Splainer FREE: The Great Hamasnik Purge
Aaj ki khabar includes Trump’s latest plan to terrorise foreign students, a new UTI antibiotic for women & the viral Studio Ghibli memes. Our fave bit: Farewell, Gaia, cartographer of the Milky Way.
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The ‘big crunch’: The end of the world as we know it
The TLDR: At a time when most humans are worried about the end of the world, we decided to focus on a far less stressful subject: the end of the universe:) In this week’s Big Story, we look at new data that suggests the universe may all collapse not in a ‘big freeze’ but a ‘big crunch’. If confirmed, the discovery would upend known laws of physics, including the Einsteinian kind. Oh, it involves cool stuff like Dark Energy and Dark Matter!
Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar
Coming next: Blocking foreign students from US colleges
The Trump White House plans to escalate its ‘Hamas purge’ of US campuses to an unprecedented level—blocking universities that allow protests from accepting foreign students.
First, the regulation: In order to accept foreign students on visas, US colleges have to be certified under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). The criteria is lengthy and contains a laundry list of regulations—violations can lead to decertification. Historically however, the only colleges to be de-certified were ‘visa mills’—sham colleges that exist primarily on paper—to enable students to enter the US on a student visa.
The plan to purge: According to an Axios exclusive, the Trump administration plans to use the regulation to decertify colleges that allow students to stage pro-Palestine protests—whom they colourfully describe as ‘Hamasniks’. Think of it as the US equivalent of Andolanjeevi. The details are still vague.
By any means necessary: If de-certification proves too onerous, US embassies can get the job done:
What you're going to see in the not-too-distant future is the universities that we can show that were not doing anything to stop these demonstrations in support of Hamas — or encouraged enrollment by activists — ... we can stop approving student visas for them, and they can no longer admit foreign students.
The bigger gameplan: The Trump White House is on an anti-immigration rampage targeting US universities—using any excuse to deport immigrant or foreign students (almost all brown). Hence, the new Catch and Revoke program which has been used to cancel visas of more than 300 students in three weeks—on the vague suspicion of being a “national security threat.” The most shocking case was the recent daylight abduction of Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk—a doctoral student at Tufts. Quote to note: “There are 1.5 million student visa-holders nationwide. ‘Everyone is fair game,’ the official said.”
The fallout: Tourists are already rethinking their plans to visit the US—and researchers are fleeing to European institutions. Now, parents may reconsider where to spend their tuition fees—which poses a steep revenue drop for many US colleges. And that essentially is the big stick Trump plans to wield. Irrespective of whether he follows through, we may see an immediate chilling effect in admission offers to foreign students—especially those who can’t add to the bottomline.
Indian stat to note: Indians now account for the largest number of international students in US colleges—at over 330,000—a 23% increase from the previous year. Some recruiters are already seeing evidence of dimming enthusiasm.
Reading list: We recommend reading the Axios exclusive. Associated Press reports on jittery international students reconsidering their US plans.
2/9 Hallelujah! A new UTI antibiotic for women
The context: Urinary tract infection or UTI is a bacterial infection that affects women. It can occur in any part of the urinary tract—such as the urethra, ureters, urinary bladder or the kidneys—and cause severe pain while urinating, fever, back pain etc…
3/9 Indian tenants beware: Taxman cometh!
Indians who claim a tax break for House Rent Allowance got a rude surprise: Income Tax Department notices that threaten to cancel their HRA benefit. The reason: Since FY2018, salaried Indians claiming the HRA exemption have also been required to…
For more in splainer LITE…
The Studio Ghibli memes: AI slop or AI sensation?
Farewell, Gaia, cartographer of the Milky Way
Can you hear the Rig sharks?
Our adorable Bhote Kukur is now a certified breed
Check out the visual trailer for Miley’s album
A ‘Dhoom Machale’ welcome for the British Royal family
what caught our eye
business & tech
The government will no longer impose a 6% tax on revenues of big US tech firms like Google. It was peanuts for these companies but where, oh where will the sarkaar make up the shortfall?
Indian Express has a good read penned by Dhiraj Singha on how AI accidentally changed his surname, exposing how caste-coded and biased the machine’s training data really is.
Mumbai airport's T1 operations will shift to T2 and the new Navi Mumbai airport in November, but the global aviation body warns Adani Airports against using its two-airport control to divert traffic.
Advertisers are crawling back to X, hoping to curry favor with the Trump administration—even if it means cashing in on chaos.
Google's new AI will scan your screenshots and whip up travel itineraries, rolling out across Search and Maps.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said free users will have to wait for ChatGPT's image generation feature due to soaring demand.
sports & entertainment
Duke University isn’t thrilled about its cameo in ‘The White Lotus’, unhappy that two characters from the messy Ratliff family are portrayed as alumni.
Hollywood’s “idiot plot” trope nails the Trump group chat scandal—where satirists, once again, prove the sharpest critics of American power.
Marvel has revealed the massive cast for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, featuring heavyweights like Professor X, Thor, Captain America, and Black Panther, set to hit screens in 2026.
Vogue has a good read on the “sneakerina”—fashion’s latest Frankenshoe that mashes up sneakers and ballet flats into a sleek, celeb-approved hybrid.
Stephen Curry and Michelle Obama are teaming up to launch Plezi Hydration, a healthy sports drink.
Nicholas Pooran, take a bow! The West Indies cricketer smashed 70 runs off just 26 balls to lead the Lucknow Super Giants to an easy win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
health & environment
Karnataka’s tiger reserves are home to 393 tigers, according to an annual survey, with authorities confirming the population is stable.
US foreign aid cuts could cause nearly 3 million HIV deaths, reversing decades of treatment and prevention progress, a study warns.
Doctors have successfully transplanted a pig liver into a human for the first time, marking a breakthrough in animal-to-human organ science.
New York Times has a good read on why paper bags might not be as eco-friendly as you think—and how to pick the greenest shopping option.
meanwhile, in the world
Russia appears to be ‘dragging its feet’ in reaching a peace deal with Ukraine, much to the Donald’s dismay.
Former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro will stand trial on five counts—which includes attempting a coup after he failed to win re-election in 2022.
Everyone is doing a Trump/Modi—Turkey deported BBC reporter Mark Lowen, who covered mass protests, in a crackdown on independent journalism.
Usha Vance’s original Greenland visit itinerary has been derailed by a dogsled race across ice and snow. USA Today tells you why. Meanwhile, Denmark is quite happy with the itinerary adjustment.
The Conversation has a must-read on how China’s dwindling marriage rate is fuelling demand for brides trafficked from abroad.
A tourist submarine carrying 45 people sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast near Hurghada, leaving 6 dead.
Myanmar’s military chief vowed to hold a general election by year-end and urged opposition groups to ditch their fight and join party politics instead.
Japanese hot springs—better known as onsens—are prized for their zen experience, but they are running low on water, thanks to overtourism. Check out our Big Story for more on overtourism.
An upcoming private SpaceX mission will boldly go where no human has orbited before—above the Earth’s polar regions.
meanwhile, in India
French journalist Vanessa Dougnac, who was forced to leave India after her work permit was suspended, says she’s now authorized to resume work as a foreign correspondent in Delhi.
India’s $14 billion Muslim endowments are being plundered—experts say the BJP’s takeover of waqf land for a Hindu temple expansion in Ujjain reflects a broader pattern. For more context, check out our Big Story.
BBC News has a good read on why India's private firms are hoarding record profits instead of investing.
The Supreme Court has ordered the Defence Colony RWA to pay Rs 40 lakh (Rs 4 million) for illegally occupying the Lodhi-era "Gumti of Shaikh Ali" monument for over six decades.
Need an immediate pick-me-up? We have all you need to keep you sane.
One: Jailbreak: Best friend edition.
Two: Forget cats, meet the true canine nemesis: The goddamn bird!
Three: There’s something very SRK about this lol!
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