Briefly

INDIA

Court bans firecrackers in pollution-hit cities

India's environmental court on Monday ordered a ban on firecrackers during the country's biggest annual festival in cities battling hazardously poor air quality, citing a link between pollution and a coronavirus surge. The National Green Tribunal said the role of pollution in the COVID-19 crisis meant that the ban was needed ahead of Diwali celebrations on Saturday. Traditionally, millions of firecrackers are set off during Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Light, but the practice has been blamed for worsening air pollution－especially in northern India which suffers from serious smog every winter.

JAPAN

Govt welcomes visit by S. Korean senior official

Japan on Monday welcomed the visit of South Korea's intelligence chief Park Jie-won as an opportunity to discuss frosty relations between Seoul and Tokyo, the government's chief spokesman said. South Korea's National Intelligence Service chief arrived in Tokyo on Sunday and met senior ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Toshihiro Nikai, Kato said. "Ties between Japan and South Korea are strained and for these two longtime friends to meet and talk is meaningful," Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said.

Agencies via Xinhua