Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar
RIP Muhsin Hendricks: The first openly gay Imam
The world’s first openly gay Imam was tragically shot and killed in a targeted attack in Gqeberha, South Africa, over the weekend. You can see the killing below:
About Hendricks: The 57-year-old was born in a Muslim family in Cape Town—and lived as a straight man until the age of 29. At the time he came out, Hendricks was an imam at a local madrasa. He was sacked due to his sexual orientation. In response, Hendricks established The Inner Circle—a safe space for LGBTQ+ Muslims in Cape Town. It later became the Masjidul Ghurbaah mosque in 2011. Hendricks eventually gave himself the title of ‘imam’, saying: “I said, ‘Maybe it’s time we started our own space, so people can pray without being judged’.”
Quote to note: Here’s an example of how he reconciled his sexuality with Islam:
The Koran is not against homosexuality. Even scholars have begun to agree on that nowadays. The Koran is not obsessed with gays in the way that some of these imams seem to be obsessed with gays. Even the prophet himself had men working for him in his household who had no interest in women whatsoever. If the prophet can have a gay servant, it means that he gives his blessing to that sexuality.
His killing: Hendricks was not popular with the local Muslim community—and had been excommunicated by the local council. FYI: Same sex marriage has been legal in SA since 2006. That said, no motive has been established for his murder… as yet.
Reading list: BBC News has the story on Hendricks’ murder. We also recommend older profiles of Hendricks—featured in The Guardian in 2022 and Reuters in 2019.
Latest AI travesty: True crime that isn’t true
Get ready for untrue crime podcasts—generated by a prodigiously creative machine. The pioneer in this new frontier is a now defunct YouTube channel called ‘True Crime Case Files’:
The YouTube channel True Crime Case Files has managed to rack up millions of views by spitting out long, drawn out yarns of murder and mayhem that are complete and utter bullshit. Some of the channel’s videos have only a few hundred views. Others, however, have tens or even hundreds of thousands.
The secret sauce: Lascivious clickbait episodes like ‘Husband's Secret Gay Love Affair with Step Son Ends in Grisly Murder’—which clocked two million views, btw. All of it scripted by our very own ChatGPT—which seems to have been trained in some kind of horror porn:
The plots were disturbing, often hypersexual. They described parents selling teenagers into sex slavery with a sheriff, and transgender teachers committing murders to hide affairs with students. The video thumbnails were perverse, with clickbaity phrasing in big blocky text.
YouTube has since taken down the channel, but copycats remain—like this milder example below. (404 Media, login required, Gizmodo)
A game-changer in carbon capture?
Cambridge scientists have built a device that captures carbon dioxide from the air and turns it into a synthetic fuel. This fuel can potentially be used to power cars, planes and homes. Here’s how it works:
At night, it filters CO2 from the air—similar to how a sponge soaks up water, according to the researchers… The absorption initiates a chemical reaction in the reactor that converts the CO2 into synthesis gas, or syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) that is an important ingredient in the production of many fuels and chemicals.
The best bit: It is solar powered and doesn’t run on fossil fuels—unlike other carbon capture tech. Also this: CO2 captured by other tech is toxic waste that needs to be stored somewhere safe—for example, deep underground. (Gizmodo)
The capybara contraception conundrum
The context: The 45,000 wealthy residents of Nordelta in Buenos Aires have a large rodent problem. Capybaras are running amok—across the 500-acre neighbourhood built on wetlands two decades ago. Okay, they’re mainly fighting with dogs. Without any natural predators and plenty of food, their population has tripled over three years.
What happened now: The Buenos Aires government has signed off on a solution—family planning:
The approved plan consists of injecting two doses of contraceptives into 250 animals, which will stem reproduction for between nine months and a year. “It will be carried out by a group of vets specializing in wildlife because they have to be captured not once, but twice.”
But, but, but: Animal rights groups—and many residents—are not sold on the plan. One reason: The developers have refused to create corridors for the capybaras—who have lost their refuge to construction: “[T]here are people who want to live in nature, while wanting to get rid of its natural inhabitants, whether they be capybaras in Nordelta or foxes in nearby neighborhoods.” Check out the excellent mural below—expressing solidarity with the capybaras. (El Pais)
what caught our eye
business & tech
- Elon Musk’s DOGE has cancelled a $21 million USAID grant to a research organisation for measuring ‘voter turnout in India’.
- You can now generate erotica on ChatGPT—after OpenAI eases up the chatbot’s content filters. Yeah, this won’t go awry at all…
- Meta wants AI-powered robots to do your chores and is reportedly building hardware to make it happen.
- Back up all your Kindle purchases over USB while you still can. From February 26 onwards, Amazon is removing this priceless copying feature.
- Another day, another round of layoffs—this time, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has sacked 1,000 people in order to ramp up its rocket launches.
sports & entertainment
- The Jannik Sinner doping saga is over. The world no 1 of men’s tennis has been banned for just three months—after he tested positive for a banned substance twice!
- The Women’s Premier League is back with a bang! The Delhi Capitals won a last-ball thriller over the Mumbai Indians, but it’s defending champions RCB who currently top the table.
- A woman who had sued Jay Z and Diddy—accusing them of sexually assaulting her in 2000—has now dropped her lawsuit ‘with prejudice’, which means it can’t be re-filed in the future.
- Coming next month: Selena Gomez’s next album ‘I Said I Love You First’—in collaboration with her fiance, Benny Blanco. The lead single, ‘Scared of Loving You’, is out now.
- Get hyped for India’s first multiverse-themed superhero film—‘Multiverse Manmadhan’—starring Nivin Pauly.
health & environment
- Microplastics have invaded even the Ganga’s upper stretches, with contamination levels surging from Devprayag to Rishikesh to Haridwar—all 19 sites between them showed concentrations above 175 particles per litre, exceeding averages found near glacier-fed rivers worldwide.
- A new study suggests that afternoon naps boost your brain’s problem solving skills. The reason: the dreaming stage of sleep is linked to storing memories and processing emotions.
- Hospital sink drains are a total horror show of scary, drug-resistant germs—even after deep cleaning, according to new research.
- A team of scientists has grown a mix of human and pig tooth cells in pig jaws. Why this matters: this could offer a viable solution for human tooth replacement in the future.
as for the rest
- Nearly eight years since the rape and murder of Irish tourist Danielle McLaughlin in Goa, the perpetrator—Vikat Bhagat—has been found guilty.
- Trump’s tariff war is having its ripple effect on India’s liquor industry—the Indian government has slashed customs duty on bourbon to 50% from 150%, prompting protests within the industry.
- A third US military flight carrying 112 deported Indians landed in Amritsar late Sunday, as another batch of returnees arrives amid the Donald’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration.
- Terrorism outfit ISIL hasn’t pulled off large-scale attacks in India but has tried to spark lone-wolf strikes, says a UN report, warning the terror group remains a persistent threat.
- Delhi was in for a rude awakening early this morning, as a 4.0-magnitude shallow earthquake jolted its residents—aftershocks remain a possibility.
- The US justice department has fired several immigration judges amid a massive backlog of over 3.5 million cases.
- At least 48 people have been killed in the collapse of a goldmine in Mali that was operating illegally.
Four things to see
One: Tamil magazine Vikatan’s website was mysteriously blocked after it published this cartoon of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Donald Trump. Point to note: Vikatan is one of Tamil Nadu’s oldest media houses—and has long been a critic of the ruling establishment. (The News Minute)
Two: This jaw-dropping video captures skiers racing down the snow-covered slopes of Italy’s tallest volcano—chased by fiery lava streams. Mount Etna—which is 3000 metres above sea level—erupted twice this week. (The Express)
Three: Fantasy nerds rejoice! ‘The Wheel Of Time’ —headlined by Rosamund Pike—returns for season 3. It’s based on the fourth book of Robert Jordan’s series—‘The Shadow Rising’—and will premier on March 13 on Amazon Prime. Deadline has all the plot details.
Four: Keep the tissue box handy for this trailer. ‘The Friend’—starring Naomi Watts and Bill Murray, and a Great Dane—is based on Sigrid Nunez’s 2018 National Book Award-winning novel of the same name. The movie is set to release on April 4. (Hollywood Reporter)
feel good place
One: What’s better than a Panda vid? Panda core!
Two: Surely a birdwatching first!
Three: When you haven’t mastered the art of eating from a bowl—without drowning.
