Champaca Books, the Bangalore-based independent bookstore, brings you reading recommendations from our shelves, exploring everything from murder mysteries to the secret world of mushrooms.
This weekend, leaders from 197 countries will assemble in Scotland to decide on a plan to avert catastrophic climate change. India has now declared that it will not commit to a net zero emissions target. So does that make us the bad guy? The answer: It’s complicated.
The Supreme Court appointed a special committee to investigate allegations of snooping—involving the spyware Pegasus. And in doing so, it strongly upheld a citizen’s right to privacy—and knocked down the government’s arguments about national security. Here’s a quick overview of the ruling, and what it hopes to achieve.
We decided to take a break from the usual frenzy of the news cycle and look at an unusual royal love story—which culminated in a quiet wedding yesterday. The wedding of Princess Mako and Kei Komuro has all the trappings of a fairytale—princess marries commoner—but at its heart, this is a story about real-world sexism.
The African country’s brief flirtation with freedom ended once again in a military coup—two years after popular protests ousted the previous dictator. In this sad development lies a lesson about democracy for all of us.
A consortium of 17 news publications have come together to roll out a flood of stories on Facebook that also offer a number of significant revelations about India. The big picture: the platform’s algorithm is rigged to promote hate and disinformation—and the company’s reluctance to crack down on groups associated with the RSS, Bajrang Dal etc. ensures that anti-Muslim content spreads unchecked.
We’ve avoided doing a big story on Khan’s arrest primarily because the media coverage has been characterised by bad or leaked information. And more important events were happening elsewhere. We’ve finally been able to piece together a somewhat reliable account of what happened and the reasons why he is still in jail.
The Tatas have bought Air India, Jet Airways has announced an unexpected comeback—and there is a brand new airline named Akasa getting ready for takeoff. We take a look at what you can expect when you plane-hop next year.
Extreme rainfall has struck once more, days after the floods in Kerala. This time, it’s Uttarakhand where 42 people died on Tuesday. For the mountain state, it is the latest of such tragedies—which reflect the accelerating pace of climate change in the Himalayas.
This year’s festivities ended in widespread anti-Hindu violence—sparked by a rumour shared on social media. And the flames of communal anger show no signs of abating. Here’s a short explainer on the chain of events.
The Global Hunger Index published its 2020 data over the weekend—and India dropped by seven spots to #101 out of 116 countries. The government immediately attacked its “unscientific” methodology. Who’s got it right and how hungry are Indians?
Since there isn’t a big headline today, we are taking the opportunity to have a brief conversation with you—which includes unveiling our festival specials, introducing ourselves and our new features, and answering your most frequently asked questions.
Billionaire Subhash Chandra built Zee’s television empire from scratch. Now a US investor fund is trying to kick him and his family out. Here’s a quick introduction to the big fight that has engrossed Dalal Street and Bollywood alike.
The recent spate of killings in the Valley have turned the spotlight on a new terrorist group called The Resistance Front (TRF)—which is using different rhetoric and tactics to exploit anger over the annulment of Article 370. But is it really an ‘indigenous’ Kashmiri group or just Pakistani wine in a new bottle?
Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov were awarded the Nobel peace prize—in a surprising move that has delighted democracy-watchers around the world. But unlike a Dalai Lama or even Barack Obama, most of us haven’t heard of either of these people—or what makes their work so invaluable.
This week, the WHO made medical history by approving the first-ever malaria vaccine—one of medicine’s greatest achievements that has not received the attention it deserves. We explain why this is a very big deal.
Since September 25, a large team of forestry officials have been trying to find a 13-year-old tiger named MDT 23—suspected of killing four people. The hunt order has been challenged by wildlife activists—and the Madras High Court stepped in to order officials to preserve its life.
A controversial autopsy report, a big arrest, and suspicions about a farm leader—we round up the latest developments in the hit-and-run tragedy in Uttar Pradesh.
Everyone agrees that four farmers were killed by cars driven by BJP workers. Everyone agrees five others are dead. But no one can agree on how any of them died. We piece together varying accounts of this horrific incident to figure out what exactly happened.
An international group of journalists have unveiled a big leak of financial documents dubbed the Pandora Papers. Those embarrassed range from the King of Jordan to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.
US-based research lab AidData has uncovered the true amount owed to China by countries around the world—thanks to its “Belt and road initiative” (BRI) projects. The total amount: $385 billion. The number of countries: 165. This is certainly bad news for these nations. But is it also bad news for China?
