Tale of two toxic spills: A Kerala story

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

Tale of two toxic spills: A Kerala story

On May 25, a Liberian-flagged vessel—MSC ELSA-3—sank about 14.6 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala. Two weeks later, there was a raging fire on board the Singapore-flagged ship MV Wan Hai 503—which continues to burn to this day.

What received little attention during this time: Their toxic cargo. MSC ELSA went down with 643 containers loaded with hazardous materials—including calcium carbide, diesel and furnace oil. As for Wan Hai:

Several containers have already toppled overboard, raising fears of hazardous materials spilling into the sea. What makes the situation particularly alarming is the ship’s Dangerous Goods Manifest — a document listing 157 entries of hazardous cargo currently at risk.

And yet, authorities have not done very much.

Dragging their feet: Officials are yet to issue any advisory on consuming fish—which may or may not be toxic. There is already widespread panic that is damaging fishermen. It took the Kerala government 17 days to file a case against Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)—with great reluctance:

The shipping company, Vizhinjam port authority and the state government have refused to publish the cargo manifest despite a direction from the court. This points to the chances of carrying undeclared or misdeclared cargo on board. A disaster might happen due to rough sea conditions or human error. We need to probe it to find out the factors that led to the incident.

Likely reason: MSC is a partner of Adani Ports—and the government wants it to develop Vizhinjam as a major port.

Point to note: Authorities have been slow to act even though this is a critical time for the marine ecosystem:

The shipwreck comes at a time when a trawling ban is imposed off the Kerala coast to conserve the limited marine resources. The ban on deep-sea trawlers from June 10 to July 31 also helps preserve natural fish hatcheries during the breeding season in the monsoon.

According to experts, the still-burning Wan Hai poses a greater and more long-term risk to marine life:

What is of concern is the huge quantity of hazardous substances in the cargo. There are category 6 pesticides and many other toxic substances. If they reach the sea, then the damage could be huge. It might not manifest in the next few days or weeks, and we have to look at the effect of the chemicals on the Kerala coast and marine environment in the long term.

Reading list: The Telegraph is best on the stress on fishermen. South First is excellent on the toxic hazards posed by both ships. New Indian Express looks at the poor enforcement of safety regulations.

Sexual sickness: Forced labour in ‘orgasmic meditation’ company

The context: Sexual wellness is a $20.6 billion global business, and is estimated to reach $32.5 billion by 2033. It really took off when Gwyneth Paltrow’s company Goop turned women’s sexual health into a very lucrative new-age gimmick. The world was introduced to the wild world of vaginal steaming and jade eggs. By the end, we were buying candles that smelled of Gwynnie’s own vagina. All of it was no more than an absurd scam until now.

What happened now: The co-founder and sales director of a sexual wellness startup OneTaste—both women—have been accused of “forced labour.” That’s a polite word for this:

The vulnerable women recruited by a San Francisco start-up lived in cramped quarters and were paid little or nothing for cooking, cleaning and providing sexual pleasure to prospective investors.

How they did it: OneTaste's big schtick was called “orgasmic meditation”—which supposedly helped achieve female empowerment. It involved this: “a woman, naked from the waist down, lying on pillows as a man stroked her genitals for 15 minutes.” Btw, these were group classes. In any case, OneTaste became the hot thing back in the early 2000s—endorsed by none other than Paltrow.

A sexual pyramid scheme: OneTaste quickly went from a weird pop culture trend to a full-blown pyramid scheme—recruiting and exploiting young women, especially sexual abuse victims. They were reeled in with the classes—which put them in debt—and soon found themselves living in a OneTaste commune—trying to earn down that debt. Here’s an example from a 2018 Bloomberg News investigation:

In OneTaste, Michal was constantly surrounded by people who were her colleagues, roommates, sexual partners, and, suddenly, closest friends. She was also $20,000 in debt from buying its classes. She was married during a two-week, $36,000-a-person retreat called the Nicole Daedone Intensive. By the time she and her husband left OneTaste a few months later, they’d spent more than $150,000.

That emotional and financial control was inevitably used to turn women into sex slaves:

Many of the former staffers and community members say OneTaste resembled a kind of prostitution ring—one that exploited trauma victims and others searching for healing. In some members’ experiences, the company used flirtation and sex to lure emotionally vulnerable targets. It taught employees to work for free or cheap to show devotion. And managers frequently ordered staffers to have sex or OM with each other or with customers.

The fallout: Nicole Daedone (co-founder) and Rachel Cherwitz (former sales director) have been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The big picture: While OneTaste’s case may be extreme, it is hardly surprising. The larger wellness industry is notorious for exploiting its workers—most of them women. The Conversation has a global report on that angle. Mint has more on the toxic culture of wellness. CNN has the latest on the case and New York Times has the background on the company. FYI: There is even a Netflix documentary—the trailer for which you can watch below.

Be very afraid: Beijing plays its rare earth card

Why rare earth metals matter: They are crucial for the manufacture of magnets used in offshore wind turbines, drones, missiles, fighter jets etc. The most important are cars:

Gasoline-powered cars and sport utility vehicles use as many as 100 small rare earth magnets for the electric motors in the brakes, steering and other systems. Electric cars require additional rare earth magnets for the electric motors that turn the wheels.

On to the US deal: Donald Trump announced a tentative trade deal with Beijing—subject to his and Xi’s final approval. While details are unknown, the essence of the deal is this. China will roll back its clampdown on exports of rare earth minerals and magnets. The US will relax restrictions on sales of high-end semiconductors (think Nvidia chips) to Beijing. But, but, but: The sky-high tariffs slapped on each remain in place—although suspended until August. Here’s how the New York Times sums it up:

From what we know of the agreement, it appears to merely unwind the damage and escalation from the president’s own trade war. They haven’t yet made any progress toward a new trade deal.

Umm, so what? Yeah, no one really gives a damn about Trump-Xi shenanigans. What is more concerning is China’s chokehold over the supply chain—which it has established by ‘dumping’:

China has a long history of using government policy to control markets, periodically flooding countries with very low-priced Chinese supplies. That has driven many of China’s overseas rare earth competitors out of business.

Today, China mines 61% and refines 91% of the global supply of rare earth minerals. And its trade war with the US has resulted in collateral damage—across the world including India.

Meanwhile, in India: China accounts for 80% of our imports of rare mineral magnets—which were disrupted in April—right when the jhagda with Washington began. China now wants all sorts of documentation—”including confirmation that the products will not be used in defence or re-exported to the US.” The result:

By end-May 2025, nearly 30 import requests from Indian companies were endorsed by the Indian government, but none have yet been approved by the Chinese authorities, and no shipments have arrived…

The EV industry has taken the hardest hit—as will its customers:

[Industry leader Ravi] Bhatia predicts manufacturing delays that could range between two and six months and a 5-8 per cent price hike. This means that an electric scooter costing Rs 1.6 lakh could be dearer by Rs 8-13,000.

Point to note: Rare earth minerals are just as important in defence production—which is one key reason why Trump blinked.

The big picture: Beijing has the ultimate leverage in a world that cannot run without these materials. Even the US will need 30 years to catch up. As for India, we do have some rare mineral deposits, but just setting up a mine costs anywhere between Rs 4000 and Rs 8000 crore (Rs 40 to Rs 80 billion). That does not include the costs of processing.

Reading list: New York Times looks at the trade deal with the US—and why China holds the upper hand in rare minerals. The Telegraph is best on the effect on India’s EV industry. Mint spoke to experts who offer various solutions to the crisis—including recycling! The Guardian lays out why they are necessary to the US defence industry.

what caught our eye

business & tech

Zuck’s on a mission—personally poaching top AI brains to build Meta’s own superintelligence squad.
Meta’s new AI feed is turning into the internet’s saddest corner—where strangers overshare grief, custody battles, and money troubles, often not realising it’s all public.
Google’s handing out buyouts across Search, marketing, and engineering—inviting those not “aligned with [the] strategy” to see themselves out.
Zoom is dialing up its India play—rolling out its AI-powered Contact Center and expanding Zoom Phone across six telecom circles, with pan-India plans next.

sports & entertainment

Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of sexual assault in his retrial—just a year after his New York conviction was overturned.
RIP Brian Wilson—the Beach Boys legend behind ‘Pet Sounds’ and some of pop’s most timeless harmonies has died at 82.
The Conversation has a good read on FIFA’s shiny new Club World Cup—plagued by poor ticket sales and fan backlash even before kickoff in the US this weekend.
On Monday, a Judge dismissed Justin Baldoni’s $400 million defamation suit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. That means Marvel lucked out and won’t have to share “confidential” documents on how the Nicepool character was created.
Smoking is back in pop culture—Dakota Johnson puffs through 'Materialists', Lorde sings about it, and 'The Bear' cast lights up on- and offscreen.
A new ‘Wonder Woman’ movie is “being written right now”. Reminder: The titular role is played by Israeli actor Gal Gadot—who has fallen out of grace with the audience but perhaps not with Hollywood.
BBC has released a two-part documentary on the killing of Sidhu Moosewala on YouTube despite his father seeking a ban on the screening.
Peter Sohn—the director behind ‘Elemental’ and ‘The Good Dinosaur’—will be directing ‘Incredibles 3’.
Kaitlyn Dever, who played Abby in the latest season, will play the lead role in the third season of ‘The Last of Us’.
The World Test Championship final is underway at Lord’s. At the end of day one, Australia were bowled out for 212 thanks to Kagiso Rabada’s 5-fer but have so far restricted South Africa to just 43-4 from 22 overs.

health & environment

Washington Post (splainer gift link) has a good read on why singing is good for you, even if you’re no good.
Even if global warming freezes at 1.2°C, we’re still set to lose nearly 40% of glacier mass says a chilling new study.

meanwhile, in the world

More than 380 people have been arrested in LA—where the city mayor imposed an indefinite curfew to restore order. But the face off between California and the White House shows no signs of ending. CNN Liveblog has the latest.
Israeli authorities were ‘abusive’ to Greta Thunberg and fellow aid boat passengers, claims French doctor.
The Guardian has a good read on Elon Musk’s messy feud with Trump—four days of chest-thumping before the richest man on Earth quietly backed down, , including saying some of his online jabs at Donald Trump “went too far.”
But, but, but: The Trump–Musk brawl is really a battle over Argentina’s future—with both men backing starkly different visions for its development.
US General Michael Kurilla has called Pakistan a “phenomenal partner” in the fight against terror.
Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs will remain in effect for now, as a US appeals court reviews a ruling that said he overstepped his authority.
The US and China have agreed on a basic trade “framework” after talks in London, with details still unclear and final approval left to Trump and Xi.
Around 15,000 people gathered in Budapest as writers, artists, and citizens launched a protest movement against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government, accusing it of corruption and creeping authoritarianism.
Violence in Haiti has forced 1.3 million people from their homes—the highest number of displaced people ever recorded in the country, according to a UN agency.

meanwhile, in India

India plans to cap AC temperatures between 20–28°C to cut power demand—cooling alone eats up nearly one-fifth of the country’s peak load.
Mongabay has a good read on how reporting in Indian languages—like Hindi—is bringing climate change home for rural readers and reshaping environmental journalism from the ground up.
Archaeologists from Kerala University have uncovered a 5,300-year-old Early Harappan settlement near Gujarat’s Lakhapar village.

Four things to see

One: Earlier this week, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane was taped yelling at the Chief Medical Officer of Goa Medical College—without good reason. The vid went viral—doctors in Goa threatened to go on strike. To appease them, Goa Chief Minister apologised to a chair—not the CMO! The reason: the minister insulted the entire profession—represented by the chair: “The minister sat on a chair he was not supposed to sit on and did what he did. So, we brought that very chair, and all of us doctors, in front of the Chief Minister, apologised and pledged that we would not allow it to be insulted.” You’ve got to see it to believe it. Btw, the Goa doctors called off their strike. (Indian Express)

Two: A special train assigned to carry 1,200 BSF jawans to Kashmir for Amarnath Yatra duty was so disgusting that the jawans refused to board it. The Railway Ministry sent a new train—after the video below went viral. (The Telegraph)

Three: California Governor Gavin Newsom may be the only Democratic leader with a flair for pop culture. A showman with meme skills that may prove the undoing of his nemesis Donald Trump. Here’s the AI-generated vid he put out yesterday—in the midst of the raging political wildfire in LA. Star Wars references never fail!!

Oh, you want more? Here you go! (Deadline)

Four: The trailer for the much awaited Ari Aster’s movie ‘Eddington’ just dropped. The plot is set in 2020 in the backdrop of social distancing and George Floyd protests. It is centred around the mayoral race between a small-town sheriff (played by Joaquin Phoenix) and the incumbent electee (played by Pedro Pascal). The cast includes Austin Butler and Emma Stone as well. The movie is slated for July 18. (Variety)