December 13, 2019
Front page
North East rails against CAB with violent rage
Marauding mobs torched homes and properties in rare show of fury against the CAB. BJP workers ran for cover as angry agitators confronted them with vitriol for having sacrificed Assamese identity for BJP’s brand of nationality. It’s clear Amit Shah has touched a raw nerve among the people of the North East through his muscular move to enforce CAB. Houses, shop and public properties went up in flames as angry crowds defied curfew and descended on streets.
Good words and phrases used .. Rail against, Marauding, Torch as verb, Fury, Vitriol, Touch a raw nerve
IIP contracts and Inflation spikes
There is further bad news for the Indian economy. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) contracted by 4.3%, and food inflation soared to reach a 40-month high level of 5.54%. Experts fear India is entering the territory of ‘stagflation’ when the inflation rate continues to soar, but the demand on the economy stagnates or decreases. This is a very ominous sign for the government.
*How is IIP measured?
God words used .. Spike as verb, Ominous
Opposition parties remonstrate against I&B ministry’s advisory
The I&B ministry has advised TV channels and media outlets to underplay the public resentment over CAB. and NRC describing them as ‘sensitive’ national issues that if not handled ‘maturely’ could inflame passions and fuel unrest. The opposition parties have criticized the advisory as unwarranted and an assault on press freedom.
Good words used … Remonstrate, Advisory, Inflame, Unwarranted, Fuel as verb
Six arrested in Bengaluru for trading in lizards
Six persons were taken into custody for trading in spiny-tailed lizards – an endangered species. The intercepted lizards have been sent to ‘rescue center’ in Bannerghatta.
In extreme chilly weather, Britons step out to vote
Citizens came to their polling booths in large numbers to cast their vote. A decisive mandate for either contenders will remove the uncertainty and discord that had mired the United Kingdom over the Brexit issue.
SC forms panel to prove ‘alleged’ killing of accused by Hyderabad police
A panel headed by Justice Sripukur (retired) will start its work to unravel the truth behind the encounter killing of the four rape accused in police custody.
K-RERA may allow third parties to rake over stalled projects
Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority(K-RERA)may allow third parties to take over and complete standstill projects that causes great hardships to home buyers. This step offers a glimmer of hope to exasperated home buyers.
Good words used .. Glimmer, Exasperated
Dakhshina Pinakini River could be rejuvenated through private effort
A private philianthropic trust has come forward to rejuvenate the sick Dakshina Pinakini river at a cost of Rs.2600 crores. The river along with five others originates from the Nandi Hills and flows through Chickbalapur, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, before entering Tamil Nadu. The river discharges itself in the Bay of Bengal.
Bad days for Coffee planters and the daily wagers
After heavy rains and extensive damage to the coffee estates, the plantation owners are finding it hard to get back on their feet. As a cost-cutting measure, they have decided to reduce the wages of the workers and extend their duty hours to minimum eight.
CAG uncovers massive misuse of subsidized LNG under the Ujjawala scheme
CAG has pointed out how massive numbers of cylinders have been bought by customers like shops and factories that are not entitled to avail subsidized LNG. The report also reveals that sizeable numbers of beneficiaries availed the connections, but were too poor to buy cylinders. Thus their misery in smoke-filled kitchens remained un-addressed.
CAG finds Coal India failed to meet its ‘green’ targets
CAG has pointed out to the fact that Coal India failed on multiple counts to adopt measures to undo the damage caused by its mining activities.
IBM unveils revolutionary method to forecast weather using the data from individual phones
IBM GRAF has experimented successfully to use the data retrieved from users’ phones to forecast weather conditions in a 3-km radius. This marks a watershed in use of Artificial Intelligence for weather forecast.
SC dismisses all review petitions of Ayodhya verdict
The Supreme Court has refused to entertain all the 19 review petitions filed before it against the recent Ayodhya verdict. This has come as no surprise to the petitioners.
Portfolio allocation in Maharashtra cabinet complete
The Shiva Sena gets Home, the Congress gets revenue, and the NCP gets Finance.
India faces diplomatic headwinds as it handles Article 370 and CAB fall-outs
International anger is building up against India over the continuing clampdown in J&K, and the passage of the controversial CAB. Bangladesh has cancelled the visits of two of its ministers, and the Japanese Prime Minister is unlikely to come to India, as scheduled.
International
Gotabaya promises free press
The Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapakshe, has promised that there will be no curb on media during his tenure in office.
Polls in Britain may result in fractured verdict giving clout to small parties
Pollsters fear that the elections could result in fractured verdict, giving small parties to assume great importance as large parties search for alliance partners.
Fire in plastic factory kills 13 in Bangladesh
In a tragic fire accident, 13 workers died in a plastic factory. This comes after similar accident in a Delhi factory.
Trump moves to curb anti-Semitisn in universities
President Trump long accused for his anti-Jew views has signed a bill that curbs anti-Semitism in American universities.
Finance
Domestic air traffic grows 11% in November
Nearly 130 lakh passengers used air traffic for their travel in November, up 11% above the same month’s figures last year. Spicejet was the airlines with occupancy rates exceeding 92%. According to the DGCA, India has a total of about 628 aircrafts in service.
ECB’s Ms.Lagarde expects economic slowdown to be gradually receding
Ms. Christan Lagarde, Head of EurOpean Commercial Bank (ECB) ffels the phase of economic slowdown is in its way out. Therefore, ECB has left her key rates unchanged.
Bharat Petroleum’s Numaligarh refinery has many suitors
Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. (NRL) owned by BPCL is likely to have new owners. IOC and OIL re eyeing to acquire this key facility. The refinery has a capacity of 3 million tons per annum.
Class action suit against Infosys in the United States
Petitioners allege Infosys Chairman Mr. Parekh deliberately misled its shareholders by holding back information about mega deals it procured without subjecting them to vetting as pr standard procedure.
*What is a Class Action Suit?
BSNL in a fix as too many of its key personnel opt for VRS
It is a strange paradox for BSNL. Some 4000 of its key managers who are the backbone of its operations have opted to avail VRS. The operations will go haywire without these highly skilled engineers. Efforts are on to persuade a few among them to stay back.
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