NEW DELHI: India’s top court on Tuesday eased a ban on fireworks for a major Hindu festival despite air pollution in New Delhi and other cities again reaching danger levels.
The Supreme Court, which last year banned firecrackers for the Diwali festival, rejected a new call for a ban in the capital amidst growing concern over pollution.
Firecrackers set off for the Hindu festival of lights add to the toxic mix created by farmers burning crop stubble, diesel engines, coal-fired power plants and industrial emissions.
The World Health Organization in May listed 14 Indian cities, including Delhi, in the world’s top 15 with the dirtiest air.
Ahead of Diwali on November 7, the Supreme Court ordered that only reduced smoke fireworks — so-called ‘green firecrackers’ — could be sold and that this must be through licensed traders. No fireworks can be sold online, it said.
The court has also set a two hour window from 8:00pm to 10:00pm for the lighting of crackers on Diwali.
“It needs to be enforced strictly,” Gopal Sankarnarayan, a lawyer for the petitioners told NDTV television.
Last year, the Supreme Court suspended the licenses of all firecracker sellers in Delhi for one month because of the pollution crisis which leaves the Indian capital’s 20 million residents gasping for clean air during the winter months.
However, many ignored the ban and purchased crackers illegally or brought out old stocks.
Every winter, air pollution in Delhi soars as cooler air traps harmful particles from the various emissions.
Smog has climbed in recent weeks as temperatures have fallen and smoke from burning wheat fields in neighboring states has reached the capital, mingling with urban pollutants.
Indian court eases firecracker ban even as pollution soars
Indian court eases firecracker ban even as pollution soars
- Diwali festival is on November 7
- Every winter, air pollution in Delhi soars as cooler air traps harmful particles from the various emissions
Anger over Minneapolis shooting probe fuels protests
- Federal immigration officers armed with pepperball guns and tear gas clashed with the noisy crowd
- After he passes in front of the car, another agent can be heard ordering Good to exit the vehicle before she tries to drive off and shots ring out
MINNEAPOLIS: Local officials in Minneapolis slammed federal agencies Friday for excluding them from the probe into an immigration officer’s fatal shooting of a woman, as public outrage grew ahead of planned weekend protests.
Officials in the midwestern state of Minnesota said their law enforcement agencies have been excluded from the investigation into the killing of motorist Renee Good by a federal immigration officer on Wednesday.
A local prosecutor said Friday that federal investigators had taken Good’s car and the shell casings from the scene.
The Trump administration has sought to paint the victim as a “domestic terrorist,” insisting that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who fatally shot her was acting in self-defense.
Cell phone footage apparently taken by the officer who fired the fatal shots shows him interacting with Good as he approaches and circles her car, and her saying, “I’m not mad at you.”
After he passes in front of the car, another agent can be heard ordering Good to exit the vehicle before she tries to drive off and shots ring out.
The White House insisted the video gave weight to the officer’s claim of self-defense — even though the clip does not show the moment the car moved away, or him opening fire.
“This is not the time to bend the rules. This is a time to follow the law... The fact that Pam Bondi’s Department of Justice and this presidential administration has already come to a conclusion about those facts is deeply concerning,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, told a briefing on Friday.
“We know that they’ve already determined much of the investigation,” he said, adding that the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, within its department of public safety, has consistently run such investigations.
“Why not include them in the process?” Frey said.
On Thursday, US Vice President JD Vance said that the ICE officer, named in US media as Jonathan Ross, had “absolute immunity” — a claim disputed by local prosecutors.
Court filings seen by AFP showed that in June 2025, Ross was dragged 100 yards along a road by a car driven by a man who was the subject of immigration enforcement activity.
“When the FBI, when the federal agencies, say they won’t share evidence with the local authorities, the public can’t trust that it’s going to be a true, transparent investigation,” said local Patrick O’Shaughnessy, 43.
- ‘Get out’ -
Minnesota officials have said that local investigators were initially invited by the FBI to participate in the inquiry into the shooting of Good, but were subsequently blocked from taking part.
Good, 37, was shot in the head as she apparently tried to drive away from ICE in the Midwestern US city as officers approached her car, which they said blocked their way.
Good was one of four people who have been killed by ICE since Trump launched his immigration crackdown.
Good’s wife Becca Good told local media that they had gone to the scene of immigration enforcement activity to “support our neighbors.”
“We had whistles. They had guns,” she said.
Local prosecutor Mary Moriarty, the Hennepin County attorney, said “our goal must be that a thorough investigation is completed at the local level.”
“The FBI currently has, for example, Ms Good’s car, the shell casings and witness interviews.”
Moriarty unveiled an online evidence portal, calling for submissions so that all available leads could be compiled.
She added that she hoped federal authorities would reconsider and “at least” give local detectives access to evidence.
Protest action continued Friday with hundreds gathering at a federal facility that has become a focal point of anti-ICE demonstrations with at least one detention seen.
Federal immigration officers armed with pepperball guns and tear gas clashed with the noisy crowd.
There were some 1,000 weekend protest gatherings planned across the United States, according to organizers.
“You can’t trust anything that (the Trump administration) say, they have their own agenda, and I think they’re drunk on power quite clearly,” said master gardener Kate Netwal, 66.
