The great pandemic: a quick update

All we have are the numbers today. India recorded 234,650 new cases yesterday. Karnataka reported the highest number: 46,426, followed by Tamil Nadu (30,215) and Maharashtra (28,286).

Speaking of numbers: Sensex and Nifty lost 3.5%—their sharpest single-day decline since April last year. Investors are nervous about a variety of things—including the budget, invasion of Ukraine, a US interest rate hike, elections etc. Basically, they don’t have anything to be happy about right now. (Mint)

Much happier about its numbers: Swiggy which raised $700 million in its latest round—as in now what they call a decacorn—i.e. it is valued at more than $10 billion ($10.7 billion, to be exact). (Economic Times)

Russia vs Ukraine: The latest update

In anticipation of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US has placed 8,500 troops on heightened alert—ready to deploy to Europe. A US aircraft carrier—along with its strike group and air wing—joined patrolling activities across the Mediterranean Sea. This is the first time since the cold war that a full US carrier group has come under NATO command. NATO too has put its forces on standby and reinforced eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets. Meanwhile, 100,000 Russian troops are on the Ukrainian border—but Moscow insists it has no intention of walking in.

Also heating up: The South China Sea. The Chinese Air Force sent 52 aircraft towards Taiwan on Sunday and Monday in the latest show of force—but stopped short of entering its air space. On Monday, two US aircraft carrier groups entered the disputed South China Sea for training. The commander of one of the groups announced that such exercises “demonstrate our resolve as a Navy to ensure regional stability and counter malign influence.” (Reuters)

Four big sports stories

Australian Open: Alizé Cornet beat Simona Halep to reach her maiden quarterfinals—in her 60th grand slam appearance, and despite the scorching temperatures of 33°C:

“Thirteen years later … it feels amazing… The battle I had with Simona today with this heat. After 30 minutes we were both dying on the court. We kept going for two and a half hours with all our hearts.”

This is how hot it was:

But everyone was talking about this post-match interview between Cornet and former tennis ace Jelena Dokic:

Brendan Taylor: The former Zimbabwe captain has been punished by a multi-year ban for not reporting the fact that he was solicited for ‘spot fixing’—which is when a player rigs his performance on the field to maximise a bookie’s winnings (explained here). He was approached in India by an Indian businessman—who then encouraged him to snort cocaine at a dinner. Taylor claims he was blackmailed with videos of his partying—but did not give in. However, it took him four months to report the approach. Read his full statement here. FYI: Such cases usually involve Indian bookies who approach members of smaller, cash-strapped teams. (Indian Express)

Smriti Mandhana rules! She is the ICC's Women's Cricketer of the Year 2021—and only the second player to win this highest individual distinction more than once. (ESPN)

IPL newbie: Owners of the new Lucknow franchise had launched a campaign inviting folks to help name the new team. The result: Lucknow Super Giants. We have no comments. (The Hindu)

Reliance readies to take on Nykaa

According to an Economic Times exclusive, Reliance is preparing to launch its own beauty platform—which will be helmed by daughter Isha Ambani. The plan is internally labeled “Project Adore” and the platform will likely be called Tiara (yikes). Two of the group’s acquisitions—NetMeds and Fynd—are building the backend and customer interface, respectively. And the company has already signed agreements with about half a dozen leading cosmetics and beauty brands. (Economic Times, paywall)

India has a ‘democracy’ problem

We keep blaming the netas, but even our citizens aren’t exactly wedded to democratic values. According to a new survey, more than half of urban voters have little time for democracy or democratic values. No, party affiliation doesn’t matter:

“A majority (51%) of respondents support authoritarianism over democracy and approve of the idea of dismantling Parliament and elections in favour of a strong leader or technocrats, the survey found. A similar share of people also advocated for military rule… Supporters of the Congress, the BJP and regional parties are surprisingly similar in their responses.”

Mint has more charts and data—which also reveal a stark partisan divide. 

Antibiotic resistance is a huge problem

Worried about Covid? The bigger danger may be infection-causing microbes—bacteria, viruses or fungi—which no longer respond to drugs designed to kill them. A recent Lancet paper reveals that such infections caused 1.27 millions deaths—and were linked with 4.95 million deaths in 2019. Why this matters: “This is greater than the number of people who died from HIV/AIDS and malaria that year combined.” The Conversation has more details. 

Breakups are bad for men

A Danish study reveals a link between being a lone male and persistent inflammation. To be very specific:

“Men who went through the most breakups had 17% higher levels of inflammatory markers and men who spent the most years living alone had 12% higher levels of inflammatory markers than the reference group.”

Researchers are not sure why there is a marked gender difference in terms of health effects. “But it has previously been theorized, by others, that the difference may stem from men experiencing greater health gains from marriage than women—which means that a divorce will put them at higher risk of health declines.” (Inverse)

A Netflix competition for talent

Netflix India has launched 'Take Ten'—a short film workshop and competition that aims to “discover and support emerging filmmakers from diverse backgrounds.” The way it works: Ten filmmakers will be given the opportunity to attend workshops conducted by the best in the industry and to make a fully-funded short film with a $10,000 grant. Ah, is this CEO Reed Hastings’ solution for the fact that Netflix is getting whooped in India? (Mint)

Speaking of the movies: Two American fans of the Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas are suing Universal Pictures. The reason: She was featured in the trailer for ‘Yesterday’—but her scenes were axed out of the final cut. It accuses the studio of exploiting her “radiance and brilliance to promote the film.” FYI: ‘Yesterday’ stars Himesh Patel as Jack Malik, a struggling singer who becomes famous after discovering that he’s the only person in the world to remember The Beatles. (Hollywood Reporter)

Emirates & AI have a ‘weight’ problem

Air India cabin crew members will now have to undergo pre-flight checks of body mass index and grooming. The unions have opposed the new rules saying they violate airline regulations—since BMI checks have to be conducted by medical staff, not so-called “grooming associates.” Also: It "dehumanizes and denigrates" the crew. (NDTV)

Meanwhile at Emirates: Former employees say the company has absurdly strict rules around appearance—especially of women employees. Emirates employees who put on weight have to attend an ‘Appearance Management Program’ run by “image and grooming officers.” Here’s how it works:

“Those in the program are given diet and exercise plans and meet with HR representatives to assess their progress… Failure to make progress incurs a series of warnings, weight checks, and in some cases punishments such as pay cuts.”

Typically, anyone who receives a “weight warning” has two weeks to lose it. (Insider)

A big fat metaverse shaadi

An Indian couple in Tamil Nadu has decided to go hi-tech thanks to Covid restrictions. They are throwing a big wedding bash for 2,000 people in a Hogwarts-themed space in the virtual world. The pricetag: Rs 150,000 ($2,016). CNN has more details. Check out their avatars below.

Three things to see

One: Everyone is waiting for the third installment of the dino scare franchise–i.e ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’. Here’s a fun promo that ties up with ace alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin.

Two: Here’s what you get when you strap a cam on a Gentoo penguin off the coast of Argentina. Gizmodo has more details about this project or you can just chill and enjoy the ride. 

Three: Google search has now got on the Wordle craze. If you type the name into search then in the top-left corner there is a gif that plays homage to it.