Researched by: Nirmal Bhansali & Aarthi Ramnath
A miraculous escape on Japan Airlines
A JAL flight collided with a smaller coast guard aircraft on the tarmac at Haneda airport in Tokyo. The plane was almost immediately engulfed in flames. See the footage of the collision below:
But the 12-person crew managed to save all 379 passengers, including eight children—and themselves. They slid down inflatable slides at the front. It was miraculous given the shape of the Airbus—which was broken in two and bent on its nose. It took 110 fire engines three hours to put out the blaze. The sad bit: Five people on the smaller plane were killed. You can see the burning plane below. (The Guardian)
The Gaza War: The latest update
The death toll: has crossed 22,000—with 22,185 Palestinians killed in Gaza so far. Two-thirds of the casualties are women and children.
Harvard prez resigns: Claudine Gay became the second casualty of a disastrous Congressional hearing. When asked if “calling for the genocide of Jews” violated the schools’ codes of conduct, presidents of top Ivy League schools could not offer a yes/no answer. Although Harvard appeared to stand by Gay, she faces allegations of plagiarism—made in an unsigned letter circulating on campus. The governing board said the decision was “guided by the best interests of the institution whose future progress and well-being we are together committed to uphold." (Axios)
Top Hamas leader killed: One of the founders of Hamas’ military wing—Saleh al-Arouri—was killed on January 2 in an explosion in a southern Beirut suburb. He was in charge of Hamas’ presence in the West Bank. “One official” told the New York Times that it’s the first among many covert strikes to take out Hamas leaders. Wait, isn’t that why they’re bombing Gaza into the ground?
2023 was hot as hell
According to the Meteorological Department, it was the second warmest year recorded in India since 1901. This is in keeping with the trend of rising temperatures in the past 14 years—when the top five warmest years were recorded. These include 2016 (+0.710°C); 2023 (+0.65°C); 2009 (+0.55°C); 2017 (+0.541°C) and 2010 (+0.539°C). The average temperature in India has risen by 1.01°C over the past hundred years. FYI: Europe and the US are expected to declare 2023 as their warmest year ever.
The bad news: It isn’t going to cool down anytime soon:
Many climate scientists expect a strong El Niño to fuel an even hotter year globally, perhaps temporarily hitting the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold even more often. “We expect two new temperature record-breaking years in succession,” stated Nick Dunstone, with the Met Office, the national meteorological service for the United Kingdom.
USA Today has more on the global trends. We have explained the effects of El Niño in this Big Story. (Hindustan Times)
A hefty valuation cut for X
The mutual fund Fidelity has hacked the company’s valuation once again. It has dropped 71.5%—compared to its value at the time of purchase. Reminder: Elon Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter. Fidelity chopped the valuation by 10.5% in November 2023—when Elon told advertisers to “go f**k yourself” during an on-stage interview. This is a steeper slide down the slope toward disaster. (Bloomberg News, paywall, Axios)
Trucker protests over new law
The context: Last month, the government passed three bills that will replace the Indian Penal Code. One of the changes: drivers who flee hit-and-run accidents can face 10 years in jail plus a fine of Rs 700,000. This has enraged truck drivers across the country. The reason:
Drivers consider the law one-sided and harsh. In case of an accident, if we stay, an angry mob could resort to damage the life and property. And, if we run, we would be subjected to harsh punishment.
What happened now: Protesters blocked highways—resulting in fuel shortages in up to 2,000 petrol pumps and panic buying of essentials. Worried about supply chain issues, the government has promised truckers that it will consult their trade union—All India Motor Transport Congress—before implementing the new law. The protests have been called off. Indian Express explains the law. The clip below offers a glimpse of the terrible jams in the highways due to the protests. (The Hindu)
An Aadhar-sized calamity for rural workers
The context: As you know, the job scheme MGNREGA guarantees 100 days of work to rural households—and serves as a vital source of income. On January 30, the government introduced the Aadhaar Based Payment System (ABPS) to offer a safe and transparent method to pay wages. ABPS links a person’s Aadhar number to their MGNREG job card–and their bank account. The payment method was optional until the government decided to make it mandatory last year—but postponed its plans due to resistance.
What happened now: Tired of waiting, the government set a new deadline—January 1, 2024. The result: Over 17.8 million (1.78 crore) of active workers registered in the MGNREGA database have become ineligible for employment. The reason: their Aadhar card is not linked as required. Also this:
Anecdotal evidence and ground reports suggest that, facing pressure from the Union government to have 100% ABPS-eligible job cards, States have deleted a number of cards which were not eligible for Aadhaar payments. This includes cases where there were discrepancies between the two documents, the Aadhaar and the job card, such as different spellings of workers’ names. The cards have been deleted citing various reasons, including that the worker was “not willing to work.”
Workers in northeastern states have suffered the most: less than 50% of them in Nagaland (20.6%), Meghalaya (21.5%) and Assam (48.1%) are eligible for payment or employment. (The Print)
Stepping up to a bigger brain
A new study has linked brain size to regular exercise—and of the most modest kind. Researchers found folks who regularly engaged in some kind of physical activity—walking, running, or a sport—had larger brain volumes in specific areas: the 'decision making' frontal lobe and hippocampus which is responsible for storing memories. The even better news—especially for older people:
We found that even moderate levels of physical activity, such as taking fewer than 4,000 steps a day, can have a positive effect on brain health. This is much less than the often-suggested 10,000 steps, making it a more achievable goal for many people.
Point to note: Bigger brain volume also helps delay the onset of Alzheimer’s. (Science Alert)
Paula Abdul sues American Idol
The context: Typically, there is a 10 to 20-year statute of limitation on sex abuse cases. But some states offered a one-year window to survivors of sexual abuse to file civil suits regardless of when the abuse happened. In the last two months, a number of noted celebs were accused of sexual assault to beat the New York deadline—including Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler, Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, rapper P Diddy and actor Jamie Foxx.
What happened now: Singer and American Idol judge Paula Abdul has accused the show’s executive producer—Nigel Lythgoe—of multiple sexual assaults. He allegedly kissed and groped her in the elevator—and assaulted her again over dinner. Abdul’s filing in a California court also claims: “She was the target of constant taunts, bullying, humiliation, and harassment from several executives, agents, employees, and/or representatives of Defendants.” The production companies have been named in the suit as well. Lythgoe has vigorously denied all allegations. (NPR)
A ‘sports shoe’ controversy in chess
The dress code at the International Chess Federation tournament (FIDE) bans players from wearing “sports shoes.” The definition is kinda vague since many sneakers are okay. Dutch player Anna-Maja Kazarian recently had to pay a €100 fine for wearing a pair of Burberry sneakers. She describes them as “fancy, classy shoes” that are definitely not made for playing any kind of sport. Kazarian is one of many victims of the shoe rule—which is making players unhappy. The FIDE dress code has long been notorious for being arbitrary. Example:
In 2019, junior world champion Parham Maghsoodloo of India told a commentator that he hadn’t worn his “lucky” jacket, a black puffer vest, because “on the first day an arbiter told me: ‘Never wear this again!”
Quartz has more on the controversy. You can see the offending shoes below.
Two Mickey Mouse things to see
As we noted before, the copyrights for a number of iconic characters and books are due to expire this year. The first on the block: A very early version of Mickey Mouse entered the public domain on January 1. And poor Mickey—stripped of Disney’s protection—has already been subjected to great indignities. We have this trailer for a horror video game:
And this is the trailer for a horror-comedy—called ‘Mickey Mouse Trap’—which turns him into a killer. Haw, paavam. (Hollywood Reporter)
