Source: Click Here

• President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia has got a strong edge in designing new weapons and that it has become the only country in the world to deploy hypersonic weapons.


• Speaking at a meeting with top military brass, Putin said that for the first time in history Russia is now leading the world in developing an entire new class of weapons unlike in the past when it was catching up with the United States.


• The Russian leader noted that during Cold War times, the Soviet Union was behind the United States in designing the atomic bomb and building strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Source: Click Here

• The Philippines is the first major landmass facing the Pacific typhoon belt, and is hit by an average of about 20 major storms a year.


• A typhoon that swept across remote villages and popular tourist areas of the central Philippines on Christmas Day claimed at least 16 lives, authorities said.


• Typhoon Phanfone, with winds of 195 kilometers (120 miles) an hour, tore roofs off houses and toppled electric posts as it cut across the Philippines.

Source: Click Here

• Arocket launched from the Gaza Strip at a southern Israeli city as it hosted a campaign rally by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prompted him to take shelter briefly before resuming the event, Israeli TV stations reported.


• The Israeli military confirmed the launch against Ashkelon, which is 12 km (7.5 miles) from the coastal Palestinian enclave, and said the rocket was shot down by an Iron Dome air defense interceptor.

Source: Click Here

• The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral says the Paris landmark is still so fragile that there's a "50% chance" the structure might not be saved, because scaffolding installed before this year's fire is threatening the vaults of the Gothic monument.


• Monsignor Patrick Chauvet said restoration work isn't likely to begin until 2021 - and described his "heartache" that Notre Dame couldn't hold Christmas services this year, for the first time since the French Revolution.

Source: Click Here

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched a national plan involving an expenditure of Rs 6,000 crore to save groundwater.


• The Union Cabinet has already approved the Atal Bhujal Yojana. PM Modi launched the plan on the 95th birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.


• "The scheme will promote panchayat led groundwater management and behavioral change with a focus on demand-side management. Groundwater contributes nearly 65 percent of total irrigated area in the country," PM Modi said.

Source: Click Here

• Solar eclipse (also known as Surya Grahan) is gracing the Indian skies. Instead of a more majestic total eclipse, it is an annular solar eclipse that is appearing as a “ring of fire” in the sky.


• It began at around 8am IST. The annular solar eclipse will be visible in most of Asia alongside North/ East Africa, and North/ West Australia. A partial eclipse will also be visible in the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region.


• If you don't want to step out to catch the eclipse or live in a region where it won't be visible, worry not, some online sources are live streaming the solar eclipse online.

Source: Click Here

• The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has released the final list of applicants selected for the Prime Minister's Research Fund (PMRF) for December 2019. The Ministry has selected total 90 projects across disciplines. PMRF scheme is open to applicants from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Central Universities which are in the top 100 of NIRF ranking.

Source: Click Here

• Union Minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday said the Centre was planning to convert 75 hospitals in aspirational districts across the country into medical colleges in a phase-wise manner.


• Dr. Vardhan, who was here to unveil a statue of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 95th birth anniversary at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, said a target has been set to convert 49 hospitals, including six in Odisha, into medical colleges within four to five years.

Source: Click Here

• Gujarat State Eligibility Test (GSET) will be conducted on December 29. The Maharaja Sayahurao University of Baroda, Vadodara has released the admit card for the GSET 2019 at its official website gujaratset.in.


• Candidates who have successfully registered for GSET 2019 can now download they have admitted cards online at gujaratset.in by logging in using their order number and SBI e pay reference ID.

Source: Click Here

• Six persons including the principal and administrators of a school here were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the clerk exam paper leak, the police said.


• The state government on December 16 canceled the exam conducted on November 17 by the Gujarat Subordinate Service Selection Board (GSSSB), stating that the question paper had been leaked.


• Inspector-General of Police Mayanksinh Chavda said that Vijaysinh Vaghela, principal of MS School was suspected to be involved in removing a question paper from a bundle by breaking the seal.

Source: Click Here

• Non-filing of Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns could result in attachment of bank accounts or cancellation of registration, the BusinessLine reported.


• The finance ministry has made it a part of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in case of non-filing of GST returns, the report said.

Source: Click Here

• On Day 1 of Delhi's Ranji Trophy match against Hyderabad, Shikhar Dhawan scored his first hundred for the team since 2013 when he made Test debut for Team India.


• Dhawan is at the crease with 137* off 198 balls. The senior opener has also made a comeback in Team India after being named in the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.

Source: Click Here

• Steve Smith engaged in a heated exchange with on-field umpire Nigel Llong for making a controversial call during the first session on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.


• After opting to bowl, New Zealand claimed early wickets of Joe Burns and David Warner to spoil Australia's start in the second Test of the three-match series.


• Former Australia captain Steve Smith then stitched a crucial third-wicket partnership with Marnus Labuschagne to help Australia reach 67/2 in 26 overs at lunch. However, Steve Smith did not hesitate to express his anger over a controversial call made by umpire Nigel Llong in the final over before lunch.

Source: Click Here

• Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been included in the list of five cricketers of the decade announced by Wisden. Along with Kohli, the other four cricketers are - Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers and Ellyse Perry.


• "His genius has been to rise, time and again, to the challenge. Between the end of the England tour in 2014 and the second Test against Bangladesh at Kolkata in November, Kohli averaged 63, with 21 hundreds and 13 fifties," said Wisden about Kohli.


• "It left him with a unique set of statistics - the only batsman to average at least 50 in all three international formats. Even Steve Smith was moved to remark recently that there is no one quite like him."

Source: Click Here

• Leander Paes has announced he would retire from professional tennis in 2020, saying the next year is going to be an "emotional one".


• He added he'll play a few select tournaments next year. The 46-year-old, who turned professional in 1991, has won 18 doubles and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles and singles' bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Source: Click Here

• The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP)'s MLA from Haryana's Narnaund constituency, Ram Kumar Gautam on Wednesday resigned from the party's Vice President post.


• "Nothing is going right in the party. I'm upset with the way it is functioning," he said. "I was made all India Vice President even though the party has influence in a limited pocket in Haryana," Gautam added.