News

Two road accidents struck the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Ramban district within half an hour of each other on Saturday, October 3, 2026, killing one tourist and leaving 56 people injured, including nine security personnel, officials said. Bus collides with hillside near Maroog A tourist bus travelling from Srinagar to Jammu, bearing a West Bengal registration number, collided with a hillside near Maroog at around 8:50 am after the driver lost control of the vehicle, officials were quoted as saying. One woman passenger was killed in the crash, while 47 others were injured. The deceased was identified as Jamuna, a resident of West Bengal. The tourists were returning home after a holiday in Kashmir. Four of the injured —...

Tennessee's prisons commissioner, Frank Strada, has resigned days after the state's failed attempt to execute death-row inmate Christa Pike. Governor Bill Lee announced the resignation on Saturday, October 3, 2026, and said Strada will step down this month while an independent review investigates what went wrong. Pike survived two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Wednesday, September 30. Her lawyers said in a court filing that she was left unconscious, intubated and on a mechanical ventilator, with hospital staff working to clear the drug from her system. A second failure prompts a freeze This was Tennessee's second failed execution attempt this year, prompting Lee...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukraine will keep attacking Russian oil refineries in retaliation for what he described as a new Russian doctrine of airstrikes targeting civilian infrastructure ahead of winter. The remarks came in an exclusive interview with Reuters in Kyiv on October 3, 2026. Zelenskiy said Ukrainian intelligence had obtained documents showing President Vladimir Putin issued a "new doctrine" of military strikes on a broader range of civilian targets — including infrastructure, logistics, roads, schools and hospitals — aimed at forcing civilians to abandon Kyiv and other cities. "We have to respond in any way (we can)," he said. "With their attacks on our energy, we have to respond on their energy...

US President Donald Trump on Friday gave Hamas until 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday to accept his 20-point Gaza peace plan, warning that "all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas" if it refuses. The deadline expires late Sunday night Washington time — around 3:30 a.m. IST on Monday. Calling the offer "one last chance," Trump urged Palestinians in Gaza to immediately leave areas of great danger and move to safer parts of the territory. What the plan contains The plan, unveiled at the White House on Monday after Trump's talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire tied to the release of hostages, a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a demilitarized Gaza, and international...

Delhi has switched on a technology-driven nerve centre to police its air pollution in real time, days before the capital's smog season begins. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday inaugurated the Delhi Pollution Control Committee's Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) at the DMRC IT Park in Shastri Park, east Delhi. What the centre does The centre stitches together AI-enabled CCTV cameras, AI-based data analysis, GPS tracking of road-sweeping machines and field teams, and data from air quality monitoring stations. More than 700 construction sites, each spread over more than 500 square metres, are being watched live; if PM10 levels spike at any site, the department concerned and the site owner are alerted immediately. The...

RIYADH: Flames and thick smoke were seen rising from a facility belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco south of the Saudi capital on Saturday, October 3, 2026, according to accounts from an AFP journalist and a witness cited by Reuters. The circumstances surrounding the incident remained unclear. Saudi authorities had issued no immediate confirmation of what happened, and Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As of the time of reporting, no group had claimed responsibility for the fire, and no official statement had established its cause. Context: recent Houthi-Saudi escalation In recent weeks, Aramco facilities have been targeted by Yemen's Houthi group as part of its campaign against the kingdom amid the war in...

The Trinamool Congress has lost the chairpersonship of two important Parliamentary panels after Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla reconstituted the various department-related standing committees on Saturday. The reconstitution reshuffled the leadership of several committees that scrutinise the work of ministries and government departments. Among the changes, the chairpersonship of the Parliamentary Committee on Commerce has moved from the Trinamool Congress to the BJP. Commerce panel goes to BJP BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi has been appointed the new chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Commerce. He replaces TMC leader Dola Sen, who had held the position until the reconstitution. The commerce...

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday demanded the dissolution of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, saying all elections held so far were "illegal" and that fresh polls should be conducted using ballot papers. "Today, the entire country is being run on illegal elections. Modi is an illegal Prime Minister, Shah is an illegal minister, and all the chief ministers who have been elected anywhere are illegal. All of them should be dissolved, elections should be held, and elections should be conducted through ballot papers," Kharge told reporters in Kalaburagi, Karnataka. EVMs and voter rolls under attack Kharge alleged that electronic voting machines were being misused, adding that "their own people" were saying this. He...

The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 attempted to carry out a "terrorist" attack during the flight, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday, according to the state news agency WAM. The statement marks the sharpest official characterization yet of the mid-air confrontation that ended with the aircraft making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia earlier this week. Prosecutors said the co-pilot attacked the aircraft's captain with a crash axe during the flight, setting off the crisis that forced the jet off its scheduled route. The pilot, identified as Smit Machchhar, managed to overpower the co-pilot and land the aircraft safely, an act that has drawn praise from leaders in India and the UAE for saving all 174...

The US Coast Guard said on Friday it had intercepted a large cargo ship carrying fuel bound for Cuba, as the Trump administration's oil embargo against the island nation continues to tighten. The vessel, named "Grace," was stopped on September 5 in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Mexico while using tactics to evade authorities, the Coast Guard said. The New York Times reported that the ship was 300 feet (91 meters) long. "Grace was transiting to Cuba, carrying fuel, and was believed to be employing tactics common amongst the dark fleet," the Coast Guard said in a statement. Boarded and escorted to Mexico A Coast Guard team boarded the ship and escorted it to Mexico, where a Mexican Navy inspection team "confirmed the presence of...

Sagardighi MLA Bayron Biswas sustained burn injuries after a fire broke out at his residence in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Saturday morning, police said. The legislator, a member of the Democratic Trinamool Congress, was rescued from the house and taken to hospital. Police said his condition was stable. Eyewitnesses noticed smoke coming out of the second floor of the residence at around 11 am. Family members and local residents raised an alarm, after which the fire department and West Bengal Police rushed to the spot, rescued the MLA and moved him to a nearby hospital for treatment. What caused the fire The exact cause of the blaze is still under investigation. According to police sources quoted by The Indian Express, the...

A crude oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile about four nautical miles east of Oman late on Friday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said — hours after another tanker was hit while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with five Indian nationals safely rescued from the second vessel. The Oman incident UKMTO's operations centre said the master of a crude oil tanker reported being struck by an unknown projectile on the port side. All crew were reported safe and no environmental impact was reported; authorities are investigating. Vessels operating in the area were advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity. Five Indians rescued The Embassy of India in Oman said it had coordinated the...

A federal judge has barred the Trump administration from building a border barrier through Big Bend National Park in Texas, halting construction while courts weigh an environmental lawsuit challenging the project. Injunction halts all ground work US District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued a preliminary injunction on Friday, October 2. It says the government "shall not build border barrier or related infrastructure, or engage in any construction of ground-disturbing activities, in the Big Bend Sector" unless it complies with environmental laws, Reuters reported. The ruling came nearly seven weeks after US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott had himself paused construction amid bipartisan criticism over the project's...

Saudi Arabia is planning an offensive against Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, with options under consideration including a coastal push to secure the Red Sea shipping route or a multi-front assault, regional and Western officials told Reuters on Saturday. What is being planned The operation, expected to be launched in the coming weeks, would be led by Yemeni forces on the ground — which are overseen by Riyadh — and supported by Saudi air strikes, according to six people with knowledge of the preparations. The officials could not give a precise launch date, with estimates ranging from within a week to after the US midterm elections in early November. More than 100,000 Yemeni troops could be mobilised, depending on the scale of...

Gujarat has notified the Gujarat Uniform Civil Code, 2026, making it the second Indian state after Uttarakhand to enact a uniform civil code. President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the legislation on September 17, and the state government published the notification in the Gujarat Government Gazette Extraordinary on October 1. A common framework for all residents The Act, notified as Gujarat Act No. 15 of 2026, will govern marriage, divorce, succession, live-in relationships and related matters for all residents of the state, irrespective of religion. It extends across the whole of Gujarat and also covers residents of the state living outside its territory. Scheduled Tribes and groups whose customary rights are protected under...

US President Donald Trump attended a secret high-level meeting on Iran and Yemen at Camp David on Friday, chaired by Vice President JD Vance and attended by top national security aides, Axios reported, as Washington weighs a major military buildup in the Middle East and renewed strikes on Iran. According to the Axios report, cited by the Jerusalem Post, attendees included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Dan Caine. Three US officials told Axios that "things were decided, or at least deeply discussed." The White House declined to respond to a request for comment. Three carriers under consideration The...

Aam Aadmi Party national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar quit the party on Saturday and joined the Congress, declaring that she could no longer defend what she described as the "indefensible" conduct of her former party. Kakkar joined the Congress in New Delhi along with former Uttar Pradesh MLA Shyam Sunder Sharma and Rajat Rakesh Tandon, who comes from the family of freedom fighter Purushottam Das Tandon. Senior Congress leaders including Rajiv Shukla, Pawan Khera and the party's Delhi unit chief Devendra Yadav were present as Congress general secretary Naseer Hussain welcomed the new entrants. Why she left AAP Speaking to reporters, Kakkar said the AAP had drifted from the founding principles that first attracted her. She recalled...

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has launched a new digital platform called "Satyagraha", inviting citizens and organisations across India to register their struggles and protests on a common map. What the portal does Gandhi said the platform would bring different public issues onto a shared map and give people seeking support a way to communicate their concerns. Users can register their issues, identify their groups and describe the nature of their campaigns, with the aim of connecting otherwise separate struggles into a single visible network. Launched amid SIR protests The launch comes amid continued opposition mobilisation over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and demands directed at the Election Commission...

Five workers were killed and more than ten others injured in a boiler explosion at a pharmaceutical manufacturing unit in the Sri City special economic zone in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday morning, in one of the deadliest industrial accidents in the region this year. Explosion during morning shift The blast occurred around 8 a.m. at the formulations manufacturing facility of TIL Healthcare in Satyavedu mandal of Tirupati district, while workers were on the morning shift. The force of the explosion triggered a fire at the plant, and emergency teams rushed to the spot. Two workers died at the scene, while three others succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment, taking the toll to five, Tirupati Superintendent of Police L...

Taiwan on Friday received the first two of 66 new F-16V fighter jets ordered from the United States, ending years of delay in a landmark arms deal meant to strengthen the island's defences against China. Arrival after years of delay The two jets touched down at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung at noon local time on Friday, completing a trans-Pacific flight that routed through Hawaii and Guam. They are the first aircraft of a 2019 order placed with Lockheed Martin as part of a United States-approved sale worth $8 billion. The delivery was held up for years by software problems and production and supply-chain difficulties, and Taiwanese officials have voiced frustration in the past over the slow pace of American arms transfers. Defence...