New Covid Variant XE in Mumbai, Meat Shops Closed in South Delhi, Elon Musk Buys Twitter Shares & More

NEW VARIANT IN INDIA

🦠 WHAT: The first Covid-19 case caused by the XE variant of the coronavirus has been detected in Mumbai.

🤒 WHO: The asymptomatic patient is a 50-year-old fully vaccinated female who had arrived from South Africa on February 10. She had tested negative on arrival but on March 2, 2022, during routine testing, she was found to be positive, following which she was quarantined.

😷 ABOUT XE:

▪️It is a mutant hybrid of two versions of Omicron—BA.1 and BA.2.

▪️It was first detected in the UK on January 19.

▪️Initial studies suggest XE spreads 9.8% faster than BA.2 variant, which caused 75% of all cases during India’s third wave and is driving recent surges in China, Europe and the US.

🇨🇳 ABOUT CHINA: China on Wednesday reported over 20,000 new Covid-19 cases, the highest ever daily infection tally in the country since the start of the pandemic in 2019. Shanghai is the epicentre of the spread, accounting for over 80% of the national tally.

🧘‍♀️ DON’T PANIC: XE is far from being the dominant strain (which is still BA.2) and scientists are not overly worried about it compared to other variants, till now.

😷 BUT: The new variant is a sign that the pandemic is far from over, and stresses the need to remain vigilant, even as India moves away from Covid-19 restrictions.


SWEEPING GENERALISATIONS

📣 WHAT: South Delhi’s BJP mayor, Mukkesh Suryaan, has ordered all meat vendors to close shop for nine days during Navratri, from April 2-11.

🖊 EXCERPT FROM OFFICIAL ORDER: “[During Navratri]…the sight of meat being sold in open or near temples makes [devotees] uncomfortable. Their religious belief and sentiments are also affected when they come across meat shops or when they have to bear with the foul smell of meat on their way to offer their daily prayers to Goddess [Durga]. Moreover, some neat shops dump waste in gutters or beside the road, which the stray dogs feed on….”

🧐 MAYOR SAYS: “During Navratri, 99% of households in Delhi don't even use garlic & onion.”

🖊 FACT CHECK: Around 20% of households in Delhi are not Hindus, and hence don’t observe the festival of Navratri. Additionally, not all Hindus observe the festival either.

🌙 Muslims account for over 11% of Delhi and meat is a staple part of their diet, more so during the month of Ramzan, which begins on April 2—when meat shops were shuttered down.


NO LONGER FRINGE

IN THE LAST 24 hours...
  1. An assistant professor at Aligarh Muslim University was suspended or allegedly hurting “religious sentiments” by making references to Hindu mythology in a class in the forensic medicine department on rape.

  2. The Delhi Jal Board withdrew the order with immediate effect which granted a two-hour break every day to all Muslim employees during Ramzan.

  3. Mosques in Karnataka have started receiving notices from the police to use their loudspeakers within the permissible decibel levels after Hindutva groups launched a campaign demanding shutting down of such loudspeakers.

  4. Also in Karnataka—after the hijab ban, boycott of halal meat, ban on Muslim traders at temples, and a call for a ban on loudspeakers in mosques, Hindutva groups have today called for a boycott of Muslim fruit sellers.

    “Mango markets are controlled by Muslim traders and it is high time poor Hindu mango growers and traders take over."-Siddalinga Swamiji of Srirama Sene


Satellite photo by @maxartechnologies showing shows 45-foot-long trench at a mass grave site in Bucha.

INDIA SPEAKS UP

▪️ WHAT: At a UN Council meeting called to discuss the killings in Ukraine’s Bucha city, India made the strongest statement till date on the war on Ukraine.

🇮🇳 ON THE RECORD: “Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing. We unequivocally condemn these killings and support the call for an independent investigation.”

📌 POINT TO NOTE: The Indian statement did not have any mention of Russia or anyone who might be responsible for the atrocities.

❗️WHAT’S HAPPENING IN BUCHA: Ukraine recently liberated Bucha from Russian troops. New images from the area show mass graves with hundreds of bodies and civilians gunned down the roads—along with reports of rape and torture, while the city was under Russian occupation.

🇷🇺 RUSSIA, which has denied all charges of alleged war crimes, told the UNSC that all evidence of Bucha atrocities was a false flag attack” whose aim “brings back the nightmares of the Nazi crimes during the Second World War.”

🇺🇸 MEANWHILE, the US is concerned about India continuing to toe the line as Russia's war turns uglier.

📍 SETTING: US Congressional hearing on the annual defence budget in presence of members of the House Armed Services Committee.

❓QUESTION: Congressman Joe Wilson asked what possible defence equipment can the US offer to India through its foreign military sales program that would “incentivise” India to reject Russia.

—“Gruesomely, our treasured ally India, the world’s largest democracy, is choosing to align itself with the Kremlin by choosing Russian weapons systems over American and allied options.”-Wilson

🇺🇸 ANSWER: “We continue to work with them [India] to ensure that they understand that it’s not in their – we believe that – it’s not in their best interest to continue to invest in Russian equipment.”-US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin

—He also said it was a US requirement going forward that India downscales the type of Russian equipment it invests in to continue to be “compatible” with the US.

🎤 LAST WEEK: After reports surfaced that India was considering options to buy crude oil from Russia, US Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh said India saying that countries that attempt to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Russia will face consequences.


MEN OF INFLUENCE

PICK SIDES

🇻🇦Pope Francis has condemned “the massacre of Bucha” and kissed a Ukrainian flag from the town where reports of rape, torture, murder and mass graves surfaced after Russian troops withdrew.

❗️Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al Zawahiri, in a video released on Tuesday, spoke about Karnataka's hijab ban and asked Muslims in India to fight the perceived assault on Islam “intellectually, using the media and with weapons on the battlefield”.


MUSK X BIG TECH

💸 WHAT: Elon Musk has acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter—making him the largest shareholder.

📌 DETAILS:

🎟 Musk will also be appointed to Twitter’s 11-person board in a term that ends in 2024.

🙃 He will likely be an ‘active investor’; unlike some other board members, he has not signed an agreement that would forbid him from influencing the company’s policies.

🙇‍♂️ Musk has agreed to not buy stock beyond a ceiling of 14.9%—or take over the company.

👋 ON THE RECORD: Musk’s first tweet after the announcement—

🧐 MUSK ASKS: After the announcement, Musk also shared a new poll—


BURNING A HOLE

A TOUGH SUMMER AHEAD

☀️ The India Meteorological Department has issued a severe heatwave warning for parts of Delhi. The maximum temperature is predicted soar to 42 degrees Celsius by Sunday.

⛽️ The prices of petrol and diesel were on Wednesday increased for the fourteenth time in two weeks. Since March 22, petrol and diesel rates have increased by Rs 10 per litre.


WOMAN OF THE HOUR


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