News in Short

• Amala Shankar, the renowned dancer died in Kolkata at the age of 101. She was the wife of Uday Shankar and was instrumental in popularising Indian fusion dance across the world.
• Amala Shankar learned dancing in the 1930s. She was one of the path-breakers for Indian women who rarely performed on the public stage at those times.
• Amala Shankar was a multi-faceted talent. Not only dance, but she was also a painter and writer as well. She was awarded Banga Vibhushan by the West Bengal government in 2011 for her contributions in the field of art.

• The BCCI has announced that the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League will be hosted in the United Arab Emirates.
• It will run from September 19 to November 8. The government’s approval is expected to come through. It is a full 51-day IPL.
• The postponement of the T20 World Cup by the Indian Cricket Council (ICC) allowed time for IPL. The T20 World Cup was scheduled to be held from October 18 to November 15.

• The U.S. and the U.K. have accused Russia of test-firing an anti-satellite weapon in space in violation of the NEW START treaty between US and Russia.
• U.S. Space Command said it “has evidence” that Moscow “conducted a non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon” on July 15.
• The U.S. Space Command said the test consisted of Russia’s satellite called Cosmos 2543 injecting an object into orbit.
• Russian state media has said that Cosmos-2543 had been deployed by another satellite, Cosmos-2542, which was launched on 25 of November 2019 by the Russian military.

• The United States has told China to close its consulate in Houston, further deteriorating bilateral ties between the two countries.
• In response, Beijing was considering shutting the U.S. consulate in Wuhan. The State Department confirmed the decision and said the move was made to protect American intellectual property and American’s private information.
• The deterioration in U.S.-China ties comes in the run-up to the November U.S. presidential election, in which President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden have appeared to compete over who can look tougher in response to China.

• Paris Saint Germain struck early to secure a 1-0 win over 10-man Saint Etienne and win a record-breaking 13th Coupe de France title.
• PSG secured the first of a potential three trophies this summer, claiming a record-extending 13th French Cup with the League Cup final against Lyon to come next Friday.
• The final at the Stade de France was the first official match in one of Europe's top football nations to allow fans to attend since March.