By: D.K Choudhary
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Neelakanta to be a member of URC
- Ganeshan Neelakanta Iyer has become the first Indian to be nominated as a member of Umpires and Referees Committee.
- His term as URC member is for 2 years.
- He is also the chairman of South Asian Federation technical committee and member of Technical Committee of Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation.
- He has also officiated in various International competitions including Commonwealth Games.
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India has 31% of world’s poor kids
- According to a new report by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, 31% of world’s multidimensionally poor children live in India.
- 689 million poor children live in India, followed by Nigeria and Ethiopia.
- More than 528 million Indians are poor, which is more than all the poor people living in Sub-Saharan Africa combine.
- The study is based on survey conducted among 103 countries.
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Leo Varadkar to be next Irish PM
- Indian origin Leo Varadkar is set to become the Republic of Ireland’s next Prime Minister.
- He will become country’s youngest ever and first gay Prime Minister. He is also the first PM from an ethnic minority background.
- Varadkar defeated Housing Minister Simon Coveney with 60 per cent of the votes.
- He will succeed Enda Kenny as leader of the centre-right party.
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Varanasi to get freight village
- Varanasi will get India’s first ‘freight village’ spread over around 100 acres.
- The project will be setup close to the multi-mode terminal on the banks of the river Ganga.
- It is one-of-its-kind infrastructure platform, will anchor movement of goods by railways and roadways ultimately dovetailing with the waterways.
- It will be developed by Inland Waterways Authority of India.
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UN Security Council expands sanctions
- U.N. Security Council has expanded targeted sanctions against North Korea after its repeated missile tests.
- The new sanctions extend a travel ban and asset freeze on high-level North Korean officials and state entities that deal with the program.
- North Korea’s strategic rocket force, the Koryo Bank and 2 trading firms were also blacklisted.
- UNSC first imposed sanctions on Pyongyang in 2006.
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Punjab & UK to promote skill development
- Punjab govt. and United Kingdom have decided to join hands for imparting skill training and technical education to the youths of the state.
- It is done in order to provide youth better employment opportunities across the world.
- An MoU will be signed between Punjab and UK for the same.
- As per the MoU, students who study degree courses in Punjab or UK would be provided dual certificate.
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Nitin Kumar wins boys singles title
- Indian wild card Nitin Kumar Sinha won the boys singles title of HCL Asian Junior Tennis Championship.
- He defeated Malaysian player Christian Didier Chin in the final match.
- The Asian Junior Tennis championship is the second highest tournament anywhere in the world after the junior grand slams.
- Players from 11 countries are participating in the tournament.
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Messi amusement park in China
- Lionel Messi will launch an amusement park themed around him “Messi Experience Park” in China.
- The park will use virtual and augmented reality to re-run the highlights of his career and take people through training sessions with a VR Messi.
- The park will be built in collaboration with Phoenix Group and Mediapro.
- The park is set to open in 2019 and will have 20+ attractions based around him.
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Army to induct 18 Dhanush artillery guns
- The first regiment of 18 Dhanush artillery guns will be inducted into the Army by the end of the year.
- It is a medium gun with a max range of 40 km, and has a high angle of attack. So it can be deployed in both deserts and mountains.
- Dhanush is an upgraded version, based on the original design of the Swedish 155-mm Bofors howitzers.
- The Army has placed an initial order for 114 guns.
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Automatic coastal warning for disasters
- Odisha is all set to commission Early Warning Dissemination System.
- The system would enable loud sirens go off simultaneously from towers at 122 location.
- The system will also enable authorities to alert people in smaller pockets, depending on the severity of the disaster.
- Odisha is the 1st State to have developed an automatic public address system that can be activated along the coast.
