The Weekly Focus Edition 89
Invasion of Ukraine
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is over 10 days old now, and although the Russians have made progress, Ukraine has done well to hold out. So far, only one major city which is the port city of Mariupol lies in Russian control, while fierce fighting and heavy bombardment are taking place in the two largest cities of Ukraine, Kyiv and Kharkiv. Russia has so far been unable to take these cities thanks to a spirited defence from the Ukrainian forces, although Kharkiv is on its last legs. Kyiv is currently under heavy fire but is still holding out strong, and reinforcements from foreign countries in the form of volunteers are set to arrive soon. The Russian defence ministry has said around 2500 Ukrainian soldiers had died and only 498 Russian troops had fallen, although the numbers vastly differed from the claimed 9000 Russian soldier deaths announced by the Ukrainian government.
Over 2000 Ukrainian civilians have died and counting, putting the approximate death toll of this conflict at around 10,000 already. The Russian troops also bombed Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine, and a fire has reportedly spread into the reactor. Earlier yesterday, a humanitarian ceasefire was declared in the Eastern region of Ukraine although it was never in effect, as both sides blamed each other for not following the ceasefire. A million Ukrainian refugees have fled the country, out of which half the refugees have fled to Poland, and the other spreading to various countries across Europe. This conflict is already showing signs of mass bloodshed, and will sadly have to continue until a side surrenders with the talks being unsuccessful so far.
The Weekly Focus wishes for this conflict to come to an end, so we can prevent further violence.
Legendary spinner Shane Warne passes away
On Friday evening at around 7:00 PM IST, Shane Warne died at 52 of a heart attack in his mansion in Koh Samui, Thailand. This comes barely a day after another Australian legend, Rodney Marsh, died as well. In fact, Warne’s last tweet was condoling Marsh himself. Shane Warne is without a doubt the greatest leg-spinner of all time, and possibly the greatest test bowler. He has collected a mammoth 708 test wickets in his career, second only to Muttiah Muralitharan. His most famous ball was the ‘ball of the century’ to English batsman Michael Gatting, on his very first ball in the Ashes.
The ball pitched well outside leg and proceeded to knock the off-stump bail. He was also the highest wicket-taker in the 1999 Edition of the World Cup and played a key role in guiding Australia to their 2nd title victory. He also has the most runs in test history for a batsman who hasn’t scored a century, scoring over 3000 runs. Although Warne was involved in a lot of controversies off the field, it never affected his game as he kept taking wicket after wicket. Despite the fact that the controversy regarding drug use in 2003 ended his ODI career, he remained a force to reckon with in tests. He even captained the Rajasthan Royals to their first IPL win in the very first IPL tournament and proceeded to coach the team a few years later. The world is still in shock over the sudden death.
Starlink launches more satellites successfully
Elon Musk's space company, SpaceX, has successfully launched 47 Starlink satellites. According to TechCrunch, the Starlink 49 mission took off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 3 at 9:25 a.m. (06:25 a.m. EST), with 4,444 SpaceX 52 launches scheduled for this year. The mission is piloted by a Falcon 9 "B1060" rocket that has completed 11 flights since its launch in June 2020. According to reports, Starlink can currently expand the constellation to 12,000 satellites, but SpaceX has requested to launch an additional 30,000 satellites. Thursday's launch was SpaceX's sixth Starlink mission this year. All launches were successful.
Russian F1 driver Nikita Mazepin’s contract with the Haas F1 Team has been terminated over the recent Ukrainian invasion
Jadeja smashes 175* in the second test helping India declare at 574-8. Sri Lanka scored 108-4 before the close of play on Day two of the ongoing test.
Virat Kohli becomes the 12th Indian player to play 100 tests for India.
Current F1 World Champion Max Verstappen extends his deal with Red Bull till 2028
Russian Chelsea owner Abramovich to sell the club after the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Other News
A suicide bombing attack on a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan kills 60 people, wounds over 200.
China announced its defence budget of 229 billion dollars, over 3 times that of its main competitor India.
Singapore joins the countries to impose sanctions on Russia, banning 4 major banks and other exports.
Russia imposes a new law preventing the spread of so-called ‘fake news’, and many independent journalists leave the country.
India abstained at the UNHRC and the UNSC once again, cementing its neutral stance on the conflict.
Fact or Fiction: India Edition
1) India’s only female Prime Minister (Indira Gandhi) was assassinated.
2) Mother Teresa’s sari is still symbolic.
3) The Indian festival ‘Holi’ is a colourful occasion.
4) The country is 3rd in the world for billionaires.
5) The majority of the population is Muslim.
6) Not just one national language.
7) The sari is over 4000 years old!
8) Improvement in literacy and quite close to the world average.
9) The origins of chess.
10) India is the 3rd largest economy.
It Ends with Us
Romance, Fiction
15+
★★★★★
A romance book that will touch and soothe your heart, It Ends With Us has everything, be it drama or comedy. Lily Bloom recently moved to Boston alone, after the death of her father, she starts her own business and meets Ryle Kincaid, a neurosurgeon and his sister, Allysa. Ryle and Lily immediately feel a spark and everything in her life is perfect. However, Ryle had a ‘no dating’ rule which confused Lily, making her wonder what made him like that. However, while this is going on, thoughts of Lily’s first love, Atlas Corrigan resurface and it reminds her of the past she left behind. However, after meeting Atlas again in Boston, her relationship and future with Ryle are threatened.
Written by Vivaan Dharamshi
Edited by Nirvaan Zaveri
Article 3 by Krishnav
Fact or Fiction by Nikunj
Review by Saveer Solanki
1) Fact
2) Fact
3) Fiction (Holi is colourful, but so are Indian weddings)
4) Fact
5) Fiction (it’s actually Hindu, not Muslim, even though quite a few Muslims reside in India.)
6) Fact
7) Fiction (the sari isn’t 3 or 4 thousand years old, but 5 thousand years old!!).
8) Fact
9) Fact
10) Fact