19 May 2015 Current Affairs
‘Biryani’, ‘Selfie’ Enter French Dictionary For First Time
The words ‘biryani’ and ‘selfie’ have been included in the latest edition of one of the most famous French dictionaries, Le Petit Larousse, for the first time. The authors of the dictionary define ‘selfie’ as “a photographic self portrait, generally taken with a smartphone and destined to be published on social media.
Harvard University Names Two Indians For Prestigious Radcliffe Fellowship
Two Indians from Indian Institute of Science, and University of Delhi have been named for Harvard University’s prestigious Radcliffe fellowship. Shivani Agarwal from Indian Institute of Science and Maharaja Pandit from University of Delhi are among 50 scholars, scientists, and artists who will begin their one-year fellowships along with 48 at the Radcliffe Institute in September 2015. Radcliffe Fellowship by Harvard University is considered as one of the most prestigious honors for faculty. It is instituted by Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.
Six Indian-Americans Received 2015 Ellis Island Medals of Honor
Six Indian-Americans and a British-Indian were among nearly 100 individuals who were presented prestigious 2015 Ellis Island Medals of Honor in the US for their contributions to America. Indian-American winners include Meera Gandhi, founder of The Giving Back Foundation, Rajdeep K Dhami, Chad P Gehani, Rahul M Jindal, S Mona Sinha, chairperson of the Asian Women’s Leadership University (AWLU) Project, and K V Kumar. Baroness Sandip Verma, member of the House of Lords, and a former junior minister at the Department of Energy and Climate Change in the UK, also received the award presented recently in New York.
Joe Root and Charlotte Edwards Named England Cricketers of the Year
Joe Root and Charlotte Edwards have been named England men’s and women’s cricketers of the year for 2014-15. Root who was recently appointed vice-captain of England’s Test team was named as the cricketer of the year for scoring 1135 test runs at an average of 95 including four scores of 149 and above. His top test score of the season was of 200 not out against Sri Lanka at Lord’s. He also made three one-day international centuries. Charlotte Edwards, the women’s captain won the award for consecutive second year. She was chosen for averaging above 75 in ODIs and nearly 60 in Twenty20 internationals in the season.