headlines that matter
Message from the editor: If you’re loving your daily splainer, please share the love and spread the word! These are early days, and we rely on your support to grow and thrive! So pretty please: use that referral link at the end of your daily email notification—and at the bottom of your account page—to tell everyone you know. Friends, colleagues, rishtedar etc. We will thank you with a gift to demonstrate our eternal gratitude—the details of which are available on our FAQ page.
Also: we’re struggling to name our doggie mascot. Please send suggestions and all other feedback to talktous@splainer.in.
The global economy: An update
- The International Monetary Fund’s forecast for the global economy just got gloomier—and it has projected negative growth for every part of the world! The global economy is now expected to shrink by 4.9% in 2020—which is worse than the 3% prediction in April.
- In India’s case, the downgrade is even more dramatic: “a sharp contraction” of –4.5 per cent. In April, the IMF projected our GDP to grow by 1.9%. The projection for the US: –8%.
- Its chief economist Gita Gopinath says: “We are projecting a synchronised deep downturn in 2020 for both advanced economies (-8 per cent) and emerging market and developing economies (-3 per cent; -5 per cent if excluding China), and over 95 per cent of countries are projected to have negative per capita income growth in 2020.”
China Vs India: Disengagement? What disengagement?
Diplomacy fail: Top level Indian and Chinese diplomats agreed to “sincerely implement the understanding on disengagement and de-escalation”—after which the Chinese Defence Ministry issued this statement: “China has sovereignty over the Galwan Valley region and the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and on duty in this region for many years.”
Trouble on a new front: Chinese troops have crossed the border at a new point in Ladakh: Depsang plains. This is 36 km southeast of India’s critical military airstrip in Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO). According to the Indian Express, “Chinese deployments include troops, heavy vehicles, specialist military equipment” at a location called ‘Bottleneck’—which lies 18 km within Indian-controlled territory.
Satellite images of Galwan: show zero signs of a Chinese climbdown. That single tent—which sparked the violent battle—has sprung back, and is bigger than ever. See gif shared by Australian researcher Nathan Ruser. Also: this eye-opening thread of images taken by Maxar Technologies. The Telegraph has more context.
And the BJP said: “Due to the misadventures of one dynasty: we lost thousands of square kilometres of land. The Siachen glacier was almost gone. And much more. No wonder India has rejected them.” That’s BJP President JP Nadda. Choose your response: 🙄 😂 😱 .
The global pandemic: The US in crisis
- The World Health Organization expects the number of cases to reach 10 million next week. It’s currently at 9.3 million.
- Adding to that surge: The United States, which added 34,700 cases in one day, the highest level since April. The latest surge has wiped out two months of progress. No, this isn’t a ‘second wave’, but likely a ‘second peak’ in the first one that never went away.
- The EU—which is reopening in July—is unlikely to allow travellers from the US, or any country with a higher average number of cases.
- And yes, there will be a Paris Fashion Week this year.
- Novak Djokovic’s parents are blaming everyone but their darling son for hosting a superspreader tournament in Croatia. Luckily, his fellow tennis players and officials don’t share that opinion. Kindest word used: stupidity.
The Indian pandemic: Delhi in crisis
- Total number of cases: 4,73,105 Total number of deaths: 14,894. Total recoveries: 2,71,696.
- Delhi added 3,947 cases. With 70,000-plus cases it has surged past Mumbai to become the city with the highest caseload.
- The army has now been called in to manage the treatment centres. And the Delhi government now plans to screen every house in the capital by July 6.
- Adding to Delhi’s woes: Diesel is now more expensive than petrol for the first time in its history.
- In related news: The Uttarakhand government now says it approved Baba Ramdev’s Coronil as an immunity booster—not a cure for Covid. He made that one all by himself.
To feel less anxious: Read The Lede’s interview with Dr P Kuganantham, an award-winning public health expert. He says:
"The number of positive cases will increase and should increase—because this means that we are identifying more cases and treating them and stopping the spread of the disease. So increase in positive cases means we are going towards stamping out this epidemic…
Don’t be afraid but be alert. The positive cases are only indicators of our (government’s) good performance. Our indicator is only deaths—deaths must only come down.”
A big Hinduja khandaan jhagda
The family patriarch Srichand Parmanand Hinduja and his daughter Vinoo are in the midst of an ugly legal battle with his three brothers. The point of dispute: A 2004 letter signed by all brothers which affirms that “the assets held by one brother belong to all, and that each man will appoint the others as their executors.” The three brothers tried to use the letter to take control of Hinduja Bank. Now 84-year old Srichand—represented by Vinoo since he lacks capacity to instruct his lawyers—wants the court to declare the letter as having “no legal effect.” Size of the family fortune: $11.2 billion—which will all go to Vinoo if she has her way. (Bloomberg News via NDTV)
Indians are not eating right
A new study shows that the richest 10% consume more than 3,000 calories a day, while the poorest 10% consume only 1,645 calories. The national average: 2,200—which is 12% lower than the global recommendation. Despite such frugality, our obesity levels are still rising. The reason: we eat way too many grains, and not enough vegetables or fruit. (Mint)
The Segway is dead
The iconic two-wheeler has officially shut shop. The reason: it was way too expensive at $5000 and ridiculously hard to drive. Only 140,000 Segways have been sold since 2001. If you’re feeling nostalgic, Fast Company offers an excellent lookback at “the most hyped invention since the Macintosh.”