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An encounter killing in Kashmir
On Monday, four people were killed during an anti-terrorist operation. The police claim that two of them were terrorists. One was an “overground worker” who was offering them support. And one was an innocent civilian caught in the crossfire. The family of the so-called overground worker and civilian, however, claim that both were killed in a “staged encounter”—and in fact used as a “human shield.”
One of the named militants is the son of a man who was given a bravery award in 2012 by the administration for killing a militant—and his father insists his son was a “nationalist” like him. The bodies were not turned over to the families but buried by the police due to law and order concerns. Watch the daughter of Altaf Ahmed—the civilian who was killed below:
New rules for IPOs
The tidal wave of public listings has prompted the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to overhaul its regulations. One of the key changes:
“Companies must state if they plan to use the money for acquisitions. They do not need to name the target but must reveal the intent, portion of IPO proceeds likely to be used, nature of business of the target, and the timeline of the acquisition.”
The main aim: To make it easier for investors to understand how these mostly loss-making startups plan to generate revenues. Mint has more details.
India revives its T20 fortunes
After the World Cup spanking, India scored a much-needed five-wicket victory against New Zealand in the first match in Jaipur. It marked the first outing of the Rahul (Dravid) & Rohit (Sharma) jodi. The Telegraph has more details about the match.
The ongoing festival of outrage
One: The latest target is the critically acclaimed movie ‘Jai Bhim’. Vanniyar groups who claim that it is “damning, tarnishing and damaging the reputation” of the community:
“The crux of the allegations found in the notice is that the Vanniyar community was shown in ‘poor light, vilified by naming the wicked police sub-inspector as Guru (Gurumurthy) and by showcasing the fire pot symbol of the community,’ and this was both criminal and civil defamation.”
The groups have announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh to anyone who will attack the lead actor Suriya—who has now been given police protection. (The News Minute)
Two: Vir Das was flailed by the rightwing Twitterati for a bit from his standup routine callled ‘I come from two Indias’. And now a BJP leader has filed a police complaint against him: “I will take this fight to a decisive end. I want Vir Das to be arrested so that no one can malign the nation like this.” Das meanwhile issued a statement reaffirming his pride in India. (NDTV)
Three key sports stories
One: Everyone is worried about Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai who accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. She has not been seen in public ever since she made the allegations in a social media post—which has since been scrubbed, as have all online mentions of her. Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic are among leading tennis players who have expressed alarm. Added cause for worry: Gaoli is very close to President Xi Jinping. (BBC News)
Two: Jordan has asked the Asian Football Confederation for a ‘gender verification check’ of the goalkeeper of the Iranian women’s team—alleging that Zohreh Koudaei is a man posing as a woman. Iran recently beat Jordan 4-2 to qualify for the Women’s Asian Cup. This may sound like sour grapes but in 2014, four players in the Iranian women’s team were discovered to be men who had not yet undergone sexual reassignment surgery. (AFP via The Times of Israel)
Three: In happier news, the International Olympic Committee has announced a new framework for trans and intersex athletes—which are more inclusive and flexible. Axios has more details.
Discovery of a brand new mineral
Scientists have long hypothesized the existence of a mineral called calcium silicate perovskite—but they were never able to confirm its existence until now. It was finally found in the most unexpected place: inside a greenish octahedral-shaped diamond marred with little black specks trapped inside—unearthed in Botswana. Its new name: Davemaoite. Popular Science has all the details.
Forests are on the move!
A new study shows that rising temperatures are forcing trees to literally run for the hills—as in they are migrating to higher elevations to save themselves. And the movement isn’t slow. Trees are moving upwards at the rate of 1.5 meters a year. (Science Alert)
Secret of a perfect hug
New research shows that the ideal duration for a hug is between five and 10 seconds—regardless of how your arms are positioned. They also found that longer hugs are more pleasant and “special care should be taken to avoid extremely brief hugs.” OTOH, “it’s risky to hug for longer than 10 seconds.” Hmm, who’s going to tell our Prime Minister? (Today UK News)
A Harry Potter reunion is coming
Rejoice Hogwarts fans! HBO Max just announced the release of ‘Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts’ on January 1. The special will feature “in-depth interviews and cast conversations and give a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the franchise.” Conspicuously missing in the announcement: Any mention of JK Rowling. See the trailer below. (USA Today)
Two art stories of note
One: The Saudi culture minister bought the ‘Salvator Mundi’ for a whopping $450 million in 2017—reportedly acting as a proxy to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It is the world’s most expensive painting—but the price tag seemed fair for an authentic Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece. But rumours and questions have dogged the painting—including a documentary that claimed it was a fake. And now the curators at the Prado national museum in Spain have delivered the final blow—downgrading it in their catalog as one of the “attributed works, workshop or authorised and supervised by Leonardo.” Worse, art experts also refer to “details of surprisingly poor quality.” (CNN)
Two: In happier news, Frida Kahlo’s self-portrait titled 'Diego y yo’ sold for $34.9 million—making her the most expensive Latin American artist. What makes this sweeter: The painting reflects her heartbreak over husband Diego Rivera—who held the previous record selling price of $9.8 million. (NBC News)
Three things to see
One: The hottest meme trend is called ‘yassification’—which involves glamming up historical figures using the AI selfie editor FaceApp until they look like your average Insta influencer. The primary instigator is a handle called Yassify Bot—whose owner says: “This app is genuinely used by people. I think there’s a conversation to be had about how unhealthy that culture is.” See what they did to poor Mother Teresa. (Buzzfeed News)
Two: On November 16 the Prime Minister inaugurated the Purvanchal Expressway in Uttar Pradesh. The event included fighter jets performing aerial acrobatics. For some reason, it inspired a number of Twitter handles to share the photoshopped image below—which says ‘Express Pradesh’. The only problem: Those planes are Italian… kinda like Sonia Gandhi? Haw. (The Print)
Three: While you’re slumming it at an airport lounge, folks at the Mumbai Central railway station will be chilling at the first Japanese-style ‘Pod’ hotel—which offer small bed-sized rooms known as capsules with all the usual amenities other than an attached bathroom. (Mint)