News in Short

• Rafael Nadal made history at the Australian Open, rallying from two sets down in the final to beat Daniil Medvedev and win a men's record 21st Grand Slam title.
• Nadal, 35, outlasted the 25-year-old Medvedev 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in a match that lasted 5 hours, 24 minutes.
• The southpaw had been in a three-way tie with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic atop the all-time list for men's major winners but now stands alone thanks to his second career title at this hardcourt Grand Slam.

• Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian to win her home Grand Slam in 44 years, halting the charge of American Danielle Collins in straight sets.
• It was a third Slam title for the 25-year-old after her breakthrough French Open success in 2019 and Wimbledon last year, joining Serena Williams as the only active players to win majors on all three surfaces.
• Barty is the first Australian women’s singles champion since Chris O’Neil in 1978. She was the first home-grown player to reach the final since Wendy Turnbull in 1980.

• India’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging station, with 100 charging points for four-wheelers, was commissioned in Sector 52 of Gurugram.
• The EV charging station in Gurugram has been installed and is operated by a partner company of National Highways for Electric Vehicle (NHEV), as part of a pilot project to install charging stations on the Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Agra highways, and turn them into e-highways.
• The pilot project is aimed at demonstrating the competitive advantage of owning a charging station business over petrol pumps, in terms of ease in getting the necessary licensing, designing, commissioning, installation, electrification and safety certifications.

• NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) launched in 2005 has helped scientists determine that Mars had surface water as recently as 2 billion years ago.
• Previous studies had concluded that water on Mars evaporated about 3 billion years ago and this new find reduces that timeline significantly.
• The team made the discovery by studying chloride salt deposits that were left behind as ice water evaporated. The salt deposits also provide the first mineral evidence for the presence of liquid water on Mars.

• Former Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor was banned for three-and-a-half years by the ICC for failing to report a 2019 spot-fixing approach by an Indian businessman on time.
• He was also handed a one-month suspension for failing a dope test which was linked to his intake of cocaine during the episode.
• Taylor admitted to being in breach of the provisions of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. He Taylor admitted that he was given a part payment to spot-fix matches, which, according to him, he never did.
• He also tested positive for Benzoylecognine. The suspension will run concurrently with the 3-1/2-year ban.