Cannes Film Festival 2021 winners list announced.

The Cannes Film Festival 2021 concluded on 17 July 2021. The jury, presided by Spike Lee, presented the awards at the Closing Ceremony. Julia Ducournau won the Cannes' top prize, the Palme d'Or, for her film Titane, making her the second woman ever to win the award.…

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Jeff Bezos is flying to space. Here's everything you need to know.

Jeff Bezos, the richest man on the planet, is preparing for a rocket-powered, 11-minute 2,300-mph excursion to the edge of space, capping off a month filled with rocket news and a bit of drama among the world's richest people who are dedicating large portions of their w…

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World leaders pledge to redouble Covid-19 fight at special APEC meeting.

Leaders of the Asia-Pacific trade group APEC, including US President Joe Biden, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and China's Xi Jinping, pledged on Friday 16 July 2021 to work to expand sharing and manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccines to fight the global pandemic. The leaders,…

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Top EU court rules hijab can be banned at work.

The European Union’s top court has ruled that employers may forbid the wearing of visible symbols of religious or political belief, such as headscarves. But the Luxembourg-based tribunal said in its ruling on Thursday that courts in the bloc’s 27 member states should weigh u…

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Eiffel Tower reopens after nine-month COVID closure.

The Eiffel Tower has reopened to visitors after nine months of shutdown caused by the COVID pandemic, the landmark’s longest closure since World War II. The lifts of the “Iron Lady” again whisked tourists to its 300-metre (1,000-foot) summit and its majestic views of the Fre…

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Biodegradable lunch sheets compulsory from August 01.

The Environment Ministry has made the use of biodegradable lunch sheets compulsory from August 1, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. Addressing the media, he said biodegradable lunch sheets should be made available in shops from the said date. Non-perishable lunch …

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Sri Lanka to field 9 athletes for 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

Sri Lanka will field a nine-member team of athletes for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics Games, says the National Paralympic Committee (NPC). The squad will be led by former bronze medal winner at the Rio Paralympics Games, Javelin thrower Dinesh Priyantha Herath. Meanwhile, Sri La…

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WhatsApp blocks two million Indian accounts.

WhatsApp has said it blocked over two million accounts in India in May and June for violating rules. The service said 95% of these users were blocked for violating the limits of the number of times messages can be forwarded in India. The submissions were made by WhatsApp in i…

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Local boxer becomes first Sri Lankan female to judge Olympic event.

A Sri Lankan sportswoman has been selected to judge an Olympic gaming event for the first time in Sri Lanka’s sports history. Accordingly, T. Nelka Shiromala, a Chief Inspector of the Sri Lanka Police, acts as a referee and a judge for the boxing event of the 2020 Olympic ga…

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US, Central Asian Foreign Leaders Attend C5+1 Summit In Uzbekistan.

On Friday 16 July 2021, US officials and Central Asian foreign ministers met in Uzbekistan, to conclude the C5+1 summit, which was primarily focused on Afghanistan.  The two-day event took place in Tashkent on July 15-16 focused on exploring ways to enhance connectivity betw…

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Pakistan, Russia sign terms of accord for gas pipeline.

Pakistan and Russia signed Head of Terms Agreement for the construction of Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline Project (PSGPP). The agreement was signed here after three days talks here between Pakistan and Russia. From Pakistan side Secretary Petroleum Division Dr Arshad Mahmood i…

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Pak Parliament passes FATF related bill.

Pakistan's Parliament has passed a bill for providing legal assistance in international criminal matters as part of efforts to fulfil the conditions set by the global financial watchdog FATF. The Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Amendment Bill was passed by the…

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President Bashar al-Assad sworn in for 4th term in war-hit Syria.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been sworn in for a fourth seven-year term in the war-torn country, after winning more than 95.1 percent of the votes cast in government-held areas. Al-Assad took over in 2000 after the death of his father, Hafez, who had seized power in …

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Astronomers identify appearing, disappearing stars.

An international collaboration of astronomers, including scientists from India, has identified a curious occurrence of nine stars like objects that appeared and vanished in a small region within half an hour in an old photographic plate. Scientists from Sweden, Spain, the US…

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India, Sri Lanka and Maldives hold virtual trilateral exercise TTX-2021.

Top defence officials from India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives participated in a virtual trilateral tabletop exercise “TTX-2021”. The exercise focused on maritime crimes like curbing narcotics and assistance in maritime search and rescue in the region. The two-day exercise, T…

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Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui passes away.

Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian photojournalist, Danish Siddiqui, has passed away, after he was killed in a clash while reporting a fight between Afghan troops and the Taliban in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province in Afghanistan on July 13, 2021.  He was employed with t…

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U.S. House committee passes EAGLE Act that includes pro-Taiwan bills.

A United States congressional committee on Thursday passed the Ensuring American Global Leadership and Engagement (EAGLE) Act, a legislative package that includes several bills aimed at bolstering the diplomatic, security and economic ties with Taiwan. The EAGLE Act was pass…

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Italy bans large cruise ships from Venice.

Large cruise ships will be banned from entering the Venice lagoon as of August 1, the Italian government announced Tuesday 13 July 2021. It follows years of warnings they risk causing irreparable damage to Venice's ecosystem. "The decree adopted today represents an i…

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Xiaomi becomes the world's No. 2 smartphone maker.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp overtook Apple Inc in the second quarter to become the world's No. 2 smartphone maker, market research firm Canalys said in a report. Xiaomi took the second spot for the first time with 17% share of worldwide smartphone shipments, up …

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US Senate passes bill to ban Xinjiang imports.

The US Senate has passed a bill to ban imports from China's Xinjiang region, in response to alleged abuses of the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority group. The legislation would create an assumption that goods manufactured in Xinjiang are made with forced labour, unless prov…

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Sania Mirza Gets 10-Year Dubai Golden Visa.

India tennis player Sania Mirza has been officially granted the Dubai Golden Visa. This will allow Sania and her husband Shoaib Malik, former Pakistan cricket captain, 10-year residency in the UAE. After Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt, Sania is the third Ind…

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UNICEF chief Henrietta Fore resigns ‘with a heavy heart’.

The head of the UN Children’s Fund, Henrietta Fore, announced her resignation on Tuesday 13 July 2021, in order to devote herself fulltime to caring for her husband, who is suffering from what she described as a serious health issue. Ms. Fore said it had been “a difficult de…

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Jeff Bezos donates $200 million to Smithsonian.

The Smithsonian said that Jeff Bezos will donate $200 million to the museum, the largest gift the institution has received since its founding in 1846. A $70 million portion will go to renovating the National Air and Space Museum and $130 million will be used to launch a new …

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Social Media Giving Day - 15 July.

Social Media Giving Day is an online holiday celebrated on July 15. Social Media Giving Day was inaugurated by Givver.com, a platform dedicated to fundraising via Twitter, in 2013. Givver.com is a St. Louis-based not-for-profit-focused technology platform founded by Chris Som…

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Pakistan cricketer Babar Azam becomes fastest batsman to score 14 ODI centuries.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has altered the record books with the century he scored against England during the third ODI at Edgbaston. He became the fastest batsman to notch up 14 ODI centuries in terms of innings, surpassing the likes of Hashim Amla, Indian captain Virat K…

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Singapore unveils one of the world’s biggest floating solar panel farms.

Singapore has unveiled one of the world’s biggest floating solar panel farms. The project is part of efforts by the country to meet a goal of quadrupling its solar energy production by 2025 to help tackle climate change. Located on a reservoir in western Singapore, the 60 m…

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Bangladesh’s world banker to the poor Professor Yunus to receive Olympic Laurel.

Social entrepreneur, economist, civil society leader and Nobel Prize awardee Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh will become the second recipient of the Olympic Laurel. He will officially receive the trophy during the Opening Ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games on July 23.  Th…

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Pakistan’s ex-president Hussain dies at 80.

Pakistan’s former president Mamnoon Hussain has died after a prolonged ailment in the port city of Karachi, his family said. He was 80. He has born in Agra in 1940 and migrated with his parents to Pakistan in 1947, served as the 12th president of Pakistan between September 2…

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NASA’s has detected an unusually high concentration of methane in the moons of Saturn.

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has detected an unusually high concentration of methane, along with carbon dioxide and dihydrogen, in the moons of Saturn by flying through their plumes.  The spacecraft has found that Titan has methane in its atmosphere and Enceladus has a liquid o…

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EU proposes world’s 01st carbon border tax for import.

The European Commission on Wednesday 14 July 2021 put forward plans for the world’s first "carbon border tax" on imports of carbon-intensive goods, including steel, cement, fertilisers and aluminium, as part of a programme to meet its new climate target. The border…

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