National Political News:
1. The J&K High Court has ruled that the special status enjoyed by J&K under Article 370 enjoined upon the State Government to hoist the J&K state flag on all Government vehicles and buildings. This is being interpreted in political circles as a re-assertion of J&K autonomy.
2. Fire broke out in the main pandal of a Yagya being performed by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in Medak district. Main Thatched roof of the Yagya area also known as ‘Homagundam’ caught fire. It was the concluding day of 5 day long AyuthaChandiMahaYagnan at Chief Minister’s farm house in Erravalli village. The mega ritual was to seek the divine blessings and prosperity for new state of Telengana by propitiatingGoddessDurga. President PranabMukherjee was to attend the Yagya and his visit was cancelled at the last minute because of the fire.
3. Congress mouthpiece magazine published from Mumbai has questioned JawaharLal Nehru’s Kashmir and China policy. It has also called Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s Italian father StephanoMaino as a fascist soldier. The editor of magazine Sanjay Nirupam has apologized to the Congress top brass and sacked the editorial content in charge. During the period of Second World War, Italy was ruled by a dictator Mussolini, who had close ties with Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
4. The odd even motor registration number scheme for plying of vehicles on Delhi roads commences. Odd and Even number cars shall ply on Delhi roads on odd and even dates respectively. This scheme is already being practiced in a Chinese city.
5. A major terror strike at the Indian Airforcebase in Pathankot town of Punjab by Pakistani militants suspected ofowing allegiance to a Pakistan terror organization Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) based at Bahawalpur in Multan district of Pakistan Punjab. 5 terrorist have been shot dead in the 17 hour long encounter with NIA and Security forces. All the assets of the Indian air force including the squadrons of fighter aircraft and helicopters are safe. The Indian intelligence had intercepted the telephone calls made by these terrorists to JEM in Pakistan.
International Political News:
1. Floods of unprecedented magnitude hit Northern England, triggered by heavy rains and storms. The historic tourist destination of York has flood water’s entering homes and business establishments. Rivers Ouse and Foss in York are in spate.
2. Unusual storms and Tornadoes strike the State of Texas in United States knocking cars of highways and flattening homes. The death toll rises to 25 in Southern US. Other US states hit by the storms are Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas.
This phenomenon is being attributed to El Nina the reverse of El Nino in which the North Atlantic Ocean waters cool down.El Nino is associated with the warming of the Pacific ocean waters across the coastline of South America.
3. Iraqi forces seize control of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province in the Euphrates river valley. The ISIS forces had to retreat with heavy losses from there.
4. Boko Haram Islamic militants strike at Northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri with rocket propellant grenades and multiple suicide bombers killing 80 innocent people.
5. The comfort women (sexually enslaved women) saga of 2nd World War, when Japan had overrun Korea has come to an end with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offering an apology and repentance besides paying $8.3 million in compensation for rehabilitation of these women to South Korea. This issue had rocked relations between South Korea and Japan. This malady also affects China’s relationship with Japan whose substantial areas were also over run by Japan during 2nd World War.
6. A suicide bomber in the 20-25 year age bracket blows himself up in a crowded government office in Mardan city of North West Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan resulting in huge number of casualties.
Business News:
1. India’s old Ice cream brand Vadilal attributes its brand name to the middle name ofthefamily patriarch RanchhodialVadilal Gandhi. The 8 decades old family owned company is in the throes of a melt down because of a family dispute over its control before the Company Law Board.
2. Microsoft CEO SatyaNadella highlights the role of its White Spaces project in connecting rural India at Hyderabad’s T-Hub seminar. He wants local entrepreneurs to partner with it on this technology platform. White Spaces project utilizes the unused spectrum from television to carving out low cost Internet connectivity.
3. Government announces withdrawal of subsidy on cooking gas cylinders of persons with taxable income of more than Rs. 10 lakhs annually. This withdrawal comes into effect from 1st of January 2016.
Science and Technology:
1. Researchers of US develop a microprocessor chip that uses light instead of electric signals to transfer data at high speed. It consumes minimum amount of energy and could lead to architectural changes in computing and networking.
2. E Moliv, the futurist company, is into wearable technology for a person’s brain. Its sells portable light weight brain scanner sets positioned around your scalp. The sensors measure electrical signals from the brain working as electroencephalogram (EEG) transmitting the data by wireless to users on PC or Mobile. E Motiv software then analyses your moods, emotions, facial expression, mental performance, stress level’s etc. using algorithms. Thus, one could check the stress level, distortion in mood etc. by using it.
Sports:
1. 2nd One Day International at Christchurch between New Zealand and Sri Lanka goes the host teams way. New Zealand score 118 for no loss in 8.2 overs against Sri Lanka’s 117 all out in 27.4 overs.
2. Australia beat West Indies by 177 runs at Melbourne to lead 2–0 in the test series. Australia scored 551 for 3 declared and 179 for 3 declared in both the innings and West Indies replied with 271 and 282 runs all out in both the innings.
3. South Africa succumbed to the spin ofEngland’sMoeen Ali at Durban, South Africa. England scored 303 and 326 all out in both the innings of the test match. South Africa could reply with 214 and 174 runs in both the innings and thus lost the first match of the cricket series between the too.
