Weekly Update: December 21, 2020 - December 25, 2020

If you are not living your best life,
then you need to examine not only the things that are getting in your way,
but also the reasons why you are letting them.
-Domonique Bertolucci
(1970; Australian Life Coach)

Personal note: Kindly show your support to this blog on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/randomwalablog.

Let's start!

Did you know, that moon experiences moonquakes just like earth experiences earthquakes? According to U.S Geological Survey (USGS), moonquakes occur due to tidal stresses that is connected to the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

Image Credit: Romolo Tavani/Shuttershock

Moonquakes, however, are less common and less intense than earthquakes.

December 21, 2020 (Monday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,00,55,560
Recovered - 96,06,111
Deceased - 1,45,810

:::Maruti Suzuki began to assemble the 3-door version of Jimmy SUV in its Gurugram Plant. The company has allotted an assembly line that is similar to the one that is used to manufacture Maruti Suzuki Gypsy. The 3-door version of Jimmy SUV is only meant to be exported from India. Maruti Suzuki, however, may introduce its 5-door version for Indian market.

Image Credit: https://cars.suzuki.co.uk/

The SUV is powered by Suzuki K15B engine that produces a power of 106 PS. It is paired with a 5-speed MT or a 4-speed torque converter automatic that offers a 4-wheel drive.

:::Microsoft published a blog post saying that it will move completely to a stronger Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) by the year 2021. The company will release a registration platform, My App Portal, in the same year so that its users can manage their passwordless credentials. Microsoft also said that it was planning to move towards a passwordless system as around 80% of the cyber-attacks were directed at passwords and that every 250 corporate accounts were being hacked on a daily basis. Microsoft is confident about the success of MFA as the number of consumers using Windows Hello, instead of a password, to sign in to Windows10 devices grew by 84.7% (2020) from 69.4% (2019).

Image Credit: https://www.usatoday.com/

Apple revealed that it is also working on the passwordless system by developing features like Touch ID, Apple ID log-in system and Face ID in its laptops, mac and iPhone.

December 22, 2020 (Tuesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,00,75,116
Recovered - 96,36,487
Deceased - 1,46,111

:::Fiat Chrysler and PSA gained European Union's anti-trust approval for their merger that is worth $38 billion. The merger entity will be called as Stellantis and it will deal to tackle the industry's dual challenges, which are: funding cleaner vehicles; and, the global pandemic. Stellantis will own brands like Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram & Maserati and Peugeot, Opel & DS. The merger entity will allow its rivals to access its repair and maintenance networks for vans to help new entrants expand in the market.

Image Credit: https://www.detroitnews.com/

The merger is expected to conclude by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

:::Italian researchers expressed great concern after they found microplastics of 10 microns (or 0.01mm) on both the fetal & maternal sides of placenta of healthy women and in the membrane within which the fetus develops. According to the researchers, these particles may have been consumed or breathed in by the mothers. There is a chance that these particles carry chemicals that may cause long-term damage or upset the fetus's developing immune system.

Image Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

Antonio Ragusa, Director of obstetrics & gynecology at the San Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Rome, reacted to the news by saying that it is like having a cyborg baby that is a mixture of biological & inorganic entities and not just human cells.

December 23, 2020 (Wednesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,00,99,066
Recovered - 96,63,382
Deceased - 1,46,444

:::The Government of India extended the suspension of fresh proceedings under the insolvency law by three more months that will start from December 25, 2020. The suspension has been extended due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic and it will provide relief to the companies which are reeling under the impact of the pandemic.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

The sections that have been suspended are Section 7, Section 9 and Section 10, that deal with initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process by a financial creditor, operational creditor and corporate debtor respectively.

:::Food & Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States of America issued a warning letter to Whole Foods Market (WFM), a supermarket chain, after it offered misbranded food products for sale. Last year, WFM had to recall thirty food products as it did not label them for the presence of food allergens. These food products were mainly from the bakery section. WFM responded to this in an emailed statement by saying that they are working closely with the FDA to ensure that every practice & procedure in their stores meet, if not exceed, food safety requirements.

Image Credit: iStock

Whole Foods Market was bought by Amazon in the year 2017 for $13.7 billion.

December 24, 2020 (Thursday)
:::The number of Corona Cases as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,01,23,778
Recovered - 96,93,173
Deceased - 1,46,756

:::China initiated an investigation against Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Ant Group Co., both co-founded by Jack Ma, for allegedly getting involved in monopolistic practices and financial irregularities. This comes after the Chinese Government released anti-monopoly rules earlier in November 2020 to control entrepreneurs who until then enjoyed an unusual amount of freedom to expand their realms. Dong Ximiao, a researcher at Zhongguancun Internet Finance Institute, said that the Chinese authorities want to see a smaller, less dominant and more compliant firm.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Tencent Holdings Ltd is facing a similar pressure from the regulators.

:::National Basketball Association (NBA) selected Suyash Mehta, an Indian origin, as a full time staff official for 2020-2021 season. He hails from Baltimore, Maryland. Suyash has earlier officiated in thirteen regular season games as a non-staff official. He has also officiated in many collegiate conferences, the NCAA Division III and at junior college level. This is for the first time that NBA has selected an Indian origin referee as a full time staff official.

Image Credit: NBA Referees | Twitter

Earlier in the year 2015, Satnam Singh Bhamora had become the first India-born player to be picked for the NBA and Sonia Raman had become the first Indian-origin woman coach at the NBA.

December 25, 2020 (Friday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,01,46,845
Recovered - 97,17,834
Deceased - 1,47,092

:::Cabinet of Yoshihide Suga, The Prime Minister of Japan, approved a revised five-year gender equality plan that delays the goal of women advancement by a decade. The goal that women should account for at least 30% of leadership positions in the year 2020 was set by the previous Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, under his "womenomics" policy. Japan, however, failed to reach even half of the target of 30% in this year. Women in the country currently account for around 10% of the lawmakers, while around 40% of the local assemblies have no female members at all.

Image Credit: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

Japan currently ranks 121 out of the 153 countries in 2020 World Economic Forum report. In the year 2012, when Shinzo Abe took the office, the country ranked at 101.

:::India observed Gita Jayanti to mark the birth anniversary of Bhagavad Gita. Gita Jayanti is celebrated on Shukla Ekadashi (the eleventh lunar day) of Margashirsha month in the Hindu calendar as it was on this day when Lord Krishna revealed Bhagavad Gita to Arjun during Mahabharat, an epic war that was fought in Kurukshetra. On this day, devotees observe a fast to seek the blessings of Lord Vishnu to attain Moksha (salvation) and sprinkle gangajal in their house to spread positive vibes.

Image Credit: https://zeenews.india.com/

Gita Jayanti began at 11:17pm on December 24, 2020 and ended at 01:54am on December 26, 2020.

This week's Special Section is written by my friend, Arnav Singh, and it is dedicated to "Swarg Community Care", a Vadodara based NGO that provides specialised care homes for the elderly, who bed ridden, terminally ill, disabled or require some form of assistance for daily living.

Image Credit: http://swargcommunitycare.org/

According to its founder, Mr. Amit Limbachiya, the objective behind beginning the organisation was to provide healthcare facilities to bed ridden and elderly with utmost care and passion. Something, that he felt there is a serious dearth of in India.

Image Credit: Swarg Community Care | Facebook

Today they boast of hundred plus beds and thirty-three plus rooms, across their two facilities in Vadodara and one facility in Ahmedabad. Some of the services they provide are: palliative care; rehabilitation care; retirement homes; day care for elderly; and, physiotherapy.

Image Credit: Swarg Community Care | Facebook

You can connect with them on Facebook @swargcommunitycare.
You can visit their website by clicking here.

That is all for this week.

Do follow my blog to get the updates. You can connect with me on Instagram @sachdev_ankur.

I hope that the blog was useful and it helped you in catching up with what happened. If you have anything to contribute, then please feel free to comment. Do share this blog with everyone you know and help them too.

*Disclaimer: The information has been presented in this blog after reviewing various news articles. In case you find any article, or if you have any article, that states some facts differently, then share them in the comment section. Please keep the publishing date of the article in mind as it may be an update on the article which was published previously, or it may contain outdated information if it was published before the date mentioned in this blog. The blogger is not responsible for any transaction that happens between the reader and the brand.