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India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar used his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday to deliver a sharp rebuke to Pakistan, calling it a "serial practitioner of terrorism" and warning that India's right to defend itself against terrorism "will be exercised." A direct rebuttal Jaishankar was responding to an address by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a day earlier. Without naming Pakistan directly, Jaishankar said, "Yesterday, a serial practitioner of terrorism misrepresented facts before this assembly. Arguments were invoked to normalise terrorism and claim immunity from its consequences. That will not stand." He added that "friendship and goodwill cannot co-exist with terrorism" and said it was...

China's Vice President Han Zheng told the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday that "the world wants peace not war," urging nations to defend the postwar international order and resolve disputes through dialogue rather than unilateral military action. Addressing the general debate of the Assembly's 81st session, Han said the international system centered on the United Nations — and the international law that emerged after World War II — "must be upheld." He called on states to settle differences through dialogue and consultation, and to oppose "unilateral military actions that violate the UN Charter and circumvent Security Council authorization." "Major countries shoulder special responsibilities for safeguarding international...

The White House barred CNN from traveling aboard Air Force One on Saturday as President Donald Trump flew to Knoxville, Tennessee, for a college football game — escalating an ongoing standoff over press access and handing the network's place in the rotation to a conservative outlet. CNN had been scheduled to cover the trip as the television pool network, a small rotating group of journalists who follow the president into spaces too tight for the full press corps and share their reporting with the other major networks. But White House guidance released Friday night left the network off the manifest. CNN reported that no outlet was listed as its replacement; the Associated Press reported that the conservative Real America's Voice News...

Senior officials from the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco — joined for the first time by officials from Kazakhstan — gathered in New York on Thursday for the first official meeting of the Abraham Accords countries since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, according to CBS News reporting.The session took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in a midtown Manhattan office tower and was organized by the N7 Foundation, a US-based organization that has convened multilateral meetings of the signatory countries since 2021. "Back together" The US delegation was led by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker. "Nearly three years after October 7, the...

Four people have been killed in a helicopter crash southeast of Montreal, Quebec provincial police said on Saturday afternoon. The Surete du Quebec confirmed that all four occupants of the aircraft died in the crash, which happened at about 2:30 p.m. ET near Sainte-Brigide-d'Iberville. National broadcasters CBC and CTV reported that the aircraft was on fire when first responders arrived at the scene. Police did not immediately provide details about the helicopter's ownership, where it had come from, or the purpose of the journey. The Surete du Quebec — the province's police force — said the investigation was still in its early stages. Canada's Transportation Safety Board is deploying investigators to the site to determine what caused...

The United States and China will establish a dedicated channel for communicating about artificial intelligence incidents, the White House announced on Friday, one of the few concrete results to emerge from this week's three-day summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington. The agreement creates a "bilateral communication channel" for AI incidents — effectively an early-warning line between the world's two leading AI powers — alongside a formal "US–China Super Intelligence (SI) Dialogue" to exchange views on the risks and benefits of advanced systems. The White House said the next SI exchange is expected to take place by November. The summit itself was high on ceremony and short on breakthroughs...

Pope Leo XIV celebrated a historic outdoor Mass in Paris on Saturday, drawing a record-breaking crowd of around 800,000 faithful — one of the largest public Catholic gatherings France has seen in years. The American-born pope, whose birth name is Robert Francis Prevost, arrived down the Champs-Elysees in the popemobile before presiding over the Mass outside the Place de la Concorde. Worshippers filled the square and spilled along the Champs-Elysees, and the Archdiocese of Paris said the unexpectedly large turnout prompted police to open two overflow sites. A message to young people Delivering the Mass in French, the 71-year-old pontiff made a point of addressing the young people in the crowd, declaring: "You are today's church." In...

The Indian Air Force has begun the second edition of Exercise Tarang Shakti, its flagship multinational air exercise, at Air Force Station Jodhpur and adjoining air bases in Rajasthan. The drills opened on September 26, 2026, and will run through October 12. Eight foreign air forces — from Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Greece, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the United States — are taking part with air assets alongside the IAF. Another 32 countries are attending as observers, taking total participation to around 40 nations, with about 10 air chiefs or equivalent senior officers also expected. A first for the F-35 The headline attraction this year is the participation of US F-35 fighters. Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit...

The United States and China have agreed to reduce tariffs on $30 billion of goods, the White House announced on Friday, the first concrete economic outcome of this week's high-profile summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington. What was agreed "The two countries reached consensus on recommendations for more favorable tariff treatment for $30 billion of non-sensitive goods in each direction," the White House said in a statement. The tariff reductions would apply to US exports such as agricultural goods, wood and cosmetics, as well as US imports including small appliances, toys and decorations. A cordial but inconclusive summit Xi's three-day visit, his first to the US since 2015, ended on...

The Supreme Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to seal 16,726 unauthorised structures in Meerut and proceed with the demolition of illegal constructions, in one of the most sweeping enforcement orders of its kind in the state. The court's order A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan, hearing a contempt petition over non-compliance with earlier directives on illegal constructions, ordered authorities to take action against all 16,726 illegal structures identified in the city's Zone-A at the earliest. The number comes from a survey by 16 teams, which found that 12,907 of the structures are residential, 874 are residential-cum-non-residential, and 2,945 are non-residential. The town was divided into four zones —...

Russian and Ukrainian strikes killed at least seven people on Saturday as both sides intensified their long-range aerial campaigns, officials said — pushing a war now well into its fifth year toward another winter of attrition. Russian attacks killed four people across Ukraine on Saturday, officials said, as Moscow hammered the country with cruise and ballistic missiles, glide bombs and jet-powered drones while frontline progress has slowed, more than four and a half years after the full-scale invasion began. Deaths on both sides Two women in Zaporizhzhia died when they were trapped beneath the rubble of their destroyed home, the region's military administration said. A separate Russian attack on the city of Sumy killed two more...

A Congolese military aircraft carrying a senior defence delegation crashed in the country's southwest on Friday, killing all 14 people on board, the army said. Among the dead were two lieutenant generals — the head of the military court and the auditor general of the armed forces. The plane was returning to the capital, Kinshasa, from the southwestern city of Kikwit when it developed a technical fault, according to military officials. It attempted to land in Kenge, in Kwango province, where officials said there was no landing strip available. The aircraft came down in a residential plot, provincial deputy governor Remy Saki Bokinda said. Two senior officers identified Military spokesperson Major General Efomi Ekenge confirmed that...

Indonesia has extended its search operation after the death toll from a ferry that sank in the Java Sea almost two weeks ago jumped to 64, an official said on Saturday. Dozens of people are still missing. The Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 213 passengers and 30 crew when it lost contact with its shipping company after departing from Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya, on Java island, for Banjarmasin on Borneo. Yudhi Bramantyo, an official with Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency, told a news conference that of the 243 people on board, 172 had been accounted for — 108 survived, 64 died, and 71 were still being searched for. Rescuers recovered four bodies from the submerged ship on Saturday, while seven others were...

At least 11 people were killed and 30 others were wounded on Saturday when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a police checkpoint in Pakistan's Dera Ismail Khan district. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistan's provincial emergency service, Rescue 1122, said the blast occurred near Aman Mela in the Darazinda area of the district. Rescue teams from the nearby Darazinda station reached the scene within minutes and began relief operations, providing medical assistance to the wounded and transporting them to hospital. Spokesperson Bilal Faizi confirmed the casualty figures, and police said several of the injured were in critical condition. Dera Ismail Khan, in...

A powerful offshore nor'easter is battering the US East Coast from the Carolinas to New England, bringing high winds, dangerous coastal flooding and widespread travel disruption through the weekend and into next week. More than 30 million coastal residents were under wind advisories on Saturday, September 26, and a similar number faced coastal flooding advisories or warnings, according to the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. Forecasters warned of widespread major coastal flooding around Saturday's high tides, and the governors of New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency. Compounding tides The slow-moving storm is arriving as monthly tides peak during the full moon — one that coincides with the...

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...