Thursday, 19 December 2024
Thursday, 19 December 2024
Chandrayaan-3 mission's Lander Module which touched down on the lunar surface, has rolled out the rover, Pragyan, with ISRO saying 'India took a walk on the moon'. The lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyan) -- with a total mass of 1,752 kg -- are designed to operate for one lunar daylight period (about 14 Earth days) to study the surroundings there. The rover will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during the course of its mobility.
Of the 26 workers present on the under-construction railway bridge that collapsed in Mizoram's Aizawl district, 23 people are believed to be dead, though the police have recovered 21 bodies. All the 26 people working there were from Malda district of West Bengal. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that arrangements have been made to bring the bodies to the state.
At least eight vacant buildings collapsed in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, while one more body was recovered from the site of a landslide at the Shiv temple in Shimla. So far 25 bodies have been recovered from the debris of the three major landslides in Shimla alone, at the Shiv temple in Summer Hill (18) and in Fagli (5) and Krishnanagar (2). About 120 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state this month while a total of 239 people have died and 40 are still missing since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 24.
UWW, the world governing body for wrestling, has suspended the WFI for not conducting its elections on time, a development which will not allow Indian grapplers to compete at the upcoming World Championships under the Indian flag. The development has come a day before the ad-hoc panel conducts the World Championships trials in Patiala. UWW had on April 28 warned that it could suspend the Indian federation if the deadline to hold elections is not honoured.
The BRICS group of nations has decided to invite six countries - Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to become new members of the bloc. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Johannesburg to attend the BRICS Summit, welcomed all six nations and vowed to work with the other nations to continue adding nations that express interest in joining. BRICS expansion has been a major focus area at this summit and over 20 countries have already applied for full membership.
Onion auctions resumed for some time in a few APMCs in Nashik in Maharashtra after being stalled since August 22 even as more than 500 farmers blocked the Mumbai-Agra highway seeking cancellation of the Union government's decision to impose 40 per cent export duty on the kitchen staple. Officials said farmers also stopped the auction since personnel from NAFED, or National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited, were absent during the auctions. The export duty, which is the first time ever on onion, was imposed by the Finance Ministry through a Customs notification and will be in force till December 31.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa loses Chess World Cup final to Magnus Carlsen in tiebreak. The second 25+10 tie-break game ended in a draw in 22 moves as Magnus Carlsen played it safe after he had won the first, displaying his end-game skills. The two classical games on Tuesday and Wednesday had ended in draws forcing the final to a tie-break.
President Droupadi Murmu visited the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa during the third day of her visit to the coastal state. Murmu would also visit Shree Shantadurga Temple and Shree Mahalsa Temple in South Goa before leaving for Delhi. On August 23 Murmu addressed a special session of the state assembly here and called for building an 'atmanirbhar' (self-reliant) India by 2040, with the country equally committed towards fulfilling its responsibility towards humanity.
Search engine giant Google celebrated India's success in its third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 with a special animated doodle. With this achievement, India was propelled into an exclusive club of four, becoming the fourth country after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon. The graphically dynamic doodle depicts letters of 'GOOGLE' floating in outer space amid twinkling stars, with an animated 'moon' forming the second 'O' in the sequence.
Mumbai City FC players can fancy rubbing shoulders with Brazilian superstar Neymar in the upcoming AFC Champions League season after the Indian Super League team was clubbed with Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal in the group stage of the continental club showpiece. Neymar's new Saudi club is also the most successful team in the AFC Champions League history, having won the title four times, besides being runners-up on five occasions.
