December 11, 2019
Front page
Supreme Court frowns upon judge recruitment delays
The Supreme Court has expressed its displeasure at the way the case of recruitment of nearly 213 new judges for different high courts have been kept pending by the Union government and its own Collegium. Many high courts in the country are operating at half of the strength of judges causing piling up of cases. The Court has asked the authorities to file a status report on the matter.
Violence rocks North East against CAB
Widespread violence rocked Assam and Tripura as the government pushed its Bill in the Parliament. Irate demonstrators vented their fury in the streets and brought normal life to a standstill. Indignation against the Bill was palpable in the faces of the protestors. The situation seems to be very grim at the moment.
Good words used …. Grim, Palpable, Indignation, Vented, Fury
Muslim professor debarred from teaching Hindu religious practices in BHU
An erudite professor duly selected by the interview panel has been debarred from teaching Sanskrit literature in the department where Hindu religious practices are taught. A group of fanatical students opposed his joining had been staging vociferous protests against the teacher just because he was a Muslim. As a compromise, the authorities have transferred him to another department where he will teach the same Sanskrit Literature.
Good words used .. Debarred, Vociferous
Tipu Sultan’s saga will not be effaced from school curriculum
A committee examining the contentious matter has decided to continue teaching historical contents about Tipu Sultan ignoring the opposition from certain quarters.
Good words used .. Saga, Contentious,
National
Yediurappa struggles to pacify MLAs wrangling for cabinet berths
Yediurappa might have swept the polls, but he now faces enormous lobbying by the victorious MLAs for plum cabinet posts. The CM is wary because these party-hopping MLAs could defect, if not placated one way or the other.
Good words used .. Wrangling, Plum, Placate
Anganwadi workers demand better working conditions
In Odisha and Karnataka, agitated Anganwadi workers have spilled over to the streets to demand higher wages, and other welfare benefits. The strident tone of their protests has rattled the authorities. Confronting large crowds of women protestors poses a tricky problem for the police.
Good words used .. Strident, Rattle, Spill over
Telengana school children refuse to eat mid-meals sans onion
Onion scarcity is now affecting feeding of school children in Telengana. They have refused eat the meals because the taste is so bland without onion. Te schools have said they can’t afford to buy onion in such exorbitant rates.
Good words used .. Exorbitant, Bland
Potato growers and Pepsico approach court
Pepsico, the food and beverages behemoth, makes the Lays brand potato chips that use a certain variety of potatoes whose seeds are supplied by the company with the assurance that it will buy the entire harvest at certain rate. In return, it binds the growers contractually not to sell the potatoes to any other consumer or organization. The contract, however, gives relaxation to very small farmers to either use the potato for their own consumption, or sell it in the market. In this dispute, a few large farmers flouted the contract and sold the potato in the open market. Pepsico, in turn, imposed a staggering penalty of Rs.4.5 crores on the farmers. Now, both sides are locked in a court battle over the issue.
Good words used .. Behemoth, Flout, Staggering
Amit Shah faces sanctions by U.S.
The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom(USCIRF) has found that the CAB piloted by Home Minister Amit Shah is discriminatory in nature and runs counter to India’s ideals of religious neutrality. It has threatened to impose sanctions on Amit Shah, if the Bill goes through the parliament to become law. This development has caught the Indian establishment off-guard. India is now trying hard to evde any such harsh step by mollifying the members of the Panel.
Good words used .. Mollify, Off-guard
Eminent citizens numbering 720 petition the government to withdraw the CAB
Eminent scholars, artists, scientists and retired public servants have sent a petition to the government asking for the repeal of the controversial CAB. They have argued that the Bill is regressive and contravenes the provisions of India’s secular constitution.
Good words used .. Repeal, Regressive, Contravene
Venkaiah pulls up MPs for absence from Rajya Sabha
The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha has taken umbrage at MPs for their absenteeism. He has sternly advised the Party leaders to ensure their members attend Rajya Sabha sessions with seriousness.
Good words and phrases used… Take umbrage at, Pull some one up
JNU students brave police batons
For weeks the students of JNU are agitating to make the government withdraw the fee hikes imposed on them. They came to the streets shouting slogans against the indifference of the authorities. When they proceeded beyond a certain point, they were lathi-charged by the police. This further inflamed them.
Good words used .. Brave as verb, Inflame, Baton
Google to face defamation suit, rules SC
A company had objected to a post in Google website that it deemed objectionable. The post was written by someone and was carried by a website, but the website was hosted by Google. The aggrieved party filed a defamation suit against Google. Since, Google can’t filter offensive content because the posting process is automatic, Google disowned its responsibility. To provide a safeguard to companies like Google, Yahoo etc., the government had amended the act in October 27, 2009, so that no liability comes to the search engines. In the present case, the incident had happened prior to the amendment. Citing this reason, the SC has ruled that Google must face the defamation suit.
EU expresses grave concern over continuing restrictions in Kashmir
The EU Ambassador to India, Igo Austuto, has urged speedy restoration of internet services and lifting of all curbs on movement of people.
International
Japan and Australia urge India to reconsider RCEP decision
Japan and Australia have prevailed upon India to reconsider its pulling out of RCEP. They have expressed their views that India’s fears of being swamped by cheap dairy imports from New Zealand, and low-tech manufactured goods from China are largely misplaced and could be addressed through talks.
Good words and phrases used .. Prevail upon, Swamped
Sword of Impeachment hangs over Trump
The Democrats have gone on an over-drive to expedite hearing of their impeachment motion against Trump. On the other side, the Republicans have sunk their differences to shield their president against their President. They have engaged top constitutional lawyers to stalemate the Democrats.
Good words and phrases used.. Sink ones’ differences, Shield, Over-drive, Expedite, Stalemate
Aung San Su Kyi to defend her country before ICJ
Myanmar has been hauled up before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its egregious ill-treatment of the Rohingyas. Su Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, has proceeded to The Hague to refute the charges against her country.
Good words used .. Egregious, Hauled up, Refute
Finance
SBI concealed bad loans to the tune of Rs.12,000 crores, reports RBI
The discovery of such mammoth under-reporting of bad loans by SBI has send ripples across the banking community. What action RBI takes in the mattr remains to be seen.
Sikka, the erstwhile CEO of Infosys joins Oracle
Oracle has roped in Vishal Sikka who is a world renowned expert in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Car sales continue to head downward
Despite all the incentives provided by the government, car sales continue their sluggish trend. Over-all sale figure for November is down 10.8%.
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