1. Mohammad Hafeez retires from International Cricket
Tags: Person in news
- Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has announced his retirement from international cricket, ending a career that spanned over 18 years.
- Hafeez, who made his international debut in 2003 in an ODI against Zimbabwe, featured in 392 internationals for Pakistan, scoring 12,780 runs and taking 253 wickets.
- His last international game was the ICC Men's T20 World Cup semi-final in November 2021.
2. Ashok Elluswamy appointed head of Tesla Auto Engineering project
Tags: Person in news
Tesla has hired Indian origin American Ashok Elluswamy as the head of its Autopilot Engineering project .
- Ashok Elluswamy did his B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the college of Engineering Guindy in Chennai.
- The owner of Tesla is Elon Musk .
- The Auto Engineering project of Tesla is to build a car which does not require human assistance.
3. Noted Odia writer Punya Prava Devi no more
Tags: Person in news
- Noted Odia writer and Kendra Sahitya Akademi award winner Punya Prava Devi, died after a brief illness. She was 83 years old .
- She had won the national award for best children’s literature in 1960 and Shishu Sahitya Ratna - Bal Sahitya Puraskar by the Kendra Sahitya Akademi in 2010.
4. New Coast Guard Director General
Tags: Person in news
Government of India has appointed Mr VS Pathania, as the 24th Chief of Indian Coast Guard.
He is an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and National Defence College, New Delhi.
Coast Guard:
- It is a maritime law enforcement agency under the Union Ministry of Defence.
- It is responsible for protecting Indian economic interest in the territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones of India.
- It is responsible for curbing smuggling and piracy on the High Seas.
- It also undertakes rescue and search operation in High Seas
- It was set up in 1977 on the recommendation of Dr Nag Chaudhary committee set up by the Government of India in 1970.
For detail on territorial waters, exclusive economic zone see our blog.
5. Ross Taylor announced his retirement from Cricket
Tags: Person in news
- New Zealand Cricketer Ross Taylor confirmed that he will retire from Test cricket after the Bangladesh series in January 2022 while International (ODIs) vs Australia and the Netherlands in February and March 2022 will be his last in the shorter format.
- So far, he has represented his nation in 110 Tests, 233 ODIs and 102 T20Is.
6. Quinton de Kock retires from Test Cricket
Tags: Person in news
- South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock retired from test cricket, in a shock move announced just a few hours after he played in the defeat to India in the first test in Centurion.
- De Kock will still continue to play limited-overs cricket for South Africa.
- 29 years old, De Kock made his debut against Australia in 2014 and played 54 tests.
7. New Deputy National Security Advisor
Tags: Person in news
- Former Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri has been appointed as new deputy National Security Advisor by the Government of India
- He will take charge of his office from January 1, 2022.
- The current National Security Advisor of India is Mr Ajit Doval.
- The first National Security Advisor was Mr Brajesh Mishra appointed by the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government on 19th November in 1998.
National Security Advisor
- National Security Advisor advises the Prime Minister on all matters relating to internal and external threats and opportunities to India, and oversees strategic and sensitive issues on behalf of the Prime Minister.
- The NSA of India also serves as the Prime Minister's Special Interlocutor with China as well as the envoy to Pakistan and Israel on security affairs.
- The NSA receives all intelligence (RAW, IB, NTRO, MI, DIA, NIA) reports and co-ordinates them to present before the Prime Minister.
8. Desmond Tutu no more
Tags: Person in news
- South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu, described as the country’s moral compass, died on 26th December 2021 aged 90.
- A tireless activist, Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for combating white-minority rule in his country.
- He coined the term “Rainbow Nation” to describe South Africa when Nelson Mandela became the country’s first black President in 1994.
9. K.S Sethumadhavan no more
Tags: Person in news
- K.S. Sethumadhavan, who died in Chennai at the age of 90, was one of Malayalam cinema’s finest directors of all time.He played a key role in bridging the gap between commercial and artistic cinema.
- He won 10 national and eight State awards.
- His Marupakkam (1990) became the first Tamil film to win the National Award for the Best Film.
10. Junior US Open Squash title winner
Tags: Person in news
To the point:
- Indian teenager Anahat Singh has won the prestigious Junior US Open Squash tournament in the Under-15 girls' category.
- The 13-year-old Delhi girl defeated Jayda Marei of Egypt.
- The US Junior Squash Open was held at the Arlen Spectre Centre in Philadelphia from 18th to 21st December 2021.
United States Junior Open Squash Championship
The United States Junior Open Squash Championship is the largest individual junior squash tournament in the world and is considered the third most prestigious junior open squash championship after the World Junior and the British Junior Open squash championship.