Delhi-NCR continues to grapple with hazardous air quality levels, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) remaining at 355, classified as 'very poor.'

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's AQI at 7:30 A.M. on Tuesday was 355, while surrounding NCR cities also recorded high AQI levels: Haryana's Faridabad was at 205, Gurugram at 234, while Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad was at 269, Greater Noida at 286, and Noida at 235.

Several areas in Delhi recorded AQI levels above 400, categorising them as 'severe,' including Anand Vihar (404), Jahangirpuri (418), Mundka (406), Rohini (415), and Wazirpur (424).

Many other areas reported AQI readings between 300 and 400, indicating persistent poor air quality across the city, including Alipur (358), Ashok Vihar (391), Aya Nagar (347), Bawana (393), and Punjabi Bagh (382).

A massive search operation continued on Monday in the forests of Jammu & Kashmir’s Kishtwar district to trace the terrorists responsible for the killing of a para commando during a gunfight in the Keshwan area on Sunday.

Security forces continued the search operation in the densely forested Keshwan area of Kishtwar a day after a JCO of the elite Para Commando force of the army was killed in a gunfight with terrorists hiding in the area.

The CASO (Cordon & Search Operation) has been going on for over four days now. The security forces are trying to trace the killers of two civilians, who were abducted from Ohli village and then murdered brutally in the forest area.

A woman and her two children were charred to death in a tragic blaze overnight in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kishtwar district.

Officials said that in a midnight blaze in Jashar village of Badhat area of Kishtwar district, a mother and her two children were killed.

A fire broke out in the house of Khurshid Ahmad in Jashar village. When the fire started in one of the rooms, the mother and her two children were asleep. Due to flames and suffocation, they could not escape from the house. The mother and her two children died in this blaze.

“The victims have been identified as Nazia and her two children Amna (7) and Rizwan (4). A case has been registered and the cause of fire is being ascertained,” officials said.

With the Air Quality Index (AQI) reading 409, the national Capital’s air remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Monday, while the air quality in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh also remained a cause for concern.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 347 as of 7:30 A.M. on Monday.

The AQI levels in other cities within the Delhi-NCR region included Haryana's Faridabad at 165, Gurugram at 302, and Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad at 242, Greater Noida at 300, and Noida at 237.

The pollution hotspots in the city where AQI remains above the city's average showed a marginal improvement from Sunday but are yet nowhere close to the safe margins.

A moped rider was killed in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district on Saturday after the moped he was riding collided with a bus, which was carrying 30 passengers.

An official identified the victim as P. Periyasamy (60), a resident of Veerapandiyar Nagar near Chinnagoundanur in Salem district.

He said that all 30 passengers of the bus escaped unhurt which was travelling from Coimbatore to Chennai.

He added that the bus also caught fire due to the leakage in the fuel tank. “Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services personnel extinguished the fire within a limited time but the bus could not be saved and was fully gutted,” he said.

Three people were killed on Saturday after being hit by a pickup van at Tulshihata in West Bengal's Malda district.

Three others, including the driver of the pickup vehicle, sustained injuries in the incident and were rushed to a local hospital.

As per the latest information, the condition of all three injured in the accident was critical.

Eyewitnesses said five persons were strolling on the street when the speedily-driven pickup van hit them from behind. The impact of the collision was such that the victims were tossed away from the point of the accident.

Even the driver of the pickup van lost control over steering because of the impact of the collision and ultimately rammed into a tree in which the driver also suffered injuries.

Restoration work is in progress after three coaches of the 22850 Secunderabad-Shalimar SF Express derailed near Nalpur Station of the South Eastern Railway division in West Bengal earlier today, railway officials said. According to railway officials, three coaches including one parcel van of the 22850 Secundrabad Shalimar SF Express derailed near Nalpur Station of the South Eastern Railway division at 5:31 am today. No serious injuries or casualties have been reported.

"Today morning at 5:31 am, Secunderabad Shalimar Weekly Express Train derailed while going from the middle line to the down line. One parcel van and two passenger coaches have derailed. No major injury or casualty has been reported. 10 buses have been arranged for passengers for their onward journey," CPRO, South-Eastern Railway, Om Prakash Charan said.

Chhath festival celebrations turned into tragedy after children from two families in Bihar's Bhojpur and Patna drowned on Thursday.

In Bhojpur district's Andhari village, extended families of one Santosh Soni have come to his home to celebrate the Chhath festival.

The tragedy struck when five children of the family were swept away in the Son River while bathing.

Ten people were injured when a Tamil Nadu State Road Transport Corporation (TNSRTC) bus hit a truck carrying iron rods on the Chennai-Tiruchi highway in Chengalpattu district on Thursday.

According to police officials, the bus, travelling towards Virudachalam, hit the truck from behind.

The front portion of the bus was severely damaged, and both the driver and conductor were rescued from the vehicle.

All injured individuals, including ten passengers, were admitted to the local government hospital.

The Chhath festival is one of the most revered and elaborate festivals celebrated with devotion and grandeur, especially in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (UP), and Jharkhand.

The timing of the evening Arghya on Thursday in Bhagalpur is 5:34 PM, in Darbhanga it is 5:39 PM, Muzaffarpur at 5:40 PM, Patna at 5:42 PM and Buxar at 5:46 PM and preparations for it are underway with a lot of zest.

This unique four-day festival, dedicated to the worship of the Sun god and Chhathi Maiya, began with the ritual of Nahai Khay on Tuesday.