The Weekly Focus Edition 23

The Ethiopian Escape

The UNHRC or United Nations Humans Rights Council requested all countries surrounding Ethiopia to open their borders to refugees. This conflict started in 2018 when Ethiopia declared Abiy Ahmed as the Prime Minister. Ahmed merged several ethnically based regional parties into a single national force. Amidst the ambitious reform, program tensions started skyrocketing.

Violence peaked when the Prime Minister launched military operations in Tigray when he accused locals of attempting to loot military assets. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) which holds power in the region strongly denies the statement made by Mr Ahmed and accuses the Prime Minister of fabricating the story to justify the brutal violence.

According to Sudanese officials, hungry and tired children are rapidly passing by the border into Sudan. As of now, more than 10,000 immigrants have escaped Ethiopia. Many injured and in need of medical aid are fleeing to Sudan.

How does the UN help? The UN is a major board which was created to solve problems and conflicts, The UNHRC works for the people and aims to give them basic needs. Due to injuries caused by this dispute, the UN is urging bordering countries like Sudan to help and give medical aid. This could lead to a refugee crisis, hence the UNHRC would like to resolve this immediately.

Telephone lines in the areas of conflict are down. The fighting has had it all from airstrikes to artillery duels and even battles between ground troops have taken place. This conflict has to end soon as the casualties on both sides are rapidly increasing.

By Arhaan Zaveri

IPL 2021: A Mega Auction?

The BCCI is planning to have a Mega Auction and a new team for the next edition. The franchises have already been said to prepare for the mega auction. This is not an official statement but the final decision will be taken in 2-3 weeks. The auction will take place between the end of December and start of January. In the mega auction, franchises have to retain a total of five players and 2 players using the Right to Match (RTM) cards in the auction. However, there is no clarity over the policy of the 2021 auction. There was also a report which stated that teams will have to rebuild their team from scratch which is not feasible for teams like Mumbai Indians, but this happening is unlikely. Reports say that the new IPL team is likely to be Ahmedabad and their home ground is going to be the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium. IPL legend Suresh Raina is presumed to captain the new IPL franchise.

By Krishnav Bubna

Vaccine?

Pfizer and Biotech, The American company announced its vaccine candidate and it turned out the results of the first trial stages were more than encouraging. Over 90% of the 44,000 participants developed antibodies to fight the virus. No serious safety concerns were reported, and this could well be the light at the end of the tunnel for the human world. Stocks surged globally after the announcement of this vaccine, If the vaccine confirms to be effective, we could be out of this pandemic in less than 6 months. It would take a few months to produce this vaccine and distribute it to every corner of the world. Meanwhile. Russia's Sputnik-V vaccine has reached India and is being distributed for clinical trials. This year has proved to be one of the worst, but we may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Tech News

~ Amazon Alexa is getting smarter and answering more questions.

~ Instagram wants more people to watch Reels with its latest update.

~ Microsoft advises users that SMS and voice-based MFA are not to be used

~ Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals on Tuesday to clinch their 5th IPL title.

~ Team India reaches Australia and they are now in quarantine.

~ Rohit Sharma will come to Mumbai and take a fitness test which will determine if he will play in the test series against Australia.

~ Cricketer Krunal Pandya was detained at Mumbai airport for possession of undisclosed gold.

Other News

~ A study says that we could already be too late fighting Climate Change and efforts now could prove futile.

~ Research says that the universe is getting hotter as it grows older.

~ Northeast Philippines experienced another storm after getting ravaged by a typhoon.

~ A rare pink diamond gets auctioned for a whopping price of $26.6 million by an anonymous bidder.

~ The air quality in Delhi is hazardous and likely to deteriorate.

Vendetta by Catherine Doyle

Rating: ★★★★★

Age: 13+

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Romance

Blurb: For Sophie, it’s been a long, dull summer in the Chicago suburbs, until five mysterious boys move into her neighbourhood. A chance to encounter one of them leaves her breathless. But as secrets of Nic’s Silician heritage emerge, Sophie's new world shatters. Now, she realises that the choice between love and family comes at a deadly price. (Book I)

Review: Much unlike the cover, this story weaves around constant killing, suspense, and hidden secrets- one so perfectly shadowed that seventeen-year-old Sophie- and anyone for that matter- would find it impossible to predict. Strong, continuous and filled with questions and unseen twists, Vendetta invokes the inner ‘mafia’ in you- the knowledge and vision to kill, to surrender, and most importantly to protect. I definitely recommend this book to everyone over the age of 13 because of some extremely violent scenes that might be loved or accepted by everyone. The book ends with a cliff-hanger, leaving the reader with a jaw-dropping finish and a desire to read the next book.

By Dia Makhecha

On 7th November 1931, Mao Zedong claimed the People's Republic of China.

On 8th November 1895, electromagnetic radiation was produced and detected by a German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen.

On 9th November 1494, Piero the Unfortunate of the Medici family fled Florence after losing his position as the ruler.

On 10th November 1885, the world's first motorcycle was constructed by Gottlieb Daimler, a German engineer.

On 11th November 1992, the ordination of female priests was officially allowed in the Church of England.

On 12th November 1954, Joseph Stalin gained absolute power as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Soviet Communist Party.

On 13th November 1980, the world saw the first close up pictures of Saturn taken by the US spacecraft Voyager 1.

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Written By Vivaan Dharamshi and Krishnav Bubna

Edited by Nirvaan Zaveri