Here are the top national, international and sports school assembly headlines for October 21, 2026.

NATION

PM reaches out political parties, asks all to stand together for national interests

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reached out to political parties, urging all to join hands in national interest and to fulfil the aspirations of the people, amidst the government's efforts to build consensus for the passage of the delimitation-linked Women's Reservation Bill.

In second visit in 5 months, Rubio calls on India to scale up US energy and defence buys

Mumbai/New Delhi: India and the US on Tuesday moved to expand energy and defence cooperation despite ongoing friction in their relations, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged New Delhi to scale up energy trade and increase the purchase of American technologies and systems.

Jaishankar, Rubio and Al Nahyan meet in Mumbai to advance regional energy and economic priorities

Mumbai/New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met in Mumbai on Tuesday in a trilateral format to discuss regional energy security and advance shared economic priorities.

Shah meets families of drug-related victims in Punjab; demands transfer of 2 other cases to CBI

Chandigarh: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday met the families of individuals who lost their lives due to drug-related issues in Punjab, saying he had never felt so deeply saddened in life as he did while meeting them and also called out the AAP government for failing to curb the menace.

Manipur CM holds meeting with INDIA bloc leaders, reviews security situation

Imphal: Manipur Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh on Tuesday held a meeting with INDIA bloc leaders, including state Congress chief Okram Ibobi Singh and CLP leader K Meghachandra Singh, and reviewed the overall law and order situation in the wake of the killing of three people by suspected militants in Kangpokpi district.

Revellers flock to Ramlila grounds to soak in Dussehra celebrations

New Delhi: Dussehra, symbolising the triumph of dharma over adharma, was celebrated across the country on Tuesday, with revellers flocking to Ramlila grounds to witness the burning of effigies of the demon king Ravan.

Ladakh L-G notifies amendment paving way for hill development councils in all 8 districts

Leh/Jammu: Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Tuesday notified the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Amendment) Regulation, 2026, promulgated by President Droupadi Murmu, paving the way for the creation of LAHDCs in all eight districts of the Union Territory, including the newly created Sankoo district.

Parvinder Singh Jhota murder probe to be handed over to CBI: Bhagwant Mann

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said his government will hand over the probe into the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Protect 'identity' of India, Israel from destabilisation bid of extreme Left, Marxist forces: Revach

Nagpur: Israel's Consul General in Mumbai Yaniv Revach on Tuesday called for the need to strengthen the "identity" of India and Israel to ensure that "extreme Left and Marxist forces" do not try to destabilise "our values".

Dipke dismisses comparisons between CJP protests and unrest in France, Nepal, Bangladesh

New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday rejected comparisons between the outfit's protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the violent unrest in France, Nepal and Bangladesh, saying his colleagues Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka "went to jail happily" and chose "peace over hatred" as they were following Mahatma Gandhi's path of satyagraha. 

5th edition of Austrahind joint military exercise commences in Keralam

Thiruvananthapuram: The fifth edition of the joint India-Australia military exercise, Austrahind, has commenced at the foreign training node here.

LEGAL

CJP's Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka move Delhi HC against judicial custody

New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka Tuesday approached the Delhi High Court seeking an urgent hearing against the extension of their judicial custody.

BUSINESS

India, US share extraordinary alignment on core issues that matter: Rubio

Mumbai: Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said there is an "extraordinary alignment" between India and the US on the core issues that matter even though there can be disagreements on some others.

Jio is a technology company, not just a telco, says Akash Ambani ahead of mega IPO

New Delhi: Jio Platforms is betting that its technology, artificial intelligence and cloud ambitions will drive growth beyond telecom, Managing Director Akash Ambani said on Tuesday, pitching the Reliance Industries unit as a technology company ahead of what is set to be India's biggest-ever initial public offering.

India-New Zealand trade pact kicks in

New Delhi: The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), signed on April 27, came into effect on Tuesday, providing duty-free access to a range of Indian goods, including products from labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and leather. 

FOREIGN

'No justification' for terrorism and 'no double standards' in addressing it: Rajnath Singh at SCO

Dushanbe: India on Tuesday said that there can be "no justification" for terrorism and "no double standards" in addressing the menace, as it called on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states to make concerted efforts to "dismantle" the entire "ecosystem of terrorism." 

India voices concern over UN's liquidity situation in 2026, says unpaid assessments are at unacceptably high levels

United Nations: India has voiced concern over the "challenging" liquidity situation of the United Nations this year, as it called out the "unacceptably high levels" of unpaid assessments owed by just one member state. 

(With inputs from PTI)