Paris Paralympics: India surges to seven!

Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani

Paris Paralympics: India surges to seven!

Bring out the champagne—we’ve already won seven medals—setting a new record for our Olympics tally in just three days!!! We are now #27 on the medal table—which doesn’t sound much until you realise we were #71 in the Olympics…The official tournament website has more on the medal count. But first, a word on our gold medallist…

Avani strikes again: After winning gold and a bronze at Tokyo, shooter Avani Lekhara repeated her feat in her 10-metre air rifle category. She could improve that stellar record in the 50-metre event coming up soon.

FYI: she wasn’t the only Indian on the podium—Mona Agarwal bagged bronze. You can see a lovely pic of the two shooters in action below.

The third medallist in women’s shooting was Rubina Francis—who grabbed a bronze in the 10-metre air pistol event. Indian Express offers a nice profile of her career. Check out her podium-clinching moment below.

Scoring a double: Preethi Pal won two bronzes in the women’s 100-metre and 200-metre T35 track events—which is “meant for athletes who have coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis.” Relive Preethi’s 200-metre bronze run below.

A tale of two silvers: The two silver medallists so far are shooter Manish Narwal—in 10-metre air pistol and Nishad Kumar—who soared in high jump. You can see Manish hold the pose below.

Check out Nishad narrowly missing out on gold below, as the gold medallist Roderick Townsend comes up to console him.

An archer’s aura: There were great expectations of 17-year-old Sheetal Devi—and she did not disappoint. Devi came within touching distance of the women’s individual world record—scoring 703 out of 720 points. She also teamed up with Rakesh Kumar to secure another world record—of 1399 points. Devi hasn’t won a medal yet but the crowds are loving her ‘aura’—as you can see below.

The better breakdancing: Raygun’s travesty of a performance seems even more egregious when you watch the dazzling skills of Para athletes:

A cool thing to see: Runner Jaydin Blackwell shattered the world record in the men’s 100-metre sprint.

A good read: Washington Post (splainer gift link) has an excellent piece on a newer Paralympics sport—wheelchair rugby, or ‘murderball’.

War on Gaza: Fury over dead hostages

Bodies of six Israeli hostages were found in Gaza by the IDF. The military claims they were “brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them.” Hamas claims Tel Aviv stalled the ceasefire talks—and is therefore responsible for their deaths. The hostages’ families agree with Hamas—sort of:

The Hostages Families Forum said that all six held captive were “murdered in the last few days, after surviving almost 11 months of abuse, torture, and starvation in Hamas captivity. The delay in signing the deal has led to their deaths and those of many other hostages.”

The labour unions have reached the same conclusion, as well—as do many Israeli citizens.

The fallout: Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets chanting “Now! Now!”—demanding an immediate cease-fire with Hamas to bring the remaining 101 captives home:

The mass outpouring appeared to be the largest such demonstration in 11 months of war and protesters said it felt like a possible turning point, although the country is deeply divided…

Three of the six hostages… were reportedly scheduled to be released in the first phase of a cease-fire proposal discussed in July. This fueled fury and frustration among the protesters. “Nothing is worse than knowing that they could have been saved,” said Dana Loutaly. “Sometimes it takes something so awful to shake people up and get them out into the streets.”

To add some context: More than 40,000 residents of Gaza have been killed by Israeli offensive—which has also included multiple lethal raids on the West Bank, the most recent of which led to 24 Palestinians and three Israeli officers being killed. As for the Israelis, 1,139 were killed by Hamas during the October 7 attacks. And of the 101 hostages, 35 are now confirmed dead.

Plenty has been said about proportionality—which is meaningless when every human life is precious. And yet… not one of those dead Palestinians became a ‘turning point’ for this war. Associated Press has more on the protests. See the angry scenes below.

Venice Film Festival: The highlights

The Venice festival may not be as big as the Cannes—but it is an important pit stop in the run for the Oscars. Hence, Vulture’s handy list of films that scored high on the ‘stand-o-meter’—i.e length of the standing ovation received at the premiere. Brad Pitt and George Clooney danced in their seats to Sade during the modest 4-ish minute ovation received by their film ‘Wolfs’—which looks like a lot of fun:

Doing much better: Nicole Kidman’s ‘Babygirl’—which scored 6.8 minutes—and seems to be part of the hottest Hollywood trend: lustful middle-aged women. In ‘Babygirl’, “Kidman’s high-powered CEO who puts her life’s work on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much-younger intern.” FYI: Kidman seems to have cornered the market on this, umm, sub-genre (see: ‘A Family Affair’):

She said of the film, it’s “obviously, yes, about sex,” but it’s also about “desire, it’s about your inner thoughts, it’s about secrets, it’s about marriage, it’s about truth, power, consent… This is one woman’s story, and I hope a very liberating story. It’s told by a woman through her gaze… it was very deep to share those things and very freeing.”

Not so ‘freeing’ if it was a man, presumably. Then it would just be, well, retro lol! Watch Nicole and Antonio Banderas arrive at the screening below.

Also staging a midlife comeback: Angelina Jolie—who outdid Kidman with an 8-minute ovation for her flick ‘Maria’ (preview clip below). This one is about legendary opera singer Maria Callas—and does not seem to involve any interns. PS: The festival made special arrangements to keep her and Pitt apart at all times.

And not to leave out the men, 51-year-old Jude Law did pretty good as well—with a 7-minute ovation for ‘The Order’. The movie’s about white supremacists in Idaho—in other words, 100% guaranteed to get an Oscar nod. Enjoy a still from the film below.

The Guardian has a good collection of reviews on the big previews so far.

In related and glorious news: Hayao Miyazaki—legendary animator, director and co-founder of Studio Ghibli—has won the Ramon Magsaysay award. It is also known as the ‘Nobel Prize of Asia’—won by our very own Ravish Kumar in 2019. Miyazaki was honoured for using art to “help children understand complex issues, such as environmental protection and the promotion of peace. He has created many of the most memorable and beloved films in the world.” (Japan Times)

A global insurance fraud in India

The Indian branch of the UK-based insurance company Aviva ducked paying $5.2 million in taxes—by raising fake invoices worth $26 million. These “were actually a front for channelling [commissions] to Aviva's agents”—over the permitted limit. Why this story matters: India is a huge and growing market for life insurance. And Aviva—one of Britain’s biggest insurers and investors—is investing heavily in its Indian operation to get a piece of that action. More importantly, the fraud was caught as part of a broader investigation into “more than a dozen Indian insurers for alleged evasion of $610 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties.” (Reuters)

Call a marmoset monkey by its name

We recently learned that elephants have ‘names’ for each other—just like humans. A new study shows that marmoset monkeys are part of the club—though they use specific whistle-like “phee calls” for other monkeys. Also this: “The scientists also found that members of a family had similar names for a given monkey, as if they were speaking the same dialect.” Why this matters:

Naming individuals requires sophisticated cognitive abilities, said David Omer... who led the study. Animals must map their social environment, distinguish between individuals and conjure a representation of the other animal in their minds.

The bigger questions: “Is this a rare ability limited to a handful of species? Or have we just not been listening closely enough?” (Washington Post, paywalled, The Guardian)

In far sadder news: Hvladimir—suspected of being a ‘Russian spy’—was found dead in Norway over the weekend. The big beluga whale was first spotted in 2019—wearing a harness that could support a mounted camera. The popular theory: it was a Russian James Bond sent to spy on the Norwegians (which is not as insane as it sounds). But Hvladimir turned out to be “very tame and enjoyed playing with people”—and will therefore be sorely missed. (New York Times, login required, Associated Press)

what caught our eye

business & tech

“pls turn off history”—here are 22 such examples of Google employees trying to avoid creating evidence in the antitrust case filed by the US government.
Indian cinemas’ slow death? PVR-INOX will close 70 non-performing screens in FY25. Check out our Big Story on the PVR-INOX shaadi for more context.
So long, farewell AnandTech—the hardware enthusiast platform is shutting down after nearly 30 years of in-depth analysis of computers.
OpenAI says that ChatGPT now has 200 million active weekly users. But, but, but: Ars Technica wonders how many of them will actually admit to using it.
Another one bites the DEI dust—Ford has become the latest major corporation to walk back its commitments to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

sports & entertainment

Amid the fallout of the Hema Committee report, SR Praveen in The Hindu points out how scant attention has been paid to “serious labour issues” highlighted by the report. Our Big Story has more on Mollywood’s MeToo moment.
Rapper Fatman Scoop has passed away aged 53 after collapsing on stage halfway through his concert in Connecticut.
Some of the biggest names in tennis have crashed out of the US Open—including Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff—leaving the tournament wide open.
In ESPNCricinfo, Himanish Ganjoo and Sidharth Monga break down how the evolution of T20 cricket is making spinners bowl shorter and faster.
The footballing world pays tribute to up-and-coming coach and former Premier League player Sol Bamba, who has died aged just 39. Last November, Bamba gave an emotional interview to The Guardian about grappling with cancer.

as for the rest

The vaccination campaign against the outbreak of polio is underway in Gaza.
Speaking of vaccines, Africa’s long wait for Mpox shots continues—none of the pledges made by the US, Germany, France or Spain have arrived yet.
As drought looms, Namibia plans to kill 723 of its wild animals—including 83 elephants—in order to feed its people.
An update on the unrest in Bangladesh—the interim government has formed a commission of inquiry to look into 700 forced disappearances under the previous Sheikh Hasina government.
Over in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sacked the air force commander days after a West-imported F-16 warplane crashed during a Russian bombardment.
Add another Donald Trump PR own goal to the list. ABBA have pulled him up for playing their music at his campaign events without permission.
Here’s a cool Mediterranean discovery—a submerged, human-made limestone bridge inside a cave on a Spanish island is now thought to be 6,000 years old!

One AI wearable thing to see

Say hello to the Plaud NotePin—the latest in the line of AI wearable devices–and rival to the widely pilloried Humane pin. The NotePin can be worn as a necklace, pin, or wristband—and works as your “memory capsule” for everything you do in a day—for the low, low price of $169. Gizmodo has loads more on how it works.