EXCLUSIVE: Indian politicians have denied severity of air pollution crisis for decades. Internal documents reveal how the denial has shaped — and constrained — policymaking. Story of the long overdue update of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) drilled.media/news/air-pollu…

Happy Deepawali

“We have archived the BBC’s coverage for three years … We are calling this first part: ‘BBC: The Would Say Files’.” #ManufacturingConsent

Germany is a Monty Python sketch.

"The term [overshoot] emerged in the climate modelling literature and countries are now seamlessly importing it into political discussions to ensure that the 1.5-degree target remains perpetually alive, at least on paper if not in reality." thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy…

After garment workers in Bangladesh staged massive protests that shut down hundreds of factories, the government has agreed to review their wages. These workers make clothes for global brands like Zara, H&M and Walmart, but earn some of the lowest wages in the industry.

Good article to understand why some scientists say the link between climate change and El Niño is tenuous. By @RSarava metamodel.blog/posts/big-bad…

Delhi Police asks X to take down IFF's account and posts. IFF will challenge the notices in court unless they are withdrawn. The Delhi Police has asked X to remove the Internet Freedom Foundation's account, six of its posts, the accounts of SFLC and @geoblockedindia, and posts by 16 other users, on the ground that they defame the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The posts document and comment on a legal notice sent in the RSS's name to IFF, SFLC and @geoblockedindia, which demanded that the three stop criticising and documenting government blocking orders. IFF received copies of the two police notices from X on the morning of 3 November 2026. IFF calls on the Delhi Police to withdraw both notices. If they are not withdrawn, IFF will challenge them in court. What has happened On 29 October 2026 at 9:54 PM, IFF, SFLC and the operator of @geoblockedindia received a two-page "legal notice" said to be issued on behalf of the RSS. It asked the three to stop opposing the government's blocking directions, stop documenting restricted content, stop posting details of geo-blocked posts, and confirm in writing within seven days that they would comply. It was signed by an unnamed "Authorised Signatory". Several RSS office-bearers have since said on X that the notice is not authentic. IFF replied to the notice, wrote to the RSS at its official address asking whether it had authorised it, and published both the notice and its reply on 30 October. On 31 October 2026 at 8:06 PM, the Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), Delhi Police, filed an "Illegal Content Report" with X (reference LD-321926). It listed two posts: IFF's post of 30 October on the notice, and SFLC post of the same day. The stated reason was that the posts are "defamatory towards the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023". The boxes for "safety/security", "defamation" and "other" were ticked. The fields for the nature of the court order and court order details were left empty. The desired action was "Remove/withhold content". On 1 November 2026, a second notice arrived in the RSS's name. It said the matter had been handed to the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad, that complaints had been filed in several states, and that requests had been made to block IFF's X account and suspend the organisations. The Delhi Police had made its first request to X the previous evening. IFF did not know this until X told it on 3 November. On 2 November 2026 at 8:51 AM, the Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) filed a second notice with X (reference LD-322956). It lists 40 URLs. Thirty-seven are posts. Three are the entire accounts of @internetfreedom, @SFLCin and @geoblockedindia. This time the boxes for "Hate speech", "defamation", "safety/security", "enforcement of court order" and "other" were all ticked. The court order fields were again left empty. The stated reason reads: "The posts constitute defamation and illegal content under Section 356 BNS. Under Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules, 2021, read with Section 79(3)(b) IT Act, lawful notices require action within 3 hours." The 16 other users are @ProdctiveUseful, @PanjwaniManoj, @jidge_, @RatanSharda55, @baxiabhishek, @SchrdingersDbag, @ashleshbiradar, @seemay, @NasirHussainINC, @Being_creat_ive, @AjoyDharmavaram, @othlaw, @_ananyaaa, @AimPoojaind, @incorigibleBhai and @rraoind. Their posts, as far as IFF can tell, comment on the notice or on the notice about it. X forwarded both notice to IFF on 3 November 2026, at 8:47 AM and 10:03 AM, saying it was doing so "in the interest of transparency" and that IFF may wish to seek legal counsel and challenge the request in court. X's emails do not say that it has acted on the requests. The Delhi Police has not written to IFF, and no court has been approached, as far as the reports disclose. SFLC and @geoblockedindia have separately reported notifications from X about requests from the Uttar Pradesh Police, the Telangana Police and the Delhi Police's Cyber Crime unit, one of them against the whole of the @geoblockedindia account. IFF's position IFF condemns this legal action. A police force has made itself the enforcement arm of a private legal notice whose authenticity the organisation it names has not confirmed, and whose demand was that three organisations stop documenting censorship. The notices would deliver exactly what the notice asked for as they would also remove the accounts of the three groups in India that keep public records of what is blocked, and of who ordered it. The posts in question are about a legal notice sent to us. They quote it, criticise how it was drafted, and say that we will carry on with our work. A person who receives a threat is entitled to publish it and answer it and that is not defamation of the sender. In the three weeks before the first notice, IFF assisted 86 people whose accounts were suspended or whose posts were withheld in India. SFLC's Free Speech Tracker recorded about 268 content restrictions and 83 account restrictions in the first 29 days of October. @geoblockedindia publishes the orders behind such blocks when platforms disclose them. None of this is unlawful. Documenting censorship and challenging it in court is what the Constitution expects of citizens. IFF will not delete the posts. If the Delhi Police does not withdraw the notices, we will challenge them in court. Why the reports are unlawful Defamation is not a police matter. Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is a non-cognizable and bailable offence. Under Section 222 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, no court can take cognizance of it except on a complaint by the person aggrieved. Under Section 174 of the BNSS, the police cannot investigate a non-cognizable offence without an order of a Magistrate. The Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) is not the person aggrieved. The notices disclose no complaint by the RSS and no order of any Magistrate. Whether a statement is defamatory is for a court to decide after hearing its author, with the defences of truth, fair comment and good faith available to that author. In Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India, (2016) 7 SCC 221, the Supreme Court upheld criminal defamation on the strength of these safeguards. A police officer who asks a platform to remove speech as defamatory has decided the question himself, without a complainant, a court or a hearing. The posts are protected comment. Exceptions 1 to 3 to Section 356(1) protect the truth published for the public good, opinion on the public conduct of public servants, and opinion on the conduct of any person touching a public question. The posts publish a notice that was sent to us and give our opinion of it. The RSS, if it sent the notice, chose to enter a public question. If it did not, the posts defame no one. Further, Section 79(3)(b) and Rule 3(1)(d) do not permit this. In Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, (2015) 5 SCC 1, the Supreme Court read down Section 79(3)(b) so that an intermediary acquires "actual knowledge" only through a court order, or a notification from the appropriate government or its agency that unlawful acts relatable to Article 19(2) are being committed. The court said that it would be difficult for intermediaries to judge the legitimacy of the millions of requests they receive, and that the burden must not be placed on them. Rule 3(1)(d), as amended in November 2025 and February 2026, now requires the intimation to come from an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary or Deputy Inspector General, to be reasoned, and to specify the legal basis and the nature of the unlawful act, subject to a monthly review by a Secretary-level officer. The three-hour window the notice invokes applies to a lawful order that meets these conditions. A web form that ticks "hate speech" and "enforcement of court order" while leaving the court order fields blank, and that gives one sentence of reasons for 40 URLs, is not such an order. The notices by the Delhi Police are disproportionate. They seek to remove three accounts in their entirety, with years of posts, over six, four and eleven posts respectively. They sweep in 16 third parties whose only connection is that they commented on a public controversy. In Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India, (2020) 3 SCC 637, the Supreme Court held that any restriction on speech must be necessary, proportionate and the least restrictive measure available, and that orders restricting speech must be published and reasoned. Removing an organisation's entire account for criticising a legal notice fails each of these tests. The effect is to silence documentation of censorship and providing legal aid to Indian internet users. The accounts named are those that record blocking orders in India. The notice asked them to stop. A takedown request that accomplishes the demand of an anonymous private notice is not law enforcement. It is the use of state power for a private end, which Article 14 forbids. Our demands 1. To the Delhi Police: Withdraw reports LD-321926 and LD-322956 and confirm the withdrawal in writing to X and to IFF. 2. To the Delhi Police: Disclose the complaint on which the Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) acted, the authority under which the reports were filed, and whether any order of a Magistrate under Section 174 BNSS exists. Disclose every request made to any platform in this matter, including those made by the Cyber Crime unit against @geoblockedindia. 3. To X: Do not act on the reports. If any content is withheld in India, tell the affected user before acting, give them the full request, and name the legal basis. Publish both reports to the Lumen database, as the reporting form itself contemplates. 4. To the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Home Affairs: Have the Secretary-level review required by Rule 3(1)(d) examine these intimations, and tell police forces that Rule 3(1)(d) is not a remedy for defamation, which the law reserves to the person aggrieved and to the courts. 5. To the RSS: State publicly whether it authorised either notice or any complaint to the police. If it did not, say so to the Delhi Police. If the notices are not withdrawn, IFF will challenge them in court. We will continue to document blocking orders, to publish them, and to provide legal assistance to anyone whose account or post is withheld in India. Nothing in these notices changes that.

Discover the fascinating world of birds through books and archives! 🐦📚 As part of Bird Week Celebration 2026, BNHS Library invites you to an engaging online talk by Dr. Asad R. Rahmani on “Discovering Birds Through Books & Archives.” Explore the rich heritage of ornithological research through historical publications, photographs, field notes and archival resources preserved at the BNHS Library & Archives. 📅 Date: Friday, 6 November 2026 ⏰ Time: 3:00 PM 💻 Venue: Online via Google Meet meet.google.com/ghs-kmrs-kct Dial-in(US): +1 252-501-3170 PIN: 318 253 631 Join us for an enriching journey into the world of birds, knowledge and conservation! Organised by: BNHS Library, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). #BNHS #BirdWeek2026 #BNHSLibrary #BirdConservation #Ornithology

The Kafkaesque UK laws adopted under the Starmer gov to appease Israel are such that you'll get arrested for terrorism if you hold a sign saying I support Palestine Action. But if you hold a sign saying "I suppport Genocide. I oppose Palestine Action," then you'll be fine...

In one of the most sweeping crackdowns on journalists in Nepal's recent history, authorities on Friday evening arrested several journalists from their respective newsrooms, without providing any information about the charges against them. Journalist organisations have condemned the arrests, calling them an attack on press freedom. kathmandupost.com/national/2… Developing story, full coverage on eKantipur.com.

What happened in Pasighat would not have happened had DGP Jamwal, SP Lamba, and the government handled it well. At this point, I have nothing to say about the police action against me and Sunny Tayeng, and their illegal surveillance. I just wish they had asked lawyer Sunny Tayeng, who is appearing for anti-dam activists Ebo Mili, Tajong Talom, Otul Jerang, and many others, and me at least once instead of asking for a search warrant from the court. Sunny is a busy lawyer and brilliant at her work, so she needs to focus on her practice rather than being burdened by extra work. We will see what happens tomorrow so will you all. Please be reassured that I have seen enough intimidation in my life, so this isn’t something that will stop me from writing or my activism. More power to the people of Siang valley and Arunachal. We owe it to Siang and her people. I will continue to stand with the people of Siang Valley, with Ebo Mili, Otul Jerang, and Tajong Talom, who are in judicial custody in Pasighat, and Adum Tayum, Okut Palloh, Oson Paron, and Omak Paron, who are in jail under APUAPA. Please don’t get distracted by the East Siang district police action against Sunny and me. They would not have done it without someone’s direction. Please continue talking about Siang and her people. Once again, thank you very much for the solidarity.

Because @arunachaltimes_ is reporting about the heavy-handedness of the state #SUMP, the state is coming down heavily on the editor. Horrible

Isn’t the Siang so beautiful? She brings me solace and calms my anxious mind. She is the witness. #SaveSiang

Please follow @arunachaltimes_ and support it. Incredible journalism they do

How well is India’s cleantech research and innovation system equipped to meet its clean energy, industrial, and climate objectives? Our new report analyses how India’s clean energy innovation ecosystem is evolving, the strategic choices shaping public research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) investments, and what this could mean for the country’s innovation trajectory. Swipe to read the key highlights ➜ (1/2)

Bengaluru's voter count falls to 59 lakh from 1.03 crore after SIR, down 43% moneycontrol.com/news/india/…

New pinned tweet because air pollution is back in the news.

So, I am told that the @PasighatSP police are approaching the court to search the legal chambers of the lawyer representing three anti-dam activists: Ebo Mili, Otul Jerang, and Tajong Talom. If the police had done their job, the massive violence in Pasighat would not have happened on Friday and Saturday night. Who are they fooling while trying to hide their incompetence? The Pasighat SP and SDPO are IPS officers, under whose guidance stun grenades and tear gas were used against peaceful protesters. This spiralled into a massive show of anger and violence that went out of control for both the Gen Z protesters and the police. Who takes responsibility for this police intelligence failure? Not the police, of course.

🚨 LIVE NOW: What’s at stake for the Global South at #COP31? Journalists: hear from civil society experts, activists and campaigners on climate finance, equity and the priorities of frontline communities. Register: zoom.us/meeting/register/iBU…

"Little or no action is being taken by #Israel or Member States to stop the atrocities against the #Palestinian people," Srinivasan Muralidhar, chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory & Israel, told the UN General Assembly's 3rd Committee. #UNGA81