Firstpost Editor's Picks: Congress' confusion, Game of Thrones finale, Uttarakhand forest fires; today's must-read stories

Rahul Gandhi's campaign of 'love' against PM confuses Congress cadre, brings campaign to grinding halt In interview after interview Congress president Rahul Gandhi has talked about spreading love to conquer hate. Coming bang in the middle of a bitter campaign, one could be excused for thinking Rahul is fighting elections on another planet — perhaps Jupiter — which means that in addition to hate, he has also conquered escape velocity.For his minders within the party, tasked with reading profound meaning into Rahul’s philosophical nothings, this might be enlightenment itself. Eager to announce the end of the Congress president’s long journey from boy to boss, they are pumping up the volume of their canned applause. Game of Thrones season 8: From a homecoming in Valyria to Westeros' painful recovery, what will the finale unfold? From a young girl at her brother’s mercy, living off the largess of the Magister Illyrio Mopantis of Pentos to a Khaleesi, mother of dragons, liberator (for a time) of Astapor and Yunkai, ruler of Meereen, and contender to the Iron Throne, Daenerys Targaryen’s quest to reclaim her family seat took her down a long, triumphant and ultimately treacherous path. After she laid waste to King’s Landing (and a section of its hapless citizenry), it seems unlikely that we’ll be seeing Daenerys as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Sudirman Cup 2019: Inconsistent form of ace shuttlers PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth gives India cause for concern The form of India’s top shuttlers on the eve of 2019 Sudirman Cup is at a poorer level than it was at the Commonwealth Games even as the quality of competition in Nanning is much higher than it was in Australia. Not one of them has been playing at a consistent level. Nevertheless, Kidambi Srikanth, who currently sits on the ninth spot in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings, and is scheduled to lead the team again, sounded quite upbeat when he was invited to talk about India’s prospects this time. **At Kolkata's Zakaria Street, food and old world charm make for a vibrant Ramzan**   IT’S A HEADY RIOT of colours and aromas from the moment you step in, and yet, you can’t possibly miss its old world charm, dating back to a black-and-white time. Tucked away in the shadows of Kolkata’s biggest mosque — Nakhoda Masjid, Zakaria Street is the lesser known cousin of Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, Mumbai’s Mohammad Ali Road, and Hyderabad’s old quarters. You can’t hold its dinginess against it, neither the fact that ancient structures canopying over your head threaten to come crashing down in case you miss a step and knock one of them over. It’s how most old places are — teetering on the edge of collapse, and yet, lying on a delicate balance with the help of some unmistakable sorcery. Recent forest fires in Uttarakhand destroy huge swathes of green cover; experts blame errant monsoon Parag M Dhakate, Conservator of Forest (Western Circle) of Kumaon division said, “With the help of satellites, we can now locate the pinpoint location. Earlier it was really difficult, but with newer technology, we are now able to reach the exact location in quicker time. The raging fires have caused untold damage and devastated acres of green cover in the hills. The villagers living close to the forest light fires in the traditional way so that with the first rains, new patches of nutritious grass appear. Dry weather, high temperatures and lack of rainfall have caused the fires to spread, making it extremely difficult for authorities to contain them.