India wins at the Oval!
India beat England by 157 runs, clinching a 2-1 lead in the test series. The heroes of the day: bowlers Jasprit Bumrah (22-9-27-2) and Ravindra Jadeja (30-11-50-2). Bumrah—who now has 100 wickets in 24 matches—became the quickest Indian bowler to achieve that milestone. He broke Kapil Dev’s record—who hit 100 in 25 tests—and did it with style. Shane Warne was all praise:
“Take a bow Jaspritbumrah9! That spell of 6.3.6.2 was outstanding and the spell of the summer so far. A class above any other fast bowler in this test match on a flat wicket ! Outstanding.”
Kohli later said of his bowlers: “This is among the top three bowling performances I have witnessed as India captain.” Indian Express has more on the ‘flat track bullies’. See the winning moment below:
A coup in Guinea
The military appears to have taken over the West African nation—and the president, Alpha Condé, is under arrest. Army officers announced that the Constitution has been suspended, as have all government institutions. And they insist that Conde is unharmed—and they plan to draft a new constitution in consultation with the public. FYI: This is the fourth attempted coup in West Africa in just over a year. CNN has more on the coup, while BBC News has more background.
Afghanistan: The latest update
One: In a terrible blow to any hope of resistance, the Taliban appears to have taken full control of Panjshir—the last bastion of anti-Taliban forces. Social media shows Taliban fighters standing in front of the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor’s compound. But the National Resistance Front (NRF) spokesman insists that the Taliban’s claim is false—and that its forces were present in “strategic positions” across the valley. (Al Jazeera) Related good read: The Hindu reports on why the battle is not over for the Taliban—who will struggle with internal rifts in the days to come.
Two: The Taliban have issued rules that will govern women attending university. They must wear an abaya robe and niqab covering most of the face. The classes will be segregated—or at least separate both sexes by a curtain. (Yahoo News)
Three: Meanwhile at Kabul airport: Domestic flights have started operations but without any technology to keep them safe—making it impossible to restart international flights:
“‘There’s no radar, no navigation systems in place,’ said Ghirlandaio Jailani Wafa, a top aviation official at the Kabul airport. He said a few domestic flights were able to resume after Qatari engineers set up temporary radio communications between air traffic controllers and pilots last week. But pilots have to navigate flights’ landing and takeoff visually.”
Four: For an interesting take, check out this thread on why the Taliban is foolish to put all its eggs in the China/Pakistan basket.
Five: Times Now revealed that everything you suspected about it is true. It broadcast footage of US F-15s flying in Wales as evidence of Pakistani jets offering support to the Taliban as they fight the resistance in Panjshir.
A disheartening survey about school kids
A new survey of 1,400 students from underprivileged backgrounds found that over one-third—around 42% rural and 35% urban children in grades 3-5—were unable to read a single word. In grades 6-8, only 57% of children in rural areas and 58% of children in urban areas could read. And the pandemic has been catastrophic—with only 24% urban children and 8% in rural areas studying “regularly” online. Point to note: 60% of the sample size lived in rural India, and a similar percentage belonged to Dalit or Adivasi communities. Indian Express and The Telegraph have more details.
Miracle babies in Israel
One-year-old twin girls—born conjoined at the back of their heads—underwent a very rare 12-hour surgery. Such operations have only been performed 20 times in the world. The good news: The babies are doing well: “They are breathing and eating on their own.” And they are expected to lead totally normal lives. (BBC News)
The Komodo dragon is in peril
A new biodiversity report has reclassified the largest lizard on the planet from “vulnerable” to “endangered.” The big reason is climate change. Rising global temperatures and higher sea levels will reduce the Komodo dragon's habitat by at least 30% over the next 45 years. As one conservationist puts it: “The idea that these prehistoric animals have moved one step closer to extinction due in part to climate change is terrifying.” (NPR)
Two kinda creepy companies
One: A prenatal test called NIFTY is made by a Chinese company—and is sold in at least 52 countries. It collects the DNA of women and foetuses to screen for Down syndrome and more than 80 other genetic conditions. It has been taken by 8.4 million women globally. The problem: The company BGI developed and improved the test in collaboration with People's Liberation Army hospitals in China. And it uses the genetic data it collects for research—often in collaboration with the military. Now, regulators in five countries are asking for closer scrutiny of BGI’s data privacy policies. Reuters has more details.
Two: A mysterious new Silicon Valley company called Altos Labs is being funded by some of the richest people on the planet—including Jeff Bezos. Its aim: To use biological reprogramming to reverse aging in cells. In other words, find the secret to immortality. And it is throwing pots of money at the best scientists in the world to do it. MIT Technology Review has more on what sounds like an excellent plot for a Hollywood thriller.
Three things to see
One: Mercedes Benz just unveiled its Vision AVTR concept car—which lets you do stuff just by thinking about it. All you have to do is focus on an array of light dots on the digital dashboard. Also: It has no steering wheel and can move sideways! Mashable has more. Get a glimpse of it below:
Two: Working elephants in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve are enjoying a well-deserved one-week vacation—when they will enjoy oil massages, get all prettied up and gorge on their favourite foods: “One elephant is served 10-15 coconuts, four-five kilogram of apples, five dozen bananas and two kilogram of jaggery every day.” Their usual work day involves helping forest officials track tigers in the reserve. (Firstpost)
Three: The latest Meg & Harry biopic casts them as heroic victims of a vicious press—and seemingly vicious William who dismisses allegations of racism by saying stuff like: “What causes problems isn’t color, it’s culture. Meg is American. She acts more like a celebrity than a royal, and she doesn’t seem to appreciate the difference.” And he sneers at the hapless couple, calling them the “the most woke bloke and his feminist bride.” Washington Post has more on what appears to be a high-drama hatchet job. The trailer is below:
