Source: Click Here

• Iran says its military "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people on board, Iran's state TV reports.


• The statement said it had done so due to "human error" after the plane flew close to a sensitive site belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Source: Click Here

• A Ukrainian aircraft which crashed earlier this week in Iran had flown close to a sensitive military site belonging to the elite Revolutionary Guards and was shot down unintentionally due to human error, the Iranian military said in a statement read on state TV.


• The responsible parties would be referred to a judicial department within the military and held accountably, the statement said.

Source: Click Here

• A Russian navy ship "aggressively approached" a U.S. Navy destroyer in the North Arabian Sea, the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said in a statement.


• The Fifth Fleet said the U.S. destroyer USS Farragut sounded five short blasts and requested the Russian ship alter course.


• "The Russian ship initially refused but ultimately altered course and the two ships opened distance from one another," the statement said.

Source: Click Here

• Governor Greg Abbott of Texas became the first governor in the country to refuse to accept refugees after President Donald Trump signed an executive order empowering local jurisdictions to consent to the federal programme.


• "At this time, the state and non-profit organizations have a responsibility to dedicate available resources to those who are already here, including refugees, migrants and the homeless," Abbott, a Republican, said in his letter to the U.S. State Department.

Source: Click Here

• Bangladesh Deputy Foreign Minister Shahriar Alam has cancelled his visit to India, sources said today. Mr Alam was expected in Delhi this week to participate in the Raisina Dialogue - an annual multilateral conference hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs.


• This is the fourth time Dhaka has called off high-level interactions with India in the span of 30 days; last month the Bangladesh Home and Foreign Ministers cancelled their respective visits and, a week later, talks over the sharing of river data were also cancelled.

Source: Click Here

• Army chief General MM Naravane today said that allegiance to the core values of the constitution should guide the armed forces in all times".


• "As the Army, we swear allegiance to the constitution of India... Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity enshrined in the constitution should guide us," he said at a press conference.


• General Naravane's statement comes days after his predecessor, General Bipin Rawat, created controversy over his criticism of those leading protests against the citizenship law.

Source: Click Here

• No penal action can be taken against a government employee for being present at a political rally as it does not violate service conduct rules, the High Court of Tripura has said in a judgement.


• Chief Justice AA Kureshi also set aside a charge sheet issued against the petitioner, a Tripura government employee who was suspended and put under departmental inquiry for being present at a rally organized by the Left Front, the then ruling coalition, on December 31, 2017.

Source: Click Here

• Under the government scheme of public disclosure of UPSC marks, which came into force in 2017, more than 6,000 candidates have agreed to share their scores in public.


• Under the public disclosure of marks scheme, the UPSC suggests candidates, who have cleared an exam conducted by it till the last stage, to opt for sharing their marks in public.

Source: Click Here

• Yes Bank has rejected $1.2 billion of outside investment and will launch a $1.4 billion share sale, it said after a board member's resignation cast more doubt on the troubled lender's future and sent its stock down 5 per cent.


• Yes, Bank's shares have plunged by about 75 percent in the past 12 months as non-performing assets have risen sharply, with investors further spooked by delays in the bank's plans to raise urgently needed capital.

Source: Click Here

• The Reserve Bank of India on Friday unveiled the five year (2019-24) National Strategy for Financial Inclusion to include all, particularly poor and underprivileged class, under formal access to finance - a key goal of the government.


• Currently, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is the government's financial inclusion program, applicable to the 10 to 65 years age group, and aiming to expand and make affordable access to financial services such as bank accounts, remittances, credit, insurance and pensions.

Source: Click Here

• Argentine tennis player Juan Martin Del Potro will miss the Australian Open later this month because of persistent problems with his injured knee, tournament organisers said.


• “Juan Martin del Potro has withdrawn from #AusOpen 2020 as he continues to recover from a knee injury,” a short tweet said. “Wishing you all the best with your recovery @delpotrojuan.”


• The 31-year old, who reached the quarter-final of the Australian Open on two occasions, has been battling problems with his right knee since June last year when he underwent surgery.

Source: Click Here

• With his “best ever year” behind, B Sai Praneeth is focused on just one target— qualifying for the Olympics.


• Even though he is the highest ranked Indian in the world at No 11 and is likely to make it to Tokyo, the 27-year-old is taking nothing for granted.


• And why would he? Sai Praneeth was nearly there on two previous occasions but the right-handed shuttler failed to make it to the Games in London 2012 and Rio 2016.

Source: Click Here

• A day after exempting Chhapaak from entertainment tax, the Madhya Pradesh government kept the political pot boiling by announcing to honour actor Deepika Padukone during the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA Awards).


• The awards ceremony is to be hosted by the state for the first time since inception in 2000. Capital Bhopal and the state commercial hub Indore will be venues for the awards ceremony in March.

Source: Click Here

• Agri-cooperative leader and Rajya Sabha MP (Member of Parliament) Chandra Pal Singh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh constituency has been re-elected unanimously as Chairman of Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO).


• He has been the Chairman from July 1999 to May 2010 & thereafter from February 2015 to till date.