India Women will play Sri Lanka in the Asian Games 2026 cricket final on Tuesday, with a chance to defend the gold medal won in Hangzhou. The match starts at 10:30 AM IST. Both teams are unbeaten. Shafali Verma hit the first century in Asian Games history, an unbeaten 100 off 49 balls, in the semi-final against Bangladesh, which India won by 114 runs. Shree Charani has taken six wickets. For Sri Lanka, captain Chamari Athapaththu has scored 146 runs and taken six wickets. India lead the head-to-head 26-5. Sony LIV will stream the match.

Three suspects have been arrested in Bihar’s Jamui district after videos allegedly showing two Class 10 students being harassed went viral on social media. The incident occurred on September 19, when the girl and her male friend were reportedly returning from coaching classes after visiting Madwa hillock. Police said an FIR was registered under the POCSO Act and relevant BNS provisions, and an SIT headed by SDPO Deepti Monali was formed. Around seven people have been identified from the video, with raids continuing for arrests. The State Women’s Commission sought a report from authorities. Police also initiated steps to remove the videos, while officials warned against sharing material that identifies minors.

US President Donald Trump criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after their discussions, claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end the Russia-Ukraine war while Zelenskyy wants to prolong it. Trump said he was seeking peace rather than a decade-long conflict and claimed 2,000 people died last week. He also said Russia had lost control of its diesel industry because Ukrainian strikes damaged refineries, calling for the war to end. Zelenskyy gave a positive account, saying Trump had agreed to meet him in New York and that diplomatic momentum was building. He said peace remained Ukraine’s top priority, with discussions focused on de-escalation, energy security, food security and protecting human life.

Five major US television networks ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News and CNN have suspended White House pool coverage after the White House restricted access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico. The networks normally rotate responsibility for providing shared video coverage of presidential events, but decided not to send a replacement crew after CNN was prevented from carrying out its scheduled pool duties. Fox News bureau chief Bryan Boughton, the pool chair, informed members that no replacement pool would be established. The decision means the usual broadcast television feed will be unavailable for many Trump events today. CNN, MS NOW and Politico have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the restrictions. (PC: AFP)

India’s women’s and men’s table tennis teams beat Pakistan 3-0 at the Asian Games, while players from both sides exchanged handshakes and smiles before and after their matches. Indian women players Sutirtha Mukherjee, Sreeja Akula and Syndrela Das greeted Pakistan’s Aleena, Fatima and Kalsoom Khan before their Group F tie and repeated the gesture after each match. The men’s teams also shared warm handshakes, with Pakistan’s Muhammad Khan and India’s Harmeet Desai smiling after a missed shot, while Muhammad later patted Payas Jain’s back. The report contrasted table tennis with cricket, where India has maintained a no-handshake approach since the Pahalgam attack.

Vedaant Madhavan narrowly missed the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay final at the Asian Games after India finished ninth among 13 teams with a time of 7:24.32. The Indian quartet of Vedaant, Sajan Prakash, Dhakshan Shashikumar and Aneesh Sunil missed eighth-placed Qatar by 0.2 seconds. Vedaant later wrote that he missed the final by 0.2 seconds and was the best Indian by 0.5 seconds. His father, actor R. Madhavan, shared the update with a gratitude emoticon. Vedaant will compete in the 200m freestyle on September 23 and 200m backstroke on September 25. Meanwhile, Srihari Nataraj finished 10th in the 50m backstroke final, while China’s Jiayu Xu set a Games record. (PC: NDTV)

Asian Games-bound Indian cricketer Vipraj Nigam is facing allegations of sexual assault and exploitation under the pretext of marriage by a Hyderabad-based woman. She alleged that Nigam took her to a Noida hotel on July 29, 2025, where he raped and assaulted her; a case was registered on December 16, 2025. On Sunday, she reportedly waited outside Nigam’s home for hours, seeking to meet him while he was in Japan. Nigam’s father spoke to her by phone, promising they would talk after a week. Nigam had filed a complaint alleging she threatened to implicate him falsely. Both have filed cases against each other. Nigam is set for India’s debut against Japan. (PC: X)

Indian scientists and collaborators have reconstructed a 250-year history of Antarctica’s Maud Rise Polynya, tracing its activity back to 1774. Led by researchers from the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the study used a 122-metre ice core drilled at Djupranen Ice Rise in East Antarctica. Analysing snow and chemical layers, researchers identified 25 years with evidence of polynya activity, including three major events comparable to the 1974-76 opening, which exceeded 300,000 square kilometres. Findings show that openings occurred in clusters rather than regularly, suggesting atmospheric and ocean conditions combine to trigger them. The study may improve understanding of Antarctica’s climate and ocean circulation. (PC: X)

A video showing a group of men assaulting a boy and molesting his female friend on a road in Bihar's Jamui has triggered widespread outrage. Both victims are Class 10 students who were returning from coaching classes. Police have arrested three people, including minors, and registered cases under the POCSO and Juvenile Justice Acts. Minister Shrawon Kumar said isolated incidents do happen and promised strict action, drawing criticism from the Opposition. Tejashwi Yadav said girls are unsafe in the state, while Rahul Gandhi called the video deeply disturbing. Tej Pratap Yadav threatened a hunger strike. LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Arun Bharti rejected the "Jungle Raj" charge. (PC: X)

Google will start sharing details of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) cases and repeat offenders with the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, and a company spokesperson has confirmed the move. Until now, US-based platforms, including Google and Meta, reported such cases only to the US non-profit NCMEC, which then passed details to local law enforcement, often causing delays. Google said it has proposed putting the information-sharing into practice. Meta made a similar commitment after a BBC Eye investigation found Instagram running paid ads promoting child abuse material in India. Officials say more steps will be needed to strengthen child safety online. (PC: HT)