Current Affairs July 16 - Persons in NEWS
News 1 - Barcelona Footballer Lionel Messi sentenced to 21 months for Tax Fraud
Argentina and Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for tax fraud. His father, Jorge Messi, was also given a jail term for defrauding Spain between 2007 and 2009.
The footballer and his father also face millions of euros in fines for using tax havens in Belize and Uruguay used to conceal earnings from image rights. They were found guilty of three counts of tax fraud in a ruling by the court in Barcelona.
News 2 - Oscar Pistorius jailed for six years for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
South African Paralympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius was sentenced for six years for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
Pistorius was found guilty of murdering Steenkamp by an appeals court last December. He had initially received a five-year sentence for a manslaughter conviction in 2014, a ruling derided by women's groups as too lenient. Pistorius was freed from prison last October after almost a year behind bars to serve out the remainder of his term under house arrest.
News 3 - Congress announced Sheila Dikshit as their Chief Ministerial candidate for the upcoming UP Assembly Elections
Senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit has been named as the candidate for the post of Chief Minister by the Congress party for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The Congress also announced their decision of assigning Raj Babbar as the president of Uttar Pradesh unit of the party.
Dikshit is the daughter-in-law of prominent Congress leader from UP Uma Shankar Dikshit, who had served as a Union minister and governor for a long time. The community's support determines the poll outcome in several seats in Central and Eastern UP.
News 4 - Turkish Musician Kudsi Erguner named the UNESCO Artist for Peace
The Director General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, appointed Turkish Musician Kudsi Ergüner, UNESCO Artist for Peace, at a ceremony held at the Congress Center in Istanbul (Turkey) following the opening ceremony of the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee, which ended on 20th July.
Kudsi Ergüner was named in recognition of his efforts to promote the universal values of music, an essential instrument of dialogue between cultures. UNESCO Artists for Peace are internationally renowned personalities who use their influence, charisma and prestige to promote the message and UNESCO programs.
News 5 - Russian Deputy Sports Minister Yury Nagornykh suspended after named in a doping report
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has suspended Deputy Sports Minister Yury Nagornykh, who was named in a report on the doping of Russian athletes at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
The investigation was led by Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren, who sat on the independent commission. The commission had last year exposed doping and corruption in Russian track and field, leading to its exclusion from international competition.
News 6 - Rohit Khandelwal, First Indian to win Mister World Title
Rohit Khandelwal of India has won the Mr. World 2016 title. He became the first Indian to win the pageant. Mr. Puerto Rico, Fernando Alvarez was the first runner up, and Mr. Mexico, Aldo Esparza Ramirez, the second. The grand finale of Mr. World 2016 was held at the Southport Theatre & Convention Centre in Southport, U.K. Puerto Rico’s Fernando Alberto Alvarez Soto was named the first runner-up and Aldo Esparza Ramirez of Mexico was named the second runner-up.
Khandelwal has also won a cash prize of $50,000 along with the coveted title. Rohit is also the winner of the Provogue Personal Care Mr. India World 2015 title.
News 7 - Pune Woman runs the Golden Quadrilateral, enters Guinness Book
Pune's Michelle Kakade has made her way into the Guinness Book of World Records as the first person to complete the Indian Golden Quadrilateral on foot.
Michelle, a 47-year-old mother of two children, received the acknowledgement and her certificate from Guinness after strict verification of her run. It took her 193 days, one hour and nine minutes to cover 5968.4 kms of the Golden Quadrilateral that connects the four major metros of the country.
News 8 - Film Festival on Mother Teresa to be held at 100 locations in India and abroad
A film festival focusing on the life and teachings of Mother Teresa will be held from 26th August at over 100 locations in India and around 50 other countries to mark her Canonization. The Mother Teresa International Film Festival (MTIFF) will be organized by the India chapter of World Catholic Association for Communication.
The objective is to spread the message of Mother Teresa before the world, raise awareness and sensitize the people. Mother Teresa is to be declared a saint on September 4 by Pope Francis in the Vatican City.
News 9 - Sharad Pawar to be honored with the Lokmanyana Tilak Sanman Puraskar
The Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Trust has announced that former Union Agriculture Minister and NCP Chief Sharad Pawar will be honored with this year’s Tilak Sanman Puraskar for his contribution towards the Green Revolution. This award Includes a citation and 1 Lakh Rupees.
This is the 34th year of the Lokmanya Tilak Sanman Puraskar. Before this, President Pranab Mukherjee, Ex. President Dr. Shankardayal Sharma, Ex. Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Bajpai and Dr. Manmohan Singh, were felicitated with this award.
News 10 - Intex announced Madhuri Dixit as its Brand Ambassador
Intex Technologies has announced Madhuri Dixit as its Brand Ambassador for its new range of consumer durable products.
She will endorse the new range of Washing Machines and Refrigerators of this brand. The actress has been signed for a period of two years. During this period, Dixit will be seen in the company's television commercials besides being the face of the company for a series of brand promotions and activations.
News 11 - Former Indian president Abdul Kalam’s statue unveiled in Rameswaram
A bronze statue of the former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was revealed by the Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Manohar Parrikar at Peikarumbu on the occasion of the former President’s First Death Anniversary. An exhibition named “Mission of Life” is set to be inaugurated depicting the life of former President and his achievements towards the nation’s progress.
Dr. "A. P. J." Abdul Kalam was the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007 and was honored with the civilian honor Bharat Ratna in 1997. He died due to cardiac arrest while delivering a lecture at IIM – Shillong in Meghalaya.
News 12 - Sruthi Palaniappan of India becomes the Youngest Delegate at the Democratic National Convention
The 18-year-old Indian-American, Sruthi Palaniappan from Cedar Rapids and a student of the Harvard University, became the Youngest Delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia which has nominated Hillary Clinton as the party’s Presidential Candidate.
Sruthi also made history when she was given an opportunity to represent Iowa during roll call votes. She is a big supporter of Clinton, the first woman to be nominated as a Presidential Candidate by a Major Political Party.
News 13 - Irom Sharmila to end fast and fight Manipur polls; Centre Welcomes Decision
Civil Rights Activist Irom Sharmila has decided to end her fast on the 9th of August and contest Assembly elections as an Independent candidate. She has been on a hunger strike for the last sixteen years demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. The 44year-old activist has been forcibly fed through a nasal tube since 2000.
She is planning to join politics as she no longer believes that her fast will lead to the repeal of what she termed as "Draconian" AFSPA.
