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The Delhi government on Monday announced a sweeping winter pollution action plan for the national capital, ordering a doubling of parking charges, staggered office hours, a 50% work-from-home mandate and phased construction bans from November 1. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Union Environment Minister Jitender Yadav announced the measures after a review meeting at Paryavaran Bhavan. The plan is part of the consolidated Winter Pollution Action Plan notified in July, which comes into force each year from November 1 to February 28. Higher parking charges, fewer office commutes Existing parking charges at authorised parking sites will be doubled from November 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027 to discourage the use of private vehicles...

The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Monday passed a resolution calling on the Government of India to urgently restore full statehood to the Union Territory, amid noisy protests and a walkout by opposition BJP legislators. The resolution was moved by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had originally tabled it last Friday before its consideration was deferred. It was adopted as BJP members jumped into the well of the House, tore business papers and staged mock proceedings in protest. PTI reported that four BJP MLAs were marshalled out of the chamber after they disrupted the proceedings. What the resolution says The resolution reads: "In addition to the resolutions passed by this House on 26, June 2000 and 6 November, 2024, the...

The death toll from the collapse of a three-storey building under construction in Ambala's Dhulkot village climbed to six on Monday, after two more workers pulled from the debris were declared dead late on Sunday night, officials said. The structure came down on Sunday evening while workers were casting the concrete slab — the lintel — for the roof on the first floor. The sudden collapse left more than ten people injured. What happened at the site One of the injured workers said on Sunday that some labourers were on the ground floor while others were engaged in the casting work above when the building gave way. Rescue teams reached the spot soon after the incident. Excavators and JCB machines were pressed into service to clear the...

Lovely Professional University in Punjab's Phagwara has suspended regular classes for 10 days and postponed its mid-term examinations amid violent student protests over an alleged rape on campus, in a rapidly escalating crisis that has drawn more than 2,000 police personnel to the university. The unrest erupted over the weekend after claims circulated among students and on social media that a female student had been raped inside a girls' hostel — allegedly on September 23 — and that the incident had been suppressed. Protests that began on Saturday turned violent on Sunday, with students damaging university property, setting objects on fire and blocking the Jalandhar–Phagwara stretch of National Highway 44, a key Delhi–Amritsar road...

Two giant pandas touched down on American soil on Sunday, marking the return of one of the most enduring symbols of US–China diplomacy after a two-year absence. Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female, arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on the morning of September 27 aboard a chartered FedEx Boeing 777 dubbed the "FedEx Panda Express," Beijing's state media and Zoo Atlanta confirmed. The pair had departed Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at around 3am local time on Saturday for the 16-hour journey across the international date line. A summit promise fulfilled The transfer had been agreed earlier, but its timing was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on September 24, during...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited Abu Dhabi on Sunday and met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a senior Israeli official told Reuters, according to reports on Monday. Neither Netanyahu’s office nor the UAE Foreign Ministry immediately commented on the reported visit. Israeli media reported that Netanyahu flew privately from Ben-Gurion Airport around midday on Sunday, landed in Abu Dhabi in the early afternoon, spent several hours in the UAE capital — much of it in a one-on-one meeting — and returned to Israel the same evening. Visit comes amid October 7 warning controversy The meeting comes amid a recent report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz alleging that Sheikh Mohamed had warned Netanyahu...

The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested two more people in connection with a ₹11.42-crore “digital arrest” case in Gujarat, following coordinated searches at 22 locations across 10 states under its nationwide crackdown, Operation Chakra-VI. The arrested men, identified as Himanshu Prasad and Unis Biswas, are accused of having received, layered and dispersed the proceeds of the crime. The agency said on Sunday (September 27) that the pair allegedly used the bank account of M/s Hexaquest Global Pvt Ltd to receive ₹2.5 crore out of the ₹11.42 crore defrauded from the victim, and then transferred the funds onwards to multiple accounts belonging to their accomplices to obscure the money trail. How the alleged fraud worked In the...

Hurricane Polo is expected to make landfall on Mexico's Baja California Sur coast on Monday night, after weakening from the Category 5 intensity it reached earlier in the week. Reuters reported on September 27 that Polo had weakened to a Category 3 storm but was forecast to strike the Baja peninsula on Monday night. A US Embassy weather alert said the system was expected to ease further to Category 1 strength before making landfall in northern Baja California Sur on Monday, September 28, and then continue northeast into the state of Sonora. **What is expected** Forecasts late on Sunday placed Polo's centre 155 miles southwest of Cabo San Lázaro at midnight, still a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 127 mph and gusts up to 155 mph...

Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, the wife of Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, died on Monday at the age of 100, her husband's office announced. She died at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur, according to state news agency Bernama, which cited the couple's son Mokhzani Mahathir. No further details about the cause of death were immediately available. A public figure in her own right Far from a ceremonial spouse, Siti Hasmah carved out a distinct public identity over the decades her husband spent at the centre of Malaysian politics. She was widely known for an unassuming personality and easy humour that stood in deliberate contrast to her husband's blunt, often acerbic style. As a political spouse, she...

Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, the wife of Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, died on Monday at the age of 100, her husband's office announced. She died at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur, according to state news agency Bernama, which cited the couple's son Mokhzani Mahathir. No further details about the cause of death were immediately available. **A public figure in her own right** Far from a ceremonial spouse, Siti Hasmah carved out a distinct public identity over the decades her husband spent at the centre of Malaysian politics. She was widely known for an unassuming personality and easy humour that stood in deliberate contrast to her husband's blunt, often acerbic style. As a political spouse, she...

The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of a string of recent rape and sexual-assault cases in Delhi-NCR, with a bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran invoking what it called a "systematic failure" of law enforcement to guarantee basic public safety. Registering a suo motu case, the bench directed that the matter be listed for hearing and asked the Delhi Police to respond. The court's observations, reported by LiveLaw from the order, draw a direct parallel with the country's landmark 2012 case: "one cannot help but draw painful parallels to the Nirbhaya incident of 2012," the bench said. The Cases Before the Court Among the incidents cited were a gangrape reported in a park in the Kalkaji Temple...

An IndiGo flight from Guwahati to Bengaluru suffered a tail strike while attempting to land at Kempegowda International Airport on Sunday, the airline confirmed. The incident took place during the aircraft's second landing attempt amid gusty weather conditions, with all passengers and crew members remaining safe. The airline described the event as "abnormal runway contact." The Airbus A321 involved in the incident has been grounded and will undergo thorough maintenance checks before being cleared to return to service. The passengers and crew disembarked normally, and the airline said the relevant authorities have been informed. What Happened Tail strikes occur when the tail of an aircraft makes contact with the runway during take-off...

A shooting near Towson University in Maryland triggered a campus-wide shelter-in-place order on Sunday evening, after police responded to reports of gunfire at an apartment complex close to the campus. One man was injured and taken to hospital, Baltimore County police confirmed. Officers were called to the Cardiff Hall East Apartments in the 8000 block of York Road at about 7:15 pm local time. Towson University's Public Safety department sent an emergency alert to the campus community at approximately 7:20 pm reporting a shooting at 8013 York Road, telling everyone on campus to shelter in place immediately, close and lock windows and doors, and await further direction. The alert told students plainly: "This is not a drill." The...

The Election Commission of India has told the Supreme Court that voter deletions carried out during West Bengal's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls did not change the outcome of the state's 2026 Assembly elections. The poll panel firmly opposed a plea by Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien seeking fresh polling in 31 Assembly constituencies. The Election Commission's position came in an affidavit filed before a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. Responding to the application, the Commission said that 37,05,235 appeals arising from the SIR exercise were still pending before appellate tribunals, with only 1,26,194 of the 38,31,429 appeals filed so far having been...

The Union power ministry has directed 112 captive coal-fired power plants to operate at maximum available capacity from October 1 through December 31, invoking emergency provisions of the Electricity Act as the country braces for an expected rise in electricity demand in the coming months. The order, dated September 25 and reported by Reuters, applies to coal-based captive generating stations with an installed capacity of at least 50 megawatts. Generators must offer surplus electricity — after meeting their own captive requirements — through power exchanges, and file weekly reports with the Central Electricity Authority covering generation, captive consumption, power sales, available capacity and coal stocks. Who is covered The...

Punjab police have registered an FIR after allegations that a female student of Lovely Professional University was raped on the campus, setting off violent student protests that blocked National Highway-44 near Phagwara on Sunday, The Hindu reported. The agitation began hours after students went on a rampage and vandalised university property. Protesters, mainly students, then took to NH-44, disrupting traffic and clashing with police. ABP Live reported that protesters set a police vehicle on fire and pelted stones as the violence escalated in Phagwara. A note on the facts: the police's registration of the FIR is confirmed. The alleged assault itself remains under investigation, and the reporting so far does not name any accused or...

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption has registered a case against DMK MLA and former highways minister E.V. Velu, his son E.V. Kumaran, several public servants and contractors over the alleged unauthorised excavation of lake-bed material in Tiruvannamalai district, The Hindu reported on Monday. According to the anti-corruption agency, the material was dug up in Malappambadi village to level the venue of a DMK Northern Zone Youth Wing Conference held in December 2025. The case names Velu, who previously held the Highways, Minor Ports and Public Works portfolios, along with his son, unnamed public servants and contractors who carried out the work. The Vigilance agency's case alleges that earth was removed from the lake bed...

The Supreme Court is set to hear a public interest plea on Monday challenging the Centre's decision to impose a merchant discount rate on large Unified Payments Interface transactions, putting the spotlight on one of the most closely watched financial-policy debates in the country. The petition, filed by advocate Anjan Datta, questions the legality of the 0.4 per cent charge on person-to-merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000, which takes effect from October 15. The matter is listed before a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, according to The Hindu and The Tribune. The plea argues that the fee was introduced without adequate statutory safeguards, transparency and public...

Ten people were killed and 11 wounded when gunmen opened fire at a store in the Lwandle township near Cape Town in the early hours of Sunday, South African police said — the second mass shooting in the country within hours. What happened The attack struck at about 1:46 am on Sunday at a store linked to what police described as an entertainment venue in Lwandle, in the Western Cape, the Associated Press reported. Police said they were searching for multiple suspects, though they did not give an exact number. No arrests had been announced as of the latest updates, and the motive remained unknown. A night of violence The Lwandle shooting came roughly four hours after eight gunmen killed 17 people at a tavern in Wedela township...

Pope Leo XIV met privately with seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse in Lourdes on Sunday evening, the Vatican said, as the pontiff's four-day visit to France turned to one of the Catholic Church's most painful chapters. The meeting at the bishop's residence near the Marian shrine lasted about two hours, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, Vatican News reported. Those present were four men and three women, all now adults, who suffered abuse in parishes, boarding schools, religious congregations and ecclesial movements. They had first met each other on September 14 to prepare what they would share with the pontiff. "Extraordinary" embrace Among them was 80-year-old Jean-Marie Delbos, who was abused as a pupil at the Notre-Dame de Betharram...