Strong quake leaves many dead in Philippines island (19 minutes ago)
Manila, Oct 17 (IANS) At least five people were killed and 60 injured after a magnitude-6.4 earthquake hit the island of Mindanao, southern Philippines, local media reported Thursday.

Rohit & Mayank looking good at the top, but real test awaits in NZ (25 minutes ago)
By Debayan Mukherjee
Kolkata, Oct 17 (IANS) Indian cricket is full of Sourav Ganguly now. The former India captain and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President-elect had opined that Rohit Sharma should open the batting for India in Tests also, like he so successfully does in white-ball cricket.

David de Gea injury adds to Manchester United woes (08:52)
Madrid, Oct 17 (IANS) Manchester United have been dealt a significant blow ahead of their weekend clash at home to Premier League leaders Liverpool, with the news that goalkeeper David de Gea is injured.

Kohli's attitude and Shastri's man-management skills the perfect combo (08:52)
By Rohit Mundayur
New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) One of the many unique aspects of Test cricket is the celebration of a draw. When a match that has been played over five days, about six hours on each day, one would expect both teams to be frustrated and ask for a change in rules that allows for a game without result.

Saha beating Pant hands down with immaculate glovework (08:52)
By Aakash Kumar
New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) The last Test match between India and South Africa in Pune once again bore testimony to the fact that age is just a number if you have the fitness to compete at the top level. At 34, Wriddhiman Saha isnt getting any younger, but the wicket-keeper during the second Test once again showed why he is touted as not just India's, but the worlds best wicketkeeper at the moment.

Shami and Umesh filling Bumrah's boots to perfection (08:48)
New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) The Indian team was dealt a big blow going into the Test series against South Africa as pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the series with a stress fracture. But the other Indian pacers have stood up and made it count as Virat Kohli and boys enjoy an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series.

India's home dominance: A big reason behind their No.1 ranking (08:48)
By Aakash Kumar
New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) Virat Kohli and his men have been on a winning spree at home in the last two-three years when it comes to Test cricket. Barring the series losses in South Africa and England, the Indian team has played according to its number one stature and has dominated the opposition in almost all aspects of the game in the recent years when it comes to red-ball cricket.

NASA doing 'rigorous' search for Vikram with fresh lunar pictures (08:46)
By Arul Louis
New York, Oct 17 (IANS) NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has taken a fresh set of pictures under better lighting conditions of the area where the Indian moon lander Vikram likely ended up and experts will be making a rigorous search for it, according to LRO Project Scientist Noah Petro.

Bengaluru to be remapped as satellite images show variations (08:40)
By Sharon Thambala
Bengaluru, Oct 17 (IANS) Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, the Bengaluru civic body has decided to remap the tech hub landscape after latest satellite images from the ISRO exposed chinks in its outdated property records, an official said.

PM Modi, Sheikh Hasina invited for Ind-Ban Test in Kolkata (08:36)
By Baidurjo Bhose
New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) If all goes as per plan, the Kolkata Test between India and Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens could see the Prime Ministers of the two countries in attendance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina have been invited for the Test which will be played from November 22 to 26.

New European Commission delayed for at least one month (08:00)
Brussels, Oct 17 (IANS) European Parliament President David Sassoli and leading MEPs agreed to cancel the assembly's confirmation vote on the new European Commission slated for next week, making the the commission unlikely to take office before December 1, media reported here.

Morocco's king pardons journalist jailed in abortion case (07:54)
Rabat, Oct 17 (IANS) Morocco's King Mohammed VI has pardoned a woman journalist Hajar Raissouni, who was sentenced to jail last month for extramarital sex and an illegal abortion.

Piyush Goyal invites filmakers to promote cinema on trains (07:50)
New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) Minister of Railways and Commerce Piyush Goyal has lauded the novel idea of Indian Railways to invite filmmakers to promote their cinema projects on trains.

Macron, Merkel optimistic about endorsing Brexit at EU summit (07:44)
Paris, Oct 17 (IANS) French President Emmanuel Macron and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed hope to endorse an accord on Britain's orderly departure from the European Union (EU) at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Trump, Democrats clash after resolution opposes US withdrawal in Syria (07:28)
Washington, Oct 17 (IANS) House Republicans deserted the United States president to oppose his withdrawal of troops from Syria, a prelude to a rancorous White House meeting with congressional leaders in which the president insulted Democrats before they walked out.

Most Czechs think Brexit detrimental to the country: Poll (07:16)
Prague, Oct 17 (IANS) About 67 per cent of Czechs consider Brexit will be detrimental to their country, according to an opinion poll released by the newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD).

Kurdish journalist shot dead in northeastern Iraq (07:14)
Baghdad, Oct 17 (IANS) A Kurdish presenter for NRT television, along with his wife and their son, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the city of Sulaimaniyah in northeastern Iraq, a channel official said.

Priyanshu Painyuli added his own experience to 'Upstarts' (07:02)
Mumbai, Oct 17 (IANS) Actor Priyanshu Painyuli took cue from his own experiences to add to his upcoming Netflix project "Upstarts".

Iraqi forces capture IS militants fleeing battles in Syria (07:02)
Baghdad, Oct 17 (IANS) Iraqi Defence Minister Najah al-Shammari said on Wednesday that the security forces captured a number of Islamic State (IS) militants who tried to infiltrate into Iraq to flee the battles in neighbouring Syria.

Conflict in NE Syria not US's battle to fight: Trump (06:56)
Washington, Oct 17 (IANS) President Donald Trump said that American troops should not be placed in harm's way amid the Turkish army's military campaign against Kurdish militias in Syria's northeastern border region.

UN General Assembly mourns death of its former president (06:54)
United Nations, Oct 17 (IANS) The UN General Assembly mourned the death of Diogo Freitas do Amaral of Portugal, president of its 50th session back in 1995-1996.

Syrian army enters Kurdish-held town amid Turkish assault (06:42)
Damascus, Oct 17 (IANS) The Syrian army entered the symbolically important Kurdish-held town of Ayn al-Arab in northern Syria near Turkey, state news agency SANA reported.

US House passes resolution opposing Trump's Syria decision (06:36)
Washington, Oct 17 (IANS) The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass a resolution rebuking President Donald Trump's decision to pull US troops out of northern Syria amid ongoing Turkish offensive.

Ang Lee is learning the new language of cinema (06:36)
Los Angeles, Oct 17 (IANS) Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ang Lee is on a quest to find out how digital cinema will change the world, and says he is trying to learn how to speak in that language.

'Turkish offensive in NE Syria should be proportional' (06:00)
United Nations, Oct 17 (IANS) Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that Turkey's military operation in northeast Syria should be "proportional" to its declared objectives.