Supreme Court permits ‘green crackers’ in Delhi | Daily Wrap

India’s Supreme Court has granted Delhi the permission to have a cracker of a Diwali. The apex court has said the sale and use green crackers would allowed in the national capital in the festive season, despite rising concerns around worsening air pollution. But the permission comes with certain conditions.

The court made it clear that use of green crackers will be confined to specific hours on the day before Diwali and on the festival day itself. The sale of green crackers will be permitted from October 18 to 20 when Diwali will be celebrated.

It also made clear that the relaxation was only on a "test case basis and the same shall be only for the period specified". Use of these crackers will be allowed between 6 AM to 7 AM and 8 PM to 10 PM on the day before Diwali and on Diwali day.

The sale of green crackers shall be permitted only from the designated locations in the NCR which shall be identified by the district collectors in consultation with the district Superintendent of Police and given wide publicity.

JDU releases Bihar election list

With Bihar elections less than a month away, Nitish Kumar’s JDU has released its first list of candidates. A total of 57 names are on the list, out of which 30 are new and 27 have been repeated. A total of 5 ministers from the current Assembly have retained candidacy from their incumbent seats, including Shravan Kumar, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Ratnesh Sada.

Assembly elections in Bihar will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11 while the counting of votes will take place on November 14.

Aid flows into Gaza

Israel will allow Gaza's Rafah crossing to reopen on Wednesday for humanitarian aid to enter from Egypt into the Palestinian territory, Israeli public broadcaster KAN said.

"Six hundred trucks of humanitarian aid will be dispatched (Wednesday) to the Gaza Strip by the UN, approved international organisations, the private sector and donor countries," KAN said on its website without citing sources.

The UN and aid organisations have urged the reopening of the major crossing as Gaza faces a devastating humanitarian crisis after two years of war in the territory, sparked by Hamas October 7, 2023 attack. At the end of August, the United Nations declared famine in Gaza, though Israel rejected the claim.

Pakistan-Afghanistan clashes rage on

Fifteen civilians were killed and dozens wounded in fresh clashes on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Afghan officials told AFP on Wednesday.

Violence between the two neighbours has flared since explosions in Afghanistan last week, including two in the capital Kabul, that were blamed on Pakistan.

In retaliation, the Taliban government launched an offensive along parts of its southern border, prompting Islamabad to vow a strong response of its own. Dozens of casualties were then reported by both sides over the weekend, and the deadly clashes resumed at dawn on Wednesday.