Author: Kumar Govindan

I am the first Graduate - an Engineer - in the family; the first to be employed in the Government Sector, India; the first to go overseas for work - USA; the first to throw it all and become an Entrepreneur (and fail); the first to get back to work - this time with the Tata Group, India - after 4 years of chasing 'business dreams'; and, the first to pick-up the Entrepreneur thread again. I now run a Women's Apparel design and styling Boutique - Mavira Designs - along with my wife. The objective of my Blog is to tell my story, intermingled with news stories from all corners of the World, with wit and pun - to squeeze a few laughs, perhaps a smile. I'm sure you will enjoy the reading.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-21

About: the world this week, 19 May 2024 to 25 May 2024: arresting Israel; Death of a President; Elections – UK and India; and irresponsible driving in India.

Everywhere

Arresting Israel

This week, in a public statement, the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), announced that he is asking the ICC to issue arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The Court has asked ICC member states (called State Parties) to arrest the two Israeli leaders for war crimes committed against the civilians in Gaza, which he says is in the ‘State of Palestine’.

The Prosecutor has also requested, in a separate proceeding, that arrest warrants be issued against Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinwar (Head of Hamas) Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri – known as DEIF -(Commander-in-Chief of the military win of Hamas) and Ismail Haniyeh (Head of Hamas Political Bureau) – war crimes and crimes against humanity, for the ‘7 October 2023 incident’.

The Prosecutor said he was grateful for advice received from, Elizabeth Wilmhurst, Baroness Helena Kennedy, Danny Friedman, Special Advisor Amal Clooney, and Theodor Meron, among a list of other ‘renowned people’ associated with international law.

Amal Clooney, a lawyer and activist, is the wife of Hollywood star George Clooney. People were outraged by her advice and she was slammed on social media for being insensitive to the plight of Israel victims of the brutal massacre of 7 October, and lacking impartiality – the hallmark of a great lawyer.

The Prosecutor of the ICC, in the news, is Karim A A Khan KC, who was sworn in to the job in June 2021. And his job is, ‘trying individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression’.

The Court’s founding treaty, called the Rome Statute, grants the ICC jurisdiction over four main crimes: first, genocide-specific intent in whole or in part of eliminating a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, by killing its members; second, crimes against humanity-serious violations committed as part of large-scale attacks against any civilian population; third, war crimes which are grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions; and fourth, crimes of aggression – use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, integrity or independence of another State (Russia, rings a bell?)

As a judicial institution, the ICC does not have its own police force or enforcement body: it relies on cooperation with countries worldwide for support, particularly for making arrests, transferring arrested persons to the ICC Detention Centre in The Hague, freezing suspects’ assets, and enforcing sentences. It is not a United Nations(UN) Organization, but has a cooperation agreement with the UN. State Parties support the Courts, accept ICC’s jurisdiction, and also work to incorporate the rules stipulated in the Rome Statute in their own judicial systems. A country – on its choice – can become a State Party, joining with other State Parties, which gathers once a year to provide oversight management for the Court – establishing a budget, providing funding and electing the Court’s Judges and Prosecutor.

Israel reacted quickly, calling the public statement by the Prosecutor, an absolute outrage. The clear message of the joint announcement being that Israel and Hamas are deemed to be equally culpable for the events of 7th October and the aftermath. Israel added that this is unprecedented in the history of international law.

In another development, the countries of Ireland, Norway, and Spain announced they would recognise the State of Palestine on 28 May 2024. The governing body at the basis of the recognition will be the Palestinian Authority. The three European countries said they wanted to help secure a halt to Israel’s devastating Gaza offensive and revive peace talks that stalled a decade ago.

Israel reprimanded the Ambassadors of Ireland, Norway, and Spain over their intent to recognise a Palestinian State, scorning the initiative as a bid to, ‘resurrect old, failed policies’. It called the Ambassadors for a special screening of the Hamas barbarism of 7th October – not previously shown in the public domain.

Close to the end of the week, Israel found three more dead bodies of hostages, in Jabalya, northern Gaza. All of them were killed on 7th October and their bodes were taken into the enclave by Hamas. The identified were Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, and Orion Hernandez.

At the end of the week the International Court of Justice issued an Order – on a vote of 13 to 2 – calling on Israel to ‘immediately halt’ its military operation in Rafah. Israel called the ruling ‘lack of impartiality’ and carried on its operations. Hamas welcomed the ruling.

A Hardline President Dies Hard

Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi, 63, died in a helicopter crash this Sunday. The Helicopter, a Bell 212, was carrying the President, the Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the Commander of the President’s protection unit, other bodyguards, a Provincial Governor, and the crew – a total of nine. All of them died in the crash.

The charred wreckage of the helicopter was found early on Monday after an overnight search in blizzard conditions. Raisi is the second Iranian President to die in office. In 1981 a bomb blast killed President Mohammad Al Rajai in the chaotic days after the Iranian Revolution.

Raisi was heading to the city of Tabriz in the northwest of Iran after returning from an Iran-Azerbaijan border area, where he had gone to inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi Dam, a joint project with Azerbaijan. The helicopter went down in Varzeqan region north of Tabriz when it flew into difficulties in heavy fog, in poor weather conditions. It slammed into a mountain peak, and crashed in the mountainous, forested area. Two other helicopters, in the convoy of three, made it safely to Tabriz.

Ebrahim Raisi is a hardliner and formerly led the country’s judiciary. He is seen as a protege of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a possible replacement for the 85 year old Khamenei when he resigns or dies. Raisi won Iran’s 2021 Presidential Election in one of the lowest voter turnouts in Iran’s history. His victory in the closely-managed election brought all branches of power under the control of hardliners, after eight years, when the presidency had been held by pragmatist Hassan Rouhani and a nuclear deal negotiated with powers including the United States.

Since taking office, Raisi had ordered a tightening of morality laws, oversaw a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.

Raisi is sanctioned by the United States over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the Iran-Iraq war. This earned him the infamous title of the ‘Butcher of Tehran’.

Raisi was born in Mashdad, northeastern Iran, a religious hub for Shia Muslims. He underwent religious education and was trained in a seminary in Qom, studying under prominent islamic scholars including Khamenei. He wears a black turban, which signifies that he is a Sayyid – a descendant of Prophet Muhammad.

In recent times, Iran has been having all kinds of problems beginning with the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini over Islamic dressing issues. In the aftermath the security crackdown the followed and the demonstrations killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained.

The cause of the helicopter crash is not known, but Iran has a poor air transport safety record: made worse by decades of US sanctions, which have made it hard for Iran to obtain spare parts or upgrade its aircraft.

Supreme Leader Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran’s nuclear programme, said First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, would take over as interim president. Presidential Elections to choose Ebrahim Raisi’s successor is to be held on 28th June. Khamenei’s own son, Mojtaba Khameini, 55 could be in the race.

United Kingdom Elections- at the Beginning

This week British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the UK would hold a General Election on 4 July 2024. Sunak’s Conservative Party is up against Keith Starmer’s Labour Party.

Sunak inherited a mess, but it seems unlikely that he has cleaned up that mess enough to earn the Conservatives another term in Office.

Opinion Polls have placed the Conservative Party way behind the opposition Labour Party. And as things stand, Keith Starmer is set to not only win power but secure a massive parliamentary majority.

India Elections – nearing the End.

This week, the juggernaut of India’s Lok Sabha General Elections rolled-on with the 5th phase on 19th May and the 6th phase on 25th May. That leaves the last and final phase – the 7th – going to the polls on 1st June. The week was reasonably quiet in comparison to the sound and dust of the previous weeks.

Driving in the Fast lane

Late last week in an outrageous incident in the city of Pune a, 17 year old juvenile Vedant Agarwal, son of a Builder, Brahma Realty, caused a fatal accident in Kalyani Nagar in the early hours on Saturday. Illegally (18 years is the age eligible for a motorcar driving Licence) driving a Porsche car at high speed, Vedant lost control, colliding with multiple vehicles. The car dragged one of two persons on a motorcycle and finally came to standstill after hitting another two wheeler and a car. The crash resulted in the immediate deaths of two IT professionals Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both 24 years old, who were on the motorcycle. Earlier the boy had left a pub in Kalyani Nagar shortly before the incident.

The next day a Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in Pune in a bizarre judgement granted bail to the 17-year-old boy. And besides imposing the usual condition of parental monitoring, imposed a unique condition directing the boy to submit a 300-word essay on road accidents after studying all the rules and regulations on traffic at the Regional Transport Office (RTO). The boy was released on bail on executing a personal and surety bond of INR 75, 000. The parents were directed to take care of the boy and ensure that he is not involved in such offences in the future and ‘kept away from bad company’. Going deeper, the boy will assist a RTO officer and study traffic rules for 15 days and submit a report to the JJB. He will visit a de-addiction counselling centre and the counselling report will be submitted to the JJB. He has to consult a psychologist and psychiatric doctor at the Sassoon hospital in Pune and that report is to be submitted within 15 days.

There was immediate and spontaneous outrage on social media, and outcry by the people of Pune on grant of bail – and the conditions – in such a horrific case where two people have been mowed down and killed. This resulted in the boy’s father being arrested and the bail of the boy being cancelled and remanded to a teenage observation home. Meanwhile, the family of the victims suffered in silence.

Then in another twist, a Driver ‘was produced’; as being in the car – and said to be actually driving the car. And conforming the same was the boy and two of his friends! But there are tens of witnesses who dragged the boy out of the driver’s seat, after the crash, and bashed him up on the street!

In yet another finding, the boy’s grandfather who stood surety for bail, and who started the family construction business has underworld connections. The name of convicted (and now jailed) gangster Chhota Rajan who one worked with major crime syndicate boss Dawood Ibramin was doing the rounds. This surely is the proverbial can of worms.

Everyday, somewhere in India such unfortunate incidents keep happening, but the ones which gets gets mass attention are almost always Mercedes, the BMWs, or the Porsches. What about the many lives lost, being responsible, and following and enforcing rules?

More road stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Follow the rules and drive safely with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-20

About: the world this week, 12 May 2024 to 18 May 2024: Israel tunnels on; Russia pushes in Ukraine; Darfur-a forgotten war; Netherlands swings right; Slovakia’s PM is shot; India’s Elections, and a Billboard crash; and the Eurovision 2024 results.

Everywhere

Israel in Rafah

Israel has amassed enough troops at the edge of Rafah in the Gaza Strip to move forward with a full scale invasion while conducting precision strikes in the region. Israel Defence Forces (IDF) attacked and destroyed a Hamas Command & Control Center, located within a United Nations (UN) Compound. Video footage showed Hamas Terrorists liberally using UN Vehicles, as if it belongs to them.

Meanwhile, Israel ordered evacuation of civilians in many areas of Rafah for the moves ahead. And the rockets kept coming into Israel from Lebanon, and from Hamas inside the Gaza.

In a turn-around, the United States (US) resumed supply of weapons to Israel, perhaps seeing the steely resolve of Israel to enter Rafah. Then, there is talk about the ‘Day After’, when all this is over, and what happens next in the Gaza Strip.

Across the world Jewish people – especially in America and Britain – continue to be targets of pro-Palestinians, preventing them from going about their work and even attacking them, only because they are Jews. Anti-semitism getting a stranglehold in these parts.

Towards the end of the week, on entering Rafah, the IDF recovered the decomposed bodies of three Israeli hostages who were kidnapped from the Nova Festival on 7th October 2023, and held by Hamas in Gaza, Amit Bouskila (28), Shani Louk (23), and Itzhak Gelerenter (53). Israel was shocked and devastated. The also found numerous tunnels, and 50 of them ‘effortlessly’ crossing the border into Egypt. More, next week.

Ukraine

In the other war, in Ukraine, Russia is pushing into north-eastern Ukraine after making major advances over the past week. This is Russia’s most significant gains since Ukraine re-captured the Kharkiv region in 2022. More than 7500 people have been evacuated from the region. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, made a surprise visit to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and reassure support. He announced that US military assistance has started arriving in Ukraine after months of delays.

The Forgotten Conflict

Over the past four years, the remote Sudanese region of Darfur has been the scene of a bloody conflict that has led to the death of thousands and the displacement of more than two million people.

The United Nations (UN) calls it ‘the world’s worst humanitarian crisis’ and the United States calls it ‘genocide’. Some 9 million people require humanitarian assistance and about 4,000 people have been targeted and killed because of their ethnicity. The UN says a staggering 24.8 million across Sudan-almost one in two people in the country-now require help from the UN and aid partners.

Darfur lies in the western part of the Sudan, Africa’s third largest country, bordering Libya, Chad, and the Central African Republic. The population of Darfur estimated in 2002 was about six million, 80% of whom live in the rural areas.

The name ‘Darfur’ is derived from the word, ‘dar fur ‘, meaning the ‘Land of the Fur’, in Arabic. The Fur tribe once ruled the Islamic Sultanate of Darfur until the killing of the last Sultan of Darfur in the year 1916, after which the Sultanate was incorporated into the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and came under British-Egyptian rule. Today, Darfur is home to approximately 80 tribes and ethnic groups consisting of nomadic and sedentary communities.

Labelling the ongoing conflict as one between ‘Arabs’ and ‘Black Africans’ could be misleading: there are no visible racial or religious differences between the warring factions in Darfur. All parties involved in the conflict are equally indigenous, equally black, and equally Muslim. Darfurians represent a multitude of ethnic and linguistic groups that include non-Arabic speaking groups such as, the Fur, Masalit, Zaghawa, Tunjur, and Daju, as well as Arabic-speaking such as Rizaiqat, Missairiyya, Taisha, Beni Helba, and Mahamid, among others.

A long history of internal migration, mixing, and intermarriage in Darfur has created remarkable ethnic fluidity: ethnic labels are often used only as a matter of convenience. For instance, in the Darfur context, for the most part, the term ‘Arab’ is used as an occupational rather than an ethnic label, for the majority of the Arabic speaking groups are pastoralists. On the other hand, most of the non-Arab groups are sedentary farmers. However, even these occupational boundaries are often crossed.

For several centuries, the Fur was the dominant political power in the region, particularly in the pre-colonial era. In the seventeenth century they established a kingdom that shared many of the characteristics of other Muslim states in the Sahelian belt (the region south of the Sahara Desert, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west, to the Nile basin in the east.) From its capital at Al-Fasher, the Darfur kingdom established extensive political and commercial links with these states as well as with Egypt and North Africa.

The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when rebels launched an insurrection to protest what they claimed was the Sudanese Government’s disregard for the western region and its non-Arab population. The situation escalated when rebels, particularly the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), took up arms against the Government, protesting the unequal distribution of economic resources.

In response, the government headed by then President, Omar al-Bashir, equipped and supported Arab militia-which came to be known as Janjaweed-to fight the rebels in Darfur. The militias, however, also terrorised the civilians in the region and prevented international aid organisations from delivering much-needed food and medical supplies.

This conflict clearly pitted Sudanese Government forces, supported by the Janjaweed, against rebel groups resisting the autocratic rule of President Omar al-Bashir. The result was a devastating toll on Darfur. About 300,000 people lost their lives, and millions were displaced, including 400,000 refugees who were forced to flee to camps in the neighbouring country of Chad. In response to these atrocities, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against several Sudanese senior officials, including Omar al-Bashir, on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

Despite a 2004 cease-fire and the presence of African Union (AU) troops that followed, by 2007 the conflict and resulting humanitarian crisis had left hundreds of thousands of people dead and more than two million displaced, internally as well as externally, as they were forced to flee from the fighting. In July 2007, the United Nations Security Council authorised a joint UN-AU peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) to replace the AU mission, although UNAMID troop deployment did not begin until 2008.

In July 2008, an International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor alleged that Bashir, as President of Sudan, bore criminal responsibility for the crisis in Darfur. The prosecutor accused Bashir of orchestrating genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in the region and sought a warrant for his arrest; the Sudanese government denied the charges and proclaimed Bashir’s innocence. In March 2009, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but not genocide. The warrant marked the first time that the ICC had sought the arrest of a sitting head of state. A year later, in July, another warrant was issued for Bashir on the charge of genocide.

Bashir was removed from power in 2018, which led to the formation of a Transitional Government under a Transitional Military Council (TMC) in September 2019. It carried out ambitious economic reforms and engaged in peace negotiations with armed groups leading to the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement in 2020, with almost all opposition groups. However, a year later in October 2021 the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) took over the country in a military coup. The then Prime Minister of the Transitional Government stepped down in January 2022 after efforts to reach a political settlement failed. A second attempt was made in January 2023. However, a consensus could not be reached and the political deadlock continues. The failed political process saw an eruption of a yet another conflict between the SAF and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which continues to this day.

The RSF evolved from the Janjaweed militia in the year 2013, and was used as border guards. And in the year 2015 it was granted the status of a regular force. In the year 2017, a law was passed legitimising the RSF as an independent security force. The Army and pro-democracy voices have demanded the RSF’s integration in the regular Armed Forces, which the RSF has resisted as this would lead to loss of power. The RSF is commanded by General Mohamed Hamden Dagalo commonly know as ‘Hemedti’ or ‘Little Mohamad’. He is one for the most powerful persons in Sudan and was formerly Deputy-Head of the TMC.

The once emerging potential of Sudan now lies in tatters, with conflict after conflict consuming the country. For most of its independent history, Sudan has faced substantial internal conflict rending it unable to play a leadership role in the region. This includes some of the longest lasting civil wars in Africa running in the country. South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 and became an independent state of Africa.

This week, heavy fighting in and around the Town of El Fasher between the SAF and the RSF resulted in death of dozens of civilians.

Netherlands

This week, anti-Islam firebrand and populist leader Geert Wilders announced that he has managed to form a coalition government with three other right-wing parties veering Netherlands towards the hard right. This is the culmination of almost 6 months of tumultuous negotiations – after the General Elections. It is still unclear who would be the next Dutch Prime Minister, but it will not be Wilders, who gave up the chance in a bid to secure a deal. Wilder’s, Party of Freedom (PVV), will go into government with the conservative Liberal Party (VVD), the centrist New Social Contract (NSC), and the Farmer Citizen Movement (BBB).

The PVV, led by Geert Wilders, won a shock victory in the Netherlands’ Parliamentary Elections, six months ago, winning 37 of the 150 seats, but it was not good enough to form a government on its own.

Slovakia

This week, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, 59 was shot and injured outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova, where he had been meeting supporters. A suspect was quickly detained. Four shots were fired after a government meeting, with one hitting the PM in the abdomen. He was rushed to Hospital when Emergency services dispatched a helicopter to air-lift him to the nearest hospital where he was operated upon. He is out of danger and on the road to recovery.

Handlova is located some 150 kilometres north east of Solvakia’s capital Bratislava. Security personnel were quick to cart the PM to safety while others grappled with the attacker, later identified as 71 year old Slovak poet Juraj Cintula. The reason behind the attack appears to be a politically charged one, with Cintula blaming Fico’s media policies for his drastic action.

Robert Fico is known for his pro-Russia, pro-Putin stance and has been a controversial figure in European politics. He has opposed supporting Ukraine against Russia’s aggression. Starting his fourth term as PM, Fico stopped arms shipments to Ukraine. Critics were concerned that he might steer Slovakia – a NATO member – away from its pro-western trajectory towards a path similar to that of Hungary under populist PM Viktor Orban.

India Elections

India’s Lok Sabha General Elections meander to the upcoming last three Phases of 20th May, 25th May, and 1st June. Four Phases have been completed and the wait for counting day on 4th June is excruciating. The high-voltage campaigning dropped down a few volts but the charge was steady. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues to brim with confidence in a winning a third consecutive term and gathering numbers of over 400 seats in the 543 seated Lok Sabha.

India’s Billboard Crash

In India, 16 people were killed and dozens injured when a giant 30-metre-tall Billboard, located next to a busy road in the Chheda Nagar area of Mumbai City’s Ghatkopar, fell over a petrol station and adjoining buildings crushing cars and trapping over 100 people underneath. This was caused by strong winds and rains during a thunderstorm on Monday, which also uprooted trees in the area. The storm brought traffic to a standstill in parts of the city and disrupted operations at the Mumbai Airport with at least 15 flights diverted.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued a statement saying the Billboard was illegal – constructed without their permission and standing for over a year at the location. Previously, the Billboard had been red-marked by Civic Authorities due to various violations, but no action was taken. The first notice, issued in March 2023, addressed non-payment of license fees. A second notice, highlighted damage to trees caused by Installtion of the billboard. The third notice, issued on the same day the structure collapsed, cited ‘unauthorised advertisement panels’. While the agency was responsible for the hoarding’s structural stability, records showed BMC’s garden department had separately registered police complaints that the Agency ‘killed’ trees that were planted on the periphery. The complaint was filed after holes were found drilled in the trunks of the dead trees in an attempt to inject poison into them. This had led to around 40 trees losing their leaves and eventually dying…a slow death.

The director of Ego Media Agency, Bhavesh Bhinde, who owns the Billboard was later arrested after a man-hunt. The 120×120 feet holding defied the permissible size of 40×40 and was erected on a 10 year lease and its weight was an astonishing 250 tons. The company had applied to the Limca Book of Records to recognise it as the largest commercial Billboard in India.

Eurovision 2024

The Eurovision Song Contest – the 68th Edition – staged in Sweden’s Malmo city ended late last week with the finals held on Saturday.

The winner was Switzerland’s Nemo -Nemo Mettler-a Swiss singer, who plays the violin, piano, and drums. His song ‘The Code’ won the contest giving Switzerland their first win since 1988. The Runner-up was Marko Purisic, a Croatian singer-songwriter, and music producer, known professionally as Baby Lasagna for the song ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’. In the third place was Aliona Olehivna Savranenko, known by her stage name Alyona Alyona, a Ukrainian rapper and songwriter along with Yana Oleksandrivna Shemaieva, known professionally as Jerry Heil, a Ukrainian singer, songwriter and You Tuber for the song ‘Teresa & Maria’. The fourth place went to Slimane Nebchi, a French singer-songwriter known professionally by the mononym, Slimane for the song ‘ Mon Amour’. Coming in at fifth was Israel’s Eden Golan for her song, ‘Hurricane’.

More historical stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Sing with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-19

About: the world this week, 5 May 2024 to 11 May 2024: Crossing into Rafah; Russia’s forever President; All-in-one India; Heat of the World; Brazil’s Floods; Eurovision; and the Met Gala 2024.

Everywhere

Crossing into Rafah

Israel has, for weeks, said that it would enter the city of Rafah in the Southern Gaza Strip to flush-out the last remains -hopefully-of the Terrorist Hamas and rescue the 130 hostages still being held. Over a million displaced Palestinians are holed-up in the city, which also ‘conveniently serves’ as a ‘natural’ human shield for Hamas.

This week Israel moved-in. This is a cliffhanger in the seven-month-old war as Israeli forces struck Rafah from the air and the ground and ordered residents to leave parts of the city. And Israel quickly secured control of the Rafah Crossing after its forces eliminated 20 terrorists in a raid, intercepted a car bomb headed towards troops, and conducted airstrikes on 100 targets.

Meanwhile, Hamas after rejecting many past proposals by Israel, seemed in a hurry to accept the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal from mediators. But Israel said the terms did not meet its demands and pressed ahead with its dash into Rafah, while planning to continue negotiations on a deal.

United States (US) President Joe Biden threatened to stop supply of arms to Israel if it goes ahead with its Rafah ground invasion plan, which is a back-stabbing, back-track by the strongest ally of Israel. The American University wokeism has reached the very top-the White House. God Bless America!

Who benefits? The terrorist Hamas, of course. Emboldens them.

“If we must, we shall fight with our fingernails,” said Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, “But we have much more than our fingernails.” Earlier the US had delayed a shipment of arms to Israel and there is a simmering and escalting friction between the closest of allies.

In Gaza, Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad kept at their act: firing anti-tank rockets and mortars at Israeli tanks amassed on the eastern outskirts of the city for the ground invasion.

Russia’s Forever President

This week, Vladimir Putin took oath for a record fifth presidential term as President of Russia. The unique Putin swag was unmissable, as two huge gold-plated doors opened and he almost ‘cat-walked’ alone towards the oath-taking podium, greeting people lined up on both sides of red-carpet barricade with a cheshire-cat smile. There is no stopping this man?

All-In-One India

India’s marathon General Elections has run three phases and there are four more to go, 13th May, 20th May, 25th May, and 1st June. The results will be declared on 4th June. Every week releases a ‘new gas’, in addition to the Green House Gases and other climate changers, that turn on the heat.

Last week a sex-scandal fired the headlines. This week, racist comments raced to the top. The Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, Sam Pitroda, sitting in faraway United States while describing India’s diversity said, “people in the East look like the Chinese, people in the West look like the Arabs, people in the North look like, maybe, White, and people in the South look like Africans”. He added, “ It does not matter. All of us are bothers and sisters”.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to seize the opportunity, calling the comments racist and divisive. In cricket parlance, it was full-toss bowled at the BJP and they smacked it out of the ground.

Sam Pitroda resigned amid the huge political row that erupted over his controversial remarks. A statement said he decided to step down as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, of his own accord. And the Congress President has accepted his decision- as if he was waiting outside his door. Sam Pitroda has been a habitual, incorrigible offender having a history of making controversial comments. He was once advisor to the late Rajiv Gandhi and in recent times has been mentoring the dynasty’s scion, Rahul Gandhi, who himself has been equally liberal with the tongue.

Meanwhile, on a lighter vein, the BJP was disappointed…losing a ‘star overseas Arab campaigner’. Now it has to look at other White, Chinese, and African campaigners. Of course, they still have a ‘White’ Rahul Gandhi doing a great job for them!

Heat of the World

The world just experienced its hottest April on record, extending a 11-month streak in which every month set a new temperature record. Including April, the world’s average temperature was also the highest on record for a 12-month period at 1.61 degrees Celsius, above the average in the years 1850-1900 pre-industrial period.

The rising temperatures are brought about by the infamous ‘climate change’ for which Green House Gas (GHG) emissions from burning fossil fuels are the main cause. GHGs trap heat in the atmosphere and warm the planet. They absorb the heat radiating from the Earth’s surface and re-release it all directions including back to the Earth’s surface. The chief culprits in the ‘Earth warming business’ are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulphur hexafluoride. Add water vapour too.

In recent months, the natural El-Nino phenomenon, which warms the surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, has also raised temperatures.

Brazil’s Floods

Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul is being inundated like never before – its worst flooding in 80 years. Heavy rains and floods resulting in killing of over 100 people, injuring over 750 and displacing over 16 400 rendering them homeless. At least 134 people are still missing. Rains are expected to persist over the weekend.

Intense rain is expected to pummel Brazil, between the east and center-north of Rio Grande do Sul, with some areas expecting 100 mm.This, as the South American nation grapples with the deadly fallout of last week’s extreme weather, which submerged whole neighbourhoods.

The catastrophic floods have been accompanied by social upheaval, with least 45 people arrested for looting and other crimes amid the chaos. Six of those arrested are suspected of committing sexual abuse in shelters for people whose homes were impacted by the floods.

The latest storms have also flooded parts of neighbouring Uruguay, leaving some 1,340 people displaced and thousands more without electricity.

The Sun and Rain dancing in full glory!

Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest often known simply as Eurovision or as ESC, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed live and transmitted to national broadcasters via the Eurovision and Euroradio networks, with competing countries then casting votes for the other countries’ songs to determine a winner.

This week, Israel’s Eurovision entry officially qualified to be in the Eurovision finals, to be held this Saturday in Malmo, Sweden, after singer Eden Golan’s impressive performance in the semi-finals. The 20 year old singer received huge cheers from the audience after her performance of ‘Hurricane.’ Originally titled ‘October Rain’, the song had alluded to the Hamas attacks on southern Israel last 7th October. Israel’s public broadcaster agreed to modify the lyrics, and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is responsible for the contest, gave the song the green light.

There have been several campaigns to block Israel from taking part in this year’s contest following the outbreak of war in Gaza. Eden Golan’s victory came hours after thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors gathered in the streets of Malmo to show their support for Gaza. A night before, the 20-year-old singer had been booed during dress rehearsals. There was a mixture of cheering and booing again during the semi-final.

Security is being tightened for the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden’s Malmo city, with large demonstrations planned to coincide with the event and the country already on high alert. Police and organisers say they’re well-prepared and hoping for a ‘joyful’ event. The annual feel-good celebration of pop and showbiz is this year shrouded by complaints from some quarters over Israel’s participation amid the war in Gaza. Sweden was already facing heightened security challenges, and Malmo is expecting one of the country’s biggest ever policing efforts.

As many as 100,000 visitors are set to descend on this city on Sweden’s south-west coast for the world’s largest live music contest. Colourful Eurovision banners decorate many of the city’s streets, and it’s the third time that Malmo is playing host, after Swedish artist Loreen won last year’s competition in Liverpool, with her hit song Tattoo. Commentators say that it is one of the most politically-charged Eurovisions ever.

Met Gala 2024

The Fashion World’s biggest night, the 2024 Met Gala was held this week at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. The Gala fundraises for the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute and is held every year in the 1st week of May, almost always ‘at the steps’ of the same venue. And dresses to a theme and a dress code.

This year’s exhibit theme was ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’, to examine how technology can breathe new life into garments that are too old and fragile to be worn again. The dress code was the ‘The Garden of Time’ named after the 1962 short story by J G Ballard.

In the story, an aristocratic couple living in a walled estate with a magical garden try to stave off an unruly mob trying to break in. To keep the mob at bay, the husband picks flowers trying to turn back time until there are no blooms left. The mob eventually breaks in, ransacks their place and the couple turns to stone. Guests were told that outfits should represent ‘fleeting beauty’ and embody ‘the beauty of the natural world- its fragility and its inevitable decay’.

The Gala, is known to have a very secretive guest list with the names of attendees kept tightly ‘under wraps’ and then released with all the sheerness and nakedness one can see-through on the Gala Red Carpet.

This year Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lopez, and Zendaya, served as co-chairs alongside Vogue’s Anna Wintour. The rest of the attendees—which includes the world’s top singers, actors, models, athletes, and artists—revealed themselves on the Red Carpet.

Indian Actress Alia Bhatt attended wearing a stunning floral saree by Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. She brought the ‘timeless’ saree to the Met carpet and in doing so, nailed the theme ‘The Garden of Time’. Her dress was ethereal, a scene-stealer that took a total of 163 dedicated individuals investing 1965 man-hours to make.

Singer and Actress Jennifer Lopez, known for her show-stopping red carpet appearances, took glamour to new heights. Stepping onto the red carpet the 54-year-old dazzled in a custom Schiaparelli Haute Couture creation. The mermaid-style gown, crafted from sheer tulle, shimmered with a plethora of sparkling rhinestones and pearls, cascading into a flowing train.

Supermodel Gigi Hadid continued her streak of theme mastery, flawlessly embodying the essence of this year’s theme alongside Designer Thom Browne’s vision of the dress code. Stepping onto the Met Gala carpet, Hadid donned an unmistakable Browne ensemble—a white off-the-shoulder corset dress with exaggerated hips, layered beneath a white silk moire coat adorned with 3D yellow roses and intricate thorn appliques.

American Rapper, Cardi B’s Met Gala philosophy has consistently been ‘the bigger, the better,’ and her jewellery choice for the 2024 event perfectly embodied this sentiment. Arriving on the Met steps, she made a dramatic entrance ‘wrapped’ in a voluminous tulle gown designed by Windowsen. The Garden of Time dress code was styled with a diamond necklace featuring a 141-carat Colombian emerald by the Indian jewellery house Kamyen. Complementing this centrepiece were her striking earrings, boasting dual emeralds and diamonds that featured a cascade yellow and white mini-briolette cut diamonds. She accessorised her hands with large emerald rings and a bangle bracelet on her wrist, with more emeralds and diamonds.

Kamyen, the Indian jewellery brand, was founded in 2010 by Pooja Gandhi, who comes from a lineage of three generations of ‘Diamantaires’. Renowned for its one-of-a-kind designs incorporating large gemstones, particularly yellow and pink diamonds, the brand has garnered global acclaim through Cardi B’s appearance at the Met Gala this year.

Some of the best dressed were: American Actress, Elle Fanning in an iridescent Balmain column with sculpted birds at the shoulders and Cartier jewellery; ‘Dune’ Actress Zendaya – in four outfits – the first a custom Maison Margiela Gown by John Galliano; Actress Gabrielle Union in mermaid inspired Michael Kars Collection with Tiffany & Co jewellery; Actress Demi Moore in a show-stopping Harris Reed oversize floral-print gown with detachable back panel and padded hips plus a massive Cartier necklace; Actress Michelle Yeoh wearing sculpted aluminium Balenciaga Coutre, plus Cindy Chao jewellery. Other memorable appearances were by Singer Shakira, South African Singer and songwriter Tyla, and ‘Baywatch’ Pamela Anderson.

The other Indians at the Gala were: Heiress Natasha Poonawalla in a custom Marigela designed by John Gallino; Entrepreneur and Philanthropist Mona Patel in a off-shoulder, body-hugging Iris Van Herpen gown inspired by flying butterflies – 3D butterflies were flying on her sleeves, lending a magical touch; Actor & Producer Mindy Kaling in a sculptured nude couture gown by Gaurav Gupta – with cape and train; Actor Ambika Mod in a monochromatic black and white gown from Loewe; Vouge India Cover Star and Bridgerton Actor, Simone Ashley, in a cut-out navy blue dress designed by Prabal Gurung; Hyderabad based based Indian billionaire, Sudha Reddy, in a custom Tarun Tahiliani ivory silk dress. Reliance heiress Isha Ambani in a bespoke hand-embroidered sari-gown by Rahul Mishra.

It was a feast of flesh, colour, fabric, and pure magic, dancing in the Garden of Time. Would be hard to sleep with all those images flying like butterflies in your dreams!

More striking stories coming in the weeks ahead. Dress yourself with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-18

About: the world this week, 28 April 2024 to 4 May 2024: an extraordinarily generous proposal; India’s Elections and a sex scandal; Old Beauty; and a lifetime in the movies.

Everywhere

The Hostage Situation

The ever going-on behind-the-scenes diplomatic drive to bring at end to the Hamas-Israel war saw booming activity this week. Hamas was urged to swiftly accept Israel’s latest proposal, called an ‘extraordinarily generous’ one by the negotiators, for a Gaza truce and to secure release of the hostages. Israel offered a deal to accept the release of fewer than 40, of the 130 hostages, still held in captivity, in exchange for freeing Palestinians jailed in Israel, and a second phase of truce consisting of a ‘period of sustained calm’. Hamas has been insisting on a permanent cease-fire. And there is no word from them, as yet, on the decent proposal.

Meanwhile, the unrest in University Campus’ of the United States continued with woke, pro-Palestine students creating ruckus’ and preventing Jewish students from entering Colleges. The Police swung into action, making arrests and getting tougher with the protesters.

India’s Elections: the Gowdas

The heat around India’s ongoing long General Elections only grows hotter almost every week. And most often, a new match lights a new fire, which rages on until it gets doused on its own, and then forgotten – until the next fire story burns the headlines.

Over the past week, a massive sex scandal has shaken the southern State of Karnataka. The grandson of ‘accidental’ former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and a sitting Member of Parliament (MP) from Hassan, Prajwal Revanna, 33, is in the eye of the storm, of a horrendous scandal. He is accused of sexual harassment and abuse of numerous women, over many years, going by leaked videos of the man himself, in action. A former car-driver of the MP, who leaked the videos, has confessed that he handed over a pen-drive containing the videos to a Party leader.

Prajwal Revanna’s father, HD Revanna, is Deve Gowda’s elder son and a former minister, also the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the State’s Holenarsipura. Revanna’s mother Bhavani Revanna was a member of the Hassan Zilla Panchayat. His brother, Suraj Revanna, is a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC). Prajwal Revanna is the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-of which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a part – candidate in the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, which went to polls, in the second Phase, on 26th April.

Prajwal graduated in mechanical engineering from Bangalore Institute of Technology in 2014. He joined a master’s degree programme in Australia but discontinued to join politics. In 2019, he was appointed as the State General Secretary of the Janata Dal (Secular) Party – JD(S).

The accusation is that girls and women from various backgrounds – government officials, TV anchors, models, minors, maids-have been sexually exploited, with graphic details of the acts recorded on video – shot by Prajwal himself. Apparently the faces of the victims are shown, while Prajwal remains hidden in most of the scenes. Why would an MP do this?It turns out that he not only molests women but also enjoys recording their humiliation on camera, going by media reports of thousands of videos circulated through pen-drives in Karnataka. By some estimates, there are at least 3,000 video clips in circulation. It is hard to say how many women feature in the videos, but the number is estimated to reach hundreds.

A 47-year-old woman who worked as a house-help at Prajwal Revanna’s residence has accused him and his father of sexually assaulting and harassing female workers. She claimed that women would be summoned the storeroom where they would be touched inappropriately, and sexually assaulted by removing their sari pins (allowing the sari to fall). “After four months of joining, Revanna kept calling me to his room. There were six women workers in the house and everyone said that they were scared when Prajwal came home. The male workers in the house also alerted the women workers to be careful,” She said.

There are women of all ages, from teenagers to those in their 60s. What they have in common is that they are mostly vulnerable and largely defenceless. The molestations seem to be a symbol of Prajwal’s power over them. In one video, an elderly woman is heard begging him not to assault her, saying that she has served his family for years and has even fed his father.

The JD(S) has suspended Prajwal from the party until further investigation. His uncle and former Chief Minister of Karnataka, HD Kumaraswamy has distanced himself from the MP. The Government in Karnataka has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations of sexual abuse.

The case is yet another example of the moral bankruptcy of politicians and abuse of their positions. The disgrace and horror is heightened when it involves democratically elected representatives like MPs and MLAs, whom people approach with their grievances expecting resolution. The selective outrage of political parties and their leadership against crimes against women is equally abhorrent. Prajwal Revanna is perhaps the sleaziest MP in the history of India.

All over the country, men abused, molested, hurt, raped, and killed women because they thought they could get away with it — and most of them did. The Indian justice system is so lax that they rarely faced the retribution they deserve. And politicians do nothing to make the streets safe.

The Gowda family is not new to controversy. Recently, Prajwal Revanna’s mother, Bhavani Revanna hit the headlines for taking on a biker for crashing into her luxury Sports Utility Vehicle. She told him, “If you want to die, you should have gone under a bus but not under my car. It costs INR 50 lakh to fix the damage. Will you give it ?” The Gowda family later had to clarify her behaviour, calling it a ‘post-surgery stress’. Wow, innovative things only politicians can come up with!

In the year 2006, the then 19-year-old Nikhil Kumarasamy son of HD Kumaraswamy created a ruckus in a Bengaluru Hotel for not serving him and his gang of friends food late at night, when they came riding-in. His father was then the CM of the State. Nikhil threatened the hotel with, “I am the CM’s son, I will get this hotel blown up”.

Now, let’s blow onto something cooler!

Old Beauty

Alejandra Marisa Rodriguez, a 60-year-old lawyer from Argentina, emblazoned her name in the history books, after she was crowned Miss Universe-Buenos Aires. With this, she became the first woman of her age to win such a prestigious beauty title. She contested with 34 others, ranging from 18 to 73 in age, to win the beauty pageant that was held on 24th April.

Next, Alejandra begins preparations to represent Buenos Aires in the upcoming national selection for Miss Universe Argentina title in May 2024, which takes her to the Miss Universe 2024 Title Competition to be held in September in Mexico. Mexico has hosted the pageant four times in the past: 2007, 1993, 1989, and 1978.

In September 2023, the Organisers of the Miss Universe Pageant announced that there would no longer be age limits for contestants. And starting in 2024, every woman over the age of 18 can participate: in the past, only women aged between age 18 and 28 could contest.

Alejandra is from La Plata, the capital city of Argentina’s Buenos Aires Province. After completing high school, she embarked on a career in journalism before pursuing a law degree. Later, she transitioned into a role as a legal advisor for a hospital.

Nothing much is known about her family – for the moment, she is single and stunningly beautiful for her age.

Alejandra believed she had long aged-out of the worldwide beauty pageant, but when the rules changed in 2023 she thought she had a chance.

She credited her lifestyle to her appearance. Alejandra keeps her diet, and works-out three times a week; does intermittent fasting and includes copious amounts of fruits and vegetables in her diet.

“The basic thing is to have a healthy life, eat well, do physical activity. Normal care, nothing too extraordinary and a little genetics.” She said. “What I try to do is intermittent fasting, I think that helps a lot. Then I try to eat organic foods, a lot of fruit, a lot of vegetables, and use good creams.”

Will this take her to the Miss Universe Title? Why Not?

A Lifetime in the Movies

Late last week, on Saturday, Hollywood legends gathered to celebrate Actress Nicole Kidman, 56, receiving the American Film Institute (AFI) Lifetime Achievement Award at the 49th Gala Tribute, Hollywood, California.

She is the first Australian to receive the Award. Previous winners, which the AFI calls the ‘highest honour in American cinema’, include Meryl Streep, Julie Andrews, Denzel Washington, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, George Clooney, Morgan Freeman, and Steven Spielberg.

Actress Meryl Streep presented the Award and praised Nicole Kidman’s formidable talent and stunning range of work.

During the ceremony, Kidman teared up as her husband, singer Keith Urban, who came-up on stage, said she showed him “what love in action really looks like” when his substance abuse problems emerged soon after they married in 2006. “Four months into our marriage, I’m in rehab for three months,” Urban said, addressing Kidman and their two teenage daughters, Sunday Rose, 15 and Faith Margaret,15 who joined their mother on the red carpet for the first time. “Nic pushed through every negative voice, I’m sure even some of her own, and she chose love. And here we are 18 years later.”

Australian actors Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman and Cate Blanchett also gave video tributes to the first actor from their country to win the award.

Nicole Kidman appeared on stage looking regal in a glamorous custom Balenciaga gown, from the Fall ’24 Collection. The fitted gown was embroidered with gold sequins and featured a long gold train. Her long strawberry-blonde hair was made in a side part with loose waves framing her face. And she looked irresistible, in a vision of gold.

Kidman was married to Tom Cruise from 1990 to 2001 with who she shares two children, Isabella and Connor. She married Keith Urban in 2006.

Nicole Kidman won an Academy Award for Best Actress in ‘The Hours’ (was nominated for ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Rabbit Hole’, and ‘Being the Ricardos’). In addition, she won two Prime-time Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Awards and a BAFTA Award. She also won a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Nicole Kidman’s breakthrough in the world of movies came with lead roles in ‘Dead Calm’ and the Australian mini TV series, ‘Bangkok Hilton’, both in the year 1989.

Pure Gold!

More old and new beautiful stories coming in the weeks ahead. Wear gold, win awards with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-17

About: the world this week, 21 April 2024 to 27 April 2024: the world’s war-front; India’s Charged Elections; an Ex-President’s Woes; and India’s moves in World Chess.

Everywhere

On the World’s War-front

Israeli strikes intensified across Gaza in some of the heaviest shelling in weeks, and the Israeli army ordered fresh evacuations in the north, warning civilians they were in a dangerous combat zone. Non-stop bombardments also continued in the Central and Northern parts – mostly strikes by air and shelling from tanks on the ground.

Meanwhile, the Hamas psychopaths published a new propaganda video of a hostage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, showing the 23-year-old Israeli-American saying he has been held captive for nearly 200 days. Hersh is seen in the video missing one of his hands. It was blown off from the elbow down when terrorists lobbed grenades into a shelter, where he and others who tried to escape the 7 October 2023 Nova party massacre., were hiding.

On another front, Israel’s military is poised to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Rafah and assault Hamas hold-outs in the southern Gaza Strip city, despite international warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel is clearly moving ahead with a ground operation. Israel’s Defence Ministry bought 40,000 tents, each with the capacity for 10 to 12 people, to house Palestinians relocated from Rafah in advance of an assault.

In a new streak of ever-growing wokeism in America, mass chaos broke out at college campuses across the United States of America as pro-Palestine protests intensified. Columbia, Harvard, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, and others were swarmed by protesters. Harvard Yard was also been taken over by pro-Palestine protesters who set-up camp after the university threatened to take action. Police had a tough time managing the footloose, unruly, university students as protests turned violent.

Their support should naturally be for Israel and a shout-out to release the over 130 hostages in the captivity of the terrorist Hamas.

In the other warfront in Europe, far from the trenches, at orderly new centres across Ukraine, civilian recruiters armed with laptops and info packs offer patriotic volunteers opportunities to join the war. As Ukraine’s efforts to conscript enough men to fight Russia are stymied by public scepticism, defence officials and military units are embarking on a multi-pronged charm offensive to recruit a citizens’ army to resist the invasion. Candidates can select their precise unit and roles suiting their skills, as well as how long they will serve.

On city streets, billboards of Ukrainian soldiers implore citizens to join up and defend their homeland, offering QR codes for convenience. For e.g., online, the 93rd Mechanised Brigade assures countrymen that ‘everyone can do it!’ in a glossy video campaign showing civilians, such as a chef and tractor driver, switching to analogous army roles as battlefield cook and tank driver.

On another front in Iran, the same day it launched its first ever direct attack on Israel, it embarked on a less-noticed confrontation at home. Police were ordered in several cities to take to the streets to arrest a growing number of women accused of flouting its strict Islamic dress code. Under Iran’s sharia, or Islamic law, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes. Offenders face public rebuke, fines, or arrest.

India’s Super-charged Election

This week, on 26th April, India passed the second phase of General Elections-Lok Sabha Elections 2024 -to elect a new Government at the Centre for the next five years. A total of 88 constituencies across 13 states and a Union Territory voted in this phase. The votes were cast in all 20 Lok Sabha seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, 8 seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, 6 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 5 seats each in Assam and Bihar, 3 seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu & Kashmir.

This week the high-pitch, ever-decibel growing election campaign revolved around the Congress Party’s wild thinking of introducing ‘Inheritance Tax’ in India. This on the lines of that in America, where the children inherit 45% of the family wealth, on the death of the family wealth creator, and the Government grabs the balance 55%. This comes in the backdrop of the Congress Party’s Election Manifesto talking about tackling growing inequalities in wealth and income through suitable change in policies. Also as a prelude, economic and institutional surveys along with a caste census would be conducted to ‘redistribute’ wealth.

We all know growth is the only way to reduce inequality, but the Congress seems to have other ideas.

Surely a regressive kind of thinking, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seized the opportunity to take the Grand Old Party of India to the cleaners. The Congress was forced to ‘disown’ a statement made by its overseas In-charge. But I reckon no one was listening – with people looking at safeguarding their wealth.

Another talking point was former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh having said in the year 2009, that ‘minorities, especially poor Muslims, should get priority when it comes to the nation’s resources’. Haunting times for the Congress, indeed.

With five more phases to go we can expect more fireworks in the days to come.

This week the Supreme Court of India rejected a plea for 100% verification of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) Slips with the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). This comes in the background of the various parties in India – especially the opposition – crying for a return to the old Paper Ballot and Manual Counting System. It also rejected a plea to allow the voter to take the VVPAT slip and deposit it in a ballot box. And it rejected the plea to revert to Paper Ballot Voting.

The Supreme Court added some strictures such as the sealed containers of the Symbol Loading Units should be kept in storerooms with the EVMs for least 45 days post-declaration of results. And gave some futuristic ideas such as, exploring the possibility of machine-counting of VVPAT slips.

Once a voter presses the vote button on the EVM- Ballot, a printed slip is generated in the adjacent VVPAT machine. This shows the choice of the voter, and as is visible for 7 seconds – after which it drops down into a sealed compartment. This enables the voter to confirm that his vote has been recorded correctly.

EVM’s were first used in the State of Kerala in 1982 and progressively used all over India, starting in the late 1990s. The VVPAT was added in 2013 to confirm that electronic voting is accountable and reliable. The EVM was developed for the Election Commission of India by the Government owned Electronics Corporation of India and Bharat Electronics. EVMs are standalone machines built with ‘write once read many (WORM)’ -information once written cannot be modified- are self-contained, battery powered and do not need any networking capability. They do not have any wireless or wired internet components and interface. Hence, impossible to hack or manipulate.

Donald Trump’s Woes

In America, The US Supreme Court weighs Ex-President Donald Trump’s bid for immunity from prosecution. The Supreme Court’s conservative justices signaled support on Thursday for US Presidents having some level of protection from criminal charges for certain acts taken in office as it tackled Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution for trying to undo his 2020 election loss.

Trump, seeking this year to regain the White House, appealed after lower courts rejected his request to be shielded from four election-related criminal charges. This was on the grounds that he was serving as President when he took the actions that led to the indictment.

With a colourful variety of cases piled-up on him, Donald Trump is spending a lot of time in the Courts. And seems to be enjoying it.

World Chess and India’s Moves

These days hardly a move is made in the world of Chess without an Indian being behind it. This week, India’s 17-year-old Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest player to win the men’s chess tournament after a draw against his opponent Hikaru Nakamura, in the final day of the 2024 Candidates Tournament held in Toronto, Canada, from 3rd April to 22nd April. It’s an eight-player chess tournament, held to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2024. The event was held alongside the Women’s Candidates Tournament.

Gukesh effectively wrapped up victory in the tournament after American Fabiano Caruana blundered a winning position against Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi to be held to a draw.

The previous youngest winner of the men’s Candidates Tournament was Garry Kasparov, who was 20 when he prevailed in 1984, a year before winning the world champion title against fellow Russian Anatoly Karpov.

Gukesh, who was one of three Indian players in the tournament, will face China’s Ding Liren for the title later this year. World No 1 Magnus Carlsen, a five-time classical chess world champion, relinquished his title last year, citing a lack of motivation.

Gukesh became a Grandmaster at the age of 12, the third youngest person to have done so. If he beats Ding Liren this year, he will become India’s second world chess champion after Viswanathan Anand who won the title five times.

China’s Tan Zhongyi dominated the women’s tournament and will face her compatriot Ju Wenjun for the world title.

Gukesh lives in Chennai, Tamil Nadu studying at the Velammal Vidyalaya school, Mel Ayanambakkam, Chennai. His father, Dr Rajinikanth, is an Ear, Nose, and Throat surgeon, and his mother, Dr Padma, is a microbiologist.

Gukesh won the Under-9 section of the Asian School Chess Championships in 2015, and the World Youth Chess Championships in 2018 in the Under-12 category. He also won five gold medals at the 2018 Asian Youth Chess Championships, in the U-12 individual rapid and blitz, U-12 team rapid and blitz, and the U-12 individual classical formats. He completed the requirements for the title of International Master in March 2017 at the 34th Cappelle-la-Grande Open.

On 15 January 2019, at the age of 12 years, 7 months, and 17 days, Gukesh became the then second-youngest grandmaster in history, only surpassed by Sergey Karjakin with 17 days. Since then the record was beaten by Abhimanyu Mishra, making Gukesh the third youngest.

More fighting stories coming in the weeks ahead. Make your moves with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-16

About: the world this week, 14 April 2024 to 20 April 2024: Israel & Iran; knives out in Australia; UAE goes underwater; India begins voting; and keeping a Princess & Future Queen safe.

Everywhere

Israel – Iran

In an insane move and probably a serious miscalculation, Iran attacked Israel launching over 300 drones and missiles into Israel. But, in an unbelievable military defence operation almost 99% of them were knocked-out by the combined might of the United States (US), United Kingdom(UK), and Israel. Actually, it was a multinational coalition consisting of, among others-a huge surprise-Jordon and Saudi Arabia!

Obviously, Iran’s action is a follow-through on its vow to avenge Israel’s attack on a ‘building next to it Consulate in Damascus, Syria’, which had resulted in the killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Commander and his deputy.

Iran’s strike began with over 100 ground-to-ground missiles being fired from Iran into Israel. Simultaneously, drones and ballistic missiles were fired from its partners-in-crime, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

Tens of Israel fighter jets were immediately scrambled, which included F15, F16, and F35 planes. The Israeli planes flew deep into the airspace of the Middle East and began hunting the missiles and drones, detonating them one after the other. In parallel, fighter jets from the US and UK, along with other countries also took off from various Bases, and began to ‘hunt down’ the missiles. Whatever survived the fighter jet attacks and managed to reach Israeli airspace were immediately taken out by Israel’s Air defence systems including the Iron Dome, Hetz (Arrow) 2, Hetz 3, and more.

Israel and its allies mostly shot down all the missiles and drones and there were no deaths, but Israel says it must retaliate to preserve the credibility of its deterrents. Iran says it views the matter as closed but will retaliate again if Israel does.

What Israel will do next is yet to be seen, but the Iranian regime was humiliated that night, and to top that off, they are now waiting in fear to see how badly Israel punishes them.

Then late in the week, Israel carried out a surprise attack deep inside Iran’s territory, hitting an Iranian military base at Isfahan. The base is used by combat aircraft and military transport planes, likely with air defence systems – which seems to have been ‘defanged’ by the surgical strike. It is also close to a major Iranian nuclear facility for uranium enrichment. This strike was symbolic, sending a message that Israel is capable of targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities or anywhere in Iranian soil.

Israel had a point to make and it made it. What next?

Australia: Knives Out

Last Saturday in Australia, a knife-wielding man went on a stabbing rampage at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction, in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, before a woman police inspector shot him dead after he turned and raised a knife.

The attacker identified as 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, was known to police in the neighbouring state of Queensland. Cauchi, wearing shorts and an Australian national rugby league jersey, ran through the Westfield Mall with a knife. He fatally stabbed six people and injured at least 12 before he was killed by Inspector Amy Scott who ran into the shopping centre by herself, confronted the terrorist and killed him. Incredible heroism on display.

The man first stabbed a mother and her baby. The mother Ash Good, 38, died from her injuries while her baby who was also stabbed has undergone surgery and is in serious condition. The knife rampage lasted 15 minutes.

It was revealed that police knew the attacker and was and on their radar. He had mental health issues in the past and there is no indication ideology was a motive in the attack.

Quick on the heels of the knife attack on Monday another stabbing incident took place at a Sydney church, which Police have declared as religiously motivated and a terrorist act. A 16-year-old boy attacked a Bishop, a priest and churchgoers during mass at the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church, which was being streamed online.

Four people suffered ‘non-life-threatening’ injuries. The attacker was also hurt. Police arrested the boy after the stabbing at the Church that injured Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, 53, and a priest. Both are expected to survive.

The video online showed the Bishop being repeatedly stabbed in the head and upper body during the service. He sustained lacerations to his head after being lunged at. And underwent surgery. A 39-year-old man also sustained cuts and a shoulder injury while attempting to intervene.

Ordained by the Assyrian Orthodox Church in 2011, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel is seen as a popular and a controversial figure. His sermons have received millions of views on social media. But the Bishop has had a turbulent relationship with the Assyrian Church, reportedly being suspended for disobeying canons and forming a breakaway church. In 2021, Mar Mari Emmanuel became a vocal opponent of Covid-19 restrictions, describing lockdowns in Australia as slavery and arguing that vaccines were futile.

The teenage boy arrested after the stabbing attack inside the Sydney church was placed on a good behaviour bond after facing Court for a knife crime just three months ago. Police know the identity of the 16-year-old boy, but have chosen not to publish his name. The boy was charged with a range of offences, including possessing a knife, in November last year after an incident at a Sydney train station involving other teenage boys. The boy was found in possession of a flick knife and charged with being armed with a weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence, stalking and/or intimidation and recklessly destroy or damage property. He was on bail until his last court appearance in January, where his case was ‘proven’ but dismissed with a good behaviour bond.

Police said the suspect’s comments pointed to a religious motive for the attack.

“We’ll allege there’s a degree of premeditation on the basis that this person has travelled to that location, which is not near his residential address, he has travelled with a knife and subsequently the Bishop and the priest have been stabbed,” Police said. “They’re lucky to be alive”.

Dubai: Desert Storm

How many times we have heard this often repeated line – almost a cliche-‘The whole year’s rain came down in a single day’. The rain, tired of conquering the seas, the costal areas, and fertile hills and valleys turned its sights on the Desert and United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Dubai, and Oman ‘came under its wing’.

This week the UAE was drowned in unprecedented rains brought by a storm that brewed over the desert, the heaviest experienced by the country in the 75 years. It brought much of Dubai to a standstill and caused significant damage. The storm hit neighbouring Oman on Sunday and then pounded the UAE on Tuesday, with 20 reported dead in Oman and one in the UAE.

While some roadways in hard-hit communities remain flooded, delivery services across Dubai, whose residents are used to ordering everything at the click of a mouse, slowly began returning to the streets.

Rains are rare in the UAE and elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula, which is typically known for its dry desert climate. Summer air temperatures can soar above 50 degrees Celsius. Following Tuesday’s rains, questions were raised whether cloud seeding-a process of manipulating clouds to increase rainfall- that the UAE frequently conducts, could have caused the heavy rain. A UAE government agency that oversees cloud seeding denied conducting any such operations before the storm. But climate experts blame global warming for such extreme weather events.

Researchers anticipate that climate change will lead to heightened temperatures, increased humidity and a greater risk of flooding in parts of the Gulf region. Countries like the UAE where there is a lack of drainage infrastructure to cope with heavy rains can suffer the most.

Dubai, a city in the desert proud of its modern gloss, faced the towering task of clearing its water-clogged roads and drying out flooded homes. Dubai International Airport, a major travel hub, struggled to clear a backlog of flights and many roads were still flooded in the aftermath of Tuesday’s deluge.

Inking India’s Finger

This week, Friday 19th April, marked the beginning of the biggest Festival of Democracy the world has seen. The first phase, of the seven-phase polls, decides 102 seats in 21 Indian States for India’s 543 member Lower House of Parliament, the Lok Sabha. And after meandering through the rest of April and May concludes on 1st June 2024.

An average of 60% of voters in various States got their finger inked with indelible ink – to mark that they have voted. The aggregate voter turnout till 9pm was 62.37 % with the highest percentage in Tripura at 80.17%. In the previous Elections in 2019 the aggregate was 69.43% in the first Phase.

The process was by and large peaceful, except for incidents in the State of Tamil Nadu, and others, that names have been left out of the Voters List despite having a valid Voter Identification. The Election Commission of India needs to get its tails-up to resolve this problem. Violence was reported in some parts of West Bengal and Manipur and the voter turnout fell from the figure in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

Tough being a Princess and a Future Queen

The Netherlands, a country of 18 million people, has low rates of violent crime – a safe country. Its royal family are sometimes called ‘the bicycle monarchy’ for their informal approach to royal duties. But there is a problem. Princess Amalia, 20, the future Queen of the Netherlands, has been living outside her country for the past year over security concerns. Amalia is the eldest daughter of the Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his Argentine-born wife Queen Maxima and will one day ascend the throne as the country’s next monarch.

However, the young Princess has been forced to leave the Netherlands due to kidnapping threats. This is based on intelligence reports indicating Amalia was mentioned in communications by organised crime groups, sparking fears she could be a target of attacks. Amalia has been living in Madrid, Spain for the past year but recently relocated to the palace after new measures were taken to ensure her safety. She made a rare appearance at a state banquet at the royal palace in Amsterdam with her parents in honour of the Spanish royal family.

In September 2022, the Princess began studying at the University of Amsterdam and briefly lived on campus with other students as she pursued a bachelor’s degree in politics, psychology, law and economics. However, soon afterwards the royal family said she had been forced to leave her student housing, citing similar concerns for her safety, and she moved back into the palace and became a virtual recluse. “She can’t live in Amsterdam, and she can’t really go outside (the palace),” Queen Maxima told journalists at the time. The Netherlands needs a Princess Shield.

More Princess stories coming in the weeks ahead. Build your Palace with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-15

About: the world this week, 7 April 2024 to 13 April 2024: War Vows; EU immigration; a brand new young Prime Minister; a Swiss Victory; corrupted in Vietnam; and a total eclipse of the sun.

Everywhere

Israel, Hamas, and Vows

This week the terrorist Hamas rejected yet another ceasefire proposal made by Israel, at talks in Egypt. Israel and Hamas sent teams to Cairo for talks that included Qatari and Egyptian mediators as well as CIA Director William Burns.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas. This victory requires entry into Rafah (Gaza’s last refuge for displaced Palestinians) and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen – there is a date”. However, a date was not specified.

Meanwhile, it’s becoming deadly clear that most of the Israeli hostages taken on 7 October 2023 have been murdered in captivity and Hamas is unable to ‘produce them’. Hamas acknowledges it lacks ‘sufficient living Israeli hostages’ for a deal – that confirms that most hostages are deceased. Hence, Hamas delays negotiations fearing exposure of its deceit about the captive status. Officials believe hostages who are still alive are being used as human shields surrounding the Hamas leadership, hidden deep in the tunnels of Gaza.

Towards the end of the week, Israel got into a high alert mode, on a possible attack by Iran, who have vowed to avenge Israel’s attack on a ‘building near its Consulate’ in Syria. Amid these fears, the United States in its turn, vowed support for Israel.

Poland and Immigration

This week more than 250 illegal migrants from Africa and the Middle East tried to storm the Polish border from the Belarus side. Polish riot police and the Army managed to push them back into Belarus. This comes in the backdrop of Russia and Belarus – who are great friends – using weaponised migration as a form of hybrid warfare.

In recent times, Poland has taken in the largest number of Ukrainian refugees since Russia’s invasion of the country in 2022.

European lawmakers voted this Wednesday on a revamp of the European Union’s (EU) migration policy: to cut the length of time for security and asylum procedures, and increase returns of migrants to reduce unwanted immigration from the Middle East and Africa, a high priority on the EU’s agenda.

The EU Asylum and Migration Pact has been in the works since 2015, and following its approval by the European Parliament, it will come into force in two years’ time. It will require EU member states to share responsibility for asylum seekers. The EU’s 27 countries will be required to either take in thousands of migrants from ‘frontline’ countries such as Italy, Greece, Spain, or provide extra funding or resources instead, called ’solidarity payments’.

The EU’s migration pact has become a highly charged political issue in Poland. Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk said his government would not accept any relocated asylum seekers under the EU’s proposed new migration pact and is opposed, in general, to the introduction of such a system.

Poland does not accept refugees from Muslim countries – from Africa or the Middle East: it accepts refugees from Christian countries.

Ireland’s New Prime Minister

In March this year, Irish Prime Minister (PM) Leo Varadkar, 45, in an unexpected shocking decision, resigned as the leader of his party, Fine Gael, and as PM. And Ireland’s Government had to scramble its lawmakers to find a replacement.

This week Simon Harris, 37, was elected as taoiseach (Irish PM), by members of the Dail (Irish Parliament). He is also the new Fine Gael party leader and becomes the youngest person to lead the Republic of Ireland. Simon Harris was elected after a vote in which 88 Dail members supported him while 69 voted against him. He was officially installed as taoiseach this Tuesday, after meeting President, Michael D Higgins, to receive the Seals of Office. Harris was the only candidate to seek the party leadership, after Varadkar’s decision to quit.

Simon Harris grew up in the coastal town of Greystones, in County Wicklow. He is the eldest of three children, the son of a taxi driver and a special needs assistant. His younger brother Adam is autistic – a fact which Harris said kickstarted his own involvement in political campaigning when he was just 16.

In 2009, he became a Councillor in Wicklow obtaining the highest individual vote of any candidate in the County. When Fine Gael swept to power in 2011, to lead a new coalition government, Harris won a parliament seat for the party in Wicklow. He entered the 31st Dail in 2011 at the age of 24 – the youngest member and the ‘baby of the house’. Since then, he has had a rapid rise through the party ranks, landing his first cabinet role before his 30th birthday, in 2016. He took on the prestigious but difficult role of Health Minister. The following summer he married his long-term girlfriend, children’s cardiac nurse, Caoimhe Wade, and is now father to two children. As minister for health, he oversaw Ireland’s vote to overturn its abortion ban and was in-charge of the country’s initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Swiss Victory

This week, in a stunning verdict The European Court of Human Rights’s (ECtHR) ruled that the Switzerland government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change. The case was brought by more than 2000 Swiss Women, known as KlimaSeniorinnen, all aged over 64.

The decision will set a precedent for future climate lawsuits and is expected to resonate in court decisions across Europe and beyond, and to embolden more communities to bring climate change cases against governments.

But in a sign of the complexities of the growing wave of climate litigation ECtHR rejected two other climate-related cases on procedural grounds. One of these was brought by a group of six Portuguese young people against 32 European governments, and another by a former mayor of a low-lying French coastal town.

The KlimaSeniorinnen said their government’s climate inaction put them at risk of dying during heatwaves. They argued their age and gender made them particularly vulnerable to such climate change impacts. In the ruling, the Court President said the Swiss government had failed to comply with its own targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and had failed to set a national carbon budget.”It is clear that future generations are likely to bear an increasingly severe burden of the consequences of present failures and omissions to combat climate change,” the President said.

The verdict in the Swiss case, which cannot be appealed, will have international ripple effects, most directly by establishing a binding legal precedent for all 46 countries that are signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights.

It indicates Switzerland has a legal duty to take greater action on reducing emissions.

If Switzerland does not update its policies, further litigation could follow at the national level and courts could issue financial penalties.

Switzerland has committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, from 1990 levels. The country had proposed stronger measures to deliver the goal, but voters rebuffed them in a 2021 referendum as too burdensome.

Vietnam and Corruption

A court in Vietnam sentenced real estate tycoon Truong My Lan to death over her role in a 304 trillion dong (USD 12.5 billion) financial fraud case, the country’s biggest on record. Vietnam imposes the death penalty not only for violent offences but also for economic crimes. The country has executed hundreds of convicts, in recent years, mainly by lethal injection.

Lan’s trial, which began on 5th March and ended earlier than planned, was one dramatic result of a campaign against corruption, which the leader of the country’s ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, has pledged for years to stamp out.

Lan, the chairwoman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat (VTP) Holdings Group, was found guilty of embezzlement, bribery, and violations of banking rules at the end of the trial in the business hub of Ho Chi Minh City. Her’s is a story of rising-up, from selling perfumes to the world of high finance.

Lan started as a cosmetics trader at the central market in Ho Chi Minh City, helping out her mother. She later founded her real estate company VTP in 1992, the same year when she got married.

Lan was found guilty, with her accomplices, of siphoning off more than 304 trillion dong from Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank, or SCB, which she effectively controlled through dozens of proxies despite rules strictly limiting large shareholding in lenders. From early 2018 through October 2022, when the state bailed out SCB after a run on its deposits triggered by Lan’s arrest, she appropriated large sums by arranging unlawful loans to shell companies. The bank is currently propped up by the central bank. And faces a complex restructuring under which authorities are trying to establish the legal status of hundreds of assets that were used as collateral for loans and bonds issued by VTP. The bonds alone are worth USD 1.2 billion. Some of the assets are high-end properties, but many others are unfinished projects.

Before her fall from grace, Lan had played a key role in Vietnam’s financial world, getting involved in the previous rescue of troubled SCB more than a decade before she contributed to the bank’s new crisis.

She was found guilty of having bribed officials to persuade the authorities to look away, including paying USD 5.2 million to a senior central bank inspector, Do Thi Nhan, who was sentenced to life in prison.

Vietnam’s graft crackdown, dubbed ‘Blazing Furnace’, has seen hundreds of senior state officials and high-profile business executives prosecuted or forced to step down. Corruption is so widespread that in some provinces many people say they pay bribes just to obtain medical services in public hospitals, according to a recent survey by the United Nations Development Programme, and other organisations.

Total Eclipse of the Sun

Throngs of skywatchers spread across North America gazed upward at a blackened sun in the midday dusk this Monday, celebrating with cheers, music, and matrimony the first total solar eclipse to darken the continent in seven years.

From a Mexican beach resort, close to where the eclipse made landfall, to the banks of the Ohio River, and farther north beyond the roaring cascades of Niagara Falls at the US-Canadian border, spellbound crowds reacted to the sight of ‘totality’ with jaw-dropping expressions of awe and joy.

Where clear skies prevailed, observers along the direct path of the eclipse were treated to the rare spectacle of the moon appearing as a dark orb creeping in front of the sun, briefly blocking out all but a brilliant halo of light, or corona, around, the sun’s outer edge.

It was first total eclipse to sweep across a large swath of North America since 2017, and will be the last one visible from the contiguous United States until 2044.

Mexico’s beachside resort town of Mazatlan was the first major viewing spot for totality. Thousands in solar-safe eyewear perched in deck chairs along the coastal promenade, and an orchestra played the ‘Star Wars’ movie theme as skies darkened under the approaching lunar shadow.

More jaw-dropping stories coming in the weeks ahead. Join forces and vow to stay with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-14

About: the world this week, 31 March 2024 to 6 April 2024: Israel fights; Turkey spins; Taiwan Shakes; Finland shoots; Scotland speaks; India dances; and the Oldest Man in the World leaves.

Everywhere

Israel Fights

No country in the World would like to be in the situation Israel is in today. 130 of its people are being held hostage for over 180 days by the terrorist Hamas following the savage barbarism of 7 October 2023, with no end in sight, of their release. The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, to outgun Hamas, and to find and bring home the hostages is only getting deadlier – on the scale of destruction and death of people. At home, Israelis are demonstrating that the Government is not doing enough to rescue their loved ones; abroad people are demonstrating for a cease-fire, so that the people of Gaza can get food, supplies, and medical aid. What about the hostages? Releasing them is the sanest solution to this madness.

This week, Israeli forces left the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City after a two-week intensive operation by its special forces. They left behind a wasteland of destroyed buildings, wrecked infrastructure of the facility, with rubble and dead bodies strewn all over. Hundreds of suspected Palestinian militants were detained and terrorists flushed out – as claimed by Israel. Documents recovered by Israeli forces showed the hospital was used as a base to control the northern section of the Gaza Strip, which has largely been destroyed since the start of the ground invasion in October. The Hospital had been turned into a major operating centre by the Palestinian armed groups – Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.

In summary, more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. In the 7th October attack, Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 253 people hostage. Israel has lost 257 soldiers in the combat, with the Israeli military publishing the names of those killed in action in the Gaza War.

Then during the week the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) accidentally killed seven foreign aid workers, including a dual US/Canadian citizen, three Britons as well as team members from Poland and Australia, and their Palestinian driver. They were travelling with a convoy that had just unloaded more than 100 tonnes of food aid brought from overseas, working for the aid charity, World Central Kitchen (WCK). Israel’s military voiced ‘sincere sorrow’ over the incident, which ratcheted up international pressure for steps to ease the disastrous humanitarian situation in Gaza.

In another attack elsewhere, suspected Israeli warplanes bombed a ‘building next to Iran’s Consulate’ in Syria killing the Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy at an Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria – reviving fears of a wider regional conflagration, and setting a dangerous precedent in targeting diplomatic premises.

By the end of the week the United States of America literally threw Israel under the bus, asking it to work on a ceasefire-fire and make a ‘measurable’ plan for ensuring that aid workers and civilians are not harmed in any way.

One thing is sure, by the end of the Israel-Hamas war, Israel would be the masters of ‘Urban Warfare’ given their precise fighting methods; using high-end technology, and keeping loss of civilian life to the barest minimum – a fact not given the respect it truly deserves.

Turkey Spins

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan has been having a fairly untrammelled run of his presidency, over almost two decades. That looks to be in jeopardy when this week Turks dealt President Erdogan and his party their biggest electoral blow in a nationwide local vote. It reasserted the opposition – Republican Peoples Party (CHP)-as a political force and reinforced Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as the President’s chief rival, being re-elected as Mayor by a landslide 51% votes. In capital Ankara, CHP candidate Mansur Yavas, were re-elected by yet another landslide of 60%.

It marked the worst defeat for Erdogan and his AK Party (AKP) in all their years in power, and could signal a change in the country’s divided political landscape. Erdogan called it a ‘turning point’. He and the AKP fared worse than opinion polls predicted due to soaring inflation, dissatisfied Islamist voters and, in Istanbul, Imamoglu’s appeal beyond the CHP’s secular base, analysts said.

Taiwan Shakes

This week, Taiwan was struck by a 7.4 magnitude Earthquake, rocking the whole island and causing several buildings to collapse. The city of Hualien, nearest the epicentre of the earthquake, on the east coast of Taiwan sustained significant damages. Nine people died, more than 900 were injured and about 50 went missing.

The quake hit at a depth of 15.5 km just as people were headed for work and school, setting off a tsunami warning for Southern Japan and the Philippines, that was later lifted.

A magnitude about 7 is considered a major earthquake. And this is Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in at least 25 years.

Finland Shoots

After the long Easter weekend, children had just returned to classes at Viertola School in Vantaa, outside Helsinki, Finland. The school has 800 students from 1 to 9 grade in ages ranging from 7 to 16. Then, in a 6th grade classroom, a 12-year-old boy, of the school, suddenly opened fire with a handgun, killing one and wounding two others. He fled the scene, by walk, but was later caught by the police. The suspect had a gun licensed to a close relative. Police were quick to arrive at the scene and took charge of the situation. Investigations by the Police revealed that the boy said he was a target of bullying, which was the motive for the attack.

In Finland, children over 15 can obtain licenses to use other people’s firearms. In 2008, an 18-year-old student shot dead six students, the school nurse, and his head teacher in the small town of Jokela; and the following year, another student shot dead nine students and a teacher with a semi-automatic rifle at a polytechnic in the western town of Kauhajoki.

Finland is widely known a country of hunters and gun enthusiasts and has 430,000 license gun owners in a population of about 5.6 million. There is no limit to the number of guns one can own.

Scotland Speaks – No Hate

This week a new law against hate speech came into force in Scotland, United Kingdom. The legislation was passed by Scottish Parliament three years ago but was delayed by wrangling over its implementation.

The law makes it an offence to stir up hatred with threatening or abusive behaviour, on the basis of characteristics including, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity. The maximum sentence is seven years in prison.

Critics ague that the new Law will have a chilling effect on free speech making people afraid to express their views. ‘Harry Potter’ Author J K Rowling slammed the new Law calling it ‘ludicrous’. The rights of trans women should not come at the expense of those who are born biologically female. “Biological sex is not included as a protected characteristic in the Law despite women bing one of the most abused cohorts in our society”, she wrote in a newspaper article.

India Dances – Democracy

The great India summer, with its blistering heat, in ruling this time of the year, in the backdrop of the Festival of Democracy being celebrated across the country. In the run-up to General Elections -the world’s largest electoral exercise -beginning on 19 April and ending on 1 June 2024, the campaigning is on a high-pitch. Opinion polls have improved their scores to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) giving it almost 400 Members of Parliament (MPs – along with partners) out of a possible 543, in a third consecutive win. The BJP’s slogan for the coming election is ‘Abki baar, 400 paar’ (this time, above 400). Recall the BJP’s own tally is 303 in the outgoing Parliament – the 17th Lok Sabha – and with Allies it is 350.

In contrast, the opposition is fragmented, harried by central investigating agencies – suddenly catching-up on their crimes. And seems unable to stitch together a coherent narrative on key issues like unemployment, electoral bonds and farmers’ discontent, which could put the Government on the mat.

Late in the week the Congress, which has a hopeless chance of returning to power, released its Election Manifesto, which was described as only capable of doing two things: one, break India on caste lines; and two, bankrupt India on freebies.

The Southern States of India, which send 130 MPs are the laggards in joining the BJP’s dance party, but new winds seem to be blowing strongly, especially in the State of Tamil Nadu. The BJP’s State President, K Annamalai, 39, an Engineer, a former Indian Police Service Officer, and an Indian Institute of Management graduate is creating waves with his blunt straight talk and aggressive posturing. People find him relatable and are coalescing around him, for a change from the parochial control of the regional Dravidian Parties.

In New Delhi, the Chief Minister of the Union Territory, Arvind Kejriwal, was arrested after failing to appear for 9 summons by the Enforcement Directorate, and thrown into jail for being complicit in a liquor scam. He joins two other Leaders of his own Party – one is a Deputy Chief Minister- already languishing in jail for almost a year on money laundering charges. He is doing his best to rule from Jail while his wife, wearing a sombre look on national television, is trying to make him appear like a freedom fighter, while the Law looks on. In India, heat is generated from multiple sources and in Indian Politics the wife has a right-of-way once the hubby heads to jail. Then a remote-control begins working from behind bars. Call it the ring and dance of Indian democracy?

World’s Oldest Man Quits

This week, on 4 April, the world’s oldest man, Juan Vicente Perez Mora, of Venezuela, died aged 114 – two months before what would have been his 115th birthday.

Guinness World Records (GWR) confirmed stating: “After living through both World Wars, seeing the invention of Television, and witnessing the landing of a man on the moon, Juan Vicente also survived Covid-19 in 2020.” GWR had awarded Perez Mora the title of the Oldest Man, on 4 February 2022, when he was 112 years and 253 days. This after the previous oldest man, Saturnino de la Fuente Garcia died weeks earlier.

Perez Mora was born on 27 May 1909 in Venezuela, to Euquitio Perez and Edelmira Mora and was living in the Sate of Tachira – bordering Colombia – when he died. He had 11 children-six sons and five daughters– with his wife Ediofina del Rosario Garcia. They were married for 60 years until her death in 1997. He has 42 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 12 great-great-grandchildren.

The next oldest man living is expected to be 112-year-old Gisaburo Sonobe of Japan, pending confirmation of his birth-date before the title can be awarded, according to the Gerontology Research Group.

Mora credited his longevity to, ‘working hard, resting on holidays, going to bed early, drinking a glass of aguardiente (a distilled alcoholic beverage that contains 29-60% alcohol and made from sugarcane -common in South America) every day, loving God, and always carrying him in his heart’.

GWR’s Editor-in-Chief had this to say: “It’s been an honour to recognise and celebrate the incredible long life of Venezuela’s first ever fully authenticated supercentenarian man. Not only was Sr Perez Mora his country’s oldest citizen and the first South American recognised by GWR as the oldest living man, he is now history’s fourth-oldest male whose age has been officially ratified.” He added, “How remarkable to think that we’ve just said goodbye to a man born before Louis Bleriot flew across the English Channel!”

More solid stories coming in the weeks ahead. Live long with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-13

About: the world this week, 24 March 2024 to 30 March 2024: Terror in Russia; the UN finds the ceasefire button; a bridge collapses in Baltimore; the golden boy of crypto heads to jail; and Miss Universe Saudi Arabia.

Everywhere

Last week on Friday night, about 6,200 people had gathered inside the Crocus City Hall, in Moscow’s Krasnogorsk suburb to listen to a rock concert by veteran Soviet-era band Picnic. Then, all of a sudden, four men strode across the concourse and opened fire on the public, before re-arming and entering the hall. Crowds of people began screaming and running in panic as the gunmen burst in, began firing indiscriminately inside the auditorium, and set it alight. Many took cover behind their seats. At least 133 people were killed and more than 140 injured. Later, the dead toll rose to 139, with 182 people wounded. This is the deadliest attack inside Russia, in two decades. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the gruesome act.

President Vladimir Putin pledged to track down and punish those behind the attack. And the next day, Russia arrested all four gunmen suspected of carrying out the shooting. The four men of Tajik origin were remanded in custody on terrorism charges at Moscow’s Basmanny District Court. Three others, also of Tajik origin, were remanded in custody on suspicion of complicity. “We know that the crime was carried out by the hand of radical Islamists with an ideology that the Muslim world has fought for centuries,” Putin said. He did not directly mention the Islamic State, and repeated his previous assertion that the assailants had been trying to flee to Ukraine, saying there were ‘many questions’ to be examined. He tried his best, though unsuccessfully, to link the terror act to Ukraine.

Later in the week, adopting a belligerent tone, Putin said that Russia has no designs on any NATO country. And will not attack Poland, the Baltic states, or the Czech Republic, but if the West supplies F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine, then they will be shot down by Russian forces.

This week, for the first time, after many failed attempts, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages. Votes in favour were 14, none against, and the United States (US)abstained. Israel stood-up to its stand that the 7 October barbarism of Hamas has not been condemned by the Security Council. On its part, the US seemed to find a fence to sit on – probably the effect of the upcoming Presidential Elections. Israel then offered a deal for a ceasefire linked to release of hostages and swapping of Palestinian prisoners, which was rejected by Hamas. And the stalemate continues, with an attack on Rafah, in Southern Gaza, imminent. How does the UN Resolution get implemented?

This week, a 289 metre long Singapore-flagged Container Vessel, Dali, heading out of Baltimore Harbour in the US, ploughed into a support pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, over the mouth of the Patapsco River, causing the Bridge to collapse. The Vessel was fully-loaded and bound for Sri Lanka, A trestled section of the 2.6 km span almost immediately crumpled into the icy water, sending vehicles and people into the river. The ship reported a power failure before impact, and had radioed for tugboat help, which enabled officials to stop traffic on the bridge before the collapse. On experiencing a momentary loss of propulsion, Dali had immediately dropped anchors as part of emergency procedures.

Six workers were missing and presumed dead, forcing the closure of one of the busiest ports on the US Eastern Seaboard. All 22 crew members aboard the vessel were accounted for. With dive teams facing increasingly treacherous conditions in the darkened, wreckage-strewn waters, active search-and-rescue operations were suspended about 18 hours after the accident. However, later on Wednesday, divers recovered the remains of two of the six workers missing since the crumbling bridge tossed them into the water.

The Baltimore bridge serves as the main thoroughfare for motorists driving between New York and Washington seeking to avoid downtown Baltimore. It is one of three ways to cross the harbour, with a traffic volume of 31,000 vehicles per day. Experts say that the Scott Key Bridge built in 1976, as a traffic artery over the Harbour, lacked structural engineering redundancies common to newer spans, making it more vulnerable to a catastrophic collapse.

Besides impacts on auto shipments, the closure of Baltimore Port could force shippers to divert Baltimore-bound cargo from containers to bulk material. It could create bottlenecks and increase delays and costs on the Eastern seaboard. The economic fallout could be staggering. The Port handles more automobile and farm equipment freight than any other in the country, as well as container freight and bulk goods ranging from sugar to coal. The US Transportation Department said the 8,000 jobs are ‘directly associated’ with port operations, which generate USD 2 million a day in wages. Still, economists and logistics experts doubted the port closure would trigger a major US supply chain crisis or significant spike in the price of goods, due to ample capacity at rival shipping hubs along the East Coast. The collapse has created a traffic quagmire as well for Baltimore and the surrounding region.

The Baltimore Bridge disaster could be the worst US bridge collapse since 2007, when the I-35W bridge (Bridge 9340) in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people. The I-35W Bridge was not hit by a container ship, but experienced a catastrophic failure during the evening rush hour due to a design flaw in the bridge.

The Baltimore Vessel, Dali, has some history, being involved in an incident in the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016, hitting a quay as it tried to exit the North Sea container terminal. Old habits die hard?

Estimates on rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge could be anywhere from 18 months to several years, while the cost could be at least USD 400 million, or twice as much.

This week, a US Court Judge sentenced crypto’s former golden boy, Sam Bankman-Fried, (SBF) to 25 years in prison for defrauding investors. A jury found SBF guilty last year of stealing over USD 8 billion from FTX – Futures Exchange cryptocurrency, founded by SBF – customers to pay for his other crypto company, Alameda Research. Sam Bankman’s sentencing is far shorter than the 40 to 50 years prosecutors asked for. Still, this marks an end to one of the largest fraud cases in US history…for now. SBF plans to appeal, but said, “at the end of the day, my useful life is probably over now”.

This marked the culmination of the former billionaire wonder-kid’s dramatic downfall from an ultra-wealthy entrepreneur and major political donor, to the biggest trophy, to date, in a crackdown by US Authorities on malfeasance in cryptocurrency markets.

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate, Sam Bankman-Fried rode a boom in the values of Bitcoin and other digital assets to a net worth of USD 26 billion, according to Forbes magazine, before he turned 30.

SBF became known for his mop of unkempt curly hair and commitment to a movement called ‘effective altruism’, which encourages talented young people to focus on earning money and giving it away to worthy causes. He was one of the biggest contributors to Democratic candidates and causes, before the 2022 US Midterm elections. SBF also donated to Republicans through ‘straw’ donors to hide his involvement.

The judge called SBF’s efforts to present himself as a ‘good guy’ an act, adding, ‘the goal was power and influence’. SBF has been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since August 2023, when the Judge revoked his bail after finding he likely tampered with witnesses at least twice. The Judge said he would recommend Sam Bankman-Fried be sent to a prison close to San Francisco.

In a historic first, Saudi Arabia is sending a 27-years-old model and social media influencer Rumy al-Qahtani to participate in the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant to be held in Mexico this September. This is a pathbreaking step and the conservative, ‘fully covered’, Kingdom moves towards opening-up on more reforms of women’s rights. It was indeed a revelation to see photos of the model in a strapless sequinned gown. I would say Saudi Arabia is exporting raw ‘desert heat’.

Rumy al-Qahtani is only the second woman from the Gulf region to participate in the pageant, following in the footsteps of Miss Universe Bahrain, Lujane Yacoub, who took part in the event in 2023.

Qahtani is a beauty pageant veteran who actively shares her journey with her over one million followers. She was crowned Miss Saudi Arabia in 2021 and also won the Miss Middle East and Miss Arab World Peace titles. She has a degree in dentistry and speaks fluent Arabic, French, and English. And she surely has those hot looks!

Over the past five years, woman’s rights have blossomed in Saudi Arabia: allowing them, to drive, to become ambassadors, bank directors, university administrators and even astronauts. Saudi Scientist Rayyanah Barnawi took part in a mission to the International Space Station in May last year.

In April 2018, women were allowed to attend a concert – the first gender mixed event; in June 2018, Saudi lifted the long-standing ban on women driving; in the same year Saudi relaxed the dress code for women, removing the mandate to wear the abaya – a long loose garment that usually has a black headscarf or niqab – in public. It also removed the discriminatory practice of firing women from their workplace for pregnancy. In 2019, a law was passed, that longer required women to get male permission to travel or obtain a passport. That’s a lot of beautiful things done to women!

Overall, Saudi Arabia is beginning to climb out of its abysmal record of protecting and promoting women’s rights. But, looking at stories across the world, sometimes you wonder whether many other countries are becoming more Saudi Arabia, while Saudi Arabia itself is becoming less Saudi Arabia!

More stories will be un-covered in the weeks ahead. Stay beautiful and drive fearlessly with World Inthavaaram.

This is my Blog where I essay stories on life about and around me, on subjects that stir and shake me up, as I turn, and make life's pages count: hoping to inspire you to live your own story!

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