Welcome to news round-up for Tuesday, September 29, 2026, curated specifically to keep students informed and connected to the world around them. Below are the key national, international, and sports updates carefully selected to present during your morning school assembly.

National News

SIR row: Congress holds protests across Maharashtra against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Congress on Monday held protests across the state seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over what the party claimed were irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and biased functioning of the Election Commission of India.

LPU protest: Calm returns to campus, students head back home; police warn vandals of action

Phagwara: A day after violent protests rocked the LPU campus in Kapurthala district's Phagwara, the situation was peacefu on the campus, with many students heading home following suspension of classes for 10 days even as the Punjab DGP warned of action against vandals.

Traffic movement on National Highway-44, which had been blocked by the protesting students from the Lovely Professional University (LPU) for over 15 hours, was restored, police said.

West Bengal: Situation normal at SRFTI day after clash between right-wing consumer group, students

Kolkata: Police maintained a presence outside SRFTI's main gate here on Monday, a day after a clash between a section of students and members of a right-wing consumer protection group, ABGP, left several people injured, officials said.

A senior police officer present outside the main gate of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) said cases had been lodged by both sides or suo motu at the nearby Panchasayar police station in connection with the clash.

On Monday, there were no untoward incidents; students attended classes, and there were no gatherings of outsiders in front of the gate.

Road-widening project: Stone-pelting against mosque demolition in MP's Ujjain

Ujjain: Tensions flared in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain city on Monday as police deployed tear gas shells to disperse a crowd that hurled stones while protesting the proposed demolition of a portion of a mosque for a road-widening project, officials said.

International News

Congo Ebola outbreak tops 8,000 confirmed cases as disease remains out of control

Bunia: The number of confirmed cases of Ebola virus in Congo has surged past 8,000, as the country runs out of health workers to contain the deadly disease.

Congo announced an outbreak on May 15, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no known treatment or vaccine, and has struggled to contain it.

Latest data from Congo's health ministry showed that 8,067 cases have been confirmed, with 3,901 deaths as of Sept. 26 across 63 health zones in seven of the country's 26 provinces, with a fatality rate of more than 48%.

Eight US Marines injured in Iranian missile strike on vessel in Strait of Hormuz

Washington: Eight US Marines were injured in an Iranian cruise missile attack on a vessel they were operating in the Strait of Hormuz about two weeks, NBC reported, citing US officials.

The Marines were not seriously injured but suffered smoke inhalation and showed symptoms of possible traumatic brain injuries, including headaches and concussion-like symptoms, the officials said.

‘AI could cause a billion deaths’: Bill Gates warns of humanity’s biggest risk

Washington: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has warned that artificial intelligence could trigger events resulting in a billion deaths, calling for mandatory safeguards and monitoring systems as Washington debates how to regulate the rapidly advancing technology without undermining US competitiveness.

In an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press", Gates said AI was fundamentally different from earlier technological breakthroughs and could become vastly more intelligent than humans in the coming years.

"This is truly an evolutionary event," Gates said. "We have created an intelligent species that, in many respects, is already smarter than we are, and over the next several years at kind of exponentially improving level will be insanely smarter than we are."

Asked whether AI could end humanity, Gates said: "AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that, you know, cause a billion deaths."

"There’s never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools," he added.

Sports News

Asiad cricket: Higher-ranked India in semi-final after QF against Afghanistan abandoned

Nagoya: The Indian men's cricket team entered the Asian Games semi-final without even taking the field after its quarter-final against Afghanistan was abandoned due to inclement weather here on Monday.

The defending champion side made it to the last four as it is ranked No.1 in the ICC T20I rankings while Afghanistan is currently placed 10th.

India will take on winners of the quarter-final between Nepal and Sri Lanka to be held here on Tuesday. If that match is abandoned, then Sri Lanka, by virtue of their higher ranking, will take on India in the semi-final.

There has been consistent rain in Nagoya for the past few days and even a curtailed match was a remote possibility on the day.

AFI says long jumper Shaili Singh's mark wrongly measured by Asiad officials; will move CAS

Nagoya: Claiming that the officials at the ongoing Asian Games took a "shorter" measurement of long jumper Shaili Singh's effort which denied her a medal, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has decided to move the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against their decision.

Shaili finished fourth with a best jump of 6.42m in the women's long jump event on Sunday, with compatriot Ancy Sojan taking the silver with 6.53m. China's Huang Yingying took the gold with her final attempt of 6.55m.

The bone of contention is Shaili's fourth attempt, which officially measured 6.41m. According Shaili's mentor and legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George, the distance was wrongly measured at the behest of an official who was not close to the landing pit.

"We saw her jump was clearly ahead of the gold-winning mark. Initially, the official near the landing pit pointed to Shaili's leg mark for the measurement.

"But later another official who was standing far behind came and pointed to a mark which was far shorter from board," Anju told PTI.

That covers the key national, international, and sports updates. Stay curious, keep learning, and have a productive day ahead at school. (Agencies)