Weekend Mega Linkfest: 08 August, 2025

Some off beat reads for the weekend:

Malegaon Blasts: Death of a Lie (Open)

China-India Rapprochement (ORF)

India’s Middle East Tight-Rope Walk (NI)

UK’s dodgy deals with Saudi Arabia (Guardian)

50th Anniversary of Helsinki Accords (RT)

In Italy, Punjabi farm workers are expendable (Jacobin)

London: A City of Strangers (Spiked)

China’s Black Sea play (RAND)

The Druze of Suwayda (GC)

Europe is turning into Lebanon (Dan Burmawi)

The cultural significance of Umbrellas in Japan (BBC Travel)

Why Indians were discouraged from migrating to Cuba (Scroll)

Swami Vivekananda’s best friend (DNA)

Travelogue: Uganda (Raku)

7 Frozen Desserts from around the World (Smithsonian)