Current Affairs Daily Digest – March 17 2019
1. Sushma Swaraj holds high-level meeting at Maldives Foreign Ministry
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is holding a high-level meeting at the Maldives Foreign Ministry during her two-day visit to Male. Several ministers, including Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, are present at the meeting to discuss bilateral cooperation and development assistance to the Maldives.
Both sides will discuss ongoing and future collaboration arrangements, including the implementation of the agreed outcome, of the State Visit to India by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. It is expected that discussions will focus on development cooperation, cooperation in the field of health, and enhancing people-to-people contact.
2. India thrash Sri Lanka by 5-0 in 5th SAFF Women’s C’ship
Defending champion India thrashed Sri Lanka by 5-0 in the 5th South Asian Football Federation, SAFF Women’s Championship in Biratnagar, Nepal . Indian girls dominated the entire game and took a 4-0 lead in the first half. Grace Dangmei, Sandhya Ranganathan, Indumati and Sangeeta scored goals.
This is team India’s 21st victory and it has won the championship four times in the past.
3. Kohli, Bumrah retain top spots in ICC ODI rankings
India skipper Virat Kohli and pacer Jasprit Bumrah have retained their top positions in the batsmen and bowlers’ list of the latest ICC ODI rankings. Kohli remained at number one spot after scoring 310 in the recently-concluded home series against Australia while his deputy Rohit Sharma hit 202 runs to maintain the No.2 spot in the batting chart.
Kedar Jadhav’s all-round effort has helped him move up 11 places to a career-best 24th after the five-match series, which India lost 2-3. Meanwhile, South Africa opener Quinton de Kock has grabbed fourth position after playing a huge part in his team’s 5-0 victory over Sri Lanka. New Zealand’s Ross Taylor has maintained the number three spot.
In bowlers’ list, Bumrah is sitting at the top with 774 points. Among others, New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult has moved up a place to second. The all-rounders’ table continued to be headed by Rashid Khan. However, there are no Indian figures in the top-5.
4. Special Olympics: India bags 70 medals
In Special Olympics, India have bagged 70 medals including 18 golds, 22 silver and 30 bronze, so far, at Abu Dhabi. Team Bharat clinched a whopping 55 medals, including 14 gold.
In Roller Skating, Supreet Singh from Haryana in 1000-meter, Rishabh Jain from New Delhi in 1000-meter and Priya Prakash Gada from Maharashtra in 100-meter won a Gold Medal each. Amanjot Singh won gold in the squat contest after lifting 385kg.
Indian roller skaters bagged a staggering 29 medals comprising nine golds, 13 silver and two bronze. The powerlifters of India also found the podium 23 times by the end of the second day of competitions.
5. FIFA to make public the vote for 2023 Women’s World Cup
FIFA will make public its vote on the host for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. It could be the most hotly contested bidding process for the tournament, which was first staged in 1991. Australia, Colombia, Japan and South Africa have been exploring bids. South Korea submitted a proposal to DPK Korea to jointly bid.
The United States, Canada and Mexico were chosen last year to host the 2026 World Cup. The votes by the FIFA Congress of all member associations were published. Previously, the decisions were taken in private by FIFA executive committee, which was renamed the FIFA Council in 2016.
6. Cyclone Idai hits Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe
Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi have been hit by a vicious cyclone that has killed nearly 150 people, left hundreds more missing and stranded tens of thousands.
According to the UN and government officials, Cyclone Idai has affected more than 1.5 million people in the three southern African countries.
7. Ex-SC judge Justice P.C. Ghose to be India’s first Lokpal
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose was recommended to be the first Lokpal or anti-corruption ombudsman of India. His name was finalised and recommended by the Selection Committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and eminent jurist Mukul Rohatgi.
Justice Ghose, 67, who is a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) since June 2017, retired from the Supreme Court on May 27, 2017. He had assumed charge as Supreme Court judge on March 8, 2013. His was among the top 10 names shortlisted by the Lokpal Search Committee.
8. Athlete Irfan qualifies for Tokyo Olympics
Indian athlete K.T. Irfan has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as he finished fourth in the men’s 20 kilometre category at the Asian Race Walking Championships .
The 29-year-old clocked 1 hour 20 minutes and 57 seconds to finish inside the Olympic qualification standard of 1 hour and 21 minutes.
The Kerala athlete holds the national record of 1:20:21 which he achieved during his 10th place finish at the 2012 Olympics in London. He also qualified for this year’s World Championships as he bettered the qualifying mark of 1:22:30.
9. Golden Globes sets 2020 date
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has set next years Golden Globes ceremony for January 5, 2020.
The Globes fall just two days before Oscar nomination balloting closes on January 7 so Globes outcomes likely won’t have as much of an impact on Academy voters as they may have had in 2019 when there was a bigger gap between the two dates.
Nominations for the 92nd Oscars will be announced on January 13, 2020 with the ceremony set for February
The 76th Golden Globe Awards held on January 7, 2019, witnessed all the diverse men and women take home trophies in a proud evening which turned slightly surprising when Bohemian Rhapsody and its lead star Rami Malek were declared as the Best Motion Picture (Drama) and the Best Actor, respectively.
10. NGT fines Adani Group ₹5 cr for Udupi plant, cancels extension plan
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a Rs5-crore fine on the Adani Group over its power plant in Karnataka’s Udupi. The NGT also cancelled the environmental clearance given to Adani Group to expand its power plant in the area. This comes after nearby residents complained about the ill-effects on public health and decreasing agricultural yield due to the plant.
11. 1st J&K IAS topper Shah Faesal launches political party in Srinagar
Former IAS officer Shah Faesal, who became the first IAS topper from J&K in 2009, has launched a political party named ‘Jammu and Kashmir Peoples’ Movement’ at a function in Srinagar . He resigned from the Indian Administrative Service in January to protest killings in Kashmir.
12. 18-yr-old Diksha 2nd Indian golfer to win on Ladies European Tour
Eighteen-year-old Diksha Dagar became the second Indian to win an event on Ladies European Tour after clinching South African Women’s Open in Cape Town. Aditi Ashok was the first Indian to win on the Ladies European Tour after clinching Hero Women’s Indian Open in Gurugram in 2016. Dagar had finished tied-fifth at the NSW Open last week.
13. 15 March 2019: World Sleep Day
World Sleep Day (the Friday before the northern hemisphere vernal equinox) is an annual event organized by the World Sleep Day Committee of the World Sleep Society, formerly World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM), since 2008.
The goal is to celebrate the benefits of good and healthy sleep and to draw society’s attention to the burden of sleep problems and their medical, educational, and social aspects, and to promote the prevention and management of sleep disorders.
Theme for 2019: ‘Healthy Sleep, Healthy Aging’
14. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar passes away
Manohar Parrikar, Goa Chief Minister and former defence minister, has passed away at the age of 63 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Parrikar was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in February 2018 and had been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, Delhi and New York since.
From an RSS pracharak to a Union Minister, the technocrat-turned politician was known for his administrative acumen and clean image, which left an indelible mark on the politics of the tiny state. A Mumbai IIT graduate in metallurgical engineering and among the first members of BJP in Goa, Parrikar was instrumental in raising the profile of his party from its just four members in state assembly in 1994 to its present status as a ruling party in the state assembly.
