headlines that matter
A China update: Another retreat, another ban
Troops have stepped back 2 km at another point called Hot Springs. And leaky government sources say they have embraced a four-pillar approach: Lower rhetoric, suspend patrols, keep eye on friction points, and keep troops in rear areas. Architects of this policy: “Besides the Prime Minister and the NSA, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah were instrumental in finalising this approach.” And this master strategy doesn’t have an acronym?? Now, this is disappointing. Related read: The Telegraph looks at whether China’s aggression on the Ladakh border was a grand plan or a Himalayan blunder.
A related military rule: We may have lost TikTok, but our brethren in uniform will soon lose out on Facebook and Instagram, as well. They have been asked to delete 30 additional apps and accounts due to “security considerations.”
A related show of priorities: The government has set up a committee to “coordinate investigations” into the funding of three trusts linked to the Gandhi family. The BJP recently claimed that one of them had received funds from China to “conduct studies that are not in the interest of the country.”
Harvard and MIT sue Trump
The lawsuit seeks to block the recent immigration directive that evicts international students enrolled in universities that have taken all their coursework online (see our explainer here). The filing states: "[F]or many students, returning to their home countries to participate in online instruction is impossible, impracticable, prohibitively expensive, and/or dangerous." (CNN)
In other Trump & education news: A tell-all book published by his niece, Mary Trump, says that he paid someone to take his SATs—to help him get into the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Point to note: Ever since Hollywood celebs were caught doing the same for their kids, UPenn revokes the degree of anyone caught cheating on their admission application.
In other batshit presidential news: Kanye West has finally shared his plans to run for president. The name of his party: Birthday party. The reason: “because when we win it’s everybody’s birthday”. His campaign slogan: “YES!”—a cryptic, all caps reboot of Obama’s ‘Yes, we can!’ His advisers: Kimmie and Elon. His politics: as right wing come-to-Yeezus as you expect them to be. Yes, the 2020 election is going to be all kinds of crazy. For more, read his Forbes interview.
An alarming Covid prediction for India
A new global study out of MIT predicts that India will witness 287,000 cases a day by February—if there is no vaccine to halt the spread. Total number of cases by spring 2021: 200-600 million! And we will be #1 on the list of worst-affected countries, followed by the US, South Africa and Iran. The silver lining: These are indicators of risk and not precise predictions. The study also found that a high perception of risk significantly brought the numbers down. In other words, we can save ourselves if we remain vigilant about Covid-safety. (Hindustan Times)
In related Covid news:
- Anyone in Mumbai can get tested without a doctor’s prescription—with or without symptoms.
- Also: the government has scrapped chapters on secularism, nationalism and citizenship from the Class 9-11 syllabus. The reason: authorities are nixing 30% of the syllabus to make up for time lost due to the lockdown.
- ICICI is giving 80% of its frontline employees an 8% salary hike for stellar work during the lockdown.
- CIPLA has launched the first generic version of the Covid treatment drug Remdesivir—and at Rs 4,000 it is the cheapest in the world. Point to note: Remdesivir is in high demand and selling for tens of thousands on the black market right now.
Apple Music is killing your battery
IPhone users are complaining that the latest software update—iOS 13.5.1—is a disaster. Due to some kind of bug, Apple Music is draining their batteries—even when the app is not in use! There are some reports of the phone heating up. MacRumors offers some possible fixes.
Name that dog on your right
As you may know, we’ve asked our subscribers to help rescue our dog from nameless-ness. And the suggestions have been so very helpful and—quite frankly—delightful. For example, this beauty from Arcopol Chaudhuri:
“I propose we call him/her Anchor.
I even yelled the name loud a couple of times, and said it softly too: I can see a mouthy name for Anchor to come trotting to me from whichever room he/she is in, carrying the table of contents of each newsletter between his/her jaws.
'Anchor, the splainer dog.'
'Anchor, fetch me the news!!'
'Anchor, where's my splainer?'
'Anchor! Anchor! Sit down, Anchor.'
'Anchor! Why does that dog on Republic TV not know his job nor his manners? And he cares to call himself an anchor? Bark at him, bite him!'”
😂😂 If you have another such gem, please do share!!