Today's Event – 25th November 2021

• 1795 – Partitions of Poland: Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of independent Poland, is forced to abdicate and is exiled to Russia.

• 1826 – The Greek frigate Hellas arrives in Nafplion to become the first flagship of the Hellenic Navy.

• 1874 – The United States Greenback Party is established as a political party consisting primarily of farmers affected by the Panic of 1873

• 1918 – Vojvodina, formerly Austro-Hungarian crown land, proclaims its secession from Austria-Hungary to join the Kingdom of Serbia.

• 1926 – The deadliest November tornado outbreak in U.S. history kills 76 people and injures more than 400.

• 1936 – In Berlin, Germany and Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, agreeing to consult on measures "to safeguard their common interests" in the case of an unprovoked attack by the Soviet Union against either nation. The pact is renewed on the same day five years later with additional signatories.

• 1941 – HMS Barham is sunk by a German torpedo during World War II.

• 1947 – New Zealand ratifies the Statute of Westminster and thus becomes independent of legislative control by the United Kingdom.

• 1950 – The Great Appalachian Storm of 1950 impacts 22 American states, killing 353 people, injuring over 160, and causing US$66.7 million in damages (1950 dollars).

• 1952 – Agatha Christie's murder-mystery play The Mousetrap opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End after a premiere in Nottingham, UK. It will become the longest continuously-running play in history.

• 1958 – French Sudan gains autonomy as a self-governing member of the French Community.

• 1960 – The Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic are assassinated.

• 1963 – State funeral of John F. Kennedy; after lying in state at the United States Capitol, a Requiem Mass takes place at Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle and the President is buried at Arlington National Cemetery

• 1968 – The Old Student House in Helsinki, Finland is occupied by a large group of University of Helsinki students.

• 1970 – In Japan, author Yukio Mishima and one compatriot commit ritualistic seppuku after an unsuccessful coup attempt.

• 1973 – Georgios Papadopoulos, head of the military Regime of the Colonels in Greece, is ousted in a hardliners' coup led by Brigadier General Dimitrios Ioannidis.

• 1975 – Suriname gains independence from the Netherlands.

• 1977 – Former Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., is found guilty by the Philippine Military Commission No. 2 and is sentenced to death by firing squad. He is later assassinated in 1983.

• 1981 – Pope John Paul II appoints Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

• 1984 – Thirty-six top musicians gather in a Notting Hill studio and record Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.

National Events- 

•  In a reference to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),External Affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said “any serious connectivity initiative must be transparent and conform to the most basic principle of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

•  The BJP Thursday issued a three-line whip for its members in the Rajya Sabha to remain present in the House when the Winter Session begins on Monday, November 29 — a move indicative of the government’s intent to repeal the three contentious farm laws in the very first week of the session.

•  The Union government has allowed commercial export of Covishield and Covaxin considering the sufficient stock of the COVID-19 vaccines available with states and Union Territories as well as with manufacturers, official sources said on Thursday.

•  The Narendra Modi government has established peace and political stability in the Northeast to create an atmosphere of investment in the region, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday.

• Speaking at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Noida International Airport at Jewar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday hit out at the opposition, saying that the airport is an example of how the earlier governments in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre ignored development of the western part of the state.

International Events- 

• The disappearance of former top-ranked doubles tennis star Peng Shuai saw widespread protest from the women’s tennis world, including Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, even as #WhereIsPengShuai hashtag grew. The case is among a string of similar cases involving political dissidents, entertainers, business leaders and others. 

•  The European Union’s drug regulator on Thursday authorised Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for use on children from 5 to 11 years old, clearing the way for shots to be administered to millions of elementary school pupils amid a new wave of infections sweeping across the continent.

• China says the issue of Taiwan, which it claims as Chinese territory, is the most sensitive in its ties with the United States, the country that is also Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier. 

• Two women of color are President Joe Biden’s picks to lead the White House budget office, a milestone for the powerful agency after his first choice withdrew following criticism over her previous attacks on lawmakers from both parties. If confirmed by the Senate, Shalanda Young would become the first Black woman in charge of the Office of Management and Budget, while Nani Coloretti, a Filipino American, would serve as Young’s deputy, making Coloretti one of the highest-ranking Asian Americans in government.

•  A new variant of Covid-19 with over 30 spike mutations has been reported from southern Africa. On November 23, Dr. Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, posted the details of the variant on github.com, noting that the “incredibly high amount of spike mutations suggest this could be of real concern (predicted escape from most known monoclonal antibodies)”. Assigned as B.1.1.529, the variant was first spotted in Botswana and the other circulating countries are Hong Kong and South Africa. According to The Guardian, only 10 cases have been confirmed by genomic sequencing.

Job alerts-

• Kakinada DCCB Bank Jobs for Clerk, Assistant Manager and other posts. Last date 3rd December 2021

• Vizianagram DCCB Bank Jobs for Clerk, Assistant Manager and other posts. Last date 3rd December 2021

• Rajasthan Subordinate & Ministerial Services Selection Board Jobs for SI and other posts. Last date 31st December 2021

• Rajasthan Subordinate Ministerial & Services Selection Board Jobs for Assistant Public Relation Officer and other posts. Last date 31st December 2021

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

Sports-

•  Mumbai are placed in Elite Group B of the national ODI tournament and they will play their league matches in Thiruvananthapuram from December 8.

•  The highly-anticipated India-Pakistan clash saw a record consumption of 15.9 billion minutes in India on the Star India Network.

• Manchester United is in talks with Ralf Rangnick about becoming interim manager, a person with knowledge of the situation said Thursday. 

•  A month after Joshua Kimmich became the face of Germany’s debate over vaccine hesitancy, the Bayern Munich midfielder has tested positive for the coronavirus along with teammate Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, the club said Wednesday.

• Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley expects up to 95 per cent of professional players will be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the time of the Grand Slam in January but is unsure whether Novak Djokovic will be among them.

Technology-

• Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled and digitally connected vending machines and smart-stores in the food and beverage (F&B) industry are new-age retail distributors 

•  Frustrated by the slow pace of antitrust investigations, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager has proposed two sets of rules known as the Digital Markets Act

•  LG Electronics said on Thursday it promoted its chief strategy officer to its new CEO to nurture new business opportunities and focus on digital transformation.

•  Meta-owned Instagram's chief Adam Mosseri is expected to appear before a Senate panel during the week of December 6

• Taiwanese IT hardware firm Acer has roped in domestic electronic manufacturing services firm Dixon Technologies for making its laptops in India

Economy – 

• Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday said India’s rising vaccination rate, low interest rates and higher public spending drive the positive outlook for corporate sector. 

•  The initial public offering (IPO) of Go Fashion (India),which owns women’s wear brand Go Colors, was subscribed 135.46 times over the 80.79 lakh shares that were on offer during the subscription period from November 17-22, 2021. The price band was fixed at Rs 655-690 per share.

•  The 30-share index ended 454.10 points or 0.78 per cent higher at 58,795.09. Similarly, the NSE Nifty surged 121.20 points or 0.70 per cent to close at 17,536.25.

• Turkey’s lira recovered as much as 7% on Wednesday after a historic slide to record lows a day earlier triggered by President Tayyip Erdogan’s defence of rate cuts, but volatility and steep price rises still worried consumers and investors. 

• Sports tech company Dream Sports on Wednesday said it has raised USD 840 million (about Rs 6,252.2 crore) in funding, led by Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital, Redbird Capital, and Tiger Global at a valuation of USD 8 billion.

Local –

•  The Delhi High Court Thursday directed the Delhi Police to file the latest status report containing details of all cases registered in connection with the Northeast Delhi riots and steps taken for their investigation.

•  The Maharashtra government-appointed Justice (retired) K U Chandiwal Commission Thursday asked former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh to be present before the commission or face a warrant.

• Amid uncertainty over holding of the Howrah civic polls, the State Election Commission (SEC) of West Bengal on Thursday notified dates for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation election. As per the notification, Kolkata civic polls will be held on December 19. The last date for filing of nominations is December 1 and counting will begin on December 22. 

•  A meeting of the AIADMK’s senior functionaries and other district office bearers on Wednesday, held at party headquarters ‘MGR Maligai’ in Chennai, saw a heated exchange between the EPS and OPS factions on several issues, sources claimed. Senior party leaders D Jayakumar and Sellur K Raju, however, later said the meeting was “peaceful” and saw a “healthy discussion among brothers”.

• A 17-year-old girl allegedly sought help from her boyfriend and his three friends and killed her 46-year-old father for sexually harassing her in Bengaluru, said the police.

GK – 

‘DEAFinitely Leading the Way’, which won the ABU – UNESCO Peace Media Awards 2021, is a programme of which media company?

[A] Doordarshan
[B] NDTV
[C] Times Now
[D] Zee TV

‘Jigyasa programme’, which was seen in the news recently, is associated with which field?

[A] Science and Technology
[B] Economics
[C] Sports
[D] Nutrition

Who is the Chief of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill 2019?

[A] V Muraleedharan
[B] N Ravi
[C] P P Chaudhary
[D] S Jaishankar

Kanaka Dasa, was a 15th century poet, saint and social reformer of which state?

[A] Karnataka
[B] Tamil Nadu
[C] Andhra Pradesh
[D] Odisha

Which country has sign key deal in nuclear submarine alliance, with the USA and the UK?

[A] France
[B] Australia
[C] Italy
[D] Israel