TODAY NEWS ON January 20, 2025

News Headlines for CAT, CLAT and IPM aspirants

Source: THE HINDU

National News

• Poor demand hits investments by private sector in Q3
• Rahul Gandhi booked in Guwahati for ‘fighting Indian state’ comment on advocate’s complaint
• Drive to seal Assam rat-hole coal mines begins
• Kho Kho World Cup: After women, Indian men’s team also crowned champion
• Fire at Maha Kumbh due to cylinder blast: Police
• Congratulate ECI for its commitment to fair elections: PM Modi
• Assam Police chief Gyanendra Pratap Singh appointed CRPF DG
• 121 farmers end fast-unto-death after Dallewal take medical aid

International News

• Hamas releases three Israeli women hostages as Gaza truce begins
• Early Modi-Trump meet, Quad summit, trade, immigration, and tariffs on Jaishankar’s Washington agenda‘We won’, declares Trump at Raucous MAGA rally on inauguration eve
• TikTok restores service in U.S., thanking Donald TrumpGaza ceasefire begins after nearly three-hour delay
• Thousands protest in Washington DC against Donald Trump ahead of inauguration
• PAK vs WI first Test: Sajid Khan masterminds Pakistan’s emphatic 127-run win against West Indies

Headlines in Detail:

Hamas releases three Israeli women hostages as Gaza truce begins

Three Israeli hostages released Sunday (January 19, 2025) from Gaza were reunited with their families, on the first day of a long-awaited truce aimed at ending more than 15 months of war that has ravaged the Palestinian territory. As the ceasefire took effect in the morning, thousands of displaced, war-weary Palestinians set off across the devastated Gaza Strip to return home.

Cylinder blast triggers fire at Maha Kumbh, 1 injured

A fire broke out at the Maha Kumbh campsite in Prayagraj due to a cylinder blast on Sunday (January 19, 2025). Six tents and 40 mud houses were engulfed in the flames. One person was injured while trying to escape from the spot, officials said. 

Fire at Maha Kumbh due to cylinder blast: Police

A massive fire broke out in the Maha Kumbh Mela area due to a cylinder blast, police said, but there was no immediate news of any casualty. “Two cylinders exploded in Sector 19 of the Maha Kumbh Mela, causing a massive fire in the camps. Firefighters are trying to douse the blaze,” Akhara Police Station In-charge Bhaskar Mishra said.

Poor demand hits investments by private sector in Q3

With domestic demand seen waning amid a spike in inflation and input costs, investment plans by India’s private sector took a notable hit, falling 1.4% in the October-December 2024 quarter (Q3) after a fleeting recovery in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024-25.

Early Modi-Trump meet, Quad summit, trade, immigration, and tariffs on Jaishankar’s Washington agenda

Ahead of his visit to Washington, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which he will attend, could have “profound consequences for the global order”, spelling out some of the challenges and opportunities India could face over the next four years.

Rahul Gandhi booked in Guwahati for ‘fighting Indian state’ comment on advocate’s complaint

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Guwahati for allegedly provoking rebellion against the Indian state.Monjit Chetia, a Guwahati-based advocate, lodged a complaint with the Panbazar police station here citing Mr. Gandhi’s reported statement: “The BJP and RSS have captured every single institution, and we are now fighting the BJP, the RSS, and the Indian state itself.”

Drive to seal Assam rat-hole coal mines begins

The police and local authorities in Assam’s Dima Hasao district have initiated a drive to seal all the rat holes and seize all mining equipment at the mine sites. The drive is in connection with the flooding of a 90-metre-deep rat-hole coal mine on January 6, trapping nine miners. The bodies of four miners were retrieved by January 10 but five others remain untraced.

Kho Kho World Cup: After women, Indian men’s team also crowned champion

The Indian men’s team beat Nepal 54-36 in the final to win the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup title in New Delhi on Sunday (January 19, 2025). The Indian men’s team title came after the women’s side were also crowned the champions after defeating Nepal in the final.

Congratulate ECI for its commitment to fair elections: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the Election Commission of India (ECI), saying it has used the power of technology to strengthen people’s power and also shown commitment to a fair polling process. Mr. Modi’s praise for the poll body in his monthly Mann ki Baat broadcast came ahead of its foundation day on January 25, observed as the National Voters’ Day, and amid frequent criticism from the opposition for its alleged pro-BJP bias.

Assam Police chief Gyanendra Pratap Singh appointed CRPF DG

Assam Police chief Gyanendra Pratap Singh has been appointed as the Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), according to a Personnel Ministry order. Mr. Singh is a 1991 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Mr. Singh’s appointment as the CRPF DG till the date of his superannuation on November 30, 2027, the order dated January 18 said.

121 farmers end fast-unto-death after Dallewal take medical aid

A group of 121 farmers, who sat on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri protest site in solidarity with farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, ended their indefinite strike after he took medical aid. Mr. Dallewal (70), who has refused any aid since he sat on a fast-unto-death on November 26, agreed on Saturday (January 18, 2025) to take medical aid following the Centre’s invitation for talks on February 14 to discuss farmers’ demands.

R.G. Kar rape and murder: Kolkata court to pronounce quantum of sentence for convict on Jan 20

A sessions court in Kolkata will pronounce on Monday (January 20, 2025) the quantum of sentence for Sanjay Roy, convicted of raping and murdering an on-duty doctor at the State-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital. Judge Anirban Das had convicted Roy under Sections 64, 66 and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and stated that the minimum punishment in the crime will be life imprisonment and maximum will be death sentence.

‘We won’, declares Trump at Raucous MAGA rally on inauguration eve

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump used one last rally on the eve of his inauguration to again celebrate his election victory, declaring Sunday “We won” to a crowd celebrating his return to the White House and projecting defiant optimism despite deep national political divisions.

Gaza ceasefire begins after nearly three-hour delay

Israel said a truce with Hamas began in Gaza at 09:15 GMT, nearly three hours after initially scheduled, following a last-minute delay on the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hamas also said on Sunday that it was awaiting a list of 90 prisoners to be released by Israel as part of a hostage-prisoner exchange on the first day of the Gaza ceasefire. During the delay, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed eight people.

TikTok restores service in U.S., thanking Donald Trump

TikTok restored service in the United States on Sunday (January 19, 2025) after briefly going dark, as a law banning the wildly popular app on national security grounds came into effect. TikTok credited President-elect Donald Trump, who retakes power on Monday, for making the reversal possible - though the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden had earlier said that it would not enforce any ban.

TikTok goes dark in U.S.; app removed from prominent app stores

TikTok’s app was removed from prominent app stores on Saturday (January 18, 2025) just before a federal law that would have banned the popular social media platform was scheduled to go into effect. By 10:50 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the app was not found on Apple and Google’s app stores, which are prohibited from offering the platform under a law that required TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform or face a U.S. ban.

PAK vs WI first Test: Sajid Khan masterminds Pakistan’s emphatic 127-run win against West Indies

Off-spinner Sajid Khan masterminded Pakistan’s emphatic 127-run win against the West Indies with a match haul of nine wickets in the first test. Khan followed his four-wicket haul in the first innings with 5-50 as the West Indies were bowled out for 123 runs in the second after being set a target of 251 runs on a spinning pitch. Alick Athanaze, playing in only his 12th test match, made a fighting 55 off 68 balls before he became Khan’s fifth victim with inexperienced West Indies resistance folding in the second session on Day 3.