WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the number of military troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexican border could reach 15,000 — roughly double the number the Pentagon said it currently plans for a mission whose dimensions are shifting daily.

The Pentagon says “more than 7,000” troops were being sent to the southwest border to support the Customs and Border Protection agents. Officials said that number could reach a maximum of about 8,000 under present plans.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia aims to remove all asylum seeker children from Nauru within two months as concerns escalate about their deteriorating health after languishing on the tiny Pacific atoll nation for up to five years.

But Cabinet ministers said Thursday the government is maintaining its much-criticized policy of sending all asylum seekers who attempt to reach Australia by boat to immigration camps on Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Refugee advocates welcomed the change for children, 46 of whom were born in Nauru.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president has summoned Parliament to meet next week as pressure grows for him to resolve the turmoil set off when he sacked the Cabinet last week, his chosen prime minister said Thursday.

President Maithripala Sirisena made the decision a day after meeting with Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, who previously warned of possible violence if lawmakers were not summoned immediately.

New Delhi, Oct 31 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to file an affidavit within 10 days to say that the pricing in the Rafale fighter jet deal between India and France is exclusive and cannot be shared with the court.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices U U Lalit and K M Joseph also asked the Centre to share information which can be brought in the public domain with the petitioners.

New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI) Welcoming the Supreme Court's order to Centre to submit details of pricing of the Rafale fighter jets India is buying from France, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury alleged Thursday that the Modi government has tried to "cover up" its secret and dishonest activities in the multi-crore defence deal.

Alleging that the Rafale deal was an example of cronyism and corruption, Yechury said he was hopeful the truth about the deal will come out as the apex court has insisted on facts.

Salem (TN), Oct 31 (PTI) A 13-year-old Dalit girl was beheaded at a hamlet in this district of Tamil Nadu allegedly by her neighbour after she reportedly spurned his advances.

A senior police official said Wednesday the accused Dinesh Kumar has been arrested and lodged in Salem jail and a probe was on.

The incident happened at a small village near Attur in Salem district recently.

Thiruvananthapuram,Oct 31 (PTI) Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Wednesday wanted to know why BJP had not built a bigger statue for Mahatma Gandhi while they erected a 182-metre statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, his disciple.

Addressing a function at the district congress committee office here, the Congress leader said there was no such gigantic statue for RPT for RPT Mahatma Gandhi in the country.

Hyderabad, Oct 31 (PTI) Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has expressed solidarity with academician-activist Kancha Ilaiah over the alleged move by the Delhi University to ban three books written by him, calling it an attempt by the RSS to keep Dalits "disempowered" and propagate a "unilateral view of Hinduism".

New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI) The national capital's air quality was on the brink of turning severe on Thursday due to stubble burning in the adjoining regions and unfavorable meteorological conditions, authorities said.

The overall air quality index of Delhi was recorded at 392, which falls in the 'very poor' category and is just eight points from turning severe.

Noida, Oct 31 (PTI) A fake call centre was busted here and 18 men were arrested for allegedly duping several people on the pretext of getting them jobs, police said Wednesday.

The action comes close on the heels of the busting of at least three similar bogus call centres in a fortnight -- two of them duping US, Canadian citizens and other foreigners with "tax benefit" schemes while the third offered people "cheap holiday packages" across India.

New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI) The two public sector undertakings tasked with manufacturing the latest M3 type electronic voting machines to be used in next year's Lok Sabha elections have delivered the lot comprising nearly 22.3 lakh ballot units and 16.3 lakh control units to the Election Commission, a senior EC official said.

Around 22.3 lakh ballot units, 16.3 lakh control units and nearly 17.3 lakh VVPATs or paper trail machines will be used for the 2019 LS polls. The number of machines includes the buffer stock for training as well as replacements.

Sydney, Nov 1 (AFP) China's rising and "unprecedented influence" in the Indo-Pacific region will challenge American interests, but confrontation must not define relations between the two powers, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned Thursday.

In his first major foreign policy speech, Morrison tried to tread a careful line between Australia's alliance with the United States and engaging a rapidly and evermore assertive China.