UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty sought blessings at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in London in the lead-up to the UK elections. As a devoted Hindu, Sunak was honest about his faith and how it helped him cope with difficult times. He stressed the significance of Dharma, the Hindu notion of responsibility, in directing his strategy for doing public service. "In my life, Dharma guides me," Sunak said, recalling the principles taught to him by his parents. He casually brought up his professional choices while joking with devotees, drawing a contrast to the usual ex
Saudi Arabia has reached the midpoint of its Vision 2030 journey, announced Faisal Al Ibrahim, the Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning, during the New Champions Dalian 2024 meeting in China. He emphasised the non-oil industries' strong growth, which currently accounts for 51% of the actual GDP of the nation. Saudi Arabia's economy has grown at a noteworthy rate of 8.7% in 2022 with the implementation of Vision 2030, with non-oil activity rising by 5.6%. The scale of the non-oil economy now exceeds that of the oil sector. Vision 2030, which was introduced in 2016, seeks to wean Saudi
NASA has released a composite image showcasing impressive high-atmosphere lightning strikes, known as gigantic jets, occurring over the Himalayan mountains around the Bhutan-China border. Photographer Li Xuanhua captured a remarkable and unusual natural occurrence in the form of four jets shooting into space. NASA clarified that these jets are a specific form of lightning discharge that takes place between thunderstorms and the Earth's ionosphere, different from typical cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning. Gigantic jets can ascend to 80 kilometres into the ionosphere with a for
Indian cricketer Virat Kohli's popularity extends beyond India, as evidenced by a lifesize statue of him unveiled at Times Square, New York. This tribute highlights Kohli's influence on the cricket globe in the last ten years and his significant contribution to India's lineup for the T20 World Cup in 2024. The statue showcases Kohli's worldwide reach and is part of a commercial effort by Duroflex, a mattress company, for which Kohli serves as a brand ambassador. "Just Unveiled: A larger-than-life statue of Virat Kohli at the iconic Times Square," Duroflex said on social media. "We are goin
Dubai will invest 30 billion dirhams ($8.2 billion) to enhance its rainwater drainage system after experiencing the heaviest downpours in the UAE in 75 years last April. The heavy rainfall caused infrastructure damage and forced Dubai International Airport to curtail capacity, disrupting the Gulf's hub for business and tourism. Concerns have been raised regarding Dubai's capacity to withstand catastrophic weather in the future after four people died as a result of the flooding. Countries are looking for innovative solutions as climate change is expected to raise temperatures, humi
Kozhikode, located in north Kerala, has been officially declared the inaugural UNESCO 'City of Literature' in India. Kozhikode became a UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) member in the 'Literature' category in October 2023. This accomplishment was proclaimed by State Local Self Government Department Minister M B Rajesh, who emphasised the city's humanity, harmony, rich cultural legacy, and freedom of speech. The Kozhikode City Corporation, which outperformed culturally wealthy cities like Kolkata, gained this recognition for its efficient operations. The state government declared Jun
CWISE J124909+362116.0 (J1249+36), an exceptionally uncommon and ancient star, has been found by scientists. It is among the oldest stars in the Milky Way galaxy. This hypervelocity star is expected to be ejected into intergalactic space at a speed of 600 km/sec. While searching through telescope data for signs regarding the existence of the mysterious Planet Nine, scientists discovered the star, an L subdwarf. The discovery was revealed at the American Astronomical Society's 244th meeting. The remarkable speed of J1249+36 can be explained in three ways. Initially, it could have been kicke
Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole four million times the mass of our sun, is a quiescent gigantic black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. On the other hand, scientists have recorded the first-ever astronomical observation of a supermassive black hole awakening and consuming neighbouring material in real-time—a stunning brightening of the core of another galaxy. Scientists monitored events at the core of the Virgo galaxy, SDSS1335+0728, 360 million light-years away, using Earth-based and orbiting telescopes. From single-star masses to millions and billions of solar masses, blac
On June 20, at 4:51 p.m., the summer solstice arrived at its earliest time since 1796. Boston had 97 degrees, narrowly missing the 1953 high of 98 degrees, which was recorded on June 20th, and this year's solstice ended a brief heatwave in New England. According to astronomy, summer officially starts on June 1st, and the summer solstice marks the longest day and shortest night in the Northern Hemisphere. The Latin words "sol," meaning "sun," and "sistere," meaning "to stand still," give rise to the English word "solstice," which describes the period when the sun seems to pause as it mov
The two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir by Prime Minister Narendra Modi began on June 20, with his arrival in Srinagar. While he is there, he will take part in events celebrating International Yoga Day and inaugurate projects worth ₹ 1,500 crore. The Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC), situated on the banks of Dal Lake, was graced with traditional Kashmiri melodies and floral arrangements as Modi and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha were welcomed. On X, the prime minister conveyed his excitement by saying, "Foundation stones will be laid or key projects worth over �