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Trump unfreezes Iran assets & lifts sanctions. Iran lifts Hormuz blockade In an interview to this newspaper, former US special representative for North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, had said the art of diplomacy is getting your opponent to agree to a deal because it is in their interest. Applying the same logic to the Iran war,…

Hello and welcome to the 92nd edition of the Weekly Vine. In this week’s edition, we look at Arsenal winning the Premier League, elucidate why the late-night comedian has gone missing in America, explain why Bengaluru is urban utopia, and discuss the life of the world’s richest cat. No More Banter Club It pains me…

In general, for aeons, Indian intelligence agencies were imagined through familiar images, shadow networks, intercepted calls, coded messages, undercover field operatives, and information gathered quietly behind closed doors. The world of intelligence was largely human, secretive, and slow-moving. But modern conflict is changing that picture faster than most countries are willing to publicly acknowledge. Today,…

Disclaimer: (before some Bengaluru resident files an FIR for cultural trespass) I write this as an outsider, a repeat visitor and therefore a dangerous man with confidence but limited municipal authority. This piece was triggered by a recent weekend visit, but the observations have been unfairly, lovingly and irresponsibly collected over the past twenty years…

When Banda district in UP is making a distinctive record of the hottest city in the world since last three days and the India Meteorological Department is screaming its heatwave advisory at the top — with red alerts, “stay indoors after 11 am,” “hydrate or perish”—something miraculous happens. Not only boys are playing cricket but…

Her kind of love was not loud, it was rather ‘unspoken’………… 7th November, 2018 Diwali They say that diyas bring light, fortune and hope, so I decided to make a diya mandala at the entrance of my home.The fragrance of maroon geru and yellow marigold petals created a divine symphony of the damp earth and…

The strongest entrepreneurial mind I met in college never thought about starting a company. This is not because he lacked ideas. Quite the opposite. He was the kind of person who could look at a broken process and instinctively understand how to improve it. While the rest of us discussed startup ideas in the abstract,…

After an enormous struggle, we may move only a small step towards the Truth; however, the invisible hand helping us will never fail us. Such was the belief of the scientist Madame Curie. On the one hand, we face serious challenges in every walk of life and on the other, our mental capacity to deal…

SC’s order sidesteps many practical problems, and it can lead to arbitrary removal of some peaceful dogs from institutional areas. That’s neither humane nor a solution Supreme Court’s order, yesterday, on community dogs, offers partial reassurance, given how polarised the stray dog debate has become. By upholding Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and Animal…

Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman was always a personal, petulant battle, about their ambitions to command the future of humanity. For SpaceX boss, this means the loss is acutely painful On Monday, a federal jury in Oakland, California took less than two hours to find against Elon Musk, in his lawsuit against OpenAI, its…