Four gifts for the festive season
Splainer almost never goes on sale except during this time of the year. So we hope you will take full advantage of our big discounts—available until November 7. Here are four wonderful deals for you:
- Gift friends, colleagues and relatives an annual subscription at a whopping discount. It now costs only Rs 1000. Click ‘Gift a friend’ on our ‘subscribe’ page.
- Add 12 months to your own subscription by heading over to the ‘subscribe’ page—and hitting renew.
- Use your magical referral link—available in every daily email and your account page—to offer a free month to anyone you want.
- That same link also offers that sweet Rs 500 discount on our annual subscription.
Want a bulk Diwali discount? If you plan to gift splainer to a bunch of people in your organisation or family, be sure to email us at talktous@splainer.in.
Amarinder Singh has a new party
The former chief minister of Punjab who resigned and left Congress in a huff (explained here) has formed a new party. No, it doesn’t have a name as yet, but Singh is already signalling his potential allies: the BJP and breakaway factions of the Akali Dal. Congress leaders are now busy trying to persuade Singh’s wife Preneet Kaur—who is an MP—not to jump ship as well. (Indian Express)
In other election-related news: Priyanka Gandhi has announced that Congress will give 40% of its party tickets to women for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections. (The Telegraph)
Kerala braces for more rain
Even as it struggles to recover from the recent floods, the state will be hit by heavy to extremely heavy rains starting today. And for the first time, the Kerala government is planning to evacuate people in landslide-prone areas and low-lying areas. (Indian Express)
On a lighter note: This Kerala couple arrived at their wedding floating in a giant cooking pot during the recent floods. Love conquers all. (The Guardian)
Tuberculosis spreads like Covid
New research shows that TB bacteria behave exactly like the coronavirus—and can be spread by simply breathing. Until now, medical experts believed that most TB transmission occurred when an infected person coughed. Why this matters: It explains why TB spreads rapidly in indoor closed environments. Also: Diagnosis and treatment of TB has changed very little in decades. So future safety and screening protocols may have to be the same as those for Covid: masks, social distancing etc. (New York Times)
In Covid-related news: We now have a new vaccine developed by the French company Valneva—and it is as effective as AstraZeneca/Covishield. Why this matters: It uses traditional vaccine technology that makes it more acceptable of those wary of mRNA varieties like Pfizer. And it can be stored in a refrigerator—which is ideal for low income countries. (The Guardian)
Reliance bets big on fashion
The company bought a majority stake in designer Ritu Kumar’s label—following on the heels its purchase of a 40% stake in Manish Malhotra’s company. Why this matters: All the big retail groups are snapping up majority or significant stakes in top labels, including Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Tarun Tahiliani. So your favourite designer is not quite so independent any more. (Mint)
A MeToo investigation at the World Bank
An internal report revealed that the bank mishandled sexual harassment charges filed against a senior official Rodrigo Chaves—who was accused of “leering, kissing attempts, unwelcome invitations to hotels and vacations, questions about personal relationships and comments on physical appearance.” Why this matters: Chaves was only demoted in response—and he quit to become Costa Rica’s finance minister, and he is currently running for president. (Wall Street Journal via Mint)
In far more shocking news: A woman was repeatedly groped and finally raped in front of other passengers on a commuter train in Philadelphia. Other people just watched and filmed the incident on their phones. (Associated Press)
Speaking of misogyny: A CNBC anchor who interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin is being accused by the Russian media of being part of an American “special operation” to “get to Putin.” Commentators claimed that Hadley Gamble acted “shamelessly,” “cast wistful glances,” and provocatively moved her legs. This is an insult to injury since Putin repeatedly made sexist remarks about Gamble during the interview—responding to her questions with stuff like: “Beautiful woman, pretty, I’m telling her one thing. She instantly tells me the opposite, as if she didn’t hear what I said.” Watch the interaction here (at the 5:15 mark). (Daily Beast)
The government’s seaplane obsession
Article 14’s investigation shows that the government deliberately weakened environmental protections to clear water aerodrome projects—required to operate seaplanes. There are eight such projects under consideration for clearance—and the government unveiled plans for 19 other seaplane hubs on dams, rivers and coasts. Article 14 has more on the documents it uncovered via an RTI filing.
The biggest movie in the world
Nope, it isn’t the latest James Bond flick, but a Chinese propaganda film about the 1950s Korean War against the US called ‘The Battle at Lake Changjin’. Commissioned by the government, it has made over $633 million at the box office—and is set to become China’s highest grossing film ever. That said: The numbers are sorta rigged since viewing it has been framed as a “patriotic duty.” Also this: “It is definitely related to the ongoing tensions with the US, and has been promoted that way—sometimes indirectly, but still very clearly.” (BBC News)
Discovery of a 900-year old sword
An Israeli diver found an “extremely rare” four-foot-long sword that weighs four pounds and is likely from the Third Crusade. It is in near-perfect condition and is encrusted with shells—and has delighted archaeologists and historians alike. No, it doesn’t look like a big deal, but it apparently is. (Smithsonian)
Three things to see
One: A day after Italy’s national carrier Alitalia went bankrupt, a new airline—called ITA Airways—has stepped forward to take its place. It will be centopercento italiano: The planes are sky-blue with Italian flag colours on its tail, and, of course, its staff will wear uniforms by top designers. We don’t understand a word of the ad campaign below, but it makes us want to hop on that plane to Italy. (CNN)
Two: Greta Thunberg is in the news—not for scolding old folks for destroying the planet—but for ‘Rickrolling’ the audience at a climate change concert. Yes, everyone secretly loves Rick Astley, even Greta. (CNN)
Three: Saudi Arabia unveiled an ambitious plan for very strange 1.6 million-square-foot resort called THE RIG:
“It is a literal oil rig in the Persian Gulf featuring 3 hotels, 800 rooms, 11 restaurants, a roller coaster, a water slide, a Ferris wheel, go carts, bungee jumping, scuba diving, and a performance arena, along with many other things.”
Gizmodo is appalled at this brazen embrace of fossil fuels. Watch the promo below.
Dine with Data: All about Emoty.AI
Editor’s Note: Here is DWD’s weekly installment of one cool, innovative or just plain quirky startup from around the world.
Company: Emoty.AI 🤓
About: Turkey-based Emoty.AI focuses on emotion detection solutions.
It uses deep learning techniques to analyze specific physiological data, such as eye-tracking, microexpressions, pose detection, stress analysis, pupil analysis, among others.
Emoty.AI uses its emotion detection technology to provide market research solutions. For example, cinema production and UX testing companies can benefit from behaviour analysis. 🤯
Food for thought: The company has only existed for about a year, however, it’s one of the most innovative tech startups that are revolutionizing their sector. It doesn't need any additional equipment or hardware and hence is endlessly scalable—the power of APIs!
DWD Take: Being able to analyze physiological data of customers can give one access to a world of learning that can help optimise costs, increase sales and who knows, maybe completely transform the business?
This science has a lot of scope for improvement, and while it's not perfect, it's definitely something all marketers should be placing their bets on!
URL: https://emoty.ai/
About DWD: Dine With Data🍴sends you a short summary of one new startup every day, delivered straight to your WhatsApp inbox!
