1.Israel passes contested curbs on some Supreme Court powers as protests rage

The measure restricts the ways in which judges can overrule the government. The plan has deeply divided Israelis, and opponents are petitioning the Supreme Court to intervene.

Tens of thousands of protesters massed in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem ahead of today’s parliamentary vote .Supporters say the move would give greater powers to democratically elected governments. Critics — top Israel security officials and major Western leaders among them — argue the proposed law impinges on judicial independence. “We are standing in the streets, because we cannot do otherwise if we are to save Israeli democracy,” the historian Yuval Noah Harari wrote

2.Twitter rebranded as X as blue bird logo killed off

The new white X on a black background has replaced the blue bird on the desktop version of the social network, although is yet to appear on the mobile app.

Musk, who acquired the platform for $44 billion late last year, wrote in a post Sunday that the company would soon “bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” As of Monday, the domain X.com directs users to Twitter’s homepage, though Twitter.com also remains live. Branding in the mobile app has not changed for many users yet.

The transition from Twitter to X reflects Musk’s vision to turn the platform into what he has called an “everything app.” Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino wrote in a post Sunday that X will be “centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking.”

3.In our last newsletter we had reported on Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer’s plans to make flying taxis in the next 2 years and that US Regulators have released a timeline of 2025 for their take-off. But what is standing in the way of the flying car? 
The era of the flying car appears to be coming closer – but huge challenges remain to be solved.

4.Everyone Wants Ukraine’s Battlefield Data

Global Arms companies are offering free products to get access to live combat data. The Ukrainian government wants to keep this resource for its own emerging defense industry.

Modern artificial-intelligence-based weapons systems need to be trained on large amounts of data, just like ChatGPT, but focused on recognizing tanks and landmines, not writing text. “Ukraine is the only place in the world where you can get that data at the moment,” one academic told WIRED. Kyiv is aware of the value of its data and is leveraging it, both for the use of the firms’ systems and services, and to build its own, tech-led arms industry after the war. Kyiv will be able to “offer solutions that probably nobody else has,” a Ukrainian Minister said.

5.Indian States witness sharp increase in per capita income during FY 2022-23, reports Mint

The per capita NSDP at current prices recorded an impressive annual growth rate of approximately 13-15% in most states during the mentioned period.

Among the top-performing states, Madhya Pradesh witnessed the highest growth rate of 15.62% during the financial year. MP was followed by Rajasthan, which recorded a growth rate of 14.85%.