Researched and collated by: Vagda Galhotra, Elisha Benny & Sheya Kurian
A new shooting tragedy in Texas
An eighteen-year-old opened fire in an elementary school and killed at least 19 children and two adults. The suspect, Salvador Ramos was also shot dead by police officers on the scene. The absolutely heart-breaking detail in this story: “Judging from the grades of the students enrolled at the school, the children ranged in age from seven to 10.” The details are still sketchy—but officials say Ramos acted alone. The shooting comes just 10 days after a gunman killed 10 people in a predominantly Black neighbourhood in New York state. This is also the deadliest school shooting since a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, in a rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in December 2012. (Reuters)
India to restrict sugar export
After a near-ban on wheat exports, the government has now moved to restrict the export of sugar to 10 million tonnes during the current season—which lasts until October. The reason, of course, is rising food prices at home. For the same reason, the government will now allow duty-free imports of crude soyabean and sunflower oil for upto 2 million tonnes a year. Why this matters: India is the world’s second-largest sugar producer after Brazil—and our exports jumped by 65% in 2021/22 compared the year before. So it will likely have an impact on global prices. That said, a 10-million tonne cap is fairly generous—and no sugar exporter is complaining. (Bloomberg News via Business Standard)
France’s new #MeToo scandal
Cabinet minister Damien Abad has been accused of raping two women—in 2010 and 2011:
“[O]ne of the women said that after a consensual encounter, he refused to stop when asked, while the other said she blacked out after having drinks with him and awoke in a hotel room, her body sore.”
Abad—who is the minister for solidarity and disabled people—insists he is innocent. The reason: he is physically incapable of the acts he is accused of as he has arthrogryposis, a condition that limits his ability to move his joints. (New York Times)
A sandstorm disaster in the Middle East
A terrible sandstorm has blanketed great parts of the region—from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to Tehran in Iran. While they are common at this time of the year, their frequency is unprecedented. Iraq has witnessed its ninth sandstorm since April. It's so bad that the government has declared a national holiday—and more than 1,000 have been hospitalised due to respiratory problems. The big reason:
“Because of 17 years of mismanagement of water and urbanisation, Iraq lost more than two-thirds of its green cover. That is why Iraqis are complaining more than their neighbours about the sandstorms in their areas.”
The other obvious reason: Climate change. (Al Jazeera)
Gujarat Titans reach the final
It certainly has been a stellar debut for the IPL’s newest entrant. The team entered the final after a seven-wicket win over the Rajasthan Royals—thanks to an amazing 106-run partnership between David Miller and Hardik Pandya. The other eliminator match pits Lucknow Super Giants against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Royals will play the winner of that match to decide who will face off against the Titans in the final. (The Hindu)
St Stephen’s digs its heel in
The college is enmeshed in a tug-of-war with Delhi University—whose new rules insist that all students be admitted solely based on their Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores. But the personal interview has always been a big part of the St Stephen’s admission process—and the college now is adamant that it will account for 15% of the admissions criteria. DU authorities are furious:
“We will write to the college that the step taken by it is wrong and the prospectus should be withdrawn immediately. If not withdrawn, and you (the college) conduct any admission based on this, the university will not accept it and they will be treated as null and void.”
Pass the popcorn. (NDTV)
Also opting out: Airbnb which will shut all domestic business in China starting July 30. Chinese users can still book listings overseas—just not within the country. The company hasn’t offered a reason—but it joins a long line of Western internet companies, such as Linkedin and Yahoo, who have pulled out in recent months. (Reuters)
Genetically hacked tomatoes, anybody?
Scientists genetically edited tamatars to help the fruit store provitamin D3—which then converted to vitamin D3 when exposed to UVB light. All this is a very technical way to explain that we now can grow tomatoes that offer the same amount of Vitamin D as 2 eggs or 28 grams of tuna—with no change in look or taste! And that’s a more sustainable and affordable solution to Vit D deficiency. (CNN)
Another sustainability hack: Coca Cola will now come in plastic bottles whose caps remain attached—even after you open them. The reason: The design “is supposed to make it easier to recycle the whole package at once—and keep caps out of the trash.” Coke grandly announced: “This is a small change that we hope will have a big impact, ensuring that when consumers recycle our bottles, no cap gets left behind.” But TechCrunch is not very impressed. (CNN)
The Bieb is coming to town
Justin Bieber will perform in Delhi on October 18 as part of his ‘Justice’ world tour. The tickets start at Rs 4000 and go on sale on BookMyShow. This will be his second India performance after the Mumbai concert in 2017. You can watch the seriously crap promo video here. (Mint)
Three things to see
One: David Cronenberg’s horror-drama film ‘Crimes of the Future’ has sparked great controversy at Cannes—with people walking out in the middle and others giving it a seven-minute standing ovation. Likely reasons: “The film includes a gory child autopsy scene, shots of bloody intestines and characters who orgasm by licking each other’s open wounds. There’s also a chair shaped like an oblong human spine that rotates at grotesque angles.” Variety has more on the film. Watch the trailer below.
Two: Ok, we’re not usually impressed with these ‘first look’ photos or trailers—but Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ is something else. The movie hits theatres on July 8.
Three: Google has launched its own text-to-image generator called ‘Imagen’—and is apparently “remarkably accurate.” We were most impressed by the images below—generated by text that read “A chrome-plated duck with a golden beak arguing with an angry turtle in a forest” and “A small cactus wearing a straw hat and neon sunglasses in the Sahara desert” See others over at Imagen. (The Verge)
Good stuff to check out!
On the latest episode of the splainer podcast ‘Press Decode’, the splainer team looks at mental health issues—be it in the army where suicides are rising—or among parents suing their kids for not giving them a grandchild. Be sure to head over to the IVM website, Spotify or Apple Podcasts to listen to it.
