1. Commonwealth TT Ch’ships starts tomorrow
i. A great opportunity awaits for a group of young and experienced Indian paddlers to sizzle in front of the home crowd and bag a rich medal haul in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships that gets underway in New Delhi on Sunday.
ii. A formidable challenge for the hosts in this edition of the event would come from Singapore, who has much higher ranked players in their squad.
iii. But if the Indian paddlers get favourable draws, it could well turn out to be a remarkable championship for them.
iv. Singapore have completely dominated the last two editions of the championship - 2007 and 2009, finishing first in all the categories except for men's doubles event.
v. Leading the Indian challenge would be country's most experienced campaigner Achantha Sharath Kamal, who is also the highest ranked player for the hosts.
2. Peng Shuai of China ranked World No. 1 in WTA Doubles Ranking
i. Peng Shuai of China was ranked World Number 1 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Doubles ranking released on 17 February 2014.
ii. Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei was ranked No.2 in WTA Doubles ranking which is the highest ranking ever for a player from Chinese Taipei.
iii. Peng Shuai is the first Chinese player to ascend to the top of the WTA's doubles ranking.
iv. The pair is also the first team from Asia to win the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships held in Istanbul in 2013.
3. Khurshid to represent India at global security summit-Manama Dialogue
i. Manama Dialogue, the leading regional and global security summit, gets underway in the Bahrain capital Manama today.
ii. The three day long summit will discuss major regional and global security, political and economic issues. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will represent India at the forum on Saturday and Sunday.
iii. The event is organized by the Bahrain Ministry of foreign affairs in collaboration with the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, IISS.
iv. This year the emphasis at the Manama Dialogue is on the Syrian crisis, Iran nuclear talks, sectarianism and extremism, GCC integration and military co-operation.
v. he leaders, strategic thinkers, military experts and analysts will also discuss enhancing military and intelligence cooperation to boost regional and global security.
4. China marks arrival of the Year of the Horse
i. In China, celebrations marking the arrival of the "Year of the Horse" have taken place across the country.
ii. The Chinese Lunar New Year is a long-held traditional holiday for the Chinese people.
iii. It is commonly celebrated by Chinese people across the globe. China's Lunar New Year is also the largest annual mass migration on earth, as hundreds of millions of people head back to their home towns to spend the festival with their families.
iv. Chinese President Xi Jinping has delivered his Lunar New Year greetings to all Chinese people living in and around the world. He also issued a call for ethnic harmony among the people living in China.
v. In Hong Kong, crowds gathered at the city's best-known temples last night to make wishes for the new year. Worshippers in Taipei also crowded local temples to pray for prosperity in the new year.
i. A great opportunity awaits for a group of young and experienced Indian paddlers to sizzle in front of the home crowd and bag a rich medal haul in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships that gets underway in New Delhi on Sunday.
ii. A formidable challenge for the hosts in this edition of the event would come from Singapore, who has much higher ranked players in their squad.
iii. But if the Indian paddlers get favourable draws, it could well turn out to be a remarkable championship for them.
iv. Singapore have completely dominated the last two editions of the championship - 2007 and 2009, finishing first in all the categories except for men's doubles event.
v. Leading the Indian challenge would be country's most experienced campaigner Achantha Sharath Kamal, who is also the highest ranked player for the hosts.
2. Peng Shuai of China ranked World No. 1 in WTA Doubles Ranking
i. Peng Shuai of China was ranked World Number 1 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Doubles ranking released on 17 February 2014.
ii. Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei was ranked No.2 in WTA Doubles ranking which is the highest ranking ever for a player from Chinese Taipei.
iii. Peng Shuai is the first Chinese player to ascend to the top of the WTA's doubles ranking.
iv. The pair is also the first team from Asia to win the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships held in Istanbul in 2013.
3. Khurshid to represent India at global security summit-Manama Dialogue
i. Manama Dialogue, the leading regional and global security summit, gets underway in the Bahrain capital Manama today.
ii. The three day long summit will discuss major regional and global security, political and economic issues. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will represent India at the forum on Saturday and Sunday.
iii. The event is organized by the Bahrain Ministry of foreign affairs in collaboration with the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, IISS.
iv. This year the emphasis at the Manama Dialogue is on the Syrian crisis, Iran nuclear talks, sectarianism and extremism, GCC integration and military co-operation.
v. he leaders, strategic thinkers, military experts and analysts will also discuss enhancing military and intelligence cooperation to boost regional and global security.
4. China marks arrival of the Year of the Horse
i. In China, celebrations marking the arrival of the "Year of the Horse" have taken place across the country.
ii. The Chinese Lunar New Year is a long-held traditional holiday for the Chinese people.
iii. It is commonly celebrated by Chinese people across the globe. China's Lunar New Year is also the largest annual mass migration on earth, as hundreds of millions of people head back to their home towns to spend the festival with their families.
iv. Chinese President Xi Jinping has delivered his Lunar New Year greetings to all Chinese people living in and around the world. He also issued a call for ethnic harmony among the people living in China.
v. In Hong Kong, crowds gathered at the city's best-known temples last night to make wishes for the new year. Worshippers in Taipei also crowded local temples to pray for prosperity in the new year.
