Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar
Canadian surprise: Ta-Ta, Trudeau
PM Justin Trudeau resigned on Monday, ending his nine-year tenure. He will officially step down when his Liberal Party selects its next leader and PM—through an internal election. The move may push forward the parliamentary election that was slated for October.
Why is he resigning: Trudeau has rapidly lost support within his government and party—over the last six months. Meanwhile, the opposition Conservative party—led by Pierre Poilievre—has been building a huge lead in the pre-election polls. It rose to 24 points over the new year. The clincher: His deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland abruptly stepped down in December—in protest against Trudeau’s leadership.
What happens next: Businessman and former MP Frank Baylis is the first to officially enter the race to replace Trudeau. Bigger names expected to contest include Freeland and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. But, but, but: None of them are likely to overturn the Conservatives’ daunting lead.
Why any of this matters: The end of the Trudeau era comes at a time when Trump will soon return to the White House—vowing crippling tariffs on Canadian imports—and threatening assimilation:
If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!
Irony alert: Poilievre is running a full MAGA-style campaign—focused on anti-immigration rhetoric. Globe and Mail has the best coverage on Trudeau’s resignation but is paywalled. For free curations, check out CNN and The Guardian.
The HPMV virus panic: explained
Any talk of a virus outbreak in China—especially around winter time—triggers instant PTSD in human beings. The latest panic involves cases of a common respiratory virus called human metapneumovirus, or HMPV.
What is HPMV? It is a respiratory virus that causes mild infections similar to a common cold. Expect a runny nose, coughing and fever. It usually spreads around winter and early spring—mainly among kids and older people. HMPV belongs to the same family of winter bugs as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The treatment: Basic cough and cold meds will do.
How does it spread? Through contact—if you touch an infected person—or the same objects as them. It is not airborne unlike Covid.
What’s with the panic? It all started with reports of an increase in respiratory infections in China in December—which included an uptick in children under the age of 14. The country has witnessed “a fairly large outbreak”—with some experts calling it an “epidemic.” There have been identified cases in India (Karnataka, to be specific), Kazakhstan and Malaysia, as well.
As for India: No one seems very concerned. As health experts point out, “HMPV has been described since 2001, and even based on evidence, it dates back to the late 1950s. By the age of 10, the majority of the children develop immunity against this.” In fact, the only panic in India is over at the stock market—which lost Rs 11 trillion of investor wealth in a day over fears of the virus in China.
Reading list: Check out The Hindu’s explainer—and this global report from The Independent.
And the Golden Globe goes to…
It was a night of surprise wins and Oscar race upsets—even as the red carpet paid tribute to old Hollywood. The main highlights:
One: ‘The Brutalist’—with seven nominations—was the biggest winner, as well. It took home Best Picture in Drama—-while Adrien Brody snagged his first Golden Globe for Best Actor, and Brady Corbet won Best Director. Brody cried at the podium—while thanking his immigrant parents: Also in tears: Zoe Saldaña who won Best Supporting Actress for her role in ‘Emilia Pérez’.
Two: Also making waves: Demi Moore—who won Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy for her performance in ‘The Substance’. The real shocker: It marked the first time she has received the award after 45 years in the industry. Watch her joyful acceptance speech below:
Three: Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres delivered the biggest upset of the nigh—beating out Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton, and Kate Winslet for Best Actress in a Drama. See her speech here.
Four: Sebastian Stan—shunned by Hollywood for playing Donald Trump in ‘Apprentice’ (explainer here)—won his first Golden Globe for ‘A Different Man’.
Five: Host Nikki Glaser did well—the funniest perhaps since Ricky Gervais in 2020. Our favourite: The Timothée Chalamet moment:
Also this delicious Ben Affleck dig:
Six: Critics were unhappy with the retro Hollywood looks on the red carpet—example: Ariana Grande channeling Audrey Hepburn:
Everyone was greatly entertained by Jeremy Strong—channeling the ‘Stanley Tucci plush toy’ look.
The always stunning Zendaya was stunning again in a custom Louis Vuitton dress—and was caught flaunting what is rumoured to be her engagement ring.
Reading list: New York Times has the whining over the vintage red carpet. For all the fashion moments, Hollywood Reporter has your red carpet round-up. CBS News has the full list of winners.
CES 2025: Tech carnival in Las Vegas
The tech industry’s grandest marketing event kicked off on Sunday night in Las Vegas—and will run all week. This is the time for the big unveils—-which spark everything from delight to eye rolls and just plain puzzlement. Here are some of our favourite products so far:
One: Timekettle’s AI Interpreter earbuds translate audio in real-time in 40 languages, 93 accents and emotion! There's a slight 3-5 second lag—but it’s still effing impressive. Bonus bit: It lets you share an earbud for face-to-face chats. The price: $449. Check out the two guys arguing in this launch vid below.
Two: Monar Canvas unveiled a part speaker, part art display, with a 19-inch screen that can showcase your own images, over 50,000 classical paintings, or even AI-generated art based on song lyrics. The coolest detail—a side control shaped like a tiny turntable. Check out the demo video below.
Three: Stealing hearts at the expo—Wonder’s Petal, a tiny flower-shaped outdoor camera, powered by an AI that allows it to identify nearby birds, bugs, and other small species by sight and sound. We approve!! Here's how it looks:
We’ll have another round-up of cool gizmos for you tomorrow. In the meanwhile, The Verge has a running liveblog. And Wired (paywalled) and Mashable have their own lists of gadgets for you to check out.
what caught our eye
business & tech
- Anthropic settles with music publishers, agreeing to stop using copyrighted song lyrics in its Claude chatbot.
sports & entertainment
- The king of chess, Magnus Carlsen, ties the knot with his queen, Ella Victoria Malone, in a snowy Oslo ceremony.
- Vogue's Anna Wintour, alongside U2’s Bono and Dame Jane Goodall and 16 others, is set to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- Shah Rukh Khan teases fans with this post celebrating his son Aryan Khan's D'YAVOL X-3 collection drop on January 12.
- The global box office collection of ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ as of Sunday was Rs 16.98 billion—making it the second highest grosser in Indian cinema, after Aamir Khan’s Dangal (Rs 20.7 billion).
as for the rest
- Chhattisgarh police arrested Suresh Chandrakar, the main accused in the murder of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, in Hyderabad.
- The Madhya Pradesh High Court has given the state six weeks to follow safety guidelines for Union Carbide factory waste disposal.
- RTI activists in India are being foiled by a new challenge—an OTP that takes ages to arrive.
- Israel continues to conduct “operational raids” in Syria—despite protests from the rest of the world. Surprising.
- President Biden bans new offshore oil and gas development along most US coastlines, a move that may challenge Trump’s energy agenda.
- Damascus airport to resume international flights after years of suspension following Assad's ousting.
- Indonesia joins BRICS as a full member, following its endorsement in 2023 and the formation of its new government.
- United Airlines will launch Elon Musk’s Starlink Wi-Fi on flights this spring.
- ISRO postponed its Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission till January 9, a feat which if achieved will make India only the fourth nation in the world to have such capability.
Four things to see
One: This viral video shows a mother and daughter falling out of a safari jeep among angry rhinos at Kaziranga National Park. We don’t know when this incident happened but both are mercifully safe. (NDTV)
Two: In much sadder news, an orca mum—Tahlequah or J35—was photographed carrying her dead calf in Puget Sound off Seattle—in “a very tragic tour of grief.” This is actually the second time she has been seen displaying this behaviour. In 2018, she carried the body of her baby over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) for 17 days. She has lost two of her documented four calves. (South China Morning Post)
Three: The second season for the cult hit ‘Paatal Lok’ is here! The case takes Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary (played by Jaideep Ahlawat) to the rugged terrain of Nagaland. Gul Panag, Ishwak Singh and Tillotama Shome join the lead cast. The new season drops on Prime Video on January 17. (Indian Express)
Four: Behold, the launch of the newest nepo babies production—starring Aaman Devgan (Ajay Devgn’s nephew) and Rasha Thadani (Raveena Tandon’s daughter). ‘Azaad’ is supposedly a pre-Independence story about a stable boy taming an unstable horse. To help the box office returns along, the movie also stars Ajay Devgn in a supporting role. The movie is slated to release on January 17. (The Hindu)
feel good place
One: And then the pandas took him… to be never seen again.
Two: The real state of doggy day care…
Three: You’re never too young to have fun.
