The Taliban kick off UN controversy
The group has asked to be allowed to represent Afghanistan at the General Assembly meeting. This is a little tricky since the country is currently represented by an envoy from the previous regime—who wants to lead his own delegation. The Taliban sent a letter to the UN essentially sacking him. The Credentials Committee is likely to resolve the matter by simply dragging its feet—and delaying making any call when world leaders are in town for a GA summit this week. (CNN)
In related news: An upcoming meeting of foreign ministers of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries was canceled for the exact same reason. Pakistan wanted the Taliban to represent Afghanistan—and India disagreed, and suggested the chair be kept empty instead. (NDTV)
In happier news: Thirty three US companies—including Amazon, Facebook, Pfizer and UPS—have pledged to hire and train Afghan refugees in the country. (Axios)
The UK vs Covishield drama contd
The Johnson government has finally added Covishield to its list of approved vaccines—with a big ‘but’ that will offer no comfort to Indians. It will only accept Covishield if it was administered by a “relevant public health body” in a list of 17 countries—which does not include India! The stumbling block: CoWin certification:
“While Covishield is approved, the UK government is still trying to understand how the Indian Covid vaccine app works… Once we understand this better and know that it is absolutely safe, we can go ahead and remove the quarantine for Indian travellers.”
You can watch the British High Commissioner dance around the subject on NDTV.
In related Covid news: The union government has announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 to families who lost a relative to Covid. (The Telegraph)
Adani gets into the media biz
The Adani Group is planning to roll out its own media empire—and it will be “impactful and nothing short of the Reliance Industries-like re-entry into the sector.” Reminder: Reliance owns Network 18 which owns everything from CNN18 to Forbes, Firstpost and Moneycontrol. And why would Adani look at an industry that is in a deep financial crisis: “[T]he Adani venture may not make a lot of commercial sense but then it gets incomparable clout given the group is frequently under attack.” We encourage you to read this Best Media Info story to grasp the scope of this (creepy) plan. A very good related read: The Wire on the disastrous financial state of Indian print and TV media—many of whom may soon be up for sale (to Adani, no doubt).
Also getting a big shake up: The entertainment industry thanks to a proposed merger between Sony and Zee Entertainment. As per the deal, Sony will own 53% of Zee’s shares and invest $1.58 billion to create content, build digital platforms and bid for sports broadcasting rights. Why this matters: “The combined entity is expected to become the largest broadcaster in India with nearly a third of the market share in the entertainment space, surpassing Disney’s Star India network.” Mint has all the details.
Speaking of the entertainment biz: Netflix has purchased all rights to author Roald Dahl’s catalogue—”which means the company will now be able to pursue adaptations of Dahl classics such as ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, ‘The Witches’, and ‘James and the Giant Peach’.” This is Netflix’s biggest content acquisition deal ever. What’s interesting: Netflix says it plans to create a “unique universe” that will extend to publishing, gaming, live theater, and more. (Quartz)
Facebook’s big plans to fix its image
Mark Zuckerberg has launched a new initiative called ‘Project Amplify’—which will use its platform to do its PR. The plan:
“To use Facebook’s News Feed, the site’s most important digital real estate, to show people positive stories about the social network. The idea was that pushing pro-Facebook news items—some of them written by the company—would improve its image in the eyes of its users.”
Also on the to-do list: “distancing Mr. Zuckerberg from scandals, reducing outsiders’ access to internal data, burying a potentially negative report about its content and increasing its own advertising to showcase its brand.” (New York Times)
Speaking of bad news for FB: According to a new book called ‘The Contrarian’, the Zuck struck a shady deal with then President Trump: “Facebook would not fact-check political claims posted on its platform in return for pledges from the Trump administration to refrain from imposing onerous regulations on the company.” We can only imagine the deals he’s struck with the Indian government. (The Times UK)
How humans lost their tails
A new study has pinpointed the exact genetic mutation that got rid of our tails around 25 million years ago. And they made this discovery by altering a gene called TBXT in mice embryos—which then did not grow any tails. Why this bit of evolution matters:
“This dramatic anatomical change had a profound impact on our evolution. Our ancestors’ tail muscles evolved into a hammock-like mesh across the pelvis. When the ancestors of humans stood up and walked on two legs a few million years ago, that muscular hammock was ready to support the weight of upright organs.”
That’s all very nice but scientists are still confused as to why our ancestral apes lost what was a fairly useful part of their anatomy—and kept them safe on trees. (New York Times)
Two big climate change pledges
One: Speaking at the United Nations, President Biden promised $11 billion a year by 2024 to developing countries—to help them reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and cope with extreme weather. Why this matters: Advanced countries promised to give $100 billion per year as ‘climate finance’ to poorer countries from 2020—and have not delivered on that pledge. It is slated to become a central issue in the critical climate change talks Cop26—which will be held later this year. (The Guardian)
Two: Amazon founder and absurdly rich person Jeff Bezos has pledged to give away $1 billion to support conservation efforts. This is part of the Bezos Earth Fund—which has made a $10 billion commitment to support scientists, activists and organizations working to address climate change. Bezos attributes his generosity to that trip to space: “I’d heard that seeing the Earth from space changes one’s point of view of the world, but I was not prepared for just how much that would be true.” (CNBC)
Two big restaurant dramas
One: The Twitterati were up in arms over this clip which shows a woman being denied entry into the upmarket restaurant Aquila because she is wearing a sari:
The restaurant then shared an Instagram post denying they have a dress code that bans saris (with video proof to boot)—and offering up a clip of the offended guest slapping a member of their staff. We’ll file this under ‘only in Delhi’.
Two: A Dallas couple were kicked out of one for… wearing masks. Never mind that the new parents were being careful to protect their four-month old immuno-compromised baby on a rare night out. Making it crazier: The restaurant owner remains unrepentant: “I spent my money on this business, I put my blood, sweat and tears in this business and I don’t want any masks in here.” We’ll file this under ‘only in Texas’—where abortions are illegal and the mask-less run free! (CNN)
Pentagon channels Star Trek
The newest branch of the US military is called Space Force and its members are known as ‘Guardians’ (no, we’re not making this up). And it has now unveiled uniforms to match its borrowed-from-Hollywood name. FYI, it’s called a ‘Guardian Service Dress’—which the official Twitter handle describes as “modern, distinctive, professional.” We leave it to you to come up with more appropriate adjectives.
Speaking of space: Did you know that NASA is planning to retire the International Space Station by the end of the decade? No, it isn’t planning to build new digs, but will lease a space station owned by private companies—and wants “to be just one of many users instead of the primary sponsor and infrastructure supporter.” Imagine having Elon Musk as your landlord! CNBC has more details.
Behold China’s biggest eyesores!
Every year, a Chinese architecture website holds an annual contest to determine the top ten ugliest buildings in the country. There are 87 contenders for the honour this year—including The Tianzi Hotel (below), a monstrosity featuring the gods of fortune, happiness and longevity. Another excellent contender: This very creepy Russian doll thing. The Guardian and South China Morning Post have more details and photos.
