Current Affairs 19 December 2016

India crowned junior Hockey World Cup champions

• India was crowned junior Hockey World champions after defeating Belgium 2-1 in the final in Lucknow. 
• Gurjant Singh opened the scoring in the 8th minute while Simranjeet Singh added another in the 22nd-minute. 
• Fabrice Van Bockrijck scored Belgium's solitary goal in the final minute. This is India's second junior World Cup title after first winning it in 2001.

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India, Tajikistan sign pact to limit terror-funding

• India and Tajikistan on Saturday signed four pacts including one to share financial intelligence to counter money laundering and financing of terrorism to strengthen defence cooperation. 
• The pacts were signed after PM Narendra Modi and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon discussed multiple issues including radicalisation. Terrorism undermines all developmental efforts, Rahmon said.

Developer of life saving technique 'Heimlich' dies aged 96

• Henry Heimlich, the doctor who came up with the Heimlich manoeuvre which saved thousands of choking victims, died of a heart attack on Saturday aged 96. 
• Heimlich came up with the technique in 1974 after reading about high death counts in restaurants caused by diners choking on food. 
• Heimlich won the prestigious Lasker Award for public service in 1984.

Bali named most popular year-end destination in Asia

• The island of Bali has been picked by travelling reviewer website TripAdvisor as the most popular year-end destination for South East Asian travellers. 
• The list, which mentioned places suitable for travel during December 1, 2016 and February 28, 2017, also included Luzon island in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Tokyo.

Jodhpur listed in top 10 preferred tourist places for 2017

• Jodhpur has been listed among the top ten preferred destinations for travellers in 2017, according to 'TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards for Destinations on the Rise'. 
• The list is based on feedback from travellers and the booking interest for the destination. 
• The list was topped by San Jose del Cabo in Mexico, followed by Kihei in Hawaii and Baku in Azerbaijan.

42nd annual cake show begins in Bengaluru

• The 42nd annual cake show organised by the National Consumer Fair recently began in Bengaluru. 
• The collection includes a 14 feet by 7 feet 'London Tower Bridge', which took about 65 days to make. 
• The show further displays cakes designed in the form of a 'Chinese Dragon', 'Aladdin and Magic Carpet', and 'Jack and the Beanstalk'.

5th edition of India's International Clown Festival begins

• The fifth edition of the 'International Clown Festival' recently began across five places including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Vadodara. 
• The festival is an annual event that aims to promote the 'art of clowning and circus skills'. 
• This year's festival, which is based on the theme of Christmas, will run until December 25.

Real Madrid crowned Club World Cup champions

• Real Madrid were crowned as the Club World Cup champions after defeating Japan's Kashima Antlers 4-2 in the final's extra-time. 
• The scoreline read 2-2 at the end of the 90 minutes, after Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Madrid on either side of Gaku Shibasaki's brace. 
• Ronaldo scored twice in extra-time to win the title for Madrid.

Priyanka ahead of Depp, DiCaprio on IMDb most popular list

• Actress Priyanka Chopra has been ranked 55th on IMDb's most popular celebrities' list, ahead of Hollywood celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Emma Watson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp among others. 
• She is reportedly the only Indian to have featured on the list. Algerian actress Sofia Boutella, who will be next seen in 'The Mummy', topped the list.  

Paris opens 'world's largest non-permanent indoor ice rink'

• A 2,700-square-meter skating space, which is being considered the world's largest non-permanent indoor ice rink, recently opened at the Grand Palais in Paris. 
• Over 100 workers constructed the ice rink, which will remain open until January 2. 
• The rink was inaugurated by a show featuring skating stunts and acrobatics as part of the 'Grand Palais des Glaces' festival.

Harvard creates world's smallest radio receiver

• Harvard engineers have created the world's smallest radio receiver, whose building blocks are crystal defects the size of two atoms in diamonds. 
• The minuscule radio can withstand extremely harsh environments due to diamond's inherent strength, researchers said and added that the receiver could have various applications ranging from a Venus probe to a pacemaker in a human heart.

Himachal Pradesh 6th state to attain 100% Aadhaar coverage

• Himachal Pradesh has achieved 100% Aadhaar saturation on the basis of the 2015 population, making it the sixth state to achieve the milestone. Delhi, Telangana, Haryana, Punjab and Union Territory Chandigarh have already achieved full coverage. 
• Aadhaar numbers have been generated for 72,52,880 residents in the state. Special arrangements have been made to maintain this achievement in future.

Vijender knocks out Cheka to retain Asia-Pacific title

• Indian boxer Vijender Singh retained his WBO Super Middleweight Asia-Pacific title after knocking out Tanzania's Francis Cheka in the title fight in Delhi. 
• Vijender has now extended his unbeaten run in professional boxing to eight bouts. 
• The 31-year-old boxer knocked out Cheka in the third round to post his seventh knockout victory.  

Bipin Rawat named new Army chief, BS Dhanoa new IAF head

• The government on announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat as the new Indian Army Chief and Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa as the new Indian Air Force Chief. 
• Rawat, who belongs to the 5th Battalion of 11th Gorkha Rifles, will take over from Dalbir Singh Suhag, while Dhanoa, a Kargil war veteran, will replace Arup Raha.

Rajiv Jain to be new IB chief, Anil Dhasmana to head RAW

• Jharkhand cadre IPS officer Rajiv Jain was on appointed as the new chief of Intelligence Bureau (IB) while Anil Dhasmana will head external intelligence agency RAW. 
• Jain, who is at present serving as the Special Director in the IB, will take over on 1 January after the incumbent Dineshwar Sharma completes his two-year tenure on 31 December.

BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards 2016

• ANDY MURRAY collected his third Sports Personality of the Year award from Lennox Lewis with an added dose of déjà vu. 
• The tennis titan claimed his third gong after successes in 2013 and 2015 and the boxing fan was handed the trophy by one of his sporting heroes – but it looked oddly familiar.

Mumbai's Elphinstone Road station to be renamed Prabhadevi

• The Maharashtra Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution of renaming the Elphinstone Road railway station to Prabhadevi and adding 'Maharaj' to the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. 
• The resolution was moved by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the Assembly and got the support of all parties. 
• These recommendations are awaiting approval from the central government.

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