27th November, 2021 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

National

Bill to repeal three Farm Laws listed for introduction and passing in Lok Sabha

Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021 has been listed for introduction and passing in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the winter session of Parliament scheduled to begin from the 29th of this month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the Government has decided to repeal all three farm laws.
The Bill will repeal the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 and to amend the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

Vladimir Putin to visit India to attend India-Russia Summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in New Delhi on an official visit on 6th of December for the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Briefing media in New Delhi, MEA Spokesman Arindam Bagchi said, the leaders will review the state and prospects of bilateral relations and discuss ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Mr. Bagchi said the last India-Russia annual summit was held in September 2019 during visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Vladivostok in Russia.
He said the annual summit could not take place in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. The Spokesman said, this will be the first face to face meeting between the two leaders after their meeting at the sidelines of BRICS Summit in Brasilia in November 2019.
He said, since then there have been six telephonic conversations between the two leaders apart from the virtual meetings during multilateral summits.
Mr. Bagchi informed that the First India-Russia 22 Dialogue will be held in New Delhi on 6th of next month.
He said, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar will represent the Indian side in the Dialogue and the Russian side will be represented by Foreign Minister Sargei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The Spokesman said, the 22 Dialogue is being held persuing to the agreement reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during their telephonic conversation on 28th of April this year.
He said, the agenda for the dialogue will cover political and defence issues of mutual interest. Also the establishment of the new mechanism of 22 Dialogue is expected to further strengthen strategic partnership between the two countries.

India to resume scheduled International flights from 15th of next month

The Centre has decided to resume scheduled commercial international passenger flights from 15th of December.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the scheduled international commercial passenger services were suspended by India on 23rd of March last year.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that the matter has been reviewed and the competent authority has decided to resume the scheduled commercial international passenger flights to and from India with effect from 15th of next month.
It said the services will remain suspended till 2359 hours of 14th of December.
It further said that the resumption of scheduled international passenger services would imply revision to bilaterally agreed capacity entitlements and termination of air bubble arrangements.
The countries from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in India including post-arrival testing includes UK, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Israel. The decision has been taken in consultation with the Union Health Ministry in light of the COVID situation across the world.
The decision has been taken at a time when a new variant of Coronavirus has been found in countries like Botswana, Hong Kong, and South Africa.

International

WHO designates new strain as 'Variant of Concern'; Names it Omicron

World Health Organization has named the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, which was detected in South Africa, as 'Omicron', saying it may spread more quickly than other forms.
After a closed meeting of independent experts who reviewed the data, the WHO said, preliminary evidence suggests there is an increased risk of re-infection and there had been a detrimental change in COVID-19 epidemiology.
It said, infections in South Africa had risen steeply in recent weeks, coinciding with detection of the variant now designated as omicron.
This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of re-infection with this variant, as compared to other (variants of concern), the WHO added.
The WHO said, this variant has been detected at faster rates than previous surges in infection, suggesting that this variant may have a growth advantage. Current PCR tests continue to successfully detect the variant, it said.
Earlier, the WHO cautioned countries against hastily imposing travel restrictions linked to the variant of COVID, saying they should take a risk-based and scientific approach.

Discovery of new Covid variant triggers global alarm; Nations rush to impose travel restrictions

The discovery of a new coronavirus variant has triggered global alarm as countries rushed to impose travel restrictions on southern Africa.
The B.1.1.529 variant was first detected in South Africa but cases have been confirmed in Botswana, Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong so far.
The World Health Organization has designated the new highly mutated strain of Covid a variant of concern and given it the Greek name 'Omicron.'
A WHO panel classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern, the same category that includes the delta variant.
In response, the US, Canada, UK, Israel, Japan, Kenya, and Singapore joined the European Union and several other countries in instituting travel restrictions on visitors from southern Africa.
US has announced to restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries in the region, beginning Monday.
The 27-nation European Union imposed a temporary ban on air travel from southern Africa.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said flights will have to be suspended until we have a clear understanding of the danger posed by this new variant, and travelers returning from this region should respect strict quarantine rules.
Belgium became the first European Union country to announce a case of the variant.
Israel, one of the world’s most vaccinated countries, has announced that it also detected its first case of the new variant in a traveler who returned from Malawi.
South Africa's Health Minister Joe Phaahla called the travel restrictions unjustified, though he also said preliminary studies suggested the new variant may be more transmissible.

Sports

Indonesia Open Badminton: P. V. Sindhu to face Ratchanok Intanon in semi-final

In the Indonesia Open Badminton Tournament being held in Bali, reigning world champion P. V. Sindhu will face second-seeded Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the Womens' Singles semi-final.
She cruized into semi-finals beating Korea's Sim Yujin 14-21, 21-19, 21-14.
In the Men's Doubles event, Indian pair of Satwik Sairaj and Chirag Shetty will meet the top-seed Indonesian pair of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo later in the day.
The Indian pair moved into semi-finals beating Malaysian duo Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin 21-19, 21-19.

Hockey India names 20-member men’s squad for Asian Champions Trophy

Hockey India named 20-member men’s squad for the Asian Champions Trophy to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist India will begin their campaign on 14th of December against Korea, followed by their match against hosts Bangladesh on 15th of December.
Their third match will be against arch-rivals Pakistan on 17th of December and the very next day, India will take on Malaysia followed by their match against Japan on 19th of December.

Published date : 27 Nov 2021 06:26PM