i. “The Silence Breakers”, the vanguard of a global movement by millions of women to share their stories of sexual harassment and abuse, was revealed to be Time magazine’s Person of the Year.

ii. Time Magazine has recognized the women who came forward with sexual assault allegations as its 2017 Person of the Year, calling individuals such as Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, “the voices that launched a movement.”

i. The First International Conference on Sports Medicine and Sports Sciences SAICON 2017 was inaugurated in New Delhi by the Minister of State (I/C) Youth Affairs and Sports Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore.

ii. SAICON 2017 will promote scientific temperament in the country and inspire students, researchers and educationists alike to take up sports science and research to the next level.

i. An International conference is being organized on the Groundwater issues in the country with a theme of “Groundwater Vision 2030- Water Security, Challenges, and Climate Change Adaptation”. 

ii. The conference has been organized by the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) under the aegis of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

i. Kacheguda Railway Station in Hyderabad under the South Central Railway (SCR) has earned the unique distinction of being the first Energy Efficient ‘A1 Category’ Railway Station on Indian Railways.

ii. The station has achieved 100% energy efficiency by replacing 1,312 conventional lights with light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, among other steps.

i. The Kerala government lead by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has decided to raise the legal drinking age from 21 to 23 years. The State Cabinet in a meeting decided to introduce a new ordinance raising the minimum age for liquor consumption from 21 to 23.

ii. The Ordinance will amend the Abkari Act. The previous UDF regime had adopted a policy in favour of prohibition by shutting down bars and closing doors on state-run liquor vending outlets.

i. The Taj Mahal, India’s iconic ivory-white marble mausoleum in Agra, is the second best UNESCO world heritage site in the world, according to a new survey by online travel portal TripAdvisor.

ii. The Taj Mahal is rated after Cambodia’s Angkor Wat. Other popular heritage sites on the survey include the Great Wall of China (Third) built by Xu Da of Northern Qi Dynasty in 1368 AD. Machu Pichu in Peru in South America has bagged the fourth spot.

Taj Mahal- second best UNESCO world heritage site in the world- acc. to a survey of TripAdvisor– Cambodia’s Angkor Wat is best.

i. President of USA Donald Trump has announced that the US now recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, overturning decades of official US policy.

ii. The fate of the ancient city is one of the thorniest issues between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel called Donald Trump’s move “historic” but there has been sharp international criticism. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Donald Trump’s announcement “deplorable”.