Today's Event – 12th January 2022

• 1616 – The city of Belém, Brazil is founded on the Amazon River delta, by Portuguese captain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco.

• 1792 – Federalist Thomas Pinckney appointed first U.S. minister to Britain

• 1808 – John Rennie's scheme to defend St Mary's Church, Reculver, founded in 669, from coastal erosion is abandoned in favour of demolition, despite the church being an exemplar of Anglo-Saxon architecture and sculpture.

• 1808 – The organizational meeting leading to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.

• 1848 – The Palermo rising takes place in Sicily against the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

• 1866 – The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London.

• 1872 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years. 

• 1895 – The National Trust is founded in the United Kingdom

• 1911 – The University of the Philippines College of Law is formally established; three future Philippine presidents are among the first enrollees.

• 1915 – The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to require states to give women the right to vote.

• 1916 – Both Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann, for achieving eight aerial victories each over Allied aircraft, receive the German Empire's highest military award, the Pour le Mérite as the first German aviators to earn it.

• 1918 – The Minnie Pit Disaster coal mining accident occurs in Halmer End, Staffordshire, in which 155 men and boys die

• 1932 – Hattie Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate 

• 1964 – Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt known as the Zanzibar Revolution and proclaim a republic.

• 1966 – Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.

• 1967 – Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation.

• 1969 – The New York Jets of the American Football League defeat the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League to win Super Bowl III in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

• 1970 – Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian Civil War.

• 1971 – The Harrisburg Seven: Rev. Philip Berrigan and five other activists are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C.

• 1976 – The United Nations Security Council votes 11–1 to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights).

• 1976 – The United Nations Security Council votes 11–1 to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights).

• 1986 – Space Shuttle program: Congressman Bill Nelson lifts off from Kennedy Space Center aboard Columbia on mission STS-61-C as a payload specialist.

• 1990 – A seven-day pogrom breaks out against the Armenian civilian population of Baku, Azerbaijan, during which Armenians were beaten, tortured, murdered, and expelled from the city.

• 1991 – Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of American military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.

• 1997 – Space Shuttle program: Atlantis launches from the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-81 to the Russian space station Mir, carrying astronaut Jerry M. Linenger for a four-month stay on board the station, replacing astronaut John E. Blaha

• 1998 – Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning.

• 2001 – Downtown Disney opens to the public as part of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.

• 2004 – The world's largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, makes its maiden voyage.

• 2005 – Deep Impact launches from Cape Canaveral on a Delta II rocket.

• 2006 – A stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims.

• 2007 – Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught),one of the brightest comets ever observed is at its zenith visible during the day.

• 2010 – An earthquake in Haiti occurs, killing between 220,000 and 300,000 people and destroying much of the capital Port-au-Prince.

• 2012 – Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu's economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers.

• 2015 – Government raids kill 143 Boko Haram fighters in Kolofata, Cameroon.

• 2016 – Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

• 2020 – Taal Volcano in the Philippines erupts, and kills 39 people.

National Events-

• Praising Tamil language and Tamil Nadu’s contribution in producing some of the world’s top engineers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated 11 new medical colleges and a Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) in the state and said that there has been an 80-per cent increase in the number of MBBS and medical PG seats in India since 2014.

• The official Twitter account of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) was hacked for a brief time and was restored later.

• The Centre Wednesday said that while hospitalisation rate may be low at the current levels of the Omicron surge, the Covid-19 cases are spreading at a large scale, and flagged that in just one week, 300 districts have reported more than 5 per cent positivity rate, compared to just 78 districts in the previous week.

• Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday alleged that the Congress high command and his Punjab counterpart had “conspired to assassinate the prime minister through the security breach” on January 5 while Narendra Modi was visiting the northern state.

• The Indian Army will continue to deal with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in a “firm and resolute manner” in eastern Ladakh and it has been maintaining the highest level of operational preparedness in the region, army Chief General MM Naravane said on Wednesday.

International Events-

• Scientific data shows a lower risk of severe disease from Omicron compared to the Delta variant, but the sheer number of infections means that France’s healthcare system is once again under strain, like elsewhere in Europe.

• Kazakh authorities said Wednesday they detained 1,678 more people in the past 24 hours over their alleged participation in the violent unrest that rocked the former Soviet nation last week, the worst since Kazakhstan gained independence three decades ago.

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized Wednesday for attending a garden party during Britain’s coronavirus lockdown in 2020, saying there are things his government “did not get right.”

• The US Mint has started rolling out quarters which feature late American author and activist Maya Angelou, the first Black woman to appear on the coin. The coin is part of the American Women Quarters program, which also includes Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American Hollywood film star, the United States Mint said on Monday.

• Omicron is quickly overtaking the Delta variant of COVID-19 and becoming dominant around the world, a senior WHO official has warned, with the global health agency cautioning that there is “increasing evidence” Omicron is able to evade immunity but has less disease severity as compared to other variants.

Job alerts-

• Central Ground Water Board Jobs for Driver and other posts. Last date 31 January 2022

•  Bilaspur District Court Jobs for Stenographer, Assistant and other posts. Last date 14 February 2022

• Bharat Electronics Limited Jobs for Trainee Engineer, Project Engineer and other posts. Last date 27 January 2022

•  Balod District Court Jobs for Stenographer, Steno-Typist, Assistant and other posts. Last date 07 February 2022

• North Eastern Railway Jobs for Gateman and other posts. Last date 20 January 2022

Sports-

• The African Cup of Nations match between Tunisia vs Mali descended into chaos when referees were escorted off of the pitch after the official appeared to blow for full-time after only 83 minutes and 43 seconds, drawing a furious reaction from the Tunisian bench.

• Young shuttler Tasnim Mir on Wednesday became the first Indian to grab the world no 1 ranking in the under-19 girls singles in the latest BWF junior rankings.

• Recent Ashes hero and Australian batsman Usman Khawaja on Wednesday shared a video of singer-songwriter Paul Kelly’s song which pays a glowing tribute to the double centurion.

• Odisha FC’s first-choice goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh tested positive for COVID-19 moments before the team’s match against Kerala Blasters on Wednesday in a another setback to the Indian Super League’s bio-secure bubble here.

• Australia’s top-rating television network said on Wednesday it was investigating a leaked video of two news anchors privately attacking tennis star Novak Djokovic and accusing him of lying about his COVID-19 status and visa application.

Technology-

• Decentralised Finance (DeFi) sector is still reliant on centralised networks, breaching which has become easier for cybercriminals over the years. In 2021, the centralised elements of the DeFi protocol were breached by cyber criminals, costing over $1.3 billion (roughly Rs. 9,606 crore) in losses, as per a report. DeFi allows financial products to appear on a public blockchain network which is not regulated by a central bank or intermediary.

• Hong Kong's de facto central bank invited comment on Wednesday about ways to regulate crypto assets and stablecoins, with the aim of adopting a regulatory framework by 2024 in which the policy spectrum could range from no action to a blanket ban.

• Coinbase, a major crypto exchange in the US, has stated that it will provide its employees one week off each quarter in 2022 to recuperate and recharge after "long days and long weeks" of intensive work. Coinbase's Chief People Officer L.J. Brock wrote in a company blog post that "nearly the entire company will shut down" for four weeks this year to allow for workers to recover after working heavy workloads. Brock further added that Coinbase employees are not necessarily limited to 40-hour work weeks.

• Soundcore by Anker on Wednesday launched the Life Note 3 true wireless stereo (TWS) earphones in India. They come with active noise cancellation (ANC),a Gaming Mode, and Bass Up Technology. The brand claims that these earphones can deliver a total of up to 35 hours of playback on a single charge. The earphones come with a find feature that allows users find their earbuds in case they are misplaced. Soundcore Life Note 3 earphones are IPX5 rated for water resistance.

• After a brief hiatus, iPhone supplier Foxconn on Wednesday reopened its manufacturing facility near here as the company decided to resume operations, government sources said. The factory, located on the city outskirts of Chennai in Tamil Nadu was opened after remaining shut for over three weeks following workers' protests on the back of a mass-food poisoning incident at the offsite dormitory facility.

Economy –

• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Wednesday reported a 12.2 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 9,769 crore for the December 2021 quarter, and announced an Rs 18,000-crore buyback offer for its shareholders at Rs 4,500 per scrip.

• The country’s retail inflation, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI),rose to a five-month high 5.59 per cent in the month of December. Separately, India’s factory output, measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP),witnessed a growth of 1.4 per cent in November, two separate data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed on Wednesday.

• A day after Vodafone Idea Ltd opted to convert interest on dues to government equity, its CEO on Wednesday said the government had made its position amply clear that it does not want to run the telco, and added that existing promoters are fully committed to managing and running the company’s operations. VIL Managing Director and CEO Ravinder Takkar told reporters in a virtual briefing that there is no condition in the Telecom Department’s letter on equity conversion option, which allows for board seats for the government. The existing promoters are fully committed to managing and running the company’s operations, he asserted.

• Higher telecommunications charges, along with a comparatively low base one year ago, likely drove Indian retail inflation to a six-month high in December, a Reuters poll found, keeping alive expectations for an interest rate rise by mid-year. The Jan. 4-7 survey of 41 economists showed Indian retail inflation rose to 5.80% last month from 4.91% in November, spending more than two years above the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term target of 4.0%. If realised, it would be the highest since June 2021. Estimates ranged between 4.70% and 6.30%, including seven respondents who predicted it would be above the RBI’s upper tolerance limit of 6.0%. The report is due to be released on Wednesday at 1200 GMT.

• The S&P BSE Sensex rose 533.15 points (0.88 per cent) to end at 61,150.04 while the Nifty 50 climbed 156.60 points (0.87 per cent) to settle at 18,212.35. The Nifty ended above the 18,200 level mark for the first time since October 27, 2021.

Local –

• Delhi reported 40 deaths due to Covid-19 on Wednesday, pushing January’s toll to over 100. The cases of Covid-19 in Delhi shot up to 27,561 on Wednesday, inching closer to the peak of 28,395 cases during the delta variant-driven wave of infections in April-May last year. This comes after a slight fall in cases over the last two days, when, to be sure, fewer tests were conducted.

• The downward spiral of Covid cases continued for the fourth day running in Mumbai with the city registering 11,647 cases on Tuesday. This corresponds with a dip in the daily positivity rates which fell from 23 per cent on Monday to 18.7 per cent on Tuesday.

• West Bengal’s tally of active cases crossed the 1-lakh mark after the state logged 21,098 fresh infections on Tuesday, even as its positivity rate declined marginally to reach 32.35 per cent.

• The Indian Institute of Technology – Madras (IIT-M) on Wednesday said that 40 boarders, including students and faculty members, have tested positive for Covid-19 between January 9 and 11.

• Karnataka on Tuesday registered 14,473 new Covid-19 cases and five deaths. The positivity rate is now at 10.30 per cent. The state has 73,260 active cases.

GK –

India’s first Mobile Honey Processing Van was launched in which state?

[A] Uttar Pradesh
[B] Gujarat
[C] Karnataka
[D] Kerala

‘Ecowrap’ is the flagship report released by which institution?

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

What is the maximum limit of Aadhaar-enabled cash withdrawal transactions, per customer, per terminal per day, as per NPCI?

[A] Two
[B] Three
[C] Five
[D] Seven

The New Jan Shatabdi Express inaugurated between Agartala and Jiribam connects Tripura with which state?

[A] Kolkata
[B] Manipur
[C] Sikkim
[D] Assam

Wolf Volcano, which was seen in the news, is the highest peak in which island group?

[A] Hawaiian Islands
[B] Galápagos Islands
[C] Mariana Islands
[D] Caroline Islands