5 stories you must read today, October 17: From Gujarat Cabinet reshuffle to Kerala school hijab controversy and more

Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja’s wife, Rivaba Jadeja, was sworn in as a minister in the Bhupendra Patel cabinet on Friday. The first-time MLA from the Jamnagar North Assembly constituency is one of the 21 ministers in the Gujarat government. Out of the 21 ministers sworn in on Friday, 19 are fresh faces, while only two, Harsh Sanghavi and Praful Pansheriya, have returned to the cabinet. The entire Gujarat Cabinet, except CM Patel, had resigned on Thursday to make way for the reshuffle. Read more

The family of a Muslim girl whose demand to wear hijab as part of her uniform sparked a major controversy in Kerala has said that she will discontinue her studies there. The girl’s father said St. Rita’s School’s stance has pained her and that she no longer wants to study there. The father, while speaking to the media, also said that he did not want the controversy to create a rift between Christians and Muslims. Earlier, the school management had said that the girl can continue in the school if she is willing to follow its rules and regulations. Read more

The four-day-long Deepotsav in Ayodhya, which begins with the laying of diyas on Friday, is also attempting to set a new world record. The Deepotsav celebrations will see over 26 lakh diyas lit across 56 ghats in Ayodhya. Nearly 73,000 litres of oil and 55 lakh cotton wicks will be used to light 26 lakh diyas. While 10 lakh diyas are being made by industrial units and self-help groups, around 16 lakh diyas are being crafted by women’s self-help groups and potter families from Ayodhya and nearby districts. Read more

An international study has found links between mercury in skin-lightening creams and kidney damage. Of the 31 creams tested, 25 were found to contain mercury thousands of times higher than the 1 ppm usual legal limit. Toxics Link from India tested eight skin lightening creams of different brands manufactured in India, Pakistan and Thailand and found the mercury concentration in seven samples to be in the range of 7331 ppm to 27,431 ppm. A study by the Zero Mercury Working Group found that skin-lightening products containing dangerous and often illegal mercury are available on marketplace platforms worldwide. Read more

Greece’s parliament approved a bill on Thursday allowing private sector employers to extend working hours despite protests from workers already struggling from a cost-of-living crisis. The bill, which allows employers to enforce 13-hour work days, up from the current eight hours, aims to make the labour market more flexible and effective, the conservative government says. Read more