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• Saudi Arabia will open its doors to international tourists for the first time as part of a broader push to cut its economic dependence on oil.


• The kingdom will launch a visa regime for 49 countries and relax strict dress codes for female visitors.


• Tourism Minister Ahmad al-Khateeb described it as a "historic moment" for the country.


• Visas have until now largely been restricted to pilgrims, business people, and expatriate workers.

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• China's growing military might has replaced North Korean belligerence as the main security threat to Japan, Tokyo's annual defence review indicated on Thursday, despite signs that Pyongyang could have nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.


• The document's security assessment on China comes after a section on Japan's ally, the United States, the first time Beijing has achieved second place in the Defence White Paper and pushing North Korea into the third position.


• Russia, deemed by Japan as its primary threat during the Cold War, was in fourth place.

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• Strongly condemning terrorism in all its forms, the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa called for the need for an early adoption of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).


• The BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs/International Relations held their annual meeting on the margins of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly.


• The meeting was chaired by Russia in the country's capacity as the incoming BRICS Chair for 2020.

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• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would take part in a climate action march led by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg as the environment emerges as a key election issue.


• His main rival Conservative leader, Andrew Scheer, will be campaigning elsewhere, but the rally in Montreal is expected to draw other party leaders as well as Trudeau, leader of the Liberals.

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• The CIA officer was at one point was assigned to work at the White House.


• The whistleblower who said U.S. President Donald Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden is a CIA officer and at one point was assigned to work at the White House, two sources familiar with the probe into his complaint confirmed.


• The New York Times first identified the whistleblower as a CIA officer, which Reuters has independently confirmed.

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• Rallies are also expected on Sunday to mark Global Anti-Totalitarianism Day, with solidarity events planned in cities across the world, including Paris, Berlin, Taipei, New York, Kiev, and London.


• Hong Kong was bracing for a weekend of unrest with pro-democracy protests likely to mount in the China-ruled territory ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic.


• Thousands of people are expected to rally in the city center after authorities granted a permit for a gathering at Tamar Park, next to the headquarters of Hong Kong's legislative council.

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• Calling on India to “rescind” its actions revoking Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Saudi Arabia joined Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Niger to issue a statement on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Kashmir contact group, criticising the government’s actions there.


• In the statement issued on September 25 after a ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA, the group asked the government to “rescind its unilateral illegal actions and reiterate its commitment to abide by the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, provide assurances that it will not change the occupied territory’s demographic composition and not allow non-Kashmiris to acquire property or residency.

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• The Swedish defence major SAAB has pulled out of the contest to supply the Navy with six advanced conventional submarines under Project-75I.


• South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has made a last-minute entry, official sources said.

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• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani discussed bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest during their bilateral meeting in New York.


• PM Modi met Rouhani on the sidelines of the high-level 74th Session of the General Assembly and discussed "bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest."


• According to an official press release, the prime minister reiterated India's support for giving priority to diplomacy, dialogue and confidence-building in the interest of maintaining peace, security, and stability in the Gulf region, which is of vital importance for India.

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• The diplomatic face-off between India and Pakistan flared up at the meeting of the SAARC Council of Foreign Ministers, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.


• Without any prior intimation, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi failed to turn up for Foreign Minister S Jaishankar's opening statement, keeping the gathering waiting.


• Arriving after Mr. Jaishankar left, Mr. Qureshi declared that his country would not engage with India "until and unless" it lifts the "siege" in Kashmir, reported news agency Press Trust of India.

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• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on Thursday said it has formed a committee to look into the examination process following protests from students who are demanding revaluation of their CA answer sheets.


• In a press conference held earlier in the day, ICAI president Prafulla Chhajed said the examination process followed by ICAI ensures multiple levels of monitoring for quality evaluation of answer sheets.


• Later in a statement, the ICAI said, "It was decided to constitute a high-level independent committee to look into the examination processes/ regulations governing CA examinations including Regulation 39(4) of the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988 and suggest changes wherever required in the ICAI examination system."

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• Teachers of Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country will be trained in oral health so that they can sensitise students about the significance of dental hygiene and healthy eating like avoiding sugar rich food and beverage.


• In a first-of-its-kind initiative by the Centre for Dental Education and Research at AIIMS, one such training workshop in collaboration with the Union health ministry was held recently, officials said.


• According to experts, untreated dental problems contribute directly to significant healthcare expenses besides affecting school life or work.


• Studies have reported that children with poor oral health were almost four times more likely to miss school due to dental pain or infection and have a higher likelihood of poor school performance.

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• GATE 2020 application date has been extended yet again. Earlier, IIT Delhi which is the convening authority for GATE exam this year had extended the last date to apply for GATE without late fee.


• The last date for GATE application was extended from September 24 to September 26 as the website went unresponsive for the large part of the day on September 24.


• The last date has been extended yet again for the same reason.


• Candidates who fulfill the eligibility for GATE 2020 can apply for the exam till September 28th, 2019.


• A notice on the official GATE 2020 websites says, "Because of heavy traffic load in the GATE application portal, the last date of application with normal fees has been extended up to 28th September."

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• It isn’t just the common man's hard-earned money that is stuck in the troubled Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank; Reserve Bank of India employees haven’t been spared either.


• According to the FY2019 balance sheet of the Reserve Bank of India Officers’ Co-op Credit Society Ltd, the Society has a fixed deposit of ₹105 crore with the Mumbai-based PMC Bank. The Society has the central bank’s officers as its members.

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• Largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has emerged as the most valued Indian brand at USD 22.70 billion.


• The list of top ten brands, prepared by the world’s largest media buyer WPP, includes companies from banking, financial services, and insurance, telecom, and auto segments.

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• The first World Athletics Championships of the post-Usain Bolt era gets underway in Doha on September 27 with the sport desperately seeking a new superstar as it tackles a slew of ongoing doping controversies.


• More than 2,000 athletes from over 200 countries and territories will take part across 10 days of competition at Doha’s Khalifa International stadium.


• For athletics fans, the championships will also provide clues to likely contenders at next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

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• The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) electoral officer, Susanta Ranjan Upadhaya, declared the names of the persons who were elected for the posts of office-bearers and members of the apex council uncontested.


• The elections, which were scheduled on Sept. 28, have been rendered redundant as the panel led by current CAB president Sourav Ganguly was unopposed.


• The last elections of the CAB were held in 2015 when former president Jagmohan Dalmiya was elected unopposed.

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• As per the report, “BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2019 ranking” released by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown, HDFC Bank (Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited) was declared the country’s most valuable brand for the sixth consecutive year with the brand value of $ 22.70 billion (1.61 lakh crore rupees).


• LIC ( Life Insurance Corporation of India) stood at number two with a brand value of Rs 1.43 lakh crore.

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• A peon in a Bhopal school has been selected for the Chief Minister’s Excellence Award for teaching Sanskrit to students for the past 23 years and securing recording 100 per cent result in the subject.


• Vasudev Panchal (53) is a peon at the Government High School in Girona village of Depalpur development block in Indore.

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• Rupa Gurunath, the new president of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, said the association will have 'zero tolerance' towards corruption and promised appropriate action against anyone found to be corrupt.


• Rupa, the daughter of N Srinivasan and the first woman to head a state unit of the Indian Board, took office after being elected at the TNCA's 87th Annual General Meeting.


• She is the wife of Gurunath Meiyappan who is serving a life ban for his involvement in the 2013 Indian Premier League betting scandal.

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• Pranab Mukherjee , the Former president of India has released a book entitled ‘Reset: Regaining India’s Economic Legacy’ penned by BJP MP (Bharatiya janata party -member of parliament) Subramanian Swamy in New Delhi.


• The book documents economic growth of India over the years & provides the master solutions for future growth.


• Swamy, who often criticizes the government’s economic policies, is of the opinion that the government now needs a team of experienced politicians and professionals for crisis management.