Author: Shivani Tandel

On Monday, January 24, 2022, the International Day for Education, Svenja Schulze, Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, announced $228 million additional funding to ECW (Education Cannot Wait). This brings the nation’s contribution to the organization at US$ 362.7 million. This latest contribution makes Germany the leading donor of ECW’s multi-year funding and brings its trust fund to almost US$ 1.1 billion.   ECW trust fund reached almost US$ 1.1 billion with Germany’s generous gift.  ECW is a global education fund for children and adolescents in emergencies and crisis-ridden nations, launched in 2016 during the World Humanitarian Summit. It…

In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a 10-day long celebration, “Brahmotsavam”, is held. Thaipusam stands for “Thai”, the Tamil month for January/February and “Pusam”, the star. The Hindu Tamils of India celebrates it on the first Purnima (full moon day) of the Thai month. Thaipusam is also commemorated in Kerala and is called “Thaipooyam” in Malayalam. The story behind this auspicious day marks the day when Devas defeated Asuras (Soorapadman) after Goddess Parvati bestowed Lord Murugan, also known as Lord Kartikeya, with Vel (the divine spear). Hence, it is celebrated as the day when good won over evil. Devotees…

Strategy of Europe to embrace the virus on the verge of failure with an increase in daily cases  When the coronavirus hit the world with a sudden and deadly strike in 2020, Europe was one of the continents to see the maximum deaths among its population. For nations within the European continent with its vast lands but fewer homes in between, deaths from Covid-19 had a significant impact.   As the threat from the virus diminished considerably with the advent of vaccines and restrictions in place, the world regained its feet and moved forward. Throughout these two years, there was the…

On December 27, 2021, before her 75th birthday that week, Patti Smith ‘Godmother of Punk’ was awarded the key to NYC by Mayor Bill De Blasio. In the last week of his tenure, Mayor De Blasio held a press conference in which he honoured Smith along with filmmaker Spike Lee and senator Chuck Schumer. In his speech, De Blasio complimented Smith for possessing “an authenticity that you just don’t find in that many other places” and for having an “ability to cut through all the swirl around us and speak some more profound truths”. Indicating his affinity for the punk…

As the Korean wave spreads through the globe, let’s look at some of its benefits and its side effects. The Korean wave has taken India since the end of the 20th century, and at present, it’s at the crest. Let’s look at some of Korean wave perks: 1. Culture knowledge On the surface, the Korean Wave culture in South Korea is a lot similar to Indian culture. In terms of respecting ones’ elders with appropriate formality, living in a joint family, cut-throat competition at the academic level, getting into renowned universities and concerning the beauty standards. Binging on Korean Wave…

The best way to stay up to speed with this ongoing pandemic is to –Accept, Adapt and Advance. The whole world went into lockdown at the beginning of 2020. Humanity as a whole took a turn that year. The world changed drastically; masks and sanitisers were the new trends. Who knew that even breathing without a barrier in the open would become a novelty. And when the lockdown ended, and some of the restrictions lessened and people “moved on”, there were many who couldn’t cope, couldn’t accept the change. Accept. Adapt. Advance. This mantra has become a lifeline now. The…

“Startup India Innovation Week will bring India’s innovators in the limelight”, says the Union Minister India, coming up as a global innovation hub, is now the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, said the DPIIT (The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) has already acknowledged 60,000 startups so far. The Union Minister said, “Indian startups representing 55 industries, spread across 633 districts with at least one startup from every State and UT (Union Territories) of the country have created over six lakh jobs since 2016. 45% of the startups are from Tier-2…

One of Silicon Valley’s prominent business tycoons was found guilty of fraud in the trial of the century. On Monday, January 3, 2022, the former CEO and founder of the now inoperative healthcare company, Theranos, was found guilty of 4 out of 11 charges against her. The trial, U.S. v. Holmes et al., started in August 2021 and ended in January 2022. With Holmes convicted of defrauding some of her company’s biggest investors. Story Behind the Trial As a person with an innate fear of needles. Holmes had the idea to “obtain vast amounts of data from a few droplets…

Following a batch of petitions on the criminalization of marital rape, a bench of justices asked the Court why such discrimination against married women  The dispensation of marital rape from Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code has been a topic of controversy for years. The latest petitions before the division bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice C. Hari Shankar states that The exemption disregards several rights like the Right to Equality before the Law            (Article 14) and the Right to Life and Personal Liberty (Article 21) within India’s Constitution. The petitions, filed by…