A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Hardik Patel’s key aides join BJP ahead of upcoming Gujarat Assembly election: OBC leader Alpesh Thakor will join Congress on October 23.
  2. DNA samples of families of 39 Indians missing in Iraq being collected: India requested Iraqi authorities to investigate the mass graves found in Mosul after it was recaptured from the Islamic State on July 9, reports said.
  3. China says it supports Myanmar government’s efforts to stabilise peace amid Rohingya crisis: Beijing believes foreign interference during crises does not work, a Communist Party of China official said.  
  4. Jharkhand minister cancels official’s order on linking Aadhaar to ration cards, says report: The mother of the girl, who died of starvation, was driven out of her home for ‘defaming village’.
  5. WHO chief ‘rethinking’ Robert Mugabe’s appointment as goodwill ambassador after criticism: Dr Tedros Adhanon Ghebreyesus had said the controversial leader would ‘influence his peers in the region to prioritise non-communicable diseases.’  
  6. Militant killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Handwara, rifle and Pakistani currency found, says official: The encounter is still underway, the Indian Army said.
  7. Linking Aadhaar with bank accounts is mandatory, clarifies RBI: The central bank said the bank accounts and the Unique Identification number had to be linked under the Prevention of Money-laundering [Maintenance of Records] Second Amendment Rules, 2017.
  8. 12 arrested for trying to immolate man suspected to be a braid chopper in Jammu and Kashmir: Sopore Senior Superintendent of Police Harmeet Singh said those detained were identified through videos of the incident on social media.  
  9. Billionaire Andrej Babis set to become next prime minister of Czech Republic: The media mogul said he had invited other parties for talks on forming a coalition government. 
  10. Two arrested for Facebook posts criticising traffic restrictions in West Bengal’s Balurghat during Puja: The movement of vehicles, except battery-operated and cycle rickshaws, were restricted between 4 pm and 4 am during the festive season.