1) Amelie Mauresmo inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
- Amelie Mauresmo, the two-time Grand Slam winner and former number one tennis player of France inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
- Mauresmo was unable to travel to the ceremony on Bill Talbert Center Court at the Hall of Fame because she`s in her third trimester of pregnancy.
About Amelie Maursmo:
- She`s one of only three Frenchwomen to win a Grand Slam title in the Open Era, alongside Mary Pierce (Australian Open in 1995 and French Open in 2000) and Marion Bartoli (Wimbledon in 2013).
- At present, she coaches Scottish professional tennis player Andy Murray. She is also the first woman to coach a top male tennis player.
- She won two Grand Slam titles in 2006 season, first at the Australian Open and then at Wimbledon (beating Justine Henin in both finals). She won 25 singles titles and was a silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
2) Kerala tourism`s Muziris heritage project bagged PATA award.
- Kerala Tourism has won 2015 Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) award in the ‘Heritage & Culture’ category for its Muziris Heritage Project.
- The award bestowed in recognition project efforts which aim at restoring and conservation of historical and cultural significance of the ancient town and its uniqueness and impact on local community located in stretches from Ernakulam to Kodungalloor in Thrissur district of Kerala.
- Ancient Muziris was an ancient seaport and urban centre which dates from at least the 1st century BC and located at the mouth of the Periyar River in present south Indian state of Kerala.
- It was a key centre for trade in ancient times between southern India on one side and Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Roman Empire on the other side.
- Its historic importance has been mentioned in the bardic Sangam literature and a number of classical European historical sources.
Muziris Heritage Project:
- It is an ambitious tourism venture of Tourism Department of Kerala in order to reinstate the historical and cultural significance Muziris.
- It was started in 2006 and also covers various other historically significant sites and monuments in central Kerala.
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About Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) award:
- The awards are given by Pacific Asia Travel Association and sponsored by Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO). Presented every year in recognition of the achievements of 25 separate organisations and individuals.
- It should be noted that PATA is a membership association working to promote the responsible development of travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region.
3) Benoy Behl won the Best Documentary Producer award at Madrid International Film Festival.
- Film-maker Benoy Behl won the Best Documentary Producer award at Madrid International Film Festival. He was awarded for producing and directing a documentary film titled Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism.
- Behl shot the documentary for XPD Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, which was released by Ministry of External Affairs in February 2014.
- The film is shot extensively in Tibet, Kalmykia in European Russia, Ladakh, Spiti, Arunachal Pradesh, Nalanda, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Karnataka.
- The film traces the foundation of Tibetan Buddhism to its roots in ancient India’s Nalanda University and the hundreds of year-old spiritual relationship that India share with Tibet.
- The documentary features quotes and analogies from various Tibetan Buddhist teachers and scholars including His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche.
4) Naomi Klein wins 2015 American Book Award.
- Noted Canadian author Naomi Klein has won the 36th edition of American Book Award 2015.
- She has won this award for her environmental work `This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate` published in 2014.
- Apart from her, 14 others also have won the award. Some of them are Marlon James (A Brief History of Seven Killings), Carlos Santana (The Universal Tone) etc. Poet Anne Waldman was honoured with lifetime achievement award in this edition of prize.
American Book Award:
- Established in 1978.
- Administered: by a non-profit educational and service organisation Before Columbus Foundation, founded in 1976 by author-playwright Ishmael.
- It honours persons for their excellence in American literature without restriction to sex, race, ethnic background or genre. The awards do not have any individual categories and since 2000, Lifetime Achievement award is also given.
5) Telugu cartoonist Pamarthy Shankar won Grand Prix World Press Cartoon 2014 Award.
- Pamarthy Shankar, a cartoonist working with the prominent Telugu Daily newspaper Sakshi, on 11th July 2015 won the Grand Prix World Press Cartoon 2014 Award for sketching Nelson Mandela. He was presented the award at Cascais in Portugal by World Press Cartoon Director Antonio Antunes.
- A Nelson Mandela caricature drawn by Shankar after the death of the iconic South African anti-apartheid leader in December 2013, fetched him the award for the year 2014. Shankar`s caricature was displayed at a World Press Cartoon exhibition at Cascais in Portugal along with the top 50 works by other cartoonists in 2014.
- The World Press Cartoon awards are presented in three categories every year, namely general, caricature and political. The Award carries a cash reward of 10,000 Euros (about 8,00000 rupees).
6) Dhyan Chand to be honoured with `Pride of India` award in British Parliament.
- Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand will be conferred with the `Bharat Gaurav` Lifetime Achivement Award by NRI orgainsation Sanskriti Yuva Sangstha at the `House of Commons` inside the British Parliament of July 25.
- On behalf of Dhyan Chand, his son and former Indian hockey player Ashok Kumar will receive the award.
About Dhyan Chand:
- Dhyan Chand was an Indian field hockey player, who is widely considered as the greatest field hockey player of all time.
- Chand is most remembered for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats, in addition to earning three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936) in field hockey, during an era where India was the most dominant team in Hockey.
- Known as “The Wizard” for his superb ball control, Chand played his final international match in 1948, having scored more than 400 goals during his international career.
- Dhyan Chand had helped India win three successive gold medals in Olympics. To his credit, he had scored over 400 goals in his international career.
- In 1936, when India won the gold medal in Berlin Olympics, Hitler offered Dhyan Chand to join the German team but he denied the offer.