Switzerland has once again claimed the title of the world's best country, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report's annual Best Countries rankings. This marks Switzerland's second consecutive year at the pinnacle and its sixth time overall as the No. 1 nation on the list. The rankings, released recently, reaffirm Switzerland's supremacy, closely followed by Canada at No. 2, Sweden at No. 3, Australia at No. 4, and the United States at No. 5. The United States has slipped one spot compared to its 2022 ranking.

Indore has secured the first position in the country in the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2023 and received the prize of Rs 1.5 crore for the same in the category of population of over ten lakh people.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav presented the award and the prize money at a program held for the same in the state capital Bhopal on Thursday.

Veteran cartoonist Ajit Ninan, renowned for his series ‘Centrestage’ in India Today and ‘Ninan’s World’ in Times of India, passed away in Mysuru on Friday. He was 68.

Ninan’s career over the decades was marked by spirited satire and caricatures that did not hesitate to poke fun at the powers-that-be, whether in the government or the Opposition, with an eye on the social issues of the day.

Street 20, a world cup cricket, exclusively for Street Children will be held in Chennai for the first time. Street children from 15 countries including the United Kingdom, Brazil, Hungary, Mexico, South Africa, Srilanka and Rwanda will participate in the tournament which precedes ICC World Cup Cricket in India. The tournament will be held from 22nd September to October 1st. Team India, the defenders of the Cup, will be the star of the game. The first-ever street child Cricket World Cup was held in London in 2019 where Indian Children won the tournament.

Eight Indian Teams, namely, India Tigers from Chennai, Team India from India Lions, India Cats, India Wolves from Delhi, India Panthers from Kolkata, India King Cobras from Mumbai, and India Crocodiles from Odisha will participate in the World Cup. A 12-member contingent comprising of four boys, four girls, and substitute players from the team will also participate.

In a major breakthrough in Indian marine fisheries research, a team of scientists at the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has decoded the whole genome of the ‘Indian oil sardine’ (Sardinella longiceps), a popular food fish.

Incidentally, this is the first time that the genome of a marine fish species from the Indian subcontinent has been decoded.

CMFRI Director Dr A Gopalakrishnan described this development a ‘milestone’ in Indian marine fisheries, saying that the decoded genome will be a valuable resource for understanding the biology, ecology and evolution of the oil sardine.

The ‘Senhri Folk & Cultural Troupe’ of Mizoram will be taking part in the ‘North East India Festival’ to be held at Milan in Italy on September 9. The Troupe will showcase the rich and vibrant culture, traditions, and music of the Mizo people.
 
Mizoram Troupe is the only Cultural Troupe in the North East to take part in the Festival. The Festival is being organized by the Consul General of India, Milan, Italy, and the North East Institute of Fashion Technology (NEIFT).

Government has set up a new Central Empowered Committee (CEC), replacing an ad hoc expert panel, which assisted the Supreme Court in matters of forest and environment issues. The CEC, initially established by the apex court in 2002, served as a watchdog for issues pertaining to environmental conservation and compliance. This comes shortly after the passage of the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023. The Centre will nominate and appoint members to the new CEC, comprising a chairperson, a member secretary and three expert members. 

Tamil actor-director G Marimuthu who was last seen in Rajinikanth's Jailer passed away at the age of 57. The South Indian Artists Association said that the Marimuthu died on Friday following cardiac arrest. He reportedly fell uneasy while dubbing for a Tamil TV serial and was rushed to a hospital.

Marimuthu had of late taken to acting and was seen in a number of movies and tele-serials. After the news of his death came out, condolences poured in from the Tamil film Industry for the 57-year-old actor.

As a part of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot project, multiple Indian banks have announced the introduction of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) interoperability feature on the Digital Rupee application. This means, Digital Rupee app users can scan any QR code to make payments for groceries and daily expenses.

State Bank of India (SBI), Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, Axis Bank. HDFC Bank, Canara Bank, among others are live with the inclusion of UPI interoperability.

The State Bank of India announced in a release on Monday, “This feature, accessible through the 'eRupee by SBI' application, will empower SBI CBDC users to scan any merchant UPI QR code for transactions,” the bank said in the release.”

Induslnd Bank has agreed to a multi-year sponsorship deal with the International Cricket Council (ICC). The deal is set to be valued at $20-24 million (approximately Rs 160-200 crore). The multi-year deal would kick off with the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, being held in India.

Mastercard, MRF tyres, Aramco, Emirates and Booking.com have also signed top-tier sponsorship deals with ICC.

Mastercard and Induslnd Bank are set to replace fintech platform, BharatPe and edtech platform, BYJU’s as the companies decided to end their association with ICC ahead of the deal’s full tenure.