Good evening. The deadly clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the death of actor Pankaj Dheer, who portrayed Karna in TV series Mahabharat, dominated news headlines on Wednesday, October 15. But much more has happened in the worlds of politics, business, technology, sport, and entertainment. Don’t worry, Express Catch-up is here to bring you up to speed.
- 01
SC allows green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR during Diwali
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the sale and bursting of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR during upcoming Diwali celebrations. The SC bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran, however, made it clear that the green firecrackers, approved by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, can only be used for two days – October 19 and 20, between 6 am to 7 am and 8 pm to 10 pm. The SC also noted that it was allowing the use of green firecrackers on a “temporary measure” and on a “test-case basis.” The bursting of firecrackers has been blamed as one of the contributing factors for the rising air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR. The SC had imposed a blanket ban on firecrackers in Delhi-NCR in 2018. Read more
- 02
Kerala hijab row: Student’s father says she will abide by school’s uniform policy
The hijab row that has rocked Kerala for the past couple of days has been settled after the family of the aggrieved student agreed to comply with the school’s uniform policy. Following this, Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty, who had a day earlier criticised the school management and insisted that the Muslim student should be allowed to wear hijab and continue her studies, also changed his stand on Wednesday, saying that the issue is over. The Christian management school had argued that they had the right to enforce the uniform policy and pointed out that only one of the more than 100 Muslim students there had demanded that she should be allowed to wear hijab. Read more
- 03
Akshay Kumar approaches Bombay HC seeking protection of personality rights
Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar on Wednesday approached the Bombay High Court seeking protection of his personality rights. Kumar has sought action against “large-scale misuse” of his persona through artificial intelligence (AI)-generated and deepfake images and videos, deceptive advertisements, counterfeit merchandise, false brand endorsements on social media and e-commerce platforms. Recently, several other Bollywood personalities, including actors Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, had also sought similar protections. Read more
- 04
Ex-Kenya PM Raila Odinga dies of cardiac arrest in Kerala
Former Prime Minister of Kenya, Raila Odinga, died on Wednesday following a cardiac arrest during a visit to Kerala. Odinga was visiting Kerala to undergo Ayurvedic treatment when he died. He collapsed during a morning walk within the premises of the Ayurvedic facility and was rushed to a private hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The spokesman said Odinga and his family had been visiting the hospital, which had earlier helped his daughter regain her vision. Read more
- 05
IMF, Pakistan reach staff-level deal on $1.2 billion payout
The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday it has reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on its loan programme, which would allow the country to access $1.2 billion after approval from the fund’s board. The IMF will provide Pakistan $1 billion under its Extended Fund Facility and $200 million under its Resilience and Sustainability Facility, bringing total disbursements under the two arrangements to about $3.3 billion. Read more
