A scary landslide in Himachal
Nine tourists were killed when large boulders crushed a tempo during a landslide—which also destroyed a bridge. Mint has more details. Watch the frightening clip below:
The great pandemic: A quick update
One: Brazil has suspended phase 3 trials for Covaxin—which marks the end of the $300-million deal to supply 20 million doses to the country. The trigger: Covaxin ended its partnership with the local company Precisa Medicamentos—which was acting as its agent. The Wire has more on Bharat Biotech’s Brazilian woes. Our explainer laid out the corruption scandal that has led to this sorry mess.
Two: New data shows that low-income countries have received a shocking 0.27% of the total vaccine doses administered around the world. OTOH, High-income countries (30%) and upper-middle-income countries (52%) have received more than 80% of that total. Of the 27 low income nations, 23 are in Africa. The Hindu has more data and charts that lay out this vast vaccine gap.
Three: Yet another study estimates that the Indian death toll is vastly larger than the official figure. According to its conclusion, until July 2021 around 2.7 million to 3.4 million people lost their lives—which is 6.4 times the official figure of 421,000. The Telegraph has details on the methodology used. FYI: The health ministry describes these efforts at extrapolating the excess Covid-19 deaths as “audacious.”
China ‘bans’ Indian sailors
The All India Seafarer & General Workers’ Union has written to the External Affairs ministry complaining about an unofficial Chinese ban on Indian sailors:
“It has asked foreign shipping companies that they can lift or unload the cargo from China only if they agree to its terms, which is not to employ Indian crew on board their vessels if they want to enter the Chinese waters. There is a commercial cost to it. Either you have to divert your ship which means adding to your fuel cost or replace the Indian crew, which too costs the company a lot—replacing a crew of five members costs around $300,000 to $500,000. This is basically China’s ‘goondagardi’ as it wants to flex its muscles.”
Earlier this year, China didn't allow two ships with Indian crew to berth at one of its ports and over 40 crew members were stranded at sea for weeks. The union claims that as a result many foreign shipping companies have stopped hiring Indians. (Times of India)
Big censorship move on ‘Aadhaar’
The comic drama was cleared by the censor board, but now an unlikely authority—the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)—has suggested 28 cuts, and is stalling its release:
“[T]he film’s release is currently hinged on objections that range from the use of a dialogue ‘Main Aadhaar Hoon’—a play on the title of a 1989 Amitabh Bachchan film ‘Main Azaad Hoon’—‘which officials claim is demeaning the Aadhar program’; a scene where a villager, trying to understand the privacy issue, asks: ‘Sarkar kya hamare ghusal khaane mein ghus jaayenge? (Will the government come into our bathrooms?); and a sequence where an old man wants to get his cataracts removed for Aadhar’s biometrics. ‘They felt it was an improper representation of their biometric recognition system that has now been upgraded,’ says [director] Suman Ghosh. "
The movie was scheduled to open in February, but is now stuck in limbo. Ghosh says:
“[I]n this case, I don’t know how to proceed. The UIDAI verbally conveyed the changes to my producer but has stonewalled my request for an official list of demands or a meeting…Although legally they can’t stop the film’s release, my producer is treading on eggshells. Why should we have to go through this?”
Watch the trailer below:
Three space things
One: A new theory suggests that just like Earth, the universe is not flat. For the past 18 years, scientists believed that its shape is “essentially an infinite sheet of flat paper”—where parallel lines in the fabric of spacetime remain parallel, and infinitely expanding. But a recently published paper suggests that the universe may be shaped like a giant donut:
“The same way you can fold a flat piece of paper into a curved shape without changing its parallel properties, this solution would mean the universe could be both flat and donut shaped… However, if proven to be true, this would mean that the universe was no longer infinite.”
Vice has more on this fascinating new hypothesis.
Two: NASA has released the first detailed map of the inside of Mars—and it looks ‘sweet’:
“[Three new studies reveal] the red planet to be something like a colossal candy treat imagined by a ravenous deity. Its crust is split into two or three layers of volcanic chocolate. The mantle below has a surprisingly sizable and rigid toffee-like filling. And the planet’s core is surprisingly light — less nougaty center, more syrupy heart.”
Also, it looks like this:
Three: Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson are not ‘astronauts’. Sorry, taking expensive joy rides doesn’t make you a real astronaut. That’s the new US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rule—which says just traveling 50 miles (80 km) above the earth’s surface isn’t enough. To qualify for those coveted astronaut wings, the person must have also “demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety.” So those vanity wings that Bezos and Branson were flaunting are meaningless for now. (BBC News)
A sad update on that baby orca
New Zealand has been anxiously following the fate of Toa—a young calf who was separated from his pod, and being given 24x7 care by humans. Despite their best efforts, his condition worsened quickly and he died on Friday night. He will be given a proper burial by the Ngāti Toa Rangatira tribe. And there will be no autopsy to preserve the dignity of his body. (The Guardian)
Three studies of note
One: A significant study found that 1.5 glasses of white wine a day can help keep menopause at bay—reducing the chances of early menopause by 19%. The reason: wine prevents oxidative stress—a process where healthy cells decay—and has high levels of resveratrol, a potent antioxidant. Red wine is less effective at 10%, and beer or other kinds of liquor have zero effect. Also: binge-drinking white wine doesn’t help either. (Daily Mail)
Two: Do not play games on your phone when you’re feeling bored. That’s the message of new research that shows why and when you play Candy Crush can lead to addiction:
“In the study, gamers who started playing to alleviate day-to-day ‘intense boredom’ were more immersed by games, experiencing more ‘flow’ state, and higher mood improvements than everyone else. Not surprisingly, these players proceeded to spend more time playing, doing so both longer and more often.”
Three: A new study shows that Sulphur-crested cockatoos in Sydney are teaching each other how to open lids of garbage bins. Why this is impressive: The process of swinging open a wheelie bin lid is “quite tricky both from a motor action and a physical strength perspective. It's a very complex and multi-step sequence that they have to learn.” Watch the clever shaitans below:
