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Opposition parties in the INDIA bloc are likely to meet in New Delhi on September 30 to coordinate a joint response to their concerns over the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, according to sources cited by news agencies. The proposed meeting could be held at the Constitution Club of India, bringing together senior alliance leaders amid rising political heat over the poll panel. Sources said the agenda would focus on the Election Commission and related issues, with consultations still underway on the final list of participants. A joint press conference by opposition leaders is also planned after the meeting. The meeting plan follows a day of Congress-led demonstrations on Friday, when...

India has used its right of reply at the United Nations General Assembly to denounce Pakistan's "falsehoods" and "deceit", describing its leadership as a "puppet" regime of the army and warning that continued terrorism will carry consequences. Petal Gahlot, First Secretary in India's Permanent Mission to the UN, delivered the rebuttal on Friday night (September 25) after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used the UNGA podium to credit US President Donald Trump with a "timely intervention" in the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict while once again raising the Kashmir issue. Sharp words at the General Assembly India said it had listened to "hypocritical homilies about democratic rights and human values" from a regime whose capital was...

Bangkok has declared all 50 of its districts flood disaster zones after nearly 300 millimetres of rain in about 48 hours overwhelmed the Thai capital's drainage systems and sent floodwater pouring into roads, homes and businesses. Governor Chadchart Sittipunt signed the citywide order on Saturday morning (September 26), extending a disaster designation that had initially covered only three heavily affected districts — Nong Chok, Suan Luang and Khan Na Yao — when the rains began on September 25. Officials said the expansion would speed up coordination of relief efforts and the distribution of resources across the entire capital. 300mm in 48 hours overwhelms drainage The rains, which began late Thursday evening, dumped the equivalent...

MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray have announced a joint march in Mumbai on October 4 to protest the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, deepening the cousins' political partnership after years of bitter rivalry. The announcement, made on September 26, said the two parties — the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT) — would invite other political parties to join the march and appealed to people across Maharashtra to take part. The time and venue for the march are to be announced later. In a joint statement, the two leaders accused the Election Commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, of functioning in the interests of the ruling...

Dozens of diplomats walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall on Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium for his address, in one of the most visible protests of the 81st General Assembly session. The Palestinian Mission to the UN had called for a collective walkout when Netanyahu was introduced in New York on September 24. Reuters reported that "dozens" of delegates left, while a review of session footage by Anadolu Agency found that representatives of roughly 70 countries either walked out or simply did not attend the session. Delegations reported to have left included Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, Iraq, Malaysia, Indonesia, Spain, Brazil, Peru, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia...

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul met on Saturday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, officials from both sides said, in the first direct talks between the two countries' top diplomats since before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The meeting focused on bilateral relations and the war in Ukraine, according to the Russian foreign ministry. A source in the German delegation said Wadephul pressed Lavrov to do "everything possible" to reach an agreement on grain exports via the Black Sea. A plea on grain and food security Shipping through the Black Sea has been sharply curtailed in recent months as Ukraine and Russia have targeted each other's port...

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said early Saturday that it had intercepted two ballistic missiles and two drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthis toward the kingdom, in a fresh escalation of the group's months-long campaign of attacks against Saudi Arabia. According to a Reuters report from Cairo dated September 26, the coalition said in posts on X that the missiles were headed toward Khamis Mushait while the drones were aimed at the capital, Riyadh. The coalition said it was continuing to monitor the missile and drone threat, without providing further details. Saudi civil defence sent overnight alerts for Khamis Mushait and Abha, though none for Riyadh. A campaign running since July The Houthis, who control the most populous...

The Union Home Ministry has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act across large parts of Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh for another six months, effective October 1, 2026, following a review of the law-and-order situation in the three northeastern states. State-by-state coverage Three separate Gazette notifications issued on September 25 invoke Section 3 of AFSPA, 1958, which allows the Centre to declare an area "disturbed" when the use of armed forces is considered necessary to assist civil authorities. Unless withdrawn earlier, the extension runs for six months. In Manipur, the disturbed-area declaration continues across most of the state, with a carve-out for areas under 13 police stations in five districts —...

US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran's proposal for a seven-day roadmap to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart talks over Tehran's nuclear programme, turning down an offer that Iranian officials presented at the United Nations General Assembly this week. A day-by-day timetable Araghchi laid out a precise schedule. "The seven-day timeline will start as soon as the United States accepts this plan," he said. The initial steps would take about four to five days to complete, the strait would reopen on the sixth day, and on the seventh day talks with the US would begin toward a final deal on the nuclear programme. The foreign minister framed the offer as a matter of basic fairness. "You cannot bomb a country, threaten its...

The Maharashtra government on Saturday issued a government resolution declaring drought in 265 of the state's 358 talukas, following prolonged rainfall deficits that have caused widespread crop losses. The decision is based on a report from the state's Agriculture Commissioner. The declaration covers major parts of Vidarbha, Marathwada, North Maharashtra and the Pune division, placing nearly three-quarters of the state's talukas under drought status and formalising the scale of agricultural distress this season. Worst-hit districts Yavatmal emerged as the worst-affected district with 16 taluks declared drought-hit, followed by Jalgaon with 15. Ahilyanagar, Nagpur, Amravati and Nanded each have 14 taluks on the list, reflecting the...

The White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping this week ended without any breakthrough agreement on artificial intelligence, though the two leaders agreed on a new name for the technology both say they favour. Trump told reporters outside the White House on September 26 that the United States would not slow down its AI development. "The United States of America is not going to be putting on brakes," he said, estimating that the US leads China in the technology by a year or two. What the two sides said During the visit, Xi said on September 24 that the US and China must "ensure that the development of AI is always under human control." Trump, however, played down the need for joint guardrails...

India is enjoying one of its finest Asian Games campaigns at Aichi-Nagoya 2026, with the country's athletes piling up medals across shooting, kabaddi, cricket, athletics and more. The standout moment so far has been kabaddi, where both the men's and women's teams struck gold by defeating Iran in their finals. The women's kabaddi team edged Iran 37-34 in a tense final to retain their title, extending India's unbeaten record in the event ever since women's kabaddi was introduced at the Asian Games in 2010. The men followed with an equally commanding performance, beating Iran 40-34 to claim gold. Shooting has been India's biggest medal factory. Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet — paired at the last minute — won gold in the 10m air pistol mixed...