GUANGZHOU, China, Dec. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, the 2025 Most Achieved Chinese Award (MACA) ceremony was held in Hong Kong, drawing global attention to Chinese elites who have made extraordinary contributions to human progress. At the event, Zhang Damo, a renowned artist and Co-President of the Future Living Art Institute at One Heung Kong, was honored with the MACA award, becoming the first painter to receive this globally prestigious honor since its establishment. This marks the highest-level cross-cultural endorsement of the personal accomplishments and international influence of a Chinese ink painting artist.

The MACA award is known for its strict selection process and benchmarking significance, with the core tenet “Recording Cultures, Transmitting Values”. Its past winners include legends such as Yuan Longping, I. M. Pei, and Yang Liwei, who have advanced national and global civilization. Zhang Damo’s selection was no accident. He has pushed the boundaries of traditional Chinese painting with his “combined meticulous and freehand” technique, infusing his works with profound Eastern philosophy and the spirit of the times. Additionally, as a long-serving “cultural ambassador”, he has spent decades spreading Chinese ink painting art across the globe and fostering cultural exchanges.

Gautam Adani Sunday termed NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar his mentor, as the industrialist inaugurated the Sharadchandra Pawar Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence in Baramati.

Sharad Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule praised Adani while highlighting the close bond between the two families. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also praised the industrialist, saying that the Adani Group is doing everything possible to help the poor.

Describing Sharad Pawar as his mentor, Adani said, “I have been blessed to have known Pawarsaheb for over three decades. What I have learnt from him has no parallel. Beyond his knowledge, it is his wisdom, his affection and deep empathy that leave the strongest imprint. That is why he has always been a mentor in the truest sense.”

Former England cricketer Hugh Morris passed away at the age of 62 yesterday. He was diagnosed with bowel cancer in January 2022.

Morris was a prolific opening batter who won three Test caps in 1991 and also led England A on tours to South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka. As a Cricket administrator, Morris served as the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri, who played alongside Morris at Glamorgan, paid his condolences to his family. In a social media post, Shastri said that he is really gutted to hear of the passing of teammate and captain Hugh Morris.

Renowned art director and designer K Shekhar, 72, best known for his path-breaking work in ‘My Dear Kuttichathan,’ passed away on Saturday morning at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram.

Shekhar was the art director of My Dear Kuttichathan, India’s first 3D film. He is especially remembered for designing the famous rotating bedroom set seen in the song ‘Aalipazham Perukkan,’ where children appear to walk on walls and the ceiling.

The scene was created using a real mechanical rotating room with the camera mounted to move in sync with it - a pioneering visual effect in Indian cinema at the time.

A postgraduate in journalism from the University of Kerala (1979), Shekhar entered the film industry as costume publicity designer for Padayottam, Malayalam cinema’s first 70mm film directed by Jijo.

The Bombay High Court has reiterated that civilian honours like Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, and the Bharat Ratna are not official titles and cannot be used as prefixes or suffixes to names of the awardees.

While hearing a petition involving a 2014 Padma Shri awardee Dr Sharad Hardikar, a single-judge bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan objected to the case title in the writ petition, which read, “Dr. Trimbak V. Dapkekar versus Padmashree Dr. Sharad M Hardikar & Ors", LiveLaw reported.

The bench objected to Hardikar being referred to as “Padma Shri Dr Sharad Moreshwar Hardiker" in the case records and directed that the award prefix be removed.

Surya Charishma Tamiri clinched the Women’s Singles title at the 87th Senior National Badminton Championships in Vijayawada with her victory over Tanvi Patri today. After losing the opening game, Tamiri staged a strong comeback to win the final 17 -21, 21-12, 21-14.

In the Men’s Singles, Rithvik Sanjeevi S defeated Bharat Raghav in straight games, 21-16, 22-20, to win the title. In Men’s doubles, the pair of A. Hariharan and Ruban Kumar emerged champions after defeating Mithilesh Krishnan and Prejan 24-22, 21-17 in the final.

In the women’s doubles final, former champions Shikha Gautam and Ashwini Bhat K overcame Priya Devi Konjengban and Shruti Mishra 21-14, 21-18 to reclaim the title.

With GDP valued at $4.18 trillion, India has surpassed Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy and is poised to displace Germany from the third rank in the next 2.5 to 3 years with a projected GDP of $7.3 trillion by 2030, an official statement said on Monday.

The growth momentum further surprised on the upside, with GDP expanding to a six-quarter high in Q2 of 2025-26, reflecting India's resilience amid persistent global trade uncertainties.

Domestic drivers-led by robust private consumption-played a central role in supporting this expansion, according to the statement.

Two-time Olympic medallist and former world champion PV Sindhu has been elected Chair of the BWF Athletes' Commission for the 2026-2029 term, as per Olympics.com. In this role, Sindhu will also serve as a member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Council, providing players with a direct voice in the organisation's global governance. PV Sindhu expressed her gratitude for being entrusted with the role and acknowledged Greysia Polii for her outstanding work in the previous term.

"To be entrusted with this responsibility by fellow athletes is an honour I carry with humility and gratitude. I would also like to sincerely acknowledge Greysia Polii for the exceptional work she has done in the previous term," Sindhu said as quoted by Olympics.com.

Greysia Polii from Indonesia, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist and Asian Games women's doubles champion, retired from badminton in 2022. She served on the BWF Athletes' Commission twice, most recently from 2021 to 2025.

VoxelGrids, a start-up backed by Zoho, has developed India’s first indigenous Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner, marking a significant step in reducing the country’s dependence on imported diagnostic equipment.

The scanner has been installed at the Chandrapur Cancer Care Foundation near Nagpur.

The development is the outcome of a 12-year effort led by founder Arjun Arunachalam and his team to design and build an MRI system entirely in India. MRI machines are critical diagnostic tools for hospitals and are currently dominated by foreign manufacturers.

Odisha is all set to get its first woman chief secretary with the government appointing senior IAS officer Anu Garg to the post. Garg, presently the development commissioner-cum-additional chief secretary, will take over from Manoj Ahuja, who will retire on December 31.

“Anu Garg, IAS, DC-cum-ACS and secretary to Government, Planning and Convergence department with additional charge of additional chief secretary to government, Water Resources department is appointed as chief secretary, Odisha and secretary to government, General Administration and Public Grievance department vice Manoj Ahuja, IAS, retiring on December 31,” read the notification issued by the General Administration and Public Grievance department on Wednesday.