AWARDS

Payal Kapadia bags historic Grand Prix Award at Cannes Film Festival 2024

• Payal Kapadia's film "All We Imagine as Light" made history at the 77th Cannes Film Festival by winning the Grand Prix prize in the feature film category.

• Kapadia is the first Indian filmmaker to receive the Grand Prix award at Cannes, marking a significant milestone in Indian cinema.

• The Cannes Grand Prix is the second-highest accolade at the festival after the Palme d'Or. American director Sean Baker took home the top-most honour for Anora.

• Renowned cinematographer Santosh Sivan also created history by becoming the first Asian to be honored with the prestigious Pierre Angénieux Tribute Award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

INDEX AND RANKINGS

Oxford Global Cities Index Report

• Delhi secures the 350th position in the Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2024, emerging as the highest-ranked Indian city among the world's largest 1,000 cities.

• New York City, USA, claims the top spot in the 2024 Index, followed by London, UK, in second place, and San Jose, USA, in third.

• The index meticulously evaluates 1,000 cities spanning 163 countries, representing 60% of global GDP in 2023.

• Cities undergo scrutiny across 27 indicators categorized into five crucial categories: Economics (30%), Human Capital (25%), Quality of Life (25%), Environment (10%), and Governance (10%).

• Regional classifications include North America (103), Western Europe (141), Central America and the Caribbean (46), Middle East and North Africa (62), South America (63), Sub-Saharan Africa (86), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (107), Southern Asia (137), East Asia (205), and Oceania (12).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Spain Joins International Solar Alliance As Its Newest Member

• Spain has become the 99th member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

• This announcement was made by Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal.

• Spain has ratified the ISA Instrument of Ratification and submitted it to the ISA Head of Depository.

• India hosts the International Solar Alliance.

• Abhishek Singh, Joint Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry, currently serves as the Head of Depository.

• The first founding conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was co-hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron.

• The event took place in New Delhi on March 11, 2018.

ESA and 12 Countries Sign Zero Debris Charter

• The European Space Agency (ESA) and twelve nations have officially signed the Zero Debris Charter at the ESA/EU Space Council.

• This landmark agreement demonstrates their commitment to ensuring the long-term sustainability of human activities in Earth's orbit.

• The countries involved—Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom—have pledged to adhere to the charter's guidelines.

• During the 2022 Ministerial Conference, ESA members agreed to implement a "Zero Debris Approach" in their missions.

• The Zero Debris Charter aims to position Europe as a global leader in the mitigation and remediation of space debris.

SPORTS

Asian Gymnastics Championship

• Dipa Karmakar, hailing from Tripura, achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first Indian gymnast to clinch a gold medal in any Asian Championships.

• At the Asian Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2024 held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on May 26, 2024, Dipa soared to victory in the women’s vault individual final.

• Her remarkable achievement marks a significant moment in Indian gymnastics history, showcasing her talent and determination on the international stage.

• Dipa’s already outstanding list of firsts for Indian gymnastics is enhanced by the vault gold.

• She is the first female gymnast from India to compete in the Olympics, and at Rio 2016, she put on the best performance of any gymnast competing in the Summer Games, placing fourth in the women’s vault.

• She also became the first Indian to ever win a gold medal at an international gymnastics competition when she won the women’s vault gold medal at the 2018 FIG World Cup in Mersin, Turkey.