Tag: Ireland

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run of events from 11 October to 31 October 2025: The return of Israel hostages; Ireland’s new PM; the Trump roll in Asia; the heist of the century; and India Women’s Cricket.

HOSTAGE RETURN

On 13th October, after ‘Trumped-up’ efforts and execution of the agreed and signed first phase of the United States mediated 20-Point Peace Plan, all 20 living hostages were released by the terrorist Hamas. They were handed over to the Red Cross and subsequently transported home to Israel for medical check-ups, and rejoining with families. With this, there is not one living hostage under captivity, ending the 736 hostage saga, in the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza.

Recall, the hostages were taken on 7th October 2023 during that barbaric attack on Israel, by Hamas. Israel breathed in relief after two years of unbelievable agony, especially the families of the hostages-dead and alive.

However, Hamas did not fully keep its promise of handing over the bodies of the 28 dead hostages at one time. It delayed, with only 4 bodies being handed over at the start and now the count has tortuously reached 15. And tensions swelled again.

President Donald Trump arrived in Israel to receive the hostages, address Israel’s Parliament, and receive its highest civilian honour-the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour. This, of course, is for his role in brokering the Gaza ceasefire and securing the release of Israeli hostages.

The honour is to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to Israel or to humanity. Former US Presidents, Barack Obama received the award in 2013, and Joe Biden in 2022, for promoting friendship between Israel and America and in building up Israel’s military capabilities.

The ceasefire deal moves to more treacherous grounds of-return of the bodies of the remaining dead hostages is a carry forward item- execution and further phases of the Peace Plan. Israel’s forces remain inside the boundary designated by a Yellow Line, as agreed. Any default by Hamas could result in an immediate strike by Israel. And there was indeed a strike in Gaza on the 28th October after Israel accused Hamas of killing a soldier and staging the discovery of a deceased hostage. The strike killed at least 105 people, making it the deadliest day since the ceasefire.

It’s beyond my comprehension on how anybody can take the side of Hamas in the name of Palestine in the present conflict. For e.g., Ireland’s newly elected President (she won by a Landslide), Catherine Connolly has in the past labelled Israel as a ‘Terrorist State’ and defended Hamas as ‘part of Palestine society’. She is an outspoken critic of Israel’s actions in the Gaza and probably needs to be put on ‘a program to change her mindset’ as is envisaged in the Peace-Deal with Israel. A civilisational, transformational, mindset change is require across borders – not only in Gaza.

Staying with Ireland, the 68 years old Catherine Connolly secured 63% first preference votes-a record in Irish presidential election history. She takes over from Michael Higgins who completed two terms. Irish Presidents are elected directly by the people for a seven-year term and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.

Catherine Connolly comes from a family of 14 children. Her mother died when she was nine years old, when the youngest child in the family was a one-year-old baby. Her two elder sisters stepped into the breach, spending their teenage years looking after and raising their younger siblings.

Catherine Connolly has worked as a clinical psychologist before becoming a barrister, and then entering politics. She is a passionate Irish speaker and a keen sportswoman who ran marathons and played competitive badminton. She is married to Brian McEnery-a woodwork teacher-and has two grown-up sons. The couple have been married for a ‘wood solid’ 33 years.

JAPAN: A NEW PM

In September this year, Japan was engulfed in a political crisis when its Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stepped down after less than a year in office, following two major election losses. This came a day before his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was expected to vote on whether to hold an internal leadership vote that could have forced him out. The LDP has governed Japan for most of the past seven decades, but under Ishiba it lost its majority in the Lower House for the first time in 15 years and then lost its majority in the Upper House, as well, in July, this year.

Then stepped-in Sanae Takaichi, a former government minister and TV host, and once a drummer in a heavy metal band, who announced her candidacy for the LDP Presidency, in the resulting leadership election. Her challenger was the agricultural minister in government, Shinjiro Koizumi.

In the election held on 4th October, Takaichi received 183 votes (31%) during the first round, the most of any candidate. Koizumi came in second with 164 votes (28%). As no candidate achieved a majority in the first round, a run-off election was held between Takaichi and Koizumi. Takaichi won the runoff by a 54.25% to 45.75% margin, becoming the first woman to hold the post of LDP President.

Meanwhile, Tetsuo Saito, the leader of Komeito party announced, on 10th October, that his party would break with the LDP and leave the governing coalition, citing disagreements with Takaichi’s leadership and the LDP’s handling of a recent government scandal. This led to the collapse of the 26-year-old LDP–Komeito coalition: as a result, the parliamentary election to choose Japan’s next prime minister was pushed back from 15th to 20th October.

Takaichi then replaced her coalition partner-Komeito Party-with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, led by Hirofumi Yoshimura. The leaders of both parties signed a coalition agreement on 20th October, clearing Takaichi’s path to the premiership.

At the 21st October meeting of Japan’s Parliament-the Diet-both houses nominated Takaichi to be the country’s first female prime minister. Takaichi avoided a runoff in the Lower House, garnering 237 votes against Constitutional Democratic Party leader Yoshihiko Noda’s 149. She was officially appointed Prime Minister by Emperor Naruhito in a ceremony at the Imperial Palace later that day.

Japan’s first female leader is an admirer of Britain’s conservative Prime Minister ‘Iron Lady’ Margaret Thatcher, and hopes to take some leaves out of her book. In her first speech as PM, Takaichi said that defence is a priority for her country as the region experiences uncertainty with Russia, China and North Korea.

THE HEIST OF THE CENTURY

If you haven’t heard by now, the Louvre-the world’s busiest museum-was cooly robbed on Sunday, 19th October. But this wasn’t the stuff of an Ocean’s Eleven film or The Da Vinci Code, conducted in the middle of the night and avoiding laser security systems.

In a daring well-planned operation, lasting less than 10 minutes, a group of four thieves broke into the Louvre Museum, in broad daylight, within an hour of opening. They parked a truck right out front with a retractable ladder, did a smash-and-grab of the King’s Jewels, and then drove away from the centre of Paris on scooters: in what can be described as the ‘slowest escape and the one with the highest visibility’.

The four Robbers arrived with a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Gallery of Apollo, leading to the first-floor, via a balcony, close to the River Seine.

Two of the thieves got inside by cutting through the window with power tools, including an angle grinder, to smash two display cases containing priceless jewels. This after threatening the guards, who evacuated the premises.

It was later revealed that one in three rooms in the area of the museum raided had no CCTV cameras. The thieves were inside for four minutes and made good their escape on two Yamaha TMax scooters promptly waiting outside.

Eight items were stolen including diadems (a jewelled headband), necklaces, ear-rings and brooches. All are from the 19th century, and once belonged to French royalty or imperial rulers. A tiara and brooch belonging to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III; an emerald necklace and a pair of emerald earrings from Empress Marie Louise; a tiara, necklace, and single earring from the sapphire set that belonged to Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense; a brooch known as the ‘reliquary brooch’. Between them, these pieces are adorned with thousands of diamonds and other precious gemstones.

Empress Eugenie’s crown was found damaged on the escape route, apparently having been dropped during the escape. The stolen jewels are described as priceless and of immeasurable heritage value.

What will the thieves do? The jewel thieves are not going to keep them intact; they are going to break them up, melt down the valuable metal, re-cut the valuable stones and hide evidence of their crime. Crowns and diadems can easily be broken apart and sold in small parts. If the Police cannot recover the stolen jewels within a week’s time they are probably gone forever!

Let’s look at the history of similar Museum thefts. And it’s quite interesting.

In 1911, an Italian museum employee was able to make off with the Mona Lisa under his coat after lifting the painting-which was then little-known to the public-straight off the wall of a quiet gallery. It was recovered after two years and the culprit later said he was motivated by the belief the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece belonged in Italy. Fewer chances are taken with the Mona Lisa these days: the painting, one of the most renowned in the museum’s collection, hangs in a high-security glass compartment. In 1998, the Le Chemin de Sevres – a 19th century painting by Camille Corot – was stolen and has never been found. The incident prompted a massive overhaul of museum security. In November 2024, seven items of ‘great historic and heritage value’ were stolen from the Cognacq-Jay Museum in Paris. Only five were recovered recently. The same month, armed robbers raided the Hieron Museum in Burgundy, firing shots before escaping with millions of pounds worth of 20th century artworks.

Sometimes the truth is stranger, or in this case, funnier than fiction, and the ‘snakes & ladders were out’ on social media. There were plenty of references to Inspector Clouseau of the famous Pink Panther series, others climbed to Knives Out’s, Benoit Blanc (starring Daniel Craig), and of course, Agatha Christie’s legendary Hercule Poirot. I had Sherlock Holmes, Enola Holmes, and even James Bond, in mind, as the best fit to catch the thieves!

While thieves made merry and decamped with French Jewels former French President Nicolas Sarkozy become the first French ex-President to go to jail, and he started a five-year sentence for conspiring to fund his election campaign with money from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. His singer, songwriter, and fashion model wife, Carla Bruni, walked him down the steps leading to jail, holding his hand. Sarkozy, who was President from 2007-2012, has appealed against his jail term at La Sante prison, where he will occupy an unfashionable small cell in the jail’s isolation wing. Lots to think over!

US President Donald Trump’s on a roll, literally. He arrived in Asia for a whirlwind week of diplomacy which included a much-anticipated meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping on trade-and area where tensions between the countries has been soaring.

He first landed in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur as a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) began on Sunday, 26th October.

He oversaw the signing of a ‘historic Peace Deal’ between Thailand and Vietnam on a long standing border dispute-that’s another step closer the next Nobel?

He then flew to Japan where the newly-minted Japanese PM rolled out the red carpet, promising-you said it-a Nobel nomination, and foreign investments in the US. The also signed a deal on rare earth minerals and a document heralding a new golden age of US-Japan ties. Sanae Takaichi basked in Trump’s sunshine and it was a show of white teeth and cryptic smiles all over.

In the last leg, finally Trump met Xi Jinping in the City of Busan, South Korea – a first in over 5 years. Trump declared that the US’ dispute with China over the supply of rare earths had been settled, China would resume buying US soybeans, and the US would reduce its tariffs on China. He said President Xi Jinping had agreed to work ‘very hard’ to prevent the production of the synthetic opioid fentanyl – blamed for many American deaths. And in exchange the US would reduce fentanyl-linked tariffs from 20% to 10%, lowering China’s overall tariff burden from 57% to 47%.

WATER WORLD

Cyclone Montha and Hurricane Melissa occupied space and news in the sky.

Rains before, during, and after Montha got into the skin of people living in Tamil Nadu-off the Bay of Bengal- especially the capital Chennai. Despite promises of usefully using INR 4000 crore, many parts of the city went underwater and people were left searching for the money that went down the drain.

Not to be left unnoticed, Hurricane Melissa ripped a path of destruction in the Caribbean storming through Jamaica after making landfall as one of the most powerful and devastating hurricanes on record. It lashed the Island nation with brutal winds- at speeds of about 200km per hour-and torrential rain before taking aim at Cuba.

INDIA’s WOMEN

India stunned title holders, Australia, in a record run-chase to reach the final of the 13 edition of the ICC Women’s World Cup. The One Day International (ODI), Cricket World Cup is being hosted jointly by India and Sri Lanka. It is India’s fourth time hosting -after the 1978, 1997, and 2013 editions- and Sri Lanka’s first. The tournament began on 30th September and will close on 2nd November.

In the opening ceremony, Bollywood singer Shreya Ghoshal performed the official World Cup anthem, ‘Bring it Home’ and it looks like India’s women have taken the theme song seriously. India hopes to dance to it on 2nd November!

Set 339 runs to win after a wonderful century from Australia’s opener Phoebe Litchfield, India’s women cooked their nerves well in a mammoth pursuit, with Jemimah Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur firing the way with a 167-run stand. This game in Navi Mumbai will go down as an instant classic and with the defending champions dumped out, there will be a new name on this year’s trophy.

Harmanpreet fell for 89, with 113 runs still needed, but Rodrigues remained, reaching her hundred from 115 balls, and she was there up to the very end as the highest successful chase in women’s ODI history was achieved with nine balls to spare.

This will be the first Women’s World Cup final to not feature either Australia or England, as India will face South Africa on Sunday, 2nd November, at the DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai.

More thrilling stories playing-out in the weeks ahead. Watch the world with Freewheeling.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-15

About: the world this week, 7 April 2024 to 13 April 2024: War Vows; EU immigration; a brand new young Prime Minister; a Swiss Victory; corrupted in Vietnam; and a total eclipse of the sun.

Everywhere

Israel, Hamas, and Vows

This week the terrorist Hamas rejected yet another ceasefire proposal made by Israel, at talks in Egypt. Israel and Hamas sent teams to Cairo for talks that included Qatari and Egyptian mediators as well as CIA Director William Burns.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas. This victory requires entry into Rafah (Gaza’s last refuge for displaced Palestinians) and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen – there is a date”. However, a date was not specified.

Meanwhile, it’s becoming deadly clear that most of the Israeli hostages taken on 7 October 2023 have been murdered in captivity and Hamas is unable to ‘produce them’. Hamas acknowledges it lacks ‘sufficient living Israeli hostages’ for a deal – that confirms that most hostages are deceased. Hence, Hamas delays negotiations fearing exposure of its deceit about the captive status. Officials believe hostages who are still alive are being used as human shields surrounding the Hamas leadership, hidden deep in the tunnels of Gaza.

Towards the end of the week, Israel got into a high alert mode, on a possible attack by Iran, who have vowed to avenge Israel’s attack on a ‘building near its Consulate’ in Syria. Amid these fears, the United States in its turn, vowed support for Israel.

Poland and Immigration

This week more than 250 illegal migrants from Africa and the Middle East tried to storm the Polish border from the Belarus side. Polish riot police and the Army managed to push them back into Belarus. This comes in the backdrop of Russia and Belarus – who are great friends – using weaponised migration as a form of hybrid warfare.

In recent times, Poland has taken in the largest number of Ukrainian refugees since Russia’s invasion of the country in 2022.

European lawmakers voted this Wednesday on a revamp of the European Union’s (EU) migration policy: to cut the length of time for security and asylum procedures, and increase returns of migrants to reduce unwanted immigration from the Middle East and Africa, a high priority on the EU’s agenda.

The EU Asylum and Migration Pact has been in the works since 2015, and following its approval by the European Parliament, it will come into force in two years’ time. It will require EU member states to share responsibility for asylum seekers. The EU’s 27 countries will be required to either take in thousands of migrants from ‘frontline’ countries such as Italy, Greece, Spain, or provide extra funding or resources instead, called ’solidarity payments’.

The EU’s migration pact has become a highly charged political issue in Poland. Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk said his government would not accept any relocated asylum seekers under the EU’s proposed new migration pact and is opposed, in general, to the introduction of such a system.

Poland does not accept refugees from Muslim countries – from Africa or the Middle East: it accepts refugees from Christian countries.

Ireland’s New Prime Minister

In March this year, Irish Prime Minister (PM) Leo Varadkar, 45, in an unexpected shocking decision, resigned as the leader of his party, Fine Gael, and as PM. And Ireland’s Government had to scramble its lawmakers to find a replacement.

This week Simon Harris, 37, was elected as taoiseach (Irish PM), by members of the Dail (Irish Parliament). He is also the new Fine Gael party leader and becomes the youngest person to lead the Republic of Ireland. Simon Harris was elected after a vote in which 88 Dail members supported him while 69 voted against him. He was officially installed as taoiseach this Tuesday, after meeting President, Michael D Higgins, to receive the Seals of Office. Harris was the only candidate to seek the party leadership, after Varadkar’s decision to quit.

Simon Harris grew up in the coastal town of Greystones, in County Wicklow. He is the eldest of three children, the son of a taxi driver and a special needs assistant. His younger brother Adam is autistic – a fact which Harris said kickstarted his own involvement in political campaigning when he was just 16.

In 2009, he became a Councillor in Wicklow obtaining the highest individual vote of any candidate in the County. When Fine Gael swept to power in 2011, to lead a new coalition government, Harris won a parliament seat for the party in Wicklow. He entered the 31st Dail in 2011 at the age of 24 – the youngest member and the ‘baby of the house’. Since then, he has had a rapid rise through the party ranks, landing his first cabinet role before his 30th birthday, in 2016. He took on the prestigious but difficult role of Health Minister. The following summer he married his long-term girlfriend, children’s cardiac nurse, Caoimhe Wade, and is now father to two children. As minister for health, he oversaw Ireland’s vote to overturn its abortion ban and was in-charge of the country’s initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Swiss Victory

This week, in a stunning verdict The European Court of Human Rights’s (ECtHR) ruled that the Switzerland government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change. The case was brought by more than 2000 Swiss Women, known as KlimaSeniorinnen, all aged over 64.

The decision will set a precedent for future climate lawsuits and is expected to resonate in court decisions across Europe and beyond, and to embolden more communities to bring climate change cases against governments.

But in a sign of the complexities of the growing wave of climate litigation ECtHR rejected two other climate-related cases on procedural grounds. One of these was brought by a group of six Portuguese young people against 32 European governments, and another by a former mayor of a low-lying French coastal town.

The KlimaSeniorinnen said their government’s climate inaction put them at risk of dying during heatwaves. They argued their age and gender made them particularly vulnerable to such climate change impacts. In the ruling, the Court President said the Swiss government had failed to comply with its own targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and had failed to set a national carbon budget.”It is clear that future generations are likely to bear an increasingly severe burden of the consequences of present failures and omissions to combat climate change,” the President said.

The verdict in the Swiss case, which cannot be appealed, will have international ripple effects, most directly by establishing a binding legal precedent for all 46 countries that are signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights.

It indicates Switzerland has a legal duty to take greater action on reducing emissions.

If Switzerland does not update its policies, further litigation could follow at the national level and courts could issue financial penalties.

Switzerland has committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, from 1990 levels. The country had proposed stronger measures to deliver the goal, but voters rebuffed them in a 2021 referendum as too burdensome.

Vietnam and Corruption

A court in Vietnam sentenced real estate tycoon Truong My Lan to death over her role in a 304 trillion dong (USD 12.5 billion) financial fraud case, the country’s biggest on record. Vietnam imposes the death penalty not only for violent offences but also for economic crimes. The country has executed hundreds of convicts, in recent years, mainly by lethal injection.

Lan’s trial, which began on 5th March and ended earlier than planned, was one dramatic result of a campaign against corruption, which the leader of the country’s ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, has pledged for years to stamp out.

Lan, the chairwoman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat (VTP) Holdings Group, was found guilty of embezzlement, bribery, and violations of banking rules at the end of the trial in the business hub of Ho Chi Minh City. Her’s is a story of rising-up, from selling perfumes to the world of high finance.

Lan started as a cosmetics trader at the central market in Ho Chi Minh City, helping out her mother. She later founded her real estate company VTP in 1992, the same year when she got married.

Lan was found guilty, with her accomplices, of siphoning off more than 304 trillion dong from Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank, or SCB, which she effectively controlled through dozens of proxies despite rules strictly limiting large shareholding in lenders. From early 2018 through October 2022, when the state bailed out SCB after a run on its deposits triggered by Lan’s arrest, she appropriated large sums by arranging unlawful loans to shell companies. The bank is currently propped up by the central bank. And faces a complex restructuring under which authorities are trying to establish the legal status of hundreds of assets that were used as collateral for loans and bonds issued by VTP. The bonds alone are worth USD 1.2 billion. Some of the assets are high-end properties, but many others are unfinished projects.

Before her fall from grace, Lan had played a key role in Vietnam’s financial world, getting involved in the previous rescue of troubled SCB more than a decade before she contributed to the bank’s new crisis.

She was found guilty of having bribed officials to persuade the authorities to look away, including paying USD 5.2 million to a senior central bank inspector, Do Thi Nhan, who was sentenced to life in prison.

Vietnam’s graft crackdown, dubbed ‘Blazing Furnace’, has seen hundreds of senior state officials and high-profile business executives prosecuted or forced to step down. Corruption is so widespread that in some provinces many people say they pay bribes just to obtain medical services in public hospitals, according to a recent survey by the United Nations Development Programme, and other organisations.

Total Eclipse of the Sun

Throngs of skywatchers spread across North America gazed upward at a blackened sun in the midday dusk this Monday, celebrating with cheers, music, and matrimony the first total solar eclipse to darken the continent in seven years.

From a Mexican beach resort, close to where the eclipse made landfall, to the banks of the Ohio River, and farther north beyond the roaring cascades of Niagara Falls at the US-Canadian border, spellbound crowds reacted to the sight of ‘totality’ with jaw-dropping expressions of awe and joy.

Where clear skies prevailed, observers along the direct path of the eclipse were treated to the rare spectacle of the moon appearing as a dark orb creeping in front of the sun, briefly blocking out all but a brilliant halo of light, or corona, around, the sun’s outer edge.

It was first total eclipse to sweep across a large swath of North America since 2017, and will be the last one visible from the contiguous United States until 2044.

Mexico’s beachside resort town of Mazatlan was the first major viewing spot for totality. Thousands in solar-safe eyewear perched in deck chairs along the coastal promenade, and an orchestra played the ‘Star Wars’ movie theme as skies darkened under the approaching lunar shadow.

More jaw-dropping stories coming in the weeks ahead. Join forces and vow to stay with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-12

About: the world this week, 17 March 2024 to 23 March 2024: Israel still in Gaza; Russian Elections; Ireland’s PM resigns; Indonesia’s new President; India Elections announced; Princess of Wales; happy in Finland; Intermittent Fasting; and Pygmy Hippos.

Everywhere

Israeli Forces raided Gaza’s Al Shifa Hospital early on Monday killing more than 80 terrorists, and ran into a stockpile of weapons. Israeli military’s soldiers and special forces conducted a ‘precise operation’ based on intelligence that the hospital was being used by senior Hamas leaders. And hospitals continue to be used by Hamas as hideouts and godowns for storage of military hardware. During the raid, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad and a Major Commander in al-Qassam of Hxmas were captured.

United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken continues his globe-trotting efforts, especially to the Middle East, to bring the warring parties to hold fire. He told Qatar that they must give Hamas an ultimatum to either deliver on a hostage and ceasefire deal or expel their senior leaders stationed in Qatar. What took him so long?

Late this week, Russia and China vetoed a US resolution in the United Nations (UN), Security Council calling for a ceasefire in Gaza tied to a hostage release deal.

This week, the world – Ukraine in particular – got more of Russian President Vladimir Putin, 71: another six years to keep doing whatever he is doing.

The Russian Election Results were out on Sunday and Putin won a landslide re-election in, what is said to be, a predetermined vote, with over 87% in his favour. He basked in a victory that was never in doubt, easily securing a fifth term after facing only token challengers and harshly suppressing opposition voices. The outcome means Putin is set to embark on yet another term that will see him overtake Russian Dictator Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader, in more than 200 years – if he completes the term. Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov finished second, newcomer Vladislav Davankov third, and ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky, fourth.

Putin then made a victory speech saying the results showed Russia had been right to stand up to the West and send its troops into Ukraine in, what he has all along been calling, a ‘special military operation’. And that the operation would strengthen Russia’s military. “We have many tasks ahead. But when we are consolidated – no matter who wants to intimidate us, suppress us – nobody has ever succeeded in history, they have not succeeded now, and they will not succeed ever in the future,” thundered Putin. He warned the West that a direct conflict between Russia and the United States led NATO military alliance would mean the planet was one step away from World War III, but said hardly anyone wanted such a scenario.

The United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other nations said the vote was neither free nor fair, due to the imprisonment of political opponents and censorship. Hard to bottle Russia?

Meanwhile, Poland and Germany announced that they are creating an ‘international armoured vehicle coalition’ for Ukraine. The United Kingdom, Italy, and Sweden have said that they will join it too. Looks like Ukraine will get a new batch of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and armoured personnel carriers, to keep-up the fighting.

This Wednesday, Indonesia’s Election Commission formally announced Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto as President-elect, having won 59% of the votes in last month’s Presidential Elections. He is a three-time Presidential candidate who finally made it. Outgoing President Joko Widodo’s son Gibran Rakabuming Raka was the running mate and is set to become Vice-President.

In a shocking, unexpected turn of events, Ireland Prime Minister (PM) Leo Varadkar, 45, announced his resignation on ‘personal and political reasons, but mainly political reasons’. That’s another ‘New Zealand Jacintha Arden’ signature tune.

In a candid statement he said, “After 7 years in office I don’t feel I’m the best person for the job anymore”. He first resigned as President and leader of his Party, Fine Gael, with immediate effect. Leo Varadkar is of Indian origin and became Ireland’s youngest and first openly gay PM in 2017.

He will be remembered for his efforts to liberalise Ireland, easing the country’s strict anti-abortion laws. Varadkar had been grappling with several controversies. Early this month his government lost two referenda to change what it called ‘sexist’ language in the Constitution. He also faced severe backlash over Ireland’s housing crisis and soaring immigration numbers. In foreign affairs, Leo Varadkar was one of the harshest critics of Israel of any European Country. And Irish support for the Palestinians runs high.

Late last week on 16th Saturday, India’s Election Commission announced the schedule for the General Elections 2024 for electing 543 Members of Parliament to the Lower House of Parliament – Lok Sabha. It is a mammoth schedule, starting on 19th April and ending on 1st June, running in seven phases across the States of India. Counting of votes will be on 4 June 2024. Many States would be voting in a single phase whereas others would be having up to seven phases. Approximately 960 million, out of a population of 1.4 billion, are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections.

India’s Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar rambled for about an hour before announcing the schedule, which immediately kicked-off the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) – a set of guidelines issued to regulate political parties and candidates prior to elections. Among other things, the Code bars the government, at the State and Centre, from announcing new policy decisions, new projects or schemes that can influence voters. The MCC also states that political parties must also avoid advertising at the expense of the public exchequer or using official mass media for publicity on achievements to improve their chances of victory in the elections.

Opinion Polls give the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government lead by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a third term, with over 350 seats. While the BJP has confidently set itself a target of 400 plus, to make path-breaking changes.

In the United Kingdom, it’s a royal mess over the ‘Missing Princess of Wales’ with ‘Kate-spiracies’ and the wildest possible rumours exploding on the Internet and conspiracy theories flourishing. Kate Middleton has long been a magnet for unproven rumours, and it’s only getting better!

Finally toward the end of the week the Princess announced that she is suffering from cancer and in the early stages of a course of preventive chemotherapy. The diagnosis was a huge shock. The Royal Family has rallied around her.

Kate was last seen on Christmas. ‘Di another day?’

Finland remains the happiest Country in the world for the 7th straight year. And is quickly followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Israel, Netherlands, Norway. India was ranked 126. This, according to a United Nations sponsored World Happiness Report. Afghanistan rightfully stays at the bottom. It was an awful surprise to see countries such as Pakistan, Ukraine, ‘State of Palestine’, Myanmar, above India making one wonder about ‘what and who’ is speaking here!

The findings showed that younger generations are happier than older peers. Happiness ranking is based on individuals’ self assessed evaluation as well as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption. A close connection to nature and a healthy work-life balance were key contributors to happiness.

Intermittent fasting has grown in popularity over the years, thanks in part to celebrities. But there’s bad news.

New research by the American Heart Association says people who restrict their eating to an eight-hour window could be 91% more likely to die from a cardiovascular disease. Still, the researchers said more work needs to be done to understand why restricted eating can lead to cardiovascular disease. Intermittent fasting, a diet pattern that involves alternating between periods of fasting and eating, can lower blood pressure and help some people lose weight, past research has indicated.

But an analysis presented this Monday at the American Heart Association’s scientific sessions in Chicago challenges the notion that intermittent fasting is good for heart health. Instead, researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China found that people who restricted food consumption to less than eight hours per day had a 91% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease over a median period of eight years, relative to people who ate across 12 to 16 hours. It’s some of the first research investigating the association between time-restricted eating (a type of intermittent fasting) and the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. The analysis — which has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in an academic journal — is based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected between 2003 and 2018. The researchers analysed responses from around 20,000 adults who recorded what they ate for at least two days, then looked at who had died from cardiovascular disease after a median follow-up period of eight years.

A rare and endangered Pygmy Hippopotamus has been born in Athens’ Attica Zoological Park for the first time in 10 years, delighting conservationists. This was on 19 February. A lack of male pygmy hippos in captivity had complicated breeding efforts, so zoo staff were ‘absolutely thrilled’ the baby was a boy. “This is the first birth in the zoo in 2024, and what a birth. Every captive birth of pygmy hippos is extremely important. We’re very happy to see this baby grow into a healthy adult hippo, and hopefully one day reproduce,” said a Zoo Official.

Pygmy hippos are native to swamps and rainforests in western Africa, mainly confined to Liberia, with small numbers in the neighbouring countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast. They are listed as an endangered species and it is estimated only about 2,000 to 2,500 are still live in the wild. Weighing 7 kilograms the male calf – whose name will go to a vote – joins his parents Lizzie and Jamal as the only pygmy hippos at the zoo. The hippo, solitary and nocturnal by nature, will remain with its mother for a couple of months until it ventures into the outdoors enclosure.

At first glance, the pygmy hippopotamus looks like a mini version of its larger relative, the hippopotamus-also known as the river or common hippopotamus. But it differs in behaviour and physical characteristics. A common hippo typically weighs about 10 times as much as a pygmy hippo. The pygmy hippo has adaptations for spending time in water, but is much less aquatic than the hippo. Its nose and ears close underwater just like a hippo’s do, but its head is rounder and narrower, its neck is proportionally longer, and its eyes are not on the top of its head. The pygmy hippo’s feet are less webbed and its toes more free than those of the hippo, and its legs are longer. Its teeth are also different: it only has one pair of incisors, while the hippo has two or three. The top layer of a pygmy hippo’s greenish-black skin is smooth and thin to help it stay cool in the humid rainforest. However, the thin skin could cause the hippo to dehydrate quickly in the sun, so its skin oozes out a pink fluid that looks like beads of sweat and gives the hippo a shiny, or wet, appearance. This fluid, called blood sweat, helps to protect a pygmy hippo’s sensitive skin from sunburn. Wish we humans had built-in sunscreen. And pink is cool!

The pygmy hippo eluded Western science until 1840. Even today, little is known of its habits in the native habitat. Although they are able to make noises—from a low grunt to a high-pitched squeak—pygmy hippos are usually silent. Body language is important in hippo culture. Signs of submission include lying prone and urinating while slowly wagging the tail. If alarmed, the hippo releases its breath with a loud huff. A pygmy hippo calf can nurse from its mother on land or underwater. And Whales are the closest living relatives to hippos. That’s company!

More hippo-ish stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Live on land and underwater with World Inthavaaram.