Latest Current Affairs – November 24 & 25 2018
1. Sonia wins silver in her first world championship
Playing in her first AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship, India’s 21-year-old boxer Sonia Chahal won silver medal after losing to Germany’s OG Wahner in the 57-kg category. It was India’s seventh silver medal and overall 30th medal in the history of the tournament. Earlier in the day, Mary Kom won her record sixth AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship gold medal.
2. Government allows personal use of quadricycles
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approved the sale of quadricycles for personal use. A quadricycle is a 4-wheel motor vehicle of the size of a three-wheeler but with less power and a lower maximum speed than a conventional small car. Bajaj Auto is the only Indian automaker that makes a quadricycle, which it exports to other countries.
3. Mary Kom becomes 1st woman boxer to win 6 world championship titles
India’s Mary Kom has become the first ever boxer to win six AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship titles. The 35-year-old boxer achieved the feat by defeating 22-year-old Hanna Okhota of Ukraine in the final of the 48-kg category in Delhi on Saturday. Kom had previously won world championship gold medals in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010.
4. Sameer Verma wins his 2nd straight Syed Modi International title
World number 16 Sameer Verma defeated world number 36 Lu Guangzu of China in the men’s singles final to win his second straight Syed Modi International Badminton Championship title. The 24-year-old Indian shuttler won the match with a scoreline of 16-21, 21-19, 21-14. Sameer is the second Indian male shuttler after Kashyap Parupalli to win the tournament twice.
5. Saina Nehwal wins silver at Syed Modi International 2018
World number nine Saina Nehwal bagged silver at Syed Modi International Badminton Championships 2018 on Sunday after losing to world number 27 Han Yue. The 19-year-old Chinese shuttler defeated the 28-year-old Indian 18-21, 8-21 in 34 minutes. Saina, who had previously won the tournament in 2009, 2014 and 2015, was competing in her fourth final of the year.
6. Kannada actor, former minister Ambareesh passes away aged 66
Kannada actor and former union minister MH Ambareesh passed away at the age of 66 after suffering a heart attack. The three-time MP had been admitted to a hospital in Bengaluru after he complained of breathlessness. Popularly known as “rebel star”, Ambareesh had acted in around 200 films in a career spanning over four decades.
7. Senior Congress leader CK Jaffer Sharief passes away aged 85
Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister CK Jaffer Sharief passed away in a hospital in Bengaluru at the age of 85. Sharief, who served as Union Railway Minister from 1991 to 1995, was hospitalised after he collapsed while getting into his car for Friday namaz. “It is a day of tragedy for Congress,” President Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
8. European Union leaders approve Brexit deal with the UK
The UK’s withdrawal agreement from the European Union (EU) has been approved by the bloc’s 27 heads of state, the President of the European Council Donald Tusk announced. The deal now needs to be approved by the UK Parliament, which is expected to vote in early December. Britain is scheduled to leave the EU in March 2019.
9. Dipa grabs bronze in vault event at Artistic Gymnastics WC
Dipa Karmakar won bronze in the vault event on the third day of the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Cottbus, Germany. “It was overwhelming to compete against some of the best athletes in the world!! Aaj ye bronze bhi gold lag raha hai,” Karmakar tweeted after her win. Dipa further thanked her coach, her parents, and her physio.
10. Australia beat England to win Women’s World T20 for fourth time
Australia defeated England by 8 wickets in Antigua to win the Women’s World T20 for the fourth time. This was the third time after the 2012 and 2014 editions that Australia defeated England in the final to clinch Women’s World T20 title. The match witnessed Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry become only the second cricketer to reach 100 T20I wickets.
11. Dehradun airport to be renamed after late PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee
The Uttarakhand government approved a proposal to rename capital Dehradun’s Jolly Grant Airport’s name after late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, an official said. The proposal was approved by the state cabinet at a meeting chaired by CM Trivendra Singh Rawat. A proposal to convene a three-day Winter Session of the Assembly from December 4 was also passed.
12. NASA satellites Wall-E, EVE to track robotic Mars landing
NASA’s experimental mini-satellites (CubeSats), nicknamed ‘Wall-E’ and ‘EVE’ after Disney-Pixar characters, will broadcast status of InSight Mars lander. Both use a compressed gas found in fire extinguishers to push themselves through space, same way Wall-E did in the 2008 film. InSight, the first mission to study deep interior of Mars, is on track for landing on the planet.
13. Joyce Msuya appointed as acting Executive Director of UNEP
Tanzanian biologist Joyce Msuya appointed as acting Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) after the resignation of Erik Solheim.
Erik Solheim resigned from the post of Executive director of UNEP following an internal audit report that said he had gobbled up $500,000 in unnecessary and budgeted travel expenses in just 22 months. Msuya Msuya previously worked with World Bank and she is consistently advocating for conservation of the planet.
14. Professor S.P. Ganguly conferred the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle
For the first time, the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest civilian honor given to a foreigner by Mexico, was awarded to Professor Shyama Prasad Ganguly in the India International Center (IIC). He was decorated with the striking gold-yellow insignia by Mexican Ambassador Melba Pria. The award was in recognition of his “outstanding work in the study and dissemination of the Spanish language and Mexican culture”.
15. WCCB won Asia Environment Enforcement Awards for combating transboundary environmental crime
The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) was selected for the Asia Environmental Enforcement Award 2018, for its outstanding contributions in combating the trans-boundary environmental crime by United Nations Environment program. WCCB is a statutory multi-disciplinary body established by the government under the Environment Ministry to combat organized wildlife crime in the country.
This is the second time in a row that the awards are being given by UN Environment to India. WCCB’s enforcement officer RS Sharath was also selected for Asia Environmental Enforcement Awards 2018 under the individual category.
16. Hockey captain Manpreet signed up with Adidas
Indian men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh signed up with global sports giant, Adidas ahead of the season-ending World Cup to be played in Bhubaneswar from November 28 to December 16. Manpreet, thus, joined an already strong portfolio of athletes signed up by Adidas, which includes Hima Das, Swapna Burman, Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Dipika Pallikal, Zeel Desai, Nikhat Zareen, Siddhanth Banthia and Manjot Kalra to name a few.
17. Centre made jute packaging mandatory for all food grains
The Centre approved a proposal making jute packaging mandatory for all food grains. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In India, the jute sector employs approximately 3.7 lakh workers directly. The move is significant as it would support several lakh farm families and workers whose livelihood is dependent on the jute sector.
18. Filmmaker Nandita Das to receive FIAPF Award
Filmmaker Nandita Das will be honored with the International Federation of Film Producers Associations( FIAPF) Award at the 12th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Brisbane on the 29th of this month. She will be presented the award in recognition of her achievement in film in the Asia Pacific region. This was announced by Michael Hawkins, chairman of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and its academy in a statement in Brisbane.
19. Karnataka CM launched Badavara Bandhu scheme
Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy launched mobile banks to disburse interest-free loans to street vendors and small traders at the AMPC Market in Yeshwantpur. The mobile bank scheme is called ‘Badavara Bandhu’ (friend of the poor). The scheme announced in the budget this year seeks to free the poor business community from the clutches of moneylenders.
Under the scheme, small traders will get loans of up to Rs.10,000 without any interest and collateral. The beneficiaries will have the flexibility of repaying the loan on daily installments of Rs.100 or one-time repayment within three months. If they repay within the stipulated time, they are eligible for a fresh loan of up to Rs.15,000.
20. SER won the 41st All India Railway bridge championship
South Eastern Railway (SER) emerged champion in the team event of the 41st all-India Railway bridge championship at Garden Reach, Kolkata. South Eastern, Eastern, Metro and Central entered the super league before the former won the title with 43.79 VPs. Eastern finished runner-up. South Eastern was represented by Hasibul Hasan, Pranab Roy, Sandip Dutta, Prasanta Bera, Subhasish Sarkar and Wrik Chakraborty who have also represented the country in many international tournaments.
