Filippo Grandi takes charge as UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Senior United Nations (UN) official Filippo Grandi from Italy has taken the charge as new UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He succeeds Antonio Guterres of Portugal who has retired after heading the Refugee Agency for one decade. He will have tenure of five years.

Note: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) won the 2015 Indira Gandhi Peace prize.

Kate Atkinson wins Costa novel award for A God in Ruins

The British writer, Kate Atkinson has won the Costa novel award for the second time in three years for “A God in Ruins” – the companion novel to “Life After Life“, which won the award in 2013. With this, she became the first British author to receive a Costa prize three times. Earlier she had won it for Life After Life (2013) and Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1995).

Union Government reserves 33% posts of women constables in CAPFs

The Union Government has reserved 33 per cent posts of Constables for women in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to enhance their representation.

Periodic table to gain four new elements

Four new elements added to the Periodic Table. The elements with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118, discovered by scientists in Japan, Russia and US are the first to be added to the table since 2011, when elements 114 (flerovium, or Fl) and element 116 (livermorium or Lv) were added. The periodic table now has its seventh row completed with the introduction of these four new chemical elements. The new additions were formally verified by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

Amputee mountaineer Arunima Sinha scales Mount Aconcagua in Argentina

India’s star amputee mountaineer Arunima Sinha has successfully scaled Mount Aconcagua in Argentina as part of her Mission 7 Summits.

  • It was her 5th successful summit of the Mission 7 Summits that she had climbed on December 25, 2016 after starting on December 12, 2015.
  • With this, she created World record by becoming First Female amputee to climb 5 Mountains of the World.
  • Mt. Aconcagua (6,960.8 metres) is the highest mountain outside Asia and is also known as second Everest. By extension it is the highest point in both Western Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere.

Veteran CPI leader AB Bardhan passes away

Veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 92. Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan has been a leading figure of the trade union movement and Left politics in Maharashtra.

Shooter Apurvi Chandela bags gold at Swedish GP and sets world record

Commonwealth Games gold medal winning shooter Apurvi Chandela set a new record to finish on top of the women’s 10-metre air rifle event at the three-day Swedish Cup Grand Prix.

  • The 23-year-old from Jaipur shot 211.2 in the event  at the Savsjo Shooting Centre. She surpassed Chinese Olympic gold medallist Yi Siling’s mark of 211.
  • Swedish shooters Astrid Steffensen (207.6) and Stine Nielsen (185.0) won silver and bronze respectively.

India won 2015 SAFF football championships

India has won the 2015 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship for record seventh time. In the final match played at Thiruvanantapuram (Kerala), India defeated defending champion Afghanistan by 2-1 goal score. Jeje Lalpekhlua (72nd minute) and Sunil Chhetri (101th) had scored goals for India. For Afghanistan single goal was scored by Zubayr Amiri at 70th minute.

Note: Earlier India had won the SAFF Football Championship in year 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009 and 2011.

Pranav Dhanawade hits world record by scoring 1009 runs at school level tournament

Pranav Dhanawade, a 15-year-old cricketer from Mumbai, smashed an unbeaten 1009 not out off 327 deliveries to notch up the highest individual score in minor cricket, breaking a 117-year-old record against Arya Gurukul School in the H.T. Bhandari Cup inter­school cricket tournament.