Airports, airports everywhere—in India!

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani

ICYMI: Our series of the Indus Valley Civilisation

We rarely plug our Big Stories repeatedly but… The two-part series on the Indus Valley Civilisation and the intense debate around the Harappans is just plain fascinating. We learned a lot about ancient Indian history—and had loads of fun researching it. Part one has everything you need to know about the IVC. Part two has the political/culture wars over the Harappans—were they Vedic or Dravidian?

Reminder: You can gift these editions to friends and fam—just click on the gift dabba icon at the bottom:)

Israel bombs Lebanon, contd

Tel Aviv continues to pound the country with air strikes. The death toll as of yesterday: 550—including 50 children and 94 women. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant called the strikes “a masterpiece.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of leading Lebanon “to the edge of the abyss.” Hezbollah responded by firing 300 rockets at Israel—which injured six.

Meanwhile, at the UN: World leaders are helpfully wringing their hands in New York—as they assemble for the annual General Assembly meeting. UN Secretary General António Guterres once again stated the obvious—warning that the world “cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza”. Reminder: The latest death toll in Gaza is 41,431—so we have ways to go.

What happens next: Jeremy Bowens over at BBC News argues that Israel’s offensive will end in tears—for all sides. Hezbollah will not give in easily—and—as CNN points out—it is far better armed than Hamas. As always, Tel Aviv is gambling on the US to tip the scales:

Orna Mizrahi, a Hezbollah expert at INSS said that much of Israel’s ability to fight a two-front war rests on US support. “The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) can fight both fronts for a long time, and we have the capabilities to do it if we have the ammunition from the Americans,” Mizrahi said, adding that if there is a full-scale war, the US will likely intervene to support Israel.

Airports, airports everywhere—in India!

The government has ambitious plans to establish 29 greenfield airports over the next two decades. Leading the list—Gujarat, of course. It will get nine airports—followed by Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand. These also include big city suburbs such as Jewar and Navi Mumbai.

What’s interesting: These will be in small towns—but won’t be small airports:

The idea is to build infrastructure for the long-term, as upgrading airports in smaller cities have been found to be inadequate with traffic growing beyond expectations in the short term. So, the plan is to build greenfield airports in these smaller cities to ensure that they can support growth for a long term.

There aren’t any timelines as yet—and experts remain sceptical—arguing expansion plans ought to be driven by traffic estimates:

Airport planning in the past have been based more on politics that has led to airports with no passengers and city like Patna still struggling with an unsafe airport…It is good that a greenfield airport is planned for Patna but some airports in the list still seem unnecessary."

Mint has more details—though it is paywalled.

Also, a brand-new airline: straight outta Uttar Pradesh! Shankh Air will be headquartered out of Lucknow and Noida. It will focus on smaller towns that have very few direct flights to big cities. We don’t know very much—other than these will be narrow body jets. They have approval from the Civil Aviation Ministry, but are yet to get clearance from the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). (Mint)

Telegram raises the white flag

The context: Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France last month for hosting criminal networks on his platform. These include child sex abuse, drugs, and financial fraud. He was also accused of refusing to cooperate with law enforcement—unlike Meta etc. Check out part one and part two of our Big Story breaking down the arrest and its significance for global digital privacy and free speech.

What happened now: After spending weeks in jail, Durov seems to have changed his mind:

Messaging app Telegram will provide users’ IP addresses and phone numbers to relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests, according to Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov. The platform changed its terms of service to deter criminals from abusing it

According to Durov, the company is now using AI to conceal “problematic content” from users. (Bloomberg News, paywall, The Guardian)

Meanwhile, at X: The platform has watered down the ‘block’ button. The people you have blocked will now be able to see your publicly shared posts—but they won’t be able to interact with them. The Twitterati are not happy. (The Verge)

Meanwhile, at Meta: The New York Times has two long pieces that reach a similar conclusion: Both Mark Zuckerberg and Meta are “done with politics.” Apparently, the older, more jaded Zuck “has expressed cynicism about politics after years of bad experiences in Washington.” What this means:

In public, that means Mr Zuckerberg is declining to engage with Washington except when necessary. In private, he has stopped supporting programs at his philanthropy that could be perceived as partisan, and he has tamped down employee activism at Meta.

As for Meta-owned platforms:

On Facebook, Instagram and Threads, political content is less heavily featured. App settings have been automatically set to de-emphasize the posts that users see about campaigns and candidates. And political misinformation is harder to track on the platforms after Meta removed transparency tools that journalists and researchers used to monitor the sites.

In other words, Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t care—neither does his company. Of course, this is disastrous for news organisations who rely on Meta to distribute their content—and citizens who rely on social media to stay informed. NYT has more on Meta’s new policies and Zuck’s new politics.

Speaking of Meta: The company has struck deals with celebs to voice its chatbot. These include: Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Kristen Bell, Awkwafina, and Keegan-Michael Key. Happily, you can choose to remain ‘basic’—and opt for the generic version. Reminder: Meta’s attempt to use text-based “character” chatbots that sounded like Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton bombed, spectacularly. (Reuters)

EY employee death: The latest update

The context: Anna Sebastian Perayil—a young Ernst & Young chartered accountant—died due to an “overwhelming workload.” The angry letter written by her mother to India Chairman Rajiv Memani went viral—and sparked outrage over corporate exploitation of white-collar professionals.

What happened now: The Maharashtra government has stepped in to investigate. The initial probe shows that Ernst & Young India did not have a key state permit which caps work hours—to nine hours a day and 48 hours a week:

"The company applied for a registration with the labour department only in February 2024 and we rejected it because it had not applied since 2007 when it started this office," [Maharashtra's labour commissioner, Shailendra] Pol told Reuters.

A reminder: EY employs 100,000 people across India. (Reuters)

Octopi and fish: Hunting buddies forever!

Octopi are solitary creatures—but are usually surrounded by groups of fish when they hunt. Scientists assumed the fish were nature’s freeloaders—looking for a quick bite. Turns out the two species are hunting partners—who share their roles:

The octopus basically works as the decider of the group… There's a sign that some cognition is occurring here, for sure… One item of prey is not divided, it is taken by whoever catches the prey first! However, because the interaction between the fish and octopus repeat several times during a hunt, prey is 'shared' in the sense that sometimes the octopus catches the prey, and other times fish catch the prey.

But there’s a bit of workplace violence involved. As you can see below: The octopus will punch the fish—if they behave poorly. (Science Alert)

what caught our eye

business & tech

An update on the labour disputes at Samsung India—the company has issued ‘no work, no pay’ warnings and threatened layoffs if the workers’ strike continues.
Over 30% of Indian shoppers are relying on quick commerce apps for their core grocery needs, according to a new report.
Byju’s remains deep in the US legal mire—the Delaware Supreme Court has affirmed that the edtech company defaulted on the payment of the $1.2 billion Term Loan B it had taken in November 2021. Our Big Story has more context.
Infamous crypto bro Balaji Srinivasan has now launched…a school that teaches you how to crowdfund your own country. Gizmodo has more bizarre details.
404 Media (login required) has a must-read on how Google’s AI-generated images of mushrooms could have fatal consequences for forages trying to determine which ones are safe to eat.

sports & entertainment

An update on India’s Oscars snubbing of Cannes award-winner ‘All We Imagine as Light’—FFI President Ravi Kottarakara said the jury felt it was too foreign: “[In ‘Laapata Ladies’], the women had to wear the goonghat, and because of that, all the misunderstandings occur…this is something that only happens in India.”
‘Friends’ turns 30 this year! To mark the occasion, Max is producing a four-episode game show dedicated to the sitcom.
Get excited for the return of The Cure—the rock band is releasing its first new song in 16 years.
Speaking of comebacks, new Mozart just dropped! Researchers at the Leipzig Municipal Libraries discovered previously unknown sheet music that bears the legendary Austrian composer’s name.
Spanish police have arrested five people accused of scamming two women out of €325,000 ($363,000) by posing as Brad Pitt online.
Say hello to the cast of Emerald Fennell’s film adaptation of ‘Wuthering Heights’. It’s led by…Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi!
Of course desis are the biggest sports nerds! The latest example is Sachin Gupta—executive at NBA franchise Minnesota Timberwolves who is reportedly a new hire at Chelsea Football Club.
South Korean pistol shooter Kim Ye-ji—who went viral during the Paris Olympics for her ‘Matrix’ look—has landed her first film role…as an assassin.
Men’s hockey will make its long-awaited return to Delhi—the Major Dhyan Chand national stadium will see India host Germany for a 2-match series.
In its first ever appearance in the Pacific Padel Cup, India has bagged the bronze medal. Balle balle!

as for the rest

Things continue to go from bad to worse for Sudan—after being hit by floods amid a brutal civil war, the country is now battling widespread cholera, which has killed nearly 400 people in two months.
In another recruitment drive amid its war on Gaza and now Hezbollah, Israel is seeking 10,000 skilled construction workers from India, joining a sizable cohort of Indians already working there.
The UP government has directed all food outlets in the state to display names and addresses of operators, after videos of spitting and mixing urine in food went viral. Earlier this year, it had been mandated for any outlet along the Kanwariya yatra route, causing controversy.
Diplomats from 16 foreign missions will arrive in Srinagar today to observe people voting in Jammu and Kashmir’s first election in a decade.
The Conversation has a must read on neuroscience’s exploration of how our brains let us experience two opposite feelings at once.
Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medical have found that the lack of gravity in space travel can “weaken and disrupt” the normal rhythmic beats of existing heart muscle cells.
The Guardian has a good read on ‘fauxductivity’—or how to be a workplace slacker while getting away with it.
Say hello to Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, as chosen by presidential election winner Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Sally Rooney’s latest book ‘Intermezzo’ has opened to rave reviews. Check out our Advisory edition from September 14 for more new releases.

Five things to see

One: Street artist Hanif Kureshi aka Daku was often called India’s Banksy. The 41-year old—who also co-founded St+art—lost the battle with cancer. His work has been exhibited at the London Design Biennale, Venice Biennale, and Centre Pompidou Paris etc. You can see his whimsical travelling photo studio installation at the Serendipity Arts Festival below. Check out more of his work here and on his Instagram page. (Indian Express)

Two: In a shocking moment of vandalism, a man walked into a museum in Bologna, Italy and smashed a massive 100 kg porcelain sculpture. The piece—named the Porcelain Cube—was created by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The sad bit: It was destroyed right when Weiwei was holding his first solo exhibition. ArtNet has more on Vaclav Pisvejc—who is notorious in art circles for this kind of violence—which he describes as a form of art.

The original artwork is below.

Three: What’s brown, fat and extremely cute? Nope, not Moo Deng. Say hello to Pesto—the baby Emperor Penguin at the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Melbourne. The 9-month old weighs 22.5 kg and has been variously nicknamed a "fatty", an "absolute unit", and a "linebacker.” Unlike our feisty hippo, this one is a “social butterfly”—as you can see below. (BBC News)

Four: Speaking of furry friends, 10 Downing Street has a new cat—courtesy PM Keir Starmer. His name is Prince. FYI: Larry the ‘Chief Mouser’ is still very much around. (Mint)

Five: Here’s the long awaited trailer for Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts’—which was delayed by the Hollywood writer’s strike last July (explained here). The anti-hero movie stars the likes of Florence Pugh, Julia Louis-Drefus, and David Harbour—who play villains recruited to do good. It is slated to release next May. (Deadline)