Belarus drama gets even weirder
Belarus’ president Lukashenko is engaged in a face-off with the EU—where he is taking migrants from Africa and the Middle East and literally shoving them over the border into Poland. The Poles have assembled troops on the border; Belarus and Russia have held joint military drills; and 2000 migrants are stranded suffering from hypothermia and hunger.
In the midst of all this, Dubai has decided to lend a helping hand by blocking the air route to Belarus—and banned Iraqi and Syrian passengers—to stem the tide of migrants. Many airlines have canceled their flights to Minsk, as well. Now, the migrants are stuck at the Dubai airport instead. (New York Times)
Tripura arrests: The latest update
Two women journalists from Delhi traveled to Tripura to report on the recent attacks on mosques. They were first booked in Tripura on a complaint by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad—later arrested in Assam, and escorted back to Tripura, where they were finally arrested. But happily they have been released on bail. But the police continue to insist that the two were trying to incite communal hatred. (Indian Express)
Pandora papers: The latest update
In early October, an international consortium of journalists published information on offshore accounts held by powerful people—including the king of Jordan, Sachin Tendulkar etc. (explained here). Indian authorities are now investigating the 300-plus Indian names on the list—and claim to have sent income tax notices to most of them. Indian Express has more details.
Who’s to blame for Delhi pollution?
The government made waves today when it told the Supreme Court that stubble burning—where farmers burn fields to clear the ground for the next round of planting—accounts for only 10% of the air pollution in Delhi. It instead offered a different solution for severe levels of air pollution in the city: the introduction of an odd-even vehicle scheme, a ban on trucks entering Delhi, and if all else fails: a lockdown. The Supreme Court has since asked it to come up with a plan—which may involve shutting down factories, and Delhites working from home.
Akshay Deshmane’s Twitter thread explains why the claim about burning stubble isn’t quite right. And for a more in-depth take at Delhi pollution, listen to this podcast with Siddharth Singh, energy expert and author of ‘The Great Smog of India’. Point to remember: elections are coming up soon in Punjab.
Talking about lockdowns: Austria has placed 2 million unvaccinated citizens under lockdown thanks to a new surge in Covid cases. They will only be allowed to leave their homes to work or buy groceries. They are already banned from visiting restaurants, hairdressers and cinemas. Well, that’s one way to deal with anti-vaxxers. (BBC News)
A World Cup diss of India
Rubbing salt into T20 wounds, the International Cricket Council's T20 World Cup 'Team of the Tournament’ does not include any Indian players. Pakistan’s Babar Azam was named captain of this ‘best of the best’ squad. More interestingly, team members chosen included many whose team did not make the semi-finals—including South Africa’s Aiden Markram and Anrich Nortje and Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka and Wanindu Hasaranga. (The Hindu)
Indian kings that matter
These days, various political parties and leaders are busy rewriting Indian history—especially the contribution of specific rulers. The Mughals have long been dismissed as mere invaders. But the rhetoric has taken an even more bizarre turn these days. Now, it’s the turn of Ashoka to get a drubbing—from an RSS-backed magazine. His great crimes: embracing Buddhism and ahimsa—which opened up our borders to foreign invasions:
“[H]e turned the entire empire into a giant monastery for promoting Buddhism. It was because of the Buddhist leaders of Magadha that Greek invaders returned to conquer India…Buddhist monks propagated seditious, senseless, anti-India ideas among their disciples that Buddhism did not believe in caste or nation. Whenever foreign invaders sympathetic to Buddhism attacked India, these Buddhists colluded with them, instead of fighting them bravely.”
Speaking of kings who matter: The trailer for ‘Prithviraj’—yet another epic celebrating yet another Hindu king—just dropped. It stars… oh come on, you know who it is! Akkie only!
A world record in marathons
Alyssa Clark has set a world record by running 95 marathons-or rather the equivalent distance of 26 miles—for 95 consecutive days. FYI: the 28-year-old from Vermont did it all on her treadmill. But it’s still impressive! (CNN)
Five things to see
One: Pitch invasion is an excellent idea—if you are an 11-year-old who got a jersey from Cristiano Ronaldo at a World Cup qualifying match. Well, shirtless Ronaldo is always a win. (Indian Express)
Two: Umm, this is the latest innovation in Delhi crime. Honestly, this is really, really scary.
Three: Say hello to this Adélie penguin that travelled around 3,000 km from its home in Antarctica to New Zealand. She was underweight and dehydrated—and was treated before she was let out into the wild. This is only the third time that this species has ever been found in NZ. The Telegraph UK report below has more.
Four: Also worth a big hello: This gorgeous swallowtail named Kaiser-i-Hind which has been named Arunachal Pradesh’s state butterfly. The designation may help save this endangered species. (The Hindu)
Five: Ji-Young is making history as the first Asian American muppet on Sesame Street. She will make her debut on a Thanksgiving special starring the likes of Padma Lakshmi and Naomi Osaka. Check her out in the Associated Press report below.
