Your SandeshBox for the week

India

• Bomb blast in Rameswaram cafe

  1. A bomb exploded at Rameshwaram Cafe in Whitefield on Friday, injuring nine out of the 35 to 40 customers present during the incident.

  2. Police investigations are highlighting similarities in the explosive assembly, detonator, timer, and triggering mechanism used in this recent bombing and the cooker bomb blast in Mangaluru on November 19, 2022.

  3. The focus of the inquiry is on four known Islamic extremists, including one referred to as 'Colonel,' with Abdul Mateen Taha, Musabir Hussain, and 'Colonel' being actively pursued as the police delve into their networks, particularly in connection with the Mangaluru case.

• The Ambani wedding

  Even though this would extensively be covered by all your social media feeds, we're still laying out the facts for the uninitiated.

  1. This is just the pre-wedding shenanigans which lasted for 3 days from March 1 to March 3 with the actual wedding scheduled for 12 July.

  2. It reportedly cost 1,250 crores with more than a 1,000 guests in attendance which included Tech Titans like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai & almost the entirety of bollywood.

  3. The pre-wedding festivities for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant comprised three distinctive days of celebration. The inaugural event, 'An Evening in Everland,' featured an elegant cocktail theme with a performance by Rihanna and a Cirque du Soleil spectacle.

  4. The subsequent day, themed 'A Walk on the Wildside,' unfolded at the Ambanis' animal rescue center, Vantara, with a jungle-inspired setting, animal interactions, and a vibrant carnival-themed evening titled 'Mela Rouge.'

  5. The third day, 'Tusker Trails,' focused on relaxation with a casual chic brunch amidst elephants at Vantara. The culmination was the Hastakshar ceremony at the Jamnagar Township Temple complex, symbolizing the beginning of the couple's union and embracing Indian cultural traditions.

Business 

• Business Shots

  1. Elon Musk, who was a co-founder in OpenAI but pulled out in 2018, is suing OpenAI and it’s CEO Sam Altman alleging that the firm has departed from its original non-profit, open source mission. It says instead of trying to "benefit humanity" as it was set up to do it is focusing on "maximising profits" for major investor Microsoft.

  2. Tata Motors is separating its commercial and passenger vehicle companies into separate listed entities; the latter will house Tata’s electric vehicles and Jaguar Land Rover businesses. 

  3. RBI has mandated that card issuers (i.e Banks) must offer eligible customers the choice of different card networks (i.e. Visa, Mastercard, Rupay etc.) when getting a new card or during the next renewal for existing cardholders.

Sports, Culture & Everything else

• Interesting tidbits

  1. LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to score 40,000 points in a career.

  2. The roof of one of the most popular and fancy malls in South Delhi, Ambience Mall, collapsed on Monday around 12:45 am during maintenance work and hence had to be closed for tuesday.

  3. The world as a whole experienced the hottest February on record. Global ocean temperatures also hit an all-time high for any time of year.

Global

• Trump all set to be Republican Nominee for US President

  1. Context: The former US president faces charges, including election interference and financial fraud. Some states dispute his eligibility for a presidential run, with a Colorado court disqualifying him due to his alleged role in the Capitol Hill riots. 

  2. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court overturned the Colorado ruling, ensuring Trump's inclusion on the election ballot. The justices emphasized that the Constitution prohibits a singular state from barring a presidential candidate from national office.

  3. Notably, the court didn't address the specific charges. Trump, however, remains subject to trial, creating a potential scenario where he could be convicted yet still emerge victorious in the election.

  4. Also solidifying his position as the Republican Nominee, Nikki Haley, the sole contender against Donald Trump for the Republican Party nomination, withdrew from the race following Trump's strong performance in the primaries. Winning only two states and lacking significant momentum, Haley was considered the last hope for moderate Republicans to influence the party's direction.

  5. What is US Primaries? Primaries are elections where voters in each state pick their favorite candidate from their political party. The winner becomes the official nominee for the party in the main election. It’s like an Intra-party election - like if the BJP had a competition between Modi & Shah to see who would their party’s candidate for PM.