Tag: Niger

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2023-31

About: the world this week 30 July to 5 August 2023; Ukraine’s drones; Niger’s uranium; Permafrost’s secrets; India’s violence; Women’s football; and Music’s spill.

Everywhere

Ukraine

Ukraine is on the counter-offensive, taking the war into Russia striking deep inside their territory, reaching Moscow and threatening more attacks. A skyscraper in Moscow was attacked by an ‘unidentified’ drone for the second time in two days.

Ukraine says there will be ‘more unidentified drones, more collapse, more civil conflicts’. Of course, Russia keeps fumbling with tacit threats of the nuclear option.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia-the new growing-up kid in the world of peacemaking – is trying to get people together for talks in finding a solution to the Russia-Ukraine war, a forum that excludes Russia. The meeting is to be held in Jeddah, with national security advisers and other senior officials from some 40 countries meeting to agree on key principles for a future peace settlement to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Niger

Following last week’s coup in Niger, the military regime of General Abdourahamane Tchiani has banned, with immediate effect, the export of Uranium to France. Over 50% of the uranium extracted from Niger is used for fuelling France’s nuclear power plants. And the about 24% of Uranium imports by the European Union come from Niger.

Niger hosts a French military base and is the world’s seventh-biggest producer of uranium.

Niger has warned of foreign interference and is garnering support for its actions among neighbouring countries.

Back To Life

Permafrost is a permanently frozen layer below the Earth’s surface. It consists of soil, gravel, and sand, usually bound together by ice. Permafrost can be found on land and below the ocean floor in thickness ranging from one meter to more than 1,000 meters. It is found in areas where temperatures rarely rise above freezing. This means permafrost is mostly found in Arctic regions such as Greenland, the US State of Alaska, Russia, China, and Eastern Europe.

Permafrost does not always form in one solid-sheet and there are two major ways in which it forms and distributes itself: continuous and discontinuous. Continuous permafrost is a continuous sheet of frozen material that extends under all surfaces except large bodies of water. Russia’s Serbia has continuous permafrost. Discontinuous permafrost is broken up into separate areas. Some permafrost, in the shadow of a mountain or thick vegetation, stays all year. In other areas the summer sun thaws the permafrost for several weeks or months. The land near the southern shore of Hudson Bay, Canada, has discontinuous permafrost.

What’s all this about?

Scientists have ‘brought to life’ a worm that was frozen 46,000 years ago – at a time when woolly mammoths, sabre-toothed tigers and giant elks roamed the Earth. The roundworm, of a previously unknown species, survived 40 meters below the surface in the Siberian permafrost in a dormant state known as cryptobiosis. Organisms in a cryptobiotic state can endure the complete absence of water or oxygen and withstand high temperatures, as well as freezing or extremely salty conditions. They remain in a state ‘between death and life’, in which their metabolic rates decrease to an undetectable level. Organisms previously revived from this state had survived for decades.

Five years ago, scientists from the Institute of Physicochemical and Biological

Problems in Soil Science in Russia found two roundworm species in the Siberian permafrost. But still, they did not know whether the worm was a known species. Eventually, genetic analysis conducted by scientists in Dresden and Cologne showed that these worms belonged to a novel species, which researchers named Panagrolaimus kolymaenis. Researchers also found that the P. kolymaenis shared with C. elegans — another organism often used in scientific studies — ‘a molecular toolkit’ that could allow it to survive cryptobiosis. Both organisms produce a sugar called trehalose, possibly enabling them to endure freezing and dehydration.

’Toolkit’ is fast becoming the word of the year – freeze it?

Violence in India

This week, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) Constable shot dead 4 people on a moving train – Jaipur Express – near Mumbai. The RPF constable had an altercation with his boss as he was feeling unwell and wanted to get off the train. His boss wanted him to continue up to Mumbai. The Constable then shot his boss first and 3 other people. The incident is being investigated on the lines of mental imbalance, hate crime, besides other angles.

Another story stayed in the news much of this week and ran riot on the headlines. But, first a flash-back to get a handle on the situation.

Nuh is one of the 22 districts in the Indian state of Haryana, previously known as Mewat District, and renamed in the year 2016. The Town of Nuh is the District headquarters and lies on the National Highway – the Gurugram-Sohna-Alwar Highway – about 45 kilometres from the city of Gurugram of the National Capital Region. Mewat is a historical region spanning areas of the States of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, hence the name change to a more specific area of Haryana.

Nuh is predominantly populated by the Meos- an ethnic group of the region who are agriculturists – and Muslims; with about 79% being Muslims and about 20% being Hindus.

In the year 2018, the Government of India’s premier policy think-tank, Niti Aayog named Nuh District as the most underdeveloped of India’s 739 districts. Despite bordering Gurgaon District, Haryana’s rich industrial and financial heartland, Nuh had the worst health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion, skill development, and basic infrastructure.

Nuh is also the epicentre of cattle smuggling, illegal animal slaughter, and illegal mining, with mafias that run the business often clashing with police and ‘Gau Rakshaks’ (Cow Vigilantes). The mafia operates from the interiors of Nuh District and in the neighbouring Alwar District of Rajasthan, which is also infamous for being a cattle smuggling and illegal slaughter hub. The business is highly lucrative, with cattle stolen from farm­steads worth between INR 25,000 and 35,000 per head. Additional income ’smuggles-in’ from the illicit sale of older animals and capture of stray animals.

The cattle smugglers and vigilantes are engaged in a dangerous ‘cat-and-mouse’ game: the vigilantes, acting on tip-offs, chase vehicles suspected of carrying smuggled cattle; the well-armed cattle smugglers often throw the animals off their vehicles and hurl stones when chased. The police have set up special anti-cattle smuggling cells but have been ‘unable to lasso’ the Gau Rakshaks or the criminal gangs. Confronting cattle smugglers and illegal slaughter is a hazardous job in Nuh, that puts police personnel at tremendous risk. The poor conviction rate under the state’s Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act (Cow Protection Law) has often seen the Courts pull-up the police on more than one occasion.

The region is testimony to stubborn inter-generational de­velopment deficits and has bred criminal activities that are part of the reason why Nuh is a communal tinderbox. As an example, Nuh’s Singar village has a total literacy rate of around 30% and a female literacy under 9% according to Census 2011. A large village with more than 3,000 houses, it seems to typify the lack of opportunity. And absence of government attention and exclusion has perhaps led people in Nuh to take to crime in a big way. A report in 2014 highlighted a high incidence of power theft, and government initiatives to electrify villages have faced shocking resistance with people refusing to pay for electricity and attacking Government staff on the job. It required sustained outreach to com­plete delivery of a power connection to willing households under the Saub­hagya Scheme launched by the Central Govt in September 2017.

It was a year ago, in July 2022, that a Deputy Superintendent of Police was run over by a truck driven by illegal miners after he took them by surprise near Tauru. In recent times, Nuh ‘has progressed’ to report cyber and call-centre frauds.

Now coming closer to the present situation.

Three years ago, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) started a Yatra (journey) called the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra- to revive holy Hindu sites and Hindu religious tourism in Meo-Muslim dominated Nuh. The district is home to three ancient Mahabharata period Shiva temples. The Aravallis are also popularised as once being the grazing grounds of Lord Krishna’s cows. The temples have long existed undisturbed and even conserved but aiming to save them from ‘potential threat of being encroached by mosques’ like Kashi Vishwanath or Krishna Janambhoomi, VHP started the Yatra insisting pilgrims would keep the temples relevant.

Typically, the Yatra enters Nuh District from Sohna, begins from Nalhar Mahadev Temple in Nuh, goes to Jhirakeshwar Mahadev and Radha Krishna Temple at Shrangar village. And concludes at the Shringeshwar Mahadev Temple.

The annual Yatra, which was started as a pilgrimage has long been converted into a power show where not just VHP or Bajrang Dal members, but even cow vigilantes participated. Over the past two years, the Yatra was preceded by online ‘war of throwing challenges between participants and local men’. There was always tension surrounding the Yatra which escalated this year. However, all communities have long coexisted in Nuh, peacefully.

This year too, the police called the communities -especially the Muslim and Hindu Groups – in the region to talk to them to maintain peace while according permission for the Yatra.

This Monday the Yatra started like it did in the other two years, but violence began 10 minutes after the procession, of around 200 people, began to walk from Edward Chowk in Nuh town. As the group walked down the main road they were confronted by a group of young men who tried to stop the procession. And they were pelted with stones, rocks sticks, bottles, and illegal firearms by a large Muslim mob, which had gathered at the scene. The Hindu side initially fled, but then they regrouped and retaliated. As the mob tried to disrupt the procession, the two sides came to loggerheads. Stones were pelted and cars were set on fire, and when the Home Guards intervened, they were shot at.

More than 100 vehicles were burnt and people sort refuge in the Nalkeshwar Temple from where the procession was scheduled to begin. Over 150 new motorcycles were looted from a showroom in the area and a cyber police station was attacked. Central paramilitary forces were rushed in to get a grip on the situation in Nuh and a curfew was imposed.

It appears that the violence was carefully organised with a large number of stones and bricks stocked in parks, along roadsides and on roofs, while a number of illegal firearms were used. The police investigation reveals a familiar pattern of WhatsApp groups being formed and ‘tasks’ being allocated and directions issued about where rioters were to gather. In the videos that went viral, minors can also be seen to be part of the mobs that roamed the streets of Nuh on 31 July.

The violence was reportedly triggered after Bajrang Dal activist Monu Manesar – a cow vigilante accused of lynching two Muslim men – circulated a video on Sunday, announcing that he would be part of the procession. He along with one Bittu Bajrangi, urged people to join in large numbers. The murder-accused has been absconding since February this year, after the killings. While Manesar did not attend the Yatra his message appears to have incited locals in Nuh. They have been long demanding that the cow vigilante be arrested.

Tension has been simmering in Nuh since Sunday, a day before the Yatra was scheduled. The procession was attacked soon after it kick-started with stones being pelted from rooftops by members of another community, indicating that the violence was pre-planned.

The situation seems to be in control, and investigations have begun on the reasons, and those responsible. And how to prevent a relapse.

India to the Moon

India’s Chandrayaan-3 was put a path to the Moon with the Trans Lunar Insertion manoeuvre operation successfully completed on 1st August. The spacecraft has now left Earth’s Orbit and is expected to enter Moon’s Orbit in a few days time. Injection into the lunar orbit, so that the spacecraft is pulled into the gravity of the Moon, is a critical phase of the operation and is expected to happen over the weekend.

The next, and the final destination, is the Moon. And a 23rd August Moon Landing is in the cross-hairs of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

Women’s Football

The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 – the ninth edition of the quadrennial international women’s football championship- contested by women’s national teams and organised by FIFA in underway from 20 July to 20 August 2023 in the two hosting countries of Australia and New Zealand.

This is the first tournament to have more than one host nation and the first to feature the expanded format of 32 teams from the previous 24, replicating the same format used for the Men’s World Cup from 1998 to 2022.

The final is scheduled on 20 August at the Sydney Olympic Stadium, Sydney, Australia. The United States are the defending champions, having won the World Cup in 2015 and 2019.

Some of the women’s stars to look-out for are: Germany’s Jule Brand and Lena Oberdorf; USA’s Alyssa Thompson; Colombia’s Linda Caicedo; Japan’s Maika Hamano; England’s Lauren James and Denmark’s Kathrine Kuhl.

This week thhe Tournament entered the knock-out stage of the last sixteen. The teams that made it are: USA, England, France, Spain, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Jamaica, Colombia, South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Australia, and Japan

World Cup tournaments tend to be defined by an emerging star and, this year, it’s Colombia’s 18 years old sensation Linda Caicedo who is shining brightest.

At just 14, Caicedo made her professional debut for the Colombian side, America de Cali, and finished her first season as the league’s top scorer in her side’s title win. And a few months later she earned her international call-up to the Colombian national side.

Things were progressing quickly for Caicedo, but all was about to come to a halt. At 15, Caicedo was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, shortly after making her senior debut for the national side. She underwent surgery and chemotherapy treatment. And as if it was not enough, it all happened during the Covid19 pandemic. Now she’s fought her way back and is shining like the brightest star in this World Cup.

Please Yourself

Music Throws

Last week, America felt the seismic effects of ‘Swift Quake’. And late last week, singer Cardi B exploded, hurling her microphone at a concertgoer, during a concert at Drai’s Beachclub in Las Vegas, United States.

A concertgoer standing at the edge of the stage tossed up the contents of a large white cup, splashing her face and soaking her orange swimsuit cover-up as she performed her No. 1 hit ‘Bodak Yellow’. She shouted at the person, as security retrieved her microphone and appeared to remove the fan from the outdoor show.

The violence comes amid a wave of recent attacks against performers, including one last week in which a crowd member threw a purse at Canadian rapper, Drake. Last month, a man was charged with assault after hitting pop singer Bebe Rexha with a phone.

More thawing stories coming-up from the cold, in the weeks ahead. Sing with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2023-30

About: the world this week 23 July to 29 July 2023 – Heat and Fire; Odessa; Spain’s Election; Iraq & Sweden; a coup in Niger; Greece fires; Chandrayaan-3; Singers O’Connor and Tony Bennet; Swift Quake; Movies, ‘Barbenheimer’.

Everywhere

The Odessa Fire

Russia has been launching near-constant attacks on the Ukraine Port City of Odessa, off the Black Sea, since it withdrew from a landmark grain deal – which allowed Ukraine’s grain production to safely leave Port – last week. Russian missiles strikes badly damaged The Transfiguration Cathedral, which is an UNESCO world heritage-listed historic centre. It is Odessa’s largest Orthodox Church and was consecrated in 1809. In the year 1939, it was demolished by the then Soviet Union, and rebuilt in 2003.

The destruction is enormous with half of the cathedral left without a roof, and the central piles and foundation were destroyed. All the windows and stucco moulding were blown out.

UNESCO has been urging Russia to cease attacks on Odessa, to no avail. The city’s historic centre was designated an endangered World Heritage earlier this year, despite Russian opposition.

Spain’s Hot Summer Election

This is Spain’s first general election of modern times held in the searing, fierce heat of mid-summer, when many Spaniards are usually on holiday, probably exploring the world in there own Armadas.

Spain went to the polls in a Election that offered a choice of two starkly contrasting visions: the Socialist Left and the Conservative Right.Two extremes: that’s becoming the norm across many countries in recent times.

Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez, who is Prime Minister (PM) since 2018 hoped the government’s social reforms and its handling of a strongly performing economy will win over voters. His Spanish Socialist Workers Party has been lagging in polls behind the conservative People’s Party (PP) led by Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who wants to roll back many of the socialist reforms of Sanchez.

In the results that were declared this week the conservative Right coalition, which was expected to win, secured only 169 seats. The socialist Left won 153 seats – 122 by Sanchez’s Party and 31 by Minister Yolanda Diaz’s, Sumar.

Both the Left and the Right were far from an absolute majority of 176 seats in Spain’s 350-seat Parliament.

The PP obtained 136 seats – 47 more than 4 years ago. The far-right Vox Party scored 33 seats – 19 less than in 2019 – which adds up to a total of 169 seats in a coalition. With the Vox Party achieving a result worse than in 2019, Feijoo’s chances of forming a PP majority coalition government with it were dashed. If the Vox Party had done better and helped form a government, it would have meant the first far-right involvement in government since ‘Francoist Spain’ under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco Bahamonde, which ended in 1975.

On its part to obtain the 176 seats, Sanchez’s party would need a total of 23 more seats, and their traditional allies in Parliament – all regional parties- together have 19 seats.

The election results have created uncertainty with regards to the future of the next government – causing a possible deadlock. Now they march to the King of Spain to discuss government formation.

PM Pedro Sanchez called the early election after his Party and its far-left partner, Unidas Podemos, were defeated in local and regional elections in May. The move seems to have paid off, though slightly below expectations.

Meanwhile, the King of Spain’s fabulously tailored suits were the hot buzz during the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament: winning praise for the excellent tailoring. And I enjoyed the threads on the science behind them. Some skills His Royal Highness could use to stitch together a government?

Iraq and Sweden: Burning

Last week, Iraq kicked out Sweden’s Ambassador and asked its own Affairs in-Charge in Sweden to pack and return home, amid heightened tensions between the two countries over burning of the Holy Quran.

Last month, Sweden granted permission to an Iraqi refugee to burn the Quran during broader anti-Islam protests outside a Stockholm mosque. Then last week, another planned Quran burning protest was scheduled to take place by the same refugee, who stomped on the holy book. Iraqi protesters responded by storming and setting fire to parts of Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad. Now, Iraq is threatening to sever diplomatic ties with Sweden amid the turmoil and has revoked a Swedish telecom giant’s license to operate in Iraq. For the moment, it’s a tit-for-tat state of affairs between the countries.

How does Sweden allow the burning and the stomping?

Sweden has one of the world’s strongest legal protections for freedom of expression. Sweden’s Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression on any subject, including ‘expressions of opinion that question religious messages, or that can be perceived as hurtful to the believer’. It also scrapped its blasphemy laws in the 1970s. That’s the stage!

Niger Coup

African nations are no strangers to coups and this week it was Niger’s turn.

Niger is a vast, arid country on the edge of the Sahara desert and one of the poorest nations in the world.

On 26 July, soldiers said they have ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, closed the country’s borders, and dissolved Niger’s Constitution. In a national TV address, security forces said the inevitable: ‘a deteriorating security situation and bad governance’ led to the coup. The announcement was made by Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane, alongside nine other uniformed soldiers behind him: “We, the defence and security forces… have decided to put an end to the regime you know”.

President Bazoum is a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist militancy in West Africa. Two neighbouring countries, Mali and Burkina Faso, have experienced coups triggered by jihadist uprisings in recent years. In both countries the new military leaders have fallen out with France, the former colonial power, which also formerly ruled Niger. A French connection?

Greece Fires

Greece has been bracing itself for intense heat last weekend, with meteorologists warning that temperatures could climb as high as 45 degrees Centigrade (113F).

People had been advised to stay home, and tourist sites – including Athens’ ancient Acropolis – was shut during the hottest days. It turned into Greece’s hottest July weekend in 50 years.

In the Greek Island of Rhodes, thousands of people were evacuated from homes and hotels after wildfires engulfed large parts of the island. More than 3,500 people have been evacuated by land and sea to safety. A further 1,200 were evacuated from three villages – Pefki, Lindos, and Kalathos.

Meanwhile, firefighters are continuing to battle dozens of wildfires. The island has been battling wildfires fanned by strong winds since last Tuesday, as Europe deals with a challenging heatwave.

What sparked the fires is yet to be ascertained: arsonists? climate change?

Meanwhile, Greece rightfully declared it is at war with the flames.

On the sidelines, The United Nations stepped-in to say, ‘The era of global warming has ended. The era of global boiling has arrived’. And warnings of unbreathable air and unbearable temperatures is what lies ahead. And Scientists hurried to add that this month is the hottest ever in 1,20,000 years.

India Onwards to the Moon

India’s Chandrayaan-3, which took off from Earth on 14 July on mission to land on the Moon is heading in the right direction. Orbit raising manoeuvres to gradually lift the spacecraft and leave the Earth’s gravity and orbit have been successfully completed. And the next firing, to kick it into the Trans Lunar Orbit on the way to the Moon is scheduled on 1st August. Chandrayaan-3 is following the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) script to the dot, as it inches closer to the Moon.

Singers No More

This week on 26 July, Irish singer, Sinead O’Connor, 56, was found unresponsive in her London Apartment and subsequently declared dead. The death was not teated as suspicious and the medical reason is yet to be ascertained.

The feminist firebrand known for her trademark bald-head appearance was best known for her 1990 song, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ written by Prince – the track made O-Connor a global star, partly due to its iconic video.

Two weeks ago, O’Connor had told her fans that she had recently moved back to London after a 23-year absence – and she was very happy to be home.

Sinead O’ Connor’s debut album, ‘The Lion and the Cobra’, was released in 1987 and charted internationally. He second studio album, ‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got’, 1990, became her biggest success selling over seven million copies worldwide. It’s lead single, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ was named the number one world single in 1990, by Billboard Music Awards.

O’Conner had a troubled past and spoke of being sexually abused by her parents as a child, saying she was in agony. She consistently spoke out on issues related to child abuse, human rights, racism, organised religion, and women’s rights. She struggled with her mental health and had been dealing with the loss of her 17-year-old son, who died by suicide last year.

In 1999, O’Connor was ordained as priest by the Latin Tridentine Church – not recognised by the main stream Catholic Church. In 2017 she changed her name to Magda Davitt. After converting to Islam in 2018, she became Shuhada Sadaqat.

O’Connor had four children and was married and divorced four times.

Last week saw the passing of another music legend, American jazz and traditional pop singer, Tony Bennet, 97, who died in his home. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and was suffering from it for many years.

He won 20 Grammy Awards; sold more than 50 million records worldwide; earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; broke the Guinness book of World records for the oldest person to release an album of new material at the age of 95 years and 60 days; among many other remarkable achievements in a long singing career.

His signature song, in 1962, ‘I left my heart in San Francisco’, lingers in the heart!

In other swift music news, Singer Taylor Swift is on a music tour. And after two nights of earth-shaking dancing at Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour concert at Lumen Field, Seattle, USA, enthusiastic ‘Swifties’ caused seismic activity equivalent of a 2.3 magnitude earthquake, according to a seismologist. The ‘Swift Quake’ has been compared to the 2011 ‘Beast Quake’, when Seattle Seahawks fans erupted after an impressive touchdown by running-back Marshawn ‘Beast Mode’ Lynch.

Please Yourself

Amid the ongoing, no-end-in-sight Hollywood Writers’ and Actors’ Union strike two much anticipated movies hit the theatres late last week: ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’. Fans got to watch Greta Gerwig’s take on life in plastic and Christopher Nolan’s biopic on the scientist behind the atom bomb. The two films, dubbed ‘Barbenheimer,’ had already sold over 40,000 tickets combined worldwide before release. Though the Unions Strike threaten to hurt the film industry, which lost around $7 billion during the pandemic, the shows must go on. Oppenheimer and Barbie are expected to bring in USD 40 million and USD 80 million respectively in their opening weekend.

This week Barbie did fabulously well at the Box Office -the famous pink was splashed all over Town- and appears to be on its way to becoming a blockbuster success.

Barbie is a fantasy comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig and written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. It is based on the Barbie fashion dolls by Mattel. The film follows Barbie – played by Actress Margot Robbie – and Ken – Ryan Gosling- on a journey of self-discovery.

While Barbie dolled-up the Box-Office, Oppenheimer got itself entangled in a ‘spiritual bomb incident’ over the way the Hindu Holy book, Bhagavad Gita was read and portrayed in a scene in the movie.

More pink and other colourful stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Stay cool with World Inthavaaram.