Researched by: Rachel John, Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Anannya Parekh
Say hello to headlines in five
Have you checked out our excellent daily news wrap, ‘What the F*** Happened Here?’. It tells you what happened during the day—in around five minutes. As always, we are here to make it easier to know what’s up—without noise, negativity, or that existential feeling of despair. The Wednesday pm edition is below. Follow us on YouTube to get your daily dose.
War on Gaza: The latest update
Israel is refusing to listen to its allies—and is hell-bent on responding to Iran’s failed aerial attack on its territory. Reminder: Iran’s attack was a response to Israel’s strike on its embassy. The options include the following:
Israeli officials are said to be considering a range of options, from a direct strike on Iran to a strike on an Iranian target, such as an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps base, in a country other than Iran, to a cyberattack or assassinations, trying to send a clear message to Tehran while not starting a major escalation.
Everyone is nervous. Everyone thinks it’s a bad idea—except Bibi. Round and round we go… until we end up in a war. (New York Times)
Meanwhile, in Gaza: Apart from killing actual humans, Israeli air strikes have also decimated potential humans. A December attack on a fertility clinic wiped out 4,000 embryos, plus 1,000 more specimens of sperm and unfertilized eggs. The founder of the clinic said:
The embryos in those tanks were the last hope for hundreds of Palestinian couples facing infertility… At least half of the couples—those who can no longer produce sperm or eggs to make viable embryos—will not have another chance to get pregnant.
Meanwhile, at the New York Times: The investigative website, The Intercept, got hold of an internal memo that lays out editorial guidelines on reporting on the war. It asks reporters not to use phrases like “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing”, and to “avoid” the phrase “occupied territory”, entirely. Also not included in the Times’ vocabulary on the war: ‘slaughter,’ ‘massacre’ and ‘carnage’. Of course, there are exceptions:
New York Times had described Israeli deaths as a “massacre” on 53 occasions and those of Palestinians just once. The ratio for the use of “slaughter” was 22 to 1, even as the documented number of Palestinians killed climbed to around 15,000.
The shocking bit: They also banned the term ‘Palestine’, “except in very rare cases.” The Intercept has the rest.
Meanwhile, in East Jerusalem: Since the beginning of the war, the Israeli government has accelerated the construction of 20 settlement projects in the contested region:
Ministries and offices within the Israeli government are behind all the largest and most contentious of the projects, sometimes in association with rightwing nationalist groups with a history of trying to evict Palestinians from their homes in parts of the city.
FYI: The rapid approval or construction of settlements are considered illegal under international law. Ah well. (The Guardian)
War on Ukraine: A casualty report
According to a new BBC News analysis, over 50,000 Russian soldiers have died in the war, since fighting began. Of these, 27,300 died in the second year of combat. The death toll was 25% higher in the second year—compared to the first.
That number is eight times the official figure acknowledged by Moscow. It reflects the high price of Russia’s “meat grinder” strategy. That’s the phrase used to describe sending waves upon waves of soldiers forward, into the line of fire. The aim is to wear down Ukrainian troops and expose their locations—so they can be picked off by Russian artillery.
At least two out of every five of the dead were civilians before this war. Since they are not trained, these men are used as cannon fodder. The most disposable of the lot are Russian prisoners who are offered release in exchange for signing up. That’s if they survive the war. The men are sorted into separate Storm platoons—and sent to war after just two weeks of training. They die the fastest on the front. In one such platoon, only 38 out of 100 soldiers were still alive after five months of battle. (BBC News)
Dubai is drowning!
The UAE is experiencing the heaviest rainfall in 75 years. Over a 24 hour period, Dubai received 142 millimetres of rain. The city gets an average of 94.7mm in an entire year! Malls were flooded—as was the airport.
New reports first claimed cloud seeding as the primary culprit. It’s a method used to induce rainfall. A plane or drone seeds clouds with particles of silver iodide, potassium iodide, and sodium chloride. Water droplets cluster around these particles—changing the structure of clouds. That, in turn, increases the chance of rain. The UAE has been using cloud seeding since 2002 to deal with water shortages.
But, but, but: Later reporting said the link to cloud seeding is unlikely:
Cloud seeding has not been known to produce such large-scale and long-lasting severe thunderstorms that affect multiple countries. But it can, in some cases, lead to somewhat heavier rainfall than what might otherwise occur.
And the UAE had not conducted cloud seeding operations recently. The real villain, as usual, is climate change. Wired has a good piece on that angle. FYI: Nineteen people died in Oman due to the same weather pattern. You can see the insane flooding below. (Axios)
An eye-opening revelation about Nestlé
According to a Swiss non-profit’s investigation, the world’s largest consumer goods company has been adding sugar to baby food:
The results, and examination of product packaging, revealed added sugar in the form of sucrose or honey in samples of Nido, a follow-up milk formula brand intended for use for infants aged one and above, and Cerelac, a cereal aimed at children aged between six months and two years.
Making it even more shameful: This is only true of products sold in poorer Asian, African, and Latin American countries. In fact, there are specific WHO guidelines just for Europe—that ban added sugars. The company’s defence: Nestlé has always complied “with local regulations or international standards, including labelling requirements.”
Data point to note: Cerelac’s global sales are a whopping $1 billion—with Brazil and India accounting for 40%. (The Guardian)
Meanwhile, over at Boeing: Yet another whistleblower—a quality manager—has come forward. He says the company actively discouraged employees from reporting problems in the manufacturing process. Sigh. (Wall Street Journal)
Worries about Aung Suu Kyi
The former Myanmar leader—who was arrested after a military coup in 2021—has been moved out of the capital. She is now being held in an unknown location. The justification offered by the junta: She has been relocated “to a safe place because of the high temperatures in the prison.” It is true that temperatures hit 46°C—no one thinks the military cares about Suu Kyi’s comfort. She has been moved just when the regime is losing ground to rebels—raising fears about her safety. See: our Big Story on the tide turning against the junta. (New York Times)
Menstrual research: It’s not just ‘mood swings’
A new study has revealed a serious link between the menstrual cycle and depression:
[Researchers] found that for many patients, suicidal thoughts tended to get worse in the days right before and during menstruation. On those days, patients were more likely to progress from thinking about suicide to actually making plans to end their own lives.
What we usually dismiss as “mood swings” or “being hormonal” could signal a worrying link to possible mental health issues. Vox has lots more on the study—and the latest research on periods.
Also terrible for everyone’s health: Working overtime. We now have more proof that pulling all-nighters at work is terrible for your health. A new study shows that working late nights and having crazy schedules when you are young—can put you at high risk for depression when you hit middle age. The likely reason is that working late shifts or erratic hours affects your sleep—which hurts your health in the long run. By the way, getting less than five hours of sleep also greatly increases the risk of diabetes. (NPR)
Super surge pricing at the IPL
In case you missed it, IPL franchises have introduced surge pricing for tickets this year. The owners have been given total freedom over ticketing by the BCCI. And the results are eye-watering. A last-minute ticket to the best seat at a Royal Challengers Bangalore opening game was reportedly sold for Rs 52,938. But you could pay as little as Rs 499 if you book early for the Lucknow Giants match.
The truly astonishing bit: RCB games have the most expensive tickets in the league. The cheapest ticket is Rs 2,300. For a team that has lost six of its seven games so far—and has zero chance of making the playoffs. In comparison, the max price for a Mumbai Indians ticket is Rs 18,000. If you think the whistle podu crowd is mad enough to pay crazy money to see Dhoni? Think again. The highest price for a Chennai Super King ticket is a measly Rs 6,000, in comparison.
What can we say? It must be Bengaluru’s Silicon Valley startup mentality. After all, no one is better at throwing tons of money at a losing cause than those techies. (Indian Express)
The busiest airport in the world is…
Atlanta—which has spent 20 years at the top of the list. But there is a new entry at #2—the Dubai Airport which saw a footfall of 87 million—a spike of 31.7% from 2022. It jumped up from #5 last year. As for India, New Delhi just about made it to the top 10. It came in at #10—dropping one place from last year. What this means: Travel is back, baby! A 2023 report showed a 27.2% increase in global travel. (CNN)
Four things to see
One: The BJP is using Pepe the Frog in a promo for the Ram mandir. Umm, Pepe was birthed by the hotbed of rightwing incel culture—4chan—and later appropriated by white supremacists. Needless to say, this is not a good look.
Two: Two Jewish tourists from Austria tore down a pro-Palestinian poster in Fort Kochi. And they videotaped themselves doing it. The poster read "Silence is Violence, Stand up for Humanity"—and was put up by the Students Islamic Organisation of India. When SIO members challenged the women, they accused the students of “promoting propaganda and lies.” The clip has since gone viral—and the women have been booked by the Kerala police—but are out on bail. (Indian Express)
Three: Potterheads rejoice! Australian scientists have named a new ant species Leptanilla voldemort—after You-Know-Who— “a terrifying wizard who, like the new ant, is slender, pale and thrives in darkness.” Please feel free to contrast and compare below. (Interesting Engineering)
Four: Baby Emperor penguins jump off Antarctic cliffs to take their first swim. In 2009, a satellite recorded the death-defying feat—but it didn’t show what happened after the great leap. Now, thanks to BAFTA-winning cinematographer Bertie Gregory, we have stunning “never-before-filmed” footage that solves the mystery. The clip is part of National Geographic's docuseries ‘Secrets of the Penguins’ which is set to release on April 22, 2025. Watch the incredible footage below: (USA Today)
