Judgement Day

Sanity Break #1

When the world seems to be going entirely mad around you, be like Peter William Geddes— Bangles’ ‘Eternal Flame’ right in the middle of a violent anti-lockdown protest in Barcelona. He told : “When I play I am very calm. No nerves”.

Headlines that matter

VIENNA TERROR ATTACK: AN UPDATE So it turns out, there was only one gunman involved—and he was killed during the course of the attack (our explainer ). Here’s what we know about him: * was a 20-year-old with dual citizenship in Austria and North Macedonia. * He was previously jailed in April 2019, for attempting to travel to Syria and join the Islamic State—but was released in December due to his young age. * The Islamic State has since claimed credit for the attack, naming him as Abu Dujana al-Albani. * The Austrian police have also in connection to the attacks. * Before setting out on the attack, Fejzulai posted of himself holding an AK-47 assault rifle, a handgun and a machete. * As of the latest count, five are dead and 22 injured. MAHARASHTRA POLICE ON A RAMPAGE One: They entered Arnab Goswami’s residence this morning and arrested him. Goswami claims he was “physically assaulted.” No, this has nothing to do with Republic TV’s TRP ratings case (explained ). This is in relation to a 2018 case where Goswami was charged of aiding and abetting the suicide of an interior designer. The charge is that Goswami failed to pay Anvay Naik Rs 83 lakh owed on work done for him—which in turn led to the bankrupt designer’s death. () Two: They are also going after anyone who trolls either CM Uddhav Thackeray or his son Aaditya. The police issued 10 FIRs at BJP supporters who “defamed” the two during the social media wars over Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide. All of which is part of the ongoing tit-for-tat war between the two parties. But buried at the end of this report is a far more interesting revelation: > “The Mumbai Police on Tuesday released a press note stating that an investigation by cyber and forensic experts into hashtags > such as #Babypenguin, #JusticeforSSR, and #ParamBirSinghResign had found ‘that the accounts were recently created (June > 2020-October 2020).’ > > > > The forensic report had also found that 80% of the 1.5 lakh accounts vilifying the police and MVA government were fake, and > operating from China, Panama, Hong Kong, and Nepal, etc. The accounts had been created using proxy servers, the report said.” Also turning to the Maha police: Javed Akhtar who has filed a criminal complaint against Kangana Ranaut for defamation. () Also targeting media outlets: Shiv Sena’s best bro and political ally Sharad Pawar’s family. * They own the Sakal Media Group in Pune and sacked 15 of their employees in March—despite a government order not to fire anyone during lockdown. * In June, the Sakal Times’ laid off its entire staff. Newslaundry reported on both stories ( and ). * Within days of the second story, the media group slapped a Rs 65 crore defamation suit against Newslaundry—which stayed firm and insisted that both stories were backed by facts. * The defamation case has been dropped but the Pawar family has turned its gun on the reporter, Prateek Goyal. They filed an FIR against him for using “Sakal’s trademark logo in his story. He has stolen the trademark.” NewsLaundry that it is routine to use the logo of an institution that is the subject of a news story. * The Pune police arrived at Goyal’s home to arrest him but mercifully he has managed to secure anticipatory bail. Later the local police chief Goyal: “Sakal can buy 50 reporters like you. They are too big and you aren’t even a journalist. You don’t have a press like Sakal. What is Newslaundry, it is just an online thing.” * reports on the FIR. Also read: account of events. ANT GROUP IPO ON HOLD Ant Group is a financial giant and its highly anticipated was expected to be the world’s largest. Its primary shareholder: Alibaba founder Jack Ma. The company planned to list itself on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges. But all those grand plans have been put abruptly on hold after a meeting between Ma and Chinese regulators—who have flagged “major issues” and are now planning to implement new rules for the financial tech market. has more on a brewing confrontation between the government and one of its wealthiest citizens. POLISH WOMEN SCORE A BIG WIN For two weeks, tens of thousands of women have been blockading streets in protest of a high court ruling that makes all abortions illegal—except when the mother’s life is in danger or in cases of rape/incest. And much of their rage is the Catholic Church: > “When the activists managed to sneak into the churches on Sunday, their protests took many forms. Some dressed as ‘handmaids,’ à > la Margaret Atwood; some placed protest notes on collection trays rather than cash. One woman in Warsaw stood right in front of > the priest at the altar, holding a sign saying ‘Let us pray for the right to abortion.’ In Krakow, protesters gathered at the > ‘Pope’s window’ of the archbishop’s palace, a hallowed site where John Paul II had appeared to bless the loving crowds during > his visits to the motherland. This time, however, the crowd was chanting ‘f--- the clergy.’” The outcome: The government the implementation of the court ruling and is calling for a dialogue. Going viral: This amazing photo of a protester by her friend who her as “deeply religious & practising. She’s a mother. She works in a sector where it's better to do nothing against the government. Here she is." INDIANS ARE RACKING UP DEBT According to a new report, 46% of those surveyed in seven cities borrowed money during the pandemic to run their households: > "The impact of the pay cuts or delays was the next big reason why most borrowers resorted to borrowing, 27% of respondents cited > repayment of their monthly instalments from the earlier loan as the second-biggest reason behind borrowing. About 14% of the > respondents borrowed as they suffered job losses." And many of them are borrowing from friends and family—as opposed to institutions as they have more freedom to decide when to return the money. () In other worrying data: A World Wildlife Fund report warns that will cycle between acute water shortage by 2050. These include all the big metros but also cities like Jaipur, Amritsar, Kozhikode and Vishakhapatnam. THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A QUICK UPDATE * An indoor concert staged by German scientists shows that the spread of the virus in such events is “”—as long as there is good ventilation, limits on numbers and strong hygiene protocols. * You can now get a Covid test on demand at . The price: Rs 2400. And the results are delivered within 4-6 hours. * reports on the worrying rise in off-label prescription of Dexamethasone to Covid patients who have not been hospitalised. The reason why this is worrying: The steroid drug should only be given to patients on ventilation or other kinds of oxygen support. In less serious cases, it in fact can have harmful side effects. * has an excellent read on truckers who keep Indian patients breathing—by ferrying medical oxygen across the country. WHATSAPP HAS NEW TOOLS Everyone’s phone’s storage capacity is crammed to the gills thanks to our innumerable WhatsApp groups. The company just rolled out a new tool that allows you to bulk delete hordes of good morning memes that are taking up precious space. has all the details. DELHI IS GETTING COLD! The minimum temperature dropped to 10°C yesterday—the lowest of a season that promises to be freezing. Meteorologists expect that it will hit single digits in the next three to four days—officially making it a “cold wave.” One reason for these chilling temps: Delhi skies have been cloudless. Clouds help trap the radiation from the ground and reflect it back—which in turn helps raise the temperature. Also: snowfall in Himachal Pradesh. Point to note: October was the coldest month in 58 years in the NCR region. ( A MEDIEVAL SELFIE DISCOVERED! A British art scholar has discovered a male figure carved into one of the world’s greatest cathedrals—Santiago de Compostela in Spain. It is the self-portrait of a stonemason who helped construct the 12th century—the medieval version of selfie-as-graffiti. And it’s been tucked away, lying undiscovered for centuries until now. has this lovely story. See: the cheeky selfie below.

Sanity Break #2

We don’t know what will happen when all the votes are counted in the United States. But just in case… bookmark excellent ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ mashup for that moment when you reach for the champagne.

Smart & Curious

One: What do your ears hear? Answer: exactly what your eyes are looking at. This is called the , and it’s pretty darn cool. Two: This —which TBH looks like a Disney character—is called the ram’s horn squid, or Spirula spirula. And biologists have captured it on camera in its natural habitat (2,850 feet underwater) for the very first time! Three: Ok, so this ‘’ may look like a horror flick extra, but it marks a huge step forward in making a human-like machine. It can blink, shift its gaze on cue, tilt its head etc. And it’s the creation of a Disney company, no less! More information . Four: This is the clock at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. The man is Dutch artist Maarten Baas, and that’s his 12-hour playing on loop inside the clock. Another in this series is the ‘Sweeper’s Clock’—which you can check out . Or read more about his work .