Madras High Court orders SIT probe into Vijay rally stampede

The Madras High Court on Friday ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the stampede at actor-politician Vijay’s rally in Karur that left 41 people dead. The SIT will be headed by Asra Garg, IPS, the Inspector General of Police, North Zone. The stampede happened on September 27, at a rally organised by Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), when a larger-than-expected crowd turned up to see the actor-turned politician. Read more

Russia to import more agri, medical products to offset India’s losses over US tariffs

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that his country will import more agricultural products and medicines from India to balance the trade after the US imposed punitive tariffs on New Delhi for buying oil from Moscow. Calling India-Russia relationship “special”, Putin referred to PM Modi as his “friend” and said that he feels comfortable in their trustworthy interactions. Putin is set to visit India in December. Read more

Former NSG commando part of 26/11 ops caught with 200 kg ‘gaanja’

Rajasthan Police on Thursday arrested a former National Security Guard (NSG) commando for his alleged involvement in an inter-state drug smuggling gang. Bajrang Singh, who was part of the response team during the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai, was caught from Ratangarh in Churu and nearly 200 kg of gaanja (cannabis) was recovered from him. According to the police, Singh was smuggling cannabis from Telangana and Odisha into Rajasthan. Read more

Papua New Guinea set to enforce social media age restrictions

Papua New Guinea has become the latest country to propose age restrictions on social media users to reduce the impact of harmful content. Under the country’s new Social Media Policy 2025, users aged 14 and above will need a SevisPass digital ID, before they can log in to platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and X. Earlier, Australia, Britain, Norway, and European Union countries had also imposed age restrictions on social media users amid growing concerns about the impact such exposure can have at a young age. Read more

Perplexity’s Comet AI browser is now free for all

Perplexity’s agentic AI browser – Comet is now available to Mac and Windows users for free. Powered by the company’s own search engine, the browser is designed to help users who rely on the internet for work, research and other tasks. Until now, the Comet AI browser was limited to Perplexity Max subscribers. The browser’s main feature is Comet Assistant, an AI-powered assistant that you can bring up like Copilot in Edge. Read more

5 stories you must read today, October 3: From SIT probe in Karur stampede to Russia’s promise to import more Indian products and more

Read about the Madras High Court ordering SIT probe into the Karur stampede last week, what Putin said about reducing Indian losses due to US tariffs and more, here.

Express Catch-up 5 stories you must read today, October 3

A view of the spot (left) where a stampede occured in Karur on September 27. Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 6, 2021. (Photo: ANI/ PTI)

Good evening. India’s Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh’s revelation on downing specific Pakistani fighter jets during Operation Sindoor and the continuing high alert in Bareilly over ‘I love Muhammad’ protests dominated news headlines on Friday, October 3. But much more has happened in the worlds of politics, business, technology, sport, and entertainment. Don’t worry, Express Catch-up is here to bring you up to speed.

01
Madras High Court orders SIT probe into Vijay rally stampede
The Madras High Court on Friday ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the stampede at actor-politician Vijay’s rally in Karur that left 41 people dead. The SIT will be headed by Asra Garg, IPS, the Inspector General of Police, North Zone. The stampede happened on September 27, at a rally organised by Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), when a larger-than-expected crowd turned up to see the actor-turned politician. Read more
02
Russia to import more agri, medical products to offset India’s losses over US tariffs
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that his country will import more agricultural products and medicines from India to balance the trade after the US imposed punitive tariffs on New Delhi for buying oil from Moscow. Calling India-Russia relationship “special”, Putin referred to PM Modi as his “friend” and said that he feels comfortable in their trustworthy interactions. Putin is set to visit India in December. Read more
03
Former NSG commando part of 26/11 ops caught with 200 kg ‘gaanja’
Rajasthan Police on Thursday arrested a former National Security Guard (NSG) commando for his alleged involvement in an inter-state drug smuggling gang. Bajrang Singh, who was part of the response team during the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai, was caught from Ratangarh in Churu and nearly 200 kg of gaanja (cannabis) was recovered from him. According to the police, Singh was smuggling cannabis from Telangana and Odisha into Rajasthan. Read more
04
Papua New Guinea set to enforce social media age restrictions
Papua New Guinea has become the latest country to propose age restrictions on social media users to reduce the impact of harmful content. Under the country’s new Social Media Policy 2025, users aged 14 and above will need a SevisPass digital ID, before they can log in to platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and X. Earlier, Australia, Britain, Norway, and European Union countries had also imposed age restrictions on social media users amid growing concerns about the impact such exposure can have at a young age. Read more
05
Perplexity’s Comet AI browser is now free for all
Perplexity’s agentic AI browser – Comet is now available to Mac and Windows users for free. Powered by the company’s own search engine, the browser is designed to help users who rely on the internet for work, research and other tasks. Until now, the Comet AI browser was limited to Perplexity Max subscribers. The browser’s main feature is Comet Assistant, an AI-powered assistant that you can bring up like Copilot in Edge. Read more

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Afghanistans Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi attends a press conference in New Delhi, India October 12, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

‘Technical issue’: Afghanistan Minister plays down ‘no-women’ press meet

India1 hr ago

Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has described the exclusion of women journalists from his Friday press conference in New Delhi as “more a technical issue and no other problems,” amid ongoing criticism over the incident. The Taliban leader, who is on a week-long visit to India, faced backlash after his initial press meet reportedly barred women journalists.

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