Current Affairs: 2 December 2016

Dictionary names 'Xenophobia' as Word of the Year for 2016

• Online English source for word meanings, Dictionary has named 'Xenophobia' as Word of the Year for 2016. 
• Xenophobia refers to the fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures or strangers. 
• According to Dictionary, the word was most looked up by users after Brexit, or when UK voted to leave the European Union, and during US presidential elections.

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'Salman appointed ambassador of BMC's Swachh Bharat Mission'

• According to reports, Salman Khan has been appointed the ambassador of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's drive against open defecation and litter. 
• Salman's non-profit organisation 'Being Human Foundation' will reportedly donate five mobile toilets to the BMC, to be placed at Bandstand, Mumbai. 
• He will meet the Municipal Commissioner to discuss the anti-open defecation campaign, reports added.

FreeCharge partners Mumbai Police for traffic fine payments

• In the wake of demonetisation, Snapdeal-owned digital payments platform FreeCharge has tied up with Mumbai Police for digitally collecting traffic fines from offenders. 
• About 500 e-challan devices have been provided at various traffic chowkis across the city. 
• An e-challan will be generated against the offenders and will be instantly sent to their mobile phones.

Akhilesh Yadav flags off Lucknow metro

• Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday flagged off the Lucknow metro train, whose trial run will take place on 8.5km stretch. 
• According to an official, they completed the metro work in 26 months, which is a record for any metro rail project in India. 
• Further, the metro train service will be made available for the people after March 2017.

Delhi girl becomes India's first female pro poker player

• Muskan Sethi, a 27-year-old from Delhi, is India's first female professional poker player. 
• She has been playing professionally since 2012 and participated in World series of Poker, World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour as the first Indian female professional. 
• Muskan won an all-expenses-paid trip to Barcelona in 2014 after finishing fourth among 700,000 players at the PokerStars Championship. 

Pakistan to host first Davis Cup tie in 13 years

• Pakistan will host its first Davis Cup tie in 13 years on home soil against Iran in February next year. 
• Pakistan Tennis Federation said the visiting team will be provided with the same level of security as visiting foreign leaders. 
• Notably, international cricket teams have refused to play in Pakistan after an attack on the Sri Lankan team in 2009.

Nihonium becomes Asia's 1st Periodic Table element discovery

• Periodic Table element with atomic number 113, Nihonium (Nh) has become the first ever element to be discovered by an Asian country after it was officially revealed by the IUPAC on Wednesday. 
• Along with three other elements that helped to complete the Periodic table, Nihonium was discovered and proposed by the RIKEN collaboration team in Japan in December last year.

Indian startup signs contract with ISRO for mission to moon

• Bengaluru-based aerospace startup Team Indus has become the first private entity to secure a dedicated Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from ISRO. 
• Team Indus is the only Indian team in Google's $20 million Lunar XPRIZE competition to become the first privately funded team to land a robot on the Moon that successfully travels 500 meters.

Katy Perry honoured with humanitarian award at UNICEF event

• Singer Katy Perry was honoured with the 'Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award' for her work as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador at a UNICEF event in New York. 
• She was presented the award by 2016 Democratic US Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. "We need to come together united for the best," Katy said while accepting the award. 

Didi Chuxing CEO named Forbes Asia's Businessman of the Year

• Cheng Wei, Co-founder and CEO of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing has been named Forbes Asia's 2016 Businessman of the Year. 
• Led by the 33-year-old entrepreneur, Didi Chuxing acquired its rival Uber's China business earlier this year. 
• The service, which lets users hail taxis, private cars, limousines and commuter buses, reportedly commands 85% of China's ride-sharing market.

UNESCO includes Yoga in Intangible Cultural Heritage list

• The UNESCO on Thursday included Yoga in its 'List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity', MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. "A universal affirmation of India's cherished heritage," he added. 
• Notably, UNESCO also included Beer culture in Belgium, Bhojpuri folk songs in Mauritius, and Carnival of Granville in France among others on the list this year. 

Two women drivers steer Lucknow's first Metro train

• The first Lucknow Metro train, whose trial run was flagged off and it was driven by two women operators - Pratibha and Prachi. 
• "The Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation is a progressive and coherent organisation which believes in giving opportunities to both boys and girls," LMRC MD Kumar Keshav said. 
• Reportedly, nearly 20% of Metro drivers recruited by LMRC are women.

Carlsen wins third consecutive World Chess Championship

• Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen beat Russian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin on Wednesday to clinch his third consecutive World Chess Championship. 
• Carlsen and Karjakin were tied at six each before Carlsen claimed the championship by beating the Russian 3-1 in the four-game rapid chess tiebreaker. 
• Carlsen last defeated Vishwanathan Anand in both the 2013 and 2014 World Chess Championships.

                              

Thailand's Crown Prince formally proclaimed as King Rama X

• Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn was formally proclaimed as King Rama X, the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty, in a televised ceremony. 
• Vajiralongkorn was proclaimed king after he accepted the invitation from the country's parliament. 
• The coronation ceremony for King Rama X will take place next year after his recently-deceased father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej's cremation.

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