Researched & collated by: Vagda Galhotra & Prafula Grace Busi
The Russian invasion: The latest update
Editor’s note: If you need more context, we highly recommend reading our Big Story on the historical roots of the conflict and this timely explainer on the effectiveness of economic sanctions, the return of the Cold War, what is driving Vladimir Putin, India’s “balancing act” and the looming oil crisis.
- While the bombing continued, there is heated speculation over Russia’s plan of action—even as Moscow announced “first stage of the operation” had been “mainly accomplished.” It will now focus on the “liberation” of Donbass—which is in control of Russian-backed separatists.
- Some claim President Putin is looking for a face-saving victory, while Ukrainian intelligence officials say he is looking to split the country—similar to North and South Korea.
- Ukrainians also say the Russians are partially pulling back toward the Chernobyl region to regroup from losses.
- This may well be true as yet another Russian general died this weekend—the seventh in this war. Washington Post has more on that unusual mortality rate.
- Also: A commander was run over by a tank-reportedly driven by his own soldiers who are angry at the casualties.
- Meanwhile, Russian tankers carrying oil are going “dark”—raising concerns that they may be trying to avoid sanctions. Also: Washington is trying to choke Moscow’s ability to use its gold reserves to survive the sanctions.
- There is now a Ukrainian app that warns users of incoming air raids—even before the sirens start to blare.
Something to watch: New York Times analysed radio communications between Russian troops and found evidence of serious failures.
The 2022 Oscars: The latest updates
The main winners: We’re still waiting on best picture, but here’s what we know so far:
- Jane Campion won best director for ‘The Power of the Dog’—while Will Smith won best actor for ‘King Richard’. Jessica Chastain took best actress for ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’.
- Ariana DeBose won best supporting actress for ‘West Side Story’—beating Judi Dench (‘Belfast’) and Kirsten Dunst (‘The Power of the Dog’).
- ‘Dune’ has swept six awards—but for categories like best cinematography, best visual effects, best production design, best film editing, best original score.
- ‘Encanto’ took best animated feature film—while ‘Drive My Car’ scored the best international feature.
We’re sad about: ‘Writing With Fire’ missing out to ‘Summer of Soul’ in the best documentary category.
Everyone is talking about: Will Smith punching comedian Chris Rock on stage for making a GI Jane joke about his wife Jada Pinkett:
And this is what he said later:
Troy Kotsur who became the first deaf man to win an acting award at the Oscars. Watch his speech here. The adorable moment when Youn Yuh-jung (of ’Minari’ fame) grabbed his award so he could sign is below:
The red carpet standout was Timothee Chalamet who decided to go shirtless:
Billie Eilish, as you can see, went in the exactly opposite direction:
For the rest: The latest updates on the winners are here. BuzzFeed News has a more interesting twist on the red carpet tamasha—flagging the most notable moments rather than rating outfits. Also nice, this montage of red carpet traffic minus all the annoying TV anchors. We will have more for you tomorrow.
Imran Khan digs in
On Friday, the planned no-confidence vote against Khan had to be adjourned due to chaos at the Parliament. On Sunday, he held a massive rally—and signalled that he will not vacate his post as PM come what may. He is now blaming it all on a “foreign conspiracy.” Opposition parties too are planning to bring in their supporters to Islamabad in a show of strength. All the while, the Pakistani army watches on the sidelines. Al Jazeera has more on the mayhem ahead. For context: read our explainer on Khan’s political crisis.
PVR X INOX ki shaadi
The two largest multiplex chains in the country are planning to merge—creating the largest collection of 1,500 screens. The deal gives INOX 16.6% of the new company—while PVR gets 10.62%. While existing multiplex screens will retain their brands, new cinemas opened post the merger will be branded as PVR INOX. The plan is to open 180-200 new screens every year, especially in small towns. But this may not be good news for filmmakers—since the jodi will now control 50% of screens across the country: “The combined entity may dictate shows and screen timings to producers or may even ask for a higher share of box office revenue.” (Mint)
Speaking of the movies: SS Rajamouli's ‘RRR’ was released on 4,000 screens across India—and is eyeing opening weekend revenues of Rs 3-4 billion (300-400 crore). It is the highest opening day earner of all time—breaking Rajamouli’s own record set for ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’. The movie has done well in the North as well—making Rs 190 million (19 crore) on day one in Hindi: “Hindi and Tamil languages of the film have contributed to 38% of the ticket sales reinforcing the demand for compelling content in India that is language-agnostic.” (Mint)
World Cup loss for Indian cricket
South Africa defeated India by three wickets and put an end to our run at the Women’s World Cup. We finished fifth and failed to make it to the semi-finals—which will now be played between West Indies, Australia, South Africa and England. You can see the last-minute heartbreaker involving a no ball by spinner Deepti Sharma. (The Hindu)
In much happier news: PV Sindhu won the Swiss Open women’s title—beating Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-16 21-8. (Times of India)
A massive ice shelf collapses
An ice shelf the size of New York City has collapsed in East Antarctica—the first ever in a region thought to be stable and not hit by climate change. Here’s why scientists are worried:
“The issue isn’t the amount of ice lost in this collapse, [scientists] Neff and Walker said. That is negligible. It’s more about where it happened. Neff said he worries that previous assumptions about East Antarctica’s stability may not be correct. And that’s important because if the water frozen in East Antarctica melted—and that’s a millennia-long process if not longer—it would raise seas across the globe more than 160 feet (50 meters). It’s more than five times the ice in the more vulnerable West Antarctic Ice Sheet, where scientists have concentrated much of their research.”
Fully paralysed man ‘speaks’
A patient suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)—which has left him “locked in” his body—was able to communicate for the very first time thanks to a brain implant. Using a brain-computer interface, he was able to say that he wanted “goulash soup and sweet pea soup,” a beer and that he loves his “cool son.” The process, however, was not miraculous and took painstaking months:
“It wasn’t always successful: he was only able to do these ‘speller sessions’ 107 out of the 135 days recorded in the study, and with 80 percent accuracy. On only 44 of those 107 days was he able to actually complete intelligible sentences.”
Speaking of unexpected communications: A wild dolphin has been observed “talking” to harbour porpoises—trying to make the same sounds:
“While a common dolphin’s vocal repertoire should include a diverse range of clicks, whistles, and pulse calls, Kylie doesn’t whistle. Instead, she ‘talks’ more like harbour porpoises, which communicate using high-pitched bursts of clicks.”
One reason is that Kylie has been hanging with porpoises—and hasn’t been seen with a fellow dolphin for 14 years. So she may be a bit confused: “She definitely identifies as a porpoise.” That said, it is one more bit of new evidence that species interact with each other in ways we didn’t know before. (National Geographic)
Get ready for paella in space
The famous US chef José Andrés will be sending a “family meal” to the International Space Station. It will include Secreto de Cerdo with Pisto, described as “a prized cut of Iberico Pork with tomatoes, onions, eggplant, and peppers” and Chicken and Mushroom Paella—plus Spanish jamón, salchichon, and almonds. Nope, it won’t be dehydrated as is usual with standard NASA fare. The delicious meal will be transported by the Axiom mission—the first all-private crew to head to the ISS. (Food & Wine)
Three things to see
One: Stan is the world’s most expensive fossil—a 39-foot-long Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that sold for a whopping $31.8 million in 2020. But no one knew who bought Stan or what happened to him. He has now resurfaced in Abu Dhabi—and will be soon on display at the future Natural History Museum. This is excellent news for everyone who worried Stan would gather dust behind closed doors in a private collection. (National Geographic or New York Times)
Two: Queen Elizabeth will finally make it to the cover of Vogue UK—in time for her platinum anniversary marking 70 years of wearing the crown. But alas, she will have to share the glory with ‘Queen’s Gambit’ actor Anya Taylor-Joy—who will be playing dress-up, as Vogue puts it: “In a playful echo of Her Majesty The Queen, actor of the moment Anya Taylor-Joy wears a diamond diadem replica for her own fantasy dress-up moment as fashion’s punk princess.” You can see the two covers below:
Three: Miss Universe Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu had this to say when asked about the hijab ban:
Good stuff to check out
On the latest episode of the splainer podcast ‘Press Decode’, the splainer team looks at politics at the movies—be it Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘Kashmir Files’ or Disney’s aversion to same-sex kisses. Be sure to head over to the IVM website, Spotify or Apple Podcasts to listen to it.