Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, dies at 99

Prince Philip, known as the Duke of Edinburgh, married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947 and was the longest-serving consort in British history. He retired from public engagements in 2017 after carrying out more than 20,000 of them.

The prince married Princess Elizabeth in 1947, five years before she became Queen. In March, the Duke left King Edward VII’s hospital in central London after a month-long stay for treatment. He was admitted on 16 February after feeling unwell and later underwent a procedure for a pre-existing heart condition at another London hospital – St Bartholomew’s.

French Open 2021 tournament postponed by a week

On the 8th of April, the French Tennis Federation said that the French Open, also called the Roland Garros tournament, has been postponed by one week.

This is because of the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide restrictions in France. It will now run from May 24 till June 13, 2021.

Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards Announced

Deepika Padukone and Akshay Kumar got the best actor awards, and the late Sushant Singh Rajput was awarded the ‘Critic’s Best Actor award.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s highest award in cinema, presented by the Directorate of Film Festivals, at the National Film Awards ceremony.

Started in 1969, the award was introduced to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke’s contribution to Indian cinema – he is popularly known as “the father of Indian cinema”. He directed India’s first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra in 1913.

The famous Cherry Blossoms bloom; earliest ever in 1200 years

The annual peaking of Japanese cherry blossoms is a sight to behold. The ‘bloom’ lasts for several days each year and is famous globally for the beauty it exudes.

Japanese Cherry Blossoms also called “Sakura” used to peak each year later in the year. Gradually it shifted to mid-April, and this year the event has happened as early as March. This is the first time in 1209 years that the Cherry Blossoms have peaked in March.

As these flowers are very temperature sensitive, the earlier bloom is being attributed to warmer temperatures. Global warming is not just a phenomenon that happens in the Arctic Circle anymore, very visible and evident changes are being observed all around the globe. The temperatures in Japan have risen by about 3.5 degrees since the 1800s and hence the gradual shift in the peaking of Cherry Blossoms.