News in pictures: J&K not part of China, Twitter clarifies; Churches burned in Chile; Smartphones take away sleep; Harthas probe; Kerala airport claim quashed…

POLITICIAN AMONG 3 BOOKED FOR RAPING SINGER IN INDIA: Three men, including NISHAD party MLA Vijay Mishra and his son, were booked on Sunday for allegedly raping a 25-year-old singer, Uttar Pradesh police said. This comes after an FIR has been lodged at Gopiganj police station against NISHAD party MLA Vijay Mishra, his son and one other for allegedly raping a girl in 2014 after calling her to his house for a programme. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india

CHURCHES BURNED AS THOUSANDS MARK CHILE PROTEST MOVEMENT ANNIVERSARY: Two churches were torched as tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered Sunday in a central Santiago square to mark the anniversary of a protest movement that broke out last year demanding greater equality in Chile. While the morning brought a largely festive atmosphere to the protests at Plaza Italia, there were several incidences of violence, looting and vandalism in the afternoon. https://gulfnews.com/world/americas

BRITISH INVENTOR DYSON SELLS LUXURY SINGAPORE PENTHOUSE: British billionaire inventor James Dyson is selling his luxurious Singapore penthouse atop the city-state's tallest building, his company said Monday, about a year after buying it for a reported US$54 million. The tycoon snapped up the property, which has a rooftop terrace, private pool and jacuzzi, after his electric appliance firm announced it was shifting its global headquarters to the city-state from England. The price tag was the highest ever for a penthouse in the affluent financial hub. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia

TWITTER RESOLVES GEOTAG ISSUE AFTER SHOWING JAMMU AND KASHMIR AS PART OF CHINA: After courting controversy for wrongly showing Jammu and Kashmir as part of China, Twitter on Monday said it has resolved the issue. "We became aware of this technical issue on Sunday, and understand and respect the sensitivities around it. The teams have worked swiftly to investigate and resolve the concerned geotag issue," a Twitter spokesperson told IANS in a statement. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia

SLEEP DISRUPTION DUE TO OVERUSE OF SMARTPHONES: Cell phones have become integral to function for nearly everyone. Cellphones emit intermittent electromagnetic radiation (also referred to as Radio Frequency energy) and bright screen light, both these aspects have tremendous impact triggered from prolonged use. Increased screen time also affects the sleep and psychosocial behavior across age groups. Being exposed to the bright light emitting from cell phones has been shown to reduce levels of Melatonin, which plays a pivotal role in maintaining your natural sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin is a hormone which is secreted by the Pineal Gland to give cues to the biological clock and brain, that it's time to sleep. Studies have shown that excessive use of cell phones leads to reduced duration and quality of sleep; it also increases daytime fatigue. It increases personal stress by creating an urge to reply to the text messages immediately, and respond. https://gulfnews.com/lifestyle/health-fitness

CBI TEAM IN HATHRAS JAIL TO QUESTION ACCUSED: A team of India’ federal agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has reached the Aligarh jail in connection with the Hathras gang rape case. The CBI team is questioning all the four accused in the case -- Ravi, Luvkush, Ramu, and Sandeep. Sources said that the team is questioning the four accused separately and will then question them together. The victim succumbed to her injuries at a Delhi hospital on September 29. https://gn24.ae/aa781a83fdeb000

PARIS BOURSE TRADE SUSPENDED DUE TO 'TECHNICAL PROBLEM': Trading on the Paris stock exchange has been suspended due to a technical problem, bourse operator Euronext said Monday. "We are working to resolve the problem," Euronext said in a tweet. Euronext also runs the Brussels, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Dublin and Oslo markets. https://gulfnews.com/business

PHILIPPINES REPORTS 2,638 MORE CORONAVIRUS CASES, 26 DEATHS: The Philippines recorded on Monday 2,638 new coronavirus infections and 26 additional deaths. The Southeast Asian country's total confirmed cases had climbed to 359,169, while its death toll had risen to 6,675, the health ministry said in a bulletin. Total recoveries had increased to 310,303, it said. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/philippines

COURT DISMISSES KERALA GOVERNMENT’S PLEA ON LEASING THIRUVANANTHAPURAM AIRPORT TO ADANI: The Kerala government suffered a big setback on Monday after the High Court dismissed their plea against Centre's move to lease out the Thiruvananthapuram international airport to Adani Enterprises. In its plea, the Kerala government has said the decision to lease out the airport for 50 years under the PPP model to Adani was not a proper deal. The court ruled that the deal was fair and the Kerala government was given concessions and it also took part in the tender process, but Adani had won at the end. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india

ALIBABA PAYS $3.6 BILLION TO TAKE OVER CHINA HYPERMARKET GIANT SUNART: China's e-commerce behemoth Alibaba has bought a controlling $3.6 billion stake in SunArt which runs hundreds of hypermarkets on the mainland for French shopping giant Auchan. The move to take a 72 percent holding in SunArt tightens Alibaba's grip on China's vast e-commerce sector as it looks to soak up the new customers pushed online to buy groceries, fresh food and healthcare products by the coronavirus. It also hands over control of 13 million square metres (140 million square feet) of retail space in scores of cities across the country. https://gulfnews.com/business

MORE THAN 40 MILLION CORONAVIRUS CASES WORLDWIDE: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide passed 40 million on Monday, according to an AFP tally at 0715 GMT based on official sources. A total of 40,000,234 infections and 1,113,896 deaths have been recorded across the globe. More than half the global caseload has come in the three hardest-hit countries: the United States with 8,154,935 infections, India with 7,550,273 and Brazil 5,235,344. https://gulfnews.com/world

FRENCH POLICE RAID HOMES OF 'DOZENS' OF MILITANTS: French police on Monday raided the homes of "dozens" of extremists three days after the beheading of a teacher who showed his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), the interior minister said. Gerald Darmanin said over 80 investigations had been launched for online hate speech following the killing of the teacher, who had been the target of vitriolic attacks on the internet. https://gulfnews.com/world/europe