www.gradeup.co Top Current Affairs of the week (7 July – 13 July 2019) 1. Brazil wins the Copa America 2019 Title • Brazil defeated Peru 3-1 to win its first Copa America title since 2007. • Jesus scored the decisive goal after a penalty from Peru captain Paolo Guerrero cancelled out Everton’s opener for hosts Brazil at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium. • A last-minute penalty from substitute Richarlison sealed a win for Brazil which handed the South American giantstheir ninth Copa triumph and first since 2007. • Argentina took third place by beating Chile 2–1 in the third-place match. • Brazil's veteran right-back Dani Alves was player of the tournament. Related Information: • The 2019 Copa América (46th edition) was the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. • It was held in Brazil (between 14 June to 7 July 2019) at 6 venues across the country. 2. Vinesh Phoga & Divya Kakran wins the Gold medal at Grand Prix of Spain • India’s wrestler Vinesh Phogat (in 53 Kg category) and Divya Kakran (in 68 kg category) have won Gold Medal at the Grand Prix of Spain. • Vinesh comfortably beat Peru's Justina Benites and Russia's Nina Minkenova before getting the better of Dutch rival Jessica Blaszka in the final. • Among others, World Championship bronze medallist Pooja Dhanda (57kg), Seema (50kg), Manju Kumari (59kg) and Kiran (76kg) won silver medal. • India finished second with 130 points in team championship behind Russia (165- points) 3. Hima Das clinches gold in Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland • Indian sprinter Hima Das (19-years) won her second international gold in women's 200m with a top finish at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland. • Hima clocked 23.97 seconds to clinch the gold while VK Vismaya bagged the silver in 24.06 seconds. • This was Hima's second competitive 200m race of the year. • She has a personal best of 23.10 seconds, which she clocked in 2018. • Hima is the reigning world junior champion and national record holder in 400m. • National record holder Muhammed Anas also won the gold in men's 200m race with a time of 21.18 seconds. • MP Jabir won the gold in men's 400m hurdles in 50.21 seconds while Jithin Paul was third in 52.26 seconds. 3. India gets its 38th UNESCO World Heritage Site as Pink City Jaipur 1 www.gradeup.co • The Walled City of Jaipur, known for its iconic architectural legacy and vibrant culture, on made its entry into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. • The announcement was made after the 43rd Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, underway at Baku (Azerbaijan). • The committee examined the nomination of the Walled City of Jaipur for inclusion in the World Heritage list. • With this, India now has 38 World Heritage Sites (30 cultural properties, 7 natural properties and one mixed site). 4. Bonalu festival kicks off at Golconda Fort • The annual Bonalu festival kicked off in the city at the historic Golconda Fort of Hyderabad. • Bonalu is an annual festival of Telangana celebrated in Twin Cities Hyderabad, Secunderabad and other parts of Telangana. • It is celebrated every year in a grand manner in the state during the first month of the monsoon season. • The famous Sri Ujjaini Mahankali Bonalu celebrations at Secunderabad will be held on July 21 and 22. Related Information: • Bonalu is celebrated to ward off diseases and usher in good health, peace and prosperity. • Women, attired in colourful robes, carry the 'Bonalu' (decorated pots containing food) on their heads to the temples for offering them to the Goddess. 5. India ranked 86th in the Henley Passport Index 2019 • According to the latest Henley Passport Index 2019, Japan and Singapore have ranked on top which means that these two countries have the most powerful passports in the world. • India stands at 86th position in this index with a mobility score of 58. • Afghanistan has once again been labelled by the index as the least powerful passport in the world. Related Information: • The HPI consists of a ranking of passports according to how many other territories can be reached 'visa-free'. • The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations including micro-states and territories. Rank Citizenship Score 1st Singapore, Japan 189 2 www.gradeup.co 2nd South Korea Germany Finland 187 3rd Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg 186 4th France, Spain, Sweden 185 86th India, Sao Tome and Principe, Mauritania 58 109th Afghanistan 25 6. Italy's Prosecco hills added to UNESCO World Heritage list • Italy's north-eastern Conegliano and Valdobbiadene hills (home to the world-famous sparkling wine prosecco) have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list. • The region became Italy's 55th World Heritage site. • The landscape is characterised by hogback hills, ciglioni -- small plots of vines on narrow grassy terraces -- forests, small villages and farmland. • The prosecco sparkling white, which has the highest classification available to Italian wine, is produced in a territory spread over nine provinces in Italy's northeast. • Prosecco has become the most popular Italian wine abroad, with its exports seen rising by a record 21% in 2019 in foreign markets. Related Information: • A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area which is selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as having cultural, historical, scientific or another form of significance and is legally protected by international treaties. • The sites are judged important to the collective interests of humanity. 7. Kyriakos Mitsotakis becomes Greece's new PM • Kyriakos Mitsotakis (51-year) was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Greece. • Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party won an outright majority with 158 seats in the 300-seat legislature. • Earlier, he was Leader of the Opposition (from 2016 to 2019) and also served as Minister of Administrative Reform (from 2013 to 2015). • Mitsotakis is the son of former Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis, one of the country’s longest-serving parliamentarians. Related Information: • The Prime Minister of Greece is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. 8. BSF launches Operation ‘Sudarshan’ to fortify anti-infiltration along Pak Border 3 www.gradeup.co • The Border Security Force (BSF) has launched massive exercise, code-named 'Sudarshan', to fortify the 'anti-infiltration grid' along the Pakistan border in Punjab and Jammu. • The exercise will see the entire BSF's senior field brass, thousands of troops and machinery being deployed in these forward areas. • It will cover the entire over the 1,000 km length (Jammu shares 485-km and Punjab shares 553-km) of the India-Pakistan International Border. • It further runs down towards Rajasthan and Gujarat on India’s western flank. • A fleet of heavy and small all-terrain vehicles has been mobilised in these areas as the field commanders are moving in those localities. Related Information: • The BSF is the primary force guarding this frontier as the ‘first line of defence’. 9. India successfully tests vertical steep dive version of Brahmos missile • India has successfully tested the vertical steep dive version of the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile that changes the dynamics of conventional warfare. • The upgraded version of the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile with an enhanced range of up to 500 km is also ready. • Brahmos missile, which cruises at almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8, is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on the Su-30 fighters. Related Information: • The BrahMos is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarine, ships, aircraft, or land. • It is a joint venture between the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace. • The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. 10. Magnus Carlsen wins 2019 Croatia Grand Chess Tour title • Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen (28 years) defeated Maxime Vachier- Lagrave (France) to reach 8/11 and win the Croatia Grand Chess Tour. • The world champion Carlsen won his eighth straight tournament and earned USD 90,000. • He scored a 2943 performance and returned to his highest rating of 2882. • India’s Viswanathan Anand ended up with 4.5 points and finished 11th. Related Information: • The 2019 Croatia Grand Chess Tour tournament is the second stop on the 2019 Grand Chess Tour. 4 www.gradeup.co • The tournament is hosted in partnership between the Grand Chess Tour and Chess Club e4 from Zagreb. 11. DRDO successfully tests armour-piercing Nag missiles at Pokhran range • The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) carried out three successful test firings of the Nag missiles in the Pokhran firing ranges in Rajasthan. • The ‘Nag missile’ is an Indian third generation "fire-and-forget" anti-tank guided missile. • The speed of this missile is 230 metres per second (range - 3 to 7 km). • Nag missile has top attack capabilities that can effectively engage and destroy all known enemy tanks during day and night. Related Information: • The ‘Nag missile’ is being developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program and is manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited. • The Defence Acquisition Council (in 2018) had approved the procurement of DRDO- designed-and-developed NAG Missile System (NAMIS) at a cost of Rs 524 crore. 12. Sri Lanka: Annual festival at historic Kataragama temple attracts devotees • The annual festival at historic Kataragama temple attracts devotees from all faiths in Sri Lanka.