A look at the headlines today:
1. 'Green' Dussehra at Red Fort today
The pyrotechnics will be missing when effigies of demon king Ravana, his son Meghnad and brother Kumbhkarana will be set afire at Delhi's famous Lav Kush Ramlila at Red Fort today. This departure from tradition is the organisers' way of minimising air pollution. To make up for the missing fireworks, the sound of crackers will be played on speakers. "We want to send out a message against pollution. Ravana will be set afire but the noise of crackers will only be heard through speakers," an organiser of Lav Kush Ramlila, Arjun Kumar, said on Monday. He said even the height of the effigies has been reduced from 125 feet last year to 60 feet. According to Kumar, approximately 15,000 to 20,000 strings of firecrackers are used in an effigy. The Lav Kush Ramlila Committee is one of the oldest in the national capital. It is known for featuring celebrities and politicians as key characters in the ten-day theatrical enactment of Hindu epic Ramayana.
2. Rajnath Singh to receive first Rafale at Paris today
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached Paris on a three-day visit, primarily to receive the first of 36 Rafale fighter jets today, when Dussehra coincides with the foundation day of the Indian Air Force. After receiving the aircraft, the defence minister will take a sortie in the aircraft from a French airbase in Paris to gain first-hand experience. The first four of 36 Rafale jets will come to India by May next year and the aircraft will significantly enhance the IAF's combat prowess, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria said on Friday.
3. Taliban frees three Indian hostages in exchange for release of 11 members
The Afghan Taliban said it has freed three Indian engineers held hostage for over a year in an exchange for securing the release of 11 of its members, including some high-ranking officials of the militant group, according to media reports on Monday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, two Taliban officials refused to say who the militant group exchanged the prisoners with and whether the freed Taliban members were being held by Afghan authorities or US forces in Afghanistan, The Express Tribune reported However, the Associated Press reported that the 11 militants were released from Afghan jails. The prisoner swap happened on Sunday, the paper quoted the Taliban officials as saying, but it did not disclose the location. Seven Indian engineers working for a power plant in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan Province were kidnapped in May 2018.
4. Trump says will 'obliterate' Turkey's economy if it acts 'off limits'
US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened NATO ally Turkey with totally obliterating its economy if it went "off limits" on Syria, hours after the White House announced the withdrawal of the US troops from Syria's northern border. The US' move effectively abandons the Kurds, who were America's main ally in the fight against the ISIS. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that the long-threatened offensive against separatists Kurdish militia could come any time. "As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I've done before!)," Trump tweeted on Monday.
5. Air Force conducts full dress rehearsal ahead of 87th IAF Day
The Indian Air Force on Sunday conducted a full dress rehearsal, including air drills of both vintage aircraft and modern fleet, at its Hindon base for the 87th IAF Day on October 8. The air display will commence with flag-bearing sky divers of the famous Akash Ganga team dropping out of an AN-32 aircraft in their colourful canopies, an Air Force official said. The flypast would include vintage and modern transport aircraft and frontline fighters, the official added. The ceremony will conclude with a spell-binding aerobatic display. Every year, the Air Force Day is celebrated at Hindon base in presence of IAF chief and senior officials of the three armed forces. The IAF was founded on October 8, 1932, and the force has participated in several crucial wars and landmark missions.
6. UK PM set to suspend parliament from today
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson intends to ask for parliament to be suspended from October 8 to 14, his Downing Street office said Wednesday, after a previous attempt was ruled unlawful. "These timings would mean parliament is prorogued for the shortest time possible to enable all the necessary logistical preparations" for Queen Elizabeth II to outline the government's new legislative programme, it said in a statement. Johnson previously advised the monarch to suspend, or prorogue, parliament from September 10 to October 14. Britain's highest court quashed the prorogation, and parliament resumed on September 25. The move would mean parliament is suspended after the close of business on Tuesday and then miss just two sitting days, on October 9 and 10. Johnson, who took office in July, needs a new suspension if he is to outline his legislative programme for the next session of parliament.
7. What fate awaits the Modi-Xi summit?
India and China are expected to make a formal announcement of the dates for the Modi-Xi summit—at a time the relationships between the countries are frosty at best—at Mamallapuram today, The Hindustan Times reported. A statement by Chinese ambassador to Islamabad, Yao Jing, that the country will stand by Pakistan for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute had irritated India. “We are also working for Kashmiris to help them get their fundamental rights and justice. There should be a justified solution to the issue of Kashmir and China will stand by Pakistan for regional peace and stability,” he said, according to Pakistani daily. Yao’s statement is also seen by Delhi as interfering with India’s internal matter and not keeping in spirit with the proposed visit by Xi, The Indian Express reported. India has, according to the report, raised strong objections.
8. Pak PM Imran set to arrive in China today
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will arrive today on a two-day visit to China during which he would meet the country's top leadership, including President Xi Jinping, and discuss issues of regional and bilateral significance. Khan's visit to China, third since he took over as Prime Minister in August last year, acquires significance as it comes days ahead of President Xi's planned high-profile visit to India to take part in the 2nd informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Mamallapuram near Chennai next week. Prime Minister Khan is due to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday, even though there has been no official announcement here yet on his or Xi's visit to India. China is currently observing a week-long shutdown beginning on October 1 as part of the national day holidays to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Khan will have separate meetings with President Xi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to discuss issues of regional and bilateral significance, Pakistan state-run APP news agency reported on Sunday.
9. Sri Lanka routs top-ranked Pakistan to claim T20I series win; World Women's Boxing championship
T20I: Sri Lanka's inexperienced team earned another emphatic 35-run victory over top-ranked Pakistan in the second Twenty20 on Monday for an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, playing in only his second Twenty20, smashed 77 off 48 balls in Sri Lanka's strong total of 182-6 after captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and opted to bat. Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga (3-38) then took three wickets in four balls and Isuru Udana provided the perfect finish by grabbing 4-25 as Pakistan was bowled out for 147 in 19 overs. Ten of Sri Lanka's top players pulled out of the tour due to security concerns, including Twenty20 captain Lasith Malinga, but Sri Lanka's second string surprised cricket pundits by outplaying the No. 1-ranked team in front of its home fans. Imad Wasim top scored with 47 off 29 balls but his partnership of 75 with Asif Ali (29) was not enough to stop Sri Lanka from registering another convincing win.
Women's Boxing: India's Manju Rani (48kg) on Monday advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Women's Boxing Championships after a comprehensive victory in the last-16 stage. The sixth-seeded Indian prevailed 5-0 over Venezuela's Rojas Tayonis Cedeno to stand just one win away from securing a medal in her debut at the big event. However, next up for her is a tough one in last edition's bronze-medallist and top seed Kim Hyang Mi of South Korea. The two will clash on October 10. Clean punches were few and far in Rani's clash against Cedeno but the Indian was the one fetching most of them. Both the boxers stuck to a defensive approach but Rani was the more accurate of the two.
