Current affairs 24 May 2024

Cybercrime surge in India: Over 7,000 daily complaints in 2024.

• Cybercrime in India has surged, with over 740,957 complaints filed from May 2023 to April 2024, showing an increase of up to 60.9% annually.
• The most common types of fraud involve fake trading, loans, gaming, and dating apps.
• The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) has responded by freezing nearly 325,000 mule bank accounts, blocking 530,000 SIM cards and 3,401 social media accounts.

University of Tokyo inaugurates world’s highest observatory in Chile.

• Tokyo University inaugurated the Atacama Observatory in Chile's Antofagasta Region, 5,640 meters above sea level. It has been awarded a Guinness World Record for being the highest observatory in the world.
• Led by Professor Yuzuru Yoshii, TAO aims to explore cosmic mysteries like dark energy and primordial stars with unmatched clarity due to its high-altitude location and advanced technology.

Spain became 99th member of International Solar Alliance.

• Spain ratified its membership as the 99th full member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
• The ISA, co-founded by India and France at COP21 in Paris, promotes the extensive deployment of solar technologies to enhance energy access and security.
• Currently, 116 countries are signatories, with 94 having ratified membership.
• The 6th ISA assembly was recently hosted in New Delhi.

Thiruvananthapuram Airport achieved Zero Waste to Landfill status.

• Thiruvananthapuram International Airport was awarded the zero waste to landfill (ZWL) accolade by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII-ITC) Centre of Excellence.
• It is the first airport in India to receive this recognition, achieving 99.50% waste diversion from landfills.
• The award confirms the airport's implementation of leading waste management practices.

Indian-origin Scientist Shrinivas R Kulkarni wins Shaw Prize.

• Indian-Origin Awardee: Shrinivas R Kulkarni, a professor at Caltech, wins the Shaw Prize in Astronomy for 2024.
• Pioneering Work: Recognized for groundbreaking discoveries in millisecond pulsars, gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, and other transient astronomical phenomena.
• Other winners include Swee Lay Thein and Stuart Orkin in Life Science and Medicine, and Peter Sarnak for Mathematical Sciences.