The Weekly Focus Edition 12

Patient 31

South Korea was one of the first countries hit severely by the virus. After containing the virus, they have repeatedly had small waves and bad days but it's still been one of the foremost effective countries in containing the virus. However, over the past 15 days, South Korea has reported cases within the triple digits, as high as their March levels. But how did it become so bad so fast?

It was early February. Wuhan had been hit hard by the virus, but COVID-19 didn't seem to make landfall within the other country. South Korea had 30 cases, and each one among these patients was isolated in hospitals with high levels of precaution. Just then, a 61-year-old woman suffered mild injuries during a car crash. She was then admitted to the hospital, and recovered soon. She had a cough and high fever, but the woman insisted it had been the flu. She then visited a buffet alongside her friends and visited the church twice until her health worsened and she was admitted a second time. After being tested for COVID - 19, the result bent positive. Soon 800 more people complained of cough and fever and each one among them had attended church. It's estimated 80% of South Korea's cases originated from patient 31. This portrays how each one of us needs to be responsible. Not just one family, or one society but the entire nation.

Indian exams

The NEET and JEE exams, scheduled for September, are receiving nationwide backlash over the refusal to postpone exams. Students depend on these exams for job opportunities, college applications, and far more. To summarize, it's a crucial and important exam. Because of rising COVID-19 spread fears, many students think that it will spread the virus and thus the scholars will contract the virus and spread it. The NTA, National Testing Agency which runs these exams, has refused to postpone them and states that health and safety measures are getting to be present and performed with utmost perfection. Students have protested online with social media posts, petitions, and many more techniques, but are not gathering to protest. A gaggle of students even petitioned the supreme court to need up the matter. We expect that postponing the exams could even be futile, because it cannot be postponed in a month or two, and there is a high probability the virus will still be present in India at the same level, or a higher one.

Climate change

Between 1994 and 2017, 28 trillion blocks of ice have been found from the Earth’s surface by a team of British researchers. Satellite surveys of glaciers, mountains, and ice sheets between the said period to measure the impact of worldwide warming were analyzed by scientists from Leeds and Edinburgh universities and University College London. The review paper published within the web journal Cryosphere Discussions suggested an outsized majority of the Earth’s ice loss could also be an immediate consequence of climate warming. “To put that in context, that every centimetre of sea-level rise means a couple of million people are getting to be displaced from their low-lying homelands,” Guardian quoted the director of Leeds University’s Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling, Professor Andy Shepherd. The researchers’ analysis indicates melting glaciers and ice sheets that could cause sea levels to rise possibly by a meter which is the highest of the century. The drastic melting of ice is now reducing the planet’s ability to reflect radiation into space. “28 trillion tonnes of ice can cover the entire surface of the United Kingdom with a sheet of frozen water that's 100 meters thick,” said Tom Slater from Leeds University. The findings come days after study, published within the journal Communications Earth and Environment stated that the ice sheet shrank by a record of 532 billion pieces of ice in 2019, with 223 billion pieces of ice lost during July alone. Greenland is the world’s largest non-continental island and its ice sheets cover nearly 81 percent of its surface. If all of the island's ice melts away, the water released would push sea levels up by a mean of six meters.

News in short

~ Chennai man solves six Rubik's cubes underwater and breaks a Guinness record.

~ Oppo F17 Pro officially is releasing on September 2nd.

~ Apple India may finally open next month online.

~ MG motors introduced the initiative of pre-owned cars in India.

~ The Republican Convention takes place as key members of the Trump Administration make their speeches before the US elections.

~ Microsoft continues to possess talks with Tik Tok's parent company ByteDance, as US president has set the deadline as 15 September for selling itself to a US company.

~ Protests against racial inequality within the US continued after police violence increased and more black men were shot and ended up dead or injured.

~ An old building collapsed in Mumbai which left 14 people dead, and many injured. Rescue operations managed to save over 70 people.

Markets This Week-

Nifty- 11,559.25 +153.3

Sensex- 39,113.47 +601.16

~ Lionel Messi’s contract was expected to end on 30th June 2021 but that isn't happening. He's leaving Football club Barcelona. A document sent via Spain’s Postal Service written by Messi to his team briefly mentioned about him signing off the team and this is often official as they will not ask any questions. So if Messi is going to Manchester City, it means he will play alongside

his national teammates (Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Otamendi) and he will also reunite with his former coach Pep Guardiola. The clubs PSG, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Chelsea are also showing interest in buying this esteemed footballer.

~ Cricketer James Anderson reaches 600 wickets in his career which is an excellent achievement.

~ Batsman Virat Kohli and Actress Anushka Sharma are expecting their first child. The couple announced the delivery month to be January 2021.

~ Manchester United Captain, Harry Maguire, sentenced to 21 months in jail after bribery, assault, and additional allegations against his name, seeks a court hearing.

~ Indian government is offering job opportunities to young Indian students as gamers. It's estimated that the Indian gaming industry will be worth 1 billion by 2021.

~ Marvel-themed Chapter 2 Season 4 of Epic Games' Fortnite has commenced with many of the game enthusiasts hyped.

~ Apple and Epic Games’ feud goes on as Google Play and Apple banned the game in their stores, mentioning it violates their policies. Android users will still be able to play on other stores, but Apple users won't. They might be able to play but the app won't get updated which means they will only play with other apple users. Microsoft has sided with Epic Games with action against these decisions.

~ Google stated it fixed all the problems occurring on Gmail and other Google-owned apps.

This Week in History

~ On August 22nd, 1864, Major European powers attended the first Geneva Convention.

~ On August 23rd, 1850, the first Woman's rights meeting ever took place.

~ On August 24th, 79 AD, Mt. Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompei along with other surrounding towns.

~ On August 25th, 1958, Momofuku Ando marketed the first-ever instant noodles package.

~ On August 26th, 1873, the first concept of Kindergarten was introduced in St.Louis, Missouri.

~ On August 27th, 1896, the shortest war in history fought between Britain and Zanzibar lasting only 38 minutes, occurred.

~ On August 28th, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I have a dream" speech against racism demanding equal civil rights.

The fact of the week

In Svalbard, a far off Norwegian island, it's illegal to die.

Joke of the week

What did Zero tell Eight?

Nice belt! 😂

Leisure

Credits: Dilbert Comics Official

Credits: Garfield Comics Official

Special Thanks to Krishnav Bubna.

Edited by Nirvaan Zaveri.