Members of the Pawar family, including NCP leader Sharad Pawar, gathered for a Diwali lunch at his brother’s residence in Pune. Ajit Pawar, who was recently diagnosed with dengue, also attended the celebration. Sharad Pawar expressed happiness over Ajit’s improving health. After the gathering, Ajit Pawar left for Delhi to meet with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. NCP leader Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar’s daughter, stated that there were no personal differences within the family and that Ajit Pawar required post-dengue care. Despite their political differences, the family maintains strong ties.

The festive season has treated the humble saree really well as it always does with the onset of Diwali. For Disha Patani though, it was a simple case of keeping up with her festive sarees in a row. At Ekta Kapoor’s annual Diwali bash, Disha Patani arrived, quite like the modern-day apsara in a pre-plated forest green saree and her signature halter micro blouse with it. The plain green saree, otherwise embellished with a golden border and nothing at all does get its fair share of attention, it’s Disha Patani after all. Her usual saree suspects appear yet again for this festive occasion – a slinky low-rise drape with a plunging blouse. She was once quoted saying that she is “not a red lip kinda girl,” but we are glad she switched her usual choices for a bright red lip to not just go with her saree but also her red tips. The hair and makeup remain her usual fabulous self that goes from work to festive in one hot minute.

Owing to her previous saree-torial choices in the recent past, this is one fashion prediction we can place our bets on and reap big wins. For another recent Diwali party held in the city recently, she was decked up to paint the town red with her ruffled red saree and an equally festive golden blouse.

At the starry Diwali bash hosted by Manish Malhotra, a slinky bronze saree made the cut to get her party started. The sequinned saree from the designer’s collection totally fits this fashionista’s style language, topped with a velvet halter blouse, this saree was a match made in festive heaven.

Her dark champagne satin saree with a micro blouse for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at the Ambani residence earlier this year really did set the mood for the season ahead. The satin finish lent its metallic sheen that didn’t require extra sparkle but then her micro blouse went in and made her saree look extra festive, the Disha way.

Disha Patani’s festive sarees are just the spark the festive season was missing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has pardoned a convicted murderer after his decided to enlist for the war in Ukraine. Vladislav Kanyus served less than a year of his 17-year sentence for brutally killing his ex-girlfriend, Vera Pekhteleva, reports suggest.

Kanyus had stabbed his ex-girlfriend 111 times, raped and tortured her for three-and-a-half hours, for breaking up with him. He then strangled her with a cable iron, ultimately killing her, according to The Sun. Hearing her scream, neighbours called the police seven times, but their calls went unanswered.

This revelation came after Vera Pekhteleva’s mother, Oksana, discovered photographs of Kanyus in a military uniform holding a weapon. The mourning mother lamented, “This was a blow at me. My child will rot in her grave and I’ve been deprived of everything – my life, any hope.”

“I don’t live, I exist. This simply finished me off, it just totally finished me off. I am a very strong person. But this lawlessness of our state just pushes me into a dead end. I don’t know what to do next,” she cried.

Women’s rights activist Alyona Popova on Wednesday said that prison authorities confirmed Kanyus’ transfer to Rostov in southern Russia, bordering Ukraine. She shared a letter from the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office dated November 3, stating that Kanyus had been pardoned, and his conviction was expunged by a presidential decree on April 27. 

Oksana is heartbroken and blames Putin for pardoning her daughter’s killer. She is confused by the decision to let him join the war after murdering her daughter and is now worried for her own safety. “How could a cruel murderer be given a weapon? Why is he sent to the front – to defend Russia? He is scum. He is not a human being,” she said.

“[The killer] can at any moment kill any of us, the victims, out of revenge.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov defended the policy, saying that Russian prisoners sent to fight in Ukraine are atoning for their crimes “with blood,” AFP reported. “Those convicted, including for serious crimes, are atoning with blood for their crime on the battlefield,” Peskov told reporters.