GK Snapshots on 22 January 2021 

1.PM: Indian cricket team's recent victory has an inspiring message for the youth

2. Indo-Tibetan Border Police wins IHAI National Ice Hockey Championship in Gulmarg

3. New ant species discovered from Kerala named after JNCASR researcher, evolutionary biologist

4. Myanmar, Mauritius, Seychelles to receive India made COVISHIELD vaccine

5.Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina thanks Prime Minister Modi for COVID 19 vaccine gift

6. Mouse in hotel room adds to Putintseva's Melbourne quarantine woes

7. Sports Minister attends Khelo India Winter Games in Ladakh, assures sports infrastructure development in the UT

8. PM condoles demise of Shri Narendra Chanchal

9. Govt-farmers talks hit roadblock; Unions threaten to intensify agitation

10.Not in favour of giving extra chance to UPSC aspirants who missed their last attempt: Centre to SC

11. Sonu Sood moves SC against HC order on illegal construction notice

12. IPL auction likely on February 18: BCCI official

National

Govt-farmers talks hit roadblock; Unions threaten to intensify agitation

New Delhi: The govt's negotiations with protesting farm unions hit a roadblock as the farmer leaders stuck to their demands for a complete repeal of three farm laws they find pro-corporate and a legal guarantee for MSP, even as the Centre asked them to reconsider its proposal for putting the Acts on hold for 12-18 months.

No resolution possible when sanctity of agitation gets lost; Some forces want protest to continue: Tomar

New Delhi: Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said some "forces" definitely want protests to continue for their own personal and political motives and no resolution is possible when the sanctity of agitation is lost.

Complete construction work of Rani Khera business park in time-bound manner: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday chaired a review meeting with Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (DSIIDC) officials regarding the construction work of the ambitious high-tech business park at Rani Khera in the city.

Punjab, Haryana farmers to set out for tractor parade in Delhi on Saturday

After holding rehearsals and preparations for the past few days, several batches of farmers from Punjab and Haryana will set out on Saturday to participate in proposed tractor parade on January 26 in Delhi.

Delhi's minimum temperature dips, fog disrupts traffic movement

New Delhi: Delhi''s minimum temperature dropped to 4.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal, on Friday even as foggy conditions disrupted traffic movement, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Odisha govt to provide Class 10 exam guide book free of cost to all students

To help the students of Class 10 preparing for the annual state board examination in May this year, Odisha government will provide an exam guide book free of cost to all.

Woman withdraws rape complaint against Maha minister Munde

The Mumbai-based woman who had accused Maharashtra cabinet minister Dhananjay Munde of rape has withdrawn her police complaint, an official said on Friday.

Karnataka: Major explosion kills at least 6, jolts Shivamogga, neighbouring districts

An explosion of a truckload of explosives, suspected to be meant for mining, killed at least six people in Karnataka''s Shivamogga district on Thursday night and sent shockwaves in neighbouring areas, police said.

International

Turkey's Erdogan says extra 10M doses of Chinese vaccine due

Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that a further 10 million doses of the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine could arrive in Turkey by this weekend.

UN warns of 'serious' rape charges in Ethiopia's Tigray

The UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict says serious allegations of sexual violence have emerged in Ethiopia''s embattled Tigray region, while women and girls face shortages of rape kits and HIV drugs amid restrictions on humanitarian access.

Fauci unleashed: Doc takes 'liberating' turn at centre stage

Washington: Dr Anthony Fauci is back.

Google threatens to pull search engine in Australia

Google on Friday threatened to make its search engine unavailable in Australia if the government went ahead with plans to make tech giants pay for news content.

Brazil announces incoming vaccine cargo amid supply concerns

Brazil''s health ministry announced Thursday that a shipment of 2 million doses of coronavirus vaccine is coming from India, a report coming as public health experts sound the alarm over insufficient supply in South America''s biggest nation.

UN envoy: Central African Republic risks setback from rebels

The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic warned Thursday that the country risks a setback in efforts to restore peace because of rebel attacks and called for a substantial increase of UN peacekeepers to protect civilians and ensure delivery of humanitarian aid.

Business

Rupee pares losses to settle marginally higher at 72.97 against USD

Mumbai: The rupee clawed back lost ground towards the fag-end of the session and settled with a marginal 2 paise gain at 72.97 against the US dollar, supported by easing crude oil prices.

India will be role on how to vaccinate billion people at scale, in trusted manner: Nilekani

Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani on Friday said with the ongoing efforts around systematic rollout of COVID-19 vaccine to citizens, India will be a role on how to vaccinate a billion people at scale and in a trusted manner.

Yes Bank posts net profit of Rs 151 cr in Q3

Private sector lender Yes Bank on Friday reported a profit of Rs 150.71 crore for the third quarter ended December 2020.

Indian Bank posts net profit of Rs 514 cr in Q3 as asset quality improves

State-owned Indian Bank on Friday reported a standalone net profit of Rs 514 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal, helped by an improvement in the asset quality.

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Q3 net down 6 pc to Rs 151 cr

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals on Friday reported a 6.13 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 151.09 crore for the quarter ended December 2020.

SC refuses early hearing on plea related to Vedanta's Sterlite copper unit

The Supreme Court Friday refused to accord early hearing to the plea related to mining major Vedanta''s Sterlite copper unit at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu which is closed since May 2018 over pollution concerns.

Revenue at Trump hotels, resorts hit hard by pandemic

Donald Trump is returning to a family business ravaged by pandemic shutdowns and restrictions, with revenue plunging more than 40 per cent at his Doral golf property, his Washington hotel and both his Scottish resorts.

Legal

HC directs SPCA to take custody of hippo confined with Asiad Circus management

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court directed the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (SPCA) to immediately take the 9-year-old hippopotamus who has been illegally kept by the Asiad Circus management and place it in the zoo.

Not in favour of giving extra chance to UPSC aspirants who missed their last attempt: Centre to SC

The Centre Friday told the Supreme Court that it was not in favour of granting one extra opportunity to those civil services aspirants who could not appear in their last attempt in the exams conducted by the UPSC last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sonu Sood moves SC against HC order on illegal construction notice

Actor Sonu Sood moved the Supreme Court Friday challenging the Bombay High Court order which dismissed his appeal against a BMC notice over alleged illegal construction at his residential building in Mumbai''s Juhu area.

Will look into allowing VC between jailed scribe, his Kerala-based mother, UP govt tells SC

The Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court on Friday that it would look into the possibility of facilitating the video-conferencing between jailed scribe Siddique Kappan, arrested on his way to Hathras where a young Dalit woman had died after allegedly being gang-raped, and his mother living in Kerala.

Vyapam scam: Man gets five years of rigorous imprisonment

A special court here on Friday sentenced a 39-year-old man, involved in the multi-crore Vyapam admission and recruitment scam in Madhya Pradesh, to five years of rigorous imprisonment.

SC refuses early hearing on plea related to Vedanta's Sterlite copper unit

The Supreme Court Friday refused to accord early hearing to the plea related to mining major Vedanta''s Sterlite copper unit at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu which is closed since May 2018 over pollution concerns.

Delhi HC implementing hybrid system of hearings via virtual, physical mode

The Delhi High Court Friday said it has initiated steps for a hybrid system where a hearing can be joined through virtual as well as physical mode.

Entertainment

'No Time to Die' pushed to October 2021

Los Angeles: The release of Daniel Craig-starrer 25th James Bond movie "No Time to Die" has been delayed until October 8,the makers have announced.

Bhajan singer Narendra Chanchal passes away at Delhi hospital

''bhajan'' singer Narendra Chanchal, best known for his songs ''Chalo bulawa aaya hai'' and ''Tune mujhe bulaya sherawaliye'', died at a private hospital here on Friday following health complications, sources said. He was 76.

Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and Tahira Kashyap launch cinema collective Indian Women Rising

Film producers Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and author-director Tahira Kashyap have joined hands to launch Indian Women Rising (IWR), a cinema collective to support and empower Indian female talent in the film industry.

Anthony Hopkins initially thought 'Silence of the Lambs' was children's story

Veteran actor Anthony Hopkins says when he was offered the script of "The Silence of the Lambs", the movie which earned him an Oscar for Best Actor, he thought it was a children''s story.

AR Rahman unveils new initiative Futureproof

Renowned composer AR Rahman has launched a new initiative aimed at presenting and showcasing Indian talent to the world.

Irrfan's finish line came too soon, but he played well: wife Sutapa Sikdar

Actor Irrfan Khan''s wife, Sutapa Sikdar, on Friday walked down the memory lane as she emotionally remembered the times spent with the late star and said, though he passed away too soon, he lived a fulfilling life.

Pratik Gandhi teams up with Pen Studios for rom com 'Atithi Bhooto Bhava'

"Scam 1992" actor Pratik Gandhi is set to star in romantic-comedy "Atithi Bhooto Bhava".

Sports

Siraj is find of Australia Test series: Shastri

New Delhi: India head coach Ravi Shastri described rookie pacer Mohammed Siraj as the find of the Australia tour, hailing him for playing a key role in the historic Test series win despite personal loss and racial abuse from spectators Down Under.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has coronavirus

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Spanish club said Friday.

IPL auction likely on February 18: BCCI official

The IPL players auction ahead of the 2021 season is likely to be held on February 18, a BCCI official told.

Spanish tennis player says she tested positive for COVID-19

A Spanish tennis player ranked in the top 70 who was forced to quarantine in her hotel room after potentially being exposed to the coronavirus on an Australian Open charter flight says she tested positive for COVID-19.

Bangladesh clinches 3-match series, beats West Indies again

Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan claimed a career-best 4-25 as Bangladesh clinched the three-match series against the West Indies on Friday with a seven-wicket victory in the second game.

Amid cancellation talk, Tokyo Olympics 'focused on hosting'

Tokyo: IOC President Thomas Bach and local organisers are pushing back against reports that the postponed Tokyo Olympics will be cancelled.

Bar a misses 2 penalties but advances past Cornell in Copa

Ousmane Demb l scored early in extra time after missing a penalty late in regulation as Barcelona defeated third-division club Cornell 2-0 in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey.

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