Happiness contract
Sir — Happy endings are overrated. Not just because they are unreal but because ugly spats almost always garner more attention and interest than a story that ends happily ever after. The televised divorce of the actors, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, is a case in point. This is perhaps why the Real Madrid footballer, Endrick, signed a contract with his girlfriend, Gabriely Miranda, prohibiting any form of public spat and mandating frequent proclamations of love. While time will tell if Endrick and his partner find happiness with this contract, gossip columnists are certainly not happy with the turn of events.
Srestha Chaturvedi, Patna
Fine balance
Sir — The resounding victory of the People’s National Congress, led by Mohamed Muizzu, in the Maldivian parliamentary elections will put India’s foreign policy to the test. It is clear that China is luring Muizzu’s government with financial assistance. The location of the archipelago is strategically important. However, the Maldives, too, depends on India for many essential supplies and New Delhi should not withdraw
its helping hand. The editorial, “Sail safe” (April 26), rightly said that any arm-twisting by New Delhi might prove to be counterproductive.
Ardhendu Chakraborty, Calcutta
Sir — The PNC’s win has strengthened Mohamed Muizzu’s hand. Under Muizzu, Malé has chosen to reconfigure its diplomatic ties with Beijing and New Delhi. New Delhi has done well to not be reactive in the matter thus far. As the emerging leader of the Global South, India must not interfere with the domestic policies of the Maldives. However, breaking its ties with India might cost the tiny island nation dearly. The Maldives runs the risk of overdependence on China.
S.S. Paul, Nadia
Unjust outcome
Sir — The overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction is proof of the crumbling justice system in the United States of America (“NY court reverses Harvey conviction”, April 26). Weinstein was convicted in 2020 of sexual assault and was sentenced to 23 years in jail. There were several witnesses against him. The latest verdict must be reviewed and Weinstein punished for his misdeeds.
K. Nehru Patnaik, Visakhapatnam
Equal rights
Sir — The Supreme Court recently underlined the need to strike a balance between the rights of humans and those of animals. Urbanisation has led to human encroachment into wildlife habitats, causing man-animal conflicts to rise. The exponential increase in human population is putting more pressure on natural resources. It is necessary to address the issue of man-animal conflict at once.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
Bone of contention
Sir — The debate over TikTok in the United States of America has gathered steam. If ByteDance does not sell TikTok within 12 months, it will be banned in the US. About one-third of Americans under 30 regularly get their news from TikTok. There is evidence that China uses TikTok for propaganda. The fight over TikTok will not end with the passing of this law. ByteDance has said that it will challenge the law in court. But the company will face a stiff challenge in the US Congress, which has a history of overcoming partisanship in the interest of national security. China’s influence over TikTok will go against the latter.
Shovanlal Chakraborty, Calcutta
Sir — The US accounted for about 25% of TikTok’s overall revenues last year. Being banned there will cost it heavily.
P.V. Srinivas Sreelekha, Secunderabad
