Today’s top news: 16 December, 2020 (GPN):

NATIONAL NEWS:

1. Mathura all ready for commemoration of the 1971 victory : To commemorate 50 years of the 1971 war and mark the commencement of the Swarnim Vijay Varsh, Indian Army’s Strike One Force is all prepared for the first halt of the ‘Victory Flame’ at Mathura, which will be handed over to them by PM Modi on December 16 in Delhi.
2. Nation pays homage to Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel on his 70th death anniversary yesterday . He was first Deputy Prime Minister of India and also held the Home portfolio. Fondly known as Iron Man of India, he brought together more than 500 princely States with India.
3. There will be no public new year celebrations in Shimla, Kullu, Kangra and Mandi as the Himachal Pradesh government has extended night curfew in the four districts till January 5 to contain the spread of COVID-19 : The curfew will be in place from 9 pm to 6 am in Shimla, Mandi, Kangra and Kullu districts.
4. Union minister Nitin Gadkari said that the government has not done anything against the farmers by bringing the three farm laws . He also said that the government is ready to accept all good suggestions from farmers about the three laws.
5. Gadkari also said he doesn’t think social activist Anna Hazare will join the farmers’ agitation. We have not done anything against the farmers. It is the right of farmers to sell their produce in mandi, to traders or anywhere else”.
6. The UP-based Bharatiya Kisan Union (Kisan) decided to suspend their agitation pertaining to the farm laws for one month . While BKU (K) has not been part of the farmers’ stir at the Delhi borders, it has been holding protests at the district level in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier in the day, a delegation comprising members from this farmers’ union met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in the national capital.
7. Rajya Sabha MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar & other BJP leaders will address the farmers in MP on Wednesday
8. Late former President Pranab Mukherjee’s son and daughter sparred on Twitter over the publication of his memoir scheduled to release in January 2021. Titled ‘The Presidential Years’, the 4th volume of Mukherjee’s memoirs reportedly contains some critical observations about the Congress party. Initially, former Lok Sabha MP Abhijit Mukherjee called for the publication of the memoir to be stopped, taking umbrage at the “motivated excerpts” floated around in the public domain.
9. Wanted Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik is allegedly funding a new terror alliance to launch attacks in India around January 26 next year, says an intel report from Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). The report further claims that members of Popular Front of India (PFI) are conspiring with some Rohingyas to carry out the attacks in multiple Indian cities.
10. Nurses call off strike after AIIMS administration assures them to resolve their problem : Nurses of Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) who had gone on an indefinite strike on Monday (December 14) over their long-pending 23 demands, including those with regard to the Sixth Central Pay Commission, have called off their strike on Tuesday (December 15, 2020) evening.
11. Justice S Muralidhar was on Tuesday elevated as the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court. The senior-most Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Rajesh Bindal, was also transferred to the country’s oldest High Court, the Calcutta High Court.
12. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi in his letter to Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury made it clear that no winter session of Parliament will be convened due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Budget Session is likely to be called in January 2021.
13. The Karnataka Legislative Council witnessed high drama on Tuesday with members hurling abuses and pushing each other and deputy chairman S L Dharme Gowda being pulled down from the chairman’s seat over a row pertaining to the no-confidence motion against the chairman K Pratapachandra Shetty . Gowda occupied the chairman’s seat even before Shetty arrived and the quorum bell still ringing, which angered Congress MLCs who rushed to the well demanding that he vacate it, as he would have allowed the no-confidence motion against Shetty.
14. The Maharashtra government on Tuesday sent the draft bill (SHAKTI), which provides for strict punishments including the death penalty and fine up to Rs 10 lakh for crimes such as rape, acid attack , and derogatory material on social media against women and children, to a joint committee of both houses of the state legislature.
15. Offshore Patrol vessel being built at Goa : The Saksham Offshore Patrol vessel is being built at Goa Shipyard Limited. It is the first and last Offshore Patrol vessel. It was launched on December 14 2020
16. Suburban train services in Mumbai are likely to be opened to all commuters from early January, Maharashtra Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar said
17. Actor-turned- politician Kamal Haasan on Tuesday hinted at a possible tie-up with filmstar Rajinikanth for the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls due in April-May 2021.
18. India working on next ‘Astra’ missile with 160 km range as Mk1 is integrated in IAF & Navy
    The DRDO expects to complete the extension of range by May 2022. Astra is an indigenous beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile.
19. ‘Himgiri’, the first of the three Project 17A ships being built at Kolkata’s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), made her first contact with the waters of Hoogly River on Monday. Project 17A has upheld India’s vision for Atmanirbhar Bharat.
20. The Centre has issued guidelines for the COVID-19 vaccination drive. : Vaccinating 100-200 people in each session per day, monitoring them for 30 minutes after administering the shots for any adverse event and allowing only one beneficiary at a time are among the guidelines.
21. Coronavirus Cases: 9,925,062
    Deaths: 143,985
    Recovered: 9,444,229

✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS:

1. As Joe Biden gets ready to enter White House, US warns India & sanctions of Turkey,: Ahead of US President-elect Joe Biden taking charge as the new President of the US, the Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Turkey for buying the Russian-made S400 Triumf anti-missile system and has warned India and other countries on buying arms manufactured by Russia.
2. India, Iran and Uzbekistan on Monday discussed ways for joint use of the strategically located Chabahar port for trade and enhancing regional connectivity at their first trilateral dialogue on the issue,
3. UK, India Committed To Building Strong Defence-Security Partnership: Raab
   United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Tuesday said that the UK and India are committed to building a stronger defence partnership between the two countries which would help to tackle shared issues like terrorism, maritime security and privacy.
4. UK PM Boris Johnson has accepted his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi’s invitation to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade on January 26 , marking his first major bilateral visit since taking office last year and the first since Britain’s exit from the European Union.
5. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday asserted that the focus of India and UK has been on five broad themes that will take the ties between the two nations to a higher level .
6. Nearly three years after India and China engaged in a bitter stand-off in Doklam plateau , this May the ties between the two countries came under strain once again following a violent face-off in eastern Ladakh.
7. A US court has dismissed a $100-million lawsuit filed against PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah after the litigants – a separatist Kashmir Khalistan outfit and two associates – failed to appear before it at two scheduled hearings.
   The suit was filed on September 19, 2019, days before Modi’s historic “Howdy, Modi!” event in Houston, Texas.
8. It challenged the Indian Parliament’s decision on Jammu and Kashmir that abrogated the special privileges of the state and carved out two union territories and sought a compensation of $100 million from Modi, Shah and Lt Gen Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon, Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff.
9. Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dr. A.K.Abdul Momen has said that the bilateral cooperation on COVID-19 pandemic was likely to be top on agenda during the virtual summit meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

🌎WORLD NEWS🌍

1. Russia on Monday successfully test launched its heavy lift Angara A5 space rocket after a six-year hiatus in a project President Vladimir Putin describes as having huge significance for national security.
2. Taiwan sees role as arms supplier for West as launches new warship Taiwan may become a supplier of weapons to Western democracies , President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tuesday, praising the island’s ramped up weapons-design ability as she launched an advanced, missile-laden warship and commissioned a new minelayer.
3. After India, China’s relationship has deteriorated with another country as Xi Jinping’s Chinese Communist Party continues its expansionist desires. China’s relationship with Australia is currently at an all-time low.
4. The relationship between the two countries took a turn for the worst when a spokesperson of the Chinese government tweeted a doctored image of an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child. The tweet was accompanied by the caption stating that Australia should be ashamed of the alleged actions of its soldiers.
5. Taiwan based contract manufacturer for Apple, wistron Corporation announced that it has suffered a loss of 437 crores of Rupees due to violence initiated by a section of workers over salary issues.
6. Eswatini Prime Minister Ambrose Diamini dies
   The Eswatini Prime Minister Ambrose Diamini died of COVID-19. He was 52.
7. Coronavirus Cases:73,502,707
   Deaths: 1,634,464
   Recovered: 51,582,940

🚣🚴🏇🏁🏊Sports:

1. Bangladesh wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has been fined 25% of his match fees for breach of the BCB Code of Conduct during the Bangabandhu T20 Cup 2020 Eliminator. The stumper had almost hit his team-mate, Nasun Ahmed, during a recent encounter between Beximco Dhaka and Fortune Barishal.
2. The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday (December 15, 2020) announced the full match schedule for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 that will be hosted by New Zealand.
3. The Basin Reserve in Wellington and the Hagley Oval in Christchurch have been selected to host the semi-finals with the latter also set to host the final under lights on April 3, 2022.

USD 73.52 💷GBP 98.73
In Vijayawada(AP)
🥇Gold ₹49,960@10 gm 24 (Krt)
🥈 Silver ₹67,900@ Kg
⛽ Petrol ₹ 88.82
⛽ Diesel ₹ 82.89
LPG 854.00 /14.2 Kg

🇮🇳Facts about India🇮🇳

Pakistan changed his position dramatically and announced he would accept a ceasefire with India. After his forces in East Pakistan surrendered unconditionally on 16 Dec 1971.

😀 Thought of the day 
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement

 Joke of the day 

Wife : whenever we keep the money in the bags our son steals it,
I don’t know what to do?😳
.
Husband : Keep it in his books. He never open them.🤪

😇 GK Today

C-DAC Centre For Development of Advance Computing

🕵 Today in History 😴

16-December-1952 Sri Ramalu Potiu sacrificed his life for the demand
Separate Andhra Pradesh state for the Telugu- speaking people.

😳Why❓❓❓

Why is China Clay called china clay?

Kaolin, also called china clay, soft white clay that is an essential ingredient in the manufacture of china and porcelain and is widely used in the making of paper, rubber, paint, and many other products. Kaolin is named after the hill in China (Kao-ling) from which it was mined for centuries.

china clay, one of the purest of the clays, composed chiefly of the mineral kaolinite usually formed when granite is changed by hydrothermal metamorphism. … Some authorities term as china clays the more plastic of the kaolins.

LEARN Sanskrit🙏🏻

tamarind = तिन्त्रिणी | tintrinnii.

🤔 How it works ⁉

How colour blindness causes

Diseases that damage the optic nerve or the retina of the eye can cause acquired color blindness.

Color blindness is a genetic condition caused by a difference in how one or more of the light-sensitive cells found in the retina of the eye respond to certain colors. These cells, called cones, sense wavelengths of light, and enable the retina to distinguish between colors.

🛕 VEDIC GYAN

Devasena as the consort of Kartikeya, (Son of BoS w in South India, he has two consorts, Devayanai (Devasena) and Valli. Devasena is described as daughter of the king of the gods, Indra and his wife Shachi or at least the adopted daughter of Indra.

🧬 HEALTH CARE: HOME REMEDIES🩺
( Note : These home tips followed in villages/ancient traditions, it is up to you to use it or not🙏🏻)

Garlic contains antioxidants that protect against cell damage and aging. It may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

🙏PLZ FOLLOW GOVT. NORMS, MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCE, KEEP YOURSELF & YOUR FAMILY SAFE🌼 ENDS