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• Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off a parade marking 70 years of Communist rule in China, as pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong planned to upset the celebrations with a series of potentially violent protests.


• The Oct. 1 National Day events in Beijing include a speech from Xi, as well as a military parade past Tiananmen Square expected to show off China's most advanced weaponry, including ballistic missiles and warplanes.

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• President Xi Jinping declared that "no force" can shake the Chinese nation as he oversaw a massive military celebration of 70 years of Communist Party rule, shadowed by a day of protest in seething Hong Kong that threatened to steal the spotlight.


• Standing on the Tiananmen Rostrum where Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, Xi extolled the "Chinese dream" of national rejuvenation his grand vision of restoring the country to perceived past glory.

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• Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that US President Donald Trump asked him to help gather information for an inquiry into Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.


• The New York Times, citing two unidentified US officials, earlier reported the request to assist in the investigation which aims to discredit the Russia probe -- was made during a recent telephone call between Trump and Morrison.

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• Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson was trying mightily Monday to showcase his shiny new agenda for the people, but his Conservative Party's annual conference has been overshadowed by accusations about how he treats women.


• The latest is a claim by Times columnist that Johnson groped her thigh - "high up" - at a magazine lunch in 1999.

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• The United States slapped fresh sanctions on a businessman tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as to a disinformation operation accused of conspiring to manipulate the 2018 midterm elections.


• The financial sanctions, which target Russian financier Evgeny Prigozhin, some luxury assets and members of the so-called Internet Research Agency, are the first the US Treasury has taken under an executive order on election interference signed last year President Donald Trump.

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• A US Congressional sub-committee said it will hold a hearing on the human rights situation in South Asia with focus on Kashmir on October 22.


• Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Wells, who oversees all State Department policy towards South Asia will testify at the hearing, Congressman Brad Sherman, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Asia, said.


• "The hearing will focus on the Kashmir Valley, where many political activists have been arrested and daily life, the internet, and telephone communications have been interrupted," Mr. Sherman said in a statement.

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• Questioning bids to "hyphenate" India with Pakistan following the scrapping of Article 370, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said it is being done by those who are obsessed with the post-August 5 developments in Jammu and Kashmir.


• "You are really being very semantic about it. How do you hyphenate a country, which is one-eighth of your economic size which is reputationally your exact opposite?" Mr. Jaishankar told a group of Indian reporters, virtually taking exceptions to India and Pakistan being talked of in the same breath.

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• Only 200-250 people are under preventive detention in Jammu and Kashmir, and they are in five-star facilities, BJP leader Ram Madhav said, speaking at an event on the government's decision to end special status to the state under Article 370 and the security restrictions that followed.


• Ram Madhav said initially, "around 2,000 to 2,500" people were placed under preventive detention in Jammu and Kashmir. "Today in Jammu and Kashmir only 200-250 people are under preventive detention in view of the law and order.

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• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought to calm down a Twitter user who said "people are bound to consume poison" as the aftershocks of the severe funds crunch at Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank hit them.


• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on September 23 imposed restrictions on PMC Bank citing "major financial irregularities, failure of internal control and systems", among other red flags.


• It initially fixed the withdrawal limit per customer at Rs. 1,000, which was later raised to Rs. 10,000.

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• The office of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh released a video clip of him in which he is seen singing the anthem of INS Vikramaditya onboard the aircraft carrier along with crew of the ship.


• The 2:19 minutes-long clip was posted on the Twitter handle of the Defence Minister's office.


• Dressed in a dark outfit, Rajnath Singh can be seen humming the anthem "Nau Senake samman mein, uske garima aur shaan mein" in a packed house on board the INS Vikramaditya.

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• Kerala and Tamil Nadu have retained their places as the best states in terms of school education in the country.


• The revelation came in the Niti Aayog’s School Education Quality Index (SEQI) for the year 2016-17 which was released recently.


• According to the SEQI report, Kerala topped the list of large states in India in the Overall Performance and Rank in school education for the year 2016-17 with a total evaluation point of 82.2% while Tamil Nadu retained the second spot with 73.4% points.

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• There should be degree or diploma courses in skill development as mere certification would not work, said Union Power Minister R.K. Singh.


• Addressing a conference of state Skill Development Ministers, he said the country needed to move from the primary sector to the tertiary sector as "we are lagging the developed countries".


• Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Skill Development Mahendra Nath Pandey said skill development was the prime focus of the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a sub-committee to give impetus to the sector.

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• Amid a debate around recent hike in M.Tech programme' fees at Indian Institutes of Technology, a former top government official said their courses need to be attuned continuously with new and emerging technologies and with industry needs.


• R Chandrashekhar, who was conferred Distinguished Alumnus award of IIT Bombay in 2010, backed the fee increase, saying it would also exert pressure on the IITs to make their programmes more market- and research-orientated to keep abreast with the changing times.

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• Yes Bank said it has received the go-ahead from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for its capital raising plans, even as its share price touched a 10-year low amidst concerns about its exposure to a large housing finance company.


• "The Bank is pleased to inform you that it has received acknowledgement from the Reserve Bank of India to go ahead with the proposed increase in its authorised share capital," it said in a regulatory filing on Monday, adding that it will now seek necessary shareholders' consent and proceed expeditiously with its capital raise.

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• Norwegian hurdler Karsten Warholm donned a Viking-style horned helmet accessorised with an Arab man’s headband to celebrate winning in 47.42 seconds.


• Karsten Warholm remains the man to beat in the 400-meter hurdles ahead of next year’s Olympics after defending his world track championship title on September 30, while Qatar celebrated the host nation’s first medal.

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• Mixed relay team finishes seventh; Anjali, Archana disappoint.


• She had been promising a big one for the last few years. Javelin thrower Annu Rani finally got her act together on the big stage, with a 62.43m effort that broke her National record and carried her to the final of the World championships.

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• The University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman said the Centre is in talks with global agencies to modify their parameters so that efforts of Indian universities in providing education to marginalised classes do not go unnoticed when they prepare their annual rankings for education institutions.


• UGC chairman D P Singh said global ranking agencies largely rely on ''global participation'' parameters, something which is lacking in Indian universities.


• He was replying when asked about the dismal performance of Indian universities in the global rankings announced recently.

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• Sanjay Kapoor has been part of films like Sirf Tum, Luck By Chance and the recently released The Zoya Factor.


• He was recently awarded at the House of Common Parliament of the United Kingdom, for being the Most Inspiring Indian Bollywood Actor.


• The actor said, “Every actor feels great while getting an award and when you receive awards after 25 years of being around, it’s reassuring that people still love you and like your work.

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• Scientist Thanu Padmanabhan (Physicist) received 2019 M P Birla Memorial Award for his contributions in the field of cosmology.


• The award was given in M P Birla Planetarium in Kolkata, West Bengal. The award that comprises a citation, a trophy and a cheque for Rs 2,51,000 was given by H V Lodha, Chairman of Madhav Prasad(MP) Birla Group.

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• Odisha Governor and Chancellor of Universities, Ganeshi Lal on Monday appointed Govind J Chakrapani and Hari Hara Hota as Vice Chancellors of Berhampur University and Shri Jagannath Sanskrit Vishvavidyalaya, Puri respectively.


• The two professors were appointed as VCs of two universities for a period of three years with effect from the date they assume office or until further orders, whichever is earlier, an official release said.

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• The Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) has sought a meeting with Jai Bhagwan Bhoria, the Administrator in-charge of the crisis-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank Ltd in a bid to find a way out of the issues that has hit the bank's operations.


• "We have already issued letters requesting an appointment with the Administrator in charge of the Bank to put forth the true and correct picture as also to discuss a strategy hereby the interest of all stakeholders and in particular PMC Bank and its Depositors is protected," HDIL said in a statement to the stock exchanges.

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• Book titled “Lal Bahadur Shastri: Politics and Beyond” authored by political analyst Sandeep Shastri commemorating Late Shashtri’s 113th birth anniversary on October 2, 2019 is set to be released.


• It is published by Rupa Publications. It depicts the early influences, political associations and historical decisions of Lal Bahadur Shastri, India’s second prime minister.