India and Israel have joined hands for the establishment of a new water technology centre at IIT-Madras, which is expected to serve as a "key contributor" to India's efforts to achieve sustainable water supply for all.

The Embassy of Israel in India in its statement termed the deal a "significant milestone" in the ongoing collaboration between the two countries in the field of integrated water resource management.

A Joint Statement of Intent was signed to establish a Center of Water Technology at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

"This tripartite agreement, signed by the Embassy of Israel, IIT Madras, and the AMRUT mission of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, reflects a shared commitment to address the critical challenges of water management in India," it said.

Thailand's Parliament convened to select a new prime minister Friday with the youngest daughter of the divisive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra expected to be nominated.

The vote would come two days after a court removed the last prime minister over an ethics violation.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, is the leader of the Pheu Thai party. She does not hold an elected office, which the law doesn't require of prime ministerial candidates. The parliament also does not require her to be present at the vote.

If Paetongtarn is approved in Parliament's vote, she will become Thailand's second female prime minister and the country's third leader from the Shinawatra family, after her father and her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra. She will also become the country's youngest leader.

Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery at Göbekli Tepe, an ancient site in southern Turkey. This site, which dates back nearly 13,000 years, is now believed to house the world’s oldest calendar. Göbekli Tepe, often referred to as the world’s first temple, features a series of large stone pillars adorned with ornate carvings. These carvings have long puzzled researchers, but recent studies suggest they represent an ancient timekeeping system.

The calendar, discovered by a team led by Dr.

Martin Sweatman from the University of Edinburgh, is thought to be a solar calendar. The carvings on the pillars include a series of V-shaped symbols, each representing a single day. By counting these symbols, researchers identified a calendar of 365 days, divided into 12 lunar months with an additional 11 days. This system aligns closely with the modern solar calendar, indicating a sophisticated understanding of astronomy by the ancient people who created it.

A team of entomologists have discovered three new edible insect species from Arunachal Pradesh. Belonging to the genus Coridius of family Dinidoridae (Hemiptera), these stink bugs have been named Coridius adii, Coridius insperatus and Coridius esculentus.

The discovery was made by researchers Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan, Swapnil Boyane, Sandeep Sen and Pavan Kumar Thunga from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bengaluru and Hemant Ghate from Modern College, Pune. Their work has been published in the peer-reviewed open-access journal PLOS One.

Coridius adii is named in honour of the Adi tribe, one of the major groups inhabiting mainly the Siang valley in Arunchal Pradesh, which consumes this species as food. The insect is described as pale brown to dark brown with irregular yellow patches on its upper body.

India will host the 3rd Voice of Global South Summit on Saturday. The theme of the Summit is – An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future. External Affairs Ministry in a statement said that it will act as a platform to expand discussions held in the previous Summits on a range of complex challenges that continue to affect the world, such as conflicts, food and energy security crises and climate change. At the Summit, the countries of the Global South would continue deliberations on challenges, priorities, and solutions for the Global South, particularly in the developmental domain. The Ministry added that similar to the previous two Summits, the 3rd Summit will be held in a virtual format and is structured into Leaders’ Session and Ministerial sessions. The inaugural session will be at the Head of State and Government level and will be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This unique initiative began as an extension of the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas aur Sabka Prayas’, and is underpinned by India’s philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. It envisages bringing together countries of the Global South to share their perspectives and priorities on a common platform across a whole range of issues.

Google on August 15 announced it is extending its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered search experience, AI Overviews, to consumers in India and five other countries including the United Kingdom, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and Brazil.

In India, the feature will be available in English and Hindi languages in the coming weeks, along with India-first features such as the ability to listen to search responses and toggle between English and Hindi results, both of which were piloted in the country last year.

This rollout comes more than two months after the search experience was introduced in the United States, following its announcement at the company's annual developer conference Google I/O 2024 on May 14.

At launch, Google stated that it was introducing AI overviews after nearly a year of experimenting with a generative AI-powered search experience called Search Generative Experience (SGE) in a few markets, including India. The feature provides consumers a quick AI-generated summary of a topic along with links to go deeper, at the top of the search results.

The government on Wednesday appointed acting Enforcement Directorate chief Rahul Navin as full-time director of the anti-money laundering agency for two years.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, in a statement dated August 14, confirmed his appointment as the new Director of Enforcement in the Directorate of Enforcement.

His appointment will take effect from the date he assumes charge of the position and will last for a period of two years or until further orders are issued.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Rahul Navin, IRS (IT:93074), Special Director, ED as Director of Enforcement in the Directorate of Enforcement for a period of two years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the DoPT statement read.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Wednesday appointed 1989-Sikkim cadre IAS officer Govind Mohan as the next Home Secretary. Mohan will replace Ajay Kumar Bhalla upon completion of his tenure on August 22. Mohan is currently posted as Secretary in the Ministry of Culture.

Bhalla, a 1984-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, was appointed as Home Secretary in August 2019.

Mohan, who holds an electrical engineering degree from BHU-IIT Varanasi, has served as Union Culture Secretary since October 2021 and had two stints in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the past.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced England seamer Gus Atkison and Sri Lanka all rounder Chamari Athapaththu as ‘Players of the month’ for July on Monday, August 12. Notably, Atkison had a brilliant start to his Test career as he played a pivotal role in England’s 3-0 whitewash over West Indies and helped them win the Botham Richards Trophy.

Atkison started his Test career with a bang registering the second best figues by an England bowler on debut at home picking 7/45 in the first Test at Lord’s. He ended up picking another five wicket haul in the second innings (5/61) finishing the match with figures of 12/106. As a result, he registered the third best match figures by an England bowler on debut and was deservedly awarded Player of the Match.

The 26-year-old finished as the highest wicket taker of the series with 22 wickets to his name from six innings at an average of 16.22 and an economy of 4.01. Courtesy of his performance, he was also adjudged Player of the Series.

Former Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra assumed charge as the Ambassador of India to the United States on Tuesday. Kwatra succeeds India’s former envoy to the United States, BJP leader Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

“Privileged to assume charge as the Ambassador of India to the United States of America. Team @IndianEmbassyUS will continue to work intensely to strengthen this crucial partnership,” Kwatra said in a post on X.

Sripriya Ranganathan, Deputy Ambassador at the Embassy of India in Washington, D.C., welcomed the new Ambassador to the US, stating, “Delighted to welcome Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra as the new Ambassador of India to the United States of America. All of us @IndiainUSA are excited to work under his leadership!”

On July 14, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar bid farewell to outgoing Foreign Secretary Kwatra, acknowledging his profound contributions to India’s foreign policy and national security over the past decade. Jaishankar praised Kwatra for his strategic acumen in shaping and executing crucial policies during his tenure.