News in Short

• WWF-India State unit has joined hands with the Society for Odonate Studies (SOS) and Thumbipuranam for the first-ever State Dragonfly Festival in Kerala, christened Thumbimahotsavam 2020.
• This is part of a national dragonfly festival being organised by the WWF India, Bombay Natural History Society & Indian Dragonfly Society in association with the National Biodiversity Board, United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Development Programme and IUCN - Centre for Environment Conservation.
• ‘Pantalu’ is the official mascot of the festival. As part of the festival, various programmes will be rolled out in the coming months to reach out to various sections of society.

• China successfully launched a new optical remote-sensing satellite from its Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.
• The satellite, Gaofen-9 05, was sent into orbit by a Long March-2D carrier rocket.
• A multifunctional test satellite and another satellite named Tiantuo-5 were also launched via the rocket.

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) has inducted three retired greats of the game, namely South Africa’s Jacques Kallis, Australia’s Lisa Sthalekar and Pakistan’s Zaheer Abbas, into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
• Kallis is the fourth South African player inducted and Abbas is the sixth from Pakistan. Lisa is the 27th from Australia and the ninth woman player in the list, which includes five from Australia.
• In all, 93 players have been inducted so far under the system, which sees retired players become eligible five years after playing their last international match.

• Guitarist Jack Sherman, best known for his association with American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, has died at the age of 64.
• Jack Sherman joined Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1983, and was the second guitarist to have joined the rock group. He replaced Hillel Slovak. Sherman left the band after Slovak returned.
• Sherman performed on the band’s debut album titled The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and also contributed to the second album, Freaky Styley.

• Bayern Munich clinched its sixth European title after beating Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the Champions League final in Lisbon.
• Victory for the German champion secures a lucrative treble after it also won the league and domestic cup earlier this year.
• The French champion, which was also bidding for a treble, has become obsessed with winning the Champions League since Qatar Sports Investments bought the Parisian club in 2011.