India drags feet on vaccine exports
Even as Brazil readies a plane to pick up 2 million doses of Serum Institute’s Covishield vaccine, India has put the brakes on their export. A foreign ministry official said:
“The vaccination process is just starting in India. It is too early to give a specific response on supplies to other countries as we are still assessing production schedules and delivery and we will take decisions in this regard in due course. This may take some time."
This is a problem for Brazil which has booked orders of Covishield and the Chinese vaccine Sinovac—which however is only 50.4% effective, and may not provide herd immunity.
Point to note: China is stepping up its efforts to supply vaccines to Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia to improve its global image. So there are worries about losing out in the game of ‘soft power’. Some government sources claim that India may gift about 10 million doses to countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
In related news: Experts are worried that Indians will have zero protection if ‘serious adverse events’ occur during the vaccination drive:
“We don’t have a systematic policy on compensation in case a person gets harmed by a vaccine. If anybody either gets injured by it or dies, there are only two ways compensation is likely to be given: they either have to go to court, or they have to politicize the issue until the government gives an ex gratia amount to them.”
WhatsApp faces privacy challenge
A Delhi lawyer has filed a petition in the high court which claims that its updated privacy policy jeopardizes “national security by sharing, transmitting and storing user data in another country with the information thus governed by foreign laws.” Reuters has an exclusive report on this story. Also read: our explainer on WhatsApp’s new terms of service.
In happier news for WhatsApp: A new survey shows that 20% of its Indian users have no problems with its new policy, and only 15% plan to abandon the platform due to it. Quartz has more details.
A farmer protest update
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court suspended the farm laws, and picked a four-member committee to mediate between the farmers and the government. Government said okay, but the farmers refused to participate. Now, one member—the only farm leader on the panel, Bhupinder Singh Mann—has quit. The reason offered in his statement:
“In view of the prevailing sentiments and apprehensions amongst the farm unions and the public in general, I am ready to sacrifice any position offered or given to me so as to not compromise the interests of Punjab and the farmers of the country. I am recusing myself from the committee and I will always stand with my farmers and Punjab.”
In related news: Farmer groups will hold their ninth meeting with the government today—even though they have no hope of achieving a resolution. They are mainly focusing on ramping for the big protests in the lead up to Republic Day. The Telegraph has more details.
A related fallout: Walmart and Reliance stores in Punjab have been shuttered due to worries about farmer rage. The losses run into the millions, but industry experts say they can be absorbed—as long as the protests do not spread to other states.
A new worry about the Indonesia crash
Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 plunged into the Java Sea within minutes after take-off. While investigators are still looking at black box data, experts are flagging a key fact: After lying idle for nine months due to the pandemic, the 26-year-old plane made 132 flights in less than a month. One aviation consultant warns:
“There’s a major problem starting to raise its head in terms of restoring these aircraft because while out of service for nine or 10 months, they need to be kept operating, otherwise they deteriorate… All of these aircraft have to be brought slowly back into service. The same can be said about pilots.”
Pushback on Chinese slave labour
Last year, the Conservative party in the UK issued a report that showed 83 global brands—including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen—are being supplied by Chinese factories that use Uighurs as slave labour. This week, the government announced that it will impose deterrent fines “to ensure no company that profits from forced labour in Xinjiang can do business in the UK, that no UK business is involved in their supply chains.” The Opposition has criticised the move as “tinkering around the edges”—but it marks the first real move toward acknowledging the extent of human rights abuse in China.
Meanwhile, in the US: The government has banned all imports of cotton and tomatoes from Xinjiang—the region where Uighurs and other ethnic minorities have been detained in massive internment camps. FYI: Cotton is Xinjiang's largest export, and exports from China are approximately a $9 billion industry.
Sebi targets biz TV anchor
The institution that regulates India’s stock markets has issued a first-of-its-kind order restraining CNBC-Awaaz anchor Hemant Ghai and his family from investing in shares. He has also been banned from giving stock recommendations. The reason: Ghai was using his position for illegal profit.
The scam explained: Ghai’s wife and mother would buy a particular stock the day before. He would then recommend that stock on his show, and then his family would sell it the very same day. The size of the scam: Rs 100 crore in 90 trades executed in trading accounts of the two family members between January 2019 to May last year led to gains of more than Rs 2.95 crore. BloombergQuint has the details.
In other unhappy news: The Delhi Police recently raided the offices Mehmood Pracha—the lawyer who is representing 150 people accused of inciting the Delhi violence in February 2019. These are anti-CAA activists and students who have been charged under stringent national security laws. The police allege Pracha coerced a witness into giving false testimony—a charge denied by the witness. They then swooped into his office to examine his emails. Leading lawyers and former jurists have called the raid “illegal” and “ominous”:
“Obviously, therefore, the object of the search was to get hold of all the information in his computer systems which not only contained his personal and private information but in particular contained communications between him and his clients.”
James aur Uday ki jodi
James Murdoch—who very publicly broke with his father Rupert—has joined hands with Uday Shankar, the former chairman of Star India. They are starting an as yet unspecified and unnamed venture. The stated aim is equally vague: “to build a ‘large-scale’ business in digital media, education and healthcare delivery, developed in part through acquisitions.” Point to note: Murdoch has made previous Indian investments via his holding company (which has a Mumbai office) in Daily Hunt and Harappa Education.
In other tech news: Bangalore is the world's fastest-growing tech hub, followed by London, Munich and Berlin. Mumbai comes in at #6. Bangalore also scores high in tech VC investments—ranking #6 on a list topped by Beijing, San Francisco, and New York. Mumbai is way below at #21. Mint has a lot more.
In more fun startup news: A South Korean company has developed an AI-powered collar that can identify five emotions in your dog. So for the price of $99, you will now know if your pooch is happy, relaxed, anxious, angry or sad. Reuters has the story, but we recommend watching the video instead.
Armie Hammer is under a cloud
The Hollywood star has exited a big movie production—alongside Jennifer Lopez—thanks to unverified social media messages. These leaked on Twitter and allegedly reveal Hammer sharing graphic sexual fantasies that involve rape… and cannibalism?! Hammer says he’s not not responding to these b******t claims. (Vulture)
Yes, ginger is good for you!
A new US study on mice suggests that ginger can help people with autoimmune disorders like lupus. No, it can’t be used as a primary therapy, but when used as a supplement, it could act as a protective agent for those at high risk for developing such diseases. Big Think has more on ginger and other herbal supplements that are becoming more accepted in mainstream Western medicine.
Three fun Friday things
Look, a very orange bat! Back in 2018, a survey of the habitat of an endangered bat species turned up a surprise in one of their traps: a new kind of bat they’d never seen before—with a fiery orange body and black wings. Now, finding a new bat species isn’t that unusual, but they’re usually identified in labs after genetic sequencing reveals differences among creatures that look identical on the outside. Finding this “fuzzy, pumpkin-orange animal” in nature is, however, very rare. You can see below why a leading bat conservationist says: “Every species is important, but you get drawn to the interesting-looking ones, and this one really is spectacular.”
Look, an ancient pig! A doctoral student has discovered the world’s oldest known animal cave painting in Indonesia. It was painted 45,500 years ago and depicts a “pig with horn-like facial warts”—which “appears to be observing a fight or social interaction between two other warty pigs." Not impressed? The oldest evidence of human-made art dates back to 75,000 years ago and is basically a hashtag-like doodle. This pig is downright impressive in comparison. BBC News has more.
Look, a potato house! The hottest Airbnb destination in Idaho is the 28-foot long, six-ton Big Idaho Potato Hotel. It has one bedroom and bath, and sits in the middle of a vast stretch of farmland. The price per night: $165. Also:
“There is also a customized silo turned into a spa retreat perfect for soaking while looking up at the stars. For an extra dose of cuteness, The Big Idaho Potato Hotel comes with the cutest jersey cow in the world who will be your fuzzy pet for the stay.”
And it looks like this (more photos here):
