• A Dartmouth College professor who says he is a religious agnostic but whose work has focused on the links between science and the mysteries of creation is the winner of the 2019 Templeton Prize.

• Marcelo Gleiser, 60, a native Brazilian, is the first Latin American to win the prestigious prize, which honors an individual “who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works,” said the John Templeton Foundation, which is based in West Conshohocken, Pa.

• Gleiser, whose full title is Appleton Professor of Natural Philosophy and a professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., won the honor for being “a prominent voice among scientists, past and present, who reject the notion that science alone can lead to ultimate truths about the nature of reality,” the foundation said. 

• Instead, in his parallel career as a public intellectual, he reveals the historical, philosophical, and cultural links of being alive.

 

 

• A consortium of two Indian oil companies, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Indian Oil Corporation Limited have been awarded the exploration rights for Abu Dhabi Onshore Block 1. 

• The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, signed agreements awarding the exploration rights.

• The agreements, which have a term of 35 years, conclude Abu Dhabi`s first-ever competitive block bid round.

• The onshore exploration block awarded to the Indian consortium will target, specifically, the conventional oil and gas opportunities in the area.

• The award has been endorsed by Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council. In an exclusive interaction with AIR Ambassador  Navdeep Suri said that the bilateral partnership between India and UAE is growing in many dimensions.

 

 

• President Ram Nath Kovind has been awarded the Grand Order of King Tomislav with Sash and Grand Star by the President of Croatia for his exceptional contribution to the advancement of overall relations and development of mutual cooperation between India and Croatia and for promoting friendship and partnership between the people of both the countries. 

• This is the highest award of the Republic of Croatia. 

• President Kovind said, the two countries have agreed to work together to develop a strong global response to eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and to seek accountability and action from those responsible for barbaric acts like Pulwama terror attack. 

 

 

 

• Peter Tabichi, a maths and physics teacher from a secondary school in a remote village in Kenya`s Rift Valley has won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize for 2019, organisers have said.

• Peter Tabichi, who organisers say gives away 80 per cent of his monthly income to the poor, received the prize at a ceremony in Dubai hosted by Hollywood star Hugh Jackman.

• "Every day in Africa we turn a new page and a new chapter... This prize does not recognise me but recognises this great continent`s young people. I am only here because of what my students have achieved," Tabichi said.

• "This prize gives them a chance. It tells the world that they can do anything," he added after beating nine finalists from around the world to claim the award.

• The Dubai-based Varkey Foundation, which organises the event and handed out the prize for the fifth time, praised Tabichi`s "dedication, hard work and passionate belief in his students` talent".

• He has become the first ever African male to have won the award.

• Two Indian teachers, Arti Qanungo and Swaroop Rawal were also nominated for the award. Both of them had made it to the top 50 finalists.