‘The Unquiet River: A biography of the Brahmaputra’ a book by Arupjyoti Saikia

1.Chile cancels APEC, COP25 summits amid social unrest

Chile’s President Sebastián Piñera said that the country will neither host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit nor the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) for security reasons.Chile has faced the largest social uprising since the return to democracy in 1990 with nationwide protests.

Also, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez offered Madrid as a replacement venue for the United Nation’s COP25 conference.

2.Rajnath Singh leaves for Tashkent to attend SCO summit

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh embarked for a two-day visit to Tashkent to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.Rajnath Singh will represent India in the meeting of Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of SCO in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

This will be the third CHG meeting after India became a member of the SCO.

The last two CHG meetings were held from November 30 to December 1, 2017, in Sochi, Russia, and on October 11 to 12, 2018 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

3.SC mandated panel declares a public health emergency in the Delhi-NCR region

A Supreme Court-mandated panel EPCA has declared a public health emergency in the Delhi-NCR region and banned all the construction activity till 5th November.In a letter written to Chief Secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, EPCA chairperson Bhure Lal said air quality in Delhi-NCR in a severe category.

Delhi CM has announced that all schools in Delhi would remain closed till November 5 after Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) announced a state of Public Health Emergency.

4.Election Commission announces Jharkhand assembly polls dates

Election Commission has announced the schedule of five-phase polls for 81 seats in Jharkhand State Assembly.The first phase of voting will be held on the 30th of November, the second phase on 7th December, 3rd phase on 12th December.

The fourth phase polling will be held on 16th and fifth phase polling on 20th of December.

The counting of votes will be held on the 23rd of December.

5.The several States, Union Territories celebrate their Formation Day on 1 November

States of Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh celebrated their formation day on 1 November.Union Territories of Lakshwadeep, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar also have their Foundation Days on 1 November.

On November 1, 1956, all Kannada speaking regions were merged to form Karnataka.

In 1963, Puducherry became officially an integral part of India.

6.Chavang Kut celebrated across North-Eastern states with traditional gaiety, enthusiasm

Chavang Kut, the post-harvest festival of the Kuki-Chin-Mizo communities is being celebrated across North-Eastern states with traditional gaiety and enthusiasm.The festival marks the Anglo-Kuki war centenary year.

In Manipur, Mizoram and Assam and other parts of the country, the festival is organized every year as thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest.

It is one of the most important festivals of Kuki-Chin-Mizo communities.

7.Shri Sanjeev Nandan Sahai assumes charge as Secretary, Ministry of Power

Shri Sanjeev Nandan Sahai assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Power.Prior to this, he was serving as the Special Secretary in the Ministry of Power.

Shri Sahai is a UT cadre IAS officer of 1986 batch. He has also served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power from May 2018 to July 2019.

Along with these Shri Sahai has held several other important positions in the Union as well as State Governments.

8.MCC champion county match to be played in Sri Lanka next year

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has announced that the next year’s champion county match will be played in Sri Lanka.The match will see the MCC take on the winners of the County Championship (Essex) in a four-day class match.

Former Sri Lanka skipper and current MCC president Kumar Sangakkara will lead the MCC lineup.

These matches used to be played at the Lord’s Cricket Ground until 2010, but since then these games have started to be played abroad.

Earlier this year, Sangakkara became MCC’s first overseas president.

9.Film producer Champak Jain passes away

Film producer Champak Jain passed away after suffering from a brain haemorrhage.He was the owner of Venus Records & Tapes and United 7.

Jain was also a film producer, who was most famously known for backing Akshay Kumar-Saif Ali Khan’s Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Shah Rukh Khan-Aishwarya Rai’s Josh.

10.‘The Unquiet River: A biography of the Brahmaputra’ a book by Arupjyoti Saikia

A book titled “The Unquiet River: A biography of the Brahmaputra”, re-imagines the layered history of Assam with the Brahmaputra river at the centre.It has been written by historian Arupjyoti Saikia, and published by Oxford University Press (OUP).

The book claims to combine a range of disciplinary scholarship to unravel the geological forces as well as a human endeavour which have shaped the river into what it is today.