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Thursday, February 19, 2026
TopicSilk Road

Topic: Silk Road

6th century Brahmin who took Buddhism to China—his DNA analysis rewrites Silk Road history

Researchers at Fudan University carefully extracted DNA from Li Dan's tooth. It highlights the long-standing cultural connections between India and China.

AI-enabled DNA ‘switches’ can now control gene functions in tissues, organs

ScientiFix, our weekly feature, offers you a summary of the top global science stories of the week, with links to their sources.

Dancing Shiva in Samarkand: Central Asian traders spread Hinduism, Buddhism along Silk Road

800 years before Babur, Hindu gods were worshipped by merchant diasporas in Central Asia.

We know very little of the Kushans— middlemen of silk road & empire that gave India Kanishka

In ‘The Stone Tower’, Riaz Dean blends aims to solve a 2,000-year-old riddle: Where was the Stone Tower, the lost landmark that represented the midpoint and thumping heart of the Silk Road?

China is trying to win over critics of the new Silk Road

BRI is yet to reframe its image as a responsible initiative. A good start would be to make it more transparent in its implementation.

What are we to make of China’s plans to build a Silk Road railway through the heart of Asia?

In China itself, rail traffic peaked in 2013 and has never quite recovered, despite an economy that’s grown by half since then.

How to travel the ancient cities that are part of the $800 billion Silk Road

Here’s everything you will need to do while exploring the authentic, less spoiled ancient cities of Silk Road.

China’s superpower potential could fizzle out before it’s fully realised

Measuring China's growth through a Western rubric is proving inadequate for a country that wants to be "anything but America". 

On Camera

Telangana spoke up for Muslim vendor who was attacked. South is different from the North

A poor Muslim man from Kurnool, selling khoya buns during the Medaram Jatara in Telangana, was harassed by some YouTubers and surrounded by a mob over allegations of 'food jihad'.

In the West, there’s anxiety. In India, optimism—Rishi Sunak says India poised to be leader in AI

On Wednesday, the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking in New Delhi at a Carnegie & Observer Research Foundation event on AI.

US military commander, envoy Sergio Gor visit Indian Army Western Command, Bengaluru next

At the Western Army Command, the American delegation was briefed on the capabilities of the formation, past operations and the path ahead.

The new Great Game—Trump’s playing for time, China for leverage & India for wiggle room

This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.