About: the world this week, 21 July 2024 to 27 July 2024: Microsoft goes hard; the wrath of Israel; new Presidents of the US; Bangladesh rocks; India’s Budget, Testing, and Firing; Nepal plane crash; Paris Olympics; and Dark Oxygen.

Everywhere

Microhard

In one of the biggest technical outages in history, millions of Microsoft Windows users world-wide experienced the Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD), last Friday. Almost all Passenger Airlines around the world faced technical issues that affected booking, check-in, and flight updates. Hundreds of flights were cancelled. Other sectors affected were healthcare, shipping, finance, food chains, and brokerage firms. What caused this?

A mistake in a security software update sparked hours-long global computer systems outages, another incident highlighting the vulnerability of the world’s interconnected technologies. This occurred when CrowdStrike, used in Microsoft Windows, released a sensor configuration update for its ‘Falcon Sensor’ to Windows Operating Systems. Sensor configuration updates are an ongoing part of the protection mechanisms of the Falcon platform. The configuration update triggered a logic error resulting in a system crash BSOD. However Mac and Linux-based systems were not affected.

CrowdStrike’s website says, it is a cyber security service designed to stop internet breeches or hacks. It was founded on the premises that sophisticated attacks targeting the world’s leading businesses cannot be solved merely using existing malware-based defenses. A brand new approach was needed – one that combines the most advanced endpoint protection with expert intelligence to pinpoint the adversaries perpetrating the attacks, no just the malware.

Later, CrowdStrike said the issue has been isolated and a fix deployed. It confirmed that it is not a security incident or a cyber attack. Users running Falcon Sensor for Windows version 7.11 and above, that were online between Friday, 19 July 2024 04:09 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) and Friday, 19 July, 2024 05:27 UTC were affected. Systems running Falcon Sensor for Windows 7.11 and above that downloaded the updated configuration from 04:09 UTC to 05:27 UTC – were susceptible to a system crash.

Global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike is one of the largest operators in the industry. It is not a household name, but it is a USD 83 billion company with more than 20,000 subscribers around the world, including Amazon and Microsoft.

The Wrath of Israel: Don’t Start a Fire

Late last week the Houthis (an Iran-backed militant group) of Yemen hit Israel’s city of Tel Aviv with a drone resulting in the death of one Israeli civilian and injuring many others. When you do this to Israel, what happens? You invite its wrath!

Israel’s Air Force struck the largest Port in Yemen causing grave damage. The Port was completely engulfed in flames. About 25, F-15 and F-35 aircraft, accompanied by refuelling planes, flew about 2000 km toward the city of Hodeidah in Yemen for the attack. The strike was carried out in eight waves, which destroyed fuel depots and a power station north of the Port inflicting severe damage on the Port.

Bibi in America

During the week, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Bibi) flew to the United States, shopping for ‘good will and support’. He also addressed both Houses of Congress and delivered a masterpiece of a speech. It was mighty impressive that he got an insane number of standing ovations, 55 to be precise – the most standing ovations given to any foreign leader addressing Congress. The applause went overboard, and at one point, the audience began to clap and Bib had to stop them to say, “No, don’t applaud. Listen.” Here are some of the best lines:

This is not a clash of civilizations. It’s a clash between barbarism and civilization.

These protesters chant, ‘from the river to the sea’. But many don’t have a clue what river and what sea they’re talking about. They not only get an ‘F’ in geography, they get an ‘F’ in history. They call Israel a colonialist state.

Don’t they know that the Land of Israel is where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob prayed, where Isaiah and Jeremiah preached and where David and Solomon ruled?

For nearly 4000 years, the land of Israel has been the homeland of the Jewish people. It’s always been our home; it will always be our home.

And one more thing. When Israel acts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, that could destroy Israel and threaten every American city, every city that you come from, we’re not only protecting ourselves. We’re protecting you.

In World War II, as Britain fought on the front-lines of civilization, Winston Churchill appealed to Americans with these famous words: “Give us the tools and we’ll finish the job.” Today, as Israel fights on the frontline of civilization, I too appeal to America: “Give us the tools faster, and we’ll finish the job faster.”

Back to the War Front

In an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) operation in Khan Younis, 5 bodies of hostages were recovered from the Gaza Strip and brought back to Israeli territory. It is over 300 days and about 125 hostages are still held in excruciating captivity by the Terrorist Hamas.

Biden Out: Kamala In

US President President Joe Biden, 81 – who is recovering from Covid – and has been ‘rapidly growing old’ in recent times, finally announced he will no longer seek re-election, ending his Presidential campaign less than four months before Election Day. He said his decision was in the best interest of his party and the country. And he quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, calling on fellow Democrats to come together and beat Republican candidate Donald Trump. This is the first time a US President has ended his re-election bid this late in the game. The last incumbent to make a similar move was President Lyndon B Johnson in 1968.

The US Secret Service: Grilled & Roasted

Over the week, US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle appeared before a bipartisan House Oversight Committee looking into the lapses of the Donald Trump assassination attempt, to answer questions. The committee was allover her with piercing questions, and she cut a sorry figure under the intense grilling. She rankled lawmakers by refusing to provide sufficient details about the incident, being as slippery as an eel and as evasive as a snake. Said one of the members, ’This committee is not known for its model of bipartisanship, and I think today we came together unanimously in our disappointment. We don’t have that confidence that you can lead.” During more than four hours of often contentious proceedings, Cheatle called the 13 July 24 shooting “the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades”.

Later in the week, she could hold-on no longer. She resigned.

Bangladesh Rocks

Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Sunday rolled back most of the controversial quotas on government jobs which sparked violent protests in the country.

The Court dismissed the earlier ruling that brought back the quotas, directing that 93% of government jobs will be open to candidates on merit, without quotas. A lawyer representing the students said that the Supreme Court, “gave a final solution to this quota system. That is, 93% quota for general people, 5% quota for freedom fighters and their kin, 1% for ethnic minority community, and 1% for third gender and physically disabled”.

India: We built this City

The official commentary on Budget 2024, that was unveiled on 23 July 24, would run something like this: ‘It’s a comprehensive strategy built on nine foundational pillars – agriculture, employment, inclusive development, manufacturing and services, urban development, energy, infrastructure, innovation/research and development, and next-generation reforms. These will serve as guiding principles aimed at fostering broad-based opportunities and sustainable progress across the country. It presents a holistic approach to economic development, balancing fiscal prudence with targeted interventions for inclusive growth and sets a bold trajectory towards a prosperous and resilient India’.

The focus of this year’s Budget was on ‘ four caste’ groups of: Farmers, Youth, Poor, and Women, to hopefully make life better for them.

Set aside that jargon, and let’s roll over. The Government, short of a majority in Parliament, actually stands on two foundation pillars. 1-its own numbers, and, 2-that of the States of Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Bihar plus certain other small Allies. And AP and Bihar got their pound of flesh, when the new Government set sail on the high seas on 11 June 24 following the declaration of Election Results on 4 June 24.

AP got a bonanza of INR 15,000 crore for building its new capital city of Amravathi (It had no capital following bifurcation into Telangana and AP, with Telangana getting Hyderbad as its Capital) a completion of irrigation projects and essential infrastructure such as water, power, railways, and roads. Bihar got big-ticket measures of INR 26,000 crore for various road projects in the state and bombastic plans for new airports and sports infrastructure. In addition, it grabbed another INR 11,500 crore for flood mitigation and taming the mercurial River Kosi, which runs through the State.

The hard-working, honestly tax-paying middle class felt left-out again – timidly thrown under the bus. Though the tax slabs were tinkered with and the standard deduction tweaked, giving them ‘slightly more money’ in their hands, they were disappointed. It was depressing that the tax on Long Term Capital Gains was increased by 2.5% to 12.5% (from 10%) without indexation. And Short -Term Capital Gains from equities and mutual funds to 20%. The Govt rewarded the risk taken to grow their money. What was given by the right hand was quickly grabbed by the left hand. Did something spill down?

The Big Numbers said INR 48.21 Lakh Crore would be the estimated total expenditure by the Govt with a nominal GDP Growth of 10.5%. The Fiscal deficit, which represents the difference between the government’s total income and its total expenditure was plugged at 4.9% with serious intentions to bring in under 4.5% by 2025-26, which is actually very good.

The allocation for Defence was 6.22 Lakh crore; the Rural push was 2.66 Lakh crore; and for Education it was 1.26 Lakh crore, among other outlays.

With the top honchos of the Corporate world complaining about a lack of skills among the ‘educated unemployed’, the Govt heard. It came up with a programme to skill-up 20 lakh young people over a 5-year period. 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes will be upgraded in a hub. One-month wage will be provided to new entrants in all formal sectors in 3 instalments up to INR 15,000, which is expected to benefit 210 lakh youth.

Finally, is a great spin, import duties on gold and silver were reduced to 6% from the earlier 15% leading to India’s Jewels in the crown getting cheaper. And gold prices fell by over 5%. With Indian households owning approximately 11% of the World’s Gold the fall in prices wiped out over 10 lakh crore from the value of gold held by Indians in a single day.

India: We Test Well

This week India’s Supremo Court ruled on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for Under-Graduate admission to India’s Medical Colleges, which testing was challenged. It said that there was no proof of systematic breach of exam – sanctity preserved, hence no-retest needed, nor a cancellation of exam itself. But 4 lakh candidates will lose 5 marks each over a contentious Physics question. New merit lists were to be notified in two day’s time and the derailed process was put back on track.

India: We Fire Well

In another fighting news, on Wednesday, India quietly and successfully flight-tested its Phase-II Ballistic Missile Defence System from off the Odisha coast. The test demonstrated India’s indigenous capability to defend against ballistic missiles of 5,000 km class. The Target Missile was launched mimicking an adversary Ballistic Missile, which was detected by weapon system radars deployed on land and sea and activated the Interceptor system.

Nepal: Plane Crash

This week there was yet another plane crash in Nepal. I recall writing about two other plane crashes over the past two years in 2023, and 2022. Since 2000, nearly 360 people have died in plane or helicopter crashes in the country.

This Wednesday, a small passenger plane, a Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft, belonging to Nepal’s Saurya Airlines crashed and caught fire while taking off from the capital Kathmandu, killing 18 people on board and leaving one survivor, the Captain Pilot. The 50-seater plane, carrying two crew members and 17 technicians, was heading for regular maintenance to Nepal’s new Pokhara airport, which is equipped with aircraft maintenance hangars. Eighteen of those on board were Nepali citizens, with one engineer from Yemen.

Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft veered off to the right and crashed on the east side of the runway with its wing hitting the ground.

The crash again focused attention on the poor air safety record of the landlocked Himalayan nation that is wedged between India and China and is heavily dependent upon air connectivity due to its limited road network. Nepal’s aviation industry has a poor safety record – that has been attributed to multiple factors over the years, from unpredictable weather to lax regulations.

The Paris Olympics: On Your Marks

In what will be a unique festival ‘on the water’, for the first time in the history of the Summer Olympics Games, the Opening Ceremony will be held outside a stadium. Athletes will parade down Paris’ famous River Seine, on boats – a floating parade through the heart of the City. The Opening Ceremony is scheduled to begin on Friday 26 July, when the first boats depart from the Austerlitz Bridge.

Going east to west through the city, 10,500 athletes on 94 boats will be ferried down a 6 km route that ends in front of the famous Trocadero, opposite the Eiffel Tower, where the rest of the Ceremony shows takes place, such as the lighting of the Olympic cauldron and the official opening speech by French President Emmanuel Macron. The boats will pass through some of Paris’ most iconic landmarks, including the Louvre and the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral.

Saboteurs struck France’s TGV high-speed train network in a series of pre-dawn attacks that caused chaos on the country’s busiest rail lines and heightened security concerns. Vandals damaged signal boxes along the lines connecting Paris with cities such as Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west and Strasbourg in the east. Another attack on the Paris-Marseille line was foiled.

In another incident, the Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg airport, located by the French-Swiss-German border, was evacuated due to a bomb threat. It later reopened and resumed operations.

Under the Sea: Dark Oxygen

We are all too familiar with oxygen produced by photosynthesis. But what if there is another source, that too deep under our Oceans?

This week, Scientists found evidence of an additional source of oxygen – raising questions about the origins of life on Earth. For decades, scientists have floated theories about dark matter, which is believed to hold galaxies together by its gravitational pull. The enigma of dark matter continues, and now scientists have discovered what they call ‘dark oxygen’ on the ocean’s floor.

A recent study published in Nature Geoscience-a journal dedicated to Earth sciences research-shows oxygen emitted from mineral deposits 4,000 meters below the ocean’s surface on the seafloor at a depth that is almost half the length of the tallest peak of Mount Everest.

On the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), which spans 4.5 million square kilometres in the Pacific Ocean, there are coal-like mineral rocks, called polymetallic nodules, which typically contain manganese and iron. Scientists have found that these nodules produce oxygen without the process of photosynthesis. The fact that we’ve got another source of oxygen on the planet other than photosynthesis has consequences and implications that are utterly profound.

More oxygen-rich stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Breathe easy with World Inthavaaram.