South Africa has classified a spate of poisonings as a “national disaster”, after at least 23 children have died in recent months.

A five-year-old-boy this week became the latest suspected victim when he died after reportedly eating snacks from a small shop in Soweto.

Several of the deaths have been blamed on pesticide-tainted food bought from small convenience shops in townships, though it is not clear if all the incidents are linked.

President Cyril Ramaphosa last week unveiled a plan to remove suspect pesticides from the streets and shops, and ordered that informal convenience stores known as spaza shops, or tuck shops, register within 21 days.

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) declared the winners of the National Gopal Ratna Awards(NGRA) ; one of the highest National Awards in the field of livestock and dairy sector for the year 2024. These awards will be given on the occasion of National Milk Day celebrations on 26th November 2024 at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi. The Awards to the winners will be conferred by Union Minister, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in the august presence of Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel and Shri George Kurian, Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in a grand function being organized by the department as part of the National Milk Day celebrations 2024.

About National Gopal Ratna Awards

The National Gopal Ratna Awards are conferred with an objective to recognize and encourage all individuals like Farmers rearing indigenous animals, AI Technicians and Dairy cooperative societies / Milk Producer Company / Dairy farmers Producers Organizations working in the sector of animal husbandry and dairying. The Award is conferred in three categories, namely,

Best Dairy Farmer Rearing Indigenous Cattle/buffalo Breeds,
Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT) and
Best Dairy Cooperative/ Milk Producer Company/ Dairy Farmer Producer Organization.

The Association of Indian American Minorities (AIAM), a newly formed non-governmental organisation, was launched on Friday at the Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church in Maryland. The initiative aims to unite and promote the welfare of minority communities within the Indian American diaspora.

During the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honoured in absentia with the ‘Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Global Peace Award for Minority Upliftment.’ The award was jointly presented by Washington Adventist University and AIAM, recognizing his efforts toward inclusive development and minority welfare.

AIAM is set to foster unity among Indian Americans in the United States.

Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Annpurna Devi will launch a national campaign "Ab Koi Bahana Nahi" November 25 at Rang Bhawan, All India Radio in New Delhi.

This campaign is a collaborative effort between the Ministries of Women and Child Development and Rural Development, with support from UN Women which calls on the public, government and key stakeholders to take actionable steps to eliminate gender-based violence.

The campaign is launched along with the 'Nayi Chetna 3.0 campaign,' led by the Ministry of Rural Development, to ensure a wide reach on spreading the call to action on ending gender-based violence, leaving no one behind, as per an official statement.

Set against the tense backdrop of the Cold War, a period when the United States and the Soviet Union were constantly trying to outsmart each other, intelligence operatives had to get creative. Each side sought any advantage, even if it meant scouring through discarded scraps in search of clues that might tip the balance of power.

The Mission

Operation Tamarisk involved agents from the U.S., U.K., and France, who sifted through garbage left behind by Soviet troops stationed in East Germany. Discarded items included food scraps, letters, military documents, and even used toilet paper. Since Soviet troops often used official documents as a substitute for toilet paper, intelligence agents found sensitive information scattered among trash heaps. In some cases, agents retrieved items from hospital waste bins, where discarded limbs provided clues about the types of shrapnel and injuries Soviet soldiers suffered, particularly from their involvement in the war in Afghanistan. This operation, referred to as “tamarisk” by some operatives, was known for its gritty and unsanitary work but was valued for the intelligence it yielded.

South African writer and poet Breyten Breytenbach, a staunch opponent of the former white-minority government's apartheid policy of racial oppression, has died in Paris, his family announced. He was 85.

Mr. Breytenbach was a celebrated wordsmith, a leading voice in literature in Afrikaans — an offshoot of Dutch that was developed by white settlers — and a fierce critic of apartheid that was imposed against the country's Black majority between 1948 and 1990.

He moved to Paris but on a clandestine trip to his home country in 1975 he was arrested on allegations that he assisted Nelson Mandela's then-outlawed African National Congress group in its sabotage campaign against the white-minority government.

A day after securing a grand victory, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren on Sunday submitted his resignation to Governor Santosh Gangwar and staked claim to form the government. He will take charge on November 28.

Before going to the Raj Bhavan, Mr. Soren held a meeting with the new MLAs of INDIA bloc where he was unanimously elected leader of the legislature party.

Out of the 81 Assembly seats, the INDIA bloc bagged 56 seats in the election, whereas the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 24 seats, and one seat has gone to the kitty of the Jharkhand Loktrantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) led by Jairam Tiger Mahto.

The Indian Cast Guard will conduct National Maritime Search and Rescue Exercises & Workshop (SAREX-24) under the aegis of NMSAR Board at Kochi from November 27 to 30, according to an official press statement.

This workshop will be conducted with imperatives to validate the National M-SAR construct through 'all-inclusive' and 'collaborative' approach.

The release added, taking cognizance of the vast 4.6 Million Sq Kms of Indian Search and Rescue Region (ISRR) bestowed to India, Indian Cast Guard has been a proponent of cooperative engagements not only with the resource agencies but also with littorals and friendly foreign countries.

Response operation to large scale contingencies at sea, termed as 'Mass Rescue Operation' (MRO) will be the essence of 11th edition of SAREX-24.

N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Choudary Bolipalli won the ATP Challenger title in Rovereto, Italy. On Saturday, November 23, the Indian pair defeated Francisco Cabral and Theo Arribage 6-3, 2-6, 12-10. It took the Indians an hour and 20 minutes to win the match on Centre Court.

Balaji and Bolipalli had it easy in the opening set where they converted one of their three break point chances to come up trumps. But Cabral and Arribage stormed back, winning the second set and forcing a decider.

Bolipalli and Arribage dropped their serve twice and failed to convert two chances to break their opponent’s serve. With the title on the line, the third and final set was expected to be a nail-biting affair and it turned out to be an absolute thriller.

Reetika Hooda has made history by winning the gold medal in the women’s 76kg category at the World Military Championships, becoming the second Indian woman to achieve this feat after Jyoti Sihag. This victory marks a significant milestone for Indian women’s wrestling and highlights the growing strength of the sport in the country.

Reetika Hooda’s Historic Achievement

Reetika’s gold medal win follows Jyoti Sihag’s triumph in the 55kg category just a day earlier. This back-to-back success signifies the hard work and dedication of Indian female wrestlers. Reetika’s victory is particularly noteworthy as it comes after her heart-wrenching exit at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she narrowly missed out on a medal.