News Flash (18th December 2020): Top 10 Stories Of The Day

1. FM Nirmala Sitharaman: govt intervention won’t help our COVID-19-hit economy much

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently said in a statement, “the government has taken several measures to support the economy but no amount of intervention will be “adequate” to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic-led crisis.” She went on to inform that the union government has launched three sets of economic packages under the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. The finance minister further said that public expenditure will be kept up in the next Budget.

2. New Year celebrations  banned in Karnataka from Dec 30 to Jan 2 amid COVID-19

The government of Karnataka has banned New Year celebrations across the state at public places, establishments and places where large crowds have the potential to gather and flout social distancing norms. The ban will be imposed from December 30 to January 2 to curb the speak of COVID-19 infections. This said, there have been no restrictions imposed on clubs, pubs and restaurants that carry normal operations.

3. Students to be charged ₹500 for COVID-19 quarantine by Hyderabad University

A fee of ₹500 will be charged to the students as COVID-19 quarantine charges by the University of Hyderabad. The students’ union of the university has raised its voice against this move and requested the Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile to revoke this decision. Allegations have also been made by the union that those students quarantined are not being provided with food and other basic facilities. 

4. Railway line between West Bengal and Bangladesh resumes after 55 yrs

After a gap of 55 years, the railway line between West Bengal’s Haldibari and Bangladesh’s Chilahati has finally resumed in the Indian state’s Cooch Behar district. Freight trains are running initially, later passenger trains will also run. ANI reported. Both the country’s leaders namely India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurated the rail-link virtually.

5. Hathras case: four accused of gangrape, murder charged by CBI

A charge sheet has been filed by The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Friday in connection with the rape and murder of a woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras who was19-year old, as reported by PTI.

The girl was raped by four men in Hathras on September 14. She succumbed to injuries on September 29 at Safdarjung Hospital of Delhi while undergoing treatment.

6. Opposition taking out Ram Temple’s anger on farmers’ protest says Yogi Adityanath

The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath has cast a verbal attack on the opposition parties saying that they are angry with the construction of Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, which they are now taking out on the farmers’ protest. “Theory of communism will never hold true…that if you repeat a lie a hundred times, it will become true,” the CM said. “This is the envy of people who don’t like that Bharat is becoming Ek Bharat,” he further added.

7. ‘Give up on instigating farmers,’ PM Modi attacks Opposition

Commenting on the farmers’ protest against the new farm bills, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed the opposition for using farmers as a front and inciting them against the new agriculture laws. This comment was made by the PM while addressing farmers in Madhya Pradesh via video conferencing. He also stated that those parties opposing the laws were the same ones who have these laws mentioned in their manifestos in the past.

8. Iran begins constructing underground nuclear site at Fordo

Satellite pictures captured by The Associated Press revealed that Iran has started developing a new underground nuclear facility at Fordo. The construction, as mentioned in the report, began in the month of September. The building of this site has initiated amid the rising tension between Iran and the US over its atomic program. Iran, however, had signed a nuclear deal in 2015 in which it had promised to stop enriching uranium at Fordo.

9. Scientists inform of 30,000 tremors being hit Antarctica in 3 months

Scientists at the University of Chile have said that more than 30,000 tremors have rocked Antarctica since the end of August. Minor earthquakes were witnessed in Bransfield Strait, an ocean channel between the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula. According to scientists, in this area, there are several tectonic plates and microplates that meet near the strait, which leads to frequent rumbling. The past three months have been unusual, the scientists said.

10. SC notice issued to Kunal Kamra & Rachita Taneja in contempt case

Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra and cartoonist Rachita Taneja have been issued a notice by the Supreme Court as a response to the pleas seeking initiation of contempt of court proceedings against them. This was reported by ANI. The court has asked the two to file their responses within the duration of six weeks. They are not required to appear in person before the court.