Daily GK Update: 31st December 2022

Sports

Portugal Football team captain Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on a contract until 2025 with worth over USD 75 million per year.
Al Nassr have won the Saudi top-flight titles 9 times, last in 2019.
This move inspires their league, nation, and future generations, boys, and girls to be the best version of themselves.
Portugal captain was free after leaving Manchester United following a controversial interview in which he had criticized the club.

Sports

Former world rapid champion, Koneru Humpy has won India’s first-ever silver medal in FIDE World Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan after defeating China’s Zhongyi Tan.
He scored an impressive 12.5 points, just half a point behind the gold medal winner Bibisara Balabayeva of Kazakhastan.
He is the second Indian to win a medal at World Blitz, after Viswanathan Anand.

National Affairs

Union Minister of State Science & Technology, Jitendra Singh has inaugurated Incubation Centre at National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), Delhi to provide multi-prong support to StartUps.
NRDC has created incubating start-ups facility and is also promoting beneficial schemes to provide support in terms of funding, mentoring, IP assistance and other allied services to the Start-ups.
NRDC was established in 1953 with headquarters in Delhi.

National Affairs

Centre will roll out new integrated Food Security Scheme from 1st January 2023 to provide free food grains to over 81 crore beneficiaries under National Food Security Act, NFSA in 2023.
It will also ensure effective and uniform implementation of the Act and free foodgrains will concurrently ensure uniform implementation of portability under One Nation One Ration Card across the country.
Under this scheme, Centre will provide free foodgrains to all NFSA beneficiaries.

Sports

Hockey Haryana's women's team has won Khelo India Youth Games 2022 Women’s Under 18 Qualifiers after defeating Madhya Pradesh 2-0 in the final at Bhubaneswar.
Pooja and Gurmail Kaur scored a goal each for Haryana to make the team the trophy winner
Odisha stepped up to claim 3rd place after beating Hockey Jharkhand 2-1 in the 3rd and 4th place encounter.
Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand have qualified for the Khelo India Youth Games to be held in MP in 2023

Obituaries

Brazilian football legend Pele (82 years), who won a record three World Cups has passed away.
He was widely regarded as one of soccer’s greatest players and is credited with scoring a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during a 21-year career, including 77 goals in 92 matches for his country.
He is the only player to win the World Cup three times and lifting the trophy in 1958, 1962 and 1970
He was named Fifa's Player of the Century in 2000.

National & International Appointments

China's ambassador to the Unites States (US), Qin Gang (56-years) has been appointed as the country's new foreign minister.
This decision was made by the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee
He will replace Wang Yi, who is now a Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and State Councilor.
He was previously the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry and later rose to the rank of Vice Minister is closely associated with Mr. Xi.

International Affairs

Pokhara Regional International Airport will be officially brought into operation from 1st January 2023
Inauguration programme of the airport will include different processions, fashion shows at coordination of Pokhara Metropolitan City and Pokhara Tourism Council.
This airport is going to be a milestone for the promotion of tourism not only in Pokhara.
This is constructed by a Chinese construction company.

Obituaries

Former Pope Benedict XVI (95 years) passed away in his residence at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery.
Pope Francis will preside over the funeral of the Pope Emeritus that will held on 5 January at St. Peter's Square.
Pope Benedict XVI led Catholic Church for less than eight years until, in 2013, he became the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415.
He resigned from the papacy due to his ailing health.

International Affairs

North Korea has fired three short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea to the east of the Korean peninsula
South Korea's military has said that these ballistic missiles launch is a grave provocation that undermines peace and stability on Korean Peninsula as well as the international community.
This latest volley comes 5 days after North Korea flew drones into South Korea's airspace for the first time since 2017.