Researched and collated by: Vagda Galhotra & Prafula Grace Busi

Nepal airplane goes missing

A small private plane run by Tara Air went missing on Sunday—during a 20-minute flight from Pokhara to the pilgrimage site Jomsom. On board: four Indian, two German and 13 Nepali passengers—and a three-member Nepali crew. The search for the plane is focused on tracking the pilot’s phone—and accounts of villagers who claim to have seen an aircraft on fire. Bad weather interrupted the effort last night, but it is expected to resume today. The Telegraph and Indian Express have more details.

Also tragic: The death of singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu aka Sidhu Moosewala—who was shot dead on Sunday a day after his security cover was withdrawn by the State police. It appears to be a gang-related killing. The Hindu has more details. Indian Express has more on the political fallout for the newly anointed CM Bhagwant Singh Mann.

Texas school massacre: The latest update

The initial investigation into the killing of 19 fourth grade children and their two teachers has revealed a number of shocking revelations:

• Nineteen policemen were in the hallway while the shooter was inside, still shooting at people. Yet they did not go in.
• The children who were still alive inside repeatedly called 911 for help—but to no avail.
• At least one of the children bled to death because law enforcement took over 1.5 hours to finally breach the classroom—and kill the shooter.
• When the border police arrived at 12:10 pm with bullet-proof shields, they were not allowed to enter the classroom—until 35 minutes later. 

The full timeline released by the authorities is here. New York Times has more on the questions raised about the decisions made on scene. For more on the massacre, read this Big Story—while this one looks at the bigger problem of gun violence in America.

Also this: The shooter used a machine gun-style weapon—made by a company called Daniel Defense, which uses children in its marketing. On May 16, the company tweeted out this image with the message: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” It has since locked its account. Also see: one of its appalling ads featuring kids here. New York Times has more on the company.

Also see: This older news report is no less shocking. HBO’s ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel’ show got a 13-year-old to go out to purchase booze, cigarettes, porn, lottery tickets and a gun. Guess what happened next.

Gujarat Titans win it all

The team had a stellar IPL debut—taking the ultimate crown on its very first outing. The Titans beat the Rajasthan Royals in the final with seven wickets in hand. Captain Hardik Pandya was the star of the day—with a brilliant bowling spell of 3/17, and then putting on a key 63-run stand with Shubman Gill. The Telegraph has more match details. Indian Express pays tribute to Pandya. The highlight of the closing ceremony: Ranveer Singh’s ‘KGF’ tribute:

Power shortages force coal imports

For the first time since 2015, India will import coal to deal with crippling power shortages that loom ahead. A new report suggests that we will face a serious power shortage in July/August—and that “the coal power plants are in no position to address even a minor spike in the power demand.” Given that we now plan to buy coal from outside, it’s worth noting that the report blamed the shortage on “distribution and official apathy”—not lack of coal production:

“It is evident from the data that coal transportation and management was not sufficient to keep up with the increased demand from the power sector...The trends show that thermal power stations were not adequately stocked despite adequate coal mining.”

Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka: In the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis (explained here), Sri Lanka has nearly come to a standstill due to the lack of fuel supplies. It is buying a 90,000-tonne shipment of Russian crude oil for $72.6 million. It will help restart the country’s only refinery—which has been closed since March 25. This one was bought via a Dubai-based company, but Colombo plans to buy directly from Moscow here on out. Why this is noteworthy: The US has threatened sanctions on any country that does business with Russia. But India has been given a pass, and so may SL. (Al Jazeera)

Real Madrid wins Champions League

Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 to win the Champions League final in Paris on Saturday. The decisive goal was scored by 21-year-old Vinícius Junior—winning Real Madrid its 14th title in the competition. The man of the match was goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who thwarted Liverpool’s dreams with nine saves. But there was even greater drama outside the stadium—where riot police fired tear gas and pepper spray at Liverpool supporters who had to wait for ages just to get inside. The Guardian has that story. See the chaos below. (Sports Illustrated)

Trigger warning: One of these items includes descriptions of sexual abuse.

Two dreadful stories of gender violence

One: Dowry deaths aren’t exactly unusual in India, but this one is especially horrific. In a village near Jaipur, three sisters—married into the same family—jumped into a well, along with their children. The age of the kids: a four-year-old boy and a 27-day-old infant. Also this: Two of the women were pregnant. The police have registered a case against the in-laws. The women left no suicide note, but sent a WhatsApp message before their deaths that said:

“We are leaving now, stay happy, the reason for our death is our in-laws, it's better to die once and for all than die every day. So, we have decided to die together. We hope, the three of us will be together in the next life. We don't want to die but our in-laws harass us. Don't blame our parents for our death.”

Two: Preet Singh is the founder of Hindutva organisation named Save India Foundation—which organised events such as the Hindu Mahapanchayat—which featured hate-filled speeches. Singh was out on bail for making anti-Muslim threats at a Jantar Mantar gathering in Delhi. But he is now on the run due to a shocking FIR filed by his wife Nitya.

She recently escaped from the family home with her son—and filed a police report. It offers a horrific account of sexual violence and abuse over the past three years. She alleges that she has been repeatedly raped by her husband, his friend, her father-in-law and brother-in-law—and kept a prisoner. NewsLaundry has more details.

Elephants are feeding on plastic

A new study has found an alarming amount of plastic, glass and metal in elephant dung samples—collected in Uttarakhand. Of the 75 samples, 24 contained everything from broken glass bulbs, clay pottery, plastic cutlery and even a whole plastic bag. The elephants may be ingesting chemicals like polystyrene, polyethylene, bisphenol A and phthalates. And the dung is also helping spread plastic pollution deep into the jungle. Also this: The study may be one of the first to document the ingestion of plastic by very large animals. Times of India and New York Times have more.

Speaking of animals in peril: An orca has lost its way and is stuck in the river Seine in France. Experts are desperately trying to help it find its way back to the sea: “The orca’s health is deteriorating and it is at risk of dying. It is unable to find enough food in the river and the fresh water is increasingly damaging its health.” The latest plan involves using a drone to monitor the orca—while emitting whale sounds to help guide it on the right path. (The Guardian)

An important win for Pakistan at Cannes

‘Joyland’ has won the Cannes ‘Queer Palm’ prize. It is the first ever Pakistani entry at the festival. It tells the story of a man from a patriarchal family who joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for the troupe’s director, a trans woman. What’s interesting to note: 

“The ‘Queer Palm’ has been won by big-name directors in the past and attracted top talent to its juries, but has no official place at the world’s top film festival… the festival’s leadership will not even allow the ‘Queer Palm’—which has been running for a decade—to set up shop in its main building, the Palais du Festival.”

Not winning at all: Kangna Ranaut—whose latest flick ‘Dhaakad’ has performed so poorly at the box office that there are no takers for its streaming release. And it hasn’t even sold its satellite rights yet. In four days, the movie has only made Rs 18.5 million (Rs 1.85 crore). Some news reports suggest only 20 people watched the movie on Friday. The film cost between Rs 800-900 million (Rs 80-90 crore). (Newsable)

Two things to see

One: The robot artist Ai-Da has painted a portrait of Queen Elizabeth to mark her 70th anniversary as a monarch. It is titled ‘Algorithm Queen’—and well, looks a bit odd. But hey, we’re not exactly art critics. (The Independent)

Two: The Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago introduced its African lion cub—the first in 20 years—to the world. His name is  Pilipili–which is the Swahili word for pepper.

Good stuff to check out!

On the latest episode of the splainer podcast ‘Press Decode’, the splainer team looks at the laws involved in the mandir-masjid controversy—and the way we use the word ‘like’. Be sure to head over to the IVM website, Spotify or Apple Podcasts to listen to it.