News Flash (29th January 2021): Top 10 Stories Of The Day

1. UN Chief says India ‘s vaccine production capacity is the best asset for the world 

On Thursday, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations said that India’s vast capacity to produce COVID-19 vaccine is the “best asset” that the world has today. “We strongly hope that India will have all the instruments that are necessary to play a major role in making sure that a global vaccination campaign is made possible,” Antonio said.

2. 11 local languages to be introduced in the curriculum of Sikkim’s schools 

The government of Sikkim has directed all its schools to introduce 11 local languages, the state’s education department informed. An option will be given to the students to choose one of the 11 as their second language. 

3. Local trains of Mumbai to restart for general public from Feb 1 

Mumbai local trains will open for the general public from February 1 in fixed time slots, the Maharashtra government informed. People can begin traveling from 7 am, between 12pm and 4pm and then again post 9pm till the closure of the services. Service staff won’t be allowed to travel from 7am to 12pm and from 4pm to 9pm.

4. Red Fort’s damaged artefacts were irreplaceable, 2 go missing, informs Govt

Prahlad Singh Patel, India’s Culture and Tourism Minister said that Red Fort has seen “significant irreplaceable damages” after a huge crowd of protesting farmers entered the Red Fort while rallying on Republic Day. Two historic brass urns have gone missing and the main gate has also been damaged, the minister informed. “All the tableaux have been messed with,” Mr Patel added.

5. UAE flights banned in UK, world’s busiest international route shuts down 

All direct flights have been banned to and from UAE by the UK over the spread of the South African variant of coronavirus. This has resulted in the shut down the world’s busiest international airline route from Dubai to London. Flights from Burundi and Rwanda too Britain have been banned by Britain. 

6. Police use tear gas, resort to lathicharge after a clash between farmers and anti-farmer protesters at Singhu border 

After the anti-farmer protesters and farmers at Delhi’s Singhu border got into a tussle, the Delhi Police resorted to lathicharge and used tear gas to vacate the area. The clash erupted after a group of anti-farmer protesters claiming to be locals began protesting at the site, demanding that the farmers to vacate the area and stop protesting.

7. Bengal CM Mamata tells PM Modi to either Repeal farm laws or quit

Mamata Banerjee the Chief Minister of West Bengal took to sour words to tell PM Narendra Modi’s to resign saying that “nothing was in the control of Central government”. She further added, “Either you withdraw the farm laws or resign.” The CM said this when the West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution demanding the withdrawal of the union’s new farm laws. 

8. 3rd group of Rohingya refugees relocated by Bangladesh to flood-prone island

On Friday, the Bangladesh authorities sent off a third group of Rohingya refugees to a, flood-prone Bhashan Char island in the Bay of Bengal, irrespective of the calls from human rights groups to discontinue the process. Over four ships were used to transport over 1,700 refugees to the island, a naval official said. The last group of about 3,500 refugees was sent to the island since December.

9. IMF suggests India to curb wasteful spending, and have a credible divestment plan

IMF’s Chief Economist Gita Gopinath suggested that India must look for ways to up its revenue and limit its wasteful spending, and build a credible disinvestment plan which can be attained post the pandemic. “Credibility on all these fronts will give confidence to markets and keep borrowing costs low,” Gita added. 

10. Animated series of ‘Game of Thrones’ in early development says Reports

According to Hollywood media, an animated ‘Game of Thrones’ (GoT) series is in the making at HBO Max. The tone of the series is said to be similar in tone to the original series. Meanwhile, WarnerMedia and HBO are working on a prequel series to ‘GoT’ titled ‘House of the Dragon’.