Researched by: Nirmal Bhansali & Anannya Parekh
Kim Jong Un’s meetup with Putin
North Korea’s great leader is taking a very slow, armoured train to Vladivostok—to meet Vladimir Putin. The two men are expected to strike a deal that will have significance for the Ukraine war:
Russia will likely ask North Korea for conventional arms, including artillery shells and rocket artillery munitions in exchange for food and raw materials, and continuing support at international forums like the United Nations, [Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Ankit Panda] said. "This could open up the possibility of North Korea transferring more sophisticated weaponry to Russia to allow Moscow to maintain and backfill its own stocks of conventional weapons," he said.
As for his mode of transport—it is a “luxuriously decorated, heavily armoured and exceptionally slow-moving train.” The choice dates back to his grandfather who was scared of flying. And his grandson has mostly maintained the family tradition on his foreign visits—except for a trip to the US. FYI: it will take Kim an entire day to reach his destination. BBC News has more on the meeting and the Washington Post has details about the train.
Lethal floods in Libya
At least 2,000 are feared dead—and as many as 5,000 are missing after a major storm resulted in extreme flooding caused by Storm Daniel. The worst-hit: the city of Derna, which is home to over 85,000 people. You can see some of the devastation below:
The storm has also devastated crops in Greece—which lost a quarter of its production over just two days. Quartz has more on that story. Axios has the details on Libya.
A blockbuster antitrust trial in the US
The largest antitrust trial will kick off today as the US government takes on Google in court. The US Justice Department and a coalition of state attorneys general claim that the company’s practices stifle competition and hurt the consumer. The last time the federal government took such an action was against Microsoft in 1998—the same year Google was formed. This is a landmark with huge implications—especially if Google loses:
Such an order could have significant business implications for Google. For example, the government said in its lawsuit that the court could break up the company as a fix. More broadly, the Justice Department may argue that it wants to stop Google from leveraging its alleged search monopoly to making exclusive deals in newly emerging markets, including artificial intelligence.
We explained this lawsuit at length in this Big Story. (Reuters)
AI tech is a water guzzler
In its environmental impact report, Microsoft revealed that its consumption of water worldwide jumped by 34% in 2022. The reason: the supercomputers run by its AI partner OpenAI needed 1.7 billion gallons to keep them cool. That’s more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools:
Building a large language model requires analysing patterns across a huge trove of human-written text. All of that computing takes a lot of electricity and generates a lot of heat. To keep it cool on hot days, data centres need to pump in water — often to a cooling tower outside its warehouse-sized buildings.
A soon-to-be published paper estimates that ChatGPT “gulps up” 500 millilitres of water every time you ask it between 5 to 50 questions. Point to note: Google’s water consumption jumped by 20% in the same period—likely thanks to its chatbot Bard.
Why this matters: Reliance and the Tatas just partnered with Nvidia to bring those supercomputers to India. Think about how much more water will be required to keep them cool here—as opposed to Iowa. We also leave you with this data from a recent UN report:
Between two and three billion people experience water shortages for at least one month per year, posing severe risks to livelihoods, notably through food security and access to electricity. The global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to double from 930 million in 2016 to 1.7–2.4 billion people in 2050.
Fortune has more on the water requirements of AI.
In happier tech news: Instagram’s Twitter clone Threads has rolled out a search feature for users. Yes, it’s available in India. (The Hindu)
Chinese plan to police what you wear
The proposed legal amendments will allow authorities to fine or detain people who wear clothes or bear symbols that are “detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese people and hurt the feelings of Chinese people.” The language is so vague that the government can pretty much put you in jail for 15 days for wearing anything it deems offensive. FYI: there was plenty of this kind of totalitarian policing back in the days when China was tightly wedded to Communism:
Flared pants and bluejeans were considered “weird attire.” Some government buildings barred men with long hair and women wearing makeup and jewellery. Patrols organised by factories and schools cut flared pants and long hair with scissors.
More recently, people have gotten into trouble for wearing any kind of Japanese-style or gay-themed clothing. New York Times has more details on the proposed legislation and the state of fashion in China.
SRK rules the global box office
Shah Rukh Khan has outdone himself. ‘Jawan’ grossed $62.7 million worldwide over the weekend—second only to ‘The Nun II’. That is a staggering Rs 3.84 billion (384.69 crore) worldwide in just three days. And he beat Denzel Washington in ‘The Equalizer 3’—which came in third with $23.6 million. And the movie appears to be going strong even on Monday—with 300,000 tickets booked in advance across India. OTOH, his appreciation tweet for PM Modi’s success at the G20 summit was not appreciated by some. 🤷🏾 (Variety)
Also doing very well: Virat Kohli—who crossed the 13K mark in ODIs by scoring a century in the Asia Cup match against Pakistan on Monday. Helping him get there: KL Rahul who scored 111 runs. FYI: India chalked up a thumping 228-run win—the largest ever margin against Pakistan. Watch Virat’s joyous celebration below:
Moving on to football: According to an Indian Express scoop, the Indian football team coach Igor Stimac picks his final 11 for a game based on the recommendations of an astrologer. He was paid Rs 12-15 lakhs over two months to help the team qualify for the Asia Cup. Worse: the coach claims he was recommended by the federation:
Bhupesh was recommended to me and I was convinced (by others) that I have to check upon his possible effects in sports… No more than that. I requested another foreign assistant coach which was never even considered and was shocked to find out the size of Bhupesh’s contract.
Four things to see
One: Losing is never easy—especially when you are the world’s number one female tennis player. Watch a disappointed Aryna Sabalenka take out her frustration on her tennis racket—after losing the US Open final to Coco Gauff. We feel for you, girl!
What makes this story really cool: A fan dug the broken racquets out of the trash—and wangled an excellent photo with a now smiling Sabalenka. Everybody loves a winner—even when they lose the occasional tournament or two. (Independent UK)
Two: The second largest volcano in Hawaii erupted after taking a two-month break. Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the state. Nope, this one didn’t do any damage. (Associated Press)
Three: A number of trailers dropped this week. If you’re looking for a courtroom drama, keep an eye out for Jamie Foxx playing a real-life lawyer who sues a funeral company in ‘The Burial’. The movie premieres in select theatres on October 6 before hitting Prime Video on Oct 13. (Variety)
Four: Sandra Oh and Awkwafina come together in this comedy titled ‘Quiz Lady’—as two sisters trying to pay off their missing mother’s gambling debt. It is releasing on October 3 on Hulu. (Mashable)
