Kenyan Nurse Anna Qabale Duba Crowned World's Best Nurse
Anna Qabale Duba, a Kenyan nurse stationed at the Marsabit County Referral Hospital, won the inaugural Aster Guardian Global Nursing Award for endorsing education and campaigning against outdated cultural practices like Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in her community. Duba, who took home USD 250,000 (approx. Ksh.29 million) in prize money, was feted by Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum at an award ceremony held in Dubai, which commemorated the International Nurses Day.
While receiving the award, Duba, the only female graduate in her village, revealed that she, through her Qabale Duba Foundation, had built a school in Marsabit which offers classes to young pupils and adults looking to get a decent education during the day and evening, respectively.
Frank Wilczek Receives the 2022 Templeton Prize
Frank Wilczek, the Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist and author renowned for his boundary-pushing investigations into the fundamental laws of nature, was honoured with this year's prestigious Templeton Prize awarded to individuals whose life's work embodies a fusion of science and spirituality.
American Theoretical physicist and author, Dr. Frank Wilczek, who won the Nobel Prize (in Physics) in 2004, was awarded the Templeton Prize 2022, the world's largest individual lifetime achievement award, valued at over USD 1.3 million. He became the 6th Nobel laureate to receive the Templeton Prize since its inception in 1972. As a 2022 Templeton Prize laureate he will participate in several virtual and inperson events, including a 2022 Templeton Prize event.
May 16, 2022
Power Minister confers NHPC with first prize of 'Rajbhasha Shield'
Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shri R.K Singh conferred NHPC Limited with the first prize for the year 2020-21 and the second prize for the year 2018-19 for excellent implementation of Rajbhasha during the meeting of Hindi Salahkar Samiti. Shri A.K. Singh, CMD, NHPC Limited received these awards from the Union Minister of Power during the meeting.
During the meeting, Shri R.K Singh also released the latest issue of 'Rajbhasha Jyoti', NHPC's official language magazine and the book 'Bharatiya Sanskriti mein Prabandhan' written by Dr. Rajbir Singh, Group General Manager (Rajbhasha), NHPC.
NHPC has also been awarded "Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar" nine times by the Government of India for its excellent work in the field of implementation of Rajbhasha.
May 15, 2022
ITBP Nursing Leader Chosen for Florence Nightingale Award
Lissy Achankunju, a senior nursing leader with the Indo Tibetan Border Police was selected for the National Florence Nightingale Award 2021, the highest nursing honour in the country. ITBP Assistant Commandant Matron Achankunju was selected for her "untiring professionalism and service" to the Force for 33 years.
The long list of Achankunju's services include her time in Jammu and Kashmir where she saved several lives at the peak of militancy between 1993 and 1996. She famously managed a delivery case independently at one soldier's residence in Srinagar in 1995, immediately shifted the newborn to 92 BH (Army Hospital) for further surgical management.
She is a recipient of four commendation rolls and three insignias from DG, ITBP, one commendation roll from CAPF Additional DG (medicine), two rolls from Inspector-General Medical and the UN Medal and Commendation Rolls from Chief Commander of Police and Force Commander of the UN mission in Congo.
The Award is the highest distinction a nurse can achieve for selfless service and exceptional professionalism.
May 14, 2022
Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi Conferred the Prestigious Royal Gold Medal 2022
Acclaimed architect Balkrishna Doshi conferred the prestigious Royal Gold Medal 2022, one of the world's highest honours for architecture, by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Doshi, 94, is the only one from India and to have been awarded both the Royal Gold Medal and the Pritzker Architecture Prize, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture.
He is credited with designing some of the most iconic structures in Ahmedabad. Some of his key projects include the Shreyas Comprehensive School Campus, Ahmedabad (1958-63); Atira Guest House, Ahmedabad (1958); The Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad (1962); Ahmed-abad School of Architecture (1966 – renamed CEPT University in 2002); Tagore Hall and Memorial Theatre, Ahmedabad (1967); Premabhai Hall, Ahmedabad (1976); IIM Bangalore (1977-1992); Kanoria Centre for Arts, Ahmedabad (1984); and Amdavad ni Gufa (1994).
Doshi had never formally studied architecture. So he learned architecture from his family and from two great architects -Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn.
In a career spanning over 100 projects, Doshi has influenced the direction of architecture in India and its adjacent regions through both his practice and his teaching. His buildings combine pioneering modernism with vernacular, informed by a deep appreciation of the traditions of India's architecture, climate, local culture, and craft.
May 12, 2022
Mamata Banerjee Honoured with Special Bangla Academy Award
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee was honoured with Special Bangla Academy Award in May 2022. The award, introduced this year, was announced for the Chief Minister's book, 'Kabita Bitan' a collection of over 900 poems.
Ratna Rashid Banerjee, a Bengali writer returned an award given to her by Paschimbanga Bangla Academy to protest its decision to confer a special award on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her contribution to the cause of literature. Ratna Rashid Banerjee returned the 'Annada Shankar Smarak Samman' with which she was honoured by the academy in 2019.
Late Journalist Danish Siddiqui Wins Second Pulitzer Prize, This Time for Covid Coverage in India
Indian photographer, who was killed while covering fighting in Afghanistan, was part of a team that took home the Pulitzer for feature photography. Danish Siddiqui and his colleagues Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, and Amit Dave won for images depicting the toll of the Covid-19 pandemic in India. Their work, which was moved from the breaking photography category by the judges, "balanced intimacy and devastation, while offering viewers a heightened sense of place," the committee wrote.
Siddiqui, was also part of the Reuters photography team to win the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis.