Closed Door Policy
is Sarah Forbes Bonetta, the god-daughter of Queen Victoria. The child of a West African ruler, she was captured at the age of five by the king of present-day Benin, and kept as a slave. She was brought by an English captain to Britain... and the rest is long-forgotten history. What you see above is a new portrait—alongside her photo—painted by Zambian artist Hannah Uzor to resurface her amazing story. has all the fascinating details. The best photos are over at .
THE FLY IN THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE Kamala Harris faced off against Vice President Mike Pence today—and delivered a solid performance. With her running mate Joe Biden way ahead of the polls, she only had to avoid making a mess. Pence didn’t make any big mistakes but had the far more unenviable job of defending an out-of-control president ( has a quick analysis). But the real star of the show: that settled on Pence’s head: Speaking of polls: The latest CNN poll gives Biden a whopping 16 point lead. The number that really matters: "9 in 10 likely voters (90%) say that their minds are made up." has more on the results. Point to note: Biden also has raised waaay more money. has that story. TWO KICKASS WOMEN SCORE A NOBEL PRIZE The Nobel Prize in chemistry to Emmanuelle Charpentier of France and Jennifer A Doudna of the United States for developing "genetic scissors" that can cut DNA at a precise location. The tool—known as CRISPR-Cas9—has had a “revolutionary impact” on gene-based treatments, especially in the case of sickle cell anemia. a leading medical expert: > "Once in a long time, an advance comes along that utterly transforms an entire field and does so very rapidly… You cannot walk > into a molecular biology laboratory today, working on virtually any organism, where CRISPR-Cas9 is not playing a role in the > ability to understand how life works and how disease happens. It's just that powerful." Related read: This awesome on the “Finkbeiner Test”—which requires a reporter to write about a woman scientist without mentioning her gender, her husband’s job, her childcare arrangements, how she nurtures underlings, how she was taken aback by the competitiveness of her field, how she is a role model for other women etc. etc. The first such example: on this year’s other Nobel prize winner Andrea Ghez. HOTTEST MONTH IN THE WORLD September was the warmest month on record—and 0.05C° hotter than last year. This year has now seen three months of record-setting temperatures—January, May and September. has more. HIGH COURT SPRINGS CHAKRABORTY OUT OF JAIL The Bombay High Court granted bail to the actress jailed on charges of being “an active member of a drug syndicate”, financing Sushant Singh Rajput’s drug habit and “harbouring” a drug offender (i.e. Rajput). More importantly, the judge made it clear that he found zero merit in any of these allegations. The court : * Spending money to procure drugs for Sushant does not mean “she had financed illicit traffic.” * There is no evidence that she is “part of the chain of drug dealers” and “has not forwarded the drugs allegedly procured by her to somebody else to earn monetary or other benefits.” * She cannot be charged with “harbouring” a drug offender—since Rajput lived in his own home and had no fear of arrest. * There are “reasonable grounds for believing that the applicant is not guilty of” any offence “involving commercial quantity” of drugs. Translation: she isn’t a drug dealer either. * Last but not least: Law enforcement cannot use her to send a warning to potential drug offenders simply because she is a celebrity. The reason: “Everybody is equal before the law.” Still in jail: Her brother Showik. Watch the media circus surrounding her release . A less happy judgement: The Supreme Court declined to support the right to protest in Shaheen Bagh, : > “Public places cannot be occupied indefinitely. Dissent and democracy go hand in hand but protests must be carried out in > designated area… Such kind of occupation of public place for protests is not acceptable.” Supporters of the now-famous sit-in are : > “Neither are protests, even sit-ins, on roads a new thing, nor is the court’s response… Even during the Emergency, the point of > view of the court gradually changed in the face of public protests. Today also, we continue to struggle in defence of the > Constitution.” GOOGLE IN FRESH INDIA TROUBLE It is facing a new antitrust case—the fourth in India—that claims the company uses its Android operating system to stifle competition in the smart TV industry: “For example, if a company sells smartphones based on Google’s Android, it cannot sell smart TVs running on competing platforms like the Amazon Fire TV system.” Point to note: 8 million smart TV sets were sold in India in 2019. And three out of five are based on Android system—which also powers nearly 99% of India’s half a billion smartphone user base. () Facebook ducks trouble: Under fire for nurturing hate groups on its platforms, the company has outright banned —a rightwing network of believers who peddle the wild conspiracy theory that wide-ranging, unfounded conspiracy theory that says that “President Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media.” Yup, it took Zuck this long to figure out the obvious. () Sony in unexpected trouble: Its India launch of PlayStation 5 may be delayed. The reason: some guy in Delhi owns the trademark for the word ‘PS5’. has the story. TLDR: Sony is contesting his claim, and will likely win. But it will be a few more months before you can get your hands on this shiny new toy. INDIAN RAILWAYS HOOKS UP WITH BEZOS You can now buy your train ticket on Amazon—and the company is offering up to Rs 100 cash back on your first booking. Also waived: any service or payment gateway charges. has more details. In related rail gaddi news: reports on the big move to privatise railway stations—which are next on the auction block after airports. Lots of the same big players (think: Adani) are vying for 50 stations—including Mumbai’s Victoria Terminus and New Delhi’s main terminal. And the true prize is the same as with the airports: prime real estate surrounding the railway stations. In the case of Mumbai: > "The successful private bidder will get to develop 2.5 million sq. ft of built-up area on leasehold basis for 60 years for > commercial development and up to 99 years for residential development on selected plots at CSMT, Wadi Bunder and Byculla.The > cost of real estate around the station is fixed at Rs 1,433 crore." RIHANNA APOLOGISES TO MUSLIMS Her recent Savage X Fenty lingerie show featured Coucou Chloe’s track ‘Doom’—which has remixed recitation of the Hadith (texts that represent the teachings of the Prophet). The singer has since apologised, and Chloe plans to pull her song from all platforms. () THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A QUICK UPDATE * India’s number of daily new cases has to 72,049. According to experts, “The virus is slowing down in the big metros because there are a lot of people already infected.” * Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is the authorisation of emergency use of its drug cocktail—which uses a combination of two synthetic clones of antibodies. These are supposedly far more effective than blood plasma treatment in saving the lives of seriously ill patients. * Trump was treated by a similar cocktail but developed by Regeneron—which he to be made widely available. : Trump is big buddies with Regeneron’s CEO and owns shares in the company—which surged after the president was treated with its cocktail. * The Indian government has guidelines that prescribe cocktails of herbs like ashwagandha, guduchi and chyavanaprash to help protect yourself from infection. The Ayush ministry claims it has solid medical research to back its prescriptions. * suggest that the pandemic is literally giving us bad dreams—affecting women far more than men.
Actor Mandy Patinkin and his wife decided to make to get out the vote in the upcoming US elections. The result is very funny and very smart. Also, Mandy: You chose well.
: Screen test (for a ‘Gandhi’ that never was). : Rice art (no, it’s ain’t your grandma’s kolam). : Adoption Day (we’re not crying…). : Shower (a reinterpretation).
READING HABIT EDITOR’S NOTE This week, splainer trainee, Prasanna, curates the latest book releases and a list of delightful literary reads. Also: we’d love to hear your suggestions on what you’d like to see in this section. Please email us at talktous@splainer.in with your comments and suggestions. BOOKS RELEASING IN OCTOBER * : Hilary Mantel of the trilogy is back, this time with a collection of essays that talk about everything from Madonna to the Virgin Mary, from insights into the Tudor royalty to her infamous speech ‘Royal Bodies’, spanning three decades. (October 3, 2020) * : Joginder Paul’s translated novel shows us the price to pay for an easy income by selling blood, and how the ones in power destroy the vulnerable. (October 5, 2020) * : In the manga adaptation of BBC’s Sherlock, the detective and the doctor race against time to save the royal family from one Irene Adler. For fans of manga and Sherlock, this book is a must have! (October 6, 2020) * : A stark reminder of the moolah-thirsty world we live in, this book that reads like a thriller shows us just how deep the pockets of dirty money are, and how they are disrupting entire governments around the world. (October 10, 2020) * : In this reworking of a true story, we encounter a woman haunted by the paranormal and a ghost hunter desperate to prove that the ‘other’ world exists. What they find in the end, is weirder than ever. (October 10, 2020) * : AI has permeated every aspect of our life, and it’s high time we understand how to expertly navigate it. does just that, by offering practical solutions for the AI challenge. (October 25, 2020) * : Murder, mayhem and whispers of a demon on a ship on which a famous detective is imprisoned forms the alluring story of the book, guaranteed to keep you hooked. (October 28, 2020) * : Stephen Fry and a retelling of the legend of Troy—need we say more? (October 29, 2020) Also this: , Sophie Kinsella’s newest chick-lit (), an adventurous travel guide to the fantasy world (), and James Patterson’s newest thriller () are also releasing this month. Make space in your TBR pile now! A FAB LIST OF LITERARY READS * Can a straight, cis-gender man write from a trans perspective? Author of Honeybee answers in this . * to Hari Kunzru talk about , his newest novel, which takes its name from a phrase from ‘The Matrix’. * When is it okay to write about someone else’s culture or experience? This thought provoking answers the question. * Unlovable female protagonists in YA novels—? * The enchanting, albeit violent history of the word ‘’. * Want YA romance-less and escapist book recommendations? to this episode of Get Booked. * USPS’ process of choosing a literary stamp is a worthy of your time. : Screen test (for a ‘Gandhi’ that never was). : Rice art (no, it’s ain’t your grandma’s kolam). : Adoption Day (we’re not crying…). : Shower (a reinterpretation).
Bird flu is not new but its recent unprecedented spread is raising fears of a deadly mutation.
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The lesser known problem of recycling solar panels.
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A lively look back at our pehla election of 1951. We’ve come a long way.
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