Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Anannya Parekh & Aakriti Anand
Our experiments with YouTube: A new format!
We’ve been playing with different formats for our YouTube show. We recently tried a daily news wrap—which didn’t quite work with the platform—where discovery happens days later. So we’ve switched to a twice-weekly version—that’s more like a newsmagazine.
It’s a great option when you don’t have time to read us every day. You get a video version of our best stories twice a week. Do check it out and—most importantly—share it with your friends, fam, colleagues and more. It’s a great cost-free way to introduce someone to splainer—especially if they are text-averse. The Friday edition is below.
War on Gaza: The latest update
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a ruling ordering Israel to immediately stop its military campaign on Rafah:
The panel voted 13-2 in favour of an order that Israel “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
The ruling was immediately rejected by PM Netanyahu—and most Israeli leaders:
The mounting international pressure has helped Netanyahu at home, galvanising even his opponents into outrage. Many Israelis view the moves by international courts as misinterpretations of a war they see as existential.
This would explain why Tel Aviv promptly rained death on a refugee camp in Rafah—killing 35. The only nation inconvenienced by the UN court’s ruling: the US—which supports the ICJ and is Israel’s closest ally.
Why any of this matters:
“It clearly states where the line has been drawn by the court when it comes to international law,” he said. “There is certainly an acceleration here … of Israel being basically on the accused bench and having to defend its stance and its action in the eye of the international community.”
Our Big Story has more details on the ICJ case. (Washington Post, paywall, BBC News)
As for Hamas: It launched missiles at Tel Aviv for the first time in four months—to show its “military strength.” Mercifully, none of them caused any damage. (Reuters)
As for humanitarian aid: Food has begun to rot on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing—as Israeli forces blocked deliveries for a third consecutive week. And the US floating pier has proved to be a dud. (Reuters)
A related good read: The Intercept has a detailed report of hundreds of Palestinian doctors who were detained by the Israeli forces and have gone missing.
War on Ukraine: Putin’s peace offer
The Russian President is ready to accept a ceasefire that recognises “current battlefield lines.” In other words, he wants to keep all the territory seized by the Russians. It’s less than what Putin demanded when he invaded Ukraine—but enough to cut his losses and claim victory:
Based on their knowledge of conversations in the upper ranks of the Kremlin, two of the sources said Putin was of the view that gains in the war so far were enough to sell a victory to the Russian people… Three sources said Putin understood any dramatic new advances would require another nationwide mobilisation, which he didn't want, with one source, who knows the Russian president, saying his popularity dipped after the first mobilisation in September 2022.
The offer comes as Moscow advances on the key city of Kharkiv—and ahead of a peace summit slated for June 15-16 in Switzerland. This is a very odd summit where the US and its Western allies will assemble to talk ‘peace’—without Russia or China at the table. For more: CNN argues Putin’s offer should be taken with a hefty serving of salt. (Reuters)
Kolkata Knight Riders ride to IPL victory!
In a surprisingly one-sided match, KKR won the IPL final against Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets on Sunday. SRH batted first, but were bowled out for 113—the lowest-ever score in an IPL final. Andre Russell picked up three wickets, while Mitchell Starc got two. Kolkata just needed 114 runs for the victory, which they managed to chase in about 10 overs with Ventakesh Iyer smashing a half century. KKR has lifted the cup after nearly a decade, and this is their third IPL title. Hindustan Times has the match report. You can see the winning moment below.
Here’s a hilarious video of Sunil Narine—also the player of the tournament—and team mentor Gautam Gambhir.
It was all joy for SRK as well! Awww.
Here's a sweet interaction he had with his daughter Suhana.
A list of devastating tragedies
In Papua New Guinea: A massive landslide killed more than 670 people. The likely culprit: a recent earthquake that buried thousands of homes. Many are still stuck under the rubble with no hope of rescue. See the devastation in The Guardian video below. Associated Press has more on this developing story.
In Rajkot: A fire in an amusement park—and its gaming zone—killed 28 people including seven children. The likely culprit: sparks from a welding machine. Indian Express has more on the investigation.
In Delhi: A fire at the New Born Baby Care Hospital in East Delhi killed seven newborn infants. The culprit: oxygen cylinders that exploded. (NDTV)
A new case of violent turbulence
Last week, severe turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight claimed one life—and sent 104 others to the hospital. Over the weekend, another 12 people were injured on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin—when it hit turbulence on Sunday. Mercifully, the injuries seem to be minor. We don’t know what kind of turbulence was involved in this case. Our Big Story has lots more on Clear Air Turbulence—which was responsible for the Singapore Airline incident—and the role of climate change. (CNN)
In other airline news: The budget airline IndiGo is planning to go premium—with a “tailor-made” business class option that will be available on the busiest corporate routes. The reason: “Yields from business and premium classes are usually notably higher than the more price-sensitive economy class.” Ofc, the real plan of all airlines is to steadily cut back on the comfort of the average passenger. Then you charge extra for all the basics—and call it ‘premium’. (Indian Express)
The world’s best country for tourism is…
The United States! According to the World Economic Forum—which looks at more than just scenic sights. These rankings are based on “the business of hotels, airports, attractions, airlines and the like — and not just what it’s like to be a traveller on the ground.” Coming in at #2: Spain—followed by Japan. Six of the top 10 countries are from Europe. Australia and China made the list at #5 and #8, respectively. As for India, we are #39 on the list—which is a big jump from 2021 when we came in at #54. (CNN)
Google’s great AI debacle
You’ve probably seen Google’s new AI Overview tool when you search for something. It sits right on top—summarising information from various sites. The problem: The tool is getting its information from all the wrong places. For example: You are advised to use ‘non-toxic’ glue to make cheese stick to pizza, eat rocks for a more nutritious meal etc. To sum up: The machine doesn’t have a sense of humour—and can’t figure out the difference between a Reddit or Onion joke and fact. (New York Times, paywall, BBC News)
In happier news for Google: YouTube rolled out a Shazam-like feature for Android users on its Music app—so you can hum, whistle, sing, or play a recording to find the name of a song. Unlike the AI search tool, this one is pretty accurate— though in one case, it threw up Ilaiyaraaja’s ‘Vannanilavae’ instead of ‘Dead’ by They Might Be Giants. Lol. (The Verge)
Killer whales aren’t bloodthirsty killers
The context: Since 2020, pods of orcas have been ganging up to sink boats, off the coasts of Spain, Portugal, France, and Morocco. Worse, they were teaching each other how to do it. The toll: the destruction of at least 673 vessels—though mercifully, no one has died.
What happened now: Experts tasked with explaining this bad behaviour have released their final report. Their conclusion: the orcas are just high-spirited teenagers—having a good time. They just think it’s fun to bump the ship’s rudders with their noses or heads. But since they’re kinda large, the whales end up damaging the ship’s steering. In other words, there is “nothing in the behaviour of the animals that suggests that they’re being aggressive”—contrary to popular theories that framed these actions as some kind of revenge of the wild.
The real problem: There’s loads of khana—as in bluefin tuna—so the kids have free time to play. The solution may be to make rudders kid-unfriendly—as in rough and abrasive—and make banging noises to drive them off. (Washington Post, paywall, USA Today)
In heart-breaking news about monkeys: At least 138 brown howler monkeys have died due to heatwaves in Mexico. Temperatures have exceeded 43°C in places like Tabasco—where the normal temperature is 27°C:
“They were falling out of the trees like apples,” [wildlife biologist Gilberto] Pozo said. “They were in a state of severe dehydration, and they died within a matter of minutes.” Already weakened, Pozo says the falls from dozens of yards (meters) up inflict additional damage that often finishes the monkeys off.
Authorities are investigating other reasons why the monkeys are vulnerable—including “malnutrition or fumigation, or spraying of crops with toxic agrochemicals.” Why this matters: These monkeys are sentinel species that reflect the health of the ecosystem. Also, howler monkeys are a vulnerable species. (Wired, paywall, The Guardian)
One bearish thing to see
Fans of ‘The Bear’ rejoice! The trailer for the third season is here. New episodes drop on Disney+ Hotstar from June 27. (Empire)
