1. Nirbhaya’s Rapist-Killers to Be Hanged at 7 am on 22 Jan: Court
The 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder case finally moved towards closure when a city court on Tuesday ordered the hanging of the four death row convicts at 7am
on 22 January, saying they had been given “sufficient time and opportunity” to exhaust their legal remedies.
The order to execute the death sentence of the convicts – Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Thakur – comes six years after another trial court had sentenced them to death.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. JNU Violence: Scant CCTV Footage, No One Detained and Little Headway
Two days after the mayhem at JNU , Delhi Police has made little headway in investigations. No one has been detained for questioning, or arrested, despite multiple mobile clips and WhatsApp group exchanges that have thrown up the identities and affiliations of several people and point to a conspiracy.
Now, police officials say they have failed to get any CCTV footage because the areas where the violence occurred are not covered by cameras. They are scanning footage from main gate cameras, but that may yield little as the goons are unlikely to have entered from there. Cops are also using face recognition software to identify the attackers.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. 56 Die in Stampede at Soleimani’s Funeral
At least 56 people were killed in a stampede as tens of thousands of mourners packed streets for the funeral of a slain Iranian military commander in his hometown on Tuesday, forcing his burial to be delayed by several hours, state media said.
General Qassem Soleimani’s burial began in the early evening in the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman, four days after his killing in a US drone strike in Iraq that plunged the region into a new crisis and raised fears of broader conflict.
“A few minutes ago his body was transferred to the martyrs section of Kerman cemetery,” the semi-official news agency ISNA reported, adding that Soleimani’s interment had begun.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Govt Plans to Take Groups of Envoys on Visit to Kashmir
The government intends to take groups of foreign envoys and senior diplomats to Kashmir in the coming weeks, thereby meeting the world community’s key request to be allowed into the region to assess the situation there, people familiar with developments said on Tuesday.
The plan is to take groups of senior diplomats representing different regions, including West Asia, and groupings such as the European Union and Association of Southeast Asian Nations to Kashmir. These will be the first such visits organised by the government for diplomats since Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was revoked last August, the people cited above said.
The first batch of some 20 envoys and senior diplomats was expected to travel to Srinagar as early as this week but the leak of the dates for the trip in the media has triggered a rethink because of concerns that a shutdown or protests could be organised to coincide with the visit, said two people on condition of anonymity.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Found: Earth-Sized World Which Could Have Liquid Water
Nasa said on Monday that its planet hunter satellite TESS had discovered an Earth-sized world within the habitable range of its star, which could allow the presence of liquid water.
The planet, named TOI 700 d, is relatively close to Earth -- only 100 light years away, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced during the annual American Astronomical Society meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Star TOI 700 is small, about 40% of our Sun’s size and only about half as hot.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. First Manned Spaceflight May Carry 1 Pilot
Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chief K Sivan detailed the country’s first manned mission to space on Tuesday, saying the four men shortlisted for the programme will receive physical fitness training in Russia for 11 months, but the first spaceflight in December 2021 may carry just one person.
Under the mission, named Gaganyaan and expected to cost ₹10,000 crore, India is expected to send astronauts, all Indian Air Force pilots, to the low earth orbit, an earth-centred orbit with an altitude of 2,000km where most of the manmade objects in outer space are placed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the space mission from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, 2018, saying that “an Indian son or daughter” will carry the national flag on the trip when the country celebrates its 75th year of Independence in 2022.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Anti-CAA protests: Out on Bail, Sadaf Jafar Says Was Tortured and Called Pakistani
Social activist and Congress spokesperson Sadaf Jafar, released on bail Tuesday after her arrest December 19 following the violence in Lucknow during the anti-CAA protests, alleged she was tortured in police custody and called a Pakistani — charges that Lucknow police denied.
“Cops thrashed me, pulled my hair and also kicked me in the stomach and knees. Policemen were continuously abusing me and also called me Pakistani several times,” Sadaf said after stepping out of jail. A single parent, she has two minor children.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Banking, Transport Services May be Hit Due to Trade Union Strike Against Modi Govt’s Policies
Banking, transport and other services across the country are likely to be hit Wednesday as trade unions have called for a day-long strike as part of a Bharat bandh call. Ten Central Trade Unions (CTUs) — INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, UTUC — along with various sectoral independent federations and associations will protest against the “anti-people” policies of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
PSU banks like Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Syndicate Bank are likely to be amongst the most affected, with services like deposit and withdrawal, cheque clearing and instrument issuance expected to be impacted due to the strike. However, services at private sector banks are unlikely to be impacted. Several banks have already informed stock exchanges about the strike and its impact on banking services.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. It’s Official: GDP Rate Seen Slumping to 5 Percent
With A sharp slowdown in manufacturing and construction, and the only major support coming from government expenditure, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate is seen slumping to 5.0 per cent, the lowest since the 2008 economic crisis, according to data released by National Statistical Office (NSO).
With this, the GDP growth rate is expected to rise only marginally to 5.25 per cent during October-March, the second half of the financial year, from 4.75 per cent in the first half. A major area of concern for policymakers is that with the exception of government expenditure, all other demand drivers — private consumption, investment and exports — are flagging. Two major employment generators are also showing signs of a slump, with growth in manufacturing seen slowing to a 15-year low and construction to a six-year low.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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