The great pandemic: A quick update
- The Serum Institute of India is planning to roll out the Covovax vaccine for kids as young as three years old within the next six months.
- Speaking of vaccines, India is struggling to export its surplus of doses. The reason: many countries are facing logistical challenges taking delivery of the vaccines. Serum is planning to halve its output as a result.
- China has reported its first two Omicron cases—and both people have a history of overseas travel. However, one of them underwent two weeks of quarantine during which he “repeatedly tested negative.”
- Britain has reported the first ever confirmed death caused by the variant. This is the first globally confirmed Omicron death.
- Kareena Kapoor’s publicist says she was infected at Karan Johar’s party—specifically by “one person… who seemed unwell and was coughing.” Translation: Seema Khan is an irresponsible Covidiot who did this to me.
- Pfizer data shows that its Covid pill reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 89%—when taken within three days of first symptoms.
- Related read: Experts weigh in on the possibility of an Omicron-fuelled wave in India in The Telegraph.
Lakhimpur Kheri tragedy: The latest update
The investigation into the deaths of eight people—run over by cars during a farmer protest (explained here and here)—has concluded that the crime was a “pre-planned conspiracy.” The special investigating team also recommended deleting the charges of ‘death by negligence’ from the FIR—and replacing it with ‘attempt to murder’ and ‘voluntarily causing injuries by dangerous weapons’. So far, 13 people—including Ashish Mishra, the son of a Union Minister of State—have been accused of the crime. Why this matters: It removes the possibility that they will be convicted of a lesser charge. (The Telegraph)
Indians face sky-high inflation
Inflation numbers jumped to 14.2% in November—up from 12.5% in October. One reason is a surge in primary food inflation which has hit a 13-month high. Also: the tax cuts on fuel have done nothing to dampen prices. Fuel and power inflation, in fact, rose to a record level of almost 40% in November. (The Hindu)
Nike buys into NFTs
The company has bought RTFKT Studios—“a leading brand that leverages cutting edge innovation to deliver next generation collectibles that merge culture and gaming.” This is part of a larger trend of real-world brands getting ready for the metaverse where everyone will pay silly money for virtual sneakers. Adidas recently announced a partnership with NFT project Bored Apes Yacht Club. The Verge has more on the deal. Here’s how RTFKT announced its acquisition:
Speaking of crypto: Tesla will now accept payment in Dogecoin for its merchandise on an experimental basis. The meme currency’s value immediately jumped by 20%. In other Elon Musk-related news: Lots of people are mad that TIME chose him as the person of the year, calling it the “worst choice ever.” (Reuters)
A full-blown Virat Kohli drama
Yesterday, the media was awash with unconfirmed reports—from anonymous sources—that Kohli will skip the One-Day International (ODI) series in South Africa—or at least, has asked the BCCI to be allowed to do so. This after Rohit Sharma dropped out of the test series due to a hamstring injury. Other anonymous sources from within the cricket board have since told The Telegraph that none of this is true:
“Kohli hasn’t sent any message to the BCCI saying he won’t be available. This is all rubbish. He is up for selection and unless he is a victim of bubble fatigue after the three Tests or any other unforeseen event crops up, he will play the ODIs.”
Aadhaar cards for sex workers
The Supreme Court has ordered all States and Union Territories to start issuing voter ID, Aadhaar and ration cards to sex workers, declaring: “The fundamental rights are guaranteed to every citizen of the country irrespective of his/her vocation.” FYI: this was in response to the fact that state governments have still not complied with a decade-old SC order to give ration cards to sex workers. (The Hindu)
Google vs Disney: A big distribution fight
If you are a YouTube subscriber, you may no longer see any Disney-owned channel on the platform. The two companies are facing off over a distribution contract that expires this week. Google says:
“If Disney offers us equitable terms, we’ll renew our agreement with them...However, if we are unable to reach a deal by Friday, the Disney-owned channels will no longer be available on YouTube TV and we will decrease our monthly price by $15, from $64.99 to $49.99 (while this content remains off our platform).”
Variety has more details.
Speaking of slashing prices: Netflix is slashing its prices by as much as 60% in India—right on the heels of Amazon’s announcement that it was upping its subscription fees by 50%. The mobile-only plan will cost Rs 149 per month, while the standard plan has been reduced to Rs 499. Al Jazeera has more on why Netflix is going cheap in India.
Nope, rocket scientists aren’t that bright
New research shows that brain surgeons and rocket scientists—widely considered exemplars of brilliance—aren’t necessarily more clever than the rest of us. The study tested 329 aerospace engineers and 72 neurosurgeons in areas like working memory, attention and emotion processing. Rocket scientists did not perform any better than the average person. Neuroscientists had different scores in only two areas. They were faster in solving problems, but their memory recall was slower. The study concluded:
“It is possible that both neurosurgeons and aerospace engineers are unnecessarily placed on a pedestal. Other specialties might deserve to be on that pedestal, and future work should aim to determine the most deserving profession.”
Golden Globes nominations are out
Earlier this year, the Globes fell into disgrace almost overnight—with top actors and studios cutting their ties to the organisation that doles out the awards—the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). The charges included racism, corruption etc. (which we explained here). Undeterred by the scandals, HFPA rolled out their nominations—doling them out to the likes of Will Smith (‘King Richard’), Kristen Stewart (‘Spencer’) and Lady Gaga (‘House of Gucci’). But none of the nominees acknowledged the honour—though Disney did promote the nomination of ‘Cruella’. (Associated Press)
Speaking of the movies: The critically acclaimed ‘West Side Story’ has a #MeToo problem thanks to its star Ansel Elgort—who was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl on social media. The PR solution: ensuring Elgort never does any one-on-one interviews. (Variety)
Speaking of lists: Five Indian jewellery brands are amongst the top 100 luxury brands in the world. They include: Tata’s Titan Company—which jumped three places to #22—Kalyan Jewellers (#37), Joyalukkas (#46), PC Jewellers (#57) and Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (#92). (Mint)
Two things to see
One: The mid-day meal in Karnataka has become a lightning rod of religious controversy—after the government announced plans to introduce eggs. The move was opposed by powerful Hindu seers who are insisting that the food remain ‘shuddh’ vegetarian. A 14-year old student went viral yesterday with this clip—where she angrily calls them out. (The News Minute)
Two: David Beckham channeled a moment of Spice Girls nostalgia by sporting a suitably hideous holiday sweater. (People)
Dine With Data: Unschool 👩🏫
Editor’s note: Here is DWD’s weekly installment of one cool, innovative or just plain quirky startup from around the world.
Company: Unschool 👩🏫
About: Unschool is a virtual mentorship platform that enables students, graduates and young professionals to seek advice and learn from subject matter experts. The startup boasts of 21,000+ active monthly users and more than 25,000 paid users which the team intends to notch up to 500,000 users in the next three years.They are funded by YCombinator and also have been voted as one of LinkedIn's Top startups of 2020!
Food for thought: On the Unschool platform, students can sign up and immediately start their lessons. Once they complete 20% of the course, they are interned with a project that tests their knowledge. Upon finishing 70% of the course, another major project intervention takes place. Once they do well and finish 80% of the course, they are presented with handpicked internship opportunities from reputable MNCs, startups, NGOs etc.
DWD Take: The main focus of Unschool being employability, they allow students to personalise their learning paths so that one doesn't have to pursue studies which they are not interested in, and excel in their forte's instead!
About DWD: Dine With Data🍴 sends you a short summary on one new startup every day, delivered straight to your Whatsapp inbox!