The drone attack: The latest update
Contrary to early reports, authorities have not found any debris of the unmanned drones:
“They were working on both the angles, the use of a local launch pad and a long-distance one to drive in drones. So far, no possible spot had been identified as a launch pad near the base, which is just 16 km away from the International Border… It seems the drones may have managed to drop the payload and escape from the spot.”
In the midst of this investigation, the Indian Army announced it had intercepted two other drones flying over a military installation in Jammu around midnight:
“Quick Reaction Teams engaged them with firing. Both the drones flew away. A major threat was averted by the alertness and proactive approach of the troops. The security forces are on high alert and a search operation is on.”
For more context, read our Monday explainer. (The Hindu)
The great pandemic: A quick update
- First, the numbers: India added 37,566 new cases and 907 deaths on Monday.
- The government unveiled a second Rs 6.28 trillion (Rs 6.28 lakh crore) economic stimulus package to overcome the effects of the second wave. Most economists don’t think it does enough—and another boost may be needed at a later stage.
- A new study shows that a third shot of AstraZeneca (Covishield)—six months after the second dose—helps boost immunity. Also: “An interval of up to 45 weeks between the first and second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine led to an enhanced immune response, rather than compromising immunity.”
- OTOH, another study suggests that mixing Pfizer and AstraZeneca (Covishield) offers greater protection than just two shots of AZ. The best option appears to be AZ followed by Pfizer—which induces the highest T cell count.
- Wall Street Journal has yet another story on undercounted deaths in India. The latest estimate for the ‘real’ total: 1.1 million—which is 3X the official count.
- FYI, the respected Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan is an anti-vaxxer. He recently tweeted: “The healthy young have hardly any chance of serious effects or dying due to Covid. They have a higher chance of dying due to vaccines”—which of course enraged everybody.
- Related good reads: Bloomberg News via Mint profiles the last and only foreign scientist to work at the Wuhan lab. And she doesn’t have any patience for the lab leak hypothesis. The Guardian lays out how vaccine inequality is also creating a ‘Covid death divide’ between rich and poor countries.
The worst fan in the world
A woman holding up a big sign—which read ‘Allez Opi-Omi’ (Come on granddad-granny, in a mix of French and German)—triggered a massive pile-up at the Tour de France. She was hamming for the cameras and was in the path of the cyclists. The first lost his balance when he brushed past her—causing a domino effect that ended in a heap of cycles and cyclists. She later fled the scene, but will likely be sued by the Tour. See the disastrous moment below (News24)
Twitter vs Government: The latest update
The government is engaged in an ongoing battle with Twitter over its compliance—or lack thereof (explained here). The latest salvo: The government announced that the company is no longer an “intermediary” and therefore will lose its ‘safe harbour’ protection. In other words, it is now criminally liable for any illegal content posted on its platform. But officials also conceded that the decision isn’t exactly in their hands:
“It is up to the courts to decide finally whether Twitter will still enjoy safe harbour status or not. As far as we (the IT Ministry) are concerned, our view is now decided. They (Twitter) have till date not complied with multiple norms.”
Also this: One of the rules requires the company to appoint a resident grievance officer—a position Twitter filled with an interim hire, Dharmendra Chatur. At the time, the government complained that he was not a company employee, and his address was that of a law firm. Now, Chatur has resigned and has been replaced by Global Legal Policy Director Jeremy Kessel—who isn’t an Indian resident so that hasn’t appeased the government either.
Adding to Twitter’s troubles: The map of India in its Tweep Life section does not include J&K or Ladakh 🤦🏽♀️. Twitter has removed the map, but a Bajrang Dal leader has already filed an FIR in Uttar Pradesh naming Twitter India’s MD Manish Maheshwari. No safe harbour, indeed!
In related news: In a blow to online news sites, the Delhi High Court has declined to stay the new rules. Leading outlets like The Wire, The Quint and Alt News had moved the Court, arguing that they had been threatened with coercive action if they failed to comply. Coming up: More petitions that challenge the legality of these rules. The News Minute has more details on the ruling. Don’t know what this is about? Read our explainer here.
A Euro 2020 shocker
Favoured-to-win France crashed out of the tournament—losing 5-4 to Switzerland in a penalty shootout in overtime. The defining moment: When Kylian Mbappe missed his penalty kick. He later apologized to French fans. Reuters via The Telegraph has the game report, while ESPN offers analysis of France’s defeat. Earlier that day, Spain staged a hard-fought comeback to beat Croatia 5.3.
A Euro 2020 elephant: Doom-predicting octopuses are old news. The new football prophet in town is an elephant named Yashoda. The resident of the Hamburg zoo has correctly called every match played by Germany so far. Her prediction for tonight: a victory over England—which, given their mediocre form, doesn’t exactly require psychic skills. Al Jazeera has this delightful story. See Yashoda in action below:
Also delightful: This Hindu story on football fans in the small town of Pozhiyoor on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border—who have erected a statue of Lionel Messi. See clips from football-crazy Pozhiyoor below:
The shrinking Mr Kim Jong-un
The North Korean leader has either been unwell or maybe discovered intermittent fasting. In any case, he has lost tons of weight—a fact that astonishingly made news on the tightly-controlled state media. All of which has observers wondering if it is a propaganda move designed to show that Kim feels his starving people’s pain. Reuters’ video report highlights the ‘shrinking double chin’ mystery.
Who’s afraid of the C-word?
A group of genetic experts have called for a ban on the word ‘Caucasian’ in scientific research because it is “associated with a racist classification of humans.” They explain:
“[Caucasian is] an 18th-century term invented to denote pale-skinned northern and western Europeans, or in other archaic connotations a wider range of people based on skull measurements, including west Asians, south Asians, north Africans and Europeans. In both historical contexts it asserts superiority over other groups and its current usage is therefore laden with scientific, etymological and cultural problems."
Telegraph UK has more.
Three Indians doing great!
One: A day after she scored a hat-trick of gold medals at the Archery World Cup in Paris, Deepika Kumari has regained her #1 position in the world rankings. FYI: She will be the only Indian woman archer at the Olympics. Also: to appreciate the enormity of her achievement, check out YourStory’s profile of this amazing daughter of a rickshaw driver. (Indian Express)
Two: The Riemann Hypothesis is a mathematical problem that has remained unsolved for 161 years—until Kumar Eswaran from Hyderabad submitted his solution. It took five years for an expert committee to approve the mathematical physicist’s proof, and he can now claim the $1 million prize. (Deccan Herald)
Three: Two farmers in the Sangli district in Maharashtra became the first to export their dragon fruit—in this case to Dubai. Dragon fruit has become increasingly popular in drought-stricken areas of the state as it requires far less water than other crops like sugarcane. FYI: The Gujarat government changed its name to ‘Kamalam’, saying anything that sounded even remotely Chinese was inappropriate lol! See the export-quality fruit below. Times of India has the story.
Rescue of a TikTok lion
Cambodian authorities stepped in to rescue a 1.5-year old male lion after seeing clips on TikTok. He was being raised in a wealthy suburb in Phnom Penh in less-than-ideal conditions: “In addition, the lion’s canine teeth had been removed, along with its claws, which drastically reduces a lion’s quality of life.” As the government spokesperson noted: “People have no right to raise rare wildlife as pets.” Amen. He has since been transferred to a wildlife centre. See the rescued lion below. (The Guardian)
In our gratitude jar…
A big thank you to our founding members Vernon Fernandez, Koushik Ravikumar, Tia Lazarus, S Venkatesh, Moitreyee Banerjee, Jessica Mayberry, Madhu Sundaresan, Tvisha Gupta, Prakash Singh and Parul Arora. Your help makes everything Splainer does possible.
