&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Latest News India and World LIVE: Modi speaks to Flydubai pilot, Tennessee botched execution and more")
In top stories today, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke by telephone to Captain Smit Machchhar, the pilot seriously injured during a mid-air incident on a Flydubai flight. During the call, Captain Machchhar gave an account of what happened in the cockpit and “what gave him courage,". PM Modi praised his bravery and wished him a swift recovery. Captain Machchhar was in command of Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when he was attacked by the co-pilot.
In other big news of the day, Christa Pike, the Tennessee woman who survived two lethal injections, was injected seven times, her lawyers said. She is in critical condition, and her lawyers want her sentence to be commuted. They said she went through a torturous night because of the entire process.
Moving on the ODI World Cup 2027 schedule is out, with the opening match of the group stage set to be a rematch of the 2023 ODI World Cup final between India and Australia on October 7. India are in Group A along with Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, as well as Qualifier A, which will be decided later.
Stay with us for the latest news, breaking updates and developments as they unfold.
Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who was stabbed by his co-pilot during a Flydubai flight but, despite that, saved 180 lives with his bravery, is recovering well at a hospital in Abu Dhabi and remains in good spirits. The health update came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Machchhar and heard him recount his experience during the horrific cockpit attack. According to a health update shared previously by India's Ambassador to the UAE, Deepak Mittal, who met the captain and his family at the hospital, Machchhar remains in good spirits. “He was talking, he was chatting, a bit of discomfort, but I think he's under good medical care here in the UAE,” Mittal told Prasar Bharati.
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Ministers, climate negotiators and leaders are due to meet in Fiji from October 5 to 8 for Pacific climate talks ahead of the UN-backed COP31 summit in Turkey in November.
Pacific nations are urging countries to uphold the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, expand climate finance and address the impact of rising seas on island communities.
Delegates will also visit Tuvalu, where rising sea levels threaten low-lying land and infrastructure. A UN report cited in the briefing estimates developing countries need $310 billion to $365 billion annually for climate adaptation, while available funding stood at $26 billion in 2023.
Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo said: "Sea-level rise is not a future threat, it is a present reality."
Taiwan received its first two US-made F-16V fighter jets on Friday as it upgrades its air force amid tensions with China. The aircraft are part of an $8 billion deal for 66 jets approved during US President Donald Trump’s first term.
The fighters landed at an air force base in Taitung after earlier delivery delays. Taiwan’s defence minister said more aircraft would arrive before the end of the year, without specifying how many.
Taipei is also awaiting US approval for a separate $14 billion arms package, which Trump has paused amid Chinese objections. The proposed package includes the Patriot air defence system.
Two major bridges in Kyiv were closed or restricted on Friday after Russian drone strikes damaged the Southern Bridge, Ukrainian authorities said.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Southern Bridge, which connects the city’s east and west across the Dnipro river, was "completely closed" in both directions. The Paton Bridge was restricted to one-way traffic, though there were no reports it had been hit.
The Southern Bridge was struck twice, according to the mayor, prompting structural checks and traffic disruption. Separately, a strike on a residential building in the Darnytsky district killed one person and wounded at least two, emergency services said.
Israel’s flag carrier El Al cancelled two planned repatriation flights from Dubai on Friday after Emirati authorities did not grant landing permission. The flights were intended to bring Israelis home following flydubai’s suspension of services to Tel Aviv after an alleged in-flight attack.
"As soon as approval is received from the authorities, we are prepared to carry out the special flights to Dubai and return the Israelis home as soon as possible," El Al said.
The airline said its regular Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flights remain scheduled from Sunday, but seats are fully booked into the coming week. The cancellations come during the busy Sukkot holiday travel period.
Starbucks opened its first two stores this week in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, including one at the city centre's grand bazaar and a second at its international airport. John Moolenaar, chairman of the Select Committee on China of the House of Representatives, called on Starbucks to "immediately reverse course and close its stores."
In January 2026 US captured former Venezuela president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores and took them home to face federal narco-terrorism and drug-trafficking charges. The US attack on Venezuela capital Caracas and the capture of Maduro was not an instantaneous plan by President Donald Trump and the US state machinery, but involved months of planning. In fact Trump had a secret meeting with Elon Musk, about seven months after the Tesla chief left his role in the Trump administration at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
PM Modi spoke with Captain Smit Machchhar through a video call and praised his courage, presence of mind and composure. PM said the entire country is praying for Smit.
