Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party surged to power in Delhi for a third term on Tuesday , boosted by a massive mandate of 62 seats - just a shade lower than its record 67 seats of 2015. "I love you Delhi," the Chief Minister declared from the party office, predicting the beginning of a "new kind of politics" focussed on local issues and the government's delivery. The BJP, which ran a massive campaign under the leadership of Amit Shah built around the anti-CAA protests of Shaheen Bagh, received scant returns. The party was confined to a single-digit score, 8 seats, but an improvement on its 2015 tally of three. The opposition and AAP hailed the mandate as one against the divisive campaign of the BJP. Mr Kejriwal had steered clear of controversy, focussing instead on bread-and-butter issues like power and water, education, health and environment.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Aam Aadmi Party's victory signalled the victory of a "new kind of politics". "People of Delhi have given a message that they will vote for schools, mohalla clinics, 24-hour electricity and free water. This is a great message for the country," he said, addressing a huge crowd at the AAP office. Mr Kejriwal later held a roadshow, delivering on his promise to visit the Hanuman Mandir at the heart of the city. "Today is Tuesday, Hanuman-ji's day. Hanuman-ji has showered Delhi with blessings," said the Chief Minister, who was mocked by the BJP after he recited verses in praise of Lord Hanuman on live television. He had said he would visit the temple after the election results
Prices of things we use every day are rising, leading to a phenomenon called inflation. Data released by the Indian government this week shows that food prices overall have jumped 15% in just one month and that of vegetables have jumped 60% between November and December 2019. Prices of the onion, a common ingredient in Indian cooking, have increased four-fold-a kilogram of onions which cost `15-20 in June now costs more than `60. What does this mean? For one, it means that a family which spends `1000 per week on food, will now be spending at least `200-300 more. Average monthly salaries in India are less than `5000 so spending `1200 more per month (`300 more per week into four weeks) will hurt many people a lot. People deal with this by eating less, and by buying fewer vegetables. Neither are healthy options, especially for children and young people
It appears that the weather last year, which saw a delayed monsoon, changed the pattern of crops sowed by farmers. This led to lower harvests than usual. When supply is low, prices rise, and this is what happened. It may take another month for prices to climb down. Fresh harvests are expected in February and once these arrive in the market, food items and vegetables may become cheaper.
A volcano located near Manila, the capital of Philippines erupted last month causing people to flee the area. The eruption also resulted in Manila’s airport being shut down as ash clouded the air.
The volcano called Taal is located in the middle of a lake. More than 6000 people who lived in an island in the middle of the lake and thousands of others who lived in the area had to be evacuated (moved to safer areas).
Just before the volcano erupted, a series of earthquakes was also recorded in the region. Taal is one of the smallest volcanoes in the world and one of the more than 20 volcanoes located in the Philippines. The country itself lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area bordering the Pacific Ocean along the Asian and American coasts, which is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
For over two months now, a group of women have been protesting at an area called Shaheen Bagh in Delhi against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The law makes it easier for immigrants from the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who are not Muslims to become citizens of India.
Since the law was cleared by India’s Parliament in December, there have been protests across the country. People are angry with the law because it leaves out Muslims. This is the first law to deliberately exclude a community and some people say it goes against the basic tenets of the Indian constitution.
The protest at Shaheen Bagh is unique as it is led by women. For more than four weeks now they have been camping on the road in the coldest part of the year. Many of the women protesting at Shaheen Bagh have also been fasting, in a way imitating Mahatma Gandhi’s style of protest during the freedom struggle. Their protest has become a gathering point for many others who oppose the CAA
The impact of the protest has also been felt by those who regularly use the road where the women are protesting. This is one of the key roads linking the NOIDA region with Delhi and the protest has led to major traffic jams in the area. The police would like the protestors to move to another location, but they are in no mood to agree.
Outbreak of a viral disease in Wuhan, China, that has already killed over a hundred people in the country, has the world worried as the highly infectious virus spreads easily among humans.
Called the 2019-nCoVCoronavirus, the disease is said to have originated in a meat market in Wuhan, where the virus ‘jumped’ and infected humans. It then began spreading from person to person. The rapid spread of the virus has caused the Chinese government to isolate Wuhan and 17 nearby cities where the infection was noticed, from the rest of China
Stations, buses and airports have been shut down and the people of Wuhan and these other cities have been told to stay indoors. The Chinese government took this action on January 23 as this is the time of the year when the Lunar New Year is celebrated, and families travel in large numbers across China to celebrate the holiday. As that would have caused the virus to infect people across China, the government moved to “fence-off” Wuhan. Around 56 million people in these cities have been affected by this forced isolation or quarantine. More than 4000 people across China have been infected with the virus. The disease has also crossed borders with cases being reported from the United States, Canada and Sri Lanka. No case has been reported from India yet
With fears of the virus arriving with travellers from China, major airports like Delhi and Mumbai have installed thermal scanners that identify people with high body temperature, one of the symptoms of the disease
The viral disease, currently known as 2019- nCoV, is part of the family of coronaviruses, several types of which exist around the world. Signs of the disease include fever, cough and shortness of breath. The coronavirus belongs to a large family of viruses that mostly sicken animals. But this coronavirus has jumped the species barrier to infect people on a large scale. Having ‘jumped’ it has also acquired the ability to spread from human to human. As there is no vaccine for the virus, the best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to the virus. It also helps to keep clean, wash and sanitize hands regularly to avoid picking up an infection
World chess champion Magnus Carlsen has stretched his unbeaten record to 111 games, going past the record of staying unbeaten for 110 games set by the Russian player Sergei Tiviakov in 2005. Carlsen is playing in the Wijk aan Zee chess tournament in the Netherlands, where on Sunday he drew the 111th game against Jorden van Foreest in the fourth round.
The difference between Carlsen’s record and Tiviakov’s is that Carlsen achieved his unbeaten streak against a better class of opponents. Carlsen’s wins and draws came against players with an average FIDE (the international chess association) rating of 2700 as compared to the average rating of 2476 for Tiviakov’s opponents.
Some of the most dedicated soldiers in the Indian Army, who have performed rare acts of courage and delivered years of loyal service are four legged. Yes, we are speaking of army dogs, mules and horses. To honour them, the army is now planning to create a war memorial for these service animals.
The war memorial will be built at the Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) Centre and College in Meerut where the army breeds, rears, and trains dogs, mules and horses. The monument will be similar to the National War Memorial that was opened in Delhi last year, but on a smaller scale. The names and service numbers of more than 300 dogs, 350 handlers and a few horses and mules will be inscribed on granite tablets at the memorial. These include around 25 dogs killed in action in Kashmir and in north-eastern India.
The army dogs, mainly Labrador Retrievers and Belgian Malinois, help in sniffing out enemy mines (explosives buried underground), patrol and search and rescue operations. Transport units of the army use mules which carry loads up to heights of 19,000 feet. Mules were in fact used during the 1999 Kargil War. Camels are also used by the Border Security Force along the western border with Pakistan. The new memorial will honour these service animals for their dedication and bravery.
All-time basketball great Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter accident last Sunday in California, United States (US). He played for 20 years for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 2016 and was one of the best and most competitive players the game has seen. He helped his team win five NBA Championships as well as Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012. He even won an Oscar in 2018 for the film ‘Dear Basketball’, which was based on a poem he wrote in 2015
Bryant believed that single-minded determination was the only path to excellence. Here is what he said in the 2015 documentary, ‘Kobe Bryant’s Muse’, “We all can be masters at our craft, but you have to make a choice. What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that. Family time, hanging out with friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with making that decision.”
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Reddy has announced that his state will have three capitals instead of one. While Amaravati will be the legislative capital where the elected members of the state’s legislative assembly will operate from, Visakhapatnam on the coast will be the executive capital where the various government departments will be located, and Kurnool will become the judicial capital where the state’s courts of law will be based.
The previous CM Chandrababu Naidu had selected Amaravati as the capital after the original Andhra state was divided into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014. He began building Amaravati and all three branches-legislature, executive and judiciary-were to be located there.
Jagan Reddy’s reason for creating three capitals is that it will help the development of the three locations into three important cities in Andhra, instead of having just one important city. While Visakhapatnam or Vizag is already a big city, Kurnool is not as developed. But the real reason, people in Andhra say, is that Reddy wants to undo whatever Naidu had done, and the building of Amaravati was Naidu’s pet project.
Farmers who had given their land to build Amaravati are protesting as they fear that their region will not develop as fast since its importance will be shared with two other cities. Many others oppose the choice of Vizag and Kurnool as well. Although Reddy is determined to have his way, the road to a three capital state (never seen before in India) will not be a smooth one