Tag: Cricket World Cup

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 interesting events from 1 November to 29 November 2025: Downfall of a Prince; India’s Bahubali; India’s Bad Doctors; Stunning Bihar Elections; and India’s Women’s Cricket on a high.

A Prince is Taken Down

The scandalous Jeffery Epstein story has been telling in the media over many years and this October it took down a Prince-who was blamed for being ‘sincerely’ involved.

Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier and convicted sex offender operated a vast sex trafficking network of underage girls for himself and his elite associates. His death by suicide in a New York jail in 2019, while awaiting trial, triggered widespread outrage and conspiracy theories.

On 31st October, Prince Andrew of Britain’s Royal Family, brother of the reigning King Charles, was stripped of his royal titles and duties and asked to move out of his royal residence at Windsor Mansion, Royal Lodge, following weeks of intense scrutiny over his links to Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew will now be known simply as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

He will now live in private accommodation in Sandringham Estate, which is privately funded by the King. Andrew’s two adult daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice, will retain their titles as Princesses. Sarah Ferguson, his ex-wife, will also move out of Royal Lodge.

Earlier in October, Andrew gave up his other royal titles, including the Duke of York. In a separate development, it has come to light that Andrew hosted Jeffrey Epstein at Royal Lodge as part of his daughter Beatrice’s birthday celebrations in 2006 – two months after a US arrest warrant had been issued for Epstein for the sexual assault of a minor. What perhaps was the final ‘gold’ nail on the coffin of Andrew’s sacking as Prince arising from his misadventures, was the memoir of Virginia Giuffre who repeated allegations that, as a teenager, she had sex with Andrew on three separate occasions.

Virginia Giuffre was an American and Australian advocate for survivors of sex trafficking and one of the most prominent accusers of Jeffrey Epstein. She founded Victims Refuse Silence, a US non-profit organization dedicated to supporting survivors. Giuffre provided elaborate details about being trafficked by Epstein and his partner-in-crime, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Giuffre pursued criminal and civil actions against Epstein and Maxwell while appealing directly to the public for justice and awareness. She sued Ghislaine Maxwell for defamation in 2015 and the case was settled in her favour in 2017 for an undisclosed sum. In July 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered the unsealing of documents from Giuffre’s civil suit against Maxwell. The first batch of documents was released in August 2019, further implicating Epstein, Maxwell, and their associates. The following day, Epstein was found dead in his prison cell.

In December 2019, Giuffre described being trafficked by Epstein to the Royal Lodge, which shifted public opinion against Andrew. She later sued him in a New York civil court. The suit was settled in February 2022 with Andrew paying Giuffre an undisclosed amount and also making a substantial donation to her charity. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025. Her memoir ‘Nobody’s Girl’ was published posthumously in October 2025 and perhaps galvanised the King to act.

The Royal Family is bound to be, and set, an example in all aspects of life in the Kingdom, and there are no ifs and buts.

ISRO’s Bahubali

India’s, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after being quiet for quite some time, is back with a bang and a new swag.

On 2nd November, ISRO successfully deployed GSAT-7R, a next-generation communication satellite for the Indian Navy, using its LVM3-M5 heavy-lift launch Vehicle Rocket, nicknamed as ‘Bahubali’. The launch took place from the time-tested Sriharikota, and with this success India’s space capabilities received a mighty upgrade. ‘Bahubali’ means ‘one with strong arms’ and the name reflects the Launch Vehicle’s immense lifting strength and consistent reliability across missions.

The name Bahubali is most famously associated with a revered figure in Jain mythology. Bahubali also known as Gomateshvara was a prince who renounced his kingdom after winning a nonviolent duel with his elder brother. Thereafter he meditated for a long time, eventually leading to his spiritual liberation. And the name became famous after a movie – nothing to do with the original -was made showing Bahubali as one of immense physical strength and of heroic character. He is worshipped across India and especially in the State of Karnataka with huge statues showing his full form. One even had creepers crawling up his body, while he was lost in meditation.

Bahubali is India’s heaviest operational rocket, earlier known as GSLV Mk-III with a payload capacity of up to 4,000 kg to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and up to 8,000 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). It is configured as a three-stage launch system consisting of S200 solid strap-on boosters for liftoff thrust; L110 liquid core stage powered by twin Vikas engines; C25 cryogenic upper stage-developed entirely in India.

Bahubali will serve as the baseline launcher for India’s Moon venture – Gaganyaan Human Spaceflight Mission, where its modified version is called Human-Rated LVM3 (HRLV).

The Bad Doctors

India’s capital New Delhi has been relatively free from terrorism for over 14 years. The last time there was a bomb blast was in September 2011 when Dr Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister of India. It took place outside Gate No. 5 of the Delhi High Court, where a briefcase bomb was planted. The blast killed 15 people and injured 79. The Terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) ) claimed responsibility, carrying out the attack with the support of the Indian Mujahideen-an Islamic jihadist group and designated terrorist organisation. Its signature weapons are timed Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) made from Ammonium Nitrate. To complete the connections, HuJI is a Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

The motive for the attack was the commuting of the death sentence, ordered by India’s Supreme Court, for the 2001 Indian Parliament attack convict Mohammed Afzal Guru. The demand was that Afzal Guru should not be hanged. Later, Afzal Guru was indeed hanged, in February 2013, in Tihar Jail.

Over to the present.

In early November this year, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) police stumbled upon wall posters that appeared in Nowgam, Srinagar, expressing support for Jaish-e-Mohammad- yet another Pakistani militant group active in J&K. Until 2019, posters glorifying terror groups were a common sight in Kashmir. The police would usually remove them, but not every time was there a serious investigation into who put them up.

This time, an alert Indian Police Service (IPS) Officer Sundeep Chakravarthy, currently Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar, had a hunch that it might be something more than the usual, and began probing. He started the hunt for the man who put-up the posters. And what followed was not routine. It was a revelation.

From those wall-posters unraveled a terror web, 2900 kilograms of IEDs, a chain of sleeper cells, and a treacherous plot meant to tear through India.

Sundeep didn’t just see paper on a wall, he saw the writing on it and acted before it became an epitaph. The rest never saw it coming. The probe led to the busting of Faridabad’s – what is now termed- White-Collar Doctor (Medical) terror module. That single decision, to investigate promptly, set off a butterfly effect. CCTV footage led to Dr Adil Ahmed Rather of Saharanpur, which led to Dr Muzzammil Shakeel, the seizure of IED-making material, and finally to a full-blown terror module stretching from Kashmir to Delhi and Faridabad.

It’s abundantly clear that had the J&K Police not acted when they did, those explosives, ten to fifteen times more than the one that happened in Pulwama in 2019, could have unleashed devastation on a scale India has not seen since 26/11.

In the following days a joint operation by J&K police, Intelligence Bureau and Haryana police lead them to the residence of Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganai, a Pulwama native and faculty member at Al-Falah Medical College in Dhauj, Faridabad. Adeel Ahmed Rather of Kulgam, employed at a private health facility in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is arrested soon after. On Monday, 10th November around 2,900 kg of explosive material, including 360 kg of ammonium nitrate, is seized from Dr Ganai’s rented home in Faridabad along with an assault rifle, ammunition, batteries, remotes, and timers. An AK-47 rifle and some ammunition are recovered from a sedan car owned by a female doctor, Dr Shaheed, from the same medical college. Several arrests are made in connection with the terror module, all linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Meanwhile, on the same day, 10th November, during peak hours near New Delhi’s Red Fort in the evening, a Hyundai i20 car came to a halt at a traffic signal near Gate No. 1 of Lal Qila Metro Station, roughly 300 metres from the Red Fort, in the midst of slow-moving traffic. The time was 6.52 pm; the signal had turned red. Just then, the car exploded. Several people nearby were blown apart, their body parts strewn. Multiple other cars caught fire, windowpanes were blown, buildings trembled. The explosion killed 13 and injured several others, leaving nearby vehicles gutted, but no shrapnel or pellets were found at the site. It took about three minutes for someone to call the fire brigade.

Then the police and India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) swiftly began a hunt for the attackers and piece-together the ‘doctored’ plan. The multiple-times -sold i20 Hyundai car is traced through registration records and the driver is identified as Dr Umar Mohammad alias Umar Nabi, from Pulwama, J&K. The Bad Doctor was part of the terror module, and panicked after the arrests and seizure of the Ammonium Nitrate, earlier in the day. And turned himself as a suicide bomber driving the i20 Hyundai Car across Delhi, staying put in a parking lot, probably waiting for the busy evening, and then moving into the traffic, for the kill.

Dr Umar was working as an Assistant Professor in the general medicine department at Al-Falah University in Faridabad. His identity was established forensically by the NIA.

Ammonium Nitrate is an odourless, white crystalline chemical widely used as a fertiliser but is also a powerful oxidiser that, under the right conditions, can cause a powerful explosion resulting in fires that burn at high temperatures for sustained periods. Ammonium Nitrate by itself is not considered an explosive. It needs to be mixed with a secondary substance-in this case, fuel oil, which is a petroleum-based product- and triggered by an external detonation that gives off immense heat to explode. And it can be mixed with almost any kind of volatile substance. But the quality is important; pure Ammonium Nitrate is chemically and thermally stable, meaning it requires that external detonation. When combined with fuel oil, it becomes ammonium nitrate fuel, or ANFO, which is a commonly used bulk explosive in the construction and mining industries. It is popular because it is an inexpensive and simple explosive to manufacture and, if handled correctly, safe to store.

The J&K Police quickly arrested Dr Shaheen, a member of the Faridabad terror module, from Al-Falah University in Faridabad and later took her to Srinagar for questioning. Dr Shaheen confessed during interrogation that she and her group of doctors were plotting terror attacks across India. Shaheen told the Police that they had been collecting explosives for the last two years. She was in direct contact with Saadia Azhar, the sister of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, and was an active member of Jamaat-ul-Mominat, the women’s wing of the JeM terror outfit. The wing was established by Saadia in October 2025 to avenge her husband’s death during India’s Operation Sindoor, earlier this year.

Dr. Shaheen completed her MBBS from Allahabad Medical College (1996–2001) batch and later earned an MD in Pharmacology. From 2006 to 2013, she worked as an Assistant Professor at Kanpur Medical College after being selected through the UP Public Service Commission. After that, she suddenly disappeared. She was later dismissed in 2021 for not responding to college notices. After this, she started working at Al-Falah University and where she came in contact with Dr Muzammil.

To sum up, the NIA identified the accused as Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganai, Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather and his brother Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay of J&K and Dr Shaheen Saeed of Uttar Pradesh. The Bad Doctors involved in the Delhi blast were radicalised over the last five years and freely operated from a room in the campus of the Al-Falah University. Of course, the College denies any knowledge, but it’s their job to know what’s happening on its campus. The heat turned on the Medical College itself and further skeletons began tumbling from the proverbial cupboard. The origins of the College had a dubious history. Maybe we need more Sundeep Chakravarthys in the right places?

The Indian Press had a blast of a week with terms such as White-Collar Terror, Home-Grown Terror, gaining traction. Meanwhile, recall that the Government had vowed to treat any terrorist action from the Pakistan side as an ‘act of war’. For the moment we have to wait as the investigation works its way and finds inconvertible evidence to nail the people or country behind. The Bad Doctors had links to Turkey and that would an interesting angle.

Bihar Elections

The Assembly Elections in the State of Bihar was one of the most anticipated this year. When the counting of votes was done on 14th November and final results tumbled out it was an unbelievable, stunning, landslide victory of the India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The NDA secured 202 of the 243 seats, defeating the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan (MGB) Alliance, which secured just 35 seats.

In the NDA, the BJP won 89 seats (20.08% votes); JDU (Janata Dal-United)- 85 seats (19.25%); LJPRV (Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas) -19 (4.97%); HAMS -5 (Hindustani Awami Morcha-Secular); RLM (Rashtriya Lok Morcha) -4.

In the MGB, the RJD won 25 seats (23% of the vote); INC (Indian National Congress -6 (8.7%), plus others.

Incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took the oath for a record tenth time. Incumbent deputy chief ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha took the oath as the deputy chief ministers for the second consecutive time. For the first time, the BJP won the most seats in a Bihar Legislative Assembly election. The RJD, led by Tejashwi Yadav, fell to third for the first time since 2010, while Nitish Kumar’s JDU recorded its best result since 2010. The LJPRV and RLM secured seats for the first time. That’s a great making of new records.

The Congress’ Opposition Leader in Parliament who made wild, baseless statements and allegations against the Prime Minister and the Election Commission of India suffered his record 95th defeat in elections. He left abroad – perhaps of a yet another holiday – tail firmly between his legs.

Sports

India’s Women’s Cricket Team captained by Harmanpreet Kaur clinched the ICC Women’s World Cup in a first-ever win, on 3 November 2025, at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. India beat South Africa by 52 runs in the Finals.

South Africa won the toss and chose to field. India made 298 for the loss of 7 wickets, in 50 overs. That total was the second-highest ever achieved in a Women’s World Cup final.

India’s Shafali Verma, in an extraordinary batting display made 87 off 78 balls to set-up a total of 298 for South Africa to chase down. Deepti Sharma, a world-class off spinner who has raised her batting to a new level this year, backed up with a run-a-ball half-century, making 58 runs.

In reply, South Africa were bowled out for 246 in the 46th over, despite a superb 101 runs off 98 balls, by Captain Laura Wolvaardt. Again, India’s Shafali Verma took two unexpected wickets of characteristic cheek at a crucial juncture, while Deepti Sharma took a five-wicket haul that combined old-school overspin with new-age defensive skills to power the historic win. Perhaps it was the day for Indian all-rounders to discover their class.

India’s has been a campaign of redemption and resilience. From three straight defeats in the group stage to a flawless knockout run, India’s turnaround was as dramatic as it was defining. For a cricket-mad nation long waiting for its women to stand shoulder to shoulder with its men, this triumph felt epochal! Hope, it is the bellwether of a new era!

Overall, sports in India has seen an upswing in recent years, with people making their mark in various games across continents.

More wonderful stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Stay with Freewheeling.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2023-47

About: the world this week, 19 November to 25 November 2023; Hostage release; Two fiery far-right Politicians win in Argentina and The Netherlands; Tunnel rescue; World Cup Cricket; and the Emmys.

Everywhere

The Hostage Release Deal

Israel’s Operation Iron Swords fights-on, and this week Israel began unravelling the tunnels beneath the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Video footage showed hostages being dragged into hideouts inside the Hospital, and it’s become a talking point that the United Nations and the Hospital Authorities knew all along that the Hostages were being held in the Hospital. And that there are certain portions of the Hospital that are strictly no-entry zones, with guns and ammunition being stored in them, and a command centre of the terrorist Hamas. But the onus is on Israel to prove it.

Israel on its part, arrested the Director of the Al-Shifa hospital and some Hospital Officials for interrogation and being complicit in allowing Hamas an ‘underground run’ of the Hospital.

During the week, Israel and the terrorist Hamas closed in on a deal to free hostages taken by the latter in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel and a temporary truce in the Gaza war. The State of Qatar brokered the deal.

The deal will see the release of 50 women and children hostages held captive in Gaza by Hamas. In exchange, Israel will release 150 Palestine women and children held in Israeli prisons. Most of the Palestinian prisoners listed as eligible for release are male teenagers aged between 16 and 18 and a handful as young as 14, about 33 are women. The names published by Israel also lists the charges under which the prisoners are being held. Throwing stones and ‘harming regional security’ are among the most common, but others include support for illegal terror organisations, illegal weapons charges, incitement, and at least two accusations of attempted murder. Israel is currently holding about 7,000 Palestinians accused or convicted of security offences, according to Israeli and Palestinian rights groups.

The deal includes a complete ceasefire on the ground for four days, with Israel allowed to fly sorties over Northern Gaza for 18 hours a day. The deal also provides for between 100 and 300 trucks of food and medical aid, as well as fuel, to enter Gaza.

The first hostage release is scheduled for Friday morning. The truce will begin at 7 am., local time, with an initial group of 13 civilian hostages set to be released around 4 pm. They will be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross and escorted by Israeli soldiers.

As soon as they are out, Israel will release 39 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. If all goes well, this process will be repeated over three more days, until 50 hostages are released in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners, and a substantial increase in aid and fuel for Gaza.

With Hamas and Israel having ‘absolutely no trust between them’ and not seeing eye-to-eye on anything at all, the deal was forged and hammered-in by experienced negotiators in Doha, Qatar.

Late on Friday, the truce held and hostages consisting of 13 Israelis, 10 Thai nationals and 1 Filipino were released in Egypt. And Israel released 39 Palestinian hostages on its part.

Making Argentina Great Again?

Argentina has a new President-elect and a very different one: swashbuckling in fact, with untamed hair that refuses the comb.

He is Javier Milei, a volatile far-right libertarian Politician, an Economist, an Author, who comes fully loaded with radical ideas such as, vowing to ‘exterminate’ inflation; using ‘a chainsaw’ to slash government spending; ‘blowing-up’ the Central Bank; and re-introducing the US dollar as Argentina’s official currency.

Javier Milei, often compared to America’s Donald Trump, secured 55.69% of the vote. Of course, Donald Trump was quick on the draw, congratulating him and saying he would ‘Make Argentina Great Again!’

Milei’s victory sends a clear message: Argentines wanted change, and he was the candidate most likely to deliver. His rise to the top was swift, and he was relatively unknown before winning the primaries back in August this year. But his brash manner, radical campaign proposals, as well as his unruly hairstyle, got the voters to notice him.

In a country mired in economic crisis, where annual inflation is now over 140% and two in five Argentines living in poverty, a drastic new approach to fixing problems is perhaps a clever move. Many Presidents before Milei have tried, and failed, to improve the situation, so there was nothing to lose. The challenge will be how Milei navigates a country in crisis, away from campaign promises, and deals with the reality of trying to improve the situation for millions of Argentines, not making it worse.

Milei is the son of a passenger transport businessman and a homemaker, and his childhood years were marked by a tense relationship with his father. The only family member with whom he has a close relationship is his sister, Karina Milei, who ran his campaign. He calls her ‘the Boss’, and has repeatedly characterised her as the architect of his rise to power.

When Javier Milei was growing up, kids called him ‘The Madman’ because of his energetic outbursts. At the age of 18, Milei, who was then a soccer player, gave up the sport to pursue a career in Economics. He became famous for debates where he would hurl insults at his rivals along with his ‘Madman’ energy.

In an incident in the year 2018, Milei called a journalist ‘a donkey’ and a local court ordered a psychological examination after he refused to apologise for exerting ‘gender violence’.

During his repeated television appearances, Milei didn’t just talk about Economics and Politics: he also delved into his personal life and once presented himself as an expert in tantric sex, openly discussing how he had repeatedly participated in group sex.

Milei hates wokeism, hates socialism, hates the media, hates excessive government spending, hates the political elite… and loves his country.

Javier Milei comes across as a snake-oil salesman who is promising to stare down inflation with drastic libertarian measures. Members of his party have already said they expect the drastic policies will result in massive protests.

The Netherlands

Quick on the heels of Argentina’s swing to the right, the Netherlands followed with its version of a ‘Dutch Trump’ – America’s Donald Trump, flowing hair ‘et al’, is indeed on an aggressive expansionist mode. And the Windmills are spinning.

This week’s General Election results in Netherlands shocked Europe and the world. Dutch voters have thrown their support behind the party of a far-right icon, Geert Wilders,60 years old, causing one of the biggest political upsets in Dutch politics since World War II, and one that is bound to send shockwaves through Europe. The Elections were held on 22 November 2023, for the 150 seated House of Representatives.

Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), has claimed victory. He is often called the ‘Dutch Trump’ because of his bouffant platinum blonde hair, his firebrand rhetoric, his far-right leanings, and his anti-Islam stance.

With nearly all votes counted, preliminary results saw Wilders take 37 seats with 23.6% of the vote in the 150-seat lower house of parliament, more than double the 17 he won in the previous election. A jubilant Wilders said on the win, “I had to pinch my arm.” The GreenLeft Labour Party alliance (GL/PvdA) led by former EU commissioner Frans Timmermans finished second with 25 seats, 15.5% of the vote, and the liberal-conservative Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) led by the outgoing Justice Minister got 24 seats.

While Wilders’ PVV has come out on top at the polls, he will need the support of ‘many others’ to reach the magic number of 76 to govern the country. And he is wasting no time to stitch-together a coalition. He called on other Dutch parties to work together to form a government stressing that his PVV can no longer be ignored.

In politics since 1988, Wilders founded the PVV – the third-largest party in the Netherlands in 2004, placing anti-Islam policies at the heart of his party. He was initially a member of the VVD, which he later left owing to the party’s mild stance on Islam and immigration. He attributes his profound disregard for Islam to the time he spent in a kibbutz in Israel and also the assassination of the radical anti-Islam film-maker Theo Van Gogh, in 2004.

Wilders was born in 1963 in Southern Venlo, close to the German border, in a Catholic family, and has two brothers and a sister. His mother is half-Indonesian.

While he is known for his hardline politics, Wilders is also known for his pets. His two cats, Snoetje and Pluisje, have their own account on X with nearly 23,000 followers.

The focus of Wilders’ PVV is all things anti-Muslim. His manifesto says, ‘The Netherlands is not an Islamic country. No Islamic schools, Qurans and mosques.’ He proposes banning the headscarf in government buildings. On immigration, he has maintains a sharp anti-immigrant tone. ‘Asylum-seekers feast on delightful free cruise-ship buffets while Dutch families have to cut back on groceries,’ his party’s manifesto reads. And he has proposed immigration measures such as restoring Dutch border control, detaining and deporting illegal immigrants, returning Syrian asylum-seekers and re-introducing work permits for intra-EU workers. On foreign policy, the PVV proposes a ‘Dutch first’ approach that includes closing its representation in Palestine’s Ramallah and strengthening ties to Israel, including moving its Embassy to Jerusalem.

A ‘binding referendum’ on a ‘Nexit’ – the Netherlands leaving the European Union – is also in the manifesto, along with an immediate halt to development aid. Wilders is an outspoken Eurosceptic. He has also demanded the Netherlands stop sending arms to Ukraine.

Geert Wilders has often courted controversy for his opinions and even been convicted for his stance. In the year 2017, he called some Moroccans ‘scum’. “There is a lot of Moroccan scum in Holland who make the streets unsafe,” he had said. “If you want to regain your country, make the Netherlands for the people of the Netherlands again, then you can only vote for one party.” He was convicted in a hate speech trial over his promise to reduce the number of Moroccans in the country. His remarks and stance have made him a victim of death threats, and he has been living under round-the-clock protection for years.

In 2009, the British Government had refused to let him visit the country, saying that he posed a threat to ‘community harmony and therefore public security.’ He had been invited to Britain by a member of the House of Lords, to show his 15-minute film ‘Fitna’, which criticises the Quran as a ‘fascist book’.

Geert Wilders, is very popular in the American far-right circuit. In April 2015, he was invited to speak at the Conservative Opportunity Society, a coalition of right-wing politicians in the United States House of Representatives. “There is no moderate Islam. Islam has changed Europe beyond recognition,” Wilders had told the audience. “Our duty is clear: In order to solve the problem, we have to stop mass immigration to the West from Islamic countries.”

In India, Wilders gained prominence last year when he extended his support to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s, Nupur Sharma, who had received flak for her comments on Prophet Muhammad. Wilders had said that Sharma was speaking “nothing but the truth about Prophet Muhammad and his wife Aisha” and even posted in her defence on X, hailing her as a hero. In one post, he wrote, “Appeasement never works. It will only make things worse. So, my dear friends from India, don’t be intimidated by Islamic countries. Stand up for freedom and be proud and steadfast in defending your politician Nupur Sharma who spoke the truth about Muhammad.”

Tunnel Trap

The 41 workers (updated from 40) trapped in the Silkyara Tunnel on the Yamunotri-Gangotri highway of the Char Dham, in Uttarkhand since 12 November are beginning to see light at the end of their tunnel of suffering.

This week a crucial development in the rescue mission was the successful construction of a 6-inch diameter pipeline through the debris in the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel. And in a breakthrough a video was captured using an endoscopic flexi camera sent through a 6-inch pipeline, showing workers in yellow and white helmets receiving food items and speaking to the rescue teams, providing assurance about their well-being. This pipeline facilitated the delivery of food and essential items to the trapped workers, marking a significant progress in the operation.

The rescue operations are being carried out on a war-footing, and it is confirmed that all 41 will be rescued in the next few days. The authorities have kept 41 ambulances, ready at the tunnel site, and facilities are in place to airlift workers in serious condition. The trapped workers will be pulled out on wheeled stretchers one by one through the pipe that is being drilled to reach them. Some of them are expected to crawl out on their own.

World Cup Cricket

This Sunday was pregnant with expectations in every Indian home, that the Indian Cricket Team would win the World Cup given their superb dominating form throughout the tournament – they never lost a match. But then, Australia showed the world how seasoned they were and it appeared that the struggle to stay alive in the tournament provided the strength in their wings for the final flight.

Australia comprehensively defeated India in the World Cup final, first restricting India to a score of 241 in 50 overs – when the famous Indian batting line-up failed to crack the fireworks when it mattered the most.

Australia made a poor start to their batting innings, losing three batsmen for 47 runs inside the first seven overs. And India had the whiff of a win in sight and tails were up! However, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne then built a partnership, adding 192 runs in 36 overs. Australia were within two runs of victory when Travis Head was dismissed by Mohammed Siraj for 137. Glenn Maxwell was the next batsman in, and hit the winning two runs to give Australia a 6-wicket victory.

One of the silent wonders behind the Indian team is Head Coach, Rahul Dravid – The Wall – who brought a calm and authoritative approach to the Indian Team. His influence resulted in India dominating the tournament except for that one bad day in office, in the Finals.

This is Australia’s sixth win – a record that would be hard to beat – and they have lots of lessons to teach India and the others aspiring to hold the World Cup.

Please Yourself

Emmys

The Emmy Awards or Emmys are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit in the American and international Television Industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, and most popular are the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Daytime Emmy Awards.

This week the ceremony called the 51st International Emmy Awards 2023 was held in New York City and awards announced. The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences presented the Emmys to television creators and performers from nine countries.

India’s Actor and stand-up comedian Vir Das made it a night to remember, in New York. He was nominated for an International Emmy for the second time for his Netflix special Vir Das: Landing. He was nominated alongside Le Falmbeau, El Encargado and Derry Girls Season-3 in the comedy category. Vir Das won and shared the prize with Derry Girls – Season 3.

Vir Das dives deep into his childhood in India, the perils of outrage and finding his footing in the world of his fourth Netflix stand-up special. Derry Girls – Season 3 is about a group of working-class teenagers coming of age in the 90’s in Northern Ireland.

India’s Amul Brand said it best in its typical special advertisement to mark such occasions, “Our Emmynent Comedian! AMUL wins everyday!” That’s the taste of India.

Vir Das is best known for his stand-up specials and has acted in films such as Delhi Belly, Go Goa Gone, and Shaadi Ke Side Effects.

India’s Ektaa Kapoor was presented the 2023 Directorate Award for her trailblazing career and impact on Indian Television. She is the co-founder of Balaji Telefilms. She received the award from the famous Indian-American author and alternative medicine advocate, Dr. Deepak Chopra.

More stories will be landing here in the weeks ahead. Taste the news, with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2023-45

About: the world this week, 5 November to 11 November 2023; Israel hunting for the hostages; Nepal’s earthquake; Air pollution in India; Elections in India; and the Cricket World Cup.

Everywhere

Israel, Fighting to Bring Back Hostages

Israeli troops are on the ground in North Gaza taking measured steps to identify Hamas terrorists and surgically eliminate them. Israel has divided the Gaza Strip into two parts – North & South – and has completely encircled the North, encouraging civilians to migrate to the South through a corridor.

Israel agreed to implement daily, four-hour pauses in fighting in selected areas of northern Gaza. Each pause will be announced at least three hours in advance and will give civilians more time to evacuate.

It has become clearer than ever before that weapons and rockets lie beneath schools, hospitals, and homes in the maze of tunnels. And that Palestinian civilians are the human shields besides the hostages. Over 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing war.

There has been no improvement in the hostage situation – about 240 are still held by Hamas for over a month now. Their whereabouts are still unknown and if there is anything the World needs to cry about it is, ‘Release of the Hostages’.

The Pro-Palestine front groups across the world called for an immediate cease-fire given the dire situation of civilians in Gaza. But Israel and its supporting counties, especially the United States (US) brushed it aside arguing that any pause will allow Hamas to re-coup.

US diplomacy efforts are on display with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken making his third visit to the Middle East since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war. The US is trying to keep the conflict from spreading and is also talking about plans for Gaza’s future. Lebanon’s Hezbollah – the next worst thing to Hamas – is firing rockets into Israel and that is becoming a serious provocation.

Nepal’s Earthquake

Late last week a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the remote western region of Nepal. It was a shallow earthquake, meaning it happened closer to the earth’s surface.

More than 150 people have been killed and about 375 people injured. Rescue efforts are underway in the rugged districts of Jajarkot and West Rukum, 500km west of Kathmandu. Strong tremors were felt far away in the Nepalese capital and in cities in neighbouring India, including New Delhi. Jajarkot’s hospital is packed with the wounded.

Nepal is situated along the Himalayas, prone to seismic activity. Last month, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake was registered in the western district of Bajhang, resulting in injuries. In 2015, the country suffered two devastating earthquakes in which 9,000 people were killed and 22,309 injured. The first, on 25 April 2015, was a 7.8-magnitude quake which caused most of the damage and loss of life. A large number of aftershocks followed, including one that measured 7.3 in May of that year.

The Air We Breathe

Over the years, India’s Capital New Delhi has been having a severe air quality problem, with the air becoming unbreathable during festival season of Diwali. And the yet-to-smoke crackers get the blame, though crop stubble-burning in the nearby states of Punjab and Haryana is a major factor.

This week, the air quality of New Delhi remained in the ‘severe’ category for five consecutive days, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 423 this Monday.

The share of stubble burning on Monday was estimated at 26.30%. Though visibility improved during the day, relief from toxic air is unlikely till at least 9th November with AQI predicted to stay in the ‘severe’ zone.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘Good’; 51 to 100 is ‘Satisfactory’; 101 to 200 is ‘Moderate’; 201 to 300 ‘Poor’; 301 to 400 ‘Very Poor’; and 401 to 500 ‘Severe’.

To fight air pollution, the Government of New Delhi has announced the odd-even scheme for vehicles on the road, from 13 November to 20 November, with a restriction on the movement of private vehicles. Electric and CNG-powered cars, and two-wheelers will remain exempted. Having been in force twice in 2016 and once in 2019, experts have questioned the efficacy of the odd-even scheme, saying the current lot of private cars are technologically advanced and don’t contribute much to vehicular pollution. Old two-wheelers, a major contributor to vehicular emissions, have always remained out of the odd-even rule ambit.

The Government had to hurriedly call off the odd-even plan last time after the National Green Tribunal refused to exempt two-wheelers from the scheme. With the exception of Classes X-XII, schools have been shut until 10 November, and Classes will go online. Teachers will be present in person in schools.

With allergies due to air pollution affecting a large majority of Delhi residents, nebulisers and masks are in great demand. Burning and itching eyes, breathing problems, sore throat, and cough are common.

While New Delhi was topping the charts on AQI, India’s ‘Maximum City’, Mumbai was trying to catch up with the air pollution crisis taking a serious toll on its people. Cases of respiratory conditions like asthma, inflammation, and tuberculosis have risen across all age brackets. This has led to hospitals setting up special Intensive Respiratory Care Units.

Mumbai’s deteriorating air quality, which has been overlooked amid soaring pollution levels in Delhi, but it is equally upsetting. On Sunday, the financial capital of India was ranked among the world’s most polluted cities.

The AQI in Mumbai on Wednesday morning was in the “moderate” category, with a reading of 149. Mumbai being a coastal city, was largely free of pollution related problems like haze or smog, due to its geographical advantage of being located on the coast and being surrounded by water on three sides. The strong sea wind eliminates most of the pollutants from Mumbai’s air, saving it from severe conditions like in New Delhi or Kolkata.

The Indelible Ink on our Finger

This week the Election bandwagon got rolling in India with the central State of Chhattisgarh and the north-eastern State of Mizoram heading to the polls for electing legislators to the respective five-year term State Assemblies.

Voting for all 40 Assembly seats of Mizoram- in a single phase, and the first phase of 20 constituencies of the 90 Assembly seats of Chhattisgarh began. The second and final phase for Chhattisgarh will be on 17th November.

In Chhattisgarh, the Indian National Congress (INC) is the incumbent, headed by its Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel having won the previous elections, in 2018, with an absolute majority of 68 seats and about 43.9% of votes. In that election the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) went into the Opposition with 15 seats and 33.6% votes. INC’s Bhupesh Baghel took over from BJP’s Raman Singh who was Chief Minister for an uninterrupted period of 15 years, from 2003 to 2018.

Presently, Mizoram is ruled by the Mizo National Front (MNF) with 27 seats; the main Opposition party is the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) with 6 seats; the INC has 5 seats and the BJP has 1 seat. The Chief Minister is Zoramthanga of the MNF.

This phase of voting ended with Mizoram seeing an impressive voter turnout of 78.04% and Chhattisgarh showing up at 71%.

Other States coming up will be, single-phase elections in Madhya Pradesh on 17th November, Rajasthan on 25th November, and Telangana on 30th November.

Votes for all the five States will be counted on 3rd December.

Re-making Cricket Records

The ongoing ICC Cricket One Day International (ODI) World Cup, hosted by India produced some memorable outcomes.

Glenn Maxwell’s sensational double century in the match against Afghanistan is being hailed as the greatest One Day Innings of all time. He scored an unbeaten 201 runs of 128 balls leading Australia to a three-wicket victory and securing a spot in the Semi Finals. It was a breath taking display of skill and determination. He broke many records on the way including becoming the first player in the world to score a double century on an ODI chase. The match was played in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and Afghanistan set a score of 291/5 for Australia to hunt-down. Australia won, thanks to Glenn Maxwell’s blitzkrieg, putting up a score of 293/7 in 46.5 overs

Meanwhile India’s Virat Kohli smashed his 49th ODI Century equalling the great Sachin Tendulkar’s record feat of most ODI Centuries. He hit the 119 ball century against South Africa on his 35th Birthday. In this match India went on to win by 243 runs after skittling South Africa for just 83 runs. That’s King Kohli at his royal best.

At this stage of the tournament, India, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand have entered the semi-finals. And Pakistan is looking to sneak in through some magic.

More stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Stay with World Inthavaaram. Happy Deepavali.