A bloody attack in Chhattisgarh
Twenty two jawans were killed—and 31 injured—after a four-hour battle with Maoists. This is the highest death toll imposed by the militias since April 2017. Here’s what we know about what went wrong:
- It started as a massive security operation—involving five teams and 2000 personnel—targeting two districts: Bijapur and Sukma.
- They were told that a highly wanted Maoist leader Hidma was in the forests, along with a large number of rebels.
- But when the security forces arrived in the area, there was nothing there. One jawan says: “Both the villages were emptied out and we realised too late that something was wrong.”
- As they decided to turn back, the soldiers were ambushed by 250 Maoists—who had them trapped along two kilometres of forest.
- Most security sources are convinced that the entire exercise was a trap: “We are being played. The kind of fire we came under, and the positions they took, show it was well-planned. They knew we would find nothing at the spot, and would return. When our team did, they were waiting, with very little escape route for our men.”
- Now, there are accusations of intelligence failure and poor leadership—with security experts alleging that standard operating procedures were not followed during the operation.
- The Telegraph and Indian Express have the most details.
A dizzying rise in India numbers
The daily new cases have breached the 100,000 mark—making India only the second country to do so after the United States. We now have the highest daily total in the world. Our previous peak was 97,894 in September. The government blames the crisis on a collapse of all social distancing. It is also expediting the rollout of Sputnik V—the Russian vaccine, which was recently denied emergency authorisation due to concerns about its storage.
Meanwhile in Maharashtra: The numbers have crossed 57,000, and the government has imposed the strictest lockdown since the early months of the pandemic. Apart from a night curfew, all restaurants and bars will be closed except for delivery. There will be a total lockdown over the weekend. All schools are closed, as are malls. Times of India has more. Also in Maharashtra: Akshay Kumar and Govinda tested positive.
Meanwhile, at the IPL: The cricket board is determined to hold IPL matches in Wankhede despite the lockdown in Maharashtra. President Sourav Ganguly says: “Lockdown in a way will be better since not many people will be around. So it will be restricted to few people who will undergo regular tests inside the bio-bubble.” Not helping the cause: An increasing number of cricketers who are testing positive, including Axar Patel.
Bad news for Covaxin: Brazil blocked the import of India-made Covaxin—accusing Bharat Biotech of violating good manufacturing norms. This is likely to make it harder for the company to get approvals from the WHO and other countries. OTOH, closer to home, Covaxin got the okay to test a booster shot to be administered six months after the initial jab.
Two good Covid reads: This thread on a Ken story flagging the rising number of cases of liver failure due to people taking herbal supplements to fight Covid. Also: New York Times looks at whether vaccinated people can spread the disease. TLDR: we don’t know yet.
A political crisis in Jordan
The former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein—the half-brother of King Abdullah—has been placed under house arrest. And he released a video claiming that this is part of a campaign to crack down on dissent and silence his criticism of the government’s corruption and incompetence. The government, in turn, has accused him of conspiring to destabilise the country. BBC News has details on the Prince, while Axios has more on the government’s response.
Yet another Facecbook data leak
The user data for 533 million users—including 6 million Indians—is freely available online. It includes phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios, and—in some cases—email addresses. The data was scraped back in 2019—before Facebook fixed a hole in its security. Even though the data is old, it can still be misused in cyber scams. According to security experts:
“[F]rom a security standpoint, there's not much Facebook can do to help users affected by the breach since their data is already out in the open—but he added that Facebook could notify users so they could remain vigilant for possible phishing schemes or fraud using their personal data.”
Business Insider has more details.
In other tech-related news: TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has gone to court to challenge the Indian government’s decision to freeze its bank accounts—which were blocked last week as part of a tax evasion probe. The company told the court that the action amounts to unlawful harassment. Point to note: thanks to the freeze, none of ByteDance’s 1,335 employees in India have been paid their March salaries. According to the company, authorities acted without any material evidence and gave no prior notice before such “drastic action.” Point to remember: The government banned TikTok right after the clashes with China in Ladakh last year. (Reuters)
A mummy parade in Cairo
The government put on a multimillion-dollar spectacle to transport 22 mummies—18 kings and four queens—which was dubbed The Pharaohs' Golden Parade. They were moved five kilometres from the Egyptian Museum to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation. Famous ancient royals like King Ramses II were “carried on a decorated vehicle fitted with special shock-absorbers and surrounded by a motorcade, including replica horse-drawn war chariots.” BBC News has more details. See it below:
Also a spectacle: The world’s highest railway bridge, which will be completed today. The half-a-kilometre arch over the Chenab river in Kashmir cost Rs 14 billion (1,400 crore) and required a special 900-metre long cable crane made especially for this project—and is said to be the tallest in the world. Indian Express has more on this incredible (and controversial) achievement. See the bridge below:
Two lying things
One: China has rolled out a propaganda musical set in Xinjiang—inspired by the Hollywood blockbuster ‘La La Land’. Conspicuously absent in the movie titled ‘The Wings of Songs’: detention camps, mosques or veils—even though half the ethnic residents of Xinjiang are Muslim. Example: the Uighurs. The movie instead is all about idyllic idealism:
“The movie... focuses on three men from different ethnic groups dreaming of the big time as they gather musical inspiration across cultures in the snow-capped mountains and desertscapes of the vast region.”
Two: Remember the Bihar farmer who was cultivating hop shoots—the most expensive veggie in the world? He even got himself props from IAS officers and an entire spread in a newspaper. A Dainik Jagran investigation reveals that he is a total fraud. The only crops he’s ever cultivated are black rice and wheat. (NDTV)
A very ill-tempered octopus
A geologist was attacked by an angry octopus not once, but twice! First, it lashed out at him when he tried to take a video of it in shallow waters. Then this happened:
“Then, after setting up his family in a sun protection tent, he put on some goggles and went into the water alone to explore crab shells. Once he was swimming, the octopus found him again and used its arms to lunge at Karlson, who felt a forceful sting across his neck and back.”
Why this is astonishing: Octopuses are generally shy animals, according to experts: “It's very unusual for an octopus to be aggressive like this but they have clear personalities, and you could describe this one as irritable or reactive.” Like we said, a cranky octopus. See the clip below:
