1) GSLV
Mark-III-X successfully test fired: The first experimental flight of the
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III registered success as
it lifted off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in
Sriharikota on the dot at 9.30 a.m. on 18 December 2014, taking India much
closer to realising the dream of manned space flight. GSLV Mark-III-X is the
heaviest rocket (630 tonnes) of India, which was launched on an experimental
mission along with human Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE). It
was launched with an aim to check its atmospheric stability with luggage of
around four tonne and to study re-entry characteristics of the crew module.
2) Gabriel
Garcia Marquez to feature on Colombia bank notes: Colombia will honour its
most famous author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, by featuring his face on its
banknotes. The House of Representatives passed a bill recently asking the
central bank to print a series of notes featuring the Nobel Prize winner's
face. Garcia Marquez, the author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and other
popular works of magic realism, died in April in Mexico City.
3) Lord's
set to stage record fifth ICC Cricket World Cup final: "Lord's Cricket
Ground in London has been proposed as the venue for the ICC Cricket World Cup
final when the tournament is staged in England and Wales in 2019 - and will
also host the ICC Women's World Cup final in 2017," the England and Wales Cricket
Board said in a statement. Lord's staged the first three ICC Cricket World Cup
finals in 1975, 1979 and 1983. The West Indies won the first two finals - their
only World Cup successes - while India recorded the first of their two World
Cup triumphs in 1983.
4) Minorities
Rights Day observed: Minorities Rights Day on 18 December 2014 was observed
across the world to create awareness on rights of minorities. On this day,
governments and NGO’s conduct debates on the recent developments in policies
and practices in Minority Rights both in India and at the global level.
5) Serena
Williams, Novak Djokovic selected as ITF world champions: Novak Djokovic
and Serena Williams were named as men's and women's World Champions for 2014 on
18 December 2014 by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). It is the fourth
time that Djokovic has taken the top award after he won Wimbledon, the ATP
World Tour finals and finished the year ranked number one in the world by the
ATP. The 27-year-old Serb is one of only four men to be named ITF World
Champion four or more times, alongside Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras and Roger
Federer. Williams won the US Open, the 18th Grand Slam title of her career, the
WTA Tour Championship and was also ranked number one by the WTA. At 33 she is
the oldest player ever to be named an ITF Singles World Champion.
6) Germany
topped FIFA year end rankings: World champions Germany comfortably top the
pile of the FIFA national team rankings revealed on 18 Dec 2014 despite a slump
in form since their rampant campaign in Brazil. The top three remain unchanged
since September with Lionel Messi's beaten World Cup finalists Argentina second
and Colombia in third.
7) Micromax
launched its YU brand: Yu, the new brand from domestic handset maker
Micromax, on 18 December 2014 launched its first device named Yureka. The 4G
device comes with Cyanogen operating system and is priced at Rs 8,999. The
products launched under the ‘Yu’ brand will be sold through the online route,
emulating Xiaomi's business model. Yureka, which is a dual SIM device, will be
available for pre-registration on Amazon.in from December 19 and will be
available from the second week of January.
8) 'The
Lunchbox' named best first film by Toronto Film Critics: Ritesh Batra's
much lauded epistolary romance drama 'The Lunchbox' has been named best first
feature by Toronto Film Critics. The film, which won the Critics Week Viewers
Choice Award at Cannes Film Festival in 2013, tells the nostalgic love story
between a lonely housewife and an about to retire widower, who get connected
through a wrongly delivered lunchbox. The Mumbai-set film starred Irrfan,
Nimrat Kaur and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in key roles.
9) 'Clean
India, Green India' theme of new Govt calendar: Clean India, Green India'
is the theme of the new Government of India calendar 2015 which focuses on
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative, the Swachh Bharat Mission. For the
first time ever, a digital version of the calendar was also launched today in
the form of a mobile phone app. PM Modi features on the first page of the
calendar for the month of January wielding a broom to clean a roadside.
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