Russia readies for invasion

In a high gambit move, President Putin signed a decree recognising two regions in Ukraine—Donetsk and Luhansk—as independent republics. And he ordered troops into these areas as a “peacekeeping” mission. 

More notably: In a fiery speech, he dismissed Ukraine’s claim to sovereignty: “Modern-day Ukraine was in full and in whole created by Russia, Bolshevik, Communist Russia to be precise”—adding it “has never had traditions of its own statehood." 

Quick context: Donetsk and Luhansk regions have been mired in a low-grade conflict between Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian army since 2014. That’s when Russia last invaded Ukraine. The separatists, however, only control a third of the territory. Putin appears to be backing their claim to all of it, but it is unclear whether the Russian troops will remain on territory controlled by the separatist republics—or capture the rest of the two Ukrainian enclaves. See the map below:

The fallout: The US response so far has been cautious—saying it will only impose sanctions on those doing business in the separatist regions—promising to “soon announce additional measures related to today’s blatant violation of Russia’s international commitments.”

Point to note: The US recently wrote a letter to the UN warning that Russia has a “kill list” of Ukrainians who will be killed or sent to camps in case of an invasion. The Kremlin calls it an “absolute lie.” Newsweek has that story.

Meanwhile in Beijing: China appears to be backing away from a full-bodied embrace of Russia. Its representative at the Munich security summit said: “The sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of any country should be respected and safeguarded. Ukraine is no exception.” The reason for this rethink:

“While tilting closer to Moscow, the Chinese leadership still sees it in its interest not to have the bottom fallout of its ties with the US. It needs continued access to American financial and technological resources to ensure economic security and development—an access that could be jeopardised should Beijing decide to help Moscow evade sanctions in the event of an invasion.”

Credit Suisse’s big data leak

A whistleblower has released information on 18,000 accounts—holding more than $100 billion. The details show that the bank’s most prized customers are a nasty lot—and include “a Yemeni spy chief implicated in torture, Venezuelan officials involved in a corruption scandal, and the sons of former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak.” Why this matters: Swiss banks aren’t supposed to accept money linked to criminal activity. What Credit Suisse says: Most of this account information is old—and many are inactive—and hence it “strongly rejects” all accusations. (CNBC)

Ola Electric has a big problem

An investigation by The Morning Context reveals that its highly touted electric scooter has serious quality issues. In less than two months, social media channels are awash with buyers complaining about its performance. A typical anecdote:

“I was almost hit by a car. When I left home for Manjri, about 12 km away, the scooter still had 90% charge and 120 km range left. Barely 1 km on the way back, the display went blank and the scooter just went dead. Just like that.”

The Morning Context (paywall) has more on Ola’s battery and vehicle management system. 

Also in trouble: McDonald’s which is in the midst of an unexpected battle with billionaire Carl Icahn. The feared corporate raider only owns 200 shares, but is pushing the company to treat pigs more humanely—and is even planning to nominate two directors to McDonald’s board. 

Let us explain: McDonald’s in 2012 pledged to phase out the use of gestational crates—which are tiny stalls where sows are kept while pregnant. They are dreadful and inhumane. The company doesn’t rear pigs but sources its pork from companies which have such practices. And it insists that 85-90% of its white meat will not be sourced from such suppliers. McD also pointed out that Icahn owns a big stake in another company that makes packaging for the pork and poultry industry—and never asked for similar commitments. So is this really about the pigs? (Wall Street Journal or BBC News)

Four studies of note

Fish: According to a new study, the ocean is a very ‘noisy’ place thanks to very chatty fish—who are constantly producing “boops”, “honks” and “hoots” to communicate with one another. What are they mostly talking about? Food and sex, of course. (The Guardian)

Diet: A UK study’s findings are raising eyebrows. It found that eating vegetables—especially when cooked—does not reduce the risk of heart disease—which challenges existing medical advice and research:

“While the study found eating raw veggies could protect against heart disease, cooked vegetables did not. Any benefit went away when researchers factored in lifestyle factors such as physical activity, educational level, smoking, drinking, fruit intake, red and processed meat consumption, and use of mineral and vitamin supplements.”

CNN has more on why experts are questioning the findings.

Gender: It is common to ‘see’ faces in everyday objects—be it the man on the moon or a face in an electrical outlet. A new study reveals that the kind of face we see is almost always male—irrespective of our gender. The interesting reason why this happens:

“In all of the most simple depictions of faces, the female version is usually shown as having something extra, like long hair, eyelashes, or lipstick. By extension, the basic face without those added features is considered ‘male’.”

Romance: Working from home during the pandemic has had an unlikely effect in the US: A spike in office romances. According to a new survey:

“[A] quarter of respondents revealed that they began a romantic relationship with a colleague during the pandemic or continued an existing romance in the past year. And despite not being able to go to the office and see people in person in this new WFH world, half of respondents reported that they’ve developed a crush on someone they work with—a 7% increase from last year."

That’s probably because our workmates are the ones we’ve seen the most over the past two years—and it feels less risky to flirt over Zoom than at the canteen. (Quartz)

The Truth is out!

Donald Trump’s social media app—named Truth Social—just dropped on the App Store. It describes itself: “America’s ‘Big Tent’ social media platform that encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology.” The venture is Trump’s response to being banned on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Users apparently had problems logging in, and received this message: “Due to massive demand, we have placed you on our waitlist”—which, like many things about Trump, seems hard to believe. (Reuters)

Speaking of social media: The latest Insta update allows you to like someone’s story without sending them a message. You can just hit the ‘heart’ icon like you do on other platforms. The aim is to reduce the clutter in your chat logs. (Mashable)

Three things to see

One: Artist Man Ray’s ‘Le Violon d'Ingres’ is set to be the most expensive photograph ever auctioned—and is expected to fetch $5-7 million. Taken in 1924, it shows the back of a woman’s naked body, transforming the image into a violin by overlaying f-holes. (CNN)

Two: A bank in Bihar stopped a Muslim woman from withdrawing cash from her account because she was wearing some kind of head covering. It is unclear from the video and reporting whether this was a hijab (head scarf) or a veil that covered her face. The reason offered by the manager: extra verification is required when signatures don’t match. The issue was finally resolved amicably, but a clip of the altercation went viral—and the bank has since tweeted: “Bank respects the religious sentiments of the Citizens and does not discriminate [against] its Esteemed Customers on basis of Cast [caste] or Religion.” (Indian Express)

Three: The Chester Zoo in the UK welcomed its first baby aardvark in 90 years: “As soon as we spotted the new baby next to mum we noticed its uncanny resemblance to the Harry Potter character, Dobby, and so that’s the calf’s nickname for the time being!” And yes, it's a girl! Check out Dobby below. (People)