Topic: Events

G20 Summit highlights: leaders unite for a better world

The G20 summit achieved consensus among world leaders on various issues. Here are the key moments from the summit.

Welcomes Africa on board!

The 55-member African Union (AU) was formally made permanent member of the G20, on par with the European Union, in order to make the grouping more representative. Until now only South Africa was a member of the G20.

On Ukraine War

G20 nations agreed that states cannot grab territory by force and highlighted the suffering of the people of Ukraine. The declaration was seen as an apparent softening from the position that the G20 took last year when it condemned Russia for the war and demanded that it withdraw from Ukraine.

Economic Transport Corridor: India to Middle East

Leaders of the United States, India and Saudi Arabia among others announced plans to set up an economic corridor between the Middle East and South Asia and eventually to Europe. The project involves laying down railway lines in the Middle East and then connecting them to India by port.

Global Biofuel Alliance

Brazil, India, and the United States, as leading biofuel producers and consumers, will work together during the next few months towards the development of a Global Biofuels Alliance along with other interested countries.

Progress on Climate Change

The G20 leaders agreed to pursue tripling renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 and accepted the need to phase-down unabated coal power, but stopped short of setting major climate goals.

India makes a big impact

India’s hosting the G20 Summit showcased the country as an influential diplomatic and economic power, and drive investment and trade flows into the world’s most populous country.

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> The biggest achievement for India in the G20 Summit was that the New Delhi Leaders’ Summit Declaration was adopted with a “100 per cent consensus on all developmental and geo-political issues ” on the opening day.

> The Preamble of the 38-paragraph Delhi Declaration starts with the lines: We are One Earth, One Family, and we share One Future.

PM Modi gives unique lotus-shaped gifts to G20 delegates

All state heads and foreign dignitaries at the G-20 summit in New Delhi received this unique memento from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

> It is a hand-made artefact of brass in the shape of a lotus, named ‘Kamalam’.

> The artefact is five inches tall with 16 petals— eight big and eight small.

> The memento has been crafted by Manmohan Saini, a metal craftsman and a national award winner from Mahoba in Bundelkhand, UP.

> It took him 3 months to craft 50 such brass lotuses.

“Once it is opened the artefact resembles a lotus in full bloom, and when it is closed all the petals are closed inside and a lotus bud is visible,” said Saini.

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Uttar Pradesh is the largest brass and copper making region in the world with thousands of establishments spread all over for articles made out of one or more pieces of metal.

Mahoba is known nationwide for its exquisite gaura stone craft. Gaura stone craft is made of radiant white-colored stone that is predominantly found in this region.

World’s tallest Nataraj all set to welcome G20 delegates

To greet the G20 leaders a magnificent 27-foot Nataraja, the tallest statue of Lord Shiva’s dancing form in the world has been installed in the front of the Bharat Mandapan in New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan.

Made of Ashtadhatu, the 18-ton-weight statue is an important symbol of cosmic energy, creativity and power.

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The G20 statue was transported over two days via a specially created green corridor of some 2,500km from Tamil Nadu to Delhi.

The statue has been sculpted by renowned sculptor Radhakrishnan Sthapaty of Swami Malai in Tamil Nadu and his team in a record 7 months.

34 generations of Radhakrishnan have been making idols since the Chola Empire period.

Situated on the banks of the river Kaveri, the small town of Swami Malai is famed for its bronze icons which sthapathys (sculptors) have been carving using the traditional lost-wax technique since the time of the Chola empire.

Swami Malai bronze icons now have the coveted GI tag too.

Diljit Dosanjh becomes first Punjabi artiste to perform at Coachella

In 2023, Diljit Dosanjh became the first Punjabi artiste to perform at Coachella, alongside headliners Blackpink, Bjork and Ali Sethi. He got the crowd on their feet as he performed to his hits Clash and Lemonade among others.

In one of the videos gone viral, the singer says, “It is really hot in Coachella. Is it the heat or it’s because of the Punjabis here?”, inviting a thunderous applause from the audience. He added his patent, “Punjabi aa gaye Coachella oye!”

Fans were also in awe of his humbleness when he spoke to the security present at the venue and apologised on behalf of his fans, who were elated with his music. He said to the security present there, “Security paaji sorry. They are very excited basically, they are good people. First time Dosanjhwala on stage at Coachella that’s why they are excited. So please, I am sorry on behalf of them. Thank you”.

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Coachella is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert.

Rinku Singh hits 5 sixes in an over to create history

KKR’s Rinku Singh shot to instant stardom as he smashed 5 sixes in the final over to successfully chase down 29 runs against Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Former and current Indian cricketers took to social media to praise his performance, with India captain Rohit Sharma calling it an “unbelievable innings”.

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The little-known batter from the north Indian city of Aligarh was born into a low-income family and grew up helping his father transport gas cylinders on a motorbike.

He was picked up by film star Shah Rukh Khan’s KKR in a player draft for INR 800,000 in 2018 and has been earning a steady income which he says has helped uplift his family.

New emoji released to commemorate coronation

It is the world of tech-savvy gen Zs and the British royalty is not far behind. Buckingham Palace has revealed an official emoji to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III. The colourful cartoon motif depicts the 17th-century gold jewelled St Edward’s crown with purple velvet cap.

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  • St Edward’s Crown is the crown used at the moment of coronation.
  • It was made for Charles II in 1661, as a replacement for the medieval crown which had been melted down in 1649.
  •  The original was thought to date back to the eleventh-century royal saint, Edward the Confessor – the last Anglo-Saxon king of England.
  • The crown was commissioned from the Royal Goldsmith, Robert Vyner, in 1661.
  • Although it is not an exact replica of the medieval design, it follows the original in having four crosses-pattée and four fleurs-de-lis, and two arches.
  • It is made up of a solid gold frame set with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, topazes and tourmalines. The crown has a velvet cap with an ermine band.

MLB rolls out a number of changes for baseball

One of the changes as mandated by Major League Baseball (MLB) is a bigger base. The traditional base is a square with 15-inch sides, and the new base is now 18 inches along the side, which not only means more base to grab but also means that the distance between the bases is slightly less. The intention of league officials is to reduce injuries and increase stolen bases, an element of the game that has been decimated in the era of analytics.

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MLB is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada comprises 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada.