Uttarakhand floods: A quick update
The current death toll is 31, and 175 are missing. Rescue teams have still not been able to rescue the 35 workers trapped in the 1.9 km Tapovan tunnel, and are now resorting to more high-tech measures:
“Rescue agencies are now deploying advanced technologies such as a helicopter carrying a laser with electromagnetic pulse imager for an aerial survey over the tunnel, and a camera drone to be sent inside the tunnel.”
They are trying to detect air pockets that may indicate the presence of survivors. One of the rescuers said: “The operation is scary. The condition of the tunnel is horrible.” It’s a race against time given the depleting oxygen levels within—and the high risk of hypothermia.
A big and unexpected loss in Chennai
There is a thin line between a miracle and debacle on the fifth day of a test match--as the Indian team discovered in Chennai. Their first match after the Gabba triumph ended in a batting collapse, handing England a 227-run victory and a 1-0 headstart in the four-match series.
The bigger reason for alarm: The loss threatens our shot at qualifying for the World Test Championship final to be held in England in June. New Zealand has already gone through while England, Australia and India are all fighting for the other spot. We now need to win at least two of the test matches that remain, and play one to a draw.
The blame game: kicked off almost immediately with many on Twitter demanding Virat Kohli cede his test captaincy to Ajinkya Rahane who led the Aussie triumph in his absence (more context here). Also: he has now lost four test matches in a row for the first time.
Kohli in turn blamed the hand-stitched Sanspareils Greenlands (SG) ball, saying: “Just for the ball to get destroyed in 60 overs is not something that you experience as a Test side and it is not something any Test side could be prepared for.” He also took aim at his own bowlers:
“But I think if Washy (Washington Sundar) and Shahbaz (Nadeem) would have bowled those economical spells, the pressure created would have been more. The situation would have been different. The opposition would have scored 80-90 runs less.”
And then he ended by saying there were “no excuses.”
Our favorite moment: Kohli running over to help out a cramped-up Joe Root showing true sportsmanship!
Fan of the match: The couple who livestreamed the match for their wedding guests.
The WHO finds nada in China
The organisation sent a team of experts to China to uncover the origins of the virus—after months of diplomatic wrangling and delays. Yesterday, the team held a briefing to reveal its results:
- They are sure it must have jumped from animals to humans, but they don’t know how: “identifying the animal pathway remained a ‘work in progress’, but that it was ‘most likely’ to have crossed over to humans from an intermediary species.”
- But they are very sure it’s "extremely unlikely" that the virus leaked from a lab in the city of Wuhan.
- The virus could have been in other regions before it was detected in Wuhan—and the search will now focus on Southeast Asia.
- They will also look into the possibility of "cold chain" transmission—i.e. spread via the transport and trade of frozen food.
All of the above is music to Beijing’s ears—since it dismisses all the theories it loathes, and opens the door to theories it has been pushing for months. (BBC News)
In other Covid-related news: A new study suggests that a deficiency in a particular protein may explain why the virus is spreading much faster in the US and UK —compared to parts of Asia, including India. (Times of India)
A shocking report on the Nirbhaya fund
Soon after the death of the Delhi rape victim, the government set up an ambitious fund to fight sexual violence. In 2013, the fund was endowed with Rs 10 billion. An Oxfam report shows that much of this money has been either diverted to ministries or programs that do little to fulfill that aim—or it is lying unspent:
- More than half the money has gone to the home ministry, which oversees police—and has largely paid for stuff like emergency response services, upgrading forensic labs or expanding units fighting cyber crimes. None of these exclusively help prevent sexual violence or help rape victims.
- Quarter of the money went to the women and child development ministry, for instance—which has used only 20% as of 2019. This was spent on crisis centres for rape or domestic violence survivors, shelters for women, female police volunteers and a women's helpline.
- Most states have barely used their allocation, primarily because they depend on the union government to release the money each year—which creates uncertainty as to whether programs can be sustained.
- Money is released as part of the ‘gender budget’ each year—which has been shrinking each year.
- You can read the report here or check out BBC News’ excellent overview.
Reddit cashes in on Gamestop
The company’s valuation doubled to $6 billion after the company raised more than $250 million in its latest round of funding:
“It’s unclear how the round came together exactly, but given the network’s time in the spotlight over the past few weeks, culminating in yesterday’s very brief, but also very memorable and high-profile ad, it seems likely it was at least finalized fast in order to help the company make the most of its time in the spotlight.”
In far unhappier news: The Gamestop drama (explained here) hasn’t helped online platform Robinhood. The company drew its users’ ire for limiting purchases of shorted stocks—which was seen as going back on its brand’s promise to “democratise” stock trading. Now, there is even worse news: It is being sued by the parents of a 20-year-old who killed himself because the company’s customer service is a total nightmare (literally so, in this case). Alex Kearns’ account suddenly showed a negative balance of $730,000—which was followed up with emails demanding the immediate payment of $178,000. Repeated efforts to get a clarification failed, and the young man killed himself. Turns out he didn’t owe the company a dime. (The Guardian)
No baby boom in China
For decades, China had a draconian one-child policy—and it was a crime to violate it. In 2016, the government relaxed its rules, and allowed families to have two kids. And yet the number of registered births in 2020 have fallen by 30%. This is the fourth successive year of decline. Also this: China's fertility rate has "dropped dangerously"—well below the population replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman. The most likely reason: “empowered Chinese women often delaying or avoiding childbirth and young couples blaming rising costs and insufficient policy support for families.” (Mint)
Three very offbeat things
Raising the steaks: An Israeli company has unveiled the first 3-D-printed rib-eye steak. The process prints living cells which then are incubated so they “grow, differentiate and interact to achieve the texture and qualities of a real steak.” This is a different approach to the rising alt-meat industry—the most popular being plant-based versions like the Impossible Burger. The company CEO said: “It’s not just proteins. It’s a complex, emotional product.” Yes, beef is certainly emotional. (Washington Post)
Monoliths are back: A new shiny monolith appeared in Turkey, and had an inscription in an ancient Turkic language, which read: “Look at the sky, see the moon.” Then it disappeared four days later—despite being surrounded by armed guards (?!). One explanation: It may be a publicity stunt for the Turkish Space Program.
Music of diplomacy: US ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink to Vietnam decided to mark the Lunar New Year by… releasing a rap video?!
Dine With Data: All About Yunit
Editor's Note: Here is DWD’s weekly installment of one cool, innovative or just plain quirky startup from around the world.
Company: Yunit 💰
About: Yunit is a social savings app! The App features a savings account which notifies the selected friends of withdrawals and seeks approval from them while keeping account balances and other information private, thus enabling users to save money by having friends act as the first line of defense from dipping into the savings account.
Food for thought: The app is currently targeting minority and migrant communities, and uses accountability features like peer voting and social incentives to promote collaborative savings
DWD Take: Collective accountability is a growth hack to dormant willpower!
The targeting, currently, is absolutely spot on for the company, however we do see this come to use for student communities and early job starters, world over!
Link: https://yunit.co/
About DWD: Dine With Data sends you a short summary on one new startup every day, delivered straight to your Whatsapp Inbox!
