Researched and collated by: Vagda Galhotra & Prafula Grace Busi
Nupur Sharma row: Mideast outrage spreads
The BJP moved on Sunday to suspend the spokesperson—and expel Delhi media chief Naveen Jindal—for making hateful comments about the Prophet Muhammad. But it failed to quell the diplomatic row in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and the UAE—who are India’s fourth and third largest trading partners—joined the chorus of condemnation. New Delhi has responded selectively to the criticism. It lashed out at Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)—a global organisation of 57 member states—but not the others. And the External Affairs Ministry declared:
“The offensive tweets and comments denigrating a religious personality were made by certain individuals. They do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the Government of India. Strong action has already been taken against these individuals by relevant bodies.”
Of course, there is debate over whether a suspension is “strong” enough. FYI: There have been FIRs filed against Sharma in opposition-ruled states but not in Delhi. The Telegraph has more on that. Read our Big Story for more context on this story. (The Hindu)
A church massacre in Nigeria
Gunmen opened fire and detonated explosives killing at least 50 people—including children—at a Catholic church in Owo. What is just as shocking is that no one really knows who did it and why. There is conflict between farmers and cattle herders—who have started wandering into farmland due to increased urbanisation. And there are terrorist groups like Boko Haram and its offshoot the Islamic State. But no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Al Jazeera has a concise guide to the tragedy.
In other Africa-related news: The Irish budget airline Ryanair is under fire for demanding all South African passengers take a general knowledge test before they board the plane to Europe. The “simple questionnaire” aims to “prove” their nationality—and “contains questions such as what is South Africa's international dialling code, what is its capital city and who is the current president of the country.” The reason: The high number of fake SA passports. What is even more absurd is that the questions are in Afrikaans—which is only spoken by 13% of the population, most of them white. You can check out the questionnaire here. (BBC News)
Two medical studies of note
One: A very small trial of 18 patients for a new treatment for rectal cancer produced an astonishingly happy result. Every one of them is in remission! They were given a $11,000 dose of dostarlimab every three weeks. This kind of result is unheard of in modern medicine. The drug is a checkpoint inhibitor—which unmasks cancer cells, allowing the immune system to identify and destroy them. And usually such medicines have uncomfortable side effects—which didn’t happen either. Everyone in the field calls these results “remarkable” and “unprecedented”—but insist these need to be replicated to be believed. Also fueling the scepticism: The study was funded by GlaxoSmithKline which also markets dostarlimab under the name Jemperli. (New York Times)
Two: Another seemingly miraculous revelation involves a diabetes drug called Tirzepatide—which helps obese people lose as much as 20% of their weight over 72 weeks. The results are fairly dramatic:
“The results from those who stuck to the assigned intervention—almost 82% of the sample—reveal that at the end of the 72-week period participants given 5 mg of tirzepatide each week lost an average of 16.1 kg, those given 10 mg lost an average of 22.2 kg and those given the 15 mg an average of 23.6 kg. Those given a placebo injection lost an average of 2.4 kg.”
One reason this might work: tirzepatide mimics hormones that help us feel full after eating—and which are often at low levels in people with obesity. (The Guardian)
A bizarre plagiarism suit against Mariah Carey
The pop diva has been sued by a random man from Louisiana who claims that he wrote and released a song with the same title as ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’. Ok, so this happens a lot but what is really weird in this case:
“The copyright infringement lawsuit, obtained by Rolling Stone, bases its claims on the fact that the two songs share the same title: [Vince] Stone’s lawsuit does not state the two songs sound alike, as they share little similarity musically or lyrically. Instead, Stone believes that, as the writer of a song called ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ that predated Carey’s own single, he has the copyright on subsequent works bearing that title.”
Well, at least he made the Rolling Stone. So there’s that. FYI: This is Stone’s version. (Rolling Stone)
The Queen’s jubilee: The highlight reel
Quite honestly, we don’t care much about the English royal family—or the fact that Queen Elizabeth has spent the last 70 years occupying the throne. But the long weekend celebrations did offer their moments of delight:
One: For starters, there was the hologram version of the Queen who paraded in the Gold State Coach—which carried the Queen to her coronation in 1953. What’s a bit amusing (and alarming): all the people waving to a digital projection. Even funnier: The very English commentary that accompanies the moment. (Page Six)
Two: If you didn’t think that fake Liz was wacky enough, how about a video of the Queen enjoying a bit of tea with Paddington Bear? We personally thought it was a bit weird… but no more than most British things. (NPR)
Three: This may be the most normal part of the outlandish spectacle the Brits chose to put on for the jubilee—a Corgi Derby that pitched various members of the Queen’s fave breed against one another. We are happy to report it was mostly chaos among the ten pooches—of whom three were too distracted to make it to the finish line. (What? What’s wrong with a dog video in a section titled ‘headlines that matter’?) (Mashable)
Three things to see
One: This is an excellent example of the Chinese government’s paranoia about Tiananmen Square—where a protester was mowed over by tanks in plain sight of the entire world back in 1989. A very popular ecommerce influencer was trying to hawk a British brand of ice cream on a livestream. Sadly for Li Jiaqi—also known as ‘Lipstick King’—he held up an ice cream sculpture that looks vaguely like a tank. The live show ended asap—and now no one is available for comment. You have to look at the photo to fully grasp the insanity of this moment. (Wall Street Journal)
Two: We’re not exactly sure who remembers Beavis and Butt-head. But if you are among those people, this trailer is for you—and any new fans that the biggest douchebag duo from the 90s may gather among unsuspecting millennials and GenZ. FYI: This reboot is titled ‘Beavis and Butt-Head Do The Universe’. Yup, that tells you everything you need to know. (Huffington Post)
Three: What is going on with Joe Root’s bat? That’s what everyone wants to know. Why is it levitating in the middle of a match against New Zealand? Are the angrez channelling their inner Harry Potter? Or maybe it’s just a flat-bottomed bat that stands upright on its own. (NDTV)
Good stuff to check out
On the latest episode of the splainer podcast ‘Press Decode’, the splainer team looks at how easy it is to get a gun in India—and the meme-ification of the Depp/Heard trial. Be sure to head over to the IVM website, Spotify or Apple Podcasts to listen to it.
