Afghanistan vs Pakistan: BFFs no more? 

When the Taliban took over, everyone—including India—was worried that Islamabad would pull the strings of an organisation they supported for decades. Turns out things have not followed PM Imran Khan’s romcom plot. The border between the two countries has become a flashpoint—resulting in five Pakistani soldiers killed on Sunday. 

The culprits: The Pakistani wing of the Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban-Pakistan (TTP). The foreign minister is furious: “If the Taliban can’t address concerns of Pakistan, then who would trust them and their promise of cutting ties to al-Qaida and other such groups?

The faceoff: Pakistan has fenced more than 90% of its border to prevent these attacks, but Taliban fighters have been breaking the fencing and threatening Pakistani soldiers in border areas. And the Taliban government insists that Pakistan has no right to construct a fence on what it considers disputed territory.

Why this matters: Here’s what analysts say: 

“The anti-Pakistan sentiments are high in Afghanistan because of Islamabad’s perceived role as a main driver of instability… Their actions along the Durand Line aim at gaining domestic legitimacy. The Taliban also want to do away with the almost universal perception that they are a Pakistani proxy group.”

Many folks in New Delhi are popping bottles of champagne. BTW, we did a big explainer on Afghanistan under Taliban—including the role of Pakistan. (The Guardian)

Speaking of Pakistan: The Pakistani affiliates of several global brands—think Pizza Hut, Dominos, Hyundai, KFC etc—marked Kashmir Solidarity Day by sharing messages supporting azaadi on social media. The result is an international brouhaha. The Indian government has leaned heavily on South Korea—which is the headquarters of Hyundai. It summoned the ambassador, held a one-on-one between the two foreign ministers etc. All of which resulted in profuse apologies from Hyundai. Oddly, no one has called the US ambassador to complain about KFC, Dominos or Pizza Hut. (Indian Express)

The great pandemic: The latest update

• First, the numbers. India reported 71,365 fresh cases and 1,217 casualties. The daily positivity rate has fallen to 4.54%
• Meanwhile, the number of Covid cases worldwide crossed the 400 million mark—as South Korea and other Asian countries experienced a surge thanks to Lunar New Year celebrations. 
• The ‘stealth’ subvariant of Omicron is no longer very stealthy. BA.2 is expected to  become the dominant strain in Europe and parts of Asia—including India. But it won’t do much more damage except extend the pandemic worldwide.
• Over in the US, authorities are getting ready to roll out the vaccine under the age of five. Likely vaccines of choice: Pfizer and BioNTech. 

Hijab ban in Karnataka: The latest update

• The petitions challenging the ban have been referred to a three-judge bench—which includes the Karnataka Chief Justice and Justice Khazi Jaibunnisa Mohiuddin, who was sworn in last year. Why this matters: A decision taken by a three-person High Court bench can only be appealed in the Supreme Court.
• An Alt News fact check reveals that protesters did not remove the national flag to replace it with a saffron one. The pole was empty.
• Meanwhile, the state government has banned all gatherings within 200 metres of any educational institution.
• The controversy is drawing international attention. Malala Yousafzai tweeted in support of the students: “Refusing to let girls go to school in their hijabs is horrifying. Objectification of women persists—for wearing less or more. Indian leaders must stop the marginalisation of Muslim women.”
• And so did a fired up Priyanaka Gandhi: “​​Whether it is a bikini, a ghoonghat, a pair of jeans or a hijab, it is a woman’s right to decide what she wants to wear. This right is GUARANTEED by the Indian constitution. Stop harassing women. #ladkihoonladsaktihoon”
• An interesting read: Ghazala Wahab in Mint argues that the Muslim community is making a mistake by fighting for the hijab.

A breakthrough in nuclear fusion

UK scientists have generated 59 megajoules of sustained nuclear fusion energy—which is how energy is produced in the Sun. This doubles the previous record set in 1997. Why this matters: “A kg of fusion fuel contains about 10 million times as much energy as a kg of coal, oil or gas”—and offers the possibility of virtually unlimited supplies of low-carbon, low-radiation energy. Point to note:

“It's not a massive energy output—only enough to boil about 60 kettles' worth of water. But the significance is that it validates design choices that have been made for an even bigger fusion reactor now being constructed in France.”

Alarming data about unemployment

The government revealed in Parliament that more than 25,000 Indians from 2018-2020 took their lives due to either being jobless or being in debt. Unsurprisingly, the numbers hit a peak during the initial lockdown period in 2020. (The Telegraph)

A grand rescue in Kerala

R Babu went trekking with two of his friends on a hill in Kerala. Sounds fun except for what happened next. His friends gave up midway, leaving Babu to soldier on. He reached the summit, slipped and became trapped in a crevice between two rocks—where he remained for two whole days. Efforts to rescue him failed until Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan brought in the armed forces. The result: 

"Two highly skilled men of Madras Regimental Team, rappelled down the distance of 250 ft, till they reached Mr Babu who is a young trekker and in a fantastic, daring decision making action, they decided to pull Mr Babu up instead of taking him downhill. So he was almost physically, bodily carried uphill by two members of this descend team.”

Indian Express has all the details of this 45-hour drama. See the rescue here:

What we loved most: Babu unselfconsciously kissing the cheeks of the men who rescued him. We totally ❤️the bromance:

SpaceX’s big satellite loss

It is a hazardous business sending hundreds of satellites into space—as Elon Musk’s company recently found out. SpaceX has lost between 40-49 satellites thanks to a geomagnetic storm that occurred just a day after their launch. They just fell from their orbit and burned up. What are geomagnetic storms: They are caused by powerful explosions on the sun's surface, which spit out plasma and magnetic fields that can hit the Earth. (BBC News)

‘Good food’ adds years to your life

We’ve all kind of known this, but a new study confirms that changing what you eat can help you live longer—the younger you are when you make that pivot the better. Eating healthy from the age of 20 increases a man’s lifespan by 13 years and a woman’s by over 10. The study is very focused on a typically Western diet. But here’s what the researchers consider an “optimized diet”: eating less red and processed meat and more fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts. That’s pretty good news for Indians whose ‘ghar ka khaana’ includes lots of the same. (CNN)

Also helpful: Sleep. Yes, we know a bad night’s sleep is directly linked to weight gain. But a new study found that if people who sleep less than 6.5 hours a day opted for an extra 1.2 hours or sleep, they shed an average of 270 calories from their daily intake. And over three years, that adds up to losing 12 kg without any kind of dieting. (The Guardian)

A key Matrix lawsuit

Scarlett Johansson sued Disney over ‘Black Widow’ being released simultaneously on streaming and in the theatres—and won a settlement. Now, the producers of ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ are suing WarnerMedia for the same reason. Village Roadshow Films allege this is part of Warner’s pandemic strategy called ‘Project Popcorn’. The aim: to “trade box office revenue for streaming subscriptions, depriving partners of revenue tied to the film’s performance.” Why this matters: The box office numbers of the highly anticipated Matrix sequel were not very good. Hence, the lawsuit declares:

“[T]he abysmal theatrical box office sales figures from The Matrix Resurrections dilute the value of this tent pole franchise as a film’s lack of profitability generally prevents studios from investing in additional sequels and derivative films in the near term.”

Point to note: The pandemic has changed people’s viewing habits. Expect this to become a big deal moving forward. It could well determine what and when you get to see something on your streaming platform or not—be it Hollywood or Bollywood. (The Verge)

Higher than the Himalayas

Scientists have discovered that two billion years ago we had “supermountains” called Nuna—and they dwarfed the Himalayas. They existed on a supercontinent that combined landmasses from modern day South America, Africa, Eurasia and Australasia. They were as high as the Himalayas but were way longer—4,500 miles compared to the Himalayas' 1,500 miles stretch. (Newsweek)

A political fight over a zoo mascot

This may be an ‘only in Russia’ story. A Siberian Zoo solicited votes for its mascot. Folks could choose between Batu the orangutan, Shilka the polar bear cub and Sayan, the white snow leopard. Sounds cute and simple except… President Putin’s most vociferous opposition party put a shout out for Batu. Then the voting took a mysterious turn as Sayan suddenly pulled into the lead–based on fraudulent votes. The zoo has now cancelled the vote. Aww, poor Batu—who looks awesome, btw. (The Moscow Times)