A big brouhaha over Adani stocks
- The Economic Times reported that the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) has frozen the accounts of three foreign funds—which collectively own Rs 435 billion (43,500 crore) worth of shares in four companies under the Adani Group.
- The reason: the funds may not have disclosed required information of the ‘beneficial owners’ of the shares in their funds (Beneficial owners are simply the individuals who actually benefit from the assets held by the fund). These strict rules are in place to prevent money laundering
- Why this mattered: Adani shares account for 95%-plus of these funds’ net worth—all of which are based in Mauritius.
- And ET noted that the accounts therefore could not buy or sell stocks.
- The reaction on the market was immediate: Adani shares plunged by 19%—which in turn triggered a swift denial from the Adani Group, which insisted the ET report was “blatantly erroneous and is done to deliberately mislead the investing community.”
- The significance of this still-developing story isn’t yet clear. We highly recommend Morning Context’s excellent deep dive into these mysterious funds. (sign up required for a free read)
The great pandemic: A quick update
- First, the numbers: India added 60,471 new cases and 2,726 deaths (of which almost 1,392 were previously unreported deaths in Maharashtra).
- New data shows that Novavax offers 100% protection against moderate and severe disease, and is 93% effective against “variants of concerns and interest”—which is very good news! The overall efficacy: 90.4%. Reminder: Serum Institute will produce 1 billion doses—out of which 200 million (called Covovax) will be available in India between August and December.
- Worried about the Delta (formerly Indian) variant, UK PM Boris Johnson has pushed back plans to fully unlock the country to July 19. FYI: The Delta variant has now been detected in 74 countries—and many experts fear that it will emerge as the dominant one.
- A new UK study shows that the Pfizer vaccine is 96% effective in preventing hospitalisation in cases infected by the Delta variant. AstraZeneca (Covishield) is 92% effective.
- British scientists have developed a ‘Covid-alarm’ that is mounted on the ceiling and can detect infections within 15 minutes in a crowded room.
- A man in the US has been sentenced to ten years in prison for getting into a fight over his face mask—which was hanging below his nose. He spit in the other person’s face, saying: “If I have it, you have it!”
On a lighter note: The leaders of BJP’s Mahila Morcha handed out a face mask to an already masked up child. More foolishly, she isn’t wearing one 🤦🏽♀️.
Also this: German authorities are being fiercely criticised for spending millions on a new ad campaign urging citizens to vax up! The Germans’ problem: They are among the most eager to be vaccinated but are facing serious shortages—which makes the appeal kinda moot. Our problem: They used Baywatch relic David Hasselhoff:
Last but not least: Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is not a popular man these days. He decided to host the football tournament Copa America—right in the middle of a raging pandemic, which naturally infuriated the public. And that’s just the latest in an endless series of missteps during the pandemic. So it isn’t surprising that his arrival on a commercial flight was greeted like so:
FYI, he is being called a ‘genocider’. Bolsonaro’s response: “Those people saying 'Get out, Bolsonaro' should be traveling by donkey.” Lol!
Indian journalists in the crossfire
One: Al Jazeera correspondent Raqib Hameed Naik is facing online death threats for reporting on the potential misuse of Covid relief funds raised in the US. This wasn’t even an investigative piece—just a report on how a coalition of anti-hate groups were asking for a probe into why a US federal agency had given $833,000 (over Rs 6.10 crore) to groups that were allegedly “US-based front organisations for Hindutva, the supremacist ideology that is the driving force behind much of the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Dalits and other minorities in India.” Al Jazeera says it “stands by Naik’s impeccable journalism and supports his professional contribution.” (Scroll)
Two: A TV journalist with ABP Ganga in Uttar Pradesh died within days of filing a request for protection with the local police. He was being threatened by the local mafia angry at his reporting on illicit liquor trade. Officials are being very cautious about how they characterise the cause of death:
“Mr [Sulabh] Shrivastava was returning on his motorcycle after media coverage, at around 11 pm at night on Sunday. He fell from his motorcycle near a brick kiln… Initial investigations have revealed he was alone on his bike and fell after his bike collided with a handpump by the road. We are investigating other angles too.”
But the evidence appears to indicate foul play:
“A photograph of the body—taken at the scene of the ‘accident’—shows the journalist lying on the ground with what appear to be injuries to his face. His clothes seem to have been taken off—his shirt has been almost entirely removed and his trousers unbuttoned and pulled down.”
It’s a reminder that the greatest risks are borne not by Delhi-based English-speaking journalists, but local reporters who are underpaid and unprotected by privilege. NDTV has more details.
A big anti-Patel protest
Hundreds of Lakshadweep residents greeted administrator Praful Khoda Patel—in town for a week-long visit—with a black flag protest. Patel was appointed to the job in December—and is also the administrator of the Union Territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu. So he doesn’t even live on the islands full-time. NDTV notes that “this is the first time he has gone there since his sweeping reforms.” For more context, check out our explainer on these “sweeping reforms.” (New Indian Express)
Jacinda Ardern flick sparks row
The recently announced Hollywood project ‘They Are Us’ is slated to be an “inspirational story about the young leader’s response to the tragic events”—following Ardern as she responded to the deadly 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch. But critics are already upset about the movie:
“It immediately came under fire for centring on the leadership of a white woman against the backdrop of the mass murder of 51 Muslims by a white supremacist. Many Muslim New Zealanders criticised the move as ‘exploitative’, ‘insensitive’, and ‘obscene’. A petition to shut down the film’s production has gained about 60,000 signatures over the past three days.”
One of the producers has dropped out of the project, and even Ardern said, “There are plenty of stories from March 15 that could be told, but I don’t consider mine to be one of them.” (The Guardian)
In lighter NZ-related news: A potted plant in New Zealand officially became the “most expensive house plant ever sold”—selling for a whopping $19,200. The nine-leafed star is a “very rare white variegated Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma” native to Thailand and Malaysia. CNN has the story. Pricey green below:
Wasabi is a winner!
He is a gorgeous 3-year old Pekingese with lustrous locks that would make Fabio jealous. Wasabi is also the winner of Best in Show at the annual Westminster Kennel Club Show—where he beat out 2,400 other lovely contestants. FYI, he will be breaking out the filet mignon in celebration while his owner sticks to champagne. Also, the judge said: "We love all dogs as dog lovers. Mixed breeds and purebreds. They're all pets. Now, every pet may not be a show dog, but be assured, every show dog is a pet." Aww! CNN has the story and an excellent photo gallery from the show. Check out spicy Wasabi below!
In our gratitude jar…
We are deeply grateful for the support of our founding members Karthika Sivakumar, Geetanjali Joshi, Rhuta Deobagkar, Ankur Bagaria, Prem Panicker, Srinidhi Dasaka, Nikhil Inamdar, Maneesh Goyal, Preeta Dhar and Tariq Engineer.
We also want to say a big thank you to subscriber Vikram Singh for responding to our call out for a Toast/Roast splainer video. We love this sooo much! Thank you for making our birthday month, Arjun and Arjun’s dad!
