The Suez canal crisis: The latest update
The salvage company tasked with freeing Ever Given has cast doubts on a speedy rescue mission—raising the possibility of huge disruptions to global supply chains:
“But Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch company Boskalis, which is trying to free the ship, compared it to ‘an enormous beached whale’ and said ‘it might take weeks’ to get the vessel off, possibly necessitating ‘a combination of reducing the weight by removing containers, oil and water from the ship, tugboats and dredging of sand.’”
See pictures of the rescue mission over at BBC News. Bloomberg News has more on what it will take to dislodge a gargantuan container ship. Also: here’s a jaunty sizzle put out by the Suez Canal Authority:
The unholy mess has unleashed a flood of memes. This one is our favourite:
Traffic jam status: There are 156 ships lined up on either side of the canal.
India angle: The happy news is that the giant marine roadblock is not expected to affect our supply of crude oil—but that may change if the canal isn’t cleared within 48 hours. Also: the entire crew of Ever Given is Indian and mercifully, safe. Our question: Does that include the penis-drawing captain? To understand that reference, check out our explainer here.
Also an unholy mess: The Israeli election results. With 90% of the vote counted, PM Netanyahu is expected to fall short of the majority by two seats. His rivals have been able to only cobble together 57 seats. The surprise kingmaker: an Arab party named Raam which is projected to get four seats, and could hold the balance of power. BBC News has more. Also: read our explainer on this election and why it matters.
China’s war on global apparel brands
Nike has joined H&M on China’s shit-list—again for expressing concern about the government’s human rights record in Xinjiang, where Uighurs are used as slave labour in detention camps. Giving into pressure: Zara which has quietly deleted its statement declaring "zero tolerance for forced labor" from its website. The company has refused to explain its decision, or comment on the issue. As Quartz notes:
“Companies appear to have a choice: They can stand firm or back down. The stakes are potentially high. China is the world’s largest fashion market and a key driver of growth at numerous companies. Inditex [Zara’s owner] doesn’t break out its sales in China separately, but it had 141 Zara stores in the country in 2020, more than it had in the US.”
In related news: Facebook has detected a group of Chinese hackers that used its platform to target Uighur activists, journalists, and dissidents to hack their devices, and insert malware. (The Hindu)
Oscars have a no-Zoom problem
The Academy has imposed a strict ban on acceptance speeches delivered over Zoom. But that has made many studio executives, awards strategists, personal publicists, and the stars and filmmakers understandably angry. One problem: Forcing people to attend in-person in the middle of a pandemic. The second problem: a lot of the nominees live overseas and will find it impossible to fly to Los Angeles.
Point to note: At least nine nominees live in Britain—and England is expected to ban all non-essential international travel soon. And then there are reps from the five international films that have been nominated—from Denmark, Hong Kong, Romania, Tunisia and Bosnia. Also this: “Some of the other 200 or so nominees will be working on productions that require quarantine or living in restricted ‘bubbles’ with cast and crew.” So yeah, a bad call all around. Variety and Reuters (via The Hindu) have more.
The great pandemic: A quick update
- The number of active cases has now crossed 400,000 in India. And we’ve added the last 100,000 in the shortest time since the beginning of the pandemic. One expert sums it up, “You can see that the tidal wave is coming. It would be foolish to be in denial.” Washington Post has more on the likelihood of a second wave.
- A State Bank of India report expects this second wave to last 100 days—and infect 250,000 people. Related good read: Indian Express explains why our fatality rate remains low despite the surge.
- Also affected by fears of a second wave: hotel and airline bookings which slumped by 10% in the last ten days.
- In a nicer bit of news: Swiggy will cover the vaccination costs of its 200,000 employees and delivery partners.
- A BBC documentary reveals that the government did not even consult its own ministries before imposing one of the world’s most stringent lockdowns last year. Watch the Hindi doc here or read a Twitter summary of its findings.
- Two new UK studies show that middle aged women—between the ages of 40-60—suffer the most severe and long lasting symptoms.
- In a shocking revelation, an NGO report shows that just 12 people are responsible for the vast majority of vaccine misinformation on social media. Mashable has that story.
- Researchers in Mexico have designed a nose-only mask so you can stay safe while you eat out. Watch it below.
An alarming UN report
A new report warns that 34 million people around the world are just a few months away from starvation. The worst hit: 7 million people in South Sudan and 16 million in Yemen. The reasons: “Acute hunger is being driven by conflict, climate shocks and the Covid pandemic, and, in some places, compounded by storms of desert locusts.” The Guardian has more details.
Prince Harry gets another job
Those exiled royals really work hard. This time around, the prince is joining Aspen Institutes Commission on Information Disorder—a research unit which will “wrestle with the impact and problem of mis- and disinformation” in the US for the next six months. Also this: Harry’s own “personal experiences with the media—particularly with lies and nonsense spread about his own life—are likely to inform his contributions to the commission.”
We like Harry but we have to agree with Gizmodo on this one:
“Sure, the man has doubtlessly had to deal with a lot of paparazzi throughout his life, but so has, like, Nicolas Cage. Does that really make either of them qualified to dismantle systemic conspiracy theory rot or explain to Americans what is real and what is foreign-seeded propaganda?”
Two key studies of note
One: This one is truly fascinating. New research suggests that polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may have nothing to do with whether you have ovaries or not. Rather the same genetic component that causes PCOS in women also increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and “male-pattern baldness” in men. Inverse explains why this discovery could lead to new approaches to a cure for PCOS.
Two: New research has revealed links between a bacteria called ‘Bartonella’ and mental illnesses like schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder. Bartonella is called ‘cat scratch’ bacteria because it is carried by cats, dogs, and even the fleas. But that said, the team didn’t find any link between a higher chance of infection and reported pet ownership or flea exposure. Gizmodo has more.
A fun gold mask thing
A 3,000-year-old ceremonial mask was recently discovered at an archaeological dig in China—and likely dates back to the Bronze Era. What’s made it even more delightful: It has become the source of excellent memes on Weibo. BBC News has the story and a collection, but our fave is this panda.
Two cool Martian things
One: Here’s a very cool view of clouds rolling over the planet’s surface—as captured by NASA’s rover Curiosity:
Two: This may just be a publicity stunt, but an architecture firm has put out elaborate plans for Nüwa—the first every city on Mars. Before you get too excited, it won’t be ready until 2100. Read the details here, and check out photos here.
In related cool space stuff: Scientists have put a cool new image of a black hole—some 55 million light-years away from us, and bathed in polarized light. Mint Lounge has the story. See the image below:
