Famous Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, known for his iconic roles in films like 'The Dirty Dozen' and "The Hunger Games," has died at the age of 88 in Miami following an extended illness, according to Variety.

Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Sutherland rose to fame with a diverse array of roles that showcased his versatility and talent. He became a countercultural icon with roles in classic films such as "The Dirty Dozen," "MASH," "Klute," and "Don't Look Now," among many others. Throughout his career, he portrayed villains, antiheroes, romantic leads, and mentor figures with equal aplomb, winning accolades and adoration from audiences worldwide.

The State government has appointed S. Tripathy, professor, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal, as the first director of the University of Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE).

Prof. Tripathy has been appointed for four years from the date of assumption of office or up to attaining the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.

Earlier, the government appointed D. Manjunath, professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B), on March 8, 2023, as the first director of UVCE. But, he did not take charge even after a year of his appointment.

Inaugurating two ‘Smart Conference Halls’ at the Campus for digital and immersive learning experience, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space and MoS Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh, said “Smart Conference halls are a step towards Prime Minister Modi’s Vision of Amrit Kaal”, highlighting that addition of two more conference halls will take the number of conference halls to 9 ,enabling simultaneous seminars to be conducted in these halls enhancing the overall quality of learning.”

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Jitendra Singh praised the institution for its dedication, Commitment and contribution in the field of Statistics, Public Policy and administration. He said, "India is gradually realising the importance of statistics which was well recognized in the 18th century world curriculum.”

The United Kingdom (UK) has overtaken China to become India’s fourth-largest export market in May, commerce department data showed. The UK was India’s sixth-largest export destination in May last year.

While exports to the UK grew by a third to $1.37 billion in May, the shipments to China saw 3 per cent growth at $1.33 billion last month.

The disaggregated data for May wasn’t immediately available, but trends over the past few months showed that exports to the UK were dominated by items such as machinery, food items, pharmaceutical products, textiles, jewellery, iron, and steel, among other items.

India and Cambodia discuss investment treaty, collaboration in UPI and traditional medicine

India hosted the second meeting of the India-Cambodia Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment (JWGTI) on Thursday.

During the meeting, the two nations discussed cooperation in traditional medicine and e-governance, diversification of the trade basket by identifying new products, a bilateral investment treaty, recognition of the Indian Pharmacopoeia, and collaboration in the pharmaceutical sector.

Additionally, the progress of ongoing efforts for collaboration in Unified Payment Interface (UPI) based digital payments to promote trade and tourism was discussed.

Siddharth Mahajan, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, highlighted measures to deepen bilateral trade and investment and emphasized the creation of mechanisms for cooperation and collaboration in sectors of mutual interest.

Sangam Networking Event in Delhi has brought out comprehensive blueprints for Digital Twin-enabled solutions, addressing challenges and leveraging diverse data sources. These outputs will guide the design and architecture of solutions, define roles for various parties, identify potential customers, outline funding structures, establish governance mechanisms, and create roadmaps for implementation.

The first Networking Event of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)’s Sangam - Digital Twin initiative, was successfully hosted by IIT Delhi, on June 18-19 2024. The event brought together over 100 participants, including representatives from leading companies to discuss innovative digital solutions across various sectors.

The Bharat 6G Alliance has signed pacts with the 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association (6G IA) and 6G Flagship at Oulu University to further enable the development of secure and trusted telecommunication technology including resilient supply chains, The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said on June 20.

Under the Bharat 6G Vision, the DoT said it is already evaluating 470 proposals on “Accelerated research on 6G”.

The department's Bharat 6G Alliance previously signed a pact with the NextG Alliance of the USA.

Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Ministry of Fisheries Animal Husbandry and Dairying has signed an agreement yesterday in the presence of the Secretary, Ms. Alka Upadhyaya with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) for execution of works of “Upgradation of Biocontainment Facility and associated repair works at Chaudhary Charan Singh National Institute of Animal Health (CCSNAIH)”, Baghpat. The estimated budgetary overlay for the said works is Rs. 160 Crores and is planned to be executed within 20 months. Senior officers of the Department, CCSNIAH, Baghpat and National Dairy Development Board were present on the occasion.

CCSNIAH, Baghpat, an apex laboratory under the aegis of the Department is a national facility for quality assessment of veterinary vaccines and diagnostics to be used in India. The bio-containment facility of the Institute was commissioned in 2010 and the Institute has been recognized as Central Drugs Laboratory by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of India for undertaking the Quality Control Testing of Veterinary Biologicals HS (Haemorrhagic Septicaemia) and RD (Ranikhet Disease). Besides its regulatory role, the institute has been entrusted with responsibility for QC testing of FMD, Brucella, PPR and CSF vaccines under LH&DC program.

NHAI has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (Delhi), a Technical University established by the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) based solutions for improvement in the availability of road signs on National Highways, enhancing road safety measures.

As a part of the agreement, IIIT Delhi will conduct surveys for collecting imagery and other related data related to the availability and condition of road signages on selected National Highway stretches. The tentative length to be covered under this project shall be around 25,000 km.

The data collected through surveys will be processed by IIIT Delhi through deployment of Artificial Intelligence for accurate identification and classification of road signs. The survey report based on the results will include geo- stamped inventory of existing road signs with the categorisation, broad structural condition of the road signs and other ancillary data.

The Department of Animal Husbandry, in partnership with the World Bank, is organising an Avian Influenza Outbreak and Response Simulation Exercise in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, on the 19th and 20th of June, 2024. This workshop comes at a crucial time as we face unusual outbreaks of Avian Influenza in Kerala and witness a global trend of spillovers to non-poultry species, including cattle. The programme was inaugurated by Dr. Abhijit Mitra, Animal Husbandry Commissioner, DAHD in presence of Shri. Gulshan Bamra, Principal Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Dr Dr. Hikuepi (Epi) Katjiuongua, Senior Agriculture Economist, The World Bank and Dr Atul Srivastava, Principal Chief Wildlife Warden, Government of Madhya Pradesh.

The two-day workshop aims to enhance preparedness and response capabilities for avian influenza outbreaks.The simulation exercise is attended by  40 participants from diverse sectors such as Human Health represented by the National Centre for Disease Control, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, Animal Husbandry Sector represented by Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India and State AHD , Wildlife represented by the Zoo and WWF, and Laboratory experts represented by ICAR-NIHSAD, RDDLs CDDL and State Veterinary Laboratory from Kerala, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh and International Organisations like the WHO and OFFLU signifying a monumental step towards a collaborative, One Health approach in tackling this formidable disease. The programme is facilitated by Dr. Lidewij Wiersma, Exert from the World Bank and Dr Frank Wong, WOAH Expert on Avian Influenza from CSIRO-Australian Cenrte for Disease Preparedness.