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• U.S. President Donald Trump rejected criticism from fellow Republicans over his decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria, and dismissed worries that captured Islamic State fighters might escape in the chaos of a Turkish attack.


• Trump's abrupt move to remove 50 U.S. troops out of northern Syria, which has allowed Turkey to attack America's Kurdish allies unimpeded, has drawn sharp fire from many Republican lawmakers who are normally his strong supporters.

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• Southwest Airlines Co said it found cracks on two Boeing 737 NG airplanes and removed them from service after US regulators last week ordered urgent inspections.


• The US Federal Aviation Administration last week told aircraft operators to inspect 165 Boeing 737 NG airliners for structural cracks within seven days after the issue was found on a small number of planes.


• Southwest, which did not find any issues in the "vast majority" of the planes, said it "removed the two aircraft from our operation and reported the findings to Boeing and the FAA."

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• Tunisia's established Islamist-inspired party Ennahdha came out on top in legislative polls, winning 52 of the 217 seats, preliminary results showed.


• The newcomer Qalb Tounes party of business tycoon and presidential candidate Nabil Karoui, who was also freed from jail, was in second place with 38 seats.

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• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told President Donald Trump in a phone call of his "disappointment" at US tariffs recently announced against EU exports and pressed for them to be scrapped, his office said.


• "The Prime Minister underlined his disappointment at the US announcement of tariffs against UK and EU exports in the Airbus-Boeing dispute," a Downing Street spokeswoman said in a statement detailing the conversation.

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• Jammu and Kashmir reopens to tourists from, more than two months after the government had asked tourists and pilgrims to leave the state before it made the big announcement of ending the special status for Jammu and Kashmir.


• Jammu and Kashmir Governor asked for the travel advisory to be lifted from today.


• Thousands of tourists, pilgrims, workers, and students from other states had to leave Jammu and Kashmir in early August after authorities issued a security alert over possible terrorist attacks.

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• The presence of Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray's son Tejas at an election rally on Wednesday prompted speculation of his political moves, but was promptly dismissed by his father.


• The Sena president, in his campaign speech, said Tejas, younger sibling of party leader Aaditya Thackeray, had come on the stage merely to watch the rally, held at Sangamner in Ahmednagar district.

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• Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday said he was happy that Rafale jets will finally come to India but he still wanted to know why just 36 instead of 126 were being bought by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.


• He also said that the party will continue to raise questions about the deal including the price of the fighter jet.


• "We are happy that Rafale aircraft will finally begin arriving. When the country needed 126 jets, Modiji reduced the number to just 36. Neither I know nor the country knows the reason behind it. However, it is great that the jets will begin arriving soon," Mr. Singh said.

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• Jammu and Kashmir was once again raised by Pakistan during a discussion with its all-weather ally China.


• A joint statement released after Prime Minister Imran Khan's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Beijing, declared that the "Kashmir issue is a dispute left from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter".


• China, the statement read, is "paying close attention to the current situation in Jammu & Kashmir".

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• The renowned B-School Indian Institute of Management (IIM-Bangalore) in this tech hub will impart skills to officials for implementing various government schemes at district, state and national levels, a top official said.


• "We have signed a contract with the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to introduce a two-year Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship Programme for skilling the officials to implement the various government schemes," IIM Bangalore Director G. Raghuram said in a statement here.

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• Today is the last date for submission of online application forms for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE main) for admission to undergraduate engineering courses at NITs, IIITs, other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTI), Institutions funded by participating State Governments and others.


• The exam will be held from January 6 to January 11. National Testing Agency will conduct the exam. Candidates who have not registered for the exam can fill and submit the online registration forms available online at jeemain.nic.in. The application fees can, however, be paid till October 11.

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• Lakshmi Vilas Bank, which is under the prompt corrective action (PCA) norms of the Reserve Bank of India, would have received a boost if the proposed merger with Indiabulls Housing Finance would have gone through.


• However, with the RBI rejecting the proposal on Wednesday, the lender would have to rework its strategy for capital-raising.

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• The RBI on Wednesday rejected the proposed amalgamation of lndiabulls Housing Finance Ltd and lndiabulls Commercial Credit Ltd with Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB).


• The action comes less than a fortnight after the RBI put LVB under the prompt corrective action framework citing its high net non-performing assets, insufficient capital to risk-weighted assets ratio and common equity tier-I capital, and negative return on assets for two consecutive years.

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• Sprinter Nirmala Sheoran has been banned for four years for doping and stripped of two titles from 2017 Asian Championships.


• Athletics Integrity Unit, which manages track and field doping cases, says Nirmala tested positive for the steroids drostanolone and metenolone at a competition in India in June 2018. The 24-year-old's ban was backdated to take effect on June 29, 2018.

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• Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 13 runs in the third and final T20I on Wednesday to complete a 3-0 series whitewash.


• This is the first time that Sri Lanka registered a whitewash in a three-match T20I series. Sri Lanka leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was named Man of the Series for taking eight wickets across the three matches.

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• The Swedish Academy will crown two Nobel literature laureates, after postponing last year's prize over a sexual harassment scandal.


• Experts say the academy will seek to avoid ruffling any feathers with this year's choices as it bids to move on from the scandal that saw the husband of one of its members jailed for rape.


• Ahead of the announcement at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT), when it will reveal one winner for 2018 and one for 2019, some names creating a buzz are poet Anne Carson and novelist Margaret Atwood, both of Canada, as well as Kenyan writer Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, Polish writer and activist Olga Tokarczuk, and French Guadeloupean Maryse Conde, according to betting site Unibet.

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• University of Salford in Greater Manchester, England honored Indian playback singer Asha Bhosle (86) with an honorary Doctorate of Arts degree in recognition of her to the field of music & her role in inspiring future generations to participate in the arts and media.


• She was awarded doctorate degree by the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Salford, Jo Purves, at the award ceremony at the Saint Regis Hotel in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

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• Sampat Shivangi, an influential Indian-American community leader, has been invited to serve on the national advisory committee of a key health body in the US, which deals with mental health.


• Mr. Shivangi, a physician, has been invited by the US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M Azar to serve on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services National Advisory Council.

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• Book titled “Carpenters and Kings: Western Christianity and the Idea of India” written by Siddhartha Sarma was released.


• It is published by Penguin Hamish Hamilton India. It examines the history of Christianity in India in the context of local and global events.