Let the Paralympics begin!

Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani

Let the Paralympics begin!

Get ready for a second dose of Olympics fever—thanks to the Paris Paralympics, which kick off today.

India represents: We’ve sent 84 athletes across 12 sports—with 38 in track and field, 13 in badminton, and 10 in shooting. Of these, 32 are women. Shot putter Bhagyashree Jadhav and javelin thrower Sumit Antil will be our flag bearers at the opening ceremony. Antil won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

A team of winners: Our Paralympics athletes did way better than their Olympics peers in Tokyo. India placed #24 on the overall table with 19 medals—five gold, eight silver, and six bronze. That kind of performance in a single Olympics would be unprecedented for us. You can see the Indian team below:

Most likely to medal: Antil plus four other Tokyo champions will return to defend their titles—shooters Avani Lekhara and Manish Narwal, and badminton player Krishna Nagar. Missing in action: fellow badminton player Pramod Bhagat, who was found guilty of breaching anti-doping regulations. Watch Antil winning gold in Tokyo below.

The woman to watch: 17-year-old Sheetal Devi was born with phocomelia—a rare condition where limbs are underdeveloped or absent. The archer will make her debut at the Paralympics, having won two gold medals and a silver at the last Asian Para Games. BBC News has more on the girl from Jammu going for gold. Check out this clip of her in action from the 2023 World Para Championship.

What to expect: Since we have 30 more para athletes competing in Paris than Tokyo, the sky's the limit. Sportstar has all your para preview needs.

Mollywood’s MeToo moment: A mass resignation

The context: A number of actresses have accused some of the biggest Malayalam stars of sexual assault, exploitation, and even rape. The spate of allegations were sparked by the unconscionably delayed Hema committee report—which documents “shockingly rampant” sexual harassment that “goes on unchecked and uncontrolled.”

About AMMA: Many of the accused are members or office-bearers of the powerful industry group Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA). Founded in 1994, it has 498 members—253 men and 245 women. AMMA only admits established actors—junior artistes are not allowed. In 2018, 18 prominent women in the industry quit AMMA because it was protecting actor Dileep—accused of ordering the gang-rape of an actress. We highly recommend reading Monday’s Big Story, if you missed it.

What happened now: Yesterday, AMMA’s 17-member executive committee—led by its president Mohanlal—resigned en masse—on “moral grounds.” According to Mohanlal, they are taking responsibility for the accusations against AMMA’s office-bearers—such as General Secretary Siddique, who is accused of raping Revathy Sampath. A new committee will be formed in two months.

Why this matters: The legendary actor Mohanlal has remained shockingly silent in response to the recent allegations—and the Hema report. While the resignation is the first acknowledgement of the rampant abuse—the joint statement is deliberately cryptic. During his tenure as AMMA president over the past eight years, the organisation has behaved much like a mafia:

From handing out bans to artistes who did not toe the line to adopting arm-twisting tactics… [AMMA] acted as an all-powerful group whose clout extended over everyone from directors to top-rung actors and junior artistes.

The association also refused to form an internal complaints committee to handle MeToo cases—arguing in the High Court that it is “not an employer.” Indian Express has more on AMMA. (Mint)

The Oasis reunion dream comes true

What’s the story? Mancunian glory! Estranged brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher have buried the hatchet after a 15-year feud. The band will start a 14-date stadium tour of the UK and Ireland next year.

The feud: In 2009, the band had a sudden and ugly breakup—after many physical brawls and shouting matches between the siblings. More gaalis were exchanged in press interviews—with Noel calling Liam a “f***ing knobhead.” Over the years, Liam has been publicly willing to kiss and make up—but Noel has played hard to get. You can check out an example of their animosity below.

The family reunion: took place over a late-night call—but the reasons for this change of heart remain mysterious. One rumoured catalyst: Noel’s recent divorce from his wife Sara MacDonald—who has long been cast in the role of Yoko Ono to this second coming of the Beatles. New Zealand Herald has that masala story.

Point to note: Noel and Liam have no plans to enter the studio and make new music. (The Times, paywall, The Guardian)

An ‘insane’ IPO for a tiny bike dealership

Resourceful Automobile sells motorbikes in Delhi—with two showrooms and eight employees. What makes Resourceful really special: It is planning to go public! Wait, it gets better: The IPO has been oversubscribed nearly 400X! The dealership was looking to raise a mere Rs 12 crore (120 million)—but has received bids worth Rs 4,800 crore (48 billion). Even experts are stumped by this show of investor enthusiasm—which may be a sign of an overheated market:

Helped by buoyant demand from a swollen retail market, shares of companies going public in India this year have surged by an average of over 50% since debut, more than double the global average. The frenzy continues despite efforts by regulators to warn investors of risks and curb excessive moves. “Many investors are putting money into IPOs just with the intention to make a quick buck,” said [fund manager] Vineet Arora.

Times of India and Bloomberg News via Hindustan Times have nerdy details of this madness.

It pays big to leave India

A new World Bank report on migrants reveals the exponential benefits of leaving poorer countries to migrate to richer nations. Indians on average get a 118% hike in salary—which would take an Indian resident 24 years to match. Point to note: This holds true even after adjusting for cost of living.

Data points to note: The bump for low-skilled Indian workers is even higher: 493%—for those who migrate to the US. Those in Gulf countries get a 118% boost. Dubai offers an interesting variation:

Indians who migrate to the UAE specifically experience a 298% increase. This calculation doesn’t adjust incomes for purchasing power parity because most of the spending occurred in the origin country through remittances. About 85% of the Indian migrants’ earnings in UAE are spent in India.

The Hindu has charts and more data.

Men, get that HPV vaccine!

Typically, HPV vaccines are administered to young women to protect them from cervical cancer. But new research shows that the Human Papillomavirus also affects men. The key finding: The virus affects the immune cells in semen—which affects their ability to conceive—and could also result in a higher level of dead sperm. Why this matters: HPV testing for men is rare—although it can cause penile, anal, throat, and mouth cancers. (CNN)

The neural look of love

What does a brain in love look like? Well, it depends if you’re feeling the love for your bae, mom, pets, kids—or even strangers or nature. Each kind of love activates a different part of the brain. The bad news for your parents and dog:

Scientists found that love for one’s children generated the most intense brain activity, closely followed by romantic love. “In parental love, there was activation deep in the brain’s reward system,” study co-author Pärttyli Rinne.. said, adding that such intense brain activity “was not seen for any other kind of love.”

Damn kids! The chart below shows the different MRI scans. (Independent UK)

what caught our eye

business & tech

Business Insider has a good read on how Gen Z is redefining sick days at work, going on sabbaticals, and setting boundaries.
Mark Zuckerberg has alleged that in 2021, Biden administration officials “pressured” Meta to “censor” some Covid-related content.
From mixing up ‘sticky’ and ‘oily’ to giving last year’s Diwali date when asked about this year, Google’s Hindi AI overviews simply aren’t cutting it.
SpaceX has delayed its first-ever private spacewalk by 24 hours due to a helium leak.

sports & entertainment

‘Kohrra’ lovers, rejoice! Netflix has renewed the Punjab-set police procedural for a second season.
BBC News has a good read on a blockbuster Chinese video game that tried to police players and divided the internet.
Raj Kapoor’s iconic film ‘Awara’ is getting a 4K restoration that will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) next month.
No more Wu-Tang streams! Disgraced ‘Pharma bro’ Martin Shkreli has been ordered to return all copies of the rare rap album ‘Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’ he had purchased for $2 million in 2015.
Say hello to India’s final squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup—Harmanpreet captains, and wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia returns to the fold, subject to fitness.
Jay Shah has been elected unopposed as the youngest-ever International Cricket Council (ICC) chair. He will take over from Greg Barclay in December.

as for the rest

When it rains, it pours for the Cheetah project—another cheetah has died in Kuno National Park, while Gandhi Sagar sanctuary is still not ready. Check out our Big Story from June for more on the project’s woes.
Fighting premarital sexual urges? Go play badminton, Hong Kong authorities advise!
Lab-reared fruit flies could be the first passengers of India’s inaugural uncrewed Gaganyaan space flight.
Scientists think garlic and the gene-editing technology CRISPR, garlic and seaweed could help eliminate climate-killing methane emissions from…farting and burping cows.
Canada plans to cut the number of low-wage, temporary foreign workers and permanent residents being let into the country by 10% from next month.
If you’ve ever had chlamydia, stay vigilant—it may still be hiding out in your gut, a new study has revealed.
Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) has a good read on the disparate realities of life in Lebanon—raves up north, rockets down south.
Reuters has a fascinating piece on how South Korea’s drive to increase its birth rate is struggling to sway the ‘YOLO’ generation. Check out this Big Story by Samarth Bansal for more context on the “baby bust”.
A political crisis is brewing in France—leftist leaders are backing protests after President Macron refused to nominate a government and PM led by the left-wing alliance. Check out our Big Story from July on France’s parliamentary election.
Public distrust in the safety of drinking water is high worldwide at over 50%, a new study shows.
The latest danger to the lives of fish like guppies is…Prozac, according to new research.

Four things to see

One: Student rallies protesting the RG Kar atrocity have turned ugly. Yesterday, the police used tear gas and water cannons on the angry crowds. The Telegraph claims they were provoked by mobs that attacked policemen: “Guardrails flying at police along with bricks and bottles. Officers chased, pinned on the road and beaten.” Indian Express suggests the police reacted the moment some protesters breached the barricades. You can see the ugly scenes below.

Two: Gopichand Thotakura became the second Indian to travel to space—after Rakesh Sharma in 1984. Thotakura, however, is no astronaut. He hitched a ride on Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin as a tourist—and got an astonishing band, baaja, and mala reception in Delhi (umm, okay):

We were far more charmed by his interview—right after he landed—and this adorable photo. (Economic Times)

Three: Ed Hawkins’ climate stripes visualise air pollution using colours—bluer the better. Scientists have mapped these stripes between 1850 and 2021—for select cities around the world. This is Delhi’s chart—which rightfully belongs in some climate apocalypse movie:

But here’s London—which offers hope that cities can come back from the brink—all you need is the will and the work. (The Guardian)

Four: Check out this riveting trailer for ‘Emilia Pérez’—which stars Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez, and Karla Sofía Gascón. It has crime, it has comedy, it has music, and it even has a Cannes Palme D’or from earlier this year. The film releases on Netflix on November 13. (The Hindu)