Researched & collated by: Vagda Galhotra, Prafula Grace Busi, Anagha Srinivasan, Ayaan Malhotra & Devaki Divan 

Myanmar junta restarts executions

After three decades, the military dictatorship has executed four pro-democracy activists—including a former member of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party. They were sentenced to death after a kangaroo military trial that did not involve lawyers. Why this is notable: while many death sentences have been handed out since the 80s, they were usually commuted. That 114 people have been sentenced to death since the junta took over in February 2021 makes this shift truly alarming. BBC News has more details. If you want to know more about what happened in Myanmar, read our Big Story on the coup. 

Meet the Tour de France winner! 

Jonas Vingegaard won his first Tour de France—beating the two-time Slovenian defending champion Tadej Pogacar by three minutes and 34 seconds. The 25-year-old is the second Dane to win the title. And Vingegaard scored his victory in true gentlemanly style. Here he is waiting for his rival Tadej Pogačar to catch up after he crashed on the final descent. (CNN)

Zomato stock is tanking

The company went IPO on July 23, 2021. Promoters, employees and investors who bought its shares were “locked-in” for a year, as per stock market rules. That mandatory period expired yesterday—and its shares promptly tanked by more than 14% to an all-time low of Rs 46. Point to note: the stock has lost more than 60% of its value over the past year. One big reason: investors are not happy with the acquisition of the fast delivery company Blinkit (formerly known as Grofers). Also worrying: Domino’s Pizza is threatening to take its business away from both Swiggy and Zomato if they don’t reduce their commissions. (Reuters) 

Also facing potential trouble: Yuga Labs—the $4 billion company behind the wildly successful NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). It will soon face a class action lawsuit that alleges the company “fleeced” investors—by promoting “Bored Ape NFTs and ApeCoin, the collection’s native Ethereum token, as securities with guaranteed returns.” In reality, both plunged in value over the last three months. Why this matters: the key issue here is whether NFTs are like securities—shares, debentures etc.—that could rise in value. Most legal analysts say it is unlikely the courts will take that route. (Decrypt or Mint)

Shocking move threatens gorillas

The Democratic Republic of Congo announced it will auction oil and gas permits in locations within critically endangered gorilla habitats—specifically, Virunga national park, a UNESCO world heritage site that is home to the world's last remaining mountain gorillas. The government’s defence:

“We have a primary responsibility towards Congolese taxpayers who, for the most part, live in conditions of extreme precariousness and poverty, and aspire to a socio-economic wellbeing that oil exploitation is likely to provide for them.”

FYI: DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world. Nearly three-quarters of its 60 million people live on less than $1.90 a day. OTOH: the Congo basin is the only major rainforest that sucks in more carbon than it emits. And drilling in these peatlands will release vast amounts of carbon—up to 5.8 billion tons. Environmentalists are urging the top fuel companies to sit out the auction. (The Guardian)

Two key studies to note

Baby talk: This may not surprise any parent—or child, for that matter. A new study found that cooing at your babies is a universal human trait. All parents use this “sing-songy baby talk”—labelled as ‘parentese’—to talk to their kids. Researchers analysed 1,615 voice recordings from 410 parents on six continents—in 18 languages. But here’s why this has evolutionary value:

“The strange things we do with our voices when staring at a newborn not only help us survive but teach language and communication. For instance, parentese can help some infants remember words better, and it allows them to piece together sounds with mouth shapes, which gives sense to the chaos around them. Also, lullabies can soothe a crying infant, and a higher pitched voice can hold their attention better. ‘You can push air through your vocal tract, create these tones and rhythms, and it’s like giving the baby an analgesic,’ Dr Mehr said.”

What we’re curious about: why do many humans use the same voice with their pets? (New York Times via The Telegraph)

World’s largest omnivore: Scientists have discovered that whale sharks eat lots of seaweed—along with their staple diet of krill—a shrimp-like crustacean. This may have more to do with efficient feeding: 

“These are very big animals and when you’re a huge animal you need lots of food. But it costs lots of energy to push their mouths – open like a huge net – through the water. When you get a gut full of food but there’s also a lot of algae what do you do? Do you throw it up? Energetically that’s a very costly thing to do because you’ve just spent all this energy collecting it.”

Why this is a big deal: until now, the Kodiak bear was the largest known omnivore—and the whale shark just took its title. (The Guardian)

A setback for reproductive rights in China

In a big blow to unmarried women in China, a court ruled that they cannot freeze their eggs. Teresa Xu filed a lawsuit after her doctor refused to carry out the procedure—advising her to get married and have kids instead. FYI: she lost the case even though Chinese law does not explicitly ban single women from freezing their eggs. But the rules only allow it as a recourse for those with medical issues—”such as treating infertility or preserving the fertility of people before going through certain therapies.” She plans to appeal the verdict. (Reuters)

Everyone knows Big B

According to a new report, Amitabh Bachchan is the most recognised Indian celebrity—with a recognition score of 92%. But he is mostly big in north India: “Bachchan scored high in the All India Rank BE Score, ranking third in west and north zone, and ninth in the south zone, and 11 in east.” Also: does indiscriminately signing every ad deal that comes your way make you special? (Mint)

Speaking of celebrities: As we predicted, the Wall Street Journal report claiming Elon Musk had a fling with Google founder Sergey Brin’s wife became a global story. FWIW, he has since tweeted a denial:

“This is total bs. Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night! I’ve only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with many other people around. Nothing romantic.”

ICYMI this story, BBC News has all the details.

Three things to see 

One: A chess robot broke a 7-year-old boy’s finger at a chess tournament in Moscow. According to news reports, the robot “squeezed” the boy’s finger too hard. But tournament officials insist it was an accident—blaming the kid instead:

“The robot broke the child’s finger—this, of course, is bad. The robot was rented by us, it has been exhibited in many places, for a long time, with specialists…The child made a move, and after that we need to give time for the robot to answer, but the boy hurried , the robot grabbed him.”

We personally think it was just being a jerk. See the moment below. (Futurism)

Two: Three climate activists glued themselves to Sandro Botticelli’s ‘Primavera’ in Florence, Italy. Their logic: “In the same way that we defend our artistic heritage, we should be dedicated to the care and protection of the planet that we share with the rest of the world.” Don’t worry—the priceless painting is safe. It took 20 minutes to clean the glue—but the damage would have been significant without the protective glass barrier. FYI: the activists had already consulted art experts to ensure nothing they did would ruin the painting. Watch the protest below. (The Art Newspaper)

Three: Here’s another novel way to protest—the crap state of our streets, in this case. A man in Bangalore dressed up as Yamraja—accompanied by a buffalo, no less—to express his outrage. And there were plenty of residents by his side. The symbolism: potholes have become like death traps. A perfect ‘only in India’ moment! (Mint)

Good stuff to check out! 

On the latest episode of the splainer podcast ‘Press Decode,’ the team discusses the great bra ban and other bizarre exam rules—and racism in wildlife conservation. Be sure to head over to the IVM website, Spotify or Apple Podcasts to listen to it.