CURRENT AFFAIRS
13 August 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Karnataka orders the District Magistrate-level probe into Bengaluru riots.
At least 110 rioters have been arrested for the violence that erupted in eastern Bengaluru’s DJ Halli area following protests against a social media post by a relative of Congress MLA R. Akhanda Srinivasamurthy on the night of 11 August. The Karnataka government has ordered a probe by the District Magistrate. Naveen P, nephew Srinivasamurthy, has been arrested for allegedly sharing an inflammatory post on Facebook. Nearly 60 policemen and at least one media person were injured during the riots. The police have now clamped a curfew in the riot-affected areas. Tension prevailed on the night of 11 August after the post went viral. Soon, people started gathering in front of the MLA’s house to protest against the post. While the MLA was not at home, the mob pelted stones at his house and later set portions of it on fire. The police rushed to the spot and picked up Naveen even as a mob of about 1,000 demanded that he be handed over to them, police officials said. The mob accused the police of “rescuing” Naveen and soon turned against them. The violence swiftly spread to other parts of the area. Meanwhile, Karnataka Minister CT Ravi has said that the state would recover the costs of the assets destroyed in the violence from the people who had rioted.
B) COVID Watch: Numbers and Developments.
The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 23,84,760 with the death toll at 47,407. The Health Ministry today said India’s recovery rate has soared past 70% with 16,39,599 people having recuperated from the disease so far, while active cases comprised only 27.64% of the total caseload. The case fatality rate has further declined to 1.98%. Experts have pointed out that the emphasis on the recovery rate could be misleading. Since the majority of patients recover from the disease and the mortality rate from it is low, it necessarily follows that recovery rates in all countries will eventually be in the high nineties. Former President Pranab Mukherjee’s health condition continues to remain critical, the Army’s Research and Referral (R&R) Hospital said on Wednesday. “Presently he is hemodynamically stable and on a ventilator,” the hospital said in a bulletin. Mukherjee underwent life-saving emergency surgery for a brain clot on Monday and has been on ventilator support since.
C) 3 firms to construct the new Parliament building. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has selected three firms — Larsen and Toubro Limited, Shapoorji Pallonji and Co. Ltd. and Tata Projects Ltd. — from the seven that applied for pre-qualification to bid for the project to construct the new Parliament building. The project is a part of the government’s proposed redevelopment of the Central Vista. It is estimated to cost ₹889 crore and take 21 months to complete, according to the CPWD.
D) Home Minister’s medal for 15 CBI officers.
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer leading the Bhima Koregaon (Maharashtra) investigation and a Delhi Police officer heading the team probing the riots last February in north-east Delhi are among the 121 recipients of the Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation that was announced on 12 August. The Home Ministry has said that this medal was constituted in 2018. The objective of this medal is to promote high professional standards of investigation of crime as well as to recognize such excellence in an investigation by investigating officers.
E) 3 Journal assaulted by a mob in northeast Delhi.
Delhi Police on 12 August said that they have received a complaint from a news magazine that three of its journalists, including a woman, were assaulted by a mob in northeast Delhi, where they had gone to report on a story linked to the riots that had taken place in February. The Caravan magazine alleged that the incident took place on the afternoon of 11 August. Joint Commissioner of Police (eastern range) Alok Kumar said that they have received complaints from both sides (magazine and locals) and are looking into them.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Kamala Harris becomes the first Black and Indian-origin woman to be on a presidential ticket.
U.S. Senator from California Kamala Harris has been named running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Harris, 55, is the first woman of Indian descent and a black woman to be on the presidential ticket of a major political party in the U.S. The move puts her in a powerful position to lead the Democratic party in the near future and with a shot at the presidency in four to eight years. Born to Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher originally from Chennai, and Donald Harris, an economics professor from Jamaica, Harris has decades of public service to her name. In 2010, she became California’s Attorney General, the first Black woman to hold the position. In 2016, she was elected to the Senate.
B) China warns the U.S. against ‘playing with fire’
China has warned Washington not to “play with fire” on 12 August because a U.S. delegation went on a historic trip to the self-ruled country of Taiwan. Beijing was infuriated by the high profile visit to Taiwan as the relationship of U.S.-China is getting worse day by day and to a record low over a range of issues from trade to military and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Health chief of the USA has finished a 3-day visit to Taiwan, during which he criticized China for handling the pandemic. He also visited the shrine of a former Taiwan President which was hated by the Communist Party leadership. Beijing slammed the visit on 12 August and said that it firmly opposes official exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan under any pretext.
C) Indians having any valid visa can now fly to the UAE.
With the Union government lifting the pandemic-induced curbs on tourist and visit visas for travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after five months, airlines can now carry any Indian national holding any type of valid UAE visa to the seven emirates. Till now, only Indian and UAE nationals having a resident visa, fresh job visas, or student visas were allowed to travel on flights operated by Air India Group and Air India Express and on chartered flights to the UAE. The Centre was under pressure to allow everyone with valid UAE visas to travel after the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs in Dubai started issuing new visit visas for Indians. Relatives of NRIs were not able to fly to the seven emirates due to the restrictions.
