US warns of massive Russian invasion

New military and intelligence assessments claim that Russia is preparing for a large-scale invasion of Ukraine—which could leave 50,000 civilians dead or wounded, “decapitate” the government within two days—and trigger a mass exodus of 5 million refugees. Moscow’s response: “Madness and scaremongering continues. … What if we would say that US could seize London in a week and cause 300K civilian deaths?” 

Point to note: As of Friday, 83 Russian battalion tactical groups—with about 750 troops each—were assembled on the borders with Ukraine. As for its possible timing: 

“[O]ptimal conditions are thought to come between mid-February and the end of March, when Ukraine’s flat, open terrain and the rivers crisscrossing it are frozen, and armored vehicles can maneuver easily. One possibility is that Putin may hold off until after the Winter Olympics in Beijing conclude Feb 20, in order not to upset China by overshadowing the Games and threatening Chinese financial assistance in response to US sanctions.”

India’s big cricket wins

Two bits of good news. One: India beat West Indies by six wickets in the first ODI in Ahmedabad. The victory marked India’s 1,000th ODI and Rohit Sharma’s first outing as full-time skipper in white-ball cricket. Two: India also won the under-19 world cup for the fifth time—beating England by four wickets.

Covid emergency in Canada

Ottawa’s mayor has declared a state of emergency in response to an unprecedented 10-day occupation by protesting truckers—which has shut down much of the Canadian capital. What this is about:

“The ‘Freedom Convoy’ began as a movement against a Canadian vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.”

Protesters have paralyzed downtown Ottawa for the past nine days—with some participants waving Confederate or Nazi flags. Convoy organizers say they will not leave until the vaccine mandates are ended. (Reuters)

Congress opts for Channi

Rahul Gandhi put an end to months of speculation and announced Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as the CM candidate in the Punjab elections—which, no doubt, comes as a rude surprise for Navjot Singh Sidhu. Making the announcement, Gandhi said: “People of Punjab said that they want a Chief Minister from a poor family. The one who understands poverty and the pain of the poor because Punjab needs such a person.”  

Party insiders offered this take:

“Who changes the horse in the middle of a battle? If you do so, you draw the plan for your own defeat. Party had no other way out but to play Channi’s Dalit and gareeb ghar card. Announcing Sidhu’s name would have been a political suicide. The major reason for it was that Sidhu lost supporters within the party because there was hardly anyone left against whom he did not speak. He just always focused on ‘I’ not us.”

Spotify’s Rogan problem: The latest update

The company has now pulled 113 episodes of Joe Rogan’s podcast—but none of them are connected to allegations of Covid misinformation. And it was Rogan’s decision to take down these episodes—which may be connected to his latest video apologizing for his repeated use of the N-word (see below). Forbes has more details. Also making the rounds: An older clip of Rogan laughing as comedian Joey Diaz talks about forcing female comedians to give him oral sex in order to get performing gigs (see that here). Don’t know what this is about? Read our Spotify explainer.

Hijabs vs saffron scarves

First, some colleges in Karnataka banned female students wearing the veil from entering the campus—insisting it is a violation of the uniform code. Over the weekend, Hindu students took out a rally wearing saffron scarves—yelling ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

Now, the government has banned all “clothes which disturb equality, integrity and public law and order should not be worn.” Coming up: Five Muslim students have moved the High Court challenging the hijab ban—and the hearing will be held on Tuesday. There have been a number of takes on the hijab uproar—including this News Minute essay by Nisha Abdulla and this interesting Twitter thread by Ghazala Wahab (NDTV)

Camilla will be Queen

Queen Elizabeth gave an unexpected gift to her bahu on the 70th anniversary of her reign. In a message, she announced that she wants Camilla to be known as Queen Consort when Prince Charles becomes King. Why this matters: Camilla will have a fully-fledged royal role beside Charles—as opposed to being his divorced, not-quite-kosher second wife. (BBC News)

Pakistani exiles face assassination threat

The UK police has advised dissidents to keep a low profile. The reason: There have been a number of cases where hitmen have been hired to kill those who criticise the current government and intelligence services. One of these likely targets said:

“In the UK, a severe threat exists. London, Birmingham and cities like Sheffield with big Asian communities and where they [the Pakistani authorities] have people on their payroll. I was asked not to move around, not to leave the city and provide the police details of my contacts.”

Islamabad has called these “malicious allegations… nothing but absolute lies and sheer absurdity.” (The Guardian)

Gaya airport be so ‘GAY’

The Prime Minister recently inaugurated the international airport in Bihar with great pomp and ceremony. But a parliamentary panel has now taken offence to the airport code assigned to it: GAY—calling it “inappropriate, unsuitable, offensive and embarrassing.” The aviation ministry, however, says nothing can be done since the code is assigned by the International Air Transport Association—which will not change it unless there is a strong justification involving air safety. No, we aren’t giggling… (Scroll)

Mount Everest is melting

Its highest glacier has lost more than 180ft (54m) of thickness in the last 25 years. According to a new study, it is thinning 80 times faster than it first took the ice to form: “since the 1990s, ice that took around 2,000 years to form has melted away.” Point to note: Scientists say that the South Col Glacier “is very small in the grand scheme of things”—but it flags the need to take a closer look at what’s happening to Himalayan glaciers. (BBC News)

Arrest of a Kashmiri journalist

There is great outrage over the arrest of Fahad Shah—who is the editor-in-chief of ‘The Kashmir Walla’. He has been charged under the anti-terror UAPA laws—and accused of “anti-national content” and “glorifying terrorist activities” in his social media posts. Key point to note, according to unnamed Kashmiri sources: “It is an open FIR. It (arrest of Fahad) is the first arrest in the case.” (The Wire)

Three things to see

One: Here’s a rare positive scene from the UP election: Priyanka Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav sharing a friendly moment as their paths cross while campaigning.

Two: An Albrecht Dürer drawing—titled ‘The Virgin and Child’—and purchased for $30 at a yard sale in 2017 is likely to sell for more than $10 million. Well, someone somewhere is feeling very, very stupid. (CNN)

Three: Thandiwe Newton gave a tearful apology for benefiting from Hollywood’s colourism—as a light-skinned black woman: “It’s been very painful to have women look like my mom feel like I’m not representing them. That I’m taking from them. Taking their men, taking their work, taking their truth.” Some are not impressed and are calling it “performative.” (Vanity Fair)