The Weekly Focus Edition 90
State Assembly Elections results
Earlier this week, the 5 states that had elections ongoing got the results. The Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP retained 4 states while AAP swept through Punjab. The all important state of Uttar Pradesh was easily gained back by the BJP, although they still lost a few seats in the process. The Samajwadi Party, BJP’s main competitor gained some ground although still lost by a comfortable margin. Punjab, a state previously ruled by Congress, is now under the rule of the Aam Aadmi Party. There was a lot of speculation about Congress in Punjab especially after the rift between the former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and fellow Congress member Navjot Singh Sidhu. AAP’s message of ‘change’ was perceived immensely well with the Punjab public, and hence they were voted to power by a huge margin. Uttarakhand was comfortably won by BJP, despite the public thinking Congress would win before the elections. Manipur was more closely contested, but BJP ended up winning. The last state, Goa, was extremely close, with no party providing a majority. But BJP gained exactly half the votes, and hence with their allies took the state. We hope the respective governments provide for the welfare of their states, and to strengthen India as a whole.
Ukrainian invasion updates
As the invasion enters its 3rd week, the fighting is in full force around the capital. Russia has said they have no intentions of toppling the Zelensky government but simply want the government to recognize the independence of the two pro-Russian states of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has denied these terms. Owing to the fact that the territories are internationally recognized as theirs, and that as they have learnt before Russian word cannot be trusted. Meanwhile, a humanitarian crisis has unfolded in the south-eastern city of Mariupol, which was recently occupied by Russian forces. Over a thousand civilians are expected to be dead after constant shelling and the failed implementation of a humanitarian corridor. The US imposed fresh sanctions, and declared an ‘economic war’ on Russia. Despite many requests of a No-Fly Zone over Ukraine, NATO has declined to impose a No Fly Zone simply because it might involve direct conflict between NATO and Russia. As quoted by a journalist, NATO is doing everything it can to help Ukraine while also doing everything it can to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia.
The Metaverse
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had announced that he had a new idea in mind, one that would change the course of the future, and something that was easily accessible to all. Combine this with a lot of talk around it and tech becoming more and more in control of our lives, salesmen will see this as the golden method of making customers buy your product.
This is the Metaverse. The Metaverse is effectively a term used to describe the way of the future, and an example of it has been given in a lot of movies and advertisements, like Iron Man where he designs his whole suit using tech and there is an AI that talks to him in his suit. The metaverse is much more sophisticated and more useful than zoom. They both use almost the exact same basics, but the application is different. The metaverse uses virtual backgrounds of people’s houses to emulate the surroundings, and the best part is that we are using online means but feeling as if we are being present physically. There are also a lot of different things you can do, like explore different parts of the world, go to people’s houses, play games, and a lot more.
I personally think that the faster this comes into the market, the faster people will adapt and make the most of what is available to them to make our lives more productive. This will be a great addition to our online world, and I personally cannot wait for its implementation!
Other News
Talks to revive the 2015 Nuclear deal between Iran and the EU have stopped due to external factors
Ukrainian VP announces his interest in creating a ‘digital blockade’ around Russia, urging companies to pull out of the country.
After a 15th round of talks, India and China have mutually agreed to ensure stability along the contested borderline.
Former Zambian President Rupiah Banda passed away due to colon cancer.
The Chinese high ministry is set for a complete makeover as almost the entire government under Xi Jinping is set to be changed.
India women thrash West Indies after losing to New Zealand to climb to the No.2 spot in the ongoing World Cup
Manchester United beat Tottenham spurs 3-2 after a Ronaldo hat-trick
Faf Du Plessis announced as the new RCB captain, replacing Virat Kohli
The F1 Pre-Season campaign ended yesterday as the first race is in just under a week now.
Tennis world Number 3 lashed out at umpire in the Mexican Open, criticized.
Fact or Fiction- World War 1 Edition
1) Tanks had genders.
2) Women's skin turned yellow.
3) Explosions in France were heard in London
4) 'Liberty soup', 'liberty cabbage' and 'liberty dogs' were born
5) WWI saw pioneering advances in modern medicine
6) Dr. Doolittle was created in WWI
7) Franz Ferdinand's license plate was the cause of a strange coincidence
8) Both Asian Americans and African Americans served during the war.
9) The youngest authenticated combatant to serve was only 12.
10) Theodore Roosevelt ran his campaign for a second presidential term with an anti-war slogan.
Written & Edited by Vivaan Dharamshi
Article 3 & Fact or Fiction by Nikunj Gupta
Scroll Down For Fact or Fiction Answers!
Answers
1) Fact
2) Fact
3) Fact
4) Fiction (It was liberty sausage, not soup and the rest is as follows: In America, suspicion of the Germans was so high that even German shepherd dogs were killed. The names of frankfurters, hamburgers, sauerkraut and dachshunds were all changed to American names, German stopped being taught in schools and German-language books were banned. Before the war, it had been the second most widely spoken language in the US.
5) Fact
6) Fact
7) Fact
8) Fiction (It’s actually Native Americans, not Asian. The explanation is as follows: Despite the fact that they weren't granted citizenship in America until 1924, nearly 13,000 Native Americans fought during the war. Over 200,000 African Americans also served, but only 11% in combat and this in segregated divisions.)
9) Fact
10) Fiction (It was actually Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, whereas Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th. More info on this: "He kept us out of war" was the slogan Woodrow Wilson adopted when he ran for his second term in office. However, he immediately reneged on this concept when he was sworn in, declaring war on Germany only around a month later.)