Evening briefing: Smriti Irani on Rahul Gandhi's ‘changed’ politics; ‘Diary of West Bengal’ gets Calcutta HC nod, more
A shortlist of the biggest headlines, recommended stories, and a special collection of news items you should check out.
Smriti Irani of the Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that her political rival Rahul Gandhi of the Congress believes he has experienced “success” and is now adopting a new approach to political manoeuvring. In a recent podcast, the former Union minister said, “When he (Rahul Gandhi) talks about caste, when he wears a white T-shirt in Parliament, he's aware of what kind of message it sends to the youth.” Smriti Irani also noted that Rahul Gandhi makes “calculated moves” to target specific demographics. She warned against underestimating his strategies, stating, “We shouldn’t be mistaken about his actions—whether they seem good, bad, or immature—they represent a different style of politics.” Dig deeper
More news | ‘Bharat Dojo Yatra’: Rahul Gandhi shows off jiu-jitsu, MMA moves in viral video | Watch
The Calcutta high court on Thursday allowed the release of the movie ‘The Diary of West Bengal’, setting aside a petition that claimed that the contents in the film were communal, lawyers present at the hearing said. The division bench of chief justice TS Sivagnanam and justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya declined to order a stay on the Friday (August 30) release of the movie directed by Mumbai-based filmmaker Sanoj Mishra on the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. “Courts have repeatedly held that if you want to watch the movie, watch it. If you don’t, then don’t. We are in a democratic setup. Any healthy criticism is welcome. Those who are aggrieved, let them approach us. West Bengal is a tolerant society,” the chief justice observed during the hearing. Dig deeper
More news | Mamata Banerjee's clarification amid BJP flak: ‘Never threatened doctors’
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Trending
Inspired by the woman who signed up as a delivery partner for Blinkit, a Hyderabad man has shared his experience of working as delivery executive for Zepto for a day. X user Dinesh said he signed up as a Zepto delivery rider partly to understand how the quick commerce industry works and partly to bolster his resume while applying for the company’s product management internship. His experience made him realise there are quite a few issues with Zepto, both technical and otherwise. To begin with, Dinesh tried to sign up as a part-time delivery agent “but got full time by customer care” for reasons that remain unexplained. He said he was on call with Zepto support for over five hours, which he found unnecessary. “Let me call you if i need help and increase the buffer time to call drop offs,” the Hyderabad man suggested. Dig deeper
Business News
Reliance Jio hiked the price of its prepaid recharge plans offering Netflix subscription. These entertainment recharge plans received a price hike of up to ₹300. Earlier, there were two Jio recharge plans priced at ₹1,099 and ₹1,499 that offer Netflix subscription. Now, these plans are listed at ₹1,299 and ₹1,799 respectively, on the official website of Jio. The ₹1,299 plan offers Netflix Mobile subscription and the ₹1,799 offers Netflix Basic subscription along with other benefits. At ₹1,299, users get access to Netflix Content on a single mobile device at a resolution of 480 pixels for three months, 2GB daily data along with unlimited calls and 100 SMS per day along with access to JioCinema, JioCloud and JioTV. Dig deeper
Global Matters
JD Vance has made a major claim ahead of his first debate as vice presidential candidate with Democratic candidate Tim Walz. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris' running mates will debate in New York on October 1, which will be hosted by CBS News. On being asked by reporters about his preparation ahead of the crucial debate, the Ohio Senator stated that he does not need to prepare for a debate with Walz, adding that one thing which has helped him the most is spending time with the American people. “The way I'm doing debate prep is by spending time with these fine people—this is how I do debate prep,” he asserted at a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. Dig deeper
Entertainment Focus
Why fix what ain't broken? Few on-screen friendships have sustained in pop culture conscience quite like Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee's. Elijah Wood and Sean Astin's performances, combined with JRR Tolkiens' magical words and Peter Jackson's storytelling, gave us a duo worth wading through a river for. So, when the idea for Rings of Power, a prequel to the epic Lord of the Rings, was birthed, it wasn't hard to believe why ‘stand-ins’ for our favourite Hobbits might have been too much to resist. Along came Nori (Eleanor Brandyfoot) and her friend Poppy Proudfellow, the two young Hartfoots with a thirst for adventure and a promise of friendship. Dig deeper
Lifestyle and Health
Ulcers, cracks and sores are common in the mouth and usually they go away after a few days. However, when there are internal diseases, mouth ulcers, sores and cracks can be just the alarm bells you need. A recent study, conducted by Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol, suggests that our mouth issues may actually be means of communication for the body to show that something more sinister is lurking. Pesky mouth ulcers are very common. They usually show up in the inner lining of the mouth or the tongue and can be extremely irritating. Aphthous ulcers are round or swollen in nature, and usually start off yellow before turning grey in colour. Usually, ulcers do not last very long and can be treated with simple painkillers. Sometimes mouthwashes and sprays can help too. Dig deeper
Sports Goings
How Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya put their differences aside and came together for India at the 2024 T20 World Cup, has thus far, one of the biggest mysteries in Indian cricket. With all that had happened during the IPL with things turning frosty between the two India teammates at Mumbai Indians, the belief was that their tension would spill over to the World Cup. But surprisingly enough, from the moment the ICC tournament began, it was as if nothing had happened between them. Hardik and Rohit appeared to be on the same page from the start, beginning with India's game against Pakistan in New York, when the India captain hugged and lifted his match-winning all-rounder after Pandya dismissed Shadab Khan. Dig deeper