CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 16th DECEMBER 2022

CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 16^th DECEMBER 2022

1. Vijay Diwas is celebrated on 16 December every year to honor the victory of Indian armed forces over Pakistan in the 1971 war.
2. The United Nations has recognised the Namami Gange initiative to rejuvenate India’s sacred River Ganga as one of the top 10 World Restoration Flagships to revive the natural world.
3. Union Jal Shakti Minister Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has inaugurated the 7th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS 2022) on 15 December, 2022 in the presence of Shri Bishweshwar Tudu, Minister of State for Jal Shakti.
4. Airbnb signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Tourism, Government of Goa, to jointly promote Goa as one of the most sought-after high potential tourism destinations in India and around the world.
5. Mette Frederiksen has been re-elected as the Prime Minister of Denmark.
6. Vinay Choletti, head of WhatsApp’s India payment business, has quit the firm within four months in the role.
7. India test fired Agni-V, a ballistic missile with a range of over 5,000 km. The test-firing of the missile was done from Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.
8. The 28^th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) organized by the Information and Cultural Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal is being held between 15-22 December, 2022 in Kolkata.
9. In the FIFA World Cup 2026, 48 teams to take part including 45 qualifying nations and three host countries. The tournament will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
10. Kerala Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the 5^th edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), at Fort Kochi Parade ground, Kochi, Kerala.
11. The Japanese capital local assembly passed a new regulation which stated that all new houses in Tokyo built by large-scale homebuilders after April 2025 must install solar power panels to cut household carbon emissions.
12. Three medicinal plant species found in the Himalayas have made it to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species following a recent assessment. Meizotropis pellita has been assessed as ‘critically endangered’, Fritilloria cirrhosa as ‘vulnerable’, and Dactylorhiza hatagirea as ‘endangered’.
13. Prasar Bharati Additional Director General (ADG) Sunil has been unanimously elected as the Vice President of the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) for a three-year term.
14. On 11 December 2022, Kenneth Powell, Olympian and India’s 1970 Asian games 4×100m relay bronze-winning team member passed away at the age of 82 in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
15. Rajeev Kumar Vishnoi has taken over the additional charge as Chairman and Managing Director of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Limited, an Indian Hydropower generation company, with effect from 13 December, 2022.