The Weekly Focus Edition 48
Indian State Elections
Recently in India, several state elections were conducted. Throughout the course of the
elections there were some shockers as well as expected wins.
Let’s start off with the north-eastern state of Assam. The state was comfortably won by the BJP or Bhartiya Janata Party who also won the previous election. The BJP won 60 of the total 126 seats. In second place was INC or Indian National Congress winning 29 seats. In third place was the AIUDF or All India United Democratic Front which bagged 16 seats.
In Kerala, the front runner CPI(M) also known as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) gained a huge tally of 62 out of 140 seats. Similar to Assam the INC claimed the second position with 21 seats followed by the CPI with 17 seats.
Moving on to arguably the most controversial state West Bengal. West Bengal had it all
from massive rallies to poll booth capturing and much more. The AITC or All India
Trinamool Congress bagged a landslide victory with sitting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee triumphant again. AITC won 213 of 294 seats! A let down for the Prime Ministers party BJP who got 77 seats. Puducherry was won by AINRC who got 10 out of 30 seats. Second position for BJP with 6 seats tied with DMK.
Lastly, Tamil Nadu was a huge win for DMK who won 133 out of 234 seats. AIADMK was second with 66 seats and INC claimed third with 18. We hope every state has successful terms.
By Arhaan Zaveri
IPL’s Postponement
On 4th May, as most of us suspected, the Indian Premier League was postponed amidst the rise of cases in the bio-bubble of different franchises. On the 3rd of May, there were two positive cases in the KKR camp with Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier testing positive for the deadly virus. After that horrible and sad news, the match that night between KKR and RCB was called off. Then the next day on the 4th of May SRH wicket-keeper Wriddhamin Saha tested positive and minutes after that DC’s Amit Mishra tested positive too. Due to this, the vice president of BCCI had to take a very hard decision and indefinitely suspend IPL. This has made an impact on everyone as this was the only source of entertainment for all cricket fans and a lot of other people. But the BCCI is looking for a new window which is most probably going to happen in September and won’t happen in India.
Football News
The finals are in 21 days! As the season draws to a close, so do the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. The final for the UCL is going to be played between the two English clubs, Chelsea FC and Manchester City. The two will also be playing today at 10:00 PM IST before they play their finals in Istanbul. Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea manager, has now been in two consecutive UCL finals: one last year with PSG which he lost, and one this year against Manchester City. Manchester City is looking to win the treble but Chelsea seems like a force to be reckoned with after they beat Real Madrid 3-1 on aggregate. The UEFA Europa League final is set to be played between Manchester United and Villarreal CF. The semi-finals match between Roma and Manchester United was an incredibly high scoring one which ended 8-5, giving Manchester United a path straight to the finals.
Other News
Sputnik launches new type of vaccine named Sputnik ‘Lite’
A 12-year-old boy from the US built the world’s tallest Popsicle stick tower.
“Mystery Box”, a trend in China that involves delivering puppies and kittens in boxes has been criticized as many pets die from suffocation.
Australian Trade minister says Australia's borders won't open until late 2022.
Sri Lanka bans travellers from India as cases spike.
Cricketers Varun Chakravarthy and Wridhamman Saha among others test positive.
Former Australian cricketer Macgill kidnapped, released in Sydney
Earlier this week, protests took place at Manchester United’s home ground over the club’s ownership.
Jose Mourinho is named as club manager of Roma after being sacked by Spurs.
Thisara Perrera announces retirement from international cricket.
Tech News
May 15th is the last day for accepting Whatsapp’s privacy and policy.
The next Macbook could come in the same colours as the iMac.
Google will be enabling two-step authentication factors for a few users.
Facebook has revealed new features of Instagram and Messenger.
The Selection Series
Rating: ★★★★★
Age: 13+
Find it here: Amazon India
Author: Kiera Cass
Genre: Young adult, fiction, dystopian fiction, fantasy
Review: Find yourself immediately tumbling into a world of poverty, inequality and even racism as the protagonist, America Singer, finds herself- against her will- thrown into a competition for the next Queen of their country. All America wanted was a life with her secret partner- and a little bit more money; however, now, she walks through the royal palace, fights enemies, discovers secrets, tries breaking stereotypes and maybe, just maybe, falls in love again, but this time to a Prince who’s heart she’s already stolen.
On 2nd May 1945, the Soviet army took over Berlin ending the Battle of Berlin.
On 3rd May 1926, the first general strike in Britain initiated to support coal miners.
On 4th May 1959, the first Grammy Awards took place.
On 5th May 1260, the grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, became ruler of the Mongol Empire.
On 6th May 1941, Joseph Stalin became the head of government of the Soviet Union.
On 7th May 1867, Alfred Nobel patented dynamite.
On 8th May 1980, smallpox was eradicated according to the WHO
Venus is the only planet that spins clockwise!
By Vivaan Dharamshi
Edited by Nirvaan Zaveri