Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani
Middle East madness: The latest updates
Tel Aviv’s latest moves are designed to kick out Palestinians at a whim—be it within Israel or in Gaza.
A new deportation law: The Israeli parliament passed a law allowing the government to deport family members of any Palestinian who was found guilty of a terrorist attack. They will be sent to the Gaza Strip or another location for seven to 20 years:
The law would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed east Jerusalem who knew about their family members’ attacks beforehand or who “express support or identification with the act of terrorism.”
But, but, but: Experts say that this law is little more than “populist nonsense” and is likely to be struck down by Israel’s judiciary. (Associated Press)
Meanwhile, in North Gaza: The IDF announced “the complete evacuation” of northern Gaza—and said its residents will not be allowed to return home. The military will also not allow any humanitarian aid to enter the area. A slight problem: “International humanitarian law experts have said that such actions would amount to the war crimes of forcible transfer and the use of food as a weapon.” It may be why the IDF quickly disowned the policy—revealed by a brigadier general. (The Guardian)
The slow death of Jet Airways
The context: Jet Airways halted operations in April 2019 because it ran out of cash—due to serious mismanagement. A consortium of investors—led by UAE businessman Murari Lal Jalan and UK-based Kalrock Capital—offered to buy it. The problem: Jet still owed Rs 154.32 billion (15,432 crore) to its creditors. The JKC consortium reneged on its promise to settle Jet’s debts—simply refusing to do so even when ordered by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
What happened now: The Supreme Court has embraced the inevitable—and ordered liquidation—as the “only viable option” to give creditors at least some of the owed money. It also set aside an NCLAT ruling—passed this March—transferring Jet’s ownership to the consortium. The ruling also confirmed widely held doubts about the would-be owners:
They bid for the airline without understanding the intricacies of the business, thinking they could somehow make it work. But with no real experience in aviation, they didn’t stand a chance of successfully implementing the complex resolution plan.
Point to note: Creditors are unlikely to get all that much back:
Airlines in India typically do not own most of their fleet and the ownership lies with the aircraft lessors. The only assets of value in an airline are, therefore, its landing-parking rights, slots, people, and low-value ground-handling and engineering equipment. None of these can be easily converted to liquid funds in the case of a liquidation.
Live Law has the story. Mint (paywalled) has the analysis on what this liquidation means. For more context, read our Big Stories on Jet’s planned resurrection and its failure.
'Satanic Verses': Show me the ban!
The Delhi High Court has seemingly overturned the 36-year ban on importing Salman Rushdie’s controversial novel. It was an unexpected result of a 2019 petition challenging the ban. The book-loving petitioner pointed out that no one in the government could produce a copy of the original ban—which was issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in 1988. The amusing bit: Government officials couldn’t produce the notice in court either. As a result, the court said they had “no option but to presume that the impugned notification does not exist.”
What this means: Technically, the book can indeed be imported now—but it isn’t clear who is lining up to do so. Reminder: “India was one of the first countries to ban the book’s import and sale, citing concerns over its content being offensive to the Muslim community.” (The Telegraph)
Self-censor your JioTV+
Worried about unexpected steamy scenes popping up on the screen—during parivaar TV time? Worry not. Jio now offers a tool called ‘AI Sensor’ (or is Censor?) which will blur out ‘adult’ scenes and sounds—when detected. It’s part of a new Jio TV+ app.
Should I be worried? You will have to activate the feature—so this isn’t a covert plan to make your TV more sanskaari. In any case, Jio already hacks its series and movies to pieces. And the government has readied a new broadcast bill that will allow it to control what you see in the privacy of your homes—especially on streaming. (more on that in this Big Story). You can see how the feature works below. (Indian Express)
what caught our eye
business & tech
- Canada has ordered the dissolution of TikTok’s businesses in the country, following a national security review. But, but, but: the app won’t be blocked yet.
- Truecaller’s Swedish co-founders—Alan Mamedi and Nami Zarringhalam—are stepping down from day-to-day operations after 15 years. The new chief: hamaara Rishit Jhunjhunwala.
- AI hardware is creeping into Indian higher education—IIT Bhubaneswar will offer a professional diploma programme in semiconductor technology and chip design.
- If you try logging onto Chat.com you’ll be redirected to ChatGPT, because OpenAI has purchased the domain name.
- The Tatas now have the keys to New Delhi’s iconic The Claridges hotel on a 25-year management contract starting from April 2025.
- 404 Media (login required) has a crazy story on how The Vatican’s anime mascot—Luce—is now an AI porn sensation.
sports & entertainment
- Netflix confirmed that the highly anticipated fifth and final season of ‘Stranger Things’ will release in 2025.
- SRK has received a death threat and a demand of Rs 50 lakh—yes, there’s talk about Lawrence Bishnoi
- Raygun is retiring from breakdancing—due to excessive and negative attention.
- Olympic gold-winning boxer Imane Khelif is suing media outlets that reported on her leaked medical records that caused a gender controversy in Paris earlier this year.
- F1 drivers are beefing with the FIA chief over…swearing in press conferences.
as for the rest
- Nearly 80% of rural Indians consume less than 2,200 calories a day.
- According to Hurun’s new Rich list, India’s “most generous” billionaire philanthropist is…Shiv Nadar—who donated Rs 2,153 crore this calendar year.
- Temperatures around the world are expected to rise by 1.55°C by the end of this year. Related: private jet emissions have soared by 50% in the past four years.
- Canada blocked an Australian media outlet that aired a press conference featuring S Jaishankar. The reason: Jaishankar made some sharp criticisms over “granting of political space to Khalistanis in Canada. India is pissed, saying the block shows Canada’s “hypocrisy towards free speech”.
- Kamala Harris’ campaign spent a staggering $1.4 billion just on ads—to lose the election.
- Record air pollution and AQI in Lahore has left hundreds hospitalised. Half of the city’s workforce have been told to stay home.
- Australia plans to ban all social media for children aged under 16.
- The world’s fastest ocean liner—the SS United States—will become the world’s largest artificial reef after being sunk in the Gulf of Mexico.
- The FDA wants to ban oral phenylephrine—a common ingredient found in over-the-counter cold and allergy meds. The reason: it’s apparently ineffective.
- The Guardian has a funny read explaining why some doctor-influencers are discouraging the act of making your bed every morning.
Five things to see
One: An emperor penguin travelled 2,100 miles (3,379 km) off course—from its home in Antarctica—most likely in search of food. It was spotted waddling on an Australian beach. The sad/amusing bit: “He did a little belly slide on the sand. I think he thought it was snow.” (ABC News)
Two: Rishi Sunak was spotted getting a coffee at Third Wave with his wife Akshata Murthy—sparking great excitement on X. Ahh, yet another peak Bengaluru moment. More accurately, a Bengaluru tech bubble moment. (NDTV)
Three: Carnatic music reached new heights (literally) when vocalist TM Krishna celebrated his climb up the Lobuche East peak in Nepal by breaking into song. Krishna sang his heart out at 20,080 feet above sea level—which is impressive. (The Telegraph)
Four: A cloned black-footed ferret named Antonia gave birth to three kits—making her the first cloned ferret to give birth. One baby died but the other two are healthy. This is an important step in conservation of these endangered species because:
The current population of black-footed ferrets—thousands of which have been reintroduced across the western U.S. since the 1990s—is all descended from just seven individuals, except for a few clones and Antonia’s new offspring.
Smithsonian Magazine has lots more on the cute animal’s conservation history.
Five: Teens from a Lucknow slum have come up with their own Sabyasachi-inspired bridal looks. The project is the brainchild of a Lucknow non-profit called Innovation for Change. The kids “try to create designer dresses through their creativity by sorting out all the clothes they get from locals and people from the neighbourhood as charity.” (Indian Express)
feel good place
One: If musicians had a fight club…
Two: Oldest—and best—trick in the book.
Three: Getting dressed for Ascot.
