Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay’s spontaneous gesture during his visit to Mettur has gone viral on social media. The actor-turned-politician stopped his convoy to meet elderly woman Chellam and spoke with her about her health. Vijay then removed his Christian Dior sunglasses and gifted them to her. Chellam said she was surprised and delighted by the meeting, adding that Vijay “looked just like he does in his movies.” She also said the Chief Minister asked whether she had eaten. The video of their warm interaction quickly spread online, drawing widespread attention. Vijay was in Mettur to open the sluice gates of the Stanley Reservoir.  

Nepali hydropower worker Pemba Dundu Tamang has described running for 20 minutes as floodwater from the Trishuli River crashed into a tunnel during last week’s deadly disaster. A sudden gust of air and rising water forced dozens of workers to flee the Upper Trishuli 3B Hydropower Project. Tamang survived but lost six relatives after his riverside home was swept away. Nepal’s flood death toll has crossed 1,000, with about 4,000 people still missing. Rescuers are pumping air into tunnels and clearing debris as they search for hundreds of trapped workers.

Erin Piacenti, a Bank of America vice president, has been identified as the woman killed in a stabbing in New York City’s Times Square. The attack took place around 4:30pm on Monday at West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue. A 68-year-old man was also stabbed and remains in stable condition. Police said the attack appeared random and unprovoked. Officers fatally shot the female suspect after a Taser failed to stop her and she advanced towards them with knives. Bank of America said it was “deeply saddened” by the loss of its colleague.  

Bangladesh is set to buy electricity from a Chinese waste-to-energy project at Tk 25 per unit, around 127% higher than the average Tk 11 paid for power imported from India in FY 2025-26. The 42MW project at Dhaka’s Aminbazar landfill is expected to begin supplying electricity by 2028. The deal comes days after Dhaka objected to India’s proposed Rs 0.01-per-unit cross-border transaction charge, which was later reduced to Rs 0.005. Bangladesh says the Chinese project will also help tackle Dhaka’s growing waste problem and produce fertiliser.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed FIRs registered across India against students and youths who participated in the July protests over alleged irregularities and paper leaks in the 2026 NEET examination. Using its powers under Article 142, the court said peaceful participation in a protest should not be treated as a criminal offence. It ordered that no fresh FIRs be filed over the July 20-25 protests. However, the court allowed police to separately examine the roles of 2,837 people with serious criminal antecedents. Following the order, the protest group withdrew its planned September 5 march in Delhi. (PC: HT)

Germany has blamed Russia for last month’s drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, saying evidence and intelligence findings confirmed Moscow’s involvement. A drone carrying explosives was found near Ukrainian cargo planes on August 4, while investigators suspect a second drone struck a nearby aircraft. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called it part of Russia’s “hybrid operations” in Europe. Germany will close the Russian consulate in Bonn and tighten entry rules for Russian nationals. Moscow denied the accusations and said it would respond with “mirror-image” measures. (PC: BBC)

Four Uttar Pradesh men have described their dramatic escapes from Nepal after the August 26 floods, using helicopters, crowded vehicles and long road journeys to return home. Twenty-three-year-old Ashutosh Mani Upadhyay was evacuated by helicopter from Rasuwa, marking his first-ever flight. Krishna Pratap Singh feared the India-Nepal border could close and travelled home after being flown to the frontier. Raj Kumar Gautam made a difficult road journey through Bihar amid panic and communication failures, while Deepak Gupta’s family feared the worst after his phone was stolen. Ten of 22 Uttar Pradesh residents earlier reported missing have now returned home safely. (PC: The Indian Express)

US forces struck Iranian military targets for the second time in two days, targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sites after Washington accused Tehran of preparing attacks on commercial vessels and American troops near the Strait of Hormuz. Details about the targets and possible casualties were not immediately available. The latest strike follows Sunday’s US attack on Iranian rocket launchers, which Iran retaliated against by firing ballistic missiles at US bases in Jordan. The renewed fighting has deepened fears of a wider regional conflict. The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the crisis, as about 20% of the world’s oil normally passes through the vital waterway. (PC: India Today)

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office shared a cropped group photograph from the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, apparently to place him at the centre of the image. The edited version showed Sharif standing alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders. However, the original photograph shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed Sharif was actually standing fourth from the right, while Modi and several other leaders had been cropped out. The move drew attention because the altered framing made Sharif appear more central in the summit’s official group photograph. (PC: NDTV)

The death toll from Nepal’s devastating August 26 flash floods has risen to 1,003, while families continue searching for workers missing at damaged hydropower projects. Rescuers, including the Nepal Army, foreign experts and an Indian tunnel rescue team, are battling deep mud, rocks and debris inside blocked underground tunnels. At least 122 people remain unaccounted for at the Upper Trishuli-3B project in Nuwakot, while families fear their relatives may be trapped inside tunnels. “We still have hope,” one son said as he urged faster excavation. The floods damaged at least 12 hydropower projects across Rasuwa and Nuwakot. (PC: HT)