Government threatens Facebook
According to a Wall Street Journal exclusive (based on unnamed sources), the government has threatened to jail employees of Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter if the companies do not comply with its directives:
“The warnings are in direct response to the tech companies’ reluctance to comply with data and takedown requests from the government related to protests by Indian farmers that have made international headlines, the people say. At least some of the written warnings cite specific, India-based employees at risk of arrest if the companies don’t comply, according to some of the people.”
When contacted, the companies responded with boilerplate statements, while the government refused to comment.
Speaking of Big Tech: Chinese hackers have exploited several weaknesses in Microsoft’s Exchange, a mail and calendar server. They were able to steal emails and install malware that allowed them to ‘watch’ the users’ activities. When Microsoft revealed the hack—and issued a patch—the hackers responded by going on a global hacking spree, targeting at more than 30,000 servers in the US, and hundreds of thousands worldwide. Wired and Bloomberg News have more on this alarming story.
In related social media news: According to Twitter-commissioned study, Indian women most often tweet about their passions (24.9%). Example: Kpop, cricket etc. A close second is current affairs (20.8%), followed by tweets that mark a personal or professional achievement (14.5%). The Telegraph has more.
Meghan’s big Oprah interview
The highly anticipated interview finally aired in the United States, and here are the highlights:
The biggest shocker: Meghan said: There were several "concerns and conversations about how dark his [their son Archie’s] skin might be when he was born.” Harry said: "That conversation, I am never going to share. At the time, it was awkward, I was a bit shocked."
Queen gets a pass: Meghan said, "The Queen has always been wonderful to me.”
Kate and Charles do not: Meghan says—contrary to tabloid stories—it was Kate who made her cry, and later apologised for it. Also: According to Harry, his father totally cut him financially and stopped calling when the couple stepped away from their royal duties.
As for William: Harry still “loves him to bits” but "the relationship is space [?] at the moment… And time heals all things, hopefully."
Why they left: to save themselves and their family. Meghan said she began to feel suicidal: “I was ashamed to have to admit it to Harry. I knew that if I didn’t say it, I would do it. I just didn’t want to be alive anymore.”
Also this: They’re expecting a baby girl!
A new nightmare for Rohingya in Jammu
Over the weekend, the police rounded up 150-plus Rohingya refugees and put them in “holding centres” as part of a “verification process.” These include children, men, women, and the elderly. The police claim the refugees—many of whom have been in the state for years—“were staying here without any valid documents.” The plan is to contact the Myanmar embassy and then start deportation proceedings. Indian Express reports on the despair within the community. And if you need a reminder of how bad things are for everyone in Myanmar right now, here’s our recent explainer.
OCIs lose their rights
The government has issued a notification that limits the rights of Overseas Citizens of India—created for Non Resident Indians who have foreign passports since India does not allow dual citizenship. The restrictions—published quietly and without fanfare in 2019—have now been ‘notified’ which turns them into law. From now on, OCIs will have to get the government’s permission if they want...
“...to undertake research, Missionary or Tabligh or Mountaineering or Journalistic activities, undertake internship in any foreign diplomatic missions or foreign Government organisations in India or employment in any foreign diplomatic missions in India and visit any place which falls within the Protected or Restricted or prohibited areas as notified by the Central Government or competent authority.”
(Our question: Will you need two permits if you are a journalist who wants to climb mountains?) Moving along, OCIs will also no longer be treated on par with Indian nationals when they take national entrance exams to medical and engineering colleges—and will only be eligible for seats set aside in the NRI quota. Scroll explains why this marks the end of India’s experiment with dual citizenship. Key bit to note:
“The requirement for OCIs to take a special permit to engage in journalistic activities has likely been motivated by right-wing ideologues like Subramaniam Swamy who has been targeting journalists like The Wire’s Siddharth Vardarajan because of their foreign citizenship.”
Speaking of reservations: Times of India has an excellent analysis of medical college fees. It shows how management quotas—where students get direct admission even if they don’t have the required entrance exam scores—and NRI quotas that charge astronomical fees account for 28% of all seats. Why this matters: NRIs pay Rs 25 lakhs per year, while management quota entrants may anywhere between Rs 8-11 lakh. In essence, this translates into a rich person’s reservation system, and is far higher than the percentage reserved for Scheduled Caste (15%), Scheduled Tribe (7.5%) or Other Backward Caste (27%).
The great pandemic: A quick update
- An experimental Covid pill significantly reduced the level of the virus in the body within five days. If proved to be successful, it could be the equivalent of popping a pill to treat the ordinary flu. Also this: “Unlike other drugs targeting the spike protein protruding from the surface of the virus, molnupiravir attacks a portion of the virus that helps it reproduce.”
- A new study shows that the Oxford vaccine may be effective in protecting against the alarming Brazil variant—unlike the Chinese Sinovac vaccine.
- A government fact-finding report on the Maharashtra surge blames it on complacency: “The virus is spreading to hitherto unaffected areas and most cases are asymptomatic. People are not forthcoming for strictly following quarantine or getting testing done.”
- The report also hinted at a mutation that may be more infectious but causes less severe symptoms—but there is no hard evidence of the same. Point to note: It’s not just Maharashtra or Kerala. Cases are rising in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, as well. Indian Express has more on their trajectories.
- Japan may ban overseas fans from attending the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
- The Election Commission has told the Health Ministry to stop slapping PM Modi’s face onto Covid vaccine certificates.
- A must read: Leading infectious disease specialist Gagandeep Kang offers in-depth answers to all the pressing vaccine-related questions.
- In a new low of anti-social distancing madness, parents in Idaho encouraged their kids to burn masks. Watch below:
New rules for Indian cars
All new models of cars sold in India must have airbags for front passenger seats, starting April 1. Existing models sold after August 31 will have to be fitted with such bags before they can be sold. (Times of India)
Dolce & Gabbana sues bloggers
The Italian designers have filed a $600 million defamation suit against the Insta handle Diet Prada—which spills insider information on the fashion industry. Back in 2018, Diet Prada posted racist comments against Asians allegedly made by Stefano Gabbana.
These were screenshots of a conversation about a racially insensitive D&G ad between Gabbana and an Asian woman—over the course of which Gabbana allegedly wrote: “'All the worldwide know your attitude for excemple (sic) with the dogs!!!!! So at this point you are more racist than our (sic).” This in turn led to a huge backlash in China, leading to a widespread boycott. D&G filed the lawsuit in 2019, but it has now been made public by Diet Prada. (Sky News)
Contact lenses for the colour blind
Colour blindness may not seem like a big deal, but it is a great loss not to be able to ‘read’ a traffic light correctly. Until now, the only options were either tinted glasses which did not however correct your vision—or dangerous dyed contact lenses. Now researchers have infused gold nanoparticles—which have been used for centuries to produce rose-tinted 'cranberry glass’—to help people see colours like green and red. Science Daily has the basic deets. Daily Mail has photos.
First ever space hurricane
A study that looked at satellite images from 2014 spotted a 600-mile-wide swirling cloud of charged particles—ionized gas called plasma—hovering several hundred miles above the North Pole. And it rained down charged electrons instead of water for nearly eight hours as it spun counter-clockwise at speeds up to 4,700 miles-per-hour. Smithsonian Magazine has more details. Also: an illustration based on the data looks like this:
It’s a wolf… er, maybe not
A visitor to the Xiangwushan Zoo in China wandered over the wolf enclosure and got a bit of a surprise:
Mercifully, the zoo didn’t claim the Rottweiler was a wolf in disguise—unlike past instances where Chinese zoos have passed off a Tibetan mastiff as an African cat and painted donkeys to look like zebras. All this because they are financially strapped, and struggle to attract visitors. BBC News has more.
