🇧🇩 Bangladesh clarifies BRICS invite for BIMSTEC, not PM

Bangladesh confirmed that its Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman, was not invited to the BRICS summit in an official capacity. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir stated that India invited him only as the head of BIMSTEC. This clarification came amidst speculation after India extended an early invite in August 2026. Kobir clarified that the initial visit must be bilateral, separate from multilateral events. Other regional heads are confirmed to attend the 2026 BRICS summit hosted by India.

🚆 Railways hits record bookings during festive rush

IRCTC recorded its highest-ever single-day bookings surpassing 20 lakh tickets on September 7. This massive surge in demand occurred across Indian Railways as the festive season approached. A total of 20,06,353 tickets were booked on September 7, followed by 19,50,699 on September 8. Currently, nearly 89 percent of reserved tickets are booked online, which has necessitated new server deployments. IRCTC is also cracking down on bots, having deactivated 3.04 crore user IDs to manage the volume. 🚆

🤝 BRICS Business Forum kicks off, focusing on resilience

The BRICS Business Forum commenced its inaugural session just before the main Summit took place. The forum gathered enterprises from various sectors across the BRICS nations. The discussions focused on exploring commercial opportunities, supply chain connectivity, and trade facilitation. India’s chairship theme emphasizes building resilience, innovation, and sustainability amid global economic issues. Future plans include strengthening the ecosystem with initiatives like the BRICS Incubator network. 🤝

🌵 Desert donkeys create oasis in Israel

In 1982, Israel released 28 wild donkeys into the Ramon Crater of the Negev Desert to aid conservation. These animals, Persian onagers and African wild asses, were carefully introduced after breeding programs began decades prior. Today, the population ranges between 500 and 600 across the region. They dig waterholes and disperse acacia seeds, restoring the arid ecosystem significantly. This effort has turned a harsh environment into a globally studied model of ecological resilience. 🌵

🎖️ Indian veterans' paper cited by NATO study

A paper by Indian Army veterans explored how modern warfare moves beyond physical battlefields into the socio-technical-cognitive battlespace. Lt Gen DS Hooda (Retd) and Lt Col Pavithran Rajan (Retd) co-authored this work, which was cited ten times in a NATO-funded publication. This study, published by the Polish Association for National Security, highlighted AI and cognitive warfare aspects. General VK Singh called this international recognition a landmark achievement for Indian strategic thought. The research shows adversaries can impact conflict by shaping public perception instead of just destroying armies.

🏦 Bank services hit by nationwide strike for 5-day week

Banking services were significantly impacted nationwide on Friday, September 11, 2026, due to a strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions. The strike affected most public sector banks across the country, though private sector banks remained functional. Approximately 7,000 branches in Madhya Pradesh halted operations, affecting daily business worth around ₹5,500 crore. Unions are pushing for a five-day workweek and resolution of wage-related issues, including declaring Saturdays as holidays. The unions plan to continue their protest until the government agrees to their demands. 🏦

🔬 IIT JAM 2027 registration starts tomorrow

Registration for the IIT JAM 2027 exam opens tomorrow through the official website jam.iitkgp.ac.in. This test allows admission to PG science courses in top institutes nationwide. Applications are open until October 12, 2026, with the exam set for February 14, 2027. Candidates must have completed or be in the final year of their undergraduate degree in 2027. Fees vary by category, ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,700, and applications are final once submitted. 🎓

🔄 Bihar CM rolled back several major decisions

Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary reversed numerous policy decisions after taking office on April 15, 2026. The government in Bihar faced public and opposition backlash on several key policies during his tenure. For instance, the Teacher Recruitment Exam (TRE-4) was changed from two to a single phase after student protests. Additionally, land sale restrictions were lifted, and the Student Credit Card limit was restored to ₹4 lakh. Political experts suggest these U-turns happen due to decisions being made too hastily.

🏛️ West Bengal passes inter-university transfer bill

The West Bengal Assembly passed the Universities and Colleges Amendment Bill on Thursday, September 10, 2026. This bill empowers the State government to transfer teaching and non-teaching staff between different State universities. The vote saw 171 MLAs in support and 15 against the legislation. Proponents aim to optimize human resources in higher education while protecting employee rights. Critics, however, fear the bill could lead to the selective targeting of academics critical of the State government. 🧐

😠 Mayawati kicks out nephew Akash Anand

Mayawati expelled her nephew Akash Anand from the BSP after a public disagreement on X. The conflict stemmed from his father-in-law, Siddharth Ashok, delaying his political retirement announcement. This drama highlights an intense power struggle within the BSP over control of the party. Initially, Anand's return was conditional on Ashok's resignation, which he eventually complied with. However, Mayawati felt the delay was too late, leading to his final ouster. 💔

🔭 Galactic study confirms Big Bang element timeline

New observations from The Large Binocular Telescope confirm element formation timelines from the Big Bang. Researchers analyzed helium in metal-poor nebulas in space, gathering 48 galactic samples. This work significantly reduces the error in estimating primordial helium abundance to almost half a percent. The findings confirm that the number of neutrino species aligns with the standard model of particle physics. The LBT Yp project will continue exploring this with less-explored metal-poor galaxies.