Current Affairs - December 17, 2017 Current Affairs

Roger Federer has been voted BBC overseas sports personality of the year for a record fourth time. Roger Federer is 36 years old. This season he has won two Grand Slam titles and ranked world number two behind his rival Rafael Nadal. Roger Federer previously won the award in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Muhammad Ali and Usain Bolt have each won it three times.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared Gabon a "polio-free country" because of lack of new reported or suspected cases in the central African country. Polio is a highly-infectious viral disease which mainly affects young children and can result in permanent paralysis. There is no cure and it can only be prevented through immunization. The cases of polio have decreased by 99% since 1988, when polio was endemic in 125 countries and 350,000 cases were recorded worldwide. Now the disease is endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the WHO recorded four cases this year-two in each country. Last year, there were 37 cases globally.

NASA revealed the discovery of Kepler-90i planet using a Google neural network trained to identify planets from the NASA Kepler space telescope's data. Kepler-90i is the eighth planet discovered in the Kepler-90 system. Kepler-90 is a sun-like star located around 2,545 light-years from us. NASA's Kepler was launched in 2009 on a mission to seek out exoplanets and it has since gathered evidence of planets that may be able to host alien life.

The 8th edition of bilateral military exercise "EKUVERIN 2017" has started between India and Maldives from December 15 in Belagavi, Karnataka. It is a 14-day joint military training between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), which is held alternatively in India and Maldives since 2009. 'Ekuverin' means 'friends' in the Maldivian language. The focus of the exercise is to acquaint both armies with each other's operating procedures in the backdrop of a counter-insurgency or counter-terrorist operations in an urban or semi-urban environment under the United Nations (UN) Charter, with an overall aim to enhance interoperability between the two armies.

President Ram Nath Kovind, laid the foundation stone of the NYAYA GRAM project of the High Court of Allahabad, in Allahabad. NYAYA GRAM is a model township of the Allahabad High Court. The state government has nominated the Public Works Department, Uttar Pradesh, as the construction agency for the project.

A research institute for the study of the 'Bhagavad Gita' will be soon set up by the Uttar Pradesh government in Mathura. The Gita Research Institute has been proposed by the Yogi Adityanath government. The Assembly also passed the Lok Ayukta bill. It also passed a resolution on Nagaland political issue.

The first ever International Wheelchair Cricket Tournament was organised in Kathmandu, Nepal. The International Wheelchair Cricket Tournament has participation of teams from Nepal, India and Bangladesh. Bangladesh is supported by the Sushil Koirala Memorial Foundation and technical assistance from the Kathmandu Cricket Training Center.

India's first Tesla was registered at the Tardeo Regional Transport Office (RTO). The Model X car, is owned by the business conglomerate Essar's CEO Prashant Ruia and is reportedly exempted from RTO taxes as it is an electric vehicle. The SUV (sports utility vehicle) is also the 16th electric vehicle registered in Mumbai during the current financial year.

Dubai opens world's first camel hospital. This hospital has been built at a cost of $10.9 million and has state-of-the-art medical equipments. Dubai Camel Hospital has a team of international veterinarians and can treat 20 camels at a time. It will also play a role in research and development of camel medicines.

The Beijing 2022 Organising Committee (BOCOG) has recently launched the official emblems for the 2022 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games at a ceremony held at the National Aquatic Center in the Chinese capital on December 15, 2017. The emblems for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games have been named "Winter Dream" and "Flight," respectively. The emblems combine traditional and modern elements of Chinese culture, as well as features embodying the passion and vitality of winter sports. The chief designer of the two emblems is Lin Cunzhen, deputy dean of China Central Academy of Fine Arts' Design School.

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is in talks to invest $300 million in the US-based dog-sitting app Wag, according to reports. This comes months after the startup was slammed for allegedly losing customers pets under its care. Founded in 2014, Wag gives on-demand access to dog handlers, who can be hired by the users for dog walking and dog sitting.

Meghalaya has become the India's first state to operationalise a law that makes social audit of government programmes and schemes a part of government practice. Chief Minister Mukul Sangma launched 'The Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act, 2017', at a national convention in Shillong on December 15, 2017. The event was attended by more than 200 people from state departments, citizens from audited villages and eminent citizens associated with social audits. The legislation - applicable to 11 departments and 21 schemes - was passed on April 4, and was followed by pilot social audits for 26 schemes in 18 villages of the northeastern state.

The Nagaland Assembly passed a resolution unanimously revoking the provisions of 33 per cent reservation for women in urban local bodies.

China unveiled a satellite network plan for round-the-clock surveillance on the South China Sea. The East Asian country plans to launch 10 satellites into space over the next three years to maintain non-stop surveillance on the disputed waterway. The program would provide scientific support for its One Belt One Road initiative and emergency response efforts at sea.