INDIA
Haryana IAS Ashok Khemka transferred for the 51st time
Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka, was transferred from the post of Principal Secretary of Social Justice and Empowerment Department, in a period of less than three months, on Sunday. Khemka who has been transferred more than 45 times in his career, replied by tweeting 'vested interests win'. Khemka's transfer is coincidentally timed a month after he had directed his former head, Krishan Bedi to return the official vehicle of a Ambala officer. There are also reports that Khemka has inquired into the appointment of helpers and the operations of the drugs de-addiction centres. He has now been appointed as the Principal Secretary of Sports and Youth Affairs Department.
Andhra: Over 26 dead after boat capsizes in Krishna River
At least 26 people were killed and nine are yet to be found after a boat carrying 38 people on-board, overturned in Pavitra Sangamam ghat in river Krishna on Sunday. The boat was said to be overloaded and the driver misjudged the depth of water with fading light which led to the imbalance. The search operations were done by two teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) each of 30 members, with the directions of the district collector, B Lakshmikantham, on Sunday night. The Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu, leader of opposition YS Jaganmohan Reddy and other leaders have expressed grief over the tragedy.
Varanasi tops the list of most polluted cities
Varanasi has topped the list of cities with 'severe' Air Quality Index (AQI) with a score of 491, followed by Gurgaon at 480, Delhi at 468, Lucknow at 462 and Kanpur at 461. Pollution levels are termed as severe when the AQI ranges between 401 and 500, which affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with diseases. The stubble burning by farmers in Punjab and Haryana are speculated to have added to pollution in the Northern belt. The Delhi High Court has issued a list of directions to control pollution in Delhi-NCR, it has banned cutting of trees, ordered sprinkling of water on roads to control dust and strict enforcement of construction code.
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Bhopal Gangrape: Doctors who termed it as 'consensual sex' suspended
The two postgraduate doctors who had examined gang-rape victim and prepared a report stating that ‘sex was consensual’, have been suspended by the government. However, the senior gynecologist, who was supposed to oversee their work, has been served with show-cause notice. The victim was on her way to Habibganj railway station on October 31 to board a train to her home, about 70 km from Bhopal, when she was allegedly raped near the railway tracks by four persons who also looted her phone, watch and earrings. Earlier, when asked about their mistake, Dr. Khushbu, one of the postgraduate doctor said, “No one forced me to do the report, but I did not know how to write the report correctly, and my English is also weak”.
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Gauri Lankesh’s killers will be named within weeks: Karnataka Home Minister
Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Saturday said, the Gauri Lankesh murder case is close to being solved and the names of those involved will be revealed within weeks. According to Reddy, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had definite clues on the suspects in the journalist’s killing and was collecting evidence. Lankesh's murder on September 5 had sparked several protests around the country and was seen by many as another attack that has targeted activists and writers critical of right-wing politics. A day after her murder, the SIT had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for anyone who can help the police catch Lankesh’s killers.
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Delhi Smog Mayhem: AQI remains ‘severe’, several trains canceled, delayed
Air quality levels remain in the ‘severe’ category in Delhi on Sunday, said media reports. As many as 34 Delhi-bound trains were delayed and eight canceled on Sunday morning because of poor visibility. Twenty-one trains were rescheduled as smog continued to envelop parts of North India. The Central Pollution Control Board’s air quality index showed its maximum reading of 500 for Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, 495 for Punjabi Bagh and 493 for ITO area. Readings for all stations were above 460. Readings between 401 and 500 are classified as ‘severe’ air quality. Other North Indian cities also showed 400-plus readings with Agra at 420, Noida at 500, Gurugram at 461 and Rohtak at 459.
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WORLD
More than 130 dead in earthquake at Iraq-Iran border
A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake jolted the Iran- Iraq border on Sunday night, killing more than 130 people. The epicenter was detected to be 32 kms south west of Halabjah city, from the border of Iran, reported the US Geological Survey. Around 60 victim were from the worst-hit town of Sarpol-e Zahab, in Iran. Meanwhile in Iraq, six people were killed, while 50 were injured, informed Kurdish heath officials. Iranian media sources reported that at least 14 provinces were affected by the earthquake. The death toll is expected to rise following telecommunications and electricity being cut in several areas.
ISIS regains control over Syria's urban stronghold city
The Islamic State recaptured Albu Kamal in Eastern Syria on Saturday after a fierce fightback to save the last urban bastion of its collapsing 'caliphate'. The militant rebound came as the United States and Russia issued a surprise joint Presidential statement saying there was 'no military solution' to Syria’s grinding six-year war. Albu Kamal is the last significant Syrian town under ISIS's controls. Losing it would cap the group’s reversion to an underground guerrilla organization with no urban base. From the beginning of the complex war in 2011, the war has killed more than 3,30,000 people, forced millions more to flee, and left much of the country in ruins.
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BUSINESS
Air India gets 1,500 crores as working capital
Debt-ridden Air India on Sunday received a major financial push as it received a loan worth 1,500 crores to meet its working capital needs. Air India had floated a tender on October 18 in order to meet ‘urgent’ working capital needs. Prior to this, the air carrier had obtained a Rs 3,250 crore loan from 2 lenders – Punjab National Bank and Induslnd bank. As part of efforts to revive the ailing carrier, which has a debt burden of more than 50,000 crore rupees, the government is in the process of finalising the contours of its strategic disinvestment.
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China creates record $45 billion sales in ‘single day’
China’s top e-commerce giants have raked up over $45 billion during the annual online shopping fiesta ‘Singles Day’, creating a new record in global retail sales for any single day. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, during its flagship event Double 11 (also called 11.11 sale), surpassed its last year’s ‘Singles Day’ sales of $18 billion, netting about $168 billion yuan ($25.3 billion) on Saturday. At least 331 million packages were handled by Chinese postal and courier companies on Saturday, 31.5% more than the same day last year.
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RBI says no to ‘No-interest’ Islamic banking in India
The Reserve Bank of India has decided not to pursue a proposal to introduce Islamic banking in India, PTI reported on Sunday. Islamic or Sharia banking is a system of finance in which interest is not charged. The proposal to introduce Islamic banking was first made by a committee on financial sector reforms, chaired by former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, in 2008. In February 2016, the group’s report to the finance ministry recommended that banks have an ‘Islamic window’ to gradually introduce Sharia-compliant banking.
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