1) Sachin
Tendulkar named ambassador for 2015 ICC World Cup: Indian cricket icon
Sachin Tendulkar, who is the all-time leading run-getter in World Cup history,
was named the event's ambassador for the second successive edition. "The
International Cricket Council today announced Sachin Tendulkar as the World Cup
2015 Ambassador. It will be the second successive time that the India maestro
will be the Ambassador of ICC's pinnacle tournament, after he fulfilled the
role in the previous event in 2011," the ICC said in a statement in Dubai
on 22 December 2014. In his role as ambassador, Tendulkar will promote and
support a variety of ICC initiatives to enhance the profile of the tournament,
which is the third biggest sporting event in the world and will take place in
Australia and New Zealand from 14th February to 29th March.
2) Gujarat
to host Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2015: The 13th edition of the Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas (PBD), an event which celebrates the achievements of Indians
living abroad, will be held in Gujarat from January 7-9. Briefing the media
about the upcoming event on 22 December 2014, External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj said that Gujarat has been chosen as the partner State as 2015 happens
to be the 100th year of Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa. To
reflect this, the event will showcase his work and achievements. The event will
be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 8, and President
Pranab Mukherjee will honour prominent Pravasis on January 9.
3) Beji
Caid Essebsi elected as the President of Tunisia: Veteran politician Beji
Caid Essebsi declared victory in Sunday's presidential run-off vote, seen as
the last step in Tunisia's shift to full democracy four years after an uprising
ousted autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. The country took about 4 years to make
the free and fair democratic transition after the chaotic uprising of 2011
which toppled dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The 88-year old leader heads
the secular Nidaa Tounes (Call for Tunisia) party. He clinched the election by
defeating incumbent Prime Minister Moncef Marzouki in the Presidential run-off
vote.
4) India
to reach replacement levels of fertility by 2020: Fertility is falling
faster than expected in India, and the country is on track to reach replacement
levels of fertility as soon as 2020, new official data shows. The 2013 data for
the Sample Registration Survey (SRS), conducted by the Registrar General of
India, the country’s official source of birth and death data, was released on
22 December 2014. The SRS shows that the Total Fertility Rate – the average
number of children that will be born to a woman during her lifetime – in eight
States has fallen below two children per woman, new official data shows.
5) Suresh
Prabhu-led panel submitted advisory Group reports to Piyush Goyal: Union
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 22 December 2014 submitted the reports of the
Advisory Group for Integrated Development of Power, Coal, and Renewable Energy
to Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, and Renewable Energy
Piyush Goyal. The report covers the contemporary issues and challenges in
respect of the the latter's ministries. In the report, suggestions have been
made for the enhancement of coal production in the short, medium and long
terms.
6) Naval
light combat aircraft successfully tested: The first naval prototype of the
Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), designed to operate from the decks of aircraft
carriers, was successfully tested at a facility in Goa, the defence ministry
said. The LCA (Navy) Prototype 1 - or NP1 - the first indigenously designed and
developed fourth-plus generation combat aircraft, was tested at the Ski-Jump
facility of the Shore Based Test Facility at INS Hansa in Goa on 20 Dec 2014.
7) Arjun
Atwal won inaugural Dubai Open Golf: Veteran Indian golfer Arjun Atwal on
21 December 2014 ended a frustrating four-year title drought by winning the
inaugural Dubai Open by one stroke after South Korean teenager Wang Jeung-hun
bogeyed the final hole at the par-72 Els Club Dubai.
8) National
Mathematics Day celebrated: India on 22 December 2014 celebrated National
Mathematics Day. The day is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of
great Indian Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. The declaration to observe 22
December as National Mathematics Day was made by former Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh on 26 February 2012 at Madras University on the occasion of
125th birth anniversary of Ramanujan.
9) India's
Shiva Keshavan wins silver at Asian Luge Championship: India’s Shiva
Keshavan added another international medal to his kitty by winning a silver at
the 17th Asian Luge Championships in Nagano, Japan. Keshavan, who has
participated in five Winter Olympics, clocked 49.934 seconds to cover the 1326
metre long ice track in the men’s luge competition at the Spiral Olympic
Sliding Centre in Nagano. Hidenari Kanayama of Japan won gold in 49.791 seconds
while Kim of Korea bagged the bronze with a timing of 50.178.
10) Klaus
Iohannis sworn in as Romania’s new president: Liberal Klaus Iohannis,
former mayor of Sibiu, has been sworn in as Romania's new president in an
elaborate ceremony on 21 December 2014. The new head of state pledged to use
his time in office to fight corruption and strengthen the country's
institutions.
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