Researched by: Rachel John & Anannya Parekh
A new splainer series on YouTube!!
We have launched exclusive video explainers on YouTube, hosted by our editor Lakshmi Chaudhry.
Our first video looks at the seemingly never ending war in Gaza. What is the endgame for Israel? What will postwar Gaza look like? The answers to the present lie in the past—dating all the way back to the Ottoman empire. Also: a map of a ‘new’ Middle East waved around by Benjamin Netanyahu at the UN.
Check it out below. And stay tuned for more such explainers on the big fat election coming soon. So be sure to hit the notification button.
PS: this is also a great way to share splainer with your friends and family—especially anyone who is kinda text-averse :)
A religious row over Ram Mandir
The spectacular inauguration of the temple—slated for January 22—came under fire from an unexpected quarter: the shankaracharyas—who lead four powerful mutts: Jyotishpeeth, Puri Gowardhanpeeth, Sringeri Sarada Peeth and Dwarikapeeth. Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati—the shankaracharya of Jyotishpeeth—said none of the four will attend the consecration ceremony. One key reason: According to sanatan dharma norms, it is wrong to perform such a ceremony when the temple is still unfinished. Another reason: The politicisation of the consecration. The shankaracharya of Puri said:
“Modi ji Lokarpan Karenge, Moorti Ka sparsh Karenge or fir mai waha kya tali bajaunga.” (when Modi ji will do the consecration at the temple and will touch the idol, will I be going there to clap.) Nischalananda Saraswati told the media. He said people need to think that what remained for the ‘dharmacharya’ (religious teacher) to do in Ayodhya if the Prime Minister was doing everything.
To be clear: Neither oppose the PM—but object to him positioning himself as a religious leader. There has been no public comment from the other shankaracharyas. The Hindu has lots more.
In related news: The Congress party appears to agree with the shankaracharyas. None of its top leaders—including Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge—will attend the ceremony. The reason: it is a “political project” to exploit the religious sentiments of Hindus by the RSS-BJP. (The Telegraph)
A watershed moment for crypto
The SEC has approved exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the price of bitcoin. These will offer investors a less risky way to bet on crypto currencies:
They will be listed on Nasdaq, NYSE and the CBOE. Their assets will comprise physical bitcoin purchased from crypto exchanges and held via custodians like Coinbase Global... The products track a bitcoin benchmark… A spot bitcoin ETF allows investors to gain exposure to the price of bitcoin without the complications and risks of owning bitcoin directly. Those include setting up crypto wallets and accounts with crypto exchanges, some of which have poor cyber security records and are prone to hacks.
This is a huge boost for the crypto industry which has been reeling from bankruptcies and scandals. Some experts expect these funds to attract anywhere from $50 billion to $100 billion this year alone—potentially driving the price of bitcoin as high as $100,000. (Reuters)
The big investor summit in Gujarat
Just days after the investment gala in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat followed suit. This summit was personally inaugurated by PM Modi—and has 35 Fortune 500 companies in attendance. The first batch of investments announced on day one total nearly $33 billion. The biggest pledge: Gautam Adani who plans to invest $24 billion over the next five years in renewable energy. Mukesh Ambani is expected to announce big plans of his own. FYI: Neither were prominent at the TN summit. (Reuters)
Not doing quite so well: The rest of the world. The World Bank confirmed that the first half of the 2020s will be the worst half-decade performance in 30 years. Global GDP will grow at a slower pace this year—a predicted 2.4% compared to 2.6% in 2023 and 3.0% in 2022.
Point to note: “That would make growth weaker in the 2020-2024 period than during the years surrounding the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, the late 1990s Asian financial crisis and downturns in the early 2000s.” Reuters and Axios have lots more on how bad it is going to get—especially for poorer countries.
Meta tackles its mental health problem
The context: In October, 42 state attorney generals sued Meta—claiming that Instagram was actively harming teenagers—triggering disorders such as body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Meta is in a weak position since multiple studies have backed up the claim. Also: A 2021 Wall Street Journal investigation revealed internal documents that expressed worries about the effect Instagram has on kids.
What happened now: Meta announced that it will limit the kind of content that teenagers can access on Facebook and Insta. This would include material related to self-harm, eating disorders, nudity etc. They will instead be redirected to resources for help. The update will roll out in a couple of weeks. (CNBC)
Speaking of Mark Zuckerberg: He has turned his attention to less fraught matters—such as beef! He revealed details of his cattle ranch in Hawaii—which will raise the beasts on macadamia nuts and beer—all of it produced on the ranch. The “goal is to create some of the highest quality beef in the world.” (NDTV)
The hottest year on Earth
It’s official! Scientists have confirmed that 2023 was the hottest year on record. In fact, scientists claim it may have been the hottest in 100,00 years:
When scientists combine their satellite readings with geological evidence on the climate’s more distant past, 2023 also appears to be among the warmest years in at least 100,000... “There were simply no cities, no books, agriculture or domesticated animals on this planet the last time the temperature was so high,” [director of the European climate monitor] said.
The real worry: This may just be the beginning—2024 may turn out to be warmer still due to the effects of El Niño (explained here). You can see the alarming rise in global temperature in the graphic below. A summary of the Copernicus report can be found here. New York Times (paywall) and BBC News offer a good analysis of the report.
Beware of your bottled water!
According to a new study, a litre of bottled water contains some 240,000 detectable plastic fragments. That’s anywhere from 10 to 100 times greater than previous estimates—which were based on bigger pieces. Something to note:
One common one was polyethylene terephthalate or PET. This was not surprising, since that is what many water bottles are made of. (It is also used for bottled sodas, sports drinks and products such as ketchup and mayonnaise.) It probably gets into the water as bits slough off when the bottle is squeezed or gets exposed to heat. One recent study suggests that many particles enter the water when you repeatedly open or close the cap, and tiny bits abrade.
FYI: The research is based on three leading brands of bottled water in the US—which are not named. Phys.org has lots more on the study—and the effects of nanoplastics.
In other dismal pollution news: A new analysis of air quality in 49 Indian cities shows that they are nowhere close to meeting their clean air targets. The government’s official target is to reduce average particulate matter concentrations by 40% by 2026—in 131 cities. That’s compared to 2017. Sadly, India’s biggest cities are reporting marginal declines or alarming increases in pollution. For instance, Mumbai witnessed a 38.1% increase in PM 2.5 matter. Cities doing well: Varanasi (72% average reduction in PM 2.5 and 69% reduction in PM 10 levels), Agra with a 53% decline and Jodhpur with a decline of 50%. The Hindu has more on the report while Times of India focuses on Mumbai.
Norway greenlights deep sea mining
Editor’s note: As you can see, we’re really struggling for good environmental news today.
The context: Deep sea mining refers to efforts to extract rare metals from the ocean floor—for use in electric vehicle batteries and a host of other technologies such as green energy production. Two years ago, major battery users including Google, Samsung, Volvo and BMW joined a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to call for a moratorium on seabed mining. And at least 700 scientists—along with France, Germany and Chile—have done the same.
What happened now: Norway became the first country to pass a bill that approved commercial-scale deep-sea mining. It plans to open up 280,000 sq km of its waters to mining companies. That’s an area bigger than the size of the UK. The government insists it will not dole out licences without extensive environmental assessments. And it has only opened the door to exploration for now. Actual extraction will not begin until the early 2030s. Environmental experts—and the EU, for that matter—are not impressed. (BBC News)
