That’s (Not) News To Me

Sanity Break #1

Switzerland Tourism’s brand ambassador Roger Federer has a —especially when it involves sweet-talking Robert De Niro.

Headlines that matter

THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A LONGISH UPDATE First, the numbers: We officially recorded new cases and 4,198 deaths. Our national positivity rate—number of tests that turn up positive—is 21%. The ideal percentage: less than 5%. Point to note: 310 districts are above the national average. And out of 700-plus districts have a positivity rate above 10%. Overall, is above the 5% threshold. Numbers are rising —but 18 show signs of decrease or of hitting a plateau. But in order for that bit of good news to be meaningful, we will have to look more carefully at each of their testing numbers. Also read: Dr Jameel’s take on the second wave in the : > “It is still too early to say whether we have reached the peak. There is some indication of the cases plateauing. But we must > not forget that this is a very high plateau. We seem to be plateauing around 4 lakh cases a day. We might feel relieved, if we > indeed have reached the peak, but the climb down is also not going to be swift.” Big cause for worry: Cases in small towns and villages: > “In 13 of the 24 states where districts can be split into rural and urban, there are more cases in villages and small towns than > in big cities. In the other 11 states, cases are growing faster in rural areas. The data also suggests that as the Covid wave > shifts from cities to towns, the underreporting of cases increases. This is because the smaller centres don’t do enough tests.” A related good read: on the rising fear of Covid in Uttar Pradesh—where the number of deaths are spiralling. It is eye-opening on how the pandemic is playing out in small villages. Also pertinent when speaking of rural India: on how Kumbh Mela pilgrims have become superspreaders in their home towns. About those deaths: * More bodies have washed on river banks in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (see our on why this is happening). The most recent count: 71 bodies in Bihar. But there is a for this ghastly phenomenon: bodies may have been thrown into the river by ambulance drivers. The authorities’ main agenda: fiercely denying any of this is happening due to the price of cremations. * Also this: another have washed up on the banks of the Ganga in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. Authorities still don’t know where they came from. * Good related reads: One, on how the Gujarat media is using ‘old-fashioned shoe-leather journalism’ to arrive at a more accurate death tally. Two, offers a great guide on how journalists can plug the gaps in their reporting on deaths. * A difficult but important read that makes it clear how difficult it is to cremate a loved one’s body: on a four-year old who had to endure the decomposing bodies of his grandparents while his father desperately looked for help. * Also somewhat related: People are of Patna’s biggest government hospitals due to fears of the care they receive—including worries about rumours that organs are being harvested by doctors. The common sentiment: “Jo hospital jayega woh maara jayega” The second wave economy: Moody’s has its prediction for India’s growth rate from 13.7% to 9.3%—but it still expects a strong rebound in the second half of the year. The spread to rural areas may our economic recovery—by disrupting food supplies from the mandis, dampening demand, and triggering higher unemployment as rural job schemes like MGNREGA become ineffective. Point to note: MGNREGA was a huge lifeline for rural workers last year. Good news about vaccines: Just a single shot of the AstraZeneca (Covishield) vaccine reduces the risk of death . Also: gated communities in Bangalore vaccine drives for 45-plus residents—though it doesn’t seem that their help were part of it. Bad news about vaccines: Seychelles vaccinated of its population, and yet its Covid count has doubled. Now, 38,000 of its 100,000 residents received Sinopharm, while the rest got AstraZeneca. So it’s raising a lot of questions about the Chinese vaccine. Point to note: No one has died after being vaccinated. (Bloomberg News via ) Covid treatment: The WHO has once again issued a against the use of ivermectin as a form of Covid treatment. The reasons: “No scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against COVID-19 from pre-clinical studies; No meaningful evidence for clinical activity or efficacy in patients with COVID-19 disease, and; A concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies.” In related news: A group of health experts have written to the government asking for a revaluation of the use of plasma therapy—pointing to the “possibility of more virulent strains developing due to irrational use of plasma therapy which can fuel the pandemic.” has that story. Good Samaritan alert: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has donated $15 million to the Covid relief effort in India. has more on where that money is going. Covidiot alert: As with many videos, it is hard to vouch for the details of this clip from the local Ayuktha TV channel—but it allegedly shows people coming in Karnataka. On the lighter side: Here is the dancing to ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ to raise awareness about pandemic protocols: And here’s Mark Humphries of Australia’s latest travel ban: SHOCKING SLAVE LABOUR AT A US TEMPLE Law enforcement agencies have charged a Hindu organisation called Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) of exploiting Indian labourers—employed to construct a huge temple in New Jersey. They were lured with the promise of good jobs, and brought into the country on religious visas, which portrayed them as skilled volunteers. Of course, all of them are Dalit: > “Lawyers for the men, however, said they did manual labor on the site, working nearly 13 hours a day lifting large stones, > operating cranes and other heavy machinery, building roads and storm sewers, digging ditches and shoveling snow, all for the > equivalent of about $450 per month. They were paid $50 in cash, with the rest deposited in accounts in India.” Do read that last line again. Also this: Their passports were confiscated, and they were kept in prison-like conditions in fenced-in sites, and isolated from others. And their pay was often docked for the smallest of ‘violations’. Example: not wearing a helmet. Big point to note: BAPS is not a fly-by-night organisation, but a massive global enterprise that builds eye-popping (and multimillion dollar) temples around the world. And it has powerful political connections: > “The organization has strong ties with Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Mr. Modi > has said that Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual head who built BAPS into the largest Hindu sect in the United States before > dying in 2016, was his mentor. Mr. Modi gave a eulogy at his funeral and laid the foundation stone for a temple that BAPS is > building in Abu Dhabi.” The has a detailed and must-read story. TWO CLIMATE CHANGE THINGS One: First, the bad news. A new report shows that rising temperatures and extreme weather will devastate tea plantations around the world—with Kenya losing nearly a quarter of the land best suited to growing tea by 2050. Also in peril: tea cultivation in India, China and Sri Lanka. More surprisingly, your tea will start to even before we lose the plantations: > “You will lose the delicate nuances of flavour, the things that make tea so special. It’s like taking the herbs and spices away > from a recipe—you will not get the same richness of flavour.” Two: In slightly better news, a new study shows that we have regrown nearly 59 million hectares of forests over the past 20 years. Key areas of regeneration: forests in Brazil, boreal Mongolia, Canada and parts of Central Africa. OTOH, the world is still losing forests “at a terrifying rate.” We lost 386 million hectares over the same period. () THREE INTERESTING NEW STUDIES One: Researchers found that we feel the same way about our smartphones as we do about our homes: > “The smartphone is no longer just a device that we use, it’s become the place where we live...The flip side of that for human > relationships is that at any point, whether over a meal, a meeting or other shared activity, a person we’re with can just > disappear, having ‘gone home’ to their smartphone.” This, in turn, leads to the “death of proximity” when it comes to face-to-face interaction. has more on this fascinating study. Two: Scientists studied 1,250 yawns of 55 mammal and 46 bird species and concluded that the size of our brain is linked to the length of our yawn. The longer we yawn, the bigger our brain. It also found that yawning doesn’t oxygenate our blood—as popularly believed—but instead cools our brain. The best insight: “We should maybe stop considering yawning as rude, and instead appreciate that the individual is trying to stay attentive." () Three: A wild scientific experiment shows that humans possess the capacity to develop a sixth sense. No, not ESP but echolocation—i.e the ability to locate objects through sound, much like bats. has all the nerdy details of how scientists proved their theory. A CRAZY TALE OF A BENGAL TIGER A out of a house in Houston, Texas—sparking full-blown panic. It was confronted by an armed neighbour, and a person came out of the house and took the tiger inside: Now, that person was Victor Hugo Cuevas—a key suspect in a murder case, who was out on bail. Before the police arrived, Cuevas jumped in a Jeep with the tiger and fled. He has since been arrested, but nobody knows the whereabouts of the damn tiger! () DINE WITH DATA: ALL ABOUT GENIES 🧞‍♂️ Editor’s Note: Here is DWD’s weekly instalment of one cool, innovative or just plain quirky startup from around the world. Company: Genies 🧞‍♂️ About: The app allows you to create a virtual avatar for yourself, and buy and sell NFT accessories inspired from the real world. Think Jordan's shoes, Marshmello's helmet, or Michael Jackson's gloves! 🤹🏻‍♂️ The founders are betting on the idea of a metaverse—a completely digital world where humans will end up spending most of their time. Genies prepares your truest expression for that world! The LA-based company announced a $65M raise last week. Vaccine mogul Adar Poonawala is also an investor. Food For Thought: The early years of the company have been about getting influencer avatars on their platform. Justin Bieber, Cardi B, Shawn Mendes are a few notable names that have gotten virtual avatars for themselves! 👨‍🎤 DWD Take: There's a lot we don't understand about NFTs and crypto, but the existence of a completely virtual world seems closer and closer. Genies is looking to be the entire fashion industry of that world, and much more. We're betting big! 🐂 URL: About DWD: 🍴sends you a short summary on one new startup every day, delivered straight to your Whatsapp inbox!

Sanity Break #2

Attention rock lovers: We now have a of that brilliant rendition of ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ by Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, Dhani Harrison and—of course!—Prince, who stole the show with a jaw-dropping guitar solo. Also: The achingly plaintive song may exactly match our mood these days. (Warning: it is six minutes long!)

Smart & Curious

A LIST OF CURIOUS FACTS One: Are you man enough to wear a mirt? Yes, that’s what we’re calling skirts made for men these days. and both have more on this gender-bender trend. Also, every dude in hitched-up lungi’s answer: 🙄 . Another pertinent reminder: kilts. Two: Also, keeping you on-trend: The new slang to know is ‘cheugy’—pronounced ‘chew-gee’, with a hard G. So if you’re still stuck using words like ‘basic’ or ‘uncool’, umm, get with the program. What or who is cheugy? Basically, someone who is out of date or trying too hard—typically both. Yeah, it’s just another way for Gen Z to troll Millennials. and both have a guide if you need it. Three: Lego—the vendor of overpriced toys—has come out with a ‘white noise’ album. It’s essentially a “collection of soundscapes” made by Lego pieces being poured out, sifted through and clicked together. The aim: “to promote relaxation and mindfulness.” has more details. You can sample one of the half-hour tracks Four: A giraffe is a giraffe, right? Wrong. Extensive genome analysis now confirms that there are (at least) four separate species of giraffes: the northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis); the reticulated giraffe (Giraffe reticulata); the Masai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi); and the southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa). That’s quite something if you consider these are highly endangered species with dwindling numbers—and they do not mate with one another in the wild. has details on the research. If you’re snobby about your sources, check (requires sign in). Five: We quite enjoyed learning about 31 common logical fallacies in this 8-minute