Sri Lankan Prime Minister Graces IWMI’s 40th Year Celebration

A special commemorative stamp was issued by the Sri Lanka Post to celebrate IWMI’s 40th anniversary, and four decades of partnership with Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena, visited IWMI’s global headquarters in Colombo and received the first stamp.

Since 1984, IWMI has contributed to shaping water management practices in Sri Lanka and the world. In the last 40 years, IWMI has grown in scale, impact, and areas of research - from an institute focused on water for agriculture to a global leader in water management. Looking forward, IWMI will continue to contribute to Sri Lanka’s water security and climate goals.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Documentary Opens Tribeca Festival

Pakistani filmmaker and two-time Academy Award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and co-director Trish Dalton headlined the opening night of the 2024 Tribeca Festival in New York City with the world premiere of “Diane von Furstenberg: Woman In Charge.”

The opening night world premiere was at the OKX Theater at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. The documentary was released on Hulu on June 25th, 2024.

This film dives deep into von Furstenberg’s remarkable career, from creating the iconic wrap dress in 1974 – a design that flatters women of all shapes and sizes – to her ongoing role as a cultural icon. “Woman in Charge” promises an unprecedented look at von Furstenberg’s world, capturing the triumphs and struggles that shaped her journey.

Sri Lanka rain floods kill 14

Flash floods, mudslides, and falling trees killed at least 14 people in Sri Lanka in June last week as monsoon storms battered the island nation.

Some drowned, including three members of the same family swept away near the capital Colombo. Others were buried alive in mudslides, including an 11-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said.

Nine other people were crushed and killed when trees fell on them in seven districts since the monsoon intensified in May.

While Sri Lanka depends on the seasonal monsoon rain for irrigation and hydroelectricity, experts have warned that it faces more frequent floods as the world heats due to climate change.

20 out of the country’s 25 districts were affected by heavy rain, and warned people living on the banks of main rivers to move to higher ground. Flights arriving at Colombo’s main international airport were diverted to a smaller airport, and some key highways were flooded at several exits.

Trump joins TikTok

Former US president and current White House hopeful Donald Trump has joined TikTok, posting his first video on the wildly popular social media app he once tried to ban while in office.

Reaching out to younger voters as he seeks reelection in November, Trump posted a 13-second clip night that shows him in his usual blue suit and red tie attending an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in Newark, New Jersey.

In the video featuring raucous music, Trump is introduced by UFC CEO Dana White and leans into the camera, saying, “It is my honour.” Trump greets people at the UFC arena and concludes the clip by saying, “That was a good walk-on, right?” Trump already had two million followers on his account at @realDonaldTrump.

While in power, Trump tried to ban TikTok on national security grounds with an executive order, but the drive got bogged down in the courts.

Rupert Murdoch marries yet again at age 93

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch has married for the fifth time at age 93, tying the knot with a retired molecular biologist a quarter century younger than him.

Murdoch had been married four times, most recently to model Jerry Hall, the longtime partner of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. Last year, Murdoch announced his engagement to dental hygienist-turned-conservative radio host Ann Lesley Smith but called off the planned nuptials less than a month later.
Murdoch, who has six children, was first married to Patricia Booker, an Australian flight attendant, whom he divorced in the late 1960s.

He and his second wife, Anna Torv, a newspaper reporter, were together for more than 30 years before divorcing in 1999. His third marriage to Wendi Deng ended in 2013.

Maldives to ban Israeli tourists

The Indian Ocean nation of the Maldives will ban Israelis from the luxury tourist hot spot, the office of the president said, announcing a national rally in “solidarity with Palestine.”

The Maldives is known for its secluded sandy white beaches, shallow turquoise lagoons, and Robinson Crusoe-style getaways.

President Mohamed Muizzu has “resolved to impose a ban on Israeli passports,” a spokesman for his office said in a statement, without giving details of when the new law would take effect.

Muizzu also announced a national fundraising campaign called “Maldivians in Solidarity with Palestine.”

UBL announces winners of the 11th UBL Literature & Arts Awards

The 11th UBL Literature and Arts Awards were held in Karachi. The various award categories received hundreds of nominations from all over Pakistan. The competition was open to all Pakistani authors who had published their original work in 2021 and 2022. An esteemed panel of judges shortlisted entries. The winners in each category as declared at the Awards, were:

• Children’s Urdu Literature: Ahmed Tariq
• Children’s English Literature: Marzieh Abbas
• Urdu Poetry: Mohsin Shakeel
• Pakistani Languages: Wiqar Ali Shah
• Song Lyrics: Sabir Zafer
• Drama Script: Hashim Nadeem
• Urdu Debut: Ahmed Jehangir
• English Fiction: Haroon Khalid Akhter
• English Non-Fiction: Tariq Rehman
• Urdu Fiction: Shaheen Abbas
• Urdu Non-Fiction: Dr Aurangzeb Khan
• On-line Literature Urdu: Nayyer Mustafa

The awards included a special category to celebrate the wide-reaching impact of a celebrated artist. The prestigious ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award was awarded to the exemplary Zaheda Hina.

Surya Productions unearths the ‘real’ Manto

Produced by Surya Productions, a series of stage plays titled Manto premiered at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa). Instead of going for the writer’s more celebrated short stories, director Rao Jamal Singh Rajput has opted to enact two of his plays — Akeli and Saadi. The pieces have a prominent choreographic element directed by Wahab Shah and Waqar Samrat.

Saadat Hasan Manto is a rare Urdu writer who attracts the attention of the younger generation working in creative fields. While a senior lot of readers and writers mostly remember him for his unvarnished partition tales, those trying to interpret his work in the 21st century seem to be more interested in his dealing with the dynamics of the man-woman relationship.