home. The Asus TUF Gaming F16 (FX607VJR-TU325WS), listed at Rs. 1,49,990 in Mecha Grey, runs an Intel Core 5 205H chip alongside the same RTX 3050 with 6GB of GDDR6. Its 16-inch full-HD+ WUXGA display refreshes at 144Hz, keeps a 16:10 ratio and posts a 3ms response time. The laptop starts with 16GB of DDR5-5600 memory across two SO-DIMM slots, expandable to 64GB, plus a 512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. It includes a 720p camera and a 56Whr battery, and it too runs Windows 11 Home. HP Victus 15.6 and Lenovo LOQ 14th Gen The HP Victus 15.6 (fb3096AX) is priced at Rs. 1,39,999 on HP's India website in a Mica Silver finish. It is built around an AMD Ryzen 7 260 processor whose Ryzen AI NPU handles 16 TOPS for AI tasks. Graphics come from an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 with 8GB of GDDR7, the most recent GPU among these picks. The 15.6-inch full-HD IPS screen runs at 144Hz with 300 nits and an 82.23 percent screen-to-body ratio. It carries a single 16GB DDR5-5600 module, a 512GB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD, a 70Wh battery, a 200W adapter and dual speakers tuned with DTS:X Ultra and HP Audio Boost. The Lenovo LOQ 14th Gen (15-inch, Intel) is the most affordable of the two at Rs. 1,30,991 in Luna Grey. It can be configured up to an Intel Core i7-14700HX and an RTX 4060 with 8GB of GDDR6, with RTX 4050 and RTX 3050 options also offered. Buyers can fit up to 16GB of 5600MHz DDR5 across two SO-DIMM slots and up to a 1TB M.2 2242 PCIe Gen 4 SSD, with two SSD slots for expansion. The 15.6-inch IPS panel reaches WQHD resolution, 350 nits and full sRGB coverage on the higher variant. It adds dual 2W Nahimic speakers, a camera up to 1080p with a privacy shutter and a 60Whr battery, and it can run Windows 11 Pro. Acer ALG The Acer ALG (AL15G-53) is the budget entry at Rs. 94,999, sold through Acer's India website in Titanium Gray. It uses an Intel Core 7 240H processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 with 6GB of GDDR6. The laptop comes with 16GB of DDR4 SODIMM memory, upgradable to 64GB, and a 512GB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD in one of two M.2 slots, with room for up to 2TB. Its 15.6-inch full-HD display runs at 144Hz in a 16:9 ratio. A 54Wh battery, a 150W adapter and Windows 11 Home complete the specifications. gaming laptops India, gaming laptop under 1.5 lakh, Dell Alienware 16 Aurora, Asus TUF Gaming F16, HP Victus 15.6, Lenovo LOQ, Acer ALG, RTX 5050 laptop

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Donald Trump posted a series of AI-generated images on Sunday, from meeting George Washington to renaming New Mexico and jabbing at Robert De Niro. US President Donald Trump published a rapid series of AI-generated posts on Truth Social on Sunday, ranging from an imagined meeting with George Washington to a pointed jibe at actor Robert De Niro. The images leaned heavily on patriotic themes and celebrated American dominance. One post targeted De Niro, a Hollywood actor and prominent supporter of the Democratic Party. It showed the actor holding a red Republican T-shirt printed with the words "Trump is my president." Washington, the first US president, featured in two of the posts. In one, Trump appeared riding a horse alongside the founding father against an eighteenth-century backdrop. In another, Trump was shown meeting Washington inside the White House, with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio seated beside him. Several posts reworked real geography. One image showed Trump renaming Canada's Lake Ontario as "Lake America." Another took aim at the name of the US state New Mexico, with Trump appearing to strike out "Mexico" and rename it "New America." The series reached beyond Earth. One post placed Trump on the Moon beside a US flag, with the declaration "The Moon is ours." Trump's recent focus on Iran also appeared in the run of images. One post showed a map of Iran shaped into a caricatured side profile of Trump, coloured in orange. Donald Trump, AI-generated images, Truth Social, Robert De Niro, George Washington, New America, Lake Ontario, New Mexico

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From tulsi leaves and raw garlic to turmeric milk and frequent handwashing, here are 10 everyday steps suggested to help ward off swine flu. With swine flu cases rising, many people are looking for simple, low-cost steps they can take at home to strengthen their resistance against the H1N1 virus and common flu. The advice below is not a cure. It is a set of everyday measures, and anyone already ill is warned they will help only to a limited extent. The steps do not need to be followed all at once. The suggestion is to pick a combination that suits you. Most of the remedies rely on herbs, kitchen staples and hygiene rather than prescription drugs, and several are aimed at keeping the throat, nose and lungs clear. Herbs and kitchen staples Tulsi, known in English as basil and by its medicinal name Ocimum sanctum, tops the list. The recommendation is to chew five properly washed tulsi leaves every morning. Tulsi is credited with a range of therapeutic properties, keeping the throat and lungs clear and supporting immunity against infection. Giloi, or Tinospora cordifolia, is a plant found easily in many areas. To make a kadha, or concoction, take a one-foot-long branch of giloi, add five or six tulsi leaves and boil in water for 15 to 20 minutes, long enough for the water to draw out the plant's properties. Season to taste with black pepper and sendha, rock or black salt, or add misri, crystallised sugar lumps, to sweeten it. Let it cool a little and drink while still warm. If the plant is not available, processed giloi powder from suppliers such as Hamdard can be used to make a similar drink once a day. Garlic and dairy also feature. Those who can tolerate it are advised to swallow two pods of raw garlic first thing in the morning with lukewarm water, which is said to build immunity. People who are not allergic to milk can drink a glass of hot or lukewarm milk each night with a small measure of haldi, or turmeric. Aloe vera, known as gwarpatha, is another commonly available plant. Its thick, cactus-like leaves hold an odourless gel, and a teaspoon of that gel taken with water daily is said to help skin, joint pain and immunity. Camphor, homeopathy and Vitamin C A small piece of camphor, or kapoor, roughly the size of a tablet, can be taken once or twice a month, but no more. Adults can swallow it with water, while children may need it mixed into mashed potato or banana to get it down. The warning is clear: camphor is not for daily use, only once a season or once a month. On the homeopathic side, the remedies named are Pyrogenium 200 and Influenzium 200, taken as five tablets three times a day or two to three drops three times a day. Neither is described as targeting H1N1 specifically. They are presented only as a preventive against common flu virus. Citrus fruit and Vitamin C round out the diet advice. Amla, or Indian gooseberry, is singled out for its Vitamin C content. Because fresh amla will not reach the market for another three to four months, packaged amla juice, now widely sold, is suggested as an alternative. Breathing, movement and clean hands Daily pranayam is recommended, ideally under guidance for anyone not already trained in it, along with a regular morning jog or walk. Even in small amounts, this is said to keep the throat and lungs in good condition and improve the body's resistance to illnesses affecting the nose, throat and lungs. The final measure is the most conventional: frequent handwashing. The advice is to wash with soap and warm water for 15 to 20 seconds, especially before meals and after touching any surface that might be contaminated, such as a door handle or knob. That applies particularly after returning from a public place or using public transport. Where soap and warm water are not immediately available, alcohol-based hand cleaners should be kept on hand and used in the meantime. The overriding message accompanying the list is not to panic. The remedies are framed as easy steps to tackle a flu virus of any kind, including swine flu, and can be combined to suit the individual rather than followed rigidly. swine flu remedies, H1N1 prevention, tulsi immunity, giloi kadha, home remedies flu, turmeric milk, amla vitamin C, handwashing flu  

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The term 'GPT-6 Astra' is surging on Google Trends in India, with over 2,000 searches tied to OpenAI and its ChatGPT models. A search term tied to OpenAI is climbing fast in India. "GPT-6 Astra" has broken onto Google Trends in the country, logging more than 2,000 searches under the query "chatgpt gpt astra." The phrase is circulating alongside the description "GPT-6 Astra: A new generation of intelligence," linked to OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot and its GPT series of language models. The surge points to strong public curiosity in India about the next step in OpenAI's technology. Beyond the name and tagline, concrete details remain scarce. The available information does not confirm a release date, technical specifications, pricing or an official product announcement attached to the "GPT-6 Astra" label. What is clear is the scale of interest: the query has gathered enough momentum to register as a trending topic across Indian searches. Google Trends measures relative search interest, and a spot on its India charts signals that a large number of users are looking up the same phrase within a short window. In this case, that phrase couples the ChatGPT brand with a name, "Astra," and a generational claim about intelligence. Until OpenAI issues verified details, readers should treat the "GPT-6 Astra" name with caution. The trend confirms the appetite for information, not the arrival of a product. For now, the story is the search spike itself and the questions it raises about what OpenAI may release next. GPT-6 Astra, OpenAI, ChatGPT, Google Trends India, artificial intelligence, GPT-6, AI models

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Restore Grand Isle has raised about $400,000 to turn the 1929 Oleander Hotel into a cultural center and museum on Louisiana's Grand Isle. The Oleander Hotel, which first opened on Louisiana's Grand Isle in 1929, is being restored and repurposed as a museum and cultural center nearly a hundred years after it welcomed its first guests. The effort is being led by Restore Grand Isle, which plans to convert the aging landmark into the Grand Isle Cultural Center. The group intends the renovated building to serve three purposes: a visitor center, a space for community gatherings and a museum. So far, local supporters have contributed roughly $400,000 toward rescuing the structure. Grand Isle grew into a coastal resort town over the last century, earning a reputation for its fishing and maritime traditions and its distinctive natural surroundings. The Oleander stood as a surviving reminder of that era. But decades of exposure to the punishing Gulf Coast climate wore the building down, leaving it in need of major repair. Restore Grand Isle has finished the first phase of the work, stabilizing the structure to keep it protected while longer-term plans are drawn up. The organization is now preparing a full master plan to guide how the hotel will be rebuilt, adapted and cared for in the years ahead. Under the proposal, the Grand Isle Cultural Center would pair conservation of the old building with everyday public use. Planned exhibits would cover the island's fishing and maritime past, its long history as a place visitors traveled to, and the coastal environment that defines it. Organizers also envision the site hosting educational programs, community meetings and cultural events, rather than standing idle as a preserved relic. Fundraising continues Even with stabilization complete, a considerable amount of work is still required before the Oleander can reopen its doors to the public. Restore Grand Isle is appealing for further help from residents, local businesses, tourists and anyone with ties to the island. The money raised would pay for ongoing restoration and move the cultural-center plans closer to reality. The group points to the earlier $400,000 total as a sign of how much the community wants to keep the landmark standing. For Grand Isle, backers describe the project as more than fixing an old building. They see the Oleander as a direct connection to the many generations of islanders and travelers who shaped the town, and they hope its new form will carry that history forward. Should the restoration reach the finish line, the nearly century-old hotel would once again receive guests - this time not as a resort, but as a place to learn about the people, culture and landscape of Grand Isle. Oleander Hotel, Grand Isle, Louisiana, Restore Grand Isle, Grand Isle Cultural Center, historic preservation, maritime heritage, coastal museum

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Noida creator Anamika left a Mirzapur: The Movie screening, alleging drunk viewers and unhelpful theatre staff. Netizens backed her walkout. A Noida-based content creator named Anamika says she and a friend abandoned a screening of "Mirzapur: The Movie" midway on Saturday, blaming a group of allegedly drunk and disruptive audience members. The film opened in cinemas over the weekend. In a video posted the same day, Anamika stressed that the movie itself was not the problem. She said the pair stepped out of the auditorium because fellow viewers had turned up intoxicated. According to her account, several other unsettled patrons also left, demanding that the offending group be removed before anyone returned to their seats. She added that she and her friend had been enjoying the film before the disruption forced them out. A second video, filmed later that evening, described how the situation ended. Anamika said she and her friend chose to go home because staff at the venue offered no meaningful assistance and the hour was growing late. She took issue with the solutions on offer. Staff, she said, proposed moving her party to a different auditorium rather than ejecting the group causing trouble, and suggested she call the police helpline 100 herself. Anamika argued that handling the disturbance was the theatre management's job, not hers, and said the episode left her upset. She did not identify the cinema by name in her clip but tagged Wave Cinemas in the accompanying post. In further videos, she responded to both the encouragement and the pushback her original complaint attracted. Reaction online leaned in her favour. One commenter praised civility and civic sense as basic decency that makes shared spaces safer. Another said such scenes are common in theatres across tier-2 locations. "Mirzapur: The Movie" is positioned as an origin story, tracing the beginnings of the feud between the Tripathi and Pandit families that anchored the Amazon Prime Video series. Gurmeet Singh directed the film, with Puneet Krishna writing it. Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar produced the project under their Excel Entertainment banner. The film reunites Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi and Divyenndu in their familiar roles. Jitendra Kumar steps into the part of Bablu Pandit, a character previously played by Vikrant Massey in the show. Mirzapur The Movie, Anamika Noida creator, Wave Cinemas, drunk moviegoers, theatre experience, Pankaj Tripathi, Excel Entertainment, Ali Fazal

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A sudden evening downpour with strong winds and thunder flooded main roads in Rajamahendravaram, leaving motorists and pedestrians struggling. Heavy rain struck Rajamahendravaram on Sunday evening, flooding several main roads across the Andhra Pradesh city. The downpour arrived suddenly, accompanied by strong winds, thunder and lightning. Water quickly collected on major routes, leaving stretches of road submerged. Motorists and pedestrians were left struggling to move through the affected areas. In some localities, poor drainage worsened the situation. With no proper system to carry the runoff away, rainwater backed up and spilled onto the roads, adding to the disruption during the evening. The rain brought a sharp change to the city's evening, combining wind, thunder and lightning in a short, intense spell that caught residents off guard. Rajamahendravaram rain, Rajamahendravaram flooding, Andhra Pradesh weather, waterlogged roads, heavy rain, drainage problems, monsoon

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TVS retained the No. 1 spot in August 2026 with 5,91,437 units, edging Honda and Hero as India's top six brands sold 24.40 lakh two-wheelers. TVS Motor held on to the top of India's two-wheeler sales chart in August 2026, recording total sales of 5,91,437 units and a 20.51% year-on-year rise. It was the second month running that TVS led the overall rankings, after first taking the No. 1 position by total sales in July 2026. The result gave TVS a 24.23% share among the country's six largest two-wheeler makers. Honda finished second with 5,79,162 units, up 8.28% year-on-year, while Hero MotoCorp came third at 5,68,398 units, a 2.65% increase. Just 23,039 units separated TVS and Hero, underlining how tight the contest at the top has become. Together, the top six brands sold 24,40,653 two-wheelers during the month, spanning both domestic and export markets. That was up 12.96% from 21,60,690 units a year earlier, and 4.77% higher than in July 2026. Hero Leads at Home, Honda Close Behind In the domestic market alone, Hero MotoCorp remained the largest manufacturer with 5,42,305 units. Its domestic sales rose 4.46% from 5,19,139 units a year earlier and were up 8.16% over July. Honda stayed within striking distance at 5,17,329 units, growing 7.55% year-on-year and 8.58% month-on-month. The gap between the two brands was just 24,976 units. TVS ranked third in the domestic market with 4,33,796 units. It posted a strong 17.60% year-on-year increase, though sales slipped 0.82% compared with July. Bajaj followed with 2,01,898 units, up 9.66% year-on-year and 21.81% month-on-month. Royal Enfield sold 1,14,204 units domestically, a rise of 11.01% year-on-year. Suzuki was close behind with 1,13,936 units, up 10.49%. Bajaj Dominates Exports The order shifts sharply once exports are counted. Bajaj was by far the largest exporter, shipping 2,41,850 units overseas in August. Its exports surged 53.28% year-on-year and 8.47% over July, handing Bajaj a 46.76% share of exports among the six brands. TVS was second in exports with 1,57,641 units, up 29.29% year-on-year but down 4.89% from July. Honda exported 61,833 units, a 14.85% year-on-year gain. Hero's exports fell 24.56% year-on-year to 26,093 units, and Suzuki's dropped 21.58% to 17,493 units. Royal Enfield exported 12,275 motorcycles, up 10.33% year-on-year. A Narrow Race at the Top The combination of solid domestic volumes and large exports is what pushed TVS ahead in the overall standings, even though Hero continues to lead the far bigger home market. Bajaj, buoyed by its export strength, ranked fourth overall at 4,43,748 units and recorded the strongest year-on-year growth among the top four at 29.79%. Suzuki finished fifth in total sales with 1,31,429 units, and Royal Enfield sixth with 1,26,479 units. With the leaders separated by tens of thousands of units and export performance now shaping the rankings as much as domestic demand, the monthly battle between TVS, Honda and Hero looks set to remain closely fought. two wheeler sales August 2026, TVS Motor sales, Hero MotoCorp, Honda two wheeler, Bajaj exports, Royal Enfield sales, Indian two wheeler market, Suzuki two wheeler

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