Researched & collated by: Vagda Galhotra, Elisha Benny & Sheya Kurian
Delhi High Court split over marital rape
The court is considering petitions that challenge the Marital Rape Exception—i.e. The exception to the rape laws that states: “Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape” (we explained this case here). On Monday, the two-judge bench could not come to an agreement. Justice Rajiv Shakdher ruled it unconstitutional, while Justice Hari Shankar said “the court cannot substitute its subjective values… for the view of the democratic elected legislature.” The case will now go to the Supreme Court. (The Hindu)
Shanghai lockdown gets worse
The city has been under lockdown for seven weeks—creating widespread shortages and great distress among its residents. The city officials, however, have imposed even more severe restrictions on parts of Shanghai—banning food deliveries from private companies and even access to hospitals except for emergencies. People living in the same building as a positive case have been removed and placed in government quarantine camps. BBC News has exclusive details.
Bad news for the Indian economy
Morgan Stanley has lowered India’s GDP forecast to 7.6% for 2023—down from 7.9% predicted in its previous forecast in March 2022. The main reason: the global slowdown, surging oil prices and weak domestic demand. The prediction for 2024 is even lower: 6.7% (Economic Times)
Bad news for Indian crypto: US trading platform Coinbase has shuttered its operations in India within just three days—after setting up shop in early April. And it offered no explanation. CEO Brian Armstrong now says the reason was “informal pressure from the Reserve Bank of India.” He also offered this on the government’s attitude toward cryptocurrencies:
“[E]lements in the government there, including at Reserve Bank of India… don’t seem to be as positive on it. And so they—in the press, it’s been called a ‘shadow ban,’ basically, they’re applying soft pressure behind the scenes to try to disable some of these payments, which might be going through UPI.”
But Coinbase is still optimistic about relaunching its operations in the future. For more context: See our Big Story on Indian laws on crypto. (TechCrunch)
A shocking revelation about online forms
A study of 100,000 websites found that many collect your data when you fill out an online form—before you hit ‘submit’! And it's not the websites themselves but the third-party marketing and analytics services. Why this matters: These companies have your email address and even passwords—even if you decided against giving the information. Wired has more details.
The Great Barrier Reef is in trouble
A new report shows that 91% of the reef has been affected by coral bleaching. This is when stressful environmental conditions—like changes in temperature, light, or nutrients—cause corals to expel the symbiotic algae living inside—and turn completely white. They’re not dead, but are far more vulnerable to being wiped out. Point to note: This is the fourth mass bleaching event since 2016—and the sixth at the Great Barrier Reef since 1998. (The Guardian)
A great escape from Russia
The leader of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot has escaped from Russia—disguised as a food courier. The group has been in the crosshairs of the Putin government. Maria Alyokhina was first thrown in jail, and then placed under house arrest. In April, the authorities announced that her house arrest would be converted to 21 days in a penal colony. So she ran and is now in Lithuania. (New York Times)
Netflix rushes to embrace ads
Last month, everyone was shocked by Netflix’s poor growth numbers (explained here)—and even more so by CEO Reed Hastings' announcement that the company was considering an ad-driven option. Netflix has now told its employees that the lower-priced ad-supported tier will be rolled out by the end of the year—way sooner than anyone was expecting. (New York Times)
Four things to see
One: Louis Vuitton has appointed Deepika Padukone as its first ever Indian brand ambassador. The coveted position is also held by Emma Stone and China’s Zhou Dongyu. See the PR images below. (Vogue)
Two: A mysterious golden-coloured chariot has surfaced off the coast of Andhra Pradesh—in the aftermath of cyclone Asani. It seems to have floated in from another country: “the chariot is similar to the Wayo style architecture of Japan. It has inscriptions in foreign language dated 16-01-22.” (Telangana Today)
Three: Balenciaga has launched a limited edition of “destroyed” sneakers that has everyone rolling their eyes (hmm, we wonder why). Making them more eye-roll worthy: A price tag of $1,850. CNN has more details if you need them.
Four: A passenger with zero flight experience safely landed a single-engine plane when the pilot went “incoherent”—for still-to-be-determined reasons. Watch him nail the landing. (CNN)
