Wayanad Woes
Aaj ki taaza khabar includes the catastrophic landslides in Kerala, Manu Bhaker making Olympic history and bloody protests everywhere. Our fave bit: ‘Vicky Donor’ of tech bros.
Don’t miss the Lotus: who may be POTUS. Our two-part series on Kamala Harris asks the big Q: Can she win? It is free to read. You can check out part one on her colourful backstory. Today, we published part two—which asks the Big Qs. Is she black enough? Likeable enough? Also: How the eff is Donald winning?
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Can Kamala win? Part two
The TLDR: In part one, we laid out Kamala Harris’ backstory—and where she stands in the presidential race. In part two, we will look at the Big Qs that will determine Harris’ fate. Is she black enough? Is she American enough? Is she likeable enough? Also: How the eff is Donald winning?
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Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Anannya Parekh, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani
Catastrophic landslide in Wayanad
What happened: A series of landslides—within four hours of each other—hit Kerala’s Wayanad district on Tuesday morning, resulting in 144 deaths—and nearly 200 injured. As many are missing, the final toll is likely to be much higher. The landslides hit four villages in the district—Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha—starting at 2 am. People’s houses were either buried or swept away—while they slept. This map shows the two worst affected regions, Mundakkai and Chooralmala:
Heavy machinery and sniffer dogs were brought in during the early hours to to clear the damage—and find survivors. You can see the destruction in this video.
Point to note: This is shaping up to be one of Kerala’s worst natural disasters. The state lost 480 residents in the 2018 floods.
Complicating relief efforts: The landslides wiped out bridges—making it impossible for survivors to reach those trapped under the mud:
In one of the many gut-wrenching sights emerging from the affected zone, a man neck-deep in mud was seen crying out for help. He was rescued after about five hours by state fire services personnel who used a temporary ropeway to literally pluck him out to safety. But not many were as lucky.
Many are still searching for their family members—unsure if they are still trapped—or at a hospital. Point to note: Plantation workers who work and live in the area have been worst-hit. Tourists were evacuated early from their resorts—and seem to be safe.
Why it happened: The area received 300 mm of rain in 24 hours. The landslide started in “a water-logged hillock” located 6 km away from the villages—located alongside the Iruvanjippuzha river. But that’s just the immediate cause. There are other reasons why this disaster was inevitable:
One: Lack of warning systems—especially in an area known to be vulnerable to landslides:
Scientists have known for over two decades that landslides are a major hazard along segments of the Western Ghats mountain chain that run through nearly 47 per cent of the state. A scientific review in 2009 had determined that nearly all of Kerala’s 14 districts are prone to landslides, with Wayanad and Kozhikode susceptible to what geologists call “deep landslides” in which the sliding surface is typically well below the depth of tree roots.
Two: Unplanned development. The hill slopes have become more unstable due to terrace farming, deforestation and cultivation of crops that lack “root cohesion”—which helps prevent landslides. In 2013, an expert committee had recommended the creation of an eco-sensitive zone—where construction would be strictly regulated. This included at least some of the affected villages. But the warning was ignored—primarily due to protests from agricultural and construction lobbies. Indian Express has this story.
Three: The warming of the Arabian Sea due to climate change results in the formation of deep cloud systems—which look like giant cotton balls, and occur primarily in humid, tropical areas leading to short and intense showers in a small area. Scientists say global warming has shifted rain patterns to the south—away from the northern Konkan region—making eastern Kerala far more vulnerable.
Point to note: The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for eight districts in Kerala, including Wayanad—warning they should brace for more torrential rain in the coming days.
The Hindu and The Telegraph have the best overviews. The Telegraph also looks at the lack of early warning systems—while Indian Express flags previous environmental concerns. Business Today has more on the climate change angle.
Olympics update: Bhaker makes history
Manu Bhaker is now the first Indian (in free India) to win two medals in a single Olympics. She won a second bronze alongside her shooting partner Sarabjot Singh in the 10-metre air pistol mixed team event. Bhaker could add a third on August 2 when she competes in the women’s 25-metre pistol event. The Telegraph has a colourful report on the win.
Our fave quote: A self-deprecating Sarabjot on shooting: “It’s a basic sport. People go so deep into it that they end up spoiling their game. Essentially, it’s three things — sight, trigger, follow-through.”
Historical trivia to note: Norman Pritchard—representing colonial India—won two silver medals in sprint and hurdle in the Olympics—in the same city 124 years ago.
Sticking with India: Here’s a quick round-up of the other Indian athletes:
In archery, Bhajan Kaur won two consecutive matches to reach the round of 16. Dhiraj Bommadevara played a near-perfect game but fell to Canada’s Eric Peters by the barest of margins—just 2.4 cm!
In boxing, it was a tough pill to swallow—three eliminations out of three.
In badminton, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty topped their group by beating their Indonesian counterparts in straight sets—a place in the quarterfinals awaits. OTOH, Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa exited the Olympics without a win from their three matches.
In hockey, the men’s team sealed a quarterfinals spot by beating Ireland 2-0. With two group games against the Tokyo 2020 finalists—Australia and Belgium—remaining, our seeding will be key.
In rowing, Balraj Panwar put on a solid showing but it wasn’t enough to keep him in contention for a medal. Here’s a guide on what the different categories in Olympics rowing mean.
Following his men’s doubles defeat in Paris, tennis ace Rohan Bopanna announced his retirement.
The Olympics website offers a useful daily schedule, including India-specific events.
Coco Gauff meltdown: The 20-year-old US tennis star Coco Gauff got into a spat with the chair umpire over a baseline call—and went on to lose in straight sets against Croatia’s Donna Vekic. Here’s what happened:
Gauff hit a serve and Vekic’s return landed near the baseline. A line judge initially called Vekic’s shot out, and Gauff did not keep the ball in play. Chair umpire Jaume Campistol thought Vekic’s shot landed in and awarded her the point, giving the Croatian a service break and a 4-2 lead.
The Guardian has more on Gauff’s unfortunate exit. You can see the altercation here.
Two other superstars to track: Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) spotlights 61-year-old Ni Xia Lian who is representing Luxembourg in table tennis. NBC News on 11-time Olympic medalist Katie Ledecky who aced the 1500m freestyle heats. She has not lost a race in the event in 14 years.
An Olympics-worthy photo: Far, far away in Tahiti—which is hosting the surfing events—AFP photographer Jérôme Brouillet took this stunning shot of Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina.
You can see the live version of this moment in this clip.
What caught our eye
business & tech
Despite the fintech boom, 31% of rural India still relies on old-fashioned money lenders for loans.
According to Mint, the government may allow 100% foreign investment in online gaming companies—with prior approval.
sports & entertainment
Carlos Sainz signed a two-year F1 deal to drive for Williams from 2025. Reminder: Sainz is being replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.
Jiya Rai became the world's youngest and fastest female paralympic swimmer to swim solo across the English Channel.
Enzo Fernández—who shared a clip of himself and his Argentinian teammates singing a racist song—has received a ‘clean chit’ from his Premier League club Chelsea. Colour us shocked.
The Bengali film industry has come to a crashing halt over filmmaker Rahool Mukherjee—who used Bangladeshi technicians for his film ‘Lahu’. This is a strict no-no.
In Tamil Nadu, Kollywood film producers have called for a halt in all new projects—due to a huge backlog of films stuck in various stages of production.
as for the rest
Indian Express has the shocking story of an American woman who was left chained to a tree in Maharashtra.
France now supports a plan to grant “limited autonomy” to Western Sahara—under Moroccan rule—as opposed to full independence. Associated Press has more on why this matters.
The UP Assembly has made its anti-conversion laws even stricter—by increasing the punishment to life imprisonment
Three things to see
One: Once upon a time, reporters could be seen running free in the wilds of the old Parliament building. They have now been penned in a glass box—so they don’t “crowd” the netas. So not exactly a free press then. See their glass prison here. (Hindustan Times)
Two: Olivia Rodrigo jumped on a super-hot TikTok dance-meets-fashion trend—set to the song ‘Emergency Budots’. What’s interesting: budots is a genre invented in Filipino slums to keep young people away from drugs—and has great meaning in Filipino culture. What’s even more interesting: Rodrigo is Filipino American—and the best she can do is this. NME has a fascinating piece on budots’ origin story.
Three: Emma Thompson’s daughter Gaia Wise delivered a Barbie-sized—and sly—smackdown aimed at writer-director Kenneth Branagh. She shared a photo of the two of them in a scene from ‘Much Ado About Nothing’—and added this:
For those in the know: Thompson and Branagh had a messy divorce back in 1995, when he cheated on her with Helena Bonham Carter. More on that in the New Yorker.
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‘Great Wave’ on Japanese banknotes
Need an immediate pick-me-up? We have all you need to keep you sane.
One: Uber Walks—the healthy alternative to Uber Cabs.
Two: Nap time: Ellie fam edition. Ridiculous.
Three: Verdict: Ate and left no crumbs. (Translation for non-Zoomers)
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