The Weekly Focus Edition 33
New Year, New President
5 Years of Donald Trump's presidency ended on 20th January as Joe Biden, the new president was sworn in. This marks a huge change for America and the world. Thousands attended the ceremony online as few gathered at the Capitol for his swearing-in. Former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as Republic President George Bush, wished Joe Biden good luck for his new job at the White House. Joe Biden started his speech with the words "Here we stand days after a riotous mob thought they could silence the will of the people. It will not happen, not today, not tomorrow, not ever"
In his speech, Joe Biden said he had received a letter from the Former President Donald Trump, and stated it was a very 'generous' letter, but kept further details quiet. Joe Biden started his job immediately, undoing 17 Trump Era laws including the infamous Immigration Law. Kamala Harris broke generations-old stereotypes by being the first woman, South Asian and black Vice President. The Biden Administration signed various Covid-19 relief bills on the very first day. Tight security kept any rogue threats of another riot from taking place, as the inauguration took place peacefully
History made in Australia
Battered. Bruised. Injured. Abused. Sledged. Deserted. Underestimated. Humiliated. These are some adjectives to describe the state of Team India after being bowled for their lowest ever total of 36 in the first test at Adelaide. Their Captain and arguably best player, Virat Kohli, had to return to India for Paternity Leave. Regulars like Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami were injured. Stand-In Captain Ajinkya Rahane came in and stood fort to score one of the best centuries of his career. Star Bowlers Ashwin and Bumrah cleaned up the Australians to clinch a historic win at the MCG. But 2 matches of the tour were still
left. Australia put up a commanding total, with Steve Smith and Marnus Labushagne scoring huge knocks. The Indian Lineup failed to come close to the Aussie's total as runouts, miscommunication and some poor batting saw India fall around 100 runs short
of Australia's total. Australia put up another commanding innings with 50s from Smith, Labushagne and Green saw Australia score 312. With the lead, India needed a mammoth 406 in just around 4 sessions. The openers fell without troubling the Australians. Then, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant, two contrasting figures came together to stitch a big partnership. Rishabh Pant went after the bowlers, scoring 97 of 118 balls with 12 fours and 3 sixes. The total was slowly becoming smaller, but suddenly, the Aussie Pacers removed both of them. Little hope was left for the Indian team. Hanuma
Vihari put up a string of low scores and also had a Grade-2 hamstring tear. Ashwin had a back injury but somehow they managed to pull off one of the greatest draws in Test cricket history. The Indian lineup was elated, but injuries rattled the dressing room. Ravindra Jadeja, who took 4 wickets that match, injured his finger. Hanuma Vihari and
Ravichandran Ashwin were injured and automatically ruled out of the matches. Jasprit Bumrah also developed a Groin strain, ruling him out of the last test match. India's bowling lineup consisted of T Natarajan, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar. 4 out of these bowlers made their debut this series, and all of them had played less than 3 matches. They were playing the final test match at the Gabba, Australia's fortress. The Australians had never been beaten at the Gabba since 1988 and were up against an "India-A" team. Australia started strong, posting a decent lead. India's top order collapsed and it looked as if the match was done and dusted. But Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar, the two debutants batting at number 7 and number 8 came together to score over 120 runs together to restrict Australia's lead under 40.
Mohammed Siraj picked up his maiden 5-Wicket haul, and Shardul Thakur also scalped 4 wickets. Australia eventually set India a target of 328 on the ast day, which is never easy. Rohit departed early, but Shubhman Gill performed excellently with a fluent 91 to give India an aggressive start. Cheteshwar Pujara stood at one end, taking blows all over his body but never gifting his wicket. The captain hit a quick 24 of just 22 balls, but Pat Cummins soon sent him back to the Pavillion. Rishabh Pant hit an unbeaten 89 of 138 balls to seal the deal for India. Celebrations engulfed the Gabba. The Indian Team was congratulated by many famous figures, including the CEO of Google himself, Sundar Pichai. If you search "Indian Cricket Team" on google, fireworks will appear. The Indian cricket team came back from nowhere to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy without many key players. This series will go down in history as the greatest ever.
Dinosaurs of the Universe?
Astrosat, India’s first multi-wavelength space satellite spotted a mammoth and mysterious globular cluster in the Milky Way with infrequent hot UV-bright stars in it. These stars are really hot because their inner core is almost exposed and it is like a Sun-star. A few old globular clusters are referred to as the dinosaurs of the universe because they help astronomers understand the evolution and life and death of the stars. “The hot UV stars are relatively red and are big,” said the scientists of Indian Institute of Astrophysics. All of the data collected will also be made into a journal. Around 34 of these stars were found in the globular cluster and also one of the stars is said to be 3,000 times brighter than the sun; its surface is around 1,00,000 kelvin. This satellite was launched in September 2020. It has carried out more than 1,166 observations of 800 distinct celestial sources requested by national and foreign scientists.
Ter Stegen showed his skill once again after Barcelona defeated over Cornella.
“We can't imagine the title race at the moment,” Klopp says Burnley defeat is a 'massive punch in the face' for Liverpool.
Liverpool and Manchester United draw in a goalless encounter, Manchester United stay on top of the table.
“It was like a script from a drama,” said Shardul Thakur about his wicket on the first ball of test return.
Players franchises retained in the IPL are out. RR dropped Smith, CSK dropped Harbhajan and MI dropped Malinga in famous drops.
Other News
West Bengal minister Rajib Banerjee resigned in a fresh worry for Trinamool.
PM cited cricket team's win, said approach all about self-reliant India.
The Serum Institute of India fire killed 5 but the Covishield vaccine production unaffected.
Alexei Navalny arrested on return to Russia, against European Country’s appeals.
Vaccine Turnout in Mumbai lower than expected.
Amazon offered the Biden Administration help for vaccinating the USA, says they can vaccinate “100m people in 100 days”
Tech News
Beeper is a messaging tool that supports many communication apps.
iPhone 13 may retain the iPhone 12 Chassis but shrink the notch and make the sensor-shift stabilisation all variant.
The Snapdragon 888 phone might rival S21 Ultra for an impressive camera setup.
FAU-G Developer Ncore games sets the record straight on what to expect on its new product.
Paper Towns
Author: John Green
Rating: ★★★★★
Age: 13/14+ (mature)
Review: Also an award-winning movie, this New York Times Bestseller by John Green spins around the adventurous life of two teenagers and their unruly, old, friendship that drifted apart over the years. A perfect mixture of adventure, love, mystery, teen-drama and just about everything and anything I- and you- can relate to as a teenager. Find yourself wrapped around a heart-breaking fantasy- that is yet real- in the “Paper Town, with it’s Paper People, in Paper Houses.” However, it must be noted that this book contains mature themes and a handful of cursing as well with its fair share of brains and tears. If you found The Fault in Our Stars a little too cheesy, this is the right book for you to lose yourself within. Highly recommend- please follow the age limit.
By Dia Makhecha
On 17th January 1946, the UN held its first council.
On 18th January 1644, the first UFO sighting was reported.
On 19th January 1977, the world’s largest crowd gathering at that point in time occurred with over 15 million people visiting the Kumbh Mela.
On 20th January 1945, Franklin Roosevelt started serving his 4th term as the US president.
On 21st January 1952, Jawaharlal Nehru’s party won the Indian election.
On 22nd January 2020, China put the city of Wuhan in lockdown in an attempt to control the COVID-19 virus.
On 23rd January 1986, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was introduced.
North Korea and Cuba are the only places you can't buy Coca-Cola.
Written By Vivaan Dharamshi
Edited by Nirvaan Zaveri