The farmer protests: A quick update
- The Union government has invited the farmers to hold talks today—without imposing any pre-conditions. The unions will decide whether to accept the offer this morning.
- Tens of thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana have blocked the Delhi borders—and are threatening to shut down five separate points.
- Mint has an excellent ground report from the site of the protests. Also see a video report here and images here.
- Read our explainers on why the farmers are protesting here and the pivot to communalising the protests here.
The global pandemic: A quick update
- Recent studies show that the pandemic is taking a heavy toll on the mental health of children between the ages of 6-12—many of whom are lonely, anxious and depressed. NPR has more.
- Nasal symptoms such as excessive dryness and a “strange sensation” in the nasal cavity could be early symptoms of Covid.
- A baby in Singapore was born with antibodies against the virus. What we don’t know yet: if the virus was transmitted during pregnancy or delivery. We also don’t know if these offer immunity to the child.
- New research suggests that the 14-day isolation period recommended for Covid patients may be too long. As a result, many countries are considering reducing the quarantine period to as little as five days. New York Times has more.
- How quickly will you become infected if one person in the room has Covid? A new MIT tool lets you calculate the odds in every scenario. Fast Company has the story. Check out the tool here.
- A related good read: Bloomberg News on the critical role of airlines—which will haul billions of vaccine doses around the world.
Tale of an elephant rescue
- Kaavan was secured by then President Ziaul Haq from Sri Lanka as a gift to his daughter—who fell in love with elephants after she saw ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’.
- While the ‘gift’ delighted the child, it proved to be a life sentence to Kaavan who remained all alone and imprisoned at the Islamabad zoo—long after the President died.
- That’s until the world’s loneliest elephant found a devoted and unlikely advocate: the pop singer Cher who led a global campaign to save him.
- After all these years, Kaavan was put on Russian transport jet—with a forced layover in Delhi—to a sanctuary in Cambodia. Vice has more on the diplomatic scuffle.
- Oh, and Cher was waiting on the other side armed with flowers and a song. Watch that clip below. BBC News has the best, most detailed story on Kaavan.
Joe Biden’s history-making team
For the first time ever, White House communications will be run by an all-women team. What Indians are eyeing: Biden’s likely nominee, Neera Tanden, to run the all-powerful Office of Management and Budget. Washington Post has more.
China’s gruesome insult to Australia
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lijian Zhao shared a doctored image of an Australian soldier holding a bloody knife to the throat of an Afghan child. The accompanying tweet referenced a four-year Australian inquiry that recently found 25 soldiers guilty of murdering 39 Afghan civilians. The Australian government described this unprecedented breach of diplomatic conduct as “truly repugnant, deeply offensive, utterly outrageous. BBC News has more on the rapidly deteriorating relationship between the two countries. Quartz looks at China’s increasingly aggressive ‘wolf warrior” art—which now enjoys Beijing’s open patronage.
Amazon is spying on its employees
Internal documents show that the company hired detectives—from the Pinkerton agency infamous for busting unions—to spy on its own warehouse workers. It also “obsessively” monitored the social media accounts of environmental and social justice groups. Vice has this exclusive.
NRIs can mail in their vote
The Election Commission is seeking permission to allow Indian citizens living abroad to cast postal ballots. If it is granted, NRIs can vote in the upcoming elections in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Point to note: This change does not need to be approved by the Parliament. (Indian Express)
Finally, one word of the year
The Oxford Dictionary couldn’t settle on a single word, and issued a 16-page list instead. Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com have been far more decisive—and predictable. Their choice: The P-word, as in pandemic. (Associated Press)
A clumsy student moves the Supreme Court
An 18-year old lost his IIT seat because he hit the wrong button—which withdrew his application instead of securing his seat. Now, he’s moved the Supreme Court to insist that IIT take him in on “humanitarian grounds.” (NDTV)
A very different royal love story
In the UK, ‘commoners’ like Kate and Meghan can become princesses. But in Japan, Crown Prince Akishino’s daughter Mako will lose her royal status when she marries her not-rich-at-all college sweetheart. But it will be a hard-fought victory for a couple that has finally won over an openly disapproving Prince who now says:
"The constitution says marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes. If that is what they really want, then I think that is something I need to respect as a parent."
What makes this story noteworthy: Princess Mako will not just lose her title, but also all financial support, which may explain her father’s concerns:
"He doesn't have the right job with employment for life. Twenty years ago, 80% of Japanese men had life-time employment. Now it's less than 50%. The so-called Japanese dream has now become unattainable for many young people."
