Today's Event – 24th October 2021

• 1260 – Chartres Cathedral is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France

• 1360 – The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War. 

• 1590 – John White, the governor of the second Roanoke Colony, returns to England after an unsuccessful search for the "lost" colonists.

• 1648 – The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years' War.

• 1795 – Poland is completely consumed by Russia, Prussia and Austria.

• 1851 – William Lassell discovers the moons Umbriel and Ariel orbiting Uranus.

• 1857 – Sheffield F.C., the world's oldest association football club still in operation, is founded in England.

• 1861 – The first transcontinental telegraph line across the United States is completed.

• 1871 – An estimated 17 to 20 Chinese immigrants are lynched in Los Angeles, California.

• 1889 – Henry Parkes delivers the Tenterfield Oration, effectively starting the federation process in Australia.

• 1901 – Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel 

• 1902 – Guatemala's Santa María Volcano begins to erupt, becoming the third-largest eruption of the 20th century.

• 1911 – Orville Wright remains in the air nine minutes and 45 seconds in a glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

• 1929 – "Black Thursday" on the New York Stock Exchange.

• 1930 – A bloodless coup d'état in Brazil ends the First Republic, replacing it with the Vargas Era.

• 1931 – The George Washington Bridge opens to public traffic over the Hudson River.

• 1945 – The United Nations Charter comes into effect.

• 1946 – A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket takes the first photograph of earth from outer space.

• 1947 – Famed animator Walt Disney testifies before the House Un-American Activities Committee, naming Disney employees he believes to be communists.

• 1947 – United Airlines Flight 608 crashes over the Bryce Canyon National Park killing all 52 passengers and crew onboard.

• 1949 – The cornerstone of the United Nations Headquarters is laid.

• 1954 – President Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam.

• 1957 – The United States Air Force starts the X-20 Dyna-Soar manned space program.

• 1960 – A ballistic missile explodes on the launch pad in the Soviet Union, killing over 100 people.

• 1963 – An oxygen leak from an R-9 Desna missile at the Baikonur Cosmodrome triggers a fire that kills seven people.

• 1964 – Northern Rhodesia gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes Zambia

• 1980 – The government of Poland legalizes the Solidarity trade union.

• 1986 – Nezar Hindawi is sentenced to 45 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down by a British court, for the attempted bombing of an El Al flight at Heathrow Airport.

• 1990 – Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reveals to the Italian parliament the existence of Gladio, the Italian NATO force formed in 1956, intended to be activated in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion.

• 1992 – The Toronto Blue Jays become the first Major League Baseball team based outside the United States to win the World Series.

• 1998 – Deep Space 1 is launched to explore the asteroid belt and test new spacecraft technologies.

• 2002 – Police arrest spree killers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, ending the Beltway sniper attacks in the area around Washington, D.C.

• 2003 – Concorde makes its last commercial flight.

• 2004 – Arsenal Football Club loses to Manchester United, ending a row of unbeaten matches at 49 matches, which is the record in the Premier League.

• 2005 – Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in Florida, resulting in 35 direct and 26 indirect fatalities and causing $20.6B USD in damage.

• 2007 – Chang'e 1, the first satellite in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, is launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

• 2008 – "Bloody Friday" saw many of the world's stock exchanges experience the worst declines in their history, with drops of around 10% in most indices.

• 2014 – The China National Space Administration launches an experimental lunar mission, Chang'e 5-T1, which will loop behind the Moon and return to Earth.

• 2015 – A driver crashes into the Oklahoma State Homecoming parade, killing four people and injuring 34.

• 2016 – A French surveillance aircraft flying to Libya crashes on takeoff in Malta, killing all five people on board.

National Events- 

•  The DMK has told the Supreme Court that granting of 27 per cent Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation in state contributed seats to all India quota in NEET cannot be a subject matter of litigation again and again when the court had already settled the issue. 

•  Three more arrests were made on Saturday in connection with the Tikonia violence here which had left eight people, including four farmers, dead during a protest by farmers on October 3, officials said Saturday. 

•  An application submitted to Tamil Nadu Government by the followers of VK Sasikala, former aide to late J Jayalalithaa, to garland the statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar on October 29, in connection with Guru Puja has evoked a furore in the State’s political landscape.

•  Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday challenged veteran Congress leader Siddaramaiah to visit the villages in Hanagal Assembly constituency to see the development there before inviting him for a debate on a public platform.

• Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday accused BJP leaders of making “unrestrained” statements against his Government during campaigning for bypolls to Dhariyavad and Vallabhnagar Assembly seats.   He also expressed confidence that the Congress will win both the seats.

International Events- 

•  North Korea on Saturday accused the Biden administration of raising military tensions with China through its “reckless” backing of Taiwan, and said that the growing US military presence in the region constitutes a potential threat to the North.

•  A 29-year-old California-based Indian-origin woman techie, who travelled to Mexico to celebrate her birthday, was one of the two foreign tourists killed in a shootout between two drug gangs in the Caribbean coast resort of Tulum, according to media reports.

•  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that he had ordered 10 foreign ambassadors who called for the release of a jailed philanthropist to be declared persona non grata.

• The UN said on Friday it feared an even greater human rights catastrophe in Myanmar amid reports of thousands of troops massing in the north of the Southeast Asian country, which has been in chaos since a February coup. 

• Bangladesh’s security agencies on Saturday arrested a man in his 30s, who is believed to be the second key suspect behind the recent slew of violence against Hindus and mob attacks on temples in Bangladesh during the Durga Puja festivities, police officials said.

Job alerts-

• Konkan Railway Corporation Limited Jobs for Apprentice (Graduate/Technician) and other posts. Last date Nov 22, 2021

• Subordinate Services Selection Board Punjab (SSSB Punjab) Jobs for Clerk, IT Clerk, Accounts Clerk and other posts. Last date Nov 15, 2021

• Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited Jobs for Assistant Accountant, Assistant Review Officer, Camp Assistant and other posts. Last date Nov 9, 2021

• Directorate of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES Goa) Jobs for Fire Fighter, LDC, Junior Stenographer and other posts. Last date Oct 29, 2021

• Directorate of Medical Education & Research (DMER Haryana) Jobs for Staff Nurse and other posts. Last date Nov 8, 2021

Sports-

• India captain Virat Kohli on Saturday refused to get into any debate on the rationale behind his decision to quit national T20 captaincy after the ongoing T20 World Cup, saying he won’t provide fodder to controversy seekers. 

•  India captain Virat Kohli on Saturday said that players need “periodic breaks” from bio-bubble life to refresh themselves as he advocated a balanced approach while dealing with the circumstances arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

•  Former England skipper Nasser Hussain feels that “any side can defeat” India in the knockout stage of the ICC T20 World Cup, owing to their lack of plan B and the uncertain nature of the shortest format of the game.

• Delhi FC outclassed Madan Maharaj FC 6-0 to end their maiden I-League Qualifiers campaign on a high at the Bangalore Football Stadium here on Saturday. 

• Arjuna Awardee Deepa Malik and president of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) on Saturday said the committee struggled to find sponsors for the para athletes in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic much before the country bagged 19 medals at the Paralympics 2020 held in Tokyo this year.

Technology-

•  NASA has completed stacking of its mega-Moon rocket and spacecraft that will launch the next generation of deep space operations, including Artemis missions on and around the Moon, the agency said.

•  In a bid to offer 5G support to mid-segment smartphone users, South Korean tech giant Samsung has unveiled Galaxy F42 5G in India in two storage variants. The 6GB+128GB is priced at Rs 20,999 and 8GB+128GB is available for Rs 22,999 in two colours -- matte black and matte aqua.

• Microsoft apologised to the open source community after facing a severe backlash against removing an important feature in the upcoming. NET 6 release. 

•  Tesla CEO Elon Musk is known for his witty, weird and all kinds of tweets. Musk, in a tweet, has now made fun of Apple.

•  Realme recently launched the GT Neo 2 in China and also unveiled the Buds Air 2 TWS earphones.

Economy – 

•  Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have turned net sellers in Indian market by pulling out Rs 3,825 crore in October so far. In the past two months, huge buying was witnessed in the debt segment when FPIs had Rs 13,363 crore in September and Rs 14,376.2 crore in August.

•  The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) will finance USD 50 million to Biological E Limited to increase its Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity. 

•  The combined market valuation of five of the top-10 most valued companies eroded by Rs 1,42,880.11 crore last week, with Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries and Tata Consultancy Services emerging as major laggards.

•  India continues to remain a high cost environment for airlines to operate in and it is critical to empower the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) further to safeguard the interest of passengers, said Philip Goh, Regional Vice President for Asia Pacific of global airlines body IATA.

• The Ministry of Power on Saturday announced new rules to sustain economic viability of the sector, ease financial stress of various stakeholders and ensure timely recovery of costs involved in electricity generation.

Local –

•  Karnataka police raids pubs in Mangalore

• Man arrested for raping a minor in Delhi

•  600 kg of crackers seized in West Bengal

•  Hyderabad Police launches new initiative for women’s safety

• 42 fresh covid cases in Rayagad (Odisha)

GK – 

Which country has recently announced a multibillion-euro Defence deal with France?

[A] Greece
[B] Turkey
[C] Italy
[D] Spain

CIPET: Institute of Petrochemicals Technology has been inaugurated with which city?

[A] Gandhi Nagar
[B] Jaipur
[C] Chennai
[D] Hyderabad

‘Nata Sankirtana’ is a UNESCO-recognised Festival of Dance and Music held in which Indian state?

[A] Assam
[B] Manipur
[C] Andhra Pradesh
[D] Punjab

National Research Centre on Yak (NRCY) is located in which state/UT?

[A] Ladakh
[B] Arunachal Pradesh
[C] Sikkim
[D] Uttarakhand

In which year UPI was launched by the NPCI in India?

[A] 2010
[B] 2013
[C] 2016
[D] 2018