Tag: Germany

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-47

About: the world this week, 17 November to 23 November 2024: The War bugle missiles; arresting Israel; Iran’s Supreme Leader; Germany shakes; hypersonic India; Adani in trouble; G20 Brazil; Miss Universe 2024; and the Sexiest Man Alive.

Everywhere

Ukraine’s Missiles

In what could be perhaps be the next level in the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine fired United States-supplied long-range missiles into Russia, supposedly a day after the US gave its permission for such attacks. Ukraine used the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) in a strike on Russia’s Bryansk region this week. Five missiles were shot down (by Russia) and one damaged without significant effect. Ukraine also used British missiles at targets inside Russia. All this despite warnings by Russia that it would view such action as a major escalation.

Meanwhile, this week, Russian President, Vladimir Putin approved changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, setting out new conditions under which the country would consider using its arsenal. It now says an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint assault on Russia.

Then in the middle of the week, Russia launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) at the city of Dnipro in Ukraine in what would be the first use in this war of a weapon designed to deliver long-distance nuclear strikes. It was also to show the world that Russia means business and would not hesitate to retaliate. ICBMs are strategic weapons designed to deliver nuclear warheads and are an important part of Russia’s nuclear deterrent.

Arresting Israel

This week, in an outrageous act, The International Court (ICC) of Justice in The Hague issued arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Galant (in addition to a dead Hamas’ Commander). This evoked a strong response from incoming US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who said: “The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been refuted by the US Government. Israel has lawfully defended its people & borders from genocidal terrorists. You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC & UN come January”.

Iran’s Supreme

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, aged 85, is reportedly seriously ill, with his second oldest son, Mojtaba Khamenei, likely to succeed him.

Khamenei has served as Supreme Leader since 1989 following the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, the first to hold the title. He previously served as the third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei’s 35-year-long rule makes him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East, as well as the second-longest-serving Iranian leader of the last century after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

As supreme leader, Khamenei is the most powerful political authority in the Islamic Republic. He is the head of state of Iran, the commander-in-chief of its armed forces. And can issue decrees and make the final decisions on the main policies of the government, in economy, the environment, foreign policy, and national planning. Khamenei has either direct or indirect control over the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, as well as the military and media. There seems to be nothing he doesn’t control!

Shaky Germany

Olaf Scholz, Germany’s least popular Chancellor on record, is facing growing calls within his Social Democrats (SPD) Party to step aside and let his Defence Minister Boris Pistorius lead the party into next year’s federal election.

Germany is set to hold a snap election on 23 February 2025, after Scholz’s ideologically diverse three-way coalition of SPD, Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) collapsed last week following months of infighting.

Scholz, 66, has said he wants to run for a second term and SPD leaders this week individually backed his bid, counting on his experience paying off – despite the party languishing in third place behind the opposition.

However, the final decision is likely to be announced at a party congress in January. And this week, a raft of lesser-known, regional politicians called for a rethink in what would be an unprecedented move – akin to that of the US Democrats in July in persuading President Joe Biden to drop his re-election bid.

India Goes Hypersonic

While the world was asleep, India quietly tested its first hypersonic missile with the ability to strike beyond 1500 kms and capable of speeds of upto more than 5 times the speed of sound at about 6,200 kmh. With this indigenously developed missile technology, India joins an elite club of a small group of nations consisting of the United States, Russia, and China, which have demonstrated similar hypersonic capabilities.

India’s hypersonic missile, developed by the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and industry partners, is designed to carry payloads for the armed forces. A Government statement said that flight data confirmed the successful terminal manoeuvres and impact with a high degree of accuracy.

The test-firing took place from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the eastern coast of Odisha state, last Saturday.

Adani Again

In other India news, in what appears to be a far-fetched overreach, the US Government indicted India’s Adani Group of bribery, in regard to supplies for solar power projects sourced from the US.

This Wednesday the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced charges against Gautam Adani, 62, Sagar Adani, 30, and six others. They are accused of orchestrating a USD 265 million bribery scheme to secure solar energy supply contracts from the Indian government. These contracts were projected to generate profits of nearly USD 2 billion (Rs 16,880 crore) over two decades.

The charges are that, following the promise of bribes to Indian government officials between July 2021 and February 2022, state electricity distribution companies entered into power supply agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). This is a public sector undertaking, that acts, among other things, as an intermediary for power procurement – under the Manufacturing Linked Project scheme of the Government of India. The States involved are, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jammu & Kashmir.

Indian media had this to say, “The indictment against Adani is thin on evidence & details. It is not a judicial order but a hatchet job – bribes alleged, but no clarity on the officials or the quantum involved. This reeks of a strategic attack on India’s growth via its industrial giants”.

G20 Brazil

The 2024 G20 Rio de Janeiro Summit, the 19th meeting of Group of Twenty (G20), a Heads of State and Government meeting, was held at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro from 18th to 19th November 2024. It was the first G20 summit to be hosted in Brazil. Additionally, It marked the first full G20 summit with the African Union as a member, following its inclusion during the previous summit in 2023.

The goals of the Summit were; social inclusion and the fight against hunger; energy transition and sustainable development in its social, economic and environmental aspects; and reform of global governance institutions.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden, and Indian PM Narendra Modi were among the leaders who participated.

PM Modi underlined India’s commitment to bringing 250 million people out of poverty. He emphasised India’s strategy of fusing conventional practices with progressive tactics. And recognised the urgency of implementing digital transformation and making it accessible to everyone especially the deprived. Digital transformation has greatly empowered Indian citizens, who now have easy access to resources through their mobile phones.

Iron Boxing

Think boxing, and almost instantly either Muhammad Ali-The Greatest-or Mike Tyson– Iron Mike-flashes across your mind. Tyson was one of the most fearsome heavyweight champions of all time during his heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Late last week he tried to make a comeback in an intergenerational heavyweight battle.

The boxing bout was between 27-year-old social media influencer-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul and the now 58-year old Tyson. The fight was streamed live on Netflix and played out in front of a sold-out crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Paul beat Tyson by unanimous decision to win, in an event that failed to live up to its enormous hype. Fans were left largely disappointed as Tyson showed his age and was never able to generate any offense against his opponent, landing just 18 punches to Paul’s 78.

Tyson said he had no regrets about his defeat. “This is one of those situations when you lost but still won. I’m grateful for last night. No regrets to get in the ring one last time. I almost died in June. Had eight blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 11 kg in hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight, so I won”.

Looking back, Mike Tyson’s life is absolutely insane. He robbed houses, spent lots of time in jail; got his prison counsellor pregnant; was convicted of rape and sent to jail; bit opponent Evander Holyfield on both ears- during a fight; assaulted two motorists after a traffic accident and was jailed; used the urine of his wife and infant kid to pass doping tests; held kilos of cocaine; owned tigers that ate his neighbours…and much more ferocious stuff -not for the faint-hearted. Perhaps the scariest man on the planet?

Miss Universe 2024 – It’s a Woman

Late last week, on 16th Saturday, 21 year oldMaria Victoria Kjaer Theilvig of Denmark was crowned Miss Universe 2024. She is the first Danish woman to win the dazzling event, held in Arena CDMX, Mexico City, Mexico. She beat 120 other contestants in a more traditional competition than 2023 that featured plus-size, married, and transgender women. The First Runner-up is Nigeria’s Chidimma Adetshina, and the Second Runner-up is Mexico’s Maria Fernanda Beltran. India’s Rhea Singha failed to make it to the top 12. The New Miss Universe was crowned by last year’s Title Holder – Miss Universe Nicaragua, Sheynnis Palacios.

Kjaer Theilvig is a professional dancer and Entrepreneur and aims to become a Lawyer. She is blonde (the first blonde winner since Australia’s Jennifer Hawkins in 2004) and blue-eyed. And was Miss Denmark 2021 and Miss Universe Denmark 2024.

On the sidelines, avid watchers of the competition were sarcastically celebrating the winner being a biological woman following the pageant’s decision permitting transgender women to participate.

The Crown of Miss Universe has changed twelve times over the course of its 70-year history. This year it’s a new Crown called The Jewelmer Lumiere de l’Infini Crown unveiled on 13 November 2024. It is designed by Philippine-based luxury jewelry company Jewelmer, known for specializing in golden Philippine South Sea pearls. It was handcrafted by master jewellers using traditional Filipino and French jewelry design and making techniques, particularly the Place Vendome technique. Each of the golden pearls was harvested and prepared in 377 steps. The design of the crown is meant to encapsulate and evoke the long history of beauty with the Miss Universe Organization and its Queens. Its gold and platinum metal foundations resemble those of the waves and the dance of the universe, which are adorned with hundreds of diamonds and 23 golden South Sea pearls. The biggest golden pearl featured at the top-center of the crown represents the sun, bursting with diamond-adorned golden rays. The French Lumiere de l’Infini translates to ‘Light of Infinity’ and shining Infinitely’ or Infinite Brilliance.

The Sexiest Man Alive 2024

People is an American weekly magazine that specialises in celebrity news and human-interest stories with the stated goal of ‘connecting people’ to the pulse of American culture. The first issue of People hit the stands in the year 1974.

People has been granting the Sexiest Man Alive title every year, since 1985 when actor Mel Gibson discovered he was the sexiest man alive. Since then, People has found 36 sexiest men (hopefully alive). The list includes a galaxy of stars such as: Sean Connery, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Nick Nolte, Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, George Clooney (twice), Michael B. Jordan, Brad Pitt (twice), Pierce Brosnan, Ben Affleck, Johnny Depp(twice), Jude Law, Matthew McConaughty, Matt Damon, Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, Channing Tatum, Adam Levine, Chris Hemsworth, David Beckham, Dwayne ‘the rock’ Johnson, Blake Shelton, Idris Elba, John Legend, Michael B. Jordan, Paul Rudd, Chris Evans, Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy)- last year 2023.

In the year 1993 instead of sexiest man alive, People named Actor Richard Gere and Supermodel Cindy Crawford as the ‘Sexiest Couple Alive’. However the couple split after a year, and Richard Gere went on to win the title on his own in 1999 – a second time,

The Award is chosen by paying close attention to comments and what the general public says on celebrity coverage throughout the year. People’s Editors consult focus groups, which inform discussions among higher-ups in the magazine and the editorial staff is asked to give their own input. They also talk to other celebrities, including women to ‘win’ their views. People starts thinking about who could be next year’s Sexiest Man the day after the last one is published. They consider ‘everyone’, to begin with. Research is done, including focus groups. The magazine editors hold top-secret meetings to decide on the winner.

This Year, People crowned American Actor and Filmmaker John Krasinski, 45, as the Sexist Man Alive – 2024.

He is known for his role as Jim Halpert in the TV sitcom, The Office , where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-wrote and co-starred in the 2018 horror film ‘A Quiet Place’, for which Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Krasinski has given us one of TV’s most beloved characters and, in recent years, has evolved his sense of style.

On the personal side, Krasinski began dating English actress Emily Blunt in November 2008, became engaged in August 2009, and married her in July 2010- that’s a steady series! He now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his steady wife of 14 years and daughters Hazel, 10, and Violet, 8. Actress Emily Blunt joked that she would wallpaper their house with the Magazine cover if her husband received the crown – that needs to be checked out! These days Krasinski is calling his own shots and appreciates the life he’s built together with Blunt. “It’s that beautiful thing where when you’re married to someone, you’re constantly learning and changing and evolving,” he says. “And I’m so lucky to go through all that with her.” Not that his new title will change anything: “I think it’s going to make me do more household chores,” he jokes. “After this comes out, she’ll be like, “All right, that means you’re going to really earn it here at home”.

More sexy and crowning stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Powder-up with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-11

About: the world this week, 10 March 2024 to 16 March 2024: Israel in the Gaza; Germany’s strikes; Nigeria’s ransom; India’s heat & dust; SpaceX, and Kairos; Japan on same-sex marriage; Miss World 2024; and Oscars 2024.

Everywhere

Israeli has said that it would press forward with its military campaign into Rafah, southern Gaza, amid rising international pressure. An ever-growing chorus of voices is calling for Israel not to enter Rafah, one of the last standing safe areas, where 1.5 million people have bundled themselves to shelter from the ongoing war. “We will finish the job in Rafah, while enabling the civilian population to get out of harm’s way,” roared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. With over 130 hostages still held captive by Hamas, there are hardly any other options left for Israel. And the solution -from the Hamas side- is, simply release the hostages.

The highly industrialised country of Germany is facing one of its most challenging times, with strikes on several fronts: train drivers and airport workers walked off the job, causing chaos for millions of travellers and adding to the country’s economic woes at a time of a looming recession.

This week, the German Trade Union, Verdi, called a near-nationwide public transport strike for the second time this month, raising pressure on employers in a dispute over pay and working conditions. Train drivers began a fifth round of strikes in a long-running dispute, after a walkout in the cargo division started this Wednesday.

The strikes are the latest in a wave of industrial actions to hit Germany, where high inflation and staff bottlenecks have soured wage negotiations in key parts of the transport sector, including national rail, air travel, and public transport. Industry has warned about the costs of such strikes, after Europe’s largest economy contracted by 0.3% in 2023 and the government warned of a weaker-than-expected recovery. Just sample this, ‘a one-day nationwide rail strike costs around 100 million Euros in economic output’.

Gunmen who kidnapped 286 students and staff from a school in northern Nigeria last week have demanded a total of USD 620,432 for their release. The school children, some older students, and members of the school staff were abducted on 7th March in the town of Kuriga, northwestern Kaduna State. They gave an ultimatum to pay the ransom within 20 days, effective from the date of the kidnap, and that they will kill all the students and the staff if the ransom demand is not met.

In India the week generated a lot of heat & dust over the Government notifying the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, which primarily speed-tracks citizenship of persecuted minorities in neighbouring countries. The Act excludes Muslims who are a majority in these nations. Muslims can anyway become citizens in the normal process.

Another heat & dust moment was the release of the names and amounts of the Electoral Bonds Scheme – declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court-released by the State Bank of India. Political parties were at each other’s throats on the funds received. In summary, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party with 303 Members of Parliament (MP) received INR 6,000 crore and the Opposition with 242 MPs received INR 14,000 crore!

This week, a SpaceX Starship rocket, launched on its third test flight from SpaceX’s spaceport, named Starbase, on the Gulf of Mexico in Boca Chica, Texas, United States, achieved multiple milestones – according to the Company – before likely breaking apart. The 120 metre rocket weighs about 5,000 tonnes when fully fuelled.

The deep-space rocket went through nearly an hour-long integrated flight test, for the first time flying around the globe, but contact was lost during the final stages of the test, just as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere. The spacecraft was expected to splash down in the Indian Ocean, putting the gargantuan vehicle in a position to move on to more complex test flights and, eventually, carry NASA astronauts to the moon’s surface. But after re-entry, the team lost two key pieces of communication at the same time. The team then made the call that the ship has been lost, hence no splashdown.

SpaceX also never intended to recover Starship after this flight test. And the Starship spacecraft made it much farther into flight than during two previous tests in 2023. The company routinely frames failures during these early test flights as normal: the goal being to gather crucial data, so that engineers can go back and tinker with the Starship, improving it for future missions. SpaceX considers the Starship system crucial to its founding mission: to carry humans to Mars for the first time. And critically, NASA has chosen Starship as the landing vehicle that will ferry its astronauts to the lunar surface on the Artemis III Mission, slated to take off in September 2026.

In smaller space news, on 13th March, Kairosa rocket, made by a Japanese Company, Space One, exploded just seconds after its inaugural launch. It had blasted off from the Company’s Launch Pad, Spaceport Kii, in the Kii Peninsula on the island of Honshu, Wakayama region of western Japan, carrying a small government test satellite. Space One was hoping to become the first Japanese company to put a satellite in orbit.

Kairos is a small, 18 metre long, solid-fuel three-stage and liquid propellent upper stage rocket. The name KAIROS means Kii-based Advanced & Instant Rocket System. The name also borrows from an Ancient Greek mythological concept of time, where Kairos means ‘chance’ or ‘opportune time’. Looks like this time, opportune time wasn’t on their side.

Japan is a relatively small player in the Space launches. And the setback for Space One and the rocket industry in Japan comes as the Government and investors ramp up support for the sector amid a national security buildup and skyrocketing demand for commercial satellites.

Tokyo-based Space One was established in July 2018 by a consortium of Japanese companies, the major ones being: Canon Electronics, IHI Aerospace, Shimizu Corporation, and the Development Bank of Japan.

“The rocket terminated the flight after judging that the achievement of its mission would be difficult” said Space One. It did not specify what triggered the self-destruction after the first-stage engine ignited – or when the company would launch the next Kairos – only pledging an investigation into the explosion.The company said that the launch is highly automated, requiring only about a dozen ground staff, and that the rocket self-destructs when it detects errors in its flight path, speed, or control system that could cause a crash that endangers people on the ground.

Continuing with Japan, a high court on Thursday said the country’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, ruling on a matter that has divided lower levels of the judiciary and put the conservative government at odds with shifting public opinion. Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven industrialised nations that doesn’t offer legal protection for same-sex unions. Rights groups say the omission is discriminatory and hurts its appeal as a global business centre. There is a growing risk that Japan will be left behind by international trends and excluded from being an option as a place to work; and whether Japan will become a society that accepts diversity.

Late last week, the World got a new Miss World. Besting 112 of her fellow titleholders from across the globe, Krystyna Pyszkova of the Czech Republic, a 23 years old law student and model, was crowned Miss World 2024. This year, the International pageant, the 71st, was held on Saturday in Mumbai, India.

Pyszkova replaces the outgoing Miss World, Karolina Bielawska, of Poland, whose reign dates to March 2022. The Miss World 2023 was not held due to scheduling issues. The three runners-up are: Yasmina Zeytoun of Lebanon, Ache Abrahams of Trinidad and Tobago, and Lesego Chombo of Botswana. India’s Sini Shetty, the winner of the Femina Miss India Title and India’s participant, bowed out after a top-eight finish.

Across a series of events during the preliminary competition, including fitness, beauty, talent, and public speaking, several contestants won ‘fast track’ places in the top 40, a cohort announced at the start of the show. Thereafter, the field was quickly slashed to top 12 and then top 8, at which point the contestants participated in the classic Question & Answer round, addressing topics discussed at the most recent G20 Summit. Asked to shed light on an issue impacting women’s health care specifically, Pyszkova spoke about removing the stigma and shame surrounding menstruation, saying that ‘being a woman is a gift’ and that periods should not be a taboo subject.

In the final, four contestants were left to ‘pitch their purpose’ – or philanthropic platform- to a trio of business moguls from ‘Shark Tank India’. Pyszkova pitched for making it a lifelong mission to providing quality education to unprivileged children, given that there are over 240 million children out of school, worldwide. A proper education would enable a child to realise his/her dream.

Shark Tank is as American Business Reality TV series which shows entrepreneurs making business presentations to a panel of five venture capitalists, called ‘sharks’, on the program, who decide whether to invest in their companies.

The 96th Academy Awards 2024, the Oscars, were announced this Sunday at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation, Hollywood, honouring movies released in the year 2023.

Host Jimmy Kimmel kicked off the show by welcoming ‘these beautiful human actors’ in attendance after a hard year of strikes. He called out Academy members for not nominating Greta Gerwig for best director (Barbie), made a joke about Robert Downey Jr’s troubled (battle with drugs) history, calling the night ‘one of his highest points’, the length of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ (a meaty run-time of 206 minutes) and Actor Bradley Cooper’s habit of taking his mother to Awards shows.

Later in the night, Kimmel read a Truth Social post from Donald Trump attacking his role as host and asking ABC to replace him. “Isn’t it past your jail time,” he joked.

Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic Oppenheimer triumphed at the Oscars taking home seven awards including best picture, best actor, and best director.

The drama, telling the story of the ‘father of the atom bomb’, lost the box office battle to Barbie during last summer’s Barbenheimer showdown, but has now won the awards war with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie winning just one Oscar for best original song!

The ceremony brought back an old practice where a group of previous winners present acting Oscars, which allowed for actors such as Lupita Nyong’o, Sam Rockwell, Ben Kingsley, and Jennifer Lawrence to pay tribute to friends and co-workers.

Cillian Murphy was named best actor for his Oppenheimer performance beating out the likes of Paul Giamatti and Jeffrey Wright. This is his first Oscar from his first nomination, is also the first ever Irish-born winner in his category. “I’m a little overwhelmed,” he said before dedicating his award “to the peacemakers everywhere”.

Robert Downey Jr was named best supporting actor, up against Robert De Niro and Ryan Gosling. He won his first Oscar after being nominated twice before for ‘Chaplin’ and ‘Tropic Thunder’. “I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the Academy in that order,” he said, before later adding: “I needed this job more than it needed me.”

Nolan picked up his first best director Oscar, after being nominated previously for Dunkirk, beating out Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Glazer. When speaking about cinema in his speech he said: “We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here but to know that you think I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.” The film also won for editing, cinematography, and score.

Actress Emma Stone pulled a surprise, beating out favourite Lily Gladstone to be named best actress for her role in Yorgos Lanthimos’ off-beat period comedy, ‘Poor Things’. It’s the actor’s second, best actress Oscar after previously winning for ‘La La Land’. “It’s not about me, it’s about a team that came together to make something greater than the sum of its parts,” she said during an emotional speech. But ‘poor thing’ she suffered a wardrobe malfunction when the back of her strapless Louis Vuitton Gown split open. And did not reveal any rich thing. Looking hard, behind this season, might well have become a nude Oscar ceremony!

Jonathan Glazer’s German and Polish-language Holocaust drama ‘The Zone of Interest’ was named best international feature, the first-ever British film to win in this category. The film also won for sound. It’s about a Nazi commandant and his wife who live with family in a home in the ‘Zone of Interest’ next to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role in 70s-set comedy-drama ‘The Holdovers’ after winning every major precursor award on her way to the stage. “For so long, I’ve always wanted to be different and now I realise I just need to be myself,” a tearful Randolph said in her speech.

Barbie won just one award from its eight nominations, taking home the best original song Oscar for Billie Eilish’s, What Was I Made For? Eilish, winning with brother and collaborator Finneas, received a standing ovation earlier in the evening after performing the song on stage. The pair previously won for, ‘No Time to Die’.

Oscars 2024 ceremony took a wild turn when American Professional Wrestler and Actor, John Cena, walked on stage nude to present the Best Costume Award. Jimmy Kimmel introduced Cena as the presenter of the category, by hinting that he will appear nude on stage. However, Cena appeared hesitant to walk out with no clothes. Kimmel, tried to convince him and eventually forced him out of the wings to present the award. Cena covered his modesty with the envelop featuring the winner of Best Costume. After announcing the category, the presentation cut to the nominations. In the brief space, Kimmel draped him with a massive curtain. Relieved with the ‘cover-up’, Cena then presented the Best Costume award to ‘Poor Things’.

Beautiful stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Crown yourself with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2023-03

About-the world this week, 15 January to 21 January 2023, a world of ‘Tanks’: Military Tanks Wanted; an Aircraft tanks; and empty tank in New Zealand; Tanks to fill in Davos; India’s unfilled Census Tank; and a Tennis player runs on a full tank at the Australian Open.

Everywhere

Ukraine: Tanks Wanted

The illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine bleeds on and now a hero that could secure a victory for Ukraine seems to be Tanks. Many countries supporting Ukraine have already sent or committed to sending Tanks to Ukraine to defend itself from the Russian onslaught. The pressure is also on Germany to send its Leopard-2 make tanks, which can make a significant difference on the battle-ground.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to destroy the independent existence of a neighbouring country with war crimes, genocidal actions, and relentless targeting of the civilian population, is the closest we have come since 1945 to what Adolf Hitler did in World War-II. And Germany has a unique historical responsibility to help defend a free and sovereign Ukraine. For the rest of the world, Russia should be defeated to deter future aggression by rouge-minded countries, say China, around hot-spot places such as Taiwan; or North Korea, which dances a lot on the border with South Korea.

Meanwhile, there is daily and continuing tragedy in the Russian-Ukraine War. This week, a helicopter crash killed Ukraine’s Interior Minister, Denys Monastyrskyi, his first deputy, Yevhen Yenin, other senior officials, and several children. No area seems untouched by the unbelievable situation in Ukraine.

Nepal Plane Crash: An Aircraft Tanks

Over the years commercial plane accidents have crashed to low levels, and the odd crash does makes high news.

This Sunday, Nepal’s Yeti Airlines’ Flight 691 – a twin-engine ATR 72 Aircraft – flying from Kathmandu with 72 people on board, crashed before arrival at Pokhara, which International Airport was inaugurated on 1 January 2023. All passengers have died. And this is Nepal’s worst air disaster in three decades. The plane came down in a gorge of the Seti River, near the tourist town of Pokhara: the plane rolled sharply as it approached the runway and then hit the ground, just over a kilometre from the airport. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined.

The passenger manifest consisted of 53 Nepalese, 5 Indians, 4 Russians and 2 Koreans, and 1 each from the United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, and France.

Anju Khatiwada, the co-pilot of the ill-fated flight lost her husband, Dipak Pokhrel, in a plane crash 16 years earlier. Coincidentally, he had also been co-piloting a Yeti Airlines flight-and it was his death that spurred Anju to pursue a career in aviation. Dipak was in the cockpit of a Twin Otter Prop plane, which was carrying rice and food to the western town of Nepal’s Jumla when it came down and burst into flames in June 2006, killing all nine people on board. Four years later, Anju climbed on the path to becoming a pilot, overcoming many obstacles, to train in the United States. Once qualified, she joined Yeti Airlines. A trailblazer, Anju was one of just six women employed by the airline as pilots, and had flown close to 6400 hours. “She was a brave woman”, said an Official.

New Zealand: An Empty Tank

New Zealand’s Prime Minister (PM) Jacinda Ardern, 42, has had enough and is calling it quits. This week, Ardern announced she will resign as PM next month, saying, “I no longer have enough in the tank”, to lead. She choked as she detailed how six challenging years in the job had taken a toll. She had taken time to consider her future, over the summer break, hoping to find what she needed to carry on, but unfortunately she could not, and hence the decision.

Ardern will step down as Labour Party leader around 7th February. Meanwhile, there will be a vote in the coming days to determine her replacement. And New Zealand goes to the polls- a General Election-on 14 October 2023.

Ardern, at 37, became the youngest female head of government in the world when she was elected PM in 2017. And a year later, she became the second elected world leader to ever give birth while in office. She superbly steered New Zealand through the initial part of the Covid19 pandemic (though she could not make a success of it later on) and its ensuing recession, the Christchurch mosque shootings, and the White Island volcanic eruption. Ardern also led her Labour Party to a landslide election victory in 2020. But, in recent months, her domestic popularity has declined, according to opinion polls. She made missteps in the later stages of the Covid19 pandemic, could not get the economy back on track, and was unable to reduce inequalities in New Zealand. Lawless also ‘became common’ and has not been brought under ‘safe control’.

According to the media, Jacinda Ardern was subject to unprecedented hatred and constant abuse during her time in power, which could have inadvertently taken a toll on her and driven her to make the big announcement… and sleep well after a long time!

Some people have that intuition to move on after a job in done – on their calling. Maybe Jacinda Arden discovered that, and now needs to fill her tank with other kinds of fuel.

Money Matters: Tanks to Fill

The Switzerland based international, non-governmental, lobbying, World Economic Forum (WEF) is holding its 53rd Annual Meeting at the mountain resort of Davos in the Eastern Alps region of Switzerland, between 16 and 20 January 2023.

The meeting brings together some top decision-makers from government, business, and civil society to address global issues and priorities for the year ahead.

This includes about 3,000 paying members and selected participants – among whom are investors, business leaders, political leaders, economists, celebrities, and journalists.

This year’s theme is, ‘Cooperation in a Fragmented World’. On the agenda is climate change, The Russia-Ukraine War, food security, energy, and of course, the global economy, which will be discussed across 500 sessions.

Says the WEF, “The world today is at a critical inflection point. The twin triggers of the Covid19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war have rattled an already brittle global system. Economic growth in the world’s largest economies is stalling, while navigating headwinds from rising food and energy prices. For the first time since the 1970s, the world is facing a precarious disequilibrium with growth and inflation moving in opposite directions. Unless systemic and interconnected risks are addressed, the promise of a ‘decade of action; may become a decade of uncertainty and fragility”.

The wisdom is oozing out on the slopes of the Alps, and I hope we get a cool, nice little ’To-Do List’ as an outcome of the ‘Davos Brain-work’.

India’s Measures a Delay: Unfilled Census Tank

In the year 1881, more than 250 million people in India answered a list of questions put to them by hundreds of enumerators, and were counted in British India’s first synchronised census. For the next 130 years, after independence and through wars and other crises, India kept its date with the census. Once a decade, hundreds of thousands of enumerators visited every household in the country to gather information about people’s jobs, families, economic conditions, migration status and socio-cultural characteristics, among other parameters. It’s used to make decisions on everything from allocating Central Government funds to State Governments, and building schools, to drawing constituency boundaries for elections. And India had mastered the craft of taking a census – teaching it to other nations, as well.

“The census is not simply a count of the number of people in a country. It provides invaluable data needed to make decisions at a micro level,” says a development economist who has worked extensively on poverty and inequality.

The exercise generates a trove of crucial empirical data for administrators, policymakers, economists, demographers and anyone interested in knowing where the world’s second-most populous country (set to overtake China this year) is headed. Say, what will it mean when Indians outnumber Chinese.

But for the first time, India’s decennial census, the seventh – which was set to be held in 2021 – has been delayed, primarily due to he Covid19 pandemic, with no clarity on when it will be held. Experts say they are worried about the consequences, which range from people being excluded from welfare schemes to unbalanced resource allocation.

The Government had planned to conduct a population survey to update the National Population Register (NPR) along with the census. Opposition and regional parties have been demanding that the Government should also conduct a ‘Caste Census’ to revisit the ‘caste based quota’ in the country. The State of Bihar has also ordered a caste census in its State.

The Government is chewing on all these issues and looking at the angles. And there is no alternative to a credible national survey such as at the Census. Now, with the General Elections coming-up in mid 2024, the census can probably take place only in late 2024. And would be the first task of the new Government to get cracking on.

Australian Open: A Tank Always Full

The Australian Open Tennis Grand Slam Tournament has opened in Australia and this time Serbia’s Novak Djokovic is back. The 21-time Grand Slam winner began his campaign in style defeating Spain’s Carballes Baena in straight sets.

Defending Champion, Spain’s Rafael Nadal lost to America’s Mackenzie McDonald after sustaining an injury. And so did British Wonder Woman, Emma Raducanu to 18 years old American Coco Gauff. Gauff defeated Raducanu 6-3, 7-6 (4) to go to the third round, in a slow-burning match that saw the intensity and quality rise in the dying seconds.

England’s Andy Murray, a multiple-time runner-up at the Australian Open, played a final-like-match in his first round stunning Italy’s Matteo Berrettini -the 2022 Australian Open semifinalist- as he rolled back the years to reach the second round. Murray needed to display magic to overcome 13th seed Berrettini. He did just that, in 4 hours and 49 minutes, winning the first two sets before going down in the next two and saving a match point in the decider. He won the match by 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (7), and 7-6 (10-6).

Murray has regularly defied the odds since coming back from the hip surgery in 2019, which he thought would end his career. But then, he must not have realised that there was more in store for him. Two days later, Murray did it again with a comeback that ranks as simply extraordinary, even by his standards. He produced another scarcely believable display to fight back from two sets down to beat Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis in yet another epic match. In one of the longest in tennis history, Murray won 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 7-5 on a night of gruelling physical and mental endurance. The second-round match started at 22:20hrs and lasted 5 hours 45 minutes.

That’s back-to back mighty tough matches. Murray’s Tank is always full, hope it does not get drained to the bottom. He was not allowed to use the toilet during the match, despite making a request – maybe that kept the pressure.

Fight your battles with Tanks, play your game well, keep your tank filled, always. Stay with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-50

About: the world this week, 5 December to 11 December 2021, the Russia-India Love Story, German chemistry produces a new Leader, Myanmar sentences a civilian Leader, and India loses its first Chief of Defence Staff in a tragedy.

Everywhere

From Russia With Love

India and Russia have been best friends for many decades, and they keep the friendship warm with Annual ‘Tea & Coffee’ Summits. And exchanging powerful gifts on the sidelines. This year, President Vladimir Putin came over to visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday in New Delhi with a bear-hug and a missile defence system tucked under his arm. The swagger of the two leaders ‘walking down up and down’ was a sight to behold!

I almost expected President Putin to rip off his shirt-with some tips from our own Bollywood Hero, Salman Khan- grab a horse, don a cowboy hat, and dive into Delhi’s nearing ice-cold water for a brief escape from the polluted air; while PM Modi had his hands full, on the drums of India!

At a time when people are thinking booster doses against COVID19, India received a booster dose for the country’s military with the leaders agreeing to take a new missile defence system deal forward: the S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system. It is one of the world’s most sophisticated, with the ability to reach multiple targets at a maximum distance of about 400km. It is also a more affordable option, for India, costing reportedly half of that of a similar United States’ Patriot missile defence system.

PM Modi beamed that the ties between the Nations have remained unchanged, ‘and hot’ even during the pandemic (when hugging each other could be infectious) and that the special, privileged strategic partnership continues unabated. And that 2021 is a significant year in relations between the countries with Putin playing a very important role in strengthening ties over the past two decades.

Putin took home -as a Return Gift from India -some exquisite Agate bowls hand-made by tribal artisans in the Khambat region of Gujarat: one set of brown bowls with an intricate pattern of mineral work; another bowl, rich yellow in colour, with one section showing off an interesting black and white pattern.

Agate -primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks – is a rock formed mainly of chalcedony and quartz, with various minerals suffusing it with a variety of hues and patterns. So beautiful are these patterns that agate is a natural choice for semi-precious jewellery and ornaments.

Agates, in India, are found in the Rajpipla hills of Gujarat State. In nearby town of Khambat, these agates are moulded into a variety of ornaments, from multi-stringed necklaces to massive bowls and sculptures. It takes the eye of an artist to look at a lump of rock, see the patterns within and carve and polish in such a way that these natural patterns are brought forth with stunning beauty. One of the most fascinating agates is the moss agate, which looks like ancient moss embedded in translucent rock. It is not fossilised moss, however, the network of green fronds is created with iron ore.

Gift a Missile and receive Agate history, fused in rock.

German Chemistry

She’s a Chemist holding a Doctorate (PhD) in Quantum Chemistry. Her husband is also a Chemist and researches at Berlin’s Humboldt University. That’s Angela Merkel, the 67 years old German Chancellor, who making good on her pledge, stepped down on 8 December 2021, after 16 years as Chancellor, to make way for a coalition Government led by her successor Olaf Scholz.

Her chemistry background was a good formula to make and solve coalition equations, keeping the different chemicals physically together; it also brought a calm demeanour in handling the COVID19 pandemic. She has a mixed record as Chancellor, but her exit from power has been a model of grace and restraint.

Merkel was the first woman to be elected as Chancellor, and the first Chancellor since German reunification to have been raised in the former East Germany.

In 1977, at the age of 23, Merkel, then Angela Kasner, married physics student Ulrich Merkel and took his surname. The marriage ended in divorce in 1982. Her second and current husband is quantum chemist and professor Joachim Sauer, who has largely remained out of the media spotlight. They first met in 1981, became a couple later, and married privately on 30 December 1998. She has no children, but Sauer has two adult sons from a previous marriage.

She lived the life of a normal next-door neighbour and brought no Office airs to her neighbourhood.

Angela Merkel once said she wanted to leave politics before she became a ‘half-dead wreck’. Glad, she’s fully alive to that!

Her’s will be a tough act to follow, but the incumbent Chancellor seems up to the task, reading from the chemistry of his background.

Myanmar’s Sentences

In troubled Myanmar after ousting a democratically elected Government about 10 months ago in a coup, the Military Junta piled up about a dozen ‘not so noble charges’ on Nobel Peace Laureate and former civilian Leader Aung San Suu Kyi that add to combined maximum possible sentences of more than 100 years. The kaleidoscope of charges include violating COVID19 protocols, the mandatory corruption (of course), illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies…and the kind. This week in a first verdict, she was sentenced to four years in jail, which was then shot down to half.

More than 1300 people have been killed by the Myanmar Security Forces, since the coup, and more than 10,000 arrested. Oh, Myanmar, when will your sentence end?

Tragedy in the Hills

The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the three divisions of India’s defence forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The President can declare War or Peace on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers (includes the defence Minister) headed by the Prime Minister (PM).

India never had a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) since independence in 1947 and the separate Chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force advised the Defence Minister, on matters related to India’s defence and territorial integrity.

After the Kargil War of 1999, when India fought Pakistan and successfully pushed-back infiltrators along the Line of Control, a Kargil Review Committee suggested the creation of a CDS post with the aim of improving coordination, tri-service effectiveness, and overall integration of the combat capabilities of the Indian armed forces. Though the idea was previously proposed, it never saw the light of the day until PM Narendra Modi announced the decision during his Independence Day speech on 15 August 2019 at the Red Fort, New Delhi.

On 24 December 2019, the Cabinet Committee on Security formally announced creation of the position; a four-star general, a tri-service chief, selected from among the serving officers of the Indian Armed Forces who shall lead the defence forces. While being ‘first among equals’ among the service chiefs, the CDS is a single-point military advisor to the Defence Minister of the Government of India.

On 31 December 2019, Army Chief, General Bipin Rawat was appointed as India’s first CDS and he took office on 1 January 2020. He was named CDS just a day before he was to retire from service, after completing a full three-year term as Chief of Army Staff.

Gen Rawat completed his schooling at Cambrian Hall School, Dehradun, and St.Edward’s School, Shimla before joining the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, and then the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He also graduated from the Defense Services Staff College, Wellington, Coonoor, India, and the Senior Command Course of the United States Army Staff College, Fort Leavenworth Kansas, United States.

He was commissioned into the Indian Army in December 1978 in the fifth battalion of 11 Gorkha Rifles and rose up the Army ranks to become the 27th Chief of Army Staff, taking over from his predecessor, General Dalbir Singh Suhag, on December 17, 2016.

Gen Rawat became a highly decorated Officer, a veteran of counterinsurgency warfare and has served in some of the most difficult terrains of India, including the northern and eastern commands. Gen Rawat is known to be forthright, fearless, and blunt at times. He considered China as India’s arch enemy and was boldly outspoken about it. In the role of CDS he brought energy and purpose to military reforms and built up a momentum.

During his 43 years of service, Gen Rawat served on various responsible positions on the rungs of the Army ladder. He was also a part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force and has commanded a multinational brigade in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

General Bipin Rawat has been at the centre of hot pursuits and surgical strikes that we have now become familiar with – especially the Balakot Surgical Strikes of 2019.

Let me tell you a story of his command.

In June 2015, eighteen Indian soldiers of the Dogra Regiment were killed in an ambush by militants of National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang or NSCN (K) belonging to the United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFW) in Manipur. The Indian Army swiftly responded with a cross-border strike. A crack team of 70 commandos of the 21st battalion of the Parachute Regiment entered Myanmar and struck a terrorist base, completely destroying militant Group’s camps. They returned within 40 minutes leaving at least 38 Naga insurgents dead and several injured. The operation was overseen by General Officer Commanding, Bipin Rawat, at that time.

Now, back to the Chief of Defence Staff.

On 8 December 2021 General Bipin Rawat along with his wife, Madhulika Rawat– President of the Army Wives Welfare Association – was on an official visit to the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Coonoor, Tamilnadu – a homecoming to his Alma Mater. He was scheduled to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course.

He arrived at the Indian Air Force (IAF) Sulur base, near Coimbatore, by plane from New Delhi and hopped onto to an IAF Mi-17V5 Helicopter to make the, about 30 minutes, journey to Wellington. With him on the helicopter was his wife and twelve other Army and Air Force Officers. The helicopter was piloted by Wing Commander P S Chauhan and Squadron Leader Kuldeep. Seemed like an ordinary day in the peace-time work-life of the Army, but it wasn’t to be.

Almost at the end of the flight, about 10 minutes before landing, around 12.30pm, the helicopter unexpectedly crash-landed, bursting into flames in the Katteri Park area of Nanjappanchathiram of the Nilgiris Hills, near Coonoor.

The Mi-17V5 helicopter was last seen flying in the Nilgiris valley from East to West at a low altitude, in thick mist, when it suddenly did a U-turn, turned North, flew about 100 meters, caught fire, and rammed a tree before crashing into a hill.

The intense flames burnt and martyred General Bipin Rawat, 63 years old, and all on board with the exception of Group Captain Varun Singh, who as seriously injured, and is the lone survivor of the crash. He is fighting for his life in hospital, with over 80% burn injuries. Recently, in August this year, Group Captain Varun had been awarded the Shaurya Chakra one of India’s highest Gallantry Awards for showing exemplary courage in handling of his Tejas Fighter Jet after it faced major technical issues during a sortie in October 2020. He successfully landed the aircraft despite losing control due to multiple technical failures.

Gen Bipin Rawat himself survived a helicopter crash in February 2015, when he had a miraculous escape when the single-engine Cheetah copter in which he was travelling crashed in Nagaland. At that time he was a Lt. General and heading the 3 Corps, headquartered at Dimapur, Nagaland. The pilot had lost control of the helicopter, which dropped like a brick from a height of 20 metres. General Rawat had suffered minor injuries in the accident.

The other Officers who were martyred in the present crash are: Brigadier LS Lidder, Lt Col Harjinder Singh, Wing Commander PS Chauhan, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, Junior Warrant Officers Das and Pradeep A, Havaldar Satpal, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Naik Gursewak Singh, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar and Lance Naik B Sai Teja. It was a Herculean task to identify the bodies.

Let’s delve into the technicals of the helicopter of the crash.

The Mi-17V5 helicopter, the work-horse of the Indian Military-is Russian made and built like a battle Tank, with twin engines of 2700 HP engine power, capable of transporting 36 armed soldiers, or 4500 kilogrammes of load on a sling. It is probably the only Helicopter in IAF’s inventory with full-authority digital control system, which basically makes the engine inherently safe, efficient, and reliable. The Mi-17V5 is equipped with four swappable multifunction displays: weather, radar, radio altimeter readings giving accurate measurement, night vision equipment to fly in pitch-dark conditions, and an exceptional autopilot which has the capability to auto-hover.

The Mi-17V5 has infrared suppressors to protect against heat-seeking missiles, chaff and flare dispensers to provide passive electronic warfare capability, and noise and deception jammers to evade radar-guide missiles. It has a wire cutter in the front to cut wires if it inadvertently encounters cables. The helicopter is heavily protected with armoured plates. It has self-sealing fuel tanks made of material called Hycatrol and is also covered with polyurethane fire retardant foam giving it protections against explosions. Simply put, it is nearly impossible to shoot down this helicopter.

Diving deeper into the basic working of helicopters: They fly purely by the thrust generated by the engines which is transferred to the rotors. The main rotor produces the thrust which is equivalent to the weight of the helicopter when in hovering condition. If the engine fails, the helicopter needs to trade height to maintain main rotor rotation and the pilot has to quickly find a place to land. In this condition, the fall is almost vertical and survival depends on the terrain below, weather, and crew training. Helicopters have another peculiar design aspect: to counter the torque of the main rotor, so that the body does not rotate in the opposite direction, a tail rotor is provided to act as a counter-balance. Failure of the tail rotor can be catastrophic.

I’m beyond grief and disbelief on this Himalayan loss of soldiers who tirelessly work to protect the country. Their lives are precious and irreplaceable. How did the accident happen against the might of such mind-boggling technology, with strenuously trained pilots, battle-ready Defence Officers inside the helicopter, and fantastic equipment, in familiar terrain, in a peaceful civilian environment? Blame it on the weather, or equipment failure? What are we missing? The reasons have to be unravelled and India should resolve never to lose its finest Officers in such a manner. We need to hold a mirror to ourselves while we start hunting for clues in the debris of the burnt and mangled remains.

General Bipin Rawat, a people’s General, is survived by two daughters, Kritika and Tarini. They lit the funeral pyre of their parents, watched over by the General’s young grandchild. May his soul, and all of those who joined him on this last flight, rest in peace. Travel well, brothers in arms: you live in our hearts forever.

More stories coming up in the weeks ahead, live with World Inthavaaram.