The Weekly Focus Edition 79
Untimely Death of Gen. Bipin Rawat
A helicopter crash on Wednesday 8th November led to the death of 11 people, including India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, the great General Bipin Rawat and his wife, near Connoor in the Nilgiris. The helicopter tragically crashed in a heavily wooded area. This event is abysmal and disheartening for all of India as a true National Hero has passed away. India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh publicly announced that a special investigation will be held to review the horrific events in which a tri-service inquiry will be conducted, headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh. The IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari, has already visited the crash site; the cockpit voice and flight data recorders have been recovered, which will give investigators insights into the cause of the crash. This esteemed general will be missed by the nation and the awards he won such as Param Vishisht Seva Medal Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Yudh Seva Medal, Sena Medal, and Vishisht Seva Medal are just proof of his great career and impact on the country. Rest In Peace.
Kohli sacked as captain?
After stepping down as India’s T20 international captain earlier this year, Kohli expressed his thought to captain India in the ODI form of the game until the next World Cup in India. And after all, who’s to deny that? Kolhi has a fantastic record as captain, winning over 70% of the games he plays, as well as an exceptional average of over 70 as a batsman while captaining India. He got India to the finals in the 2017 Champions Trophy, and also to the Semi-Finals in the 2019 World Cup. Yet, earlier this week, the BCCI announced that Kohli would not be the captain anymore in the white ball game, and Rohit Sharma will be taking over. Despite having a stellar record both as a captain and as a batsman, he was forced to step down, against his will. Kohli has failed to hit a century, which he used to do so easily in all formats of the game for over 2 years now, and it is safe to say his form has dipped as a batsman. But is there a correlation? One Day Internationals, the format which Virat has shined in perhaps the brightest, have not been played much. This year, there were only 2 ODI series played by the Indian team, out of which Kohli was a part of just one of them. That may have something to do with his form, as perhaps a One-Day international Century will kick things off for Kohli and he can return to the run machine he was two years ago. BCCI’s reasoning to sack Kohli was so they could have one white ball skipper, but Kohli wasn’t happy with the decision, neither was his army of fans. Will this decision prove to be the start of a downfall, or is it one that can boost India to win that elusive ICC trophy? Only time will tell.
NASA has launched a new X-Ray observatory
The new mission has begun to uncover some of the universe's most intriguing mysteries. No, it's not a spaceship (JWST will launch on December 22). With another new and exciting mission called the Imaging Xray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), scientists can see the hidden details of the most extreme and energetic objects in the universe, including black holes, neutron stars, pulsars and dozens of other objects. IXPE was launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 1 a.m. EST on December 9. IXPE was placed in orbit around Earth's equator at a degree about 372 miles (600 km) high. About 40 minutes after launch, the mission operator received confirmation that he had reached the correct orbit and returned the first telemetry data to Earth. The first lighting operation will start in January 2022.
This time we have an Indian version of fact or fiction! I am going to be doing one monthly so that we get to know more about our motherland :)
1) Cows are considered sacred.
2) India is the wettest inhabited place on Earth.
3) India has 150,000 mosques and over 1.6 million temples.
4) Chenab Bridge in Jammu is the highest bridge in the world.
5) Rajasthan has a temple of dogs.
6) There is a lake in the Himalayas full of ghosts
7) Snakes and Ladders is from India.
8) We were the first country to mine gold.
9) Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world, and it’s not a true polytheism.
10) India has 22 recognized languages
Other News
Chile becomes the newest country to legalize same-sex marriage
Nicaragua cuts ties with Taiwan, China encourages the move.
According to the EU, Germany pledged to let over 25,000 migrants from Afghanistan within its borders.
Ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine break down over disagreements over prisoner swaps.
Elon Musk hints quitting businesses and becoming a full-time social media influencer, receives support from famous YouTuber MrBeast.
Australia smashes England by 9 wickets in the first Ashes Test at the Gabba.
India win Gold and Silver at the Asian Rowing championships
Max Verstappen takes pole for the final F1 race today with Lewis second
Nathan Lyon becomes the 17th bowler and 3rd Australian to pick up 400 wickets in test cricket.
FC Barcelona failed to reach the Champions League knockouts after 17 years
Tech News
A One Plus iPad is reported for next year
Oppo has teased its first flippable phone
Realme GT2 pro to get a 1 TB storage upgrade
Google is getting android games to windows
Written by Vivaan Dharamshi
Edited by Nirvaan Zaveri
Article 1 by Arhaan Zaveri
Article 3 by Krishnav Bubna
Fact or Fiction by Nikunj Gupta
Answers:
1) Fact
2) Fact
3) Fiction (over 300k mosques and 2 million temples)
4) Fact
5) Fiction (it is a temple of rats)
6) Fiction, it is full of skeletons!
7) Fact
8) Fiction (first to mine diamond)
9) Fact
10) Fact