23 December 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

23 December 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

23 December 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Manuel Marrero Cruz appointed as Cuba's first PM since 1976

  • Manuel Marrero Cruz was named the first prime minister of Cuba by President Miguel Díaz-Canel in more than 40 years. In Cuba, the post of PM was abolished in 1976 when Fidel Castro became president.
  • It was reinstated under the rules of a new constitution for the communist-run island passed earlier this year.
  • Marrero, who has served as tourism minister for 16 years and is an architect by trade, helped boost Cuba's economy by making tourism one of the engines of growth.
  • The military-run Gaviota tourism corporation, which he ran as a minister, has survived despite sanctions imposed by the United States.

2. Ecuador declares emergency after fuel spill in Galapagos Islands

  • Ecuador has declared an emergency to contain the environmental impact of a fuel spill in the Galapagos Islands, after a barge carrying 600 gallons of diesel fuel sank.
  • The Islands are located 1,000 kilometers east of mainland Ecuador.
  • The accident occurred when a crane collapsed while loading a container onto the barge.
  • The falling container destabilized the ship, causing it to sink.
  • Latin American Galapagos archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to one of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet.
Source: News on  Air

3. Eight West African countries rename common currency to Eco


  • The eight West African countries namely- Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Senegal, Togo, and Guinea-Bissau have agreed to change the name of their common currency from ‘CFA franc’ to ‘Eco’ after they jointly severed the CFA franc’s links to former colonial ruler France.
  • The announcement was made during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Ivory Coast, who hailed the decision as a historic reform.
  • Even though the deal took six months in making, common currency Eco will see the light of day in 2020.
  • These countries currently use 'CFA franc' as their currency.
  • All these countries, except Guinea-Bissau, are former French colonies.

4. India constructs Girls' Hostel for Nepal Armed Police Force School at Kirtipur


  • The Govt. of India has constructed Girls' Hostel for Nepal Armed Police Force School, Kirtipur.
  • The hostel was inaugurated by the Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Dr. Ajay Kumar at Kirtipur in Kathmandu district.
  • Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) School is an academic institution created under the APF Welfare Service Centre of Nepal Armed Police Force.
  • The school was established in 2005 and it has over 21 percent of girls' students.

National Affairs

5. Vice President releases the book “Turbulence and Triumph – The Modi Years”


  • The Vice President of India Shri M Venkaiah Naidu has released the book “ Turbulence and Triumph – The Modi Years” at Uparashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
  • The book was written by Rahul Agarwal and Bharti S Pradhan and is published by Om Books International.
  • It is a pictorial book which traces the journey of Narendra Modi from his days as a young boy from Vadnagar in Gujarat to New Delhi’s 7, Lok Kalyan Marg as the 14th prime minister of India.
  • It is replete with anecdotes from family, friends, colleagues, associates, testimonials of leaders from India and the world across party lines.

6. Wipro partners with Nasscom to skill students


  • IT giant Wipro has partnered with industry body NASSCOM to start a training platform on emerging technologies.
  • The Platform will train students on artificial intelligence, data science, the internet of things, cybersecurity etc.
  • Through this platform, Wipro will train 10,000 students from more than 20 engineering colleges in India.
  • This is a part of Wipro’s corporate social responsibility programme, TalentNext, which aims to enhance the quality of engineering education by preparing faculty and academic leaders to train students.
  • The programme has now been extended to students directly through Future Skills, a new age Nasscom platform built to bridge the industry-academia skill gap and help students learn new-age technologies.
Source: Economic Times

7. EChO Network launched to catalyze cross-disciplinary leadership in India


  • K VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India has launched an EChO Network.
  • It is a national program to provide a template for cross-disciplinary leadership in India with the specific focus of increasing research, knowledge, and awareness of Indian ecology and the environment.
  • EChO Network would develop a national network to catalyze a new generation of Indians who can synthesize interdisciplinary concepts and tackle real-world problems in medicine, agriculture, ecology, and technology.
  • With no precedent for such a network anywhere in the world, EChO Network establishes a new platform to change how science is embedded in our modern society.

8. India, Iran Agree To 'Accelerate' Work On Chabahar Project 


  • On December 22, 2019, India and Iran chaired the 19th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Tehran.
  • They were agreed to accelerate work on the Chabahar project while reviewing the entire gamut of bilateral relations.
  • The meeting was chaired by India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.
  • During the visit, the External Affairs Minister is expected to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Note:
  • In 2018, Iran and India had signed an agreement worth $85 million to develop the Chabahar Port in south-eastern Iran.
  • The Chabahar Port provides an alternative route for trade between India and Afghanistan and located in the Gulf of Oman.

9. Integral Coach Factory produces 3000 Coaches in record 215 days


  • Integral Coach Factory (ICF) of Indian Railways has produced its 3000th coach of the year in less than nine months.
  • This would help in meeting the growing demand for coaches. The number of working days to achieve the above figure has been reduced from 289 days in the last year to 215 days in the current year.

Important Days

10. 22nd December: National Mathematics Day


  • The National Mathematics Day is being observed on 22nd December every year to celebrate the birth anniversary of great Indian Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
  • Ramanujan Prime and Ramanujan theta discoveries have inspired further research on this mathematical subject.
  • He passed away on 6th April 1920.
  • In 2011, the National Mathematics Day was instituted by the Union Government to celebrate Ramanujan’s 125th birth anniversary.

State Affairs

11. Two Integrated Processing Units of Sikkim IFFCO to come up


  • Sikkim Chief Minister, Prem Singh Tamang laid down the foundation stone of two Integrated Processing Units of Sikkim Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Organics Limited, SIFFCO.
  • Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar was also present on this occasion as the chief guest.
  • Sikkim IFFCO Organics Limited is a joint venture between the world's biggest fertilizer Cooperative, IFFCO, and Government of Sikkim.
  • Its aim is to promote and market the organic produce of the country and especially from Sikkim and other north-eastern states of India.
  • The major commercial crops in which Sikkim IFFCO will operate are ginger, turmeric, large cardamom, and buckwheat.

Sports

12. Ashleigh Barty and Rafael Nadal named International Tennis Federation's (ITF) World Champions for 2019


  • Ashleigh Barty and Rafael Nadal were named International Tennis Federation's (ITF) World Champions for 2019.
  • They will be rewarded for stellar seasons in which they finished at the top of women's and men's rankings respectively.
  • Barty, who quit tennis to play cricket in 2014 before returning to the game in 2016, became the first Australian to win the French Open since Margaret Court in 1973 when she beat Czech Marketa Vondrousova in June.
  • Nadal claimed the season-ending ITF world title for the fourth time after sealing a historic 12th French Open and a fourth U.S. Open, as well as helping Spain to their sixth Davis Cup title.

13. Maisnam Meiraba Luwang wins Bangladesh Junior International Badminton Series


  • India's shuttler Maisnam Meiraba Luwang has won the Men's singles Bangladesh Junior International Badminton Series 2019 in Dhaka.
  • Top-seeded Meiraba, who hails from Manipur, beat Ken Yong Ong 21, 14, 21-18 in the final lasting 38 minutes on Sunday.
  • Meiraba had defeated another Malaysian, M Fazriq Mohamad Razif, in the semifinals.
  • Meiraba had also clinched the boys' singles U-19 title at the Woncheon Yonex Korea Junior Open International Challenge last month.
Source: DD News

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