News in Short

• Indian’s Women’s Cricket team opener Smriti Mandhana was rewarded with ICC’s women’s cricketer of the year award for 2021.
• Despite Team India’s recent slump, Mandhana continued her rich vein of form, and she was been recognized by the ICC for her exploits.
• The Southpaw had won the award in 2018 as well when she was also named the women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year, making her only the second women’s player to win the highest individual distinction in the overall category.

• PV Sindhu ended her title drought after 29 months, winning the women’s singles at the Syed Modi India International BWF Super 300 tournament.
• Sindhu, the world No 7, had not won a title since the world championship at Basel, Switzerland in August 2019.
• It took her 35 minutes to clinch her second title at the Syed Modi tournament, having previously won the event in 2017.
• Although the field was depleted as a consequence of the Covid situation, Sindhu would savour the win as it ended the wait.

• United Arab Emirates has banned the flying of drones in the country for recreation after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed a fatal drone attack on an oil facility and major airport in the country.
• The Houthis, who hold Yemen’s capital and have fought a bloody, yearslong war with a Saudi-led military coalition that includes the UAE, claimed the assault.
• Government regulations in the UAE already restrict flying drones in residential areas as well as near, around and over airports.

• Germany’s navy chief has stepped down over remarks he made about Russia and Crimea at an event that have escalated into a diplomatic row between Germany and Ukraine.
• Vice Admiral Kay-AchimSchönbach said that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be given the “respect he probably deserves” and that Crimea would never go back to Ukraine.
• His comments that seemed to be sympathetic of Putin come amid fears of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, as Russia has reportedly amassed over 100,000 troops on its western border with Ukraine.

• On the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a hologram statue of the freedom fighter at India Gate in New Delhi.
• The hologram statue is a placeholder until a granite statue is installed at the site. Republic Day celebrations in the country would begin on January 23 every year to incorporate the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
• The hologram statue is powered by a 30,000 lumens 4K projector. An invisible holographic screen has been erected in such a way that it is not visible to visitors.