Researched and collated by: Vagda Galhotra & Prafula Grace Busi
The Russian invasion: The latest update
- The Russian attack on eastern Ukraine has kicked off with rocket attacks—while Ukrainian forces in Mariupol alleged the use of chemical weapons.
- In his first extended remarks in nearly a month, President Putin declared that peace talks have reached a “dead end”—and pledged that Russia’s “military operation will continue until its full completion.”
- Russia is reportedly using arms smuggled from Iraq—with the help of Iranian weapons smuggling networks.
- Putin has sacked 150 agents in the Federal Security Bureau (FSB)—which is in charge of intelligence operations on Ukraine—and the head of the department responsible for Ukraine has been sent to prison.
Editor’s note: If you need more context, we highly recommend reading our Big Story on the historical roots of the conflict, effectiveness of economic sanctions, return of the Cold War, what is driving Vladimir Putin, India’s “balancing act” and the looming oil crisis.
Four countries in serious crisis
Sri Lanka: announced that it will “temporarily” default on its $51 billion foreign debt—of which it owed $7 billion in payments this year. The reason: It is running out of foreign currency—which it desperately needs to run the country. The current reserves: A mere $1.9 billion. So many experts agree this is actually the sensible thing to do. We explained why in our previous Big Story. (AFP via NDTV)
Nepal: is looking shaky but better off than Sri Lanka—though many are already drawing parallels. Its foreign currency reserves are also falling—by more than 16% in seven months. The reason: the pandemic which has hit both tourism and overseas remittances. The government has already sacked the central bank governor—the equivalent of an RBI chief. (BBC News)
Chile: has entered the 13th year of a record-breaking drought—and has announced its first ever water rationing plan. The alert system will issue warnings about cutting water consumption—and at level ‘red,’ it will impose a 24-hour water cut. The usual culprit: climate change. (Reuters)
Somalia: is also suffering the worst drought in decades—and the UN predicts that 350,000 of the 1.4 million severely malnourished children in the country will die by this summer. BBC News has this heart-breaking story.
Three noteworthy biz stories
Indian working women: A LinkedIn report reveals just how important flexible work environment is for Indian women:
“Eight in 10 (83%) of working women have realised they want to work more flexibly. In fact the survey finds that 72% of working women are rejecting job roles that don’t allow them to work flexibly, while 70% have already quit or considered quitting their jobs because they weren’t offered the right flexible policies.”
They all cited huge benefits to their work-life balance, career progress and mental health But here’s what is notable: 88% had to take a pay cut for a flexible work schedule and 37% had their request denied. Indian Express has a lot more data.
Paris hearts Hindi: A survey by language learning app Preply found that France offers the highest overseas salaries for Hindi-speakers—an average of $100,000 a year. Of course, this may be a function of scarcity since France has only 65,000 Indians—compared to say the UK which has more than one million.(Quartz)
Layoffs everywhere: There are only two kinds of startup stories—either about how much money they raised or the number of people they’re laying off. Take Meesho which has laid off 150 employees from its grocery vertical—all because it is pivoting its grocery business. But here’s what’s typical: Meesho mopped up $570 million in September—but is now trying to control its cash burn of $50 million per month—due to which it is now looking to raise even more money. Also laying off folks: Unacademy which recently sacked 1,000 employees. It raised $440 million last year. Ah, unicorns! We love them.
Government OKs Aakar Patel probe
The former head of Amnesty India has been in the headlines for his attempts to leave the country—to give lectures at universities in the US. He was repeatedly blocked despite being armed with a court order—a legal battle that ended with another court ordering him to stay in the country. The government now has greenlit a CBI probe into Amnesty India and Patel—who are charged with violating the country’s foreign funding laws. (The Hindu)
In far less trouble: UK PM Boris Johnson who has gotten off with a fine for Partygate—which involved holding social mixers at 10 Downing Street at the height of Covid restrictions. But he is the first British prime minister to be sanctioned for breaking a law. (Quartz)
Netflix’s new rating system
The streaming platform will now allow you to give a double thumbs up for movies or shows you really, really love. What you get in return: “the new feature will give the streamer a valuable signal into user preferences that will let it further refine content recommendations.” In other words, Netflix will stop recommending shit you never, ever would watch in a thousand years. (Variety)
The cause of Covid loss of smell
A new study has finally identified why losing your sense of smell is one of the most common symptoms of Covid. The reason isn’t reassuring. Scientists found that it is a side-effect of brain damage caused by inflammation—which is triggered by infection:
“Covid-19 patients were more likely to have damaged blood vessels and axons—the parts of nerve cells that transmit signals to other cells—in their olfactory bulb, the region of the brain that processes smells.”
And that axon damage suggests that the loss of smell could be severe and irreversible. FYI: None of this is linked to how severe the infection may be. (Forbes)
In more uplifting news? We are not sure about this one—and not just because it’s in the Daily Mail. But we couldn’t resist:) Ok, apparently scientists in Lebanon have figured out a cure for premature ejaculation—which involves putting two electrodes to the penis and delivering electric shocks. The person underwent three 30-minute sessions each week—over six months! The result: His ability to ‘last’ jumped from 40 seconds to nearly five minutes. Daily Mail has the colourful version. The original study is here.
Wood beats steel… when it comes to knives
Back in 2021, researchers developed a special kind of wood that is 23 times stronger than the natural kind. Now, they used that wood to make a knife that is sharper than the standard kitchen knives. How they did this:
“To create the hardened wood, researchers used a process involving a chemical treatment, water rinsing, and both cold and hot presses on basswood. They then soaked it in food-grade mineral oil to increase its water resistance and carved the material into knives.”
Watch it in action below. (New York Times)
Two things to see
One: London’s National Gallery has renamed one of Edgar Degas’ famous paintings from ‘Russian Dancers’ to ‘Ukrainian Dancers’. The reason: The actual identity of the dancers in the painting has been the subject of scholarly debate for years. In the past, it was routine to clump all sorts of art and culture under the overarching label ‘Russia’. And many have contended that the yellow-and-blue colours of the garlands and ribbons of the dancers clearly identify them as Ukrainian. Hence, here we are. (The Guardian)
Two: A team of San Francisco cops pulled over a taxi driver for driving around with its headlights off… except there was no driver! What’s even funnier: The car then made a run for it lol! Turns out, it was one of the driverless taxis being tested by a company called Cruise—a subsidiary for General Motors. And like all beta launches, it has some, um, glitches. (Gizmodo)
Good stuff to check out
On the latest episode of the splainer podcast ‘Press Decode’, the splainer team looks at what constitutes a war crime—and the gender gap in sports, especially cricket. Be sure to head over to the IVM website, Spotify or Apple Podcasts to listen to it.
