headlines that matter

Researched by: Rachel John, Aarthi Ramnath & Anannya Parekh

Dropping on Sunday: ‘24 Questions!

We are super excited to announce the launch of our big election project this Sunday, March 3. All through the election season, we will send you an exclusive election goodie bag right in your inbox each week. It’s exactly what you need to tune out the exhausting negativity and noise of the election season. 

What you can expect: Each edition will include the following:

• Deep dives by independent experts—with true area expertise—that will DECODE everything around elections.
• Creative (and shareworthy) infographics that offer important insights—perfect EYE CANDY. 
• Our pick of the best YouTube analysis in our WATCHLIST.
• A weekly roundup of the most taaza election khabar plus the best reads of the season to understand the STATE OF PLAY.

Coming soon: Join our new Whatsapp channel here—to stay in the loop! And look for announcements of our IRL town halls—where you get to ask the smartest people in the biz all the questions you have about this election.  

The big picture: Every bit of our election project is designed to help you understand what makes our democracy tick—without jargon or rants (and a sense of humour). If you’d like to support our work, you can get a founding member subscription—which comes with free subs for you and your friends:)

As always, thank you for your continued support. With your help, we hope to kick ass this election season, splainer style!

War on Gaza: A heartbreaking massacre

We do not use the word lightly. Yesterday, 104 Palestinian civilians were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on them. Another 750 were injured. They were shot while desperately clamouring for food from aid trucks. 

What happened: This is what happened according to eyewitness accounts: 

“I have been waiting since yesterday. At about 4:30 this morning, trucks started to come through. Once we approached the aid trucks, the Israeli tanks and warplanes started firing at us, as if it was a trap.”

Israeli tanks then crushed bodies lying on the ground. There were no ambulances—the injured had to be rushed to hospitals that were overflowing and had no fuel. 

Point to note: This is not the first such incident:

The mass shooting was the latest instance of systematic attacks on hungry people waiting for scraps of food. Over the past few days, Palestinians gathered in large groups waiting for aid trucks on Salah al-Din Street near Gaza City have been shot at by Israeli forces.

The Israeli version: Gazans trampled each other to death. Israeli tanks “cautiously tried to disperse the mob with a few warning shots”—as did the soldiers when they were approached by “threatening” Palestinians. OTOH, the Gazan health authorities say that most of the victims “suffered gunshots and shrapnel in the head and upper parts of their bodies.” There is some evidence that many Gazans were also run over by panicked aid drivers trying to escape.

Reminder: The UN has warned at least a quarter of Gaza’s population is “one step away from famine.” Also: “people are so hungry they are resorting to eating leaves, donkey feed and food scraps.” The trucks were carrying sacks of flour.

The fallout: It will likely jeopardise ceasefire talks. The UN is calling for an investigation. The US is making its usual “we’re appalled” noises—frantically calling Qatar and Egypt to contain the damage. Al Jazeera and BBC News have the best reporting. NPR did an investigation into the total death count in Gaza—which is likely way higher than the official number of 30,035. The clip below appears to show the moment the shooting began:

This is the chaos after:

Putin threatens nuclear war

In his annual speech to the nation, the Russian president said there will be severe consequences if Western allies took more aggressive steps to help Ukraine:

Mr. Putin said NATO countries that were helping Ukraine strike Russian territory or might consider sending their own troops “must, in the end, understand” that “all this truly threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, and therefore the destruction of civilization… We also have weapons that can strike targets on their territory,” Mr. Putin said. “Do they not understand this?”

This comes on the heels of French president Emannuel Macron suggesting that NATO may be willing to send troops. None of his European allies share his enthusiasm. Guess Putin is making sure it stays that way. (New York Times)

Coming soon: Made-in-India semiconductor chips

The government has approved three projects worth $15.2 billion for the manufacture of semiconductor chips. These include Tata Group’s proposal to build an $11 billion site that can fabricate about 50,000 wafers per month—in Dholera, Gujarat, in partnership with Taiwan-based Powerchip (PSMC). Also approved: Tata’s separate proposal for a $3 billion-plus chip assembly plant.

Why this matters: 

While still merely blueprints, the approvals advance India’s semiconductor ambitions. Like a growing number of countries around the world, the Modi administration is keen to endorse and back the building of domestic chipmaking capacity, ensuring supply of the components needed for future technologies from AI to self-driving cars.

Indian Express explains why this is a huge boost for India. (Bloomberg News)

Temporary truce in Himachal Pradesh 

The context: Earlier this week, Congress got a rude surprise when its nominee for the state’s sole Rajya Sabha seat, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, was defeated by his BJP rival—because six Congress MLAs voted against him. Yesterday, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s government survived by barely passing the budget—which is necessary to avoid a vote of confidence. Fifteen BJP MLAs were kicked out—and the rest walked out. 

What happened now: Now, the six rebel Congress MLAs have been disqualified by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania. The official reason: their absence from the House during the Budget vote—defying a direct order from the party high command. The MLAs plan to move the Supreme Court. The party high command seems to have quelled the internal war… for now. (Indian Express)

Meanwhile, in Sandeshkhali: The West Bengal police have finally arrested Trinamool Congress strongman Sheikh Shahjahan—accused of sexually exploiting an entire village. He has been charged under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder), 353 (criminal force against public servant) and 326 (grievous hurt) among others. He has been sent to 10 days in police custody for now. Our Big Story has more on the disturbing allegations against Shahjahan and how Sandeshkhali has become a political lightning rod in the state. (Hindustan Times) 

Good news about leopards

The number of leopards in India has grown by 1,000 over the past four years—jumping from 12,852 in 2018 to 13,874 in 2022. Madhya Pradesh has the largest population with 3,907 leopards—followed by Maharashtra (1,985) and Karnataka (1,879). West Bengal witnessed the greatest increase. But the government report also warns of increasing human-animal conflict—and poaching. The Telegraph has more details.

Farmers protests 2.0: The police strike back

Haryana police announced plans to cancel passports and visas of “rowdies” who broke barricades at the Punjab border:

“Through CCTV or drone cameras and videography, we have identified such persons engaged in breaking barricades or causing disturbances. We have also taken numerous photographs in which they are seen vandalising properties and causing disturbances through different means,” added the DSP.

Farm leaders also claim that the police have also put up notices outside their houses—declaring their properties will be seized, and their bank accounts frozen. 

Point to remember: According to the Internet Freedom Foundation, collecting data on protesters through CCTVs and drones violates their fundamental rights to privacy and to freedom of speech and movement. (Indian Express)

Saudis are in the tennis stadium!

After conquering golf, F-1, football and boxing, the Gulf state has inked a “multi-year strategic partnership” with the ATP tour. This will include branding:

The ATP rankings, plus the year-end world number one award, will be named after Saudi's Public Investment Fund. PIF on-court branding will be seen at some of the ATP Tour's biggest events, starting at Indian Wells next month.

ATP already hosts a tournament in Saudi Arabia—the Next Gen ATP Finals—and a number of exhibition matches with big stars like Rafael Nadal. In fact, Nadal signed up as the brand ambassador for Saudi tennis last month. This partnership is the next step toward dominating the sport. (BBC Sport)

Moving on to cricket: Earlier this week, the BCCI announced the list of players who will receive national team contracts. The big omissions: Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan—because they skipped their Ranji matches—to rest themselves for IPL. Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan called out the BCCI’s double standards—pointing out that Hardik Pandya also did not play any domestic matches:

If players like Hardik don’t want to play red ball cricket, should he and others like him participate in white-ball domestic cricket when they aren’t on national duty? If this doesn’t apply to all, then Indian cricket won’t achieve the desired results!

Point to note: Pandya dropped out of the World Cup due to an injury—and has not played any competitive cricket since then. OTOH, the all-rounder has actually not played any Ranji match since 2018 because of “back problems.” But he has always been in shape to play in the IPL. Hindustan Times defends Pandya’s reasons for not playing any red ball domestic cricket while Wisden offers a sympathetic look at Kishan and Iyer.

A new geoengineering plan to save Earth

The context:  The planet is warmer by 1.2°C. And it has become increasingly clear that we’re well on our way to a rise of at least 1.5°C—which will trigger catastrophic floods, droughts, wildfires and rising sea levels. Despite increasingly urgent warnings, governments have shown little appetite for the hard choices required to cut emissions—and meet climate targets. As a result, scientists are now more seriously considering the option of geoengineering—using tech to cool down the world. Our Big Story has lots more on this. 

What happened now: A new study offers a brand new approach: dehydration. The plan is to reduce the water content in the Earth’s atmosphere to allow more heat to escape—and in effect cool down the planet:

Water vapor acts as a greenhouse gas in Earth’s atmosphere, absorbing radiation from the Sun and then emitting it to the surface of our planet. The scientists behind the new study want to target a small amount of the water vapor found in the stratosphere, the second layer of Earth’s atmosphere, by adding ice-nucleating particles. With water vapor condensing to ice, there would be less trapped heat. Removing around 3% of the water vapor would have a global effect, according to the study.

Scientists recommend trying this in just one small region above northern Australia. But, but, but: This study is still very much theoretical. (Gizmodo)

A new therapy for menopause

Menopause is accompanied by a variety of symptoms—including hot flashes, night sweats, memory problems—plus depression and anxiety. A new study shows that talking therapies can offer some relief. The authors say there is a “clear link” between physical and mood–related symptoms:

When people have hot flushes they tend to get very anxious about having them, and that anxiety can often cause people to have more hot flushes…therapies such as CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy] could help women counter the negative thoughts they may have over such symptoms, such as fears over what others may think.

In sum, therapy can have a “medium to large effect on quality of life, and a small but positive impact on anxiety and depression.” The Guardian has more.

Drishyam is going to Hollywood!

The celebrated Malayalam thriller franchise ‘Drishyam’ is headed to Hollywood. It will be remade in English—with US companies Gulfstream Pictures and JOAT Films. It is part of a global campaign by the Indian company Panorama—which produced the Hindi version. It has acquired the international remake rights to Drishyam and its sequel—and has been cutting deals to produce it in different languages. Already in the bag: deal for a Korean remake with a Spanish version in the works. (Variety)

Two things to see 

One: Scientists now have photographic evidence of a very important event—two humpback whales having sex. The plot twist: they’re both male! Scientists had never set eyes on a humpback whale penis or witnessed them hooking up until January 2022—when this photograph was taken off the coast of Hawaii. (The Guardian)

Two: Bill Gates is always in India—and always finding new ways to make the news. The latest stunt: a chai break with social media sensation Dolly Chaiwalla. If you don’t know who that is, Economic Times has all the deets.