Trigger warning: An image of a protest held by women to protest rapes in Ukraine is graphic—and we think it is necessary to share. However, you may want to skip past it. It’s placed at the end of this headline item.
The Russian invasion: The latest update
Buckle up for what may be an even bloodier phase of this war.
- The port city of Mariupol is nearly within Moscow’s grasp—and Russia gave its residents the choice of surrendering by Sunday morning. But the remaining troops have refused to do so. That said, they only control a small part of the city and are outnumbered six-to-one.
- Moscow continues to issue threats to the West—warning of “unpredictable consequences” if the US continues to supply Ukraine with advanced weaponry. Raising the Kremlin’s temperature: the sinking of one of its advanced missile cruisers Moskva—which was struck by two missiles.
- The Ukrainian police have now found more than 900 bodies of civilians—“most of them fatally shot…‘simply executed.’”
- Monotype Imaging—which owns many of the popular fonts such as Times New Roman, Helvetica etc—has blocked Russian access to them due to sanctions.
Related things to see: The sinking of the mighty cruiser Moskva inspired this rock song:
Estonian women staged a powerful protest outside the Russian embassy in Talinn—to call out the rape and murder of Ukrainian women and children. The image is graphic—but then so are war crimes.
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.
A fresh nightmare in Delhi
A procession to mark Hanuman Jayanti ended in violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims in Jahangirpuri. This is the police’s version of what happened:
“It was a peaceful shobha yatra procession to mark Hanuman Jayanti, but around 6 pm, when they reached a mosque in C-block, a man, identified as Md Ansar, along with four-five associates came and started arguing with the people involved in the yatra. The argument escalated and stone-pelting started from both sides, and a stampede ensued.”
There is clear evidence of both sides hurling stones at one another. However, a viral video aired on India Today TV shows members of the procession wielding shotguns and pistols:
And local Muslim residents claim that a number of them tried to enter the local mosque and hoist a saffron flag. There is no mention of any of the above in the FIR.
The arrests: As per the published list, most of the 23 arrested appear to be Muslim, but it includes a handful of Hindu names. The Aam Aadmi Party has taken an unexpectedly sharp line on the incident: “Why is it that such violence doesn’t take place in AAP’s events and only happens when BJP organises it? It is clear that the BJP is a party of goons and thugs who only care about creating violence and causing riots.”
In other alarming news: The Uttar Pradesh police have charged two Muslim teenagers for listening to a Pakistani song titled ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ on their mobile phone. You can see an unverified video of the alleged ‘crime’ below. (The Wire)
India vs WHO: A battle over Covid data
We flagged this weeks ago, but it is now finally making headlines around the world—thanks to a New York Times story. Here’s the gist: The WHO is getting ready to publish a report of the actual toll of the pandemic—and it reveals a vast gap between the official toll and the real number of deaths. For example, the global toll is estimated at 15 million—which is double the recorded number of six million.
The India angle: According to the report, more than a third of these additional nine million deaths occured in India. Our official number is 520,000. The WHO estimate: four million. The government has been doing its best to stall the publishing of the report—challenging its methodology—but the WHO is standing by its results. And many Indian experts agree with it:
“Many in public health circles know this—the true death toll is higher. But when you hide something once, you have to hide it again and again. Hence the objections to the WHO methodology too.”
The Hindu and The Telegraph lay out the government’s objections in detail.
As for our Covid numbers: They are beginning to tick upwards. The total number of new cases reported on Sunday: 2,183. The test positivity rate—percentage of tests that turn up positive—has jumped in Delhi from 0.5% to 5.33%.
In happier news about India numbers: According to a new World Bank paper, extreme poverty in India has gone down by 12.3%. The sharpest decline was in rural areas (14.7%)—while the drop was more modest in urban India (7.9%). Point to note: A recent IMF paper—co-authored by economist Surjit Bhalla—credited the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana for virtually eradicating extreme poverty, keeping it below 1% in 2020. (Hindustan Times)
UK’s shocking deportation strategy
A new program will send those who enter the country seeking asylum—typically on boats across the channel—to Rwanda. PM Johnson declared, “The deal we have done is uncapped and Rwanda will have the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead.” The government’s argument is that this is a reasonable deterrent to illegal immigration:
“Those who try to jump the queue or abuse our systems will find no automatic path to set them up in our country, but rather be swiftly and humanely removed to a safe third country or their country of origin.”
But the plan has been widely condemned as “shamefully cruel” by many—including the Archbishop of Canterbury. Reuters has the main points while BBC News offers a more detailed report.
Speaking of Johnson: He is expected to make his long delayed trip to India at the end of this week. (BBC News)
Two key breakthroughs in MS research
A significant Harvard study has identified the cause of multiple sclerosis—a degenerative disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. The culprit: the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV):
“Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is so common that nearly all of us can expect to catch it during our lives. Most of us won't even notice, but the virus is famous for ‘the kissing disease’, which is also known as either glandular fever or mononucleosis.”
Now, not everyone who catches the virus develops MS—but everyone who suffers from MS has been infected by EBV. Researchers looked at health records of 10 million US soldiers and found this:
“The soldiers caught the virus. Then signs of injury to the brain—called neurofilament light polypeptide, which is essentially the rubble from damaged brain cells—started to appear in the blood. Then they were diagnosed with MS around five years after the infection.”
Even more exciting: Another groundbreaking study has been able to halt and even reverse MS symptoms. Scientists extracted T-cells from people who had recovered from EBV infections and transplanted them in MS patients. The sample is small and not yet definitive. But it is the first sign of real hope for those who waste away from this terrible disease. The Independent has more details, while BBC News offers a deep dive into the Harvard study.
Two things to see
One: The Hubble telescope has spotted the biggest comet ever seen by astronomers. Bernardinelli-Bernstein stretches across 85 miles—twice as wide as Rhode Island—and has a mass of 500 trillion tons. FYI: “Though the imposing boulder has often been described as ‘headed this way’... It will never get closer than a billion miles from the sun, a little farther out than Saturn’s orbit. Astronomers say it’ll reach that point in 2031.” The Hindu has a good explainer for astronomy geeks. The actual images of the comet are fairly underwhelming. More useful: this size comparison which reveals its astonishing size.
Two: Meet Fatou, who is believed to be the world’s oldest gorilla. She just celebrated her 65th birthday—which is quite a feat for a captive gorilla. CNN has more on how she was rescued as a two-year old by the Berlin zoo. Watch her enjoy her birthday cake below.
Good stuff to check out!
On the latest episode of the splainer podcast ‘Press Decode’, the splainer team looks at Punjabi music’s dominion over Indian pop culture—and the messy history of ancient monuments. Be sure to head over to the IVM website, Spotify or Apple Podcasts to listen to it.
