Researched & collated by: Vagda Galhotra
The Russian invasion: The latest update
Editor’s note: We have extensively tracked the Russia vs Ukraine conflict since December. If you need more context, we highly recommend reading our Big Story on the historical roots of the conflict and this timely explainer on the effectiveness of economic sanctions, the return of the Cold War, what is driving Vladimir Putin, India’s “balancing act” and the looming oil crisis.
Casualty count: The low numbers put out by the UN remain meaningless. More telling the situation in Mariupol—where the dead are being buried in mass graves (image here). US officials claim that Russia has lost 6,000 soldiers—again that is an estimate offered from great distance. The total number of refugees: 2.1-2.2 million with more than half of them escaping to Poland. The economic damage to Ukraine caused by war-related destruction: $100 billion
Peace talks: The two foreign ministers from Russia and Ukraine met in Turkey—and did not make any progress. Moscow said it was “not in a position to commit” to creating a humanitarian corridor to rescue citizens in Mariupol. Ukrainian Minister Dmytro Kuleba said of his counterpart Sergei Lavrov’s position: “The broad narrative he conveyed to me is that they will continue their aggression until Ukraine meets their demands, and the least of these demands is surrender.”
Point to note: Around 80,000 have been evacuated from Kyiv and Sumy through such corridors. And Ukraine has announced several new safe routes—but it is unclear if Russia has agreed to them. Meanwhile, Moscow has laid out corridors of its own—but all of them lead into Russia.
State of the invasion: The strategy appears to be to take smaller surrounding cities to completely encircle Kyiv. The White House warned of a possible biological or chemical weapon attack—triggered by Russia’s claim that the US is hosting biological weapons in Ukraine: “We should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them—it’s a clear pattern.” Point to note: Moscow has used chemical weapons in Syria in the past.
Map to note: This is the state of play right now:
Sanctions: Here’s the latest list of financial developments:
- Investment banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan joined the list of companies that are shutting shop in Russia. Also headed for the exit: Five of the world’s biggest law firms.
- Uniqlo—which previously refused to shutter its stores—has now decided to get out as well.
- The UK government moved against seven Russian oligarchs—including Chelsea club owner Roman Abramovich whose assets are now frozen. But the club will be allowed to operate as usual—but can’t sell any more tickets.
- Meanwhile, Moscow plans to seize assets of foreign companies leaving the country. Putin declared the government will push to “introduce external management and then transfer these enterprises to those who actually want to work… There are enough legal and market instruments for this.”
- An assessment from the Institute of International Finance estimates that the Russian economy will shrink by at least 15% this year
Ducking Russian censorship: Western websites that have been blocked by Moscow have found different ways to reach audiences in Russia. BBC News announced a number of counter-measures—including creating a dedicated site on the Tor browser, downloading special apps and broadcasting on shortwave frequencies on the radio. Twitter too has created a Tor version of its platform.
Something related to see: Russian protesters are using emojis to send coded information about protests. For example: a picture of the Russian poet Pushkin, the number seven and rows of the “person walking” emoji. It means that a rally will be held in Pushkin Square at a specific time and date. See it below. BBC News has more on this.
Tinder gets serious about safety
The dating app has introduced a tool that lets you do a background check on your matches inside the app. It will search through public records of arrests, convictions, and sex offender registries—to surface any red flags. But not everyone thinks this is enough:
“We know that sexual violence is so rarely reported and we know that convictions are so incredibly rare even when it is reported. You're going to be missing a lot of really dangerous people through using criminal records and background checks as a proxy for safety. It can create this false sense of safety when it shouldn’t be there.”
Point to note: This is only available for US users for now.
Black Panther director arrested
Ryan Coogler revealed that he was handcuffed and detained at a bank by the police in Atlanta—who mistook him for a robber. What triggered the brief arrest:
“The 35-year-old director—who was wearing a hat, sunglasses and a COVID face mask—went to the counter and handed the bank teller a withdrawal slip with a note written on the back that reportedly read, ‘I would like to withdraw $12,000 cash from my checking account. Please do the money count somewhere else. I’d like to be discreet.’”
The teller mistook this for an attempted robbery. The bank has apologised profusely for the mistake. You can see what happened to Coogler below. (Variety)
Indians invade Bridgerton
There is not one but two Indian women who will play a starring role in season 2: Edwina and Kate Sharma. And they will be two corners of a love triangle that has the eldest Bridgerton, Lord Anthony, torn between the sisters. This older NBC News piece has more on this ground-breaking casting—and why it may actually be historically accurate. Watch them in the trailer below:
Shameless related plug: Be sure to listen to this episode of the Press Decode podcast where the splainer team discusses race in fantasy and historical fiction.
Speaking of celebrating diversity: Google Arts and Culture has launched ‘Mali Magic’—a digital library of Malian contemporary art, cultural and historic sites. It includes more than 40,000 digitised manuscripts, a street view of nine heritage sites, a 3D model of the 13th century Djenne Mosque—and an original music album! It will make you rethink those old stereotypes about Timbuktu. Be sure to check out Mali Magic. FYI, we enjoyed exploring examples of its quirky modern art—like below. (TechCrunch)
Speaking of reclaiming artistic legacies: The Smithsonian is returning its collection of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. The 39 bronze artworks were stolen during the 1897 British raid on Benin City—and will now be displayed in the Benin Art Museum instead. Why this matters: It “marks a significant shift in how the world’s largest cultural institution—and museums across the world—operate.” Irony alert: the artefacts are already a source of an intense political fight back in Benin. (Washington Post or NPR)
Jorō spider invades America
Scientists warn that the spider—as big as the palm of your hand—will take over the East Coast in the coming years. It first entered the US in Georgia back in 2013—likely brought on a shipping container from Asia. But there is little to fear since the spiders rarely bite unless cornered—and their fangs do not penetrate human skin. The expert advice: Learn to live with them… which is easier said than done given the size of the damn thing. (USA Today)
Three things to see
One: Scientists have discovered a very pretty rainbow-coloured fish that lives off the coast of Maldives—at a depth of 131 to 229 feet. The rose-veiled fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa)—whose name honours the Maldivian national flower, rose—was initially thought to be a part of another species. One downside of its beauty: it is already a target of aquarium owners. (CNN)
Two: Not quite as pretty but still as precious: the Hill’s horseshoe bat—which was spotted after 40 years in Rwanda. It has taken three years for scientists to confirm that this creature is indeed what it is—and not extinct as previously thought. Conservationists are delighted at this “incredible” discovery. (The Guardian)
Three: Formula One star Sebastian Vettel wore a special helmet on the first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain—featuring a dove, the Ukrainian flag colours, lyrics from John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ and the words “No War.” (Daily Mail)
