Tag: China

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run of events from 1 September to 15th September: the churn and restlessness in the world; Gen Z in Nepal; India pulls up its sleeves; and the passing of fashion designer Armani.

The World on a Spin

The World is definitely spinning-now it seems more on the inside-churning and in a multi-dimensional whirl!

France dived into a political crisis when its Prime Minister (PM) Francois Bayrou was defeated in a confidence vote in the National Assembly: 364 votes against to 194 for. He submitted his government’s resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, who quickly decided to replace him with close ally Sebastien Lecornu. This is France’s seventh PM under Macron, and the fifth in less than two years: a pointer to the disenchantment and full-grown frustration with Macron’s second term.

Lecornu, 39, has spent the past three years as Minister of the Armed Forces focusing on France’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. He has now been given the task of consulting political parties, probably on a war-footing, with the aim of adopting France’s next budget.

In the United Kingdom, the British seem to have taken US Vice-President J D Vance’s words -said in jest-seriously. He joked that Britain could well become the “first truly Islamist country to get a nuclear weapon,” following the Labour Party’s election victory. And with the appointment of a Pro-Palestine rabble-rouser as Home Secretary, along with the climbing incidents of Islamic lawlessness, they are on course to achieving that status. Shabana Mahmood has been appointed new UK Home Secretary, replacing Yvette Cooper following a major Cabinet reshuffle in the Labour-led government, triggered by the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.

Meanwhile, in recent times, Central London has become the stage of many protests. ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, was attended by around 110,000 people. Then there was the ‘Stand Up to Racism’ counter-protest, besides the ever-so-often, running-on-your-screens, pro-Palestine protests.

Looks like it’s back to old assassination ways in the United States of America: the guns were always there; many are finding the trigger more often than before.

Charlie Kirk, 31, a close associate of US President Donald Trump was assassinated on 10th September while on stage at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, for a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event, ‘The American Comeback Tour’. Kirk was fatally shot in the neck, around 20 minutes after the event began, in front of an audience of about 3,000 people.

Charlie was a political activist, author, and media personality. He co-founded the student organisation TPUSA in 2012, which caters to conservative youth on American university campuses and was its Executive Director. He was one of the most prominent voices of the populist MAGA movement and exemplified the growth of Christian nationalism in the Republican Party. He leaves behind two young kids and his wife Erika Kirk who pledged to keep his legacy alive.

The suspect, Tyler Robinson, 22 was arrested for the killing, turned in by his own father, to who he admitted the crime. This, after the father saw released photos of the suspect and confirmed that was it was his son. It is said that despite a good upbringing, Tyler Robinson was radicalised ‘in a fairly short amount of time’. Tyler is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College, Utah Valley University, where Kirk was killed.

On the same day, 10th September Indian origin Chandra Nagamallaiah was brutally beheaded in a Dallas Motel by an undocumented immigrant, an illegal alien from Cuba, Yordanis Cobos Martinez, in front of his wife and son. The gruesome act took place at the Downtown Suites Motel in Dallas where Chandra Nagamallaiah and Cobos-Martinez were workers. Nagamallaiah had approached Cobos-Martinez and a female colleague while they were cleaning a room, telling them not to use a broken washing machine. Cobos-Martinez became enraged as Nagamallaiah had asked the female colleague to translate what he was saying instead of addressing him directly. Cobos-Martinez left the room, pulled out a machete ‘from his person’ and launching the assault. Nagamallaiah ran through the motel’s car park screaming for help, but the suspect chased him down and struck him repeatedly.

In late August Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was killed on a train at the East/West Boulevard light rail station on the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte, North Carolina. Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who had fled her country because of the Russian invasion, was fatally stabbed. Her assailant, Decarlos Brown Jr., was arrested upon exiting the train and charged with first-degree murder. The 34-year-old Brown was arrested 14 times before the stabbing; he was convicted of breaking and entering. While on probation, he was arrested for armed robbery. And was incarcerated for more than five years in state prison

What’s happening in the United States of America?

Generation Z (Gen Z) is the generation born in the late 1990s or the early 21st century, perceived as being familiar with the use of digital technology, the internet, and social media from a very young age.

It was student and youth-led, Generation Z’s simmering churn in Sri Lanka some time ago, which spread to Bangladesh and leaders of both countries flying-out to escape the fury of the mobs. This time it was the turn of Nepal.

Nepal is in the grip of its worst political turmoils in decades after Gen Z led protests over a social media ban erupted and transformed into a nationwide uprising against corruption and entrenched political leadership. At least 70 people have been killed in clashes with security forces, which appears to have ignited latent fury. Demonstrators scorched the streets, torched the homes of senior leaders, and stormed (burnt it as well) Parliament leading to the resignation of the Prime Minister.

In events leading to the chaos, Nepal banned social media sites, including Facebook and Instagram, after they did not register with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. A notice said social media giants are given a week to register with the government, starting 28th August. But none, Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Alphabet (YouTube), X, Reddit, and LinkedIn – had submitted applications, by the deadline.

The number of Facebook users in Nepal can be put at around 13.5 million, and Instagram at around 3.6 million. Many rely on social media for their business. As the social media platforms went down in Nepal, those affected started protesting. The demonstrations against social media ban then snowballed into an anti-corruption protest.

There have been a series of corruption scams and allegations against high-ranking political leaders in Nepal, with little action taken and hardly anyone brought to book. Another factor is the ‘Nepo kids’ phenomenon. The children of political leaders flaunted their wealth and lavish lifestyles, which fuelled resentment among young people.

The turmoil appears to have subsided for the moment, with the ‘social media’ selection of former Chief Justice Mrs Sushila Karki, as interim Prime Minister. Karki took the oath of office after an agreement with protest leaders from the Gen Z movement. Nepal’s newly-appointed interim PM says she will be in the post for no longer than six months. “I did not wish for this job. It was after voices from the streets that I was compelled to accept,” Sushila Karki said, speaking for the first time since being sworn into office on Friday. She said she would hand over to the new government which will emerge after elections on 5th March, next year. Incidentally, Karki’s husband, Durga Prasad Subedi, is a Nepalese democracy fighter, author, and politician who was one of the three youth wing leaders of the Nepali Congress involved in the 1973 Royal Nepal Airlines DHC-6 hijacking. We sure have a potboiler in Nepal.

In keeping with the ‘World tempo’ the other two ‘good old wars’ have become a part of everyday life. Russia continues slamming Ukraine with gunfire, and Israel is working hard on its plan to take full control of Gaza City. Israel says it has over 40% of the city under its control.

On 8th September six people were killed on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the shooting. In a lightening response, on 9th September, Israel make a tactical surgical strike on Hamas’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar, targeting the Hamas leadership based in the city, which was getting together for a meeting. The usual noises of violating international law, sovereignty, were made by Qatar, Saudi Arabia… and of course the decaying United Nations.

India

Thanks to US President Donal Trump’s belligerent stance on Tariffs, India began hugging the Russian Bear and kissing the Chinese Dragon to counter the draconian measures. And then, there is also no denying the ‘nudge’ to become self-reliant.

Russia has always been a friend-through thick and thin times; China is different with ‘bone-of-contention’ border issues, often drawing blood. Maybe, India’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have read the story from the Epic Mahabharata and are following through. The story is narrated by Bhishma to Yudhishthira, to illustrate the principle of forming temporary, self-interested, mutually-beneficial Alliances, during times of crisis. It goes like this.

In a large forest, there lived a Rat in a hole at the base of a Banyan Tree, while a Cat lived on the Tree. One day, the Rat ventured out of its hole only to bump into the Cat. Rats being a traditional meal for cats, the Rat, in question, sought to quickly dart away, but was stopped on its tracks by the Cat. “Let’s be friends”, said the Cat. “No” said the Rat, “how is that possible with rats being something cats always eat for dinner?” Meanwhile, a Hunter in the Forest set a trap-spreading a net under the tree-to trap birds and animals for his dinner, and the Cat got caught in it. Hearing its cries, the Rat came out of its hole. “Help Me”, cried the Cat, bite the net with your strong teeth and release me before the Hunter arrives. I promise I will not attempt to eat you”. About this time, an Owl and a Mongoose arrived on the scene and the Rat was rattled. It proposed a deal to the Cat, “Allow me to hide in your fur until the ‘clear and present danger’ passes and then I shall release you from the net”. All right, said the Cat and allowed the Rat to hide in its fur while the Owl and Mongoose went their own ways. When the Rat got out, the Cat asked it to gnaw the net and release him, as promised. “I’ll do it, said the Rat, but at a time of my choosing as you can still hunt me down for a meal. I will release you just before the Hunter arrives so that both of us have enough time to escape and we have no other motive other than saving ourselves. And you will be fully focussed on escaping without bothering to eat me”. The Rat did just that – the Hunter lost his meal. Thereafter, the Cat and the Rat went their separate ways.

India should treat China like the Rat treated the Cat. Enjoy the ‘alliance’ for mutual benefit, but be wary of China’s Dragon Fire. China cannot be trusted – at least at the Borders.

India’s Epics, especially the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are a cornucopia of knowledge- ‘the distilled essence of solutions’ to problems plaguing mankind. They are waiting to be read, understood, and applied sensibly in today’s context. Did not someone say, ‘Old is Gold’?

US President Donald Trump’s rant was typical, “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together”. Thanks for your attention to the matter? He seems to have mellowed down later and began making overtures of India. No love lost?

Meanwhile, there is another Politician in India’s Tamil Nadu: the Opposition Leader Edappadi Palanisamy who is fighting to hold his Party (AIADMK) together with fragments falling off. Maybe he needs to pay attention to the cat & rat matter?

Goods & Services Tax (GST)

India’s PM promised a deluge of tax reliefs in the form of ‘Next Generation GST Reforms’ during his 15th August, Independence Day Address: seems to have worked it out beforehand. On 3rd September the GST Council met and unanimously accepted a two-tier tax structure of 5% and 18% plus a topping of 40% for ‘Sin Goods’. Many items were pushed down to the 5% slab and 18 % slabs from the previous 12% and 24% slabs respectively. There was cheers all-around and Industry had an ear-to-ear grin. Now they must pass-on the benefit to the common-man. A stellar achievement was the 18% GST on health Insurance was made ‘Nil’ on a quite vociferous demand through the year.Ouch, that hurt. I had just renewed my Health Insurance paying over 10,000 as GST!

Vice President of India

India got itself a new Vice President, C P Radhakrishnan, who took oath on 12 September. In the Vice Presidential elections he secured 452 votes for a maximum possible 437 votes of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Of the 767 votes cast votes, 15 were invalid votes and the opposition candidate secured 300 votes – of a possible 315.

ARMANI

Legendary, iconic, Italian designer Giorgio Armani, a master of style and elegance who reimagined fashion for a modern audience, died on 4 September 2025 at the ripe ‘unfashionable’ age of 91. Armani was indefatigable, driven by relentless curiosity and a deep attention to the present, and to people. He is regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern fashion forever changing the way people think about clothes, something that most fashion designers rarely accomplish. Armani leaves behind one of the most successful business empires in fashion history. The superlatives are deadly.

Armani elevated red carpet fashion to the aura of brightness we see it today. He was the first to ban underweight models-of Body Mass Index (BMI) under 18- from the runway, after model Ana Carolina Reston starved herself to death due to anorexia nervosa, in 2006.

The Armani Fashion House diversified and expanded from fashion into an empire spanning beauty, fragrance, music, sport, and even luxury hotels, earning billions of dollars a year.

Armani revolutionised fashion in the 1970s with minimalist, deconstructed silhouettes (intentionally unfinished), embodied in his famous soft jackets and unstructured suits. He transformed masculine and feminine elegance into a contemporary, sober and sophisticated form. He loosened the restrictions of stiffer styles of suit wear, helping to make men wearing suits feel sophisticated while empowering women in formal settings such as work. In summary, he reinvented the suit: softened menswear making it more sensual and hardened womenswear.

Armani was born in Piacenza, Northern Italy, in July 1934. He was one of three children. His father worked as an accountant. His family’s comfortable middle-class lifestyle was destroyed by the war. He endured a difficult childhood, when there wasn’t very much food on the table, and his mother had a difficult time feeding the children. Going back, his earliest memory was hunger. And he recalled playing with unexploded artillery shells in the street, until one suddenly went off: which severely burnt him, and a close friend was killed.

As a young man, Armani drifted. In 1956, he began a medicine degree, but dropped out after three years, and joined the Army. Swiftly tiring of life in the military, he found a job as a window dresser at La Rinascente – a department store in Milan – where he moved swiftly through the ranks.

Soon, Armani was working for Nino Cerruti – an influential haute couture designer. Within months, Cerruti asked him to restructure the company’s approach. He also went on to design the company’s Hitman Menswear Collection. His work at Cerruti was a crucial period that shaped his future aesthetic, and was also foundational to his knowledge of fabrics. Most designers learn their trade as apprentices or at fashion school, but Armani’s education took place on the shop floor. He learned what fabrics the customers liked, and went to the textile mills to buy them. He became an expert in how cloth was constructed, and used his knowledge to perfect tailoring. While at Cerruti, Armani began to strip away the stiff, traditional Italian tailoring. He created softer, less structured suits that offered men a more modern attitude and freedom of movement.

In 1966, Armani met Sergio Galeotti, a young apprentice architect and fashion designer. Galeotti and Armani began a long personal relationship that would serve as the backbone of their future professional relationship as well. Galeotti prodded Armani to start on his own believing in his potential, and in turn making Armani believe in himself and see the bigger picture in starting his own fashion line.

Then at the age of 41, in 1975, having enough experience and self-belief, and with his partner Sergio Galeotti at his side, he launched his own label, Giorgio Armani. The story goes that Galeotti convinced Armani to sell his Volkswagen Beetle- for start-up capital, to hire staff and secure office space in Milan. They started small: their first office was so dingy that Armani took the shades off the lamps in order to see the fabrics. But their work was nothing short of a revolution in fashion.

Galeotti was the force behind the Armani machine, masterminding the business side, leading the financial sector and administrative aspects of the company.

The 1960s middle classes could not afford haute couture, but yearned for a stylish, distinctive look of their own. With his expertise in fabrics, Armani provided an answer. His fine cloths made possible a menswear range with neat, precise cuts that could be manufactured at scale. Its distinctively Italian style began to influence the way the fashionable dressed. And with more women entering the workplace, Armani spotted an opportunity. “I realised that they needed a way to dress that was equivalent to that of men,” he said. “Something that would give them dignity in their work life.”

With Armani’s elegantly tailored power suits, women were offered an alternative to the stiff and stuffy dresses their mothers had worn to work. They exuded femininity, but were a powerful statement of equality.

Armani received his breakthrough in the 1980s when Hollywood Actor Richard Gere donned Armani suits in the film ‘American Gigolo’. This propelled the brand into the global spotlight, cementing Armani as a household name. Soon, stars from Michelle Pfeiffer to John Travolta embraced his creations, making him the designer of choice for both red carpets and everyday luxury. He broadcast his collection live on the Internet, the first in the world of haute couture, on 24 January 2007.

Armani famously collaborated with model Vittoria Ceretti a prominent Italian supermodel who has frequently worked with Armani throughout her career, appearing in campaigns and wearing his designs at major events.

But Armani didn’t stop at clothes. He expanded into perfumes, eyewear, and multiple lines such as Emporio Armani and Armani Exchange, targeting different segments of the global market. His company’s revenue soared into billions, while his boutiques multiplied across continents. He also built a global hospitality business, spanning hotels, cafes, restaurants and bars, that carried the same elegance as his fashion line. The centrepiece of his hospitality business is the Armani Hotels developed in partnership with Dubai’s Emaar Properties.

As a sports fan, he designed suits for Chelsea and the England football team, and made the uniforms for Italy’s Olympic team in 2012. Working tirelessly Armani through his fashion and hospitality businesses built an empire worthy of a king.

Though Armani remained CEO and sole shareholder right until his death, in his lifetime, Armani drew up a succession plan consisting of a gradual transition of the responsibilities that he had always handled to those closest to him, such as Leo Dell’Orco, the members of his family, and the entire working team. He wanted the succession to be organic and not amount to rupture.

Beyond his family, his heirs will include his long-term collaborator and right-hand man, Pantaelo Dell’Orco, and a foundation. This foundation was established in 2016 and plays a significant role in the preservation of Armani’s legacy and is designed to protect the company. The will instructs heirs to sell a 15% stake in the Italian fashion house within 18 months and later transfer an additional stake to the same buyer between three and five years after his death, or pursue an initial public offering.

His family members, consist of his nieces, Silvana and Roberta Armani, his nephew, Andrea Camerana. Silvana worked at Armani designs, running the womenswear collections. Meanwhile, Roberta, the daughter of his late brother Sergio, has been the director of Armani’s public relations, becoming the bridge between the brand and Hollywood. Roberta orchestrated Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ wedding in an Italian castle in 2006, with Armani personally designing both the bride’s and groom’s attire. Andrea, Armani’s nephew, joined the company in 2000 and worked as both a counsellor and licensing director. He eventually became Armani’s sustainability managing director, and focuses on the brand’s policy toward the environment.

Dell’Orco, described as Armani’s right-hand man, has been involved in the company since 1977 and currently heads the men’s style office. He frequently appears by the designer’s side at various fashion shows, and events. In fact, in June 2025, when Armani missed the menswear show during Milan Fashion Week for the first time in 50 years due to an undisclosed illness, Dell’Orco took over.

Remaining independent his entire life, Armani has also stated in his will no major mergers or IPOs would be permitted until five years after his death, providing a period of stability. With this, he sought to protect his brand against potential acquisitions by other giants in the Industry.

Armani was an intensely private man. He never married or had children. And had relationships with both men and women. He had a longstanding personal relationship with Sergio Galeotti, who died of complications from AIDS in 1985. Reflecting in 2015, Armani said of Galeotti: “when I travel, I bring his photograph. There is something that remains. His spirit lingers. For sure. He lives on. I see Sergio everywhere, and I am sure he sees me. And I have hope that whatever I have done, he knows about it”. Armani described his inability to prevent Galeotti’s death as the greatest failure of his career.

In later years, Armani spent much of his time on his yacht, and loved sailing. He had been in declining health in the months leading up to his death.

More well-dressed stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Suit and boot yourself with Freewheeling.

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the news of the world. Any comments beyond the story, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run from 15 April 2025 to 22 April 2025: Boeing on China ground; making the West great again; war & peace; death of a Pope; roof collapse; the biology of sex; and possible new life in our Universe.

Boeing in China: Stuck on the Ground

US President Donald Trump rockets up the Tariff War imposing an astounding 250% tariff on Chinese goods entering America. Earlier in a tit-for-tat, Tom & Jerry play, China plainly cancelled its Plane Orders on Boeing. China’s Airlines were ordered not to take further deliveries of Boeing’s jet planes made in America. China’s top three Airlines, Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines are due to take delivery of 45, 53, and 81 Boeing jets respectively between 2025 and 2027. Now, this could result in Boeing flying-out these planes to other countries. The COVID pandemic had set the Aircraft Industry years behind in manufacturing aircraft and this was a comeback period.

Boeing’s rival Airbus, based in Europe, holds a dominant position in the Chinese market. But Airbus is not in a position to meet all of China’s Orders.

China should take a Boeing flight to Washington with a hand-shake plan and negotiate a deal with Trump to shake up the skies.

Make the West Great Again

Then it was the turn of Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – she’s a superstar-to catch a flight to Washington, for trade talks. Was the European Union looking? And was it on a Boeing or an Airbus?I missed that part of the flight!

Meloni called on Trump to form a historic alliance between Italy and the US. She acknowledged the rift between the US and Europe, but said now’s the time to fix it. Then came the invitation: “I want to thank President Trump for having accepted an invitation to pay an official visit to Rome, and consider the possibility in that occasion to meet also with Europe.” And she closed with the line that said it all: “The goal for me is, ‘Make the West Great Again.’

Talk straight, drop the drama, and find common ground. Is China listening?

I reckon the Oval Office must be wearing-out thin-with all that inflow and outflow of footfalls!

Wars

With Donald Trump being inaugurated in January this year, his promises on ending the Israel-Hamas War and the Russia -Ukraine War seemed to be working in the beginning. And cheers could be heard. But in a near about a U turn, for the worse, the wars have got into a ‘cushy slot’ (for the perpetrators – Hamas & Russia)and are progressing at their own sound pace.

Sudden: Easter Peace

The United States is almost giving up on bringing about a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine War after negotiations were not translating into tangible outcomes. Ukraine had previously offered a 30-day ceasefire, which was shrugged-off by Russia, and it went on with the fighting as if it heard nothing.

Now, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a brief Easter ceasefire: a declaration met with skepticism in Ukraine as the war enters a crucial phase, and US-led negotiations stall.

The timing, the brevity, the sudden, unilateral nature of it all seemed just a knee-jerk effort. If Ukraine and its allies needed proof of Moscow’s wild cynicism when it comes to peace, the announcement provided just that.

Putin said ‘all hostilities’ would halt between 6 pm, Moscow time on 19 April, Saturday and midnight on 21 April, Monday. ‘We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example,’ he said, adding that the truce would help Russia determine how sincere Ukraine is about wanting to reach a ceasefire. However, just hours after the announcement, Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces of ‘not-stopping’ and continuing the fighting.

Unwavering Israel

Yet again, Hamas has rejected Israeli’s most recent ceasefire offer, instead calling for a comprehensive proposal to end the war. The rejection prompted Israeli lawmakers to issue calls for an immediate escalation in Gaza, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to unleash ‘hell’ and pursue ‘complete victory’.

The Israeli ceasefire proposal did not guarantee an end to the war and called for a disarmament of Gaza, both of which have been red lines for Hamas. The terrorist organization refuses to give up its weapons and demands that any proposal includes a ‘permanent end’ (that’s awfully hard to define?) to the war.

The Israeli plan called for a 45-day truce, during which the two sides would aim to negotiate a permanent ceasefire. Under the proposal, the remaining 59 hostages would be released in stages, starting with American-Israeli Edan Alexander on the first day of the truce as a ‘special gesture’ to the US. A further nine Israeli hostages would be released in two stages in exchange for 120 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and more than 1,100 detainees held without charge since 7 October 2023. The proposal also demands that Hamas provide information about the remaining living Israeli hostages. This in exchange for information about the Palestinian detainees, and the release of the bodies of 16 deceased Israeli hostages, for the remains of 160 deceased Palestinians held by Israel.

In keeping with its style of working, The United Nations issued a dire warning over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying lifesaving supplies were nearing ‘total depletion’ due to Israel’s blocking of aid entering the Gaza.

Roof Collapse

In one of the deadliest non-natural disasters in the history of the Dominican Republic, the roof of the iconic Jet Set Nightclub in Santo Domingo collapsed in the early hours of 10 April 2025 morning, with at least 500 people inside. Over 200 died and another 150 were injured-about 190 were rescued alive. The collapse happened during a performance of merengue (a Caribbean style of dance, music) artist Rubby Perez and his orchestra. The dead included Perez whose body was recovered from the scene. Two former Major League Baseball players are also among the victims.

The Jet Set Nightclub Building began as a movie theatre in 1973 and was converted into the Nightclub in 1994. It underwent renovations in 2010 and 2015 featuring 2-storey high ceilings over an expansive open dance floor, which could hold 1000 standing and 700 seated visitors. The building had large air-conditioners and electric generators on the roof-top and large stage lighting and loudspeakers mounted in the ceiling. Top Heavy? In the year 2023, the roof caught fire after lightning struck an electric generator, but was deemed structurally safe by firefighters. Experts say that the roof was inadequately supposed by columns on the sides, and could have collapsed under its own weight.

Santo Domingo is the capital of the Dominican Republic, an island country in the Caribbean Sea, and one of the Caribbean’s oldest cities.

The Pope Dies

The head of the Roman Catholic Church and the spiritual leader of catholics worldwide, Pope Francis died at the age of 88, on 21 April 2025, Easter Monday, at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. He had been the ‘Peoples Pope’ for a reformative 12 years. And in recent times, he was going through a prolonged period of illness, struggling to carry out God’s work.

Roman Catholics believe the Pope represents a direct line back to Jesus Christ. And is considered a living successor to St Peter, who was chief among Christ’s initial disciples, the Apostles. That gives him unhindered power and to make decisions on issues of faith and morality over the entire Catholic Church. He is an important source of authority for the world’s roughly 1.4 billion Catholics.

In addition to consulting the Bible for guidance, Catholics also turn to the teachings of the Pope for finding their way through the vicissitudes of life.

About half of all Christians worldwide are Roman Catholics. Other divisions, including Protestants and Orthodox Christians, do not recognise the Pope’s authority. The Pope lives in Vatican City, the smallest independent state in the world, surrounded by the Italian capital, Rome. The Pope does not receive a salary, but all his travel and living expenses is paid for by the Vatican.

A papal funeral is traditionally an elaborate affair, but Pope Francis recently approved plans to make the whole procedure less complex. Previous Popes were buried in three nested coffins made of cypress, lead, and oak. Pope Francis has opted for a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc. He has also scrapped the tradition of placing the Pope’s body on a raised platform-known as a catafalque-in St Peter’s Basilica for public viewing. Instead, mourners will be invited to pay their respects while his body remains inside the coffin, with the lid removed. Francis will also be the first Pope in more than a century to be buried outside the Vatican. He will be laid to rest in the Basilica of St Mary Major, one of four major papal basilicas in Rome. A basilica is a church which has been granted special significance and privileges by the Vatican, and the major basilicas have a particular connection to the Pope.

The Pope’s death will set in motion a centuries-old ‘smoking’ process of electing a new Pope – chosen by the Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals: all men, appointed directly by the Pope and who are usually ordained Bishops. There are currently 252 Catholic Cardinals, 138 of whom are eligible to vote for the new Pope. The others are over the age of 80, which means they cannot take part in the election, although they can join in the debate over the selection.

During the time between the Pope’s death and the election of a new Pope, the College of Cardinals governs the Church.

The cardinals will be summoned to a meeting at the Vatican, followed by the Conclave, as the election is known, which is held in strict secrecy – no phones, no contact or communication with the outside world. The Conclave will be inside the famous Sistine Chapel – the ceiling and upper walls of which is painted by Michelangelo. The intent is that the Holy Spirit guides the election, free from politics or outside influence.

Individual cardinals vote for their preferred candidate until a winner is determined, a process, which can take several days. Each Cardinal writes the name of his chosen candidate on a ballot, folds it, and places it in a chalice on the altar. Then they pray, “ I call as my witness Christ The Lord who will be my judge”. A two-thirds majority is required to elect a Pope. After each round of voting, the ballots are burned. Chemicals are added to the smoke to signal the outcome. Black-no decision; white – we have a Pope. In previous centuries, voting has gone on for weeks or months. Some cardinals have even died during Conclaves.

The only clue on the progress of the election is the smoke that emerges twice a day from burning the cardinals’ ballot papers. Black smoke signals failure. The traditional white smoke means a Pope has been chosen. After the white smoke goes up, the new Pope normally appears within an hour on the balcony overlooking St Peter’s Square. A senior cardinal participating in the Conclave will announce the decision with the words “Habemus Papam”-Latin for “We have a Pope”. He will then introduce the new Pope by his chosen papal name, which may or may not be his original given name. Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but he chose a different name for his papacy in honour of St Francis of Assisi.

The Pope/Pontiff/Holy Father then gives his first blessing, Urbi et Orbi (to the City and to the World). The bells of St. Peter’s ring and Christians around the world rejoice.

Of the 266 Popes chosen to date, 217 have been from Italy.

I hope to see a new Pope who would be meaningfully conservative, following strict Church doctrine, spreading the teachings of the Bible, and diligently minding the welfare of ‘His Flock’ all over the world.

The Biology of Sex

We, modern humans, have been living on Earth for more than three hundred thousand years and often the basic definitions of male-who is a man, and female-who is a woman, become fuzzy, lost in translation, and get challenged, confusing too. To complicate things we have people sliding in-between calling themselves transgenders.

This April, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court, tasked with the legal definition of a woman under the UK’s Equality Act, ruled that the law defines women as people born biologically female. Wonder what took them so long to get into the X & Y chromosomes of sex? The five judges sitting on judgement gave an unanimous decision – woman in the Equality Law refers to biological women-based on biological sex. That means holders of a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC)- trans women – are not women in the eyes of the law. It makes it awfully clear that if a space or service is designated as women only, a person who was born male but identifies as a woman does not have a right to use that space or service.

This is a huge win for ‘real’ women, ‘real’ men, and sanity in the UK and the West. And has far-reaching consequences for the transgender community-it could restrict trans women from single-sex spaces such as toilets, prisons, and rape centres. Also leading to change in gender rules in various sports.

Going back to the reason why we are here.

In the year 2018 a law passed by the Scottish Parliament called for 50% female representation on the boards of Scottish Public Bodies. Its definition included trans women whose gender is legally affirmed with a GRC. This resulted in a campaign by, ‘For Woman Scotland (FWS)’ to challenge the law in court saying the Scottish Govt had overstepped its powers by effectively redefining the meaning of a woman. The FWS lost the case, it had filed, in a Scottish Court in 2022, but was allowed to take the matter to the UK Supreme Court, which then made the ‘biological’ judgement. Science indeed works!

Harry Potter Author, J K Rowling, a prominent supporter of the Group, said the verdict protected the rights of women and girls across the UK. It took three extraordinary tenacious Scottish women of the FWS, with an army behind them, to get this case heard in the Supreme Court. And win. You better not mess with Scottish Women!

To refresh our Biology Lessons: Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes (46 in total): one set comes from each biological parent. Out of the 23 pairs, one pair is the sex chromosomes, called the X and Y chromosomes. People with XX are assigned female at birth while people with XY are assigned male at birth. Though rare, other combinations of sex chromosomes are possible. The other 22 pairs are autosomes or non-sex chromosomes.

Biology has definitive answers to X and Y issues. No doubt at all.

Planet K2-18b

Biology is suddenly leaning-in everywhere. This real science is back with a bang?

Scientists, Astronomers in particular, are always up to crazy things. Inventing completely out-of-the-box or discovering something we never knew about.

In keeping with the science of things, a team of astronomers detected what they cautiously call the most promising signs to date of a possible bio-signature, or signs of past or present life linked to biological activity, on an Exoplanet named K2-18b. No definitive declaration as yet!

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, the team detected chemical fingerprints within the atmosphere of K2-18b that suggest the presence of Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS) and potentially Dimethyl Disulfide (DMDS). On Earth, both molecules are only produced by microbial life, typically marine phytoplankton.

K2-18b, located 124 light-years from Earth, could be a Hycean world: a potentially habitable planet entirely covered in liquid water with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. Leading the study is Nikku Madhusudhan, Professor of Astrophysics and Exoplanetary science at the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy. Madhusudhan and his colleagues first theorised the concept of Hycean worlds in 2021 after determining there may be liquid water oceans on K2-18b.

The planet is located within the habitable zone of its star, meaning that the world is at just the right temperature and distance from the star to host liquid water on its surface.

However, other experts believe that while the results promise excitement, confirming the existence of life beyond Earth-and even deciding what type of exoplanet K2-18b is-will take much more time and data. Astrophysicist Sara Seager, a professor of Physics, Planetary Science, Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said independent teams have completely different interpretations of the planet itself.

Hycean refers to a newly proposed type of exoplanet, a portmanteau of ‘hydrogen’ and ‘ocean’. These are thought to be planets with vast liquid water oceans, like Earth, but also have thick hydrogen-rich atmospheres. They are larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, making them a type of super-Earth or mini-Neptune. Hycean worlds are envisioned as having a significant amount of water, potentially covering the entire planet, similar to Earth. However, they also have a much thicker hydrogen-rich atmosphere than Earth, which could be a significant factor in their habitability.

Meanwhile, how do we get to K2-18b? We need another kind of Elon Musk to get the job done.

More biologically revealing stories coming-up. Find your own space with white, ‘smoking hot’ Freewheeling.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-51

About –the stories of the world this week, 18 December to 24 December: return of the mask – a country overwhelmed; a warship sinks; a President visits a President – Europe to America; no education for girls; Football World Cup; and Christmas – the gift of the magi.

Everywhere

While the world is gradually stepping-out of the pandemic, China finds itself locked in a terrific battle with the Covid19 causing coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 variants. Cases of infection have been recorded in 31 of its provinces and there is an explosion of people struck by the virus.

Meanwhile, it’s tails-up for the world, as we brace for another possible virus invasion from China. The masks are out again, and all the colourful terms we learnt during the pandemic could be put to use one more time. Call it a deja vu? Return of the Mask?

China lifted its most severe Covid policies attributed to the Zero Covid Policy – including forcing people into quarantine camps – just a week after landmark protests against the strict controls. People with Covid can now isolate at home rather than in state facilities if they have mild or no symptoms. They also no longer need to show tests for most venues, and can travel more freely inside the country.

But, the country is currently experiencing a surge in cases, and recorded its highest number of daily Covid numbers since the pandemic began in the year 2020. Several major cities including the capital Beijing and the southern trade hub Guangzhou are experiencing outbreaks. And there are serious concerns about a fresh Covid19 wave hitting the country.

The abrupt shift in China’s stringent Covid policy has left its people and health facilities ill-prepared to deal with the huge wave of infections, leading to widespread shortages of common drugs, and other essentials.

One of the reasons for the present outbreak is that vaccination levels are lower – though China claims 90% of its population has been fully vaccinated – than in other countries and only half of people aged over 80 have received three doses of vaccination. China has refused to import vaccines despite evidence that its homemade vaccines have been proved to be less effective in protecting people against serious Covid illness and death.

Experts predict that 60% of China is likely to be infected over the next 90 days, with deaths likely in millions.

China should get its act together and do everything possible to contain this wave of Covid19 and prevent its spread. For a start it should be more open about the data of infections and death, which, at the moment, only fuels scepticism about the real impact.

Thailand’s warship HTMS Sukhothai, a 76 metres long corvette (small warship) had been on Day Two of a routine patrol, east off South-Eastern Thailand when it got caught in a storm, this week’s Sunday night. The waves were as high as 3 metre and caused the water to climb the decks, flood the hull and then the electricity room, cutting off power, and ultimately sinking the ship with a crew of 105 on board.

Other naval ships were immediately alerted and sent to help, but only the HTMS Kraburi frigate reached the vessel before it sank, about 32km east of Bang Saphan in the Prachuap Khiri Khan province, off the Gulf of Thailand.

Rescuers have saved about 75 people so far, scouring the rough seas with boats and helicopters. Survivors have been found after floating for hours, some in an unconscious state.

The warship was commissioned in 1987 and built in the United States of America.

The two events that occupied this year’s headlines and refused to go away are, one – the Russia-Ukraine War, and two the fact that it’s over 455 days since the Taliban banned teenage girls from school in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan remains the only country on the planet banning children from getting an education. It only got worser this week when in another devastative, regressive action, the Taliban imposed a ban on university education for women: they cannot enrol themselves in public and private universities in Afghanistan. This comes three months after thousands of girls and women across the country took university entrance exams. The universities are currently closed for the winter and were to reopen in March 2023.

Before Afghanistan reached this stage, following the Taliban’s takeover of the country, universities were compelled to implement new rules, such as gender-segregated classrooms and entrances. Women were only permitted to be educated by women professors or old men.

Being rich in knowledge, full of dreams, no matter where they live, women of Afghanistan feel empty as the world has betrayed them.

Denying women the right to education is soul-crushing. A murder of the mind?

This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flew to the United States, his first visit outside the country since the war began. He addressed the US Congress and in a well-crafted speech said, “Your money is not charity. It is an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”

The extraordinary measures taken to transport President Zelensky from Ukraine to the US capital are a sign of just how crucial the two countries’ relationship is for both sides. After visiting the front line in Eastern Ukraine this Tuesday, Zelensky’s journey to Washington DC began with an overnight train journey to Poland before boarding a US Air Force plane, reportedly supported by a NATO spy-plane and an F-15 fighter jet. Hands-off Russia? Finally they are veering around from calling the ongoing invasion of Ukraine a special operation, and admitting it is indeed a war. And they want to end it!

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Ends

The football World Cup finals were played this Sunday, and we witnessed one of the best-ever football final matches, in a long time. It was a slow-start thriller, building up the momentum to a nail-biting climax, which kept one on the edge. And rolling memories, long after it was over.

Argentina stepped in confidently and the ball seemed stuck to their legs for most of the first half of play and the beginning of the second – in about 75 minutes of probably the most dominated finals ever. Superstar Lionel Messi shot the first goal on a penalty and assisted another – a deft pass to Di Maria- to give Argentina a solid 2-0 lead before half-time. We could not see any vibrant signs of France – appeared drugged out, but just when we were beginning to give up on them, emerging superstar Kylian Mbappe copied Messi, scoring in a penalty and then a field-goal himself. Suddenly the game seem to be anybody’s after the second half scoring by France to equalise.

The game went in to extra time and Messi again delivered in a field goal scramble, making in 3-2. But the spirit of France had woken-up and Mbappe scored yet another goal – a hattrick- on a penalty shot making it 3-3 and driving the game to a penalty-shot decider.

Both stars, Mbappe and Messi got the first kicks inside, but Argentina’s goal-keeper stopped the next from France and the third shot from France missed the goal completely. The fourth went home. But Argentina kept their cool scoring all their shots making it 4-2. Argentina won, taking the Cup home after 36 years.

Team Argentina, moulded by coach Lionel Scaloni, has delivered to expectations and it is a well-deserved victory.

The jubilant homecoming of team Argentina was beyond measure with millions turning up to welcome their heroes. And Argentina declared a national holiday for people to watch the nation team ride an open bus during a parade in Buenos Aires centred around the iconic Obelisk that was built in 1936 to commemorative the quadricentennial of the first foundation of the city. It was sight to behold: looked like a huge beehive filled with honey from up above.

Indian Women’s Hockey Strikes Gold

The inaugural International Federation of Hockey (FIH) Hockey Nations Cup 2022 held in Spain saw India’s Women’s Team beat Spain 1-0, at Valencia, on 17th December, to win Gold.

The competing teams were Chile, Italy, South Africa, Indian, Japan, Spain, Ireland, and Korea.

This wonderful win was drowned in the drum-beats of the Football World Cup, but it is something to cheer about and ‘sticks out’ in journey of women’s hockey in India. Way to go!

Beware: a Warning

In Qatar two mass gathering events were held simultaneously, one, the FIFA World Cup 2022 and two, the Camel Mzayen Club’s Camel Beauty Pageant Festival. These attracted hundreds of thousands of people from within the Middle East and across the world. Many are attending both events, interacting closely with each other and with camels, creating ideal conditions for the transmission of camel-associated zoonotic pathogens with epidemic potential. These pathogens include the highly lethal MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus). Dromedary camels in the Middle East are a major reservoir of MERS-CoV. Humans sporadically become infected through direct or indirect contact with MERS-CoV-infected camels or camel dairy products. People need to stay alert and watchful: we started the year trying to get off riding the coronavirus ride and need to shake it of least we take a Camel ride and drive ourselves into another pandemic.

Please Yourself

Christmas is upon us and it’s a wonderful time of the year to spend time with family, loved ones, give and receive dream gifts – especially from Santa Claus and to un-wind and crank-up our engines to travel the new year ahead. Children would be looking in excitement at the stockings on the Christmas trees to see if Santa indeed came down the chimney in the middle of the night and made good promises sought .

There’s no better season to just curl-up on your favourite sofa, probably with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand, and read the day away. And what’s nicer to read during the holidays than stories about Christmas itself?

One of my all-time favourite Christmas stories has been O’Henry’s, ‘The Gift of the Magi’, a beautiful short story about the personal sacrifices we are willing to make for the ones we love with the might of our heart.

It’s Christmas Eve, and the young very much in love couple, Mrs & Mr James Dillingham Young – Jim and Della – find that despite their best efforts over the past months they could not save enough to buy each other a Christmas Gift.

O’Henry begins the story with Della counting her savings to one dollar and eighty-seven cents and fretting on how to buy Jim a gift – a worthy platinum chain for his gold watch to replace the present ‘unworthy leather strap’.

There were two possessions that Jim and Della took mighty pride. One was Jim’s gold watch – a family heirloom handed down from Grandfather to Father to him. Two, Della’s beautiful hair, which fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters, reaching below her knee. King Solomon (despite all his treasures) and Queen Sheba (despite all her beauty) would have burnt with envy on the respective possessions of Jim and Della.

In an awkward moment, Della decides to cut and sell her hair to buy Jim a watch chain. On returning home- with her head covered with a scarf- Jim is stunned when he finds out that she had cut her hair to buy him a watch chain. Della wonders whether Jim will love her the same despite the hair? On his turn, Jim had sold the gold watch to buy her the most beautiful set of combs: pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims, which she had secretly worshipped for long on a Broadway window (and Jim had noticed).

Despite losing their most valued possessions, the husband and wife in this story realize that their mutual sacrifice signifies a much greater gift: their eternal love and devotion to one another. Jim asks Della to keep aside the gifts and celebrate Christmas – “they’re too nice to use at present. And now suppose you put the chops on”.

Wrote O’Henry in the Story – I quote- “The magi, as you know, were wise men-wonderfully wise men-who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were doubtless wise ones, possibly bearing on privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were wise. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi”.

Merry Christmas: Be wise, be a magi when you give or receive a gift. And cherish your love.

More soulful stories coming up in the weeks ahead. Watch the watch and keep the hair. Celebrate with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022- 49

About –the stories of the world this week, 4 December to 10 December: Artemis-I Moon to Earth; Iran and China buckle; Indonesia Rules; Haiti gangs up; India elects and elects; and magic at the Football World Cup, Qatar.

Everywhere

Return to Earth after a Honeymoon Sight-Seeing

NASA’s Artemis I’s Orion spacecraft after having gone further than any ‘Crew Capable Spacecraft’ had gone -the distant retrograde orbit -has left this cold place to return to warmer regions. It’s second main engine burn gave it the thrust to get in to the embrace of the Moon’s gravity. This Monday, Orion did a fly-by the Moon’s surface-just 127 km above-and its main engine fired again, in the longest burn, to kick it back to Earth. Orion’s splash down in the Pacific Ocean is expected on 11th December. Cannot wait for Orion to return safely, open-up, and tell its hidden stories.

Iran & China on the Same Page; Indonesia Opens a Book

Over the past weeks and months ‘one-of-a-kind protests’ raged in Iran and China, which saw brutal crackdowns on dissent. And they seemed to only fester and become unstoppable, on both sides.

Finally, this week, Iran buckled, abolished the ‘Gasht-e Ershad or Guidance Patrol’ – Morality Police- and said it will review the decades old mandatory hijab law, which requires women to cover their heads.

On the same page, China relented, eased COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and testing rules.

Both saw dictatorial regimes bending to the will of the people. When people speak as one, they effect change, and they win.

Iran’s Morality Police was established in the year 2005 under hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to ‘spread the culture of modesty and hijab’ and enforce it across the Country. The roll-back, is a massive victory for Iranian women protesting against the hijab law, which comes after more than two months of demonstrations, sparked by Mahsa Amini’s detention and death in custody over not wearing the hijab properly.

While Iran seems to have learnt some new lessons from old Rules, Indonesia doesn’t seem to be seeing anything at all-too much cloth covering its eyes? Indonesia is not a secular state: atheism is unacceptable – technically, it is compulsory to follow one of six prescribed religions.

This week, Indonesia’s Parliament has approved a new criminal code that bans anyone in the country from having extramarital sex; restricts political freedom, besides other ‘read the fine print Rules’. Sex outside marriage will carry a jail term of up to a year under the new laws, which take effect in three years’ time.

The newly formulated laws appear to be a ‘disaster’ for human rights, and a potential blow to tourism and investment. They apply equally to locals and to foreigners living in Indonesia, or visiting holiday destinations such as Bali. Under the laws, unmarried couples caught having sex can be jailed for up to a year. They are also banned from living together-an act for which people could be jailed for up to six months. Adultery will also be an offence for which people can be jailed.

Sex before marriage was already banned prior to the approval of this new criminal code, but the law was often not enforced. The old law defined adultery as sex between a married man and someone who was not his wife, while the new law bans all sex outside of marriage. The sentencing for those caught has also been increased from nine months to a year. For prosecutions to start, a complaint must be filed by the children, parents, or spouse of the accused couple.

The Gangs of Haiti

The Republic of Haiti is a country located on the Island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles Archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

In size, Haiti is the third-largest country in the Caribbean, and has an estimated population of 11.4 million, making it the most populous country in the Caribbean. The capital is Port-au-Prince, nestled between green hillsides and the blue waters of the sea. Look deeper, and you can see the rot washing-up on its shores.

More than a year ago, on 7 July 2021, Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise, who took office in 2017, was killed during an attack on his private residence. Ever since, there is no Head of State, no functioning Parliament, and the United States (US) -backed Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, who took-over, is unelected and deeply unpopular.

Meanwhile, Gangs of criminals have moved in to fill the space and have taken Haiti hostage. They make their own laws. They kill. They rape. The cruel statistics is climbing every day. About 1377 people have been killed, injured, or disappeared between June and September of this year. There are now an estimated 200 gangs operating across Haiti, and around 95 in the capital, Port-au-Prince, alone. This has resulted in a huge insecurity crisis, with large-scale attacks on communities, politicians and journalists, high levels of violence, mass kidnappings and large-scale forced displacements. And drawing of ‘boundaries of control’. For e.g., in Port-au-Prince you cannot see visible boundaries, but you must know where they are. Your life may depend on it. Competing gangs are carving up the capital, kidnapping, raping, and killing at will. They demarcate their territory in blood. Cross from one gang’s turf to another, and you may not make it back.

In effect the State is missing in action, as the people suffer overlapping crises. Almost half the population is grappling with acute hunger. In the Capital, around 20,000 people are facing famine-like conditions, according to the United Nations(UN). Cholera has made a deadly comeback.

Kidnapping is a growth industry. There were 1,107 reported cases between January and October of this year, according to the UN. For some gangs, it’s a major income stream. Ransoms can run from USD 200 to USD one million. Most victims come back alive – if the ransom is paid – but they are made to suffer.

“Men are beaten and burned with materials like melted plastic,” says Haiti’s Centre for Analysis and Research in Human Rights. “Women and girls are subject to gang rape. This situation spurs relatives to find money to pay the ransom. Sometimes kidnappers call the relatives so that they can hear the rape being carried out on the phone.”

A return to horrific, medieval times?

India’s Elections

The always-in-election-mode-India is back in action. On watch were three Elections: One, the Elections of the Municipality Corporation of Delhi (MCD), in India’s capital; Two, the State Assembly Election of Himachal Pradesh; and three, the State Assembly Election in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.

After the last vote was cast in the last of the above Elections, the Exit Polls swing into action, and we could imagine the results. An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) landslide in Delhi, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comfortable win in Gujarat, and a cliffhanger in Himachal Pradesh.

While on counting day in the MCD Elections, the AAP swept to power, breaking a 15 year stranglehold of the BJP, it wasn’t the predicted landslide. AAP won a majority with 134 seats, the BJP came close with 104 seats, but gained 3% in vote share. This was the first election after a delimitation exercise when three corporations were merged and unified as one MCD. The AAP victory seems to be well-deserved as the BJP had failed in ward-level governance and delivery.

In Gujarat State, the BJP’s win was like a tsunami returning to power for a record-breaking seventh consecutive time, and after 27 years in continuous power. And the best ever win for the BJP garnering 53% of the vote share. The son-of-the-soil PM Modi, is unstoppable in this State.

In Himachal Pradesh it was made out to be a tough fight, and shockingly the Congress prevailed, winning 40 seats, but largely to Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) turncoats who switched over from the BJP to the Congress. They can form a government on their own, with the BJP at 25 seats probably making a good opposition. However, the vote percentage between the Congress at 43.9% and the BJP at 43% was razor-thin. And Himachal Pradesh kept its style of chucking out the incumbent Government at the end of every term.

Whatever, a win is a win. And India’s Grand Old Party, The Indian National Congress, despite being smashed all over the country breathes to live another day!

In India’s ever evolving, noisy but thriving democracy, the people have a say and you cannot take them for granted.

FIFA World Cup, Qatar 2022

Football fever grips the World with the World Cup Football progressing from the Group Matches to the knock-out Round 16 matches, which played through the week.

The Quarter-Final line-up is: Brazil versus (vs) Croatia, Argentina vs Netherlands; Portugal vs Morocco; and England vs France.

In the first Round 16 matches the Netherlands knocked out the US, 3-1 and the second Round 16 match Lionel Messi playing his 1000th game sparkled on the field with some awesome footwork and opened the scoring for Argentina against Australia. And ultimately a 2-1 win took Argentina to the Quarter Finals.

In the first extra-time and penalty shoot-out of FIFA World Cup 2022, a rising Japan, and Croatia tied with a 1-1 score line on regular play, and kept the same in extra time leading to a penalty shootout. The Croatian Goalkeeper became a hero of his country with a hat-rick of saves and Croatia moved to the Quarter-Finals. In another penalty shootout, Spain lost badly to Morocco after a goalless normal and extra playtime.

Late this week the Quarter Finals began, and in the first match, in an unbelievable moment, five-time World Cup Winner Brazil lost to Croatia, on penalty shootouts. Neymar produced Brazilian samba magic to score the first goal in extra time, but Croatia equalised with a Bruno Pitbovic goal, about ten minutes later. It was then over to Penalty Shootouts, which Croatia won 4-2. They move to the semi-finals and have been in this place before. Remember, they lost to France, 4-2 in the FIFA World Cup 2018, held in Russia.

In the second Quarter-Final Argentina raced ahead with a Lionel Messi assisted goal by Nahuel Molina, followed with a penalty goal by Messi himself. But then, Netherlands clawed back with a header goal by Wout Weghorst, and in the dying minutes of the game Denzel Dumfries equalised, taking the game to extra time and then, yet again, on to Penalty shootouts. Argentina won 3-4 scoring four and missing one while the Netherlands missed two. They now meet Croatia in the first Semi-finals.

This World Cup has been full of twists & turns, and we might have a surprise Winner in the Finals.

Far away from the football field awful news came in that the great Pele has been moved to end-of-life palliative care after he stopped responding to chemotherapy. He is the only footballer in history to win 3 World Cups, and an icon of the game at the level of Muhammad Ali in boxing.

Prisoner Swap: A Star is Released

Brittney Griner, the United States’ Women’s National Boxing Association (WNBA) Star was arrested in Sheremetyevo Airport, outside Moscow, in February this year, after the start of the Russia-Ukraine War. She was in Moscow to play yet another season with a Russian league team. A sniffer dog, sniffed cannabis oil in Griner’s carry-on luggage and on checking Russian Authorities found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. She was then arrested on drug smuggling charges and jailed.

Griner testified she had inadvertently packed the cannabis oil found in her luggage. She was sentenced to nine years in prison in early August and was moved to a Penal Colony in Mordovia in mid-November after losing her appeal.

This Thursday Brittney Griner was released in a one-for-one prisoner swap for Russian international arms dealer Viktor Bout in an agreement, which the United States negotiated with Russia, and was given final approval by President Biden.

Viktor Bout, one of the world’s most infamous arms dealers, called the ‘Merchant of Death’, has been wallowing in an American Prison for over twelve years.

The US proposed a prisoner exchange last July, aware Russia had long sought Bout’s release. The swap happened in Abhu Dhabi in typical ‘Hollywood style’ when the ‘two prisoners’ crossed each other on the Airport tarmac to reach their respective flights to take them home.

More elected stories coming up in the weeks ahead. Swap everything else for World Inthavaaram – No ransom attached.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-48

About –the stories of the world this week, 27 November to 3 December: China flares-up; Vulgar comments on a serious Film; a Television Channel changes hands; Word of the Year; World Cup Football; health; and Digital Currency.

Everywhere

There are rumblings of discontent in China with protests erupting, demanding that President Xi Jinping step down from office. Heard that, right? How often do you come across something like this in China? Last heard was Tiananmen Square 1989?

For the first time in decades, thousands of people have defied Chinese Authorities and are protesting: demanding to be freed, not only from incessant COVID19 tests and lockdowns, but strict censorship and the Communist Party’s tightening grip over all aspects of life. This is a rare outpouring of public anger. China’s hardline zero-infections coronavirus strategy is stoking public frustration, with many growing weary of snap lockdowns, lengthy quarantines, and mass testing campaigns.

A deadly fire last week in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang region, has become a fresh catalyst for public anger, with many blaming COVID19 lockdowns for hampering rescue efforts.

Protesters are holding blank sheets of white A4 size paper to symbolise lack of freedom of speech-speaking without explicitly saying anything, and a stand-in for all things people cannot say. Some now refer to the protests a White Paper Revolution.

In another development, internet users in China will soon be held liable for liking posts deemed illegal or harmful, in clever plans to control social media like never before. China’s internet watchdog is stepping up its regulation of cyberspace as authorities intensify their crackdown on online dissent. The new rules come into force from 15th December as part of a new set of guidelines published by the Cyberspace Administration of China, which operates under the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission chaired by President Xi Jinping.

Look deeper, maybe China feels responsible for having unleashed the coronavirus in to the world? Is it the case of someone who having deeply dirtiest his hands, endlessly scrubs to come clean off the smallest speck of dirt?

India Files

The movie The Kashmir Files on the brutal killings of Hindu Kashmir Pandits by Islamist militants causing their exodus from the State of Jammu & Kashmir created quite a stir when it released in March 2022. It is a well-researched film by Indian filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri and boldly brought to the surface untold sufferings of Kashmir Pandits. Thousands were rendered refugees in their own country, and before this film not many knew about the scale, extent, and depth of agony and hardship. ‘The Kashmir Files’ performed exceptionally well at the box office by earning over Rs 330 crore. And most of India empathised with the Kashmir Pandits.

This week the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which was showing in Goa came to an end. At the closing ceremony it was announced that The Golden Peacock Award will go to the Spanish coming-of-age movie, ‘I Have Electric Dreams’. While electric dreams came of age, the comments of an Israeli film director and IFFI Jury chairperson, Nadav Lapid seemed ‘under age’, completely out of frequency, and sparked a furious debate. Most of India was livid and visibly electrified when he said, “All of us were disturbed and shocked by the movie ‘The Kashmir Files’. It felt to us like a propaganda and vulgar movie that was inappropriate for an artistic and competitive section of such a prestigious film festival. I feel comfortable to openly share this feeling with you since the spirit of the festival can truly accept critical discussion which is essential for art and life”.

India’s Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur was on stage when he said that, and it was despicable the he did not challenge the outrageous statement of Nadav Lapid. Then began a flurry of damage control.

After Lapid criticised the film, Israel’s Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon slammed him and apologized for the conduct of his countryman. Israel’s Consul General Kobbi Shoshani described Nadav Lapid’s remarks as a ‘big mistake’, and added that the comments made by the Israeli filmmaker don’t reflect the country’s position on the movie. The IFFI Jury Board issued a statement, saying that whatever Nadav Lapid said about the movie is his ‘personal opinion’ and ‘nothing to do’ with the IFFI Board.

New Delhi Television

Once upon a time, New Delhi Television’s (NDTV) ‘The World This Week’ was a once-a-week, every Friday, ‘hugely awaited’ show on India’s State run television channel, Doordarshan. It was produced by the husband-wife pair of Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy and the news format became a game changer in the year 1988.

NDTV went on to become a 24×7 News Network and independent news broadcaster.

Now, three decades later, this week NDTV changed hands to the Adani Group lead by Gautam Adani, one of the richest men in the world, who bought a controlling stake in the Company.

Another rich man, Mukesh Ambani owns Network 18 one of India’s largest media companies. Incidentally one of the Companies of Mukesh Ambani helped NDTV with a loan when it was struggling to make ends meet and this debt eventually lead to the Adani Group’s entry. Though an independent news network, NDTV has been often been accused of being prejudiced and peddling fake news.

It remains to be seen how the ‘new’ NDTV works from hereon.

Word(s) of the Year

America’s oldest dictionary publisher, Merriam-Webster, has chosen ‘gaslighting’ as its word of the year.

Gaslighting is the act or practice of grossly misleading someone, especially for someone’s own advantage. Said Merriam-Webster, “In this age of misinformation – of ‘fake news’, conspiracy theories, Twitter trolls, and deep fakes-gaslighting as emerged as a word of our time”.

Gaslighting derives its origins from British Novelist and Playwright Patrick Hamilton’s Victoria-era Play, year 1938, ‘Gas Light’, set in London about a middle-class marriage based on lies and deceit. Lead character Jack Manningham seeks to convince his wife Bella that she is going insane – to steal from her – including by saying that she is imagining the dimming of the gas light in their home. The modern usage is driven by the vast increase in channels and technologies used to mislead people.

Other words that were in the run and most looked-up are, oligarch; omicron; codify; LGBTQIA; sentient; loamy; raid, and queen consort. Go ahead and look-up them.

Not to be left behind, Collins English Dictionary’s word of the year is permacrisis – a word describing a feeling of living through a period of war, inflation, and political instability. This reflects Collins’ annual compilation of 10 words or phrases which reflect the ever-evolving English language and the preoccupation of those who use it.

‘Quiet quitting’ almost made the list. And it is the act of doing one’s basic duties at work and no more, either by way of protest or to improve work-life balance. Other words are: Carolean; Kyiv; Lawfare; Partygate; Splooting; Sportswashing; Vibe shift; Warm bank. Again, look them up and discover new words, as your weekend home work.

Recall, last year, the word of the year was ‘Vax’. That’s easy to accept.

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Play

The Group matches are playing to a close on 3rd December and the first of the Round 16 knock-out matches will be kicking of the same day.

After a horrific start against Saudi Arabia, strong contenders for the Cup, Argentina, got the better of Mexico 2-0 with Lionel Messi opening the goal scoring and keeping Argentina in contention. And they went on to beat Poland 2-0, despite Messi missing a penalty, to top their Group and enter the Round 16. In another Group Match giant rivals Spain and Germany played level with a 1-1 result.

The United States defeated Iran in their Group match and in doing so ensured Iran’s ‘successful’ exit from the World Cup. This was met by cheers and celebrations in Tehran and other Iranian cities this week, as protesters hailed the country’s exit from the tournament as a blow to the ruling regime.

Qatar, the Host Nation was eliminated from the tournament after losing all its Group matches.

Passing on from playing to refereeing, the Germany versus Costa Rica match made news in a different sense. For the first time in the history of the World Cup Tournament an all-female team led by France’s Stephanie Frappart along with assistant referees – Brazilian Neuza Back and Mexican Karen Diaz Medina officiated on-field in a Men’s Tournament at Al Bayt Stadium. And all this is happening in a very conservative Qatar. Some message sure enough!

Meanwhile, though Germany defeated Costa Rica 4-2, Japan, playing in the same group made a surprise win over Spain 2-1 taking it to the top of the Group. Spain squeaked in on better goals to the Round 16 knocking out Germany. That’s disaster for Germany and they need to get back to the drawing board. Recall Japan had beaten them in the Group opening match. Japan is rising and they are on a high.

At the close of the week in a sensational, jaw-dropping play South Korea beat Portugal 2-1 and went in the knock-out Round 16 by the skin of their teeth making Uruguay’s 2-0 win over Ghana irrelevant. In the dying minutes of its game Uruguay suddenly found it had to score one more goal to move to the next round on a better goal score having even-points with South Korea. That was a real heart-break for Uruguay. But that’s football at its very best!

World Health

This week, the United Nations Secretary General reminded the world, on year another World AIDS Day, that the world has promised to end AIDS by 2030 – but we are off track. 1.5 million people acquired HIV last year. And we are just turning the corner on COVID19 with the last battle being fought in the original battleground of China.

In other ‘healthy’ news, Monkeypox an illness caused by the monkeypox virus- a viral zoonotic infection that it can spread from animals to humans – has been named as mpox by the World Health Organization (Who). That’s a big relief to monkeys all over the world – they were being stigmatised, and WHO is kind to them.

India’s Digital Currency

This week, on 1st December, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the launch of India’s first-ever digital currency, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). It was a pilot launch for retail Digital Rupee (e₹-R) in a closed user group consisting of customers and merchants. The pilot will initially cover four cities, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar, and four Banks will participate, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, and IDFC Bank.

RBI said that the digital currency is being launched with an aim to mitigate the risks and trim costs in the handling of physical currency.

Digital currency is a digital form of paper currency or fiat currency that can be exchanged in transactions for actual currency. It is essentially electronic cash. It cuts out the middlemen in financial transactions – primarily banks – and allows transactions to travel directly from person to person or customer to vendor. It is mainly meant for Retail transactions. The currency is backed by a Central Bank -RBI in India – whose legal tender is also issued and is essentially e-cash that doesn’t need any special indigenous methods of encryption. All online transactions involve digital currency but when money is withdrawn from a bank or an ATM, it is converted into liquid cash. Simply put, digital currency can be used in place of paper currency for all transactions.

Users will be able to transact with e₹-R through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones and other devices. Transactions can be made through QR codes. As in the case of cash it will not earn any interest, while ‘sitting in the wallet’, and can be converted to other forms of money like deposits with banks.

How is it different from Crypto-currency?

Crypto-currency is not backed by the central bank of a country but instead derives its purchasing power from its user community. Technically, they are pieces of code generated by ‘mining’ that are managed via a digital ledger known as blockchain to ensure transparency at every stage of their journey. In other words, they are decentralised virtual currencies as they are not issued by a Country and do not have the status of ‘legal tender’. Its value is independent of central banking authorities and even regional geopolitical problems.

Digital currencies have already been launched in The Bahamas, Nigeria, and the Eastern Caribbean Union. Pilot projects have been launched in by China, Sweden, Jamaica, and Ukraine – for testing. And India joins this list. Other countries working on them are the Eurozone and the United States.

There is a future for Digital Currency.

More digital stories coming up in the weeks ahead. Cash your time for a reading of World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-43

About –the stories of the world this week, 23 October to 29 October 2022: unpredictable Britain, deadly Myanmar, unusual China, surgical ISRO, spectacular Indian Cricket.

Everywhere

Unpredictable Britain

In recent times British politics as become unpredictable and in keeping with the trend, the United Kingdom (UK) inaugurated its first British-Asian Prime Minister (PM), which is a truly significant historical moment. And we thought only the weather is unpredictable in London. Talent, if used wisely has a way of climbing to the top, no matter what race one belongs to, or religion one follows, or country one originated from. For the moment, it has stopped at No. 10.

Speaking outside 10, Downing Street, Britain’s newly-appointed PM, Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday that he has been elected (as the leader of his Party) to fix some of the mistakes made by his predecessor. He promised to place economic stability and confidence at the heart of his government’s agenda; he would confront the profound economic crisis-that the country is facing-with compassion; and lead a government of integrity, professionalism, and accountability. And the work begins immediately.

The 42 years old devout Hindu, formally took charge as Britain’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister, after an audience with the freshly minted King Charles III, this Tuesday, a day after he was elected the leader of the Conservative Party. The investment banker-turned politician is the youngest British PM in 210 years.

Rishi Sunak was born in Southampton, UK, to Indian-origin parents who migrated to the UK from East Africa in the 1960s, and before that from India. Sunak’s grandparents were born in the Punjab Province, British India. He is the eldest of three siblings: brother Sanjay is a psychologist and sister Raakhi Williams works in New York, as Chief of Strategy and Planning at the United Nations Global Fund for Education in Emergencies. Sunak’s father Yashvir Sunak was a General Practitioner with the National Health Service and his mother Usha Sunak runs a local Pharmacy. Yashvir and Usha Sunak were born in Kenya and Tanzania respectively. That’s a whole lot of countries in the bag!

Sunak was educated at Winchester College, studied philosophy, politics and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, and earned an MBA from Stanford University as a Fulbright Scholar. While at Stanford, he met his future wife Akshata Murty, the daughter of Narayana Murthy – Indian billionaire and founder of the Indian software Company, Infosys – Fortune had listed Narayana Murthy among the ‘12 Greatest Entrepreneurs of Our Time’ in 2012.

After graduating, Sunak worked for Goldman Sachs and later as a partner at the hedge fund firms, The Children’s Investment Fund Management and Theleme Partners.

Sunak was first elected as an MP in 2015 – for Richmond in North Yorkshire – but rose quickly, and was made Finance Minister /Chancellor of the Exchequer, in February 2020, under former PM Boris Johnson.

Wife Akshata did a fashion designing diploma from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, which followed a short work stint at Deloitte and Unilever. Thereafter, she went on to pursue her MBA at Stanford where apparently ‘Rishi Sunak was waiting to meet’ her!

Sunak and his wife are one of the richest people in Britain, with a combined fortune of GBP 730 million as of 2022. The couple have two teenage daughters, Krisna and Anoushka; and a family dog, Nova – a fox red Labrador Retriever. The story goes that the daughters met Boris Johnson’s dog Dillyn and immediately fell in love with it, and begged their father for a pup of their own.

“British Indian is what I tick on the census, we have a category for it. I am thoroughly British, this is my home and my country, but my religious and cultural heritage is Indian, my wife is Indian. I am open about being a Hindu,” Sunak said in an interview in 2015.

I’m sure the United Kingdom is in a good pair of brown hands.

Deadly Myanmar

Myanmar has been under draconian military rule since February 2021, when an elected government was overthrown in a bloody coup.

This Sunday, over 60 people were killed in military airstrikes at a celebratory event in Myanmar’s mountainous Kachin State drawing international condemnation of the ruling military junta’s actions.

The victims were attending an event organised by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) to mark the 62nd anniversary of the armed ethnic rebel group’s political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). KIO personnel were in attendance, not as military personnel, but as entertainers helping welcome guests and performing.

The military junta said it was hunting down the KIA and was not deliberately targeting civilians. Hard to believe, but that’s the word!

Unusual China

This week the President of China, Xi Jinping was re-elected as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party for a norm-breaking third term of paramount leader, which is unusual.

This Sunday, a day after the close of the five-yearly Communist Party Congress, Xi announced a new leadership team of six men loyal to him: Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, to stand alongside him as members of the Politburo Standing Committee- China’s top ruling body.

Events of the day were briefly interrupted by an unexpected scene when Xi’s immediate predecessor Hu Jintao, who is 79 years old and has been in frail health in recent years, was escorted out of the Great Hall of the People from his seat next to Xi, for reasons that were not immediately clear, though Hu appeared initially reluctant to leave. Of course, the Chinese Press came out with a statement that he was unwell and ‘needed to be lifted-up and shown the way out’.

The sweeping reshuffle of the Standing Committee came after the departure of key party leaders not in Xi’s inner circle – Premier Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, head of China’s top advisory body. Both have been retired despite being one year below the party’s unofficial retirement age of 68 and eligible to serve another term. Xi, at 69, is one year above that informal limit. That’s again unusual.

Also absent is a clear successor to Xi Jinping.

Standing Committee lineups prior to the Xi era have included younger members as potential successors. But with the youngest member now 60 years old, there’s no stand-out name in the mix – a potential sign Xi is not planning to step down anytime soon.

That’s again unusual.

With neighbour Russia already having a President for life, is China following suit? The signs are out there for all to read.

Surgical ISRO

Early this week, precisely on Sunday, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) kicked-off the Diwali celebrations in India with a faultless, efficient launch of its heaviest payload ever of 5,796 kilograms in a maiden commercial mission of its launch vehicle LVM3-M2. The 43.5 metre rocket lifted-off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh State. Its payload consisted of 36 broadband communication satellites belonging to OneWeb. And ISRO perfectly placed all satellites in Low Earth Orbits (LEO) – about 600km above the Earth’s surface – four at a time. Imagine injecting 36 Satellites into LEO without allowing them to come too close together in the crucial 48 hours from injection. The satellites will be slowly pushed up to a final LEO of about 1000 km.

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)-Mark III developed and built by ISRO has been renamed as Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3). It is designed to carry 8,000 kgs of payloads into LEO (and 4,000 kg of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit – that’s about 35,000 km above the Earth). ‘M2’ refers to the fact that this is the second operational launch of LVM3.

The mission was undertaken as part of a commercial arrangement between New Space India Limited (NSIL) and OneWeb.

NSIL is the commercial area of ISRO which owns and builds satellites, provides launch vehicles and launch services, space-based services, satellite building and technology transfer to Indian Industries. Since inception in 2019, this is NSIL’s first commercial mission.

OneWeb (legally called Network Access Associates Ltd), is a communications company that builds and offers broadband satellite Internet services. It is building an advanced satellite constellation, consisting of 648 satellites, moving around Earth, in the LEO, to connect businesses, telecoms, and government partners with high-speed, low-latency, internet connectivity.

This is OneWeb’s 14th launch, bringing the constellation to 462 satellites representing more than 70% of its planned 648 satellite fleet. And has only four more launches to go. While 36 satellites were launched on Sunday, another batch of satellites was expected to be placed in the orbit by early 2023. And ISRO will be doing one more 36 satellite launch, as per its contract with OneWeb.

OneWeb is the world’s second biggest satellite operator – after Elon Musk’s Starlink, operated by SpaceX. OneWeb is headquartered in London, and has offices in Virginia, US and a satellite manufacturing facility in Florida – OneWeb Satellites – that is a joint venture with Airbus Defence and Space. In 2020, OneWeb was acquired by the UK Government and India’s Bharti Global, and has since welcomed leading satellite communications operator Eutelsat on board, as well as additional investment from SoftBank, Hughes Network Group, and Hanwha. That’s a lot of spin. With also those satellites hugging dear Earth, will it not be hard to find gaps for future rockets to fire?

Spectacular Indian Cricket

Though I like cricket, I had given up watching tournaments a long time ago except for crossing the boundary when someone comes over to pitch-in and watch a match at home. This Sunday I did just that when a cousin whose monsoon-rain leaking house was under renovation came over to watch the India-Pakistan ICC T20 Cricket match playing at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Australia. Little did I know there would be a fireworks display of cricket to announce Diwali being celebrated across India and the World, the next day. An India-Pakistan cricket match is always pregnant with possibilities of fierce competition and wild sensationalism. And I was not disappointed.

I lazily got into the match with India winning the toss and electing to bowl. Pakistan started badly, losing wickets, but gradually lit the first sparks, fired-up the stadium, and smoked-out with 159 runs on the board at the end of 20 overs.

India then entered the arena, with 160 runs to fire in 20 overs: expectations, as always, were as high as the Himalayas. A few quick wickets falling and the run rate going below that required for India to win on a trot brought the usual sighs: oohs, aayes, and aahs! With the score at 31 with 4 wickets down in 6 overs, India was in tatters and my cousin was crestfallen and gave-up, but I said I’m an incorrigible optimist and believed India can always hit six sixes – if required- in the last over to win a match.

Former Indian Cricket Captain and awfully out-of-form Virat Kholi was at the crease with Hardik Pandya – known for sending rockets to the spectator stands. And today it was packed with more than 90,000 of them.

Once upon a time, Kohli was a mean run-machine and arguably peaked in 2016, the year in which he scored a masterclass 82 runs of 52 balls again Australia in Mohali in the 2016 T20 World Cup. As the Covid pandemic hit the world, the crowds vanished, and so too Kholi’s form with cheap dismals becoming the norm. Kholi could not find a vaccine to boost his performance until this Sunday. Maybe he held on to self-belief and talked to all those tattoos on his body.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man, goes the tired old saying. Virat Kohli smashed an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls including four massive sixes, and in what could be called the innings of a lifetime to put India within reach of a stunning victory off the final ball. The winning runs were hit by the just-arrived-at-the-crease Ashwin Ravichandran.

Going back to how it all unfolded: after 15 overs, India had a score of 100 runs with the loss of 4 wickets; Virat Kohli was on 42 and Hardik Pandya on 32. And after the 18th over India needed 31 runs off 12 balls, to win; and well into the 19th over it became 28 runs to win off 8 balls. When poised at this stage, Virat hit two bold sixes in succession to bring the score to 144, with 16 runs to win in the last over off 6 balls.

Let me try to bring the intensity and the edge-of-the-seat twist & turns of the thrilling last over – the 20th.

In the first ball, Hardik mistimes a shot and it rises up for any easy catch. Now, it’s 16 runs off 5 balls. In walks wicket-keeper batsman, old warhorse, Dinesh Karthik who has been in this ‘India situation’ many times before. He manages to needle the ball and takes a single run to bring Kohli to bat. Now it’s 15 runs off 4 balls. Kohli hits the next ball and takes two quick singles to bring it to 13 runs off 3 balls. After gathering his breath and surveying a possible Kingdom to capture, Kohli whacks the next waist-high ball for a super six and it is called a No-Ball with a free-hit (add one run and an extra ball). Now it’s 6 runs required off 3 balls. The free-hit ball is bowled and ricochets off the stumps for three runs behind the stumps making it 3 runs off 3 balls and bringing Karthik to face the bowling. Karthik is stumped when he tries to go after the next ball and misses, and it becomes 2 runs off 2 balls. He leaves the field to send spin-bowler Ashwin Ravichandran, who cooly and cleverly leaves alone the last but one ball – judging it to be a wide. It becomes 1 run required of just 1 ball. And a watchful Ashwin hits the last ball to the boundary to win a thriller of a match for India. King Kohli looks on from the other end, sitting on a Throne. A commentator thought he saw a tear in the corner of the King’s eyes. Take a bow, Virat Kohli.

More free-hitting stories will be surgically launched in the weeks ahead. Connect with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-15

About: the world this week, 10 April to 16 April 2022, of course Ukraine, a shooting in the USA, the virus in China, India flies a new plane and shows off its foreign policy, and the festivals we celebrate.

Everywhere

Ukraine

Surely, the hunger for Ukraine to survive and chase out the invader is much more than Russia trying to find nazis in Ukraine or blindly obey the orders of its maniac Boss. Whoever has the best reason and the passion to win the war will ultimately prevail. But the damage and destruction to man and material is monstrous. Will it be possible to resettle and rebuild again?

Russia has probably discovered that it is better to search for nazis in Russia itself. Russian troops seem to be gradually vacating areas cleverly made impregnable by a rock-solid and determined Ukraine. Russia is moving to the Eastern part where they think the chances of hatching some kind of a victory, besides finding hidden nazis, is better than an egg on the face!

Towards the end of the week one of Russia’s most important warships – the guided missile cruiser Moskva- the flag ship of its Black Sea Fleet was abandoned, and sank to settle down at the bottom of the Black Sea. It was destroyed by a cruise missile attack by Ukraine. This is a massive blow to Russia, which will be hard for it to accept. Ukraine said it effectively used the Neptune cruise missiles to attack Moskva and destroy the ship. And of course, Russia says an on-board ammunition explosion caused a fire, which ‘killed the ship’. Either way Russia has a serious problem.

Ukraine is trying to get control of the skies and believes it may decide the outcome of the war. History tells us that in the David versus Goliath Battle, David won. And there is nothing more powerful on Earth than a group of determined people fighting to stay alive. Every day, the stories of strength, heroism, and conviction coming out of Ukraine is overwhelming.

Despite all the noises the war rages on, and maybe it will stop when Russia decides – after being whacked by Ukraine, on land, sea, and the air. And never capable of admitting it.

United States of America

The shootings are back with a bang. At least 16 people were injured – five in critical condition- in a shooting at a subway station in Brooklyn, New York. The shooting happened this Tuesday during the morning rush hour. The attacker showed a clean pair of heels, fleeing the crime scene immediately after the attack.

Police say, the incident is not being investigated as an act of terrorism. And a motive is yet to be established.

Later in the week, Police arrested a Frank R James, 62, accused of the shooting carnage. James had set off smoke grenades in a commuter packed sub-way car and then fired 33 shots with a 9 mm handgun.

Police found him – on a tip-off – at a McDonald’s outlet in Manhattan’s East Village neighbourhood. James was gone when police arrived, but they soon spotted him at a busy corner nearby, when Police cars zoomed-in, Officers leapt out, and soon had him ‘peacefully’ handcuffed.

In recent months, James has railed in online videos about racism and violence in the US and about his experience with mental health care in New York City. Some pointers there, and the reasons need to be unravelled.

Pakistan

This week, Pakistan’s Parliament elected Shehbaz Sharif as its new Prime Minister (PM) following the ouster of PM Imran Khan, in a vote of no confidence. Earlier Imran Khan fended-off every kind of fast, swing, and spin bowling before being declared out due to a decision by the Third Umpire who went strictly by the Rule Book aka The Constitution. Team Imran – Members of Parliament of Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Party – resigned en masse, boycotting the election of the new PM.

Shebaz Sharif is the younger brother of three-time PM Nawaz Sharif. He is the president of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) – ’N’ for Nawaz Sherif the founder- party. Previously, he served as the Chief Minister of Punjab three times, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister of Punjab.

The Government will hopefully stay in place until August 2023, when general elections are due. Until then, anything can happen. And no PM had ever completed a full five-year term in Pakistan’s 75 years history. Maybe a handful more of PMs lying up ahead?

China

The strangulating lockdown in China’s City of Shanghai continues from the beginning of last week. Shanghai is battling one of China’s biggest outbreaks since the coronavirus first came into being in the city of Wuhan about 800 km to the west. This week, on Thursday, cases touched a new high of 27,000 nos.

With the strictest ever curbs, millions in the city are increasingly frustrated, confined inside their homes, struggling to get daily supplies, with reports of shortage of essential items including medical supplies, doing the rounds. For many, their patience has worn thin and is likely to burst, spilling contents all over China.

Meanwhile, the World better keep a watch on what China eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

India

India Flies

This week, the first ever ‘Made in India’ civil Dornier aircraft took to the air and successfully kept its flight path: the plan is that it will provide connectivity to remote towns of northeast India. This is being described as a significant landmark in India’s aviation history.

The 17 seat, Dornier 228 Aircraft undertook the commercial flight from Assam’s Dibugarh to Arunachal Pradesh’s Pasighat on 12th April, taking the Ministers in the Government for a safe ride in the path-breaking flight.

The Dornier is manufactured by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited with technology transfer from Germany, which owns the original Dornier.

India’s New James Bond

India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) is doing his Job with flying colours taking India’s Foreign Policy to new independent heights and connectivity. He even earned praise from Pakistan’s now ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan who said that India has a strong, independent Foreign Policy. And nobody can dictate to India.

On India’s ‘warm energy’ relationship with Russia, EAM Jaishankar said that those who are looking at India’s energy purchases from Russia would be better served if they turned their attention to Europe. He said, “We do buy energy that is necessary of your energy security. But I suspect, looking at the figures, probably our total purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon. So, you may want to think about that”.

With that kind of energy levels, later in the week, though a wee bit slow on the draw, Jaishankar came out with all guns firing. When United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said that the US is worried about India’s Human Rights Record, Jaishankar slightly lifted-up his cowboy hat and said that India too is concerned about US’s human rights record. ‘I would tell you that we also take our views on other people’s human rights situation, including that of the United States”.

In the South of India, in the dirt trails of the olden days, when movie Superstars such as M G Ramachandaran (MGR) and Shivaji Ganesan ruled the silver screen of Tamil Nadu cinema, there was another contemporary, a handsome actor called Jaishankar, who, though could not compete with the two big stars, did soft romantic and action movies and earned his badge as the ‘James Bond of Tamil cinema’. Jaishankar even did Western type cowboy-horse-gun movies and grew his spurs.

Now, I know the name Jaishankar can make a big punch and fire a gun –It has a history, mind it!

Please Yourself

This week a cornucopia of Festivals are being celebrated or were celebrated in India and across the World, and as a friend of mine who works in NASA said in a forwarded message, listing the many festivals: ‘divided by race / religion, but let’s stay united as one mankind’.

We have: Ramadan fasting underway; Ram Navami – Lord Rama’s Birthday, Good Friday – commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the ultimate sacrifice for our sins; Cheti Chand- arrival of spring and harvest and new year for Sindhi Hindus; Vaisakhi/Baisakhi – harvest, again; Puthandu-Tamil New Year’s Day; Chaitra Navratri Parana-the day following which new beginnings can be undertaken…Festivals remind us of the goodness in each one of us: let’s put it to great use by shrinking our differences and expanding our agreements.

More festivals and tales shooting up in the weeks ahead. Shield yourself with World Inthavaaram.