Top News: What to expect in no-confidence vote, WhatsApp’s latest patch, no ‘dhak dhak’ in Dhadak

Also, here’s how every no-confidence vote in Parliament has gone so far. Fun Fact: Only one no-confidence motion ever resulted in a prime minister losing his seat and that was in 1979, but in that case, Morarji Desai didn’t wait for the vote before resigning. Read more here

Exploring the hub of predatory journals in India: The investigation

In the second part of its investigation into ‘predatory journals’, The Indian Express’s Shyamlal Yadav explores the industry in Hyderabad, which is now a hub for such journals in India. Most of the journals are found to exist online and operated by companies based across the city, but on their websites cite addresses in the US and UK. Few of them list any details of their editorial staff.

Read the report

WhatsApp brings more norms to curb forwards

After being told by the Indian government to bring in more measures to curb the spread of fake information, WhatsApp has said it is testing a new feature that will limit how many times a message, video or photo can be shared. A user may be allowed to share forwarded media, like video, just five times from one account after which WhatsApp will disable the option to forward it further. The instant messaging service is hoping this will finally limit the spread of misinformation that is being blamed for multiple lynchings across India.

Read the report here

The merits of a single GST rate, Mandela’s Nehruvian bent: The think pieces

Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, an outspoken critic of the Narendra Modi government, in his column, points out the problem with having multiple and complex GST rates. The Prime Minister has written off having a single taxation rate saying that milk and Mercedes can’t be taxed the same, but Sinha argues that an indirect tax shouldn’t be used as a tool of social justice. Sinha also argues for GST to be simplified into three rates and that the Prime Minister should say the aim is to move towards a single rate of taxation.

Read his column

While Nelson Mandela is often compared to Mahatma Gandhi, Pratap Bhanu Mehta in his column points out that there are plenty to link the South African leader with Jawaharlal Nehru. Both leaders felt there was no place for politics of resentment, though for completely different reasons. Mehta points out the greatness of Mandela’s message of forgiveness and that we now live in a world where these sentiments are completely alien.

Read his column

No dhak dhak in Dhadak: Out this week

This week’s big Bollywood release is Dhadak, the remake of Marathi film Sairat. It was always expected to be an uphill task for the film to emulate the Marathi original. In her review, Shubhra Gupta says, “It doesn’t work, not as an official copy of Sairat, nor as a standalone Bollywood romance. There is, I’m afraid, no ‘dhak dhak’ in this Dhadak.” Ouch.

Read her review

But if you’re more keen on superheroes, then there’s the latest instalment from the Marvel universe: Ant Man and the Wasp. If nothing else, its makers expect you to catch it just to get a hint of what happens in the next instalment of Infinity War.