Hari Budha Magar, a Gurkha veteran and double above-knee amputee, was celebrated at the House of Lords for his historic achievement of summiting Mount Everest earlier this year. The ceremony, attended by dignitaries, military officers, and peers, recognized Hari's determination and marked the centenary of the UK-Nepal friendship treaty and the 70th anniversary of Everest's first ascent. Hari, injured by an IED in Afghanistan, climbed Everest to challenge disability perceptions. Funds he raised during the climb will support charities aiding his recovery, including The Gurkha Welfare Trust and Blesma. He expressed his journey's essence: "I lost everything, but slowly I regained my confidence through sports and adventure. I believed in myself in climbing mountains. That's how I started climbing mountains." He emphasized the importance of raising awareness about disability: "It is crucial to educate our families, community, and government so they can support us in the right way, enabling us to live as normal human beings and be good citizens", he added.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah publicly acknowledged that Hamas led the October 7 attack on Israel, praising the decision as right, wise, and courageous. In his first speech since the conflict between Hamas and Israel began, Nasrallah emphasized the operation's secrecy, attributing its success to Palestinian planning and implementation. Celebratory scenes in Beirut followed Nasrallah's remarks. The situation remains tense, with Israel considering Hezbollah a significant threat, although a full-scale conflict could have devastating consequences for both sides.          

Air India outlined plans to expand its fleet and network over the next six months, including inducting over 30 new aircraft, adding over 400 weekly flights and starting service to four new international destinations. Between now and March 2024, Air India aims to add 30 wide-body and narrow-body planes, including six A350s, four B777s and 20 A320 neos. This will enable 200+ new weekly flights domestically and internationally. Earlier this year, Air India placed a massive 470 aircraft order with Airbus and Boeing. CEO Campbell Wilson said modernizing the fleet and expanding the route network are top priorities amid rapidly growing travel demand.

UK retailer Marks & Spencer has apologized after an Instagram photo showing burning festive hats in colors resembling the Palestinian flag sparked outrage. The image was an outtake from their Christmas ad about doing away with unpopular holiday customs. M&S said the ad was filmed before the Israel-Gaza conflict and they intended to playfully show people not enjoying paper hats. They removed the post following backlash and apologized for any unintentional hurt caused. Social media users called the burning hat colors distasteful and too similar to the Palestinian flag. M&S stated the post was not meant to reference any flag.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has shown interest in acquiring a multi-billion dollar stake in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL), as per a Bloomberg report. His advisers have spoken to Indian government officials about moving the IPL into a holding company valued at as much as $30 billion, the report said.The talks were held when the crown prince visited India in September, the report said, adding that the kingdom proposed investing as much as $5 billion into the league and help lead an expansion into other countries. The BCCI is yet to officially respond.

Bollywood actress Preity Zinta is set to receive an honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University (BCU) in recognition of her contribution to the Indian film industry. The 48-year-old will be presented with the degree in India next year. As part of Diwali celebrations, she will also join West Midlands mayor Andy Street in Birmingham on November 4-5, her first UK appearance in over a decade. BCU's vice chancellor said he looked forward to exploring opportunities with Zinta, known for films like Veer Zara. Zinta said she was privileged to receive the honor given BCU's strengths aligning with her career.

Nearly 97,000 Indians were arrested for illegally crossing into the US between October 2022-September 2023, a five-fold rise in recent years per US Customs data. Most were from Punjab, Gujarat. 30,010 were caught at the Canada border, 41,770 at Mexico. Single adults make up the largest category. In fiscal year 2023, 84,000 Indian adults crossed into the US illegally. As many as 730 unaccompanied minors were among the arrested people. Senator Lankford said Indians take 4 flights, bus with cartels to border. (Representative Image)

Team India is all pumped up ahead of their South Africa match at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, next Sunday. After their big World Cup win over Sri Lanka on Thursday, Shreyas Iyer was awarded 'Fielder of the Match'. In a post-match team meeting, fielding coach T Dilip praised the "extraordinary" fielding performance and highlighted Jadeja's brilliant catching and throwing abilities, calling him a "silent sniper." Legend Sachin Tendulkar reminisced about the 2003 World Cup's 'I can, we can' fielding commitment chart when presenting the award. He lauded India's enjoyable cricket brand so far. In the match, India piled up 357 runs before bowling out Sri Lanka for just 55 runs to continue their undefeated run. Dilip and Tendulkar's comments stood out in recognizing Iyer's efforts.

The world's most advanced AI companies like Meta and Google will allow governments to test their latest AI technologies before public release, UK PM Sunak announced. This comes after a summit where Elon Musk warned AI poses a grave risk to humanity as "there will come a point where no job is needed". Sunak said the achievements will "tip the balance in favour of humanity." In a post-summit talk, Musk described AI as the "most disruptive force in history", saying it can eventually do any job so that no humans are needed, though people can work if desired. The initiatives taken at the two-day AI Safety Summit in London aim to slow uncontrolled AI advancements Musk sees rapidly displacing human roles.

Israel announced the death of 4 more soldiers fighting Hamas in Gaza, raising the military's death toll to 23 since ground operations began. The latest fatalities were an infantry company commander, two reservist master sergeants, and a tank driver sergeant major. A soldier and reservist were also seriously wounded. This comes as over 9,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes per Hamas-run health officials. The new Israeli casualties highlight the operation's deadly toll amid fierce clashes. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinkenreache Israel this morning on his second visit since October 7, this time to seek "concrete measures" minimizing harm to Gaza civilians.