Star Argentine footballer Lionel Messi has equalled Brazilian legend Pele’s record of 643 goals for a single club by scoring for Barcelona against Valencia. Messi has achieved the feat in a Spanish league match where both the teams ended in a 2-2 draw yesterday.

Football legend Pele scored 643 goals in 665 competitive games for Brazilian club Santos between 1956 and 1974 while Messi needed 748 matches from 2005 to 2020 to reach the tally.

PrimeMinister Narendra Modi today visited Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in New Delhiand paid tributes to the courageous Guru Teg Bahadur who made supreme sacrificefor a noble cause, a few centuries ago. 

In a tweet, Mr Modi said thathe prayed this morning at the historic Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in NewDelhi wherethe pious Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji’s mortal remains were cremated. 

Mr Modi said, he felt extremelyblessed as he and millions around the world are deeply inspired by the kindnessof Sri Guru Teg Bahadur.

He said, it is the Blessing ofthe Guru Sahib that the country will mark the special occasion of the 400thParkash Parv of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur during NDA Government’s tenure. Mr Modisaid, let us mark this blessed occasion in a historic manner and celebrate theideals of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji.

The sudden visit of the Mr Modicaught the Gurudwara authorities by surprise as the Prime Minister came at ashort notice. And his visit did not cause any inconvenience to devotees asthere were no police arrangements or traffic barriers.

PM Modi had also paid tributesto Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji on his Shaheedi Diwas in a tweet yesterday. He wrotethat Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s life epitomised courage and compassion. And Onhis Shaheedi Diwas, he bows to the great Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and recallhis vision for a just and inclusive society.

Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninthguru, was born in 1621 and was martyred in 1675 in Delhi. Sikh tradition statesthat the Guru stood up for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits who approached him tointercede on their behalf with the emperor Aurangzeb and ask him to revoke arecently imposed tax. He was publicly executed in 1675 on the ordersof  emperor in Delhi for defying Mughal rulers. 

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed tighter coronavirus curbs and largely reversed plans to ease restrictions over Christmas as the country battles a new more infectious strain of the Corona virus. The number of cases in England has soared in the last two weeks because of a variant of the virus that scientists said is up to 70% more transmissible.

British Prime minister tore up plans to allow three households to mix indoors for five days over the festive period and said London and southeast England would now be placed in a new Tier 4 level. People in Tier 4 will be required to stay at home except for essential reasons. The new rules will come into effect from tonight.

The country’s COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 95.46 per cent as more than 29 thousand COVID patients have recovered during the last 24 hours.

The Health Ministry said, the total number of recoveries has gone up to over 95 lakh 50 thousand. India’s COVID recoveries have witnessed a steep exponential rise from 50 thousand in May to over 95 lakh in December.

Currently, India’s Case Fatality Rate is at 1.45 per cent, which is one of the lowest globally. India’s cumulative tests for detection of COVID-19 have crossed the 16 crore mark today. 

Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth 11.86 crore rupees belonging to former chief minister Farooq Abdullah and some others in connection with Jammu Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) scam. While the book value of these attached properties is 11.86 crore rupees, their market value is about 60 to 70 crore rupees.

The ED issued provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the attached properties are located in Jammu and Srinagar. Two immovable assets are residential, one is a commercial property while three other plots of land have also been attached by the Enforcement Directorate.

Mr Abdullah is being investigated over allegations of misappropriating 113 crore rupees that was sent to the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The allegations pertain to a time when he was president of the JKCA. Mr Abdullah has been questioned by the ED in this case a number of times, the last being in October at Srinagar. 

Election Commission of India has issued advisory to Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry for transfer and posting of officers connected with conduct of assembly elections to be held next year. ECI has advised that government officers directly connected with the conduct of elections must not be posted in her or his home district.

It said officers against whom the Commission had recommended disciplinary action in past and which is pending or which has resulted in a penalty or the officers who have been charged for any lapse in any election or election related work in the past, should not be assigned any election related duty. Further, any officer, who is due to retire within the coming six months, should not be associated with any election related duty. It also said the officers posted on recommendation of the Commission during 2019 Lok Sabha elections may be exempted from the transfer policy.

The Prime Minister said even during the pandemic, when the whole world is troubled for investment, record FDI and FPI have come to India as the world trusts the Indian economy now. He gave a call for the industry to increase the domestic investment drastically in line with the increased confidence of the world.
 
Delivering the keynote address  virtually at ASSOCHAM Foundation Week 2020 on saturday, the Prime Minister asked the Indian industry to increase their investments in Research and Development especially in sectors like agriculture, defence, space, energy, construction, pharma and transport.
 
 
Mr Modi also urged  all the companies to earmark a certain amount for Research and Development in every sector. He said, the world is moving rapidly towards the fourth industrial revolution. He said, challenges will come in the form of new technology and many solutions will also come.
 
The Prime Minister said this is the time to show Capability, Commitment and Courage of Indian industry to the world. He called upon industries and businesses to put all their energies in the coming years to establish a self-reliant India. He said, in 27 years the country will be celebrating its centenary of Independence and what the country is going to deliver in the coming 27 years will not only determine India’s global role, but will also test both the dreams and dedication of Indians.
 
The Prime Minister said, from corporate governance to profit-sharing, the best policies of the world must be adopted as early as possible and a profit-centric approach should be made purpose-oriented and more integrated with the society.
 
Mr Modi said, the country stands beside enterprises and wealth-creators that will give India’s youth a lot of opportunities. He said, India’s youth is making its name in innovation and the start-up sector.
 
The Prime Minister said, the Government is constantly doing reforms to promote manufacturing in India and more than 10 sectors have been brought under production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. He said, positive results have been witnessed in a very short period. Mr Modi said, the reforms in the country have influenced in changing the sentiment of the industry from ‘Why India’ to ‘Why not India’ in investing.
 
Mr Modi stressed on the need to have an effective mechanism for how India will meet any sudden demand in the global supply chain. The Prime Minister said, India is also capable of helping the world while meeting its needs.
 
The Prime Minister said that the Government is engaged in providing broadband connectivity to every village in the country so that the reach of the village farmer is also up to Digitally Global Markets.
 
On the occasion, the Prime Minister presented the ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century Award to Industrialist Ratan Tata, who received the award on behalf of the TATA Group.
 
The Prime Minister said, for the past 100 years, ASSOCHAM and TATA Group have been involved in improving the economy of the country and the lives of crores of Indians.
 
ASSOCHAM was established in 1920 by promoter Chambers representing all regions of India. Having in its fold over 400 Chambers and Trade Associations, and serving over 4.5 lakh members across India, ASSOCHAM has emerged as the fountainhead of knowledge for Indian industry.