1. UN launched 2016 International Year of Pulses
i. Union Minister of Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh on 18 December 2015 announced that Union Government had been taking considerable steps to improve production of pulses in order to reduce country’s dependence on imports.
ii. These steps are in tune with the 2016 International Year of Pulses launched by the United Nations. The UN on 10 November 2015 launched the year at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy. It was launched with the theme nutritious seeds for a sustainable future.
iii. The purpose of the launch is to raise awareness of the many benefits of pulses, boost their production and trade, and encourage new and smarter uses throughout the food chain.
iv. Pulses are important food crops for the food security of large proportions of populations, particularly in Latin America, Africa and Asia, where pulses are part of traditional diets and often grown by small farmers.
2. Eugenson Lyngdoh and Bala Devi bagged top AIFF honours
i. Bengaluru FC (BFC) midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh and striker Bala Devi on 20 December 2015 was named the 2015 All India Football Federation (AIFF) Player-of-the-Year and woman Footballer-of-the-Year respectively. The awards were announced at the AIFF Annual General Body Meeting held in Margao, Goa.
ii. Lyngdoh was chosen the winner on basis of votes from Coaches of I-League Clubs and he will be presented a prize of 2 lakh rupees along with a Trophy. Bala Devi will be presented with a Trophy along with a prize of 1 lakh rupees.
iii. Pritam Kotal was declared the 2015 AIFF Emerging Player of the Year. Besides, AIFF also introduced a new award the 2015 AIFF emerging Woman Footballer of the Year, which went to Pyari Xaxa. Furthermore, Football Association of Odisha (FAO) bagged the 2015 AIFF Award for Best Grassroots Programme.
iv. The 2015 AIFF Award for long time contribution to Indian Football was awarded to Coca Cola. CR Srikrishna won 2015 AIFF Award for Best Referee while the 2015 AIFF Award for Best Assistant Referee was awarded to Sapam Knnedy.
3. Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach crowned Miss Universe 2015
i. Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was on 20 December 2015 crowned Miss Universe 2015 at the final of 64th edition of Miss Universe held in Las Vegas, the USA.
She was crowned by Miss Universe 2014 winner Paulina Vega of Columbia.
ii. Urvashi Rautela who represented India in the contest couldn’t make it to top 15 semi-finals round. She is a Filipino-German actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder.
iii. She finished her secondary education with the ABS-CBN Distance Learning Center and studied culinary arts at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies in Metro Manila, Philippines.
iv. She worked as a cosmetics model. At the age of 11, under the screen name Pia Romero, she worked as an actress.
v. She is currently a stylist and writer for the lifestyle section of a leading newspaper in the Philippines.
4. Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo crowned Miss World 2015
i. Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo on 19 December 2015 was crowned Miss World 2015 at the Beauty of Crown Theater in Sanya, China. Rolene Strauss of South Africa crowned Mireia Lalaguna as her successor at the end of the event. It is the first time Spain has won the title of Miss World.
ii. Mireia, a 23-year-old medical college student and a pianist from Barcelona, was crowned Miss World Spain 2015 on 24 October 2015 after participating at the 2015 edition of Miss World Spain held in Malaga, Spain.
iii. Miss Russia Sofia Nikitchuk was the runner-up, while Miss Indonesia Maria Harfanti stood third in the pageant.
iv. Miss India Aditi Arya won the People’s Choice Award which ensured her direct entry in the competition. Yet the Indian beauty queen failed to make it to the final top 20 contestants.
5. West Bengal Government approved proposal for formation of 5 new districts
i. The West Bengal Government on 18 December 2015 cleared the proposal for setting up five new districts in the state. These five new districts will increase the number of districts of West Bengal to 25.
ii. Earlier, state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had promised about setting up new districts for better administrative control and for deliverance of public service at the door steps of the people staying in remote areas.
iii. Kalimpong: It will be carved out of Kalimpong subdivision of the State’s Darjeeling district.
iv. Basirhat: It will be formed out of North 24 Parganas district.
v. Sunderbans: It currently stretches across parts of the North and South 24 Parganas districts.
vi. Jhargram: It will be carved out of Paschim Midnapore district.
vii. Burdwan (Industrial) and Burdwan (Rural): The existing Burdwan district will be bifurcated into Burdwan (Industrial) and Burdwan (Rural).
viii. At least six months to a year will be taken to create the new districts after getting necessary court orders, infrastructure and funds.
6. Miss Iraq beauty pageant held for the first time since 1972
i. Miss Iraq beauty pageant was held for the first time since 1972. It was held on 20 December 2015 at a hotel in the capital Baghdad and involved eight contestants. In the final event of the pageant, Shaymaa Qasim Abdelrahman was crowned Miss Iraq. She is a 20-year-old from multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk which is situated in the north of Iraq.
ii. In the week running up to the event, the eight finalists embarked on a string of pre-pageant activities, including a visit to a camp for displaced people in Baghdad. They also participated in a tree-planting ceremony near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon.
iii. The contest was held successfully despite the death threats from Islamic militant organistaions like ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). It, now, allows Iraq to send its representative for the international Miss Universe contest.
iv. It has been cancelled for the last four decades due to unrest in the Middle East. For the last time, it was held in 1972 when the country was stable and prosperous.
7. Kane Williamson became first-ever Kiwi batsman to top ICC Test rankings
i. Kane Williamson, 25, on 21 December 2015 became the first cricketer from New Zealand to top the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) Test rankings. He clinched the spot after guiding the Black Caps to a series-clinching five-wicket win in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Hamilton.
ii. With this, Williamson moved above England's Joe Root (886 points) and South Africa's AB de Villiers (881) to sit on 889 points.
iii. Besides, 2015 has been a golden year for Williamson, who took aggregate to 1172, the highest by a New Zealander in a calendar year.
8. Abhay Singh won U-19 Singapore Squash Open
i. India’s Abhay Singh on 20 December 2015 won the Under-19 Singapore Squash Open. In the final of the Old Chang Kee Singapore Open, he defeated second seed Alwin Chai of Malaysia.
He defeated Chai 11-8, 11-3, 11-8 in the final played at Singapore.
ii. With this win, Abhay, the world number one junior player, has won seven junior titles in the year 2015. Out of seven titles, two of them are international titles.
iii. In the first round, Abhay defeated Vivek Palaniappan of Singapore 11-2, 11-2, 11-1. He followed this up with a fighting win over Yusuke Ogata of Japan 13- 15, 11-3, 11-8, 10-12, 11-6.
iv. In the semi-finals, he beat Kojiro Tan of Singapore 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 for a place in the title round.
9. Chennaiyin FC crowned 2015 ISL champion
i. Chennaiyin FC was crowned as the champions of the 2nd Indian Super League (ISL) Football tournament on 20 December 2015. In the final played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa, Chennaiyin defeated the hosts FC Goa, 3-2.
ii. Goa was leading 2-1 till the 87th minute, but an own goal from their keeper, Laxmikant Kattimani, in the 90th minute and Colombian Stiven Mendoza's strike seconds later helped Chennai win the title.
iii. Mendoza, who finished as the tournament's highest scorer with 13 goals, bagged the 'Golden boot' as well as the 'Hero of the League' award.
10. FC Barcelona won 2015 FIFA Club World Cup
i. FC Barcelona on 20 December 2015 won the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup. To win the title, Barcelona defeated Argentina’s River Plate by 3-0. The final match was held at the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan.
ii. From Barcelona, Luis Suárez of Uruguay scored two goals, while the remaining goal was made by Lionel Messi of Argentina. With this goal, Messi became the first player to score in three finals after leading Barca to victory in 2009 and 2011.
iii. At the end of the annual event, Suarez collected the Player-of-the-Tournament and Golden Boot awards. So far, the event was held for 12 times and Barcelona tops the table of winners with three titles overall.
iv. The 2013 title was won by FC Bayern Munich that was held in Morocco.
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