Junior Digest

New Delhi , December 3,2020: A delegation of farmers will meet Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday, said Spokesperson, Bharatiya Kisan Union while adding that all farmer organisations across the country should hit the streets now.
“A delegation of farmers will meet Agriculture Minister tomorrow. If the government wants, it can resolve the issues. All farmer organisations across the country should hit the streets now,” said Rakesh Tikait, Spokesperson, Bharatiya Kisan Union.
“These issues will be resolved as and when the government takes decisions accordingly. Further discussions will be held after tomorrow’s (Thursday) talks,” he added.
Several farmers from different parts of the country like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are marching towards Delhi to join the protest against new farm laws.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that the government will hold another round of discussion with farmer leaders on Thursday in which both sides will present their views and it remains to be seen “to what extent issues can be resolved”.

The minister said that the farm laws are in the interest of farmers and the reforms have been done after a long wait and the government is ready to address their concerns.
The government had held talks with farmer representatives on Tuesday. Tomar had said after the meeting that it was “good” and the farmer unions have been urged to share specific issues related to farm Acts which will be discussed during the fourth round of meeting on December 3.
The farmer unions had said they had rejected the government’s offer to set up a committee and will continue their protest.
Apart from Tomar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash were also present in the meeting held with farmer leaders on Tuesday.
The farmers are protesting against The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Dec 02,2020:China successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon’s surface late on Tuesday in the first mission to retrieve lunar surface samples in 40 years, said the country’s National Space Administration.

The space agency said the probe had successfully landed on the near side of the moon and sent back images.

China launched its Chang’e-5 probe which is not manned from the southern province of Hainan on November 24. The mission, named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, aims to collect lunar material to help scientists learn more about the moon’s origins and the solar system more generally.

Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tweeted that the landing was a “historic step” adding that it would also benefit “international cooperation and the peaceful use of space.”

The mission will attempt to collect two kilogrammes (4.4 pounds) of samples in an area that has yet to be explored on an enormous lava plain known as Oceanus Procellarum, or “Ocean of Storms” and if completed as planned, would make China the third nation to have retrieved lunar samples after the United States and Russia.
The lander vehicle is expected to start drilling into the ground with a robotic arm to collect the lunar material in about two days, according to state media.

Dec 02,2020:India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday became the fastest cricketer to score 12,000 ODI runs, breaking a record held by legendary compatriot Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli reached the milestone during the third and final match against Australia here.

Kohli, who needed 23 runs for the landmark coming into the match, touched the figure in his 242nd innings when he took a single off Sean Abbott in the 13th over of India’s essay. In comparison, it took Tendulkar 300-innings to get there.

The 32-year-old Indian captain was playing in his 251st ODI and averages close to 60 in the format with 43-hundreds and 59 half-centuries. He made his debut in 2008. On Wednesday, he was dismissed for a 78-ball 63, caught behind by Alex Carey after edging a Josh Hazlewood delivery.
Tendulkar scored 18426 runs from 463 ODIs between 1989 and 2012 at an average of 44.83 with the help of 49-hundreds and 96 half-centuries.

Montreal [Canada], December 2,2020: New parents often expect their baby to start sleeping through the night around the time they reach six months of age. But according to a new study led by McGill Professor Marie-Helene Pennestri, parents should view sleep consolidation as a process, instead of a milestone to be achieved at a specific age.
Tracking 44 infants over a period of two weeks, she found that sleeping patterns vary greatly – not only for different babies but also from night to night for the same baby.
In the study published in Sleep Medicine, researchers asked mothers to keep a sleep diary about their six-month-old infant for two weeks. On average, mothers reported that their infant slept 6 hours consecutively for about 5 nights out of a two-week period, and 8 consecutive hours for about 3 nights out of the same period. Half of the infants, however, never slept 8 hours consecutively.

“Although previous research has shown that infants start sleeping through the night at different stages of development, little is known about individual sleep patterns night after night,” says Marie-Helene Pennestri, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University and researcher at the Hospital en sante mentale Riviere-des-Prairies (CIUSSS-NIM).
Effects of breastfeeding and co-sleeping
The researchers also found that some parental practices were related to variability in sleep patterns. For example, breastfeeding and co-sleeping were associated with more variability in sleep patterns from night to night. While this finding is consistent with many studies, the researchers note that other factors could explain this occurrence. For instance, mothers who are breastfeeding and co-sleeping are more likely to observe their infant’s night awakenings, even though these awakenings are not necessarily problematic or disturbing.
“Parents are often exposed to a lot of contradictory information about infant sleep. They shouldn’t worry if their baby doesn’t sleep through the night at a specific age because sleep patterns differ a lot in infancy,” says Pennestri. She also notes that parents and clinicians should both be aware that occasional sleeping through the night does not necessarily indicate a consolidation of this behaviour.
“One important piece of the puzzle is understanding parents’ perceptions and expectations of infant sleep. In future research, we hope to explore what ‘sleeping through the night’ really means to them,” says Pennestri.

Paris, Dec 3 ,2020: Former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing, a preeminent architect of the European Union, died Wednesday night at the age of 94 due to COVID-19, his foundation said.

Giscard, often referred to simply as VGE, died in his family home in Loir-et-Cher, France, after his health had deteriorated, the Fondation Valéry Giscard d’Estaing said in a tweet.

Giscard, who was France’s leader from 1974 to 1981, was known for steering the modernisation of French society during his presidency, including allowing divorce by mutual consent and legalising abortion, and was one of the architects of European integration.
Giscard was known for steering the modernisation of French society during his presidency, including allowing divorce by mutual consent and legalising abortion.

He was elected president at 48, coming to power after years of Gaullist rule, and sought to liberalise the economy and social attitudes. He was credited with launching major projects including France’s high-speed TGV train network.

He lost his re-election bid, however, to the socialist François Mitterrand in the aftermath of the global economic downturn of the 1970s.

In France, Giscard is remembered for his radical reform drive which included the legalisation of abortion, the liberalisation of divorce and lowering the voting age to 18.

Dec 02,2020: The United States is facing economic crises again and it is essential to move with urgency, Treasury Secretary-nominee Janet Yellen said Tuesday, warning that inaction will produce a self-reinforcing downturn causing yet more devastation.

Yellen made the remark after US President-elect Joe Biden introduced his economic team at the Transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.

I’ve spent my career trying to make sure people can work and achieve the dignity and self-worth that comes with it. Mr. President-elect, I know you’ve done the same. I saw that understanding during the last Great Recession and the Recovery Act that followed, Yellen said.

And now we are facing historic crises again, she said, adding the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout have caused much damage to American people and had a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable among us.

Lost lives. Lost jobs. Small businesses struggling to stay alive or closed for good. So many people struggling to put food on the table and pay bills and rent, she said.

It’s an American tragedy, she added.

And it’s essential that we move with urgency. Inaction will produce a self-reinforcing downturn causing yet more devastation. And we risk missing the obligation to address deeper structural problems. Inequality. Stagnant wages, especially for workers who lack a college education.

Biden said no one is better prepared to deal with this crisis than Yellen. She will be the first Treasury Secretary who was also Chair of the Federal Reserve, Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve, and Chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors. Janet is one of the most important economic thinkers of our time, he said.

New Delhi, Dec 1 ,2020: BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile in Anti-Ship mode was successfully test-fired on Tuesday, against a decommissioned Ship.

The test firing was carried out by the Indian Navy at 0900 hrs. The missile performed highly complex manoeuvres and hit Bull’s eye of the target, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement here.

BrahMos is the supersonic cruise missile, jointly developed by DRDO and NPOM of Russia as a Brahmos Aerospace joint venture, which became Brahmos Aerospace Private Limited.

The missile has established itself as a major force multiplier in modern-day complex battlefields, with its impeccable anti-ship and land-attack capabilities with multi-role and multi-platform abilities, and has been deployed in all three wings of the Indian Armed Forces.

The first launch of Brahmos took place in 2001 and till date numerous launches have taken place from various ships, Mobile Autonomous Launchers and Su-30 MKI aircraft, making it a versatile weapon.

Secretary of DDR&D and Chairman of DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the Indian Navy for the successful test.

Dec 02,2020: Ahead of the second round of talks with the Centre, the protesting farmers Wednesday demanded that the government call a special session of the Parliament to repeal the contentious farm laws even as Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar assured that all their objections would be addressed.

The fear relating to the weakening of APMC mandis and minimum support price (MSP) regime are among the main factors behind the ongoing protests, as part of which thousands of farmers, primarily from Punjab, have gathered at the capital’s doorstep. Emphasising that their demand for repeal of the new farm laws was “non-negotiable”, the farmers also threatened to block other roads leading to Delhi if their demands are not met.

Addressing a press conference, president of Krantikari Kisan Union Darshan Pal accused the Centre of dividing farmer organisations. “Centre should call a special session of Parliament to repeal the three farm laws,” PTI quoted Singh as saying.

Chennai, Dec 3,2020: After crossing Sri Lanka near Trincomalee,the Cyclonic Storm ‘Burevi’ moved west-northwestwards towards the Tamil Nadu Coast on Thursday morning.

A Red Alert bulletin for South Tamil Nadu and South Kerala coasts issued by the Met office here said after battering Sri Lanka while crossing the coast near Trincomalee around midnight last night, the storm moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 11 kmph during the past six hours and lay centered about 40 km east of Gulf of Mannar,120 km east-southeast of Pamban and 320 km east-northeast of Kanniyakumari.

It is very likely to move west-northwestwards and emerge into Gulf of Mannar near Mannar coast in the next three hours.

The Storm with wind speed of 70-80 gusting to 90 kmph would be centered very close to Pamban today noon, then move west-south westwards across Pamban area by afternoon and cross the south Tamilnadu coast between Pamban and Kanniyakumari between tonight and tomorrow early morning as a Cyclonic Storm with wind speed of 70-80 gusting to 90 kmph.
Hence its impact on south Tamilnadu coastal districts will commence from today forenoon initially over Ramanathapuram district and gradually towards Kanniyakumari district.