Researched by: Nirmal Bhansali, Aarthi Ramnath & Anannya Parekh
Elections 2024: The latest update
An INDIA mega-rally: The Opposition showed unusual signs of life—and unity—at a rally staged in Delhi. Mamata Banerjee was conspicuously absent—but Sagarika Ghose served as the Trinamool rep. Congress, OTOH, sent out its A-list—all the Gandhis plus party prez Mallikarjun Kharge. The other notable bit:
A number of the leaders tried to reclaim BJP themes—like Lord Ram and Amrit Kaal. For example, Priyanka declared: “Those who are in power today, they call themselves Rambhakt. I feel that they have got trapped in karmakand and are involved in showing off.” The worst use of Modi-isms goes to CPM’s Sitaram Yechury who said:
This is the Amrit Kaal of Kalyug. At that time (during the) churning of the ocean, the pot of poison went to the good people and the pot of elixir (amrit) went to the bad people. Today also we need to retrieve the elixir from the bad people and use it for the public good.
Yikes. Why Mr Yechury, why? (The Telegraph)
Congress’ tax troubles: are escalating. IT officials froze its accounts last month—claiming the party owes Rs 1.35 billion (135 crore) in back taxes for the year 2018-19. Then it received a notice about its FY 1995 taxes, as well. Now, it’s been hit by a new barrage of tax demands—Rs 17.45 billion (1745 crore) for the years between 2014 and 2017.
Things are so bad that the Madhya Pradesh wing has launched a “one note, one vote” campaign for donations—claiming the party has run out of money. OTOH, the BJP is planning to hold 100 rallies just in Odisha. Sad. (The Hindu)
Hacking Kejriwal’s iPhone: The Enforcement Directorate—which has arrested the Delhi CM for money laundering—wants to break into his phone. And it has asked Apple for help. But the company says it can’t do a thing without the password. Well, if the ED had the password… duh! In any case, Kejriwal insists this phone-hacking has nothing to do with the case—since his phone is only a year old. ICYMI: this excellent Big Story by Samarth Bansal decoded the evidence presented against Kejriwal. (Indian Express)
War on Gaza: The latest update
Anti-Netanyahu protests: Tens of thousands took part in what may be the biggest anti-government rally since the October 7 attacks. Protesters want an immediate ceasefire deal that secures the release of hostages. And they’re demanding immediate elections to get rid of PM Benjamin Netanyahu. You can see the size of the protests below. (Al Jazeera)
A leaked recording: The Observer has accessed an audio clip of Alicia Kearns at a Tory fundraising event. The Tory leader plainly said: “The Foreign Office has received official legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law but the government has not announced it.” Why this matters: If this is true, the British government is required to immediately stop all arms transfers to Israel—and stop sharing intelligence with it. Hear the clip below. (The Guardian)
OTOH, in Washington: The US government quietly sent $2.5 billion in bombs and warplanes—just days after it allowed the Security Council to vote for a ceasefire:
The new arms packages include more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, according to Pentagon and State Department officials familiar with the matter. The 2,000-pound bombs have been linked to previous mass-casualty events throughout Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
That kind of hypocrisy is why the US is not winning popularity contests around the globe. A related read: The Guardian on the growing isolating of Israel. (Washington Post)
Microsoft+OpenAI plot a super-computer
According to The Information, the two companies are teaming up to open a $100 billion data centre—that will be home to a supercomputer made up of millions of AI chips. Why this is a big deal: “The proposed project costs about 100 times more than some of the largest data centres today.” It is slated to open its doors in 2028. What amused us most: The name of this supercomputer—Stargate. When life imitates science fiction… The Information is behind a paywall—but Quartz has the key details.
In equally interesting OpenAI news: The company will not widely release a new voice cloning tool to the public at large. The reason: It is too risky–and is likely to be misused. What caught our eye in the OpenAI statement: “We encourage steps like phasing out voice-based authentication as a security measure for accessing bank accounts and other sensitive information.” The Guardian has loads more on the tool.
Speaking of super-fast computing: UK scientists managed to send data 4.5 million times faster than average broadband—and set a new world record. They transferred data at a rate of 301,000,000 megabits per second. What’s impressive: They used standard optical fibre—but added new wavelength bands—which are equivalent to “different colours of light being transmitted down the optical fibre”:
The solution is remarkable because it does not require new infrastructure to drastically improve internet speeds, and could allow significantly faster internet speeds through existing fibre cables.
Quartz has more details.
Melting polar ice is slowing us down
The context: Earth has been spinning on its axis since our solar system formed about 4.5 billion years ago. But the speed at which Earth rotates is not constant. It is influenced by Earth’s own core—and also the gravitational pull of nearby objects like the moon. For many millennia, our planet was slowing down—but started speeding up in recent years—which has become a great geological mystery. We lay it all out in this Big Story.
What happened now: A new study is once again muddying the scientific waters. It shows that the planet is slowing down—make up your mind, people!!—because of melting polar ice caps. To be clear: Earth is speeding up—maybe because of stuff happening inside the core. But that speed-up is being countered by this slowdown. And why does this mind-eff matter?
As the ice melts into the ocean, meltwater moves from the poles toward the equator, which further slows the speed of the Earth’s rotation… Polar ice melt “has been large enough to noticeably affect the rotation of the entire Earth in a way that is unprecedented,” [Professor Duncan] Agnew said. “To me, the fact that human beings have caused the rotation of the Earth to change is kind of amazing.”
CNN has all the details that you likely don’t need.
Two trailers to see
One: Fans of Imtiyaz Ali rejoice! The trailer for his upcoming film ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’ just dropped. Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra play the real life couple Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjot Kaur—famous singers who were infamously shot by unknown assassins in 1988. The movie will be released on Netflix on April 12. (Indian Express)
Two: Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut ‘Unfrosted’ is set in 1960s Michigan—amid a bitter rivalry between cereal brands Kellogg’s and Post. It chronicles the origin story of the iconic Pop-Tarts—which changed the history of breakfast in America. Yes, it’s a comedy—starring Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Amy Schumer and Hugh Grant—who looks positively grumpy! The movie drops on Netflix on May 3. (Hollywood Reporter)
