In a first, controversial and renowned author Salman Rushdie received the ‘Lifetime Disturbing the Peace Award’ by the Vaclav Havel Center on November 14, 2023.

The author was present at the event to receive the award, but his presence was kept a secret till he stood up to receive it. Obviously enough, Rushdie’s presence was kept a secret from the crowd, owing to the attack on him last year in New York which rendered him vision-less in his right eye and problems with a hand.

The danger to Rushdie’s life started majorly after the release of his book ‘Satanic Verses’ which was followed by a fatwa against him, threats and eventually the stabbing in August 2022, following which he was in hiding for major part of the year.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma became the first player in World Cup history to smash 50 sixes. The 36-year-old got to the mark during his innings of 47 runs from 29 balls in the semifinal clash against New Zealand in Mumbai on Wednesday when he pulled fast bowler Trent Boult over backward square leg. He went past Chris Gayle's mark of 49 sixes in World Cups.

Sharma has been in supreme form in this tournament and took the New Zealand bowling on from the start of the innings, hammering them for fours and sixes to get the Men in Blue off to the perfect start in the semifinal.

The batter fell three short of his fifty, caught superbly by Kane Williamson off Tim Southee's bowling.

Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri today launched City Investments to Innovate, Integrate, and Sustain 2.0 (CITIIS 2.0) challenge in New Delhi. CITIIS 2.0 aims to advance climate action through the promotion of a circular economy with a focus on integrated waste management.
 
Addressing the event, Mr. Puri said this program has a demonstrative effect which will lay the basis for the commercialization of the technology. He further called on support for innovative, technology-based interventions like CITIIS 2.0.
 
Highlighting the achievements of CITIIS 1.0 program, the Minister said, first phase of the program was able to introduce one thousand new electric vehicles, hundred km of non-motorized transport corridors, seven hundred fifty acres of green open spaces, fourteen hundred affordable housing units and three fifty education facilities.

Thirty Indian companies associated with the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) made its presence at the 'WETEX and Dubai Solar Show' in Dubai from November 15th to 17th, 2023. Engaging in sectors such as power, energy, water, solar, and engineering, these companies explored bilateral trade opportunities with the UAE.

The India Pavilion was inaugurated by Mr. Sunil Kumar, Consul at the Consulate General of India in Dubai. The event is drawing a large number of visitors, indicating interest and potential for future collaborations.

WETEX (Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition) is a leading international exhibition and conference dedicated to water, energy, sustainability, and green technologies. It is held annually in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is organized by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).

Troops of Trishakti Corps of the Indian Army with assistance from BRO completed the Bailey bridge over the Teesta River at Chungthang in north Sikkim.

This has finally connected the flood-affected areas of North Sikkim with the mainland that was cut off since the night of 03 Oct 23. The bridge will now pave the way for seamless movement of vehicles and provision of relief material to these flood-affected areas.

In a press release, Defance PRO said, the 200 feet Bailey bridge is an engineering marvel in itself as it is the longest and heaviest single span Bailey bridge that can be launched. Working round the clock, the BRO initially constructed the concrete abutments followed by the bridge construction by Trishakti Sappers that took around five days. The bridge was inaugurated by Mr Samdup Lepcha, Honourable Minister of Roads and Bridges, Government of Sikkim in the presence of officials of Indian Army, BRO and Civil Administration.

India will host the 2nd Voice of Global South Summit Friday in a virtual format, in what will be the second time since January this year. The second summit will start with an Inaugural Leaders’ Session chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the morning.

The Ministry of External Affairs said that India had hosted the inaugural Voice of Global South Summit (VOGSS) on 12-13 January 2023 virtually. This unique initiative brought together 125 countries of the Global South to share their perspectives and priorities on a common platform.

Throughout its G20 Presidency, the MEA said India has “worked to ensure that the concerns of the Global South receive due cognisance and that the priorities of the Global South were duly factored in finding solutions to the most pressing global challenges”.

India is in the process of procuring a batch of Igla-S hand-held anti-aircraft missiles from Russia to bolster the combat capability of the Army units deployed in various sensitive forward locations, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

India is also looking at production of the Russian missile systems in the country under the Make-in-India initiative, they said.

The Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force already have Igla man-portable missiles in their inventories. The Igla is a man-portable air defence system (MANPADS) that can be used to bring down enemy aircraft and helicopters.

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is set to be launched in the first quarter of 2024 after a few tests, particularly those related to vibration, NASA officials have said. "ISRO is projecting the first quarter of next year. So, I mean, that's ready," NASA NISAR Project Manager Phil Barela said during a media interaction here on Wednesday.

He is expecting the launch of NISAR (spelt as 'Naisar') "not earlier than January" from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota aboard the ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-II.

The mission, which has three-year duration, aims to survey all of Earth's land and ice-covered surfaces every 12 days. This will start after a 90-day satellite commissioning period.

Ashok Leyland said it had commenced delivery of India’s first batch of 12 LNG-powered haulage trucks – AVTR 1922 – to Mahanagar Gas in Hosur.

With this, Ashok Leyland becomes the first Indian original equipment manufacturer to unveil an in-house LNG engine compliant with BS-VI Stage II emission standard, the commercial vehicle manufacturer said in a statement.

The truck is built on the AVTR platform and shares a high degree of commonality with Ashok Leyland’s existing diesel truck range. “This ensures that our customers benefit from streamlined service and maintenance processes,” the company said.

Holding the state as “primarily responsible” for paying compensation to people in incidents where stray animals are involved, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that in cases relating to dog bite, the financial assistance shall be at a minimum of Rs 10,000 per tooth mark and where the flesh has been pulled off the skin, it shall be a minimum of Rs 20,000 per 0.2 cm of wound.

The high court, while disposing of a bunch of 193 pleas, also ordered the states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh to constitute committees chaired by the deputy commissioners of respective districts to determine such compensation.

“The award shall be passed by the committees within a period of four months of the claims being filed before it along with requisite documents…The State shall be primarily responsible to pay compensation with a right to recover the same from the defaulting agencies/ instrumentalities of the State or the private person, if any,” a bench of Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj said.