China to issue revised local GDP figures under new mechanism from 2020

China to issue revised local GDP figures under new mechanism from 2020

China will revise its historical regional GDP data under a unified accounting mechanism from early next year. The Chinese economy grew at an annual pace of 6.0 per cent in the July-September quarter, the slowest growth since 1992.

The National Bureau of Statistics new mechanism will unify the standards and procedures for calculating national and local GDP numbers which had been calculated under different accounting methods adopted by local and national statistics authorities since 1985.

  the reform is expected to close the current discrepancy between national and regional figures, improving data quality while enhancing the credibility of the government statistics.

Dennis Muilenburg, CEO of Boeing resigned

Dennis Muilenburg,  CEO of Boeing  resigned

Boeing’s CEO is resigning amid ongoing problems at the company over the troubled Max 737 aircraft.

The board of directors said Monday that Dennis Muilenburg is stepping down immediately.

The board’s current chairman, David Calhoun, will become president and CEO on Jan. 13.

Board member Lawrence Kellner will become non-executive chairman of the board.

Boeing said that it would halt Max  737 production in January.

Astronaut Christina Koch created record for longest single spaceflight by woman

Astronaut Christina Koch created record for longest single spaceflight by woman

NASA Astronaut Christina Koch creates a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, surpassing the earlier record of 288 days in space.

When she arrives back on Earth in February 2020, she will have spent more than 300 days in space.

She is onboard the International Space Station since 14th March 2019.

China successfully launches largest carrier rocket

China successfully launches largest carrier rocket

China has successfully launched the largest carrier rocket of the country, Long March-5, from Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China's Hainan Province today.

The rocket, also known as CZ-5, blasted off with more than 1,000 tonnes of thrust at 8.45 pm.

The Chinese space authorities declared the mission a "complete success" just over half an hour after the lift-off when the Shijian-20 satellite it carried entered its designated orbit.

It is the country's third attempt to launch the rocket.

The first attempt was made in 2016. However, during the first attempt, the rocket failed to reach the speed required for the early phase of the flight. The second attempt also failed.

Virat Kohli named in Wisden cricketers of the decade list

Virat Kohli named in Wisden cricketers of the decade list

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been named in the Cricketers of the decade list alongside four others by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanac.

Apart from Kohli, South African duo of Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers, Australia's Steve Smith and women's all-rounder Ellyse Perry also found a place in the list of five cricketers of the decade.

Kohli, who has scored 5,775 more international runs than anyone else in the last 10 years, has arguably been the best batsman over the last decade.

The 31-year-old Indian was named captain of the Wisden Test team of the decade, while also featuring in the ODI Eleven.

In the past decade Kohli has hoarded 7,202 runs in Tests including 27 hundreds, while in the shorter formats the Indian skipper has amassed 11,125 runs in ODIs and 2,633 runs in T20s.

Kohli, who averages more than 50 in all formats, has already amassed 70 international hundreds and is only behind Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar. He is also third in the list of leading run-scorers of all time behind Ponting and Tendulkar.

Ashleigh Barty, Rafael Nadal Named ITF World Champions

Ashleigh Barty, Rafael Nadal Named ITF World Champions

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced that Australia’s Ashleigh Barty and Rafael Nadal of Spain have been named 2019 ITF World Champions.

Barty is the first Australian to be named ITF Women’s World Champion having become the first Australian woman to reach No.1 in the world rankings since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976. She claimed her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, lifted the trophy at the WTA Finals in Shenzen and led Australia to their first Fed Cup by BNP Paribas final since 1993.

Nadal, is named ITF World Champion for the fourth time

Nadal is the fifth player to finish as year-end No.1 on five or more occasions alongside Jimmy Connors, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. He won 58 of the 65 matches he contested in 2019 and has only lost one match since Wimbledon.

ITF Doubles World Champions

Timea Babos of Hungary and France’s Kristina Mladenovic will receive the award in the women’s doubles category

The men’s doubles World Champions are Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah who became the first Colombians to win a Grand Slam men’s doubles title with victory at Wimbledon

The ITF World Champions will receive their awards at the 2020 ITF World Champions Dinner on Tuesday 2 June, in Paris, during Roland Garros.

Vernon Philander announces retirement from all forms of cricket

Vernon Philander announces retirement from all forms of cricket

South Africa all-rounder Vernon Philander on Monday announced international retirement from all forms of cricket after the conclusion of the upcoming Test series against England.

Philander was picked for the four-match England Test series. In an international career that has spanned more than 12 years, he has played 97 matches across all three formats, taking a combined 261 wickets with 1784 runs scored.

In his Test debut against Australia, he bowled a famous spell of 5/15 that bowled out visitors for 47 in their second innings at Newlands and handed eight wickets win to Proteas.

Ecuador declared emergency after fuel spill in Galapagos Islands

Ecuador declared emergency after fuel spill in Galapagos Islands

Ecuador has declared emergency to contain the environmental impact of a fuel spill in the Galapagos Islands, after a barge carrying 600 gallons of diesel fuel sank.

The Islands are located 1,000 kilometers east of mainland Ecuador.  The accident occurred when a crane collapsed while loading a container onto the barge. The falling container destabilized the ship, causing it to sink.
  
Ecuadorian navy and national police were coordinating with the nature reserve authority, Galapagos National Park (GNP) to resolve the emergency and assess environmental damage.

Latin American Galapagos archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to one of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet.

Manuel Marrero Cruz appointed as Cuba's first PM in more than 40 years

Manuel Marrero Cruz appointed as Cuba's first PM in more than 40 years

In Cuba, President Miguel Díaz-Canel has appointed Manuel Marrero Cruz as the country's first prime minister in more than 40 years.

It was reinstated under the rules of a new constitution for the communist-run island passed earlier this year.

Marrero, who has served as tourism minister for 16 years and is an architect by trade, helped boost Cuba's economy by making tourism one of the engines of growth.

The post of prime minister was scrapped in 1976 by the then-revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.

2019 FIFA Club World Cup

2019 FIFA Club World Cup

The 2019 FIFA Club World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations, as well as the host nation's league champions.

The tournament was hosted by Qatar between 11 and 21 December 2019, taking place at two venues in Doha

Liverpool won the final 1–0 after extra time against Flamengo for their first FIFA Club World Cup title.

Champions    England Liverpool (1st title)
Runners-up    Brazil Flamengo
Third place    Mexico Monterrey
Fourth place    Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
Tournament statistics
Matches played    8
Goals scored    30 (3.75 per match)
Attendance    166,426 (20,803 per match)
Top scorer(s)   
Algeria Baghdad Bounedjah
Libya Hamdou Elhouni
(3 goals each)
Best player(s)    Egypt Mohamed Salah
Fair play award    Tunisia Espérance de Tunis

Ethiopia launched its first satellite

Ethiopia launched its first satellite

Ethiopia launched its first satellite , a landmark achievement for the country's space program that caps a banner year for the African space industry.

The launch, which was originally scheduled for September, took place at 03.21hours GMT from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Xinzhou, Shanxi Province, China.

The Chinese satellite was designed and built at a cost of $8 million, with China paying around $6 million of the capsule’s price, according to the head of the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI) at Addis Ababa University. Though it was launched from China its command and control center is based at the Entoto Observatory and Space Science Research Center (EORC) in Ethiopia, which is part of the Ethiopian Space, Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI).

this was the eighth launch of an African satellite this year, topping the previous record of seven in 2017.

The launch makes Ethiopia the eleventh African country to put a satellite into space. Egypt was the first in 1998.

The 70 kilogram remote sensing satellite is to be used for agricultural, climate, mining and environmental observations, allowing the Horn of Africa to collect data and improve its ability to plan for changing weather patterns for example. The satellite will operate from space around 700 kilometers above the surface of earth.

FIFA rankings

 Belgium remains top of this month’s  nearly unchanged FIFA rankings, followed by France, Brazil and England.

The best mover in the new ranking was Korea Republic, jumping 1 place to the 40th place, while the biggest drop was Hong Kong, who dropped two spots to 141st place.


The Indian men's football team remained static at 108th spot in the year-ending FIFA rankings issued today.

India, however, lost 11 places throughout the year. With 1187 total points, India is placed at 19th spot among Asian countries headed by Japan 28th.

India was placed at 97th in the December FIFA rankings of last year. The best ranking for the team this year was 101 in April and June.

In the Asian rankings, Japan is followed by Iran (33), Korea (40), Australia (42) and continental champion Qatar (55).

Amitabha Bagchi won 2019 DSC Prize

Amitabha Bagchi won 2019 DSC Prize

The 8th edition of the IME Nepal Literature Festival, held from December 13-16 at Pokhara, concluded with the announcement of the winner of DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2019.

The $25,000 award went to Amitabha Bagchi for his 2018 novel, Half the Night is Gone.

 The DSC Prize, instituted in 2010, awards fiction from the South Asian region, which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, as well as from the diaspora.

Ninety books had been submitted for the prize this year.

Virat Kohli retained top spot in ICC Test rankings

Virat Kohli retained top spot in ICC Test rankings

With 928 points, Kohli is 17 points clear of Australia's Steve Smith who scored 43 and 16 in the first Test against New Zealand which Australia won by 296 runs.

Cheteshwar Pujara with 791 and Ajinkya Rahane 759 held on to their fourth and sixth spots respectively. Among the bowlers, Bumrah slipped to the sixth spot in the list headed by Australia's Pat Cummins.

India's Ravindra Jadeja,  remained at number two, behind Jason Holder of the West Indies among Test all-rounders.

In the ICC World Test Championship, India stand on top with 360 points, way ahead of Australia 216, Sri Lanka 80, New Zealand 60 and England 56.

International Tea Day

International Tea Day

International Tea Day was observed annually on December 15.

It has been celebrated since 2005 in tea producing countries like India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia,Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Uganda and Tanzania

International Tea Day aims to draw global attention of governments and citizens to the impact of the global tea trade on workers and growers, and has been linked to requests for price supports and fair trade

In 2015, the Indian government proposed expanding the observance of International Tea Day through the UN Food and Agriculture Organization

The United Nations General Assembly has designated May 21 as International Tea Day based on a proposal moved by India

Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI)

Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI)

According to the CCPI, none of the countries has yet achieved a performance across all indicators that can be qualified as “very high” because no country fulfils the requirements to limit global warming to well below 2°C, as agreed in the Paris Agreement.

This is why the first three places in the final ranking remain unoccupied. In the index for 2019, Sweden led the ranking, followed by Morocco and Lithuania. The last three ranks were taken by Saudi Arabia, the USA and Iran.

 EU countries such as Sweden (4th) and Denmark (5th), one of the best climbers, achieve overall high or very high ratings, the performance of EU countries varies largely.

China, the largest global emitter slightly improves its ranking in the index to 30th place.

While only two G20 countries, the UK (7th) and India (9th), are ranked in the high category, eight G20 countries are remaining in the worst category of the index.

Australia (56th out of 61), Saudi Arabia and above all the US perform particularly poor.


The index is jointly presented by Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and Climate Action Network.

25th United Nations Climate Change conference.

The 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP25, is the 25th United Nations Climate Change conference.

It was held in Madrid, Spain, from 2 to 13 December 2019 under the presidency of the Chilean government.

The conference incorporates the 25th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 15th meeting of the parties for the Kyoto Protocol (CMP15), and the second meeting of the parties for the Paris Agreement (CMA2).

More than seventy countries committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, even if major emitters have not yet done so.  More than 100 cities did the same, including several of the world’s largest.

Small island states together committed to achieve carbon neutrality and to move to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.  And countries from Pakistan to Guatemala, Colombia to Nigeria, New Zealand to Barbados vowed to plant more than 11 billion trees.

More than 100 leaders in the private sector committed to accelerating the green economy.

A group of the world’s largest asset-owners, controlling $2 trillion, pledged to move to carbon-neutral investment portfolios by 2050. 

Angela Merkel, Tops Forbes’ 16th Annual List of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women

Angela Merkel, Tops Forbes’ 16th Annual List of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women

The World’s Most Powerful Women List Highlights the Female Leaders, Entrepreneurs, Investors, Philanthropists and CEOs Who Are Wielding Their Influence to Drive Change

The women on Forbes’ 2019 ranking represent women in six categories: business, technology, finance, media & entertainment, politics & policy, and philanthropy.

For the ninth consecutive year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel took the No. 1 spot, also marking her 14th total appearance on the list. Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank  is at spot to No. 2.

 Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, is in the No. 3 spot this year

she is the highest-ranking and most powerful female elected official in American political history.

 the top five include  Ursula Von Der Leyen, President of the European Commission (No. 4) and Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors (No. 5).

13th South Asian Games concluded in Nepal

13th South Asian Games concluded in Nepal

13th South Asian Games concluded in Nepal

 closing ceremony was held at historic Dasaratha Rangshala in Kathmandu.

 India finished on top with 312 medals comprising 174 gold, 93 silver and 45 bronze.

ISRO successfully launched earth observation satellite RISAT-2BR1

ISRO successfully launched earth observation satellite RISAT-2BR1

Indian Space Research Organization's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle achieved a landmark with its 50th mission lifting off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

 The 628-kilogram RISAT-2BR1 is the second radar imaging satellite in the RISAT-2B series and along with the CARTOSAT-3 is part of a group of satellites that will boost  India's earth imaging capabilities from space.

The satellite will help in agriculture, mining, forestry and coastal management, soil monitoring, disaster management support and round the clock border surveillance.

The RISAT satellites are equipped with a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that can take pictures of the earth during day and night and also under cloudy conditions.

RISAT-2BR1 has a powerful resolution allowing two objects separated by 35-centimetre distance to be distinctly identified and will cover a swathe of 5 to 10 kilometres.

PSLV-C48 also carried nine customer satellites including one each from Israel, Italy and Japan and six from the USA as co-passengers.

The first satellite in the RISAT-2B series was launched earlier this year to replace the ageing RISAT-2. The RISAT-2BR1 will be followed by two more satellites of the same series next year to complete a quartet of satellites with advanced earth imaging abilities.

World's 1st fully electric commercial aircraft takes inaugural test flight in Canada

World's 1st fully electric commercial aircraft takes inaugural test flight in Canada

the world's first fully-electric commercial aircraft took its inaugural test flight yesterday, in Vancouver, Canada.

the technology would mean significant cost savings for airlines, including zero emissions.

the range is enough to start the revolution, adding that batteries and electric motors will eventually be developed to power longer flights.

The e-plane, a 62-year-old, six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver seaplane retrofitted with an electric motor

 The e-plane has to be tested further to confirm it is reliable and safe.

In addition, the electric motor must be approved and certified by regulators.

World observes Human Rights Day

World observes Human Rights Day 

Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December every year.

The world observes Human Rights Day today.

The Day is celebrated on the 10th December every year to commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 as the shared standard yard stick to protect human rights across the globe.

The Declaration recognizes that the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of mankind are the foundation of justice, freedom and peace in the world.

It reaffirms the faith of the people of United Nations in the fundamental human rights.

The United Nations’ theme for this year’s Human Rights Day is - Youth Standing up for Human Rights.

This is aimed at encouraging youth all over the world under the generic call to action Stand Up for Human Rights.

The youth will be celebrated as agents of change and encouraged to amplify their voices against racism, hate speech, bullying, discrimination and fight for climate justice among other issues and engage a broad range of global audiences in the promotion and protection of rights.

Finland elected Sanna Marin, the youngest-ever Prime Minister

Finland elected Sanna Marin, the youngest-ever Prime Minister

Finland elected a 34-year-old former transport minister to the post of the prime minister, making her the youngest head of government in the country's history.

Sanna Marin will replace outgoing leader Antti Rinne

Parliament is expected to formally swear in the new prime minister tomorrow.

Sanna Mirella Marin is a Finnish politician. A Social Democrat, she has been member of the Parliament of Finland since 2015 and the Minister of Transport and Communications since 6 June 2019.

Finland is a Northern European nation bordering Sweden, Norway and Russia.

President: Sauli Niinistö
Capital: Helsinki
Currency: Euro

Saudi Aramco announced biggest ever IPO

Saudi Aramco announced biggest ever IPO

Saudi Arabia, state oil company Aramco has set a share price for its much-anticipated initial public offering.

Aramco has set a share price that will value the company's initial public offering (IPO) at 25.6 billion Dollar, making it the largest ever seen.

the IPO will consist of 3 billion shares, or 1.5% of the company, offered for 8.00 to 8.53 Dollar per share.

The Saudi's state-owned crude oil company had announced in November that it would be putting shares up for sale.

The move is part of the country's plan to diversify its economy away from its dependence on oil and increase the country's sovereign wealth fund for investment in other projects.

Aramco's IPO tops a record-breaking 25 billion dollar IPO in 2014 from Chinese internet giant Alibaba.

World Soil Day

Every year, December  5 is celebrated as the World Soil Day to highlight  the soil's importance on Earth. Soil is one of the basic requirements for survival

The International Year of Soils, 2015 (IYS 2015) was declared by the Sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly on December 20th, 2013 after recognizing December 5th as World Soil Day

  2019, theme   'Stop soil erosion, Save our future'.

It aims at raising awareness on the importance of sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being.

Sundar Pichai promoted as Alphabet CEO

 Sundar Pichai promoted as Alphabet CEO

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have announced that they are stepping down from the leadership role of the parent company Alphabet.

Google CEO Indian-American Sundar Pichai will be assuming the role of Alphabet CEO, making him one of the most powerful corporate leaders of the world.

Pichai Sundararajan, also known as Sundar Pichai, is an Indian American business executive, the chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google LLC. Pichai began his career as a materials engineer and joined Google as a management executive in 2004.

Alphabet Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mountain View, California. It was created through a corporate restructuring of Google on October 2, 2015, and became the parent company of Google and several former Google subsidiaries

NATO leaders will meet to mark 70th anniversary of alliance

NATO leaders will meet  to mark 70th  anniversary  of alliance

The leaders of North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, will meet today to mark the 70th anniversary  of the organization in London.

The two-day summit includes receptions at Buckingham Palace and Downing Street plus a working session at a golf resort in outer London.

the twenty-nine member alliance is the world's biggest military alliance.

NATO was founded in 1949 for the collective defence of its members, linking the security of the United States with its European allies against the Soviet Union.

Lionel Messi won sixth Ballon d’Or, Megan Rapinoe won women’s Ballon d’Or

Lionel  Messi won sixth Ballon d’Or, Megan  Rapinoe won women’s Ballon d’Or

The 2019 Ballon d'Or was the 64th annual ceremony of the Ballon d'Or, presented by France Football, and recognising the best footballer in the world for 2019. The winner was announced in Paris on 2 December 2019

Lionel Messi won the award for a record sixth time in his career

Megan Rapinoe won the 2019 Ballon d'Or Féminin for best female player in the world

Matthijs de Ligt won the 2019 Kopa Trophy for the best player in the world under the age of 21

Alisson won the inaugural Yashin Trophy as the best goalkeeper in the world in 2019

 The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by France Football. It has been awarded since 1956, although between 2010 and 2015, an agreement was made with FIFA and the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year, and known as the FIFA Ballon d'Or.

However, the partnership ended in 2016 and the award reverted to the Ballon d'Or, while FIFA also reverted to its own separate annual award (now named The Best FIFA Men's Player).

13th South Asian Games formally begins in Kathmandu

13th South Asian Games formally begins in Kathmandu

13th South Asian Games have formally begun in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

Over 2700 athletes from seven South Asian Countries participated in the march past.

Nepali Cricketer Paras Khadka took oath representing players while Nepal’s Badminton Referee Deepak Thapa took oath on behalf of referees and judges of the games.

During 10 days biggest sporting event of South Asia, 2715 athletes compete for 1119 medals including 319 Gold in 26 game categories.

India is represented by 487 athletes.

The closing ceremony will be held on 10th December.

India, Japan will hold Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue

India, Japan will hold Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue

The meeting would provide an opportunity for the two sides to further strengthening defence and security cooperation to provide greater depth to the ‘India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership’.

The two sides will also exchange views on the situation in the Indo-Pacific region and their efforts for achieving their shared objective of peace, prosperity and progress for a better future for the people of the two countries and the region.

The meeting is being held in pursuance of the decision taken  during the 13th India-Japan Annual Summit held in Japan in October 2018 to institute a Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue for further deepening bilateral Security and Defence cooperation.