Argentina has defeated Croatia to win their first ever maiden 2016 Davis Cup tennis title in Zagreb, Croatia.
In the final match, Argentina’s Federico Delbonis defeated Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to give Argentina its first title.
Earlier, Argentina has reached the finals five times (1981, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2016).
Note:
The 2016 Davis Cup was the 105th edition of the Davis Cup tournament between national teams in men's tennis.
It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format.
It was sponsored by BNP Paribas.
Pankaj Advani claims bronze at IBSF World Snooker Championship
Fifteen-time world champion Pankaj Advani has defeated playing against Andrew Pagett (Wales) to settle for a bronze medal at the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Doha (Qatar).
Andrew reached the final after displaying a 14-74, 8-71, 0-87, 78-64, 0-81, 70-37, 7-80, 37-68, 19-74 win.
UP IAS officer wins gold in Asian Para-Badminton Championships
UP- cadre IAS officer (2007-batch) Suhas LY struck (Azamgarh district magistrate) has won gold in the Asian Para-Badminton Championships in Beijing.
He defeated Indonesian player Harry Susanto by 21-4 and 21-11.
Earlier, he got a wildcard entry to the championships and ensured his seat in the finals by winning six consecutive matches.
Losar Festival being celebrated in J&K
The Losar Festival (the New Year Festival) has begun in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir in this Himalayan region.
In Kargil District people of Fokar and adjacent villages start celebrating Losar from today.
The Buddhist Community on their Day of Losar and hoped that this New Year will bring peace prosperity.
The third gender to be included in rail reservation forms
The Indian Railways and Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have included "transgender as the third gender" in the gender option in the railway ticket reservation and cancellation forms.
The decision stands for both offline and online booking.
Earlier, the court had directed the Union and State Governments to recognise transgender as the third gender and to grant them with all the benefits provided to the socially and economically backwards classes.
Note:
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and online ticketing operations of the Indian railways.
Telangana village renamed 'Kavithapuram' after CM's daughter
Recently, a village in Telangana's Nizamabad district renamed 'Kavithapuram' after the daughter of TRS President and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
The residents of Khanapur gramme panchayat passed the resolution as a "token of reverence" towards TRS MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha
He helped the villagers when they were displaced by the Sri Ram Sagar reservoir on Godavari River.
Akodara becomes India’s first Digital Village
India’s first digital village created by ICICI Bank at "Akodara" in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat.
Akodara is located around 90 km from Ahmedabad
The village with a total population of 1,191 people and 250 households uses a various cashless system for payments of goods and services.
All transactions in the village are carried out through digital modes like SMS, net-banking or debit cards.
Iranian film Daughter wins Golden Peacock award at 47 IFFI
Iranian film “Daughter” has won the coveted Golden Peacock award at the 47th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) .
The film has been directed by Reza Mirkarimi.
It brings out intergenerational conflict between a strict father and a young daughter
It is a family drama set in southern Iran.
Note:
Best Actor award (Female): Elina Vaska (Latvia) for Mellow Mud.
Best Actor award (Male ): Farhad Aslani (Iran) for Daughter.
Special jury award: The Throne (South Korea) directed by Lee Joon-Ik.
RBL Bank pact with Bajaj finance for co-branded credit cards
Private sector lender RBL Bank (The Ratnakar Bank limited) has tied up with non-banking finance company Bajaj Finance to launch a series of co-branded credit cards for Indian customers.
The first of these credit cards is proposed to be launched in the fourth quarter of the financial year and targeted at the large segment of people in metros and non-metros.
Note:
RBL Bank Limited is a scheduled commercial bank headquartered in the Kolhapur region of Maharashtra founded in August 1943.
Over 2 million customers through a network of 201 branches and 373 ATMs spread across 16 Indian states and Union Territories.