Editor’s note: Our tiny but mighty splainer team will be taking their winter holiday break from December 25 to January 4. We will be sleeping in, binge-eating and -watching, and hanging with family—after a very long news year.
One of our company’s core mission goals is mental wellness. Splainer was founded precisely to offer relief from the toxic, noisy and overwhelming news cycle. We asked: How can we help people stay sane and stay well-informed? And in each edition, we work hard to offer the best answer to that question.
So we wish you all a restful and joyous holiday! And we will be back on January 4, refreshed and raring to go with new ideas for a new year. Above all, we look forward to spending 2021 with you:)
Important alert: One of our subscribers is urgently looking for lingerie brands that make bras specifically for breast cancer patients. The person wears a prosthesis on one side. Please email any leads to talktous@splainer.in!
UK strain wreaks havoc
The UK recorded 36,804 Covid cases in just 24 hours—marking the highest daily increase since the pandemic began. Most notably: 691 deaths. That’s higher than the 326 deaths reported on Sunday. The good news: The UK has brokered a deal with France to reopen the borders for trucks—without which there would have been severe shortages of essential goods over Christmas. A related good read: Quartz on why travel bans don’t work.
Meanwhile, in India: Twenty passengers arriving from the UK have tested positive. As per the new guidelines, they all received RT-PCR Covid tests (not the rapid kind)—and will be isolated in a separate facility. Authorities have initiated contact tracing for anyone arriving from the UK since November 23. And they will conduct genome sequencing on these cases to see if they belong to the new strain.
Point to note: The government insists that there is no indication that the mutation has reached India. But experts say: "The new virus variant first emerged in the UK in September, it could have been already circulating in our country, but it is difficult to find out unless there are large scale infections." Also this: We aren’t doing very much to detect such mutations within India.
Over in the US: Bharat Biotech inked a deal with Ocugen to develop its vaccine for the US market. And speaking of vaccines, scientists have figured out why Pfizer’s jab is causing severe allergic reactions in some cases. The answer: A compound used to deliver its main ingredient—which is also used in the Moderna vaccine.
Also, the Antarctic: has now recorded its first Covid outbreak—36 cases on a Chilean research base. The Guardian has more.
A Covid walk of shame in Mumbai
A raid on a posh nightclub has netted a haul of celebs who were caught flouting safety norms—i.e. they weren’t wearing masks or maintaining social distancing. Among them: Sussanne Khan, Suresh Raina and Guru Randhawa. The Mumbai police announced the news with this cheeky line: “Party (Nahin) Chalegi Till Six In The Morning!” As of now, 34 have been arrested, including 19 from Delhi and Punjab. Sigh! FYI: Raina says he was invited for a dinner party, and had no clue about “the local timings and protocols.” Because Andheri is located in Iceland?
Say hello to a new Bharatiya unicorn
Atmanirbhar Bharat is thriving on phoren money. VerSe Innovation—which owns TikTok clone Josh and Daily Hunt—has raised $100 million from Google and Facebook. Its valuation is now more than $1 billion. The company now calls itself “India’s first tech unicorn for local languages”—and claims that it will use the money to promote the rich culture and heritage of India. Also leaping ahead thanks to Google money: InMobi which owns another TikTok-like Roposo and a mobile content platform called Glance—raised $145 million in the latest round.
India’s first ‘impossible’ pizza
Yes, the hottest trend in fake meat has finally hit India. No, we won’t be eating the Impossible Burger anytime soon. But Domino’s is getting to roll out ‘The Unthinkable Pizza'—which is 100% shuddh vegetarian but tastes like chicken. It will soon be available in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Mint has more.
China is cutting its bijli bills
The rebounding economy and a freezing winter have created a huge demand for power. China is imposing electricity cuts and other austerity measures:
“In the city of Yiwu in eastern China, the authorities turned off streetlights for several days and ordered factories to open only part-time. In coastal Wenzhou, the government ordered some companies not to heat their offices unless temperatures are close to freezing. In southern Hunan Province, workers have reported climbing dozens of flights of stairs after elevators were shut down.”
But this in turn has triggered a mad scramble for coal—and therefore coal shortages, and an environmental dilemma for a government determined to cut down its emissions. (New York Times)
A good China read: LA Times has an excellent piece on Australian universities bending over backwards to please Beijing—by cracking down on its brightest students who raise questions about its human rights record.
India’s air is worse than ever
In 2019, 1.67 million Indians died due to toxic air—accounting for 18% of all deaths. That’s up from 1.24 million in 2017. The fatalities in 2019 led to a total economic loss of $36.8 billion, or 1.36% of India’s GDP. Reuters has more numbers.
A Stone Age Venus surprise
The curvy statuettes of female figures—with heavily rounded breasts, stomachs and hips—have long been viewed as fertility symbols. Many experts say they represent the very different beauty ideals of ancient humans. And they look like this:
But new research suggests that these figures point to a very different Stone Age reality. At a time when the planet was getting colder due to advancing glaciers, body fat was a life-saving attribute for mothers in freezing temperatures:
"Our studies suggest these figurines did not represent sexual totems, or a representation of male desire, but rather as a means for providing strength to motherhood even in the most adverse situations."
Two disturbing stories about animals
One: NASA euthanised 27 lab monkeys in a single day at its Silicon Valley research centre. The reason: They were getting old and 21 had Parkinson’s disease. Animal rights activists are furious that NASA made no attempt to relocate them in a sanctuary. The company that runs the lab in association with NASA insists that no sanctuary would accept the monkeys—and they were well-cared for and not used for testing. The Guardian has more on the debate over “humane retirement policies” for lab animals.
Two: Plastic pollution has led to the death of 300 camels in Dubai’s deserts. The reason: They eat toxic waste, mistaking it for food. Scientists have found huge mounds of plastic inside dead camels—including a 63 kg ‘trashberg’:
"Bags, bottles, ropes and other plastics can accumulate in camels' stomachs over years, slowly calcifying into a solid mass.The accumulation can cause the camel to always feel full, and to eventually stop eating altogether.The camels get malnourished and die."
One delightful story about animals...
Because we all need one. A baby elephant was hit by a motorcycle in Thailand. An off-duty rescue worker, Mana Srivate, performed CPR and saved her life:
“It’s my instinct to save lives, but I was worried the whole time because I can hear the mother and other elephants calling for the baby. I assumed where an elephant heart would be located based on human theory and a video clip I saw online...When the baby elephant starting to move, I almost cried.”
The baby didn’t have any visible injuries, and has been reunited with her herd. The Guardian has the story. See the heart-warming video below.
