Latest New Delhi News

India's capital chokes as air pollution levels hit 50 times the safe limit

Nov. 18, 2024 05:25 AM EST

NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities in India’s capital shut schools, halted construction and banned non-essential trucks from entering the city on Monday after air pollution shot up to its worst level this season. Residents of New Delhi woke up to thick, toxic smog enveloping the city...

Park regulars in New Delhi's Lodhi Garden say toxic pollution levels won't force them out

Nov. 16, 2024 21:32 PM EST

NEW DELHI (AP) — For many in New Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted cities, Lodhi Garden is an escape in the heart of India’s capital. Park regulars say they won’t let rising pollution levels deter them — even if they have to tweak their routine because of the smog. ...

Clean energy could create millions of tons of waste in India. Some are working to avoid that

Nov. 15, 2024 00:01 AM EST

KENCHANAHALLI, India (AP) — On the edges of a dense forest in southern India, six women in a small garage are busy stitching cloth bags, pants, hospital gowns and office uniforms with automated sewing machines. About four years ago, power cuts constantly interrupted their work....

India's Modi likely to find comfort in Trump's return and a shared worldview

Nov. 14, 2024 09:38 AM EST

NEW DELHI (AP) — Donald Trump’s return to the White House has made many countries anxious and recalculating where they stand with the U.S., but India appears to be welcoming the change that may embolden nationalist leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I know today a lot...

India's ban on Salman Rushdie 'The Satanic Verses' may end — thanks to missing paperwork

Nov. 08, 2024 17:06 PM EST

NEW DELHI (AP) — The decadeslong ban of Salman Rushdie's “The Satanic Verses” in his native India is now in doubt — not because of a change of heart more than two years after the author’s near-fatal stabbing, but because of what amounts to some missing paperwork. Earlier...

AP PHOTOS: Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees flock to rivers for prayers to the sun god

Nov. 08, 2024 01:57 AM EST

NEW DELHI (AP) — Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees flocked to rivers and bodies of water across India to pray to the sun god as part of the Chhath festival this week. In Noida, on the outskirts of the capital New Delhi, families gathered at the Yamuna river, which is covered...

India protests Ottawa's allegation its home minister ordered targeting of Sikh activists in Canada

Nov. 02, 2024 09:45 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India officially protested on Saturday the Canadian government’s allegation that the country’s powerful home minister Amit Shah had ordered the targeting of Sikh activists inside Canada, calling it “absurd and baseless.” Relations between the two countries...

Toxic smog cloaks India's capital as Diwali firecrackers push air pollution to hazardous levels

Nov. 01, 2024 03:30 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (AP) — A thick layer of toxic smog cloaked India’s capital on Friday as smoke from firecrackers used to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, pushed air pollution to hazardous levels. New Delhi's air quality index plunged into the “severe” category,...

What is Diwali, the Festival of Lights? How is it celebrated in India and the diaspora?

Oct. 31, 2024 07:00 AM EDT

Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India — and for Hindus in particular. It is celebrated across faiths by more than a billion people in the world’s most populous nation and the diaspora. Over five days, people take part in festive gatherings, fireworks...

Use of smoke-emitting firecrackers renews air pollution debate in India's capital ahead of Diwali

Oct. 31, 2024 01:35 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (AP) — As India gears up for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, people are divided over whether they should celebrate by setting off firecrackers, which worsen the country’s chronic air pollution. Diwali, which will be celebrated Thursday, is marked by socializing...