What an interesting Indian Premier League we are witnessing this year with Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore already confirming their spots in the playoffs. It’s going to watch out for who qualifies for that 4th spot. Kolkata Knight Riders seem to be leading that race at this moment with their high net run rate and a strong momentum with a victory in the last match. Teams like DC and RCB seem to have a good chance of winning their first ever IPL because of a strong team combination they have. For teams like Rajasthan Royals, it's critical to win both the games against the MI and KKR if they want to qualify for the playoffs. And for that, their middle order has to support the top order which might need another stellar performance from players like Shivam Dube.

Acting fast on the UN Sustainable Development Goals is extremely important for the world. There has been too much talking and less action in the recent past. We need to stop doing that and instead start taking those small baby steps which can help us achieve our 2030 targets collectively. As pointed out by Prof Sreerupa, what we might have to clearly look at is to make these SDGs a part of our policy framework combined with a strong leadership to implement that policy. All the countries need to come together on taking those measurable steps, which are actually creating an impact on the society. It’s so important to take an action, ask for feedback on that action and keep this entire process transparent to the world. Once this is done correctly, it will definitely help us come close to our sustainability targets in the coming years.

Listen to our Daily Dose Podcast as we discuss the relevance of the Gandhian values in the 21st century. The world celebrates Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd October every year which marks the birth anniversary of this great soul, who was able to impart key lessons to his future generations. He proposed ideas like Sarvodaya (welfare of all) which can be achieved through truth and non-violence. Gandhiji also brought about various ideologies focusing on empowering and making villages self-sufficient, women empowerment, sanitation etc. Mahatma Gandhi’s five pillars of nonviolence are still so relevant in the current environment, consisting of respect, understanding, acceptance, appreciation and compassion are basic to our existence.

The 76th session of the UN General Assembly was dominated by speeches of some of the world’s most influential political leaders. Countries have made commitments to take strong action on key issues such as Climate Change, COVID-19 and conflict. A lot was talked about Climate Change and Terrorism but the bigger question here is what’s the action the world leaders are ready to take. Or is it just going to remain as a political speech at a global forum? That's what they have to decide so that we can actually witness a change. Otherwise, it might sound more like a “blah-blah-blah”, as pointed out by Greta Thunberg a few days back.

The independence of the media has been under the radar for a couple of years now. It’s a matter of great shame that even most of the media houses have solely lost their independence in some of the most powerful democracies in the world currently. As consumers, we definitely have a choice to make as to what we want to watch and what we don’t want to watch. The World Press Freedom Index gives us a clear indication of how some of the Scandinavian countries are leading the chart in giving press more independence as compared to a lot of developed countries. There seems to be dedicated efforts put forth by popular global leaders to target certain media houses which don’t follow a particular ideology or thought process.

The state of New South Wales in Australia has declared their path to freedom from the current COVID-19 Lockdown once the state reaches 70% vaccination rate on 11th October and 80% vaccination rate on 25th October. Pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and retail stores are expected to open up on 11th October. And that’s what most of the people might be waiting for. But, there is still a lack of clarity on what happens to those who are fully vaccinated close contacts of COVID-19 cases. It is highly possible that there might be a resurgence in these cases but we need to be prepared for that and get ready to open up different businesses in the coming days.

The 16-year long tenure of the first female German Chancellor and one of the most popular leaders globally, Angela Merkel is now coming to an end. She has been successfully able to transform Germany into a modern country that is less defined by its history and more by its power to rule in the world of new technologies. Merkel was indeed a pragmatic individual and a problem solver. Not only this, but she was also considered to be a crisis manager who helped Germany successfully transition through major crisis situations such as the financial crisis of 2008, the migrant crisis of 2015, and the COVID 19 pandemic.

In Friday’s Daily Dose on International students, we shared some really key tips on how international students can network while studying abroad. It’s so important for you to become a part of different activities and interact with a lot of new people. However, being open and authentic about yourself is equally critical while entering into different conversations. It’s about learning the art of what to talk about, when to talk, where to talk and how to talk about a specific thing. Learning the art of an elevator pitch and a small talk can play a vital role while you attend various network events.

The new strategic alliance between USA, UK and Australia is definitely going to have a significant impact on the world. It is also going to upset some of the countries such as China and France. Australia has officially broken the contract which they signed previously with France in 2016 where they were getting 12 diesel electric-powered submarines on a $ 90 billion contract. The new nuclear submarines have an ability to remain in sea for as long as 5 months and can work quietly, thus allowing them to better evade their enemy detection. This alliance has also re-affirmed the fact that the US still wants the UK and not the European Union, even after Brexit.

Travel industry has been one of the most badly hit industries during the coronavirus pandemic. And that’s why one of the top priorities for the CEO of WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council) Julia Simpson has been to focus on the revival of this sector and get the lost tourism jobs back. 62 million jobs have been lost just in this particular sector along with the contribution to the global GDP getting halved.