Russia vs Ukraine: The latest update

• Moscow insists that a diplomatic solution is still possible, but the US is sceptical given the continuing military build up on the Ukrainian border. 
• In fact, US officials claim that the Russian military has taken up “attack positions”—moving long-range artillery and rocket launchers into firing positions.
• After months of waffling, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—pledging solidarity and threatening "far-reaching sanctions.”
• Washington is convinced that the Ukraine showdown is significant for Beijing—which is looking at the situation as a test case for an invasion of Taiwan. 

A reprieve for the Russian skater

Figure skater Kamila Valieva took a drug test back in December—which turned up positive for a banned substance. But the results were turned in by Russia only last week. Now, the Court for Arbitration for Sport has ruled that Valieva is permitted to participate in the competition. The reasons: the delay wasn’t her fault, and she is under 16 and therefore a “protected person” as per anti-doping rules. However, the IOC will not hold any medal ceremony for any skating event, including the team category—where Valieva won a gold last week. Deadspin explains why the ruling sets a dangerous precedent. BBC News profiles Valieva. (Yahoo Sports)

Speaking of the Olympics: Ukrainian racer Vladyslav Heraskevych held up a sign with a Ukrainian flag and the message “No War in Ukraine”—but has not run afoul of the IOC’s strict rules against political protest. The reason: “‘No war’ is a message we can all relate to.” (Associated Press)

Better.com’s India problem

The company’s CEO Vishal Garg made the worst kind of news when he fired 900 US employees—over Zoom and just before Christmas. Garg was forced to take an extended leave and is now back at the job—just in time for a new PR problem. Bloomberg News reports that the US firings effectively added 1,000 new jobs in India—where the company has been on a hiring spree. (BloombergQuint)

Also in trouble: 54 apps that have been banned by the government in renewed crackdown on all things ‘made in China’. Most of these were apps that were booted out in the previous rounds—but staged a comeback under new names. Mint has the entire list of banned apps. (Economic Times)

Doing much better: Former Turkish Airlines chairman Ilker Ayci who will be Air India’s new MD and CEO. Mint has ten facts on the new boss.

Mauritius claims Chagos Islands

The background: The territory in the Indian Ocean is administered by the UK and houses a US military base on its largest island, Diego Garcia. But in 2019, the International Court of Justice found that Mauritius is the rightful owner—and set a deadline for a handover which the UK has since ignored. Also ignored: A UN General Assembly resolution affirming the ruling. 

What happened now: Out of the blue, Mauritius decided to formally challenge the UK—by raising its flag on one of the atolls. The Mauritian ambassador said on the occasion:  

“We are performing the symbolic act of raising the flag as the British have done so many times to establish colonies. We, however, are reclaiming what has always been our own.”

No one expects a war over Chagos a la Falklands—though Boris Johnson could use the distraction. FYI: The only permanent residents of the island where the flag was raised: a herd of donkeys. You can see the lonely flag below. (The Guardian) 

Plagiarism row over Savarkar biographer 

Three US-based historians have accused Vikram Sampath of copy/pasting and often summarising other scholarly work without attribution in some of his articles. They also flagged resemblances between a passage in Sampath’s two-volume biography of VD Savarkar and an award-winning undergraduate thesis. Sampath calls the allegations “quite thoroughly libelous”—and even threatened to take legal action against The Wire for publishing them. The Wire has more details. For the defence of Sampath, check out this Firstpost op-ed.

Goodbye Guinea worm disease!

It is caused by parasites that enter the body through contaminated water—and grow upto one metre long. The disease is extremely painful—and has been found in 20 countries and infected millions of people. The good news: There were only 14 such cases reported in 2021—which indicates that it is on the brink of eradication. Other diseases identified as potentially eradicable: poliomyelitis, mumps, rubella, lymphatic filariasis, cysticercosis, measles, and yaws. (Nature)

Don’t blame Elon Musk for this!

Last month, astronomers claimed a SpaceX rocket was on a collision course with the Moon—triggering a storm of outrage at Musk for failing to dispose of parts of his rocket properly. One of the scientists now says he made a mistake. It is actually a Chinese rocket: the Chinese Chang'e 5-T1 launched in October 2014 that sent a small spacecraft to the Moon. Interestingly, Musk never responded or corrected his critics. (Ars Technica)

Pleasure sells safe sex

A new study has found that acknowledging pleasure as the primary object of sex actually encourages safer practices—and increases the likelihood of using a condom. Why this matters: Sex education typically focuses on all the things that can go wrong when we indulge in risky behaviour—pregnancy, STDs etc. But the negative approach is rarely effective and even causes harm—especially with adolescents. Also, acknowledging that sex is and can be fun helps communicate that safe sex is and can be fun. A key related read: BuzzFeed News on the alarming decline in condom use among the Gen Z. (Healthline)

Speaking of sexuality: Cuba’s first gay hotel—the Rainbow Hotel—was first launched in 2019 but remained shuttered due to the pandemic. It has now been reopened with great fanfare—with the government urging the foreign media to come take a look. This is a big deal in a nation that has long criminalised homosexuality. An even bigger deal: The government is getting ready to introduce a bill to legalise same-sex marriage. 

But, but, but: Civil rights activists are unhappy. The reason: The state has hijacked the gay rights agenda to hide its increasingly poor human rights record. They also see it as a naked play to cash in on gay tourism to make up for pandemic-inflicted losses. Check out the upscale hotel in the Reuters report below.

Four things to see

One: Eminem took the knee at the end of his performance in the halftime show at the Super Bowl—in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. It was also a pointed jab at the National Football League which ended quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s professional career for doing the same. Related read: The halftime show was pure 2000s nostalgia that made a lot of folks realise they’re old, as Mashable reports. (New York Times)

Two: The New Zealand police used an unusual technique to disperse anti-vaccine protesters—assembled outside Parliament. They blared songs by Barry Manilow and the incredibly annoying ‘Baby Shark’ song. James Blunt’s ‘You’re Beautiful’ was added to the playlist by his personal request. It appears to have had the exact opposite effect. (BBC News)

Three: Pakistani soap operas have totally lost the plot. ‘Main Aisi Kiun Hun’ features a husband who is furious at his wife for having… wait for it… wavy hair! Yes, gorgeous, thick long wavy hair—which (shock, horror!) her daughter has inherited. The Print has more on this totally cringe drama over ‘badsurat baal’ (ugly hair). For a ‘believe it or not’ moment, check out the clip below.

Four: This one doesn’t really qualify as news—except for the fact that it marks such a rare occurrence. A giant grey whale approached boat passengers off the coast of Mexico—and even let one of them give it a kiss. Check out The Independent video report below.