It is very much possible that you may have missed out on news during the last week because of all the festivities and holidays. Here’s a quick roundup of the important ones.
1. A 25-year-old man was awarded a double death sentence by a Mahila court in TN for the rape and murder of a 7-year-old Dalit girl.
The heinous crime was committed in June, this year, following which the accused was arrested.
2. Britain became the first country in the world to approve the coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
As per reports, the authorisation has been done for a two-dose regime, and the vaccine has been approved for use for emergency supply. Britain has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine as of now.
3. Jai, a 50-year-old elephant, who was made to walk 1,000 miles in spiked chains is finally free.
The chains caused excessive damage to Jai’s legs, including chronic wounds and infections. He will receive long-term treatment and care under Wildlife SOS and the Elephant Hospital in Mathura.
4. The cyber wing of the Kerala police arrested 41 people, including IT professionals, in cases of child pornography.
As per reports, at least 596 locations were raided and 392 computer devices and phones were seized in the last couple of days.
5. Five new cases of the new Covid-19 strain found in the UK, traced in India. Total number of cases rise to 25.
Out of the five fresh cases, four have been traced by National Institute of Virology in Pune and CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in Delhi. The infected individuals have been kept in physical isolation at state health facilities.
6. The government has offered to withdraw the Electricity Amendment Bill and the penal provisions for stubble burning in the Air Quality Commission Ordinance – two of the many demands of the protesting farmers.
Talks between the government and farmers will resume on 4th January with resepct to the repeal of the 3 new farm bills.
7. The Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution seeking the withdrawal of all the three contentious agricultural laws passed by the Centre.
8. A huge wildfire engulfed the picturesque Dzuko Valley located on the borders of Manipur and Nagaland.
The massive fire is likely to have caused huge damage to biodiversity in Dzuko, also known as ‘the valley of the flowers’. According to officials, the fire is now under control after an Indian Air Force chopper was deployed to put out the fire.
9. President-elect Joe Biden’s White House team consists of 61% women members and 54% people of colour.
According to Biden’s transition team:
The first 100+ White House appointees, including those announced today, represent America in the following ways: 61% are women, 54% are people of colour, AAPI appointees represent more than twice their share of the national population, LGBTQ+ appointees account for 11% of all White House staff.
10. A woman and her husband to-be, both from the Jat community but from different villages, were allegedly shot dead by her uncle who disapproved of their relationship.
As per reports, the duo were attacked in a busy marketplace near Delhi bypass road when they were on their way to court to solemnize the marriage.
11. Denied government benefits for over two decades, entire populations of two Assam villages are camping in Tinsukia town for more than a week now.
The two villages are located within the Dibru Saikhowa National Park in Assam. Ever since the national park was notified, these villages were not taken into consideration by the government.
How many of these did you miss?
