The army of Ukraine crossed the Russian lines in southern Ukraine, said the general who is leading the counteroffensive while speaking to the US media this weekend amid the latest claims made by Ukraine that it is making progress in the Zaporizhzhia area. In other news, the 19th Asian Games got underway in Hangzhou, China, with a glittering and vibrant opening ceremony at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium. Men’s Hockey Team captain Harmanpreet Singh and the Olympic medalist boxer Lovlina Borgohain led the Indian contingent. With 655 athletes, 260 coaches and support staff, India’s 921-member contingent is one of the biggest, other than the Republic of China’s.

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The progress of the Ukrainian army has been slower than expected because of the heavily mined territory, however, in recent weeks Kyiv reported making strategic advances in the Zaporizhzhia region. “On the left flank (near the village of Verbove) we have a breakthrough and we continue to advance further,” said General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, while speaking to CNN.

With 40 different sports and 61 disciplines, athletes will compete for a total of 483 gold medals during two weeks of the sport’s greatest extravaganza this year. The commencement of the continental showdown lit up the Big Lotus, the venue initially designed as a football arena back in 2018 that can accommodate 80,000 spectators.

India’s National Investigation Agency has confiscated the properties of banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in Amritsar and Chandigarh, media reports said. The confiscated properties include 46 kanal of agricultural property in the ancestral village Khankot, located on the outskirts of Amritsar district.

Amidst escalating diplomatic tensions between India and Canada regarding Ottawa’s accusations on Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing case, a former Pentagon official has severely criticised Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for making unfounded allegations against New Delhi.

A seasoned US senator Bob Menendez has temporarily stepped down from his role as the head of the influential foreign relations committee in the Senate as he faces charges of bribery, reported the BBC. The Justice Department alleges that Robert Menendez and his wife received substantial sums of money in exchange for assisting the government of Egypt.

The Biden administration is in talks with Vietnam over an agreement for the largest arms transfer in history between the ex-Cold War adversaries, according to two people familiar with a deal that could irk China and sideline Russia. A package, which could come together within the next year, could consummate the newly upgraded partnership between Washington and Hanoi with the sale of a fleet of American F-16 fighter jets as the Southeast Asian nation faces tensions with Beijing in the disputed South China Sea, one of the people said.

British comedian and actor Russell Brand, who has faced a series of sexual misconduct allegations in recent days, broke his silence on Friday with a brief video posted across his social media channels. In the three-minute, 19-second clip, Brand did not directly address the accusations against him but acknowledged the challenging week he has experienced.

Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall on North Carolina’s coast near Emerald Isle early on Saturday (September 23) as it moved north along the east coast of the United States. Before the storm made landfall, the governors of North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia declared a state of emergency. It was predicted that Storm Ophelia would bring heavy rainfall as well as tropical-storm-force winds and could lead to minor flooding along the coasts of the states throughout the weekend.

Pope Francis on Saturday (September 23) appealed to the European governments to welcome migrants in their countries and not to consider them as “invaders”, as the religious leader stepped his foot into a very sensitive political debate which has been inflamed by mass arrivals. “Those who risk their lives at sea do not invade, they look for welcome,” said Francis in a speech during a conference of bishops and young people from the Mediterranean in the French port city of Marseille.

Over a dozen people, mostly civilians, have been killed and at least 20 others have been injured in central Somalia, on Saturday (September 23) after a suicide bomber drove a truck packed with explosives towards a security checkpoint, reported news agency AFP citing the local police. The attack took place in the town of Beledweyne where the officials have also reported damage to nearby buildings.