Researched by: Rachel John, Aarthi Ramnath & Anannya Parekh
Delimitation dharma: A YouTube explainer
In 2026, there will be a significant readjustment of Lok Sabha seats—granting North Indian states a decisive majority. The reason: the North has far more citizens than the South. So should the South be “punished” for population control—or is it the inevitable price of the one person one vote rule? We look at that very prickly question in our latest video explainer.
Check it out below. Stay tuned for more such explainers on the big fat election coming soon, and be sure to hit the notification button.
War on Gaza: The latest update
A predicted death toll: A new study shows that the war could kill 85,000 Gazans in six months. This includes traumatic injuries and disease. The most optimistic scenario: 35,500. As of today, 29,313 Palestinians have been killed. Here’s what the lead author said:
This is not a political message or advocacy… We simply wanted to put it at the front of people’s minds and on the desks of decision makers, so that it can be said afterward that when these decisions were taken, there was some available evidence on how this would play out in terms of lives.
FYI: The IDF is now attacking aid convoys while Gaza residents are starving to death. New York Times has details of the study.
Yet another US veto: The US vetoed a proposal for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza proposed by Algeria in the UN Security Council. Washington doesn’t want any talk of a ceasefire without releasing hostages—because it would just “prolong the conflict.” What is notable about this veto: The US is now truly alone—even the UK abstained. And the French said that it was regrettable that the proposal was “not adopted given the disastrous situation on the ground.” The US is floating its own version—calling for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza “as soon as practicable.” But there doesn’t seem to be any sustained effort to put it to vote. (BBC News)
Israel builds a road: Tel Aviv is building a road that cuts across central Gaza that divides the region into two—and is among many “topographical changes” that the IDF is making to Gaza. It is also damning evidence that Israel plans to occupy Gaza—as it has the West Bank:
The east-west route is intended to be used and patrolled until Israeli military operations in Gaza are complete, which could last months or even years, according to Israeli officials, who say they have no intention to permanently occupy Gaza but plan to maintain “security control” within its borders for an indefinite period.
Farmers protests 2.0: The first death
The context: On February 13, about 250 farmer unions began marching towards Delhi—four years after the angry protests against the farm laws introduced by the government. Their primary demand: legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) that was promised by the government (explained here). They had paused the march after the Union government called them to the table for talks. Earlier this week, after several rounds of negotiations, the farmers rejected the government’s proposal and decided to resume the march.
What happened now: On Wednesday, the Haryana police attacked farmers with drones armed with tear gas and rubber bullets at the border with Punjab—which led to the death of one farmer. According to farm leaders, he was killed by a rubber bullet. The farmers have now suspended the march for the next two days and will take a call on the next course of action on Friday. The union government has proposed another round of talks. Reminder: 750 farmers had died in the 2020 protests. You can see the police launching tear gas at the farmers below. (The Hindu)
Nvidia reaches for the skies
The company reported revenues of $22 billion in the fourth quarter—up a whopping 270% from the previous year. The reason: Nvidia makes the chips that are powering the AI revolution underway across the globe. Microsoft and Meta spent $4.5 billion each on its chips last year — followed by Alphabet, Amazon, and Oracle. Nvidia’s stock price jumped by 9% to $732. FYI: The company’s shares are about 40% higher than it was at the beginning of January, and about 200% higher than a year ago. (New York Times, paywall, Quartz)
OTOH, there is ChatGPT: OpenAI’s chatbot had a moment yesterday—when it started spouting nonsense for hours—“switching between languages, getting stuck in loops, or even repeatedly correcting itself.” The cause is unknown but the company is working on a fix. We truly feel for all the kids trying to get their homework done at the last minute. (The Verge)
The AI good news for India: According to a new report, our AI market will reach $17 billion by 2027—growing at an annual rate of 25-35%. The reason for that dizzying growth:
India today has the second highest installed talent base with 420,000 employees working in AI job functions. India also has the highest skills penetration with three times more AI-skilled talent than other countries. The country ranks among the top five nations with a 14 times growth in individuals skilled with AI in the last 7 years.
Point to note: Leading firms like Wipro have already started investing heavily in reskilling their workforce in AI—allocating $1 billion over the next three years. Economic Times has lots more on the report.
Apple is getting sporty: The company unveiled a new Sports app that offers fast, frequent score updates, team stats and play breakdowns—but it’s limited to the US, UK and Canada for now. So no cricket for now, sadly. (Washington Post)
Pakistan finally has a PM
The context: The recently concluded Pakistani elections threw up a surprise result. Independent candidates supported by Imran Khan’s PTI won 93 seats—out of a total of 266 that are decided by direct election. The favourite Nawaz Sharif's PMLN managed just 73—and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's PPP won 54 seats. Even so, all parties were short of the majority mark of 134. Despite winning the most seats, PTI decided to remain as the opposition. Our Big Story has lots more on the election results.
What happened now: After ten days of negotiations, Sharif and Bhutto-Zardari finally announced a coalition government—that includes four smaller parties. Sharif’s younger brother Shehbaz Sharif—who led the caretaker government before the elections—will remain the prime minister. And former president Asif Ali Zardari will hang on to the president’s post. Al Jazeera has more on the uphill battle facing Imran Khan’s PTI—despite its big win. You can read our profile on Shehbaz Sharif in this Big Story. (Reuters)
Speaking of alliances: The Congress and Samajwadi Party have finally announced a seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. This is the first deal announced by the INDIA bloc. The Congress will contest 17 out of the total 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh—including its traditional bastions Raebareli and Amethi. It will also field a candidate in PM Modi’s constituency Varanasi—clearly going for the win. SP retained a whopping 63 seats—which speaks volumes for Congress’ clout in UP. (NDTV)
An illuminating pattern in BJP’s corporate donations
According to a joint investigation by The News Minute and NewsLaundry, 30 companies donated a total of Rs 3.35 billion (335 crore) to the BJP between 2018-19 and 2022-23. They had one thing in common: all of them were being investigated by central agencies—CBI, Enforcement Directorate, and the Income Tax Department—during this time. These included companies like Shree Cements, Haldiram Snacks Pvt Ltd and the Mahalaxmi Group.
Also this:
Of these firms, 23 companies, which gave a total of Rs 1.87 billion (187.58 crore) to the party during this period, had never donated any amount to the BJP between 2014 and the year of the raid. At least four of these companies donated a total of Rs 90 million (9.05 crore) within four months of the central agency visit. At least six of these firms, which were already donors to the party, handed out a heftier amount in the months following the searches.
The News Minute has lots more on the companies involved, but it is behind a paywall. A related good read: Our Big Story on the recent SC ruling on electoral bonds.
A de facto ban on IVF in Alabama
Parts of the United States seem to be reversing rapidly into the medieval ages. The Alabama Supreme Court recently ruled that embryos created and stored in a medical facility should be considered children. This may make freezing embryos illegal—which in turn will severely affect fertility treatments. While the verdict is muddled, institutions are already erring on the safe side. The University of Alabama at Birmingham announced it is pausing in vitro fertilisation treatments—because of the “potential that our patients and our physicians could be prosecuted criminally or face punitive damages for following the standard of care.” (New York Times)
The real ruler of country: Queen Bey
Beyoncé’s became the first Black woman to make #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs—with her single, ‘Texas Hold 'Em’. Her other single ‘16 Carriages’ made it to #9. This is quite an achievement given country music’s troubled history with race—and exclusion of Black artists. For example: In 2019, rapper Lil Nas X’s viral country-trap fusion ‘Old Town Road’ was removed from the list of top country songs—because Billboard claimed it wasn’t “country” enough. In fact, Billboard also rejected Beyoncé’s country-inspired track ‘Daddy Lessons’ in 2016. Reminder: A country music station refused to play Beyonce’s song earlier this month. A related good read: TIME magazine argues that Beyoncé has always been country. (The Guardian)
In sadder entertainment news: The legendary host of Binaca Geetmala—Ameen Sayani—passed away at the age of 91. The Hindu has a tribute to his career.
Cape Town’s very smelly problem
Residents of the South African city have been cursed with a foul stench—emitted by 19,000 live cattle on board a cargo ship docked in the harbour. As one of them put it: The smell “was so putrid, it would have been green if this were a cartoon.” On its way to Iraq from Brazil, the vessel has been carrying the animals for over two weeks—leading to a serious buildup of waste. As the SPCA points out, this is merely inconvenient for humans—but torture for animals trapped in “cramped holding pens across several decks.” (Associated Press)
Two things to see
One: Odysseus is expected to touch down on the Moon later this week as part of NASA’s Artemis program. If the lunar lander nails the landing, Intuitive Machines will become the first private company to reach the Moon’s surface. Meanwhile, Odysseus is already beaming back gorgeous photos of the Earth—creating a backdrop to parts of the spacecraft. (Gizmodo)
Two: Scientists have discovered a new species of green anaconda—the largest and heaviest snake ever recorded. Its name: Eunectes akayima. The Conversation has more on the discovery. Yes, this is far worse than any snake on a plane. (Independent UK)
