19 December 2012 Current Affairs
Park elected South Korean President
Park Guen-hye, the daughter of former military dictator Park Chung-hee, beat her opponent on 19 December 2012 in the South Korean presidential elections.In February, Ms. Park will be sworn in as the country’s first woman President. Ms. Park, 60, the former head of the ruling Conservative Saenuri Party, had secured the necessary votes and defeated Moon Jae-in, 59, of the Democratic United Party.
Top honour for 7-year-old South African Indian rhino campaigner
A seven-year-old Indian-origin girl Afeefah Patel won a prestigious a wildlife conservation award in South Africa for writing a letter to President Jacob Zuma asking for his assistance in saving endangered rhinos.Afeefah Patel, who has just finished Grade One, became the youngest winner ever of SANParks’s Corporate Contribution to Conservation Award: Individual category at the 8th annual Kudu Awards.
Rocket with 3 astronauts takes off for ISS
A Soyuz spacecraft carrying three astronauts took off atop a towering Russian rocket on 19 December 2012, headed for the International Space Station.It launched from Russia’s manned-space facility in the frigid steppes of Kazakhstan . It separated from its final rocket stage and went into orbit about 15 minutes later.American Tom Marshburn, Russian Roman Romanenko and Canadian Chris Hadfield will travel for two days in the capsule, before docking with the space station where three other astronauts are already on board.
Barack Obama is Time’s ‘Person of the Year’
President Barack Obama had been named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2012 on 19 December 2012.Obama also received the honour in 2008, when he was President-elect.
India Lags Several Nations in Per Capita Income
India is lagging behind several countries in per capita income due to different levels of development and various other factors, the central government was informed on 19 December .India’s per capita GDP on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) basis was $3,403 in 2010 and is estimated at $3,662.69 in 2011 and $3,851.31 in 2012.