Firstpost Editor's Picks: Rajiv Saxena-Deepak Talwar deportation, NSSO data on job crisis, controversial Michael Jackson documentary; today's must-read stories

Rajiv Saxena-Deepak Talwar deportation gives BJP a potent weapon against Rahul Gandhi’s Rafale guns

In this game of perceptions where narratives attempt to shape the reality, the deportation of Saxena (a Dubai-based businessman said to be close to AgustaWestland middleman Christian Michel) and Talwar (a corporate aviation lobbyist who carried out shady deals during the UPA regime) gives BJP the chance to highlight Modi’s image as an “anti-corruption crusader” and a “doer” who “keeps his word”.

NSSO data confirms India’s job crisis: Unemployment at 45-year high of 6.1%, only way out is to make economy grow

The rise in unemployment rate can be traced to various factors. First, farming has become very unattractive given the vicissitudes of the monsoon and government policy. A bad monsoon means lower crop output and income leading to farmer indebtedness and at the extreme, suicides. A good crop leads to prices coming down and with an ineffective minimum support price (MSP), farmers’ income tend to come down again leading to the same set of problems.

Why the controversial Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland is an unavoidable cultural earthquake

Maybe the flood of allegations and stories had exactly the opposite effect and made us numb to them. We stopped paying attention or engaging much, leaving the distasteful stories to the tabloids. Most people lost track of the details, and due to Jackson winning in court perhaps many may have assumed the charges must have been fabricated to extort money from the rich superstar.

Many laws, failed implementation: New UN report explains why countries are unable to protect environment

The report found that despite a 38-fold increase in environmental laws since 1972, failure to fully implement and enforce these laws is one of the greatest challenges to mitigating climate change, reducing pollution and preventing widespread species and habitat loss. While there are still gaps in many of the laws, the substantial growth of environmental laws has been dramatic.

India vs New Zealand: Trent Boult’s five-wicket haul in Kiwis’ big win sets alarm bells ringing for opponents ahead of World Cup

There’s something about the angle when a left-arm pace bowler bowls a bouncer that seems to cause more trouble for batsmen than right-arm bowlers. A number of players who managed to survive the West Indies pace attack of the 80s then found themselves being sat down by Wasim Akram’s bouncers.