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Monday, August 18, 2025
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The FinePrint

China sets up new Politburo with two members who have India history

Xi Jinping has packed the Politburo Standing Committee with six friends and allies. But there's another 24-member Politburo that is a concern for India.

Fiery orator, ‘Bhindranwale 2.0’ — who’s Amritpal Singh, new ‘head’ of Deep Sidhu’s Waris Punjab De

Under the close watch of investigating agencies, Amritpal Singh Sandhu, newly appointed head of a faction of Deep Sidhu's Waris Punjab De, is filling a vacuum in Punjab politics.

Kharge over Tharoor—Congress returns to caste politics without the cynicism of Mandal

Rahul Gandhi is charting a path that diverges from the Congress’ erstwhile matriarchs. But it would be a lost opportunity if this remains at the level of symbolic tokenism.

Indian private firm beats 8-yr Chinese monopoly, supplies ammunition to Nepalese Army

While the Nepalese Army used to import ammunition from India, they had stopped doing so after it replaced the Indian-made INSAS rifles with the Korean and American supplied M4s, M16s and other NATO rifles.

Modi-Shah’s push for Hindi is fine but they must check with Yogi, Sarma, Saha, other CMs first

PM Modi wants to pull the country out of the ‘slave mentality’ surrounding the English language. For once, many of his CMs and ministers don’t seem to agree.

UPA was Rajiv Gandhi Foundation’s golden past with donations, dignitaries. Then it lost swagger

At the start, RGF trustees included Shankar Dayal Sharma, Narasimha Rao, Sam Pitroda, and even Amitabh Bachchan. Now it has one HR manager overseeing things.

Your Diwali firework set off a lethal revolution in military tech in China centuries ago

Adolphe Pénaud’s Planophore aircraft, Nikolai Tesla’s wireless radio, or the modern drone—the lines between toy, scientific breakthrough and killing machine aren’t always clear.

From ‘how-to manuals’ to Rapidex English Speaking Course, Pustak Mahal is true Delhi brand

In the series of iconic ‘sticky brands’ of India, Pustak Mahal had to go through a discord before hitting a jackpot.

Buying K-pop merchandise in India is a horror tale. Customs delay, fake Instagram sellers

For a country like India, K-pop is an expensive hobby. The price of the cheapest album is usually no less than Rs 1,500. But there's no dearth of fans who will give it a shot.

‘Moditva’, wooing tribals, scarce mention of CM: What BJP strategy in Gujarat yatra was all about

Gaurav Yatra, which ended Friday, covered 5 routes with focus on tribal belt. BJP got 49% votes in Gujarat in 2017, winning 99 of 182 seats against Congress's 77 seats and 41%.

On Camera

Postcards from Hyderabad—stories Europeans told about the city

For all their colonial underpinnings, postcards from Hyderabad also inadvertently preserve a trace of local memory: a glimpse of a street, a face, a forgotten name.

Navigating Trump’s tariffs is no child’s play. Indian toymakers are losing out on orders, enquiries

Indian toymakers are now exploring new markets, but they want govt to negotiate a trade deal with US soon, introduce incentives and subsidies to make the industry more competitive.

What is Project Sudarshan Chakra, announced by Modi from ramparts of Red Fort

The project is meant to be a ‘protective shield that will keep expanding’, the PM said. It is on the lines of the ‘Golden Dome’ announced by Trump, it is learnt.

War of IAF, PAF doctrines: As Pakistan obsesses over numbers, India embraces risk, wins

Now that both IAF and PAF have made formal claims of having shot down the other’s aircraft in the 87-hour war in May, we can ask a larger question: do such numbers really matter?