Tag: ChessOlympiad

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-39

About: the world this week, 22 September to 28 September 2024: A new war front; Sri Lanka’s new President; India sparkles; and sweeps the Chess Olympiad.

Everywhere

A New War Front

A new front has certainly opened, in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, with Hamas’ partner-in-crime, the Iran-backed Hezbollah, operating out of Lebanon, being surgically attacked by Israel. This, takes off from last week’s Pager-attack on Hezbollah, when over 1500 militants were severely impaired – blinded, or body parts severely damaged.

Israel destroyed hundreds of Hezbollah targets on Monday in airstrikes, which killed at least 300 people in Lebanon’s deadliest day in decades. After some of the heaviest cross-border exchanges of fire since the hostilities began, Israel warned people in Lebanon to evacuate areas where it said the militant Hezbollah was storing weapons. After almost a year of war against Hamas in Gaza on its southern border, Israel is shifting its focus to its northern frontier, from where Hezbollah has been relentlessly firing rockets into Israel, in support of Hamas, since 8th October 2024. And towards the end of the week, Israel called for its Reserves to join the fighting.

Over the week, every day you read about some Hezbollah Commander being taken down in a precision strike-somewhere in Beirut. On Friday, Israeli hit the main headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut: remains to be seen if its head is alive or at least scratched!

Sri Lanka: Recovering

Two years ago, in the year 2022, Sri Lanka’s economy collapsed plunging the country into its worst financial crisis in decades, and causing unprecedented upheaval. What followed was lethal unrest, with unruly crowds going on a mass rampage across the country. This eventually led to the ruling Rajapaksa family giving-up power-fleeing the country-and Ranil Wickremesinghe hurriedly being sworn in as acting President, to bring the economy back on track. He then went on to being formally elected, by Parliament, in a secret ballot-winning 134 to 82-to serve the remainder of the Rajapaksa Presidential term, which was to end this November 2024.

In the two years that followed, Sri Lanka’s economy made an unexpectedly rapid recovery under Wickremesinghe’s astute management and belt-tightening measures. After securing an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the currency stabilised, the central bank rebuilt foreign-exchange reserves, and inflation fell to singled digits. By the first half of 2024, the economy had grown by 5%. The government successfully restructured its domestic debt, followed by a restructuring of its bilateral debt, i.e., government-to-government loans mostly from China, but also from India and Western counties, including the United States. Just days before the current election, an agreement was reached with international bondholders to re-configure the remaining sovereign debt.

The hard and ‘dirty’ work done, in August 2024, President Wickremesinghe called for Elections to the Presidency, announcing that he himself would run for re-election as an independent candidate. Despite the stupendous achievements in the most trying of times, Wickremesinghe was eliminated at the end of the first phase of vote counting in the Presidential Elections held late last week. He finished third with only 17.26% of the vote. And was overtaken by both Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. Wickremesinghe’s unpopularity stemmed largely from the harsh, but necessary, austerity measures implemented under the IMF-backed stabilisation program.

As no candidate could secure a majority in the polls, the elections moved to the second phase of preferential vote counting, where only two leading candidates remain in the competition. Under the electoral system, voters cast three preferential votes for their chosen candidates. If no candidate wins 50% in the first count, a second tally determines the winner between the top two candidates, using the preferential votes cast.

This week, on Sunday, Sri Lankans finally elected Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake,55 – popularly known by his initials, AKD – as the new President, putting faith in his pledge to fight corruption and bolster a fragile economic recovery. He was sworn-in as Sri Lanka’s ninth President, by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, early this week. And he quickly named party colleague, College Professor and first-time lawmaker Harini Amarasuriya as the new Prime Minister. Sri Lanka has an ‘executive Presidency’ with the President being in-charge of running the country.

AKD heads both the National People’s Power (NPP) alliance, and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and won the run-off in the second round of counting of preferential votes. It was the first time in Sri Lanka’s history that the presidential race was decided by a second tally of votes.

Dissanayake led from start to finish during the counting, knocking out incumbent President Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. At the end of the first round, AKD had 42.31 % of the vote, and Premadasa 32.76%. A count of the second preference votes took Dissanayake past the required 50% plus, for a clear victory.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s rise to the presidency in Sri Lanka as a candidate of the NPP coalition is nothing short of unalloyed magic. Dissanayake has been JVP’s leader since 2014, and the party has participated in two parliamentary elections under his leadership. In 2015 it secured 4.8% of the vote share, and in 2020, the JVP alliance secured 3.8% of the vote. In the 2019 presidential election he had secured a mere 3.2%.

AKD’s popularity probably has an oblique explanation: the COVID19 pandemic and the poor management of resources by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after 2019 pushed an unprecedented number of Sri Lankans into poverty. AKD, as the head of the JVP presented himself to the people as a politician who spoke their lingo, understood their problems, and empathised with them. With his pro-working class stance and sharp critique of the political elite he captivated the hearts and minds of Sri Lankan masses, more so after the important role the JVP played in the 2022 protests that toppled the Rajapaksa regime.

However, for Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, AKD’s election offers little hope. During the campaign AKD rejected devolving more power to the Tamils living in the North and East. And investigating incidents during the civil war- which saw the elimination of the Tamil Tigers-that United Nations investigators said could amount to war crimes. Tens of thousands of Tamil civilians had died during the final months of the defeat of the LTTE – Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

But AKD’s coalition, the NPP, has just 3 of 225 seats in the current Parliament, prompting him to dissolve Parliament to seek a fresh mandate-this week the new President did just that- and cleared the way for a snap general election. The parliamentary election will be held on 14th November 2024, and the new Parliament is scheduled to convene on 21st November. The last general election in Sri Lanka was held in August 2020. Lawmakers are elected for a five-year term.

Rooted in Marxist ideology, the JVP was founded in the 1960s with the aim of seizing power through a socialist revolution. But after two failed armed and bloody attempts in 1971 and 1987-89, which resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of lives- a dark phase-the party shifted toward democratic politics and has remained so, for over three decades. The election results is the first major win for the JVP. It also heralds a new era for the party, which has radically transformed itself and let go of its extreme left ideologies such as the abolition of private property.

Until this election, the JVP remained a minor third party in Sri Lanka’s political landscape. While power alternated between the alliances led by the two traditional political parties – the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party – or their descendant parties.

Unlike most of Sri Lanka’s past Presidents, Dissanayake was not born into a political family. Instead, his is an agricultural background; while his father was a low-level office worker. Dissanayake was the first student in his school to go to university. But AKD is no outsider. He was first elected to parliament in 2001 and has remained an MP since then. He even had a stint as Agriculture Minister between February 2004 and June 2005, besides other positions in Parliament. I reckon he has enough experience to count upon.

AKD is married to Mallika Dissanayake and has one son.

India: Hugs, Chips, Cuts, and Washes

India’s Prime Minister returned from a trip to the United States where he hugged President Biden, among others, and participated in the QUAD Summit: the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue- a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States that is maintained by talks between member countries.

US President Joe Biden hosted the QUAD leaders in his hometown of Wilmington for what could be the final meeting of the Indo-Pacific partnership established during his presidency.

True to call, Biden went blank immediately after his speech as he couldn’t remember who to call next for the address. “So I want to thank you all for being here. And now, who am I introducing next?” Biden asked after completing his speech. After a brief and awkward pause, Biden asked again, “Who’s next?” clearly snapping at one of the staff.

Meanwhile, in one of the most consequential outcomes of the Indian PM’s US visit, was the agreement between the US Space Force and two Indian startups Bharat Semi and 3rdiTech to manufacture semiconductors in India for the US and Indian armed forces. That’s a landmark achievement.

3rdiTech is India’s pioneer and exclusive Imaging Sensor Fabless Company. It’s India’s solution for specialised chips that power camera systems, from mobile phone cameras to rearview cameras in automobiles; from Earth observation satellites and fighter aircraft observation systems to specific advanced missiles. Essentially, every camera worldwide relies on these image sensor chips. Much like semiconductor giants, Qualcomm and ARM, 3rdiTech operates as a fabless company, focusing on chip design while not manufacturing them. 3rdiTech excels in crafting custom chips, also known as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), tailored for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) purposes. 3rdiTech has now emerged as a significant player in the aerospace sector.

Vrinda Kapoor the CEO of 3rdiTech put it this way, contrary to popular belief that semiconductor manufacturing is the most valuable sector, the real power lies in owning the intellectual property for chip design.

A fabless company is a semiconductor company that designs and markets semiconductors, but outsources their fabrication to a third party. The term ‘fabless’ is a combination of the words ‘fab’ (fabrication) and ‘less’.

In shocking, unsettling news in India, a 29-year-old woman was found murdered in her home in Bengaluru, with her body dismembered into close to 50 pieces and stored in a refrigerator. The case has parallels to the gruesome murder of 27-year-old Shraddha Walkar in Delhi in 2022. Investigations are ongoing.

The Lord Venkateshwara Tirupathi Laddu Prasadam controversy continued to dominate headlines with some celebrities shooting their mouths off with unwarranted, insensitive comments. And believers rushing to call them out. This week, the Temple was literally washed-off the effects of animal fat being used in making the Laddus, and ‘purity restored’.

Chess Olympiad: India Triumphs

In a golden moment for India, its men and women’s teams won Gold Medals in the 45th Chess Olympiad organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), for the first time, in Budapest, Hungary, from 10 to 23 September. A record-breaking 188 teams in the Open Section and 169 in the Women’s competition gathered in the Hungarian capital to do battle on the Chess Board.

India took home all 3 trophies: the Hamilton-Russell Cup, for winning the Open Chess Olympiad; the Vera Menchik Cup for winning the Women’s Olympiad; and the Gaprindashvili Cup, a special trophy awarded for the best combined result in the Open and Women’s sections.

The men’s team of Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Harikrishna Pentala, with Srinath Narayanan as the captain, consistently led throughout the tournament, winning 10 matches and drawing just one. Before the last round, India was 2 points ahead of China: and in the final round, India just needed a draw to clinch the gold medal, or for China not to win their match. However, India bulldozed the Chess Board with a win, defeating Slovenia.

Gukesh played outstanding chess and had a phenomenal tournament, scoring 9 points in 10 games and earning the individual gold medal on the Top Board. Arjun Erigaisi was another hero scoring 10 points in 11 games and winning individual gold on Board Three. Both significantly improved their FIDE ratings and are close to clearing the 2800 bar – a notable achievement in Chess.

Not to be left behind, India’s women’s team had a very strong start, leading the event after 7 rounds, having won all their matches. They stumbled in round 8, losing to Poland and then drawing with Team USA, but made a strong finish. Going into the final round, India was tied for the first position with Kazakhstan, and the race for the Gold medal was down to the wire

The team of Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali (sister of the Praggnanandhaa – of the men’s team), Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Tania Sachdev, with Abhijit Kunte as the captain, demonstrated excellent composure and delivered, winning the final match against Azerbaijan At the same time, Kazakhstan drew with the USA, 2-2, making India the sole winners of the event.

18-year-old Divya Deshmukh, a new addition to the team, was unstoppable throughout the event. She played all games, scored 9.5 points, and secured the crucial victory in the final match. The Individual gold on Board Three was a well-deserved award for her.

The fight for silver and bronze medals was fierce in both sections. Five teams tied for second place. In the Open Section, Team USA, the event’s rating favourite, defeated China in a hard-fought final round to join them at 17 points. Defending champions Uzbekistan narrowly beat France, Serbia triumphed over Ukraine, and Armenia narrowly defeated Iran, all to join the pack at 17 points. The tiebreaks favoured the USA, which claimed silver, and Uzbekistan, took home the bronze.

In the women’s section, Kazakhstan delivered a strong performance throughout the event, fighting for gold until the very end, and ultimately claimed silver. Four teams – USA, Spain, Armenia, and Georgia – tied for third place, but the tiebreaks favoured USA, which claimed the bronze medal.

In the end there was one Super Mom, ‘filled with teeth’ and smiling from ear-to-ear, Nagalakshmi: the mother of superstars Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali. She was the cynosure of all eyes! When asked how she wishes to celebrate the ‘twin victory’ she said, “I’m going to the Temple”. There is a God waiting.

Chess great, Garry Kasparov called Team India, ‘Vishy’s Children’ referring to India’s Chess Superstar, Vishwanathan Anand, who has been a mighty inspiration in Indian Chess.

More winning stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Celebrate with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-29 to 33

About: the stories of the world, this week – weeks between 17 July and 20 August bundled-up as one.

I had been on a work and writing break travelling to London during the last week of July & early August to spent quality time with my son living and working in the United Kingdom. And this is an attempt to bring my weekly World Inthavaaram ‘up-to-week’.

Everywhere

School Burns, and a Flight

While I was eyeing the Anna Airport at Chennai to lift me off to London’s Heathrow, I had to drive through Kaniyamoor, near Chinnasalem in Kallakurichi, Tamil Nadu. On 13 July 22, a 17 years old girl, studying in Class 12 at the Sakthi Matriculation School Group-The ECR International CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) School, was found dead in the hostel premises. The girl boarding in a hostel room on the third floor was suspected to have died by suicide by jumping to the ground from her floor, late in the night. The fallen girl was spotted by the school watchman, who then rushed her to the Kallakurichi Government Hospital, but was declared brought dead. The girl is said to have left behind a suicide note saying that she was driven to the decision due to torture and harassment by two teachers, who pushed her to study harder!

The cause of death mentioned in the autopsy report was multiple injuries and haemorrhage. However, the girl’s family contested the finding saying that her death could not be suicide. In a complaint to police, the family said that she had sustained injuries prior to her death and was sexually assaulted; they held the school management responsible and refused to take possession of the body for a burial until it was investigated. This led to a hot, simmering situation.

Then events took a violent turn, when hundreds of people- mostly youngsters and juveniles – suddenly appeared like ants from an anthill. They swarmed into the school and began damaging property, burning school buses, and setting fire to class rooms and documents. The local police was found wanting, sleeping on the job, and when they woke up, the School Campus was found transformed into a war zone. A few arrests followed. And the case is under investigation. Who started the fire?

After a non-stop over 10 hours flight, on landing in the United Kingdom, I found London’s Heathrow Airport charming; Immigration was a breeze – lightening fast – compared to the long queues on departure and arrival at Chennai. I had read about the horrific chaos at Heathrow and was prepared for the worst, but was pleasantly surprised with the silk-like smoothness in Terminal 5.

A New President and Vice President for India

India commissioned a new President, its 15th, and celebrated the elevation of Droupadi Murmu, 64, as the first Indian President from a tribal community -one of the lowest rungs of Indian society – on 25 July 22. She took over from outgoing President, Ram Nath Kovind.

President Droupadi Murmu is the first person from the State of Odisha to hold the Office and the first President, to be born after Independence. That’s a lot of firsts! I am not aware of any other major nation with an indigenous woman leader. The world should bow in respect!

Meanwhile, a new Vice President of India – its 14th – Jagdeep Dhankhar, 71, hailing from the Sate of Rajasthan was inaugurated on 11 August 2022. He took over from outgoing Vice-President, Venkaiah Naidu.

Jagdeep Dhankhar was formerly a Governor of the ‘tough unruly State’ of West Bengal and also a Supreme Court Lawyer. He will need all these skills and much more: to manage and control debates as Chairman of the Upper House of Parliament – The Rajya Sabha-through which nearly all Bills, made by the Government in the Lower House, pass through before becoming Law.

Both, the President and the Vice President are candidates put-up by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and they won the elections on a cool jog, leaving the Opposition at the starting-blocks, with their tails firmly between their legs.

Monkeypox

Over two weeks ago, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a public health emergency, which means that without a coordinated international response, this could escalate into a pandemic. How did we get here?

Monkeypox has been around since at least the 1970s. But it has largely stayed confined to Central and West Africa. That all changed in the past months, when cases started popping up around the world. There are now more than 20,000 recorded cases in over 70 countries. And together 10 countries account for 89% of the world’s cases, including the United States – 5175 cases, Spain -4298, Germany -2677, the United Kingdom-2546, France-1955, Brazil-1369, the Netherlands-879, Canada-803, Portugal-633, and Italy-479.

We are just beginning to heave a sigh of relief on the slowly, but surely, diminishing COVID19 pandemic and now this one is poking us!

Straight to Taiwan

While all this was happening, the water in the Taiwan Strait reached boiling point and many fish felt out of water. The United States (US) House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a daring visit to Taiwan despite China trying its darnedest in preventing the visit. But, why?

Taiwan is a self-governing democracy, which China claims as its own territory. Nancy Pelosi is the highest-ranking US political person to visit Taiwan since 1997. China blew hot and cold, throwing all kinds of temper tantrums and warnings, including moving its Navy Fleet near to Taiwan, conducting war-time exercises and military drills in the Strait between China and Taiwan. It even test-firing missiles from mainland China. For a moment we thought of another ‘Russia like special operation in Ukraine’ developing in Taiwan. But then, Nancy did it, and in time was followed by another US Delegation for business-as-usual. Last heard was China’s endless growl.

Thambi’s Chess Olympiad

India hosted the 44th Chess Olympiad at Chennai between 28 July and 9 August 2022, with Thambi (younger brother – dhoti & shawl clad with a chess-horse head) as a mascot at the Convention Centre of Four Points by Sheraton in Mahabalipuram, near Chennai. The Opening and Closing Ceremony was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai: they showcased the fabulous, rich and expansive culture of India played on a Chess Board, and the performances were like none before in a Chess Olympiad. And this is the first Chess Olympiad ever to take place in India.

Initially, the State Government of Tamil Nadu ran a parochial black & white campaign with only the State’s Chief Minister’s photograph on the posters, but was forced by the Courts to include that of the Prime Minister (and President). Well, that was obvious, wonder how they missed it, wearing dark glasses indoors has an effect on sight?

The Chess Olympiad is organised by the Federation International Des Eches (FIDE) or the World Chess Federation, which consists of Open and Women’s Tournaments as well as several events designed to promote the game of Chess. It was originally planned to be held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia; later moved to Moscow and scheduled in August 2020. But was yet again postponed due to COVID19, and finally relocated to Chennai following the start of the Russian-Ukraine War.

FIDE has been in the business of organising World Chess Championships since 1948.

A total of 1737 participants moved their pieces in the Open and 800 in the Women’s Events. Registered teams were 188 from 186 nations in the Open and 162 from 160 nations in the Women’s.

Oliwia Kiolbasa of Poland was adjudged the best individual player in the Women’s Event. And David Howell of England was best individual player in the Open Event.

Commonwealth Games: Wealth of Medals for India

India is fast sprinting to becoming a great sporting nation, spike marks of which were visible in the 22nd Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK, held between 28 July and 8 August 2022, earning a ton of medals. 72 countries participated in the Games.

Australia led the medal rush winning 67 Gold, 57 Silver, and 54 Bronze, Totalling 178. India came fourth with 22 Gold, 16 Silver, and 23 Bronze totalling 61 medals, behind England (176), and Canada (92).

India won its first ever medal in the Lawn Bowls event, after the Women’s Fours team won gold besides many other amazing wins. And finished-off as the best nation in Badminton, Table Tennis, Wrestling, and Weightlifting, and second best in Boxing.

’Think thrice’ before wrestling with India?

Satanic Versus: the Return

Salman Rushdie the Author of the much banned novel, Satanic Verses, had the Satan upon him when Hadi Matar, 24, a Shiite Muslim American of Lebanese descent, stabbed him multiple times in the neck and torso, while beginning to deliver a lecture in New York, United States. He survived to live another day, and will probably write more verses in the years to come.

Indian-born Salman Rushdie spent years in hiding after Iran, under Ayatollah Khomeini, offered a bounty – issued a fatwa- to kill him over his novel ‘The Satanic Verses’, which it termed as blasphemous against Islam and insulting the sacred beliefs of Muslims.

The book follows the tale of two Indian Muslim actors who magically survive a plane hijacking. As they fall from the Sky one of them transforms into Archangel Gabriel while the other morphs into the devil. The book explores dislocation, nature of good and evil, doubt, and the loss of religious faith.

Novelists, Academics, and Journalists who dared criticise or question Islamic beliefs have faced similar treats or condemnation from Islamic religious heads. They are either murdered, arrested, flogged or forced into hiding or exile.

India, under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was the first country to ban the Satanic Verses just nine days after it was published. Those were the hey-days of misadventures by Rajiv Gandhi when he had a brute majority in Parliament and when he overturned a Supreme Court ruling which ordered maintenance to be paid to a divorced Muslim woman, Shah Bano.

India @ 75

India celebrated its 75th Independence Day with the Tricolour (Trianga) flag flying all across the country like never before. People enthusiastically hoisted the national flag atop their homes, business places, and offices. Others flew the flag in their social media profile pictures. And suddenly the flag was visible everywhere. What does the Indian flag mean?

The top most colour Saffron means strength and courage, renunciation and disinterestedness; the middle White means peace and truth, light to guide; and the bottom Green means fertility, growth, and auspiciousness of the land. The central Dharma Chakra, Ashok Chakra, with 24 spokes means the Law of Dharma. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change, which India must not resist and move forward. Life in movement, death is stagnation. It also signifies the Wheel of Duty: 24 religious paths of duty. E.g., the first is Chasity – live a simple life, 2nd is Health…

When India obtained its independence from British Colonial Rule it consisted of about 562 princely states, each with its own army, police, stamps, and currency. It is well known that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel- called the Iron-Man of India, as India’s first Home Minister was singularly responsible for bringing all these States together to unite as the Republic of India.

Behind the iron-man, there is one man, almost forgotten and an unsung Architect of the India integration story, Vappala Pangunni Menon (V P Menon) who dextrously stitched India together, along with Patel. Menon was Vallabhbhai Patel’s chosen Secretary who he personally requested to be allocated to him from the then Civil Services that the British had established and left behind.

Previously, before Independence, Menon had put together a plan for transfer of power to India and Pakistan, furiously drafting it on his typewriter working on a punishing schedule. His plan was the chosen one. And after independence, Menon was hoping to retire into the sunset, but was called to rise to action by Patel.

Vallabhbhai Patel and Menon spent an insane amount of time travelling to the various Indian Kingdoms goading them to fall in line and integrate with India by signing the Instrumentation of Accession Act. They used a carrot-and-stick approach spending over two tortuous years engaging in negotiations with the eccentric princely rulers. While Patel wore the tough face, Menon was the lubricant, mixing subtlety, charm, and even ruthlessness. In about 2 years, 500 princely states dissolved and re-formed as 14 new States of India. The rest, they say, is History.

V P Menon, who had not gone to college, began life as a worker in a gold mine and rose to the top of India’s Civil Service over a period of 37 years. He began his career in the Imperial Bureaucracy as typist, stenographer, and clerk. Menon served as the Constitutional Advisor to the last three Viceroys during British Rule in India, and he was the only Indian in Mountbatten’s inner team. And being in rooms with different personalities and big egos taught him about negotiation and drafting. He learnt, absorbed, and adapted. He famously said, “You can only learn if you start at the bottom”.

After 1947 he faded away from the limelight and received no official honours for the stupendous work he had done. He died aged 75 leaving behind three children from two marriages. His funeral was small and private.

How many of us remember V P Menon? The Statue of Unity misses a companion! With so many statues coming-up all over India why not one for Menon?

The United Kingdom – Now

The race to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has narrowed down to former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and former Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, with the former reported to be a step ahead, on votes. Meanwhile, the outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson is keeping the Conservative Party Seat warm. The new Prime Minister is expected to be announced on 5 September 2022, when the Tories vote for a new Leader.

I’m back!

More colourful stories, sewn together from all over the world, coming-up in the weeks ahead. Live with World Inthavaaram.