Researched & collated by: Vagda Galhotra, Prafula Grace Busi & Elisha Benny
A ban on wheat exports
The Indian government unexpectedly imposed a ban on wheat exports—right after reports that it was sending trade delegations to nine countries to boost the same. The plan was to take advantage of the Russian vs Ukraine war—which sent global prices soaring by 40% since those two countries account for a third of the world’s supply.
But then the prices of atta started to skyrocket—as farmers rushed to sell their produce for export. Also a worry: soaring food inflation at 8.38%. Hence, the sudden export ban. But critics say the ban will hurt farmers who were selling their crops at higher prices in the private market—rather than to the government at the minimum guaranteed price:
“If low procurement and depleting public stocks were a concern, what stopped the government from offering a Rs 200-250 bonus over the MSP (of Rs 2,015 per quintal) to farmers? If you do that even now, farmers will definitely bring more wheat to you. The ban on exports is an implicit tax on farmers.”
Al Jazeera has more on the ban, while our previous Big Story offered the context for the coming wheat inflation crisis.
A shameful attack on a funeral
Most of the world is outraged at these images of the Israeli police beating mourners at the funeral of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. It was so bad that the pall-bearers almost dropped the casket. Also this: The UN security council has unanimously condemned Abu Akleh’s killing. The UN, US and EU have spoken out against the police violence at the funeral. The Israeli police version of events: “hundreds of rioters tried to sabotage the ceremony and harm the police.” Well, the clip pretty much speaks for itself. Don’t know what this is about? Be sure to read our Big Story on the killing of Abu Akleh. (The Guardian)
Does Vladimir Putin have cancer?
For months now, mainstream media have been carrying unverified reports of an ailing Russian President. The latest involved a New Lines magazine report—which claims to have obtained an audio recording of an oligarch close to the Kremlin who describes Putin as “very ill with blood cancer.” Here’s what this billionaire—nicknamed ‘Yuri’—also has to say:
“Yuri then goes on to say that ‘we all hope’ Putin dies from his cancer or possibly from some internal intervention in Moscow such as a coup to spare Russia from further misfortune—either an accidental switch of pronoun or one reflective of shared oligarchic opinion. Furthermore, Yuri personally blames Putin for killing ‘more than 15,000 Russian soldiers and 4,000 or 5,000 civilians in Ukraine. It’s unbelievable. For what? He killed more people than in 10 years in the [Soviet] Afghan war.’”
Times UK is behind a paywall, but you can read the original New Lines report it cites. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian intelligence chief claims that there is a coup underway to replace Putin. Propaganda? Maybe.
Andrew Symonds dies in accident
The former Australian all-rounder was killed in a car accident at the age of 46. His colourful career was a bit of a mixed bag. Symonds was infamous for Monkeygate—when he allegedly hurled racist insults at Harbhajan Singh. And there was his well-known struggle with alcoholism. Then again, he was known as “a powerful batter, canny bowler and fine fielder”—and was part of two 50-over World Cup wins and Australia’s Ashes victory over England in 2006-07. The Guardian and Indian Express have more on Symonds’ career, legendary disciplinary issues and maverick attitude towards professional cricket.
A terrible tragedy in Mundka
A four-story building caught fire over the weekend in Delhi—resulting in the death of 27 people. What is notable: 21 of them were young women who had taken up jobs to support their families, particularly after the pandemic. The factory manufactured, assembled and sold CCTVs and WiFi routers. Indian Express has more on the women—and the shocking lack of basic safety precautions. NDTV has the story of Dayanand Tiwari—a crane driver who managed to rescue more than 50 people. The Telegraph has more on why the new labour laws—with lax safety requirements—may make such tragedies more common. You can get a glimpse of the fire below. (Indian Express)
Also a terrible tragedy: A mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, which resulted in the death of 10 people at a supermarket—and has been declared a hate crime. The teenage gunman wrote a White supremacist manifesto online, traveled around 200 miles to the store—and then livestreamed the attack. (CNN)
A flurry of IPL betting raids
The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered two cases to investigate betting networks that fixed matches in the 2019 Indian Premier League. All this is based on information received from Pakistan. No, none of those raided are cricket players… for a change. The Hindu has more details.
Video games may be good for kids
Shocking as it may seem, new research suggests that moderate game playing actually makes kids smarter than others:
“A recent review of more than a decade’s worth of gaming studies found that adolescent and young adult gamers outperformed nongamers in a number of cognitive functions. They were better able to switch between visual tasks, divide their attention between different moving objects and remember the location of hidden objects. Some studies also found gamers to have a higher volume of grey matter, the outer layer of the brain that processes information.”
But, but, but: All this is predicated on kids/adults not being addicted to gaming. It only applies to “moderate gamers”—who play on a weekly or monthly basis. (Wall Street Journal paywall).
Also a little unexpected: An Uttarakhand couple is suing their son and his wife for failing to give them a grandchild after six years of marriage. (Times of India)
Three things to see
One: It wasn’t exactly surprising given the mood in Europe today. Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won Eurovision 2022—with their song ‘Stefania’. What’s sweet: The Ukrainian commentator celebrating from a bomb shelter (watch him here). See the song that won below:
Two: The most absurd fad right now is the #cryingfilter introduced by Snapchat—which makes everyone look like they’re weeping. Mashable has more on the trend, but here’s what it looks like.
Three: No one:.... Director Zoya Akhtar: Look, here’s the Indian version of Archies with all the kids of really famous Bollywood types—like Agastya Nanda (Big B’s grandson), Suhana Khan (SRK’s daughter), Khushi Kapoor (Sridevi’s daughter). In fact, their relatives are so famous that these no-names get their own “cast announcement.” Lol! (Scroll)