5 THINGS FIRST Sabarimala Temple opens for 24 hours; Jammu & Kashmir civil secretariat reopens in Jammu; US sanctions on Iran come into force; Ayurveda Day to be celebrated today; Dhanteras—the first day that marks the festival of Diwali

1. Crouching tigress slain by hidden dragon? Tigers in peril: The lifting of a ban on trade in tiger and rhino parts by China—a few days before the man-eating tigress, Avni, was killed in a controversial hunt in Maharashtra—spells a new threat in the form of illegal poaching to the rising numbers of tigers and rhinos in India, which is home to 60% of the world's tiger population and 85% of the one-horned rhino population. On guard: Wildlife experts said that India's 12-year ambition, under the Tx2 programme of doubling the wild tiger headcount by 2022, could be adversely impacted by the reversal of China's 25-year old ban on trade in tiger bones and rhino horns, imposed in 1993. India is currently home to 2,226 tigers and 3,500 rhinos, of which some are in Nepal. India's tiger population in 2010, when the Tx2 programme was launched, was 1,706. Can a ban help? While the ban certainly reduced the demand for tiger and rhino bones and horns, respectively, it didn't completely eliminate illegal poaching, especially for India's national animal—in the three years between 2015 and 2017, there were 49 cases of tiger poaching and 40 cases of tiger body part seizures, while 150 rhinos have been killed since 2006, which led to the introduction of the controversial law allowing park rangers in Kaziranga to shoot downpoachers. In India, the death of Avni has triggered a war of words within the BJP, with animal rights activist and Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi lashing out at her own party's state government in Maharashtra, terming the tigress' killing as brutal murder and directly accusing Maharashtra's Minister for Forests, Sudhir Mungantiwar for what she termed as a "straight case of crime". In another tragic death of a big cat, villagers of Chaltua village in Kishanpur wildlife sanctuary of Dudhwa tiger reserve, beat a tigress to death after it injured a local resident. Meanwhile, in Telengana’s Chennur forest, foresters propose using the Haka method to capture elusive K4 tigress, who is suffering an injury—in Haka method, the big cat is driven to a new place using 100-150 drummers and then tranquilised.

2. How much will Trump's sanctions hurt Iran? US sanctions against Iran come into force from today, after the Trump administration decided to unilaterally withdraw from the nuclear deal with the West Asian Islamic republic—with other countries being forced or threatened with sanctions if they do not comply with American diktats. What's same: The animosity between the US and Iran. The two, along with other permanent members of the UN, which included China, France, UK, Russia, along with non-permanent member Germany, had inked a historic nuclear deal in 2015 during the Obama administration's final years. Trump, who's in a tearing hurry to tear up any and every legacy of his predecessors, such as NAFTA, Obamacare and the Paris Climate Change Agreement, has again come good on his threats by re-imposing sanctions against Iran that were removed after the nuclear deal—allowing trade in only food and pharmaceuticals. What's different: The previous sanctions regime was global, as it was done under the auspices of the UN, for Iran's failure to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, removing IAEA seals on its nuclear facilities and not allowing IAEA inspectors access to its nuclear facilities—this time, the other five signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal, as also the EU, have disassociated themselves from Trump's decision, saying they were sticking to the accord as Tehran was complying with it. EU, in fact, issued a statement that it was "determined to protect European economic operators engaged in legitimate business with Iran, in accordance with EU law and with UN Security Council resolution 2231." Moreover, eight countries, including India, have been granted a waiver to continue importing Iranian oil, as a sudden stoppage of oil exports from Iran could spike crude oil prices globally. Will they work? Given the economic clout the US exerts, its sanctions have already made several companies stop doing business with Iran for fear of incurring US penalties. A first round of sanctions, imposed in August, quoted Trump as saying that "anyone doing business with Iran will not be doing business with the United States." Already, prices of essential commodities have started rising in Iran, with shortages also being reported for life saving drugs—though Tehran's ruling political class is banking on the waivers for oil exports and rising crude oil prices to sail through this sanctions regime. Read more here

3. The good, the bad & the ugly of Delhi's air pollution The Good: Delhi breathed a bit easy on Sunday after air quality significantly improved due to increased wind speed flushing out pollutants and control measures implemented by the state government. The overall air quality index (AQI) at 4 pm stood at 171 (read 'moderate')—down from 231 ('poor') in the morning. Other NCR cities too stayed 'moderate': Faridabad (191), Ghaziabad (142) and Noida (154). Only Gurugram recorded a 'poor' 206. However, authorities warned of severe deterioration from today. The Bad: Farm fires in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana though, have doubled over the past week. That means stubble-burning is peaking just ahead of Diwali and could foul up the region's air in the coming days. NASA's visible infrared imaging radiometer suite (VIIRS) detected 17,789 fires in Punjab and Haryana in the week from October 28-November 3—more than twice the 8,171 fires recorded by satellites in the previous week. (Small consolation: That's 707 fires less from the October 28-November 3 period last year) The Ugly: Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh pooh-poohed Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal's claim that stubble burning in Punjab was solely responsible for high levels of pollution in the national capital. Kejriwal had pointed to satellite pictures of stubble burning in Punjab as proof that the state was the primary cause of Delhi's hazardous air quality, Amarinder said even a school kid would know better. "Can he [Kejriwal] really be an IIT graduate?"

4. Walk your talk, CIC raps RBI's Patel Another battlefront: The RBI, already in the crosshairs of the government which wants it to ease lending curbs, faced heat from another quarter, this time from the Central Information Commission (CIC) which issued a show-cause notice to the central bank's governor, Urjit Patel, for "dishonouring" a Supreme Court judgment on disclosure of wilful defaulters' list for loans above Rs 50 crore. Name & shame: The CIC, which earlier in August, had sought information from the Finance Ministry, Ministry for Statistics and Programme Implementation and RBI, had observed that while small loan amount defaulters, such as farmers were named and shamed, often resulting in their committing suicide, 7,000 industrialists who had defaulted on loans above Rs 50 crore, were being protected by keeping their identities hidden—the CIC also asked the Prime Minister's Office, the Finance Ministry and the RBI to make public the letter of former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on bad loans. Double standards: The CIC reminded Patel of his speech on September 20 at the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), wherein the RBI governor had said the guidelines on vigilance, issued by the CVC, were aimed at achieving greater transparency, promoting a culture of honesty and probity in public life and improving the overall vigilance administration in the organisations within its purview—"the Commission feels that there is no match between what RBI Governor and Deputy Governor say and their website regarding their RTI policy, and great secrecy of vigilance reports and inspection reports is being maintained with impunity in spite of the Supreme Court confirming the orders of the CIC in the Jayantilal case," said Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu. Meanwhile, the RBI has initiated the process of setting up an online Public Credit Registry (PCR), which will have details of all borrowers, including wilful defaulters and pending legal suits to check financial delinquencies—the central bank has invited proposals from companies to set up the registry.

NEWS IN CLUES 5. Which famous footballer is nicknamed 'Wazza'? Clue 1:He was eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland as his paternal grandparents hail from the country. Clue 2: He's featured in three World Cups—the 2006, 2010 and 2014 editions. Clue 3: Not only is he his country's youngest-ever goalscorer but the all-time record goalscorer as well. Scroll below for answer

6. Fake-carts? 1 out of 5 online products are phoney Fact: One out of every five products being hawked on e-commerce platforms like Snapdeal, Paytm Mall, Flipkart or Amazon is turning out to be counterfeit. That's 20-22% of goods received by customers from leading online shoppers in the past six months. This, according to a survey (sample size of 30,000) by LocalCircles, a community network focused on governance and urban daily life. Asked which e-commerce site ships the highest percentage of fake goods, 37% of respondents pointed to Snapdeal, Flipkart (22%), Paytm Mall (21%) and Amazon (20%). Among the product categories which had the most fakes, 35% of respondents said fragrances, a similar percentage said cosmetics, followed by sporting goods (22%), and bags (8%). Globally too, bogus products are a major challenge for the likes of Alibaba and Amazon with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative warning affiliates of China's Alibaba group to check the rise of fake or counterfeit goods making their way into America. The pandemic reflects the industry-wide challenge of operating a marketplace with third-party sellers on a large scale. At a time when e-tailers are in the final leg of their festive sale season trying to achieve higher sales of goods, virtually at any cost—a reason many believe is an enabler for several sellers to quickly ship goods, fake at times, to meet higher demands—here's hoping your receipt's free of deceit!

X-PLAINED 7. Dhanteras What: Dhanteras signifies the first day of the five-day-long Diwali celebrations. The word Dhanteras is made of two words—'Dhan' which means wealth, and 'Teras' which means 13th day. The day is also known as Dhanatrayodashi or Dhanvantari Trayodashi. When: According to the Hindu calendar, Dhanteras falls on the 13th lunar day of Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) in the month of Ashwin. This year, Dhanteras will be celebrated today (November 5), two days before Diwali is celebrated. Dhanteras rituals should be ideally performed during the pradosh kaal that begins after sunset and lasts for 2 hours and 24 minutes. Sthir lagna is considered to be the most auspicious time to start the puja since Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, is believed to be residing inside the home during this period. Who: Traditionally, Lakshmi, Ganesha (the remover of obstacles) and Kubera (the god of wealth) are all worshipped on Dhanteras. One legend claims that while the ocean was being churned by gods and demons to extract amrit (or nectar), Dhanvantari (the physician of the gods) emerged from the waters and hence, the day is celebrated as Dhanteras. How: The long-standing Dhanteras custom involves the purchase of valuable products like gold, silver, jewellery, ornaments and gemstones, or even household utensils. The belief is these act as protection against ill will and also usher in Lakshmi (or wealth) and good luck into your home. It is also common practice for people to clean up their places on the occasion. FYI: The NSE and BSE too will extend the trading session for gold exchange traded funds and sovereign gold bonds till 7 pm today.

8. There's a new Team India member every month! It was life without MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli in the first T20 international (T20I) against West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday. In fact, India were playing a T20I at home for the first time without the former India skipper. That only points to more new talent being drafted into Team India, culminating in the best possible combination for the 2019 ICC World Cup in England next year. On Sunday, it was Baroda allrounder Krunal Pandya (in pic) and Rajasthan paceman Khaleel Ahmed who were handed T20I debuts. (Khaleel's ODI debut came against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup held in October this year) That means, so far in 2018, 10 different, new players have made the playing XI across all three formats. They are: Tests: Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Hanuma Vihari, Prithvi Shaw, Shardul Thakur ODIs: Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Rishabh Pant T20Is: Shardul Thakur, Vijay Shankar, Siddarth Kaul, Deepak Chahar, Krunal Pandya, Khaleel Ahmed Check the series page here

YOU SHARE YOUR B'DAY WITH... Source: ESPNCricinfo.com

9. Where Ram, Lakshman and Sita speak in chaste Urdu Poetic licence: In what has become a symbol of inter-faith harmony, Bikaner played host to the recitation of Ramayan, written in Urdu, in rhyming couplet format—the entire recitation being done by Muslim shayars (couplet writers), with one of the poets being Haji Hafiz Farman Ali, a patron of the Eidgah committee. Cherished tradition: The Urdu Ramayan was written by Moulvi Badshah Hussain Khan Rana Lucknavi in 1935 and was adjudged the best translation of the Ramcharitmanas in the entire country by the Banaras Hindu University in the same year. The genesis: Lucknavi, who was a teacher of Urdu and Persian at a high school in Bikaner, also had among his students a Kashmiri Pandit, employed as a jail officer by the erstwhile rulers of the princely state, who used to learn Persian from the moulvi—the jail officer, who chanced upon an advertisement by BHU seeking to award the best written Ramayana in Urdu, urged his teacher to write it. However, Lucknavi expressed his apprehension, having never read the Ramcharitmanas earlier, upon which the Kashmiri Pandit narrated the Ramayana, on the basis of which Lucknavi wrote it in Urdu poetry—it later becoming a prescribed textbook on the orders of the erstwhile royal rulers for students of class eight.

10. Did the aliens just ring the solar system's doorbell? Coming through: Astronomers at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics believe extraterrestrials, commonly referred to as aliens, may have just knocked on the door of the solar system, in a manner of speaking—the basis for their claim being the first ever interstellar object in the solar system which could be an artificial light sail sent to look for signs of life. Dead giveaway: The scientists said that the rock, named Oumuamua, which means 'messenger from afar arriving first' in Hawaiian, appeared to speed up on its entry into the Sun's star system from another—indicating that it was perhaps a 'light sail of artificial origin' being propelled by solar radiation. Eternal traveller: The cigar shaped asteroid measured 400 metres in length and is 40 metres wide, travelling at a speed of 112,000kmph, which means it will speed past Neptune in four years on its way back into interstellar space, heading for the constellation Pegasus—however, it did attain a top speed of 313,600kmph when it slingshot past the Sun in September.

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Answer To NEWS IN CLUES Wayne Rooney. The star footballer is set to come out of international retirement to make a farewell appearance for England versus the USA on November 15. In fact, the 33-year-old’s 120th cap will come as skipper against his adopted country. Currently playing for American club DC United, Rooney had called time on his record-breaking international career at the start of last season.