Today's Event – 3rd January 2022

• 1653 – By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage.

• 1749 – Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.

• 1749 – The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, is published.

• 1777 – American General George Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.

• 1815 – Austria, the United Kingdom, and France form a secret defensive alliance against Prussia and Russia.

• 1833 – Captain James Onslow, in the Clio, reasserts British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

• 1848 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of Liberia.

• 1861 – American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States

• 1911 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake destroys the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan.[

• 1911 – A gun battle in the East End of London leaves two dead. It sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill.

• 1913 – An Atlantic coast storm sets the lowest confirmed barometric pressure reading for a non-tropical system in the continental United States.

• 1920 – Over 640 are killed after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes the Mexican states Puebla and Veracruz.

• 1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first woman elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first woman to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.

• 1946 – Popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf dies in a freak accident during a race; the annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is created to honor him.

• 1947 – Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.

• 1949 – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines, is established.

• 1953 – Frances P. Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.

• 1956 – A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.

• 1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.

• 1958 – The West Indies Federation is formed.

• 1959 – Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.

• 1961 – Cold War: After a series of economic retaliations against one another, the United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba

• 1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.

• 1976 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, comes into force

• 1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated.

• 1990 – United States invasion of Panama: Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to American forces.

• 1992 – CommutAir Flight 4281 crashes on approach to Adirondack Regional Airport, in Saranac Lake, New York, killing two people.

• 1993 – In Moscow, Russia, George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

• 1994 – Baikal Airlines Flight 130 crashes near Mamoney, Irkutsk, Russia, resulting in 125 deaths.

• 1999 – The Mars Polar Lander is launched by NASA.

• 2002 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Israeli forces seize the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons.

• 2004 – Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea, resulting in 148 deaths, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Egyptian history.

• 2009 – The first block of the blockchain of the decentralized payment system Bitcoin, called the Genesis block, is established by the creator of the system, Satoshi Nakamoto.

• 2015 – Boko Haram militants destroy the entire town of Baga in north-east Nigeria, starting the Baga massacre and killing as many as 2,000 people.

• 2016 – In response to the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Iran ends its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.

• 2018 – For the first time in history all five major storm surge gates in the Netherlands are closed simultaneously in the wake of a storm.

• 2019 – Chang'e 4 makes the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, deploying the Yutu-2 lunar rover.

• 2020 – Iranian General Qasem Soleimani is killed by an American airstrike near Baghdad International Airport, igniting global concerns of a potential armed conflict.

National Events- 

•  Vaccination for the 15-18 age group kicked off on Monday as the country continued to fight against surging Covid-19 cases, courtesy the Omicron variant of the virus. According to the Centre, there are around 10 crore children in this age bracket.

•  A second FIR has been lodged against 10 persons in connection with hate speech delivered against Muslims at the Dharma Sansad held in Haridwar, following Singhu Sagar and Yati Narsinghanand Giri, who had been booked on Saturday.

•  The parliamentary panel assigned to examine the landmark bill, piloted by the Women and Child Development Ministry which seeks to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 has only one woman MP out of 31 members.

•  The Centre on Monday urged the Supreme Court to take up petitions challenging the criteria for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota in the NEET-PG (all-India quota) admissions, saying there was a “genuine urgency” in the matter.

• Ahead of the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Meerut, and used the foundation stone laying ceremony of a sports university to attack the Opposition. Addressing the rally, Modi said that the previous governments had allowed criminals to play games, while the Yogi Adityanath government left no stone unturned to jail them.

International Events- 

•  Brandon Silverman’s last day at Facebook was Oct. 8, and like many others who have sold their companies to a Silicon Valley giant, had their shares vest and departed, he planned to take a year off to spend time with his children and figure out what to do next

•  A person who crossed the border into North Korea on New Year’s Day was likely a defector who had slipped through the same heavily fortified frontier in the other direction to settle in South Korea in late 2020, South Korea’s military said Monday.

•  Citizen News, a Hong Kong online news site said on Sunday that it will cease operations in light of deteriorating press freedoms days after police raided and arrested seven people for sedition at a separate pro-democracy news outlet.

•  Over 20 per cent of the New York Police Department officers had called in sick on Thursday last week, the highest since April 2020, according to reports. A day later, the city recorded 85,000 Covid-19 fresh cases, its highest since the pandemic began.

• The announcement was presented — in official news reports, on social media — as a major victory for Chinese women. The government was set to overhaul its law governing women’s rights for the first time in decades, to refine the definition of sexual harassment, affirm prohibitions on workplace discrimination and ban forms of emotional abuse.

Job alerts-

• MIDHANI Jobs for Management Trainee, Manager and other posts. Last date 15 January 2022

• Tamil Nadu Warehousing Corporation Jobs for Record Clerk/ Attender, Office Assistant and other posts. Last date 20 January 2022

• Delhi University Jobs for Assistant, Attendant and other posts. Last date 24 January 2022

• Gujarat University of Transplantation Sciences Jobs for Nursing Principal, Professor and other posts. Last date 15 January 2022

• Institute for Plasma Research Jobs for Project Scientific Assistant and other posts. Last date 17 January 2022

Sports-

• Robert Bautista Agut clinched the match for Spain by beating Casper Ruud of Norway 6-4, 7-6 (4) after Pablo Carreno Busta defeated Viktor Durasovic 6-3, 6-3. 

•  Captain Mominul Haque scored 88 to lead Bangladesh to a 73-run, first-innings lead over New Zealand in the first cricket Test on Monday, in one of its best-ever performances away from home.

•  On Christmas eve, Harbhajan Singh announced his retirement from all forms of competitive cricket. Even though the Turbanator, as he is popularly called, donned the Indian jersey for the last time in 2016, he was active in the Indian Premier League and was a regular voice in the commentary panel.

•  Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, who captained his national team in every format of the game, has announced his retirement from international cricket.

• Several members of the Bengal Ranji squad have tested positive for Covid and are currently isolating, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has informed.

Technology-

•  OnePlus 9RT smartphone and OnePlus Buds Z2 true wireless stereo (TWS) earphones will be launching in India soon. The company confirmed the India arrival of the two devices via two separate tweets that were encrypted with Morse code. OnePlus 9RT, which could be called OnePlus RT in India, made its debut in China last year. OnePlus Buds Z2 have also been launched in China as well as other global markets. Meanwhile, the rumour mill suggests that OnePlus may discontinue OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9R, as well as OnePlus 8T smartphones after OnePlus 9RT hits the market.

•  Portronics Kronos Y1 smartwatch was launched in India on Monday. The smartwatch features Bluetooth calling capabilities and sports a 1.75-inch HD display. Being a smartwatch, Portronics Kronos Y1 also features a bunch of health monitoring features such as blood pressure monitoring, heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen saturation, and multiple sports modes. Portronics Kronos Y1 smartwatch has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. The smartwatch also features more than 200 watch faces and has a battery life of up to 7 days.

•  Apple is tipped to launch a number of new devices this year, including new a Mac Pro, iMac Pro, and Mac mini model. The Cupertino company is also expected to launch a redesigned MacBook Air and an entry-level MacBook Pro, according to a new report. The company is tipped to launch an iPad Pro model with wireless charging, along with a new external monitor. Customers could also see a 5G-capable iPhone SE successor in the first half of 2022, followed by the company's iPhone 14 smartphones later this year. The company is also tipped to launch three new Apple Watch models and its first VR headset later this year.

•  Moto G71 India launch could happen very soon. The date is yet to be officially confirmed by the Lenovo-owned brand, but a fresh leak suggests the latest Moto G-series phone is set to launch later this month. In November last year, the Motorola handset has made its global debut along with Moto G200, Moto G51, Moto G41, and Moto G31 phones. Out of these, Moto G51 and Moto G31 smartphones have been unveiled in India so far. Moto G71 is powered by Snapdragon 695 SoC. Other highlights of the handset include triple rear cameras, 128GB storage, and a 5,000mAh battery.

• Dehli Police has sought information from Twitter about the account that first tweeted about the 'Bulli Bai' app and has asked it to remove offensive content related to the controversy, sources informed on Monday.

Economy – 

• India’s Future Retail has asked a New Delhi court to declare ongoing arbitration proceedings with Amazon.com illegal, saying the country’s antitrust agency had suspended a 2019 deal which Amazon used to assert its rights over Future. 

•  Avenue Supermarts Ltd, which owns and operates retail chain D-Mart, has reported a 21.96 per cent increase in its standalone revenue from operations at Rs 9,065.02 crore for the third quarter ended on December 31, 2021.

•  Shares of Tata Motors on Monday gained nearly 4 per cent after the company reported a 50 per cent jump in total passenger vehicle sales in December 2021.

•  India’s manufacturing sector activities moderated in December but output remained in the growth territory, amid slower rise in sales and new orders, even as business sentiment was dampened by concerns surrounding supply-chain disruptions, COVID-19 and inflationary pressures, a monthly survey said on Monday.

• The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 339.99 points to 58,593.81 in early trade on first trading day of 2022 while the Nifty 50 rose 108.90 points to 17,462.95.

Local –

• Vaccination for children in the age group of 15-18 kicked off at 159 government hospitals, schools, and primary healthcare centres in New Delhi on Monday. 

•  In mid-December, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) registered six cases in Mumbai pertaining to narcotics like amphetamine, opium and prescription drugs like Zolpidem tablets being sent to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Maldives, USA, Dubai and Switzerland through courier. The contraband was hidden in various articles like stethoscope packets, cycling helmets and bangle consignments.

•  Kolkata’s test-positivity rate shot up to 23.42 per cent on Sunday as the city recorded 3,194 new Covid-19 cases — the highest in West Bengal and one of the highest in the country. According to a bulletin issued by the health department, the state reported 6,153 new cases in the last 24 hours – a six-fold jump in the last five days. On Wednesday, the state had reported 1,089 new cases. The number had jumped to 3,451 on Friday and 4,512 on Saturday.

•  Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday inaugurated the Covid-19 vaccination camp for beneficiaries aged between 15-18 at a government high school near Saidapet in Chennai. The state health department in coordination with the school education department has made arrangements to administer the vaccines to students at their school premises itself.

• Karnataka has reported 10 new cases of Omicron, taking the tally to 76, said Health Minister K Sudhakar on Monday. Out of these 10 new cases, eight are from Bengaluru and two from Dharwad. Five have international travel history to the United States, Belgium and Dubai. All are asymptomatic and have been isolated.

GK – 

KSLV-II Nuri rocket, is the first domestically produced space launch vehicle of which country?

[A] South Korea
[B] Israel
[C] UAE
[D] Bangladesh

Which country launched the ‘Better Health Smoke-Free’ campaign?

[A] Australia
[B] UK
[C] India
[D] France

‘Financial Stability Report (FSR)’ is the flagship report released by which institution?

[A] NITI Aayog
[B] Reserve Bank of India
[C] World Bank
[D] Asian Development Bank

Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah is the Prime Minister of which country?

[A] Bahrain
[B] Kuwait
[C] Oman
[D] Saudi Arabia

Which country is the new member of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB)?

[A] Italy
[B] Egypt
[C] Israel
[D] Bangladesh