Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker has been appointed as the chairperson of the International Jury for the 2024 International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Gowariker, known for films such as ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, ‘Lagaan’, and ‘Swades’, said he is honoured to be associated with the prestigious film festival, which will be held in Goa from November 20 to 28. The filmmaker said that cinema is constantly evolving with the times, and there’s no better place to witness this evolution than at a film festival. He said the IFFI stands as a beacon of this transformation, and he is honoured to be a part of it.

Elon Musk's SpaceX is set to launch India's GSAT-20 communications satellite, marking a significant milestone in the collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the American aerospace company.

The launch is scheduled for November 19, 2024, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

The satellite is designed to enhance India's communication infrastructure, featuring a Ka-band high-throughput communications payload with a mission lifespan of 14 years.

India has sent the first consignment of about 425 metric ton of food grains and other edible items to Suriname for its Social Welfare Programme. India enjoys close, warm and friendly relations with Suriname, reinforced by cultural and people-to-people contacts bridged by the Indian Diaspora’s arrival dating back to one and a half-century. Several high-level visits have been exchanged since establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Suriname in 1976 with Indian Embassy opened in Paramaribo in 1977 and Surinamese Embassy in New Delhi in 2000.

A super typhoon Man-yi has made a second landfall on the Philippines’ main island of Luzon this evening with forecasters warning of a life-threatening storm surge, heavy rains and severe winds.

The powerful typhoon Man-yi locally known as Pepito, already ripped through Cantanduanes, where it uprooted trees, damaged some buildings and pulled down power lines forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee to emergency shelters. This is the sixth major storm to hit the country in less than a month.

The typhoon Man-yi is expected to move away to the South China Sea tonight or tomorrow morning. Further widespread heavy rain from Man-Yi is forecast in the northern areas of the main island. The government said, at least 200mm (7.8 inches) of rainfall is expected on Monday, leading to potentially life-threatening flooding and catastrophic mudslides, putting millions at risk from storm surges.

In a significant move to repatriate cultural heritage, the United States announced the return of over 1,400 looted artefacts valued at 10 million dollars to India. The items, part of an ongoing initiative to restore stolen art to South and Southeast Asia, include pieces recently displayed at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Among the returned treasures is a sandstone sculpture of a celestial dancer, illicitly transported from central India to London before being sold to a Met patron and subsequently donated to the museum.

Manhattan District Attorney’s Office revealed the recovery was the result of ‘several ongoing investigations’ targeting looting networks, including those run by convicted art traffickers Nancy Wiener and Subhash Kapoor. Kapoor, a former antiquities dealer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for managing a multimillion-dollar looting operation through his New York gallery. After his arrest in Germany in 2011, Kapoor was extradited to India, where he awaits further legal proceedings and extradition to the US.

Victoria Kjaer Theilvig of Denmark has been crowned Miss Universe for 2024, marking her country's first win at the international beauty pageant.

The 73rd edition of the pageant, which saw participation by more than 120 contestants, was held on Saturday night at the Mexico City Arena.

Miss Nigeria Chidimma Adetshina placed second, whereas Miss Mexico Maria Fernanda Beltran came in third.

"A new era begins! Congratulations to Denmark, our 73rd Miss Universe. May your reign inspire and empower women worldwide. #73MissUniverseCompetition," read a post on the official Instagram page of Miss Universe.

The UAE has unveiled an ambitious initiative to establish the “Global Energy Efficiency Alliance” during COP29, hosted in Azerbaijan. This move aims to double global energy efficiency rates by 2030 and contribute to significant emission reductions. The initiative builds on the ‘UAE Consensus’ from COP28, a commitment that brought together countries, organizations, and corporations to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable resource management.

The UAE plans to lead the alliance by sharing its expertise in energy efficiency, fostering knowledge transfer, and building effective partnership models with the private sector. The alliance is designed to support the reduction of carbon emissions and the sustainable use of natural resources through knowledge sharing, capacity building, and standardization efforts. It aims to encourage strategic public-private partnerships and bolster investments in energy efficiency initiatives. The alliance will focus on compiling and disseminating best practices, with a particular emphasis on assisting African nations. This support will extend to developing financing options and technological solutions vital for the continent’s progress in energy sustainability.

On the edge of Peru’s coastal desert, a remote fishing town where a third of all residents have no running water is being transformed into a huge deep-water port to cash in on the inexorable rise of Chinese interest in resource-rich South America.

The megaport of Chancay, a $1.3 billion project majority-owned by the Chinese shipping giant Cosco, is turning this outpost of bobbing fishing boats into an important node of the global economy.

From the presidential palace in Lima, 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of the port inauguration ceremony, China’s President Xi Jinping watched a livestream of the ribbon-cutting alongside his Peruvian counterpart, Dina Boluarte, late Thursday.

Union Minister for Power, Manohar Lal on Friday jointly inaugurated the flow of power from Nepal to Bangladesh through the Indian grid along with Md. Fouzul Kabir Khan, Advisor, Ministry of Power, Bangladesh and Dipak Khadka, Nepal’s Minister of Energy, in a virtual event hosted by Nepal's Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.

This historic occasion marks the first trilateral power transaction which has been carried out through the Indian grid. The start of this power flow from Nepal to Bangladesh through India is expected to boost sub-regional connectivity in the power sector, according to an official statement.

"Nepal's power will now reach Bangladesh via the Indian grid, marking the first trilateral power transaction," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) posted on X. "This landmark development strengthens sub-regional connectivity and sets a new benchmark in the South Asian power sector," it added.

Japanese Princess Yuriko, the wife of wartime Emperor Hirohito’s brother and the oldest member of the imperial family, has died after her health deteriorated recently, palace officials said. She was 101.

Yuriko died on Friday at a Tokyo hospital, the Imperial Household Agency said. It did not announce the cause of death, but Japanese media said she died of pneumonia.

Born in 1923 as an aristocrat, Yuriko married at age 18 to Prince Mikasa, the younger brother of Hirohito and the uncle of current Emperor Naruhito, months before the start of World War II.