The first of February every year is all about the Union Budget. So if you are tired of reading about budget allocations, here's a list of developments that you may have missed while following the main news of the day.
The New York Times Buys Viral Game Wordle
The New York Times has acquired Wordle, the wildly popular daily word game, which is set to join the newspaper's collection of puzzle games, NYT said in a press statement on Monday, 31 January.
Wordle had been acquired for an undisclosed price in the low-seven figures, NYT said, adding that it will be free to play for new and existing players, and no changes will be made to its gameplay.
Delhi Gang-Rape: 3 FIRs Filed After Survivor's Suicide Rumours
A resident of Delhi's Shahdara was beaten up and paraded by locals after being allegedly gang-raped by three men.
(Photo: The Quint)
The Delhi Police on Tuesday, 1 February, registered three more First Information Reports (FIRs) in connection with the abduction, gang-rape, and torture of a 20-year-old woman after it was discovered on Monday that some social media accounts spread rumours that the survivor had died by suicide.
Dharavi Protest: YouTuber Held for 'Instigating' Students
A day after students staged a huge protest near the residence of Maharashtra School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad in Mumbai, YouTuber and social media influencer Vikas Fhatak, popularly known as ‘Hindustani Bhau’, was arrested by the Dharavi Police for allegedly instigating students.
Hundreds of students from Dharavi protested against the Maharashtra government's decision to conduct offline exams for Classes 10 to 12, and they demanded that the exams be conducted online amid the Omicron surge.
Amazon To Draw Curtains on Publishing House Westland
Westland Books was acquired by Amazon in 2017.
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter Screenshot)
Westland Books, a major player in the Indian publishing market, will soon be shut down by Amazon, as per a statement released by an Amazon spokesperson on 1 February. Amazon had acquired Westland five years ago, turning the publisher into one of the highly acclaimed bodies with its variegated bag of fiction and non-fiction titles.
IPL Auction: BCCI Releases Full List of 590 Players
The BCCI has announced the final shortlist of players set to go under the hammer in the 2022 IPL auction on 12 and 13 February, with 590 cricketers making the cut.
Amongst the 590 players who have been shortlisted for the auction, 228 are capped players, 355 are uncapped players, and seven belong to Associate Nations.
Actor Dileep Uncooperative: Cops to Kerala HC
Malayalam film actor Dileep is accused of having conspired to orchestrate the rape of an actress.
(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)
Malayalam actor Dileep has not submitted an iPhone that could be crucial to the probe and is not cooperating with the investigation, alleged officers during the hearing of the anticipatory bail plea moved by the actor in a case of an alleged conspiracy to kill police officials investigating the 2017 actress sexual assault case.
Senior Advocate TA Shaji slammed Dileep, stating he could not "take the court and the prosecution for a ride," during the anticipatory bail hearing.
Maharashtra Relaxes COVID-19 Curbs
The Maharashtra government on 31 January, Monday, announced new COVID guidelines and relaxation of COVID curbs in certain districts. These guidelines came to effect from the early hours of Tuesday, 1 February, and shall remain in place until further orders.
The night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am may be withdrawn by the District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA).
You can read more here.
‘National Security’: Not the First Time BJP Govt Denied Clearance to MediaOne TV
Malayalam news channel MediaOne's security clearance was cancelled twice by the Ministry of Home Affairs citing "national security" grounds.
(Image: Chetan Bhakuni\TheQuint)
The Centre made efforts to stop the broadcast of Malayalam news channel MediaOne, not once but twice, citing “national security” as the reason, The Quint has learnt by accessing documents of correspondence between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the channel.
While on Monday, 31 January, the I&B Ministry denied the channel the right to run its operations on “national security” grounds, in 2016, the channel was sent a show-cause notice which had cited the same reason – "national security" – for demanding a halt to its functioning.
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