Today's Event – 23rd October 2021

• 1248 – Conquest of Seville by Christian troops under King Ferdinand III of Castile.

• 1499 – Pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck is hanged for reportedly attempting to escape from the Tower of London. He had invaded England in 1497, claiming to be the lost son of King Edward IV of England.

• 1531 – The Second War of Kappel results in the dissolution of the Protestant alliance in Switzerland.

• 1644 – John Milton publishes Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship.

• 1733 – The start of the 1733 slave insurrection on St. John in what was then the Danish West Indies.

• 1808 – French and Poles defeat the Spanish at Battle of Tudela.

• 1867 – The Manchester Martyrs are hanged in Manchester, England, for killing a police officer while freeing two Irish Republican Brotherhood members from custody.

• 1876 – Corrupt Tammany Hall leader William Magear Tweed (better known as Boss Tweed) is delivered to authorities in New York City after being captured in Spain.

• 1890 – King William III of the Netherlands dies without a male heir and a special law is passed to allow his daughter Princess Wilhelmina to succeed him.

• 1910 – Johan Alfred Ander becomes the last person to be executed in Sweden.

• 1914 – Mexican Revolution: The last of U.S. forces withdraw from Veracruz, occupied seven months earlier in response to the Tampico Affair.

• 1924 – Edwin Hubble's discovery, that the Andromeda "nebula" is actually another island galaxy far outside our own Milky Way, is first published in The New York Times.

• 1946 – French naval bombardment of Hai Phong, Vietnam, kills thousands of civilians.

• 1955 – The Cocos Islands are transferred from the control of the United Kingdom to that of Australia

• 1959 – French President Charles de Gaulle declares in a speech in Strasbourg his vision for "Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals".

• 1963 – The BBC broadcasts An Unearthly Child (starring William Hartnell),the first episode of the first story from the first series of Doctor Who, which is now the world's longest running science fiction drama.[8]

• 1971 – Representatives of the People's Republic of China attend the United Nations, including the United Nations Security Council, for the first time.

• 1972 – The Soviet Union makes its final attempt at launching the N1 rocket

• 1974 – Sixty Ethiopian politicians, aristocrats, military officers, and other persons are executed by the provisional military government.

• 1976 – Jacques Mayol is the first man to reach a depth of 100 m undersea without breathing equipment

• 1978 – Cyclone kills about 1,000 people in eastern Sri Lanka.

• 1978 – The Geneva Frequency Plan of 1975 goes into effect, realigning many of Europe's longwave and mediumwave broadcasting frequencies.

• 1981 – Iran–Contra affair: Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17),giving the Central Intelligence Agency the authority to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

• 1985 – Gunmen hijack EgyptAir Flight 648 en route from Athens to Cairo. When the plane lands in Malta, Egyptian commandos storm the aircraft, but 60 people die in the raid.

• 1991 – Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury announces in a statement that he is HIV-positive. He dies the following day

• 1992 – The first smartphone, the IBM Simon, is introduced at COMDEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

• 1996 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 is hijacked, then crashes into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Comoros after running out of fuel, killing 125.

• 2001 – The Convention on Cybercrime is signed in Budapest, Hungary.

• 2003 – Rose Revolution: Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze resigns following weeks of mass protests over flawed elections.

• 2004 – The Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, the largest religious building in Georgia, is consecrated.

• 2005 – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is elected president of Liberia and becomes the first woman to lead an African country.

• 2006 – A series of bombings kills at least 215 people and injures 257 others in Sadr City, making it the second deadliest sectarian attack since the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003.

• 2007 – MS Explorer, a cruise liner carrying 154 people, sinks in the Antarctic Ocean south of Argentina after hitting an iceberg near the South Shetland Islands. There are no fatalities.

• 2015 – Blue Origin's New Shepard space vehicle became the first rocket to successfully fly to space and then return to Earth for a controlled, vertical landing

• 2018 – Founders of Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana issue an apology following a series of offensive advertisements on social media promoting a fashion show in Shanghai, China, which was canceled.

• 2019 – The last Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia, Imam, dies, making the species officially extinct in the country

National Events- 

•  Congress leader Kirti Azad, former Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar, and former JD(U) MP Pavan Varma were among the latest leaders to join the TMC.

•  The government is set to introduce the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 in the winter session of Parliament, which will be held from November 29 to December 23.

•  The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has finally cleared a long-pending proposal for a deal to manufacture six lakh AK-203 assault rifles for the Indian Army jointly with Russia, sources confirmed. The deal had been stuck over several points for nearly two years, including negotiations over technology transfer.

•  A day after passing a Bill to repeal two laws that were cleared last year as part of the YSRCP government’s contentious move to set up three different state capitals, the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution to withdraw an earlier resolution seeking abolishment of the Legislative Council.

• Retail tomato prices are ruling at Rs 80 per kg in most cities across India but the rates have shot up to as high as Rs 120 per kg in few southern states because of widespread rains, according to government data.

International Events- 

• President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered 50 million barrels of oil released from America’s strategic reserve to help bring down energy costs, in coordination with other major energy consuming nations, including India, the United Kingdom and China. 

•  Malikah Shabazz, one of six daughters of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X, was found dead in her home in New York City, police said Tuesday. She was 56.

•  The South Korean government on Thursday is opening discussions on legislation that would outlaw the consumption of dog meat, a move that has delighted animal rights activists and pet owners.

• Former South Korean military strongman Chun Doo-hwan, who took power in a 1979 coup and brutally crushed pro-democracy protests before going to prison for misdeeds while in office, died Tuesday. He was 90. 

• A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday began the trial of 25 men accused of plotting the Easter Sunday bombings that killed nearly 270 people in 2019, as lawyers warned of a protracted and complicated legal battle ahead.

Job alerts-

• Central Bank of India Jobs for SO and other posts. Last date 17th December 2021

• Bank of Baroda Jobs for Senior Relationship Manager, E Wealth Relationship Manager and other posts. Last date 09th December 2021

• AIC Jobs for Management Trainee, Hindi Officer Scale-1 and other posts. Last date 13th December 2021

• Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board Jobs for Clerk, Clerk (IT) , Clerk (Accounts) and other posts. Last date 26th November 2021

• Central Coalfield Limited (CCL) Jobs for Trade Apprentice and other posts. Last date 5th December 2021

Sports-

•  Tamil Nadu, which is in Elite Group 'B', will play its preliminary matches in Thiruvananthapuram. It opens its campaign against Mumbai on December 8.

•  A row involving the BCCI erupted on Tuesday after it emerged that only ‘halal’ meat has been recommended for the Indian cricketers during their stay in Kanpur for the series-opening Test against New Zealand.

•  A former CIA officer has spied on top soccer officials for years while working for Qatar, the tiny Arab country hosting next year’s World Cup tournament, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.

• Indian women’s team defender Dalima Chhibber has warned her team-mates to be ready for a fast-paced football from their South American opponents, including Brazil, during the four-nation tournament beginning here on Friday. 

• The Iran judo federation’s appeal against a four-year ban from international events for refusing to let its athletes face opponents from Israel was heard on Tuesday.

Technology-

•  Facebook has started to roll out a beta update of its Messenger app for Windows 11 and Windows 10.

•  Samsung retained its top spot as the market leader in smartphone sales

•  Apple enthusiasts and first-time buyers-to-be in Asia may have a bit of trouble getting their favourite device.

•  Indonesian authorities are assessing a draft bill that could compel tech giants like Facebook and Google to negotiate with media firms for fairer revenues

• Domestic smartphone brand Lava on Tuesday announced a dedicated service manager for each Agni 5G smartphone user for troubleshooting any issue

Economy – 

•  In a loud and clear message for those defaulting in repayment of bank loans, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Tuesday asked the banks to continue actively pursuing people who have turned their loan accounts into Non-Performing Assets (NPAs).

•  India will release 5 million barrels of crude oil from its emergency stockpile in tandem with the US, China, Japan, and other major economies to cool international oil prices, the government announced on Tuesday.

•  Prices of petrol and diesel were kept unchanged for the 19th consecutive day on Tuesday, November 23, 2021. The fuel prices were last revised on November 4 after the central government had cut the excise duty on the two key fuels to bring down their retail rates from record highs.

•  Shares of recently listed One 97 Communications, the parent entity of digital payments firm Paytm, climbed nearly 10 per cent on Tuesday after declining for two consecutive days post their listing.

• The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 198.44 points (0.34 per cent) to end at 58,664.33, while the Nifty 50 settled at 17,503.35, up 86.80 points (0.50 per cent). Both the indices had opened over 0.5 per cent lower earlier in the day but recovered losses and turned positive towards the afternoon session of trade.

Local –

• Days after the body of a 32-year-old woman was found in Dwarka, a medical board of doctors which conducted the autopsy has told the Delhi Police she was sexually assaulted and that her private parts were burnt to hide evidence of the assault. Police on Monday said they have booked a juvenile in connection with the crime. Police said the boy, aged 17, allegedly tied the woman’s hands, raped her inside his house and killed her.

•  The Election Commission of India announced elections for six seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council that will be conducted from five local authorities constituencies. Two seats from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and one each from Kolhapur, Dhule-Nandurbar, Akola-Buldhana-Washim, Nagpur local authorities’ constituencies will be elected to the Council.

•  With the arrest of 10 people in the alleged child trafficking racket operated from an adoption centre in Kolkata, police have invoked the rape charge, among others, in the case.

• The Vanniyar Sangam, up in arms against the depiction of the Vanniyar community in alleged bad light in the Surya-starrer ‘Jai Bhim,’ on Tuesday moved a local court against the actor, director and the OTT platform which screened it. 

• With many parts in Bengaluru north affected due to water logging and floods, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who visited several places, said encroachments on lakes and drains have led to the flooding.

GK – 

Delhi Government announced a six-point action plan to completely clean the Yamuna by which year?

[A] 2022
[B] 2025
[C] 2030
[D] 2035

What is the uniform Goods and services tax (GST) rate on fabrics, apparel, and footwear, from January 2022?

[A] 5
[B] 8
[C] 12
[D] 18

Which Indian state has been ranked first in the Indian Police Foundation (IPF)’s Smart Policing Index?

[A] Telangana
[B] Tamil Nadu
[C] Andhra Pradesh
[D] Gujarat

Which Asian country recently approved a record $490 billion stimulus package to tackle Covid pandemic?

[A] China
[B] Japan
[C] India
[D] Pakistan

What is the theme of the ‘World Toilet Day’ 2021?

[A] Valuing toilets
[B] Importance of sanitation
[C] Global sanitation crisis
[D] Collective action