Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Anannya Parekh & Aakriti Anand
Stock markets reel under BJP bombshell
The Sensex and Nifty witnessed the biggest single-day fall in four years. It was the market’s response to the bombshell news that ‘char sau paar’ proved to be a pipedream—fueled by equally fanciful exit polls. Both indices closed the trading day about 6% lower—with Sensex down 4,389.73 points and Nifty dropping 1,379.40 points. Among the hardest hit: Adani companies, of course.
Point to note: Markets soared when the exit poll results were released. Traders were also egged on by none other than Amit Shah: “I suggest that you buy (shares) before June 4. It will shoot up.” (Indian Express)
A big Google leak
Google accidentally recorded the voices of children, and collected lots of sensitive user information between 2013 and 2018. All of it was logged in an internal database that was leaked on Monday.
A massive leak of thousands of privacy and security issues logged by Google employees was shared via an anonymous tip to 404 Media this week. It showed that a Google audio feature accidentally recorded the voices of children, that Google Street View was transcribing and storing cars’ license plates, and that Google-owned Waze was leaking the home addresses of users — among many, many other incidents, 404 Media reported.
Why this matters: This comes after another massive leak, where a document revealed just how Google ranks search results. It has raised questions over the mismanagement of the massive volume of sensitive user data at its disposal. (Quartz)
Mexico has a woman prez!
Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president-elect scored a landslide victory—by a bigger margin than any Mexican presidential candidate in decades. In her first speech, she said: “I do not arrive alone—We all arrived, with our heroines who gave us our homeland, with our ancestors.” FYI: Mexico is pretty much run by women these days. They lead both houses of Congress, its Supreme Court, and its central bank.
Sheinbaum may not have an easy time in office—as she is the protégé of outgoing president López Obrador—who will be retiring. Washington Post says:
Mexico is entering uncharted waters. The old PRI system gave presidents enormous power, but each was forced to relinquish it when his single six-year term ended. Morena [party] is different: It’s built largely around López Obrador. Without his unifying force, it could splinter into feuding factions, making it difficult for Sheinbaum to govern.
New York Times has more on Sheinbaum’s prospects.
Another Israeli strike on Syria
Israeli airstrikes killed several people near a factory in Aleppo—including the Iranian military advisor Saeed Abyar. He was among 12 Iran-linked fighters killed in the attack. Why do you care: On April 1, Israel attacked the Iranian Consulate in Damascus—and crossed a big fat red line. It led to escalating tit-for-tat attacks between the two countries—raising worries of an expanding war. Also: Israeli PM Netanyahu is under the gun to accept a ceasefire plan put forward by President Biden. So it smells of a well-timed provocation, maybe. See our Big Story for more on the Israel vs Iran confrontation. (Associated Press)
Adult content is a-okay on X
Users can post NSFW content on the platform—as long as it is consensual and prominently labelled. The reason why:
‘We believe that users should be able to create, distribute, and consume material related to sexual themes as long as it is consensually produced and distributed. Sexual expression, visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression,’ X’s page on ‘adult content’ policies reads.
The rules around violent content are similar—but carry the caveat that they “should not be excessively gory or depicting sexual violence.” While Twitter has never banned NSFW content, this is a monetising move by X—perhaps as a competitor to OnlyFans. Data point to note: According to Reuters, 13% of X posts in 2022 contained NSFW content. (TechCrunch)
A massive car safety scandal in Japan
Authorities raided the Toyota headquarters in Tokyo—due to serious safety concerns. Officials claim there are “irregularities” in the vehicle test certification of certain models. The raid was prompted by an investigation into the Daihatsu compact model. What’s worse: A number of leading car makers—Honda, Mazda, and Suzuki—also admitted to falsifying safety data:
About 1.7 million cars were affected by Toyota's misconduct while Mazda and Yamaha saw irregularities in about 150,000 and 7,000 vehicles, respectively. Honda and Suzuki reported some 4.35 million and 26,000 vehicles, respectively…Toyota turned in incorrect data and rigged engine output in tests, while Mazda purposely rewrote engine controlling software. Suzuki, Honda, and Yamaha reported falsified test results, among other wrongdoings.
The government has asked Toyota to stop production of three cars—Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio, and Yaris Cross—which is good to know if you own one. (Kyodo News)
Coldplay’s shrinking carbon footprint
Ever since they kicked off their Music of the Spheres world tour in 2022, the band has managed to reduce emissions by 59%—across show production, freight, and band and crew travel. Even more impressive: 72% of the tour waste was reused, recycled, or made into compost—they helped plant seven million trees. FYI: Coldplay will be coming to Indian shores in January 2025. You can see energetic cyclists powering one of their concerts. (BBC News)
Two things to see
One: Republican House Rep. John Rose’s six-year-old has become an internet legend for making funny faces to the camera—while his father delivered a rather dreary speech. Take your kids to work? That’s a hard pass! Watch the hilarious vid below: (ABC News)
Two: Marvel fans, rejoice! The trailer for ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ just dropped. Tom Hardy returns as Eddie Brock and his alter ego Venom—an alien symbiote—better known for being a Spider-Man villain. This third and final instalment is the end of his anti-hero journey. It will be released on October 25. (Variety)
