A digital rights unit reported evidence that governments have deployed spyware requiring no user interaction by serving targets malicious online advertisements. According to the report, dozens of devices belonging to staff at the news organisation Al Jazeera were compromised after being shown such ads, highlighting how advertising systems can be abused for surveillance.

A dispute over trustee appointments and the running of Tata Trusts came before the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner, with the matter involving Mehli Mistry adjourned to November 5. Tata Trusts reportedly questioned his standing to challenge trustee changes, arguing his tenure has lapsed. Mistry, described as a close confidant of Ratan Tata, left three trusts last October after trustees opposed his reappointment.

Police reported multiple victims after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Oregon in the western United States. Accounts of the toll vary, with reports citing at least five dead in one case and four, including three children and one adult, in others. Officers said the attacker was shot inside the school and is dead.

A Saudi-led coalition said Houthi forces have targeted Riyadh's airport around 20 times this month, part of a week of missile and drone launches at Saudi sites after the kingdom backed government troops in Yemen's renewed war. Yemeni forces claimed 1,250 operations in a day killing over 700 Houthis, while Houthis struck Aden's presidential palace.

A minibus struck a stationary train close to the Channel Tunnel entrance in France on Thursday evening, authorities said. The driver and 18 passengers were injured in the collision. Reports describe the vehicle as a minibus or bus, with no further details yet given on the severity of injuries or the cause.

A visa application centre run by VFS Global has opened in Guwahati, located in the Inter-State Bus Terminal complex at Khanapara. Described as the first such facility in the northeast, it will serve applicants from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said it would reduce travel difficulties for residents.

The Supreme Court upheld a Bombay High Court ruling quashing Yes Bank's write-down of Additional Tier 1 bonds worth Rs 8,415 crore during its 2020 rescue, holding the administrator lacked authority to cancel instruments outside the reconstruction scheme. Bondholders stand to recover the sum plus interest. Yes Bank shares fell over 14% even as markets rose.

Mumbai Police have told actor Imran Khan, a US citizen holding an Overseas Citizen of India card, to leave the country by October 28 after he joined a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The move followed a complaint by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya. Khan's lawyer says OCI holders are not barred from demonstrating, and political reactions are divided.

Meta has released Muse Spark Open, an open-weight AI model it describes as the most capable US open-weight model so far, and says it is the first of its class able to run locally on two Apple M5 Ultra Mac Studios using the MLX framework. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and new Apple CEO John Ternus publicly praised the collaboration.

Bluesky has broadened Attie, its experimental AI tool first introduced as a way to generate custom feeds, so users can now create small interactive projects such as games, polls, quizzes, dashboards and websites from a text prompt and share them. Bluesky CEO Toni Schneider described the idea as vibe coding for communities.

According to reports, Washington is weighing the use of the large conventional weapon known as the "mother of all bombs" in strikes on Iran. The munition has not previously been used against Iran, and its deployment would represent a sharp escalation, though doubts persist over whether it would achieve the strategic objectives sought.

The Delhi High Court refused to restrain Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke from holding a 'Tiranga march' at Central Park in Connaught Place on October 16, asking police to regulate it. Police reportedly said only 11 flag-bearers would be allowed, and the park was shut for two days. Dipke alleged surveillance of his home and accused Narendra Modi of shielding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Batter Punam Raut, 37, has ended her international career after representing India between 2009 and 2021 across four Tests, 73 ODIs and 35 T20Is. She featured in three ODI World Cups, including the 2017 campaign, and four T20 World Cups, and once shared a 320-run opening partnership with Deepti Sharma in an ODI.

Authorities are mounting a large security operation in central Delhi before a proposed march by the Cockroach Janta Party, with reports of roughly 6,000 police personnel, 200 CAPF companies and restrictions on 21 roads. Central Park at Connaught Place will stay shut. Police have de-notified Jantar Mantar as a protest site, while the High Court agreed to hear a plea against the party's Tricolour call.

Volvo says it will build a new partially automated, point-to-point driving system on Nvidia's autonomous driving technology, targeting a launch by 2030. Described as Level 2++, the system is said to manage complex city driving such as traffic lights, stop signs and unprotected turns. The move widens a years-long tie-up extending beyond Volvo's battery electric models.

The Kerala High Court has suspended the four-year prison sentence handed down by a Vigilance court to former Director General of Police Tomin J Thachankary in a disproportionate assets case, according to reports published Thursday.

The parents of Ankita Bhandari, along with Congress MPs, were reportedly detained during a protest at India Gate, with the family said to have been picked up around 4am. The family sought that BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam not be made a governor pending an inquiry into his alleged role. Rahul Gandhi accused the government of suppressing victims' voices.

A 19-year-old identified as Alexandros Paporakis was arrested after allegedly driving to a Hindu temple near Chicago and trying to open fire, with his rifle reportedly jamming. Colleagues alerted police after he messaged about his intentions. Investigators reportedly found a manifesto espousing white supremacist views and derogatory language about Indians, prompting safety worries among Hindu groups.

Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla were sentenced to death for the killing of her husband Saurabh Rajput, a case the court called exceptionally cruel. Reports say both were distressed on their first night after sentencing, skipping food. Her 10-month-old daughter Radha has lived with her in Meerut district jail, while she seeks to meet her elder daughter, Pihu.

Divya Mittal, a former IAS officer, has announced a new political outfit, Jan Neeti Bharat Party, and plans to contest Uttar Pradesh's 2027 assembly elections. In a video shared on social media, she set out three main promises, stressing greater citizen involvement in policymaking. She left the civil service after about 13 years, echoing a wider trend of bureaucrats turning to politics.

The Supreme Court has held that a person who converts from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim Backward Class Muslim status, saying social standing before conversion does not by itself carry over as an entitlement to affirmative action. One report notes the court earlier stated on March 24 that Scheduled Caste status is available only to Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs.

The Supreme Court has held that people from OBC or Dalit backgrounds who convert to another religion cannot claim reservation benefits, according to one report, observing that social backwardness cannot be carried forward after conversion.

Hearing opposition petitions challenging the SIR exercise, the Chief Justice of India remarked that the judiciary is not detached from reality and cannot be pressured, according to one report. The comment came as the court considered the legal challenge to the electoral roll revision process.

The Election Commission has directed a special summary revision of electoral rolls across 17 states to update voter lists. The exercise is distinct from the Special Intensive Revision, which has drawn political criticism and legal challenges.

The Supreme Court has ordered that no coercive action be taken against a woman journalist facing a complaint from a Delhi ACP alleging casteist remarks. According to the report, the journalist had accused the same officer of sexual harassment. The order offers her interim protection while the dispute between the two sides continues.

The Delhi High Court held on Friday that a woman may be charged with gang rape even if she did not personally carry out the act of rape, according to the report.

Piyush Goyal said the initial tranche of a trade agreement between India and the United States has been concluded, with legal drafting now underway. He also indicated that a free trade agreement with the European Union is expected to be signed in December and to take effect around February or March next year.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio is reported to be travelling to India next week, with an arrival in Mumbai expected on October 18. According to one report, the agenda includes energy cooperation, commercial investment and regional issues.

India has responded to the thwarting of what was described as an attempted mass shooting targeting a Hindu temple in Palatine, Illinois, with its statement pointing to racist hostility and anti-India hatred, according to one report.

An Indian envoy dismissed as unacceptable interference remarks by US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, who had voiced concern about reports that around 13 crore names were struck from India's electoral rolls during the SIR exercise, according to one report.

Narendra Modi launched development projects worth about Rs 3,350 crore in Ladakh, saying the initiatives would carry the union territory to new levels of growth, according to one report.

A reported defence package of about Rs 4,000 crore covers a satellite for the Indian Air Force and torpedoes for the Navy, according to one report. Further details of the programmes, timelines or suppliers were not specified in the available information.

India's hunger score has improved over the last twenty years, reflecting gains in tackling under-nutrition, but the progress is described as uneven. Child wasting, a measure of low weight relative to height among young children, remains at a high level despite the overall improvement.

Following its ₹52,878 crore purchase of a 60.72% holding in IDBI Bank, Fairfax Financial intends to move its stakes in IIFL Capital Services and Digit under the lender, assembling a group spanning banking, insurance, investment banking and wealth management. Reports suggest Blackstone is weighing a stake in IIFL Finance, while MUFG studies majority control of Shriram Finance.

According to one report, Reliance Industries could surpass the Tata group as India's most valuable business conglomerate once its telecom arm Jio is listed on the stock market, a move expected to significantly add to the group's overall market valuation.

Telecom authorities plan to introduce Calling Name Presentation, which will show a caller's name alongside their number on the recipient's handset. The rollout is expected to start on 4G networks before widening to other technologies. Subscribers who use the calling line identification restriction service can opt out, intended to balance caller transparency with privacy concerns.

Central bank figures show India's current account deficit narrowed modestly to $5.2 billion in August, while the overall balance of payments recorded a surplus of $45.4 billion. The surplus was linked to stronger foreign currency inflows, particularly non-resident Indian deposits. Net foreign direct investment inflows also improved, reaching $3.3 billion for the month.

A Supreme Court ruling has dealt a significant setback to Yes Bank's capital position, according to one report. Further details of the judgment and the size of the impact on the lender's capital were not specified in the available information.

A school roof gave way in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 34 children and a teacher, according to a report. The collapse is among the deadliest recent incidents involving a school building in the region.

With the initial cohort of Agniveers reaching the end of their tenure, the Army, Navy and Air Force have put forward suggestions to refine the recruitment scheme, drawing on four years of implementation. The services are reportedly trying to reconcile the aim of a younger force with the need for operational experience and continuity.

The Centre has floated Bharat Stage VII emission standards for passenger cars, proposed to take effect from April 1, 2029. The draft widens pollution rules beyond tailpipe output to cover particles from brakes and tyres, battery durability requirements, and real-world tracking of fuel use and emissions.

The CBI has filed a further charge sheet in the NEET paper leak case, naming Sheshrav Bajrang Suryawanshi, a resident of Nanded, as an accused. The agency's final investigation report also incorporates forensic findings, according to one report.

Kumar Mangalam Birla has outlined plans for the Aditya Birla Group to invest as much as $30 billion across its businesses in India and abroad over the coming two to three years, including an expansion of its operations in the United States. He framed the push around a need to keep growing.

The Supreme Court has agreed to issue directions on preventive measures to be adopted by the Centre and other stakeholders to curb the circulation of child sexual exploitative and abuse material online, according to one report.

According to a single report, the White House has been drawing up plans that could involve deploying the weapon nicknamed the "mother of all bombs" against Iran. The claim has not been corroborated by other outlets, and no further details on timing or targets were given in the report.