Indian Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni and Mrs Nandita Parvathaneni took part in Ganeshotsav 2023 in Berlin, organized by Marathi Mitra Berlin e.V in collaboration with other groups. The 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival brought together over 400 members of the Indian community in Berlin for cultural festivities, art and craft programs. The grand finale will be a procession on September 30. The Parvathanenis' participation highlights the festival's importance in promoting Indian culture abroad. Ganeshotsav provided a platform for Indians in Berlin from diverse backgrounds to come together and celebrate their heritage. The colorful celebrations also underlined India's soft power and civilizational links with Europe.

The Seattle Community Police Commission has recommended police chief Adrian Diaz to suspend officer Daniel Auderer without pay over his comments joking about and downplaying the death of Indian student Jaahnavi Kandula. Auderer was heard laughing and suggesting the department "write a check" for $11,000 for Kandula's life after she was fatally hit by a speeding cop car. The commission termed Auderer's remarks "horrifying" and said it raises concerns over his attitude and ability to investigate cases without bias. Auderer claims his comments were taken out of context. The incident has damaged community relations built over years, said officer Mark Mullens. Kandula, 23, from Andhra Pradesh died in January when a cop car struck her while speeding at 119kmph. She was pursuing a master's degree in the US.

Three Indian wushu players from Arunachal Pradesh - Nyeman Wangsu, Onilu Tega and Mepung Lamgu - have been denied entry to China for the Asian Games 2023. The rest of the 7-member Indian team flew to Hangzhou after transiting in Hong Kong. But the three players were not allowed to board the flight to China due to lack of proper clearance, and were brought back to New Delhi. Indian officials have taken up the matter with the Asian Games organisers and the Olympic Council of Asia. Chef de Mission Bhupinder Singh Bajwa said he is in talks with OCA to resolve the issue and hopes the players can fly out by evening. The players were earlier issued stapled visas instead of stamped ones for the University Games in July, leading to India's withdrawal from the event.

Shreyas Iyer returns after injury and will aim to prove match fitness. R Ashwin and Washington Sundar are in contention for the second spinner spot alongside Axar Patel. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma also need time in the middle. With Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav being rested for the first two ODIs, India have chances to experiment but also balance workload. Head coach Rahul Dravid has to strike the right balance between trying combinations and managing player workload ahead of the World Cup. The series will help cement spots and roles before the marquee tournament.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to re-establish communication with Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander and Pragyan rover on Friday, September 22. Vikram and Pragyan had entered sleep mode for the lunar night after completing a successful hop experiment. The two-week lunar night meant no sunlight to power the solar-dependent systems. However, ISRO kept the lander's receivers active for data collection. Now with the lunar day starting, ISRO aims to wake up the spacecrafts and restart communications. The Chandrayaan-3 mission components rely on solar panels for energy. The earlier 14-day lunar day was their primary operational phase which allowed functioning with steady sunlight. But the lunar night posed a challenge with temperatures dropping to minus 180 degrees Celsius.

Canadian singer AP Dhillon reacted to the cancellation of Shubh's India tour amid controversy by issuing a statement appealing to "spread love not hate". Dhillon said he avoids social media knowing it's a "lost cause" and called out political groups for using artists to further their agenda. "Let’s start thinking for ourselves and not let hateful influences program our beliefs. We are ALL one. Let’s not let man-made social constructs divide us," he stated. Shubh's tour was cancelled after backlash over his earlier post of a distorted India map. Dhillon requested people to focus on unity and not get influenced by hate.

Expressing disappointment over cancellation of his India tour, Canada-based Punjabi singer Shubh said he was "extremely disheartened", though he was highly enthusiastic to perform in his home country. BookMyShow cancelled Shubh's tour after he shared a distorted map of India on Instagram omitting certain regions, which led to backlash and boycott calls. Shubh had posted the map with words "Pray for Punjab". He later clarified his sole intent was to pray for Punjab after reports of electricity and internet shutdowns. "There was no other thought behind it, and I definitely didn't intend to hurt anyone's sentiments," the singer stated in an Instagram post denying any wrongdoing. Read his full statement on his Instagram page @shubhworldwide

The landmark Women's Reservation Bill, titled 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam', was unanimously passed in Parliament on Thursday, providing 33% reservation for women. After passage in Rajya Sabha, women MPs celebrated by chanting 'Modi, Modi' and thanking PM Modi with bouquets. Earlier the bill passed Lok Sabha with huge majority. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal gave a brief reply saying bill will be implemented after due process. Later, women MPs met at BJP headquarters and continued celebrating the historic passage by raising 'Modi, Modi' chants and crediting PM Modi's leadership for this milestone.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau reiterated allegations that Indian agents were involved in separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing in Canada. During a press conference at the UN in New York on Thursday, Trudeau claimed "credible reasons" for the charges but provided no evidence, despite India firmly denying any role. He also called on India to ensure full transparency and accountability on the matter. However, Trudeau failed to present any concrete proof corroborating his accusations, merely repeating the charges. India confirmed on Thursday that Canadian citizens will not get Indian visas even if applying from other countries after it suspended services in Canada.

The women's reservation bill, providing 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, unanimously sailed through Rajya Sabha, making history after decades of roadblocks. It earlier cleared Lok Sabha with the support of 454 MPs vs. just 2 opposed. PM Modi, present for voting, hailed the "successful debates" and said the spirit will give birth to new self-esteem among Indians. Like in Lok Sabha, the big Rajya Sabha debate was over the timeline of implementation only after delimitation, delaying it by years. The INDIA bloc wants immediate rollout. With passage in both houses, the historic bill now awaits the President's signature to become law. [photo: @narendramodi on X]