Winners of 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards announced

The winners of the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced at an event held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, USA. The award honours the year’s biggest achievements in TV and film

The list of winners of the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards:

• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries – Sam Rockwell (Fosse/Verdon)
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries – Michelle Williams (Fosse/Verdon)
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series – Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones)
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series – Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show)
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series – Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel)
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series – Phoebe Waller-Bridg (Fleabag)
• Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series – The Crown
• Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series – Game of Thrones
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role – Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) 
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role – Renee Zellweger (Judy)
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role – Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role – Laura Dern (Marriage Story)
• Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture – Parasite
• Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture – Avengers: Endgame

Arjun Munda elected as new president of Archery Association of India

Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda has become the new President of the suspended Archery Association of India (AAI) after the elections held as per the Delhi High Court order. He was elected to the position during elections conducted on January 18, 2020.

The much-delayed elections were conducted smoothly, as it was conducted in the presence of three observers, one each from World Archery, Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association. Arjun Munda won a clear majority over his rival BVP Rao with 34-18 votes. He will now serve a full term of four years.

A three-time Jharkhand Chief Minister, the 51-year-old Munda is a hugely popular tribal leader who also runs an archery academy which was instrumental in the rise of former world number one Deepika Kumari. Maharashtra’s Pramod Chandurkar has won the election for the post of Secretary.

Government appoints Nripendra Misra as the chairman of NMML

Nripendra Misra, former principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been appointed the chairman of the Executive Council of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, the highest decision making body of the institution.

The eight-member council has also been reconstituted, with Prasar Bharati Chairman, A Surya Prakash as the new the vice chairman, replacing MJ Akbar, former minister and BJP member who resigned from the cabinet.

Indian Council for Cultural Relations Chairman Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, academic Kapil Kapoor who is also chairperson of Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) and Rajya Sabha member and writer Swapan Dasgupta are among the other members of the EC.

K-4 Ballistic Missile successfully test-fired from Andhra Pradesh

The nuclear-capable K-4 ballistic missile has been successfully test-fired by India at Vizag coast in Andhra Pradesh. The nuclear-capable missile having the range of 3,500-kilometre was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

With this test, India has moved one more step towards the induction of this ballistic missile on the INS Arihant class of nuclear submarines. The three-metre-tall missile carries a nuclear warhead of over one tonne with a circular error probability far lower than that of Chinese ballistic missiles. Only the US, Russia and China have submarine-launched ballistic missiles of 3,500-kilometre range.

Vinesh Phogat wins gold medal at the Rome Ranking Series event

A dominant Vinesh Phogat overpowered Ecudor’s Luisa Elizabeth Valverde by 4-0 to win her first gold medal of the 2020 season at the Rome Ranking Series event held in Rome. Anshu Malik settled for a silver in 57 kg competition. Vinesh will now fight for her first gold of the season with Ecuador’s Luisa Elizabeth Valverde Melemdres.

Indonesia Masters title 2020 won by Ratchanok Intanon

Thailand’s Badminton player Ratchanok Intanon won the Indonesia Masters title 2020 in Women’s Singles category on 19 January. It was her first badminton title of the year 2020. She defeated former world number one Carolina Marin. She secured 2-1 to claim the title. She was awarded $30,000 and the trophy.

Intanon defeated Marin 21-19, 11-21, 21-18 in one hour and twenty minutes long match. The clash went into three-games and both the shuttlers tried their 100 per cent to turn things in their favour. Despite losing the first game, the Spanish shuttler made a comeback in the second game and claimed the game by 21-11. Intanon won the match by claiming the third game by 21-18.

50th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum begins in Davos

The 50th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum begins in Davos, Switzerland. This year the theme is “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World”. US President Donald Trump, Britain’s Prince Charles, German Chancellor Angela Merkel would be among the world leaders attending the annual meeting.

The welcome message was followed by the annual crystal awards and this year’s recipients included celebrity film star Deepika Padukone. The awards is given to cultural leaders, who are improving the state of the world through their contributions to inclusive and sustainable change. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead the Indian delegation to the WEF.

This year’s programme focuses on achieving maximum impact on the Forum’s platform for public-private cooperation across six core areas of activity: ecology, economy, society, industry, technology, and geopolitics. Among the initiatives to be launched at the annual meeting is one that aims to plant one trillion trees over the next decade and to equip one billion people with the necessary skills in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The Integrated Check-Post inaugurated at India-Nepal border

The Integrated Check-Post (ICP) in Biratnagar has been inaugurated at India-Nepal border. The inauguration was done by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli.

ICP Biratnagar, designed to handle around 500 trucks per day has been built on 260 acres of land at a cost of around 140 crore rupees. It has the facilities for immigration clearance of foreign passengers, export and import cargo handling.

ICP Biratnagar is equipped with modern warehousing facilities like refrigerated cargo, electronic weighing bridges, 100% power backup, fire safety, dedicated communication network and 24×7 monitoring through CCTV and public announcement systems.