07 July 2019 - Daily Current Affairs
1. Brazil wins the Copa America 2019 Title
- Brazil defeated Peru 3-1 to win its first Copa America title since 2007.
- Jesus scored the decisive goal after a penalty from Peru captain Paolo Guerrero cancelled out Everton’s opener for hosts Brazil at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium.
- A last-minute penalty from substitute Richarlison sealed a win for Brazil which handed the South American giants their ninth Copa triumph and first since 2007.
- Argentina took third place by beating Chile 2–1 in the third-place match.
- Brazil's veteran right-back Dani Alves was player of the tournament.
- The 2019 Copa América (46th edition) was the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL.
- It was held in Brazil (between 14 June to 7 July 2019) at 6 venues across the country.
2. Vinesh Phoga & Divya Kakran wins the Gold medal at Grand Prix of Spain
- India’s wrestler Vinesh Phogat (in 53 Kg category) and Divya Kakran (in 68 kg category) have won Gold Medal at the Grand Prix of Spain.
- Vinesh comfortably beat Peru's Justina Benites and Russia's Nina Minkenova before getting the better of Dutch rival Jessica Blaszka in the final.
- Among others, World Championship bronze medallist Pooja Dhanda (57kg), Seema (50kg), Manju Kumari (59kg) and Kiran (76kg) won silver medal.
- India finished second with 130 points in team championship behind Russia (165-points)
3. Hima Das clinches gold in Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland
- Indian sprinter Hima Das (19-years) won her second international gold in women's 200m with a top finish at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland.
- Hima clocked 23.97 seconds to clinch the gold while VK Vismaya bagged the silver in 24.06 seconds.
- This was Hima's second competitive 200m race of the year.
- She has a personal best of 23.10 seconds, which she clocked in 2018.
- Hima is the reigning world junior champion and national record holder in 400m.
- National record holder Muhammed Anas also won the gold in men's 200m race with a time of 21.18 seconds.
- MP Jabir won the gold in men's 400m hurdles in 50.21 seconds while Jithin Paul was third in 52.26 seconds.
4. P Kashyap losses to Li Shi Feng in the title clash of Canada Open Badminton
- India's Parupalli Kashyap (32-years) lost to Li Shi Feng (China) in the men's singles title clash of the Canada Open.
- Kashyap entered the final, defeating Taiwan's Wang Tzu-wei in a semi-final encounter at Calgary.
- Feng had defeated Koki Watanabe of Japan in the other semi-final.
- The 2019 Canada Open (or, YONEX Canada Open 2019) is a badminton tournament took place at Markin-MacPhail Centre in Canada (2-7th July 2019).
- This tournament is organized by the Badminton Alberta and sanctioned by the BWF and Badminton Canada.
National Affairs
5. Army Chief releases Kargil Tribute Song
- Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has released a Kargil Tribute Song to honour, salute and pay homage to the Kargil martyrs and war veterans.
- The song has been composed by eminent Hindi lyricist Sammer Anjaan and sung by Shatadru Kabir.
- The song was released as part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas to be celebrated on 26th of July.
6. UAE Foreign Minister holds bilateral talks with EAM S Jaishankar in New Delhi
- Today, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Foreign Minister of United Arab Emirates) holds bilateral talk with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi.
- The visiting dignitary will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow.
- The visit is aimed at not only strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership but also to explore new areas of cooperation between the two countries.
- India and the UAE enjoy warm, close and multi-faceted relationship underpinned by historic cultural, religious and economic linkages.
- The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner and fourth-largest energy supplier.
- The UAE is also home to 3.3 million-strong Indian community (largest in the Gulf region).
7. Maximum senior citizens come from UP followed by Maharashtra
- According to Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Rattan Lal Kataria, there are over 10.38 crore senior citizens in the country.
- Uttar Pradesh accounts for more than one crore 54 lakh followed by Maharashtra one crore 11 lakh.
- Mr Kataria said, the Union Government has launched several programmes to enable senior citizens to lead a socially secured life.
8. Govt to invest 50 lakh crore rupees in railways by 2030
- According to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, the union government is eyeing investment of 50 lakh crore in railways by the year 2030 to make it the best in the world.
- The Minister said that the rail infrastructure in the country increased by mere 30 per cent in the last 65 years due to the lack of adequate investment, while freight and passenger traffic increased by 1500 per cent.
- Mr Goyal announced that the entire Konkan Railway route from Mumbai to Mangaluru via Goa would be electrified at the cost of 11,000 crore rupees.
- The electrification of railways will improve speed and reduce pollution on the scenic Konakan railway route.
9. Assam Govt to develop over three hundred tourist spots
- Assam government has taken a step to develop 316 tourists spot in the state.
- According to Bhaskar Phukan (M D of Assam Tourism Development Corporation), 150 crore rupees will be spent to develop these locations under Axom Darshan.
- Toilet, waste management, drinking water and waiting shades to be built or develop across the state in important locations.
- Mr Phukan added that river tourism is one of the sought-after sectors in Assam and the state government will utilise the mighty Brahmaputra to develop the sector.
10. India gets its 38th UNESCO World Heritage Site as Pink City Jaipur
- The Walled City of Jaipur, known for its iconic architectural legacy and vibrant culture, on made its entry into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.
- The announcement was made after the 43rd Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, underway at Baku (Azerbaijan).
- The committee examined the nomination of the Walled City of Jaipur for inclusion in the World Heritage list.
- With this, India now has 38 World Heritage Sites (30 cultural properties, 7 natural properties and one mixed site).
11. NASSCOM announces global cloud computing challenge
- NASSCOM partners with National Skill Development Corporation to organise ‘World Skills India’s International Cloud Computing Challenge 2019’.
- Ten countries including India are participating in the competition, along with New Zealand, Belgium, Japan, China, South Korea, Russia, Oman and Ireland.
- “WorldSkills India” is an NSDC initiative launched in 2011 to provide a platform to the youth, along with industries and educators.
- The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) is a trade association of Indian Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.
- Formation: 1st March 1988
- Chairman: Keshav R. Murugesh
- President: Debjani Ghosh.
Art & Culture
12. Bonalu festival kicks off at Golconda Fort
- The annual Bonalu festival kicked off in the city at the historic Golconda Fort of Hyderabad.
- Bonalu is an annual festival of Telangana celebrated in Twin Cities Hyderabad, Secunderabad and other parts of Telangana.
- It is celebrated every year in a grand manner in the state during the first month of the monsoon season.
- The famous Sri Ujjaini Mahankali Bonalu celebrations at Secunderabad will be held on July 21 and 22.
- Bonalu is celebrated to ward off diseases and usher in good health, peace and prosperity.
- Women, attired in colourful robes, carry the 'Bonalu' (decorated pots containing food) on their heads to the temples for offering them to the Goddess.
International Affairs
13. Italy's Prosecco hills added to UNESCO World Heritage list
- Italy's north-eastern Conegliano and Valdobbiadene hills (home to the world-famous sparkling wine prosecco) have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
- The region became Italy's 55th World Heritage site.
- The landscape is characterised by hogback hills, ciglioni -- small plots of vines on narrow grassy terraces -- forests, small villages and farmland.
- The prosecco sparkling white, which has the highest classification available to Italian wine, is produced in a territory spread over nine provinces in Italy's northeast.
- Prosecco has become the most popular Italian wine abroad, with its exports seen rising by a record 21% in 2019 in foreign markets.
- A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area which is selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as having cultural, historical, scientific or another form of significance and is legally protected by international treaties.
- The sites are judged important to the collective interests of humanity.
14. India ranked 86th in the Henley Passport Index 2019
- According to the latest Henley Passport Index 2019, Japan and Singapore have ranked on top which means that these two countries have the most powerful passports in the world.
- India stands at 86th position in this index with a mobility score of 58.
- Afghanistan has once again been labelled by the index as the least powerful passport in the world.
- The HPI consists of a ranking of passports according to how many other territories can be reached 'visa-free'.
- The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations including micro-states and territories.
| Rank | Citizenship | Score |
| 1st | Singapore, Japan | 189 |
| 2nd | South Korea Germany Finland | 187 |
| 3rd | Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg | 186 |
| 4th | France, Spain, Sweden | 185 |
| 86th | India, Sao Tome and Principe, Mauritania | 58 |
| 109th | Afghanistan | 25 |
