HT Evening News Brief Nov 7: PM Modi’s Diwali message, IAF's historic landing in Ladakh and more

Good evening! Here's your 5-minute wrap of the day's top headlines from across the country, the world and the field of sports and entertainment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday extended Diwali greetings to the nation through a video message.Colours in the sky on Diwali night are metals – chemistry of firecrackers, and their effectsThe colours of firecrackers in Delhi on Diwali depend on metal salts that burn into fine particles, whether these are the ‘green ones’ or the conventional ones sold illegally.

One of those salts, barium, has been banned in fireworks since 2018. But, on Diwali night in 2019, a year after the ban, a team from IIT Delhi and other institutes measured barium in Delhi’s air at up to 190 times its level of the week before.

Strontium, which burns red, rose by up to 145 times. Read more here. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday extended Diwali greetings to the nation through a video message, highlighting the festival as a symbol of light’s triumph over darkness and expressing hope for happiness, peace and prosperity for all citizens.

He also said he would continue his tradition of celebrating Diwali with the Indian soldiers, without disclosing where he plans to spend the festival this year. Read more here. An Indian Air Force IL-76MD heavy-lift aircraft scripted aviation history by executing its highest-altitude landing anywhere in the world at the 13,629-foot Mudh-Nyoma airbase in Ladakh, with the landmark feat reinforcing India’s strategic airlift capability and operational reach, the air force announced on Saturday.

Read more here. Former regional business head of Tech Mahindra’s Asia-Pacific region was shot dead by his neighbour following a dispute over parking in Faridabad’s Sector 21C on Friday night. The victim, Paramjith Dhankhar, was settled in Singapore and was presently working as the senior vice president of FPT Software Company Limited, which is headquartered in Vietnam.

Read more here. “There are a few emotions that are very easy to provoke the audience with. Violence is one of them, and sex is another." This observation by Aamir Khan in an old interview resurfaced on social media when Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal was released in 2023.

Among the many aspects of the film that sparked debate, its graphic violence became a major talking point online. However, Animal was far from the only film to face criticism over its portrayal of violence. Read more here.

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