Tunisian President Kais Saied Announces Constitutional Referendum
Tunisian President Kais Saied he would call a constitutional referendum next July, a year to the day after he seized broad powers in moves his opponents call a coup, and that parliamentary elections would follow at the end of 2022.
Laying out the timeline for his proposed political changes in a televised speech, Saied said that the referendum would take place on July 25, following an online public consultation that will start in January.
Saied's announcement of a road map out of the crisis has been awaited since he suspended parliament, dismissed the prime minister and assumed executive authority.
Climate Crisis: UN Recognizes New Arctic Temperature Record of 38 Degrees
The UN officially recognized the 38 degrees Celsius measured in Siberia in 2020 as a new record high for the Arctic, sounding alarm bells over climate change.
The sweltering heat, equivalent to 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, was seen in June 2020, in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk, marking the highest temperature ever recorded above the Arctic Circle.
This is the first time the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has added record heat in the Arctic to its archive of extreme weather reports, and it comes amid an unprecedented wave of record temperature spikes globally.
Verkhoyansk lies about 115 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle and temperatures have been measured there since 1885.
Haiderpur Wetland in Uttar Pradesh Recognised as Ramsar Site
The Haiderpur Wetland abutting the Madhya Ganga barrage, about 10 km from Bijnor in western Uttar Pradesh, was recognised under the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Uttar Pradesh is now home to 9 Ramsar wetlands. The wetland has also been identified under Namami Gange, a central flagship, as a model wetland along the Ganga. With this, there are now a total of 47 such designated areas in the country.
The site supports more than 25,000 water birds, serves as a breeding site for the near-threatened Indian grassbird and provides refuge to the northern subspecies population of the vulnerable swamp deer during its seasonal flood-driven migration. The site also regularly supports more than 1% of the population of greylag goose and bar-headed goose.
French Luxury Brand Chanel Appoints Unilever CHRO Leena Nair as CEO
Leena Nair, Unilever's chief human resources officer (CHRO) will step down in January to join French luxury brand-Chanel as global chief executive officer and will be based out of London.
Nair started her career at Hindustan Unilever (HUL) 30 years ago, as management trainee and became the first woman on HUL's management committee.
During her stint at the company, Nair progressed through roles in factories, sales and human resources.
SME Neo-banking Platform Open Buys Finin
Open, the SME neo-banking platform announced the acquisition of consumer neo-banking platform Finin for $10 Million in a cash-and-stock deal.
The acquisition will strengthen Open's cloud native enterprise offering BankingStack through which it has deployed SME digital banking solutions for 17 banks. The deal will also provide a fillip to the firm's recently launched no-code embedded finance platform Zwitch, through which it enables fintechs and non-fintechs to launch innovative digital banking services.
The acquisition of Finin adds strategic value to Open's offering in the cloud native enterprise banking and embedded finance space.
With the addition of Finin, Open will be able to offer holistic business and consumer banking propositions to banks that are looking to enhance the digital banking experiences for their customers.
Orion Corporation Selects Infosys to Transform ERP, Planning Platforms
Infosys was selected by Finnish pharmaceutical company Orion Corporation to holistically transform its ERP and Planning platforms, enhance employee experience, and drive business value realisation.
Through this engagement, Bengaluru-headquartered Infosys will adopt standardised best SAP practices to enable end-to-end visibility across Orion's operations, informed decision making, and reduce business operations cost through AI, ML, and robotic process automation.
NASA's Spacecraft Parker Solar Probe Enters Sun's Corona, First Time in History
For the first time in history, a spacecraft has touched the Sun. NASA's Parker Solar Probe flew through the Sun's upper atmosphere – the corona – and sampled particles and magnetic fields there.
The new milestone marks one major step for Parker Solar Probe and one giant leap for solar science. Just as landing on the Moon allowed scientists to understand how it was formed, touching the very stuff the Sun is made of will help scientists uncover critical information about our closest star and its influence on the solar system.
Flying so close to the Sun, Parker Solar Probe now senses conditions in the magnetically dominated layer of the solar atmosphere – the corona – that we never could before.
Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018 to explore the mysteries of the Sun by traveling closer to it than any spacecraft before. Three years after launch and decades after first conception, Parker has finally arrived.
Simone Biles was named Time's 2021 Athlete of the Year.
The world's most decorated gymnast was hailed for putting her mental health first when she withdrew from four event finals at the Tokyo Olympics.
Biles, a four-time Olympic medalist, later revealed that she suffered from what gymnasts called "the twisties - when you lose the sense of space and dimension in the air.
Despite the setback, the 24-year-old managed to earn a team all-around silver and a bronze in balance beam at the Tokyo Games.
Simone Arianne Biles is an American artistic gymnast. With a combined total of 32 Olympic and World Championship medals, Biles is tied as the most decorated gymnast of all time.
Pakistan Becomes First Team to win 18 T20Is in a Calendar Year
After beating the two-time T20 World Cup champions West Indies in the first T20I at Karachi, Pakistan became the first side to win 18 T20Is in a calendar year, breaking their own record of 17 victories which they achieved in the year 2018. The Men in Green are in supreme form in the T20I format as they have now won ten of their last 11 T20Is, losing that one crucial semi-final against Australia in the T20 World Cup 2021.
Out of 27 T20Is in 2021, the Babar Azam-led side has lost only six matches and three games were abandoned this year. The Asian giants have been a dominant force in the shortest international format as they are also the only team with over 100 wins since the inception of this format.
Piyush Goyal Calls for Enhancing Economic Ties between India and Southern African Customs Union
Calling upon neighbouring countries to work together to transform the subcontinent, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that India is becoming the global hub for innovation with the third-largest startup ecosystem.
Addressing "CII: Partnership Summit -Ministerial Meeting" virtually, Goyal said that India is looking for FTAs with like-minded nations with transparency and mutual benefit and growth as key pillars.
He added that India is also reviewing existing Free trade Agreements (FTA)with ASEAN, Japan, Korea to strengthen them and forging enhanced trade alliances with countries like UAE, EU, UK, Israel, Australia, Canada, Russia, Oman and the GCC.
The union minister called for enhancing India's economic ties with the nations of the Southern African Customs Union which consists of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho.
Goyal said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, India has emerged as a source of resilience and a trusted Partner and added that we had tried to the best of our ability to meet all our international service commitments.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Hands over DRDO-developed Products to Armed Forces
Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh handed over five products developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to the Armed Forces and other security agencies at an event at DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi. He also handed over six Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreements to seven public and private sector companies. The event was part of the government's Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
Rajnath Singh handed over the Smart Anti Airfield Weapon (SAAW), an air-launched, long-range, stand-off, air-to-surface smart bomb, to the Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal V. R. Chaudhari.
The variants of advanced chaff were handed over to the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R. Hari Kumar.
A structural fire-fighting suit developed by DRDO's Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) in Delhi was handed over to V. S. K. Kaumudi, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Additionally, the Transfer of Technology documents of seven DRDO-developed systems were handed over. The seven systems include coastal surveillance radar, automatic chemical agent detection and alarm (ACADA) and chemical agent monitor (CAM), unit maintenance vehicle, unit repair vehicle, fused silica-based ceramic core technology and fire-suppressing gel.
Ex-CEO of PSG Institutions C.R. Swaminathan Passes Away
Former Chief Executive Officer of PSG Institutions and former chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Southern Region, C. R. Swaminathan passed away. He was 74.
Swaminathan, a B.Sc Agriculture graduate from Bapla Agricultural College and MBA at PSG Institutions, joined PSG Industrial Institute as Assistant Sales Manager - Marketing in 1971 and was appointed CEO of the Institutions in 1985, a post he held till 2005.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in New Delhi, India, founded in 1895.
Madhya Pradesh Govt. Organises First Drone Mela at Gwalior
In Madhya Pradesh, the first drone fair in the country was organised at Gwalior. Gwalior Drone Mela was organised jointly by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Government of India, the Government of Madhya Pradesh, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
Addressing the youths and farmers present at the "Drone Mela" in Gwalior, MP Chief Minister said that Madhya Pradesh will be made a leading state by using drone technology. Mr. Scindia said that five Drone Schools would be opened in Gwalior, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Satna in Madhya Pradesh.
Parliament Passes Bill to Extend ED Director Tenure
Parliament passed a bill to extend the tenure of director of Enforcement Directorate to a maximum of five years.
The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021, passed in Lok Sabha earlier, was moved by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension Jitendra Singh in the Upper House and cleared by voice vote.
The Bill seeks to extend the tenure of the director of the Enforcement Directorate from two years to five years.
"Watershed: How We Destroyed India's Water And How We Can Save It" by Mriduala Ramesh
Mriduala Ramesh, the founder of Sundaram Climate Institute, which works on water and waste solutions and the angel investor in cleantech start-ups, has authored a new book titled "Watershed: How We Destroyed India's Water And How We Can Save It". Mriduala Ramesh is the author of "The Climate Solution" and she writes regularly on climate issues. She is also a member of the board of trustees of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), India, and chairperson of the board of governors at the National Institute of Technology, Andhra Pradesh (AP).
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