Police use water cannon to disperse the BPSC aspirants protesting over the demand for a re-exam to be held for the 70th BPSC prelims, at JP Golamber in Patna. | Photo Credit: ANI
Jimmy Carter, 39th U.S. President, dies at 100
Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old.
179 killed in South Korean plane crash; black boxes of the flight retrieved
A passenger plane skidded off a runway at a South Korean airport Sunday (December 29, 2024), slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames after its front landing gear failed to deploy. All but two of the 181 people on board died in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters. The Jeju Air plane crashed while landing in the town of Muan, about 290 kilometres (180 miles) south of Seoul. The Transport Ministry said the plane was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet that had arrived from Bangkok and that the crash happened at 9:03 a.m.
PM Modi announces a series of events in 75th year of Indian Constitution
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his customary radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ in New Delhi on Sunday (December 29, 2024) said his government had commenced year-long activities to celebrate the completion of 75 years of the country’s Constitution. He said it was a matter of great honour for the people of the country.
ISRO to sign off 2024 with space docking experiment mission on December 30
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its final mission for 2024 on December 30 with the PSLV C60/SPADEX Mission. The launch is scheduled at 9.58 p.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The space agency, for the first time, will be attempting the Space Docking Experiment (SPADEX) mission which will demonstrate in-space docking using two small spacecraft.
Police disperse protesting BPSC aspirants in Patna with lathicharge, water cannons
The Bihar Police lathicharged protesters seeking cancellation of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination (CCE). Police also used water cannons to disperse protesting candidates at the J.P. roundabout near the Hotel Maurya in Patna. The 70th BPSC CCE was held on December 13 at 912 centres across the State, with 3.28 lakh candidates appearing for it. On the day of the examination, rumours spread of a question paper leak at the Bapu Exam Centre, one of the exam centres in the State capital, with candidates protesting after the exam was held.
6.21 lakh applications for 1.27 lakh opportunities under PM internship scheme
The Union Corporate Affairs Ministry said in a release on Sunday (December 29, 2024) that the pilot scheme of the Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme received approximately 6.21 lakh applications against 1.27 lakh opportunities. “The selection process for internship is ongoing,” the Ministry said.
AAP, BJP accuse each other of manipulating Delhi’s voter lists
Both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday accused each other of manipulating the Delhi electoral roll in an attempt to win the State’s Assembly election due to be held in February. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of trying to manipulate the voter list in the New Delhi Assembly constituency to win the election by “unfair” means. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh claimed that the BJP was even trying to get his wife’s name deleted from the list.
U.S.-India ties will be strengthened, but expect tariff trouble, FTA push: Former Ambassador Juster
India should expect raised tariffs, and a renewed push to get a Free Trade Agreement finalised from the United States as Donald Trump gets set to begin a second term in office, said former Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster. In an exclusive interview to The Hindu via videoconferencing from New York, Mr. Juster, a former U.S. department of Commerce official who was appointed by Mr. Trump to India in the first term (2017-2021) said that the first tenure and Mr. Trump’s campaign pronouncements were indicators that the second term would see a further strengthening of India-U.S. ties, but certain irritants in ties, such as over high tariffs, market access in areas like “agricultural exports from United States to India and the IT (information technology) equipment sector and medical devices”, and differences over Iran policy could also return.
North Korea’s Kim vows toughest anti-U.S. policy before Trump takes office
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he will implement the “toughest” anti-U.S. policy, less than a month before Donald Trump takes office as U.S. president, the country’s state media reported Sunday (December 29, 2024). Trump’s return to the White House raises prospects for high-profile diplomacy with North Korea. During his first term, Mr. Trump met Mr. Kim three times for talks on the North’s nuclear programme.
Taliban leader bans windows overlooking women’s areas
The Taliban’s supreme leader has issued an order banning the construction of windows in residential buildings that overlook areas used by Afghan women and saying that existing ones should be blocked. According to a statement released late Saturday (December 29, 2024) by the Taliban government spokesman, new buildings should not have windows through which it is possible to see “the courtyard, kitchen, neighbour’s well and other places usually used by women”.
Interview | I will be smarter and go for the top-50, says Sumit Nagal
Sumit Nagal had a mixed 2024. At the Australian Open, he came through the qualifiers and stunned the then World No. 27 Alexander Bublik in the first round, and in February, he broke into the ATP top-100 for the first time. In April on the Monte Carlo clay, he started in the qualifying rounds and nearly entered the round of 16 before losing narrowly to Holger Rune (No.7) in three sets. Propelled by a trophy and a runner-up finish in consecutive Challengers in June — again on his beloved red dirt — he got to a career-best ranking of No. 68 in mid-July.
Published – December 30, 2024 07:00 am IST