Researched by: Rachel John, Nirmal Bhansali & Aarthi Ramnath
North vs South India: A Youtube explainer
We recently launched exclusive video explainers on YouTube, hosted by our editor Lakshmi Chaudhry. Our latest looks at the so-called North-South divide in voting behaviour—and how it may play out for the BJP.
Check it out below. Stay tuned for more such explainers on the big fat election coming soon, and 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 :)
Twin dhamakas shake INDIA
First, Mamata Banerjee announced that Trinamool Congress will contest the Lok Sabha elections alone in West Bengal—rejecting any possibility of a seat-sharing agreement with Congress. The reason: She only wants to give the party two seats to contest—but the Congress wants six. More ominously, Mamata said she will take a call on TMC’s participation in the INDIA alliance later.
Up next: Aam Aadmi Party—which also refused to share seats with Congress in Punjab. But its leaders did not rule out playing nice: “On select seats, where the BJP or Akalis are strong, we can have an understanding to support each other. But there is no need for a pan-Punjab seat division.”
The odd bit: No one seems very upset about the outcome. Congress leaders argue that a three-cornered race in Bengal may, in fact, hurt the BJP:
A Left voter will not vote for the TMC, but in a bid to vote against them, if there is no viable option available, they could vote for the BJP. With the Congress and Left together, we provide them with a strong alternative. We will be able to block the anti-TMC votes going to the BJP.
The big picture: Everyone is scrambling in response to the fabulous success of the Ram Mandir inauguration:
Firstly, the TMC is more likely to win against the BJP… Leaving seats to the Congress will only work in the BJP’s favour. Secondly, if the Congress fails nationally and the BJP wins the Lok Sabha polls, the Trinamool needs to have the numbers to be a strong Opposition, be a check against the Centre.
The real worry: Nitish Kumar in Bihar—who may be readying to jump ship—right back to the BJP. Indian Express and The Telegraph have lots more.
Israel-Palestine: The latest update
Israeli forces have advanced into the city of Khan Younis in a major offensive. They have reportedly been targeting the area around a refugee camp—which includes two hospitals and a training centre run by the UN:
Israeli forces cut off southern Gaza's main hospitals in their assault, Palestinian officials said, and closed the main escape route for hundreds of thousands of residents and people who have sought refuge in the city.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire talks seem to have stalled out:
From what the BBC has learnt, the main block appears to boil down to major differences over how to bring a complete end to the war. A senior Palestinian official… told us that Cairo had laid out a new five-stage framework to Hamas officials… Israel was insisting on keeping its forces on the ground until the last stage of the process. We were told that Hamas has demanded that the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops and return of displaced residents to their homes takes place earlier.
BBC News has more on the roadblocks. Reuters looks at the assault on Khan Younis.
Bad news about antibiotics use in India
A new government survey looked at 20 big hospitals—and showed that about 72% of inpatients are prescribed at least one antibiotic. Over 38% are prescribed more than one—raising the risk of dangerous interactions. And over 55% of such prescriptions belonged to the WHO’s “Watch” group—i.e. medicines reserved for only severe infections. The frightening bit: “Data show that resistance among Indian patients to certain types of antibiotics is among the highest in the world. In India, for many antibiotic-bacterium combinations, over 75% of infections were from resistant bacteria.” The Hindu has lots more numbers.
Nuclear power surges around the world
A report by the International Energy Agency revealed that global output will reach record-breaking levels by 2025. The reason for this surge: new reactors in India, China and South Korea. The good news: renewable energy will likely make up one-third of total electricity generation next year. Why this matters:
The power sector currently produces more CO2 emissions than any other in the world economy, so it's encouraging that the rapid growth of renewables and a steady expansion of nuclear power are together on course to match all the increase in global electricity demand over the next three years.
The Guardian has more details.
Visa harassment of Pakistani origin cricketers
English spinner Shoaib Bashir was forced to fly back to the UK from Abu Dhabi—while the rest of his team headed to India to play the first match in Hyderabad. The reason: some problem with his paperwork. The situation caused great uproar—since Bashir is the only team member to face this delay—due to his Pakistani origin. FYI: The MEA claims there is a special process for such visas.
Why this is embarrassing: The Indian government now has a proven track record of delaying visas for English cricketers of Pakistani origin.
In 2019, Saqib Mahmood was ruled out of an England Lions tour to India, while Moeen Ali arrived late at the 2022 IPL season. Usman Khawaja, whose parents were born in Islamabad, also arrived late for Australia's tour of India last year.
Even PM Rishi Sunak called on New Delhi to "treat British citizens fairly at all times in its visa process.” Bashir did indeed get his visa in the end—but won’t be able to play in the first match. Why this matters: Commentators are raising questions about India’s ability to host international events—if it plans to be this petty about its visa process. Indian Express has a response from unnamed sources in the MEA. (ESPNcricinfo)
Big layoffs at the LA Times
One of the largest print newspapers in the US announced that it was laying off over 115 journalists—which is more than 20% of its newsroom strength. These are the largest-ever job cuts announced in the 142-year history of The Los Angeles Times. What’s worse: journalists of colour were allegedly “disproportionately affected.” According to the newspaper’s management, the jobs were cut due to unsustainable financial losses ranging between $30 million to $40 million every year. A related good read: Ezra Klein in New York Times (splainer gift link) explains how mid-sized media publications are collapsing in the US. (The Guardian)
A groundbreaking treatment for deafness
For the very first time, scientists used gene therapy to restore the hearing of an 11-year-old boy. Aissam Dam was born deaf due to the mutation of a single gene otoferlin “that destroys a protein in the inner ear’s hair cells necessary to transmit sound to the brain.” Researchers replaced it with a functional gene—and now Dam can hear sounds for the very first time.
Why this is a breakthrough:
There’s an advantage in using gene therapy to allow children to hear. Most of the mutations that affect hearing—there are approximately 150—do not affect any other part of the body. Some genes are actually unique to the ear. The inner ear is a small closed compartment, so gene therapy delivered there would not affect cells in other parts of the body.
But, but, but: There are many in the community who do not view their deafness as something to be cured. (New York Times, paywall)
Higher education helps you live longer
A new Lancet study has found a direct relationship between education and how long one lives. What’s more: these improvements in longevity were found in both high- and low-income countries—and across gender and class.
Completing primary, secondary and tertiary education is the equivalent of a lifetime of eating a healthy diet, lowering the risk of death by 34% compared with those with no formal education… At the opposite extreme, not attending school at any point was as bad for adult health as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks every day or smoking 10 cigarettes each day for a decade.
Data point to note: In India, the average school dropout rate was 12.6% in 2021-22—which increases to 20 to 21% in states like Bihar and Meghalaya. (The Guardian)
Chrome is now AI-powered
It just became easier to organise the million open tabs on your Chrome—thanks to Google’s new features powered by AI. The most exciting is a tab organiser:
With the new Tab Organizer, Chrome will automatically suggest and create groups based on the tabs you already have open… Chrome will also suggest names and emojis for the tab groups it creates to make them easier to find. This feature is intended to assist when users are online shopping, researching, trip planning, or doing other tasks that tend to leave a lot of open tabs.
Other features include a writing assistant, the ability to create AI-generated themes and an option to personalise your browser. For now, these can be accessed by turning on the ‘Experimental AI’ option. You can see how the tab organiser works below. (TechCrunch)
Finally: Gender equality at the ‘naked man’ festival
Every year, a Japanese shrine in Inazawa holds the Hadaka Matsuri festival—famously called the ‘naked man’ festival—to celebrate the abundance of harvest, prosperity, and fertility. The most popular bit:
[I]t is most famous for — a rough-and-tumble scrum in which men wearing only loincloths attempt to touch a completely naked man designated as the shin-otoko, or “god man” in Japanese, to gain good fortune for the next year.
For over 1,000 years, the festival was open to only men—until now. A group of around 40 women will participate in it this year—but fully clothed. And they won’t be allowed to join the traditional scramble—but the move is being hailed as a big step for gender equality. Watch a mad clip from the celebrations below. (South China Morning Post)
One trailer to see
Filmmaker Kiran Rao is back with her second feature film—14 years after her debut ‘Dhobi Ghat’. The film ‘Laapataa Ladies’ is a suspense-comedy written and directed by Rao—and follows a newlywed young man who discovers his bride is missing. The movie is slated to release on March 3. (Indian Express)
