Month: January 2020

National News & Politics

Violence Reported From Bengal And Chennai Amid Nationwide Strike By CITU

The 24-hour nationwide strike resulted in disruption of rail and road traffic in several states including Bengal, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. It was claimed that approximately 25 crore workers from ten trade unions would make the Bharat Bandh on January 8 successful.

Bengal Bandh

Several Left supporters held a “Rail Roko Protest” in the North 24 Parganas district to support the strike. The railway police also found crude oil bombs on the tracks. Violence was also reported from Jadavpur and Behala. The Left also accused the Mamata government of double-speaking on strike. Chief Mamata Banerjee said that it won’t support the strike.

Rahul Gandhi supported the strike

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi supported the striking workers with his tweet. He said that he saluted the 25 crore workers that were standing united against and oppressive economic policies of the central government.

Maharashtra Bandh

The Udbhav Thackeray Maharashtra government supported the strike. Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana wrote an editorial saying that six months had been passed since the formation of the central government but nothing was done to improve the labor condition in India.

Chennai Bandh

The ruling AIADMK was against the strike hence it detained the protestors trying to disrupt the road traffic. Also, the government denied leaves to employees that were supporting the strike. But factories in Coimbatore and Tirupur were hit by protest.

Trade union leaders put a 12-point charter before the government and asked to accept the charter in order to bring normalcy in the manufacturing sector that has been witnessing slow down.

Source: https://bit.ly/2QBKLi8

International

Iran Attacked US Facilities In Iraq But All Is Well According To Trump

Iran targeted US-led forces in Iraq on Wednesday. This attack was in retaliation to the drone strike that killed its powerful military commander QassemSulemani.

Iran attacked US in Iraq

The state television of Iran reported that it fired 15 missiles the US-bases Ain al-Asad air base and another US facility in Erbil in Iraq about 1:30 am Iraqi time on Wednesday. Also, it said that Iran didn’t want to escalate tension. It was also claimed that around 80 US soldiers were killed in the attack. Also, the helicopters and other military equipment stationed at the facilities were damaged.

US on Iran attack

All was well said the US president Donald Trump. He also visited one of the targets – Ain al-Asad – to take stock of the situation. According to early indications, the US reported no casualty but the officials refused to comment on the impact of the attack. Hours earlier the attack, the US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the US anticipated the attack.

Iran want peace

The attack was aimed at US bases and no other country including Iraq reported any loss. Iran has long been demanding that the US should quit from the middle east but now it needs revenge.

Iran attack impacted stock market

Crude oil prices jumped to 5% on worries that an escalated conflict could cut oil supplies but soon retreated after tweets from Trump and Zarif. The oil minister of UAC said that latest events shouldn’t be exaggerated. The US said that it would ban US airlines from operating in the airspace of Iran and Iraq.

Source: https://bit.ly/37NgN0x

Sports

Player Ratings Of Manchester United VS Manchester City

Bernardo Silva put fabulous efforts with Riyad Mahrez for City’s second to take lead over United. City scored 3 goals and United managed to score only one in return. Let’s have a look at the star players of this match.

Manchester United

Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 6

As expected, he provided excellent defense and efficiently tackled the front foot to bolster United’s attacking output.

Phil Jones – 5

Still in the recovery phase after suffering a torrid night, Phil Jones could do nothing other than watching Bernardo unleashing his unstoppable strike that open the scoring from the top corner. Soon Kevin De Bruyne turned him inside out for City’s third.

Victor Lindelof – 5

His casual retreat resulted in his failure to tackle Bernardo and like Jones, he was also a witness to the City’s attacking movement. He was simply unable to grip the football of City.

Brandon Williams – 6

This teenager has much potential but he felt helpless due to his style at times when City overloaded on his side. He tried in the 55th minute of the game but that was too late for this energetic player to do something.

Fred – 6

He put admirable efforts but failed to put a tab over City’s ever-changing midfield. There could be a debate whether he is good enough to play central midfield for United.

Andreas Pereira – 5

He kept running after the ball and tried his best until the misfortune stuck before the half-time. This footballer kicked the ball into his own net.

Daniel James – 4

He was in need of a break after losing some of the early season sparkle. His … Read the rest

Banking National

25 Crore Workers From 10 Central Trade Unions Call For 24-Hour Nationwide Bandh On January 8

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has called for Bharat Bandh against the disinvestment, privatisation and labour reform policies of the central government. According to CITU, ten central trade unions were supporting its cause.

CITU calls for a nationwide strike

CITU said that it had been over four years since the last Indian Labour conference took place in August 2015. In the last conference, the government created a Group of Ministers to consider the 12 point-charter of demands of the labour unions. But nothing happened after that meeting. It further said that the government started selling Public Sector Undertakings and natural resources to strengthen the failing economy.

Worker’s demand

The 24-hour strike is called to oppose privatization policies of the central government and present a 12-poing common demand like working-class on pay hike, fixing of the minimum wage, social security and uniform five-day week.

Services affected by Bharat Bandh

Banking services are more likely to get affected by the nationwide strike but private sector banks are likely to work as usual. But the transport sector is likely to get the maximum impact of the strike. According to SBI, only a few members of its unions are participating in the Bandh. Also, BJP-affiliated Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh won’t participate in the strike.

Government on nationwide strike

The government has warned those participating in the strike of consequences the 24-hour strike. Their wages would be cut and they could face disciplinary action. The Ministry of Personnel has prohibited government employees from participating in the strike.

Source: https://bit.ly/2sOJGe8

Today's Special

All Four Nirbhaya Case Convicts Will Be Executed On January 22 At 7AM In Tihar Jail

The 2010 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder victims were awarded a death warrant by a Delhi court on Tuesday. The court gave convicts 14 days to look for legal remedies. They will be executed at 7 am on January 22 in Tihar Jail.

The court order

Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar pronounced the order after issuing death warrants for the four convicts. The prosecution said that the Supreme Court has dismissed the review petitions of the convicts and there was no petition pending before any court or the President. But the convicts Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Singh and Pawan Gupta can look for legal remedies and file curative petitions before the execution. Lawyer of the convicts AP Singh said he would file a curative petition in the Supreme Court.

Nirbhaya’s mother on the order

Asha Devi, the mother of the victim of the gangrape and murder, said that her daughter finally got justice. She further said that the execution of the convicts would empower the women of the country. She also said that this decision would strengthen people’s belief in the judiciary system.

Asha Devi fought for eight long years to get justice for her daughter. But she was happy that finally, the court was going to execute the convicts.

Source: https://bit.ly/2FwvokI

Technology

Realme 5i: 5000mAB Battery, Quad Camera AndLow Price

After numerous leaks and teasers, Realme 5i finally saw the light on Monday in Vietnam. And this watered-down version of Realme 5 is expected to reach India by Thursday.

Realme 5i

It features a quad-rear camera setup and packs a massive 5000mAH battery. The screen size is 6.52-inch with a waterdrop notch and it is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC paired with up to 4GB of RAM.

Specifications

This dual-SIM Smartphone runs on Android Pie with ColorsOS 6.0.1. The HD+ 6.52-inch display has 89% screen-to-body ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass 3+ protection.

The quad-camera setup includes a main 12MP camera with an f/1.8 aperture. The second camera is an 8MP lens with an f/2.25 aperture and a 118.9-degree viewing angle. The other two cameras are 2MP portrait camera and 2MP macro camera with 4cm closeup range. The selfie camera is 8MP with an f/2.0 aperture. The quad-camera allows 4K video recording at 30fps and slo-mo video recording at 120fps. Also, it has super night mode.

The new Realme 5i packs a powerful 5000mAH battery with 10W quick charging support. Also, it allows expansion of 64GB storage to 256GB via a microSD card. Sensors provided in the phone are compass, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, and fingerprint sensor for authentication.

Realme 5i price

In Vietnam, the Realme 5i was launched at a cost of VND 3,690,000 that translates to Rs. 11,500 in Indian currency. But it is the cost of the 3GB and 32GB variant. The higher 4GB and 64GB variant is priced at VND 4,290,000 that is Rs. 13,500 in Indian currency.

Source: https://bit.ly/2N1Ch1C

Business News & Politics

PM Modi Calls Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata And Others To Revive Economy

In the run-up to budget 2020-21, PM Narendra Modi met the top industrialists of the country to brainstorm ideas to strengthen the GDP that has plummeted to the lowest levels in the six-years.

PM meets industrialists

PM Modi called Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, Tata patriarch Ratan Tata, Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra, telecom boss Sunil Bharti Mittal, Gautam Adani and others to hiss office to discuss the economic condition of the country and find ways to boost the economy that has dropped to 4.5% according to the latest GDP data of July-September quarter. Also, the slump in the manufacturing sector and consumption played a crucial role in slowdown.

Measures taken to check slowdown

• Corporate tax slashed to 22% from 30% in September

• The tax rate for new manufacturing units was also slashed to 15%

• Bank recapitalization

• Merger of 10 public sector banks into 4

• Support for auto industry

• Plans for infrastructure projects

• Tax benefits for startups

Corporate tax was reduced to attract foreign direct investment. With these deductions, India became on par with other Asian countries. Also, RBI eased policy rates in the last year in a series of rate cuts since February 2019.

Source: https://bit.ly/2QRJoLu

Business Fashion & Lifestyle

10gm Gold Costs 90,800 Pakistani Rupees In Pakistan

Plagued with starvation and inflation, Pakistan has already become hollow and now it is staring at another problem. After vegetable, petrol, and diesel, the gold prices are touching the sky in Pakistan.

Gold price in Pakistan

In Pakistan, one tola gold costs 90,800 Pakistani rupees but in India, it costs around Rs. 41,395. One tola is equal to 10gm. Gold prices are fluctuating due to the Iran-America conflict. On Friday, the gold prices saw an increase of Rs. 1,150. According to Don newspaper, the gold price has increased by Rs. 23,000 since January 2019.

Gold price in India

The price of 24-carat gold remained between 41,000 to 41,270 per 10gm on the last trading day. The 22-carat gold jewelry also jumped to Rs. 41,120 per 10 gm. A Ginni that weighs 8gm also increased by Rs. 100 and crossed Rs. 30,900 mark.

Iran has warned the US of revenge for killing its commander Major General Qasim Sulemani, who was also the chief military officer of Iran in an airstrike. Fearing a war between the two nuclear-armed nations, investors are considering gold to be a safe investment and for this reason, the bullion prices are touching new height every day.

Source: https://bit.ly/2QTEdKT

News & Politics Today's Special

Amit Shah Gave Instruction For Joint CP Level Enquiry Of JNU Attack

HT News January 6, 2020

The Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to investigate the JNU violence and take necessary action. The home ministry tweeted from that the minister had already ordered an inquiry by a Joint CP level officer.

JNU violence

Eye witnesses told that the violence started around 6:30 pm when around 50 masked goons forcibly entered the campus and started throwing bricks at buildings. They damaged furniture with hammers and beat up students and staff with sticks.

JNU students’ union president Aishe Ghosh was hit on her head. She was admitted to AIIMS for treatment. She said that she was singled out by the goons and one of them hit her hard on her head. A tweet from JNUSU read that the goons had the blessings of the police and the university administration.

The JNUSU blamed ABVP for the attack. ABVP is the student wing of the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party. The tweet read that those were unknown ABVP goons and they had covered their faces to avoid recognition. But not all were students of JNU.

ABVP blamed left-wing student unions for the attack

The ABVP leaders alleged that their members were also brutally attacked in violence. They said that around 25 students belonging to ABVP were injured and 11 were missing after the violence. They blamed SFI, AISA, and DSF for the attack.

The attack was widely condemned

Education ministry condemned the attack in its tweets. Union Ministers S Jaishankar and Nirmala Sitharaman – both JNU alumni – have condemned the attack. Rahul Gandhi said that it was a reflection of the fear of the government.

Source: https://bit.ly/2upBzVJ