News in pictures: Kerala rain alert, Airbus unveils new designs, jeweller killed in India, Google-Paytm clash, Pakistanis get Indian citizenship...

INDIAN NAVY WOMEN OFFICERS TO JOIN WARSHIPS CREW: Heralding yet another first in the history of Indian naval aviation, two women officers have been selected to join as "Observers" (Airborne Tacticians) in the helicopter stream. Lieutenant Kumudini Tyagi and Sub Lieutenant Riti Singh will be the first women officers in the Indian Navy to embark on Navy warships as part of ship's crew. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india

MAMATA FUMES AT SUSPENSION OF MPS: Indian state of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday condemned the suspension of eight Members of Parliament (MP) who fought to protect the interests of farmers in Parliament, dubbing the move as "unfortunate". Banerjee also came down heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre protesting its "undemocratic norms and principles" of functioning. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india

AIRBUS UNVEILS HYDROGEN POWERED DESIGNS: European plane maker Airbus SE unveiled three designs it's studying to build hydrogen-powered aircraft as it races to bring a zero-emission passenger plane into service by 2035. The approaches include a turbofan jet with capacity for as many as 200 passengers - similar to its A321neo narrow-body - that can fly more than 2,000 nautical miles, according to a statement Monday. https://gulfnews.com/business

FOUNDER OF TRUCK MAKER NIKOLA RESIGNS: The founder and executive chairman of embattled zero-emission truck maker Nikola has resigned, the company announced after allegations of fraud which sparked a stock tumble and a regulatory investigation. https://gulfnews.com/business

JEWELLER SHOT DEAD IN UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA: A jeweller was shot dead by four men on motorbikes in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, the police said today. Jeetpal Maurya, 45, was on motorcycle when four men on a two-wheeler opened fire at him killing him on the spot, police official Rajeev Singh said. The bag, which the jeweller was carrying, was missing, he said.

ASIAN MARKETS WEIGHED BY VIRUS SPIKES: Most Asian markets fell Monday following another disappointing performance on Wall Street with investors concerned about an uptick in coronavirus infections in Europe and the United States, as well as the lack of movement in Washington on a new stimulus. After months of big gains around the world, fuelled by government stimulus and central bank largesse, equities are beginning to wobble, with analysts warning traders were taking profits as they consider the rally may have been overblown. https://gulfnews.com/business

GREEK PM TO VISIT STORM-STRICKEN AREAS: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will visit areas hit by a rare hurricane-like storm that left at least three dead, officials said Monday as reconstruction efforts began. "The prime minister will visit Karditsa on Tuesday," the government's deputy spokeswoman Aristotelia Peloni told state TV ERT, referring to the central Greek city that saw thousands of homes submerged by flooding. Mediterranean cyclone Ianos, known as a "medicane", has so far left three dead and one person missing.

'GOOGLE FORCED PAYTM TO ROLL BACK CASHBACK CAMPAIGN': Global internet giant Google's Play store rules forced Paytm to roll back a UPI cashback campaign which is legal in India, digital payments company Paytm claimed on Sunday. The company in a blog alleged that it was arm-twisted to take down its campaign while Google Pay has been running similar cricket-based promotions. Google had blocked Paytm on its Play store following a policy update on September 18, ahead of the IPL cricket tournament, to disallow apps that support any unregulated gambling but restored the mobile app after a few hours after it rolled back the campaign. The homegrown financial services firm Paytm said that it was forced to comply with Google's mandate to remove the UPI cashback and scratch cards campaign to get re-listed on the Android Play Store.

86,961 NEW COVID-19 CASES IN INDIA: India's COVID-19 tally reached 54.88 lakh with 86,961 people being infected in the past 24 hours, while 43,96,399 people have recuperated so far pushing the national recovery rate to 80.12 per cent on Sunday, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The total coronavirus cases mounted to 54,87,580, while the death toll climbed to 87,882 with the infection claiming 1,130 lives in a span of 24 hours in the country, the data updated at 8 am showed. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india

INDIAN CITIZENSHIP GRANTED TO 2,120 PAKISTANIS: A total of 2,120 Pakistanis, 188 Afghans and 99 Bangladeshis were granted Indian citizenship in the last four years, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said a total of 2,729 people of 44 nationalities were granted Indian citizenship from 2017 till September 17, 2020.