A Chinese abduction in Arunachal?
Local newspapers are reporting the abduction of five young tribal men by Chinese troops. Union Minister Kiren Riiju claims that the Indian Army has already reached out to their PLA counterparts. But the Defence Ministry says it’s heard of no such thing. (Indian Express)
Djokovic crashes out of US Open
Novak Djokovic was the favourite to win the tournament, but he crashed out of it yesterday—and in the oddest fashion possible. He smacked a ball in frustration—which accidentally hit a lines official. He has since apologised for his behaviour on Insta. See the video below.
In related news: The number one women’s doubles team has also been forced to withdraw—but because they came in contact with another player who has since tested positive for Covid. ABC News has more details.
The many troubles of Trump
The President managed to get himself in serious PR trouble thanks to a scoop in The Atlantic that showed he mocked dead US soldiers—a story even confirmed by his bestie TV channel Fox News. The gist: In 2018, Trump was in Paris and scheduled to visit a cemetery where many US soldiers killed in World War I are buried. It was canceled allegedly for the following reason:
“Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed.”
Trump has since angrily denied he said or did any such thing—but this is not a good look for anyone running for election as commander-in-chief of the US military.
Also not a good look: Trump’s former bestie and fixer-in-chief Michael Cohen has just released a book calling him "a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man.” Everyone is obsessed with this detail: A parody clip of The Apprentice (made by Trump) where he insults and ‘fires’ a fake Barack Obama. We were every bit as fascinated by this revelation:
“Cohen also divulges personal details about Trump, including his hair routine, described as a ‘three-step’ combover designed to disguise ‘unsightly scars on his scalp from a failed hair-implant operation in the 1980s.’
Writing that he once witnessed Trump shortly after he showered, Cohen recalls that "
‘when his hair wasn't done, his strands of dyed-golden hair reached below his shoulders along the right side of his head and on his back, like a balding Allman Brother or strung out old '60s hippie.’”
Yup, we’re going to leave it there.
Speaking of racist US presidents: A new book based on White House recordings of Richard Nixon reveals that Nixon was sexually repulsed by Indians:
“The most sexless, nothing, these people. I mean, people say, what about the Black Africans? Well, you can see something, the vitality there, I mean they have a little animallike charm, but God, those Indians, ack, pathetic. Uch.”
He also said: “Undoubtedly the most unattractive women in the world are the Indian women.” Coming from a looker like Nixon, that really hurts.
In related US election news: Facebook is paying users to deactivate their FB and Insta accounts for six weeks before the election. It’s part of an experiment to understand how the platforms affect people’s political attitudes and behaviour.
The great pandemic : A quick roundup
- Yes, we’re still the worst in the world in terms of daily new cases—which crossed 90,000 for the first time. And our grand total is now 4 million-plus. We added the last million in just 13 days.
- Two new studies confirm that testing saliva samples is just as reliable as nose or throat swabs—and obviously way less painful.
- Big tech companies in the US have been very good about giving extra leave to WFH parents—since they have to juggle kids with zero child care. Now, it’s making their child-free colleagues very angry. New York Times looks at the growing divide within Facebook.
- The pandemic is destroying everyone’s sleep—and the phenomena is now being dubbed ‘Coronasomnia’.
- Bangalore reported a new case of reinfection.
- A pandemic horror story: A nineteen-year-old Covid patient was raped by the ambulance driver on her way to the hospital.
- Anxiety over the vaccine has unleashed a global war of espionage—as China, Russia and Iran try to steal research from US, Canadian and UK labs.
Sports bra shaming in Bangalore
Over the weekend, Kannada actress Samyuktha Hegde was working out with hula hoops in a park with two friends. They were confronted by local Congress leader, Kavitha Reddy—who seemingly tried to hit one of them (that clip here). A mob gathered, the police arrived—and the scene looked something like this. Reddy can be clearly heard heckling Hegde for doing a “nanga naach.” In any case, she has since apologized for her “moral policing.” PS: Comedian Danish Sait posted a very funny vid referring to the incident and Akki’s FAU-G app—but it has since disappeared. We’re not sure which bit offended the powers-that-be.
Earth is making the moon rusty
Data collected by our lunar probe Chandrayaan-1 shows that the moon is gathering rust—which is astonishing since it is created when iron is exposed to water and oxygen. And there’s no oxygen on the lunar surface. According to researchers in Hawaii, the culprit is Earth. Thanks to a solar wind, our planet extends the magnetic field that encompasses our planet into a “magnetic tail”—as it might a bubble. And oxygen travels on this tail and lands on the surface of the moon facing us. And it happens every month: “The moon enters this tail three days before it's full, and it takes six days to cross the tail and exit on the other side.” (CNN)
Alt News co-founder faces FIR
Mohammed Zubair has been charged with “online harassment and torture” of a minor girl on Twitter. This is the incident that triggered the charges:
“On August 6, Zubair responded to an abusive message from Twitter user Jagdish Singh, who uses the handle @JSINGH2252. He posted Singh’s display picture, which features a little girl who is perhaps his granddaughter. Zubair blurred her face in the image posted. ‘Hello Jagdish Singh,’ he said. ‘Does your cute grand daughter know about your part time job of abusing people on social media? I suggest you to change your profile pic.’”
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights wants Zubair prosecuted for “stalking of a minor girl on Twitter.” Alt News is standing by Zubair. (Scroll)
