GS-II

Xi opens world’s longest sea bridge

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday inaugurated a 55-km bridge that will deepen the integration of Hong Kong and Macao with the rest of China. The world’s longest sea-crossing bridge will be at the heart of an integrated Greater Bay Area (GBA) covering 11 major neighbouring cities, which include Hong …

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Trump targets migrant caravan

A caravan of more than 7,000 people, making its way through Central America, is being attacked by U.S. President Donald Trump as he seeks to rally people to vote for Republican candidates in the November 6 midterm elections to the U.S. Congress. The caravan, which began with over a 100 …

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Norms for full-body scanner at airports likely next month

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is likely to release the technical norms for operating full-body scanners to screen passengers at airports next month, according to a senior government official. “A committee comprising representatives of the Intelligence Bureau, the National Investigating Agency and the Cabinet Secretariat will be finalising …

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SC moves to make festivals less noisy

The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck a balance between the interests of the firecracker industry and the right to public health, allowing the manufacture and sale of only “green” and reduced-emission or “improved” crackers, while banning those that are loud and toxic to man, animal and the environment. A Bench …

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India, Pak. commit to Kartarpur corridor

India, Pak. commit to Kartarpur corridor

A Cabinet meeting in Delhi proposed building a passage for the pilgrims accessible “365 days and 24 hours”, sources told The Hindu . Hours later, the Cabinet decision was conveyed by Ministry of External Affairs in a letter to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. “The government of India urges …

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China’s first private university inaugurated

first private university

China’s first private research university has been officially inaugurated in Zhejiang Province’s Hangzhou city, official media reported on Monday. Five Nobel laureates attended the founding ceremony of Westlake University in Hangzhou on Saturday. Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/chinas-first-private-university-inaugurated/article25291881.ece

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An African island’s troubled waters

troubled waters

A rounded, rocky outcrop covered with metallic shacks, Migingo Island rises out of the waters of Lake Victoria like an iron-plated turtle. The densely populated island is barely a quarter of a hectare large. There’s little else but a few bars, brothels and a tiny port. Nevertheless, for over a …

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Supreme Court to list review petitions today

Supreme Court to list review petitions today

The Bench had said “treating women as the children of a lesser God is to blink at the Constitution.” It was a “form of untouchability” abolished decades ago. The ban on women was derogatory to equal citizenship. The right to practise religion should yield to the right of dignity of …

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‘Why are regulators soft with scribes?’

Why are regulators soft with scribes

“This is like a velvet fist inside a velvet glove. It is of no use… If there is criminal liability involved, there should be prosecution launched under a penal statute,” Justice Lokur said categorically. Though the oral observations from the Bench came during the hearing of a petition filed by …

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Lower judiciary vacancies unacceptable: SC

Lower judiciary vacancies

The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of over 5,000 vacancies in the lower judiciary across the country, saying the situation is “wholly unacceptable”. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi found that even the official statistics provided by various High Courts on the recruitment …

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SC to list review petitions today

SC to list review petitions today

The Supreme Court decided to consider on Tuesday when it will hear multiple review petitions filed against its September 28 majority judgment allowing women of all ages entry into the famed Sabarimala temple in Kerala. Responding to an oral mentioning to urgently list the petitions, Chief Justice of India Ranjan …

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Modi steps in as CBI begins to probe its own leadership

Modi steps in as CBI begins to probe its own leadership

As the Central Bureau of Investigation’s second-in-command Rakesh Asthana was embroiled in a bribery case, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval swung into damage control, asking CBI Director Alok Verma to ensure the government’s image was not tarnished. Mr. Verma briefed the Prime Minister on Sunday …

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Da Vinci’s genius may be due to eye disorder: study

Da Vinci

Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci may have had an eye condition that gave him the unusual ability to recreate three-dimensional shapes in his sculptures and paintings, a study has found. A person with the condition strabismus have eyes that appear to be pointing in different directions, with only one eye …

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