TODAY’S TOP NEWS
National
1. Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the world’s second-largest refurbished state-of-the-art National Gene Bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Pusa, New Delhi.
2. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu visited Karnataka, Addressed scientists & students at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) at Bengaluru. . “Purpose of science is to make people’s lives happy, healthy and comfortable”, he reiterated.
3. Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat & Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur yesterday (16 Aug) jointly launched the 2nd Season of the popular series ‘Rag Rag Mein Ganga’. The first episode will be broadcast on 21st of August on Doordarshan.
4. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to visit Assam on 17 Aug, north-eastern states, review COVID cases. In Kerala, the Minister announced a package of ₹267.35 crores.
5. The Supreme Court on Monday sought to know if the Union Government wanted to file an additional affidavit clarifying if Pegasus spyware was used to snoop on politicians, journalists and activists even as it said it can’t compel the Centre to file such an affidavit.
6. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Navjot Singh Sidhu has appointed Jalandhar Cantt MLA and his close confidant Pargat Singh as PPCC general secretary (Organisation)
7. Two more bodies were recovered on 16 Aug (Monday) from the site of the landslide in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, taking the death toll to 25.
8. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on 15 Aug (Sunday) congratulated all teachers, administration staff, & students of Calcutta University after it secured 2nd rankings in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).
9. Former President of All India Mahila Congress Sushmita Dev has joined Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.
10. Several educational institutions in UP starts physical classes amid weakening COVID-19 infection.
11. Meghalaya Govt extends ongoing curfew in Shillong Agglomeration of East Khasi Hills district for another 24 hrs. The curfew will conclude at 5.00 a.m. on 18th of August and the internet suspension will continue for the next few days.
12. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has launched a scathing attack on the Govt of India over the hesitancy to hold deliberations with the Taliban.
13. Uttarakhand’s Pawandeep Rajan wins ‘Indian Idol’ 12: Rajan, who hails from Champawat, was announced the winner of the show on Sunday night following a 12-hour musical extravaganza billed as ‘The Greatest Finale Ever’ on Sony TV. He Wants to Open a Music School with Rs 25 Lakh Prize Money.
14. DHRUV MK-III indigenous Coast Guard program, 3 Advanced Light helicopters (ALHs) manufactured by HAL were inducted into the stables of the Indian Coast Guard by Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar on 16 Aug (Monday).
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. The Afghanistan airspace has been closed for commercial flights, Air India’s nonstops en route from the US to India are being diverted so that they do not enter the Afghan airspace.
2. Flights will divert to Doha or UAE and after refuelling fly to Delhi. Due to airspace closure, Air India had to cancel its Delhi-Kabul-Delhi flight. Vistara says it has stopped overflying Afghan airspace on its Delhi-London flights.
3. India has sent a C17 military aircraft to Kabul to evacuate Indian citizens after the Taliban seized control
4. Indian Govt says, it will take all steps to ensure safety & security of its nationals and interests in Afghanistan.
5. PM Modi has thanked President of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina for his greetings on the occasion of India’s Independence Day.
6. An armed contingent of paramilitary force Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is “actively” securing the diplomatic staff of the Indian embassy in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul and will be there “till required.
7. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is on a four-day visit to the US from 16 Aug (Monday) to attend a number of UN Security Council events including a briefing on terrorism.
MORE WORLD NEWS
1. Taliban have taken over the capital Kabul and claimed victory in Afghanistan. They claimed that the government has collapsed and President Ashraf Ghani has fled.
2. The US and other countries are rushing to evacuate staff and allies from Taliban . The militants’ return to rule brings an end to almost 20 years of a US-led coalition’s presence in the country
3. The Afghanistan airspace has been closed for commercial flights, including overflying, & US nonstops are being rerouted.
4. US President Joe Biden warned the Taliban not to disrupt or threaten the evacuation of thousands of American diplomats and Afghan translators at the Kabul airport.
5. Chaos at Kabul airport as hundreds try to leave; viral videos show people falling to their death from US aircraft.
6. China says, it hopes the Taliban will stand by its commitment of establishing an “open and inclusive” Islamic government in Afghanistan. and will ensure a peaceful transition of power without violence and terrorism.
7. United Nations Security Council will meet to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. This will be the second meeting on Afghanistan under India’s presidency at the council.
8. Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the founders of the Taliban movement, has emerged as the forerunner, among the list of leaders likely to take charge as next Afghanistan President
9. Malaysia’s PM Muhyiddin Yassin resigns as the political crisis escalates.
10. The govt of Bangladesh, Chinese vaccine maker Sinopharm and Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd signed an MoU in Dhaka on 16 Aug for the co-production of the Sinopharm COVID 19 vaccine in the country.
11. At least 304 people died & hundreds were injured after a major earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on 14 Aug.
12. Nepal calls for evacuation of at least 1,500 Nepalis in Afghanistan.
SPORTS
India vs England
2nd Test Day 5 : India beat England by 151 runs to take 1-0 series lead.
Chasing 272, England were bowled out for 120 in 51.5 overs with skipper Joe Root top-scoring with 33.
2. In Archery, Komalika Bari became the new under-21 recurve world champion at the Youth World Championships in Wroclaw, Poland on 15 Aug.
3. ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 schedule to be announced on August 17. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021is scheduled to take place in UAE and Oman, with BCCI as the host from October 17 to November 14.
4. PM Modi hosted Indian athletes, who participated and won at the Tokyo Olympics, at his residence in New Delhi on 16 Aug {Monday}.
(source: various newspapers)