Tag: latest Current Affairs

CURRENT AFFAIRS
06 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) SII and Bharat Biotech issue joint statement after vaccine row. 

Stating the important task in front of them is saving the lives and livelihoods of populations in India and the world, SII CEO Adar Poonawala and Bharat Biotech chairman Krishna Ella, jointly on behalf of the two firms, on Tuesday issued a statement communicating their combined intent to develop, manufacture and supply the COVID-19 vaccines for India and globally. The statement that came after a series of cross-statements made by the two companies in the past two days said that Vaccines are a global public health good and they have the power to save lives and accelerate the return to economic normalcy at the earliest. Both our Companies are fully engaged in this activity and consider it our duty to the nation and the world at large to ensure a smooth rollout of vaccines. Each of our Companies continue their COVID-19 vaccines development activities as planned, the statement said. Earlier in the day, Mr. Poonawala tweeted that he would like to clarify two matters; as there is confusion in the public domain, exports of vaccines are permitted to all countries and a joint public statement clearing up any recent miscommunication with regards to Bharat Biotech will be made. The tweet comes following a video press conference by Bharat Biotech chairman Krishna Ella on Monday evening lashing out at his detractors criticising the fast-track granting of emergency use authorisation to the firm’s vaccine Covaxin. In particular he seemed to be referring to Mr Poonawalla’s comment that only the vaccines of Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca were effective, while others were safe just like water. In response, Mr. Ella called the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine trial process lousy.

B) Vaccine rollout within 10 days of authorisation: Health Ministry

The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stands at 1,03,68,774 with the death toll at 1,50,051. The total number of cases infected with the new strain of the SARS-CoV-2 first reported in the U.K. now stands at 58 in India with 20 new cases have been identified at NIV Pune, said the Health Ministry on January 5. All these persons have been kept in single room isolation in designated healthcare facilities by respective State governments. Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on, said the release issued by the Ministry. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry today said it is prepared to roll out the COVID-19 vaccine within 10 days from the date of authorisation, which was issued on January 3, but noted that the final decision lies with the government. Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said healthcare workers and frontline workers need not register themselves as their database has been populated on to the Co-WIN vaccine delivery management system in a bulk manner. Based on the feedback of the dry-run, the Health Ministry is ready to introduce COVID-19 vaccine within 10 days from date of emergency use authorisation, he said.

C) Supreme Court approves Central Vista project. 

The Supreme Court, in a majority judgment, gave the green signal for the multi-crore Central Vista redevelopment project which envisages refurbishing the nation’s power corridor, including plans for a new Parliament building, a common Central Secretariat and a renovated Rajpath stretching from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate. The majority opinion by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, who headed the three-judge Bench, and Justice Dinesh Maheshwari said the change in land use under the Delhi Development Authority Act in the restricted zone, the subject of the challenge pending before the court, was just and proper. Both judges upheld the exercise of power by the Centre to change the land use of the Master Plan 2021. The court did not find any infirmity in the grant of approval by the Central Vista Committee or the Heritage Conservation Committee. However, Justice Sanjeev Khanna, the third judge on the Bench, said land use change for the project was vitiated and bad in law. He noted there was no intelligible disclosure about the project for public participation. Justice Khanna concluded that there was no prior approval from the Heritage Conservation Committee. He found that the environment clearance was a non-speaking order and added he did not want to go into the merits of the project but directed the project to be remitted back to the Heritage Conservation Committee. Being numerically superior, the opinion of Justices Khanwilkar and Maheshwari stands. The court, while reserving the case for judgment in early November 2020, had said it would examine whether the project complied with land use and environmental regulations peculiar to the area that houses the Parliament and Central Secretariat buildings. On December 7, the court also allowed the foundation stone ceremony for the new Parliament building to go ahead as scheduled after the government gave an undertaking to keep in abeyance the construction or demolition of buildings and shifting of trees in the Central Vista area and wait for the court’s verdict.

D) India riding against Covid-19 wave with recovery, according to Finance Ministry. 

While the global economic recovery had been hit by second waves of infections and more stringent lockdowns in several countries, India’s economy was riding against the COVID-19 wave with persistent improvements in economic indicators showing a V-shaped recovery, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. The new year has dawned with the approval of long-awaited Covid-19 vaccine and initiation of vaccination drives in various countries. This gives strength to the optimism on both health and economic fronts despite continuing surge in global cases and the potential challenge of a mutant strain, the Department of Economic Affairs said in its monthly economy review for December. The effective management of Covid-19 spread despite the festive season and onset of winter season, combined with sustained improvement in high frequency indicators and V-shaped recovery along with easing of lockdown restrictions distinguish Indian economy as one riding against the Covid-wave, it said. Stressing that the agriculture sector, which clocked 3.4% growth in the first two quarters of 2020-21, remained the bright spot of the Indian economy, the review said a 2.9% rise in rabi sowing this year, along with accelerating tractor sales, suggested rural distress had been successfully addressed by the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). This rise in rural incomes is mirrored in the healthy, though moderated, sales in passenger vehicles, two and three wheelers and tractor, and a rebound in vehicle registrations for the first time after March 2020, the review said.

E) CCP recommends winter session of parliament from January 29. 

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) has recommended that the Budget session of Parliament commence from January 29 and conclude on April 8. According to the Committee’s recommendation, while Part 1 of the Budget session would be held from January 29 to February 15, Part 2 would be from March 8 to April 8. President Ram Nath Kovind would address the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament on January 29, a Friday, and the Union Budget would be presented on February 1, sources said citing the CCPA recommendations. All COVID-related protocols would be followed during the session, the sources said. The final decision on the commencement of the session will be taken by the Union Cabinet of Ministers.

F) Laxmi Ratan Shukla quits, in another blow for TMC in Bengal. 

In another major blow to the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, Minister of State for Sports and former cricketer Laxmi Ratan Shukla on Tuesday resigned from the State’s Council of Ministers. The move comes as the party is trying to grapple with several high profile defections and the resignation of Suvendu Adhikari. Mr. Shukla, an MLA from Howrah North Assembly seat, wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee informing her about his decision to resign from the party as well as the Cabinet. He had sent the resignation letter to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. The Trinamool Congress called the development unfortunate and said that it is like leaving a battlefield before the polls. Mr. Shukla neither specified the reasons for his decision nor what his future plans are. The State BJP leadership said the party is willing to provide him a platform if he wants to continue with politics.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Boris Johnson cancels visit amidst UK coronavirus crisis. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on January 5 cancelled a planned trip to India later this month, citing the need to oversee the pandemic response at home. The Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Modi this morning, to express his regret that he will be unable to visit India later this month as planned, a Downing Street spokeswoman said. In light of the national lockdown announced last night, and the speed at which the new coronavirus variant is spreading, the Prime Minister said that it was important for him to remain in the U.K. so he can focus on the domestic response to the virus. Mr. Johnson was supposed to be the Chief Guest of India’s Republic Day celebrations. India had extended the invite on November 27 during a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Johnson. The United Kingdom on January 4 announced full coronavirus lockdown, possibly until mid-February, to try to cut spiraling infection rates. The measures, which include the closure of primary and secondary schools, will come into effect January 6.

B) U.S., India cooperated on LAC action, says Juster. 

The U.S. has cooperated with India to counter aggressive Chinese actions at the Line of Actual Control, its Ambassador, Kenneth Juster, confirmed on Tuesday, saying it was for the Indian government to give details of the nature of military cooperation during the ongoing eight-month stand-off between the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation. Our close coordination has been important as India confronts, perhaps on a sustained basis, aggressive Chinese activity on its border, said Mr. Juster in a farewell address at the end of his tenure in Delhi to an audience including diplomats and journalists, at an event organised by think tank ORE.  Mr. Juster said the Government of India would decide whether to release the details of the cooperation. While this is the first time an official is confirming the cooperation over the stand-off, the U.S. has assisted India with geospatial data, satellite maps and emergency procurement of extreme weather clothing. Officially, India has maintained that it is resolving the situation with China bilaterally and diplomatically. The U.S. Ambassador refused to comment on a specific question on whether the U.S. had alerted India to China amassing troops along the border earlier this year, when the PLA is believed to have transgressed over the LAC and claimed Indian territory. In an hour-long talk titled Ambition and achievement in the U.S.-India partnership detailing developments in the bilateral relationship from 2017, Mr. Juster said no bilateral relationship in the world is as broad and complex and rich in substance as that of the United States and India. He said bilateral defence and strategic cooperation had been particularly focused on the Indo-Pacific region during the Trump administration, where the U.S. military renamed its Pacific command Indo-pacific Command (INDOPACOM) and the Ministry of External Affairs established a new Indo-Pacific Division.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
05 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Government-farmers talks inconclusive; next meeting on Jan 8.

The seventh round of talks between protesting farmer unions and three central ministers ended inconclusively on Monday as the farmer leaders insisted on the repeal of the three contentious farm laws right from the beginning, even as the government listed various benefits from the Acts. The next meeting will take place on January 8. Farmer leaders said the government told them that it needed to consult internally before coming back to the unions. The union leaders will also have their own meeting on Tuesday to decide their next course of action. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab, held the talks with the representatives of 40 farmer unions at the Vigyan Bhawan. The meeting began with a two-minute silent tribute to the farmers who lost their lives during the ongoing protest, according to a farm union representative. Since the agitation began, more than 50 protestors have died from various causes, including traffic accidents, heart attacks, and at least three protestors who allegedly died by suicide. Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various Delhi borders for over a month against the three laws. They have stayed put despite heavy rains and water-logging at protest sites over the last couple of days, besides severe cold weather conditions prevailing in and around the national capital. The government has ruled out a repeal of the three agri laws.

B) SC asks govt. to repeal law which confiscates cattle before owner is found guilty of cruelty. 

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to delete its three-year-old law, which allowed the seizure of cattle from people who depended on these animals for a livelihood, even before they were found guilty of cruelty towards them. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde warned the government that it would stay the implementation of a 2017 law which allowed authorities to seize cattle on a mere suspicion that they suffered cruel treatment at the hands of their owners or were being primed for slaughter. These animals, the law prescribes, would then be lodged in gaushalas as case property to await the court’s verdict. In short, a farmer, a livestock owner or a cattle trader loses his animals before being found guilty of the charge of cruelty.  Sud submitted that the Rules had already been notified. There is evidence on record to show that actual cruelty is being done against animals, the law officer said. He then sought time to file a response. The court scheduled the next hearing for Monday. The law under question is the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017 notified on May 23, 2017. The Buffalo Traders Welfare Association, represented by advocate Sanobar Ali Qureshi, said the Rules were being used as a tool to seize and forfeit their cattle. The association said the law’s existence had emboldened anti-social elements to take matters into their own hands and loot cattle traders. It is pertinent to mention that these frequent lootings are also threatening the rule of law and generally emboldening groups of persons to take the law into their own hands. Moreover, these incidents are acting as triggers for communal polarisation of society, and if not halted effectively and immediately will have disastrous consequences on the social fabric of the country, the association said.

C) Reliance moves Punjab and Haryana HC against vandalism of mobile towers.  

Amid several cases of vandalism of mobile towers and disruption of telecom services in Punjab during the ongoing farmers’ agitation against farm laws, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking the intervention of government authorities to bring a complete stop to such acts. In an official statement on Monday, RIL said it had moved the High Court through its subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL). In its petition, the company submitted, The miscreants indulging in vandalism have been instigated and aided by vested interests and our business rivals. Taking advantage of the ongoing farmers’ agitation near the national capital, these vested interests have launched an incessant, malicious and motivated vilification campaign against Reliance, which has absolutely no basis in truth. The statement included facts to establish that Reliance had nothing whatsoever to do with the three farm laws currently being debated in the country, and in no way benefited from them. It said Reliance Retail Limited (RRL), Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), or any other affiliate of our parent company, that is, Reliance Industries Limited, had not done any corporate or contract farming in the past, and had absolutely no plans to enter this business.

D) Work on Ayodhya Ram temple foundation to begin by January-end, says trust. 

Work on the foundation for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya would start by the end of January, said the trust entrusted with its construction, even as it acknowledged that the study of the soil was still not complete even after seven months. From the day the construction starts, the temple would be completed in 36-39 months, said Champat Rai, general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra. They had hoped construction would have started in June but the study has not been completed [even] after seven months. The results are not matching. There is sand, crumbly sand, under the ground or some old debris lying deep, said Rai at a press conference in Kanpur. Rai also said that the Indian Space Research Organisation had sent them pictures of a channel (stream) of River Sarayu under the site of construction. The first soil testing took place in February 2020. Rai stressed that the foundation work would take place only after clear results. If there is any confusion in the results, the tests are done again. This reflects the seriousness about the foundation of the temple, he said. Engineers and experts from around 10 institutes, including the National Geophysical Research Institute (Hyderabad), Central Building Research Institute (Roorkee), IIT-Bombay, IIT-Guwahati and IIT-Madras, were engaged in the study, he added. Work on the temple was being done keeping in mind its load-bearing capacity and longevity, Rai said. The temple will be 360 feet in length, 235 feet wide and 161 feet in height, while the plinth will be 16.5 feet above the ground level, he added.

E) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments. 

The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 1,03,47,939 with the death toll at 1,49,805. The Tamil Nadu government today said that movie halls in the State will be permitted to screen movies at full seating capacity. Though the State government allowed cinema halls to reopen with 50% seating capacity in November last year, movie fans did not return to theatres in large numbers for several reasons. While the risk of contracting Covid-19 was one of the reasons, the theatres weren’t able to screen new releases as producers were reluctant to release their movies with just 50% capacity. With the number of Covid-19 cases steadily falling in the State, a Government Order said that the Tamil Theatres and Multiplex Owners Association had placed a request with the State Government to allow them to increase the capacity from 50% to a full house. The theatres will be permitted to screen movies with full capacity by following all the Standard Operating Procedure.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Google employees form union. 

More than 200 Google employees in the U.S. have formed a workers’ union, the elected leaders of the union wrote in a New York Times opinion piece on Monday. The ‘Alphabet Workers Union’ aims to ensure that employees work at a fair wage, without fear of abuse, retaliation or discrimination, the union heads wrote. Google has been under fire from the U.S. labour regulator, which has accused the company of unlawfully questioning several workers who were then terminated for protesting against company policies and trying to organise a union. Google has said it was confident it acted legally. They are  building on years of organising efforts at Google to create a formal structure for workers, the union leaders wrote, adding that so far 226 employees had signed union cards with the Communications Workers of America. The employees have protected labour rights that they support. But as they have always done, they will continue engaging directly with all our employees, Kara Silverstein, director of people operations at Google, said on Monday.

B) U.K. judge refuses extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. 

A British judge has rejected the United States’ request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges, saying it would be oppressive because of his mental health, AP reported. In a mixed ruling for Assange and his supporters, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected defense arguments that the 49-year-old Australian faces a politically motivated American prosecution that rides roughshod over free-speech protections. But she said Assange’s precarious mental health would likely deteriorate further under the conditions of near total isolation he would face in a U.S. prison. She ruled that Assange was likely to commit suicide if sent to the U.S. The U.S. government said it would appeal the decision. U.S. prosecutors have indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of leaked military and diplomatic documents a decade ago. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison. Lawyers for the 49-year-old Australian argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech for publishing leaked documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
04 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Two vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, get approval for emergency use. 

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) on Sunday approved two vaccines, developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech respectively, for public use. The formal approval came after a subject expert committee (SEC) of the CDSCO recommended that permission be granted for restricted use in emergency situation in public interest. This allows the vaccines to be rolled out in the coming weeks. Neither company has completed phase-3 trials in India but the SEC relied on data from phase-1 and phase-2 trials, which test if the vaccine is safe and generates adequate antibodies. The committee opined that the data suggested that the vaccine was safe and well-tolerated in limited groups of volunteers. In the case of SII, the committee relied on data from the phase-3 trial on 23,000 or so participants in overseas trials. Interim data from a trial on 1,600 volunteers in India showed that the efficacy was comparable, the statement noted. In the case of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, only data from studies on animals and phase-2 data on 800 volunteers were studied. Both firms are expected to continue their clinical trials and keep submitting data. Somani did not discuss or furnish details on conditions that the companies would have to adhere to in respect of being accorded approval. The World Health Organisation welcomed India’s decision giving emergency use authorisation to two Covid-19 vaccines, saying it will help intensify and strengthen its fight against the ongoing pandemic.

B) Vaccine sceptics playing into hands of vested interests: Nadda. 

The BJP on Sunday said that statements of the COVID-19 vaccine sceptics among opposition leaders were playing into the hands of vested interests and demonstrated that the opposition refused to be proud of anything Indian. Party chief J.P. Nadda said on Twitter, Congress and the Opposition is not proud of anything Indian. They should introspect about how their lies on the COVID-19 vaccine will be used by vested interest groups for their own agendas. People of India have been rejecting such politics and will keep doing so in the future. While Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had said he would not take the vaccine, terming it a BJP vaccine,  Congress spokesperson Salman Niazi said it was a fraud. Another Congress leader Rashid Alvi gave a statement in support of Yadav. The way BJP and Prime Minister Modi have used agencies including CBI, Income Tax Dept and Enforcement Directorate against opposition leaders, he think there’s nothing wrong with it if Akhilesh Yadav fears that the vaccine can be misused. The way government is working against opposition leaders, fear is justified, he said. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted, The Covaxin has not yet had Phase 3 trials. Approval was premature and could be dangerous. @drharshvardhan should please clarify. Its use should be avoided till full trials are over. India can start with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the meantime. However, it is not just Opposition politicians who have expressed reservations about the process followed in giving clearance to these two vaccines. Leading clinical scientist Gagandeep Kang told a news channel in response to a question on vaccine approvals that she was completely unaware of any data on efficacy of Bharat Biotech’s vaccine and that there was no reason to believe that it would work against the U.K. variant of the coronavirus.

C) PM Modi cannot see the pain and struggle of farmers: Sonia Gandhi. Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday said a government that ignores public sentiments in a democracy does not remain in power for long and described the Narendra Modi government as the first arrogant regime in independent India that cannot see the pain and struggle of farmers. Ensuring profits for a select few capitalists has become the main agenda of the government, she alleged, and reminded the Centre that democracy means protecting the interest of farmers-workers. On the 39th day of protests at Delhi’s Singhu border, Gandhi said in a statement that the government should shun arrogance and unconditionally repeal the three farm laws to end the agitation. Just like fellow citizens, he is distressed to see the plight of our farmers who are protesting at Delhi’s borders for 39 days in this bone-chilling cold and rains to get their demands accepted, she said. The Congress leader alleged that more than 50 protesting farmers have died because of government apathy while a few ended their lives in protest. And yet it has neither melted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s heart nor did any Minister have a comforting word to say to the families of those who died.

D) Sourav Ganguly’s health improves; tests negative for Covid-19.

A day after he was admitted to a Kolkata hospital after suffering a mild heart attack, BCCI president and former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly on Sunday showed apparent improvements in his health parameters, with the ECG report in the morning showing no further complications. Ganguly was admitted to Woodlands Hospital on Saturday with chest discomfort, heaviness of head, vomiting, and a spell of dizziness while performing physical exercise in the home gymnasium. The 48-year-old cricket icon suffered a mild heart attack on Saturday and an angioplasty was performed on him later in the evening. A statement by the Woodlands Hospital said Ganguly had tested negative for Covid-19 on Saturday. The hospital statement also added that Ganguly’s family had a history of ischemic heart disease.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) China amends defence law to boost war preparedness. 

China’s President Xi Jinping has signed an order that has amended China’s National Defence Law, giving the Central Military Commission (CMC), which he heads, greater power in mobilising resources to protect a new and broader definition of what constitutes the national interest. The revised regulations on military equipment, which are effective as of January 1, focus on war preparedness and combat capabilities, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, adding that they define the basic tasks, contents and management mechanisms for military equipment work under the new situation and system. The document, which State media said comprised 100 stipulations in 14 chapters, follows the general principle of the CMC exercising overall leadership, theater commands responsible for military operations and the services focusing on developing capabilities. Draft amendments released last year noted that when China’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and security and development interests are under threat. the country can conduct nationwide or local defense mobilisation. The phrase development interests was a new addition to the law, with experts noting this also included the protection of China’s economic activities and assets over. seas, such as those under the Belt and Road Initiative, as a reason for defence mobilisation. The amendment also said China will participate in global security governance, join multilateral security talks and push for and set up a set of international rules that is widely accepted, fair and reasonable, State media reported.

B) ‘Scotland must wait a generation for new vote’. 

Another Scottish independence referendum should not take place for a generation, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday, as Scotland’s leader renewed calls for a fresh vote in the wake of Brexit. Referendums in his experience, direct experience, in this country are not particularly jolly events, the Prime Minister told BBC’s Andrew Marr Show. They don’t have a notably unifying force in the national mood, they should be only once in a generation. Scotland voted to remain part of the United Kingdom in 2014. Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon at the time called it a once in a generation vote, but now argues that Britain’s departure from the European Union, which a majority of Scots opposed, has changed the game. Recent polls have shown consistent support for independence.

C) Israel dismisses Iran charge it seeks to trick U.S. into war. 

An Israeli official on Sunday dismissed as nonsense an allegation by the Iranian Foreign Minister that Israel was trying to trick the United States into waging war on Iran. It was Israel that needed to be on alert for possible Iranian strikes on the one year anniversary on Sunday of the assassination of Tehran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Kan public radio. Washington blames Iran backed militia for regular rocket attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq, including near the U.S. Embassy. No known Iran-backed groups have claimed responsibility. On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter: New intelligence from Iraq indicate that Israeli agent provocateurs are plotting attacks against Americans putting an outgoing (President Donald) Trump in a bind with a fake casus belli. Be careful of a trap, @realDonaldTrump. Any fireworks will backfire badly, particularly against your same BFFs, Mr. Zarifwrote, in what appeared to be a veiled threat against Israel. Mr. Steinitz said the remarks showed that Iran, after mounting U.S. sanctions billed as curbing its nuclear programme and involvement in regional conflict zones, was under pressure -economic pressure, and pressure in terms of national security.

SPORTS NEWS 

A) Possible bubble-breach by Indian cricketers under investigation.

Cricket Australia (CA), in a media release, has said it was probing, jointly with the BCCI, a possible breach of bio-security protocols by members of the Indian Test team currently on tour in Australia. The decision to launch a probe was taken after a video of the players at an indoor restaurant was posted by a fan, who identified himself as Navaldeep Singh on Twitter. Five players : vice-captain Rohit Sharma, opener Shubman Gill, wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, pacer Navdeep Saini, and batsman Prithvi Shaw are under the scanner for the potential bubble breach. But they have not been barred from travelling with the team despite the ongoing investigation. The entire Indian cricket contingent, including these five, will travel together to Sydney for the third Test against Australia in the same chartered flight on Monday. If you carefully read the CA statement, they never said that it’s a breach. They said that they are seeking to determine if it’s a breach. So there is no restriction on these five players travelling with the team to Sydney. The entire team is flying tomorrow afternoon, a senior BCCI official told PTI. It is understood that the controversy has not gone down well with the travelling team and it is not amused with how Cricket Australia has so far handled the issue. Had the gentleman (the fan) in question not lied about hugging a player (Rishabh Pant) on social media, this mess wouldn’t have happened. The players had gone inside because it was drizzling. This guy, without permission, shot a video and then paid the bill which no one asked him to, and after that for publicity put a screen grab of bill, the official said. You want to tell me that Cricket Australia will be taking a decision based on a purported video of a person who first lied and then retracted his statement, he added. For BCCI, the man under scanner is administrative manager Girish Dongre. Dongre is an employee of the BCCI and is supposed to handle and also keep the team abreast of the Covid-19 protocols.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
03 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Central panel recommends approval for Covaxin. 

An expert panel of India’s central drug authority today recommended granting permission for restricted emergency use of the indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin with certain conditions, a day after giving similar direction for the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine. Covaxin has been indigenously developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) on January 2 again deliberated on the emergency use authorization (EUA) application of the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical firm after it submitted additional data, facts and analysis subsequent to the January 1 review meeting, a source said. They have very robust Phase I and II results, in which good efficacy was shown. They are at present carrying out Phase III trials have to recruit around 25,800 participants. As of now they have approximately 22,000 across India they expect interim results by March, Dr. Savita Varma, a pharmacology professor from Haryana’s PGIMS who is working on the vaccine, told. Bharat Biotech applied to the Drugs Controller General Of India (DCGI) seeking emergency use authorisation for its Covaxin shot on December 7. On January 1, the SEC recommended granting permission for restricted emergency use of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine Covishield, being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

B) Farmer groups say they will hold parallel tractor parade on Republic Day. 

Tens of thousands of protesting farmers will march into Delhi on Republic Day and hold their own parallel tractor parade if their demands are not met by then, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders said on Saturday. After more than a month of camping at several points on the borders of Delhi, farmers groups issued an ultimatum to the Centre ahead of the next round of negotiations on Monday. If the government does not accede to our demands on January 4, we will hold a tractor rally on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway on January 6. That will be our rehearsal for Republic Day, said Darshan Pal, Punjab president for the Kisan Krantikari Union. They only have to issue in-principle statements that they will repeal the three laws, and promise a legal guarantee for MSP [or minimum support prices]. But if this is not done by January 26, we will surely enter Delhi peacefully, with our tractors, trolleys and farm vehicles, for our own kisan parade, he said. Similar parades would also be held in state capitals and district headquarters, he said. In the run-up to Republic Day, there is a full slate of protests being planned. The festival of Lohri, on January 13, will be marked as Kisan Sankalp Diwas by burning the copies of the three laws that farmers want repealed. January 18 will be celebrated as Mahila Kisan Diwas to underline the role of women farmers. On Subhash Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary on January 23, farmers will protest at the Raj Bhawans in all State capitals. The leaders are part of the seven-member coordination committee of the SKM, an umbrella platform for the diverse coalition of farmers groups gathered at the border. They were speaking to journalists at their first press conference in the capital since the protest began.

C) BCCI president Sourav Ganguly admitted to hospital after suffering heart attack. 

The BCCI president Sourav Ganguly was on Saturday admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata after he suffered chest pain. He suffered a mild heart attack and underwent primary angioplasty at a city hospital, doctors said. He had an acute myocardial infarction (MI) but is stable now. He is stable hemodynamically and has received loading doses of dual anti platelets and statin. Mr. Ganguly is undergoing primary angioplasty now. We are yet to decide on how many stent insertion is required for Mr. Ganguly, a doctor at Woodlands Hospital said. Ganguli was rushed to Woodlands Hospital after he fell ill during a workout session in the gym at his residence in Kolkata. Rupali Basu, CEO of Woodlands Hospital said that Mr. Ganguly is stable hemodynamically. He has received loading doses of dual anti platelets and statin and is undergoing primary angioplasty now, the hospital said in a press statement. Mr. Ganguly’s brother and secretary of Cricket Association of Bengal Snehashis Ganguly also added that his brother is stable. Sourav Ganguly is stable. Senior doctors are looking after him. 

D) Farmer ends life at Ghazipur border.

A 70-year-old farmer from Rampur district in Uttar Pradesh allegedly ended his life by hanging at the Ghazipur border on Saturday morning, police said. Braving the cold wave, hundreds of peasants from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are protesting against the farm laws at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border. Rajvir Singh, national vice-president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, said the farmer had been identified as Kashmira Singh from Bilaspur block of Rampur. He and his family have been actively participating in the protest for many days. In the suicide note written in Gurumukhi, he has held the government responsible for the current state of farmers as it had not been listening to their demands. BKU worker Manoj Sharma said Kashmira Singh was a well-to-do farmer and was contributing to the ‘langar’. Anshu Jain, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Indirapuram, said that the family and coordination committee didn’t want the post-mortem to be done. Keeping their sentiments in mind, they have sent the body to his native village. The body and the suicide note were recovered from a mobile lavatory stationed at the protest site. Prima facie, it seems like death by hanging. In the note, he hasn’t held anybody responsible for his death, she said. This is the second death at the Ghazipur border in two days. On Friday, a 57-year-old farmer from Baghpat died because of cardiac arrest.

E) Free vaccination for 3 crore frontline workers in first phase: Health Minister. 

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said that free coronavirus vaccination will be provided to over three crore prioritised beneficiaries. In the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination, free vaccine shall be provided across the nation to most prioritised beneficiaries, including one crore healthcare workers and two crore frontline workers, said the Health Minister. He added that details of how the remaining 27 crore priority beneficiaries will be vaccinated by July are being finalized. Earlier in the day, Mr. Vardhan, who visited the GTB Hospital in Delhi to review a dry run for the COVID-19 vaccination, said that the safety of vaccine is the prime concern. He want to assure all Indians that the vaccine is aimed at safeguarding your health, he said, adding that positive news can be expected soon. All misconceptions and disbelief is detrimental to ensuring that we have sustained and suitable coverage. The dry run will cover urban/rural/hard to reach terrains and private setting. Besides giving the vaccine the dry run will cover all other aspects. This will help us weed out any gaps, he said.

F) Five Indian players in quarantine amid investigation about breach of protocol. 

Five India Test players, including vice-captain Rohit Sharma, rising opener Shubman Gill and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, have been put in isolation and an investigation launched into a possible breach of the bio-security protocol by them, Cricket Australia said on Saturday. While BCCI brass had initially ruled out any investigation on its part, Cricket Australia’s late statement said a joint probe is on and the five have been isolated from the remaining team after a fan put out a video of them eating at an indoor restaurant on Twitter. The person claimed that he had hugged Pant but later retracted. The BCCI and Cricket Australia (CA) were today alerted to a video post on social media that purported to show Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini eating at an indoor venue in Melbourne on New Year’s Day, CA said in a statement. India and Australia are engaged in a four-Test series right now and the third match is due to start on January 7 in Sydney.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Amid tensions with U.S., Iran Guards vow strong response. 

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami vowed on Saturday to respond to any action the enemy takes, in a visit to a strategic Gulf island, amid rising tensions with the U.S. Mr. Salami was speaking on the eve of the first anniversary of the U.S. killing of top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in a Baghdad drone strike on January 3, 2020. They are here today to evaluate and be assured of their powerful capabilities at sea and against enemies who sometimes boast and threaten, Mr. Salami said. Mr. Salami inspected the troops stationed on Abu Musa island, accompanied by the Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri. They would respond with a reciprocal, decisive and strong blow to whatever action the enemy would take against us, Mr. Salami warned. Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb islands are located in the Gulf near the entrance to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of world oil output passes. The islands are under Iranian control but are also claimed by the UAE. Tensions have been building up in the run-up to the anniversary of Soleimani’s killing.

B) Iran plans to enrich uranium to up to purity, says IAEA. 

Iran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it intends to produce uranium enriched to up to 20% purity, well beyond the threshold set by the 2015 Vienna accord, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday. Iran informed the agency of its intention to enrich uranium at a rate of up to 20% in its Fordow underground plant, to comply with a law recently passed by the Iranian Parliament, an IAEA spokesperson told AFP. The letter dated December 31 did not state exactly when this enrichment activity would begin, the spokesperson added. It is an additional blow, a diplomat based in Vienna told AFP, as Tehran continues to retaliate to U.S. sanctions by progressively abandoning limits on its nuclear activity laid down in the deal. According to the latest report available from the UN agency, published in November, Tehran was enriching to levels greater than the limit provided for in Vienna agreement (3.67%) but not exceeding the 4.5% threshold, and still complied with the Agency’s very strict inspection regime.  But there has been turmoil since the assassination in late November of Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. In the aftermath of the attack, blamed on Israel, hardliners in Tehran pledged a response and Parliament passed a controversial law calling for the production and storage of at least 120 kg per year of 20% enriched uranium and to put an end to the IAEA inspections intended to check that the country is not developing an atomic bomb. The Iranian government had opposed the initiative at the time.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
02 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) SII’s Covishield vaccine set for emergency use approval. 

Serum Institute of India’s (SII) vaccine candidate, Covishield, is set for approval by the Subject Expert Committee of the Drug Controller General of India (DGC), an informed source confirmed this. SII has partnered with AstraZeneca to bring to market the Oxford vaccine, which was approved by health authorities in the United Kingdom on Wednesday. The committee meeting is also reviewing an application by Bharat Biotech for its vaccine candidate Covaxin. Both SII and Bharat Biotech are testing the vaccine in ongoing phase-3 trials in India. For Covishield’s appraisal process, it was the nod by the UK regulator and data from a phase-2 trial in India on 100 volunteers that were relied on to accord emergency use approval. Covishield is currently being tested on 1,600 volunteers as part of its phase 2/3 trial. However, the results from these trials haven’t been published or publicized in scientific journals.

B) Farmers to escalate protest if deadlock continues on January 4. 

Farmers groups say they plan to intensify their protest if the Centre does not take a firm decision on the repeal of the three farm laws during the next round of talks on Monday. Speaking to journalists after an internal meeting on Friday, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SMK) leaders threatened to shut down malls and petrol pumps in Haryana, hold a tractor march on the Kundli-Manesar highway, and march further towards Delhi on the highway from Jaipur unless their demands are met. Tens of thousands of farmers have been protesting on the borders of Delhi for 37 straight days. After six rounds of talks with the Centre, they have reached in-principle agreements on issues related to stubble-burning and power subsidies, but there has been a deadlock on the major demands to repeal the three Central laws and provide a legal guarantee for procurement of crops at minimum support prices. The government seems to be taking the farmers’ protest lightly. In Shaheen Bagh, they were able to disperse the protestors, so they think they can do the same thing with us. But that will not happen, said Bharatiya Kisan Union-Tikait group general secretary Yudhvir Singh. If the government does not take a decision on January 4, then the farmers will have to take a decision, he added. Bhartiya Kisan Sangharsh Samiti leader Vikas Sisar said the protestors will announce dates to shut down all malls, petrol pumps, and toll plazas in Haryana if the deadlock continues. He added that leaders of the BJP and its ally Jannayak Janata Party would face continuous protests in the state. This is part of the SMK’s strategy to target NDA members and pressure them to quit the alliance and sever their partnership with the BJP in support of the farmers, they said. Only five per cent of our issues have been discussed so far. The farmers movement is now in a decisive phase. At the talks on December 30, the tail has come out, but the full elephant is yet to come out, said Yadav. Meanwhile, a group of 866 academics issued a statement in favour of the farm reforms, saying that the three contentious laws seek to free farm trade from all restriction and enable farmers for all transaction at competitive prices. The letter, publicised by the Education Ministry, was signed by eight vice chancellors of Central universities, apart from other professors.

C) Markets hit record highs on first day of 2021. 

The BSE Sensex soared to record highs while the NSE Nifty closed above the 14,000-mark for the first time on Friday as markets continued their record run in the new year amid robust buying in IT, auto and FMCG stocks. Extending its record-setting streak for the fifth day, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 117.65 points or 0.25% to close at a fresh lifetime high of 47,868.98. This is the eighth consecutive day of gains for the barometer and it has climbed by around 5% since December 22. The broader Nifty closed at an all-time high of 14,018.50, showing gains of 36.75 points or 0.26% over its previous close. Among major Sensex gainers, ITC rose the most, by 2.32%, followed by TCS, M&M and SBI.

D) PM unveils project for affordable housing. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday laid the foundation stone of six Light House Projects in six cities as part of the Global Housing Technology Challenge-India (GHTC-lndia) initiative. The aim of the programme is to build around 1,000 houses each in Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Rajkot (Gujarat), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala (Tripura) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) over a period of 12 months. Modern construction practices from countries such as France, Germany and Canada would be adopted. Addressing the Chief Ministers, Governors and other officials of the respective States via videoconference, Mr. Modi said the country was getting new technologies for providing resilient, and comfortable housing for the poor and the middle class. The cooperation extended by the States was strengthening cooperative federalism, he said. The GHTC provided the scope for incubating new technologies for construction and innovation, he pointed out, and called upon planners, architects and students to visit the project sites, learn from the technologies, and mould them for use in accordance with the local requirements. He said another major initiative the Central rental housing complex project was conceived last year, for migrant labourers. The project was being implemented in coordination with industrialists and other investors.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Trump extends freeze on H-1B visas. 

U.S. President Donald Trump has extended the freeze on the much sought-after H-1B visas, along with other types of foreign work visas, by three months, ostensibly to protect American workers. He said that while therapeutics and Covid-19 vaccines have become available, their effect on the labour market and community health has not yet been fully realised. The decision will impact a large number of Indian IT professionals and several American and Indian companies who were issued H-1B visas by the U.S. government for the fiscal year 2021 beginning October 1. The freeze on various categories of work visas was ordered by Trump through two proclamations on April 22 and June 22 last year. Hours before the freeze was set to expire on December 31, Trump issued another proclamation on Thursday to extend it until March 31, saying the reasons for which he had issued such a restriction have not changed. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. They would now have to wait at least till the end of March before approaching the U.S. diplomatic missions to get stamping. It would also impact a large number of Indian IT professionals who are seeking renewal of their H-1B visas.

B) India urges China to help stranded sailors. 

India on Friday urged China to provide urgent assistance to 39 crew members of the stranded cargo vessels m.v.Jag Anand and m.v. Anastasia. Both the ships have been stuck for months near the Jingtang and Caofeidian ports. The statement came soon after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognisance of the condition of the stranded sailors and asked the External Affairs Ministry to ensure immediate relief for the crew. A Ministry official said the men were in increasingly difficult conditions as Chinese rules did not permit change of crew because of the pandemic. They have noted the statements of the Chinese side expressing their willingness to extend their assistance in this matter. They expect that this assistance will be provided in an urgent, practical and time-bound manner, given the grave humanitarian situation that is developing on board the ships, said Anurag Srivastava, official spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry. The Indian comments came a day after Ji Rong, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy here, said that Beijing had been in close communication with Indian side and provided timely assistance and necessary supplies to Indian sailors. The exchanges began as m.v. Jag Anand with 23 Indian sailors has been stranded on anchorage near Jingtang port in Hebei province of China since last June 13; m.v. Anastasia with 16 Indian crew has been stuck on anchorage near Caofeidian port since September 20 of last year. The official said the Chinese authorities had conveyed to India that in view of various COVID-19-related restrictions imposed by the local authorities, the vessels were not being allowed change of crew.

SPORTS NEWS 

A) India-Australia Test series: Natarajan replaces Umesh in squad. 

Tamil Nadu’s yorker sensation Thangarasu Natarajan on Friday replaced injured pacer Umesh Yadav in the Indian Test team for the remaining two games against Australia, continuing his remarkable rise in international cricket. Earlier, Shardul Thakur had replaced an injured Mohammed Shami in the squad before the second Test. Umesh Yadav sustained a strain in his left calf muscle on Day 3 of the second Border-Gavaskar Test in Melbourne. The fast bowler will not recover completely ahead of the remaining two Test matches and has been ruled out of the series, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said in a media release. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named T Natarajan as Yadav’s replacement. Ahead of the Boxing Day Test, Shardul Thakur was added to the Test squad as Mohd. Shami’s replacement after the senior fast bowler suffered a hairline fracture in his right forearm, the release added. The 29-year-old Natarajan had started off as a net bowler during the series and then subsequently made it to the T20 and ODI squads. He snared eight wickets (two ODI and six T20) during his four limited-overs appearances in national colours. He has played 20 first-class games for Tamil Nadu and will now be in contention for a slot in the Test team. The series is locked 1-1 right now with the third Test starting in Sydney from January 7.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
01 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Covid-19 vaccine close to approval, hints Drug Controller General India. 

Ahead of a meeting on Friday to review the Serum Institute’s vaccine candidate application, V.G. Somani, Drug Controller General of India (DGCI), at a discussion organised by the Department of Biotechnology, hinted that a vaccine was close to being available. Somani was speaking in a webinar that saw vaccine experts, infectious disease experts, and representatives of vaccine companies discussing Covid-19 vaccine development. We will probably have a Happy New Year with something in hand, Somani said, while discussing the regulatory process as well as the participation by academicians, industry, and infectious disease experts in the development of vaccine candidates. The DGCI’s body of experts that is perusing applications by companies is expected to review tomorrow applications by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech (BB) for emergency use authorisation. Under this provision, companies are given permission to market the vaccine even if they haven’t furnished all the evidence normally required to establish the product’s safety and efficacy. SII has partnered with AstraZeneca to bring to market the Oxford vaccine, which was approved by health authorities in the U.K. on Wednesday. Both SII and BB are testing the vaccine in ongoing phases-3 trials whose results are yet to be publicized. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also indicated today that a vaccine was at hand. Earlier, he said that ‘Dawai nahi toh dheelai nahi’ (No laxity till a cure is found). Now, he is saying ‘Dawai bhi aur kadaai bhi’ (Along with the medicine, be vigilant). Our mantra for the year 2021 is ‘Dawai bhi aur kadaai bhi’, he said, after laying the foundation stone of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rajkot through video-conferencing.

B) Core sectors output shrink by 2.6% in November, hitting three-month low. 

Output from India’s eight core sectors hit a three-month low in November, contracting 2.6% in the festive month. Coal, fertilisers and electricity were the only sectors to record positive growth on a year-on-year basis, suggesting that the economy is still not out of the woods. The good news is that the Index of Eight Core Industries was revised upwards for both August and October, based on updated data received by the Office of Economic Adviser in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade that compiles the data. Core sectors’ output shrank by just 0.9% in October, compared to an earlier estimate of 2.5% contraction. The index had contracted 0.1% in September, while revised final numbers for August reflect a 6.9% contraction in August compared to the original estimate of a far-sharper 8.5% contraction. Electricity output rose for the third month in a row, albeit at a slower pace of 2.2%, while coal production rose year-on-year for the fourth month in a row at 2.9%. Fertilizers production continued to grow, rising 1.6% in November. The fertilizer sector remains the only one to have recorded growth in the first eight months of 2020-21, growing 3.8% between April and November. On a cumulative basis from April to November, the eight sectors’ index has declined 11.4% from the same period a year ago. These sectors account for around 40% of the Index of Industrial Production or IIP. Steel, after recording three consecutive months of positive growth, and cement, after recording a positive growth in October 2020, slipped into contraction in November 2020. This shows that the industrial recovery continues to be uneven and fragile, said Sunil Kumar Sinha, principal economist at India Ratings and Research. Given the performance of eight core sectors in November 2020, we expect the IIP growth to remain weak in November 2020. Also, it will be interesting to see whether the momentum recorded in factory output due to pent up, festive demand for consumer durables and non-durables during the past two months continues in November 2020, Sinha said.

C) Resolution against farm laws passed unanimously in Kerala Assembly. 

The Kerala Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution demanding that the BJP-led government at the Centre scrap the contentious farm laws. The resolution was passed unanimously, with the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) supporting it. The lone BJP member O. Rajagopal expressed his reservations against the points in the resolution, but did not oppose it during voting. Rajagopal said that he abstained from voting as he supported the State government’s resolution. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presented the resolution in the House, which convened for a special session to discuss the laws. The laws would weaken the bargaining power of the farmers before the combined strength of the corporates, the resolution noted. The laws lack provisions for ensuring the protection of farmers. In a scenario where the government withdraws from procurement, it will jeopardise the distribution of food and food security and lead to an increase in hoarding and black marketeering, the resolution said. Moreover, agriculture is a State subject under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. As a matter that seriously affects the States, the Bills should have been discussed in a meeting of the inter-State council. That the Bills were passed in haste without even referring them to the Standing Committee of the Parliament is a serious matter, the resolution noted.  

D) ‘1% advancement, 99% deadlock’, say farmer leaders on talks with Centre. 

Farmer leaders today clarified that the government has not given them any timeline for removing the penal provisions against farmers in the stubble-burning ordinance, despite agreement on the issue at yesterday’s talks. It was only a verbal commitment, with no written agreement, they said. The Centre also characterised it as an in-principle agreement. In any case, this was a peripheral issue for farmers, and with no agreement yet on repeal of the three farm laws, it is still 1% advancement, and 99% deadlock, they said. Meanwhile, some young farmers broke through the police barricades at the Rajasthan-Haryana border today and began moving on the road towards Delhi. The Haryana Police attempted to stop them, using water cannons and tear gas. Protest leaders said they had appealed to these farmers not to break the barricades.

E) CBSE Class X, XII exams from May 4 to June 10. Board examinations for Class 10 and 12 students under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will be held from May 4 to June 10, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank announced today. The final results will be released by July 15. Practical examinations have also been given additional flexibility. Schools will be allowed to conduct practicals as well as project and internal assessment at any time starting from March 1 until the last date of conduct of the theory examinations for the same class, Nishank said. The examination schedule has been delayed due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic to the 2020-21 academic calendar.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Amazon gets into the podcast business. 

Amazon is jumping into the podcast business. The online shopping giant is buying Wondery, a 4-year-old producer of popular, true crime podcasts such as Dr. Death and Dirty John. An explosion of new podcasts has led to a number of acquisitions as competing platforms try to grow their audiences and their ad revenue. The music streaming platform Spotify bought two podcast companies in 2019 and has added high-profile hosts to its roster, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Wondery podcasts will be part of Amazon’s music streaming service, but it will still be available on other platforms as well. This is a pivotal moment to expand the Amazon Music offering beyond music as listener habits evolve, Amazon said in a blog post Wednesday.

B) Iran honours ‘martyr’ Soleimani. 

Iran this week honours military commander Qasem soleimani, who was killed a year ago by the United States, an arch enemy. He is revered as a heroic warrior across the Islamic republic. Since his death in a drone strike in Baghdad on January 3, the “martyr” Soleimani has entered the ranks Of Iran’s glorious generals, immortalised in portraits, sculptures, ballads and an upcoming TV series. The strike had sparked mourning across Iran. The commemorations on Sunday come only weeks be fore U.S. president Donald Trump, Who ordered the killing, leaves the White House, and Joe Biden takes over, offering hopes of a somewhat less bellicose relationship. Soleimani’s killing at the age of 62 sharply tensions Washington and Tehran, whose decades-old animosity deepened When Mr. Trump withdrew from Iran’s nuclear deal and launched a maximum pressure- campaign to isolate Iran. Within days, Iran retaliated to the killing of the military lealer who was deemed untouchable by firing rockets at Iraqi bases housing US forces. Though the attack claimed no lives, it caused injuries and preceded a tragedy. In the hours that followed the strikes, When it appeared that the conflict could escalate further, Iran accidentally shot down a Ukrainian plane Tehran, claiming the lives of all 176 abroad.