headlines that matter

editor’s note

In our latest Advisory edition… We’ve got a guide to the 'Switzerland of Central Asia' which offers way more than scenery. A Chola ambassador sails to China, bearing riches and ideas. A great list of little books, across genres to conquer in a single sitting or two. Forgotten gems from 80s and 90s Hollywood movie soundtracks. As always, we’ve curated the best new shows and films to binge-watch this weekend. Read the Advisory edition here. Read it here.

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Written by: Aarthi Ramnath & Raghav Bikhchandani

Haw, the US bunker busters were a bust!

An initial intelligence report has concluded that US strikes did not destroy two of Iran’s nuclear sites—and only set its nuclear program back “by a few months.” Making it all worse: This is a Pentagon report:

The report produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency — the intelligence arm of the Pentagon — concluded key components of the nuclear program, including centrifuges, were capable of being restarted within months.

Specifically, the strikes only “sealed off the entrances” to these plants—but did not collapse underground buildings. And some centrifuges—critical to making a bomb—are still intact. Experts say that if initial estimates are so dismal, later findings “could suggest even less damage might have been inflicted.” Eeks!

Also this: The report says most of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium was moved before the strikes—likely to other secret nuclear sites—where they can, again, be used to make bombs. Even Veep Vance publicly conceded this one.

The Donald show goes on: Ofc, the White House has dismissed its own military report as a conspiracy to “demean President Trump”—who, to be fair, is doing a fairly good job all by himself. When Israel bombed Iran—ruining Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire—he unleashed this all caps barrage: “ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!”

Dear lipstick, meet pig: The best propaganda award goes to the Wall Street Journal’s summary of this clown show: “The cease-fire between Israel and Iran appeared to hold after President Trump scolded the two nations for continued fire after a US-brokered deal went into effect.” Also priceless: this opening line on the Pentagon report:

Israel and the U.S. have delivered powerful blows to the pillars of Iran’s theocracy, degrading nuclear and missile capabilities, the highest military echelons and institutions of governance. Yet the regime, while weakened, is still intact, capable of recuperating and emerging more dangerous and unpredictable.

Where we are now: Both Israelis and Iranians have claimed “victory”—and Donald is off to Europe to attend a NATO summit—where, he told reporters on Air Force One, “we’ll solve a new set of problems.” The world awaits in breathless horror.

Reading list: Reuters and The Guardian are best on the Pentagon report. The Guardian is also the most calm and balanced on the ceasefire shenanigans. The Hindu has more on Bibi claiming victory—which he celebrated by killing 80+ Palestinians in a single day in Gaza.

Wow, Zohran Mamdani scores a win!!

This just happened so we don’t have a lot of deets. The Indian American—and very lefty—Mamdani has scored the Democratic nomination for the NYC mayoral race. His rival aka Goliath—former New York Governor and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo—just congratulated him on the win. After 91% of votes were counted in the primary’s first round, Mamdani had 43.5% of the vote—while Cuomo was at 36.4%. Every poll showed Mamdani losing this race—until this Emerson poll on the eve of the primary flipped the script. Associated Press has the latest.

For more: We profiled Mamdani and the race on Monday. The TLDR: Mamdani is from a Gujarati family from Uganda—and more famously, director Mira Nair’s kid. He has been brutally outspoken on Gaza, Modi—and has been repeatedly smeared as an anti-Semite by the Cuomo campaign.

A painful new study about killing fish

First, how we kill fish: The most common method is asphyxiation in open air. Fishermen just take the fish out of water—leaving them to die a slow death. It requires minimum effort and is very cost-effective.

What the study says: Scientists have now established that a fish can suffer up to 22 minutes of intense pain when killed in this manner:

Without water, the delicate gill structures that exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide stick together, causing CO2 from respiration to accumulate. These rising levels trigger nociception — the body's alarm system — which causes the fish to gasp. Eventually the elevated CO2 levels acidify the animal's blood and cerebrospinal fluid, ultimately resulting in unconsciousness. Depending on the size of the fish, and the conditions in which it is slaughtered, these distressing experiences can last anywhere between 2 and 25 minutes.

This is also the first study to map and quantify the pain experienced during mass slaughter:

When standardized by production output, this corresponds to an average of 24 minutes per kilogram, with over one hour of moderate to extreme pain per kilogram in some cases.

Data point to note: A trillion fish are taken out of the water every year for humans to eat.

The possible solution: Since the entire world can’t be expected to go vegan, researchers suggest electrical stunning—but only when it is properly administered to render the fish unconscious. The full study can be found in Nature. (Science Alert)

Engineered bacteria turn plastic into painkillers

Scientists from the University of Edinburgh took polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic and fed it to specially engineered Escherichia coli—aka E Coli:

Researchers used a fermentation process, similar to the one used in brewing beer, to accelerate the conversion from industrial PET waste into paracetamol in less than 24 hours. The new technique was carried out at room temperature and created virtually no carbon emissions, proving that paracetamol can be produced sustainably.

The real news flash: Painkillers like paracetamol are terrible for the planet. The reason:

Paracetamol is traditionally made from dwindling supplies of fossil fuels including crude oil. Thousands of tons of fossil fuels are used annually to power the factories that produce the painkiller, alongside other medicines and chemicals—making a significant contribution to climate change, experts say.

Phys.org has more on the study, while Mongabay has an explainer on how pharmaceutical pollutants enter the environment.

what caught our eye

business & tech

Apple’s iOS 26 Beta 2 fixes a major bug in Liquid Glass—the new glass-inspired interface for iPhones and iPads that’s been turning heads since its WWDC 2025 debut.
The Verge highlights the lack of guardrails in the fanfic community against AI scraping.

sports & entertainment

Cardi B fans, rejoice! The singer is all set to drop her sophomore album titled ‘Am I the Drama?’ on September 19.
Also ready for a comeback: Maroon 5!—with their first album in over four years titled ‘Love is Like’ on August 15.
Hollywood Reporter India looks at the losing battle for indie films in Indian theatres and OTT platforms alike.
Actor Ram Kapoor has been dropped from the promotions of his new upcoming series ‘Mistry’ due to release this weekend—due to “inappropriate behaviour” which are rumoured as “mansplaining in interviews” and “answering out of turn.” Hmm sus.
Former Indian left-arm spinner Dilip Doshi passed away at the age of 77 in London. He has 33 Tests and 15 ODIs from 1979 to 1983 to his name.
Andy Murray is getting a statue at Wimbledon—and he’ll help design it ahead of the tournament’s 150th anniversary in 2027.
Despite their batters recording five centuries, India lost the first Test to England in Leeds by 5 wickets—as a Ben Duckett hundred anchored England’s run chase.
Rishabh Pant has been pulled up by the ICC for chucking the ball in protest after umpires refused a ball change during the Test though.

health & environment

Manipur has been in the headlines for two years due to the conflict between Meitei and Kuki-Zomi communities but it is also on the verge of an ecological collapse. Think floods, landslides, soil erosion and blocked watersheds.
The Guardian has a must-read on how India’s hill stations are swamped with tourists escaping the Delhi heat—featuring traffic, crowds and construction.
The weight loss drug WeGovy has now launched in India, at a starting price of Rs 4,366 per week for a 0.25mg dose.
For the first time, mice with two fathers have their own offspring in sperm cell testing—but it’s a long way to go before this can be attempted on people.
BBC News has a good read on what South Korea’s dog meat ban means for the thousands of pups caught in limbo.

meanwhile, in the world

As Trump cools on global security, Canada and the EU just signed a major defense deal—tightening ties even as NATO meets.
The Guardian looks at the conflict hotspots around the world that are diverting flights and leaving pilots blind.
Masque clinches 68th spot on the World’s Top 100 restaurants—India’s only name on a list otherwise missing any desi flavour.
UN says 2.5 million refugees will need resettling in 2026—a slight dip from this year’s 2.9 million estimate.

meanwhile, in India

Delhi University has denied a promotion to CERN physicist Ashok Kumar—despite his stellar h-index of 120—sparking allegations of caste bias against the Dalit professor.
The government spent Rs 2532.59 crore on promoting Sanskrit between 2014-15 and 2024-25, 17 times the combined spending on the other five classical languages.
The US embassy wants all F, J and M non-immigrant visa applicants to make their social media profiles public.
At least seven people felt dizzy and nauseous on an Air India flight from London to Mumbai—but the plane landed safely with medical teams ready on arrival.

Haunting Earth Photos to see

We live on a very lovely planet but unfortunately we don’t take good care of it. The winners of the Earth Photo competition capture the ‘beauty and tragedy’ of our world. The top prize went to Lorenzo Poli for ‘Autophagy’—a black and white image of the Chuquicamata mine in Chile:

Also wrenching: ‘Carcass of the Ice Beast’ which shows the remains of Switzerland's Rhone Glacier—once wrapped in thermal blankets to slow its melting.

And since all of that is a bit hard to take, we invite you to submerge yourself in ‘Soft Fascination’—which captures the emotional and sensory experience of being submerged under water. It’s exactly what you need at the end of a hard day. Check out more photos in the winner’s gallery. (CNN)