Sapere Aude || The Quizarc Newsletter. Vol 13

Thirteenth edition of Quizarc's "week in review" newsletter

Sapere Aude is a weekly newsletter from Quizarc, where we distil all the happenings of the last week 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

A new artificial intelligence agent developed by Chinese researchers, Manus AI claims to be the world’s first fully autonomous AI agent, meaning it can carry out complex tasks without oversight.

Quizarc Insight

It is developed by a subsidiary of the China-based startup Butterfly Effect.

🔎Google has introduced Gemma 3, the latest addition to its family of lightweight open AI models, designed to run efficiently on devices such as smartphones, laptops, and other computing platforms.

Elon Musk's xAI has acquired Hotshot, a San Francisco-based startup specializing in AI-powered video generation tools.

Quizarc Insight

Aakash Sastry is the CEO and co-founder of Hotshot.

SoftBank buys chipmaker Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion.

Quizarc Insight

It follows a series of multi-billion-dollar investments announced in recent months, including OpenAI, the Stargate project to build AI data center infrastructure in the U.S. and Cristal, a joint venture with OpenAI to develop AI services in Japan.

🍗Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, is partnering with Nvidia to roll out AI-powered order-taking and restaurant performance assessments.

💡AI Kosha platform was launched by MeitY under the IndiaAI Mission with 316 datasets to support AI development, including language translation tools.

⚛Ipsos has launched Creative|Spark AI in India, an advanced ad evaluation tool that predicts human reactions to video ads on various platforms.

💻UIDAI has partnered with Sarvam AI, a Bengaluru based Generative AI company, to enhance Aadhaar services.

Tata Communications launched Vayu, an AI-powered cloud solution offering cost-effective, flexible, and intelligent enterprise cloud services.

Quizarc Insight

Vayu integrates IaaS, PaaS, AI capabilities, security, cloud connectivity, and professional services.

⚡Tata Electronics, in a joint venture with Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), is building India's first AI-enabled semiconductor fabrication facility in Dholera, Gujarat

🤖Other Big Tech

Changes at Intel

Lip-Bu Tan has been confirmed as Intel’s fourth CEO in seven years. He previously headed a chip-design software business and is a former Intel board member.

Meanwhile, Broadcom is looking to buy Intel’s chip-design and marketing arm, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is eyeing its manufacturing plants.

Quizarc Insight

Intel was once the world’s biggest chipmaker, but has lost ground to Nvidia and Samsung in design and TSMC in manufacturing — last year, it reported a $16.6 billion loss — and has missed out on the artificial intelligence boom.

According to a whistleblower complaint, Meta developed a content censorship tool and offered data access to China in an effort to enter its market.

Quizarc Insight

Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former global policy director at Meta who worked on China policy, said the company created a China-specific censorship system in 2015 and provided internal documents to support her claims.

X experienced a global outage, with thousands of users reporting issues accessing the platform, and Musk later claimed it was a result of a "massive cyberattack".

Quizarc Insight

I️n India, X filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging India's use of Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and the Sahyog Portal for content takedowns, arguing it bypasses statutory safeguards under Section 69A. X claims the government’s actions lack transparency and infringe on free speech rights.

📻Amazon Echo will send all voice recordings to the cloud starting on March 28, as the company decided to “no longer support” a privacy feature of the smart speakers and displays.

📡Alphabet is spinning off Taara, its Starlink competitor that uses light beams to provide internet and phone services, into its own company.

Quizarc Insight

It’s currently operational in 12 countries and has supplied services to events including Coachella.

💼Indian Business stories

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, sold his stake in Magma General Insurance to Patanjali Ayurved and DS Group for ₹4,500 crore, giving them a 98% stake.

Quizarc Insight

The company offers over 70 insurance products, with a gross written premium (GWP) of ₹3,295 crore in 2024, projected to rise to ₹3,650-3,700 crore in 2025.

Valueattics Reinsurance Becomes India’s First Private Reinsurer.

Quizarc Insight

Backed by Prem Watsa's Fairfax Financial Holdings and Kamesh Goyal's Oben Ventures LLP, it has broken GIC Re's monopoly that has existed since 1972.

RBI won Digital Transformation Award 2025 by Central Banking, London, for its Pravaah and Sarthi Initiatives.

Quizarc Insight

The RBI was established on April 1, 1935, based on the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission, and its functioning is governed by the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

🛰️SpaceX's Starlink is poised to launch satellite-based broadband services in India, partnering with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.

Indian tax authorities have demanded Samsung and its executives to pay $601 million in back taxes and penalties for misclassifying telecom equipment imports.

Quizarc Insight

Samsung co-CEO Han Jong-Hee, credited with helping to boost Samsung's television business, died of heart attack at 63.

India to end 6% levy on foreign digital ads from April 1.

Quizarc Insight

This was colloquially known as Google tax.

HIL Limited, known for its building materials, has transitioned to the new name BirlaNu Limited.

Quizarc Insight

The Aditya Birla Group, was founded in 1857 by Seth Shiv Narayan Birla who started cotton trading operations in Pilani, Rajasthan.

🦈Srikanth Bolla, a visually impaired entrepreneur and founder of Bollant Industries, joined Shark Tank India season 4 as a guest "shark" alongside Jeet Adani, Director of Airports under the Adani Group, for a special episode focused on differently-abled entrepreneurs.

📊From the Stock Markets

Ticket reseller StubHub files for initial public offering.

Quizarc Insight

Jeff Fluhr, who cofounded the company with Eric Baker and served as its CEO until 2007, was not mentioned in the filing.

Klarna, the buy now, pay later giant filed paperwork to go public on the New York Stock Exchange in what will be one of the most anticipated IPOs of the year.

Quizarc Insight

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has been radically candid about his belief that AI will replace the entire human workforce. Also, DoorDash is partnering with Klarna to offer users interest-free payment plans for their food orders.

💰IndusInd Bank's shares crashed over 27% after it disclosed discrepancies in its forex derivatives portfolio, with analysts raising questions on the bank's internal controls.

📲AppLovin shares plunged after short seller Muddy Waters alleged the adtech company engaged in “scammy" practices.

🤝Mergers and Acquisitions

🔑Rocket Companies is buying real estate listing platform Redfin in an all-stock deal valued at $1.75 billion.

❤️Celsius Holdings has acquired the women's health and wellness beverage brand Alani Nutrition in a $1.8 billion deal.

😋Temasek acquired 10% stake in Haldiram’s for $1 billion.

Quizarc Insight

Temasek Holdings Limited is a Singaporean state-owned multinational investment firm with a net portfolio of $288 billion.

Google parent Alphabet acquires cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion.

Quizarc Insight

The acquisition is Alphabet’s biggest yet, after a $23 billion takeover attempt stalled last year.

🚗 Uber is in early talks to acquire BluSmart, the Gurugram-based electric cab service.

Quizarc Insight

This move comes at a time when BluSmart’s key backer, Gensol Engineering, is battling financial distress.

💔Breakups

Bajaj Allianz breaks up in Rs 24,000-crore deal.

Quizarc Insight

Bajaj Finserv is buying Allianz SE's 26% stake in life and general insurance ventures for ₹24,180 cr, ending their 24-year partnership. Bajaj will have full ownership of both insurance companies.

🕵🏼‍♀️Multibillion-dollar market research group Kantar is set to be broken up and sold by owners Bain and WPP.

🚗From the Auto world

Waymo tops world's 50 most innovative companies.

Quizarc Insight

Chinese EV-maker BYD came in at fifth and Rocket Lab at ninth.

BYD posts record revenue after unveiling 5-minute supercharger for electric vehicles.

Quizarc Insight

BYD made more than $100 billion in sales last year for the first time.

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang announced a partnership with General Motors, saying now is the time for autonomous vehicles.

Quizarc Insight

The collaboration will bring Nvidia’s AI infrastructure to the automaker to help it build its own custom AI systems, including robots, factories, and self-driving cars.

Aston Martin has introduced its latest model, the Vanquish V12, in India with a price tag of ₹8.85 crore.

Quizarc Insight

After a six-year break, this launch replaces the DBS Superleggera as the top model in Aston Martin’s Indian range.

A unit of Ola Electric has settled its dues with vehicle registration agency Rosmerta Group.

Quizarc Insight

According to Ola, Rosmerta Group will now withdraw a petition to take the unit insolvent.

💸Money Matters

🐦Twitter’s 12-foot-tall, 560-pound bird logo — AKA “Larry” — sold at auction for ~$34.4k to an unknown buyer.

🐣A Pokémon-shaped Flamin' Hot Cheeto nicknamed “Cheetozard” has sold for $87,840 to an unnamed buyer.

🗽Starbucks must pay a $50 million judgment to a California man who was severely burned by coffee at a location’s drive-thru.

💊Georgia jury ordered Monsanto parent Bayer to pay nearly $2.1B in damages to man who says Roundup weed killer caused his cancer; Bayer faces more than 177,000 lawsuits involving the weed killer.

🌱A jury found Greenpeace liable for actions taken during protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline and said it should pay pipeline company Energy Transfer more than $650 million in damages.

💻German software-maker SAP dethroned Danish drug company Novo Nordisk to become the most valuable public company in Europe with a total value of €312 billion ($338 billion).

️🍽️Food and Drinks

🍗KFC has moved its US corporate headquarters from Louisville, Kentucky, to Plano, Texas.

〽️McDonald’s announced one of its biggest global capability centers in India, joining the likes of Google and Cisco in betting on India’s skilled talent.

PepsiCo announced it would acquire the prebiotic soda brand Poppi for $1.95 billion.

Quizarc Insight

Coca-Cola has also entered this market with "Simply Pop", and Olipop, another prebiotic soda brand, has also seen significant growth.

Poppi, which first appeared on “Shark Tank” in 2018 under the brand name Mother Beverage, is a major player in the functional beverage sector, which is expected to generate $2B in sales by 2029.

🥫Kraft Heinz is bringing Crystal Light into the alcohol space for the first time with the launch of a new hard seltzer line.

Quizarc Insight

Coca-Cola has partnered with Brown-Forman on a ready-to-drink cocktail combining Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and Coke. SunnyD, the tangy orange drink popular with kids, debuted SunnyD Vodka Seltzer in 2023. Coconut water maker Vita Coco joined with Captain Morgan owner Diageo on premium canned cocktails, while PepsiCo and Boston Beer launched at Hard Mtn Dew.

👨‍🍳For the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list, three Indian restaurants made the cut: Masque in Mumbai (ranked 19th), Indian Accent in New Delhi (ranked 46th), and Avartana in Chennai (ranked 44th).

🍔Wendy's India celebrated its 200th store launch in Gurgaon with a spectacle involving female super bikers dressed as Wendy, surprising the first 200 customers.

💊Health and wellness

Mounjaro, a weight loss drug was launched by Eli Lilly in India.

Quizarc Insight

Mounjaro (tirzepatide) was originally developed for type 2 diabetes.

🩺Pfizer has sold its remaining 7.3% stake in Haleon, the consumer healthcare company behind brands like Advil and Sensodyne, for $3.3 billion to institutional investors and Haleon itself, marking a complete exit from the company.

On a quest to revive the woolly mammoth, Colossal Biosciences creates woolly mouse.

Quizarc Insight

Colossal Biosciences is also trying to de-extinct the Tasmanian tiger, the northern white rhinoceros, and the dodo bird.

Trustees of Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital are alleging a massive Rs 1,500 crore fraud by former administrators. The accusations go beyond financial misconduct—claims of black magic, human remains, and occult rituals on the hospital’s premises.

Quizarc Insight

Lilavati Hospital is named after Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta, the wife of its founder, Kirtilal Manilal Mehta.

💰Hirings and Firings

🌐Unilever removed Ben & Jerry’s CEO Dave Stever without board approval, violating their merger agreement because of his support for the company’s progressive stances.

⚜️Donatella Versace stepped down as creative director at Versace after 28 years leading the luxury fashion house.

🤼Ari Emanuel stepped down as CEO of Endeavor, the talent agency he founded in 1995, as part of deal to take the company private; Emanuel will remain as CEO of TKO Group, which owns WWE and UFC.

✈️Aviation

Southwest Airlines said that it will start charging for checked bags for the first time in its history, beginning in May, breaking away from its “Bags Fly Free” slogan.

Quizarc Insight

Southwest adopted "love" as a theme for its promotions, and in the 1970s, flight attendants wore casual uniforms and referred to drinks as "love potions".

🛫Spirit Airlines exits Chapter 11 bankruptcy after four-month restructuring.

🛩️Virgin Atlantic is partnering with startup Joby Aviation to bring air taxis to the UK. Heathrow airport shut down

👨‍✈️London’s Heathrow Airport came to a standstill after a fire at an electrical substation took out its power for two days, leading to travel disruptions that could cost airlines millions.

Online travel platform, EaseMyTrip. com, announced its entry into the charter aviation sector by acquiring a 49% stake in Big Charter Pvt Ltd.

Quizarc Insight

EaseMyTrip was founded in 2008 by brothers Nishant Pitti, Rikant Pitti, and Prashant Pitti.

💸Other Business news

BuzzFeed is developing a new social media platform called "BF Island," designed to prioritize creativity and connection.

Quizarc Insight

In May 2024, activist investor Vivek Ramaswamy acquired a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed, making him the fourth-largest shareholder.

🏛️Federal Bank has appointed Vidya Balan as its first-ever brand ambassador.

🌾Parle Agro has roped in Vicky Kaushal as the new face of Appy Fizz.

🛴Segway is recalling about 220,000 of its scooters following reports of several people falling and being injured when the handlebars' folding mechanisms failed.

Pebble creator Eric Migicovsky will ship two smartwatches this year under a new company, Core Devices, using Pebble’s open-source operating system.

Quizarc Insight

Fitbit acquired Pebble in 2016 for $23m, then shut it down.

Lego is building a gaming division.

Quizarc Insight

“Lego Fortnight” was extremely popular and saw 87m players at its peak.

Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, is set to begin trading on the NASDAQ pending a shareholder vote on its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC).

Quizarc Insight

Gurugram-based real estate firm Tribeca Developers partnered with the Trump Organisation to launch a 2,500-crore rupee worth ‘Trump World Center’ in Pune, the group’s first commercial project in India.

📺Macy is creating a series based on Julie Satow’s book When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion.

Quizarc Insight

The series, which has yet to name a showrunner or cast, will include the story of Macy’s own Margaret Getchell, who reportedly created its star logo.

🌍Niantic, maker of "Pokémon Go" and "Monopoly Go," sold to Saudi sovereign wealth fund-owned gaming company Scopely for $3.5B.

🎮Roblox is releasing Cube 3D, an AI model that allows creators to make 3D objects and scenes using text prompts

Forever 21, for the second time in nearly six years, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing liabilities between $1 billion and $5 billion, and assets between $100 million and $500 million.

Quizarc Insight

It blamed decreasing mall traffic and competitors such as Temu and Shein as factors contributing to the filing.

💻HR software firm Rippling sues rival Deel, alleging the company planted a mole who rose to Rippling's executive ranks to carry out corporate espionage.

💳HAL lost ₹55 lakh to a cyber fraud when a ‘fake’ US-based aircraft parts seller deceived the State-owned defence equipment maker using a fake but identical email.

It's in the game

🏏Cricket

India ended a 12-year wait to clinch a record extending third Champions Trophy title, beating New Zealand by 4 wickets in the Champions Trophy 2025 final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Quizarc Insight

Indian Captain Rohit Sharma was awarded Man of the Match in the final match for his 76 runs knock and New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra was conferred upon Man of the Series award.

🏏Bangladesh’s wicketkeeper-batter, Mushfiqur Rahim, has officially announced his retirement from ODIs following the conclusion of Bangladesh’s Champions Trophy campaign.

🏏Arch-rivals Australia and England will play a historic one-off day-night Test match to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first Test match. The historic pink-ball Test between the two will be played between March 11-15, 2027, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

🏏India Masters, led by Sachin Tendulkar won the inaugural International Masters League 2025, defeating West Indies Masters by six wickets.

\|/ WPL

Mumbai Indians secured their second WPL title in three seasons, defeating Delhi Capitals by 8 runs in the thrilling final.

Quizarc Insight

Harmanpreet Kaur was Player of the match and Nat Sciver-Brunt was the Player of the Series.

🏆IPL

England batter Harry Brook has withdrawn from the tournament for the second consecutive year and faces a two-year ban from BCCI.

IPL lifts ban on using saliva to polish ball, which was imposed during the Covid pandemic.

⚽︎Football

Japan became the first country, other than the three host nations, to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with their 2-0 victory over Bahrain.

Quizarc Insight

It will be their eighth consecutive appearance at the tournament.

Manchester United have confirmed plans to leave Old Trafford and move to a new 100,000-seater stadium.

Quizarc Insight

The new stadium, which will be the largest in the UK, will be built on club-owned land adjacent to Old Trafford, with architect Lord Norman Foster saying it will take five years to construct.

⚽Sunil Chhetri has unexpectedly returned to the national team at 40, overturning his retirement decision from the previous year.

🎾Tennis

Carlos Alcaraz slams Novak Djokovic-led Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) after being named in lawsuit.

Quizarc Insight

Carlos Alcaraz was quoted in the PTPA lawsuit about poor scheduling.

🥎Yuki Bhambri is set to become India’s new No.1 doubles player after securing a crucial win over Rohan Bopanna at the Miami Masters.

Grigor Dimitrov wins 150th ATP Masters 1000 match at the Miami Open.

Quizarc Insight

As a result, Dimitrov has become the 11th player in history to achieve this feat, joining the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

🏀NBA

The Boston Celtics sold for a record-breaking $6.1B to a group led by private equity executive Bill Chisholm.

Quizarc Insight

The sale is the largest in North American sports franchise history, surpassing the NFL's Washington Commanders' $6.05B sale in 2023.

Since their formation in the 1940s, the Boston Celtics have won 18 championships—the most in NBA history.

LeBron James became the first NBA player to surpass the 50,000 mark.

Quizarc Insight

He has won four NBA championships from 10 NBA Finals appearances, having made eight consecutive appearances between 2011 and 2018.

🤾🏾‍♂️Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokić becomes first in NBA history to top 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 20 assists in a single game.

🏎️Formula 1

Lando Norris won the 2025 Australian Grand Prix for McLaren in a dramatic race marked by changing weather, multiple crashes, and a late-race downpour.

The Chinese Grand Prix saw Oscar Piastri claim victory over his McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

Quizarc Insight

Ferrari suffered a post-race disaster, as both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified for technical infringements. Hamilton shook racing fans last February when he announced he would leave Mercedes for Ferrari after 12 years and six F1 championship wins with the German automaker (following his first title with McLaren).

🥇Other Sports news

🏃🏻Track and field will become the first Olympic sport to require genetic testing on female athletes.

🏊🏻‍♀️Kirsty Coventry, a legendary swimmer from Zimbabwe, made history by becoming the first female and first African president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

🤼India wins Asian women’s kabaddi championship for the 5^th time.

🤼‍♂️The Kabaddi World Cup 2025 begins in England, marking the first time the tournament is hosted outside Asia.

🏃‍♀️15-year-old New Zealander Sam Ruthe became the youngest person to run a mile in under four minutes.

At the Hockey India Annual Awards 2024 coincided with the centenary of Indian hockey and the golden jubilee of India’s 1975 Men’s Hockey World Cup victory.

Quizarc Insight

The top honors at the event were claimed by Harmanpreet Singh and Savita Punia, both of whom were awarded the Balbir Singh Sr Award for Player of the Year in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively.

♟️Grandmaster Pranav Venkatesh secured the 2025 World Junior Chess Championship title in Petrovac, Montenegro.

⛷️Five Norwegian ski jumpers and three officials were suspended by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) for altering the crotch area of their suits to gain an unfair advantage, specifically by adding extra material to increase surface area and flight time.

🥇Avani Lekhara, India’s Paralympic gold medalist, was honored by Britannia Marie Gold with a special edition biscuit pack, designed to reflect the dimensions of her shooting target and featuring etchings of her winning shots.

⏸Indian athlete Vispy Kharadi has earned a Guinness World Record for the "longest duration holding Hercules pillars (male)," holding the pillars for an impressive 2 minutes and 10.75 seconds.

Quizarc Insight

The Pillars of Hercules are a reference to the mythical story where Hercules smashed a mountain on his way to the garden of the Hesperides, and the two mountain fragments formed what is now known as Gibraltar and Monte Hacho.

🥇India had a remarkable showing at the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2025 in Turin, Italy, securing 33 medals: 8 gold, 18 silver, and 7 bronze. India won 10 medals in Snowshoeing, including silver for Vasu Tiwari, Shalini Chauhan, and Tanya, and a bronze for Jahangir.

👊Conor McGregor officially announced he is running for Ireland president.

⚰️Obituary

Former Indian All-Rounder Syed Abid Ali Passes Away at 83.

Quizarc Insight

He mentored teams like Andhra Pradesh, UAE, and Maldives after retirement.

George Foreman died at the age of 76 and left behind a lasting boxing legacy that included two stints as world heavyweight champion, the last one secured at the age of 45. He will also be known for his popular namesake grills.

Quizarc Insight

Foreman lent his name and charisma to the product and became its spokesperson in 1994. Three decades later, more than 100 million George Foreman Grills have been sold.

MELA

🎵Music Scene

🎤John Lennon is being celebrated with a special British coin marking what would have been his 85th year.

🎙Grammy-winning rapper Doechii was named Billboard’s 2025 Woman of the Year.

🎶American rapper and record producer Travis Scott is all set to perform in India for the first time.

Quizarc Insight

His real name is Jacques Bermon Webster II.

👨🏻‍🎨Art news

🖼️M. F. Husain’s Untitled (Gram Yatra), was sold for $13.8 million, making it the most expensive work of modern Indian art ever sold publicly. The 1954 painting — which is 14 feet long and depicts village life in rural India after independence — shattered Amrita Sher-Gil’s The Story Teller’s record.

🎨Angelina Jolie is hosting an art space in a storied New York building at 57 Great Jones Street in Lower Manhattan in 2023.

Quizarc Insight

It was owned by Andy Warhol in the 70s and Basquiat used it until his death in 1988, but it has a darker past — it was once home to Paul Kelly, one of the most successful and the most influential gangster in New York history.

👏Awards

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak was awarded the 2025 Holberg prize.

Quizarc Insight

This prize is awarded annually to an outstanding researcher in the humanities, social sciences, law or theology and Chakravorty was honoured for challenging mainstream literary thought and redefining inclusivity in cultural discourse.

🥇Conan O'Brien, comedian and five-time Emmy winner, becomes 26th recipient of prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Chiranjeevi was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to Indian cinema.

Quizarc Insight

The award was presented by Bridge India at the House of Commons, UK Parliament.

Eminent Hindi writer Vinod Kumar Shukla has been named the recipient of the 59th Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honour.

Quizarc Insight

The Jnanpith Award was first given in 1965 to Malayalam poet G. Sankara Kurup for his work “Odakkuzhal”.

🎬Hollywood

Formula 1 racing is coming up with a Brad Pitt starrer movie titled F1.

Quizarc Insight

The latest season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive also aired.

The Snow White live-action adaptation hit the theatres and brought in $43 million in its opening weekend.

Quizarc Insight

The film has been at the center of the culture wars since 2022, when star Rachel Zegler first defended the progressive tone of the remake. Zegler has also caught online heat for supporting Palestine and blasting Trump, while Israeli co-star Gal Gadot has drawn her share of social media ire for publicly supporting her native country’s role in the war in Gaza.

🎥 Warner Bros. pulled every classic “Looney Tunes” short, dating from the 1930s through the late ‘60s, from Max.

Quizarc Insight

Warner Bros. previously closed Boomerang, its classic animation streaming platform; removed numerous animated series and games when it replaced Cartoon Network’s website; and shelved the completed Coyote vs. Acme film for a $70m tax write-off.

🎥Shows Galore

Chili’s is opening a retro restaurant in Scranton that celebrates ‘The Office’.

Quizarc Insight

In a famous episode of the series, employees from Dunder Mifflin celebrated the Dundies awards at a Chili’s.

📽️Paul American, the new Max reality series follows the lives of brothers Jake Paul and Logan Paul.

🎭Seth Rogen’s new Apple TV+ show, The Studio, is about the newly appointed head of the film production company Continental Studios.

⭐Big Bang theory spinoff Stuart fails to save the universe would be streaming on Max.

🐶The Washington Post reported that many dogs appear to freak out when their owners watch Severance, perhaps due to the constant elevator “dings” or the omnipresent blue color palette.

💃🏻Bollywood

17-year-old Nitanshi Goel stuns Bollywood by winning IIFA Best Actress.

Quizarc Insight

The biggest winner of the award night was Kiran Rao’s “Laapataa Ladies,” which swept 10 awards. Kartik Aaryan who won Best Actor award.

🎬Vicky Kaushal-starrer Chhaava was screened in the Indian Parliament.

🕺Prateik Babbar has changed his name from Prateik Babbar to Prateik Smita Patil as a way of honoring his mother late actress 'Smita Patil'.

🎤Amaal Mallik revealed in a now-deleted Instagram post that he is suffering from clinical depression and has decided to distance himself from his family, including his brother Armaan Malik, due to strained relationships and family issues.

🤵Ayushmann Khurrana has been named the 'Fit India Icon' by Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

📖Books

📚Stumped: Syed Kirmani’s Autobiography revisits Kapil Dev’s iconic 175 and the 1983 World Cup Triumph.

📕Meta is trying to block the publication and promotion of a memoir, "Careless People," written by former Meta employee Sarah Wynn-Williams, who was global director of public policy, claiming it contains confidential information.

☕︎Other MELA news

Good Night and Good Luck, starring George Clooney, broke the record for highest weekly gross for a play last week, with an eye-popping $3.3 million.

Quizarc Insight

It bests the record set by Othello, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhall.

🎙️Michelle Obama and her brother, former college basketball coach Craig Robinson, launch "IMO" podcast, produced by Obama's media company Higher Ground.

🎬David Warner, former Australian cricketer, is set to debut in Telugu cinema with a cameo in the film Robinhood.

Director Carl Erik Rinsch is facing charges of federal fraud and money laundering.

Quizarc Insight

Netflix gave him $11m to complete a sci-fi series called White Horse. He failed to complete a single episode and instead allegedly spent the money on cars, crypto, and “luxury bedding.”

🗣️Oscar-winning Palestinian director of "No Other Land" documentary, Hamdan Ballal was attacked by Jewish settlers in the West Bank and detained by Israeli military.

🪦Obituaries

Dolly Parton releases ballad in tribute to her late husband, Carl Dean.

Quizarc Insight

Parton's husband, whom she had been married to for 60 years, passed away at the age of 82. In tribute, Parton released a new song titled "If You Hadn't Been There."

⚰️D'Wayne Wiggins, Grammy-nominated founding member of R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, died of cancer at age 64.

⚱️Influential jazz, soul, and funk producer and composer Roy Ayers has passed away at the age of 84.

Garimella Balakrishna Prasad, the renowned classical singer and former Asthana Vidwan (court musician) of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), passed away due to a heart attack at his residence in Tirupati.

Quizarc Insight

Balakrishna Prasad’s most significant contribution to Indian devotional music was his melodic compositions for over 1,000 lyrical works of the 15th-century saint-poet Tallapaka Annamacharya.

🕴Stanley R. Jaffe, Oscar-winning producer known for "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Fatal Attraction," dies at age 84

General

🚀Space news

NASA’s SPHEREx was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket alongside the PUNCH microsatellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Quizarc Insight

SPHEREx is an advanced telescope which will orbit roughly 400 miles above the Earth's surface and complement NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA is doing everything it can to keep the incredibly long-lived Voyager probes going, with the agency cutting power to some of their scientific instruments.

Quizarc Insight

Launched in 1977, the spacecraft are the most far-flung human-made objects in the universe and the only to ever operate in interstellar space.

🌙Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 successfully landed on the Moon, marking the first fully successful commercial Moon landing, carrying NASA science and technology instruments.

🌕Astronomers recently discovered 128 new moons orbiting Saturn, bringing its total moon count to 274, surpassing Jupiter's 95 moons.

Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams safely returned to Earth after an unexpected 286-day mission aboard the International Space Station.

Quizarc Insight

They returned aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

🚀SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket exploded midflight on its eighth test, the second failure in a row.

🌌European Space Agency’s new Ariane 6 rocket successfully carried a satellite to orbit, reviving Europe’s independent space capacity.

Assam state government has announced plans to launch its own satellite, ASSAMSAT, to bolster data access for crucial socio-economic initiatives and enhance border security.

Quizarc Insight

The ASSAMSAT satellite will be developed in collaboration with IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center) and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation).

India’s Chandrayaan-5 mission was approved and in collaboration with Japan (JAXA), the mission aims for an advanced study of the Moon’s surface.

Quizarc Insight

Unlike Chandrayaan-3, it will deploy a 250 kg rover, ten times heavier than the ‘Pragyan’ rover. The mission will focus on mineralogical and geological analysis of the Moon.

🍃Nature

🍄A fungus, named Gibellula attenboroughii in honor of Sir David Attenborough, has been found to "zombify" cave spiders in Ireland, forcing them to leave their webs and die in exposed locations, likely to facilitate the dispersal of fungal spores.

🌋Guatemala's Volcano of Fire erupts, forcing 300 families to evacuate and putting another 30,000 at risk; the volcano, about 33 miles from Guatemala's capital, is one of the most active in Central America.

The Centre declared the Madhav National Park in Madhya Pradesh as the country’s 58th tiger reserve.

Quizarc Insight

It has become the ninth tiger reserve in the state, the highest in any state.

🐆A caracal, a rare and critically endangered wild cat, was recently spotted in Rajasthan's Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve, marking the first recorded sighting of the species in the area, and captured on camera trap.

⛈️The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in collaboration with the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and the European Commission, has launched the iClimateAction project to address gaps in Earth observation and climate data accessibility.

❄️The world's largest iceberg, A23a, which calved from Antarctica's Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986, has run aground near the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia and appears to be firmly lodged.

🌐Politics

📜Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz mistakenly included him in Signal group chat where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details of military plans against Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Canadian lawmaker Mark Carney was selected by the country's Liberal Party to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Quizarc Insight

Trained as an economist and, most recently, as the country's international lead on climate finance, Carney is widely credited with helping navigate the Great Recession as head of the Bank of Canada in 2008. Before entering public service, Carney spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs. The Bank of England recruited him in 2013 to steer the country through Brexit and he was the first non-Brit to hold the position since the bank’s founding in 1694.

✊Namibia’s first female president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was sworn into office.

🏛Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant issued over his so-called “war on drugs.”

💼The Indian government has appointed Ajay Seth, the current Economic Affairs Secretary, as the new Finance Secretary.

🤝Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared in a three-hour interview with Lex Fridman.

🏅Awards

👏Narendra Modi was conferred with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean, Mauritius's highest civilian award.

⭐Hydrologist Günter Blöschl won the 2025 Stockholm Water Prize for his pioneering research in flood hydrology.

🎁IIT Kharagpur professor Suman Chakraborty won UNESCO award for developing low-cost medical diagnostic solutions.

Renowned sculptor Ram Sutar, known for designing the Statue of Unity, has been honored with the Maharashtra Bhushan award.

Quizarc Insight

At 100 years old, Sutar is currently sculpting a statue of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar for Chaityabhoomi.

GMR Airports Infrastructure Limited has announced that its subsidiary, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), has been honored with the prestigious Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Airport Experience Award, 2024. bestowed by Airports Council International (ACI).

Quizarc Insight

This recognition marks the seventh consecutive year that Delhi Airport has been awarded for its commitment to excellence in customer service.

👏Mathematician Masaki Kashiwara was awarded the 2025 Abel Prize—the field's equivalent to the Nobel Prize—for his work in bringing together multiple types of math to investigate the concept of symmetry.

Jayshree Vencatesan, co-founder of Care Earth Trust made history as the first Indian to receive the Ramsar Award for ‘Wetland Wise Use.

Quizarc Insight

Her efforts focus particularly on the Pallikaranai Marsh in Chennai.

The Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards were presented by President Droupadi Murmu to honour outstanding contributions to Indian journalism.

Quizarc Insight

Twesh Mishra of Economic Times who Investigated subsidy fraud in India’s EV manufacturing sector won the award for Business and economic journalism.

📢Ranks and Reports

According to the Sweden-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Ukraine became the world’s largest importer of major arms in the period 2020–24.

Quizarc Insight

Top five arms importers: Ukraine, India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Top five arms exporters: The USA, France, Russia, China and Germany.

India ranked 24th out of 33 countries in the 2024 Free Speech Index by The Future of Free Speech, with a score of 62.6.

Quizarc Insight

With 87.9, Norway topped the list.

Finland has been ranked the world's happiest country for the eighth consecutive year, according to the latest global happiness rankings by the Wellbeing Research Centre, Gallup, and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Quizarc Insight

The rankings are based on factors like social trust, economic stability, and life expectancy. India's happiness ranking has improved steadily, reaching 118th in the World Happiness Report 2025, up from 126th in 2023 and 139th in 2020.

📋State news

📍Meghalaya CM Conrad K. Sangma inaugurated the state’s first scientific coal mining block,“SaryngkhamA”, at Byndihati, East Jaintia Hills, marking a shift from rat-hole mining, which was banned by theNGT in 2014 due to safety and environmental concerns.

Sikkim govt starts charging Rs 50 as entry fees for tourists.

Quizarc Insight

The fees are being collected at hotels during check-in and are deposited into the Tourism Sustainability Development (TSD) Fund to improve tourism infrastructure and services across the state,

📍Kerala became first state to establish a Senior Citizens Commission.

📍Gujarat's Kandla port will become the first in India to have an operational Green Hydrogen plant using indigenous Electrolysers by mid-2025.

📝Other News

📢An unexpected strike at Hamburg Airport in Germany was organized by Ver.di union, which represents passenger service and cargo screening employees, as it negotiates for better safety protocols and increased pay and time off.

🧠A woman with Down syndrome who had all the “brain changes” of Alzheimer’s disease didn’t exhibit any of the cognitive symptoms that are characteristic of the progressive dementia — and researchers hope her brain can lead to "profound discoveries" in treating the illness.

🚇India's first four lane tunnel under Brahmaputra will connect Gohpur and Numaligarh.

🛤The Balochistan Liberation Army recently hijacked a passenger train, the Jaffar Express and took over 100 people hostages and led to the killing of 26 hostages.

Quizarc Insight

The BLA is a separatist group active in Pakistan’s Balochistan province which aims for an independent Baloch state and has carried out several attacks over the years.

Only seven countries in the world met the World Health Organization’s safety guidelines for air quality last year.

Quizarc Insight

Australia, New Zealand, and Estonia were among the nations whose air satisfied the standards for tiny toxic particles. Meanwhile, the countries with the most smog are Chad, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and India.

✝️Pope Francis returned to his Vatican apartment after a five-week stay at a hospital for a double pneumonia.

🚦India has implemented stricter traffic penalties, with fines for major violations increasing up to 10 times, including fines for drunk driving, using a mobile phone while driving, and riding without a helmet.

Archaeologists discovered a huge burial complex in western Greece that may be linked to an ancient religious sect.

Quizarc Insight

The site lies north of the ancient city of Tenea and appears similar to other structures dated to the Hellenic period, or between 323 and 31 BC. Tenea has long been a subject of fascination for archaeologists: The city survived the Roman invasion, but was later abandoned, although the reason remains a mystery.

🎲Construction company Lennar and 3D tech printing startup Icon partnered to print 100 homes in the Wolf Ranch development outside of Austin, Texas, completing the world’s largest 3D-printed community.

🚜Indore is launching India’s first green waste processing plant under the PPP model as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban.

☢️The Indian government is advancing its nuclear energy efforts with two major projects: the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant in Maharashtra and the Gorakhpur Nuclear Power Project in Haryana.

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) has launched ‘Samarth’, an incubation program to foster innovation in telecom and IT.

Quizarc Insight

It will support startups in Telecom Software, Cybersecurity, 5G/6G, AI, IoT, and Quantum Technologies, with STPI as the implementation partner.

Researchers have achieved a scientific breakthrough by transforming light into a supersolid, a new phase of matter combining superfluid and solid properties.

Quizarc Insight

The study by CNR-INO, CNR-Nanotec, and the University of Pavia reveals that this light-based supersolid retains a coherent quantum droplet structure while enabling friction free flow. This discovery has major implications for quantum computing, materials science, and energy storage, advancing our understanding of light-matter interactions and future photonic applications.

For St. Patrick's Day celebrations, Chicago Plumbers Local 130 union dyed the Chicago River that photogenic green continuing a tradition that began in 1962.

Quizarc Insight

The green dye was first used to locate the source of leaks in the sewage system along the river as part of a development project, and when some of those green stains were seen on a plumber’s coveralls, the union’s business manager implored Mayor Richard J. Daley to use the dye to turn the river green to celebrate the holiday.

Brands in focus:

🥤Tesco

Tesco's Ramadan campaign, "Together This Ramadan," uses digital billboards featuring empty plates that magically fill with food as the sun sets, symbolizing the Iftar meal and promoting community and togetherness during the holy month.

Ad in focus

✈️Goibibo

Goibibo has appointed Rishabh Pant as its brand ambassador, launching a campaign featuring Sunil Gavaskar that playfully twists his iconic "Stupid, Stupid, Stupid" phrase. The youth-centric campaign blends cricket nostalgia with travel deals, aiming to attract travel enthusiasts by making trip planning fun and hassle-free.

🤿Deep dive Section

From this week onwards, we are introducing this deep dive section where we will share an interesting article which will provide you with in-depth knowledge about a particular topic.

For this week, learn about how cars get their names!

Pop culture recommendation

👦🏻Adolescence

The four-episode Netflix mini-series follows a criminal investigation into whether a 13-year-old student murdered his female classmate, and each episode is filmed in a single shot. It combines brilliant performances and audacious filmmaking to tell a complex story about the world children — and parents — live in today and is a compelling watch from start to finish.

And that’s a wrap for this edition of Quizarc’s Sapere Aude newsletter.

Bonus: What connects Phil Dunphy and a concept given by researchers at Oregon State University? Try to crack the question at Quizarc’s Instagram page!

Let us know about your opinions about it in the comments or by emailing at query@quizarc.com.

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