The Latest: Top stories of the day
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated an Afghan-India "friendship" dam in Afghanistan, on the first stop of his five-nation tour, which will include another trip to the United States.
2. Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse resigned after allegations of receiving calls from wanted criminal Dawood Ibrahim and illegally buying government land.
3. Uttar Pradesh Police arrested more than 300 protesters and recovered a large arms cache after clashes in Mathura killed 24 people.
Weekend Reads:
1. Abhishek Angad in the Indian Express discovers the story of life inside the cult that led the clashes against the police in Mathura over the last few days.
2. From AgustaWestland to the Bhandari-Vadra allegations, Indian politics is full of name-and-shame tactics that crucially don't include much real action, writes Shekhar Gupta in the Business Standard. (Paywall).
3. C Raja Mohan in the Indian Express says Modi, who will be in America again this week, finally has a chance to coordinate the Indian and American policies towards Pakistan.
4. Modi will be off to South Africa also soon, and Gopalkrishna Gandhi in the Telegraph says India must not lecture and instead has much to learn from the country.
5. Sudeep Chakravarti in Mint says that the current protests over the permit system in Manipur are just the beginning of public unrest in the state.
6. Blink has a special monsoon issue, including Veena Venugopal discovering Jaisalmer, the town that India's rainy season forgot.
7. The New York Times has a leader ahead of Modi's visit saying if India wants to be included in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, it needs to open negotiations with Pakistan and China on curbing nuclear weapons.
8. Kathryn Schulz in the New Yorker tells the story of an Afghan man named Zarif Khan who went to America in 1909 and became Hot Tamale Louie, a beloved Mexican vendor in Wyoming.
9. Mint profiles the heroes who foster injured bats, save turtles from slaughter and rehab snakes in their bathrooms.
10. David Remnick in the New Yorker has the final word on the outsized life of Muhammad Ali.
Reading
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1
The Indian media is acting like a Hindutva ally in its coverage of the violence in Canada
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2
‘A Tamilian trapped among three Punjabis’: Subhash Ghai rewinds to the ‘Taal’ soundtrack
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3
‘The Fertile Earth’: An epic debut novel about how class and caste dictates whom and how to love
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4
Explainer: What does US law say about Adani’s indictment – and can he be charged in India?
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5
India’s food plate and palate have changed – but anxieties old and new persist
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6
Screen time can involve several activities and not all of them are bad
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7
Trump victory energises global far-right, will accelerate anti-democratic trend
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8
Explained: Why Kenya cancelled Adani airport development deal after US indictment
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9
Not stubble burning, cars are the main villain in Delhi's apocalyptic air pollution
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10
How armed outsiders and a radical militia shattered the peace in Manipur’s Jiribam