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HT Evening News Brief November 9: Delhi's PM2.5 readings go blank on Diwali night; Sheikh Hasina seeks passport to return to Bangladesh
Anuj Shrivatri became India’s 100th chess grandmaster after winning a tournament in the Philippines.
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Good evening, readers. From Delhi's air pollution crisis to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang controversy, here are the top stories that made headline today.
On Diwali night, Delhi's PM2.5 readings climbed towards 1,000, then went blank
PM2.5 readings at many of Delhi's air monitoring stations climbed towards 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre on Diwali night and then went blank, while the stations went on sending readings for gases, HT's analysis of records kept by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shows.
Across all 59 Delhi stations, 43 had a gap in PM2.5 between 10pm and 6am. At 14 of those 43, the last reading before the gap was 900 or more, within 100 of the 1,000 mark. Stations run by all three operators went blank: CPCB, IITM and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the city's own pollution regulator. Read more.
Sheikh Hasina seeks passport to return to Bangladesh, Dhaka insists on extradition
Deep Dive
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday sought a new passport and national identity card from the Bangladesh high commission in New Delhi to facilitate her planned return home from self-exile in India in December, a move dismissed hours later by Dhaka, which reiterated its demand for her extradition.
Hasina, 79, has lived in India since her government was ousted in a student-led uprising in August 2024. She has insisted in several interviews, including with HT, that she intends to return to Bangladesh in December despite being sentenced to death over her government’s crackdown on protesters. Read more.
Alice Huang, alleged Chinese spy linked to Nvidia CEO, worked at state broadcaster CCTV, HSBC before Megaspeed stint
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to having an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman suspected by US intelligence agencies of working for Beijing. Both Nvidia and Megaspeed, the Singapore-based company she was associated with, are under investigation amid allegations of a Chinese espionage operation targeting the chipmaker. Also known as Huang Le, Alice Huang is a Chinese national who has been associated with Megaspeed, one of Nvidia's major customers in Southeast Asia. Read more.
Anuj Shrivatri becomes India’s 100th grandmaster
Thirty-eight years after Viswanathan Anand became the country’s first grandmaster, Indian chess touched a historic milestone. On Sunday, as the country lit up for Diwali, Anuj Shrivatri offered Indian chess another reason to celebrate. The 22-year-old won the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship in the Philippines with a score of 7/9 to become India’s 100th grandmaster, and the first from Madhya Pradesh. Read more.
Arpita Singh dies at 89: Art world remembers her wit, wonder and imagination
Renowned contemporary artist Arpita Singh, 89, passed away on Monday morning in New Delhi. She was born in 1937 in what is present-day Bangladesh. A graduate of Delhi Polytechnic in 1959, Singh worked with the Cottage Industries Restoration Programme, a government body.
Renowned contemporary artist Arpita Singh, 89, passed away on Monday morning in New Delhi. She was born in 1937 in what is present-day Bangladesh. A graduate of Delhi Polytechnic in 1959, Singh worked with the Cottage Industries Restoration Programme, a government body. Read more.
