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Tuesday April 27 2021

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Sanity Break #1

Steven Spielberg is working on a remake of ‘Westside Story’. This is the . So pretty! has more details.

Sanity Break #1

Headlines that matter

THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A LONGISH UPDATE First, the numbers: We reported and 2,762 deaths on Monday. The numbers are lower because the number of tests conducted on a Sunday is smaller as well. Our test positivity rate jumped to 21%—as in 21% of those tested turned up positive. The world’s seven-day average of new cases hit 774,404 on Sunday—a from two weeks earlier, and higher than the peak average of 740,390 during the last global surge in January. That’s all thanks to India’s second wave. Related read: on the recklessness of the affluent and the middle class who became superspreaders.    Among those lost: Veteran photographer Vivek Bendre and Guardian news assistant Kakoli Bhattacharya. See Bendre’s best photos , and read .    Looking ahead: According to predictive models, the number of active cases may peak at 38-48 lakh between May 14-18—and hit a daily high of 440,000 between May 4-8. has more on how accurate these forecasts are likely to be.    Lockdowns ahead: Karnataka has announced a , and for good reason. just became the second city to record 20K-plus cases. Also a problem in Karnataka: The official number of patients in the ICU is than the actual count.   Covid deaths: Continue apace. In Delhi—which recorded just on Monday—they are converting into cremation sites. The video ground reports from and offer necessary if grim viewing. Also a must watch: video report on how people are dying at home—unable to get medical help or a hospital bed.    Oxygen shortage: We now have guarding oxygen supplies both at production sites—and during transport. Watch below:   Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has a for the oxygen shortage:    > “The chief minister said that action must be initiated against hospitals that put up notices saying they had no oxygen and the > patients should be shifted elsewhere. He said there should be a probe to establish whether they deliberately tried to create > panic.”   US to the rescue: The Biden White House that it will offer its entire 60-million dose stock of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the world. Point to note: AstraZeneca is not even authorised for use in the US. Soon after, Biden and PM Modi to discuss the situation in India. Meanwhile, are sending oxygen-related supplies. Speaking of AstraZeneca: The EU is getting ready to for not delivering on promised supplies.   Point to note: A number of states like Maharashtra may not vaccinate the 18-plus starting May 1 due to shortages. has that story. has more on why states are worried about shortfalls.   An international spat: Philip Sherwell wrote a scathing piece titled ‘Modi leads India out of lockdown and into a Covid apocalypse’ in The Times. This was then republished by The Australian with the headline: ‘’. All of which made the Indian High Commission , and it issued an angry that said: “Coverage of such motivated and malicious reports in your publication only helps in spreading falsehoods and undermining humanity’s common fight against the pandemic.” The original article is behind a paywall but The Print has put a copy online . Point to note: The government had no comment on this from the :    Meanwhile at the Delhi courts: A case involving Inox—a major supplier of oxygen—offered eyebrow-raising revelations. The company that the union government had reduced the allocation to Delhi from 105 metric tonnes to 80:   > “The Delhi government has issued an order to supply 125 MT to hospitals yesterday while the Centre has also issued an order > yesterday, revising our allocation to only 80 MT to Delhi. What should we do?... Please sort this and let us know how much we > need to supply to which hospitals.”   In another Delhi High Court case, the union government that states cannot directly procure oxygen—and it has to be allocated by the Centre. The court then asked about the 21 lives lost at Jaipur Golden hospital, which led to the with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta:   > Court: Why haven't you reworked your allocation? 21 lives have been lost.  > > Mehta: Not because of non-supply by me.  > > Court: It's not reaching Delhi.  > > Mehta: It's not my job.    Speaking of Delhi courts: The Delhi government a special 100-room Covid facility for High Court judges and their families and staff.   Meanwhile in Tamil Nadu: The Madras High Court held the Election Commission of India squarely responsible for not enforcing Covid safety protocols during the state elections— “the only institution responsible for the situation that we are in today.” The judges added: “You should be put up on murder charges probably.” has more on the court ruling. charts the EC’s gross negligence.   About that variant: The double mutant variant (B.1.617) has now mutated further into three sub-lineages: B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3. These include a ‘triple mutant’ version which may, in fact, be less lethal. has everything you need to know about these variations on the variant theme. Surprising new research: suggests that the social distancing rule of maintaining six feet is pointless—as long as everyone is wearing masks. The variables that matter more: the number of people in a space, whether they wear masks, what they are doing, and the level of ventilation. has more.   To end on a good note: has an excellent piece on the impressive operations of the Mumbai municipal Covid war room. This tracks all the amazing work individuals have done to help others in the midst of this nightmare. Among those generous people: who has spent Rs 85 lakhs to deliver 400 metric tonnes of oxygen to government hospitals. Also: The Indirapuram Gurdwara in Ghaziabad has started an ‘’ that distributes oxygen to at least 400 people each day. Also: is airlifting 10,000 oxygen concentrators and machines.   AN INDONESIAN SUBMARINE TRAGEDY  On April 21, an Indonesian navy submarine carrying 53 people went missing during a training exercise. The rescue mission has finally found the sub in the Bali Sea, but it has broken into at least three pieces—and all aboard are dead. ()   IPL HAS A COVID PROBLEM First, said he’s dropping out to support his family—which is facing Covid-related challenges. Then, Australian cricketers Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa of Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Andrew Tye of Rajasthan Royals also for personal reasons. In their case, the cricketers that Australia will soon impose a travel ban on India. Tye also :    > “Looking at it from an Indian point of view, how are these companies and franchises spending so much money, and the government, > on the IPL when there’s people not being able to get accepted into hospital?” OTOH, the other Aussie Pat Cummins has $50,000 to the PM-Cares fund instead. The Indian Cricket Board has decided, however, the show will go on—since most of the big-ticket names are still on board. And officials plan to add more public service announcements about masks and social distancing to look more caring. And one league official offered :   > “IPL is at least helping people to stay indoors and at home. Then why all such talk? Yes everyone feels for what is happening > around us... People need succour during these times of distress and the IPL is capable of providing that. It provides positive > vibes all around. Remember, the IPL is also contributing to the economy in a big way. A lot of livelihood is dependent on it. > It’s easy to find a scapegoat and vent one’s ire but we should think about it logically.”   FARMER PROTESTS: THE LATEST UPDATE In an interesting turn of events, actor Deep Sidhu—arrested for his antics at the Red Fort on Republic Day—has been freed on bail by a Delhi court (His actions explained and ). There are two FIRs that have been registered against Sidhu. He was granted bail on the first FIR,—and hours later he was re-arrested on a second FIR. Also, he was held in custody since February 9 but formally arrested only on April 17. An irate court :   > “This clearly suggests that it was an attempt to defeat the bail order… and is a grave affront to the personal liberty of the > accused and runs foul of rights guaranteed under Article 21. Such vicious and sinister action of investigative authorities > amounts to playing fraud with established criminal process and shows scant regard to constitutional protections enshrined, > protected and cherished under the Constitution on India.”   Too bad, no court is willing to step in for Siddique Kappan who has Covid, but is still in jail without bail, and to a hospital bed.   TWO BIG TECH UPDATES Apple: has released its highly anticipated software update: iOS 14.5. It includes a privacy tool called App Tracking Transparency, which :    > “When an app wants to follow our activities to share information with third parties such as advertisers, a window will show up > on our Apple device to ask for our permission to do so. If we say no, the app must stop monitoring and sharing our data.”   This is good news for users, but it may force ad-tech firms to find more creative ways to stalk you. The person who is likely to be more upset about this new tool: Mark Zuckerberg:   > “If we choose not to let Facebook track us, it will be harder for the company to see what we are shopping for or doing inside > other apps, which will make it more difficult for brands to target us with ads.”   has more. has the other new features that are being rolled out.    Zoom: is rolling out a new feature called ‘Immersive View’—which allows the host to create custom backgrounds, shared by everyone on the call. So you can virtually sit next to others in a classroom, a boardroom or anywhere else. has a guide. below:   In not-so-great tech news: Hackers have released the database of over 20 million —including email addresses, phone numbers, hashed passwords, physical addresses and dates of birth. Yikes! This may explain why a showed that Indians are more likely to trust the government with their personal data than ecommerce sites.     INGENUITY GOES WHEEE! Everyone’s favourite drone took a more ambitious flight on Mars’ surface—rising to a height of 5 metres, and then speeding off for a distance of 50 metres, which is half the length of a football field. has the details. The is below:   TWO AMUSING ANIMAL THINGS Beavers: chewed through a key fibre cable and knocked out internet connectivity for 900 customers in Canada. the injured company, this wasn’t an accident:   > “Our team located a nearby dam, and it appears the beavers dug underground alongside the creek to reach our cable, which is > buried about three feet underground and protected by a 4.5-inch thick conduit.”   They then used the materials to build their dam. As the company noted, this was a “very bizarre and uniquely Canadian turn of events." Dog days: Turkmenistan now has a new which celebrates the country’s fave native breed: The Alabay. The occasion was marked with many events—a best-in-breed competition and an award ceremony for the bravest Alabay ever, given out by the President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov himself. All this after the prez personally unveiled a dedicated to the pooch last year:  

And the Award Goes To...

Sanity Break #2

Evan Matthews was running in a national park in Wyoming when he ran into a very large bear. So with his would-be attacker—and lived to tell the story! Think of this as a lesson on the thin line between insanity and genius! has more background.

Sanity Break #2

Smart & Curious

A LIST OF INTRIGUING THINGS One: This is a . These are single-use pink gloves you can wear when removing a tampon so you don’t get your hands dirty. Ick, menstrual blood! Bring out the loads of pink and red hearts. It was created by 😂 . All of which made some of us wonder, do men need a urinating glove? We could always make it a sexy navy blue! They have since withdrawn this critically needed product.   Two: Banana art! Anna Chojnicka has become world-famous doodling on her bananas! And they’re pretty darn awesome! has the story. And here’s her for more of her work.   Three: Apparently, a giant is very very effective in removing oil from your curry. OTOH, it doesn’t answer our question: Wtf is with all that oil?   Four: Imagine a QR code in the sky… created by 1,500 drones for a gaming company! has the story! (h/t founding member Tripti Asrani Singh)  

Smart & Curious

Feel Good Place

Dancing is the best!   Dancing is the best… part 2!   When you gotta win, you gotta win… never mind that you never entered the race!  

Feel good place

archivetitle dog ic

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