Afghanistan a quick update
One: The Taliban has entered Panjshir—which is the last pocket of resistance to their rule. When they were last in power, the government failed to take the region—where the resistance was then led by Afghan military commander Ahmad Shah Massoud. The resistance is now being led by his son who has no military experience—and has welcomed calls for a negotiated settlement. It isn’t clear if the Taliban are winning in Panjshir as yet. Also read: CNN on why Uighur Muslims who fled to Afghanistan from China fear for their lives.
Two: A small protest of women demanding equal rights in Kabul ended in violent retaliation from Taliban members. According to one protester:
“Together with a group of our colleagues, we wanted to go near the former government offices for a protest. But before we got there, the Taliban hit women with electric tasers, and they used tear gas against women. They also hit women on the head with a gun magazine, and the women became bloody. There was no one to ask why.”
Taliban leaders dismissed the reports, calling the protests “a deliberate attempt to cause problems.” See footage of the protests below:
Three: Kabul airport has reopened to receive aid and some domestic flights are back in operation. But the Taliban also blocked a number of charter flights carrying evacuees—saying they didn’t have passports and other paperwork.
Farmers plan for election battle
At a gargantuan mahapanchayat held in Muzaffarnagar, leaders declared their intent to take on the BJP in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections:
“If the Government doesn’t understand anything apart from vote politics, we will do ‘vote par chot’ (hit the vote). We did ‘vote par chot’ in West Bengal and the results made it clear.”
The choice of Muzaffarnagar was deliberate—as it was the site of bloody anti-Muslim riots in 2013. Western UP is also a BJP stronghold thanks to Jat support, including that of leaders like the Tikait brothers—who now are leading the protests. A big theme at the meeting: A call for Hindu-Muslim unity. Indian Express reports on the meeting, and on the more sceptical voices on the ground.
Paralympics: A final update
Indian athletes turned in a brilliant performance at the Tokyo Games—with a total of 19 medals. Our previous best: four medals in 2016. Indian shooter Avani Lekhara brought home a gold medal—as did Pramod Bhagat and Krishna Nagar in badminton. Javelin thrower Sumit Antil secured the only athletics gold medal. Manish Narwal too finished first in mixed 50m pistol. Scroll has the entire list of winners. If we need a reminder that Paralympic athletes face even greater odds than the Olympic kind, here’s an excellent NDTV interview where they speak of childhood adversity and bullying. The Guardian reports on the closing ceremony. Watch Lekhara represent the Indian contingent in her wheelchair. Below are key moments from the lovely ceremony:
Nipah returns to Kerala
A 12-year old boy died on Sunday from a suspected Nipah virus infection—raising fears of an epidemic that broke out three years ago. The virus is associated with fruit bat feces and saliva—which can contaminate fruits and dates. The government is tracing 188 contacts, including 20 “high-risk” ones—which include staff at his hospital who are now symptomatic. The district authorities have sealed the area within a 3 km radius from the child’s home in Kozhikode and put neighbouring districts on alert. A team has been sent from the National Centre for Disease Control to help stop the spread. Nipah is a serious illness with a high mortality rate. Its symptoms include acute encephalitis and respiratory illnesses. (The Telegraph)
Naomi Osaka takes a break
After being knocked out of the US Open by 18-year-old Leylah Fernandez—in a shocking upset—a teary-eyed Osaka announced she is thinking of taking a break from tennis.
“I feel like for me recently, like, when I win, I don’t feel happy. I feel more like a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad. I don’t think that’s normal. I didn’t really want to cry, but basically I feel like…”
She bluntly added: “I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match.” (Washington Post)
Bad news about air pollution
A new study is the first to establish a link between poor air quality with obesity and asthma among children in India. It looked at 3,157 children in 12 schools in Delhi, and Kottayam and Mysore—both of which have relatively cleaner air. It found that 39.8% children from Delhi were overweight compared to 16.4% in Kottayam and Mysore. Doctors say air pollutants contain certain chemicals known as obesogens—which messes up the endocrine system and can alter a person's metabolism. As for asthma, 29.3% children from Delhi demonstrated airflow obstruction or asthma during a breathing test as compared to 22.6% children in the other two cities. (BBC News)
An appalling ‘televised rape demonstration’
Last week, a television host in Côte d’Ivoire invited a convicted rapist—now released after serving time—to demonstrate how he raped his victims:
“Yves de Mbella then pointed him to a mannequin that was brought on stage and asked him to demonstrate some of the ways he used to rape women. Amid lighthearted jokes and banter, Kader presented his techniques for a ‘successful rape’ with the host interjecting to ask if some of his victims enjoyed it and the duo offering women advice on how to avoid getting raped.”
The incident sparked massive outrage in a country where ‘rape culture’ is especially toxic—and rampant. The fallout: The show host has been dismissed, the channel has issued an apology and the self-confessed rapist now claims he is an actor… because that makes it okay? (Quartz)
An appalling FB error: Facebook users who recently watched a video from a British tabloid featuring Black men got an automated prompt asking if they would like to “keep seeing videos about Primates.” The company has disabled the AI feature responsible for making the recommendation—and issued an apology: “As we have said, while we have made improvements to our AI, we know it’s not perfect, and we have more progress to make.” FYI: Back in 2015, Google mislabeled images of Black people as ‘gorillas’. (New York Times)
Behold the bionic arm
US scientists have developed an arm that helps amputees experience sensation and touch—with the help of tiny robots. About half the size of a matchbox, these robots transmit information directly to the brain via nerve endings. The best news: It restores unconscious reflexes required to do simple things like pick up a cup of coffee. Cnet has more on this big breakthrough.
The high price of a destroyed painting
Three years ago, a Banksy painting—titled ‘Girl With Balloon’—sold for £1 million at auction, and promptly self-destructed, thanks to a shredder installed in the frame. This was part of an artistic plan to reflect the role of destruction in art—or so art critics think. That shredded painting—now retitled ‘Love is in the Bin’ lol—is headed back to auction, where it is expected to fetch even more money. Sotheby’s estimate: between £4 million and £6 million! See the shredding below. (Inside Hook)