A big espionage row in Europe
According to a media investigation, the US National Security Agency (NSA) used Danish underwater internet cables to spy on top politicians in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden: “The NSA got access to text messages, telephone calls and Internet traffic, including searches, chats and messaging services — including those of Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel.” French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Merkel, and later said: “This is not acceptable between allies, and even less between allies and European partners.” FYI: This isn’t the first time that Merkel has been a target. Whistleblower Edward Snowden previously revealed evidence that the NSA was monitoring her phone. (AFP via The Hindu)
The great pandemic: A quick update
- India added 132,788 new cases and 3,207 deaths on Tuesday. The #1 state is now Tamil Nadu (26,513), followed by Kerala (19,760) and Karnataka (14,304).
- A video of dogs eating bodies on the banks of a river in Uttarakhand has gone viral. Ugh! No, we won’t link to it, but The Telegraph has a report.
- Health authorities have issued new criteria for states to consider when ending the lockdown. These include ensuring that test positivity is below 5% and/or vaccinating 70% of their 60-plus residents and the 45-plus with underlying health issues. FYI: Karnataka will not be making the cut any time soon.
- A Mint analysis reveals a gender gap in our vaccination drive: As of May 30, just 871 women had been vaccinated for every 1000 men.
- Times of India has a solid report on why top economists are more pessimistic about the effect of the second wave than the government.
- Recovery is supposed to be good news, but for many families the disease drives them into irreparable debt. Indian Express reports on how Covid is pushing Indians into poverty.
- The Delta variant (formerly known as ‘Indian’) is spreading across England—and is responsible for up to three-quarters of new Covid cases. And it could spark a third wave in the country.
- Good news: The Class XII board exams have finally been cancelled—as sanity prevailed in the end.
- The government has clarified that it plans to stick to the two-dose vaccine regimen—despite all the worrying ‘one dose is good enough’ talk in the media.
- Biological E has entered into a licensing agreement to manufacture a Canadian mRNA vaccine in India—targeting the capacity to deliver up to 1 billion doses in 2022.
- On the lighter side: Towns in the Philippines are offering an unusual kind of vaccine lottery—where people can win a cow, motorcycle, banana fritters or even free parking. This is in comparison to the $1 million giveaway in Ohio.
In other virus-related news: China has recorded the first human case of ‘bird flu’ infection. But authorities say: “This infection is an accidental cross-species transmission...The risk of large-scale transmission is low.” (Associated Press)
Bureaucrat battle in Bengal, contd.
The union and Trinamool governments are wrangling over a meeting with PM Modi to deal with the fallout of Cyclone Yaas—a meeting that CM Mamata Banerjee skipped. Bengal’s then Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay did attend the meeting, but arrived 15 minutes late. Now, the government has issued a show cause notice to Bandyopadhyay under the Disaster Management Act to take him to task for that grave mistake. This would be silly except this:
“The notice has been served under Section 51 of the Act that specifies ‘whoever without reasonable cause refused to comply with any direction given by or on behalf of the Central government or the state government or the National Executive Committee or the State Executive committee, shall on conviction be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and a fine or with both’.”
The Telegraph reports on a petty fight that has now turned very ugly.
Expansion plans for cricket
The International Cricket Council unveiled its global schedule for 2024-2031, and revealed its plans to expand the World Cup to a 14-team event in 2027. The T20 World Cup will be played by 20 teams in 2024. This is after only ten teams competed in the last 2019 World Cup in England. Also this: The ICC has given the Indian cricket board until June 28 to decide whether it will host the T20 World Cup in India later this year—or shift it to the UAE. (NDTV)
‘Silicon Six’ ducked $100 billion in taxes
A new study found that the six big tech companies—Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Netflix, Apple and Microsoft—paid $96 billion less than they owed in taxes between 2011 and 2020. They only shelled out $219 billion during this period—which is a mere 3.6% of their revenues—by deliberately shifting their income to low-tax jurisdictions. The Guardian has more details.
The arrest of a tiger-killing poacher
Bangladeshi police have finally arrested a notorious poacher after chasing him for 20 years. Habib Talukder—nicknamed “Tiger Habib”—is suspected of killing about 70 Bengal tigers in the Sundarban forests on the border with India. The tiger population in the region fell from 440 in 2004 to a record low of 106 in 2015 and has since recovered to 114 thanks to a crackdown on poaching. (The Guardian)
In related news from Bangladesh: The country has emerged as a transit hub for smugglers of human hair—shipped from Hyderabad and Delhi in India to buyers in China. Apparently, there are 150-200 tonnes of human hair worth Rs 1.2 billion (120 crore) lying in Indian warehouses—ready to be smuggled out. Times of India reports on this strange story.
Humpbacks live up to their name
Back in the 1960s, there were only 1000 humpback whales off the coast of Australia—due to whale-hunting which was then banned. But these “rabbits of the ocean” have been breeding “prolifically,” and their population has increased by 10% each year—so much so that they may be taken off the endangered list. Experts say that this rate of growth is “almost biologically implausible”. The creatures may now be as numerous as they were before commercial whaling. (The Economist)
A Stargate-esque bridge between cities
There is now a futuristic portal that connects Vilnius in Lithuania and Lublin in Poland—which are about 606 km away from each other. The large circular ‘doors’ have massive screens that stream a real-time feed of whoever and whatever is in front of the other side of the portal—kinda like a sci-fi flick. The foundation driving the project says, “It’s a bridge that unifies and an invitation to rise above prejudices and disagreements that belong to the past. It’s an invitation to rise above the us and them illusion.” Gizmodo has more details. Watch the cool promo video below.
In our gratitude jar…
During our birthday month, we wanted to mark each day by thanking those who have done the most to help us survive and thrive. We first want to say a big thank you to Ananya Rane—who was with us from the very beginning, both as a founding member and as the source of many referral subs—all of which helped us grow. Among our earliest founding members who funded our launch: Azhar Ginwala, Inder Chadha, Sonali Kokra, Shadab Arab, Rachna Kalra, Diksha Kataria, Hardik Nagar, Aarathi Kumar, Miraj Vora, and Amruta Ghanekar. We are truly grateful for your support!
Dine with Data: All About I Do, Now I Don’t 💔
Company: I Do, Now I Don't 💔
About: It is a platform that connects buyers and sellers of gently used engagement rings and other wedding accessories. Once an item sells, the company holds the money, has the jewelry checked out by a certified gemologist, and only passes the item on if it matches the quality outlined by the seller. 💍
Food for thought: Founder, Josh Opperman, was engaged for three months when his fiancé left him. He then tried to return the ring to the jeweller and was quoted $3,500 for the ring he got for $10,000. He realised that there had to be a better price to these resales and settled on a starting price point that was fair to both buyers and sellers: about 50% of original appraised value, on average, with I Do Now I Don’t taking a modest cut of each sale.
DWD Take: Today, I Do Now I Don’t hosts nearly 2 million sales totaling more than $4 billion each year. Well they say heartbreak brews great business and this idea is testimony to that. 😉
URL: https://www.idonowidont.com/
About DWD: Dine With Data🍴sends you a short summary on one new startup every day, delivered straight to your Whatsapp inbox!
