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News Headlines-25th Jan
- Days after Shehbaz Sharif’s signal, India invites Pakistan’s Foreign Minister
Days after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that his country has learnt its lesson from three wars and wants to live in peace with India, New Delhi has reached out to Islamabad with an invitation in Goa. The invitation to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting from External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been sent through the Indian High Commission in Islamabad for his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to visit Goa in the first week of May for the meeting. The last Pakistani Foreign Minister to visit India was Hina Rabbani Khar in July 2011. The last External Affairs Minister to visit Pakistan was Swaraj in December 2015 for the Heart of Asia conference in Islamabad. Apart from India and Pakistan, the SCO includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
- Chandigarh gets North India’s largest floating solar power plant at Dhanas Lake
UT Administrator Banwari Lal Purohit Monday inaugurated northern India’s largest floating solar power project of 2000kWp worth Rs 11.70 crore at waterworks, Sector 39. These projects have been designed and executed by CREST (Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society) and will generate a minimum of 35 lakh units (kWh) of solar energy per year with 20% module efficiency.
- Punjab to set up Indo-Israel villages of excellence for vegetables
After successfully creating a niche in the field of vegetable farming in the past nine years, the Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Vegetables and Citrus has started taking its technology to villages where it would set up ‘Indo-Israel villages of excellence’ in vegetable cultivation. The state Horticulture department has selected 15 villages –seven in Jalandhar and eight in Hoshiarpur — where the technology would be transferred to the farmers at ground zero. The main purpose is to bring the maximum agricultural area under protected vegetable cultivation in the form of polyhouse, and tunnel farming which will pave the way for the diversification of crops and also help farmers to earn good profit in a short period with less input cost. Indo-Israel CoE for Vegetables was set up in Kartarpur, Jalandhar, in December 2013 where vegetables are grown in polyhouses and saplings are readied to be supplied to the farmers across the state at a nominal price at their doorstep.
- 57th All India Conference of Director Generals and Inspector Generals of Police – New Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday sought more cooperation between state police forces and central agencies to leverage capabilities, and stressed on enhancing traditional mechanisms of policing such as foot patrols along with adopting technological solutions. Modi also distributed Police Medals for Distinguished Services. Till 2013, the annual meet was held in New Delhi. The next year, when the Modi government came to power, it was decided to hold the event, organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Intelligence Bureau, outside the national capital. It was held in Guwahati in 2014, Rann of Kutch in 2015, the National Police Academy in Hyderabad in 2016, the BSF academy at Tekanpur in 2017, Pune in 2019 and virtually during the Covid pandemic in 2020 and in Lucknow in hybrid mode in 2021.
This time, the conference was held at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Delhi’s Pusa. Earlier, the venue for the meet in the national capital used to be the Vigyan Bhavan.
- India’s exit from the world cup: Hockey Heartbreak
India crashed out of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup after losing 4-5 via penalty shootout to lower-ranked New Zealand following a 3-3 stalemate after the regulation time in a crossover match. However, the Harmanpreet Singh-led team’s campaign is yet to conclude as they will now play in the 9th to 16th place classification matches.
India is now set to lock horns against Japan in the 9th to 16th place classification match on January 26. The Hockey World Cup 2023 final is scheduled to be played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar on January 29.
- Inflation in Egypt is so high that eggs are a luxury
When the war erupted, the Russian and Ukrainian tourists who once made up one-third of Egypt’s visitors largely disappeared, along with most of the imported wheat that feeds its population. Foreign investors fled, taking about $20 billion with them. In a country that depends heavily on foreign goods, the combination of factors — scarce dollars, high import prices and payments coming due on enormous government debts — spelled disaster.
For the fourth time in six years, el-Sissi’s government turned to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout, receiving $3 billion over four years, far less relief than before and with far sterner conditions. In a demand that strikes at the heart of Egypt’s power structure, the IMF is also requiring Egypt to sell off some state-owned companies to raise money and to strip military-owned companies of tax breaks and other privileges, allowing private businesses to compete.
- Norovirus in Kerala
Norovirus is not new; it has been circulating among humans for over 50 years and is thought to be one of the primary causes of gastroenteritis. The virus is estimated to kill 200,000 persons globally every year, with most deaths occurring among those below the age of five years and those over the age of 65 years. The virus is capable of surviving low temperatures, and outbreaks tend to be more common during the winter and in colder countries — that is why it is sometimes referred to as “winter vomiting disease”. Even though more cases of norovirus are being detected, experts say that this is unlikely to lead to a large-scale outbreak.
- The Oscars India Club
The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards, more popularly known as the Oscars, was announced on Tuesday. India came away with a total of three nominations for Best Original Song (RRR’s “Naatu Naatu”), Best Documentary Feature Film (Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes), and Best Documentary Short Film (The Elephant Whisperers).
The artists who have received this honour in the past are:
- Bhanu Athaiya – Best Costume Design for Gandhi (1982) – first oscar for an Indian
- Satyajit Ray – Honorary Award (1992)
- Resul Pookutty – Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty were the joint awardees for their work in Slumdog Millionaire for Best Sound Mixing. (2009)
- A.R. Rahman – A R Rahman became the first Indian to win Academy Awards in two categories, both for his work in Slumdog Millionaire – Best Original Song (for ‘Jai Ho’) and Best Original Score. (2009)
- Gulzar – Veteran poet-lyricist Gulzar shared the prize with Rahman, as the recipient of the Academy Award for Best Original Song, for his work as a lyricist on ‘Jai Ho’ from Slumdog Millionaire. (2009)
- Documentary, titled Period. End of a Sentence, set in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district, won an award in 2019 in the Best Documentary (Short Subject) category. The documentary was produced by Indian producer Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment and directed by the Iranian-American director Rayka Zehtabchi.
