UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the ban on drinking alcohol in football stands could be removed. He called the rule “unfair” because similar restrictions do not apply to fans at sports such as rugby and cricket. Alcohol has been banned in view of the pitch in England’s top five men’s football leagues since 1985. Burnham said the rule could be changed through trials. The Football Supporters’ Association welcomed his comments. However, the UK Football Policing Unit warned that changing the rules without proper consultation would be “incredibly rash”. Officials said alcohol can contribute to violence and disorder among some football supporters.  

Sensitive parts from an Australian F-35 fighter jet were diverted to Hong Kong while being shipped to the US, according to people familiar with the incident. The parts included a cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door. Both were made by Lockheed Martin and had radar-absorbing material. The shipment reportedly stopped in South Korea before being sent to Hong Kong. Chinese authorities later took possession of the parts and have not returned them. The Pentagon said it is working to recover them and investigate the incident. Two US congressional committees are also reviewing the case. Lockheed Martin said the parts were unserviceable and considered low risk.  

The Opposition has criticised the Election Commission after a report said 97 eligible Goa voters were left out of the final electoral roll. Local Electoral Registration Officers had reportedly found the voters eligible after checking their documents. However, the centralised ECINet software did not allow their names to be restored before the final list was published. Goa officials reportedly sent eight emails in seven days seeking a solution. The Indian Express reported that the 97 names remained missing from the final roll. Congress leaders demanded answers from the Election Commission. The poll panel has said differences among commissioners are normal.

Iran may expand the conflict to the Indian Ocean if the US launches another attack, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned. Yahya Rahim Safavi said the war could spread from the Persian Gulf and Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and beyond. The warning comes amid tensions over key shipping routes. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb has already fallen. Any wider conflict could affect India, which depends heavily on imported crude oil. Higher shipping and energy costs could also hurt trade. India imports more than 88% of its crude oil.

The Supreme Court has asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to set a reasonable timeline for deciding the dispute over the Trinamool Congress name and election symbol. The court said both sides must get a fair chance to present their evidence. The ECI had earlier frozen the original TMC name and the Flowers and Grass symbol for the upcoming West Bengal by-elections. It gave the rival groups separate names and symbols as an interim measure. The Supreme Court asked the ECI to return with a proposed timeline on September 28. The by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar are scheduled for October 6.

More than 5,000 people have been moved to cyclone shelters in Odisha’s Gajapati district as heavy rain continues. The evacuation was carried out as a safety measure due to the risk of landslides. The district has prepared 264 cyclone shelters and is providing dry rations and cooked food. The India Meteorological Department said the deep depression is likely to enter Odisha near Koraput on Thursday afternoon or evening. Heavy rain is expected to continue for two more days. Strong winds and high waves also caused trouble in Chilika Lake. More than 10 fishing boats sank due to rough weather.  

A US federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists from the White House. Judge Timothy Kelly ordered their press access restored for 14 days while the outlets challenge the ban in court. The three organisations had sued after their reporters’ White House credentials were revoked. The administration argued that the outlets’ reporting raised national security concerns and accused them of publishing false information. Kelly said the outlets were likely to succeed in showing that the administration had failed to provide adequate due process. He also questioned the national security justification cited by the administration. (PC: BBC)

Two brothers accused of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl inside Delhi’s Aastha Kunj Park allegedly went to a restaurant after the crime and later washed their clothes to remove evidence, police said. Mukesh Singh, 24, Hemant Singh, 31, and Asif, 30, were arrested on Tuesday. Police said the accused allegedly carried a firearm, knife and condoms and spent around 45 minutes looking for a target before approaching the girl and her male friend. The accused allegedly posed as policemen before attacking the minors. Police also seized phones and an unlicensed firearm and knife, while forensic teams are examining digital and other evidence. (PC: HT)

Two molestation cases involving minor girls have been reported in Bihar’s Samastipur and Muzaffarpur, days after the Jamui incident triggered widespread outrage. In Samastipur, a group of four men allegedly assaulted and molested a minor girl on September 15 after seeing her with a boy near a local embankment. A video of the incident later surfaced online. Police arrested all four accused and registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, POCSO Act and IT Act. In Muzaffarpur, police arrested a man named Lalit after he allegedly assaulted a minor girl and tried to take her away forcibly. Her family filed a complaint. (PC: India Today)

Indian wushu star Roshibina Devi won her second straight Asian Games silver medal in the women’s 60kg sanda event. She lost 0-5 in both rounds to China’s Zhang Xiaoyu in the final at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Roshibina replaced Divyanshi Choudhary after Divyanshi suffered a serious knee injury. Roshibina defeated Indonesia’s Thania Kusumaningtyas in the semi-final and also beat Vietnam’s world champion Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy earlier in the tournament. She had also won silver at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Her latest medal took India’s tally to 14, including one gold, six silver and seven bronze medals. Roshibina received the Arjuna Award in 2023.