The great pandemic: The latest update
- First, the numbers. India added 90,793 new daily cases yesterday. The national R value—the number of people infected by one Covid case—has risen to 2.69.
- India has recorded its first Omicron death—a 74-year-old man in Rajasthan with underlying health conditions.
- Contrary to previous reports, the government says all booster shots must be the same as the previous two doses administered to a person.
- According to new guidelines, infected persons need only isolate themselves for seven days—as opposed to 10, which was the previous requirement.
- The Congress party has put a temporary halt to election rallies in Uttar Pradesh in view of the rising cases.
- Elsewhere: France added a record 270,000 new cases in one day. And in the US, Omicron now accounts for 95.4% of all variants circulating in the country.
- Meanwhile, Hong Kong has banned all flights from eight countries—including the US, Britain, Australia and India.
PM gets stuck in traffic
In what is being described as a serious security lapse, the Prime Minister and his convoy were stuck on a Punjab highway for 15-20 minutes. The reasons: A last-minute change of plans and a farmer protest. The PM was supposed to fly in a helicopter from Bhatinda airport to attend an event. He changed his mind due to bad weather—and traveled by road where his path was blocked by farmers protesting his visit. In the end, the convoy was forced to turn back—and Modi was unable to attend neither the event nor a planned election rally.
Why this matters: Travel plans for heads of state are meticulously laid out to ensure security—and include contingency plans. The BJP is crying foul—alleging bad faith on the part of the Congress-led Punjab government. Even Modi reportedly made a crack on his way out, telling officials: “Apne CM ko thanks kehna, ki mein Bhatinda airport tak zinda laut paaya.” (Thank your CM that I was able to stay alive till I reached the Bhatinda airport). According to Indian Express, the entire mess was caused by crossed wires and miscommunication. See the scene on the highway below.
Kazakhstan spirals into chaos
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has declared a two-week state of emergency as protests over fuel prices turned violent. In Kazakhstan, many citizens have converted their cars to run on LPG—because it is far cheaper than gasoline due to a cap on its price. But then the government lifted the price ceiling, saying it was unsustainable. The result: massive rallies of thousands of people—which forced the police to resort to stun grenades and water cannons.
Why this matters: Protests are relatively rare in Kazakhstan. And this time they show no signs of abating. Protesters stormed the presidential residence and the mayor’s office, and set both on fire. A Russian-led military alliance plans to dispatch peacekeeping forces to the country after Tokayev asked for help. (Associated Press)
Djoko is deported from Oz
The Australian Open organisers sparked widespread outrage when they awarded a special medical exemption to the unvaccinated (and anti-vaxxer) tennis ace Novak Djokovic—without revealing the reason. But when Djokovic arrived in Australia to participate in the tournament, border officials said he failed to meet their requirements for entry. He has now been issued a letter that says his visa has been cancelled—and he will be deported. (Sky News)
All things metaverse…
First, some context: setting aside all the hype, metaverse essentially refers to some kind of a 3D, immersive experience in a fully virtual or augmented reality world. Here’s a great explainer if you want to know more.
One: Facebook hosted three huge concerts in the metaverse over the holidays—and all of them flopped! They all featured big names: rapper Young Thug on December 26, DJ David Guetta and The Chainsmokers on December 31. And not one of them got any attention or a decent audience—despite being free. One likely problem: the technology was very much Web2:
“It probably wasn’t helped by the fact that the concerts were barely optimized for a VR experience. Guetta just had a 2D live streamed video of his performance at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, Young Thug and The Chainsmokers offered just a 180 degree view of their concert for Oculus users.”
Why this matters: Mark Zuckberg has placed all his chips on the metaverse—including the name of his company. If Meta can’t get people to even try out a 3D experience, it doesn’t bode well for others—at least until the tech gets a whole lot sexier. (Futurism)
Two: Cryptic Entertainment organised India’s first ever metaverse concert—with Sparsh Dangwal performing a recorded show attended by 25-30 people. It was meant as a proof-of-concept experiment—and the focus moving forward will be free concerts with indie or emerging artists like Dangwal. The big challenge in India: “Not only is the technology at a nascent stage, but users also need to have a high-performance PC, high-quality VR headset and a stable internet connection.” To which we say: bwahahaha! In any case, you can check out a 2D video of the concert below. (Indian Express)
Three: Graphics computing giant Nvidia is also betting big on the metaverse—but taking a totally different direction. It is giving away a free version of its “Omniverse” software—which helps you create virtual objects and worlds and is licensed at $9,000 per year—to individual artists. They can then sell that 3D content on different marketplaces. (Reuters)
A tattoo crisis in Europe
A new EU ban on thousands of chemicals used in colouring inks has sparked a crisis in the tattoo industry. The European Chemical Agency says the inks can cause “skin allergies and other more serious health impacts, such as genetic mutations and cancer”—and the new rules are intended to make them safer. But tattoo artists say there is zero evidence of these claims—and the ban will destroy their business as they scramble to find replacements. (BBC News)
UK moves to criminalise ‘breastfeeding voyeurism’
The government has introduced new legislation to punish voyeurs who record images of breastfeeding women without permission. The crime will carry a maximum sentence of two years. The law is the result of a campaign led by a female MP who was photographed while feeding her four-month-old baby daughter on a train in north London. (The Guardian)
Madonna’s son is a… famous artist?
‘Rhed’ was known in art circles as a mysterious, up-and-coming artist—widely beloved by celebrities. And his art is listed for up to £24,000. He has now been unmasked as none other than Rocco Ritchie—Madonna’s son with director Guy Ritchie. A revelation that has sparked mixed feelings among critics. Where some declare him “an authentic, pure, and undiluted product of the 21st century,” others say: “These daubs are amateur stuff, vaguely imitating Picasso or Modigliani, that could have been done by a million young people.” Ouch! Check out an example below and decide for yourself. (The Guardian)
Four things to see
One: London resident Muhammad Malik is taking extreme measures to find himself a wife. He’s paying for giant billboards that look like this. (NDTV)
Two: The American Girl company has unveiled a new doll to combat anti-Asian hate. Her name is Corinne Tan. She is 18 inches tall and “is a powerhouse skier from Aspen, Colo., who is building the courage to respond to ‘xenophobic comments’.” (New York Times)
Three: The European Space Agency (ESA) just released a yummy image of a cake-like 2.5-mile-wide crater on Mars: “Like a sprinkle of powdered sugar on a rich red velvet cake, this scene… captures the contrasting colors of bright white water-ice against the rusty red martian soil.” Delish! (Nerdist)
Four: Each year the American Kennel Club recognises new breeds in the new year. In 2022, it’s the turn of the Russian Toy—“a tiny, active and cheerful dog with roots in Russian aristocracy”—and the Mudi—originally a farming dog from Hungary. (CNN)
