India: Delhi chokes on most polluted Diwali eve in 10 years

Delhi was ranked as the world's most polluted major city on the eve of Diwali. Delhi's air pollution is expected to get worse in the coming days. DW has more.

Activist Sonam Wangchuk has said he is the subject of a witch-hunt by the Ladakh Lieutenant Governor's office, which he accused of targeting him in a smear campaign for standing with the youth of the country and participating in protests. In a video message on Saturday to Indian President Droupadi Murmu, Wangchuk asked her to intervene, saying, "Madam President, for the last six years. We don't have rights like in the rest of the country or democracy." In 2019, Ladakh lost the special status it shared with the former state of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and became a separate Union Territory.

The change meant that the Indian central government in New Delhi now directly governs the Himalayan region. Since 2019, several political and civil society groups in Ladakh have been demanding greater autonomy and, in many cases, statehood.