International Affairs
India has announced a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies.
The 2022 Winter Olympics began on February 4, 2022, and will end on February 20, 2022, in Beijing, China.
Due to China’s selection of a Chinese soldier (Qi Fabao) as Olympic torchbearer, who was involved in the Galwan incident on June 15, 2020, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers, including a Colonel, India announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies.
This means that neither the opening nor closing ceremonies will be attended by any Indian officials.
Quick Fact: However, one of the country’s athletes, Arif Khan (skier), has been selected to attend.
Science and technology
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) commissions ‘Param Pravega,’ one of India’s most powerful supercomputers.
Param Pravega, one of India’s most powerful supercomputers, has been installed and commissioned at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) in Bengaluru. It’s also the largest supercomputer in a university in India.
The total supercomputing capacity of Param Pravega is 3.3 petaflops (1 petaflop equals a quadrillion or 1015 operations per second).
Quick Fact : The supercomputer was created by the Centre for Advanced Computing Development (C-DAC).
Appointments
GA Srinivasa Murthy, a senior scientist, has been named director of the DRDL.
GA Srinivasa Murthy, a senior scientist of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has been named head of the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad.
He joined DRDL in 1987 and has made important contributions to several missile complex projects in the areas of structural dynamics, ground resonance testing, electrical integration, and checkout.
Awards
Daryl Mitchell of New Zealand has been selected the recipient of the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for 2021.
Daryl Mitchell, a New Zealand cricketer, has been selected the recipient of the 2021 International Cricket Council (ICC) Spirit of Cricket Award.
This award is granted to him for refusing to take a single in the high-pressure 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Semi-Finals against England at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi because he thought he had “obstructed” bowler Adil Rashid’s path.
Quick Fact: After Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum, and Kane Williamson, he is the fourth New Zealand player to receive the trophy.
Sports
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award is nominated for Neeraj Chopra.
Neeraj Chopra, a gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, has been nominated for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award for the year 2022.
After a vote by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the winners will be announced in April.
Daniil Medvedev (Australian Open runner-up), Emma Raducanu (British tennis player), Pedri (Barcelona and Spain footballer), Yulimar Rojas (Venezuelan athlete), and Ariarne Titmus (Venezuelan athlete) round up the remaining five nominees (Australian swimmer).
Quick Fact: 71 sporting legends make up the Laureus World Sports Academy.
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