Farmers up the ante in Haryana
Protesters have gherao-ed the mini secretariat in Karnal. This is after the government refused to take action against the sub-divisional magistrate who ordered police to “break the heads” of protesting farmers last month. The administration has already ordered an Internet shutdown in Karnal and four adjoining districts. But it has since allowed farmers to congregate at the local grain market amid tight security. It marks a new front in the ongoing battle with the government. (The Telegraph)
The definition of rape in China...
A court in China has dropped a case against a former Alibaba manager—saying that “forcible indecency” is not a crime. According to the woman, she was asked to attend a client meeting by her manager Wang. Then this happened:
“She accused her superiors of ordering her to drink alcohol with co-workers during dinner. She said that on the evening of July 27 the client kissed her. She then recalls waking up in her hotel room the next day without her clothes on and with no memory of the night before. The woman said she obtained surveillance camera footage that showed the manager had gone into her room four times during the evening.”
Wang has admitted to having “intimate acts” while the woman was “inebriated.” Alibaba fired Wang after widespread public outrage. But after the court’s decision, the government-owned Global Times reported that “the police investigation showed that [the woman] drank about 350 millilitres of alcohol the previous night but no one forced her to drink excessively.” No surprises here. (BBC News)
A shameful campaign against iD Fresh
A Bangalore-based company that sells idli and dosa batter became the target of a hate campaign on social media and WhatsApp. It was kicked off by a tweet by Chennai-based Srinivasa SG which said:
“All the Chennai stores or supermarkets are selling the Idli/Dosa paste produced and marketed by iD Foods!! Do you know they mix Cows Bones & Calf Rennet to make Volume of the Batter? How many really know that this company employs only Muslims and it is Halal certified?”
The motive for this now-viral smear: The founder of the company is PC Musthafa. iD Fresh also issued a statement clarifying that their products are 100% vegetarian, and called the claims “baseless and fake propaganda.” (The Telegraph)
Also a terrible shame: In a drought-ridden village in Madhya Pradesh, five minor girls were stripped and paraded naked to appease the rain gods. Some were as young as five years old. The children’s parents consented to the ritual and even participated in it. While child protection agencies have sought a report, the local district collector said: “In such cases, the administration can only make the villagers aware about the futility of such superstition and make them understand that such practices don't yield desired results.” But the police promised: “Action will be taken if we find the girls were forced to walk naked.” (BBC News)
Moderna worries in Japan
A third person has died after being jabbed with a dose of the vaccine. Why this is especially worrying: Japan recently suspended three batches of Moderna because of little stainless steel particles floating inside the vial. And the three deaths involved these contaminated doses. But the government has not yet established a causal link between the two—and Moderna insists:
“The rare presence of stainless steel particles in the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine does not pose an undue risk to patient safety and it does not adversely affect the benefit/risk profile of the product.”
Your WhatsApp message isn’t totally private
A ProPublica investigation shows that the company’s promise of end-to-end encryption has its exceptions. And they kick in when someone reports a message. A contract worker then gets access to five messages—the allegedly offending one along with the four previous messages in the exchange, including any images or videos—to WhatsApp in an unscrambled form. The unencrypted data includes:
“[T]he names and profile images of a user’s WhatsApp groups as well as their phone number, profile photo, status message, phone battery level, language and time zone, unique mobile phone ID and IP address, wireless signal strength and phone operating system, as a list of their electronic devices, any related Facebook and Instagram accounts, the last time they used the app and any previous history of violations.”
Is that a gross violation of data privacy or necessary to prevent illegal behaviour? Read more at Pro Publica to make up your mind.
McDonald’s goes meat-free
It was only a matter of time. The best-known burger joint unveiled plans to launch the McPlant—made from yellow peas, coconut, potato and beetroot juice. Produced in a partnership with Beyond Meat, it is designed to taste exactly like a beef patty. And no, it won’t be vegan-friendly as the burgers will include dairy-based products like mayonnaise and cheese. What this is about: targeting ‘flexitarians’ (who consume less meat) concerned about climate change. Check out the so-called PLT below. (Daily Mail)
Another big unveil: Axis Bank has announced a number of new policies for its LGBTQ+ customers. Non-binary, trans and gender fluid folks can opt for ‘Mx’ as their prefix. Queer customers can also open a joint bank account with their same sex partner—and name them as their nominee in all their accounts. Mint has more on Axis’ #ComeAsYouAre initiative.
A robot to make you behave
Singapore is trialling two robots whose job is to patrol public areas—and make sure you follow the rules. On their no-no list: flouting Covid-19 safety measures, smoking in prohibited areas and improper parking of bicycles. FYI, both are named Xavier. See them below. (Reuters)
Dine with Data: All about Relevel ✅
Editor’s Note: Here is DWD’s weekly installment of one cool, innovative or just plain quirky startup from around the world.
Company: Relevel ✅
About: Relevel is a hiring tests platform that gives each test taker a score which is then used by companies to judge their abilities. Currently, the platform offers tests for business development, backend engineers, and frontend development.
The company is wholly owned by Unacademy group, which acquired game-streaming platform Rheo TV, to build the team for Relevel. 👥
Food For Thought: Quite a few large startups have started accepting Relevel scores in their hiring processes. Big names include Cred, Razorpay, UrbanCompany, and of course Unacademy.
DWD Take: Hiring managers in India face the unique challenge of having to filter through a large number of profiles to pick the best one. It's no surprise then that there's an industry around building trust filters. The test for Relevel then is to generate trust on the scores it provides, and keep on diversifying to newer tests.
URL: https://relevel.com
ABOUT DWD: Dine With Data🍴 sends you a short summary of one new startup every day, delivered straight to your WhatsApp inbox!
