1. Manushi Chhillar wins Miss World 2017 title.
India`s Manushi Chhillar has won the Miss World beauty pageant for the year 2017. The win comes 17 years after Priyanka Chopra brought home the coveted title in the year 2000. Andrea Meza, who is Miss Mexico was the first runner up and Stephanie Hill from England was second runner up. Around 108 women from across the world participated in the beauty pageant.
Ms Chhillar, a 20-year-old from Haryana, studied in St. Thomas School in New Delhi and Bhagat Phool Singh Government Medical College for Women in Sonepat.
According to Ms Chhillar`s profile on the Miss World website, Ms Chhillar aims to be a cardiac surgeon and has plans of opening non-profit hospitals in rural areas.
Ms Chhillar`s profile also says she is a trained classical dancer and has a passion for outdoor sports like scuba diving, snorkelling and bungee jumping.
After reaching the top five, Ms Chhillar was asked during the Question and Answer round, which profession she thought deserved the highest salary and why.
Replying to the question, Ms Chhillar said it was not a question about a person`s salary and that a mother was worthy of the highest respect.
"I think a mother is of highest respect. I don`t think its just about cash but love and respect she gives to someone. She is the biggest inspiration in my life. Mother should get highest respect."
2. Manmohan Singh selected for Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh will receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for peace, disarmament and development this year for his leadership of the country between 2004 and 2014 and for enhancing India’s stature globally.
According to a statement from the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, Singh was unanimously chosen for the award by an international jury chaired by ex-president Pranab Mukherjee.
“The Indira Gandhi Prize for peace, disarmament and development is awarded to Manmohan Singh for his leadership of the country and his achievements during the momentous 10 years from 2004 to 2014, for his contributions to the cause of economic and social development, for improving India’s stature in the world and its relationship with the neighbours and the leading nations of the world, and for his dedication to the security and well being of ordinary citizens regardless of their faith, caste, region or language,” a statement from the trust’s secretary Suman Dubey said on Saturday.
The trust said Singh is only the third Indian prime minister to complete two full terms as the PM. His tenure witnessed the path-breaking nuclear agreement with the US and the Copenhagen Climate Change agreement, the statement said.
Singh, who as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India and the finance minister in the government headed by P.V. Narasimha Rao, played a pivotal role in ushering economic reforms, it said, adding that as prime minister he led India in achieving the highest sustained rate of economic growth since Independence.
The trust said Singh has been responsible for making India’s voice heard more effectively at international forums. “The 10 years of his premiership were not only a period of rapid economic and social changes, they witnessed the lowest terrorist violence, prolonged period of communal harmony, peace on the country’s borders and a globally acknowledged rise in India’s standing in the global community of nations,” the statement said.
3. Anand Rajeshwar Baiwar Takes Charge as SEBI Executive Director.
arkets regulator Sebi today said Anand Rajeshwar Baiwar has taken charge as an executive director.
An Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the 1990 batch, Baiwar assumed office on November 16.
"He (Baiwar) will look after the investigation department and division of foreign portfolio investors and custodians," Sebi said in a release.
Prior to this assignment, he was working as an income tax commissioner in Kolkata.
A graduate in engineering as well as law, Baiwar holds Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM, Bangalore and is also a chartered financial analyst from ICFAI, Hyderabad.
In October, Sujit Prasad took charge as an executive director.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had also promoted two senior employees -- Amarjeet Singh and Nagendraa Parakh -- as executive directors in July.
Other executive directors are P K Nagpal, S Ravindran, S V Murali Dhar Rao, S K Mohanty and Ananta Barua, as per the regulator`s website.
4. Former Wimbledon Champion Jana Novotna Passes Away.
Former Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna has died `peacefully`, aged 49, at her home in Czech Republic following a long battle with cancer.
She beat Nathalie Tauziat in the 1998 final, to then become the oldest first-time Grand Slam champion in the Open era.
It was the third time she had reached the showpiece event - and she won the hearts of the nation when she cried on the Duchess of Kent`s shoulder five years earlier following her defeat by Steffi Graf.
The Czech player led 4-1 in the third and final set against the German before collapsing to a devastating defeat.
Novotna told the Duchess that "she would do it" and was eventually true to her word, despite losing to Martina Hingis in 1997.
She also won all four Grand Slams in doubles competition.
Her first was at Wimbledon in 1989 before triumphing again in 1990, 1995 and 1998, the year of her singles’ success.
She also won the Australian Open doubles crown twice, as well as a hat-trick of French Open and US Open doubles titles.
She was a beaten finalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and 1996 Atlanta Games, where she also won bronze in the singles.
Novotna also reached No.2 in the singles rankings, and No.1 in doubles and retired in 1999 before being inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.
5. Radha Mohan Singh Inaugurated World Fisheries Day Celebrations 2017.
On 21st November 1997, the working fishermen and women representing World Forum of Fish Harvesters & Fish Workers from 18 countries met at New Delhi and established the World Fisheries Forum (WFF) advocating for a global mandate of sustainable fishing practices and policies. To commemorate this occasion, every year 21st November is celebrated all over the world as World Fisheries Day. In India, it is being celebrated for the fourth consecutive year. This year the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, is celebrating it on 21st November 2017 at the National Agricultural Science Centre (NASC) Complex, Pusa Road, New Delhi. This years theme is 2022 Ka Hai Sapna Kisan Ki Aay Ho Dugna - Sankalp Se Siddhi".
Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare will inaugurate the World Fisheries Day Celebrations. Exhibition, technical sessions and information on Blue revolution Schemes are the main attractions of the event. On this occasion an exhibition showcasing the technological advances made and development achieved in Fisheries Sector would be organized and about 50 exhibitors will be participating. In technical sessions, Subject Matter Experts, Progressive Farmers and Entrepreneurs would make presentations on various topics in emerging areas related to Fisheries Development in the county for the benefit of the participants and the stakeholders at large, for achieving the envisaged fish production. Topics on components and targets of Blue Revolution, shrimp aquaculture, sustainable intensification of aquaculture, cage culture, tilapia culture, ornamental fish farming, aquatic animal health management, policy on fisheries, etc., all of which would lead to increase in production and productivity, will be discussed. Fishers, fish Farmers, entrepreneurs, Departmental officers from States, extension workers, scientists, and other dignitaries from all over the country will participate in the event.
6. Indias Nominee Dalveer Bhandari Re-elected to ICJ.
India’s nominee to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Dalveer Bhandari was on Monday re-elected to the fifth and the last seat of the world court after Britain withdrew its candidate from the election.
Mr. Bhandari received 183-193 votes in the General Assembly and secured all the 15 votes in the Security Council after separate and simultaneous elections were held at the UN headquarters in New York.
The elections were held after United Kingdom, in a dramatic turn of events, withdrew out of the race for the Hague-based ICJ, thus paving the way for Mr. Bhandari’s re-election to the prestigious world court.
Mr. Bhandari and Britain’s Christopher Greenwood were locked in a neck-and-neck fight for re-election to the ICJ.
The permanent members of the Security Council — USA, Russia, France and China — were understood to have been throwing their weight behind Mr. Greenwood. The UK is the fifth permanent member of the Security Council.
In a dramatic turn of events, the British Permanent Representative to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, wrote identical letters to the presidents of the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council, before the two chambers were scheduled to meet at 3 pm for the 12th round of voting.
Read out simultaneously by both the presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council, Mr. Rycroft said that its candidate Judge Christopher Greenwood had decided to withdraw from the election to the 15-membered ICJ.
In the 11 rounds of voting, Mr. Bhandari had got nearly two-thirds of the votes in the General Assembly and in Security Council Greenwood consistently received nine votes as against five for his opponent. This resulted in a stalemate. As per the letter read out simultaneously in the General Assembly and the Security Council, Rycroft said the current deadlock is unlikely to be broken by further rounds of voting.
As such he announced withdrawal from the race. With Mr. Bhandari being the only candidate left in the race, the General Assembly and Security Council still went through the formal motion of voting to complete the formalities.
7. South African Indian-origin Appointed UNAIDS Special Ambassador.
Acclaimed South African Indian-origin AIDS researcher Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim has been appointed as a UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV. Professor Abdool Karim is one of the world’s leading AIDS researchers and has made pioneering contributions to understanding the HIV epidemic among young people, especially among young women.
She is a strong advocate for the rights of people living with and affected by HIV.
In her new role as a UNAIDS Special Ambassador, Abdool Karim will focus on adolescents and HIV, while also championing the involvement of young women in science.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.
Last month, Abdool Karim and her husband Professor Salim Abdool Karim received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute for Human Virology (IHV) in Baltimore, US.
Post her appointment as the special ambassador, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibei said the organisation “looks forward” to supporting her Abdook Karim’s work.
“A strong and consistent champion of young people living with and affected by HIV, she will use her new role to continue to translate scientific research and knowledge into people-centred solutions and prevention programmes to reduce the factors making young people so vulnerable to HIV infection,” Sidibei said.
8. President Ram Nath Kovind reaches Imphal to inaugurate Manipur Sangai Festival.
President Ram Nath Kovind reached Imphal to inaugurate the Manipur Sangai Festival, 2017 this afternoon. He was accorded a warm welcome at the Imphal Airport by State Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh and his cabinet colleagues. The 10-day state festival will be opened today at the Bhagyachandra Open Air Theatre at Palace Compound in Imphal.
Galaxy of foreign dignitaries including ambassadors of South-East Asian countries and some western countries and senior officials of different union Ministries has arrived at Imphal to attend the Festival.
Before the inaugural function of the Sangai Festival, President Ram Nath Kovind will open a two-day North-East Development Summit at the City Convention Centre in Imphal.
Convenor of the Organising Committee of the Summit and Vice-Chairman of Manipur Infrastructure Development Agency(MIDA) Moirangthem Asnikumar told AIR News that as many as 175 delegates including official representatives of foreign countries and multi-national corporate firms are attending the Summit.
He further said that in addition to the 175 delegates altogether 36 Indian firms are also sending their representatives to attend the Summit. He also said that around 20 memorandums of understanding(MoUs) will be signed with investor companies during the Summit to attract investment in the State to generate employment avenues for the unemployed educated youths of the State.
10. IFFI 2017 Indian Panorama inaugurated at Panaji by noted actress Sridevi.
Sridevi, who was recently seen in MOM and who has ruled our hearts for years is all set to inaugurate the Indian Panorama Section at the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), in Goa. The veteran actor, who has contributed to Hindi cinema for the last fifty years, will be a part of celebrating the theme ‘Future of Indian Cinema’ at the much awaited film festival.
The inaugural ceremony is scheduled for November 21 and Sridevi will be introducing the audience to IFFI’s official selection of feature and non-feature films under the Indian Panorama 2017 category.
Sridevi will be joined by her family including producer Boney Kapoor and daughter Janhvi Kapoor, at the opening ceremony of the festival. Jahnvi is all set to make her Bollywood debut in Karan Johar’s upcoming Dhadak, opposite Ishaan Khatter, Shahid Kapoor’s brother. Dhadak is the official Hindi remake of award winning Marathi film Sairat.
Sridevi will also be paying a special audio-visual homage to the legends of Indian cinema. Talking about the festival Sridevi said, “I look forward to attending IFFI this year. As IFFI gets into its 48th year, I look forward to celebrating Indian and world cinema, with some of the best talent from across the world”.
11. Beyonce Named 2017`s Highest-Paid Woman in Music according to Forbes.
Shortly after Adele took home the Grammy award for Album of the Year in February, she broke it in half--with the intention of physically sharing it with Beyoncé, the internet concluded—in recognition of the latter`s Lemonade. But Queen Bey won an even more valuable distinction outright: she`s this year`s highest-paid woman in music, pulling in a whopping $105 million pretax.
Lemonade was a hit with both critics and fans, giving Beyoncé her sixth solo No. 1. The ensuing Formation World Tour, much of it falling into our list`s scoring period, grossed a quarter of a billion dollars. Then she took time off as she and husband Jay-Z welcomed twins Rumi and Sir this summer. Adele finished second, earning $69 million, boosted by seven-figure nightly grosses on her first proper tour since 2011.
"Adele’s music appeals to listeners of all ages all over the world with her undeniably powerful, emotional vocal interpretations paired with timeless songwriting and production," says multiplatinum singer-songwriter Skylar Grey. "No matter what genre someone generally subscribes to, it’s hard to find a music lover who doesn’t appreciate what she does."
12. Robert Mugabe Resignation ushers in New Era for Zimbabwe.
The news came at 5.30pm, as Zimbabwe’s MPs and senators debated a motion to impeach their president in the conference hall of a five-star hotel in Harare.
Helton Bonongwe, the minister for parliamentary affairs, approached the stage holding a sheet of paper in his hand. There was a moment of silence, and then the hall erupted. After 37 years in power, Robert Mugabe had resigned.
The cheers spread in concentric waves, through the 400 MPs and senators, out into the Rainbow Towers hotel’s reception and bars, through the drivers waiting in the MPs’ luxury SUVs, and on to the streets of Harare, where people sang and whistled and danced in a massive shout of relief and joy.
Zimbabwe celebrates as Mugabe resignation announced – in pictures
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Some shouted political slogans, calling for the appointment of Emmerson Mnangagwa, the vice-president whose sacking two weeks ago triggered the crisis that led to the end of Mugabe’s rule. But most simply voiced their excitement and, above all, their hope.
“I never thought it would happen so soon,” said Nancy Thembi, a 21-year-old student on secondment to the hotel who danced as she heard the news. “Everyone is calling it a new era. It is history in the making. The people are free.” Thembi, like so many in this youthful nation, had never known any other leader than Mugabe.
“Change is good,” said 25-year-old Phionah Kusere, a receptionist who conscientiously continued to check guests in despite the chaos around her because, she explained: “I am a Zimbabwean so I work hard.”
In the halls of the Rainbow Towers – a kitsch hotel, casino and conference centre with marbled floors and a brass spiral staircase – opposition politicians embraced government loyalists who have long been bitter enemies.
“It is an example to the rest of Africa. To follow our route, of engagement, unity and the rule of law,” said David Chapfika, a veteran MP from the ruling Zanu-PF party.
Mike Carter, a senator from the Movement of Democratic Change (MDC), the brutally suppressed main opposition party, said the moment was “wonderful”.
Impeachment proceedings against Mugabe begin in Zimbabwe
13. Kendall Jenner becomes world`s highest paid model in 2017.
For the first time since 2002, Gisele Bundchen is not the world’s highest-earning model. Kendall Jenner, 22, steals the top spot with a mammoth $22 million year.
Thanks to an Instagram account that lets her disseminate advertisements to 85 million followers, Jenner tallied a career-best total in the 12 months to June from favorable deals with Estée Lauder, La Perla and Adidas, among others. Paychecks from her family`s reality TV show, her Kendall + Kylie clothing line with her sister, Kylie Jenner, and numerous social media endorsements juice her modeling money.
She edges Bundchen (No. 2, $17.5 million) who had a quieter year. The 37-year-old still posed for a Carolina Herrera fragrance and Arezzo shoes and Vivara jewelry in her native Brazil, but fewer campaigns meant her take-home dipped 43% from 2016`s $30.5 million total.
Rounding out the top three is Chrissy Teigen (No. 3; $13.5 million), who joins the list for the first time. With an outsized social following, the former Sports Illustrated cover girl and foodie mints millions from deals beyond fashion, including adverts with beverage brands such as Vita Coco and
Smirnoff.
Together, the world’s 10 highest-paid models banked a cumulative $109.5 million between June 1, 2016, and June 1, 2017, before taxes and fees. Earnings are based on income from cosmetics, fragrance and other contracts; estimates are sourced from interviews with numerous managers, agents and brand executives.
As fashion changes, so does the highest-paid models ranking. This year`s list is dominated by Insta-girls, celebrity scions--and features the first curve model to make the cut.
14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate 5th Global Conference on Cyber Space in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the fifth edition of the Global Conference on Cyber Space or GCCS today in Delhi, an official statement said. GCCS is one of the worlds largest conferences on cyber space.
The theme of the two-day conference is Cyber4All: A Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development.
"This is a historic moment for all of us to host the Fifth edition of the Global Conference of Cyberspace in India. I believe it is a recognition of India`s emerging role as a massive cyber power, accelerated by the Digital India push, which has acquired international acknowledgment," said Ravi Shankar Prasad, Electronics & IT and Law & Justice Minister.
"The GCCS 2017 is certainly in accord with the Hon`ble Prime Minister`s vision to transform India into a digitally empowered country. GCCS 2017 will give the world`s cyber community a unique opportunity to learn from global experience and expert insight, and discover more about the technology led transformation being engineered in India," he added.
Incepted in 2011 in London, the second GCCS was held in 2012 in Budapest with focus on relationship between internet rights and internet security, which was attended by 700 delegates from nearly 60 countries. The third edition of GCCS was held in 2013 in Seoul with commitment to Open and Secure Cyberspace. The fourth version GCCS 2015 was held on April 16-17, 2015 in The Hague, Netherlands which saw participation from 97 countries.
"The GCCS 2017 is going to be four times bigger than its previous edition in terms of its magnitude. The last conference held in The Netherlands saw about 1,800 delegates, and I am happy to announce that we have over 10,000 delegates who will participate in person. There will also be virtual participation from over 2,800 locations across the world will be connected in an interactive mode," Mr Prasad said. This will make it the largest-ever GCCS event since its inception.
15. Union Government Cabinet Approves Setting up of 15th Finance Commission.
The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of the 15th Finance Commission, which will decide on the distribution of tax proceeds among centre, states and local bodies in the post-goods and services tax (GST) era.
A finance commission is set up every five years. The government had allocated Rs10 crore in the 2017-18 budget to the 15th Finance Commission.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley said the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission will be notified in due course. “The next step will be to finalize the members and chairperson of the finance commission after which it will start functioning,” he added.
Jaitley said it was but natural that the exercise under the 15th Finance Commission will be slightly different compared to previous finance commissions after the implementation of GST on 1 July took away the taxing authority of state governments.
“Let’s not prejudge the situation. India is a union of states and the union also has to survive,” Jaitley said when asked whether the 15th Finance Commission will continue the practice of higher devolution of taxes to states.
The recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, chaired by former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Y.V. Reddy, are valid from 2015 to 2020. The recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission will be implemented in the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025.
The 14th Finance Commission is considered to have fundamentally reset the centre-state fiscal relationship by raising the untied share of states in net central taxes to 42% from 32% after ending discretionary resource transfers from the centre to the states.
16. Emmerson Mnangagwa to be Sworn in as Zimbabwe`s New President.
Zimbabwe’s former vice-president has said the country is witnessing a “new and unfolding democracy”, as he returned to a jubilant welcome two weeks after fleeing to South Africa following his sacking by Robert Mugabe.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, a 75-year-old liberation war veteran and stalwart of the ruling Zanu-PF party is to be sworn in as president on Friday. His sacking triggered the political crisis that culminated in the resignation of the 93-year-old Mugabe on Tuesday.
Mnangagwa arrived from Johannesburg at a military airbase in Harare on Wednesday afternoon and travelled directly to the Zanu-PF headquarters where a crowd of several hundred had gathered to hear his first speech as president-in-waiting.
“The people have spoken. The voice of the people is the voice of God,” he told supporters. “Today we are witnessing the beginning of a new and unfolding democracy.”
Soldiers controlled admission to the concrete complex, but allowed hawkers to sell ice-creams, bananas and soft drinks. Outside, a makeshift stall selling Zanu-PF T-shirts with the slogan “A New Era” and pennants in the national colours did brisk business.
Many supporters carried placards thanking Mnangagwa for his “resilience and endurance”.
Nicknamed “the Crocodile” for his fearsome reputation, Mnangagwa has been accused of leading brutal waves of repression against opponents of Zanu-PF and Mugabe.
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