The big news: SC asks states to take immediate action to reduce pollution, and 9 other top stories
Other headlines: At least 339 people were killed in a powerful earthquake near the Iran-Iraq border, and 20 people died after a boat capsized near Vijayawada.
A look at the headlines right now:
- SC asks Centre, UP, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi to take immediate action about pollution: The Delhi government has asked the NGT to allow exemptions to its odd-even scheme as air quality deteriorates, and Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda said he will introduce a Right to Clean Air Bill in Parliament’s Winter Session.
- At least 339 killed, over 2,500 injured after powerful earthquake strikes near Iraq-Iran border: Most of the casualties were in Iran’s Kermanshah province, where 129 people died and over 900 were hurt in the 7.3-magnitude quake.
- Twenty die after boat capsizes near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh: State Home Minister N Chinnarajappa said 20 people had been rescued from the Krishna river.
- India, US working for future of humanity, Modi says after meeting Donald Trump: The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Manila.
- Swine flu cases rose twentyfold in India in 2017, shows Health Ministry data: Over one lakh people were affected and 8,562 succumbed to the H1N1 virus in the country between 2010 and October 2017, the report says.
- OPD services across Karnataka likely to be affected as doctors protest against medical bill amendments: The ‘Belagavi Chalo’ protest comes on a day when the state government is likely to pass the bill as the Winter Session begins.
- SC asks Centre to clarify its stand on the Ram Setu within six weeks: The bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka has been embroiled in controversy since 2005 after the government’s Sethusamudram shipping canal project was planned.
- ‘Vested interests win,’ says senior bureaucrat Ashok Khemka after 51st transfer: The Haryana government transferred him, along with 12 other IAS officers, a month after he asked a minister to return a vehicle to a junior officer.
- Wife of Aligarh Muslim University professor claims he divorced her over WhatsApp: The police registered a case against Khalid Bin Yusuf Khan after the woman alleged torture in her complaint.
- SoftBank to invest in Uber after the two strike a billion-dollar deal: The Japanese venture capitalist is also a major investor in Ola, the cab-hailing firm’s main competition in India.