Man in the Middle

Sanity Break #1

Ok, so this isn’t exactly an upbeat break, but it is worth celebrating. Writer-director Abhishek Galshar’s short film ‘’ has been shortlisted to be showcased at the Cannes Film Festival this summer. It tells the grim story of a mother forced into prostitution to make ends meet during the pandemic.

Headlines that matter

THE AMBANI CASE: THE LATEST UPDATE The Bombay High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct a “preliminary inquiry” into allegations of corruption against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Calling the case “extraordinary and unprecedented,” the court has asked the CBI to complete the probe within 15 days. This is in response to the petition filed by former Mumbai Police Commissioner, Param Bir Singh, seeking such a probe. Reminder: When Singh was removed from his job, he first wrote a letter to the Chief Minister alleging that Deshmukh had directed top Mumbai cop Sachin Vaze—now the prime suspect in the explosives case—to collect Rs 100 crore from businesses (explained ). Soon after, from his post, and has been replaced by another NCP MLA . () A JAWAN KIDNAPPED BY MAOISTS Security forces have not been able to locate one of their commandos in the aftermath of the bloody Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh. A naxal group a journalist that they have abducted him. Rakeshwar Singh Manhas is a member of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA)—which is a specialised unit of the CRPF. The local police chief : > “There is no statement by the Maoists yet, but we have information from other sources that the commando is with them. We can say > he is safe so far. We are trying to ascertain how he was taken away.” Also in Maoist possession: two dozen sophisticated weapons used by the security personnel. has more on Manhas. has a follow-up report on the ‘red flags’ that were ignored before the security operation. THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A QUICK UPDATE * Our daily case number as of yesterday is 96,557, taking the total of active cases to . The number of deaths: 445. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, and Punjab together account for 75.88% of the national total. has an excellent collection of infographics that offer the big picture. * More worryingly: We can no longer pat ourselves on the back for a low fatality rate. Since March 8, both the number of new cases and deaths are surging at the same rate—i.e they both . This spike in fatalities is the sharpest since the pandemic began. * The low number of fatalities was attributed to the fact that India is a young country—and younger people are less susceptible and often remain asymptomatic. flags the global trend that shows younger people being infected in greater numbers during second waves—and seeking serious medical attention, which may again push up fatality rates. It also has more on why our ‘recovery rate’ numbers are a bit dubious. * The second wave—and the prospect of a lockdown—is already triggering among street hawkers and vendors, many of whom are planning to return to their hometown. : The service sector, in general, including salons, restaurants, theatres etc. * Also feeling the effects: and the , which may soon become overwhelmed. * A related good read: New York Times via on how the variants will almost certainly prolong the pandemic. Key expert quote: “We don’t have evolution on our side… This pathogen seems to always be changing in a way that makes it harder for us to suppress.” THE SAG AWARDS GO BIG ON DIVERSITY Actors of colour swept at the Screen Actors Guild awards—with the cast of Aaron Sorkin’s 1960s courtroom drama ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ winning Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman won best female and male actor for their performance in ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’. Best supporting role awards went to Youn Yuh-jung for ‘Minari’ and Daniel Kaluuya for ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’. The ceremony was a pre-taped hour conducted over Zoom—with the stars posting “red carpet” moments on their social media handles. Our favourite: Kerry Washington posing in her pool! Pandemics are good for something! has the others. has the entire list of winners. lists the snubs and surprises. In other actor-related news: Thandie Newton has the original Zulu-derived spelling of her name: Thandiwe. She : “That’s my name. It’s always been my name. I’m taking back what’s mine.” Speaking of resurrections: A Soviet-era TV version of Lord of the Rings—titled Khraniteli—aired only once in 1991, and was thought to be lost to posterity. But it has now been rediscovered after 30 years when it was posted on YouTube by the state-owned TV channel in Leningrad. If you want to delight in the cheesy effects, check out and . THE FIRST SMARTPHONE TO SHUT SHOP South Korean company LG Electronics is shutting down its smartphone division and withdrawing from the market—after clocking a loss of almost $4.5 billion over six years. Back in 2013, it was the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer behind Samsung and Apple. It is the first global smartphone maker to call it a day. Still plodding along: Nokia, HTC and (hallelujah!) Blackberry. The brand most likely to benefit from LG’s exit: Samsung. () Doing much, much better: Swiggy, which has raised $800 million in the latest round of funding. This round will leapfrog Swiggy’s valuation from $3.6 billion to more than $4.9 billion. () AN ASTONISHING TREATMENT FOR CANCER Early research suggests that ingredients found in hair dye and anti-aging creams can delay the progression of breast cancer. Patients in the trials were injected with a mix of hydrogen peroxide and hyaluronic acid twice a week before receiving radiotherapy treatments. A year later, for the vast majority, their tumours had either vanished, shrunk or grown no bigger. Why this matters: Hydrogen peroxide is very cheap and could offer a cost-effective way to treat cancer. () TWO KEY HEALTH STUDIES One: Chemicals such as bisphenols—found in plastic products like water bottles—and phthalates—found in shampoo, detergents, nail polish, etc.—affect a woman’s hormones, and can trigger postpartum depression. Why this matters: “This research is important because phthalates are so prevalent in the environment that they are detectable in nearly all pregnant women.” () Two: A new study shows that certain key emotional states are linked to the diversity and type of microbes in your gut: > “Overall, higher levels of wisdom, compassion, social support, and engagement were found to be associated with more diverse gut > microbiomes. Loneliness, meanwhile, was associated with dampened microbial diversity, especially among older adults, which jibes > with previous work suggesting older adults are especially vulnerable to the health-related consequences of loneliness.” But the study could not prove “directionality”—i.e which one causes the other. It may be that loneliness in itself just makes us more susceptible to disease, including poor gut health. () THE WORLD’S DEEPEST SHIPWRECK DIVE A Texas company dived 6,500 metres underwater to reach a US Navy battleship, which sank back in World War II—off the coast of the Philippines. A crewed submersible vessel filmed the wreckage of the USS Johnston off Samar Island during two eight-hour dives. has the story. You can see the below: A MASSIVE $440,000 MISTAKE A South Korean couple ruined a very expensive painting by an American artist, JonOne. The large graffiti—measuring 22.9 feet by 7.8 feet—was the only one displayed without a frame at the exhibit, and was displayed alongside paints and brushes used by the artist. The couple assumed they were placed there as an invitation for the public to ‘interact’ with the painting—and added big green splotches of their own. The from an expert on the incident and the state of modern art: > "Due to the characteristics of contemporary art, there will be many happenings like these going forward. Exhibit organizers must > take extra care in physically protecting the artwork, as the audience may mistake the art like that of JonOne's to something > they can scribble on.” You can see the below lol!

Sanity Break #2

This gave us all the feels—despite our best efforts to resist such obvious emotional manipulation lol!

Smart & Curious

A LIST OF INTRIGUING THINGS One: Sotheby’s is auctioning a pearl-and-diamond tiara—which also converts into a necklace—worth $1-1.5 million. What’s interesting: They have an insta filter that allows you to post with it. Here’s the link to . The tiara is . has more on its provenance. Two: This gorgeous photo isn’t a work of art but the Hubble Telescope’s snapshot of the Veil Nebula—which is 2,100 light-years from Earth. has the story. The is below. Three: This is a ‘’ in Russia: “a swirling mass of threatened reindeer stampeding in a circle making it impossible to target an individual.” Four: A Maharashtra school turned a dead tree stump into a giant pencil. And we think it’s kinda cool. has the story. Five: This is an ‘apple tattoo’—where artists use stencils and the sun to ‘draw’ intricate designs on fruit. Check out collection or that of the . Read more about the art over at .