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Journalism of Courage
Good morning,
Nepal turned a new page in politics on Friday, as Sushila Karki — the country’s former Chief Justice — was sworn in as interim Prime Minister, becoming the first woman to lead Nepal. Her appointment comes after a week of protests triggered by a social media ban, which spiralled into the collapse of K P Sharma Oli’s government. With the political vacuum widening, President Ramchandra Paudel stepped in to dissolve the House and handed Karki the reins. New Delhi called Nepal a “fellow democracy” and said it would continue working closely with its neighbour for peace and stability.
With that, let’s move on to the top five stories from today’s edition:
🚨 Big Story
India gets new V-P: C P Radhakrishnan was sworn in as India’s 15th Vice President on Friday, succeeding Jagdeep Dhankhar. In his first meeting with Rajya Sabha floor leaders, Radhakrishnan emphasized his commitment to “fair justice” and sought the Opposition’s cooperation. He shared personal anecdotes, noting that his uncle was a Congress MP and his grandfather a Communist.
Jagdeep Dhankhar made his first public appearance since stepping down as Vice-President almost two months ago at the swearing-in ceremony of his successor C P Radhakrishnan. Dhankhar was seated alongside his predecessors Naidu and Hamid Ansari.
⚡Only in Express
In Despair: What happened in Pakistan after the world discovered that Osama had been hiding in Abbottabad for years? A recently released book ‘ The Zardari Presidency: Now It Must Be Told’, on Asif Ali Zardari’s first stint as Pakistan president from 2008-2013, penned by his close aide and spokesperson Farhatullah Babar, offers insight into the “national humiliation” that followed Osama’s killing. Pakistan was caught between a rock and a hard place after the Abbottabad raids, Babar surmises in the book.
💡 Express Explained
Lay of the Land: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands in Manipur today, he will find a state weighed down by layers of conflict that have festered for more than two years. Ethnic conflicts between Kuki and Meitei communities, cycles of violence and displacement and porous borders with Myanmar have left Manipur fragile and divided. We explain the five key issues in the state.
✍️ Express Opinion
US President Donald Trump’s science cuts may be squeezing American researchers, but they open up space for India, write Kris Gopalakrishnan and Ashish Dhawan. With funding for agencies like the National Science Foundation and NASA slashed by more than half, and only 15 per cent of STEM PhDs finding tenure-track jobs within five years, they argue that thousands of scientists are now facing shrinking opportunities. For India, that’s a chance to step up: “Without timely intervention, India risks ceding ground in domains that will shape future strategic autonomy and economic competitiveness. The choice, therefore, is not between acting now or later, but between creating pathways for sovereign capability and reconciling with long-term dependence.”
🍿 Movie Review
Between Realms: In Jugnuma, The Fable, Manoj Bajpayee delivers what Shubhra Gupta calls “one of his all-time best performances.” The film, set in 1989, in the upper Uttarakhand hills where nothing much seems to happen, is “ruptured by the growing feeling of something beyond our grasp.” “The two-hour film weaves in the prosaic, the quotidian, with quiet strokes of magical realism, leaving us wondering about our world, and the tantalising possibility of other worlds,” Gupta writes in her review.
That’s all for today, have a great weekend!
Malavika Jayadeep
