Russian President Vladimir Putin praised India's increasing strength under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. He lauded the country's exponential growth in high-tech exports and 7% GDP growth rate. Putin stated that influential countries like India, with its 1.5 billion population, deserve greater representation in resolving global issues. He slammed Western countries for trying to cast India as an enemy previously. Putin added that the Indian leadership is self-directed and guided by national interests. He also highlighted the close ties between him and PM Modi, calling the Indian leader "a wise man". Putin's comments underscore Russia's strategic partnership with a rising India under Modi's leadership. (Image Courtesy: ANI)

On Day 12 of the Asian Games 2023, Indian shuttlers HS Prannoy and the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty entered the semifinals to assure medals in badminton. Earlier, Saurav Ghosal claimed a silver in men's squash singles, while Antim Panghal grabbed a bronze in her maiden appearance. Adding to the medal tally, the Indian women's compound archery team of Jyothi Vennam, Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur clinched the gold. The new wins on Thursday boosted India's medal count at the Hangzhou Asiad, as the country aims to breach the 100-medal mark for the first time in the multi-sport event. Indians have turned in strong performances across disciplines at Asia's biggest sporting competition. India is currently third behind China and Japan in the overall medal tally, as the country's athletes continue their strong push towards the 100-medal mark, which would be historic. Though China remains far ahead with 171 golds, India has surpassed powerhouses like South Korea in total medals won so far at the Hangzhou Asiad.

Centuries by Devon Conway (152*) and Finn Allen (123*) powered New Zealand to a crushing 9-wicket win over England in the opening match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Thursday. Chasing 337, Conway and Allen slammed unbeaten tons to guide the Kiwis home in just 41 overs. Their massive stand completely deflated England's hopes after defending champions were bowled out for 336. The clinical win reminds England of the 2019 final loss to New Zealand. It was also a repeat of the 1996 World Cup opener between the two sides. (Image Courtesy: @ICC on X)

Eight Canadian-Indian youngsters were arrested in Brampton, Canada, and charged with firearm offenses after police responded to gunshot reports. Sources confirmed to CNN News18 that all detained individuals were of Sikh descent. On Monday, police took 8 into custody, later recovering a 9mm Beretta gun from their residence. The operation began based on a tipoff from someone linked to a local gurudwara. Reports suggest the 19-26 year olds allegedly procured weapons to threaten the community. All were charged with "Possession of a Loaded Prohibited or Restricted Firearm." The arrests highlight authorities cracking down on alleged arms stockpiling by local Sikh youth in Ontario. [Representative Image: Global News]

A man was arrested for stealing money from an astrologer's house in Kanpur after he and associates posted an Instagram reel flaunting the stolen cash. The astrologer Tarun Sharma had reported the theft to police and CCTV footage caught the crime. Unable to trace them, police cracked the case after the thieves shot a video showing off the loot on a hotel bed and shared it online. By digitally tracking the video, police arrested one thief and recovered around ₹2 lakh cash and two phones from him. The brazen social media stunt by the thieves led to the robbery being solved as they gave away their identity through the Instagram reel flaunting the stolen money. [Image: Grab from the Instagram Reel]

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the makers of 'The Vaccine War' for showcasing the efforts of Indian scientists in developing an indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film depicts the struggles of Indian scientists against the pandemic. PM Modi said the movie made every Indian feel proud and highlighted the hard work done by the country's scientists. He commended the film for giving importance to India's scientists and science. The film's director expressed gratitude to the PM for appreciating the movie's focus on the contributions of women scientists in particular. Released on September 28, 'The Vaccine War' stars Anupam Kher, Nana Patekar and others.

In the opening match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl. England struggled, losing wickets regularly despite a 70-run partnership between Joe Root and Jos Buttler. Root's solid innings of 77 off 86 balls anchored England's batting. However, they faced challenges in the last 10 overs, managing to reach a total of 282/9 in 50 overs. The match disappointed fans due to the lack of crowd despite high ticket sales, leading to social media discussions and expressions of disappointment from players around the world.

Temperatures in London are forecast to reach a high of 24C this weekend, which is well above the October average of 13C in the UK. The warm weather is being caused by a blast of hot air drifting across Europe. Parts of the UK will be hotter than popular tourist destination Mykonos, Greece, which is only expected to reach 23C. Forecasters call the warm spell "unseasonable" and "unusual" for October. London can expect sunny conditions Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures remaining in the 20s into next week. The warm weather provides a reprieve from typical autumn conditions across the UK.

India has asked Canada to reduce the number of diplomats stationed in the country from 62 to 21, citing disproportionate representation and alleged interference in India's internal affairs. Arindham Bagchi said Canada has higher diplomatic presence and the two countries are discussing achieving parity. India justified the reduction by noting Canada has much higher diplomatic representation in the country. India's Ministry of External Affairs said discussions are ongoing to achieve parity in diplomatic presence after Canada's PM accused India of involvement in a terrorist killing. The two countries have been engaged in a diplomatic standoff since the accusations by Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor has sought a two-week extension before presenting himself to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with the Mahadev online betting app case. He was asked to appear before the agency on October 10. He has allegedly been a social media influencer for the betting platform and received payments for promotional work. The ED is investigating allegations of money laundering against the makers of the app. Kapoor has requested more time before responding to the summons issued by the probe agency.