Daily Briefing: Nepal flash floods | IIT Delhi protests | India sells petrol to Russia

The floods wreaked havoc along the Nepal-Tibet border, prompting Chinese President Xi Jinping to issue a public statement ordering ‘all-out effort’ to rescue and evacuate people from affected areas.

How did this happen? At this time scientists believe the lower part of a Himalayan glacier ​collapsed early Wednesday and crashed onto the valley floor, possibly after an earthquake. That led to the ice- rock avalanche.

The focus now will be searching for survivors and then rebuilding of roads, power projects, and other damaged and destroyed infrastructure. And then, of course, rehabilitation and resettling of the flood-swept areas.

These floods are the worst natural disaster Nepal has faced since the 2015 earthquake that killed, by conservative estimates, over 9,000 people.

🚨 The Big Story

Russia buys petrol from India

In an ironic role reversal, Russia has now bought petrol from India after its refining infrastructure was targeted by Ukrainian forces. Ship-tracking data indicates Delhi supplied over a million barrels across June and July.

This is the first time Russia – from whom India has imported vast quantities of discounted crude oil – has turned to its buyer for the refined product.

Industry sources have said the trend will likely continue through August as well, with Nayara Energy’s refinery in Gujarat’s Vadinar – which has significant Russian shareholding – the main supplier.

Sources also said Russia is likely to start importing from Turkey too – which highlights the scale of disruption that Ukraine’s strikes have caused.

India, though, will likely remain a key source of petrol.

My colleague Sukalp Sharma has more for you here.

IIT-Delhi protests

Nepal, Russia, and now back to India for the third big story we think you should be tracking. This one is in the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, where there is a four-day (and counting) protest against ‘institutional apathy’ over the death by suicide of a Physics student, Rishikesh Kumar.

Hundreds of students – angered by what they say is an eighth such tragedy in the recent past – began protesting last week and brought the institution to a standstill. Tensions escalated after midnight protests on Wednesday.

The students want Rs 1 crore compensation for Kumar’s family and an external committee to inquire into his and other suicides.

The compensation remains a sticky point – expect movement on that today – but the panel has been set up. And students’ demand to include an ex-judge means it is led by Justice Mukta Gupta, formerly of the Delhi High Court. The students had earlier rejected the inclusion of Ashok Kumar, the former police chief of Uttarakhand, arguing he had earlier linked them to ‘radicalisation’ and ‘digital terrorism’.

Sophiya Mathew has the latest for you on the IIT-Delhi protests

⚡ Only in Express

You know who the Gen Z are but have you heard of Gen D?

Young people across India – angry over a corrupt public examination system and the horrific condition of most state-run schools – have been making their voice heard in recent months. It isn’t just the Cockroach Janta Party-led protest in Delhi, it is the same story in Jharkhand and Bihar.

And it isn’t just the BJP that is being forced to listen, it’s the Congress too.

But when it comes to political representation they are under-represented. And, perhaps not unexpectedly, it’s all about family. In fact, an Express investigation found that of the handful of Gen Z MPs and MLAs, half are from big political families, i.e., they are ‘dynasts’.

Specifically, there are 26 MPs or MLAs from Gen Z and 13 of them have a ‘dynast’ link. Who are they and which party do they belong to?

My colleague Anjishnu Das has the details.

📰 From the Front Page

Corruption in the judiciary?

In a ‘brother vs brother’ moment, a Supreme Court judge has accused the acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court of ‘misusing’ his authority and has sought his transfer. Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta said he had received multiple complaints about acting Rajasthan CJ SP Sharma, and has fired three letters this month to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.

More significantly, a Jodhpur lawyers’ body has also sought Sharma’s transfer, indicating that it would ‘re-establish a harmonious relationship between Bar and Bench’. For more on what has upset a Supreme Court judge and the Rajasthan High Court Advocates Association of Jodhpur, my colleagues Ananthakrishnan G and Hamza Khan have this to say.

Winning but…

The build-up to the 2029 Lok Sabha election will continue with another round of state polls next year, including for the hugely important Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat assemblies.

UP is a BJP bastion – the heart of the Hindi heartland that is widely seen as an unshakeable party voterbase. And Gujarat is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home turf. Both should, based on past results, be comfortable, if not big, wins for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

But, after being rocked by student-led protests in Delhi, and facing similar challenges in Bihar, the party is wary of plot twists.

The feeling in the upper levels of its leadership is that a sense of complacency has crept in after 12 years of electoral dominance. And both the PM and new party chief Nitin Nabin have warned their senior leaders against giving in to that feeling.

There is also the Gen Z ‘disconnect’, something the party has tried to correct by overhauling its leadership to include (slightly) younger faces, including 50-year-old ex-union minister Smriti Irani and Nabin, 46.

But that unease persists, sources in the party have said.

Liz Mathew has this excellent analysis in our Capital Context report.

📌 Must Read

And now Meta.

Mark Zuckerberg’s social media behemoth – which owns Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, among other platforms – has agreed to pay a massive $17 billion penalty and introduce stronger child-safety measures on Facebook and Instagram to end a landmark trial in the US.

The case revolves around the belief Meta is accountable for the role its platforms played in undermining children’s mental health over years.

The argument is that Meta designed features on its platforms that specifically targeted children and young people.

“For years, Meta intentionally deceived the public about the addictive and harmful design features that have wreaked havoc on youth mental health,” Virginia’s Attorney-General Jay Jones said.

The payout will be spread over a decade and each state can expect to get millions; in the case of California the payout could be at least $1.5 billion.

This is, of course, pending court approval of the settlement between Meta and the prosecuting states. But the bigger question is – what does this mean for Meta and anti-addiction guidelines in other countries?

Meta said in a blog post that it was ‘building on our longstanding efforts to empower parents and support teens’, but how that will pan out remains to be seen. The Express’ Global Web Desk has a report for you.

⏳ And Finally…

We end with some happy news. From Bihar. Where the state police force has rolled out a women-friendly initiative called ‘Abhaya Brigade’.

More colloquially called ‘police didis’, it will see about women police officers mount pink-coloured scooters to patrol areas around schools and colleges, and other spaces where women, or girls, might study or work.

Himanshu Harsh has all the details on this.

And in today’s 3 Things podcast, we discuss Maharashtra’s new ‘anti-conversion’ law – read Purnima Sah’s ground report on this story – and why churches are asking worshippers to sign ‘free will’ declarations. We also talk about Intismeran, a personalised cancer vaccine with promising results against skin cancer, and we finish with Cricket Australia allowing ex-Mumbai U19 cricketer Anaya Bangar to play women’s community cricket after her gender transition.

That’s all for today. Have a great day!

And see you tomorrow,

Chandrashekar Srinivasan