News Flash (3rd October): Top 10 Stories Of The Day

Media finally allowed to meet Hathras rape victim’s family

After a day’s long battle and excessive criticism from all, the district administration has finally allowed the media to meet the victim’s family. Answering the questions of the media, Sadar Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Prem Prakash said, “According to SIT their probe in the village is complete or partially complete. The restrictions on media inside the village has now been lifted. More than five media persons are not allowed to gather as Section 144 of CrPC is in place.” He went on to say, “Only media is allowed right now. When orders come in to allow delegations, we will let everybody know. All allegations about phones of the family members being taken away or confining them in their homes are absolutely baseless.” The attempt to stifle the media attracted heavy criticism for the Yogi Adityanath government. 

PM Modi travels from South Portal to North Portal using the new Atal Tunnel

PM Narendra Modi embarked on the journey from South Portal to North Portal via the newly constructed Atal Tunnel which is 9.02-km long, after inaugurating it in Himachal Pradesh. The South Portal of the tunnel is situated at a distance of 25 km from Manali and the  North Portal is located near village Teling, Sissu. 

Education Minister lays down 10-day skill training plan for classes 6-8 under NEP

Education Minister Ramesh Pokhrial has suggested the schools to begin with the 10-day skill training period for grade 6-8 to test the implementation of the NEP. Under this, the students of grades 6 to 8 will have ‘bagless’ classes for 10 days. During these 10 days, students will have to intern with local vocational experts such as carpenters, gardeners, potters, artists, etc.

IIT Delhi startups develop Covid-19 protection lotion, antiviral T-shirts

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)’s two startups E-TEX and Clensta, in collaboration, have launched antiviral T-shirts and a COVID-19 protection lotion at affordable prices. The products, which are part of an antiviral kit consists of a novel Clensta protection lotion, hand sanitiser, E-TEX Kawach Antiviral T-Shirt and Kawach Mask. The products have been tested by experts from Chemical and Textile department of IIT, Delhi. 

Titanium space toilet worth ₹170 crores launched by NASA

NASA has developed a new ₹170 crore titanium toilet which is better suited for female astronauts in a resupply mission to the International Space Station. This newly built toilet will be tested by the Space station residents for a few months. Weighing 45 kg and just 28 inches, this toilet is half as big as the two Russian-built toilets at the space station.

Positive tested Trump given experimental antibody drug. ‘Going well I think’ he tweets

US President Donald Trump, who recently tested positive with COVID-19 has been given the experimental drug by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, before being taken to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. This is a drug that has been described as one of the most promising approaches to preventing serious illness from a Covid-19 infection. Informing the US citizens about this, Trump tweeted saying, “Going well, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!!”.

‘Interest On Interest’ for Loans upto Rs 2 Cr likely to be waived by the Centre

What comes as a relief to thousands of individuals and MSME borrowers, the Centre has informed the Supreme Court that it has decided to waive “interest on interest” on loans upto Rs two crore during the six-month moratorium period. The categories that fall under this waiver facility includes loans MSME loans, auto loans, housing loans, education loans, credit card dues, consumer durable loans, personal loans to professional and consumption loans. 

Twitter might now enable users to crop image previews

Twitter might bestow upon its users the decision-making power over how their tweet previews would display on the feed. The company added that it is looking to decrease its reliance on machine learning-based image cropping. Previously, it was Twitter that automated image cropping feature which the users complained was a biased feature. 

Facebook’s Messenger merged with Instagram texts for users in India

Facebook has released a new option of enabling users to connect Instagram direct messages with Messenger in India and some other countries as well. This new update will let users send texts to people on Messenger from Instagram and vice-versa. Users will be notified about their availability on the app. 

‘Unfinished’, Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ memoir to release in January 2021

Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ most awaited memoir , “Unfinished”, is going to be launched on January 19, 2021, publisher Penguin Random House India announced. The actress’s book debut will take the readers through her childhood in India, her teenage years in the US living with extended family in the Midwest, Queens, and suburban Boston, where she was subjected to the evil of racism; to her return to India, where she unexpectedly won the national and global beauty pageants (Miss India and Miss World) that launched her acting career. “I am a product of traditional India and its ancient wisdom, and modern India and its urban bustle. My upbringing was always an amalgamation of the two Indians, and, just as much, of East and West,” Priyanka said.