The great pandemic: The latest update
- India reported 116,836 new cases on Thursday—the highest in over 200 days. Leading the pack: Maharashtra with 36,265—as Mumbai recorded a sharp spike of 31.7% in 24 hours, adding 19,780 cases.
- According to a Scroll investigation, hospitalisation numbers in Mumbai rose 5x between December 15 and January 4. Why this is surprising: Only 10% of the active cases have more than mild symptoms, but 13.2% of the cases are in hospital. One possible reason: Rich Mumbaikars with even mild symptoms prefer to check into hospitals just to be safe.
- New data shows that rapid antigen tests do a poor job of detecting Omicron even when people are carrying high levels of the virus.
- Grammys have been postponed until further notice, but the Golden Globes will carry on without an audience or the red carpet.
- An odd Chinese study suggests that Omicron originated in mice. They were infected by humans; the virus mutated within them; and then it jumped right back to humans.
- European airlines are operating 18,000 completely empty flights—axed due to Covid—due to a dumb EU rule: Airlines can lose their take-off and landing rights if they don’t use 80 percent of their airport slots.
- Dr Lancelot Pinto tweeted this very useful guide to the current surge.
- An 84-year old man in Bihar claims that he managed to get a Covid jab 12 times over the past year—and insists they have done wonders for his overall health.
Kazakhstan chaos continues
Dozens of protesters and 12 police officers have died due to violent clashes—as public rage shows no signs of abating. In one case, a police officer was found beheaded. The widespread unrest in a typically stable country—albeit due to an iron-fisted dictatorship—is pushing up uranium and oil prices. Kazakhstan produces about 40% of the world’s uranium output—and is a member of the OPEC+ alliance. (Wall Street Journal)
Bulli Bai app: The latest update
After the Mumbai police arrested three people in connection with the hateful app targeting Muslim women (explained here), the Delhi police claims to have arrested its creator. Niraj Bishnoi is a 21-year-old engineering student from Assam. The Delhi police—which has been under fire for doing very little on the Sulli Deals app—would like everyone to know that Bishnoi is the true mastermind. Others were just following his instructions. And that they found him all by themselves—and his name was not revealed by those arrested by the Mumbai police. (Indian Express)
India loses out to South Africa
South Africa chased a 240-run second inning target to clinch a win in the second test. Everyone is mad at Rishabh Pant for a rash shot that cost him his wicket. And there are questions being raised about KL Rahul’s captaincy—especially in the second innings where he didn’t make good use of the bowlers. The Telegraph has details, while Indian Express identifies the factors that cost us the match.
IT raid on Ashoka university founders
The two brothers—Pranav and Vineet Gupta—who founded one of the country’s most prestigious private universities have been accused of swindling leading banks of Rs 16.26 billion (1,626 crore). The organisation involved is not Ashoka but their Chandigarh-based pharma company Parabolic Drugs. The allegation: They used forged documents to secure loans—and have failed to repay them:
“After having conspired to induce the banks to sanction the funds under the cover of their business needs, the accused deployed devious tactics to mis-utilise the funds and siphon/divert the said funds to avoid repayment and/or personally enrich themselves and thereby causing losses to the banks.”
The BJP’s secret app: Tek Fog
A two-year investigation by The Wire has uncovered an app used by the party’s IT cell that allows its operatives to:
- “hijack the 'trending' section of Twitter and 'trend' on Facebook.”
- “hijack 'inactive' WhatsApp accounts of private citizens and use their phone number to message their 'frequently contacted' or 'all contacts', using a technique resembling 'token theft'.”
- deploy “an extensive and dynamic cloud database of private citizens categorised according to their occupation, religion, language, age, gender, political inclination and even physical attributes.”
- “delete or remap all existing accounts at a moment's notice”—to get rid of any incriminating activity.
We strongly recommend reading the details over at The Wire.
Jio eyes Gir forests
Reliance Jio is looking for permission from the Gujarat government to construct 45 telecommunication towers inside protected forest areas—of which 34 are inside the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary. If allowed, they will be the first such towers inside the reserve. Point to note: In 2017, the Environment Ministry advised against setting up of mobile towers to minimise the impact of electro-magnetic radiation on wildlife. Another point to note: One of the members of the Gujarat wildlife board is Reliance Group President Dhanraj Nathwani. What conservationists say:
“The lack of connectivity and communication for humans inside forest makes a forest a forest. In fact… availability of digital connectivity inside the forest will facilitate sharing of live locations and geo-tagged photographs. This can be misused by poachers.”
Speaking of Reliance: It has acquired a 25.8% stake in Dunzo—expanding its presence in the fast-growing grocery delivery market. Reliance Retail has invested $200 million—leading a $240 million funding round. Dunzo plans to use the funds to extend its reach in new cities and expand its quick delivery service ‘Dunzo Daily’. (Mint)
Also raising a big chunk: Reliance itself—which raised $4 billion through the largest ever foreign currency bond issuance by an Indian company. (Mint)
A bizarre source of the Colorado wildfires
A fire on the property of a weird Christian sect may have sparked the recent devastating wildfires—considered the most destructive in Colorado’s history. The Twelve Tribes community requires both men and women to wear long hair, and not smoke, vote, or watch TV—and its “eventual goal is to create an army of 144,000 male virgins to help with Christ’s second coming.” What’s this obsession with virgins? (Gizmodo)
The arrest of a strange literary thief
For over five years, a person posing as a publishing company executive was tricking authors, editors, agents and literary scouts into sending them unpublished manuscripts. People around the world were targeted—including manuscripts of authors both famous and unknown. The FBI has finally arrested the culprit: Filippo Bernardini, a 29-year-old rights coordinator for Simon & Schuster UK.
Still a big mystery: Why he did it—since the stolen manuscripts were never sold nor were there any demands for ransom. One theory: “What he’s been stealing is basically a huge amount of information that any publisher anywhere would be able to use to their advantage.” (New York Times)
Also arrested: One of Italy’s most wanted gangsters who was on the run for 20 years—and was tracked down in a Spanish town after being spotted on Google Street View. The Guardian has that story.
IQ of celebrity-obsessed people
A newly published study found that people who are fixated on famous people are not, umm, very bright. It revealed “a direct association between celebrity worship and poorer performance on cognitive tests”—specifically a 30-word vocabulary test and a digit symbol substitution test. (PsyPost)
Five things to see
One: Punjab Chief Minister scored PR points when his car was stopped by protesters shouting ‘Channi murdabad!’. He blithely stepped out and spoke to them—promising to consider their demands. And then they cleared the way.
Two: Sony rolled out a prototype of a seven-seat electric sport-utility vehicle with all-wheel drive. Yes, Sony. Chief Executive Kenichiro Yoshida has long believed that the electronics company should “make something that moves. We believe Sony is well-positioned as a creative entertainment company to redefine mobility.” The potential rival to Tesla looks like this. (The Verge)
Three: Bindhu Ammini—who was one of the first women to break the taboo on women of menstrual age entering the Sabarimala temple in 2019—is still paying a high price for her activism. Watch her being viciously attacked by a man on the street. She says such assaults are now frequent—and the culprits are often protected by the police. (The News Minute)
Four: ‘Squid Game’ has finally arrived… in the fashion world. Its breakout star Hoyeon Jung is now on the cover of Vogue.
Plus this: This is actually something to listen to… an alleged (and unverified) recording of BharatPe founder Ashneer Grover screaming death threats and obscenities at a Kotak bank employee. Grover insists it is fake.