Author: Rajalakshmi Venkataraman

Why does America have so many mass shootings? Washington DC: On Tuesday morning, the White House held a press conference post the mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas. President Joe Biden stood with reporters and offered thoughts and prayers to the 19 families who lost their children. He also spoke of gun control, an issue his government is yet to address. Earlier that day, at approximately 11.35 AM, a gunman would take 21 lives including his own in a Texan middle school. The 18-year-old attended a high school less than 10 minutes away and had a troubled past. The…

About 50% of the world’s microchip processors depend on Ukraine to continue producing neon. Ukraine: Ukraine boasts a significant reserve of neon gas which is an important step in microchip production. Since February, attacks by Russia have halted the normal production capacity of Ukrainian business. Of this, reduced Neon production has proven disastrous for the Tech industry.  Odesa and Mariupol are hubs for neon extraction, both of which came under siege by Russian troops. As of the 22nd of May, Mariupol is under Russian control, and troops are fast approaching the already-bombed Odesa.  It is unlikely for neon gas production…

CCTV footage helps Italian authorities detain a Saudi tourist who damaged the Roman monument. ROME: An unnamed Saudi national faces hefty fines in Italy during a driving mishap in Rome. CCTV caught a 37-year-old tourist “accidentally” driving down the iconic Spanish steps. The man appears to be making a routine drive until he seems to miss a turn. He then accidentally drives into the top of the flight of stairs. The man drove halfway down the column before stopping to inspect the position of the car. Police say he continued to drive down the steps and make a getaway. The historical…

CANADA: Canadian east coast provinces of Ontario and Quebec are left reeling and without power from disastrous thunderstorms. “Canada Battered By Storms And Power Shortages.” The storms spanned 2 hours on Saturday afternoon and left a trail of destruction across the two most populous provinces.  Wind speeds exceeding 130KM(80MPH) tore into electricity infrastructure across the east coast of  #Tormenta severa azotando #Ontario, #Canada ???#ontstormpic.twitter.com/V13CgoKVqD— ?????????35 (@QuakeChaser35) May 21, 2022 Videos of the storms show strong winds damaging and moving cars in a parking lot. Excessive rains caused minor flooding in low-lying homes in certain areas. Ottawa emergency services announced via…

A leaked report reveals Katerina Tikhonova flew to Munich to spend time with boyfriend Igor Zelensky Munich: From 2017 to 2019, Tikhonova, daughter of Vladimir Putin and Lyudmila Putina flew over 50 times to Munich, Germany. The 35-year old German-born scientist and dancer is allegedly engaged to a Russian ballet dancer. Her partner, named Igor Zelensky( Unrelated to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky) is an accomplished ballet dancer at Bavarian State Ballet. Flight records obtained by a Russian source show that the dancer travelled with Tikhonova and Russian security staff. The report: The joint investigation took place over documents acquired by…

A major landslide in the Ramban tunnel causes a deadly accident. Highlights: Authorities confirmed 10 dead, 3 injured.Police conclude the rescue operation and begin an investigationEfforts to identify and compensate the families of the deceased are underway. KASHMIR: A massive landslide in the Indian Himalayan region of Kashmir caused a tunnel to collapse on Thursday evening. The tunnel is a part of an extensive network of transportation infrastructure that is under construction. The site is located at an important transit point between Jammu and Srinagar, hoping to improve connectivity upon completion. Rescue workers retrieved the 1st body on Friday.Emergency services…

13 European and North American nations reported Monkeypox cases in the past week. Highlights: Confirmed cases stand at 40 worldwide. The disease is related to smallpox.US health services describe it as “rare but potentially serious”. NEW YORK: The US reported its second case of possible Monkeypox on 19th May in New York City. According to a statement from the city health department, the patient is currently in isolation at Bellevue Hospital. This follows the first case in Massachusetts. Both US patients are in stable condition and recovering. A fraction of the cases reported come after recent trips to Africa, however,…

The Indian lineup includes big names like Deepika Padukone, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Kamal Hasan. By Rajalakshmi V  Cannes: The Cannes film festival kicked off on Tuesday with India listed as a “country of honour”. The festival features a dedicated Indian Pavilion to showcase some of the most exciting films of the year! Deepika Padukone spearheads the Indian group as a Jury member for this year’s festival. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, AR Rahman, Pooja Hegde, Tamannaah Bhatia, Shekhar Kapur and R Madhavan are some of the biggest names to make it to Cannes 2022. India Pavilion: A curated list of…

Lyft driver’s dashcam footage of racist passenger goes viral overnight. Pennsylvania: Video footage of a woman entering a cab making racist comments went viral this week. James Bode, the Lyft driver posted the heated exchange on Friday to his social media pages. James Bode can be seen waiting outside the Fossil’s Last Stand watering hole in Allenstown, Pennsylvania. The timestamp shows that the incident occurred right after 10.37 PM on the 13th of May. The Incident: “Wow, you’re like a white guy” the woman exclaims as she enters the vehicle. “What’s that?, Excuse me?” Bode replies to the initial statement…

13 years on, the event continues to be shrouded in mystery. Highlights: Sri Lanka is in a deep political crisis 13 years after the end of the civil war.Tamil communities observe Mullivaikal Remembrance Day worldwide. Sri Lanka: On the 18th of May 2009, a chilling silence fell upon a small corner in northern Sri Lanka. For 26 long years, a vicious and bloody battle raged but came to a grinding halt that morning. The last 138 days of the civil war took the lives of 40,000 with thousands more presumed dead or missing. This is the vicious story of the…