Sapere Aude || The Quizarc Newsletter. Vol 16
Sixteenth edition of Quizarc's "month in review" newsletter
Sapere Aude is a monthly newsletter from Quizarc, where we distil all the happenings of the last month into bite-sized trivia, divided into four distinct sections:
This is Business (Business, finance, and brands),
It's in the game (Sports and games),
MELA (Music, Entertainment, Literature, Arts), and
General (Politics, Space, Nature, and everything else).
This newsletter is aimed at everyone who wants to stay updated on all recent happenings and provides special insights on the news, tailored for quizzers.
Share this newsletter with your friends and family – don't keep it a secret
This is business
֎AI Updates
Anthropic
🌐 Anthropic said its latest artificial intelligence model resorted to blackmail when told it would be taken offline.
Quizarc Insight
In a safety test, the AI company asked Claude Opus 4 to act as an assistant to a fictional company, then fed it (also fictional) emails saying it would be replaced—and that the engineer behind the decision was cheating on his wife. The model “threatened to reveal the affair” if the replacement went ahead.
📅 The CEO of Anthropic called on the White House to drop its plan to limit AI regulation. Dario Amodei criticized Trump’s bill placing a 10-year moratorium on state-level regulation as “far too blunt,” instead urging a national framework requiring firms to disclose safety efforts.
Quizarc Insight
Amodei also warned that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs in five years. DeepMind’s chief Demis Hassabis echoed the call for internationally agreed safeguards.
OpenAI
🏗️ OpenAI plans to build a massive AI data center in Abu Dhabi—its first large-scale project outside the US—in partnership with UAE firm G42, aiming for 1 gigawatt computing power.
💼 OpenAI acquired Jony Ive's hardware startup io for $6.4B to develop AI-powered hardware, with the first product expected next year.
Quizarc Insight
As former chief design officer at Apple, Ive is credited with designing iconic products, including the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air.
🎖️ OpenAI landed a one-year, $200m contract with the US Department of Defense, working alongside defense tech firm Anduril.
🧸 Toymaker Mattel partnered with OpenAI to infuse AI into its toys, including helping design them.
⚖️ Tensions rose between OpenAI and Microsoft, with OpenAI allegedly considering accusing Microsoft of anticompetitive practices over the $3B acquisition of AI startup Windsurf.
🐪 UAE became the first nation to offer ChatGPT Plus free to all citizens.
Meta
💰 Mark Zuckerberg invested $14B in Scale AI and hired its founder Alexandr Wang.
Quizarc Insight
Meta also brought on Daniel Gross (Safe Superintelligence) and Nat Friedman (former GitHub CEO), acquiring a stake in their VC firm.
🦙 Meta’s Llama AI received a lukewarm reception versus OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, worrying Zuckerberg about lagging in the race for superintelligence.
🛒 Walmart launched Sparky, an AI assistant to help customers, and Wally for merchants.
🤝 IBM launched Watson AI Labs and acquired Seek AI, a startup specializing in natural language querying for enterprise data.
📰 The New York Times signed an AI licensing deal with Amazon after previously suing OpenAI in 2023 for unauthorized training usage.
🎥 Kalshi’s fully AI-generated ad (made using Google Veo 3) cost just $2,000 and aired during the NBA Finals.
Quizarc Insight
Kalshi is a financial exchange and prediction market based in New York City, founded by Tarek Mansour.
🏿AMD shares shot up after the unveiling of its latest chip, the MI400.
Quizarc Insight
The AMD MI400 is a new series of AI chips designed to compete with Nvidia's Blackwell platform, designed for rack-scale systems, like the Helios system, which can tie thousands of chips together for large-scale AI computations.
⚙️Disney and Universal sued AI image-generator Midjourney, marking the first time major Hollywood companies have taken legal action against a maker of generative AI technology.
Quizarc Insight
Midjourney, Inc. was founded by David Holz, previously a co-founder of Leap Motion.
🎬At the third annual AI Film Festival, the $15k grand prize for top AI-generated short film was awarded to existential thinker “Total Pixel Space”.
🧠 ByteDance’s Bagel AI thinks before replying.
🤝 Microsoft and Yotta partnered to strengthen India’s AI infrastructure by combining Azure’s services with Yotta’s Shakti Cloud.
🏗️ India launched its first AI-focused SEZ in Nava Raipur, with ₹1,000 Cr investment from RackBank Datacenters.
🤖Other Big Tech
Ⓜ️Meta
🕶️ Meta will launch AI-enabled Oakley sunglasses for athletes this summer, following the success of 2M+ Ray-Ban Meta sales.
🪖 Meta and Anduril are developing VR combat wearables for the US military. Anduril was founded by Palmer Luckey (ex-Oculus, acquired by Meta).
💬 Meta will introduce ads on WhatsApp and let channels collect subscriptions—breaking its original no-ads promise, which led WhatsApp founders to resign in 2018.
⚡ Meta struck a 20-year deal with Constellation Energy to revive an Illinois nuclear plant to power AI data centers. Microsoft and Google are making similar nuclear energy plays.
🔎Google
🗣️ Google Meet debuted real-time English-Spanish translation for AI subscribers.
📹 Google launched Beam, a 3D video platform from Project Starline, using AI and six cameras to simulate in-person meetings.
🧩 Google unveiled AI Matryoshka strategy, a comprehensive approach to integrating AI across its entire product ecosystem.
Quizarc Insight
This layered approach, inspired by Russian nesting dolls (Matryoshka), utilizes the Gemini 2.5 models as its foundation.
👨💻 Google released Jules, an AI coding assistant that integrates with GitHub to automate development.
📱 Telegram recorded its first annual profit: $540M in 2024, driven by crypto gains and rising paid users—even as founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France.
📱 Apple unveiled “Liquid Glass,” a glossy new iPhone design at WWDC, featuring translucent UI elements.
👁️ Reddit is considering using eye-scanning orbs to prove a user’s identity online.
Quizarc Insight
The site is exploring a partnership with World, a startup co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Reddit’s motivation partly lies in curbing artificial intelligence bots masquerading as humans on the platform.
⚖️ Reddit sued Anthropic for allegedly using the site's data to train AI models without a proper licensing agreement.
Quizarc Insight
The Reddit mascot is called Snoo, a play on "What's new?"
🛰️ Starlink received a GMPCS license to offer satellite internet across India—joining OneWeb and Jio as the third major player.
📲 Elon Musk’s X launched XChat, a secure, cross-platform messaging app with encrypted calls and disappearing messages—rivaling WhatsApp and Telegram.
🕶️ Snap Inc. will launch “Specs” smart glasses in 2026, AR-enabled and integrated with Niantic Spatial and Lens Studio.
💰 Money Matters
🪙 The US Treasury will stop issuing new pennies after 200+ years—each penny costs 3.7 cents to mint, leading to an $85M loss in 2024.
💶 Germany overtook Japan as the world’s largest creditor after 34 years, thanks to a stronger euro, trade surplus, and global investments.
📈 Shares of Hong Kong-based Regencell—despite no revenue and $10M+ in losses—soared 60,000% this year via Reddit-fueled retail investor hype, giving it a $39B valuation.
Quizarc Insight
Regencell CEO Yat-Gai Au holds an 86% stake worth $34B and the company markets herbal remedies developed by his father Sik-Kee Au.
🏦 UBS might need to raise $27B in fresh capital due to Swiss regulatory requirements.
Quizarc Insight
Chair Colm Kelleher called it “extreme” and “unfair,” especially after rescuing Credit Suisse.
📺 Adtech firm MNTN’s shares surged 65% on debut.
Quizarc Insight
Actor Ryan Reynolds is its Chief Creative Officer.
🏦 Fintech firm Chime debuted at $43/share on Nasdaq, reaching a $13.5B valuation.
Quizarc Insight
Chime generates revenue mostly through interchange fees (what merchants pay when a customer uses a credit card).
🔋 CATL (China’s EV battery giant) shares soared in Hong Kong debut. It controls nearly 40% of the global EV battery market and posted record profit growth in Q1.
📷 Insta360’s parent company Arashi Vision went public on China's STAR Market with a market cap of nearly $9.9 billion.
Quizarc Insight
With a stake of almost 26%, sole founder Liu Jingkang is now a multi-billionaire.
🪙Shares of stablecoin issuer Circle soared in its NYSE debut.
Quizarc Insight
Circle Internet Group is best known for issuing USDC Coin — the second-largest stablecoin in the world by market capitalization, behind only Tether (USDT).
💱 Ghana's Cedi is the world’s best-performing currency in 2025, buoyed by rising oil and gold exports and IMF support.
🧾 Oman will become the first Gulf nation to implement personal income tax in 2028—5% for individuals earning above 42,000 Omani rials (~₹93 lakh).
💸 Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison rose to #2 on Forbes' billionaire list with a net worth of $250.9B, thanks to soaring Oracle stock.
🏦 The US Fed lifted Wells Fargo’s asset cap, ending punishment from its 2018 fake accounts scandal.
Quizarc Insight
From 2009 to 2016, Wells Fargo employees created ~3.5 million fake or unauthorized deposit or credit card accounts for customers.
💳 India’s UPI surpassed Visa to become the world’s largest real-time payments system by volume.
Quizarc Insight
Developed by NPCI, UPI was launched in 2016.
🐶 Drools became a unicorn after Nestlé bought a minority stake—India’s 4th unicorn in 2025 after Netradyne, Porter, and JSW One Platforms.
🏨 Leela Palaces launched a ₹3,500 crore IPO, the largest ever in Indian hospitality.
Quizarc Insight
Established in 2019, Schloss Bangalore Limited is a luxury hospitality company operating under "The Leela" brand in India.
🏗️ Reliance Infrastructure cleared its standalone net debt (~₹3,300 Cr) to zero in FY25. It posted ₹4,387 Cr profit in Q4 (vs. a ₹3,298 Cr loss in Q3).
🏦 RBI cut the repo rate by 0.5% and shifted its stance from accommodative to neutral.
🛍️ Flipkart got RBI approval to operate as an NBFC—first time for an Indian e-commerce firm.
🌐 RBI gave in-principle approvals to PayPal and Worldline to operate as cross-border payment aggregators.
📡 Polycab India won a ₹6,448 Cr BharatNet project from BSNL to provide broadband to all inhabited Gram Panchayats.
📉 BSE shares fell 5% after SEBI allowed NSE to move its weekly expiry from Thursday to Tuesday.
Quizarc Insight
BSE will now shift from Tuesday to Thursday.
💊 Purdue Pharma settled for $7.4B over the OxyContin opioid crisis, which has claimed over 645,000 lives in the US since 1999.
💻 Crypto billionaire Justin Sun is taking Tron Group public via reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment.
Quizarc Insight
Justin Sun bought the "Comedian" artwork—a banana duct-taped to a wall—for $6.2M in 2024.
🥩 JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, debuted on the NYSE at a $30B valuation—beating Tyson Foods (~$20B).
📱 SmartLess podcast hosts launched SmartLess Mobile, a budget-friendly telecom brand targeting overpriced data plans.
🤝 Nikhil Kamath became the youngest Indian on TIME’s 100 Most Influential in Philanthropy.
Quizarc Insight
Mukesh & Nita Ambani and Azim Premji (India’s top philanthropist, ₹2.49L Cr donated since 2013) also featured in the list.
🔄 Mergers, Acquisitions, Breakups & Bankruptcies
⚙️ Nippon Steel finalized a $14.9B acquisition of U.S. Steel, with the US government receiving a “golden share” to oversee key decisions.
🎬 Warner Bros. Discovery is splitting into two public companies:
- Studios & Streaming (HBO, HBO Max, DC Studios) led by CEO David Zaslav
- Global Networks (CNN, TNT, Discovery) led by CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels
🏠 Home goods retailer At Home filed for bankruptcy amid tariff challenges—part of a broader industry downturn (e.g., Container Store, Bed Bath & Beyond).
📱 Builder.ai, which promised AI-based app development, filed for bankruptcy.
Quizarc Insight
The London unicorn was founded by Chief Wizard Sachin Dev Duggal.
💄E.l.f. Beauty is acquiring Hailey Bieber’s skincare brand, Rhode, for $1 billion.
Quizarc Insight
Hailey Bieber's brand is named "rhode" after her middle name, Rhode.
💋 Huda Kattan bought back 100% of Huda Beauty, regaining control 8 years after selling a minority stake at a $1.2B valuation.
🎮 Apple acquired Canadian indie game studio RAC7, creator of Sneaky Sasquatch, a hit on Apple Arcade.
🧠 Salesforce made an $8B acquisition of data management company Informatica—its biggest deal since buying Slack for $28B in 2021.
📣 Publicis Groupe bought influencer marketing platform Captiv8 for $150M, after earlier merging Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide into “Leo.”
🎳 Nazara Technologies acquired Smaaash Entertainment for ₹126 Cr.
Quizarc Insight
The gaming company was backed by Sachin Tendulkar.
🧳 MakeMyTrip bought back a major stake from China’s Trip.com Group.
Quizarc Insight
Founded by Deep Kalra in 2000, MMT just turned 25.
🌱 ITC acquired 24 Mantra Organic’s parent, Sresta Natural Bioproducts, for ₹472.5 Cr—known for traceable “farm-to-fork” food products.
🔁 Hirings and Firings
🔥 Tinder CEO Faye Iosotaluno is stepping down.
Quizarc Insight
Co-founder Jonathan Badeen originally came up with the swipe feature while wiping a mirror.
🧠 Mark Read will be stepping down as CEO of WPP, the global advertising and communications company.
Quizarc Insight
WPP's origin traces back to a British company called Wire and Plastic Products plc which later transformed into an advertising and communications group under the leadership of Martin Sorrell.
🎓 Unacademy co-founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini are stepping back.
Quizarc Insight
The company may spin off its AI app Airlearn as a new entity.
👜 Kering (owner of Gucci) appointed Luca de Meo (former Renault CEO) as its new CEO.
Quizarc Insight
Kering originated from a timber trading company called Établissements Pinault, founded in 1962 by François Pinault in Brittany, France and was under family ownership till now.
🚙 Stellantis named Antonio Filosa, former global head of Jeep, as its new CEO.
Quizarc Insight
Stellantis is the world’s fourth-largest automaker with brands including Jeep and Chrysler.
🧠 Brain-health startup Nudge (by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam) hired 8 ex-Neuralink engineers.
Quizarc Insight
Nudge uses ultrasound (not brain chips like Neuralink) to boost mood and sleep.
🏦 Ken Moelis stepped down as CEO of Moelis & Co. Co-president Navid Mahmoodzadegan will take over the $4.6B investment bank.
🇮🇳 Former G20 Sherpa and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant retired after 45 years of public service.
Quizarc Insight
He’s now a non-executive director at IndiGo.
🚗 Automobile
🪭 Chinese EV giant BYD outsold Tesla in Europe for the first time.
Quizarc Insight
BYD’s sales surged 170%, while Tesla slumped amid global anti-Tesla protests linked to Musk's politics.
👩💼 GM CEO Mary Barra topped Fortune’s 2025 list of 100 Most Powerful Women in Business, followed by Accenture’s Julie Sweet and Citigroup’s Jane Fraser.
🤖 Tesla launched its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, using self-driving Model Ys.
Quizarc Insight
Tesla relies on cameras for autonomy, unlike lidar-based systems like Waymo.
⚖️ Four former Volkswagen executives were convicted in the Dieselgate scandal.
Quizarc Insight
VW had used “defeat devices” to cheat diesel emissions tests since 2009.
🛣️ India will roll out a ₹3,000 FASTag Annual Pass from Aug 15 for private vehicles.
Quizarc Insight
The ₹3,000 FASTag Annual Pass aims to reduce toll-related disputes, and can be activated through the Rajmarg Yatra App or official NHAI/MoRTH platforms.
🚕 Indian govt. is planning a cooperative taxi service called ‘Sahkar Taxi’ to rival Ola and Uber.
✈️ Aviation
💥 A London-bound Air India flight crashed in Ahmedabad into a medical college, killing 241 people.
Quizarc Insight
🧍 A lone survivor, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, walked away with minor injuries.
💺 The “11A seat” became iconic—the same number as a crash survivor in Thailand 30 years ago.
🌩️ Panic ensued on an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar as it hit hailstorm turbulence.
🛬 A Japan Airlines flight plunged 26,000 ft due to sudden cabin pressure loss.
✈️ US lawmakers consider repealing the 1973 ban on supersonic flight over land.
Quizarc Insight
Boom Supersonic, backed by Sam Altman, claims quiet supersonic travel is viable.
🛬The US accepted a $400M Boeing 747-8 jet from Qatar, possibly a future Air Force One.
🚁 Tata Advanced Systems and Airbus will build H125 helicopters at a new plant in Kolar, Karnataka.
🤝 TCS and Virgin Atlantic extended their tech partnership for 7 more years to digitize airline operations.
🛩️ Dassault Aviation and Reliance will manufacture Falcon 2000 jets in Nagpur — first production outside France.
🛫 A blue-and-white Pan Am-branded Boeing 757 took 50 passengers on a nostalgic 12-day transatlantic luxury tour.
⚠️ A British F-35B fighter jet made an emergency landing in Kerala after a technical glitch.
Quizarc Insight
The F-35B, manufactured by Lockheed Martin is the only fifth-generation fighter jet with short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities.
🌐 United Airlines and JetBlue announced the Blue Sky partnership—allowing points sharing between MileagePlus and TrueBlue members.
🎈 The Goodyear Blimp turned 100!
Quizarc Insight
There are fewer blimp pilots in the world than astronauts.
🛩️ India launched its first two-seater electric trainer aircraft, E-Hansa, developed by CSIR-NAL.
🥉 IndiGo Airlines ranked 3rd globally in the Best Low-Cost Airlines category at the 2025 Skytrax Awards, just behind AirAsia and Scoot.
Quizarc Insight
The Skytrax Awards, often called the "Oscars of aviation", reflect votes from 22.3 million passengers.
🌟 Brand Ambassadors
🧹 Shraddha Kapoor is now the face of Eureka Forbes vacuum cleaners.
🕶️ Shahid Kapoor joins Vogue Eyewear, joining Taapsee Pannu who has been with the brand for some time.
🏏 Shubman Gill stars in Oakley’s “Artifacts from the Future” campaign.
🧼 Tamannah Bhatia’s Mysore Sandal endorsement stirred backlash in Karnataka.
👑 Sachin Tendulkar becomes Reddit’s global brand ambassador.
🥇 Neeraj Chopra is now representing Audi India.
📰 Other Business News
🏠 Airbnb to expand beyond rentals—bringing back “Experiences” and adding co-hosting features.
Quizarc Insight
Spain ordered Airbnb to remove 65,000+ illegal listings amidst housing concerns.
⚡ Duracell sued Energizer over misleading battery life claims.
Quizarc Insight
Both brands use pink bunny mascots.
🎢 Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe opened with five worlds, including Wizarding World and Nintendo Land.
🏅 Whoopi Goldberg co-founded the All Women’s Sports Network (AWSN) — first of its kind.
Quizarc Insight
She is also among the rare EGOT winners.
📱 Trump Organization launched T1 Mobile, a phone service priced at $47.45 (referencing Trump’s status as the 47th and 45th president).
💪 UFC President Dana White and Anheuser-Busch launched Phorm Energy, a zero-sugar energy drink.
Quizarc Insight
AB InBev is the world's largest brewing company. Founded in 1852 in St. Louis, it's known for iconic brands like Budweiser, Michelob, and Stella Artois.
💊 Pfizer licensed a new Chinese cancer drug for $1.25 billion.
Quizarc Insight
The treatment, made by Shenyang-based 3SBio, is being tested on several tumor types. The company’s shares leapt 52% on the deal, which it hopes will be a rival to the world’s top-selling drug Keytruda.
💉 A new HIV injection, Lenacapavir, was 96% effective in trials and got US approval.
Quizarc Insight
The current leading HIV prevention drug is a daily pill known as PrEP that’s 99% effective when taken on time every day
🧼 Actress Sydney Sweeney has partnered with men’s soap brand Dr. Squatch to sell soap containing her bathwater.
🏎️ Formula 1 and PepsiCo signed a multi-year sponsorship deal through 2030.
Quizarc Insight
The main PepsiCo brands, Doritos, Gatorade, and Sting Energy, will all have official positions in Formula 1, with Doritos serving as the Official Savoury Snack Partner, Gatorade as the Official Energy Drink, and Sting as the Official Energy Drink.
❤️ Converse launched Chuckmates, a blind dating show hosted by Amelia Dimoldenberg.
👡 Prada featured leather flat sandals similar to Kolhapuri chappals priced at approximately Rs 1.2 lakh, at their Milan runway show.
Quizarc Insight
Kolhapuri chappals received a geographical indication tag in 2019 in India.
🍫 Revant Himatsingka, popularly known online as Food Pharmer, launched a clean-label food brand called Only What’s Needed (OWN).
Quizarc Insight
He gained prominence after a viral video in 2023 that criticised the high sugar content in Bournvita, sparking regulatory actions and industry reforms.
🏆 LIC earned a Guinness World Record for selling 588,107 policies in a single day.
Quizarc Insight
LIC’s CEO and MD Siddhartha Mohanty spearheaded the idea of “Mad Million Day”.
🚆 FCB India won top PR prize at Cannes Lions for Indian Railways’ Lucky Yatra campaign.
Quizarc Insight
The "Lucky Yatra" campaign, which turned Indian Railways tickets into lottery tickets, was praised for its innovative approach to a common problem and its cultural resonance.
🥤 Reliance launched RasRik Gluco Energy, entering the hydration drink space.
🥨 SuperYou, co-founded by Ranveer Singh and Nikunj Biyani, expanded into the savory snack segment with protein-packed multigrain chips.
🍵 Sanya Malhotra co-launched matcha brand Bree with Essenzaa Nutrition.
🍯 David Beckham launched BeeUp, a honey-based fruit snack.
🧼 Urban Company partnered with Noon to offer services across UAE and Saudi.
Quizarc Insight
It’s ramping up expansion ahead of its ₹1,900 Cr IPO.
🚫 McDonald’s is shutting down CosMc’s, its outer space-themed drink concept.
Quizarc Insight
CosMc's was a beverage-centric concept, inspired by a McDonald's mascot from the late 1980s and early 1990s, designed to compete in the rapidly growing specialty drink market.
🌈 Kraft Heinz to eliminate artificial dyes from all products by 2027.
Quizarc Insight
The Jell-O, Kool-Aid, and Lunchables proprietor made the announcement about two months after the USFDA under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed a plan to phase out petroleum-based artificial colors from food and medication.
⚖️ Mondelez sued Aldi over packaging that allegedly confuses buyers with dupes.
Quizarc Insight
Aldi was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when they took over their mother's store in Essen.
🎓 MIT ranked #1 for the 14th year in QS World University Rankings.
Quizarc Insight
IIT Delhi was India's top entry at 123rd position.
🏅 Kumar Mangalam Birla received the USISPF’s Global Leadership Award at its Washington summit.
Quizarc Insight
He won the Padma Bhushan in 2023.
🕯️ Obituaries
📦 Fred Smith, the visionary founder of FedEx, passed away at 80.
Quizarc Insight
A Marine Corps vet and Yale grad, he built an overnight shipping empire from a blackjack win of $27,000 when FedEx was on the brink of collapse.
💄 Leonard Lauder, who turned his mother’s small brand into global cosmetics giant Estée Lauder, died at age 92.
Quizarc Insight
Today, Estée Lauder is the second-largest beauty company after L’Oréal.
💻 Bill Atkinson, a pioneering Apple engineer behind QuickDraw and Mac GUI elements like pull-down menus, died at 74.
Quizarc Insight
His innovations helped shape the graphical interface era of computing.
It’s in the Game
🏏 Cricket
🏆 IPL
💥 Rohit Sharma became the first Indian cricketer to hit 300 sixes in the IPL.
Quizarc Insight
The only player ahead of Rohit in the standings of the highest six hitters is Chris Gayle who has 357 maximums from 151 matches.
⚠️ During an IPL 2025 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants, Digvesh Rathi attempted a controversial "Mankad" dismissal of Jitesh Sharma.
Quizarc Insight
The dismissal is named after Vinoo Mankad, who famously ran out Australian batsman Bill Brown in this way during a Test match in 1947.
🥇 South Africa ended 27 years of hurt by beating Australia at Lord's to win the ICC World Test Championship 2025.
Quizarc Insight
Aiden Markram's majestic 136 led the way as the Proteas sealed a five-wicket victory to lift this trophy for the first time and end a drought stretching back to the 1998 Champions Trophy.
🏏 The India-England Test series has been renamed the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, replacing the historic Pataudi and de Mello Trophies.
Quizarc Insight
Following backlash, Sachin Tendulkar intervened to ensure that Pataudi’s legacy is preserved, leading to a medallion being awarded in honor of the late MAK Pataudi alongside the new trophy.
👋 Retirements
🇦🇺 Glenn Maxwell announced his retirement from One Day Internationals after the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Quizarc Insight
Maxwell scored the fastest century at a Cricket World Cup — 40 balls vs the Netherlands in 2023.
🇿🇦 Heinrich Klaasen retired from international cricket following South Africa’s exit from Champions Trophy 2025.
Quizarc Insight
In this IPL, Klaasen smashed 105* off 39 balls against KKR — joint 3rd fastest IPL century ever.
🇯🇲 Nicholas Pooran retired from international cricket at just 29.
Quizarc Insight
He is West Indies’ most capped T20I player with 106 matches, 2275 runs, SR of 136.39.
🧢 Piyush Chawla retired from all forms of cricket after a career spanning over two decades.
Quizarc Insight
Chawla is the third-highest wicket-taker in IPL history with 192 wickets in 192 matches.
🚫 Former Sri Lankan cricketer Sachithra Senanayake has been indicted for match-fixing.
Quizarc Insight
He allegedly approached national player Tharindu Ratnayake with a corrupt offer during Lanka Premier League.
🏅 MS Dhoni has been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
Quizarc Insight
He joins Hayden, Vettori, Amla, Smith, Sana Mir, and Sarah Taylor in the 2025 inductee class.
📏 MCC has outlawed the "bunny hop" boundary catch.
Quizarc Insight
New rule: Final contact with the ground before catching must be within the field of play.
⚽ Football
🏆 Portugal lifted their second UEFA Nations League title after a dramatic 2-2 draw against Spain, winning 5-3 in the penalty shootout.
Quizarc Insight
Portugal became the first nation to win the tournament twice.
⚽ Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 800th club goal in a Saudi Pro League match for Al-Nassr against Al-Fateh.
Quizarc Insight
He scored the most goals (311) for Real Madrid.
👩🦰 Arsenal stunned defending champions Barcelona 1-0 in the 2025 UEFA Women’s Champions League Final.
Quizarc Insight
Stina Blackstenius scored the winner, assisted by Beth Mead, ending Barcelona's hopes of a three-peat.
🏆 PSG defeated Inter Milan to win the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League title.
Quizarc Insight
PSG became the first French club to win the continental treble and quadruple.
🥳 Tottenham Hotspur won their first trophy in 17 years, beating Manchester United 1-0 in the Europa League final.
Quizarc Insight
Founded in 1882, Tottenham’s emblem is a cockerel on a football, with the motto Audere est Facere ("to dare is to do").
🎖️ David Beckham was knighted by King Charles III for contributions to sports and charity.
Quizarc Insight
90-year-old rugby legend Billy Boston was also knighted in the same ceremony.
👋 Kevin De Bruyne announced he will leave Manchester City after the season.
Quizarc Insight
In 422 games, he scored 108 goals and lifted 18 trophies for City.
🎾 Tennis
🇺🇸 Coco Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka to win the French Open — her second Grand Slam title.
Quizarc Insight
She is the youngest American to win Roland-Garros since Serena Williams in 2002.
🇪🇸 Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner in the 2025 French Open final.
Quizarc Insight
The match lasted 5 hours 29 minutes — the longest French Open final in Open Era.
🇺🇸 Taylor Fritz won the 2025 Stuttgart Open, defeating Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
🇮🇳 Ankita Raina won her 32nd doubles title at the Guimaraes ITF tournament in Portugal with Alice Robbe.
👑 Novak Djokovic won his 100th career singles title at the Geneva Open.
Quizarc Insight
He beat Hubert Hurkacz 5-7, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) in over 3 hours.
🏅 Serena Williams received the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports in 2025.
Quizarc Insight
She won 73 career singles titles, including 23 Grand Slams.
🎮 Video Games
📈 Nintendo's Switch 2 surpassed 3.5 million units in four days — their fastest-selling console ever.
Quizarc Insight
The original Switch was released in 2017 after the Wii U’s commercial failure.
🌱 Roblox’s gardening simulator “Grow a Garden” hit 16 million concurrent players — a new video game record.
Quizarc Insight
It surpassed Fortnite’s previous record of 14.3 million.
🎖️ Cristiano Ronaldo named Global Ambassador for the 2025 Esports World Cup.
🇸🇦 Held in Riyadh, the event includes 2,000 players from over 100 countries and 25 tournaments.
Quizarc Insight
Ronaldo is also a playable character in the fighting game Fatal Fury.
🏀 NBA
💰 New York Liberty WNBA team sold a minority stake at a $450 million valuation — a women’s sports record.
Quizarc Insight
Investors include Jack Ma and Karlie Kloss.
🏆 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named NBA Finals MVP after leading OKC Thunder to a Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Quizarc Insight
It was Oklahoma’s first title since 2008.
👕 A Michael Jordan game-worn jersey from the 1992–93 season sold for $2.6 million.
💸 Guggenheim CEO Mark Walter bought control of the LA Lakers at a $10B valuation — the biggest sports deal ever.
Quizarc Insight
The price, far higher than the prior record of about $6 billion for their historic rivals the Boston Celtics, showcases both the breakneck growth in valuations of sports teams,
🏎️ F1
🇮🇳 Kush Maini became the first Indian to win a Formula 2 race at the Monaco GP Sprint, driving for Dams Lucas Oil.
Quizarc Insight
His uncle Chetan Maini was behind India’s first electric car — Reva.
🇬🇧 Lando Norris dominated the 2025 Monaco GP for his second win of the season.
Quizarc Insight
He led McLaren to a 1-3 finish with teammate Oscar Piastri.
🇦🇺 Piastri then dominated the 2025 Spanish GP — his fifth win of the season.
🗣️ A spat broke out after Toto Wolff compared Max Verstappen’s driving to Roman cabbies.
Quizarc Insight
It followed a Verstappen–Russell collision in Spain.
🇬🇧 George Russell gave Mercedes their first win of the season at the Canadian GP after McLaren drivers collided with just four laps remaining.
♟️ Chess
🔥 Magnus Carlsen lost to D Gukesh in classical format — Gukesh's first win over the World Champion.
🏆 Carlsen later won Norway Chess 2025 — his 7th title — with a final-round draw vs Arjun Erigaisi.
🇮🇳 Vaishali Rameshbabu defeated World Champion Ju Wenjun in a thrilling tiebreak — her first win against Wenjun.
🌍 Magnus Carlsen drew a 46-day online game against “the world”, with 143,000 people voting on each move.
🏅 Aravindh Chithambaram won the 6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial Tournament in Jermuk, Armenia.
📰 Other Sports News
🏌️♂️ The US golfer Patrick Reed sank a 286-yard shot to finish the par-five fourth hole at the US Open in two strokes. It was just the fourth albatross, also known as a double eagle, in the competition’s 130-year history.
Quizarc Insight
Legend has it that the ornithological terms for doing well in golf — “birdie” for one under par, “eagle” for two — follow a 1903 event in which a golfer in Atlantic City described a particularly good stroke as “a bird of a shot,” a term that stuck; “eagles” and eventually “albatrosses” were added by analogy, being larger and more impressive birds.
⛳ JJ Spaun won the 125th US Open for his first major title.
🥇 Mahendra Gurjar set a javelin world record (F42 category) at the Para Athletics Grand Prix in Switzerland.
🤼♂️ Kabaddi star Pardeep Narwal retired at 28 after going unsold in PKL Season 12 auction.
🏁 Alex Palou became the first Spaniard to win the Indianapolis 500.
🥉 Indian women's ice hockey team won bronze at the 2025 IIHF Women’s Asia Cup.
Quizarc Insight
19 of the 20 players were from Ladakh.
📚 Faizan Zaki, a Texas 7th grader, won the 97th Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling éclaircissement.
Quizarc Insight
The event also marked the Bee’s 100th anniversary.
🏒 Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers to win their second straight Stanley Cup.
🥇 Armand Duplantis broke the world pole vault record for the 12th time — now 6.28m.
Quizarc Insight
Each record nets him $100,000 — so he is breaking it 1cm at a time per meet.
🏆 Anahat Singh, India’s top squash player, won PSA Challenger & Young Player of the Season.
Quizarc Insight
She had 9 titles and a 29-match winning streak, rising to World No. 56.
🏸 At the 2025 Indonesia Open Anders Antonsen won men’s singles and An Se-young claimed her second women's singles crown.
Quizarc Insight
France won its first Super 1000 in mixed doubles and China & Korea dominated doubles formats.
🥇 Neeraj Chopra won the Paris Diamond League with an 88.16m throw — his first DL win in 2 years.
MELA
🎶 Music Scene
🎤 Ed Sheeran released Sapphire with uncredited vocals by Arijit Singh.
Quizarc Insight
This is the third single from Sheeran's upcoming studio album, Play.
⚖️ The US Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit that alleged Ed Sheeran's hit "Thinking Out Loud" infringed on the copyright of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On”.
💼 Eminem's music publisher, Eight Mile Style, sued Meta for $109 million over copyright infringement.
Quizarc Insight
The lawsuit claims Meta used 243 of Eminem's songs via "Original Audio" and "Reels Remix".
🎵 Miley Cyrus dropped her 9th studio album Something Beautiful, co-produced with Shawn Everett.
📱 Connie Francis joined TikTok after her 1962 hit Pretty Little Baby went viral.
🏆 Raja Kumari became the first Indian-origin musician to win an AMA in "Favorite Soundtrack" for Renegade from the "Arcane: League of Legends" Season 2 soundtrack.
👐 Wu-Tang Clan kicked off their final farewell tour from Baltimore.
Quizarc Insight
Formed in the early 1990s, the Staten Island-based Wu-Tang Clan revolutionized hip-hop and revitalized East Coast rap with their gritty sound and kung fu-inspired imagery, selling over 40 million albums globally. They debuted in 1993 with "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)"—considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.
🤖 Timbaland launched Stage Zero, an AI entertainment venture debuting with virtual artist TaTa.
💿 Taylor Swift regained control of her music and bought back her first six albums.
Quizarc Insight
The masters for her first six albums were sold by record label Big Machine to music exec Scooter Braun in 2019 and which Braun sold to private equity firm Shamrock Capital for $300m.
🎤 Fifth Harmony is in talks to reunite as a quartet—without Camila Cabello—for the 10th anniversary of Work From Home.
🎸 Girish and the Chronicles (GATC) became the first Indian rock band on America's Got Talent, performing Adele's Set Fire to the Rain.
🎬 Hollywood
🎥 Lilo & Stitch became 2025's highest-grossing MPAA film with $957M+ worldwide.
Quizarc Insight
It surpassed A Minecraft Movie which made $954.9M.
🔥 Tom Cruise set a Guinness World Record for most burning parachute jumps for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
Quizarc Insight
This marks Cruise’s final portrayal of Ethan Hunt.
🧟♂️ Danny Boyle & Alex Garland teamed up for 28 Years Later.
Quizarc Insight
Cillian Murphy, who starred in the original, is also involved as an executive producer.
🎨 Wes Anderson took inspiration from Venetian palazzos for the film The Phoenician scheme co-written with Roman Coppola.
⚖️Justin Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist was dismissed by a judge.
Quizarc Insight
The judge also nixed Baldoni’s $250 million defamation suit against the New York Times over an article laying out Lively’s allegations against him.
🎸 Jeremy Allen White will play Bruce Springsteen in the new biopic "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,".
Quizarc Insight
The film chronicles the making of Springsteen's 1982 album "Nebraska".
💔 Pixar’s Elio had its lowest ever opening with $21M, facing competition from How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake.
⛵ Ryan Reynolds & Hugh Jackman bought the Australian SailGP team, now called Bonds Flying Roos.
🎞️ Bollywood
🎥The movie Homebound directed by Neeraj Ghaywan drew a standing ovation at Cannes.
Quizarc Insight
The Martin Scorsese-backed movie is a fictionalized retelling of a NY Times story by Basharat Peer, who explored the origin of a viral photograph: a young Muslim man holding his Dalit friend in his lap, after the latter collapsed from exhaustion during the 900-mile trek home amid India’s national lockdown.
🎬 Paresh Rawal is officially back on board for Hera Pheri 3, months after stepping away from the project.
Quizarc Insight
Earlier, Akshay Kumar's production company Cape of Good films had sued Paresh Rawal for allegedly sabotaging the movie.
👗 Alia Bhatt wore what was described as Gucci's first-ever saree at the Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony.
Quizarc Insight
Gucci officially referred to it as a custom "Gigi" gown.
🌴 Katrina Kaif was named the Global Tourism Ambassador for the Maldives.
Quizarc Insight
Katrina was born as Katrina Rosemary Turcotte in British Hong Kong.
💃 Sandip Brahamin accused Remo D'Souza of copying his dance moves in the song Laal Pari.
Quizarc Insight
The track is performed by Yo Yo Honey Singh & Simar Kaur.
🇵🇰 Diljit Dosanjh’s Sardaar Ji 3 faced backlash for casting Pakistani actor Hania Aamir.
🎞️ Sitaare Zameen Par, an official remake of the 2018 Spanish film Champions released in India.
Quizarc Insight
Aamir Khan announced that the movie will be released on YouTube through a pay-per-view model, eight weeks after its theatrical release and not on any OTT.
📺 Shows
👟 Adidas vs Puma feud is being adapted into a TV series chronicling the Dassler brothers’ fallout.
📺 Sesame Street to stream on Netflix after HBO exit and funding cuts.
⚡ HBO revealed the new Harry, Ron & Hermione: Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, Alastair Stout for its upcoming Harry Potter series.
👯♀️ The Better Sister, based on a 2019 novel by Alafair Burke starring Jessica Biel & Elizabeth Banks premiered at MoMA.
🦑 Squid Game Season 3—the final season—released on Netflix, created by Hwang Dong-hyuk.
🏡 Panchayat Season 4 created by Deepak Kumar Mishra and Chandan Kumar released on Prime Video, continuing life in Phulera.
📚 Books
🏆 Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq won the 2025 International Booker Prize for translated fiction.
Quizarc Insight
The anthology highlights women’s struggles in Muslim communities of South India.
🌑 Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab (of Addie LaRue fame) was released.
🏳️🌈 Sons, Daughters by Ivana Bodrožić won the EBRD Prize; it explores LGBTQ+ themes and trauma.
🏏 Shikhar Dhawan has officially announced his autobiography "The One”.
Quizarc Insight
Dhawan is also associated with Da One Group and its various ventures, including Da One Global Ventures (now Yashaa Global Capital) and Da One Home, a home textiles brand.
🎨 Art
🖼️ A painting that sold for $700 last year and was later discovered to be a JMW Turner was sold at an auction for $2.6 million.
Quizarc Insight
The Rising Squall, Hot Wells, from St Vincent’s Rock, Bristol was attributed to a lesser-known 18th-century British artist. But when it was restored following its sale in 2024, Turner’s signature was discovered. It is one of his earliest known works, painted in 1793 when he was just 17; it was mentioned in his obituaries, then lost for 150 years thanks to cataloging mistakes.
🌀 Seven unseen Picasso ceramic pieces (1947–1964) sold in Geneva for €290,000.
🛟 A new Banksy mural has appeared in Marseille, France, depicting a lighthouse with the words "I want to be what you saw in me".
Quizarc Insight
The mural plays with perspective, using the shadow of a street bollard to create the illusion of a lighthouse.
🏆 Awards
🎥"It Was Just an Accident" by Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi won Palme d'Or, top prize at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
Quizarc Insight
The film explores political repression in Iran and morality.
🐆 Alexander Payne will receive the Honorary Leopard (Pardo d'onore) award at the 78th Locarno Film Festival.
Quizarc Insight
The award recognizes his significant contributions to global cinema, particularly his subtle and emotionally resonant storytelling style in films like Sideways, The Descendants, and The Holdovers.
🐑 Indian animated film Desi Oon, directed by Suresh Eriyat, won the Jury Prize at the Annecy International Animation Festival 2025.
Quizarc Insight
Exploring the story of Indian wool, the film also won at the WAVES Awards of Excellence, and earned a place in MoMA’s archive.
🧩 Other MELA News
🎭 Tom Felton returns as Draco Malfoy on Broadway in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
🧤 Abraham Lincoln’s bloodstained gloves sold for $1.52M at auction.
Quizarc Insight
Other top-selling items included a “Wanted” poster featuring Lincoln’s killer, John Wilkes Booth, which fetched $762,500.
🎭 "Maybe Happy Ending" won the best musical, and "Purpose" won the best play at 78th Tony Awards.
Quizarc Insight
Broadway’s honors went to Sarah Snook (best leading actress in a play for The Picture of Dorian Gray), Nicole Scherzinger (best leading actress in a musical for Sunset Boulevard), Cole Escola (best leading actor in a play for Oh, Mary!), and Darren Criss (best leading actor in a musical for Maybe Happy Ending).
🚫 World's most-followed TikToker Khaby Lame departed the US after being detained by immigration officials at Las Vegas airport for allegedly overstaying his visa.
Quizarc Insight
Lame made a brief, non-speaking cameo appearance in the 2024 action comedy film Bad Boys: Ride or Die.
👑 Miss Thailand Opal Suchata Chuangsri was crowned 2025 Miss World.
Quizarc Insight
Miss Ethiopia Hasset Dereje Admassu was named the first runner-up.
📈 MrBeast has officially become the first YouTuber to reach 400 million subscribers.
Quizarc Insight
He also became the world's youngest self-made billionaire with his diverse business empire, including MrBeast Burger, Feastables, and other ventures.
📱 Zee Entertainment and Bullet are launching India's first micro-drama app, integrated within the Zee5 ecosystem.
Quizarc Insight
The app will feature short, vertical-format video stories, designed for mobile viewing and younger audiences.
🕯️ Obituaries
🍻George Wendt, six-time Emmy-nominated TV and stage actor best known for "Cheers," passed away at age 76.
Quizarc Insight
He is recognized for his portrayal of the witty bar patron on "Cheers," which he starred in for all 275 episodes from 1982 to 1993.
🎸Sly Stone, front man for influential funk band Sly and the Family Stone, passed away at age 82 .
Quizarc Insight
He was a pioneer in the development of funk music, known for hits like "Dance to the Music" and "Everyday People".
🌊 Beach Boys cofounder and singer Brian Wilson has passed away at 82.
Quizarc Insight
Wilson was the creative force behind the group in the mid-1960s—the most popular American rock group at the time. Their orchestral 1966 album “Pet Sounds” is considered by many critics to be the first-ever rock concept album.
📘 Frederick Forsyth, English novelist and journalist whose books sold more than 75 million copies worldwide, died at age 86.
Quizarc Insight
Forsyth, a former RAF pilot, journalist, and secret MI6 operative was best known for his debut novel, "The Day of the Jackal”.
🎖️ Loretta Swit, Emmy-winning actress best known for role on "M*A*S*H," died at age 87.
Quizarc Insight
She was best known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in "MAS*H".
🚗Michael Sumler, member of iconic R&B band Kool & the Gang, died in car crash at age 71.
Quizarc Insight
Kool & the Gang is an American R&B, soul, and funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964.
🎬 Actor Mukul Dev, known for his roles in films like Jai Ho and Son of Sardaar, has passed away.
Quizarc Insight
Mukul Dev made his acting debut on TV through a serial Mumkin playing the role of Vijay Pandey in 1996.
🗞️ General
🌌 Space News
🧲 The ESA's Solar Orbiter captured the first-ever images of the Sun's south pole, revealing a complex magnetic field structure.
Quizarc Insight
This was made possible by the spacecraft tilting its orbit to observe the Sun's poles, rather than just its equator.
🛰️ Honda entered the commercial space race, launching and landing its first reusable rocket.
Quizarc Insight
The 20-foot craft reached 900 feet in the air before landing precisely on its touchdown point in northern Japan.
🧪 NASA researchers have discovered a strong correlation between Earth's magnetic field intensity and atmospheric oxygen levels over the past 540 million years.
Quizarc Insight
The study suggests that changes in the magnetic field, driven by processes within Earth's core, may influence the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere.
📸 Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a joint venture between the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy perched atop a mountain in Chile released the first images taken using the largest digital camera ever to capture cosmic phenomena at an unprecedented scale.
Quizarc Insight
The 3,200-megapixel camera revealed a detailed view of 10 million galaxies and thousands of new asteroids.
🚀 China launched the Tianwen-2 mission, targeting asteroid 2016HO3 for sample collection and later exploring comet 311P.
Quizarc Insight
Led by CNSA, the mission is designed to yield scientific insights about the solar system’s origins, particularly Earth’s water sources.
🛰️ ISRO achieved a historic first by conducting its initial rocket launch test with a satellite payload from Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh.
Quizarc Insight
The test, carried out in collaboration with Thrust Tech India Limited, involved a 15 kg rocket that reached an altitude of 1.1 kilometers and successfully deployed a small satellite, which landed safely with a parachute.
👨🚀 Shubhanshu Shukla became the second Indian to travel to space, following Rakesh Sharma's historic flight in 1984.
Quizarc Insight
He is also the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station (ISS). Shukla's journey to space took place as part of the Axiom-4 mission.
🔭 Bengaluru-based start-up Digantara commissioned world's first commercial space surveillance satellite, SCOT.
Quizarc Insight
Launched aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-12 mission, SCOT signals a new era in global space situational awareness, redefining how we safeguard and manage Earth’s orbits.
🗳️ Politics
🗳️ A left-wing opposition leader won South Korea’s presidential election.
Quizarc Insight
Lee Jae-myung defeated a conservative candidate who served in the cabinet of Yoon Suk Yeol, the former president ousted from office after his botched martial law declaration in December.
🇵🇹 Luís Montenegro was reappointed as Portugal’s Prime Minister.
Quizarc Insight
Despite the surge of the far-right Chega party, Montenegro ruled out near-term constitutional reforms and emphasized priorities like economic growth, healthcare transformation, and improved public services.
🥊A nationalist boxer-turned-historian backed by US President Donald Trump narrowly won Poland’s presidential election.
Quizarc Insight
Karol Nawrocki’s victory is a blow to Poland’s centrist, pro-Brussels Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has sought to loosen abortion restrictions, pass a civil-partnership law, and reverse legislation that the European Union said politicized the judiciary — efforts the new head of state could veto or slow.
📞 Thailand’s embattled prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from duty.
Quizarc Insight
She could face dismissal pending an ethics probe over a leaked phone call she had with Cambodia’s powerful former leader.
🛡️ Donald Trump confirmed plans to build a vast missile defense system before the end of his presidency to protect the US from foreign attacks.
Quizarc Insight
The “Golden Dome” project is styled on Israel’s Iron Dome and includes satellite weapons and sensors, but would be far more extensive, in theory able to detect and stop missiles at any point from launch to impact.
🪖 The Pentagon deployed 700 Marines and an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, as tensions between the federal government and California escalated over immigration-related protests and clashes in the city.
Quizarc Insight
The deployments came the same day California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) filed a lawsuit over President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the first batch of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles over the weekend.
🎯 Colombian opposition presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay was in serious condition after an assassination attempt in Bogotá.
Quizarc Insight
Uribe's grandfather was former President Julio César Turbay Ayala, a liberal politician who served from 1978 to 1982. His mother was journalist Diana Turbay, who was kidnapped by a group linked to Pablo Escobar and killed in a 1991 rescue attempt.
✈️India carried out Operation Sindhu to evacuate its nationals from Iran amid the growing threat of conflict with Israel.
Quizarc Insight
The first phase saw 110 Indian students successfully moved from northern Iran to Yerevan, Armenia, and subsequently flown to New Delhi.
🌍 The 50th G7 summit was held in the city of Fasano in Apulia, Italy.
Quizarc Insight
Originating in 1975, the informal bloc provided a venue for major non-Communist nations to coordinate economic strategy.
🌿 Nature
🐙 A new species of dumbo octopus, nicknamed the "flapjack" octopus, has been discovered off the Australian coast at a depth of over 3,425 feet.
Quizarc Insight
This unique octopus can flatten itself along the seafloor or stretch vertically like an umbrella.
🦑 A National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet expedition captured the first-ever footage of a live Gonatus antarcticus squid in the Southern Ocean.
Quizarc Insight
This elusive deep-sea squid, known to inhabit the frigid waters around Antarctica, had never been seen alive in its natural habitat before in Southern Ocean.
🌋 Mount Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, erupted in Italy’s Sicily, sending a plume of ash and smoke into the sky.
Quizarc Insight
Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted in Indonesia, unleashing a 11-kilometer)hot ash column over the tourist island of Flores.
🌀 Hurricane Erick made landfall in Oaxaca as a Category 3 storm.
🚂 The Uttar Pradesh government, in collaboration with Indian Railways, has launched India's first Vistadome Jungle Safari Train.
Quizarc Insight
This unique train service connects Dudhwa Tiger Reserve and Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary.
🐅 Government of Telangana notified the Kawal-Tadoba tiger corridor as the Kumram Bheem Conservation Reserve.
Quizarc Insight
Spanning nearly 1,493 sq. km, this newly declared reserve aims to enhance tiger conservation efforts by protecting the vital corridor connecting Kawal Tiger Reserve in Telangana and Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra.
📸 Former Indian cricket team captain Anil Kumble has been appointed ambassador of the Karnataka Forest Department and for wildlife conservation.
Quizarc Insight
Anil Kumble is an accomplished wildlife photographer.
🕊️ Khichan in Phalodi and Menar in Udaipur were added to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance, taking India’stotal tally to 91 Ramsar Sites.
Quizarc Insight
Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance, designated under the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for wetland conservation and sustainable use.
🦩 Tamil Nadu government declared Dhanushkodi as a Greater Flamingo Sanctuary to protect migratory birds, particularly Greater and Lesser Flamingos, along the Central Asian Flyway.
Quizarc Insight
Covering 524.7 hectares, the sanctuary includes mangroves, mudflats, and marshes, forming a rich ecosystem within the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve.
🏛️ State News
📚Mizoram has officially been declared India's first “fully literate state” under the Centre's ULLAS programme.
Quizarc Insight
Goa was also declared fully literate with a literacy rate of 99.72% under the same programme.
📱 Bihar became the first Indian state to implement mobile-based e-voting.
Quizarc Insight
Developed by C-DAC and the Bihar State Election Commission, the Android-based system aims to boost inclusive voting by enabling migrant workers, senior citizens, pregnant women, and Divyang voters to vote remotely.
🚄 Narendra Modi inaugurated ₹18,600 crore worth of development projects in Odisha, flagged off new rail and bus services, and launched the Odisha Vision Document, aiming for a $1.5 trillion economy by 2047.
Quizarc Insight
Emphasizing cultural revival, women empowerment, and infrastructure growth, the PM also rolled out the Baraputra Aitihya Gram Yojana and felicitated Lakhpati Didis under the SHG initiative.
☁️ The Delhi Government is set to begin cloud-seeding trials by late June 2025 to potentially combat pollution and water scarcity.
Quizarc Insight
The ₹3.21 crore pilot project, involving five aerial trials with seeding agents like silver iodide and salts, is being conducted with support from IIT Kanpur, IMD, and multiple national agencies.
🏅 Awards
🌍 Sadhguru, the founder of the Isha Foundation, has been awarded the "Global Indian of the Year" award by the Canada India Foundation (CIF).
Quizarc Insight
He has spearheaded the Save Soil movement to address the critical issue of soil degradation and promote healthy soil worldwide.
🇨🇾 Narendra Modi was conferred with the Grand Cross of the Order of MakariosIII, Cyprus’ highest civilian honour, by President Nikos Christodoulides.
Quizarc Insight
The award is named after Archbishop Makarios III, the first President of Cyprus.
📰The Padma Bhushan was awarded to Shri Ram Bahadur Rai, veteran journalist, cultural thinker, and President of IGNCA Trust.
Quizarc Insight
Acknowledging his over 40 years of service in journalism and his active participation in the JP Movement, the event celebrated his impact on Indian media, democracy, and intellectual thought.
🌐 Other News
🎓The US Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard University’s SEVP certification, barring it from admitting international students for Fall 2025.
Quizarc Insight
This decision, linked to campus protests and non-compliance with federal demands, has created visa uncertainty for over 7,000 international students, including nearly 800 Indians.
🧤The world’s oldest human fingerprint was discovered in a cave in Spain.
Quizarc Insight
The print was found on a granite stone that has a coincidental resemblance to a human face; an ancient human at some point made a red mark in ochre on it, apparently to indicate its nose.
🕵️♀️The UK government has appointed Blaise Metreweli as the first female chief of MI6.
Quizarc Insight
MI6 will be led by a woman for the first time since the British intelligence agency was founded in 1909.
🏛️ Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a nearly 3,000-year-old Mayan city called Los Abuelos in northern Guatemala, featuring pyramids, monuments, and a unique canal system.
Quizarc Insight
Los Abuelos means "The Grandparents" and gets its name from two human-like rock sculptures at the site.
🏗️ETH Zurich has unveiled Tor Alva—a 3D-printed concrete tower in Mulegns, a village with only 11 residents.
Quizarc Insight
Designed by architect Michael Hansmeyer and ETH Prof. Benjamin Dillenburger, the tower features 32 concrete columns branching into a futuristic dome.
🧬 In a world first, England’s National Health Service has approved a new treatment for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
Quizarc Insight
Aptly named “Trojan horse” therapy, the cutting-edge medicine sneakily delivers toxic drugs inside cancerous cells to kill them.
🎥 YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra was reportedly honey-trapped by a Pakistani operative, Danish.
Quizarc Insight
It has brought back memories of past cases – R&AW officer KV Unnikrishnan was honey-trapped by the CIA, and diplomat Madhuri Gupta was hoodwinked by ISI.
📜An artificial intelligence-powered reanalysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls suggested they were up to a century older than previously thought.
Quizarc Insight
The scrolls, found after World War II, include the oldest known copies of Old Testament books and other ancient Jewish texts, perhaps hidden around 70 AD to shield them from Roman destruction.
🚄 Narendra Modi inaugurated Indian Railways’ first 9000 HP electric locomotive in Dahod, Gujarat.
Quizarc Insight
Developed under the “Make in India” initiative in collaboration with Siemens India, it is the most powerful single-unit electric engine ever developed for Indian Railways.
🚉 Mizoram’s capital Aizawl was officially connected to the national railway network through the Bairabi–Sairang New Line.
Quizarc Insight
It connects Aizawl to India's rail network via Silchar.
🌉Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chenab rail bridge, the world’s highest railway arch bridge, in Jammu and Kashmir.
Quizarc Insight
This marks the completion of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), a 42-year-old project aimed at integrating the Kashmir Valley with the national railway network.
🗣️ Amit Shah inaugurated the Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag (BBA) to integrate Indian languages into administrative and governance processes.
Quizarc Insight
Backed by ₹56 crore in funding and supported by C-DAC, this platform will ensure real-time translation and allow communication in mother tongues, especially with Region C States.
💰 The Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) in Karnataka are set to reopen after 80 years, with an expected annual yield of 750 kilograms of gold.
Quizarc Insight
The mines, once a major source of gold for India, had become economically unsustainable by the late 1990s and were shut down on February 28, 2001.
👩✈️ Lieutenant Commander Yashasvi Solankee became the first woman ADC (Aide-deCamp) to the President of India.
Quizarc Insight
The phrase Aide-de-Camp originated in the 1600s as a personal assistant to a general officer in the French army.
👩✈️ Squadron Leader Manisha Padhi became the first female Aide-De-Camp (ADC) in Indian history to be appointed to a Governor.
Quizarc Insight
She was appointed as the ADC to Governor of Mizoram.
📊After a 16-year gap since the last official population count, the Government of India has announced the Population Census 2027, to be conducted in two phases along with caste enumeration.
🧪India has marked a milestone in cancer research by developing a one-step synthesis method for PEGylated nano-cups, offering a non-toxic, efficient alternative for photothermal therapy (PTT).
Quizarc Insight
Spearheaded by INST Mohali with contributions from IIT Bombay and ACTREC, this breakthrough utilizes ZIF-8 MOF and ascorbic acid to create semi-shells that can precisely target and destroy cancerous tumors, especially in advanced breast cancer.
🏔️Kami Rita Sherpa, a Nepali mountaineer, has summited Mount Everest for the 31st time, setting a new world record.
Quizarc Insight
The 55-year-old Sherpa guided a 22-member Indian Army team via the southeast ridge.
🏔️ Vishwanath Karthikey Padakanti, a 16-year-old boy from Hyderabad, became the youngest Indian and the second youngest person in the world to finish the 7 Summits challenge.
⚖️ India’s position in the Global Gender Gap Report 2025 has worsened, falling to 131st out of 148 countries, with a gender parity score of 64.1%.
Quizarc Insight
While there were marginal improvements in economic participation and education, the decline in female political representation significantly impacted the score.
📍The DHRUVA policy, launched by India’s Department of Posts, introduced a nationwide, geo-coded digital address system designed to modernize how address data is used, stored, and shared.
Quizarc Insight
It leverages the Address-as-a-Service (AaaS) model to benefit sectors ranging from governance to logistics.
⛵ The Tri-Services All-Women Sailing Expedition Team completed a historic 1,800-nautical-mile international voyage to Seychelles, marking the first of its kind by the Indian Armed Forces.
Quizarc Insight
The mission was conducted aboard the Indian Armed Services Vessel (IASV) "Triveni".
⚓ INS Arnala, the first of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) series, was commissioned by the Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam in a ceremony led by CDS General Anil Chauhan.
Quizarc Insight
Built by GRSE in partnership with L&T Shipbuilders, the vessel showcases 80% indigenous content.
🍛Lucknow was nominated as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, aiming to join Hyderabad in representing India on the global culinary map.
Quizarc Insight
The nomination recognizes Lucknow's rich Awadhi culinary heritage and its diverse food scene.
👨🍳 Chef Vijay Kumar won the James Beard Award for Indian cuisine in New York.
Quizarc Insight
The awards are often considered the "Oscars of the food world".
🕯️ Obituaries
🌌 Jayant Narlikar, an Indian astrophysicist who famously challenged the Big Bang Theory of how the universe began passed away at 86.
Quizarc Insight
Working alongside British physicist Sir Fred Hoyle in the 1960s, proposed that the universe had always existed, and was forever expanding into infinity. He also co-developed the Hoyle-Narlikar theory of gravity as an alternative to Einstein's general relativity.
💊 Étienne-Émile Baulieu, a French biochemist and pioneer of the abortion pill RU-486 (mifepristone), passed away at 98.
Quizarc Insight
Known for his work on steroid hormones like DHEA and progesterone, Baulieu also championed reproductive rights and later focused on aging research.
🛬Vijay Rupani, former Chief Minister of Gujarat passed away in the Air India 171 crash.
Quizarc Insight
He served as the chief minister of Gujarat from 2016 to 2021 for two consecutive terms.
🌱 Maruti Chitampalli, the 93-year-old Padma Shri awardee and legendary environmentalist, passed away in Solapur.
Quizarc Insight
Fondly called ‘Aranya Rishi’, he spent 36 years in the Forest Department, travelling over 5 lakh kilometers to document wildlife, engage with tribal communities, and author ecological works like ‘Pakshikosha’, ‘Pashukosha’, and ‘Matsyakosha’.
🤿Deep dive Section
In this section, we share an interesting article which will provide you with in-depth knowledge about a particular topic.
For this week, know about all the teams including RCB that ended their title droughts in 2025.
Ad in focus
᯽Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton yacht formation turned the Mediterranean into a floating logo.
The Mediterranean becomes a canvas – as AI conjured a flotilla in the shape of the iconic LV logo.
Brand in focus
🍗KFC
In response to social media complaints, KFC UK launched the Finger Lickin’ Fork—a silver, hand-shaped utensil designed to help fans eat mess-free, while still keeping the brand’s cheeky spirit alive.
Crafted by jeweler Sam Ozanne and gifted to super-fans, it’s a premium collectible.
KFC Canada recently launched a creative campaign called "KFChicanes" that cleverly uses their iconic bucket design to evoke the look of Formula 1 track chicanes.
Pop Culture Recommendation
🔟Maradona: Blessed Dream
This biographical drama miniseries about Diego Maradona explores his life from his childhood in the slums to becoming a global soccer icon, and his struggles with addiction and other personal issues.
After weeks of hearings and testimony from over 40 witnesses, an Argentine court nullified the trial of Maradona's medical team as the judge of the case was found to be involved in this documentary miniseries.
And that’s a wrap for this edition of Quizarc’s Sapere Aude newsletter.
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