Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Anannya Parekh & Aakriti Anand
Yet another Indian spy scandal
Earlier this week, ABC News aired this report claiming that the Australian government expelled two Indian spies in 2020: “They were caught trying to steal secrets about sensitive defence projects and airport security, as well as classified information on Australia’s trade relationships.”
In a 2021 speech, Australian intelligence chief Mike Burgess flagged the threat, saying: “The spies developed targeted relationships with current and former politicians, a foreign embassy and a state police service.” Aussie news reports hint at a broader network—calling it a “nest of spies”—which also targeted the diaspora.
The fallout: Australian officials didn’t have anything to say about it—but Opposition leader Peter Dutton is now talking about the “threat of foreign interference.” There has been no official response from New Delhi. But “sources” told Indian Express “there is a sense of disquiet in New Delhi at what it sees as a ‘concerted pushback’ from its key Western strategic partners.” They are trying to draw a “red line” with India.
Reminder: This comes on the heels of a Washington Post story that revealed the name of the top RAW official who allegedly orchestrated a plot to kill Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The External Affairs Ministry said it made “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations.” A WaPo editorial upped the war of words in an editorial demanding a “full and honest investigation” into this “appalling murder-for-hire case.” You can see the ABC report below. (The Print)
War on Gaza: The great campus crackdown
Across the US, the police stormed campuses arresting pro-Palestine protesters. According to CNN, more than 400 protesters were arrested just on April 30. Of these, 300 were detained in Manhattan—at Columbia University and City College of New York. Even more startling: More than 1,500 have been arrested since April 18—on 30 campuses across at least 23 states. CNN has a handy map of the universities.
Meanwhile at UCLA: The demonstrations turned violent when a group of people stormed the protest site. What happened next depends on which account you believe. According to The Guardian:
Late Tuesday night, a masked group surrounded the encampment in solidarity with Gaza, throwing fireworks and violently attacking students. Students and reporters for multiple outlets said university-hired security forces locked themselves in nearby buildings and police looked on for hours before intervening.
According to the New York Times:
On Monday night, another fight broke out between two groups of protesters after about 60 pro-Israel demonstrators attempted to enter the pro-Palestinian encampment. Campus police officers had to break up the dispute.
Pro-Israeli demonstrators began arriving at the encampment almost immediately after it was first set up. For the past several days, they have waved Israeli flags, spoken through megaphones, played music through loudspeakers and held up images of some of the hostages captured by Hamas on October 7.
In any case, UCLA has cancelled classes—and declared the protests illegal.
The eye-popping chargesheet against NewsClick
The context: In October, Delhi Police arrested NewsClick editor Prabir Purkayastha—after raiding 30 premises and questioning 46 employees and contributors. The FIR invoked the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act—implying terrorist activity. This Big Story has all the details of the arrest.
What happened now: We now know the charges against Purkayastha. The 8000-page chargesheet claims the following:
- Channelling funds up to Rs 910 million (91 crore) to support terrorist organisations like the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba.
- Running disinformation campaigns for China—specifically “altering maps to portray India without Kashmir and Aksai Chin, effectively endorsing Chinese territorial claims.”
- Conspiring to instigate the farmers' protests, Delhi riots and anti-CAA riots.
The allegations are largely based on statements made by protected witnesses. The case will be heard at the end of the month. (NDTV)
Speaking of news media: Eight major US newspapers—including Chicago Tribune, and the Denver Post—are suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement. This is similar to a New York Times lawsuit against them. The allegation is the same: They use copyrighted material to train their machines—without compensating the publications. And then they serve up the information to users without crediting the original author or source. The aim is to pressure OpenAI to cut a revenue-sharing deal—like the one recently announced by the Financial Times. (Washington Post, paywall, Axios)
Google is offshoring US jobs
Google is laying off at least 200 employees from its “Core” organisation—and will move their jobs to Mexico and India. So what’s the Core?
The Core unit is responsible for building the technical foundation behind the company’s flagship products and for protecting users’ online safety, according to Google’s website. Core teams include key technical units from information technology, its Python developer team, technical infrastructure, security foundation, app platforms, core developers, and various engineering roles.
Last year, Google’s parent company Alphabet announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs—6% of its workforce. FYI: The company itself is doing well—recently reporting a 15% jump in first-quarter revenue from a year earlier. (CNBC)
Say hello to the ZiG
Economic chaos led the government to abolish its currency—the Zimbabwean dollar—in 2008. Best efforts to reintroduce a new currency have failed. The government has now unveiled the latest avatar—the ZiG, or “Zimbabwe Gold”—backed by the country’s gold reserves. Given that this is the sixth Zimbabwean moolah, no one is rushing to use it as yet. The USD still accounts for 85% of all transactions in the country.
The strange bit: Some government and private entities—like the passport office or gas station—are allowed to demand payments in USD. OTOH, other businesses face penalties if they reject the ZiG. You can see what they look like below. (Associated Press)
Indian students are #1 in Germany
There are now more Indians than Chinese students in Germany. The number has doubled over the past five years to 42,578. We are at pole position—followed by China (39,137), Syria (15,563) and Austria (14,762). One big reason for the surge: college education is much cheaper in Germany—tuition is free so you only pay for living expenses. Unsurprisingly, engineering programs are the most popular among us desis. That said, Germany only comes in at #8 in the top ten destinations for Indian students. The English-speaking US, Canada, the UK and Australia take the top four spots. (Indian Express)
RIP Paul Auster: Death of a legend
Novelist, memoirist and screenwriter Paul Auster died at the age of 77. His most popular work was ‘The New York Trilogy’—a philosophical take on the detective genre. Not everyone appreciated his postmodernist style—ironic since he himself preferred Emily Bronte to deconstructionist guru Jean Baudrillard. New York Times offers an excellent profile. (BBC News)
Moving on to Salman Rushdie: who is very much alive. The author has unusual plans to recount the stabbing that nearly took his life—and claimed one eye—in 2022. In a soon-to-be-aired BBC documentary on the attack, he will hold an imagined conversation with his attacker Hadi Matar: “He has written lines for Matar, included in his new memoir, Knife, and put them into the mouth of a digital avatar. The conversation is recreated using a mix of AI and CGI.” We have no comment. (The Telegraph)
Two things to see
One: The BJP was forced to take down a hateful, anti-Muslim animated clip from Instagram. You should watch it below—if only to see the level of political debate today. The Wire has all the backstory you need.
Two: This one’s for the F1 fans. ‘Senna’ is based on the life of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna. It chronicles his personal and professional life over six episodes. Gabriel Leone—best known for the role of Alfonso de Portago in Michael Mann's ‘Ferrari’—plays the Brazilian driver. The series will drop on Netflix this year—but the exact date is not known yet. (Screenrant)
