Made in the UK: Junked British tyres threaten Indian lives

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

Made in the UK: Junked British tyres threaten Indian lives

Of the 50 million tyres junked in the UK each year, half are sent to India—supposedly for recycling. They instead end up in the black market. Buyers “cook” these tyres in “makeshift furnaces” in remote villages—spewing toxic fumes:

In an oxygen-free environment, in temperatures of about 500°C, a process known as pyrolysis takes place. Steel and small amounts of oil are extracted, as well as carbon black - a powder or pellet that can be used in various industries. The pyrolysis plants.. are akin to homemade pressure cookers and produce dangerous gases and chemicals.

You can see the environmental destruction in these ‘before’ and ‘after’ satellite grabs of a locality that houses these plants. This was taken in 2018:

And this in 2024:

Data point to note: India ‘imports’ junked tyres from around the world—of which 70% end up in around 2000 pyrolysis plants.

Toxic and lethal: Villagers living near these plants are at great risk:

Scientists at Imperial College London told the BBC plant workers continually exposed to the atmospheric pollutants produced by pyrolysis, were at risk of respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological diseases and certain types of cancer.

Point to note: Rubber tyres are non-biodegradable and highly flammable. Once ignited, they are almost impossible to extinguish. FYI: The world’s largest tyre fire in Wales, which began in 1989, took 15 years to put out. Also this: In India, toxic fumes from burning rubber make landfill blazes even more hazardous. And residue from these fires leaches into the soil and groundwater.

Why is this even legal? Tyres are ‘exported’ in the form of compact cubes called bales. A loophole in UK law allows smaller businesses to export up to 40 tonnes of these bales a week—without any scrutiny. UK dealers also routinely fake documents and send 5X the exempted amount.

The bigger picture in India: Tyres make up just 1% of municipal waste, but it is steadily increasing—with car ownership rising from 1.6% of households in 1998 to 8% today. India is the world’s third-largest auto market. Yet, around half of the country’s 2,000 plants remain illegal, and the government’s latest attempt to hold tyre makers accountable flopped. Unless violators face real consequences, the crisis will only get worse.

Reading list: The BBC News and NGO SourceMaterial teamed up for this must-read investigation. For more background to India’s tyre problem, you can check out Mongabay.

Fresh allegations of Indian meddling in Canada

A yearlong inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian politics identified India and China as the main actors. Now, officials have made more specific allegations: “Canadian intelligence officials said Indian agents and proxies raised money and organized support for Mr. Poilievre in the 2022 Conservative Party leadership race that he won.” They insist Poilievre had no idea of Indian support—but he has long been sympathetic to New Delhi’s concerns around Khalistan—unlike PM and Liberal Party chief Justin Trudeau who became something of a nemesis.

Point to note: India has historically supported the Conservative party—maybe because Beijing likes the Liberals:

The Chinese government and its proxies mostly supported candidates of the Liberal Party, which, especially during Mr. Trudeau’s early leadership, pushed for friendly ties with Beijing. China also tried to undermine Conservative candidates who espoused a hard line against China and were critical of its human rights record.

The original report in the Globe & Mail is paywalled—for a free curation, check out BBC News. (New York Times)

Investigation of Kiran Bedi: Distraught mom or out-of-control VVIP?

The backstory: In 2003, top cop Kiran Bedi became the first woman—and Indian—to be appointed as the head of the United Nations Police. At this time, she was working at the UN headquarters in New York City. However, she soon faced troubles on the family front back in Delhi—where her daughter Saina had teamed up with her married lover Gopal Suri in a spurious business. What Bedi did next is the basis of an in-depth and paywalled News Minute investigation (so we’ll only give you the basic details—or else it’s stealing).

The investigation: The News Minute conducted an in-depth investigation into how Bedi dealt with this ‘family problem’—looking at this source material:

Almost two decades after Delhi police officials conducted this exercise at Kiran’s behest, we accessed copies of hundreds of emails exchanged between Kiran and her confidantes and the police officials involved in the surveillance operation. We also accessed reports from a private detective agency that had been hired to physically tail Saina and Gopal as well as more than twenty cassette tapes, comprising nearly thirty hours of recorded material from the surveillance.

It isn’t clear how they gained access to the material—or who gave it to them.

The shady dhandha: Saina and Gopal ran a dodgy dhandha which procured international visas for Indians customers using dubious methods. Saina tried leveraging her mother’s name to pressure embassy officials. When that didn’t work, they relied on good old ‘khilaana pilaana’—i.e. bribery.

What Bedi did: She tried to coax, bully and threaten her daughter into mending her ways. When it failed, Bedi used her Delhi Police contacts to mount a surveillance operation on the couple.

What TNM concludes: The detailed investigation flags two problems with Bedi’s actions. One:

[A] decorated police officer used her power and influence to settle a sordid personal affair. The surveillance operation violated the privacy of Kiran’s daughter, as well as that of her daughter’s partner.

TNM says the surveillance was all the more damning because the police did not take any action against the couple. But, but, but: It is unclear what Indian privacy laws were violated by the surveillance—if indeed their actions were criminal.

The second sin: The spying uncovered a potential lead in a separate case of sexual assault of a Swiss diplomat. But the police officers did not share it with those investigating the case. The crime remains unsolved to this date.

Bedi’s response: Bedi said she simply did her duty as a mother: “This watch saved my daughter from the clutches of a devious man who was using her knowing I was out of the country. I am grateful to police and my friends for supporting me in this crisis.” As for the issue of privacy, she questioned the legality of The News Minute’s access to her emails from 2003. But again, it isn’t clear if TNM broke any rules here. The in-depth investigation by The News Minute is paywalled. Times of India has her response.

The Eggs-odus: Wtf is up with America’s andas?

The context: Since 2022, the price of eggs has been soaring in the US. It currently ranges from $6 to $10 a dozen–up from $3 last year. In NYC, deli owners have started selling “loosies”—three eggs in a clear bag for $2.99.

The reason: Bird flu—which has infected or killed 162 million birds so far—and has severely reduced the number of egg-producing hens. Point to note: When a hen is tested positive for the avian flu virus, the whole flock has to be killed to prevent the spread. For more, see our Big Story on the global bird flu epidemic.

What happened now: The shortage is creating absurd and frankly bizarre situations. While Donald Trump rages about illegal fentanyl trafficking at the border, criminals are busy smuggling eggs. Border officials made 3,254 egg-related seizures in January and February—a 116% increase from the same two months a year ago. OTOH, fentanyl was intercepted by CBP a mere 134 times in January and February this year—down 32% from the same period in 2024.

The sad bit: While the smuggler only faces a $300 fine, all the eggs are destroyed according to “protocol"—what we call a truly American tragedy.

It’s the silly egg season: Egg prices have become so ridiculous that Skincare brand The Ordinary—known for its vegan and affordable products—jumped into the fray last weekend—offering a dozen for just $3.37 in two stores in NYC:

No one appreciated the trolling. A truly ‘only in Amreeka’ garnish to an already bizarre crisis.

The bigger picture: Easter is going to be harsh this year. But hey, Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. has offered this genius plan:

Instead of culling birds when the infection is discovered, farmers ‘should consider maybe the possibility of letting it run through the flock so that we can identify the birds, and preserve the birds, that are immune to it’.

Wall Street Journal (paywalled) and CBC News report on egg smuggling. The Cut has more on The Ordinary’s egg stunt.

what caught our eye

business & tech

X’s director of engineering—Haoefei Wang—has abruptly left the company, amid owner Elon Musk shifting his focus towards his AI and cryptocurrency ventures.
Sticking with Elon, Tesla is lagging behind BYD in annual EV sales—with the Chinese giant reporting a 29% surge in 2024.
Boeing just snagged a Pentagon deal to build the US’ priciest jet fighter ever, and will be earning profits through the development phase—despite not delivering a successful aircraft in a decade.
Trump and his sons’ crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, plans to launch a stablecoin called USD1, tightening his financial ties to crypto—an industry he regulates.
Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai warns of an AI data center bubble, saying the race to build them may outpace actual demand.
Tired of spam calls? Soon, your phone will flash the caller’s name—no Truecaller needed—as Indian telecom giants team up with HP, Dell, Ericsson, and Nokia to roll out this feature.
Say hello to Perseus—a tool for tracking the coordination of pump-and-dump crypto coin schemes.
Amit Gupta—the Qatar and Kuwait region head of Tech Mahindra arrested by Qatari authorities earlier this year—is facing corruption charges.
Hyundai will make a $21 billion investment in the US, as it attempts to protect itself from the Donald’s looming tariffs.

sports & entertainment

Punjab Kings edged out Gujarat Titans by 11 runs in a high-scoring IPL clash, despite Sai Sudharsan’s 74 and Jos Buttler’s 54.
Tootega Gabba ka ghamand, hamesha ke liye! Brisbane’s premier cricketing venue—the site of one of India’s greatest Test wins—will be demolished after the 2032 Olympics.
Speaking of the Brisbane Olympics: rowing may be held in saltwater crocodile habitat but Olympics chief says there’s nothing to fear. The Guardian has that story.
Lizzo is back to music and to movies! Amazon MGM studio has announced that the pop star will star in a Rosetta Tharpe biopic.
Bollywood insiders reveal how the film industry is crashing in this Mid-Day feature.

health & environment

According to a new study, the common supplement Creatine which is thought to help people build muscle may not be as effective.
Scientists have found that carbon molecules on Mars are as old as life on Earth—which informs us that the building blocks necessary for life as we know it were present on the red planet.
A new research links ticks that cause red meat allergy to ticks that cause Lyme disease.

meanwhile, in the world

Another day, another series of Israeli strikes killing scores of civilians in Gaza. Meanwhile, Egypt has prepared a new ceasefire proposal, and the UN is downsizing its presence in the strip—in light of an Israeli attack killing one of its staff members.
Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old Korean American Columbia student and legal US resident, is suing the Trump administration to stop her deportation.
French actor Gérard Depardieu admitted to using vulgar language and grabbing the victim’s hips but denied any sexual intent, as he testified for the first time at his Paris trial.
US researchers are fleeing to Europe due to Trump’s cuts in funding. It’s an early indication of the long-term damage Trump will do to America.
Ukraine and Russia agreed to stop fighting in the Black Sea and discuss ending strikes on energy sites, but the partial truce lacks a clear start date and leaves wider combat ongoing.
Canadians, the top tourists to the US, are now skipping American vacations as annexation talk and Trump-era tariffs keep them closer to home.
South Korea is struggling to contain deadly wildfires which have killed 16 people.
Burundi's president Évariste Ndayishimiye says he has seen "credible intelligence" that Rwanda plans to attack his country—in light of the ongoing civil conflict in nearby DR Congo. BBC News has the exclusive.
Close to 15 million people have voted for jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in a presidential primary organised by Turkey’s main opposition party, representing a defiant challenge to longtime president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Japan has awarded $1.4 million in compensation to Iwao Hakamata, an 89-year-old former boxer who spent over 40 years on death row for a wrongful conviction—roughly $85 for each day he was imprisoned.
A Japanese court has ordered the Unification Church to dissolve over exploitative fundraising tactics, following a probe into its ties to Shinzo Abe’s assassin.
A massive study based in the US found that simple, behaviourally-informed emails helped teachers boost students' math progress.

meanwhile, in India

Indian Express has a good read on how tighter US immigration rules are making travel riskier for Indian Green Card, H-1B, and F-1 visa holders, with delays and stricter checks adding to their woes.
The Supreme Court has taken formal notice of an Allahabad High Court order that ruled grabbing a minor’s breasts and breaking her pyjama string doesn’t amount to an attempt to rape, with a hearing set for later today.
India is open to reducing tariffs on 55% of US imports worth $23 billion that are now subject to tariffs ranging from 5% to 30%.
Also related: Bloomberg News has a good read on how Radico Khaitan, once shielded by India’s tariffs, is now facing stiff competition from American and Scottish spirits as Trump’s trade war shakes up the whiskey market.
Another interesting read: The Telegraph on why Trump could end up boosting China’s power and what India should do to hold its ground.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta plans to shift Tihar Jail to the city’s outskirts over safety concerns.
India plans to scrap the equalisation levy on online ads in a bid to ease US trade tensions and shed its high-tariff image.
According to a new proposal, any voter who declines to share their Aadhaar number with the Election commission will have to appear before the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) to explain why. This proposal is meant to prove the EC’s claim that Aadhaar disclosure is voluntary (!?).
Rescuers found a second body near the buried tunnel boring machine at the Telangana collapse site.
The News Minute (paywalled) has an in-depth on the rise of online ‘manfluencers’ like Andrew Tate in India, selling toxic masculinity as a fix for young men’s struggles.

Four things to see

One: Scientists have found a hidden seafloor with a thriving ecosystem beneath a Chicago-sized iceberg that recently broke off of the Antarctic Peninsula. This area has never been accessible to humans before. The gorgeous creatures include corals and sponges, icefish, giant sea spiders, and even octopus! This is a large sponge with a cluster of anemones:

And this is the very pretty octopus. Check out other images in the press release. (Gizmodo)

Two: Say hello to a made-in-India flying taxi! This electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft doesn’t need a pilot and can accommodate two passengers—while travelling at a maximum speed of 100 kmph at an altitude of 2,000 feet. The Hindu has a detailed video report on the taxi.

Three: An English couple stumbled upon a mermaid-like skeleton during a stroll on a beach in Kent. It resembles the Fiji Mermaid—said to be one of the most famous hoaxes of the 19th century—“created from various parts of different real-life animals, including fish and monkey bones, along with paper mache.” This is likely a stunt, as well—but maybe they should have waited till Halloween? (People)

Four: Check out the trailer for ‘Together’—starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco—slated as “a body-horror spin on codependency.” Not romcom but rom-horror! Written and directed by Michael Shanks, this debut feature was one of the bigger hits of this year’s Sundance. The film is slated to hit the theatres on August 1. (Variety)