Today’s Top 10 News: DNP News brings to you top 10 breaking stories of the day to keep you abreast of all the latest developments from India and around the world.
1. Teachers’ scam: ED arrests Youth Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh
Kuntal Ghosh, a youth Trinamool Congress leader, was arrested on Saturday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a multi-crore teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal. According to sources, Ghosh was apprehended at one of his two homes in Chinar Park in New Town, on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, where central agency sleuths had been conducting a marathon raid and search operation for about 24 hours since Friday morning. He will be taken to the ED office at the Salt Lake Central Government Office (CGO) complex shortly. In addition to conducting the search and raid operations, ED officials questioned him in phases over the last 24 hours.
2. Joshimath land displacement has been ongoing: satellite imagery analysis
While recent damage to Joshimath’s houses and structures has drawn widespread attention to the town’s land subsidence, several experts say that geological changes affecting the town’s topography have been occurring for many years. An NRSC-ISRO report indicating that Joshimath sank by 5.4 cm between December 27, 2022 and January 8, 2023 sparked controversy and was removed by the organisation after gag orders were issued by the National Disaster Management Authority.
3. Wrestlers end their protest after Sharan decides to step down as WFI president
The aggrieved wrestlers called off their protest late Friday night after receiving assurances from the government that their grievances would be addressed, the first step being the resignation of Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.The wrestlers, who included Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Ravi Dahiya, decided to end their protest after reaching an agreement with Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur during a marathon second round of talks. The government has decided to form an oversight committee to look into allegations of sexual harassment of female wrestlers by the WFI president. The committee, whose members will be announced on Saturday, will also oversee the federation’s day-to-day operations.
4. After receiving a bomb threat via email, a flight from Moscow to Goa was diverted to Uzbekistan
A chartered flight from Moscow to Goa with 240 passengers on board was diverted to Uzbekistan in the early hours of Saturday after authorities at the state’s Dabolim airport received an email claiming that there was a bomb on board, according to police. This is the second such incident involving the same airline on the Moscow-Goa route in less than two weeks. According to a senior police official, the flight, operated by Russian airline Azur Air, was scheduled to land at Dabolim airport in South Goa at 4.15 a.m.
5. US Secretary of State Blinken warns China not to change the status quo on Taiwan
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned China against changing the status quo on Taiwan, which is critical to the region’s peace and stability. China has been attempting to build military and economic pressure on Taiwan in recent years, according to Mr. Blinken, who spoke with University of Chicago Institute of Politics Founding Director David Axelrod on Friday.
6. Berlin says the green light for tanks for Ukraine requires allies’ approval
Germany said it would need allies’ approval before delivering German-made tanks to Ukraine to fend off Moscow’s invasion, apparently dashed Kyiv’s hopes for a quick decision. NATO and other countries’ defence ministers met in Germany amid warnings that Russia will soon relaunch its almost 11-month-old invasion to seize parts of Ukraine’s east and south, which it claims to have annexed but does not fully control.
7. Next Twitter Update: Elon Musk declares that Twitter will translate ‘amazing’ tweets from various countries and cultures
Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, has stated that the company will begin translating and recommending “amazing” tweets from other countries and cultures very soon. Musk, who took over the microblogging platform in October, stated that with the new service, users will no longer be able to switch to recommended tweets from their custom settings.
8. Wipro fires 452 employees after an internal test
Wipro, one of India’s top five IT firms, has fired hundreds of newer employees due to poor performance in an internal test.In response to queries, the company stated “At Wipro, we take pride in holding ourselves to the highest standards. In line with the standards we aim to set for ourselves, we expect every entry-level employee to have a certain level of proficiency in their designated area of work. The evaluation process includes assessments to align employees with the business objectives of the organization and the requirements of our clients. This systematic and comprehensive performance evaluation process triggers a series of actions such as mentoring and retraining and in some cases separation of certain employees from the company.”
9. Aakash Chopra believes that India should play Umran Malik instead of Shardul Thakur in the second One-Day International against New Zealand
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has suggested that India should play Umran Malik instead of Shardul Thakur in the second One-Day International against New Zealand on Sunday. Despite Michael Bracewell’s heroics, India won the first ODI by a margin of 12 runs. Thakur took Bracewell’s wicket in the final over of the game.
10. Poster row: The Supreme Court rules that no coercive action can be taken against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai
On January 20, 2023, the Supreme Court shielded filmmaker Leena Manimekalai from coercive action based on multiple FIRs filed in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh over the poster of her short film titled Kaali. In its order, a Bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and P.S. Narasimha observed “The institution of FIRs in multiple States would be a matter of serious prejudice to the petitioner,”
