Five must-read stories—March 7

Demonetisation deadline change: Supreme Court asks Centre, RBI to explain

The Supreme Court sought explanations on Monday from the Centre and the RBI on why citizens had been denied the opportunity to deposit scrapped currency till March 31 as promised by PM Narendra Modi on November 8 last year, reports The Times of India.

Close, but no Bihar

Is UP 2017 merely a repeat of Bihar 2015? The answer to this question would be largely determined by two factors. First, did Akhilesh Yadav’s popularity get converted into votes for the alliance? Second, how much did the BJP learn from its mistakes in Bihar? An India Express report.

In north Kerala hotbed of BJP/RSS-CPM clashes, roughly equal deaths

Sacked RSS leader Kundan Chandrawat had alleged the CPM of being responsible for the death of “more than 300 RSS activists” in Kerala. But over 16 years to 2016, the number of party workers killed from both sides in Kerala's Kannur district has been roughly equal: 31 from the RSS and BJP and 30 from the CPM, according to police data. An IndiaSpend report.

India fails to protect its Under-5 kids

India accounts for the second highest death rate of children under 5 years due to environmental risks — mainly pollution and poor sanitation — in the WHO south east Asia region which includes Bangladesh, Indonesia and Bhutan, reports The Times of India.

Trump’s new travel ban blocks migrants from six nations, sparing Iraq

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday blocking citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US, sparing Iraq. It's the most significant hardening of immigration policy in generations, even with changes intended to blunt legal and political opposition, says The New York Times.