Here are the top 5 news of January 8, 2021:
Flights from the United Kingdom resumed today in a limited capacity amid concerns about the new strain of the coronavirus that was recently detected in the UK. The first flight carrying 256 passengers arrived in Delhi today from London.
The ban on flights to the UK was lifted on January 6. 30 flights will operate each week - 15 each by Indian and UK carriers. This schedule will continue till January 23, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had informed earlier. Passengers will have to take an RT-PCR test up to 72 hours before a flight and on arrival. Meanwhile, leaders, including Rajasthan and Delhi Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot and Arvind Kejriwal, hit out at the Centre for partially lifting the ban and urged authorities to extend the ban. Meanwhile, the number of people who have tested positive for the new UK variant of coronavirus has climbed to 82 in India, the health ministry said.
The Oxford of the East, Pune has emerged as the happiest city in Maharashtra and has achieved 12th rank in the happiness index in India, states the findings of a survey titled ‘Indian Cities Happiness Report 2020’, between October 2020 to November 2020. During the study, 13,000 people were surveyed across the country in the 34 cities which were selected.
From Maharashtra, Mumbai and Nagpur along with Pune have made it to the list of top 25 happy cities in India. While Nagpur ranked 17th, Mumbai is at 21st position. Ludhiana, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh grabbed the first three positions in the survey. The happiness index is based on the parameters like age, education, income and the general amenities one needs for living a comfortable life.
Satyanand, the main accused in the Badaun gangrape and murder case, landed in police net, late on Thursday night, almost four days after a 50-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped and abandoned outside her home at a village in Badaun district. District Magistrate, Kumar Prashant, confirmed that Satyanand, the local temple priest and the main accused was hiding in the house of one of his followers in a village from where he was picked up and arrested.
Two of his aides had been arrested earlier. It may be recalled that the victim, a 50-year-old woman, had gone to the temple on Sunday evening. Later, on Sunday night, she was dropped outside her home in a critically injured condition by two men. The woman later succumbed to the injuries.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Thursday became the richest person in the world, surpassing Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who had held the title since 2017. According to a report, the net worth of Musk is more than USD 185 billion, up from USD 27 billion in early 2020. Thursday's increase in Tesla's share price pushed Musk past Jeff Bezos, whose current net worth is about USD 184 billion.
Musk's wealth surge over the past year marks the fastest rise to the top of the rich list in history, said a report. Musk started 2020 with his worth about USD 27 billion and was barely in the top 50 richest people. Tesla's shares were recently trading at about USD 790, up more than 4 per cent in trading on Thursday. The company's market value has grown to USD 737.6 billion. Tesla's rocketing share price which has increased more than nine-fold over the past year along with his generous pay package has added more than USD 150 billion to his net worth.
Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel reached Bandra police station around noon to record their statements in connection to a sedition case that has been filed against them. The Bombay High Court, which had granted interim protection from arrest to Ranaut and her sister, asked them to appear before the Mumbai Police on Friday.
The sisters were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code in connection with charges of sedition and for allegedly promoting enmity between different communities in October last year. The sisters were earlier summoned thrice, but were unable to appear before the police as there was a wedding in the family and had later approached the Bombay high court to quash the FIR. Earlier, she had tweeted a video and alleged that she is being tortured mentally, emotionally and physically. She further claimed she has been asked not to disclose to anyone about the kind of torture she is being subjected to.
(With input from agencies)
