National Film Awards: Aattam bags best film honour, Rishab Shetty adjudged best actor

The National Film Awards for 2022 was dominated by regional movies, with Aattam (The Play) in Malayalam being adjudged the Best Feature Film. 

Rishab Shetty won the Best Actor award for his role in Kantara (Kannada), and Nithya Menen and Manasi Parekh shared the Best Actress award for Thiruchitrambalam (Tamil) and Kutch Express (Gujarati) respectively. 

Aattam was also declared the best in the editing (Mahesh Bhuvanend) category and for screenplay (Anand Ekarshi) jointly with Hindi film Gulmohar (Arpita Mukherjee and Rahul V. Chittella); Kantara also won the award for the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. 

The Best Choreography award went to Jani Master and Sathish Krishnan for their work in Thiruchitrambalam.

ISRO's SSLV successfully launches earth observation satellite into orbit

The Indian Space Research Organisation launched the EOS-08 Earth Observation Satellite on board the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D3) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. 

The SSLV-D3, in its final development flight, lifted off from the first launch pad of SDSC.

The EOS-08 satellite was injected into a 475-km circular orbit as intended. "The third developmental flight of SSLV, the SSLV-D3 with the EOS-08 satellite, has been accomplished. 

The rocket has placed the spacecraft in a very precise orbit as planned.

Kerala researchers develop breakthrough cyanide sensor to enhance the safety of water, food products

A research team at the Central University of Kerala has achieved a significant breakthrough in chemical sensing by developing a highly sensitive and selective cyanide sensor. Led by Ravi Kumar Kanaparthi of the Department of Chemistry, the team has created a material capable of detecting toxic cyanide at low concentrations, promising to enhance the safety of drinking water and food products.

Cyanide, a potent toxin, is present in various plants, fruits, and microorganisms. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has set strict guidelines for its presence in potable water, limiting cyanide concentrations to below 0.19 mg/L due to its lethal effects on humans and aquatic life. 

Cyanide exposure can occur through the consumption of certain foods like cassava (tapioca) and even common items like apple and apricot seeds, sprouting potatoes, and almonds. The risk is particularly severe in regions where cyanide-rich foods are staples.

Apathy continues

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox to be a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) for the second time in two years following its outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its spread to over a dozen countries in Africa. 

The multi-country outbreak in Europe, in 2022 led to a declaration of a PHEIC. 

WHO's announcement comes a day after the Africa CDC declared the outbreak to be a public health emergency of continental security (PHECS), also marking the first time a regional and global health emergency has been declared for a disease outbreak. 

If this is the first such declaration in Africa of a PHECS since 2017, it is also the first time that WHO has declared a PHEIC for a disease outbreak in Africa on the very first time the emergency committee met to decide on the matter. 

Modi speaks to Yunus, calls for safety of Hindus in Bangladesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of the new interim government in Bangladesh, and reiterated his call for the safety and security of "Hindus and all other minority communities" in the neighbouring country.

The two leaders spoke for the first time against the backdrop of the fast-moving developments in Bangladesh. 

A statement from the press wing of the Chief Adviser said that Mr Modi invited Professor Yunus to the third Voice of Global South Summit to be hosted virtually by India.

Unemployment rate stays flat at 6.6% in June quarter: NSSO

The unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above in urban areas was unchanged at 6.6% in the April-June quarter, as per the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) survey. 

The unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed in the labour force.