Tag: technology

CAPTURED: BLAZES

About: This is the third in my Captured series; about capturing various stories that blazed the world. Call it Season 1, Episode 3. While actual Wild Fires engulfed Europe – especially in France and Spain, India was blazing on another level – in Transport, Space, and Sport. And a quick short story about Independent India’s first scandal. (Image Credit: Canva AI, 1 August 2026).

WILD FIRES

The month of July 2026 has gone-up in flames, with Wild Fires ignited in France and Spain getting out of control. The reason behind the French fires is accidental -with one linked to a brush-clearing machine; Spanish origins were, extreme heat, drought, dry vegetation, and winds that rapidly spread the fires. Nothing to do with the heat of Spain winning the FIFA Football World Cup 2026 or France losing to Spain in the semi-finals.

Successive, sweltering heatwaves since late May, and a very hot June in Western Europe severely dried vegetation, perhaps inviting the Fire Gods for sumptuous meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner served. The previous wet winter and spring season promoted abundant plant growth that then became ready fuel, on drying. Strong, shifting winds and low moisture accelerated the spread.

‘Rounding up the usual suspects’ of the ‘fire weather’ conditions is, human-caused climate change.

Typically, these fires become so extreme they create their own giant fire thunderstorm. A rare weather event, storms like these are formed when heat from the wildfires makes the air above the fire rise rapidly, carrying smoke, ash and water vapour high into the atmosphere. As the air rises, it cools, and the water vapour condenses into a cloud. If the fire is powerful enough and the atmosphere is unstable, that cloud can grow into the same type of cloud associated with thunderstorms.

This year’s Wild Fires were centred in southwestern France, especially Gironde near Bordeaux/Cap-Ferret and Landes; and Central Spain, west of Madrid, including Avila and related areas. The fires smoked-out over 200,000–300,000 people forcing them to evacuate, ravaged tens of thousands of hectares, and prompted European Union aid, military support, and emergency declarations.

Fires are also burning in Portugal, in the north-eastern district of Vila Real and also in Greece, on the island of Paros in the Aegean Sea and the southern town of Trifylia on the Greek mainland.

Both France and Spain are now seeing another sharp rise in temperatures, with peaks of 41 to 42 Degrees Centigrade expected in France.

In the United Kingdom, the London Fire Brigade had its busiest 24 hours of 2026 on 29 July, tackling 63 grass fires across the capital as temperatures topped 30 degrees centigrade. Control officers took over 1,300 emergency calls and crews rushed to more than 500 incidents. Almost 1,000 calls about grass fires have been made in the past week. It’s a European rage.

Investigations into the exact causes continue. Most wildfires require an initial spark-lightning is possible, but less common here than human causes, which then becomes catastrophic under the dry weather and plant fuel conditions.

The vast blazes that ripped through southwestern France burned so intensely they created a powerful, fire-generated thunderstorm. This rare phenomenon is sometimes seen in the Megafires that afflict the United States and Canada, but was unprecedented in France, until now. And it’s just one sign that Europe is entering a new fire era.

Europe has always had Wild Fires, but they are becoming increasingly frequent and extreme. Firefighters in France and Spain are currently trying to tame blazes more ferocious and more erratic than anything they have tackled before.

This follows the Europe’s record-breaking fire season last year and enduring back-to-back extreme fire seasons is becoming the norm. Experts say, “We have entered an era of fires that cannot be extinguished. These are fires that burn with the intensity of several atomic bombs.” Who needs Atom Bombs?

A BLAZING INDIA

There was a different kind of fire in normally ‘heat-friendly’ India, with a standout period in mid-to-late July 2026, during which India made spectacular advances in clean transport, private spaceflight, and women’s sports. Fuelling the tracks, burning the courts, blazing the field, and scorching the skies!These triumphs will be etched in India’s history, forever.

On 17 July 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first indigenously designed and built hydrogen-powered passenger train under India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) mission. It is a 10-coach hydrogen fuel-cell based trainset powered by a 1,200 kW hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system, and currently the world’s longest of its kind. The fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen to generate the train’s own in-house electricity, with water vapour (and heat) as the primary emission-making it a zero-carbon alternative. The system rides with a dedicated hydrogen storage, refuelling and other necessary technical systems. It is especially useful for routes that are hard to fully electrify.

The ‘hydrogen train’ ran on the about 89 km Jind–Sonipat section of the Northern Railway in Haryana, covering the route in about two hours with intermediate stops. It has a passenger carrying capacity of 2600 people and operates at a speed of 75 kmph -the top design speed being 110 kmph.

From tracks on land to the free Space above.

On 18 July 2026 Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, in its very first attempt. The mission was called Aagaman (meaning ‘arrival’ in Sanskrit) and Vikram-1 lifted off around midday Indian Standard Time and effortlessly reached the designated Low Earth Orbit- about 450km from the Earth’s surface. It then perfectly deployed technology demonstration payloads from over three customers, and Skyroot’s own satellite.

This made India only the third country (after the US and China) to successfully build a private orbital launch capability. And announced its ‘arrival’ into the commercial space business.

The name Vikram is in honour of Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India’s Space Programme.

Vikram-1 is mostly manufactured from carbon composites, which is five times lighter and stronger than the best rocket steel. Each stage is powered by the Kalam-series of Engines with a single Kalam-1200 engine being used for the first stage. The engines are named after India’s top Rocket Scientist and inspirational Ex-President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam. The engine of the orbital vehicle, that enables orbital insertion, is 100% 3-D printed. The rocket stages are perhaps the longest monolithic carbon composite made in India, and combines with the first of the kind ultra-low-shock pneumatic separation systems. They all worked to perfection.

Skyroot Aerospace is a Hyderabad-based startup, founded in the year 2018 by two scientists-turned-entrepreneurs Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka. They asked themselves a simple question, “What if launching into space could be as accessible and routine as commercial air travel?” Skyroot was born from this vision.

A highlight of ‘team Skyroot’ is that the average age of its engineering team is 28 reflecting blazing young talent – Pretty Young Things, rooted to the ground but aiming for the skies.

Skyroot plans to increase launch frequency to one mission every month from next year onwards, while developing heavier launch vehicles and eventually, reusable rockets. And they hope, to be in the next wave of the space economy beyond satellite launches to include satellite broadband, direct-to-mobile communication and space-based computing. Elon Musk has ‘X, to the power India’, competition. Mind it!

Women’s Sports

Several high-profile successes by Indian women athletes clustered around the last weeks of July and called for a bonfire celebration.

On 19 July, India’s ace badminton player P V Sindhu won the Japan Open 2026 women’s singles title (a Super 750 event), defeating Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in straight games. She became the first Indian shuttler to win the Japan Open crown.

Then on 26 July, in a rare moment, 18-years-old Anahat Singh hailing from Delhi, who is also the top seed, won the 2026 World Junior Squash Championships women’s singles title in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada. She defeated Egypt’s Ruqayya Salem 3-0 becoming the first Indian ever to win the junior world title and ending 15 unbroken years of Egyptian dominance in the event. Egypt climbs down from its pyramid top!

A day earlier, 31-years-old Manipuri Mirabai Chanu completed a hat-trick of Gold at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, claiming her third consecutive title in the women’s 48 kg weightlifting event with a record-breaking total lift of 190 kg. It was also India’s first at the ongoing Games.

Then came Sharmila Dhankar, who at age 40, won Gold in the women’s shot put with a season’s-best throw of 9.81 m, becoming India’s first-ever Commonwealth Games gold medallist in Para-Athletics. She ended a 20-year wait for a Para-Athletics medal at the Games. Her climb to fame is heart-wrenching: a trail burnt with fire.

Sharmila Dhankar grew up in a poor farming family in a drought-prone Chitrauli village, Mahendragarh District, Haryana. Her father was a small-time farmer, and her mother was visually impaired. At age 2, a high fever led to polio that permanently affected one of her legs, leaving her with a lasting physical impairment. It was an extremely difficult childhood marked by poverty and limited opportunities.

Like many girls in her region, she was married off young at 18 years. The marriage involved severe domestic abuse, including physical violence linked to dowry demands and pressure for giving birth to two daughters, rather than sons. She was beaten for hours (one episode was from 11 pm to 3 am) and thrown out of the house at night. Thereafter, reaching a peak of despair, she left her husband’s house and returned to her parents’ home clutching her daughters.

To support her family she took various jobs, including as a maid, cleaner, and security guard; she briefly worked as a bus conductor during a transport strike.

She later remarried Ajit Singh, a businessman from Rewari, who encouraged her to venture into Para-Athletics, after learning about the immense opportunities. Sharmila then began training in shot-put and discus throw. Financial pressures continued; in the year 2023, the family sold their house in Rewari to fund her training and career. Sport gave her a ‘second birth’ and she hopes to buy a home again while providing better opportunities for her daughters-who are themselves budding athletes in javelin and long jump.

Earlier in the month, the Indian women’s cricket team achieved a landmark 270-run victory over England in the one-off Test at Lord’s—the first women’s Test win for India at the historic ground. Maybe, that heat was too hot for England to handle!

India is now powered by a new Nari Sakthi, which is blazing the tracks of progress and development. Bharat knows to handle its fire.

India’s First Scandal

With Glasgow becoming a Sports Inferno hosting the Commonwealth Games, there is another sidetrack story. I digress to another topic – nothing connected with Sports- that burned well in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

India’s first High Commissioner to the United Kingdom(UK), V K Krishna Menon earned, among other degrees, a Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Glasgow during his extensive higher education in the UK. And once upon a time he was the centre of Independent India’s first scandal, called the Jeep Scandal of 1948.

During the first Indo-Pakistan war, over the ownership of Jammu & Kashmir, the Indian Army found itself in urgent need of 2000 battle-ready Jeeps. India’s then High Commissioner in the UK, V K Krishna Menon bypassed standard procurement protocols to sign a ₹80 lakh contract with a small dubious, little-known firm, Anti-Mistantes, which had a capital of just £600. And India went out of the way to pay 65% of the total amount, upfront. Ultimately only 155 Jeeps were delivered and none were in usable condition. The best part is, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru shielded the fire than came upon Menon; the case was officially ‘dozed with water’ in 1955, and V K Menon was later appointed (rewarded?) as India’s Defence Minister. Strange are the ways of India’s Grand Old Party -the Indian National Congress (INC).

Today with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)- supported by the INC- firing up New Delhi’s streets, protesting ‘Exam paper leaks’ and calling for accountability, demanding (and obtaining) the resignation of India’s Education Minister, the hypocrisy is there for all to see.

After the Blaze come cooler things to capture. Tomorrow is another day.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-30

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.