Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat has been found dead in Kenya .

The Kenyan-born Kiplagat, 34, had represented Uganda internationally in the 3,000m steeplechase, including at several Olympic Games and World Championships.

Kiplagat, whose running career spanned about 18 years, won the silver medal in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2008 World Junior Championships and bronze at the Africa Championships in 2012.

He made the semi-finals of the event in the 2012 Olympics in London and also competed in Rio in 2016.

Q1. Name the Congo's President  who has won reelection with more than 70% of the vote, the country's election commission said on Dec 31 as opposition candidates and their supporters questioned the validity of the results ?

1. Janet Kataaha Museveni
2. Muhoozi Kainerugaba
3. Felix Tshisekedi
4. Bobi Wine
5. None of These

Q2. Name the Ugandan athlete  who has been 'stabbed to death' in Kenya ?

1. Hicham El Guerrouj
2. Said Aouita
3. Haile Gebrselassie
4. Benjamin Kiplagat
5. None of These

Q3. Name the former Chairman of NITI Aayog who  has been appointed as the head of the 16th Finance Commission ?

1. Ritvi Ranjanam Pandey
2. Arvind Panagariya
3. Y. V. Reddy
4. Nand Kishore Singh
5. None of These

Q4. Lina Chakrabarty was the first woman home secretary of the

1. Tripura
2. Assam
3. West Bengal
4. Odisha
5. None of These

Q5. The birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda also called Swami Vivekananda Jayanti is celebrated every year on 12 January as the

1. National Youth Day
2. International  Youth Day
3. International  Yoga  Day
4. International  Labour  Day
5. None of These

Answers

1------------------------------3  Felix Tshisekedi

2-----------------------------4   Benjamin Kiplagat

3----------------------------2  Arvind Panagariya

4------------------------------3  West Bengal

5-----------------------------1   National Youth Day

Expelled BJP leader Kamal Rawat was arrested on Dec 31  for allegedly raping a minor girl.

The Congress burnt the effigy of the BJP government over the issue.

The police had registered a case against Rawat under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The BJP's Champawat District President Nirmal Mehra said Rawat has been expelled from the party.

The Uttarakhand government has imposed an interim ban on the purchase of land by outsiders from the state for agricultural and horticulture purposes. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

Earlier, CM Dhami had mandated that land purchases in the state be approved only after thorough background checks on the buyers.

According to government sources, as per the amendment made in 2004 in Section 154 of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari and Land Reforms Act 1950, individuals who do not hold immovable property in Uttarakhand before September 12, 2003, are allowed to purchase land for agricultural and horticultural purposes with the permission of the district magistrate.

It is noteworthy that the state government has formed a drafting committee to prepare a new land law for Uttarakhand. Since the formation of the state, there has been a consistent demand from various forums to make a stringent land law similar to that of Himachal Pradesh.

The Uttarakhand government's decision comes at a time when people across the state have been protesting over the issue of stringent land laws and domicile norms, demanding that 1950 be considered as the cut-off date in this regard. 

Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus was convicted on Jan 1  of violating Bangladesh's labour laws in a case decried by his supporters as politically motivated.

Yunus, 83, is credited with lifting millions out of poverty with his pioneering microfinance bank but has earned the enmity of longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has accused him of "sucking blood" from the poor.

Hasina has made several scathing verbal attacks against the internationally respected 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was once seen as a political rival.

Yunus and three colleagues from Grameen Telecom, one of the firms he founded, were accused of violating labour laws when they failed to create a workers' welfare fund in the company.

A labour court in the capital Dhaka convicted and sentenced them to "six months' simple imprisonment", lead prosecutor Khurshid Alam Khan told AFP, adding that all four were immediately granted bail pending appeals.

All four deny the charges.

The Centre has increased the interest rate on Sukanya Samriddhi Account from 8% to 8.2% for the January-March 2024 quarter. The government on Dec 29  announced the rates of small savings schemes for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2023-24 from January 1, 2024 to March 31, 2024.

Apart from Sukanya Samriddhi scheme, rates of the three-year time deposits have been raised from 7% to 7.1%. The government has left the rates of other schemes unchanged. The savings deposit stands unchanged at 4%. One-year time deposit is at 6.9%, two-year time deposits are at 7.0%.

The government notified the rate on small savings schemes, majorly operated by post offices, every quarter.  Last September, the central government raised interest rate on a five-year recurring deposit scheme to 6.7% from 6.5% for the December quarter and retained the rates for all other small savings schemes.

The Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) is a small deposit scheme exclusively for a girl child.  The account can be opened by a parent or legal guardian of the girl child, who is below the age of 10 years. Only one account is allowed for a girl child.

A family can open only two such accounts. The minimum annual investment is Rs 250 and the maximum investment is Rs 1,50,000 a year. The principal amount deposited, interest earned during the entire tenure, and maturity benefits are tax-exempt. The principal amount is deductible under section 80C up to Rs 1,50,000. Since its inception, the scheme has garnered nearly Rs 2.06 lakh crore from 3.71 crore accounts.

South Korean company Hyundai has roped in actress Deepika Padukone as its Brand Ambassador ahead of the launch of its most popular vehicle - the Creta SUV. This addition has come even as actor ShahRukh Khan will continue to remain face of the South Korean company. Khan has been with Hyundai for over 25 years now. 

Batting stalwart David Warner on Jan 1  announced his retirement from ODI cricket alongside the end of his Test career here this week but will continue to play T20 cricket for Australia.

The 37-year-old swashbuckling opener, however, kept the door open for himself to be available for the 2025 Champions Trophy if the Australian team needs him.

Ahead of his swansong Test at his hometown venue SCG, Warner revealed that Australia's World Cup final victory over India in November was his last match in the 50-over format.