On November 7, UK Prince William and The Earthshot Prize named Acción Andina, GRST, WildAid Marine Program, S4S Technologies, and Boomitra as the 2023 Winners of The Earthshot Prize in Singapore. The award ceremony – the first to be held in Asia – recognised environmental innovators with solutions to battle climate change and save the planet. The five winners, chosen from among the 15 innovators and entrepreneurs named as 2023 prize finalists, were each awarded a £1 million prize to help scale their solutions and accelerate their growth and impact. The work of this third cohort of th
The Italian region of Calabria is providing €28,000 (about Rs 25 lakh) to individuals who are open to moving to small villages, with an aim to fight its declining population. However, the applicants should be no older than 40 years, must be ready to move within 90 days once approved, and set up a either a new venture or accept existing offers for specific professions sought by the region. Famous for its stunning coastal beauty and mountainous landscapes, Calabria, over the years, has faced a significant population decline. To address this issue, it has planned this scheme. Under the plan
Singapore’s Changi Airport Terminal 2 fully reopened to passengers on November 1 after three and a half years of extensive upgrade work. Besides adding over 21,000 square metres to the existing building, the project has introduced features like a digital waterfall and a digital sky for passengers to marvel at while they wait for their flights. The Wonderfall is a multimedia digital waterfall display at the departure hall that stands at four stories and 14 metres high and is complemented by a landscaped garden. The transit area at the all-new Terminal 2 features a stunning new Dreamsca
Kerala’s Kozhikode and Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior have been declared as City of Literature and City of Music by UNESCO. On the occasion of World Cities Day, observed on October 31, UNESCO unveiled a prestigious list of 55 new creative cities, and Kozhikode and Gwalior made it to the list for their commitment to culture, creativity, and innovative urban planning. Kozhikode met the stringent criteria, boasting a multitude of literary institutions, extensive experience in organising literary events, and a high level of literary education. The city’s literary activities, characterised by b
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Singapore Airlines on October 29 unveiled plans to expand its services with five additional flights between Hyderabad and Singapore. The event was attended by senior officials from GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), key representatives from Singapore Airlines, and various airport stakeholders, who gathered at the terminal to celebrate the airline’s two decades of operation in the region. These new flights aim to meet the growing demand for comfortable long-haul travel to Singapore, which serves as a convenient transit point for travell
Kenya plans to end visa requirements for all Africans visiting the East African nation by the end of the year, said President William Ruto at the Three Basins Climate Change Conference in Brazzaville, Congo, held from October 26 to 28. “By the end of this year, no African will be required to have a visa to come to Kenya,” said Ruto in his speech, which was met with resounding applause. President Ruto underscored the potential benefits of eliminating visa requirements for citizens of African countries, emphasising the positive impact it could have on trade and opportunities. Accor
In a move to boost tourism, Thailand has waived off visa requirements for travellers coming in from India and Taiwan from November 2023 to May 2024, said a government official in a statement on October 31. Arrivals from India and Taiwan will be permitted to stay in Thailand for duration of 30 days. India has emerged as Thailand’s fourth-largest source market for tourism this year, after Malaysia, China, and South Korea, with approximately 1.2 million arrivals. In September, Thailand had eliminated visa requirements for Chinese tourists. The country had 11 million arrivals from Chin
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation has honoured Gujarat’s Dhordo as the ‘best tourism village.’ Located in the Great Rann of Kutch, Dhordo is well-known for hosting the annual Rann Utsav, a vibrant cultural festival that showcases the traditional art, music and crafts of the region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared pictures of his visits to the village in 2009 and 2015 in his congratulatory message on the achievement on X. “Absolutely thrilled” at the development, PM Modi wished a bright future for Dhordo and said that the honour not only showcases the potential of
India's Chief Justice, Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, has received the prestigious Award for Global Leadership from Harvard Law School, adding a remarkable feather to his illustrious cap. This award recognizes his exceptional contributions to law and his unwavering commitment to upholding justice. Justice Chandrachud, an alumnus of Harvard Law School, has made significant impacts in the legal arena, championing human rights, and fostering judicial accountability. His groundbreaking judgments and progressive legal interpretations have redefined the Indian judiciary’s role, solidifying his
Researchers have developed a method that could one day be used to build roads on the moon. Their experiment involved melting lunar soil with focused sunlight to turn it into a more solid substance. The approach, based on proof-of-concept experiments involving lasers and a substance resembling Moon dust and outlined in Scientific Reports on October 12, could be used to build other infrastructure such as landing pads. Engineer Juan-Carlos Ginés-Palomares and his colleagues, based at the Technical University of Berlin, conducted experiments that involved manufacturing tiles by heating and me