TODAY ON NOVEMBER 04, 2022
GK News Headlines

Netanyahu makes comeback as Israel’s PM, Lapid concedes defeat

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won this week’s Israeli election, final results showed Thursday, clearing the way for him to return to power. Mr. Netanyahu expected to form the country’s most right-wing government in history when he takes power, likely in the coming weeks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu for his success in the Israeli general elections and said he looks forward to continuing their joint efforts to deepen the India-Israel strategic partnership.

No other country has locus standi to speak about Kashmir: India

Issuing a detailed response to the China-Pakistan joint statement that was issued during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing on Wednesday, New Delhi said on Thursday that references to Jammu & Kashmir were “unwarranted” and criticised plans to build more projects in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). After the Sharif-Li talks, the joint statement issued in Beijing on Wednesday, also called for “sincere dialogue” to resolve the Jammu & Kashmir dispute, and said that the resolution should be based on “the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements”.

Assembly bypolls held in six States; heavy turnout in Telangana’s Munugode

By-elections to seven Assembly constituencies in six States, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, were held on Thursday with Andheri (East) registering 31.74% polling and Telangana’s Munugode recording a heavy turnout. The polls were held in Mokama and Gopalganj constituencies in Bihar, Andheri (East) in Maharashtra, Adampur in Haryana, Munugode in Telangana, Gola Gokarannath in Uttar Pradesh, and Dhamnagar in Odisha.

Attempt to poach TRS MLAs had blessings of Shah and Nadda, alleges Chandrasekhar Rao

The Telangana government on Thursday sent voluminous record of investigation into abortive attempt by some Bharatiya Janata Party agents to poach four Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) MLAs to the Chief Justice of India, all judges of Supreme Court, chief justices all High Courts, Chief Ministers of all States and presidents of parties to put them on notice about the evil designs of the culprits to topple elected governments. Mr. Rao said the attempt to poach the MLAs was an organised crime which had the blessings of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP general secretary in-charge of organisation B. L. Santosh and BJP president J. P. Nadda.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to visit Moscow for talks on regional and international issues

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar will pay a visit to Moscow on November 7 and 8, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced here on Thursday. Dr. Jaishankar will meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to discuss regional and international developments, the MEA’s Official Spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, said. The visit comes ahead of the G20 summit in Bali, where the top leaders of Russia will come face to face with Western leaders for the first time since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February.

Punjab refused to use biodecomposer to control stubble burning: Union Environment Minister

With air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR) expected to deteriorate to “severe” conditions, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said that Punjab had fallen short of its commitments to curb stubble burning by “officially refusing” to use the biodecomposer spray that reportedly helps farmers to manage their paddy straw. In a series of tweets on Thursday, Mr. Yadav blamed Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for turning Delhi into a “gas chamber.

Air quality panel bans entry of non-CNG, non-electric trucks into Delhi

The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) on Thursday ordered the State government to implement a ban on entry of trucks into Delhi. The ban is part of a list of actions under “stage 4” of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), that the CAQM has ordered State governments in the NCR to take “with immediate effect”. The CAQM has also advised children, elderly and those with respiratory, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular or other chronic diseases to avoid outdoor activities and stay indoors as much as possible.

More than 20,000 schools closed in India during 2020-21; number of teachers declined by 1.95%: Ministry of Education

“More than 20,000 schools were closed across the country during 2020-21 while the number of teachers also declined by 1.95% in comparison to the previous year,” according to a new report by the Ministry of Education. Detailing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on enrolment, the report said, "Although the impact of COVID-19 is cross-cutting, this is particularly noticed in the enrollment of young and vulnerable children such as pre-primary classes. "This decline may be attributed to postponement of admissions due to COVID-19".

Loan worth ₹20 lakh crore disbursed under MUDRA scheme: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 3 said loans worth ₹20 lakh crore have been disbursed so far under the Centre's MUDRA scheme to provide self-employment opportunities to the youth and added that Maharashtra was one of its major beneficiaries. The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) scheme was launched by the Modi Government in April 2015 to provide loans up to ₹10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises.

Asia Pacific region faces risks from global financial tightening, slowdown in China: IMF official

The Asia-Pacific region is facing three main risks, including due to global financial tightening and a slowdown in China, according to an IMF official. Shanaka Jayanath Peiris, Division Chief of Regional Studies Division, Asia Pacific Department at the IMF, also said that currencies in the region have depreciated sharply while public debt ratios have increased.

In a two-decade first, currency in circulation declines in Deepavali week

The currency in circulation (CIC) declined by ₹7,600 crore in the Deepavali week, making it the first such happening in two decades, a report said on Thursday. This was made possible, courtesy a greater reliance on digital payments by people, the report by economists at SBI said, adding that the Indian economy was undergoing a structural transformation at present.

WhatsApp launches Communities globally and announces in-chat polls, larger groups

WhatsApp on Thursday announced the release of a ‘Communities’ feature that will let messaging groups come together under one umbrella so that texts can be broadcast to everyone, as well as an in-chat poll feature and groups with slightly over 1,000 members. Communities is intended to allow related WhatsApp groups such as those for schools or workplaces to be clubbed together so that messages can be more widely shared.

Direct flights between India, China should start: Chinese Consul-General in Kolkata

Indian students who were studying in China before the pandemic have started returning to the country, Chinese Consul General in Kolkata, Zha Liyou, said and emphasised that direct flights between the two countries should resume at the earliest. Flights between India and China have been suspended following the COVID-19 outbreak and have not resumed since.

U.S. urges sanctions enforcement after North Korea’s missile launch

The United States urged all nations to enforce sanctions on North Korea, saying it violated U.N. Security Council resolutions with a launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the launch, which follows a volley of missiles the day before, marked a "clear violation" of United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit ICBM launches.