Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Anannya Parekh & Aakriti Anand
War on Gaza: Acute risk of famine
A report by a UN-backed group of experts revealed that more than 500,000 Palestinians—or 22% of the population—are on the brink of starvation and famine in the next few months:
The report described how more than half of households have exchanged clothing for food. A third have resorted to picking up trash items to sell. More than 20 percent of people surveyed have gone entire days and nights without eating.
Famine conditions temporarily improved in March and April—but deteriorated after the Rafah offensive began in May, closing off the main crossing for aid deliveries into the region. What’s worse: the UN has told Israel that it could not continue as the primary aid provider in the region if the security situation did not improve. (Washington Post, paywall, Axios News)
A Russian ban on EU publications
Russia has blocked 81 European publications—such as Agence France-Presse and Politico—for allegedly spreading inaccurate information about the country. This means that magazines, channels and newspapers from 25 out of 27 EU countries will not be inaccessible inside Russia. According to the Russian foreign ministry, this was retaliation for a similar move made by the European Union, which banned four Kremlin-linked outlets for spreading “Russian propaganda” back in May.
Why this matters: According to Mimikama—an Austrian fact-checking site—these bans, whether from Russia or the EU, could restrict freedom of speech. In short, “the real losers are the citizens”. (BBC News)
Arvind Kejriwal arrested, again!
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) formally arrested Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday in the Delhi excise policy case. The investigating agency is looking into an alleged “larger conspiracy” in the case, and has been granted custody of the Delhi CM for three days. A reminder: Kejriwal is still fighting for bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case that the Enforcement Directorate brought against him. He was granted bail by a trial court, but the Delhi High Court stayed the order. He withdrew his appeal against the HC order in the Supreme Court after his CBI arrest, and is expected to file a fresh plea soon. (The Hindu)
Controversial new tax laws in Kenya
The context: In May, a new finance bill introduced in Kenya’s parliament sparked public outrage over increased taxes. The bill included new taxes on essentials like bread and oil—significantly raising the cost of living in a struggling nation. This led to widespread protests last week, and the Parliament was forced to roll back the taxes on bread, oil, motor vehicles and financial transactions. But the lawmakers passed the bill with the changes on Tuesday.
What happened next: Thousands of protestors storming the parliament in Nairobi after the bill was passed, burning a part of the building. Kenyan police opened fire on the protestors, using live ammunition and rubber bullets. Protesters tried to attack state buildings or ruling party offices in other cities as well, prompting President William Ruto to deploy the military alongside the police in order to quash the protests by people he called “dangerous criminals” and “treasonous”. The interesting bit: These protests are led by primarily young, Gen-Z Kenyans.
What happened now: On Wednesday, President Ruto announced that he won’t be signing the bill into law, in the wake of the protests, which have killed 23 so far and injured more than 300 people.
“Listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this finance bill, I concede, and therefore, I will not sign the 2024 finance bill, and it shall subsequently be withdrawn,” Mr. Ruto said in an address to the country on Wednesday.
Kenya’s Human Rights Commission will now begin an investigation into the violence during the protests. You can watch the intensity of the protests in the video below. (New York Times, paywall, Al Jazeera)
Greeks will have to work longer
From July 1, Greece is shifting from a five-day work week to a six-day one. This will be the longest work week in the European Union with private sector employees required to work for 48 hours a week. FYI: Greece already has the longest working hours among most European countries and the US—clocking an average of 41 hours a week. The reason for the change:
The change to the labour laws was approved last September following productivity issues in the country, which have led many workers to put in extra hours and often not be compensated for the time. Officials also note there has been a shortage of skilled workers due to a shrinking population.
While the shift is not mandatory, those who opt for it will be able to earn 40% extra during the additional eight hours. Of course, not everyone is happy about the change and there were also protests against it in the country. Point to note: Greece’s approach is almost opposite to the efforts of other regions around the world, who are trying out to shift to a four-day week. FYI: A study in 2023 showed that people who worked a four-day week, were just as productive as those who worked for five days. Deutsche Welle has lots more.
After Apple, EU comes for Microsoft
The context: The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) has introduced a sweeping set of changes in the bloc’s antitrust rules, which regulate big tech companies. These include making services interoperable, allowing customers to choose their preferred search engine and browser, and ensuring that companies do not blockout their competitors who offer similar services. The deadline to comply with the rules was March 2024.
What happened now: After Apple, the EU is accusing Microsoft of hurting their competition by forcefully adding Teams to the Microsoft 365 suite of products, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc, or by giving customers a one-year free trial.
According to the EC, this tie up package does not leave consumers with a choice but to opt in to these products.
“We are concerned that Microsoft may be giving its own communication product Teams an undue advantage over competitors, by tying it to its popular productivity suites for businesses,” Margrethe Vestager, who oversees competition policy for the Commission, said in a statement. “And preserving competition for remote communication and collaboration tools is essential as it also fosters innovation on these markets.”
Point to note: To avoid antitrust scrutiny, Microsoft had started offering some suites without Teams last year. But that wasn’t enough. While Microsoft can defend its case, if the company is not successful, a fine up to 10% of its annual revenue could be levied on it. In 2023, its annual revenue was $212 billion. (Quartz)
Say goodbye to infinite scroll on Google
Google has reportedly removed its “infinite scroll” or continuous scrolling feature on search results for the desktop—and it will do the same for mobile devices in coming months. The feature was first introduced on mobile in 2021, to replicate how social media feeds work, and was added to the desktop version in 2022. Instead, the desktop version will now have a pagination bar, with page numbers at the bottom—while the mobile version will display a “More results” button. Here’s why Google is junking the feature:
“[T]his change is to allow the search company to serve the search results faster on more searches, instead of automatically loading results that users haven’t explicitly requested.”
Why this matters: Based on what is known about how Google Search really works, this could reduce the number of views that any brands or search results get, if they are placed on the second page of results, and beyond. Quite simply: Search rankings could determine the success and failure of businesses. (The Verge)
Meanwhile, at Snapchat: The company announced that it's adding new safety features to its app, to protect its teen users from potential sextortion by strangers. The features include blocking tools which would “block new friend requests sent from bad actors who were already blocked by the user when they are sent using other accounts created on the same device.” FYI: Snapchat’s primary user base is teenagers, with 20 million teen users in the US alone. (TechCrunch)
Say hello to Flipkart’s new payments app
Walmart-owned Flipkart is the newest entrant in the fintech industry, having launched a UPI payments app called Super.money, to allow people to make payments via their mobile phones. The move comes more than a year after Flipkart officially split from PhonePe. Currently, the app is available in beta mode on the Android Play Store. Here’s what they’re offering:
To woo customers, Super.money is promising “real cashback” and not “useless rewards” for paying, sending or receiving money via the app, the Android app’s description says.
We will have to wait and see if these promises are true. (TechCrunch)
Music labels sue AI tools
Three of the biggest music labels in the US—Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Records—have sued two prominent text-to-music AI companies Udio and Suno for copyright infringement and using their labels’ music to train their systems. According to the complaint, Suno allegedly copied 662 songs, and Udio ripped off 1,670 songs. The music labels are seeking massive damages of $150,000 per song copied.
The lawsuit has found that users have been able to create realistic music using the two AI tools—“including full songs using AI versions of real artists’ voices.” Here’s an example:
The complaints said Suno and Udio users have been able to recreate elements of songs including ‘The Temptations’, ‘My Girl,’ Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ and James Brown's ‘I Got You (I Feel Good),’ and could generate vocals that are ‘indistinguishable’ from musicians such as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and ABBA.
Ars Technica has lots more.
Euro 2024: Georgia fairytale takes flight
The group stage of Europe's premier men’s football competition—the UEFA Euro 2024—ended on Wednesday, with the teams for the round of 16 confirmed. Amid some dull draws, the tournament’s underdog debutant—Georgia—defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 2-0 in Gelsenkirchen, to reach the knockout stages.
Few expected Georgia to make it this far, as their world ranking of 74 is the lowest of the 24 nations playing. A 3-1 loss to Türkiye and a 1-1 draw with Czechia meant that the game against Euro 2016 champions Portugal was a must-win to avoid elimination. Star player Khvicha Kvaratskhelia—nicknamed ‘Kvaradona’ after the legendary Diego Maradona—scored inside 92 seconds into the match, while goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili made five crucial saves. Georgia will face two-time champions Spain in the round of 16 on June 30. Watch Kvaradona’s speedy opening goal below. (The Guardian)
Three things to see
One: The heat in Washington DC has melted the head off a wax statue of former president, Abraham Lincoln. The six foot sculpture was part of the Wax Monument series by Virginia-based artist Sandy Williams IV, which created wax replicas of important people and cultural symbols of US history. You can see the decapitated statue below: (BBC News)
Two: The rapper Snoop Dogg can add another achievement to his name: being an athlete. The artist participated in the athletics trials for the US contingent to the Olympic Games in July, which were held in Oregon on Monday, running the 200m dash in a matter of 34.44 seconds. FYI: He may have come third, but he’s clearly fit at 52! You can see a video of his try-out below. (CNN)
Three: The trailer of a new action-comedy called ‘Red One’ dropped, starring Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, and JK Simmons. The funny bit? It’s a heist film about finding Santa Claus, who’s been kidnapped before Christmas. The film hits theatres on November 15. You can watch the trailer below. (Variety)
