October 2026

The India Meteorological Department says cyclonic storm Arnab will cross the Andhra Pradesh-Yanam coast as a very severe storm on October 28. Four states are on alert ahead of landfall, and the Kakinada coast is bracing for the storm.

Israel's parliamentary elections have produced no clear winner, with Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc leading after about half the votes were counted but still short of a majority. The Central Elections Committee estimates up to 480,000 ballots from troops, police and diplomats remain to be counted, worth some 12 Knesset seats.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil's presidential runoff with 51.8 percent of the vote, sealing a fourth term after the Supreme Court extended voting hours. Flavio Bolsonaro has refused to concede and is seeking to have the result annulled.

India's Defence Acquisition Council has cleared defence procurement proposals worth ₹2.12 lakh crore, with 82% of the value to be sourced from domestic industry. The approvals cover a wide range of military platforms, weapons and surveillance systems for the Army, Navy and Air Force. Reuters put the package at about $22 billion in military purchases approved in principle.

US Vice President JD Vance has contacted a top Iranian political and military official with a letter proposing a renewal of comprehensive peace negotiations, according to reports cited across outlets. The outreach was aimed at reviving stalled peace talks between Washington and Tehran.

Militants shot dead three people in Manipur, and residents carried the bodies to the chief minister's house in protest. The Times of India and The New Indian Express both reported three killed and the protest outside the chief minister's residence.

Attacks on Saudi Arabia's King Fahd airport in Dammam and the Shaybah oilfield killed an Indian national and injured three other Indians, Indian outlets reported. Two people were killed at the airport, where two other Indians were hurt. Saudi air defences intercepted a drone targeting the Shaybah oilfield, where an Indian was injured.

Jio Platforms' initial public offering, the first from Reliance in two decades, was fully subscribed within 100 minutes of opening on Tuesday, the fastest-ever subscribed offer in India. Bids crossed Rs 50,000 crore after the full subscription, and the issue is sized at Rs 30,213 crore, or $3.2 billion. The qualified institutional buyers' portion was fully subscribed at more than 2x demand within minutes.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Mumbai for a three-day visit to India, with talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and a trip to Jamnagar on the agenda. On arrival he said progress on a trade deal "will happen shortly." The visit is aimed at pushing to close the trade agreement, with trade and defence the focus of the Jaishankar talks.

The director general of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police said face-offs with Chinese troops are continuing at multiple locations along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh. The force chief's account described the standoffs as ongoing rather than resolved. Reports on the border build-up said India is pouring money and concrete into its frontier infrastructure with China.

Donald Trump waived key Russia-related sanctions and tariffs before they took effect under a new law, covering the purchase of Russian oil and gas. The waiver removes the immediate legal trigger that would have imposed the measures on buyers of Russian crude.

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to appear for questioning on October 23 in the CMRL-Exalogic money-laundering case. The agency pasted the summons outside his house after he moved the Supreme Court against a Kerala High Court direction to register an FIR in the alleged bribery case.

The Supreme Court held that the right to access and use the internet is a fundamental right of every individual, including children, and declined to impose an age-related ban on social media access. The bench said blanket bans on internet access for children would be disproportionate and that safety and freedom are not at odds. It instead suggested a 'child mode' for social media accounts as a protective measure.

The Supreme Court has ruled on the reservation status of Dalit Christians who convert, addressing whether converts can retain backward-class benefits. The ruling has opened a political fight over caste, faith and affirmative action, with the Bharatiya Janata Party saying it strikes at the opposition's "appeasement politics."

India rejected a report by a UN human rights expert that said Indian youth face retaliation, calling the claims hearsay. New Delhi asked the rapporteur to verify her findings before publishing them, with the government's response framed as 'verify before she vilifies'.

The Supreme Court has agreed to list a plea against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) decisions for hearing. The petition seeks Kumar's suspension from office and challenges the SIR of electoral rolls, raising doubts over the functioning of the Election Commission under his leadership. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called the poll panel chief a 'puppet' and listed five demands at a party meeting, including full disclosure of electoral roll changes.

The rupee fell 10 paise to 96.45 against the U.S. dollar ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision, and later weakened 50 paise to 96.83 per dollar, near a five-month low. The currency has declined 8% in 2026. The rupee ended at a five-month low of 96.78 despite the RBI's rate hike.

Yemen's Houthi rebels struck Aden airport in Yemen and two airports in Saudi Arabia, according to the rebel group's claims. Saudi Arabia said three people were killed in the attacks on its airports. The strikes mark an escalation in the conflict.

A five-storey building collapsed in Seemapuri, Delhi, leaving at least one person dead and seven injured. Rescue operations continued as a few people were suspected to be trapped under the debris.

The Supreme Court has agreed to list next week a plea seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from office and challenging decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The petition raises doubts over the functioning of the Election Commission of India under Kumar's leadership.

The Supreme Court quashed the detention of an accused in the Sambhal violence case under the National Security Act and imposed a cost of ₹10 lakh on the Uttar Pradesh government. The judgment was delivered by a bench including Justice Dipankar Datta, who dedicated it to his law clerk who had passed away. The Court held that a confession cannot be the sole ground to convict a person under the NSA.

A central demography panel has asked states to provide religion-wise data on vehicles, schools, and voters, according to reports. States have struggled to respond to the request, which seeks 15 years of such data.

A protest in Ujjain over the removal of a portion of the Shahi Masjid for a road-widening project escalated into stone-pelting at police, leading to 15 people being detained and seven booked. The Madhya Pradesh High Court disposed of Muslim sides' appeals after an agreement with the civic body. The Indian Express reported that the crowd was 'misguided' by AI-generated videos showing the entire mosque being razed, which fuelled rumours.

Lovely Professional University in Punjab suspended classes after violent protests over an alleged rape on campus. The unrest included masks, iron rods, and fire during a night of violence at the university. The university has blamed outsiders for the violence, while the incident has triggered a political slugfest in the state.