1. England 1966 World Cup winner George Cohen dies aged 83
Tags: Sports Person in news
England's 1966 World Cup-winning right back George Cohen has died aged 83, his former club Fulham announced on 23 December. The club remembered him as their greatest-ever player.
Important facts
Born in Kensington, London (England), in 1939, George Cohen played for Fulham throughout his soccer career.
He scored six league goals in his 459 appearances between 1956 and 1969.
His greatest achievement was recorded as winning the 1966 World Cup when England defeated West Germany in the final at Wembley Stadium.
Cohen helped England emerge victorious and claim their first World Cup title with a 4–2 victory over the opposition.
He was part of the team's line of defence, which included Ray Wilson, Jack Charlton and captain Bobby Moore.
In 1964-1967, Cohen represented England in 37 matches. He also served as vice-captain (VC) of Sir Alf Ramsey for the match against West Germany.
Cohen was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 1976 and struggled with the illness for 14 years.
2. Cyclist Swasti Singh gets Ekalabya Puraskar
Tags: Sports Awards Person in news
The ‘Ekalabya Puraskar’ for the year 2022 was presented to cyclist Swasti Singh. This award is given every year to encourage young sporting talents.
Important facts
Singh was on 23rd December presented with a citation, trophy and Rs 5 lakh cash in a programme organised by Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT), the charitable wing of IMFA.
She was honoured for her performance from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022 at both national and international levels.
Football player Pyari Xaxa and Hockey player Shilanda Lakra also were honoured with a citation and Rs 50,000 cash each.
Billiards and snooker world champion Pankaj Advani attended the ceremony as the chief guest while Pranati Mishra, Asian Games medalist was the guest of honour.
Trustee Baijayant Panda, Chairman Eklabya Puraskar Committee – 2022 was present along with the jury members.
Mercurial cyclist Swasti has bagged two gold and as many silver medals at the national level.
About Ekalabya Puraskar
Eklavya Puraskar has come a long way since 1993 to be recognized as the most prestigious sports award of Odisha and is at par with many national awards.
This award is given every year to the young sportspersons of Odisha for their outstanding performance in the last two years.
3. Former Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen sentenced to 11 years in prison for money laundering and bribery
Tags: Person in news International News
The Maldives criminal court on 25th December sentenced former president Abdulla Yameen to 11 years in jail and fined him $5 million after he was found guilty of money laundering and accepting bribe.
Important facts
- The court found Yameen guilty of accepting money to lease an island owned by the government.
- The court sentenced the former leader to seven years in the money laundering case and four years in the bribery case.
- Yameen was accused that he had given permission to develop a resort on V Ara's land by taking money during his tenure.
- Yameen was accused of misusing his position to get the Ara's land to ex-parliamentarian Yusuf Nai by taking US $ 1 million.
- Yameen was also fined US $ 5 million in this case.
- According to the court's decision, Yameen will have to deposit the fine amount to the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) within six months.
About Maldives
- It is also called Maldive Islands, an independent island country in the north-central Indian Ocean.
- It extends more than 510 miles (820 km) from north to south and 80 miles (130 km) from east to west.
- Basis of economy - fisheries, tourism
- Industries - handicraft or cottage including the making of coir (coconut-husk fibre) and coir products, fish canning, and boatbuilding.
- Capital - Male
- President - Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
- Official Language - Dhivehi (Maldivian)
- Official Religion - Islam
- Currency - Rufiyaa
4. Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' appointed as the Prime Minister of Nepal for the third time
Tags: Person in news International News
President Bidya Devi Bhandari of Nepal has appointed Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as the new prime minister of Nepal on 25 December 2022. Prachand will become the prime minister for the third time.
In the recently held parliamentary election no party got any clear majority. Prachand’s Maoist Center Party won 32 seats in Nepal's 275-member House of Representatives.
He has formed a coalition government with the support of the Communist Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) party, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Rastriya Prajatantra Party and other smaller parties. Prachanda has the support of 165 lawmakers in the 275-member House of Representatives.
According to the deal with the UML party he will remain prime minister for the first half of the five-year term and later will be replaced by a candidate from the UML party.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal will replace Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress party as the Prime Minister.
Nepal’s Parliament
The Federal Parliament of Nepal is called Sanghiya Sansad. It is a bicameral house.
The Upper house is called the National Assembly or Rastriya Sabha. It consists of 59 members. It is a permanent body and the term of a member of the house is six years.
The lower house is called the House of Representative or Pratinidhi Sabha. It consists of 275 members with a term of five years.
Currency of Nepal: Nepalese Rupees
Capital: Kathmandu
President: Vidya Devi Bhandari
5. Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurates Sports Science Center in Udupi, Karnataka
Tags: place in news Sports Person in news State News
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurated the Sports Science Centre in Udupi on 24 December 2022. The sports science center has been set up by the government of Karnataka.
The state government has set up two sports science centers at Udupi and Bengaluru .These centers will conduct research on medicines, nutritious food, treatment and rehabilitation measures for sportspersons, which would help them to boost their abilities. The Minister said that many more such sports science centers will come up. In the future.
National Center of Excellence
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) under the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has also set up its own Sports Science Center at its
21 National Centres of Excellence (NCOE) and two high performance centers (Bengaluru and Patiala).
It has also set up a National Centre for Sports Sciences and Research (NCSSR) in New Delhi which is the hub of SAI Sports Science Center.
The National Centers of excellence provides specialized training in selected sports disciplines and also has a well-functioning Sports Science Center. The National centers of Excellence are at Alleppey and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Aurangabad and Mumbai in Maharashtra, Bengaluru in Karnataka, Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, Guwahati in Assam, Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Imphal in Manipur, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, Jagatpur in Odisha, Kolkata in West Bengal, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Patiala in Punjab, Rohtak, Sonepat in Haryana and 5 centers in New Delhi.
6. Union Minister Dr; Jitendra Singh launches revamped Probity Portal, e-HRMS 2.0 Portal
Tags: National Government Schemes Person in news
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh has launched a revamped Probity Portal, e-HRMS 2.0 Portal and e-Books on major Initiatives/Achievements of Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions on 25 December 2022 on the occasion of the Good Governance Day in New Delhi.
The week-long ‘Governance Week’ (19-25 December 2022) celebrations with a nationwide launch of “PrashasanGaon Ki Ore” campaign also concluded on this day.
Revamped e-HRMS 2.0 Portal
The Revamped Probity Portal was launched for the central government employees in 2017. It provided limited HR related services to the employees .To add more services and interlink it with other government apps the government has launched the Revamped e-HRMS 2.0 Portal.
The Revamped e-HRMS 2.0 Portal will provide the following services in a digital mode to the employees - Transfers (Rotation/Mutual), Deputation, APAR, IPR, iGOT Trainings, Vigilance Status, Deputation Opportunities, Service Book and other basic HR Services like Leave, Tour, Reimbursements etc
The revamped e-HRMS 2.0 is the first digital system in Government of India to provide end-to-end HR Services.
Mobile Application of iGoTKarmayogi Portal by Karmayogi Bharat (SPV)
The Minister also launched Mobile Application of iGoTKarmayogi Portal by Karmayogi Bharat (SPV) with an aim to create professional, well trained and future ready civil service for India, The app and the platform will allow all government servants, at multiple levels, to undergo continuous training, depending on their domain areas. The app and the platform will provide anytime-anywhere-any-device learning to train about 2 crores users.
7. PM Modi to participate in the historic programme marking ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ in Delhi on 26 December
Tags: place in news National Person in news Important Days
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a historic programme marking the first ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Delhi on 26th December 2022.
On the Prakash Purab()birth anniversary) of the 10th Sikh Guru Sri Guru Gobind Singh on 9th January 2022 the Prime Minister had announced that 26th December will be observed as ‘Veer Bal Diwas to mark the martyrdom of Sri Guru Gobind Singh’s sons Sahibzadas Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh.
They were brutally murdered by Wazir Khan the Mughal Governor of Sirhind on this day in 1705. .
During the programme, the Prime Minister will attend a ‘Shabad Kirtan’ performed by Baal Kirtanis. On this occasion, Mr Modi will also flag off a march-past by about three thousand children in Delhi.
8. Arunachal Pradesh’s Geto Sora wins Top Arena junior international badminton championship title
Tags: Sports Person in news
Arunachal Pradesh's 7 year old Geto Sora has won the Top Arena Junior International Badminton Championship title in the below 9 years category. He won the Championship title after beating Malaysian Jaryl Teh in the final played at Kuala Lumpur Malaysia on 23 December 2022.
The Top Arena Junior International Badminton Championship was held in Kuala Lumpur from 19-23 December 2022.
This is Sora’s second international badminton title in two months.
In November, the 7-year-old Sora had won the U-9 boys singles titles in the BTY-Yonex-Singha Championship, which was held at the Banthongyord Badminton School in Bangkok, Thailand.
Sora has also won gold in the PNB MetLife Junior Badminton Championship which was held in Guwahati, Assam in 2020.
9. Sitiveni Rabuka becomes the new Prime Minister of Fiji
Tags: Person in news International News
Sitiveni Rabuka became Fiji's prime minister on 24 December 2022 after a coalition of parties voted narrowly to install him as leader of the country. It also signals the end of the former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama's 16 years in power. In the 55 member Parliament of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka secured 28 votes against Bainimarama's 27 votes.
Rabuka now heads a three-party coalition government consisting of his People's Alliance, the National Federation Party led by Biman Prasad and the Sodelpa Party, led by Viliame Gavoka.
Fiji will have three deputy prime ministers in Biman Prasad (finance), Viliame Gavoka (tourism), and Manoa Kamikamica (external trade) under the coalition arrangement.
Republic of Fiji
It is an archipelago of 300 islands and 500 islets in the South Pacific Ocean near New Zealand.
It gained Independence from Great Britain in 1970.
About two-fifths of the Fijian populations are Indins who were brought as indentured labourer by the British from North India to work in the sugar fields of Fiji.
English, Fijian, and Fijian Hindi are the official languages of the country.
The Parliament of Fiji is unicameral and consists of 55 members. The term of the Fijian parliament is of four years.
Capital of Fiji: Suva
Currency: Fijian Dollar
President: Jioji Konrote
10. US President nominates Indian American Richard Verma to top diplomatic position in State Department
Tags: Person in news
US President Joe Biden on 23 December nominated Indian American Richard R Verma to a top diplomatic position in the US Department of State.
Important facts
- Biden announced his intention to nominate Verma as Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources.
- Verma is the Chief Legal Officer and Head of Global Public Policy at Mastercard.
- He was the United States Ambassador to India and Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs during the Obama Administration.
- Prior to that he was National Security Advisor to United States Senator Harry Reid (D-NV).
- He has also been Democratic Whip, Minority Leader, and then Majority Leader of the United States Senate.
- He has served as Vice Chairman of The Asia Group, Partner and Senior Counselor at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, and Senior Counselor at the Albright Stonebridge Group.
- He received numerous awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal from the State Department, the International Affairs Fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Meritorious Service Medal from the United States Air Force.
