Open Magazine - Top Stories

Pakistan Blames India’s Diwali Fireworks for Lahore’s Smog. Can the Smoke Be Traced?
Pakistan Blames India’s Diwali Fireworks for Lahore’s Smog. Can the Smoke Be Traced?
4 min read
Lahore’s fine-particle reading nearly doubled by the morning after Diwali. Wind modelling points across the border. Working out how much of the spike came from fireworks takes a different test
OpenAI Is SoftBank’s Investment, Customer and Collateral. What Could Go Wrong?
7 min read
SoftBank has invested $64.6 billion for roughly 13 per cent of OpenAI, valued its holding at $99.6 billion, raised a $10 billion loan whose safeguards are tied to those shares and committed billions m ...
EXPLAINED | Chinese Vloggers Filmed in Dhaka. Why Call It New Delhi?
4 min read
A Bangladeshi newspaper traced a ‘New Delhi’ broadcast to a canal in Dhaka. India has called for action. A local guide and one of the streamers offered clues about the business behind the videos.
New COVID-19 variant PJ.2.1 spreads across countries: Symptoms, risks and what the research says
3 min read
First detected in Canada in May 2026, the COVID-19 variant PJ.2.1 has since been identified in North America, Europe and parts of Asia. Early laboratory research suggests it may enter human cells more ...
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's troubles could deepen when Democrats take control of Congress
3 min read
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is facing growing questions over his reported relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman suspected by US intelligence of having links to Beijing. With the chipmaker ...
EXPLAINED | California’s Billionaire Tax Lost. Can Prop 42 Kill the Next One?
4 min read
Voters rejected a one-time 5% levy on billionaires. A separate measure was still leading in the count and could bar California from taxing financial wealth in the future
Sonia Gandhi’s Memoir Reopens Operation Blue Star Row
3 min read
In Belonging: A Journey of Love, Sonia Gandhi recalls seeing Indira Gandhi in tears as she watched footage of the operation’s aftermath. AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj called her account of Indira’s remorse ...
Pawan Kalyan-Anna Konidela separation: The private 13-year marriage that briefly opened up to the public
3 min read
For more than a decade, Pawan Kalyan and Anna Konidela kept their marriage largely away from the spotlight. Then, in 2026, a series of Instagram posts offered rare glimpses into their family life, the ...
Anuj Shrivatri becomes India's 100th chess Grandmaster: How MP's first GM made history
3 min read
India has reached a landmark century of chess Grandmasters, with 22-year-old Anuj Shrivatri becoming the 100th player to earn the title. His victory in the Philippines also gives Madhya Pradesh its fi ...