Morning briefing: France's big offer to India ahead of Macron's visit, TN firm denies fish oil use amid laddu row, more
A shortlist of the biggest headlines, recommended stories, and a special collection of news items that you should check out.
The India-France strategic defence partnership is set to take another big step forward with the Emmanuel Macron government ready to discuss and support the construction of nuclear attack submarines and offer 100% transfer of technology for 110 kilo-Newton thrust aircraft engines and underwater drones with full capabilities to India. These are among the issues on the agenda of the India-France strategic dialogue between September 30 and October 1 between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Macron’s diplomatic advisor Emmanuel Bonne in Paris. This is the first bilateral strategic engagement after Macron's visit to India in January. Dig Deeper
An employee of AR Dairy Food Private Limited – a Tamil Nadu-based company in the dock for allegedly supplying adulterated ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams for Sri Venkateswara Temple prasadam – has called the allegations against the firm “absurd”. A day after the TTD initiated legal action against the firm, the employee refuted the allegation that fish oil was used to prepare ghee. He said the charge was absurd because fish oil was more expensive than ghee. Dig Deeper
India news
PM Narendra Modi says ‘Quad here to stay’, holds 'fruitful' talks with Joe Biden
Tirupati laddu row: Pawan Kalyan to observe ‘penance initiation’ for 11 days
'30 pieces in 165-litre fridge': How foul stench revealed Bengaluru woman's murder
Global matters
Quad on geopolitics: Strongest language on China yet, concern about Ukraine
Kamala Harris dodges Trump, set to break a 60-year presidential tradition by skipping….
Olivia Nuzzi ‘obsessed’ with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. amid sexting scandal: ‘She aggressively pursued…’
Sports
Barring two innings in the Duleep Trophy earlier this month, which included a breezy half-century, preceded by a concerning knock of a single digit, there was no way of judging Rishabh Pant's form in the traditional format. There was always an apprehension of whether the wicketkeeper-batter, who last played a Test match in December 2022, before incurring a horrific car accident, would ever return to his formidable best in the format he surprisingly dominated the most. But the 26-year-old put all doubts to rest after smashing a stunning century, en route to a knock of 109, against Bangladesh in the opening Test match of the series in Chennai on Saturday. Dig Deeper
Entertainment
Actor Hrithik Roshan has heaped praises on Stree 2 days after it made a new record of becoming the highest-grossing Hindi film ever in India. Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Hrithik posted a note calling it a 'happy time for our cinema'. While he called Stree (2018) 'brilliant', he added that Stree 2 is 'applause worthy'. Dig Deeper
It's trending
In 2024, the number of cars in the world has grown to 1.475 billion – that's one car for every 5.5 humans, or 182 per 1,000 humans. What if we had no cars and we could live without traffic snarls and honking horns? That might now seem like an impossible dream but a few cities around the world have chosen to stay car-free every day. Dig Deeper