Iraqi Shiite militia Kata'ib Hezbollah threatened to attack the presence of US forces if Israel assaults Iraq.

Abu Ali al-Askar, security leader of the Iranian-backed Shiite militia, said in a statement on Wednesday that the Iraqi airspace is witnessing intense activity by the United States and Israel, indicating "the possibility of a Zionist (Israeli) aggression against Iraq."

"Accordingly, the Kata'ib Hezbollah renews its warning that its response will not be limited to Israel only, but will include the entire US presence," the statement said.

Al-Askar also called on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a Shiite militia group, to increase the number and scale of their operations and the level of threat to Israel, reports news agency.

Tropical storm Helene has become a Category 1 hurricane as it moved through the Gulf of Mexico, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

NHC forecasters predict the hurricane will pick up speed as it reaches the Florida Big Bend coast on Thursday evening, reports news agency.

NHC advised people located in Florida's panhandle, including Tampa Bay, to take necessary precautions to "protect life and belongings" and follow evacuation protocol. The coastline cities may see up to eight feet of water, accompanied by destructive waves. AccuWeather believes Helene has the potential to reach Category 4 status.

Tampa International Airport (TIA) is suspending operations starting at 2:00 a.m. Thursday. Three nearby smaller airports, Peter O. Knight, Tampa Executive and Plant City, are following TIA's steps and closing on Thursday. Schools in the area are also cancelling classes and closing their campuses. The University of Florida expects to resume normal scheduling on Friday.

After the torrential downpour claimed at least four lives, Mumbai braced for more rains on Thursday with the authorities declaring schools-colleges shut as a precautionary measure.

Wednesday's sudden downpour, which caught lakhs of Mumbaikars hurrying home totally by surprise, saw three casualties, including a 45-year-old woman, Vimal A. Gaikwad, who drowned in an open drain in Andheri east MIDC area.

Another woman drowned near the Zenith Waterfalls in the Khopoli area of Raigad and two persons were killed in a lightning strike at Varap village in Kalyan town of Thane.

The downpour led to flooding in large parts of Mumbai, Thane, Pune and stranded lakhs of commuters rushing home in the evening peak hours, leading to huge chaos.

One such regular commuter, businessman Sandeep Viswambhar, who was driving from Taloja to Powai got stuck in traffic snarls en route and took almost 4-5 hours for a commute that normally takes barely an hour.

Manchester United were forced to settle for a point in the opening match of their Europa League campaign with a 1-1 draw against Erik ten Hag's former club FC Twente.

Manchester United took a deserved lead when Christian Eriksen's first European strike for the club flashed into the net but good industry from Bart van Rooij paved the way for Lammers to equalise midway through the second half.

The equaliser gave the Eredivisie outfit an injection of confidence and United had to stay focused as the contest opened up again. Zirkzee came close to his first European goal for the Reds as he exchanged passes with Dalot and forced a save from Unnerstall, before Harry Maguire saw his header from Eriksen’s resulting corner deflect wide – despite a goal-kick being awarded.

Hyundai Motor and Kia, South Korea's leading automotive companies, said on Thursday they have launched a joint project to develop cathode material technology for producing LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries for electric vehicles.

The joint project, also involving Hyundai Steel Co. and Ecopro BM, aims to develop a technology for synthesising materials directly without using precursors during the manufacturing of LFP battery cathodes, reports news agency.

Hyundai Motor and Kia, in collaboration with Hyundai Steel, plan to develop high-purity fine iron powder processing technology using recycled steel. Ecopro BM will utilise this to develop directly synthesised LFP cathode materials.

The project, supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will run for four years, the automakers said. The companies' representatives held a meeting Wednesday to discuss future cooperation.

After a two-year bull run, residential real estate activity across top cities stabilised in the third quarter (July-September) this year, reaching more that 1.07 lakh units, a report showed on Thursday, adding that the lull was due to monsoon and perceived inauspiciousness (the ‘shraad’ period).

However, sales continued to outstrip new supply in Q3, reflecting continued health in the market. Share of new luxury homes supply (priced Rs 1.5 crore and above) was highest at 33 per cent in the quarter, as per Anarock Group report.

“Housing sales in the third quarter tapered down amid high prices and the monsoon season. As always in this period, the ‘shraad’ period also suppressed demand to an extent as many Indians defer home buying in this period. Overall, the housing market is stabilising after creating a new peak in Q1 2024,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Group.

FC Barcelona continued their 100 percent start to the season in La Liga with a 1-0 win at home to Getafe, who remain in the bottom three and without a win

Inaki Pena made his first appearance of the season in the Barcelona goal after Marc-Andre ter Stegen's knee injury at the weekend, but had little work to do against a rival that created little danger until the last minute of the game.

Robert Lewandowski put Barca ahead after 19 minutes when he hooked home a loose ball after Getafe goalkeeper David Soria made a mess of a Jules Kounde cross from the right, reports.

The second half continued with Barcelona in control, with Lamine Yamal hitting the bar with a left-foot shot and Raphinha drawing an excellent save from Soria.

The Indian Embassy in Beirut has issued an advisory strongly urging Indian citizens against travelling to Lebanon till further notice following the recent incident of airstrikes and blasts in communication devices.

They have also advised the Indian nationals residing in Lebanon to leave the country as soon as possible and further advised the people to exercise "extreme cautions" and remain in contact with the Embassy, who have to remain here amid the escalating situation.

"As a reiteration of the advisory issued on August 1, 2024, and in view of the recent developments and escalations in the region, Indian nationals are strongly advised against travelling to Lebanon till further notice," the Embassy said on Wednesday in their notice.

"All Indian nationals already in Lebanon are also strongly advised to leave Lebanon. Those who remain for any reason are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements, and remain in contact with the Embassy of India in Beirut through our email ID: cons.beirut@mea.gov.in or the emergency phone number +96176860128," the Embassy said.

Indian frontline indices were trading at a record-high on Thursday following positive global cues.

At 9.46 a.m., Sensex was up 144 points or 0.17 per cent at 85,314 and Nifty was up 36 points or 0.14 per cent at 26,040.

In early trade, Sensex and Nifty made a new all-time high of 85,372 and 26,056 respectively.

In the Sensex pack, Maruti Suzuki, Wipro, Tata Motors, Nestle, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, ITC, TCS, Bajaj Finserv, HUL, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank and SBI were the top gainers. Power Grid, NTPC, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Titan, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, L&T and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top losers.

Arinesto Vezha, Brandon Mavuta, George Linde and Salman Irshad put in remarkable performances at the Harare Sports Club on the fifth day of Season 2 of Zim Afro T10, as the Harare Bolts, Cape Town Samp Army and Jo’Burg Bangla Tigers picked up wins, keeping the race for the top 4 alive.

Batting first Harare Bolts got off to a brisk start before Oshane Thomas brought the NYS Lagos right back into the contest with a couple of wickets. After that though, Jimmy Neesham (18) and Dasun Shanaka (31) took charge, and scored freely in the middle overs.

Once they were dismissed, the Zimbabwean Sean Williams’ (22) lusty blows helped the Bolts get to 117/7 in their 10 overs.