Thursday November 7 2024

headlines that matter

editor’s note

Our latest Advisory Edit: We hope you noticed a brand new splainer rollout in your inbox. It’s called the Advisory Edit—a monthly email newsletter that showcases our best guides—connected by a useful or interesting theme. November’s edit offers you everything you need to to keep yourself toasty in this unforgiving winter. We have an excellent buy guide to the best winter wear, an essay on gorgeous winter ragas of Shree and Malkauns, and a handy list of audiobooks. Look for the subject line—Advisory Edit: A Wintery Shopping Guide—if you have trouble finding it. I personally am really, really happy with it—let me know what you think—and how we can make it better—over at lakshmi@splainer.in.

Kuch hatke desi playlist: Once a month we gather suggestions from the splainer fam to put together an awesome playlist—each with its own theme. For the next edition, we're looking for kuch hatke Indian music—interpret it as you will—just not your mainstream or filmi tracks. We are language agnostic, as always:) Add your picks to this handy short form.

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani

President Donald Trump II: How did this happen?

Eight years later, we are right back at square one: Donald Trump has convincingly defeated a seemingly popular—and far more qualified—woman candidate. This despite raising serious red flags about his mental competence. Yeh kya hua, kaise hua…

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of Big Stories we’re doing this week on the US election. Part one looked at why the election is so close—despite Trump’s innumerable, umm, deficiencies. Part two had everything you needed to know about the key battlefields in the election.

Pyongyang goes to war… in Russia

North Korean troops popped up in Russia last month—11,000 soldiers deployed at Kursk—on the Russia-Ukraine border. They are now on the battlefront—according to Ukraine: “They're wearing Russian uniforms, they're undergoing tactical training, and they're being deployed under various commands of the Russian army on the front lines.” Meanwhile, the Russian Parliament made things official by ratifying a landmark mutual defence pact with North Korea. Signed in June, it obliges Russia and North Korea to provide military aid using “all means” if there is any “aggression” against either country.

Why this is notable:

Despite integration challenges — including communication barriers and differing military doctrines — the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia represents a significant shift in European and Asian security relations. For the first time in generations, troops from East Asia are actively engaging in a European conflict.

BBC News and Associated Press have more.

Middle East madness: Widening rift in Israel

The context: PM Benjamin Netanyahu recently fired his defence minister—Yoav Gallant—a leading Opposition leader who joined the cabinet as part of a ‘unity’ government soon after the October 7 attacks. But he has long been opposed to Bibi’s military strategy—arguing for a deal to free the hostages even if it requires “painful concessions.” And he is in favour of forcing Ultra Orthodox Jews to serve in the military—like other Israeli citizens.

What happened now: The decision to fire Gallant has sparked raging protests—“calling for Netanyahu to resign, and demanding the new defence minister prioritise a hostage deal.” This has happened before—and Netanyahu was forced to reinstate him. But this time around, there is also greater public pressure to end the war. And the Biden White House knows the clock is ticking on Gaza—now that Donald Trump is coming back. See scenes from the protests below. Al Jazeera has a must-read primer on Israel’s new Defence Minister—Israel Katz. (BBC News)

Germany’s political crisis: Olaf Scholz is out?

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition has collapsed. This drama also involved rebellious cabinet ministers—in this case, Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats:

Mr. Lindner had proposed sweeping reforms to jumpstart the troubled German economy that the other two parties opposed… With the German economy expected to shrink for the second year in a row, Mr. Lindner has demanded corporate tax cuts, eased climate regulations and a reduction of social benefits. Many of those ideas are anathema to Scholz's SPD, Germany's traditional workers' party and the left-leaning Greens.

What happens next: If Scholz can’t find another coalition partner, Germany will have to go to the polls—six months ahead of schedule. It promises political chaos—coming at a time when Russia seems to be winning the Ukraine war, the German economy is in a terrible slump—and Donald is back in the White House. (AFP via The Hindu)

The case of the missing Ranthambore tigers

Twenty five tigers in Ranthambore National Park are missing! That’s a third of the total population of 75. Eleven have been MIA for over a year—and 14 have not been seen since May. One possible reason: There are too many tigers in the national park area:

Ranthambore faces challenges due to tigers' overcrowding, which leads to fights over territory. With 75 tigers — that includes young tigers and cubs — the park's 900 square kilometres is struggling to support them. According to a study by the Wildlife Institute of India (2006-2014), the park can safely house around 40 adult tigers.

But, but, but: this doesn't mean that the MIA tigers are dead. They simply may not have been captured by the cameras setup inside the park. As with all things sarkaari, a committee has been set up to investigate. (The Hindu)

Saris are bad for your health!

Ok, the real problem is the petticoat. New research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) shows that wearing a tightly tied petticoat can trigger a form of skin cancer:

[C]ontinuous pressure and friction from a tight waist cord can cause long-term skin irritation. This irritation can lead to ulcers, which, in some cases, may develop into skin cancer

This kind of cancer is called a Marjolin ulcer—which usually develops in chronic burn wounds, tuberculous skin nodules, and vaccination scars. What we don’t know: Why some of these ulcers turn malignant. Independent UK has more details on case studies.

Look: It’s a splainer easter egg!

Editor’s note: Every once in a while, we drop something funny, whimsical or beautiful in an unexpected part of the edition. Our last easter egg was a devastating poem by Andrea Cohen—unearthed by columnist Raja Sen. We figured this was an excellent day for another instalment. To take your mind off all things orange, we offer you gems from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

This is the winning photograph by the Canadian photographer Shane Gross—of tadpoles swimming toward the surface of Cedar Lake.

Our faves include: ‘The Demolition Squad’ taken by Ingo Arndt—which shows red wood ants dismembering a blue ground beetle.

This sweet image—captured by Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod—of a young toque macaque sleeping in the arms of an adult:

And finally, ‘The Artful Crow’ from Jiří Hřebíček—which looks like an Impressionist masterpiece.

Smithsonian Magazine has a wonderful collection of 15 images. You can see all the winners over at the award website.

what caught our eye

business & tech

Netflix’s offices in Paris and Amsterdam have been raided by authorities, as part of a tax fraud probe.
Coming soon: WhatsApp’s version of Google Lens, to verify images shared in chats.
South Korea is cracking down on its deepfake porn problem by revising parliamentary laws to enforce tougher punishments for digital sex offenders.
Apple may update its ‘Find My’ app feature to let users share locations of lost items via a link.
Say hello to JioTV+’s new AI Sensor, which automatically censors adult-oriented content by blurring scenes or muting audio.

sports & entertainment

Coco Gauff has beaten Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the WTA’s year-ender tournament, eliminating Swiatek from title contention.
Sticking with tennis, Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the ATP’s year-ender tournament, marking the first time in 23 years that none of Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic feature.
Gizmodo has a good read on the time Donald Trump was the subject of a ‘Death Note’ manga in 2020.

as for the rest

Switzerland’s got a new burqa ban—it’ll take effect from January 1, 2025.
Vigorous workouts may be more effective than moderate workouts in suppressing appetite and helping weight loss, a new study suggests.
Amazon India has launched ‘Clinic’—which allows users to directly book appointments with their preferred doctor, for the price of Rs 299 to Rs 799.
The Guardian has a cool read on scientists finding out whether plankton could unlock the secrets of human biology.
Say hello to Boeing’s X-37B, the US Space Force spacecraft with groundbreaking manoeuvring capabilities.
Researchers at WHO have a hit list of 17 pathogens most in need of a few vaccines—including HIV and TB.

Four things to see

One: Moving on to Canada: after the attack on a temple in a Toronto suburb, Hindu protestors took to the streets. Watch the bizarre clip of one gentleman losing his s**t below. There are other ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ clips here. (India Today)

Two: Scientists have discovered the oldest tadpole fossil ever in Argentina—dating back to 160 million years ago, to the Jurassic period. The awesome bit: They were kinda dino-sized tadpoles—as big as a hot dog. Below is an artist’s version of what they might have looked like: (New York Times, paywalled, BBC News)

Three: Finally, some snow on Fuji-sama! The peaks of Mount Fuji have been bare for a record number of months. This marks the most delayed arrival of snow since 1894. Also: Japan witnessed the hottest October this year since 1898. (Japan Times)

Four: This one’s for the BTS fans. The trailer for ‘RM: Right People, Wrong Place’ just dropped—which is Kim Namjoon’s (RM) documentary featuring the behind-the-scenes from his latest album. It is slated for a global theatrical release on December 5. (Hollywood Reporter)