Delhi Metro fares up from today, SC bans firecrackers in Delhi, Tata interested in bidding for Air India: Top stories of the day

Delhi Metro rides get costlier from today, CM Kejriwal says Centre should have thought about commoners

Starting Tuesday, Delhi Metro rides will become costlier by a maximum of Rs 10 for those travelling over two kilometres in the city. In an emergency meeting late on Monday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) board decided that it is not “competent” to roll back or defer the proposed fare hike. This development has brought down the curtains on a 10-day-long political confrontation between the Delhi government and the Centre. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had expressed his opposition to the proposed hike in two missives to Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri, openly disapproved of the board’s decision. Read the story here.

No firecrackers this Diwali: Supreme Court puts on hold sale in Delhi-NCR till November 1

The Supreme Court reinstated on Monday its ban on the sale of firecrackers in and around New Delhi ahead of Diwali, in a preemptive step to stop a toxic haze from engulfing the region like last year. The festival of light falls on October 19 this year. The court banned the sale of firecrackers last year but relaxed the restrictions on September 12 this year after a plea from fireworks manufacturers. The court said a complete ban would be a “radical step”. On Monday, a top court bench headed by Justice AK Sikri postponed implementing its September order while accepting a plea from three children for reinstating the ban. The court said the ban runs until November 1. here is no prohibition on lighting celebratory firecrackers or their sale outside the National Capital Region, which includes the Capital and satellite cities Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad. Read the story here.

Video shows Nigerian man thrashed by mob in south Delhi, police launch probe

A mob in south Delhi is seen punching, kicking and beating with sticks a Nigerian man tied to a lamp post, in videos shot during the brutal assault last month after he was accused of burglary. A clip shows 24-year-old Ahmad begging to let him go amid a volley of blows landing on his bloodied face. A second video shows an attacker holding his legs and another man hitting with a stick. The man cries out aloud: “Forgive me.” But the crowd keeps thrashing him. Another shot show a woman hitting him with a slipper. A man is then seen shouting that he had found Rs 6,000 in the Nigerian’s pocket. The attack in Savitri Nagar happened on September 24 but police swung into action after the three videos surfaced on Monday. Read the story here.

Richard Thaler, who showed how human traits affect markets, wins 2017 Nobel Prize in economics

US academic Richard Thaler, who helped popularise the idea of “nudging” people towards doing what was best for them, won the 2017 Nobel Economics Prize on Monday for his work on how human nature affects supposedly rational markets. Influential in the field of behavioural economics, his research showed how traits such as lack of self-control and fear of losing what you already have prompt decisions that may not have the best outcome in the longer term. “I think the most important impact (of my research) is the recognition that economic agents are human and economic models have to incorporate that,” Thaler, a professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, said in call broadcast at the Nobel news conference. Read the story here.

The Nobel Prizes: So male?

For over a hundred years, men have dominated the Nobel Prizes. And even as women have entered public life, men continue to win most of the prizes. Why? See the interactive feature here.

Tata chairman Chandrasekaran says interested in bidding for Air India

Tata conglomerate is interested in bidding for state-owned Air India as the group needs to increase the size of its aviation business, its boss told television channel CNBC TV18 on Monday. Tata would “definitely look” at Air India once the government finalised the privatisation process, N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata group’s holding company Tata Sons, said.He said Tata, which already has two small airline joint ventures in India, one with Singapore Airlines and the other with Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd, was still not clear about what a sale would look like. The government has not said whether it will sell all or parts of Air India and what it might do about the loss-making airline’s debt burden of $8.5 billion. Read the story here.

Ahead of Amit Shah’s visit, Amethi Congress leader quits to join BJP

Local Congress leader of Amethi Jang Bahadur Singh on Monday announced his decision to join the BJP, just a day ahead of BJP chief Amit Shah’s visit to the Lok Sabha constituency of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. Singh, who was a BSP MLA from 2003 to 2007 before joining the Congress, said he was “saddened” by the policies of the Congress and felt “enthused by the development-oriented politics” of the BJP. “I have decided to join the BJP. The projects which were started earlier have virtually slowed down significantly, thereby generating a sense of agony. However, with the advent of Smriti Irani (Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Textiles), there has been a visible shift,” he told reporters. Read the story here.

Slain JeM commander Khalid was involved in several killings in J-K: Police

A Pakistani operational chief of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit gunned down on Monday was involved in several attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, including the October 3 strike on a Border Security Force camp near the Srinagar airport. Police said the slain commander was to blame for many security and civilian killings in addition to masterminding suicide (fidayeen) attacks. “He was motivating youth and poor boys to join his outfit to execute grenade attacks for monetary benefits on behalf of the Pakistan-based JeM commanders,” it added. Read the story here.

Donald Trump administration to terminate Obama’s climate plan

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday that he will sign a new rule overriding the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era effort to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. “The war on coal is over,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt declared in the coal mining state of Kentucky. He said no federal agency “should ever use its authority” to “declare war on any sector of our economy.” For Pruitt, getting rid of the Clean Power Plan will mark the culmination of a long fight he began as the elected attorney general of Oklahoma. Pruitt was among about two-dozen attorney generals who sued to stop President Barack Obama’s 2014 push to limit carbon emissions, stymieing the limits from ever taking effect. Read the story here.

New UK hub to tackle online hate crimes

The Theresa May government on Monday announced the setting up of a new national hub to improve the tackling of online hate crimes by police so that victims are supported and the number of prosecutions increased. The hub, run by officers for the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), will work to ensure online cases are managed effectively and efficiently, the home office said. The hub is expected to ensure all online cases are properly investigated. Home secretary Amber Rudd said: “Online hate crime is completely unacceptable. What is illegal offline is illegal online, and those who commit these cowardly crimes should be met with the full force of the law. Read the story here.

FIFA U-17 World Cup: Jeakson scores, but Colombia beat India 2-1

After India’s loss against USA, everyone knew a win or draw was needed against Colombia in their Group A clash if India were to harbour any hopes of making the Round of 16 in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. This is what encouraged fans at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Monday evening to make even more noise than in the opening game. However, their best wasn’t enough as a Juan Penaloza double gave Colombia a 2-1 win. The result means India will not make it to the knockout stages in their first ever World Cup. Jeakson Thounaojam etched his name in India’s football history by becoming the first from the country to score in a FIFA tournament, but the 80th minute equaliser was immediately followed by the winner from Penaloza. Read the story here.