Current Affairs - December 25, 2017 Current Affairs

Britain's Health Minister Jeremy Hunt began pushing for a major overhaul of the National Health Service (NHS) to introduce uniform 24/7 care, it triggered sharp responses.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been given a nod to extend Lakshadweep's Agatti Airport. The task will be carried out by building an RCC platform on the beach and shallow area which will allow bigger ATRs to operate to the island. Agatti could be India's first runway-on-sea bridge.The same plan was considered for Juhu airport in Mumbai and Kullu but, could not be initiated as it wasn't found suitable.

Asiatic cheetahs were once widespread across the continent but were eradicated in India, where they were hunted for sport. The spread of farming also greatly reduced numbers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Eventually the animal was wiped out in all the nations of Asia to which it was once native - with the exception of a few areas of Iran. The warning comes in the wake of the United Nation's decision to pull funding from the protection of the second-rarest cat species. Cheetahs are killed in droves by poachers, and local farmers, who kill them to protect their livestock. But a large number are lost as roadkill, being run over on highways. The onus is now on the Iranian government to step up funding for the planet's fastest land animals.

Blink, the wire-free home monitoring system, has been acquired by Amazon. According to a release posted to Blink's website, nothing will change for its customers at the moment. The company will continue to operate and support its products as per usual. Blink, founded in 2014 via a successful $1 million crowdfunding campaign.

Indian Railways flagged off India's first air-conditioned suburban local train for Mumbai commuters. The inaugural run of this train was carried out on December 25, 2017 between Borivali and Churchgate on the Western Railway (WR). The full AC air-suspension coaches have been manufactured at Integral Coach Factory, Chennai. All coaches of the entire rake can carry nearly 6000 commuters at a time. It can operate at speeds of up to 100 kmph. Introductory fare for the AC train will be 1.2 times of a first class one-way regular ticket. Later the fare will be hiked and will cost 1.3 times.

The Uttar Pradesh government signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea to enhance cooperation in the field of tourism, skill development, culture and farming. It is signed for giving a new dimension to cooperation in the field of tourism, skill development, culture and farming, which will provide more employment opportunities and development.

Belgium is to become the first country to send a resident female ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Dominique Mineur, the country's current ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, will take the position. Dominique Mineur will move to Riyadh to head up the embassy from next year. Newly-appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has promised to modernise the kingdom and has abolished the law that prohibits women from driving.

The world's longest glass bridge has been opened in China to the public. Though it has a capacity to hold 2000 people, only 500 would be allowed at a time. Located in Shijiazhuang, the magnificent bridge lies 218 meters above hanging between the two cliffs in Hongyagu Scenic Area in Pingshan county. The bridge is 488 meters long and two meters wide, with two dragon statues on top that could produce smoke.

Sudarsan Pattnaik, international sand artist, created the world's biggest sand Santa-face with the message "world peace" at Puri beach, Odisha. The sand Santa face is 25 feet tall and 50 feet wide. It is to be placed in the Limca Book of World Records. Sudarsan Pattnaik also created a sand sculpture of Jesus Christ in front of the Santa face. He used around 600 tonnes of sand. The work was completed in 3 days (35 hours). This structure will be on display till January 1, 2018.

Uber appoints former Orbitz CEO Barney Harford as chief operating officer( COO).Harford will be responsible for global operations, marketing and customer support for both the ridesharing business as well as Uber Eats. The CEO of Uber is Dara Khosrowshahi, who replaced co-founder Travis Kalanick recently.