Mixed Shots

The Mask-less Warriors

Donald Trump dislikes it; Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro hates it like the plague. But let’s face it—the mask is the first line of defence humanity has against Covid. Yet, some won’t wear it, the public appeals, warnings, fines notwithstanding. Delhi alone has penalised nearly 2 lakh mask-less people out and about in public places, and earned Rs 9.18 crore. Elsewhere, Maharashtra has added Rs 1,000 to its mask pool from MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who was fined for not wearing a mask aboard a boat to Mandwa jetty in Raigad district. In Assam, a complaint has surfaced against junior health minister Pijush Hazarika, who is spearheading the Covid battle, for addressing a poll rally that drew a huge crowd, and he was seen without a mask on.

Over To The Gas-Cutters

They say old soldiers don’t die, they fade away. But in some cases they are dismantled for recycling. Take INS Viraat—a flagship aircraft carrier that served in the British Royal Navy for 27 years since November 1959 and the Indian Navy from May 1987. After 56 years, it went under the hammer for Rs 38.54 crore and headed for the ship graveyard in Gujarat’s Alang. Pleas and offers were made to turn the ship that fought in the Falkland War and was part of Operation Jupiter in July 1989 with the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka into a floating museum like World War II hero USS Arizona in Pearl Harbour. But in a country more adept at rewriting history than preserving history, the requests went unheeded.

Mind, Body and syllabus

The mystery surrounding the death of Sushant Singh Rajput and Sridevi before him makes fascinating case studies for apprentice and hard-nosed forensic detectives alike. And Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology in Calcutta had a hard thought about it. So, the government institute introduced the two celebrity deaths in its syllabus. Students will have to reconstruct the scenes and report logically. Wish there logical conclusions in the real investigations. Anyway, who is watching CSI?

Cannabis cafe

Cannabis may be illegal in Hong Kong, but a new cafe is offering a range of food and drinks that contain parts of the cannabis plant without breaking any local laws. The cafe, named Found, is the city’s first to offer a range of coffees, biscuits, beer and fruit juices that contain cannabidiol, or CBD, a substance from the cannabis plant that is said to offer therapeutic effects without getting users intoxicated. Cannabis’s tetrahydrocannabinol compound—commonly known as THC—is the psychoactive ingredient that gives users a high. But unlike THC, CBD is typically used to help reduce stress without the high.

Brevis

Illustrations: Saahil, Text curated by Alka Gupta