Mexico City has declared an environmental yesterday, ordering vehicles off the road and postponing the semi-finals of the first-division football league as a blanket of smog enveloped the sprawling capital.   

A series of wildfires on the city's outskirts have combined with stagnant weather conditions to cloak the metropolitan area of more than 20 million people in a grey cloud. Pollution levels passed the critical 150 points on the authorities' air quality index. 

The Mexican football league said that under the recommendation of city officials, it had decided to postpone the first leg of the first-division semi-final between Leon and Mexico City club America from today night to tomorrow because of the pollution.

The National Green Tribunal today directed 18 states and two Union Territories to submit an action plan to ensure utilization of treated waste to reduce pressure on the groundwater resources throughout the country. 

Hearing a plea, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the states and UTs to submit the action plan within three months to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The green panel said the states which have still not furnished their action plans are defaulters for violating the directions of the tribunal for which no valid reason can be seen. 

Top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-3, 6-4  yesterday to win his third Madrid Open title. 

The world number one was able to improve on his epic 7-6, 7-6 semifinal win over Dominic Thiem of Austria for a more straightforward victory over Tsitsipas, who is still searching for his first Masters 1000 title. 

Djokovic lifted the title in Madrid after progressing through the week without losing a set and has now won 33 Masters 1000 titles - the same number as Rafael Nadal and five more than Roger Federer.

Djokovic got the decisive break in the ninth game of the set to move 5-4 up and then held his serve to add the 2019 Madrid Open title to those he won in 2011 and 2016.

India captain Virat Kohli bagged the International Cricketer and Batsman of the Year award during the CEAT Cricket Rating (CCR) International awards 2019. 

The ceremony held in Mumbai yesterday in presence of a galaxy of past and present cricketers. 

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who made a mark for India and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, was adjudged as International Bowler of the Year. Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan was awarded for outstanding bowling and Australian batsman Aaron Finch for his exceptional performance in T20.

Young prodigy Yashasvi Jaiswal, who performed exceptionally over the year was awarded Junior Cricketer of the Year, while chinaman Kuldeep Yadav took the home outstanding performance of the year award.

Ashutosh Aman was awarded Domestic Cricketer of the Year.

Enforcement Directorate, ED has attached property worth  2.95 crore rupees in  AXIS Bank demonetized currency conversion case.

It has issued a provisional order attaching movable and immovable properties of Puneet Jain, Hemraj Singh, Vinod Deshmukh, Rajeev Singh Kushwaha, Mehfooz Khan, Pravesh Kumar Gandhi and others in the case.

ED has also initiated an investigation under Prevention of Money Laundering Act against Mohit Garg, Raj Kumar Sharma and  Devendra Kumar Jha on the basis of FIR registered by Delhi Police on the seizure of over three crore rupees in the form of currency notes of one thousand rupees denomination.

Investigation revealed that on the announcement of demonetization these accused and Axis Bank officials used shell companies for illegal exchange of demonetized currency.

One of the most prestigious international event from the world of cinema, Cannes Film Festival will begin today in France. Information and Broadcasting Secretary Amit Khare, who is leading Indian delegation at Cannes, will inaugurate India Pavilion tomorrow. 

The Pavilion will showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity, with the aim of forging international partnerships in distribution, production, filming in India. 

Indian Delegation will also release a special poster to mark the golden jubilee of International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2019).

US President Donald Trump has said that he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit at Osaka in Japan next month amid latest escalation in trade tensions between the two countries. Trump expressed hope that his meeting with Xi will be very fruitful. 

China yesterday increased tariffs on 60 billion dollars worth of American goods in a tit-for-tat to US move to raise tariffs on 200 billion dollars worth of Chinese imports.

After the near collapse of trade talks with China, US on Friday imposed punitive duties on 200 billion dollars worth of Chinese imports, raising them to 25 per cent from 10 per cent.

Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif will hold talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi today. 

Sources said, the talks will primarily focus on the impact of the US ending waivers on import of Iranian oil and ways to deal with it. Both the leaders are expected to discuss the latest developments pertaining to the Iran nuclear deal also known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Mr Zarif arrived in New Delhi yesterday on a two-day visit to India.

Speaking to media at the airport, Mr Zarif said, India is one of the most important partners of Iran and both countries have regular consultations on various issues. 

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has stressed the need to find a way to successfully address conflicting interests, motives and ideologies to preserve and strengthen Multilateral Trading System. Addressing the World Trade Organization's Ministerial Meeting of Developing Countries in New Delhi yesterday, Mr Prabhu said, Multilateral Trading System is a collective responsibility and the countries have stakes in it. 

He said the principles of non-discrimination, predictability, transparency, the tradition of decision-making by consensus and the commitment to development, are too valuable to lose.

He said, there is need to explore ways to address the substantive issues and concerns regarding the functioning of the Appellate Body while preserving its independence and impartiality. 

Japan has started testing its fastest-ever bullet train — capable of reaching 400 kilometres per hour (249 mph) — as it continues to develop the revolutionary mode of travel.

The ALFA-X version of the Shinkansen train began three years' worth of test runs on Friday.

Once it enters operation sometime around 2030, it will run at speeds of up to 360 kph (224 mph), comfortably making it the world's fastest bullet train.