The world talks loudly about de-dollarisation. Quietly, ordinary people are adopting the dollar faster than ever, one stablecoin at a time. A content creator in the Philippines would receive a payment from Meta directly into her phone in USDC, a digital token designed to maintain a one-dollar value. A freelancer in Colombia will get paid…
By Narayani Ganesh At one time, say even two decades ago, ailments among those living in India were predominantly brought on by infections. Today, however, that number has been overtaken by lifestyle diseases. According to a recent TOI report by Shiva Rajora, “Nearly half the population in India has reported cardiovascular and metabolic ailments such as hypertension,…
While global attention remains fixed on the Strait of Hormuz, a quieter but strategically consequential development is unfolding in the Western Pacific. The United States, the Philippines, Australia, Japan, and several other partners recently conducted the large-scale Balikatan military exercise in the Philippines, while China launched counter-exercises on the Pacific side of the archipelago. These…
There is a particular kind of person one encounters increasingly in modern urban India. They wear smartwatches that congratulate them for standing up, use phrases like “life hack” without irony, and believe every problem can be solved faster with an app, an AI tool, a productivity framework or, in moments of culinary barbarism, a pressure…
The recent United States-Israel attacks on Iran and the wider unrest in West Asia have once again brought an old fracture within the Muslim world into public conversation. What began as a geopolitical conflict soon transformed into an emotional sectarian debate across television studios, social media platforms, religious gatherings, and ordinary homes. In moments like…
The temple of Somnath in Gujarat has become a centre of attraction in the whole country, the reason behind this attraction is that the temple is celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav of its reconstruction. Although Somnath is one of the revered 12 jyotirlinga located in India but its importance lies in its historicity which is different…
First, Andes strain found on cruise ship is deadly, but occupants, including two Indians, are in quarantine. Second, Hantavirus strains found in Asia aren’t big killers. Third, India’s disease surveillance is reliable After the pandemic’s horrors, the world reacts, fearfully, to any news of respiratory virus outbreak, anywhere. Recent outbreak of a Hantavirus infection, in…
The Prime Minister’s request to people to use less fuel by taking public transport, and to avoid buying gold for a year, comes at an important time. The Hormuz Strait has been blocked for almost 75 days. Because of this, about 20% of the world’s fuel supply has been affected, and fuel prices around the…
The education ministers of two Indian states recently said some surprising things. One minister from Uttar Pradesh wants to remove the nursery rhymes “Johny Johny” and “Rain, Rain, Go Away” from schools. He thinks “Johny Johny” teaches children to lie, and “Rain, Rain, Go Away” teaches selfishness. But this seems like a strange thing to…
It was a picture that hooked me to the screen and held me hostage. A drone shot of countless graves, lined in almost perfect, haunting symmetry. Small graves for children. Killed in an attack on their school in Iran’s Minab. I kept staring at the photo far longer than normal. Unable to scroll past it…