PERSONS IN NEWS - 2015 JUI July 4 * Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal pledges $32 billion fortune to charity. % The pledge is maybe the first such big announcement of its kind in the ragion, and is modeled on a charity established by Microsoft founder Bill Gates in the United States. »> He will help build bridges to foster cultural understanding, develop communities, empower women, enable youth, provide vital disaster relief and create a more tolerant and accepting Alwaleed bin Talal | “4 > It is very close coordination with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is already working with Alwaleed on a polio eradication profect. » Alwaleed is constructing a tower in the Red Sea city of Jeddah that is to rise more than one kilometre (almost 3,300 feet) to be the world's tallest building. July 2 * First woman tennis player from India to be top-seeded in Wimbledon. ® Sania Mirza has become the first woman tennis player from India to be top-seeded in the ongoing Wimbledon, Grand Slam championship. % The only Indians top-seeded In a Grand Slam earlier were Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in the 1999 French Open edition men’s doubles. Sania Mirza ™® Ms. Sania Mirza, a three-time Grand Slam winner, is determined to complete a career Grand Slam, having won the mixed doubles titles in the Australian, French and the US Opens. July 5 * Sugata Marjit to take over as the new Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University. > Sugata Marjit, will take over as the new Vice Chancellor of the Calcutta University, as the present Vice Chancellor Suranjan Das takes over Jadavpur Univer ® Sugata Margit currently the Director and Reserve Bank of India Professor of Industria! Economics at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata. > Das leaves Calcutta University in the midst of a huge controversy over teaching and non-teaching staff members having been allegedly assaulted by a section of the university’s Trinamool Chharta Parishad backed students.July 6 * China nominated Jin Liqun, former Chinese Finance Minster, for the post of ALIB President. » Former Finance Minster of China Jin Liqun was nominated by China to be the first president of the Beljing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AB). » At present, Jin is Secretary General of ATTB's interim secretariat. *> Earlier, he has held positions at the World Bank and was the first Chinese national to serve as a vice president at the Japan-controlled Asian Development Bank (ADB). % Before joining AIIB in 2014, Jin was chairman of China International Capital Corporation, one of the mainland’s largest investment banks. About the ALIB President » In accordance with the Articles of Agreement signed by 50 countries, the President of AIIB shall be elected through an open, transparent and merit-based process by the Board of Governors. * The president should be a national of a regional member. * The term of office of the president will be five years, and a president can be re- elected once. July 7 * Kamal Bawa elected as Fellow to Royal Society. > Eminent Ecologist Kamal Bawa has been elected as Fellow to the London based prestigious Royal Society. > He was chosen in recognition of his pioneering contributions in the field of conservation science. ® With this, he joins former and current eminent fellows of Royal Society such as Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, and Stephen Hawking etc. RENICR Erte About Dr. Kamal Bawa: ® Bawa Is India’s most prominent biologist and an evolutionary ecologist. *» He is a professor of Biology at the prestigious of Massachusetts University of Boston, us.» He is the founder President of Bengaluru based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE). * For his contribution to environmental research he has been bestowed with Midori Prize for Biodiversity (2014), Gunnerus Award in Sustainability Science (2012) About Royal Society: ® Established: 1660. It is one of oldest society still in existence for science. »» Headquartered: London. Recognises and promotes excellence in science for the benefit of humanity. ® It Is a self-governing Fellowship of many of the world’s most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, medicine and engineering. * Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka entered Guinness World Records for spending 804 days on Iss. » Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka entered Guinness World Records for spending most number of days in the space. ™ He achieved the feat by spending 804 days on the International Space Station (ISS). > He surpassed cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, also a Russian, Neat al Gennady Padalka record of 803 days, nine hours and 41 minutes in the space which Sergei achieved across six missions from 1998 to 2005. About International Space Station (ISS): ™» ISS Is a space station that was launched in 1998. » It is the largest artificial satellite body that orbits earth nearly 400 km above the surface and it can be seen with naked eye. > ISS moves at a very high speed and it completes 15.54 orbits per day. July 10 % Ellen Pao out as Reddit CEO. Ellen Pao resigned as acting chief executive of Reddit in the latest sign of turmoil at the site, recently rolled by the firing of a popular employee and ongoing tensions over the limits of free speech on its social-news platform. "> Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman, also a co-founder of travel site Hipmunk, will become chief executive Ellen Pao Auciewed* Reddit is an entertainment, Social Networking, and news website where registered community members can submit content, such as text posts or direct links, making it essentially an online bulletin board system. » Founded: June 23, 2005. »» Headquarters: San Francisco, California, USA. July 14 * Sunita Williams among 4 astronauts chosen to fly NASA's first commercial space vehicle. > Indian-origin Sunita Williams is among four veteran astronauts chosen by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to fly the first commercial space vehicles. Other three astronauts are (a) Robert Behnken (b) Eric Boe (c) Douglas Hurley Sunita Williams > They will be trained and prepared for commercial space flights of Boeing Company and SpaceX to provide low-Earth orbit transportation services to and from the International Space Station (ISS). > They will also be part of NASA's ambitious plan of human landing on Mars by 2030. About Sunita Willams ® NASA had chosen Williams for the astronaut programme in 1998. ® Prior to this she was a US Navy captain and was a helicopter pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours experience in more than 30 different aircraft. > Presently, she ranks 6 on the all-time US endurance list and 24 all-time for a female astronaut *% She holds the world records for most spacewalk time by a woman astronaut (50 hours, 40 minutes) and most spacewalks by a woman astronaut (seven times). July 12 s USA 2015: Miss Oklahoma Olivia Jordan Wins the Crown. "> Miss Oklahoma, Olivia Jordan, won big at the 2015 Miss USA pageant beating out 50 women to win the crown. » Jordan, 26, made it through the fierce rounds of the competition, sliding into the Top 15 after preliminary events and captivating viewers as she worked it in the live show's bikini and evening gown rounds.% She spoke first on the issue of race relations in the United States, stressing the need for improved dynamics, and later went on to name Oprah and Harriet Tubman as two women she would like to see on the $10 billon. > Jordan was followed in the top five by first runner-up Miss Texas Ylianna Guerra, second runner-up Miss Rhode Island Anea Garcia, third runner-up Miss Nevada Brittany McGowan, and fourth runner-up Miss Maryland Mame Adjei July 13 * Nobel Winner Malala Yousafzai Opens School for Syrian Refugees. *» Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, celebrated her 18 birthday in Lebanon by opening a school for Syrian refugee girls and called on world leaders to invest in "books not bullets’. * Malala became a symbol of defiance after she was shot on a school bus in Pakistan 2012 by the Taliban for advocating girls' rights to education, TESST ® She continued campaigning and won the Nobel in 2014 The Malala Fund, a non-profit organization that supports local education projects, paid for the school in the Bekaa Valley, close to the Syrian border. It can welcome up to 200 girls aged 14 to 18. July 16 x Foreign Minister of Myanmar meet Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj. © A little over a month after India led a counter-terrorism operation against militants in Myanmar, both countries have agreed to intensify cooperation between security forces and border guarding agencies to fight insurgency and secure the border areas. India has also agreed to help in modernization of the Myanmar army and development of its naval forces. July 17 * Burmese Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin meats External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at defense assistance program. > India and Myanmar announced that they would deepen their defence cooperation. ® A joint consultative commission, chaired by Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Burmese Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin In New Delhi announced a defense assistance programAbout Myanmar (Burma): > Capital: Naypyidaw. > Currency: Kyat. »® President: Thein Sein. * Mass killer Breivik to study at Oslo University, from jail. ® Anders Brelvik, the Norwegian serial killer, has been admitted to a course at the country’s oldest and most illustrious university - though he will study from his prison call and will not come into contact with staff or students. *% Norway’s most infamous citizen, jailed for 21 years for shooting dead 69 students at a summer camp in 2011 after a bomb he planted in Oslo killed a further eight people, announced his intention to study politics and write books in 2012. *%» He applied to Oslo University the following year but was turned down because he did not meet its criteria. Since then he has taken courses in prison and now qualifies for admission. ® All Norwegian prisoners have the right to pursue higher education if they meet the admission requirements and compete successfully against other applicants. About Norway: »» Country: Norway. ® Capital: Oslo. »» Currency: Krone. July 19 %* Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein is now a ire. » A The legendary Wall Street titan, who grew up in a housing project in Brooklyn and ended up earning degrees from Harvard University, has seen his net worth surge to $1.1 billion (£704 million). %» According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the massive surge in his wealth is due to him being the largest individual shareholder in investment banking giant Goldman Sachs, which manages nearly $911.5 billion (£583 billion) in assets. » He was an American Business Executive and CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs. July 20 jonaire invests $100m in search of intelligent alien life. Russian tech billionaire Yuri Milner, known for his successful investments in social networking sites Facebook, Twitter, and closer home in Flipkart and Ola, is on a search of a different kind.*» Far removed from his big-ticket investments in hot tech companies globally, the 53- year-old is funding an ambitious $100 million science project to discover whether intelligent life exists outside planet earth. *®» A non-profit initiative - Breakthrough Listen - was announced by Milner with cosmologist Stephen Hawking in London. ® It Is arguably, one of the most well-funded science projects to be undertaken In quest of extraterrestrial life. % Rainmaker Bhinde tops in I-bank pay. "> The Indian internet economy's most prolific dealmaker Aashish Bhinde emerged as the top paid investment banker last year after stringing together transactions worth over $1 billion. * Bhinde, 43, an executive director and head of digital and technology practice at Avendus Capital, took home a little less than $2 million in total remuneration. ® This makes Bhinde - a relatively low-profile name until the consumer internet deals roared in - the first rainmaker from a home-grown, middle market I-bank to top the earnings chart in more than a decade. * The Wall Street and European banks that ramped up domestic teams since 2005 have dominated the earnings table on the deal street for a while. * Ismail Merchant nominated to be the face of Britain's 20 pound bank note. * Indian born film director and producer Ismail Merchant to become the next face of Britain's 20 pound bank note. ® The Bank of England has just finished asking the British public to nominate artists who they believe helped to shape British thought. > Around 30,000 nominations have been received. About Ismail Merchant ® Merchant was born in Mumbai in 1936 as Ismail Noormohamed Abdul Rehman. He was a producer and director, known for highly acclaimed films like The Remains of the Day (1993), A Room with a View (1985) and Howards End (1992). He met his partner James Ivory at a screening of Ivory's documentary The Sword and the Flute (1959) in New York City. "> Merchant and Ivory formed Merchant Ivory Productions in May 1961. Merchant died ‘on May 25, 2005 in London at the age of 68 following surgery for abdominal ulcers.July 22 * Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani Commended by Stanford University. > US' Stanford University of US has commended Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, for his decade long support to students keen on pursuing higher studies through scholarships. > Mr. Ambani had instituted the Reliance-Dhirubhai Ambani Undergraduate Scholarship Fund for International Students to provide scholarships to bright students. About Mukesh Ambai > Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani is an Indian business magnate who is the chairman, managing director and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries Limited, a Fortune Global 500 company and India's second most valuable company by market value July 23 % Anand Kumar's Super 30 success story to feature in a French film. > Mathematician Anand Kumar has added yet another feather to his cap! Anand, who's Super 30 institute is acclaimed for helping students of deprived section to crack the prestigious IIT entrance examination, now features in a film made by famous French director Pascal Plisson. > The film titled "Ihe Big Day’ has already gained popularity and is being displayed on TV and across various YouTube channels. According the officials of the Super-30, the movie is set to be released next month. About Anand Kumar > Anand Kumar is an Indian mathematician and a columnist for various national and international mathematical journals and magazines. > He is best known for his Super 30 programme, which he started in Patna, Bihar in 2002, and which coaches economically backward students for ITT-IEE, the entrance examination for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). By 2014, 308 of the 360 had made it to IITs and Discovery Channel showcased his work in a documentary. July 24 * R.K. Pachauri steps down as IPCC chair After facing allegations of sexual harassment. > After facing allegations of sexual harassment, Dr. Rajendra K Pachauri has stepped down as Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). ® The Energy and Resources Institute (TERT) also announced that Dr Pachauri, who is its director general, has proceeded on leave for the time being.About R.K. Pachauri => M. Rajendra Kumar Pachaurl was the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). > He held the post from 2002 until his resignation in 2015, during which time the organisation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. *% He resigned from IPCC following allegations of sexual abuse of a junior colleague at his New Delhi based organization %® In July 2015, he was also dismissed as the Director General of TERI (The Eneray and Resources Institute) the New Delhi head-quartered environmental think tank that he had led for over three decades. July 28 * Stephen Hawking to answer your queries on alien life. %® The renowned physicist Stephen Hawking will address the issue of artificial intelligence and other topics at his first Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) forum. ® Typically, a Reddit AMA is live as people throw questions at the person and he or she tries to respond as best as possible. But the format for Mr Hawking will differ from the usual pattern. About Stephen Hawkin > Stephen William Hawking born 8 January 1942 is an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge. ™® His scientific works include a collaboration with Roger enrose on gravitational singularity theorems in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often called Hawking radiation. »% Hawking was the first to set forth a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He is a vigorous supporter of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.