Researched and collated by: Vagda Galhotra, Sara Varghese, Prafula Grace Busi, Sheya Kurian & Anagha Srinivasan

Agnipath scheme sparks angry protests

The military plan to recruit future jawans solely through a four-year scheme brought thousands of angry protesters to the streets in Bihar. One reason: many have already applied for the job—but now will have to do so all over again. Another reason: “Even the good-for-nothing MLAs and MPs are elected for five years, and they are going to recruit soldiers for just four years. This is injustice; it will also affect the nation’s security.” Point to note: The armed forces are a key source of employment in the state. We explained the Agnipath scheme in our Big Story yesterday. (The Telegraph)

Also outraged: Congress workers—who allege that the Delhi police entered the party headquarters and “beat up leaders.” The party has been protesting the questioning of Rahul Gandhi in a money laundering case connected to the National Herald newspaper. See the clip of popular Delhi Congress leader BV Srinivas being roughed up below:

Russia gets tough on Europe

The state-owned Gazprom announced that it was cutting natural gas flows through its pipeline to Germany—for a second day in a row. Supplies have now dropped by 60%. While it blamed the drop on technical issues, the German vice chancellor said: “Russia’s reason is just a pretext. Their strategy is obviously to unsettle [people] and drive up prices.” Gazprom has also cut supplies to Italy by 15%—without offering any reason. (Financial Times, ABC News)

Speaking of Russia: The speculation over President Putin’s health continues—thanks to a new video of him seemingly struggling to stand. Media reports also suggest that Putin’s guards have been dutifully collecting his excrement and urine whenever he travelled abroad in the past—to prevent any leaks about his health. We think all this is mostly wishful thinking, but you can check out the clip of Putin below. (India Today)

Three key studies of note

News consumption: Here’s a big red flag for anyone in the media business. A new Reuters study shows that more people than ever are avoiding the news—around the world. The percentage of those who say they often or sometimes avoid the news has jumped to 38%—up from 29% in 2017. Main reasons include “the repetitiveness of the news agenda—especially around politics and Covid” (43%); it “ruins their mood” (36%); and lack of trust (29%). Also: why we built splainer. Just saying… (The Hindu)

‘Always on’ ads: New research has found that commercials continue to play on streaming platforms—even after you switch off the TV. This costs brands an average of $1 billion a year. Why this happens:

“That is because when a TV set is turned off, it doesn’t always send a signal to the streaming device connected to the TV through its HDMI port, GroupM said. As a result, the streaming device will continue playing the show and its ads unless users had exited or paused the streaming app they were watching before turning off their TV.”

FYI: This isn’t a problem in smart TVs. (Wall Street Journal)

Your brain on anorexia: A new study shows that anorexia—where people avoid eating or severely restrict their food intake—triggers significant changes in the brain. Specifically, the MRI scans showed “sizeable reductions” in three critical measures of the brain: Cortical thickness, subcortical volumes and cortical surface area. The damage is far greater than any other kind of mental health illness. The good news: The brain appears to restore itself in patients in recovery. (Insider)

A millionaire exodus out of India

A new report shows that 8,000 millionaires (in US dollars) are getting ready to leave the country—due to stringent tax rules, desire for higher standards of living, better educational and health facilities. That said, we won’t have any shortage of very rich people at home. The same report also predicts the number of dollar-millionaires and billionaires in India will grow by 80% over the next 10 years. India is #3 on the list of nations witnessing the exit of high net worth individuals. Russia is at #1, followed by China. (Economic Times)

Speaking of China: It’s not just losing millionaires. The middle class are also fleeing due to the zero-tolerance Covid policy that has decimated businesses. In response, Beijing has tightened “exit” policies and banned “unnecessary” travel. Passports are selling on the black market for $4,500. (AFP via NDTV)

WHO to rename monkeypox 

The World Health Organisation is officially renaming monkeypox and two strains of the disease—West African and Congo Basin. This is in keeping with its guidelines that discourage the use of geographic regions or animals to name diseases. It is also in response to a paper published by 29 scientists from 11 countries, who wrote: “In the context of the current global outbreak, continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatizing.” The disease doesn’t have a new name as yet. Also read: Our Big Story on monkeypox or rather “hMPXV A.1.” (TIME)

Pakistan has a chai problem

The government has asked citizens to cut down on their consumption of tea by one-to-two cups—to reduce high import bills. Pakistan imported $600 million in tea last year—making it the largest buyer of tea in the world. But its foreign reserves are running precariously low—plunging from $16 billion in February to less than $10 billion in June. (BBC News)

Will Lady Gaga enter the superhero universe?

We rarely report media rumours, but here’s a good one. According to Hollywood Reporter, the pop superstar is in talks to star opposite Joaquin Phoenix in director Todd Phillips’ sequel to ‘Joker.’ If the deal goes through, she will play Joker’s love-interest and sidekick Harley Quinn. The title, however, has been confirmed: ‘Joker: Folie à deux’—which references the medical term for a mental disorder that affects two or more members of the same family. Also: industry sources say this sequel may be a musical. Whoa! (Hollywood Reporter)

Meanwhile, over at Netflix: The company seems determined to squeeze the last dollar out of its hit show ‘Squid Game’. Days after announcing season 2, Netflix has unveiled a ten-episode reality show based on the series called ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’:

"As [players] compete through a series of games inspired by the original show—plus surprising new additions—their strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them."

No, they won’t kill anyone off, but the winner will score a prize of $4.56 million—the largest ever in the genre’s history. The show is recruiting English-language speakers around the world.  (BBC News)

Something to see

The trailer for ‘Brahmāstra’ starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt finally dropped yesterday. Well, we were amused but we leave it to you to decide for yourself.