An Omani co-pilot who allegedly attacked flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar mid-flight may have shut down the Boeing 737’s engines after his reported plan to crash the aircraft in Tel Aviv failed, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported. The co-pilot, Hammam al-Hammami, allegedly attacked Machchhar with a crash axe before attempting to take control of the aircraft. The plane then rapidly lost altitude, while cabin emergency lights suggested a possible loss of main power. Investigators are reportedly examining whether the co-pilot moved the engine fuel switches from “Run” to “Cutoff”. Passengers and off-duty pilots eventually overpowered him, allowing the aircraft to land safely in Saudi Arabia. (PC: X)

The Supreme Court will hear on October 5 pleas seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid controversy over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, will hear petitions filed by Rakesh Kumar Singh and advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi. The pleas allege that Kumar took certain decisions and made software changes without the consent of the other Election Commissioners. They also challenge changes to Form 6, including requirements related to voters’ ancestral details. The Election Commission has denied the allegations, saying decisions are taken unanimously. (PC: HT)

At least 500 people were detained in central Delhi on Sunday as an AISA-backed march demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar entered its third day. Protesters began from Andhra Bhavan around 4 p.m. but were stopped by barricades at the Shangri-La intersection, where clashes broke out.   Those detained included AISA president Neha and a woman journalist who had alleged sexual harassment by a police officer at Saturday's protest. Neha was later released from Narela Industrial Area police station. Protesters alleged manhandling during detentions. No police response was reported. The march also demanded the SIR be scrapped. (PC: X)

A 31-year-old Indian Navy sailor, Pradeep Mukherjee, was arrested on October 3 for allegedly passing classified maritime information to a Pakistani intelligence operative, PTI reported, citing official sources. The Andhra Pradesh Police Counter Intelligence cell detained him at INS Agrani in Coimbatore, where he was attending a management development course.   Investigators say a woman posing online as an operative contacted him months ago, and the relationship was used to extract details on naval assets, fleet movements and the Visakhapatnam base. A native of West Bengal, he joined the Navy in 2014 and was posted with the Eastern Naval Command. (PC: India Today)

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has alleged a "criminal conspiracy" to delete eligible voters from electoral rolls, claiming BJP workers misused Form 7. He told India Today TV that minorities, backward castes and oppressed sections were being targeted.   The claim follows a report that a Muslim family in Bengaluru's Ulsoor said a local BJP leader sought deletion of eight members' names. Shivakumar alleged lakhs of forms were circulated, with some people signing 100 to 300 each.   The Election Commission's draft rolls show 1.07 crore names removed in the state. He has sought booth-wise probes. The BJP's response to the allegations was not part of the report. (PC: India Today)

A protest in Delhi on Sunday demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar turned tense, with demonstrators breaking barricades and blocking buses carrying detainees. AAP workers, along with members of NSUI, AISA and other student groups, tried to move towards Jantar Mantar as police and the Rapid Action Force were deployed.   Police said at least 25 AAP workers were detained, including Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, who alleged he was manhandled. Police have not responded to the allegations.   The protests follow a controversy over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The Election Commission says differing views are normal and its orders are legally valid. (PC: India Today)

Yemen's Saudi-backed government has announced a major military operation to retake territory held by the Iran-backed Houthis. In a televised address from Riyadh on Sunday, President Rashad al-Alimi said forces would "extend the authority of the state" across the entire country. (PC: BBC) The announcement follows days of strikes between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition. The Houthis claim they hit Aramco sites near Riyadh and in Khurais, saying it was a response to 50 coalition strikes in 12 hours. Saudi Arabia has not commented.   Meanwhile, the Houthis reportedly cut the supply route between Taiz and Aden, effectively encircling Taiz, according to AFP. (PC: BBC)

Archaeologists searching the seabed off Poompuhar in Tamil Nadu have recovered pottery fragments believed to have come from West Asia. The pieces were found in 10 to 12 metres of water, about 1.8 to 2.2 km from the present shoreline, during the third phase of underwater exploration.   Among the finds are parts of a torpedo jar, a distinctive vessel linked to long-distance maritime trade across the Indian Ocean.   Poompuhar was once the Chola port of Kaveripoompattinam, parts of which now lie beneath the Bay of Bengal. The discovery gives researchers a new material clue to a trading world that ancient Tamil literature described nearly two thousand years ago. (PC: The Indian Express)

The BJP on Sunday announced Dinesh Arya and actor Rukmini, popularly known as Koel Mallick, as its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Uttarakhand and West Bengal, respectively. Biennial polls for 11 seats, 10 from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand, will be held on October 16, along with a bypoll in West Bengal. Mallick, a former Trinamool Congress leader, will contest the bypoll after joining the BJP following the TMC's defeat in the Assembly elections. Arya, who has ties to the RSS and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, is vice chairperson of Uttarakhand's Water Resources Management and Regulatory Commission. (PC: The Indian Express)

Russian drones struck Kyiv's Pivnichnyi (Northern) Bridge on Sunday for the second day in a row, injuring two people. Major bridges in the capital have now been hit for four straight days, causing traffic gridlock. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a surprise visit to Kyiv as the attack unfolded, telling Ukraine, "You can rely on us." President Volodymyr Zelensky said a new aid package worth over €1.3 billion had been agreed with Germany, covering weapons and energy support ahead of winter. Russia's military said it would intensify strikes on Kyiv and other regions. Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down 125 of 135 drones overnight. (PC: BBC)