🔍Mahatma’s iconic statue, part of Parliament’s identity, site of protest and veneration

https://ift.tt/362RF7X

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Muslim ministers: numbers lag far behind share in population

https://ift.tt/33if0kc

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

☕ *Your Expresso is ready*

📬 Get this delivered straight to your inbox. To subscribe and stay updated with the latest reportage, visit: https://indianexpress.com/newsletters/

🚨 *The Big Story*

Diego Maradona is no more. Some players who came after him might be spoken of in the same breadth, but there will only be one Diego Maradona. And it is with good reason he was the joint winner of FIFA Player of the Century award. His magical feet, his breathtaking slalom runs and his determination to make his own destiny. That is Maradonna. One would run out of superlatives describing him.

Our sports correspondent Sandip G pays tribute to the legend in this beautiful obituary. (https://www.inexp.in/P-7bAR)

His colleagues Shamik Chakrabarty and Mihir Vasavda look at Maradona's time in Italy (https://www.inexp.in/d3Z5qd) and his moments of magic on big stages (https://www.inexp.in/lQ9zEL).


📰 *From the Front Page*

Voicing his concern over "judicial overreach", Vice President Venkaiah Naidu cited curbs on Diwali fireworks ban, denying the executive a role in the appointment of judges and monitoring investigations as examples of the courts overstepping their limits.

https://www.inexp.in/5raG3H

PDP youth chief Waheed ur Rehman Parra was arrested by the NIA in connection with a terror case against suspended J&K officer Devinder Singh. The PDP, however, sought to draw a connection between his arrest and the DDC polls in which Parra is contesting from Pulwama.

https://www.inexp.in/Wqpl+Q

The Centre has brought back night curfews in its fresh containment guidelines in which states have been given more elbow room to impose local restrictions on public movement and gatherings. However, states cannot seal borders and no separate approval would be needed for inter-state movement.

https://www.inexp.in/hE2FBu

Former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi released an audio clip purportedly featuring RDJ chief Lalu Prasad Yadav telling a BJP MLA to skip Wednesday’s Speaker's election. In the tape, the man said to be Lalu offers the MLA ministerial berth should the Grand Alliance topple the NDA government and get Speaker of its choice.

https://www.inexp.in/gArjeA

⚡ *Only in the Express*

Despite testing positive for and recovering from the debilitating Covid-19 infection himself, 62-year-old Dr Jalil Parkar, continues to spend hours in the hospital treating patients — much like countless other corona warriors, risking everything so that their patients can be secure.

https://www.inexp.in/6Cip5C

👩‍💻 *Must Read*

Ahmed Patel, “one of the pillars of the Congress”, who passed away early Wednesday fighting multiple organ failure post-Covid, was the go-to man whenever the party faced trouble. Which meant quite often.

https://www.inexp.in/Q-G1L9

Braving the cold blast of water canons and breaking police barricades erected along the Ambala-Delhi National Highway, farmers pushed forward with their quest to march to the national capital as part of their ‘Delhi Chalo’ call scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

https://www.inexp.in/1gun0I

Due to the curtailment of railway operations in many parts of the country, smaller cities are now showing faster air growth, those tracking the sector have said.

https://www.inexp.in/5+OOi+

🎯 *ICYMI*

👉 Hours before the “very severe” Cyclone Nivar made landfall along the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast, the Tamil Nadu government evacuated about 1.25 lakh people to relief camps.

https://www.inexp.in/FGXZDP

👉 The SC stayed the Andhra Pradesh HC order restraining the media from reporting the FIR registered in connection with alleged irregularities in land deadlings in Amaravati.

https://www.inexp.in/ZtgqlY

👉 Citing the “security scenario”, the MHA informed Lok Sabha that it will not be able to disclose information relating to suspension of telecom and internet services in Jammu & Kashmir.

https://www.inexp.in/raOW9A

👉 Mumbai Fire Brigade’s Chief Fire Officer, Shashikant Kale, was removed from his post after he was found to have hidden information of corruption charges against him while applying to be considered for the President’s Meritorious Service Award.

https://www.inexp.in/bJdOwu

👉 Malayalam film ‘Jallikattu’ is India’s official entry to the Best International Feature Film category of the 93rd Academy Awards.

https://www.inexp.in/XmAYQv

⌛ *And Finally...*

Police are awaiting the DNA test report of a three-year-old Labrador in Madhya Pradesh’s Hoshangabad district to settle an ownership dispute where one claimant is alleging that police are favouring the other due to his political connections.

https://www.inexp.in/D+6Mem

🤐 Delhi confidential: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey appears to be unfazed by the Lok Sabha Speaker not paying heed to his demand for the removal of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor from the post of chairman of the IT standing committee. On Wednesday, he wrote to Speaker Om Birla again.

https://www.inexp.in/e7rZSd

🎧 In today’s episode of the Three Things podcast, we are looking at why a proposal suggesting that big corporates be allowed to open banks has sparked such a controversy.

https://www.inexp.in/9BlSvE

Until tomorrow,

Leela Prasad G and Rahel Philipose

🔍Explained: The history of Thanksgiving, and the presidential turkey pardon

https://ift.tt/3q4nMfF

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Explained: Why Ibrahimovic and Bale are questioning the use of their images in FIFA 21

https://ift.tt/3nVFos7

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Explained Ideas: Why it may be a long winter for the Indian economy

https://ift.tt/2V5COmR

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Explained: Why Bumrah and Shami’s ODI, T20 outings in Australia can hurt India’s World Test Championship aspirations

https://ift.tt/33jcvhy

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Explained: Who are the women joining the Biden administration?

https://ift.tt/33jJ27h

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Explained: The legislation that makes Scotland the first country to make sanitary products free

https://ift.tt/3fzHKKn

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Explained: Why is November 26 observed as India’s Constitution Day?

https://ift.tt/2JajrH2

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Does winning the World Cup make Diego Maradona greater than Lionel Messi

https://ift.tt/37bPVZj

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Explained: Who is Michael Flynn, why his pardon by Trump has raised eyebrows

https://ift.tt/37aatSa

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Similar symptoms in Covid, lung injury caused by vaping

https://ift.tt/39inYln

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍President’s powers to pardon — in US, India

https://ift.tt/2V7ng28

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Term insurance: splitting your plan can optimise both cover, cost

https://ift.tt/2V2XOuJ

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Explained: Takeaways from Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine error

https://ift.tt/39jswIn

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

🔍Explained Ideas: Why permitting large industrial houses to own banks is a bad idea

https://ift.tt/3fCDHNc

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained

☕ *Your Expresso is ready*

📬 Get this delivered straight to your inbox. To subscribe and stay updated with the latest reportage, visit: https://indianexpress.com/newsletters/

Good morning,

🚨 *The Big Story*

Farmers protesting against the Centre's farm laws braved water cannons in the winter chill, tear gas shells and lathi blows from police to cross the multi-layer barricades set up at various places on multiple national and state highways to stop them from marching to Delhi. As the situation turned volatile across Haryana, Union Minister Rajnath and Narendra Singh Tomar invited them for talks.

https://www.inexp.in/9Wbq+N

📰 *From the Front Page*

After pharma company AstraZeneca admitted to a key error in the dosage received by some study participants of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, the Serum Institute of India, which will manufacture and distribute it, said the vaccine is viable even at the lowest efficacy of 60-70 per cent.

https://www.inexp.in/KMOsWp

Chief Justice of India S A Bobde said a "new kind of inequality" has emerged during the pandemic. It has become difficult for those who do not have access to technology to seek justice, he said, while speaking at an event organised to commemorate Constitution Day.

https://www.inexp.in/NBUnoL

Amid intense speculation that he would leave the TMC for BJP ahead of West Bengal Assembly polls next year, minister Suvendy Adhikari resigned as chairman of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC). In the event of Suvendy's exit from the party, there is a strong chance that his father Sisir Adhikari, who is also a TMC MP, and his two brothers would follow him.

https://www.inexp.in/BTLzwN

Six months after a boundary row affected bilateral ties, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla led the first high-level diplomatic visit to Nepal in which he had a one-on-one meeting with the country's Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. Both agreed on the need for a "candid review of the state of the bilateral relationship, sources said.

https://www.inexp.in/tEvfQb

⚡ *Only in the Express*

The Covid-19 lockdown could not have come at a more inopportune time for Amol Gorhe, who was smack in the middle of expanding his Greenfield Agro Limited business. But the Nashik-based businessman continued to deliver fresh supplies to doorsteps in Thane and Navi Mumbai — not just helping many prevent unnecessary Covid risks, but also averting job and other losses for many.

https://www.inexp.in/vvLJUX

👩‍💻 *Must Read*

With two days to go for J&K’s first ever District Development Council polls, the only real sign of an election are security vehicles passing by. Here, Candidates flanked by armed policemen are chaperoned to their constituencies. The election is the first step in the Centre’s bid to restart the political process in the newly created Union Territory.

Nearly 27 years after the RBI allowed private promoters to set up banks, it is still divided on letting corporates run banks. A cross-section of stakeholders, including several experts consulted by the RBI’s Internal Working Group which last week favoured entry of business houses, told the Indian Express that companies can inject capital, business experience and managerial competence into banking.

A study carried out by IIT-Delhi and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has found that the rate of increase in pollution levels in southern and eastern India between 2000 and 2019 was far greater than in the Indo-Gangetic plain, which is believed to be the most polluted region in the world in terms of PM 2.5 levels.

🎯 *ICYMI*

👉 Two army soldiers were killed after two militants opened fire at a convoy deployed on the road at Zainakote in Srinagar’s suburbs.

https://www.inexp.in/T2eymJ

👉 A BJP MLA, who Lalu Prasad allegedly called while in custody and asked to refrain from voting during the Speaker election, has filed an FIR against the RJD chief.

https://www.inexp.in/q9magA

👉 The ED arrested Ajay Ajit Peter Kerkar, the promoter of bankrupt travel firm Cox and Kings in connection with its money laundering probe.

https://www.inexp.in/iDVDyq

👉 Tribal rights activist Stan Swamy filed a bail application before a special court, saying there was no purpose in keeping a “sick, 83-year-old incarcerated”.

https://www.inexp.in/PPMC7P

⌛ *And Finally...*

Twelve years after the 26/11 attack exposed wide gaps in India’s coastal security, almost 60 per cent of India fishing boats are smaller than 20 metres — much like the inflatable boats the attackers used to reach Mumbai’s shores — and most do not have transponders to help authorities track them. But several government departments are looking to fix the issue.

https://www.inexp.in/xIKb3k

🤐 Delhi confidential: On a mission to repair ties with Nepal, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Thursday landed in Kathmandu and spoke to the local media in fluent Nepalese. His mother is from the Himalayan neighbour, and Shringla knows the language quite well.

https://www.inexp.in/lpD8S4

🎧 In today’s episode of the Three Things podcast, we’re looking at a controversy over land encroachments in Jammu and Kashmir that features prominent names, and the opposition to the resettlement of over 30,000 people in Tripura.

https://www.inexp.in/rA+iSh

Until tomorrow,

Leela Prasad G and Rahel Philipose

🔍Explained: BrahMos missile and significance of ongoing series of tests by Armed forces

https://ift.tt/39j22Xi

Go beyond the headlines with #ExpressExplained