Star Wars Actress Carrie Fisher Dies
- Carrie Fisher, the actress best-known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, has passed away.
- She got her showbiz start at age 12 in her mother’s Las Vegas nightclub act and made her film debut as a teenager in the 1975 comedy “Shampoo,” two years before her “Star Wars” breakthrough.
Dr Barbara Jatta becomes first ever female director of Vatican Museums
- Dr Barbara Jatta(54) has appointed as the first female director of Vatican Museums by Pope Francis andf thus she will become the highest-ranking female administrator in the Vatican.
- Jatta is currently working as the Deputy Director of the museums Since June 2016
China Passes Environment Tax Law
- China has passed a new law to levy environment tax on polluters, specially on heavy industries from 1 January, 2018
- The tax rate will be 1.2 yuan per unit of atmospheric pollution, 1.4 yuan per unit of water pollution, 5 yuan per tonne of coal waste & 1,000 yuan per tonne of hazardous waster.
US Astronomer Vera Rubin Dies
- US Astronomer Vera Rubin,whose pioneering work on galaxy rotation rates led to the theory of dark matter, has died.
- In 1974,Rubin discovered that the stars at the edges of galaxies moved faster than expected and for the same in 1993, US President Bill Clinton presented her with the national Medal of Science.
Singer George Michael Passes Away
- George Michael, the English singer, songwriter, and record producer who rose to fame as a member of Wham! has passed away.
- Michael, whose real name is Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop-duo Wham!
Obama signs USD 618 bn defence bill; boosts security cooperation with India
- US President Barack Obama has signed into law the USD 618 billion defence budget for 2017, which enhances security cooperation with India and also signed the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) 2017, which asks Defence Secretary and Secretary of State to take steps necessary to recognise India as America’s “major defence partner”.
- Obama also put conditions nearly half of the funding to Pakistan on a certification that it is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network.
Italy Approves Bailout for Oldest Bank
- Italy’s government approved a state bailout for Monte dei Paschi di Siena after the world’s oldest bank failed to secure backing from private investors.
- Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni had authorised a 21 billion dollars fund to support Italy’s embattled banking sector that came after Monte dei Paschi had failed to raise 5 billion euros from private investors.
Thomas Coville created world record
- Thomas Coville slashed eight days off the record when he ended an astonishing solo non-stop circumnavigation of the World on his 31m maxi trimaran.
- The record was once famously owned by British sailor Ellen MacArthur, but the 48-year-old Frenchman’s jaw dropping new mark is just 49 days, 3 hours, 7 mins and 38 secs.
Nepal to hold military exercise with China
- Nepal has announced to hold its first ever joint military exercise with China on February 10, 2017 to begin a new level of bilateral military engagement with China.
- The focus of the military exercise, named Pratikar-1, will be on training Nepali forces in dealing with hostage scenarios involving international terror groups.
France is the first to use drones for its national mail service
- France’s airspace regulator, General Directorate for Civil Aviation, has approved the plan to launch drone delivery program, making France the world’s first national postal service to use drones regularly.
