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Christmas season is already here! The to kick it off: the very funny ‘Santa better wear a f***ing mask’ by Stewart Reynolds. What makes it priceless: The ‘Love Actually’ spoof.
CONTROVERSY OVER INDIA’S VACCINE TRIALS * experienced ‘serious adverse events’ in separate vaccine trials. * The person in Nagpur who was part of the Bharat Biotech trial developed a flu-like illness. * A volunteer for the Oxford vaccine in Chennai has neurological symptoms. * The Chennai volunteer’s family is suing AstraZeneca, Oxford University, the Serum Institute of India—and is seeking Rs 5 crore in compensation. * What’s notable: when occurred in the UK, human trials were immediately stopped until independent investigators determined the cause of illness—and if it was related to the vaccine. No such thing has happened in India. * The Serum Institute instead is the participant for Rs 100 crore: “The claim is malicious because the volunteer was specifically informed by the medical team that the complications he suffered were independent of the vaccine trial he underwent. In-spite of specifically being made aware of the same, he still chose to go public and malign the reputation of the company." * But as notes: “Serum Institute did not provide details on assessment of the participant by the site’s medical team, nor the process followed in coming to the conclusion that the vaccine was not the cause of the complications.” * also points out that CDSCO—the government authority supervising the trial—has released no information on any independent probe or its findings. * Doctors simply discharged the participants, and the companies involved declared that their illness was unrelated to the vaccine. A related good read: with India’s foremost vaccine expert Gagandeep Kang who offers this reality check: Most people who are not at the top of the list—i.e. not elderly, healthcare workers etc.—should not expect to be vaccinated until 2022. In related news: ICYMI, Chinese scientists have published a research paper that the virus originated on the Indian subcontinent: > “From May to June 2019, the second-longest recorded heat-wave had rampaged in northern-central India and Pakistan, which created > a serious water crisis in this region. The water shortage made wild animals, such as monkeys, engage in the deadly fight over > water among each other and would have surely increased the chance of human-wild animal interactions.” This theory has not been reviewed by the scientific community—and has already . A quick global update: * The US recorded in November alone—which is double the number for October, and brings the total to more than 13 million, the highest of any nation. * Long-term effects of Covid may include losing your teeth—without blood or pain. It is more likely if you have pre-existing dental conditions. via Economic Times has more. * A bar in Rome all talk of coronavirus and the pandemic—and its making the patrons very happy. * is a US college band performing at a game over Thanksgiving weekend—in masks that are likely as effective as a, er, leaky condom? UTTAR PRADESH’S FIRST ‘LOVE JIHAD’ CASE The state recently passed a law that would punish anyone who forcibly converts a person through marriage—and nullifies that marriage. The police have now filed the first case. It involves a woman who tried to elope with her Muslim boyfriend a year ago—and who is now married to someone else. Her father has now filed an FIR and he has been booked for “threatening to kidnap” her—but the anti-conversion charges were slapped on to the original FIR in ink. has more details. A BATTLE OVER HYDERABAD Municipal elections in the city have become an unexpectedly big deal—with BJP flying in its bigwigs, including Yogi Adityanath who at a rally: “If we win, we will turn Hyderabad into Bhagyanagar” (watch the sea of saffron ). Also in Hyderabad: Home Minister Amit Shah who to rid the city of “nawab and nizam culture.” So why all this fuss over a local election? The long-marginalised BJP thinks it has a really good chance to get a toe-hold in the city. The big push has certainly spooked the ruling TRS party into cutting its ties to Asaduddin Owaisi's party which has an iron-grip over the inner city’s vote. Owaisi’s : “So many top leaders have been brought in by the BJP that now only Donald Trump is left to come and campaign.” INDIA LOSES OUT IN SYDNEY Australia by 51 runs for an unbeatable 2-0 series lead in the one-day international series. Virat Kohli scored the highest number of runs, followed by Shreyas Iyer. Kohli admitted: “They outplayed us.” The only high point of the match: an Indian fan who to his Australian girlfriend in the stands. Of course, she said ‘yes’. See the below: In less happy cricket news: A woman has accused Pakistani skipper Babar Azam of sexually abusing and exploiting her. Watch the clip of her press conference . has the story. Moving on to football: Argentina has opened a probe into the circumstances surrounding the football legend Diego Maradona’s death. The reason: Maradona’s lawyer and family claim that the medical unit tasked with his 24X7 post-surgery care was negligent. has all the details. Also watch: Lionel Messi to Maradona after scoring the final goal for Barcelona in a match against Osasuna. A Formula One miracle: French driver Romain Grosjean had a miraculous escape after his car broke into two and burst into flames at the Bahrain Grand Prix. He walked away with only minor burns. has the story. The below: WHO IS THE RICHEST KHANDAAN OF THEM ALL? The Ambani family, of course. They are at the top of Bloomberg’s list of the richest dynasties in Asia. Mukesh-bhai & Co. are now more than twice as wealthy as their nearest competition: The Kwoks of Hong Kong. profiles these filthy rich Asians if you need more. DELHI WINTER WILL BE HARSH! According to meteorologists, North India will experience lower than normal temperatures through January. Delhi has already recorded its coldest day in November in over a decade—hitting 7°C. The reason: it’s a La Nina year. has more. NO SLEEP IS BETTER THAN LESS SLEEP Sleep is when our brain seals memories into place. But it is also when our brain unlearns things—especially stuff that is traumatic. A surprising found that those who get no sleep are better at learning what to fear or not fear than those who got only a few hours of sleep: > "Curiously, the brains of those getting no sleep resembled those of the people who enjoyed a full night's rest twelve hours > later in that the fear response was absent. Those getting only a few hours of sleep showed signs of fear in their brain > activity. This suggests that getting only a little rest might be worse than getting none at all, at least when it comes to > learning and unlearning fear responses." THE MONOLITH MYSTERY DEEPENS As you may remember, a bunch of government employees in a helicopter spotted a strange block of metal installed in the midst of a remote stretch of Utah. Soon, intrepid folks had its location—and posted of it on Instagram. Now, the state’s public safety department a new twist: > “We have received credible reports that the illegally installed structure, referred to as the ‘monolith’ has been removed from > Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands by an unknown party. The BLM did not remove the structure which is considered > private property. We do not investigate crimes involving private property which are handled by the local sheriff’s office. The > structure has received international and national attention and we received reports that a person or group removed it on the > evening of Nov. 27.” Yup, this massive structure that’s between 10-12 feet high has just vanished! Waiting for the inevitable satellite sleuths to solve this mystery. () A WARNING LABEL ON ‘THE CROWN’? Season four may be the most controversial yet—since it deals with one of the messiest chapters in royal history: The Diana-Charles marriage. The show’s creators have already been accused of painting the royal family as monsters. Now, a UK cabinet minister plans to request Netflix to add a “health warning”—to make it clear that the series is a work of fiction: “Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.” The move, as expected, has been jeered at once. ()
The new quirky and sweet celebrates all the creative ways we Indians have found to hook up in the midst of a pandemic. What we love: The theme song inspired by 1980s Bollywood.
A LIST OF GOOD READS * Christopher Solomon in writes with great clarity and tenderness of a love of a lifetime—between his father and mother. If you read nothing else on this list, read this. * Going viral: long and anguished elegy titled ‘Why I’m Losing Hope in India’—reflecting the sentiment of a generation of middle class Indians whose lives were transformed by the riches of liberalisation (and who in 2016 hoped that a ‘Gujarat model’ Modi would deliver more of the same). * Why is the older generation—parents, uncles and aunts—the most susceptible to WhatsApp forwards and Facebook bs? Bonnie Kristian in writes about how the internet “broke” the brains of a pre-digital generation. * delivers a scathing critique of venture capitalism—and how it has deformed capitalism. * Katherine Finnery in points to two instances when the use of the goddess Durga drew outrage—one from rightwing Hindus and the other from liberals angry about cultural appropriation. Her argument: It’s time to stop outraging. * has a lovely interview with Dimple Kapadia who is refreshingly self-deprecating about her experience filming ‘Tenet’ with Christopher Nolan. * After meatless meat, now we have fishless fish. looks at the future of seafood. * reveals how being a father changes the brains of men—and the level of testosterone in their body.
: New personal anthem of four four Magellanic penguins: Take me out to the ballpark… : A family that dances together... : Reggae, the tie that binds all living creatures. : For when your kids ask you, so what was 2020 like...
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A lively look back at our pehla election of 1951. We’ve come a long way.
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