Bibi’s housewarming ‘gift’ for Trump: Lebanon

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

Bibi’s housewarming ‘gift’ for Trump: Lebanon

To make his pal Donald look like an excellent, beautiful dealmaker, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is readying a ceasefire plan. Israeli minister Ron Dermer flew first to Mar-A-Lago to discuss the plan—before heading to the lame duck White House.

About that plan: It requires Hezbollah to retreat so 60,000 displaced Israelis can move back to their homes on the border. But Israel also wants the right to cross the border—at will:

“Is there any sane person who believes that we will agree to a settlement or a solution that serves Israel’s interests at the expense of Lebanon’s interests and sovereignty?” Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri said Tuesday. Berri, a Hezbollah ally, has served as an intermediary in negotiations.

So, yeah, Bibi is going all in to please Trump—but it doesn’t mean the rest of the Middle East will play ball. Tel Aviv also expects the Russians to step in to use their clout with Damascus—to prevent Hezbollah from rearming. Because…why? Washington Post has the exclusive—based entirely on unnamed Israeli sources. Al Jazeera offers a reality check on Israeli demands.

Behold Elon, the peacemaker?! The Middle East has a new dealbroker—Elon Musk—who apparently met with Iran’s ambassador to the UN. It was held at an “undisclosed location”... ooh! That said, it’s interesting that Iran seems to be optimistic about reaching an agreement with Trump. New York Times has that story.

Moving on to ice cream wars: Ben & Jerry’s has sued its parent company Unilever—for allegedly strongarming its liberal board:

In December 2023, Ben & Jerry’s says it told Unilever it was going to put out a statement about Gaza saying, “Ben & Jerry’s calls for peace and a permanent and immediate ceasefire.” In the suit, the brand says Unilever threatened to dismantle its independent board and sue the board members individually if the brand proceeded with the statement.

This would be unpleasant but legal for most parent companies—except Unilever signed a special deal permitting Ben & Jerry’s board to “make decisions about the brand’s social mission.” (Wall Street Journal, paywalled)

The good/bad news for X

Just a year ago, all the big advertisers were heading for the door—horrified by all that hate content. But the moment Elon’s bro Donald Trump won the election, they seem to have changed their mind:

[S]ome marketers were likely to reallocate spending back to X as “political leverage”, as if they were seeking government contracts…Trump’s victory has lent Musk new legitimacy as well as power over brands in sectors that could face new regulatory curbs from Trump.

The returnees include Comcast, Disney, and Warner Bros. But, but, but: Only seven out of the top 200 advertisers that cut their ad spend in 2022 have come back. So an X recovery has ways to go.

Also this: 115,000 users left X in a single day—right after Trump won the election. Rivals like Threads and Bluesky are mopping up the outflow—with Bluesky crossing 15 million users. FYI: The Guardian has also left X because it can no longer tolerate the hate speech—but don’t expect other media outlets to follow suit. Financial Times (paywalled) and Ad Week have more.

Mehengayi is rising, rising, rising

First, the indexes: The Wholesale Price Index measures how much businesses pay for key commodities—e.g. iron ore, fuel, etc. Consumer Price Index (or retail inflation) measures how much you pay for goods.

The soaring CPI: In October, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 6.2%—the highest it’s been since August 2023. The main driver: Food prices, which jumped by 10.9%—and by 11.1% in urban areas. Essential items such as vegetables shot up by 42.2%—with tomato prices alone more than doubling year-on-year. Food prices are also pushing up the Wholesale Price Index—which jumped 2.36%. As a result, inflation is surging—at a faster rate than predicted by experts.

Taken by surprise: The Reserve Bank, in fact, had “termed the inflation moderation as slow and uneven, and anticipated a reversal in September.” Guess not. Even personal care items are 11% higher. The Finance Ministry is still in denial—claiming “the current bout of inflation is driven by a few food items.”

Why this matters: As prices rise, people are spending less—cutting back on everything from fast food to basic groceries. This, in turn, is reflected in the bottomline of consumer good companies. The Nifty FMCG index has dropped by 13% since October 1. Most importantly this: Our economic recovery from the pandemic has been driven by urban consumption—especially by the middle class. The worry: inflation is shrinking the middle class market. Nestlé chairman Suresh Narayanan says:

There is a top end—the people with money are spending like that is going out of style. There used to be a middle segment, which used to be the segment that most of us fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms used to operate in, which is the middle class of the country, that seems to be shrinking.

For more on the shrinking middle, read The Hindu—and Rathin Roy in the Economic Times—who warns India is on the edge of becoming a failed middle-income country. (The Hindu)

The 20-year legal row over Wildflower Hall

The context: Wildflower Hall is an iconic hotel near Shimla—with an eventful past. It began life as a summer home for Lord Kitchener of Khartoum—the British commander-in-chief of the Indian army back in 1902. That modest bungalow was razed in 1925 to make way for a hotel—which was taken over by state tourism after independence. But that building was also doomed—gutted in a fire in 1993. Enter: The Oberoi Group that entered into a JV with the Himachal government—and turned the property into a lavish 85-room, all-year resort.

What happened next: The land belonged to the government—but Oberoi Group paid the construction cost. All was well until 2002—when the government wanted to end the joint venture. The Oberoi Group would have been reduced to leasing the property. Court cases ensued—with the government becoming more aggressive in its claims with each passing year. In 2023, it threatened to seize the property—and demanded Rs 400 crore (4 billion) in dues, for the lease, with interest. And as with all things legal, the matter ended up in the Supreme Court—where the hotel group lost the case.

What happened now: The witching hour is upon the Oberoi Group—which has to turn over the property by March 31, 2025. The hotel group is now close to settling out of court—likely for a lot of money since the group is flush with funds. Its parent company East India Hotels Limited reported a 41% jump in profit after tax compared to a year ago.

Point to note: The JV was sealed by a Congress government back in the 1990s—but promptly ran into trouble when the BJP took power in 2002. The irony: It was handed back to a Congress government by the Supreme court in February—which was reportedly shopping it to an international chain. The main goal: use the hotel to pay some of its debt of Rs 75,000 crore (Hindustan Times). The Telegraph has the latest update. The Print has a full rundown of the legal tussle.

Spotify video podcasts are here!

Spotify is planning to expand the revenue stream for creators to include videos. The move is aimed directly at YouTube—to lure its top influencers onto its platform. Example: Joe Rogan, Emma Chamberlain, or Dhruv Rathee—when the feature hits India. Right now, video podcasts are available for premium subscribers in the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada.

Point to note: Spotify claims that more than 250 million users have watched at least one video podcast on its platform since the format was first launched back in 2022. (Washington Post, paywalled, TechCrunch).

Speaking of Youtube: The streaming platform is also trying out a new feature—“an endless TikTok-like feed”—that may change the platform forever. It looks something like this:

The change will confirm “the overarching theory of TikTok.. that showing you anything is better than showing you nothing.” It will also change how you discover new vids—on the homepage, in the recommendations sidebar, and in search results. If the next video loads automatically—in an infinite loop—then the creators lose ways in which they attract viewers now (example: thumbnails):

Managing YouTube is a lot of work, yes, but it also gives you lots of chances to put both your content and your channel in front of the audience. And if they watch one video, you have lots of ways to get them to watch more. An endless feed removes all of that in favour of whatever’s next in the scroll.

The Verge has more on why this is a big deal.

what caught our eye

business & tech

Disney paid out a $300 million settlement in a class action lawsuit filed by 9,000 women over unequal pay.
Meta’s legal woes continue—not only will they face an antitrust trial in the US over its acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp, but it also has to pay a €797 million ($841.5 million) antitrust fine to the EU over abusive advertising practices.
The UK plans to hold tech executives personally liable for allowing people to sell illegal knives on their platforms.
Apple is developing its own version of a smart home device a la Alexa.
More trouble for Ola Electric and Bhavish Aggarwal—India’s consumer watchdog has ordered a probe into its faulty scooters and customer service.

sports & entertainment

Balle, balle! India have reached the semifinals of the women’s hockey Asian Champions Trophy, after thrashing Thailand 13-0.
An update on Reliance-Disney ki $8.5 billion shaadi—the new post-merger entity is now operational.

as for the rest

New research shows that people with ADHD do much better when they are super-busy.
Scientists are using gene editing to make tomatoes taste sweeter—which is 100% bad news for Indian cuisine.
Trump's nominee for attorney general Mark Gaetz was investigated for human trafficking—which tells you everything you need to know about Trump II.
Another sign of the Trump era: Ukraine is no longer asking for its territory back—and could settle for a ceasefire guarantee.
Scandinavian Airlines is giving 1 million miles to anyone who flies on 15 of its 20 alliance carriers by the end of the year.
A new study by Lancet reveals that just three in ten Indians receive treatment for diabetes today, while the number of people suffering from the disease has doubled since 1990.
Gizmodo calls out the tabloid media’s sexist focus on astronaut Sunita Williams’ weight after a recent photo of her aboard the ISS went viral.
New York Times via The Telegraph has a must-read on ‘Uncle’ Elon Musk’s growing closeness with the Trump family and administration—including sitting in on every meeting at Mar-A-Lago.
Also in New York Times (splainer gift link): how the tourism industry’s embracing of sexual wellness created a booming international sex party scene.

Seven things to see

One: Built in the 14th or 15th century, the Gumti tomb of Shaikh Ali has been turned into an office by a Resident Welfare Association in Defence Colony. It has “two ACs, almirahs and cupboards stacked with files... a keys closet pinned to the wall, a portion of the wall painted black with names of the 30 RWA presidents since 1990 written on it.” The Supreme Court tore into the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Tuesday—and has ordered the monument to be restored. (Indian Express)

Two: Noted artist Subodh Gupta returns to his home state—with an exhibition at the Bihar Museum. ‘The Way Home’ exhibit looks like a visual treat—and includes a skull made from pans and glasses—which you can see below. (The Hindu)

Three: The bootiful and bootilicious Moo Deng has her own official song—unimaginatively called ‘Moodeng Moodeng’ and with fairly crap visuals (It’s Moo Deng!). The track, however, was released in four languages—English, Thai, Japanese, and Chinese—threatening to become the new ‘Baby Shark’. Be very afraid. (Associated Press)

Four: Also beware the Z-Pain—the unholy collab between T-Pain and… Zuck. The Meta founder dropped a cover of ‘Get Low’ by Lil Jon to mark his first date with wife Priscilla Chan. And yes, it is every bit as terrible as you imagine. Listen to it on Spotify, if you must. (Gizmodo)

Five: To offer relief to your overtaxed eardrums, check out Ariana Grande’s take on the song ‘Popular’ from the musical ‘Wicked’, which is set to release in theatres on November 22. (ABC News)

Six: Snoop Dogg unveiled his new line of jewellery—‘Lovechild’, which uses “Vital Force Technology that promotes love, clarity, and positive change.” Also: it’s surprisingly not super-pricey: A crown shaped ring with diamonds in it (see below) costs $298 apiece. (Hollywood Reporter)

Seven: Get ready for yet another Jason Bourne-meets-John Wick rip-off with ‘Amateur’—which stars Rami Malek as a CIA operative out for revenge after his wife is killed in a terror attack. Based on the eponymous novel by Robert Littel, it also stars Rachel Brosnahan, Holt McCallany, and Laurence Fishburne. The film releases on April 11, 2025. (The Hindu)

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