- Arvind's Newsletter
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- Arvind's Newsletter
1.US tech companies like X are pushing back against India’s stringent approach to online speech: Bloomberg
“Elon Musk is putting the screws to India, even amid his efforts to negotiate access for Tesla and Starlink in the country. The billionaire is suing India’s government over content regulation and censorship of X, accusing Delhi of issuing arbitrary or erratic takedown notices. It’s not the first time the country has clashed with Big Tech, having imposed stringent regulations on firms from Meta to Google.”
2.Indian carriers have a major growth opportunity in international markets, as foreign airlines currently dominate the sector.
According to the ICRA report, international air traffic for Indian airlines is expected to grow 15-20% in FY2025 and FY2026, outpacing domestic growth. Key drivers include expanded e-visa access and government tourism initiatives. In nine-month (9M) FY2025, international air traffic to/from India hit 56.9 lakh, up 11.4% YoY. Indian carriers saw a 40.7% surge over pre-Covid levels, led by low-cost carriers, which now hold 72% market share. Read ICRA’s summary report below
3.Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu get over half of $118-billion remittances in FY24
Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, in that order, were the three top states receiving remittances from overseas Indians, accounting for half the $118.7 billion received under this category in FY24.
One is the rise in global migration. India's stock of international migrants has tripled from 6.6 million in 1990 to 18.5 million in 2024. Maharashtra, Telangana and Punjab accounted for the largest number of migrating students who stayed back for employment opportunities. This is reflected in the increasing share of these states in India's inward remittances.
4.London’s Heathrow Airport halted flights for an entire day after a fire at a nearby electrical substation, unleashing travel chaos globally.
The closure of London’s Heathrow airport due to a power outage is tipping one of the world’s busiest airports and the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of people into chaos. The airport will be shut all Friday after a blaze at an electrical substation near Heathrow.
Disruptions would continue “over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances,” Heathrow said. The airport said it can’t say when power will be reliable restored. The fire service said the cause of the blaze wasn’t yet known.
Home to airlines including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, Heathrow handles more than 1,400 flights and 200,000 passengers every day, and about 40 aircraft take off every hour at peak times. The airport, by far the biggest in the UK, is a major hub for trans-Atlantic travel as well as connections into the Middle East and Asia.
5.Apple TV+ is a big loser for the tech giant.
Apple is said to be tapping Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell to take charge of its virtual assistant Siri after CEO Tim Cook lost confidence in its current artificial intelligence head.
AI has been such a pain point that the future of Apple’s efforts were a key focus at its secretive annual gathering of senior leaders. One bright spot for the company: Apple TV+’s Severance has secured a spot in the cultural zeitgeist. The bad news: The streaming service is losing more than $1 billion a year, the Information reported.
6.Finland was once again named the world’s happiest country, as the US slumped to its lowest position in the World Happiness report.
FOR A COUNTRY known for long winters and high taxes, Finland appears remarkably chipper. On March 20th it came top of the World Happiness Report, an annual UN-backed study, notching its eighth consecutive win ahead of 146 other countries. Not far behind it were Denmark, Iceland and Sweden. What makes the Nordics so happy?
The World Happiness Report is more a study of life satisfaction than smiles and laughter. It is based on a survey by Gallup, a pollster, where participants are asked to rate their lives out of ten. Finns are not known to gloat (or, for that matter, smile much). But in the latest survey they said their lives were a solid 7.7 on average—well above the global country average of 5.6. At the very bottom of the ranking, people in war-torn Afghanistan rated their lives just 1.4 out of ten.
Various other organisations have found the Nordics to be some of the most stable, progressive and safe countries in the world. They dominate the high positions in The Economist’s glass-ceiling index, which measures the role and influence of women in the workforce.
The Nordics are also some of the wealthiest countries in the world per person, which typically has a significant effect on life satisfaction.
7.European military powers work on 5-10 year plan to replace US in Nato
Europe’s biggest military powers are drawing up plans to take on greater responsibilities for the continent’s defence from the US, including a pitch to the Trump administration for a managed transfer over the next five to 10 years.
The discussions are an attempt to avoid the chaos of a unilateral US withdrawal from Nato, a fear sparked by President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to weaken or walk away from the transatlantic alliance that has protected Europe for almost eight decades.
The UK, France, Germany and the Nordics are among the countries engaged in the informal but structured discussions, according to four European officials involved. Their aim is to come up with a plan to shift the financial and military burden to European capitals and present it to the US ahead of Nato’s annual leaders’ summit in The Hague in June.
The proposal would include firm commitments on increasing European defence spending and building up military capabilities, in an effort to convince Trump to agree to a gradual handover that would allow the US to focus more on Asia.
8.Do you speak modern emoji? The Financial Times guide to latest use of emojis: are you up to date?
9.'A very deep bond of friendship': The surprising story of Van Gogh's guardian angel
At the toughest, most turbulent time of his life, the Post-Impressionist painter was supported by an unlikely soulmate, Joseph Roulin, a postman in Arles. A new exhibition explores this close friendship, and how it benefited art history.
10.Disney’s new ‘Snow White’ movie is making pretty much everyone mad
The star of Disney’s new live-action “Snow White" wasted no time hurling insults at the original version, saying it had “antiquated ideas about women in power." When the movie started filming, it created a rift in the dwarf-actor community: to use real dwarfs or not? The New York Post dubbed it “Snow Woke."
Hollywood strikes shut down production, and a literal fire broke out that damaged the thatched roofing of one of the cottages on set. The actresses playing Snow White and the Evil Queen even staked out opposing sides about the war in Gaza.
Disney’s latest movie has been one grim fairy tale.
When executives at Walt Disney Company decided a decade ago to make a modern “Snow White," they didn’t imagine it would cause such a stir. They wanted to produce a new version of one of its beloved classic princess films that would appeal to, or at least not offend, everyone.
