Tag: Iran

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the headline news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run of events from 30 November to 31 December 2025: War & peace; turmoil in Iran; humanitarian crisis in Sudan; cost of living crisis in Nigeria; and India news – especially about Thiruparankundram Temple in Tamil Nadu.

THE WORLD

December 2025 saw heightened geopolitical tensions, diplomatic efforts towards peace in ongoing conflicts, and military escalations, particularly in Europe and Asia. Many hostilities just meandered on, with probably the sole winners being the arms manufacturers and suppliers.

United States (US) President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago Resort, Palm Beach, Florida, on 28th December, for talks on a potential peace deal. It appears that progress was made on 15-year US security guarantees for Ukraine, though territorial issues (with Russia) remained unresolved. Ukrainian negotiators agreed to 90% of a 20-point peace plan cooked by Ukraine, US negotiators, and European countries. A deal seems close at hand?

In Russia, President Putin’s residence came under a drone attack and Ukraine was accused of orchestrating it. This, amid ongoing Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities. Meanwhile, the European Union approved a Euro 90 billion loan to Ukraine for defense funding.

In the Israel-Hamas conflict, Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 29th December, to discuss the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire (including international peacekeeping forces) and warned Iran of potential strikes.

Israel approved new West Bank settlements-pushing for more ‘Israel’.

The US military along with Jordan launched airstrikes on multiple sites, targeted ISIS in Syria, following attacks.

Iran is witnessing its largest unrest in three years. And the Government grapples with its most serious challenge in years. Chants of ‘mullahs must leave’ and ‘death to the dictator’ echoed across major Iranian cities as protesters clashed with security forces of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei-led theocratic regime. The eruption of anger and turmoil has been fuelled by a collapsing Rial, record inflation, and years of sanctions, amid renewed American pressure.

The country’s currency, Rial, plummeted to a record low against the US dollar, and the head of the Central Bank resigned. While traders and shopkeepers rallied in Saadi Street in downtown Tehran as well as in the Shush neighbourhood near Tehran’s main Grand Bazaar. Recall, merchants at the market played a crucial role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted the monarchy and brought the present crop of Islamists to power.

Turkey and Armenia agreed to simplify visa procedures as a step toward normalising ties between the countries.

China conducted its largest military drills to date, Justice Mission 2025, encircling Taiwan with live-fire exercises, simulated strikes, and port blockades starting late December. This followed a major US arms package to Taiwan and came amid broader regional frictions.

Thailand and Cambodia held talks, mediated by China, to address border clashes. The Southeast Asian neighbours agreed on a ceasefire that took effect at noon on 27th December, stopping 20 days of fighting that killed at least 101 people and displaced more than half a million on both sides. The ceasefire included a halt to fighter-jet sorties, exchanges of rocket fire, and artillery barrages. The Thailand-Cambodia conflict was sparked by a skirmish in late May 2025, that left one Cambodian soldier dead. The incident stemmed from a long-running dispute over ownership of ancient temples and their surrounding land, and contributed to a broader escalation of tensions that later developed into sustained fighting.

The ongoing, seemingly, never-ending humanitarian crises in Sudan persisted with limited international attention (need someone to pay ‘attention to the matter’?) Over 30 million people, almost two thirds of Sudan’s population, are in need of humanitarian assistance. Almost 25 million people, are facing acute hunger, with 637,000 of these classified as on the brink of famine. The civil war erupted amid tensions over the integration of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)-a Sudanese paramilitary force formerly operated by the Sudanese Government- into the Sudanese Army following the 2021 coup. It started with RSF attacks on government sites in Khartoum and other cities. The capital region was soon divided between the two factions.

Nigeria is experiencing severe security challenges, including a sharp rise in mass abductions of schoolchildren in the north, and ongoing insurgencies by groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). This instability, along with other factors, has led to a major hunger crisis, particularly in the northeast, and displacement of millions of people. Economically, the country faces its worst cost of living crisis in 30 years due to 2023 reforms, and has also seen issues like inflation and social unrest.

In late November, armed bandits kidnapped 303 children and 12 teachers from the St. Mary’s Private Catholic school in the country’s north-central Niger State. The students are both male and female, some as young as ten. About 50 managed to escape-soon after the abduction- and during December all students and teachers were released from captivity, first 100, then the remaining. Nigeria is home to some of the world’s largest Muslim and Christian populations with the northern region predominantly Muslim and the southern region largely Christian. Indigenous religions, such as those native to the Igbo and Yoruba ethnicities, are in the minority. The country’s Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

Myanmar’s civil war intensified in late 2025, with the military junta facing significant setbacks against a unified resistance of Ethnic Armed Groups and People’s Defence Forces, losing control over vast territories, particularly in border areas, leading to major displacement, increased humanitarian needs, and the junta attempting to legitimise its rule through contested elections amidst escalating violence, airstrikes, and ground offensives. Over 3 million people have been displaced, and nearly half the population needs aid, with ongoing conflict disrupting lives and essential services. Triggered by the 2021 military coup, the war is a culmination of long-standing ethnic tensions and resistance to military rule. In essence, Myanmar is in a full-blown civil war where the military is losing ground and struggling to maintain control against a determined, though often fragmented opposition.

INDIA

India came up with a new Rural Employment Law: The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025, was enacted to replace MGNREGA (The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), guaranteeing 125 days of wage employment per rural household. The Rural Development Ministry began coordinating with States to prevent fake demands during the transition.

The Election Commission extended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in multiple states, amid opposition demands for discussions on voter lists and national security during the Winter Session of Parliament. The SIR is doing the job of weeding-out very well. For e.g., in Tamil Nadu, the Chief Electoral Officer said that 97.37 lakh names have been dropped from the electoral rolls under the categories of Absent, Shifted, and Dead.

India’s Supreme Court stayed the suspension of Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s (a former BJP MLA) life sentence in the Unnao Rape Case. The case is about the gang rape of a 17 year old girl in Unnao Uttar Pradesh State in June 2017. Kuldeep Singh was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2019.

The Supreme Court also put its earlier Aravalli Hills definition on hold amid environmental concerns and sought the opinion of an expert committee under the Union Environment Ministry for a fuller, comprehensive, definition. The aim is to prevent unregulated mining in ecologically sensitive areas. The criteria defined ‘Aravalli Hills’ as a landform with an elevation of 100 metres or above the local relief. Two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other constitute an ‘Aravalli Range’. The Aravalli Hills and Ranges are among India’s oldest geological formations stretching from Delhi through Haryana, Rajasthan, and into Gujarat, in a span of about 650-800km.

In business news, the Index of Industrial Production rose 6.7% in November 2025, a 25-month high, driven by manufacturing and capital goods. Australia announced duty-free access for all Indian exports from January 2026 under the ECTA’s (India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement) third anniversary. India’s Lok Sabha passed a bill raising Foreign Direct Investment FDI in insurance to 100%. New Free Trade Agreement, including with New Zealand, were concluded amid global tariff challenges. The Reserve Bank of India stepped in with reductions in the repo rate to 5.25% in December, part of multiple cuts in 2025 supporting economic recovery. New Labour Codes were notified; Digital Personal Data Protection Act implemented.

People in India’s capital ‘continued to see pillar-mounted water tanks as UFOs’, as Delhi vanished under severe Air Pollution, recording its worst December Air Quality Index (AQI) since 2018 (average 349), with ‘severe’ levels persisting.

India’s largest (by passenger traffic and market share) Airline IndiGo faced massive disruptions in early December due to new flight duty rules, and fog, cancelling over 1,600 flights in a day. The Government promptly rolled back the new rules, and looking through the eyes of a stranded passenger in a Terminal Building, the Airline clearly showed the middle finger to the Government.

The Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Thiruparankundram Hill located in a suburb of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Hindu God Lord Murugan. It is one of the six abodes (Arupadai Veedu) of Lord Murugan, a set of foremost and sacred Hindu temples, dedicated to the Lord. The original temple was built by the Pandyas during the 6th century CE. It is a rock-cut temple carved into the side of a large monolithic hill. The temple is under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Murugan killed the asura Surapadman at Tiruchendur and later married Deivanai, the daughter of Indra, at Thiruparankundram.

It is customary during the Festival of Karthigai Deepam– a ceremonial holy lamp-to light a lamp (and Diyas) at the Temple. For over a century, the lamp had been lit at a lower elevation near the Uchipillaiyar Temple to avoid the upper peak, which houses a Dargah (Sufi Shrine) containing the grave of Sultan Sikandhar Badushah. The temple’s hilltop includes an ancient Deepathoon pillar, and a year 1923 decree (upheld by the then Privy Council – now abolished, in 1949) confirmed the temple’s ownership of unoccupied portions of the hill.

In early December a petitioner approached the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) seeking permission to light the lamp at the hilltop Deepathoon pillar, arguing that periodic rituals at the spot assert ownership rights. Justice GR Swaminathan issued an order directing the temple’s executive officer (under the HRCE) to light the lamp at the hilltop by 6pm that day, with Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) protection to ensure safety, emphasising that this would not infringe on the Dargah’s rights and that failure to act could lead to loss of temple claims. The judge stressed the importance of upholding Hindu devotees’ religious rights under the Indian Constitution.

The Tamil Nadu Government under the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), disobeyed the ruling by lighting the lamp only at the traditional lower spot, claiming no historical evidence supported hilltop lighting and that over 100 years of practice justified the lower location. Authorities failed to make arrangements for the hilltop ritual, blocked devotees from accessing the site, imposed prohibitory orders to prevent gatherings, which led to clashes between police and devotees attempting to comply with the order.

The temple administration filed an appeal against the directive on the same day, which the court viewed as a deliberate tactic to evade implementation, noting that the Dargah (the potentially affected party) did not appeal.

Later the High Court accepted contempt petitions against Madurai district authorities, including the District Collector, Superintendent of Police, and temple executive officer, for ‘wilful disobedience’. Justice Swaminathan sharply criticised the state for ‘cocking a snook’ at the court’s authority, stating that the breach was ‘deliberate’ and that defying judicial orders ‘sounds the death knell of democracy itself.’ He warned that no one is above the law, ordered the officials to appear personally to explain the violation, and permitted the petitioner and 10 associates to symbolically light the lamp at the hilltop under CISF escort to affirm the order. The court reiterated that administrative excuses like law and order concerns cannot override judicial directives unless stayed by a higher court, and condemned the actions as a gross infringement on Hindus’ fundamental rights.

Perhaps, taking a cue from IndiGo the Govt of Tamil Nadu looked at its fingers and showed the middle to the Courts. And did not implement the Court Order, a second time.

The worst part is India’s Opposition Members of Parliament moved to impeach Justice Swaminathan. The impeachment will fail because the Opposition does not have the numbers, but the attempt is to browbeat anyone who dares back Hindu rights. However, a group of 56 judges joined together to slam the ill-thought out move. Hope, a better sense of justice prevails in the new year.

I think the Govt at the Centre needs to find its backbone: it should unflinchingly dismiss a State Government that fails to honour a Court Order – not once but twice. Would not this lead to an anarchy stand where one says, “Why should I follow the Laws, Rules and Orders? I’ll appeal to God – wherever he is. Until then, wait”.

Normally, the rowdies on the street are the ‘traditional’ Rule-Breakers. Now, how can we allow a State Govt to become rowdyish? How can a Rule-Maker become a Rule-Breaker?

Lots to think about as we close down the year 2025. Mankind should solve more problems that it creates.

I’ll be transitioning to a newer way of spreading the news of the world in 2026. A forged-on-iron format is in the works. It will be worth the wait.

Happy New Year 2026. Take full responsibility for your life on Earth.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-50

About: the world this week, 8 December to 14 December 2024: Argentina’s chain-saw President; Shaken & stirred South Korea; a restored Cathedral; Syria’s President scoots; Israel-getting cleverer by the war; Chess euphoria in India; and Test Cricket Down Under.

Everywhere

Shining Stripes of Argentina

Argentina, under its maverick President Javier Milei, declared that for the first time in 123 years Argentina has no deficit and instead a sustained fiscal surplus, free of default.

When he took office in December 2023, Milei committed himself to transforming Argentina-and took it dead seriously. The foremost task he set himself was to eliminate the fiscal deficit-primarily through reducing public spending-and stopping the financing of the treasury by printing Central Bank Money with the goal of eradicating inflation. And he has delivered on that promise.

Javier Milei’s aggressive cost-cutting measures significantly brought down Argentina’s expenses. He inherited an economy battered by inflation so chronic that supermarkets adjusted the price of goods every day. But his famous ‘chain-saw’ no-nonsense, stay-lean, austerity approach-shutting down or merging various unnecessary Government departments-has brought stability to Argentina. Javier Milei is surely setting an example for Governments to follow. Already looking in this direction is the ‘under formation’ America’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. More chain-sawing in this part of the world?

Stirred and Shaken South Korea

Last week, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made a shocking and disastrous attempt at imposing martial law in the country. This would have given the military sweeping emergency powers to root out what he called ‘anti-state forces’ and overcome obstructionist political opponents. But, following Parliament’s-The National Assembly-rejection of the martial law, he did a quick U-turn and rescinded the Order.

This week the President spoke to South Koreans in a televised address, “I leave it up to my party to take steps to stabilise the political situation in the future, including the issue of my term in office,” he said, promising there would be no second attempt to impose martial law (if he is still President).

Last Saturday he survived an impeachment vote in Parliament, but the leader of his party said the President would eventually step down. Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the impeachment vote, put forward by the main opposition Democratic Party, and the motion was scrapped after not enough lawmakers participated. After the vote, however, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said the party had decided that Yoon would resign, saying, “The declaration of martial law was a clear and serious violation of the law”.

The opposition needed at least eight votes from Yoon’s PPP to reach the two-thirds majority needed to impeach. But almost all PPP lawmakers departed after casting votes on a separate motion and only three from the party voted.

Restored Cathedral

Late last week on the 7th December, the Notre-Dame de Paris, a medieval iconic Catholic cathedral and a world-famous landmark in Paris, France, was reopened following the completion of restoration work. About five years ago, in April 2019, a fire destroyed the cathedral’s spire and roof and caused extensive damage to its interior. And French President Emmanuel Macron had promised to re-open, within 5 years, which he did.

The reopening ceremony was presided over by the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, in the presence of the French president, and other heads of state and government. This was followed by an inaugural mass on 8th December at which a new altar was consecrated, and a series of public services over the following days.

Uncertain Syria: Assad Scoots

After more than 50 years of Assad family rule, and 13 years of civil war, the Syrian capital of Damascus fell to rebels this Sunday, following a lightening offensive that began in Aleppo and ripped through the major cities of Hama, and Homs. The main rebel coalition, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led by Ahmad al-Sharaa – better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, declared Syria ‘free’ and pledged to establish a pluralistic government. Fireworks lit up the streets of Damascus as Syrians celebrated their newfound freedom. But the events left Syrians at home and millions of refugees abroad hopeful yet deeply uncertain about their country’s future.

Bashar al-Assad stepped down as President and left Syria hours after rebel forces took control of the capital Damascus. Assad confided in almost no one about his plans to decamp to Russia where he had been granted political asylum. Instead, aides, officials and even relatives were deceived or kept in the dark.

Assad fled Damascus by plane on Sunday, 8th December flying under the radar with the aircraft’s transponder switched off, escaping the clutches of rebels storming the capital. The exit was dramatic: deception, despair and flight ended his rule of 24 years and brought the civil war of 13 years to an abrupt halt. He flew to Russia’s Hmeimim airbase in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, and from there on to Moscow. Assad’s immediate family, wife and their three children, were already waiting for him in the Russian capital. Assad didn’t even make a last stand. He didn’t even rally his own troops. He let his supporters face their own fate. Remember, Syria ran one of the most oppressive police states in the Middle East during the Assad family rule.

The next day, Assad’s Prime Minister said he had agreed to hand power to the rebel-led Salvation Government. Assad has not been seen in public since he met the Iranian foreign minister in Damascus a week ago. That day, he vowed to ‘crush’ the rebels seizing territory, with dizzying speed. Turns out he left with speed.

Later, during the week, Mohammad al-Bashir was installed by Al-Golani to lead an interim administration- the Syrian Transitional Government. He said his aim is to bring back millions of refugees, create unity, and provide basic services. But rebuilding would be daunting with little funding on hand.

Mohammad al-Bashir is a Syrian politician and engineer and served as the 5th prime minister of the Syrian Salvation Government, the civilian administration of HTS , between his election on 13 January 2024 and appointment to the current role.

In a televised statement, Al-Bashir announced that officials from the Salvation Government met with representatives of the previous government to facilitate the handover of power. And that his cabinet from the Salvation Government would assume their corresponding roles in the transitional government.

On his part, Al-Golani said that he would dissolve the security forces of the former regime, close its notorious prisons and hunt down anyone involved in the torture or killing of detainees.

Meanwhile, the world is carefully watching to see if Syria’s new rulers can stabilise the country and avoid unleashing violent revenge.

Israel: Cleverer By The War

Pouncing upon the opportunity of Syria’s chaos, Israeli unleashed mayhem on weapons and military facilities in Syria. Its warplanes carried out a wave of over 350 strikes across the country, including in the capital Damascus wiping out the Syria Air Force, strategic weapons stockpiles, and much more, rendering Syria’s fighting capability toothless. A research centre with suspected links to chemical weapon production was among the sites hit. Israel’s said the attacks were meant to stop weapons falling into the hands of extremists following the overthrow of the Assad regime. Israel has also sent troops into a buffer zone on its border with Syria in order to impose a ‘sterile defence zone’ in southern Syria.

Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel for almost 60 years, will remain part of Israel ‘for eternity’. This is amid a growing criticism of an Israeli takeover of a previously demilitarised buffer zone in Syrian-controlled territory.

Israel’s soldiers also took control of Syrian army positions on Mount Hermon – the highest point in Syria- and in Quneitra province after the Assad troops abandoned their posts. The Israeli military intends to use deterrent fire against any attempts to breach the border fence, ordering residents of five Druze Syrian villages to stay at home until further notice.

Meanwhile, Leaders and Representatives of many South-western towns and villages in Syria, which have large Druze populations, the biggest being the town of As Suweida, are demanding to be annexed by Israel and to become Israeli citizens.

The Druze faith is one of the major religious groups in the Levant (Middle East to the East) with between 800,000 and a million adherents. They are primarily located in Lebanon – 5.5% (of the population) Syria – 3%, and Israel- 1.6%, with smaller communities in Jordan.

The Druze who call themselves Al-Muwahhidun are an Arab esoteric religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and syncretic religion whose main tenets assert the unity of God, reincarnation, and the eternity of the soul. Although the Druze faith developed from Islam, Druze do not identify as Muslims. They maintain Arabic language and culture as integral parts of their identity, with Arabic being their primary language. Most Druze religious practices are kept secret, and conversion to their religion is strictly not permitted for outsiders.

Australia Down India, Down Under

After a thumping 295 run win-hammering Australia-in the first Cricket Test Match at Perth, it was a sobering defeat for India in the second test at Adelaide-the City of Churches. The Aussies prayed hard?

India’s skipper Rohit Sharma who missed the first Test, to be present at the birth of his second child, returned to captain the side in the second test, a Day-Night Test using Pink Balls. He won the toss and decided to bat first, to make best use of the pitch at the Adelaide Oval, but India were rattled out for 180 thanks to some top-class bowling by Mitchell Starc. He claimed a career-best Test figure of 6 wickets giving 48 runs, as Australia seized the initiative on day one.

In its first innings reply, Australia made 337 for the loss of 10 wickets with Travis Head smashing 140 runs in 141 balls including three sixes and ten boundaries. This is Travis’ hometown and he bludgeoned his way to a third century at the iconic venue, in just 111 deliveries. They say he has a love-affair with the Adelaide Oval, and he went level with the great Donald Bradman’s three hundreds at the same venue. India’s Jasprit Bumrah took 4 wickets for 61 runs and Mohammad Siraj took 4 wickets for 98.

Australia then dismissed India for 175 in their second innings, thanks to a Pat Cummins blitzkrieg, taking five wickets for 57 runs. The Aussies then comfortably chased down the 19-run target to win the Pink-Ball Test by 10 wickets, levelling the five-match series 1-1.

It took less than two and a half days, not even a third night – under seven sessions – for Australia’s bowlers to take apart India either side of Travis Head’s hundred. It was bowling so venomous that it made up for a consistent weakness of team’s, which is relying on one player’s big score to rescue an otherwise floundering innings.

The Third India vs Australia Test match will begin on 14th December, Saturday, in Brisbane.

Chess Euphoria Strikes India

This week, India erupted in euphoria over 18-years-old Indian Chess Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju winning the World Chess Championship, beating the reigning world champion, China’s Ding Liren. He is the youngest ever, in the history of Classic Chess Championship to win the title. The Championship tournament was held in Singapore between 25 November and 12 December 2024. It was played to a best of 14 games, with tiebreaks as required, and Gukesh won by 7.5 to Ding’s 6.5. Gukesh won three games and Ding won two games. He takes home prize money of about INR 11.45crore.

The previous youngest was Russia’s Garry Kasparov at age 22 and 210 days and quickly behind is Norway’s Magnus Carlsen at 22 years, 357 days. Gukesh has also broken the 39 years old record of the youngest World Chess Champion, held by Garry Kasparov.

The first World Chess Championship match was held in the year 1886 and won by Wilhelm Steinitz – a Bohemian-Austrian and later American -who defended his title again in 1889, 1890 and 1892. Gukesh is only the second Indian to win the title after Vishwanathan Anand held the title in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012. India becomes only the second nation besides the old Soviet Union to produce multiple world Champions. The Next Championship Title is after two years.

There are many who feel that as along as Norway’s Magnus Carlsen remains the most dominant player in the game the title carries little weight. And in the opinion of Chess great Gary Kasparov, “It’s an official title, which in my opinion has no historical relevance”.

This places in perspective the fact that Gukesh has to work even harder to become the best player in the world. And this is a first, steady, strong move to get to position.

Gukesh is the third-youngest grandmaster in history, the third-youngest to reach a chess rating of 2700, the youngest to reach a rating of 2750, and is the eighteenth-highest rated player in history with a peak rating of 2794.

Gukesh was born in Chennai and lives in Tamil Nadu. His family hails from Andhra Pradesh. For more on Gukesh’s background and his climb to the top, read:

https://kumargovindan.com/2024/04/27/world-inthavaaram-2024-17/

Said the Godfather of Indian Chess, Vishwanathan Anand, “Gukesh’s win will go a long way for Chess in India”. No truer words!

It’s generally believed that the game of chess originated in India about 1,500 years ago. Its earliest known predecessor was called ‘chaturanga’, which translates to ‘four divisions (of the military)’: infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry. These forms are represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern-day pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. In a sense, Chess has come back home – young again.

More classic stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Stay for the long haul, with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-49

About: the world this week, 1 December to 7 December 2024: Yet another war in the Middle East; South Korea messes-up martial law; Japan’s grisly problem; and Cyclone Fengal strikes.

Everywhere

Does the end of the year make people go crazy-trying to quickly finish unfinished business’ of the year(s)? As if the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon (now under a ‘diaphanous’ cease-fire with Hezbollah) and Turkey’s airstrikes against the Kurd militant targets in Syria and Iraq are not enough, Syria has joined the list, but of countries such as Sudan, Myanmar, which are at war with themselves. Then there is a severe unrest in Bangladesh with the hate-war against Hindus on a steady boil and now suddenly South Korea, feeling left-out, almost strayed-in but quickly recovered. Even as the Earth rotates tilting mores on its axis (under pressure?) the World moves in circles. And what good does war do? Swallow fire, bite bullets? Oh, tell me!

(For a change, Ukraine and Israel are off the Table in World Inthavaaaram)

Assad’s Syria

Syria’s civil war is back with a loud bang. It is in the spotlight after a new rebel coalition launched a surprise attack, sweeping into the country’s second largest city, Aleppo, which was once Syria’s largest city by population and its economic capital. It is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. This is the first time forces opposed to the Government have seized territory in Aleppo since 2016, shattering the stalemate of a war that never formally ended. The renewed conflict, which has killed more than 300,000 people and sent nearly 6 million refugees out of the country, also has wide ramifications across the region and beyond, especially in the background of ongoing wars in the region.

Let’s go back to when it all stared.

Once upon a time, at the height of the Arab Spring in 2011, pro-democracy demonstrators took to the streets in Syria calling for the ouster of its authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad. The protesters were met with deadly force and the movement brutally crushed. However, an armed opposition began to form made up of small organic militias, various armed rebel groups such as the ‘Free Syrian Army’ and some defectors from the Syrian military. This marked the beginning of the Syrian Insurgency, which by mid 2012 escalated to a full-blown civil war. The opposition forces- the insurgency- were supported in various ways by neighbouring Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, as well as, of course, the United States.

But as the anti-government forces grew, Syria’s allies Iran and Russia scaled-up their support for Syria. On the ground, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as well as its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah helped fight the armed rebel groups. In the skies, the Syrian Air Force was bolstered by Russian warplanes. To add to the potboiler extremist Islamists including Al Qaeda and ISIS were swayed, taking up a common cause with the moderate Syrian opposition who did not welcome a jihadist involvement.

By 2014 the extremists dominated and ISIS began sweeping across the country. Fearing Syria would become a permanent terror hotbed, an international coalition led by the US stepped in with a focus on eliminating the group but without confronting the Syrian regime.The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-a US partner made up of Kurdish fighters -fought against ISIS, effectively ending the group’s territorial existence. The SDF was formed from a group known as the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), which is considered a terrorist organization by neighbouring Turkey.

In 2016, Syria’s civil war shifted in President Bashar Al-Assad’s favour after a Russian blitzkrieg on Aleppo helped him regain control over the city.

In 2020, Russia and Turkey agreed on a ceasefire in the last remaining opposition-held province, Idlib, agreeing to establish a security corridor with joint patrols.

There have been no major flare-ups since then, but Syria’s government never regained all of its territory. And as recent events in Aleppo reveal, armed resistance never fizzled away.

Now, coming to the present.

In just over 72-hours last week, in a surprise attack, a coalition of Syrian armed rebel groups operating under the banner of ‘Deterrence of Aggression’ captured Aleppo, dealing a significant blow to President Assad and causing a major escalation to a largely dormant war. By Tuesday, Syrian rebels reached the northern countryside of Hama.

The rebel coalition consists of well-established armed Islamist factions who, despite differences, are united in fighting Assad, ISIS, and Iran-backed militias. The offensive began on Wednesday after rebels formed a new coalition called the ‘Military Operations Command’. They quickly swept through villages outside Aleppo and residents have now said they control much of the city, meeting little resistance on the way. In response to the rebel advance, the Russian and Syrian air forces launched an aerial offensive in Aleppo and Idlib provinces.

Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and has ploughed manpower and resources into the war. Russia is Assad’s main partner in the sky. Meanwhile, Iran has suffered a series of attacks from Israel, in particular landing heavy blows on Hezbollah. This time, Assad’s allies are sweating it out in continuing to help him.

Aleppo was also the main rebel stronghold until Assad took it over in 2016. With the rebels regaining a foothold again, they are no longer cornered in Idlib, which could potentially trigger a domino effect.

The new grouping is made up of a broad spectrum of opposition forces, from Islamist factions to moderates. Leading them is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria that used to go by the name Al-Nusra Front. The group headed by Abu Mohammed al-Golani, officially cut ties with Al Qaeda and has been the de facto ruler in Idlib. It is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and the United Nations. They have been joined by groups backed by Turkey and others previously supported by the US. Complicating the situation is that some of the rebel groups are also fighting the SDF. The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army, which is part of the rebel coalition that took control of most of Aleppo city, said it had seized control of the city of Tal Rifaat and the towns of Ain Daqna and Sheikh Issa in the northern part of the Aleppo governorate. It also claimed to have captured the villages of Shaaleh and Nairabiyyeh in Aleppo’s northern countryside. Those territories were previously held not by the government of Bashar al-Assad but by the SDF.

A quagmire. The head spins, right? So many people fighting for control. Wonder, what do they want. An Islamic State? Al Qaeda, ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, now HTS?

South Korea: Declare and UnDeclare

This week, in an unbelievable stunning act, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an Emergency Martial Law across the country in a Television Address. He accused the opposition of controlling the parliament and sympathising with North Korea. The shock decision comes in the aftermath of his People Power Party and the opposition Democratic Party disagreeing over a budget bill. The move plunged South Korea into political chaos.

Equally surprising, the country’s parliament voted to defy the move.

According to South Korea’s Constitution, the President can declare martial law to cope with a military threat or to maintain public safety and order by mobilising military forces. The decision must be reviewed by the cabinet and the National Assembly must also be notified about the decision. The law also dictates that if South Korea’s parliament requests the lifting of martial law through a majority vote – as has happened – then the President must comply. Since South Korea’s establishment as a republic in 1948, there have been more than a dozen instances of martial law declaration.

Special forces of the army stormed the parliament building, while soldiers surrounded part of the parliament and clashed with citizens who rushed to oppose martial law. Later when the forces tried entering Parliament, Lawmakers barricaded themselves inside, stone-walling doors with desks, sofas and fire extinguishers. There was no further escalation, with the heavily-geared battle-ready Forces showing discretion.

South Koreans were ‘dumbfounded’ when they first heard the news that martial law had been declared – and some thought it was a ‘hoax’.

President Yoon Suk Yeol made a wild gamble in a bid to dig himself out of a political impasse – but will now likely face calls for his removal from power. He has made his position much more difficult, if not impossible.

Yoon Suk Yeol has been in power since 2022, after narrowly winning the election by just 0.7 % points. He has struggled to get his agendas through as South Korea’s parliament is controlled by the opposition. Unable to pass his own laws, he has instead been vetoing any bills the opposition hoped to pass.

The next day on Wednesday, better sense prevailed, and Martial Law was aborted with the President announcing he will lift martial law in accordance with the vote. Soon after, his Cabinet approved the end of the decree.

Now the pressure is on the President to step down. After a whirlwind night of political upheaval in South Korea, the president’s future is in jeopardy as calls grow for impeachment following the thwarted attempt to impose martial law.

This is certainly one of the greatest political errors a President can make. And at the end of the day, ‘democracy worked’; it prevailed in restoring the system.

By the end of the week, probably to save himself, the President ‘gunned-down’ the Defence Minister – he was sacked.

Japan’s Bears Problem

Japan is grappling with an-unable to bear-growing Bear problem complemented by a dwindling and ageing band of Bear Hunters. A record 219 people were attacked by Bears, 6 of them fatal, in the twelve months through March 2024, while more than 9,000 Bears were trapped and culled over that period.

Japan is home to two species of Bears: the Japanese Black Bear and the Hokkaido Brown Bear. Most of the Black Bears live on the main island of Honshu, with a small number in Shikoku. The Black Bear is slightly smaller than its kind in China. The Brown Bear is found in the northern island of Hokkaido and is the biggest land animal in Japan. And is among the largest types of Brown Bear in the world.

Both species of Bears have been cleverly expanding their habitats. The number of Brown Bears in Hokkaido, more than doubled to about 11,700 in the three decades through 2020, though other estimates put their numbers at roughly 44,000 – a threefold increase since 2012!

Over recent decades, restrictions on hunting practices and greater emphasis on conservation contributed to a surge in the Bear population. With Japan’s rural areas experiencing rapid demographic decline, Bears are venturing closer, than before, in to towns and villages, and abandoned farmland, to occupy precious space.

Although some hunters stalk Bears as a hobby, many are not thrilled about culling trapped Bears for local governments. And they also risk clashing with authorities. Bear Hunters have also become a ‘vanishing species’, with people moving on to more ‘lucrative habitats’! In response to increased Bear attacks, this year Japan proposed relaxing rules around gun use to make it easier for hunters to shoot Bears in urban areas.

Experts say depopulation and a decline in the amount of managed farmland, in recent decades, may have emboldened Bears to approach towns for food. A clearer demarcation between habitats would help humans and Bears coexist. Bears are also raising cubs closer to human settlements, causing young Bears not to fear people as much as before. Climate change-driven shifts in the ripening and flowering of fruits, nuts and leaves may drive Bears to raid crops when their usual food sources are low.

“What we need is a daily, consistent effort to make sure that Bears don’t enter human areas,” says a Bear Expert.

Bears hibernate in the winter, lowering their body temperature and using stored fat for energy. They spend the hibernation period in their dens, which are typically built in the hollows of trees, between rocks, or even dug from the ground. And the floor is cushioned with dead leaves and branches. Females give birth to their cubs during this period, and spend at least two months inside the den.

With Japan’s population ageing and shrinking, some companies are turning to technology to manage Bears. Propped on four rods, the ‘Monster Wolf’ robot sold by a Company, Wolf Kamuy, emits growls, barks, and threats from a loudspeaker, triggered by a sensor. Priced at about 400,000 yen (about USD 2,550) and powered by solar energy, the gleaming-eyed beast has demonstrated some success in warding off Bears, though its sensor can be triggered by other animals (humans included?)

Beware of Bears!

Cyclone Fengal

This week, cyclonic storm Fengal a deadly tropical cyclone that originated from a tropical disturbance off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia on 14 November ripped through Southern India’s state of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka and making landfall on 30 November. Going by the structured naming process, ‘Fengal’ was named by Saudi Arabia and means a ’strong wind’.

Cyclone Fengal brought significant flooding and damage on its path. It is the fourth cyclonic storm of the 2024 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. Many places in Tamil Nadu faced incessant rains for almost three whole days. Previously thought dead & buried Rivers suddenly sprang to life wearing a fresh muddy coat of paint.

Given last year’s disastrous flooding in Chennai, the State Govt armed itself to the teeth with boats & water pumps and the kind, and boldly proclaimed it can handle anything. That followed severe criticism of its abysmal handling of the previous years’ floods. Cyclone Fengal must have heard and this time it changed direction and wrecked havoc in Villupuram, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam – 800 acres of farmland sent underwater -Tiruvannamalai, Kallakurichi, Dharmapuri, Salem, in addition to sending the adjacent State of Puducherry under water. Historic, never before… were the words thrown around. Nevertheless, Chennai did suffer and for some it was a deja-vu with about 130mm of rain.

The Temple Town of Tiruvannamalai saw a never-before landslide kill at least 7 people. Sudden release of water to the tune 1.80 lakh cusecs from the nearby Sathanur Dam without adequate warning caused severe flooding and loss of cattle, downstream. The Government maintains it followed SOPs, but most residents complained that they did not receive adequate warnings. A resident of Puthur Chekkadi, which is home to over 500 houses, said that only a few people in the village received SMS alerts from the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority, that too on Monday morning, when the village was already flooded.

In the aftermath, the States are limping back to normalcy.

More flooding stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Bear-up and stay above water with World Inthavaaram.

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, 2024-40

About: the world this week, 29 September to 5 October 2024: Hydra-headed Hezbollah; US Election Debates; India State Elections; Hurricane Helene; SpaceX’s Dragon docks with the ISS.

Everywhere

Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran

Last week, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a brilliant, precise strike on the terror organisation Hezbollah’s central headquarters, embedded under residential buildings in the heart of Dahieh, Beirut, Lebanon. Hassan Nasrallah, 64, the leader of Hezbollah – was without-doubt – the target of the attack. Initially, there were confusing reports that he had survived, however, after several hours, his death was confirmed by both Israel and Hezbollah. Nasrallah suffocated to death from toxic gases inside his secret bunker after it was demolished by about 80 tons of ‘bunker-busting’ bombs. A number of other commanders, including Ali Karaki, the commander of the southern front, who had all probably come over for a meeting, were also eliminated in the strike. This is a significant, game-changing development in the region terrorised by Hezbollah-which is solidly backed by Iran.

Hassan Nasrallah himself became the leader of Hezbollah after the Israelis knocked-off the previous leader, Abbas al-Musawi, in 1992. Nasrallah is well-known for his strident anti-Israel actions and has repeatedly called for the end of the State of Israel. He also has the blood of United States (US) citizens on his hands with Hezbollah being involved in numerous anti-US terrorist attacks in Beirut: the suicide truck bombings of the US Embassy in April 1983, the US Marine barracks in October 1983, and the US Embassy Annex in September 1984. Naturally, the US ‘welcomed’ his elimination.

Nasrallah played a pivotal role in various attacks and wars against Israel. In particular, the 2006 Lebanon War against Israel solidified his status as a resistance leader in the Arab world. He was also involved in regional politics, supporting the Assad regime in Syria during the Syrian Civil War. Under him, Hezbollah transformed from a guerrilla group focused on resisting Israel into a significant political player in Lebanon, holding seats in the Lebanese Parliament and participating in government coalitions.

Nasrallah believed that Islam holds the solution to the problems of any society, once saying, “With respect to us, briefly, Islam is not a simple religion including only prayers and praises, rather it is a divine message that was designed for humanity, and it can answer any question man might ask concerning his general and personal life. Islam is a religion designed for a society that can revolt and build a community”.

Israel has done the world a huge favour, and after Osama Bin Laden was killed in a special military operation by the United States, Hassan Nasrallah was one who deserved the same treatment.

Nasrallah’s immediate successor, Hassan Khalil Yasinm was also ‘instantly’ taken down by the IDF. This is a culmination of a recent trend in which Israel has repeatedly targeted Hezbollah’s leadership structure and has wiped-out the entire command structure.

Hashem Safieddine, a cousin of Nasrallah is now Hezbollah’s new leader. The third since Nasrallah was killed. Wonder, how long he will last, but there is chance that all Hezbollah members will become leaders, one by one. But this is a hydra-headed problem, cut one head off another grows, and takes its place.

In Greek mythology, the Hydra is a gigantic water-snake-like monster with about nine heads, one of which is immortal. The monster’s haunt was in the marshes of Lerna, near Argos, Greece, from which it periodically emerged to attack people and livestock. Anyone who attempted to behead the Hydra found that as soon as one head was cut off, two more heads would emerge from the fresh wound.

The destruction of Hydra was one of the 12 Labours of Hercules. For that and other labours, Hercules enlisted the aid of his nephew Iolaus. As Hercules severed each mortal head, Iolaus was set the task of quickly cauterising the fresh wounds so that no new heads would emerge. When only the immortal head remained, Hercules cut it off too and buried it under a heavy rock. Further, he dipped his arrows in the monster’s poisonous blood to be able to inflict fatal wounds. It’s now up to Israel to find the cauterising fire… and the poison.

Israel’s breathtakingly ballsy strike on Hasan Nasrallah has opened up the possibility of a brand new Middle East: one where Iran doesn’t call the shots. Israel is making the moves the West hasn’t for decades: demonstrating that aggression will be countered with complete evisceration.

This week, Israel also begun the ground invasion in Southern Lebanon-a limited ground operation-against terrorist targets and infrastructure of Hezbollah. The start was bloody with eight Israeli soldiers being killed in combat as its forces pushed into Lebanon.

What has Iran got to do with all of this? Iran has probably crossed many a red line in supporting, arming, and providing safe haven for terrorists such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi’s of Yemen, in an anti-Israel stance known as ‘The Iran–Israel proxy conflict, The Iran–Israel proxy war or Iran–Israel Cold War. In the Israeli–Lebanese conflict, Iran has supported Lebanese Shia militias- the Hezbollah. In the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Iran has backed Palestinian groups-the Hamas.

In turn, Israel has supported Iranian rebels, such as the People’s Mujaheedin of Iran, conducted airstrikes against Iranian allies in Syria and assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists in a long history of tit-for-tat tactics.

Israel’s Prime Minster made a direct appeal to the people of Iran to throw out their tyrant rulers and work towards peace with Israel. But then someone else seems to have heard-got the opposite message-and on Tuesday Iran dispatched about 200 ballistic missiles into Israel, earning the wrath of Israel and the world. The war now grows in yet another direction.

Israel countered the aggression of the ‘Iran missile rain’ with perfect activation and synchronisation of its famous missile defence systems: The Iron Dome detonated the short range missiles within the 70 km range; The David’s Sling system dealt with the mid-range missiles up to about 300 km; and then the Arrow system, which can literally detonate missiles that can fly outside of the earth’s atmosphere in a range of about 2,400 km! The United Kingdom and the United States fell behind Israel and helped shoot-down some of Iran’s missiles.There were no deaths reported on the Israel side except for a lone Palestinian, in the West Bank.

Iran is definitely a menace in the region – a nation gone astray. They need to be dealt with, in a calibrated and wise manner. Maybe Israel (and the US) are upto the task this time around. Meanwhile, the world waits for Israel’s ‘promised’ response.

Towards the end of the week, in yet another attack, Israel not only eliminated Hezbollah’s new leader, but also the entire Shura Council, the committee that nominates Hezbollah leaders.

US Elections: Debates

This Tuesday’s vice-presidential debate between running-mates, Republican J D Vance and Democrat Tim Walz felt like a civil and relatively restrained conversation about the issues at the top of American voters’ minds going into the 5th November election. In that, it was unlike the two fiery presidential debates earlier this year.

If Vance was picked because he puts ideological meat on the bones of Trump’s conservative populism, during the debate he put a polite, humble face on them, as well. And the debate’s lasting impact may be to convince members of his party that the young, only 40 years old, Ohio Senator has a future in national conservative politics, given his ability to clearly advance their ideological priorities on the brightest of stages.

The overall view was that Vance trumped over Walz and made meat of him.

India’s State Elections

Elections in India’s State of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) ended on 1st October, which was the third and last phase for the 90 member Legislature. The first was on 18th September and the second on 25th September. Counting of votes will be on 8th October. This is the first assembly election since J&K’s special status was revoked and fully integrated with the rest of India. However, J&K remains a union territory and statehood is expected to happen sometime after the assembly elections.

The State of Haryana goes to the Polls in a single phase on 5th October for 90 seats. Counting of votes will also be on 8th October.

It’s a coincidence that it’s 90 seats in both States. Going by opinion polls the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-at the Centre-is unlikely to win in any of these States. Despite the fact that in J&K, it should be rewarded for bringing back peace after abrogation of J&K’s special status under Article 370 of India’s Constitution. In Haryana anti-incumbency again the ruling BJP is high. The results could be knocking.

Elections seem to be taking place all the time in India, and the Government is hell-bent on pushing through its new legislation of ‘One Nation One Election’ through the Parliament benches and making it law. That’s a work in progress.

Hurricane Helene Devastates

Hurricane Helene, a large, deadly, catastrophic, and fast-moving tropical cyclone, the strongest on record to strike the Big Bend region of Florida devastated parts of southeastern United States(US). It is the eighth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. Helene developed gradually from a mid-September disturbance in the western Caribbean Sea within a broad area of low pressure known as the Central American gyre. And then Helene moved inland for the kill.

Some of Helene’s deadliest, most catastrophic flooding unfolded in western North Carolina. It turned the western part of the state into a ‘post-apocalyptic’ landscape.

At least 130 people have died across six states and the death toll can rise. Many more remain missing, perhaps unable to leave their location or unable to contact family where communications infrastructure has been washed away.

Among the demolished towns was the tiny hamlet of Bat Cave, about 160 km west of Charlotte, where in what climate scientists are describing as a 1,000-year event, the Broad River rose to unprecedented levels, washed away homes and broke through the town’s bridge. “It’s so overwhelming. You don’t even know how to fathom what recovery looks like, let alone where to start,” said a survivor.

SpaceX Docks with ISS

This week, SpaceX’s Dragon Spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS), and when it returns after a few months it is expected to bring back stranded Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore. The incoming spacecraft had two astronauts in the driver’s seat(s), with ‘space’ for the returning two.

Astronauts Nick Hague, the Dragon Crew 9 commander and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, the Crew 9 mission specialist were given a ‘weightless welcome’ when they met the others on the Space Station, after crossing over.

The space station’s population has temporarily increased to 11 after this Sunday saw the arrival of Crew 9. The orbital residents spent Monday unpacking Dragon and handing over mission responsibilities as the next quartet prepares to return to Earth.

More docking stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Weigh the world more with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-17

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

Everywhere

On the World’s War-front

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

India’s Super-charged Election

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Donald Trump’s Woes

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

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

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

World Chess and India’s Moves

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-16

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

Everywhere

Israel – Iran

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Australia: Knives Out

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dubai: Desert Storm

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

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

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

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

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

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

Inking India’s Finger

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

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

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

Tough being a Princess and a Future Queen

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

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

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

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

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-3

About: the world this week, 14 January 2024 to 20 January 2024; Middle East tensions; Taiwan’s Elections; The World Economic Forum; Monkey cloning; Red Ants of Australia; Emmy Awards, and the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, India.

Everywhere

The Israel-Hamas war moved further south in the Gaza Strip with Israel striking this region. In northern Gaza, Hamas launched a barrage of rockets into Israel, signalling that it is just another day. The Palestinian death toll rose to over 24,285 people and on the Israel side the count is around 1,200. This week, Qatar brokered a deal between the warring parties for delivery of critical medicines to the Hostages – that count still stays at 136. There is near-total communications blackout in Gaza with no signs of abating. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed calls for a post-war Palestinian state, adding to tensions with the United States.

Last week, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom launched air and submarine strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen for their attack on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. This week, the Houthis fired missiles at another US-owned commercial ship, just hours after a new round of US military strikes against them.

Then Iran launched its own kind of air strikes, hitting a militant group in western Pakistan. This is Iran’s third air strike on another country, after previous attacks on targets in Iraq and Syria. The operation hit two sites in Balochistan linked to the militant group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice)- an ethnic Baloch Sunni group that has carried out attacks inside Iran as well as on Pakistan’s forces. Pakistan called Iran’s air strike illegal and warned of ‘serious consequences’. And later in the week, followed through with a tit-for-tat retaliation, launching attacks on, what it claimed, was terrorists and separatists based in Iran: the Baloch Liberation Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front.

Simmering beneath the surface, there could be other reasons. Iran is a hardcore Shia Islamic country, at the centre of the strategic ‘Shia Crescent’. On the other hand Pakistan, which started out as Sufi-leaning, evolved and adopted a hardcore Sunni ideology. And has been home to a range of Sunni terrorist groups. Pakistan’s aspiration of becoming the flag bearer of Islam has rattled Iran in many ways. And a major irritant is the Shia-Sunni divide, and the separatists in both countries. This despite cordial relations between the countries.

Well, with these two Islamic nations striking each others terrorist bases, maybe they are doing the civilised world a huge favour?

Tension across the Middle East is shooting-up, with more than 100 days of the unprecedented war between Israel and Hamas. Meanwhile, the Russia – Ukraine war ambles on. The World is becoming a battle-ground, with agendas being driven brutally by perceived wrong-doings.

In Presidential Elections held in the ‘Republic of China’ –Taiwan -The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won an unprecedented third term and Lai Ching-te has been elected President, with 40% of the vote. The other parties in the fray were Kuomingtang (KMT), and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The DPP seeks Taiwan’s independence from ‘The People’s Republic of China’ – China. And the KMT, China’s oldest political party, is the party favouring unification with China. Since no party in Taiwan commands a parliamentary majority, the system of checks and balances will likely continue for the next four years. The KMT’s message of accommodation with China resonates less and less with the people of Taiwan, who have an increasing sense of local identity-distinct from that of mainland China. Remember, China has not set foot on Taiwan even for one minute since 1940. Whatever, this is certainly a spot to watch in the years ahead.

The annual conference of The World Economic Forum 2024, from 15 to 19 January, is on its last legs at the Ski Resort of Davos, near Zurich, Switzerland. About 3000 carefully selected delegates and speakers from global business, government, civil society, and academia gathered to brain-storm, and think-aloud on the most pressing issues of the day, and the shape of things to come.

This year’s themes are: Achieving Security and Cooperation in a Fractured World; Creating Growth and Jobs for a New Era; Artificial Intelligence as a Driving Force for the Economy and Society; and A Long-Term Strategy for Climate, Nature and Energy.

Another hot-topic discussed was, ‘Disease X’ – what if a new disease, called X (no relation of Elon Musk) arises and spreads across the world, much like Covid-19 did, and threatens the world economy? Let us wait for the outcomes, in the week ahead.

While Disease X, was being thrown around, Scientists in China announced that they have cloned the first healthy rhesus monkey –macaca mulatta. The rhesus monkey, named Retro, was cloned by tweaking the somatic cell nuclear transfer method that was previously used to create ‘Dolly the sheep’ – the first ever clone of an adult mammal. Experts say such clones can become test subjects for treatments to cure Alzheimer’s and cancer. Retro, who is over three years old, was brought into the world on 16 July 2020.

Australia is known for all kinds of weird animals – native or imported- which are constantly floated on the headlines. Now, in the news is clever fire ants, which have resorted to a ‘new stunt of forming ‘rafts’ to travel on flood waters, across storm-ravaged Australia, aiding the spread of one of the world’s most invasive species. Considered a ‘super pest’, fire ants can cause major ecosystem changes and agricultural loss by feeding on native plants and animals. Their stings can also kill people. The unusual rafting behaviour is evidence that fire ant densities are increasing in Australia. They have already infested about 700,000 hectares of land in the cane farms south of Brisbane.

Solenopsis invicta, the red ant – called Rifa or the fire ant – is an extremely invasive species, so called because of its powerful sting. They are particularly good at ‘staying alive’ and spreading. They can survive underground for years; forming rafts in floods, travelling to colonise new ground. They have moved around the world in infested soil attached to containers and shipments. Ranging from 2 mm to 6 mm in size, individuals are copper-brown in colour with darker abdomens. Their nests look like small mounds of loose, crumbly dirt, and are most often in direct sunlight on lawns, near concrete paths, taps, and bodies of water, or along fence lines.

When 10 or more ants get close together in water, a property of surface tension called the ‘Cheerios effect’ pushes them together —despite their best efforts to avoid contact. Then their legs entangle, making a stable hold – and a fire ant raft is born. The Cheerios effect is just a form of capillary action, which forces a liquid in a narrow channel to flow, even against gravity. Surface tension and the attraction between the liquid and solid materials combine to push the liquid forward through the channel.

Native to South America, red imported fire ants were first detected in Queensland in 2001 and have largely been contained within the state’s borders. How they entered Australia remains a mystery, but it is most likely they came via shipping containers, from the United States.

In November, local authorities reported that several new fire ant nests had spread into New South Wales from the Queensland border for the very first time – prompting a nationwide funding boost for eradication efforts. Fire ants are most commonly spread through contaminated soil and materials brought into new areas by people. Winged fire ant queens are capable of flying several kilometres at a time but can travel much further when blowed by wind currents.

Australia’s unique climate and lack of natural predators make it the perfect home for fire ants, which could inhabit the entire continent, except for the most extreme coldest locations, if not contained, according to biosecurity authorities. One of the biggest fears shared by experts is that they could one day get into the nation’s Murray-Darling River system and then move rapidly into new states and territories. A three-year-old colony can hold as many as 100,000 fire ants, and a mature queen can lay up to 5,000 eggs per day.

In recent decades, fire ants have spread across the US, China, Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines. Ants could become Australia’s worst pest.

The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards saw the biggest names in the world of movies and television show-up. After the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, the Emmy Awards got underway at the Peacock Theatre, downtown Los Angeles on Monday. The awards Function, which was postponed by four months because of the Hollywood strikes, finally came on stage.

Following the pitch of the Golden Globes, the last season of the TV drama, Succession scooped major awards’ such as Outstanding Drama Series; Lead Actor Drama, for Kieran Culkin; and Lead Actress, Drama, for Sarah Snook.

The Bear won six, and The Beef bagged five-including outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. I’ve briefly talked about ‘Succession’ and ‘The Beef’ in World Inthavaaram-2. Now, it’s time for ‘The Bear’.

The Bear is an American comedy-drama television series created by Christopher Storer starring Jeremy Allen White as an award-winning chef who returns to his hometown of Chicago to manage the chaotic kitchen at his deceased brother’s sandwich shop: it won Outstanding Comedy Series, best Lead Actor, Comedy, for Jeremy Allen, among other wins.

Trevor Noah’s, The Daily Show, bagged an Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show. This year’s Emmys also honoured classic TV shows with cast reunions and tributes. Tributes poured for I Love Lucy and Carol Burnett. The cast of Grey’s Anatomy was up there on the stage drooling out the nostalgia. So were, The Sopranos, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, SNL Weekend Update, All in the Family, and Ally McBeal.

The Red carpet spinned the trending bow, and one of the best was Suki Waterhouse who flaunted her baby bump stunning onlookers with a custom red Valentino gown. The singer, actor, and songwriter is engaged to ‘Harry Potter’ Robert Pattinson and the couple is expecting their first child.

In India, this week, there is a spiritual buzz in the air, and a frenzy of activity dominating the lives of Hindus. In an awesome build-up, all roads seem to be leading to Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, for the Pran Prathistha(consecration ceremony) to be held on 22 January 2024 at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. ‘Pran Pratishtha’ means imbibing the idol with divine consciousness and is a must for every idol that is worshipped in a Hindu temple. The Ram Temple will be inaugurated that day and is considered as one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Hindus.

This would mark a new beginning for Hindutva in India, following the peaceful end of the 500 year old conflict over the birthplace of Lord Rama, in which enough bloodshed has been shed across the country. Including the 6 December 1992 demolition of the Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid structure-standing over the original Ram Temple-by a gathering of near 200,000 karsevaks (someone who offers his services for a religious cause), which subsequently led to deadly communal riots across the Indian subcontinent.

The Supreme Court (SC) verdict of 9 November 2019 brought to an end, decades of uncertainity, and means of realising a long-awaited dream of Hindus in India. In a landmark judgement, the SC unanimously ruled that the entire disputed Ram Janmabhoomi land belonged to the deity Ram Lalla (infant Rama)- the Hindus. And ordered it to be handed over to a Trust to build a Ram temple. It also ordered the Government to give an alternate five-acre tract of land for building a mosque. The judgement – based on available records and substantial Archaeological evidence – established the fact of the original Ram Temple in Ayodhya. That was demolished by Mughal Emperor Babur in 1528 and a Mosque called the Babri Masjid, built over the ruins of the temple is the birth spot of Rama.

Ram Janmabhoomi is the site of the birthplace of Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu – one of the Hindu Trinity of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. The epic Ramayana states that the location of Rama’s birthplace is on the banks of the Sarayu River in a city called Ayodhya. Modern-day Ayodhya lies in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, formed on the Orders of the Court, began the first phase of construction of the Ram Mandir in March, 2020. The Bhoomi Puja was performed and the foundation stone of the Ram Temple was laid in Ayodhya on 5 August 2020, leading to the present stage of ceremonies and celebrations.

More spiritual stories coming up in the weeks ahead. Build with World Inthavaaram .

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-39

About –the stories of the world this week, 25 September to 1 October 2022: All kinds of tensions – religious, nature blowing, stealing land, a country making a right-turn, homeland surgical operations, and a classic Tamil novel becomes a movie and hits the cinema screen.

Everywhere

The protests in Iran on the killing of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, while in Detention by the Morality Police, over improper wearing of the hijab-headscarf continues. Over 70 people have been killed in the unrest and thousands arrested. Women cutting off their hair and burning the hijab has become the signature of the protests against the stringent Islamic Dress Code. Iranian Authorities are struggling to put-down this bold defiance, uncovering after quite a long time, in Iran. And the excessive force being used probably unveils how things went wrong in the first place.

In the United States, a force of nature, Hurricane Ian made landfall along the southwestern coast of Florida as a powerful Category-4 storm. It’s one of the strongest hurricanes in recent times to hit the west coast of the Florida Peninsula. The extremely dangerous conditions unleashed by the Hurricane including catastrophic floods, and life-threatening storm surges continued as the storm advanced inland. In a second landfall it battered South Carolina after leaving a trail of destruction across Florida.

Religious Tensions

Leicester is a city in England’s East Midlands region close to the River Soar, where the National Forest area ends. And it is one of its oldest cities with a deep history. Leicester Cathedral, which has stood for over 900 years in the heart of the city is where Britain’s King Richard III was reinterred in 2015.

Leicester has a population over 4.5 Lakhs with a demography of Whites being the largest ethnic group at over 50%, followed by Asians at about 37%.

Recent Hindu-Muslim violence in Leicester caused shock and outrage, and was alarming as the city is known for its diversity, its multiculturisim roots, and has been a model of cohesion for decades. And such unrest is extremely rare. Some tensions in Leicester had been brewing for a while, but it had never got to the point of confrontation before.

The recent disturbances in Leicester first began last month after an India-Pakistan cricket match. On 28 August, cricket fans from Hindu and Muslim communities clashed after India beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup T20 tournament in Dubai. Eight people were arrested on suspicion of assault and violent disorder.

In the weeks following the incident, several disturbances in East Leicester led to more arrests. The tensions reached boiling point on 17th September when a group of Hindus peacefully marched through Green Lane Road, which has predominantly Muslim-owned businesses, chanting, “Jai Shri Ram (Hail Lord Ram)”. Then fights broke out, bottles were thrown, property was smashed and a religious flag was pulled off a Hindu temple in the area. There were even roars that this is a ‘Muslim only area’ and how dare others enter. Over last weekend, multiple retaliatory marches and protests further escalated tensions.

However, this may not be as straightforward as a sporting feud that has got out of hand: It seems like there were simmering tensions before this cricket match. A pointer is an incident which occurred before the 28th August incident in which a young Muslim man said that he was assaulted by a Hindu gang. No one has been charged, but the allegations alone appear to have been enough to stoke further tensions. It is learnt that particular pieces of misinformation such as this fuelled tension in the run-up to the worst of the disorder on the weekend of 17-18 September. One false story was referenced several times.

“Today my 15 years daughter was nearly kidnapped,” read a post uploaded on Facebook, supposedly by a concerned father. “Three Indian boys got out and asked her if she was Muslim. She said yes and one guy tried to grab her.” The post was liked hundreds of times, not on Facebook but on Twitter after a community activist, tweeted the family’s story on 13 September. He also shared a message from the police, which he said was “confirming the incident which took place on 12 September”. But there had been no kidnap attempt. A day later, Leicestershire Police issued a statement after investigating and stated that the incident did not take place at all. The community activist deleted his posts and said the attempted abduction had not happened and that his initial version had been based on conversation with the family making the allegation. But damage had already been done and this false kidnap claim kept being regurgitated on other social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Instagram. Messages forwarded many times over were initially taken by some as the truth. On Instagram, profiles – some with hundreds of thousands of followers – shared screenshots of the original post and allegedly accused a Hindu man of being behind the ‘failed abduction’.

Days later a mob of more than 200 people, mostly Muslims, attacked Durga Bhawan Hindu Centre in Smethwick, Birmingham, and shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ slogans. And following this an Islamist group shared posts calling for a demonstration outside the Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir in Wembley. This is the latest in a series of incidents targeting Hindus in the United Kingdom in recent days.

In a video posted on Twitter, an Islamist could be seen provoking Muslims in the city, calling Hindus gangsters, and mocking the religion.

Hindu-hatred and Hindu-phobia seem to be the new words in Town.

Russian Tensions

Tensions are rising in Russia. Last week, Russia kicked off a five-day referendum in the occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine. The question on the ballot: “Do you wish to secede from Ukraine?” It comes as Russia announced a troop surge of 300,000 and its first draft since World War II amid mounting nuclear concerns. Meanwhile, thousands fled the country to escape the draft.

Ukrainians report that Russian soldiers are going door-to-door, coercing people ‘under a gun barrel’ to vote in favour of annexation. When ‘The Results’ were announced there was no surprise – all four occupied regions of Ukraine voted to join Russia.

Ukraine and Western countries including the US have condemned the vote as a sham. The United Nations Security Council said it will never accept the results and the four regions will remain part of Ukraine.

That’s a sham referendum for sure, but late this week Russia went ahead and declared these territories as Annexed to Russia, and henceforth people living in them are Russian citizens. That’s cold-blooded land-grabbing.

Italy: Right Turn

Italy is turning in the ‘right’ direction. The ultra-conservative Brothers of Italy Party led by Giorgia Meloni won 26% of the vote and along with coalition partners, The League – led by Matteo Salvini (8.8%) and Forza Italia – led by Silvio Berlusconi (8.1%) secured a clear majority in Parliament. Together with a smaller party representing less than 1% of the vote their right-wing coalition obtained 43.8% of the total votes. All this translates into 237 seats in the 400 seat Chamber of Deputies-called the Lower House, and 115 seats in the 200 seat Senate of the Republic – called the Upper House. Their main rival, the centre-left Democratic Party won 19% of the vote with 84 seats in the Chamber and 44 seats in the Senate.

Giorgia Meloni, 45, is all set to become Italy’s first female Prime Minister leading the most far-right government since the fascist era of the Second World War. It’s expected to take weeks for a new government to be formed. And President, Sergio Mattarella will have to nominate her, which is expected to happen during the month of October.

Meloni entered Italy’s crowded political scene in 2006 and co-founded the Brothers of Italy in 2012, a party whose agenda is rooted in Euroskepticism and anti-immigration policies. In the last election, in 2018, the party won just 4.5% of the vote, but its popularity has soared in recent years.

Meloni differs from coalition partner leaders on the issue of Ukraine. Whereas Berlusconi and Salvini have both said they would like to review sanctions against Russia because of their impact on the Italian economy, Meloni has been steadfast in her support for defending Ukraine. She is deeply conservative, openly anti-LBGT, and has threatened to place same sex unions, which were legalised in Italy in 2016, under review. She has also called abortion a ‘tragedy’ raising fears for the future of women’s rights in the country.

Meloni has a daughter with her partner Andrea Giambruno, a journalist who works for Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset TV channel.

A Cool Homeland Surgical Operation

The Popular Front of India (PFI) is an Indian Political Organization founded in 2006 with the merger of the Karnataka Forum of Dignity (KFD), the National Development Front (NDF) of Kerala- established in Kerala two years after the demolition of the Babri Masjid to protect the interests of the Muslim community – and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai of Tamilnadu. It was formed to counter Hindu groups and engages in radical and exclusivist style of Muslim minority politics. It is said to be a resurrection of the banned, terrorist Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), and affiliate of the Indian Mujahideen and also has links to the Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangalesh (JMB)- another proscribed organisation. That’s danger written all over. The PFI has various wings such as National Women’s Front and the Campus Front of India.

The PFI’s stated purpose is to establish Islamic rule in India.

Last week in a superbly planned surgical operation called ‘Operation Octopus’, India’s National Investigative Agency conducted large-scale raids in the ‘tentacle premises’ of PFI and its affiliates across the country on charges of terror funding and money laundering. And at the end of which about 100 PFI leaders and activists suddenly found themselves behind bars.

The raids had the stamp of good homework and not many had an inkling of what was coming up. It was conducted in a flawless manner with the entire PFI top leadership caught unawares and picked up in single swoop – meticulous planning by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and ‘India’s James Bond’, National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval.

This week, the Indian Government, loaded with solid evidence used the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) to declare that the PFI and its associates as an unlawful organisation and banned it with immediate effect, for a period of five years. PFI and its associates have been indulging in unlawful activities, which are against the integrity, sovereignty, and security of the country. And have the potential of disturbing public peace and communal harmony of the country, as well as support militancy in the country.

A notification to the effect was issued by MHA, on 27 September. Eight associate organisations of PFI have been declared unlawful associations: Rehab India Foundation(RIF), Campus Front of India(CFI), All India Imams Council(AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Org (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Jr. Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala.

The MHA has also revealed that some of the PFI’s founding members are the leaders of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and had connections with ‘Global Terrorist Groups like Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)” and that the PFI and its associates have been working ‘covertly to increase radicalisation of the Muslim community’ by promoting a sense of insecurity.

Investigations showed that the PFI and its cadres have been consistently engaging in violent, subversive, and terrorist acts, including chopping off the limb of a Malayalam college professor, and murder of several persons in the States of Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu; cold-blooded killings of people associated with organisations espousing other faiths; obtaining explosives to target prominent people and places and destruction of public property.

Looks like the Octopus has got itself a prize catch!

Tears Play

Perhaps it was the music that stirred emotions, with British singer Ellie Goulding bringing a memorable night in London to a conclusion, or maybe it was the volley of memories or the replays in the mind, and there are plenty of those shared between these tennis greats, being brought to the fore.

As Nadal sat alongside his friend and great rival at the O2 Arena in London last friday night, the pair cried. Fans chanted Federer’s name, the pair hugged and Federer received one last standing ovation. There was no doubt that this was it, the Swiss great’s final professional match in the ATP’s Laver Cup. He retires in a rally of tears – a genius who made tennis look effortless.

Please Yourself: Relieve Tension

Ace Indian filmmaker and director Mani Rathinam’s magnum-opus Ponniyin Selvan (son of River Ponni – Cauvery) based on the eponymous literary masterpiece by Tamil writer Kalki Krishnamurthy released this week, on 30 September, in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi languages.

Its Trailer became the first of a Tamil Film to be screened in Las Vegas, USA.

The film is directed by Mani Rathinam with Music scored by Academy Award winner A R Rahman, Lyrics by Vairamuthu and others, Art Direction by Thota Tharani, cinematography by Ravi Varma.

The casting includes most of the brightest stars of South Indian cinema and includes former Miss World Aishwarya Rai in a beautiful role. And the promotions have created a never before seen anticipation of a movie release.

The movie is about one of the greatest Kingdoms the world has seen, the Cholas of South India and the story is being told in two parts in a budget of over 450 crores. It is produced by Mani Rathinam’s own Madras Talkies and Subaskaran Allirajah’s Lyca Productions, which is a sub group of Lycamobiles.

Ponniyin Selvam is a historical fiction novel, first serialised in the weekly editions of the the popular Tamil magazine Kalki from 29 October 1950 to 16 May 1954, and later integrated and released as a novel in five volumes of about 2210 pages in 1955. It tells the story of early days of Arulmozhivarman who later became the great Chola Emperor Rajaraja Chola I (947 CE – 1014 CE).

Ponniyin Selvan is widely considered to be the greatest novel ever written in Tamil. The craze for the series which was published weekly was such that it elevated the magazine circulation to reach a staggering figure of 71,366 copies – no mean achievement in India of the early days. Even today, the novel has a cult following and and enduring fan base, across generations for its well-etched characters, tightly woven plot, vivid narration, wit of dialogue, and sketches/drawings of the Chola period brought alive by famous artist and painter Maniyam Selvam.

For those who have read the story and are also familiar with Indian movie stars, the star cast is a galaxy: Karthi as Vallavarayan Vandiathevan, Vikram as Aditya Karikalan, Jayam Ravi as Arulmozhi Varman, Trisha Krishnan as Kundavai, Aishwarya Rai as Nandhini, Shobitha Dhulipala as Vaanathi, Aishwarya Lakshmi as Poonguzhali, Jayaram as Azhwarkadiyaan Nambi, among many others

Read more about Ponniyin Selvan at:

https://kumargovindan.com/2020/03/31/on-first-reading-kalkis-ponniyin-selvan-2/

More stories coming up in the weeks ahead, to break-down tensions. Watch the world with World Inthavaaram.