Top GKToday’s News Headlines-9 August 2020

Here are Top GKToday’s News Headlines for August 9, 2020

India

PM inaugurates Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra in Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 8, 2020 inaugurated the Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra (RSK) – an interactive experience centre on the Swachh Bharat Mission, at the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti at Rajghat, New Delhi. The RSK tracks India’s transformation from having over 50 crore people defecating in the open in 2014 to becoming open defecation free in 2019. The PM also launched ‘Gandagi Mukt Bharat’, a special week-long campaign to free India of garbage till August 15.

AI Express plane coming from Dubai crashes near Kozhikode airport; 18 dead

At least 18 people died after a Boeing Co 737 plane of Air India Express coming from Dubai skidded off the runway and broke apart while attempting to land at the hilltop airport in Kozhikode, Kerala on August 7, 2020. It was carrying 190 passengers and crew. The dead included both pilots.

Kerala: 18 killed in landslide at Rajamalai in Idukki district

A massive search operation using man and machine, is underway on August 8, 2020 to find 50 odd people reported missing after a landslide at Rajamalai in Idukki district of Kerala. The tragedy took place when big boulders came down on four lines of tea estate houses.

Telangana: Congress leader Nandi Yellaiah dies at 85 in Hyderabad

Senior Congress leader and six-time member of Lok Sabha Nandi Yellaiah passed in Hyderabad at the age of 85 on August 8, 2020. He was the MP of Nagarkurnool constituency from 2014 to 2019. Before that he was elected as the Lok Sabha MP from Siddipet five times and was also a member of Rajya Sabha twice.

Economy

Centre approves construction of 10.28 lakh houses under PMAY (Urban)

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry on August 7, 2020 approved the construction of around 10.28 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), taking the total number of houses sanctioned so far under the scheme to 1.06 crore. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) under PMAY (Urban).

World

India to participate in Kavkaz 2020 military exercise in Russia in September

India will take part in the Kavkaz 2020 strategic command-post exercise to be held in Astrakhan in Russia in September. The invitees for the exercise also include China and Pakistan apart from other member-states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Kavkaz 2020 is also referred to as Caucasus-2020.

US sanctions Hong Kong’s Chief Carrie Lam over curtailing political freedom

The US government on August 7, 2020 announced sanctions on 11 Chinese officials and their allies in Hong Kong, including Chief Executive Carrie Lam, over their roles in curtailing political freedoms in the former U.K. colony. Lam was sanctioned because she is “directly responsible for implementing Beijing’s policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes”. The targeted officials will have any property and assets in the US frozen.

Somalia: 8 soldiers killed in blast outside army base in capital Mogadishu

A car bomb exploded at the gates of a military base in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on August 8, 2020, killing at least eight soldiers. The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab extremist group, which controls large parts of southern and central Somalia, claimed responsibility via its radio arm, Andalus.

Mauritius declares emergency as stranded ship spills fuel

The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius declared a “state of environmental emergency” on August 7, 2020 after a Japanese-owned ship MV Wakashio that ran aground offshore on July 25 began spilling tons of fuel. The Panama-flagged bulk carrier had been en route from China to Brazil.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2020