The Weekly Focus Edition 37
Himani, the brave snow leopard
Himani the snow leopard passed away after battling with cancer and giving birth to seven healthy cubs. She passed away in Cape May County Zoo in New Jersey on the 12th of February but it was reported a few days later as the news was very depressing and Himani was 17 when she passed away. Himani was born in June 2003 and was brought to the Cape May County Zoo at the age of six years old. At that time the population of snow leopards in the US was extremely low so the zookeepers paired her with a male Vijay and soon gave birth to 4 cubs and then later 3 more. “Himani was an incredible mother and an important member of our zoo family, she will certainly be missed by the staff and visitors,” said an associate veterinarian from the zoo.
By Krishnav Bubna
Football News
The UEFA Champions League is one of the biggest football championship tournaments in the world and has just now resumed with the first legs or parts of the Round of 16 matches. Two matches were played on Wednesday at 1:30 AM and two others were played on Thursday at 1:30 AM. The two matches that were played on Tuesday were between Ronald Koeman’s Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool vs RB Leipzig. A hat-trick from Kyllian Mbappe and a goal from winger Moise Kean sealed the win for PSG’s thriller 4-1 against Barcelona. Even the penalty from Lionel Messi was not able to help the Curlers win the match. Whereas, Mohammed Salah broke the tension in the 53rd minute and scored for Liverpool which was soon followed by another goal for Senegal player and Liverpool star, Sadio Mane. While on Thursday morning, Juventus captained by 5-times Ballon D’or winner Cristiano Ronaldo played FC Porto and Borussia Dortmund played Sevilla. Juventus suffered a shocking 2-1 defeat against FC Porto with goals from Mehdi Taremi and Moussa Marega. Another stellar performance from youngster Erling Haaland helped win the 3-2 match for Dortmund. The 2nd legs or 2nd parts of these matches will be played on 10th and 11th March. In other news, David Alaba has announced that he will leave FC Bayern after this season after being with them for 13 years. And Juan Laporta, presidential candidate for FC Barcelona has also announced that if they want star player and captain Lionel Messi to win, Barca must win titles.
By Saveer Solanki
WandaVision: What happens next?
After 7 episodes of WandaVision- Marvel's new big show, I think we Marvel fans can safely agree that waiting a week for each episode is causing us to slowly rip our brains out of frustration (or maybe it’s just me). But after all, even non-Marvel fans have got hooked onto this show—though they might not understand all the references/ character backgrounds. So, we decided to include a short section discussing theory possibilities and references!
WARNING: If you are a marvel fan or just generally someone who plans to watch WandaVision and hasn’t yet, stop reading here. Also, go watch it. On Disney+ Hotstar.
By the end of the 7th episode, the character Agnes is confirmed to be Agatha Harkness (as several people suspected). In the comics, Agatha Harkness is a witch—yes, the kind that uses spells— and we learn that she is manipulating Wanda into maintaining the Westview anomaly, revealing she might be the true villain in WandaVision. According to the comics, Agatha and Scarlet Witch (Wanda) were never truly enemies though, and it was in an Agatha related encounter that resulted in Scarlet Witch being able to have children. Later in the comics, Agatha reveals Scarlet Witch’s children were created from fragments of Mephisto's soul. Mephisto is considered to be the devil in the MCU comics and shows up in several encounters with the avengers—especially Doctor Strange… Could this lead to Mephisto being the villain in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (upcoming movie 2022)?! I think it’s a very plausible theory considering the movie does supposedly follow up WandaVision, Loki and the third Spiderman(who had comics with Mephisto as well!). (Yes, I’m freaking out a little bit too… and definitely considering reading the comics). Coming back to Agatha, who seems a lot more evil than she was in the comics—I mean she even killed Sparky (I know, EVIL). Anyway, that’s it for now (though I could go on writing this for hours I don’t have that much time). Hope you gained some further insight on the show, can’t wait for next week’s episode!
By Sanaa Dharamshi
Other News
China admits that 4 of its soldiers died in the Galwan Valley Clash.
The Perseverance Rover, which took off in July last year finally lands on Mars. Read about the launch in this edition of The Weekly Focus.
Canada becomes the latest country to impose sanctions on Myanmar over the military coup.
Facebook blocks Australian users from seeing and sharing news over a new law.
99-year-old Prince Phillip hospitalized after showing mild symptoms of a Non-Covid related ailment.
Chris Morris becomes the highest-paid player in IPL history, gets bought by RR for 16.25 crore rupees
Faf Du Plessis announces retirement from Test Cricket
KXIP renames its team to Punjab Kings (PBKS)
India thrashes England by over 300 runs after Rohit’s 162 on a tricky pitch and Ashwin’s 8 wicket haul and century.
Novak Djokovic storms into the Australian Open Finals
Naomi Osaka beats Serena Williams in the Australian Open Semi-Finals, advances to the finals.
Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency based on the Doge meme crosses 10 billion dollars in market valuation.
The Innocent’s Story
Author: Nicky Singer
Rating: ★★★.5
Age: 12+
Review: Tense, deep, and places in a timeline beyond the human life, the human imagination (literally), Nickey Singer’s award-winning story is a Must-Read for those that: (1) believes in life after death; (2) in para-normal life; (3) ghosts and other spirits- and yet, also for those (if not especially) that despite such “rumours”. Running through terrorist attacks and explosions and what it’s like being a “para-spirit”, Singer explodes your imagination from the confined walls of your house and pages of the book to a soulful, heart-touching tale of two opposing main characters who had no reason to ever meet, ever talk: a girl and her murderer.
For the first ever section of The School Life, we have interviewed the Head Boy Elect of ABWA, Jay Shah! Below are the questions we asked and his answers.
Q- For people who may not know you well, describe yourself in a few words.
A- Hi, I'm Jay Shah and I like to think of myself as a fun person. My hobbies include playing basketball and cricket but I could definitely beat you in Monopoly or Catan too. I've been in ABWA since 12 years and am proud to be elected as the head boy.
Q- Once you are formally the head boy, what actions will you take to improve the lives of every student in ABWA?
A- In the immediate future, I will work on the book exchange program conducted last year and improve it for a smoother experience and greater usage. I also have ideas for the 12th grade farewell that I would want to keep disclosed for the time-being. Overall, I want to improve our school and house spirit by introducing an award for the people who win the most points for their house. I will also work with the newsletter team to update people on each interhouse competition as well as the points leaderboards for each house. I also want to work to create an e-suggestion box for anyone to contribute their ideas and suggestions to. Lastly, I want to work on student - student interaction that has been limited due to the online platform of our school.
Q- What was going on in your mind when the election results were announced? Were you confident? Were you nervous?
A- I was confident I'd win as I'd worked really hard and also carried out an informal exit poll that leaned in my favour, but was anxious to hear it formally announced. The rush of excitement I got after I heard my name called out was like none other as it was extremely satisfying to have my efforts pay out.
Q- How did you spread your vision and message to all the students of ABWA? How is online campaigning different?
A- Online campaigning has its differences to physical campaigns, both pros and cons. Firstly you don't know if your message is actually reaching the audience as it's all done virtually. However, social media allows you to connect with many more people at the same time and put out a message without any physical limitation. I definitely used online campaigning to my advantage. Firstly, I ensured I messaged almost all voters personally and informally. I minimised copy pasting to maximize the personal touch. Further, I used resources like Instagram live and e-mails to reach out to a large audience. Lastly, I called people up and ensured that I wasn't the only one campaigning for myself. Politics and popularity is part of the election process but genuine hard work can never be trumped.
Q- Lastly, you weren't nominated for some posts in the last few years. How did the failure teach you?
A- In my opinion, failure is not only the greatest teacher but also the greatest motivator. After losing the elections in 8th and not being nominated in the 9th I was really disappointed but promised myself to give it my ALL if I got another chance. I improved on both my application as well as election strategies, learning from past mistakes. However, failure provided me with a hunger and drive to win like nothing else could. I think I may just have personally messaged 80% of our senior school. I was on my phone, campaigning continuously, for 3 whole days and I don't think I would have put in this much effort had it not been for my failures.
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On 14th February 1876, Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent for the invention of the telephone.
On 15th February 1967, the longest dream ever was recorded.
On 16th February 600, Pope Gregory the Great declared that the reply to a sneeze should be ‘God Bless You’.
On 17th February 2017, Zealandia was located.
On 18th February 1930, an American astronomer, Clyde Tombaugh, discovered Pluto.
On 19th February 1878, Thomas Edison received a patent for his gramophone.
On 20th February 1792, the postal service of the US was created.
If you search 241543903 on Google Images, a bunch of photos with people's heads in refrigerators will appear!
Written By Vivaan Dharamshi
Edited by Nirvaan Zaveri