News Flash (9th June 2020): Top 13 Stories Of The Day

1. Govt-run schools of Meghalaya reduce tuition fees by 50% for 3 months

On Monday, the government of Meghalaya decided to reduce tuition fees of all government-aided schools by 50% for the month of April, May and June. Only tuition fees will be collected, rest all charges have been waived off for the next three months. “We received several petitions during this period from parents and traditional heads requesting that the Meghalaya government at least reduce or do away with school fees monthly, particularly tuition fees,” said Prestone Tynsong the deputy chief minister of Meghalaya.

2. Chinese firm ready to make electric car battery that lasts 20 lakh kms

CATL, a Chinese electric-car battery making firm has said it is ready to manufacture a battery that holds the capacity to last for 20 lakh kilometres — equivalent to circling the planet 50 times — across the course of a 16-year lifespan. Chairman Zeng Yuqun said it would cost about 10% more than the batteries now installed inside electric vehicles. The company’s clients include Tesla, Volkswagen and Toyota.

3. Indian shuttler HS Prannoy says he will nominate himself  for the Arjuna Award

Indian shuttler HS Prannoy has said that he will indeed fight for he rightly deserves by nomination himself for the very prestigious Arjuna Award 2020. He also added that he is not the first athlete from Kerala to experience this bias from the Badminton Federation of India (BAI).

Prannoy also had lashed out at the federation over not being nominated for the second consecutive year. He tweeted stating, “The guy who has medals in CWG and Asian Championships not even been recommended by the Association. And the guy who was not there on any of these major events recommended. #thiscountryisajoke.” This tweet was later deleted. 

4. NASA astronaut, 1st woman to walk in space, now 1st woman to reach deepest point in ocean

Kathy Sullivan, a NASA astronaut who was America’s first woman to walk in space, has now achieved another first, at the age of 68. She has now become the first woman to reach the lowest-known point on earth as reported by the media. She achieved this on June 7th, former by reaching the bottom of the Challenger Deep, almost 6.9 miles or 11,000 metres below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, as per the EYOS Expeditions. “As a hybrid oceanographer and astronaut this was an extraordinary day, a once in a lifetime day, seeing the moonscape of the Challenger Deep and then comparing notes with my colleagues on the ISS about our remarkable reusable inner-space outer-spacecraft,” said Kathy Sullivan in a statement.

5. NASA says Saturn’s moon Titan drifting away 100 times faster than previously thought

Scientists at NASA and the Italian Space Agency earlier thought they knew the rate at which the giant moon named Titan is moving away from Saturn, but they recently; using data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, found Titan drifting a hundred times faster than previously understood — about 4 inches (11 centimeters) per year. Scientists are affirmative that Saturn was formed 4.6 billion years ago in the early days of the solar system. Currently, Titan is 759,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from Saturn. After the recent findings, scientists assume the moon started out much closer to Saturn, which indicates that the whole system expanded more quickly than previously believed.

6. Gujarat Board announces the results of class 20. This year’s pass percentage stands at 60.64

The Gujarat Secondary Education Board officially declared the Gujarat SSC Result 2020 or GSEB SSC Result 2020 on its official website today, i.e. June 9. As mentioned in the reports, around 11 lakh students appeared for the GSEB SSC Board Exams this year. The pass percentage of this year stands at 60.64 percent down by  6.33 percent as compared to last year’s 66.97 percent.

7. MP Class 12 board exams resume, students to get their temperature checked

Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education’s Class 12 examinations resumed on Tuesday after being deferred earlier due to the coronavirus pandemic. An approximate of 8.5 lakh students are appearing for these board examinations, which will be conducted till June 16 in over 3,600 centres across the state. Students appearing for the exams compulsorily have to sanitise their hands and get their temperature checked before entering the examination hall.

8. Jio Platforms to pick between Google, Microsoft for final stake sale tranche

Mukesh Ambani headed Jio Platforms will be picking between Google and Microsoft for the final tranche of its stake sales, Business Insider reported. Within a time of seven weeks, the company has raised almost Rs 1 lakh crore with eight investments from entities including Facebook and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). Now either Google or Microsoft will be investing for a 6% stake in Jio Platforms. 

9. iPhone 11 users report seeing a ‘green tint’ on their smartphone after iOS update

Users of iPhone 11 have reported a bizarre green tint that started appearing on the display after they downloaded the recent iOS 13.5.1 update. The green light appears after unlocking the device or when Dark Mode and Night Shift are activated. Some also pointed out that the light eventually disappears, but comes back unexpectedly. This glitch may be a software issue that can only be fixed when Apple releases iOS 13.5.2.

10. Patna railway station sets up vending machine with masks, and sanitisers

Amid the COVID-19 spread, the first automated Mask and Sanitiser Dispenser (MSD) machine was commissioned on Monday by a vendor in the East Central Railways at Patna junction. This is the first in the ECR zone at Patna junction and the second in Indian Railways after the first such machine was installed recently at Nagpur railway station on May 18.

11. Pink flamingos more aggressive than their paler rivals when fighting over food: Study

A study by the University of Exeter has revealed that the Bright pink flamingos are more aggressive than their paler rivals when fighting over food. The study stated that the “pinkest” flamingos tend to push others around during squabbles. “A healthy flamingo that is an efficient feeder, demonstrated by its colorful feathers, will have more time and energy to be dominant when feeding,” a researcher explained while reporting to the media.

12. Adani Green Energy receives the world’s largest solar order of $6 bn from India

Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) a conglomerate Adani Group has won the world’s largest solar bid worth $6 billion (Rs 45,276 crore). Under this winning deal, AGEL will be developing 8 GW solar projects along with a commitment that will see Adani Solar establish 2 GW of additional solar cell and module manufacturing capacity. This project holds the capacity to create 400,000 direct and indirect jobs and also displace 900 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.  “The company has won the first of its kind manufacturing linked solar agreement from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI),” said Adani Green. 

13. US Economy entered recession in February, ending a  record 128-month expansion

A private panel that serves as the arbiter of America’s business cycles has revealed that the US economy entered a recession in the month of February, ending a record 128-month expansion that began in June 2009. The statement of the National Bureau of Economic Research’s (NBER) Business Cycle Dating Committee indicated that the downturn could be shorter than usual. The recession that occurred previously in the nation had lasted 18 months.