This Week in Explainers: Are you allowed to burst firecrackers this Diwali?

It’s time for celebrations and cheer. Diwali is here and in the run-up to to festival, there has been a lot of noise on the Supreme Court’s “ban” on firecrackers – a much-needed reminder that the festivities are about diyas and not dhamakas.

Seriously, do we need any more bad air days? Delhi, Mumbai, and several other Indian cities are gasping for breath and desperately trying to bring down the pollution levels. There is talk of artificial rain and whatnot. We delved into this subject throughout the week.

Like pollution, what’s consistently grabbed headlines for the past few days is the Mahua Moitra case. Trouble continues to brew for the firebrand MP.

Women in politics have it tough and so do those in entertainment. Earlier in the week, a doctored clip of actor Rashmika Mandanna went viral. This was followed by a fake picture of Katrina Kaif. Both of them were deepfakes, AI-generated content, and they are a growing menace.

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