Vivo says no to IPL

Border tensions have claimed their latest victim. BCCI, the Indian cricket board, has unofficially confirmed that the Chinese smartphone company will not be the official sponsor for the upcoming tournament in UAE. This is not a breakup but a ‘break’—as in a one-year moratorium, after which both sides will ink a fresh deal. An official told Hindustan Times:

“There is a lot of negative sentiments against the Chinese companies and it is likely to grow, hence it is felt by both the sponsor as well as BCCI it will be better to take a break and wait for the situation to improve.”

Point to note: Most Indian outlets are framing this as a BCCI decision, based on reporting from BCCI sources. And there was some pressure from rightwing Hindu groups to dump Vivo. But it isn’t clear who pulled the trigger. 

The lost meal ticket: Vivo signed a Rs 22 billion five-year contract—after Pepsi walked out of a contract for Rs 3.9 billion in 2017. And most experts agree that the deal was a “highly overvalued one and close to 40% above what should’ve been.”  BCCI kept Rs 2.2 billion each year, divvying up the rest of the Rs 4.4 billion annual rev among the eight teams. It will be difficult to find an equivalent replacement within 45 days. One league source told Times of India: "Even if the Board can get a replacement at 50% of the value, it'll be an achievement.”

Also worth noting: The eight franchises are already unhappy that they will not earn any “gate revenue” from stadium tickets—since the games will be closed. The loss of their cut of Vivo moolah will add to this year’s bad news. There’s now talk of panic among the team owners.

TikTok’s American drama continues

The Chinese state-controlled media—which closely reflect the government’s view—have condemned the forced sale of its US operations, warning that Beijing “will by no means accept the ‘theft’ of a Chinese technology company, and it has plenty of ways to respond if the administration carries out its planned smash and grab.”

President Trump, OTOH, is doing his best to live down to everyone’s worst expectations. He told Microsoft—TikTok’s most likely buyer—that the US government must get a cut of the sale proceeds. The reason: 

“It’s a little bit like the landlord-tenant... Without a lease, the tenant has nothing. So they pay what’s called key money. The United States should be reimbursed, or should be paid a substantial amount of money, because without the United States, they don’t have anything.”

Apparently, Microsoft does not have the right to buy TikTok “unless we give it to them.” Bloomberg News thinks this makes company CEO Satya Nadella the “kingmaker,” while others say:

“Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for going along with this. They’re not just trying to win a deal, they’re enabling a President to paint gray ethical if not legal lines which had been black and white.”

The global pandemic: A quick update

• Someone gave Trump a bunch of charts. He then flung them at an Axios reporter, making wild claims about US numbers. The must-watch clip is comedy gold, while the full interview is here. 
• Speaking of Americans, lots of them are sneaking over the border to Canada—which has banned all non-essential movement across the border. And it’s making Canadians very angry because they don’t want visitors from "the biggest petri dish in the world."
• Also in the US: Colleges are making plans to reopen—which includes strict guidelines on when to immediately shut down. According to the Wall Street Journal, these include “a student death, high rates of employee absenteeism, limited isolation facilities and a two-week upward swing in the percentage of tests coming back positive.”
• Scientists predict that a second wave is likely to hit France in autumn or winter. 
• Closer to home: In a worrying new trend, recovered patients in Mumbai are heading back to hospital with pulmonary fibrosis—“a severe scarring of tissues in the lungs that causes shortness of breath, requiring oxygen support for long durations and, in some case, for the rest of the life.”
• Also in India: Authorities claim that two Indian vaccines are already in Phase II trials, but the doctors who actually supervise them say otherwise.

• Plus: We stumbled on this 3D image of the spike protein of the coronavirus—the bit that attaches to our cells—on Twitter. The original source is here.  It looks unfairly cool.

An awesome ‘Got Milk?’ challenge

Katie Ledecky has five Olympic gold medals and 15 world championship gold medals—and she just won the internet by swimming the entire length of a pool with a glass of chocolate milk on her head. The aim: to promote drinking milk. The result: this awesome clip which you can enjoy whether or not you like milk.

A big breakthrough in suicide prevention

The United States has approved a nasal spray to help alleviate treatment-proof depression—which puts people at a high risk for suicide. The key ingredient is a chemical version of ketamine, aka the party drug Special K. Named Spravato, it can be self-administered but only under supervision of a doctor, and cannot be taken home. Point to note: Currently available treatments for major depression are ineffective in 30-40% of patients. (CNN)

WhatsApp has a new ‘fake news’ tool

It’s called ‘search the web’, and it allows you to do just that when you get a forwarded message that has been shared at least five times. Mint explains how it works—though it isn’t available in India as yet.

Alfonso Cuarón to produce Marathi movie

The Oscar-winning director—best known for ‘Gravity’ and ‘Roma’—will be executive producer of ‘The Disciple’. The reason: Cuarón is the mentor of director Chaitanya Tamhane, of whom he said: 

"He was part of most of Roma's process and I jumped to the opportunity to be part of the process of his second film The Disciple. I believe Chaitanya is one of the most important new voices of contemporary cinema."

Point to note: Tamhane’s previous film ‘Court’ won Lion of the Future awards at the Venice Film Festival. 'The Disciple' will be the first Indian movie in nearly 20 years to compete for the big prize at any major European film festival. (Firstpost)

Audi drops a tasteless ad

The advertisement (see image below) was widely condemned as “provocative” and “sexually suggestive.” Not helping matters: The accompanying slogan that read "Lets your heart beat faster - in every aspect." The automaker has dropped the ad and apologised. (BBC News)