The great pandemic: a quick update
- First the numbers: India recorded 279,031 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. Mumbai officials say the city has moved past its peak—and hopes to open schools by the end of the month.
- Experts offer three reasons for the falling case count. One, asymptomatic people no longer have to be tested. People are using self-testing kits, and often don’t report results. And big cities are approaching their peaks.
- New research shows that an Omicron infection does little to build immunity in unvaccinated people—which implies that it does so among the vaccinated.
- A preliminary Israeli study shows that a fourth shot of the mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna is not enough to protect you from Omicron.
- Researchers are warning that the Chinese Olympics app—which is mandatory to monitor the Covid status of all participants—contains security flaws that could make it easy for a hacker to steal sensitive personal information.
- Even US Supreme Court Justices are Covid jerks. Example: Neil Gorsuch—who was the only one not wearing a mask when the Court took the bench. This in turn forced Sonia Sotamayor—who suffers from diabetes—to WFH.
- A Melbourne coffee roaster is under fire for offering two free rapid antigen tests with purchases over $159.99—just for “special VIP customers.”
- A good related read: The Guardian on how the third wave has ruined India’s wedding season.
Microsoft bets big on gaming
The company shelled out nearly $70 billion to buy Activision Blizzard—which makes games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush. This is Microsoft’s largest ever takeover—and will make it the third largest gaming company in the world, after Sony and Tencent. Meanwhile, Activision is hastily firing dozens of employees accused of sexual harassment—likely as part of the takeover deal. It is under investigation by regulatory authorities for its work culture and handling of such cases. Vox explains why Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard. The short answer: metaverse. (Quartz)
US airlines panic over 5G
Background: Mobile service providers AT&T and Verizon plan to roll out a powerful new 5G service this week. But aviation authorities say that 5G signals are dangerous for air travel:
“The Federal Aviation Administration had warned that the fifth generation C-band service could interfere with certain airline equipment like radio altimeters, which are used for low-visibility landings. The spectrum, which AT&T and Verizon would use, sits next to the frequency band, used by aircraft.”
Fallout: In a letter to President Biden, CEOs of the leading airlines warned of “catastrophic disruption”—and asked for the implementation of 5G everywhere except within 2 miles of airport runways. Verizon and AT&T have now agreed to not turn on some 5G signals near airport runways as a temporary concession. But some international flights were still canceled by airlines like Air India, Emirates Airlines etc. The reason: Boeing issued an advisory not to operate 777 jets in the US. (Wall Street Journal)
Global warming link to early births
A flurry of recently published studies have linked rising temperatures to early births as well as fast weight gain in babies, which can increase their risk of obesity as adults. And the environmental consequences of climate change can be deadly too. The studies show that exposure to smoke from wildfires has doubled the risk of severe birth defects—and air pollution from fossil fuel burning is leading to lower fertility. Expert quote to note: “From the very beginning, from preconception, through early childhood into adolescence, we’re starting to see important impacts of climate hazards on health.” (The Hill)
Apple AirTags help stalk women
The nifty devices are supposed to help you find things that are easily lost. Example: keys. But they’re now being used for more nefarious purposes. First came reports of thieves slapping on AirTags on cars—to track and then steal them when their owners were away. Now, women say that AirTags are being slipped into their bag or pocket in order to follow them. Apple has acknowledged the problem, and says their system sends a beep if an AirTag is separated from its owner—but it can take up to 24 hours to do it, and it isn’t very loud. Watch this CNN video report for more.
A hijab ban in Karnataka
For three weeks, female students wearing the hijab have been blocked from entering their classrooms at a government college in Udupi, Karnataka—and marked ‘absent’, as well. The principal refuses to speak to their parents—and local authorities have not responded to requests to intervene. Meanwhile, the development committee member Yashpal Suvarna declared: "If their demand [to wear a hijab] is met today, they might raise another demand on conducting namaz on the campus.” Watch one of the students explain their plight below. A point to ponder: No one asks Sikh males to cut their hair or remove their turbans to attend classes. (The Wire)
Also angry with young people: The Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP, which is mad at two child contestants in the show ‘Junior Super Stars’ on Zee Tamil. In a recent episode, the little ones made fun of demonetisation in a satirical skit. State BJP leaders have written to the channel asking to take the program off air. You can watch the clip here—which is obviously in Tamil. (The News Minute)
Playboy Mansion was a hellhole
As many women suspected all along, Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner was a monstrous predator—not a suave free-living ladies man. And his famed residence was the scene of terrible acts of sexual assault. Daily Mail has an exclusive story on an upcoming docu-series that exposed the real Hef—who essentially forced women to perform horrific sexual acts, trafficked them to other men, and pumped them with Quaaludes to keep them submissive. We aren’t including the stomach-churning details here, but in this case, this tabloid piece seems definitely legit. Reminder: The top male Hollywood stars were regular guests at the Playboy Mansion. Whether they participated in these ugly acts or not, they helped legitimize—even deify—Hefner as a sort-of raunchy James Bond. See the trailer below. (Daily Mail)
Four things to see
One: Midway through PM Modi’s address to the World Economic Forum, he suddenly stopped talking. Modi looked flustered and asked WEF Chairman Klaus Schwab if he and his interpreter could be heard. All the meanies on Twitter decided that the real reason he froze was that his teleprompter stalled out. However, Alt News editor Pratik Sinha’s fact-check shows that this was likely the result of some confusion over the audio link among his aides.
Two: Andy Murray staged an amazing comeback to the sport—after a career-saving surgery that left him with a metal hip. He won an epic five-set match against 21st seed Nikoloz Basilashvili to move to the next round of the Australian Open. More match details here. Watch the winning moment below.
Three: Sotheby’s is auctioning a rare black diamond dubbed The Enigma—which is 555.55 carats and has 55 facets. In 2006, the jewel was named the largest cut diamond in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records. The expected selling price: between $4.1 million and $6.8 million. And since this is 2022, Sotheby’s will accept payment in crypto currency. (Forbes)
Four: Fin whales are one of the largest animals in the world—and have been driven to near-extinction due to whaling. Scientists were naturally ecstatic when one of them recently caught sight of one thousand of these magnificent creatures cavorting close to the Antarctic Peninsula. It is “one of the largest aggregations of fin whales ever documented.” (The Guardian)
