Morning news brief: India mourns Ratan Tata; Israel vows 'lethal' retaliation against Iran, and more

Indian industrialist Ratan Tata has died at the age of 86. The philanthropist is going to be accorded a state funeral.

Meanwhile, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant in a speech to the nation's troops vowed that retaliation against Iran will be "lethal,precise and...surprising".

In the US, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has firmly denied another debate against Democrat Kamala Harris.

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Indian tycoon and visionary industrialist Ratan Tata, who died lateWednesday(Oct 9), will be accorded a state funeral by the government of Maharashtra, a western Indian state. Calling Tata a "unique blend of morality and entrepreneurship", Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announceda day of mourning in the state on Thursday (Oct 10) to pay tribute to the industrialist.

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday (Oct 9) warned that a retaliatory attack on Iran would be "lethal, precise and...surprising". During a speech to the country's troops, Galant vowed that Tehran would "pay a price".

Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday morning (Oct 9), afterweakening from a Category 5 storm. It has since been downgraded to a Category 2.President Joe Biden has already warned it is expected to be one of the “most and worst destructive hurricanes to hit Florida in over a century”. The cyclone had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (205 kph) as it made landfall at 8:30 p.m. near Siesta Key, the National Hurricane Center said. Milton isthe fifth hurricane to strike the US this year. Poweroutage.us tracker reported that more than 1.5million customers were left without power, with Tampa and the surrounding areas being the worst affected.

Donald Trump on Wednesday (Oct 9) ruled out a second US presidential debate with political rival Kamala Harris. This comes just hours after Fox News offered to host a final debate before the November 5 election.

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