Editor’s note: We are experimenting with making our headlines round-up more ‘snackable’—keeping the items short and easier to quickly scan. Let us know what you think at talktous@splainer.in:)
Lakhimpur Kheri: The latest update
The police have arrested two associates of Ashish Misra—who were allegedly occupants of the cars that ran over the farmers. And they have summoned Misra to appear for questioning. He is still AWOL. Indian Express has more details on the retired judge selected to conduct an independent investigation. ICYMI, here is our detailed explainer on the incident. (The Telegraph)
Collateral damage: The other Gandhis, Varun and Maneka. Both were removed from the BJP’s national executive committee—hours after Varun demanded “accountability” for the death of the farmers. (The Telegraph)
Like father, like son? The Hindu reports on Minister of State Ajay Misra’s first run-in with the law—when he was accused of murdering a local Samajwadi Party leader in 2000. FYI: The appeal is still pending in the Allahabad High Court.
Double standards? While Misra runs free, Aryan Khan has been sent to another 14 days in judicial custody—even though there were no drugs found in his possession.
And the Nobel prize goes to…
Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah has been awarded the highest honour in literature for his “uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.” Gurnah came to England as a refugee in the 1960s—and has since published 10 novels and a number of short stories. He is the first black African writer to receive the honour since 1986—and also the first Tanzanian to do so. (The Guardian)
Civilian killings in Kashmir
A principal and a teacher—one Sikh and one Hindu—were killed inside a government school in Srinagar by terrorists. The city has witnessed six civilian killings in as many days. All of them were from minority communities. Unnamed security officials say this marks a shift in strategy: “Almost all civilian killings have been carried out by newly recruited terrorists or those about to join the ranks, using pistols.” Indian Express has more on how security agencies view the killings, and a moving profile of the two latest victims.
Texas abortion law: A happy update
In May, the state passed a law that made getting an abortion almost illegal (which we explained here). And the US Supreme Court refused to review a challenge to the law—saying it wanted to wait until someone was actually sued under it. Then the Biden administration filed a lawsuit claiming it violated the Constitution. And a federal judge in Texas has finally issued an order to suspend the law—calling it an “offensive deprivation” of a constitutional right. It is the first big legal setback for rightwing activists. But abortion services are likely to remain suspended until a more permanent legal decision is made in the courts. (Associated Press)
UK embraces Covishield
After an extended diplomatic face-off, the British government waived quarantine requirements for Indian travelers who have been double-jabbed with Covishield. This comes on the heels of the Indian government’s announcement that it will allow tourists into the country come November. (The Telegraph)
Facebook revelations about India
Whistleblower and ex-Facebook employee leaked tens of thousands of documents—which essentially show:
- “RSS (Indian nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) Users, Groups, and Pages promote fear mongering, anti-Muslim narratives targeted pro-Hindu populations with V&I (violent and incendiary) intent…. There were a number of dehumanizing posts comparing Muslims to ‘pigs’ and ‘dogs’ and misinformation (claiming that men have been urged to rape their female family members).”
- Also, the monitoring of non-English content was weak: “Our lack of Hindi and Bengali classifiers means much of this (anti-Muslim) content is never flagged or actioned….”
- BJP workers had multiple user accounts which maximised reach: “BJP IT Cell worker (shared) coordinated messaging instructions to supporters with a copypasta campaign... targeting politically-sensitive tags.… 103 suspicious entities across IN & BD (India and Bangladesh).”
The Telegraph and Indian Express have more details.
Also see: Time Magazine’s latest cover featuring Zuck:
Speaking of insanely wealthy people: Forbes released its annual list of the 400 wealthiest Americans. Among the youngest: Indian-American and co-founder of popular investing app Robinhood Markets Baiju Bhatt—who is 36 and is worth $2.9 billion. (Mint)
A serious data breach at Twitch
The live-video platform popular with gamers has been hacked—and an anonymous 4chan user put it out on a 135 GB torrent link. It includes every bit of critical information:
“The user said the file contained, among other items, the history of Twitch’s source code; proprietary software development kits; an unreleased competitor to Steam, an online games store; programs Twitch was using to test its own security vulnerabilities; and a list of the amount of money that each of the site’s streamers has earned since 2019.”
Mashable has more on why this is a really big deal.
7-Eleven is coming to India
Every American’s favourite corner store may soon be in your neighbourhood thanks to Mukesh-bhai. Reliance Retail Ventures will launch the first one in Mumbai on Saturday—followed by a “rapid rollout” in “key neighbourhoods and commercial areas across the Greater Mumbai cluster.”
What’s interesting to note: In 2020, Reliance sealed a big deal with Future Retail to take over its chains of supermarkets, including Big Bazaar and Foodhall. That deal is in limbo because of a challenge from Amazon (all explained here). And just this week, Future Retail pulled out of its 2019 deal to bring 7-Eleven to India. Also: Reliance has been working on bringing neighborhood kirana stores on to its platform—and 7-Eleven will be their direct competition. There are always wheels within Reliance wheels. Mint has more details.
Saudis have bought Newcastle United
Move over, Manchester City! The richest kid in the Premier League block will likely be Newcastle—which has been bought by a Saudi-led consortium for £300 million. The deal went ahead despite warnings from Amnesty International that it represents “sportswashing” of the government’s abysmal human rights record. This is big news for Newcastle—who have not been English champions since 1927 and have not won any domestic trophy since 1955. With all that oil money—the owners are 13 times richer than those of Man City—make them a huge and immediate threat to Manchester’s dominance. (ESPN)
Two studies of note
One: New research shows that our planet is getting dimmer—as in less bright and not more stupid (though that too is debatable). Earth is losing some of her glow—also known as ‘earthshine’—thanks to climate change. CNN explains why this is worrying.
Two: Researchers have discovered that ‘Covid toe’—a skin condition that results in inflammation and redness of the hands and feet—is likely an immune response to the virus. The good news: the condition is largely self-healing. The better news: It is becoming rarer as the pandemic continues—and especially during the Delta-triggered waves. (The Guardian)
The world’s coldest temperature
Researchers in Germany have created the coldest temperature to ever be recorded in a lab—38 trillionths of a degree warmer than absolute zero. It lasted only a few seconds. FYI: Absolute zero is equal to minus-273.15°C, or minus-459.67°F. Popular Mechanics explains why the breakthrough could have huge ramifications for our understanding of quantum mechanics.
Two language things
One: It took scientists 50 years to name a mysterious plant—now known as Aenigmanu alvareziae or ‘Mystery of Manu’. The reason: They just couldn’t figure out which family it belonged to. Why this matters: “Until a plant is classified, it does not exist, at least not scientifically… Once it's classified, scientists can assess the species' extinction risk and take steps to protect it if necessary.” Also, it looks like this. (CNN)
Two: The Oxford English Dictionary has added more than 20 Korean-origin words to its latest edition. The spike is attributed to the global rise of Korean pop culture—be it K-pop, K-beauty or K-dramas. The Guardian runs through the list of new additions.
The best cities to visit are…
Each year, Conde Nast Traveller’s readers vote on their favourite destinations. Based on 800,000 votes, this year’s winner for best small city is San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The best big city: Tokyo, Japan. That first list is pretty handy if you are putting together a post-pandemic bucket list. (CN Traveler)
Modi auction is (mostly) a bust
The government can not find enough takers for 1,348 mementos gifted to the Prime Minister—which were being sold at an e-auction. There were zero bids on items such as PV Sindhu’s badminton racket (Rs 8 million) and a painting of PM Modi with Donald Trump (Rs 350,000). OTOH, the javelin used by Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra received the highest bid at Rs 1.5 crores (15 million). (The Hindu)
Two animal things
One: We include this one to demoralise all dog owners. Here’s a news flash: Genius dogs can learn the names of over 100 toys. The average pooch can learn commands to some degree, learning the names of items is almost impossible for them. The Guardian has more on the latest study of six Einstein-ian pups. (The Guardian)
Two: Every year, Alaskan bears put on ridiculous amounts of weight as they get ready to hibernate. And every year, people vote on who is the chunkiest of them all. This year’s winner: 480 Otis—who won for the fourth time. Washington Post offers an excellent read on the competition—and the heated (and amusing) debate it inspires. Also: Look who’s a big boy now!
