Sushil Kumar Clinches Gold at Commonwealth Wrestling Championships
- Double Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar clinched a gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in South Africa.
- Sushil defeated New Zealand's Akash Khullar via a pinfall in the final of the 74kg freestyle category to clinch the medal.
- Parveen Rana also won a bronze medal in the same category. Another Olympic medalist, Sakshi Malik also clinched a gold medal in the championships.
- Sakshi defeated New Zealand’s Tayla Tuahine Ford in the final of the 62kg women’s freestyle category.
Note:
- Sakshi Malik won a bronze in the 2016 Rio Games.
- Sushil Kumar won the 2010 world title, a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
International Migrants Day 2017 observed globally
- The UN’s (United Nation) International Migration Day(IMD) is being observed every year on 18th December to protect the rights of migration workers and members of their families.
- The theme of this year is Safe Migration in a World on the Move.
Note: In Dec 2000, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 18 Dec as International Migrants Day after taking into account the large and increasing number of migrants in the world.
Meghalaya launches India’s first social audit law
- Meghalaya state has become the first Indian state to operationalize The Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act, 2017, a law that makes a social audit of government programmes and schemes a part of government practice.
- It was launched by Chief Minister Mukul Sangma at a national convention in Shillong.
- Earlier, the social audits of govt programmes were done at the initiative of civil society organizations.
- It is applicable to 11 departments and 21 schemes in Meghalaya.
Note: Social audit is considered as the grassroots method of auditing and stems from people themselves. It will make auditing more meaningful.
PM Modi dedicates Tuirial Hydropower project to the nation
- PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 60-megawatt Tuirial hydroelectric power project from Aizawl, Mizoram.
- Now, the Mizoram had become the third power- surplus state in the north-east after Sikkim and Tripura.
- Prime Minister also inaugurated the Shillong - Nongstoin Rongjeng Tura road.
- The hydropower project would produce ‘251 million units’ of electrical energy every year.
Note
- Tuirial dam is an earth fill and gravity dam near Kolasib in the state of Mizoram in India.
- The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production.
Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurates eastern India’s First CNG Stations
- The Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has inaugurated eastern India’s first compressed natural gas (CNG) stations for scooters in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
- He has also inaugurated CNG-run scooters and CNG stations for three-wheelers at Chandrasekharpur and Patia area in Bhubaneswar.
- The CNG stations were part of GAIL’s Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga and City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
WHO Certifies Gabon as Polio-Free
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Gabon (central African country) "polio-free country", given the lack of new reported or suspected cases
- The UN health agency nonetheless recommended taking the necessary steps to continue monitoring for possible signs of the disease.
- Since 1988, Cases of polio have decreased by 99%, when polio was endemic in 125 countries and 350,000 cases were recorded worldwide.
Note:
- Polio is a highly infectious viral disease which mainly affects young children and can result in permanent paralysis.
- There is no cure and it can only be prevented through immunization.
Sebastian Pinera wins Chile's presidential election
- Former president ‘Sebastian Pinera’ (68-years) has won Chile's presidential election run-off.
- With 98.44% of the ballots counted, Pinera had won 54.57% in the run-off vote, to 45.43% for senator Guillier.
- He has replaced Michelle Bachelet.
- Sebastian Pinera was President of Chile between 2010 and 2014.
Note: Chile is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
India win 10 medals in Wushu Sanda Asian Cup
- India has won 10 medals (5-Silver and 5 Bronze) in the first Wushu Sanda Asian Cup in Guangzhou, China.
- The Silver medal winners were: Praveen in 48kg, Mukesh Chaoudhary (70kg), Rajender Singh (90kg), Arunpama Devi (60kg) and Vishakhaptnam Malik (70kg).
- The bronze medals were won by Uchit Sharma (52kg), L Budhdhachandra Singh(56kg), Rajani Deori (75kg), Y Sanathoi Devi (52kg), and Pooja Kadian(65kg).
India beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets; win series 2-1
- The hosts India have clinched the One-Day International (ODI) series 2-1 against Sri Lanka and recorded their eighth successive win in a bilateral contest.
- Earlier, India defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the third and final cricket ODI at Visakhapatnam.
- The victory target of 216 runs was overhauled by making 219 for 2 in 32.1 overs.
- Player of the Series: Shikhar Dhawan.
Sushil Kumar & Sakshi Malik win gold at Commonwealth Wrestling Championships
- India’s Sushil Kumar (freestyle wrestler) clinched the gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, in South Africa.
- He defeated Akash Khullar (New Zealand) with a pinfall in the final of the 74kg freestyle category.
- India’s Parveen Rana won a bronze medal in the same category.
- Rio Olympic medallist, Sakshi Malik won the gold medal in the 62kg women's freestyle category.
- She defeated Tayla Tuahine Ford (New Zealand) by a score of 13-2 in the final.
Note:
- The other Gold medals winners in the freestyle category for India on were Utkarsh Kale (57kg), Sharvan (61kg), Bajrang (65kg), Amit Dhankar (70kg), Jitender (79kg), Deepak (86kg), Somveer (92kg), Rubaljeet Singh (97kg) and Hitender (125kg).
- The silver medals went to Rahul Aware (61kg), Arun Kumar (70kg), Praveen Rana (74kg), Veer Dev Gulia (79kg), Pawan Kumar (86kg), Mausam Khatri (97kg) and Sumit (125kg).
- The bronze medals went to Sonu (65kg) and Azrudeen (92kg).
PV Sindhu settles for silver at Dubai World Badminton Superseries Finals
- Indian shuttler P V Sindhu (22-year) lost in to Yamaguchi in the final in Dubai World Badminton Superseries.
- She went down fighting against Akane Yamaguchi (World No. 2) of Japan in three games, 21-15 12-21 19-21.
Former Brazil midfielder Kaka announces retirement from football
- The former Milan and Real Madrid midfielder, Brazilian Kaka (35-year) announced his retirement from football.
- He joined Milan in 2003 and stayed for six years before joining Real Madrid for a then-world record (£56m) fee.
- Kaka won 92 caps for Brazil, scoring 29 goals and featuring at three World Cups, forming part of the squad that lifted the trophy in 2002.
