Researched & collated by: Rachel John, Devaki Divan & Samara Prabhakar
Say hello to a new CJI
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana formally recommended the name of his successor—Justice Uday Umesh Lalit. He will take over on August 27, but only serve two-and-a-half months as he is due to retire on November 8. He will then be replaced by Justice DY Chandrachud—currently the third senior-most judge on the Supreme Court. Lalit is one of only six lawyers who ascended to the Court directly from the Bar. Indian Express has more on Lalit’s previous rulings.
Russian ruling sends a message
Olympic basketball star Britney Griner has been sentenced to nine years in a penal colony for smuggling drugs. She was caught with less than 1 gm of cannabis oil at the airport—and claims she accidentally packed it in a hurry. Reminder: cannabis oil is legal in the US. The US government has offered to release a convicted Russian arms trafficker in exchange for Griner—but that negotiation appears to have stalled out. Most observers believe Griner is being used to ‘punish’ Washington for its economic offensive against Russia. (CNN)
Imran Khan is in trouble
The nation’s election commission ruled that the former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) received illegal foreign contributions—amounting to millions of dollars. The funds were received from 34 individuals or companies in countries like the United States, the UAE, the UK and Australia. Why this matters: the Pakistan government could seek a Supreme Court ban on Khan and his party from politics. A related read: our Big Story on the rise and fall of Khan. (CNN)
Ready for a Swiggy credit card?
According to Entrackr, the company is planning to roll out a co-branded credit card that can be used across its platforms—including Instamart, Genie and DineOut. It will most likely partner with ICICI bank. The move is an extension of its acquisition of the table reservation service DineOut. Reminder: Zomato did exactly this in March 2020—as did Amazon, Ola and Flipkart. But none of them have had much success. (Entrackr)
In other biz news: Airbus is in the midst of a fiery feud with Qatar Airways—which is suing the aircraft maker for peeling paint. You read that right, and here’s why:
“Qatar Airways has said that peeling and cracking paint on the wings of some A350s that it already operates has exposed copper mesh underneath designed to protect against lightning strikes. The airline has alleged in a London lawsuit that the paint issue is a safety risk. It has grounded about 20 affected aircraft, refused deliveries of more of the planes and is seeking financial compensation from Airbus.”
While this sounds alarming, Airbus insists the peeling paint is just a cosmetic problem. And it has now cancelled a deal to supply Qatar Airways with 19 jets—whose list price is around $7 billion each. Why this is notable: QA is Airbus’ biggest customer. Also: the airline will struggle to meet demand as it prepares for a surge in travel to Doha for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. (Wall Street Journal)
Four ‘bad weather’ stories
Yup, this stuff is threatening to turn into a daily list:(
One: China is getting hotter faster than the rest of the world. Its temperatures have been rising 0.26°C per decade since 1951—compared to the global average of 0.15°C. And Chinese scientists expect that the gap will become “significantly higher” in the future. (Reuters)
Two: Scientists are sounding the alarm over a widening gender gap among sea turtles in Florida. Over the past four years, they have not found a single male hatchling. The reason: for four years, Florida summers have been scorching hot—and that affects the gender of the embryo inside the egg. If it incubates below 27.7°C, the hatchlings will be male, whereas if they incubate above 31°C, they will be female. Why this matters: "Over the years, you're going to see a sharp decline in their population because we just don't have the genetic diversity." (Reuters)
Three: Also grappling with hot weather: Spain—whose problems are compounded by an energy crisis. The government has banned all public and corporate buildings from setting their ACs below 27°C in the summer. There will be a similar winter ban that caps the temperature at 19°C. It is not mandatory for households…for now. Blue collar workers are unhappy, and perhaps for good reason: “It is not the same to work, for example in a place where there is a lot of machinery and the temperature is very high, and in another type of environment where there is none of that.” (Euro News)
Four: For a change—though not for the better—this one is about coastal flooding. A new US report warns that coastal communities will experience flooding—even on days without rain. The reason: rising sea levels. This is called ‘sunny day flooding’:
“This type of flooding results from the overflow of ocean water at high tide that then covers low-lying areas—typically occurring when the tides reach anywhere from 1.75 to 2 feet above the daily average.”
High tides are expected to last for three to seven days in 2022, but the report predicts that they will occur for 45 to 70 days each year by 2050. (ABC News)
Beyoncé has a new problem
Clearly, Bey’s PR team does not listen to any of her songs. First, ‘Heated’ on her new album ‘Renaissance’ used the slur ‘spaz’ twice—which is now being edited out. Now, Monica Lewinsky has politely called out a line in the 2013 track ‘Partition’ which reads: “He popped all my buttons, and he ripped my blouse/He Monica Lewinsky’d all on my gown.” Yup, totally uncalled for. (Billboard)
Attention, independent journalists & their friends!
Here’s a heads up for English-language journalists who are working outside the big metros. The National Foundation for India fellowships specifically targets reporters from “difficult geographies and diverse social background, especially those who have been marginalised due to their socio-religious circumstances, gender inequalities and geographic location.” So please spread the word far and wide. Details about the fellowship are available here. (h/t Nitin Sethi, Media Lead, NFI)
For aspiring BTech graduates: COLT Technology is offering Engineering Students Scholarships for “underprivileged, meritorious engineering students of any engineering college in India.” So please share the application form with any eligible person you know. (h/t founding member Lakshmi Gopal)
Four things to see
One: Tejaswin Shankar bagged the first Commonwealth Games medal for India in the men’s high jump in Birmingham. And he had to fight a court battle with the Athletics Federation of India to do it. AFI did not pick Shankar because he did not compete in an interstate meet in Chennai because it clashed with the NCAA championships in the United States. So just days before the competition, he was practising in a Delhi stadium—with three streeties for company:
When asked about the photo after his win, Shankar said:
“We usually go to JLN stadium around 2:30 to 3 pm to avoid the crowd in the evening. At that time the only spectators you have are stray dogs. For me from 3 stray dogs to 30,000 spectators in Birmingham, it has been a huge journey." (NDTV)
Two: Airbnb apologised for allowing one of its hosts to list a slave cabin in Mississippi for rent. The listing for the Panther Burn Cottage—situated next to a 9,000-square feet “antebellum mansion”—boasted that it was a “meticulously restored” suite with “exquisite antique furnishings, soft linens, a brand-new bathroom and access to Netflix on the smart TV.” Presumably, not fully “restored” then. In any case, the listing has been pulled and Airbnb has apologised, vowing to never ever let this happen again. (Washington Post)
Three: An erupting volcano near Reykjavik, Iceland, has become a tourist attraction—despite warnings about poisonous gases. An eruption on the same mountain last year lasted six months. Well, it is very pretty. (Reuters)
Four: A new teaser for Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘Brahmastra’ just dropped—and it features a snatch of a second song from the film: ‘Deva Deva’. Producers hope it will be every bit as popular as ‘Kesariya’ and maybe no one will notice how lame the actual teaser is? (NDTV)
