Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Anannya Parekh & Aakriti Anand
What the F*** Happened in UP?
ICYMI: We now have a twice-weekly newsmagazine show—hosted by our editor Lakshmi Chaudhry. In the latest episode, we look at why BJP was jilted by its jewel in the heartland crown. The answer among BJP insiders—Sabotage! Also: UP voters prefer Rahul Gandhi to Narendra Modi as PM! Wtf is happening here, indeed!
FYI: The show is a great option when you don’t have time to read us every day. You get a video version of our best stories twice a week. Do check it out and—most importantly—share it with your friends, fam, colleagues, and more. It’s a great cost-free way to introduce someone to splainer—especially if they are text-averse.
Kuwait ‘inferno’ claims 40 Indians
Forty nine workers were killed in a fire that destroyed an apartment building in the district of Al-Mangaf. Of the dead, 40 were Indians—and included carpenters, masons, domestic workers, drivers and delivery personnel. They worked for the same company—which housed 195 workers in the building.
There is already talk of appalling living conditions of the workers—though we don’t have details:
The fire’s high death toll highlighted the perils faced by low-income immigrants to Gulf countries, who often toil under exploitative contracts and live in overcrowded housing, with regulatory protections that are limited or poorly enforced. Foreigners make up about two-thirds of Kuwait’s population. Many are low-paid workers from South Asian countries who perform a variety of essential jobs including construction, restaurant service and street cleaning.
The fallout: A number of municipal officials have already been sacked—and the building owner has been arrested. The Indian government has expressed great concern—and condolences.
Data point to note: “With a million-strong diaspora and the largest expatriate community in Kuwait, Indians constitute 21% of Kuwait’s total population and 30% of its total workforce.” Indian Express has more on Indian workers in Kuwait. You can see a clip of the fire below. (The Hindu)
T20 World Cup: India’s win against H1-B team
Non Resident Indians lost to Resident Indians in the ultimate insider game at the World Cup. Team USA—which has six players of Indian descent—put up a brave fight. But it proved futile against Arshadeep’s bowling (4/9) and Suryakumar Yadav’s 50-run knock were heroes of the hour. An unexpected treat: The Associated Press trying to explain the final score:
India, which advanced to the next round of the competition with the victory, won by seven wickets — meaning they eclipsed the 110-run total put up by the U.S. team and still had seven more players who didn’t have to bat.
India has already advanced to the final (or super) eight. The US can make it as well—if they beat Ireland. (Associated Press)
Is Elon Musk just plain creepy or a sexual harasser?
Let’s start with the fact that the Wall Street Journal exclusive has a deliberately vague headline: ‘Elon Musk’s Boundary-Blurring Relationships With Women at SpaceX’. The newspaper seems reluctant to call what it describes a sexual harassment.
So what does the WSJ report describe? A number of highly inappropriate relationships with female employees—whom he awards special treatment. Here is one example:
In bed the next morning, Musk promised the woman Tesla stock for unpaid work she’d done for him at the carmaker and in his personal life, she told a person close to her. Musk told the woman that if the relationship ever became public, they’d have to say it started after she left the company, the woman later told that person and another friend.
There is also an intern with whom he had an affair—and then appointed as his close adviser after the relationship ended. He continued to pursue her relentlessly at work Two other examples are more egregious—A SpaceX flight attendant who says he exposed himself. And a woman who claims he asked her to have his babies. But WSJ doesn’t have any direct reporting on these cases. So it is what it is. You can read it for yourself using the splainer gift link.
Meanwhile, in Karnataka: Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has been asked to appear before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). He is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at his house in Bengaluru’s Sanjaynagar on February 2. (The News Minute)
Epic fail of Russian sanctions
The grand US plan to isolate Russia and destroy its economy seems to have failed. Imports are close to their prewar levels—and helped key industries—such as aviation and automotives—survive. The reason: Something called a ‘sanctions hole’—”where anything from semiconductors to aeroplane parts to iPhones can be routed and re-exported into Russia through firms in China, Turkey or the UAE, or via Armenia, Kazakhstan and other former Soviet republics.”
One example, exports of German cars to Kyrgyzstan is up 5,100% since the beginning of the war.
“It is not because people in Bishkek decided that they love Mercedes. These are cars that are going to Russia. This stuff mostly doesn’t even arrive in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan just is put on the invoice,” [researcher Robin] Brooks said. Export data shows that this trend is happening in “every single European country”, says Brooks.
The Russian military has also exploited these loopholes to access military tech. More than 450 foreign-made components have been discovered in Russian weapons found in Ukraine. (The Guardian)
In related news: The US and EU are fighting over a massive loan of $50 billion for Ukraine—which is to be paid back each year with profits generated from frozen Russian assets. The key disagreement: “who’s on the hook” if something goes wrong. Here’s why the Europeans are mad:
“What Washington is proposing is, 'We [the U.S.] take a loan, Europe takes all the risk, you [Europe] pay the interest, and we [the U.S.] use the money for a U.S.-Ukraine fund,'” said one senior European diplomat. “We might be stupid but we’re not that stupid.”
Politico explains why this has become a sore point.
Two climate studies of note
One: A new study has found that it’s not just the oceans that are heating up. Temperatures of groundwater are rising, as well—albeit not as much: “Warming beneath the land’s surface is trapping 25 times less energy than the ocean.” But its effects may be every bit as destructive:
Warmer groundwater is harmful for the rich array of life found underground – and for the many plants and animals who depend on groundwater for their survival… In many parts of the world, people rely on groundwater as their main source of drinking water. But groundwater warming can worsen the quality of the water we drink. Temperature influences everything from chemical reactions to microbial activity. Warmer water could, for instance, trigger more harmful reactions, where metals leach out into the water.
Why this matters: Groundwater makes up a whopping 97% of all usable freshwater on earth. (The Hindu)
Two: In rare good news for the environment, a recent study shows chemicals that destroy our ozone layer are disappearing from the atmosphere. Their levels have been falling since 2021. Why did this happen?
Today, refrigerators and aerosol cans contain gases like propane which, although flammable, does not deplete ozone in Earth’s upper atmosphere when released. However, ozone-friendly alternatives to CFCs in some products, such as certain foams used to insulate fridges, buildings and air-conditioning units, took longer to find.
Reminder: In 1989, countries came together to sign the landmark Montreal Protocol—which banned harmful chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). More than 100 ozone-depleting compounds were eventually banned. (The Conversation)
Criminals and crorepatis in the Cabinet
According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 28 of the 71 newly appointed cabinet ministers face criminal charges. Of these, 19 are charged with serious crimes like attempted murder. That said, their numbers have fallen by 2% since 2019—to 27% this year. This number was 17% in 2014 when the BJP first came to power.
Also this: 70 out of the 71 newly appointed ministers, i.e 99% of them are crorepatis—and have declared assets worth more than Rs 10 million. Six among them are part of the billionaire’s club, with assets worth over than Rs 1 billion (100 crore).
The Telegraph has more on the criminal records. Scroll has more on the financial data.
Too hot to handle: Denmark bans spicy noodles
The country’s food safety agency has pulled three varieties of instant ramen from the market. The agency claims that the noodles contain unsafe amounts of capsaicin—which is a compound extracted from chilli peppers. It can cause burning, nausea, vomiting, and high blood pressure. The warning is pretty dramatic:
The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration said it had assessed the levels of capsaicin in a single packet to be "so high that they pose a risk of the consumer developing acute poisoning.. If you have the products, you should discard them or return them to the store where they were purchased," it said in a statement.
All the three noodle varieties are made by the same Korean company—Samyang—which seems a bit bemused by this move. (BBC News)
Three things to see
One: Coke sales have been falling in Bangladesh ever since the invasion of Gaza—because of its links to Israel. The company put out an ad trying to address the “misinformation”—which has made people angrier than ever. Since the ad is in Bengali, we recommend watching the Al Jazeera report below—it has subtitles.
Two: The last of the world’s truly wild horses have been returned to their native land in Kazakhstan after 200 years. The species called Przewalski’s horses were domesticated 5,500 years ago, and were near extinction in the 1960s. A Prague zoo’s breeding project has sent seven horses back to the region. A similar project has reintroduced wild horses in Mongolia. You can see them being released in the feel-good vid below. (The Guardian)
Three: A team of researchers has visualised air pollution—creating something called ‘light paintings’. They set up Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) that flash whenever they detect particulate matter in the air. The scientists then took long-exposure photographs that show you the areas where the air is the most lit up—i.e. the worst. This is a light painting located at a playground in Delhi. (Gizmodo)
