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- A day after Tamil Nadu promulgated an ordinance to conduct jallikattu, a bull-tamer and a spectator were gored to death by bulls and 129 spectators injured at an event in Raapusal village in Pudukottai district. Protests have been continuing en masse in Tamil Nadu, demanding for a legislation rather than a mere ordinance.
- The Ministry of Power has recommended that renewable energy should be given a zero-rate tax status under the Goods and Services Tax, according to a presentation made by it to the GST Council, predicting several adverse effects to the economy if there is any increase in power tariffs due to the new tax regime.
- As many as 39 passengers lost their lives and over 50 were injured when the engine and nine coaches of the Hirakhand Express, bound for Bhubaneswar from Jagdalpur, derailed near the Kuneru railway station in Vizianagaram district.
- Renowned Urdu poet and lyricist Jaswant Rai Sharma, known to the world by his pen name Naqsh Lyallpuri has passed away at the age of 89. Born in Lylallpur in the part of Punjab now in Pakistan, the poet came to Mumbai in the late 1940s to make a career in Hindi cinema.
- Saina Nehwal notched up her first title after a career-threatening injury by claiming the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold. This was her 23rd title overall and the first after last year’s Australian Open, and since her recovery from a knee surgery.
- Sourav Ganguly, Pankaj Roy, Jagmohan Dalmiya and Biswanath Dutt were immortalised, with four stands at the Eden Gardens Stadium being named after them.
- World No. 1s Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber both crashed out of the Australian Open, while Roger Federer has defeated Kei Nishikori to qualify to the quarter-final.
- West African troops entered The Gambia to secure President Adama Barrow’s arrival from neighbouring Senegal. Following Mr. Barrow’s win in the December 1 election, Mr. Yahya Jammeh, his predecessor, had refused to step down, triggering weeks of uncertainty that almost ended in a full military intervention.
- Mauritius Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth announced that he would be stepping down to make way for his son Pravind. In 2014, Mr. Jugnauth was elected to his sixth term as Prime Minister, 22 years after first being voted in. He also served as President from 2003 to 2012. Mauritius is a multi-ethnic archipelago nation of 1.2 million people off the east coast of Africa. It is the only Hindu-majority country in Africa. It was colonised by the Dutch in the 17th century, then the French and finally Britain before gaining independence in 1968.
- A team of Ugandan engineers has invented a “smart jacket” that diagnoses pneumonia faster than a doctor, offering hope against a disease which kills more children worldwide than any other.
Today’s Quiz
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thank you 🙂