So when Sonia Gandhi earlier this month presented her two candidates for president to Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal and a coalition member so truculent as to be a virtual member of the opposition, it may well have been in the hope of her vetoing Mr Mukherjee, a bitter rival in West Bengal.

ECONOMIST: Banyan

Moving over to a side stage, Harwell was able to perform another tune--and this time, the main screen of the keynote stage showed a full-on virtual Smash Mouth, with digital avatars of each band member reflecting their real-world movements.

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