Bangladesh in crisis: Signs & bad omens

Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani

Bangladesh in crisis: Signs & bad omens

The context: Bangladesh has been in a state of civil unrest since July. What started as angry student protests against reservation quotas turned into a nationwide movement—and the fall of longtime PM Sheikh Hasina. Hasina and other senior leaders of her party—Awami League—fled, leaving an interim government led by Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus to take control. The unrest has also seen heightened attacks on Hindus and other religious minorities.

What happened now: There are more worrying signs that the new establishment is more intent on retribution than restoring order. It has arrested leading Awami League members on murder charges—including Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and Tipu Munshi. They have been linked to the killing of a 38-year-old protester—shot by the police. They are accused of giving orders to shoot—which seems a bit of stretch given their official positions. Chaudhury was the Speaker of the House—and Munshi was Commerce Minister at the time.

Leaders of other parties have also been arrested—such as Rashed Khan Menon. He too has been implicated in the shooting death of a protester—even though he never held an official post. FYI: Hasina—who is in exile in India—now faces a total of 75 cases against her, which include murder, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

Even more worrying: The interim government has ended the detention of several extremists—suspected of links with Al Qaeda and Pakistani intelligence agencies. The decision was influenced by the Jamaat-e-Islami—which was banned under Sheikh Hasina. Most prominent among those freed: Jashimuddin Rahmani:

Private university students had “vowed to kill atheist bloggers” after reading Rahmani’s books and hearing his sermons. Rahmani, reportedly, used to issue sermons every Friday, saying that it was “legal” to kill any atheist or person against Islam and Prophet Mohammed. Rahmani’s ABT had taken responsibility for the murders of several bloggers and writers, such as Avijit Roy, Oyasiqur Rahman Babu, Ananta Bijoy Das, and AKM Shafiul Islam, a professor of Rajshahi University between 2013 and 2016.

The bottomline: Bangladeshis, welcome to your new overlords, same as the old overlords. PTI via Economic Times and The Print have more.

A list of filthy rich Indians

Each year, the Hurun India Rich List is turned into an ego battle between the two As—Ambani and Adani. In 2024, Gautam-bhai has decisively come out on top. In fact, he is the #1 fat cat in the country with a net worth of Rs 1,161,800 crore (11.6 trillion)—followed by the Ambani khandaan with Rs 1,014,700 crore (10.1 trillion). The rest of the top 10 includes the usual suspects—Cyrus Poonawalla at #4, Kumar Mangalam Birla at #6 and Niraj Bajaj rounding out the top 10.

As for women of wealth: Founder Radha Vembu stayed at the top of the self-made women billionaires pile with a net worth of Rs 47,500 crore (475 billion). Nykaa’s Falguni Nayar in the #2 spot with Rs 32,200 crore (322 billion) and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw at #4. Also on the self-made women’s list—Juhi Chawla, with a net worth of Rs 4,600 crore (46 billion).

New entrants: Making it to the billionaires list for the first time is Shah Rukh Khan with Rs 73 billion (7,300 crore)—and Zepto’s 21-year-old co-founder Kaivalya Vohra, who is now the youngest Indian billionaire, followed closely by his co-founder, the 22-year-old Aadit Palicha.

The big picture: 2024 marks the first time the number of billionaires in India has crossed the 300-mark. There are 334 this year—with 75 new billionaires added in the last year alone. Also, 1,500 Indian individuals now have a wealth of over Rs 1,000 crore (10 billion), which is a 150% increase from seven years ago. Too bad, the Indian middle class—which makes up 31% of the population—only earns between Rs 1.09 lakh (Rs 109,000) and Rs 6.46 lakh (Rs 646,000) a year. Economic Times has more analysis, and CNBC TV18 has more data.

Mollywood MeToo: The latest update

The Kerala police have registered new FIRs against a number of prominent actors—including Jayasurya and Kollam MLA Mukesh. Three MLAs have been charged—including two from Congress and one from the ruling Left alliance.

FYI: Amid the many complaints by women, a man claims to have been sexually abused by director Ranjith. Also this:

A case of sexual assault was also registered against documentary director Vineeth, and movie reviewers Santhosh Varkey, known as Arattu Annan, Alin Jose Perera, and two others based on a complaint from a 34-year-old transwoman, who alleged that she was sexually assaulted by them in April this year.

Indian Express and The Telegraph have more.

Yelp vs Google: A new antitrust battle

The context: In 2020, the US government filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, claiming that its practices stifle competition and hurt the consumer. The case specifically flagged its monopoly over search (see: this Big Story). In August, a district judge ruled against Google—saying that its search engine squelched smaller rivals like Bing or DuckDuckGo, “by ensuring that all of Android and Apple and mobile users are offered Google, either as the default general search engine or the only general search engine.”

What happened now: The company has now been sued by Yelp—which claims that Google search favours its own restaurant and business reviews:

Yelp argues that Google gives its own reviews preferential placement in search results, directing traffic away from Yelp even though its reviews are higher-quality and more helpful to people. “Our case is about Google, the largest information gatekeeper in existence, putting its heavy thumb on the scale to stifle competition and keep consumers within its own walled garden,” [wrote] Yelp chief executive Jeremy Stoppelman.

Unsurprisingly, Google plans to “vigorously defend against Yelp’s meritless claims.” (Washington Post, paywalled, The Verge)

Moving on to Meta: In its latest sustainability report, the company claims to have reduced its carbon footprint almost by half in 2023. A Verge analysis of the numbers finds otherwise. The sleight of hand depends on a differentiation between “market-based” emissions (which have fallen a lot) and “location-based” emissions (which have risen a bit). But the total of the two has indeed dropped by 50%.

But, but, but: The local pollution numbers reflect emissions generated by the company’s actual electricity use where it is located: “Data centres typically connect into the local power grid, so they run on the same mix of fossil fuels as everyone else.” Also: Data centres guzzle a lot of electricity—and will guzzle even more as AI spends continue to skyrocket.

As for the other number: ‘Market-based emissions’ reflects Meta’s purchase of something called a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC):

Power companies generating renewable energy can sell both the electricity itself and the REC, which is supposed to provide additional income to support the development of new renewable projects. Companies like Meta can ostensibly cancel out or offset carbon emissions from their electricity use by purchasing those RECs.

Let’s be clear, the company buys the certificate, not actual energy—which makes it a bit of a scam.

Why this matters: Meta’s case illustrates how wealthy companies can often buy their way out of their mandated ‘green’ goals. The Verge has lots more on why the emissions math is deceptive. ICYMI: This Big Story by Samarth Bansal looks at the hidden energy cost of AI data centres.

Do you want to buy some sunlight?

Also on the climate change market: sunlight. A California startup is selling sunlight to anyone who may need it—solar farms or even individuals. You can buy the commodity for times of scarcity—like nights or cloudy days. Here’s how it works:

Reflect Orbital plans to deploy 57 small satellites into low-Earth orbit. Each satellite will be outfitted with a 33-square-foot reflective Mylar mirror. These mirrors are designed to reflect sunlight down to Earth, targeting solar farms and extending their operational hours by providing an extra 30 minutes of sunlight after sunset or before sunrise. The mirrors will focus sunlight into a concentrated beam, directed by solar farm operators using a simple interface, where users can log in, provide GPS coordinates, and request sunlight.

The video below shows you how users can just select their location—and bask in the rays! Of course, many experts think this is a terrible idea. The Hindu has more on why.

Editor’s note: I highly recommend ‘Venomous Lumpsucker’ by Ned Bauman—a scathing, brilliant tale of the ‘extinction economy’ set in the near future. It’s very funny, eye-opening—and far too close to reality.

Dogs can really understand what we say

Every owner spends vast amounts of time decoding the many moods and demands of their precious pet. Hence, the obsession with soundboards—that let dogs ‘talk’. It works like this:

These ‘button dogs’ sound a bit hokey but a new study shows that the soundboard actually works—sorta:

The research suggests that dogs can grasp the meaning of specific words and respond appropriately, regardless of whether they hear them from people or whether the words are triggered by someone pressing a button on a prerecorded soundboard. The researchers said the findings show that the dogs understand the words and aren’t reacting to body-language cues from humans.

As the co-author of the study puts it: “While this study is most certainly not mind-blowing, it is a necessary first step.” (Washington Post, paywalled, The Guardian)

what caught our eye

business & tech

It’s the end of an era for Tumblr as you know it—they’re making the move to WordPress and taking the archive of half a billion blogs with them.
Condoms aren’t always secure—Durex India has spilled customers’ private information online, including full names and order details.
India’s telecom regulator believes differential tariffs and steeper fines are the key to curbing spam calls.
SpiceJet flew empty aircrafts from Dubai to Delhi after passengers weren’t allowed to check in at Dubai airport. The reason: SpiceJet hasn’t been paying its dues.

sports & entertainment

The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to justify why it retrospectively waived police cover dues from the organisers of IPL matches from 2011 onwards.
Sportstar has a good read on Paralympics athlete Sukant Kadam and the painstaking art of going with the flow after a life-changing knee injury.
The host of the next Golden Globes is…comedian and celebrity roastmaster Nikki Glaser.

as for the rest

A transgender identity certificate issued by the district magistrate will be treated as valid documentation for a PAN card application, the government has told the Supreme Court.
Wipro returns to college campuses for fresher hiring, but with a catch.
You get barred, you get barred, everyone gets barred—Russia has added 92 Americans, including some journalists, to its banned list that goes past 2,000 people.
Israel has agreed to staggered pauses in its war on Gaza to allow for polio vaccines to be administered.
Parenting is becoming hazardous to your health, the US’ Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has revealed in an advisory.
Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) has a good read on the rise of the $1000-a-night hotel room.
New York Times (splainer gift link) has a good read on the irresistible urge to change your location on a dating app.
The Hindu pays tribute to the fearless author, political analyst and Constitutional expert AG Noorani, who has passed away at the age of 94.

Six things to see

One: Tripura has been rocked by floods and landslides—which have killed 31 people and caused Rs 15,000 crore (150 billion) worth of destruction. Over 50,000 people are staying in 370-odd relief camps after losing their homes. You can see some of the devastation below. (PTI via Economic Times)

Below is a glimpse of the flooding that took place last week.

Two: Heavy rains in Gujarat have caused another kind of flood—of hundreds of crocodiles wandering down the streets of Vadodara. One even made it to the roof—as you can see in this video. (Economic Times)

Three: Move over, Bharat Jodo—Bharat Dojo Yatra is here. The Congress party released a video of Rahul Gandhi in a jiu-jitsu class on National Sports Day (Economic Times)

Four: US Rugby star Ilona Maher—who led her team to a bronze medal at this year’s Olympics—is making waves because of her Sports Illustrated cover. As you can see, she looks mighty fine. (People Magazine)
Five: We're intrigued by this teaser for ‘Rumours’—starring Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander, among others. The film is a horror-comedy set during a G7 meet—and is directed by Guy Maddin. Our fave bit: A giant brain! The film releases in theatres on October 18. (Hollywood Reporter)

Six: The photo below is one of the best entries in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The overall winner below shows a jaguar killing a caiman. A selection of the other entries are available on the website here. (Gizmodo)

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