Daily GK Updates - 16th December, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Nation pays tribute to bravehearts of 1971 Indo-Pak war on Vijay Diwas : The nation is paying tributes to the bravehearts on  16 December 2016, who laid down their lives during 1971 India-Pakistan war on the occasion of Vijay Diwas which is observed on 16 December of every year.

2. Indian-American woman elected as Mayor of Californian city: For the first time, an Indian-American woman has been elected as the new Mayor of the key Californian city of Cupertino, globally known for its Apple headquarters. 

3. MukeshAmbani featured among World's Most Powerful People: Reliance Industries Chairman MukeshAmbani has been ranked 38 on the World's Most Powerful People list for 2016 by Forbes. 

4. Seventh Edition of bilateral Exercise ‘EKUVERIN’ commences in Maldives: The Seventh edition of Exercise EKUVERIN will be held from 15 to 28 Dec 2016 at Kadhdhoo, Laamu Atoll, Maldives. The aim of the exercise is to conduct military training with emphasis on amphibious & counter-insurgency counter-terrorism operations with a view to enhancing interoperability between the two armies.

5.India tops Asia in innovation chart: The ‘Silicon Valley’ of the east, Bengaluru, which is 5th largest hub at the global level, saw most of the innovations in 2016 including the opening of 3 new centres between March and October 2016, apart from setting up of startup accelerator by Apple.

6. ICFA presents 'Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016' to Ratan Tata:Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) has presented 'Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016' to Tata Sons interim Chairman Ratan Tata in Mumbai on 15th December 2016. 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Pakistan successfully test-fires cruise missile: Pakistan has successfully test-fired an enhanced version of an indigenously-designed cruise missile that can hit targets at 700km with all kinds of warheads, bringing many Indian cities within its range.

2. 5th Edition of India-Arab partnership conference held in Muscat, Oman:The Conference was organised in collaboration with the Oman Foreign Ministry, Arab League Secretariat, the Ministry of External Affairs in India, the General Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the Arab Countries (GUCCIAC) and Federation of the Arab Business (FAB)

3. Nigeria's Amina Mohammed confirmed as new UN deputy Secretary­General: New United Nations (UN) Secretary ­General Antonio Guterres has announced Nigeria’s Environment minister, Amina Mohammed as his Deputy Secretary ­General (DSG) on 15th December 2016. 

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Smriti Mandhana named in ICC Women’s Team of the Year: India batswoman SmritiMandhana has been named in the ICC Women’s Team of the Year 2016, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced.