·       he Britain on  November 26, 2021, designated all of Hamas an "Islamist terrorist group", warning that its members and those who support the group could face stiff jail terms.

·       The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the group that rules the Gaza Strip, has been banned in Britain since 2001 but the interior ministry extended the ban to its political entities.

·       The Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland has  said  that its Managing Director and CEO Vipin Sondhi has resigned from the company citing personal commitments and Dheeraj Hinduja has stepped in as executive chairman with immediate effect for business continuity.

·       Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa will lead the Indian men's and women's teams in the 20th Asian Squash Team Championship, to be held in Kuala Lumpur from November 30 to December 4.

·       The men's squad, which has been given the top billing, includes Ramit Tandon, Mahesh Mangaonkar and Velavan Senthilkumar, apart from Ghosal (world No.15),

·       The same team will feature in the World Men's Team Championship, to be held after the Asian meet in the Malaysian capital.

·       The third-seeded women's team for the Asian event consists of Sunayna Kuruvilla, Urwashi Joshi and Aparajitha Balamurukan besides Chinappa, the highest ranked Indian player.

·       The Asian Team Championship, a biennial event was scheduled for 2020, but was postponed to this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

·       Indian men's team for Asian Team championship and World Team Championship: Saurav Ghosal, Ramit Tandon, Mahesh Mangaonkar and Velavan Senthilkumar.

·       Olympic bronze medal-winning captain Manpreet Singh will lead a 20-member Indian men's hockey team, which doesn't feature veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, at next month's Hero Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka.

·       While Manpreet will lead the side, star dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh has been named as the vice-captain for the tournament, to be held from December 14 to 22.

·       The other teams in the tournament are Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan and hosts Bangladesh.

·      In the previous edition of the event held in Muscat, Oman, India had jointly lifted the title along with Pakistan as the final was called off due to incessant rains.

·      The junior women’s World Cup, scheduled to be held in South Africa from December 5, has been put on hold by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The development comes after the emergence of a new coronavirus variant (B.1.1.529).

The junior women’s World Cup, scheduled to be held in South Africa from December 5, .

·      Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the head of the Brazilian Olympic Committee for more than two decades, was sentenced to 30 years and 11 months in jail for allegedly buying votes for Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Olympics.

·      Nuzman, who also headed the Rio 2016 organizing committee, was found guilty of corruption, criminal organization, money laundering and tax evasion. The 79-year-old executive won't be jailed until all his appeals are heard

·       As far as legacies go, Sihle Ntuli is on the verge of etching a chapter for himself in South Africa’s hockey history. On Nov 24 , he became the first black man to be the chief coach for the country at a men’s FIH event.   

·       Despite strong push by the north block, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has not accepted a recommendation to allow industrial houses to float banks in the country, following the line of former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan and deputy governor Viral Acharya, who had sharply opposed the entry of large corporates into banking, at least for the time being.

·       The central bank  has  said it has accepted 21 out of the 33 recommendations submitted by a central bank working group on ownership and corporate structure for Indian private sector banks.

·       However,  the RBI accepted the recommendation to allow raising the cap on promoters' stakes in long run of 15 years to 26 per cent, from the current levels of 15 per cent, giving relief to private bankers like Uday Kotak.

·       Last year, the RBI had allowed Uday Kotak to keep an equity stake of 26 per cent in the bank, and not 15 per cent as mandated for other promoters of private banks, making an exception for him. The central bank decided it kept the non-promoter shareholding capped at 10 per cent for individuals or non-financial institutions.

·       The cap will be at 15 per cent in case of all categories of financial institutions or entities, supranational institutions, public sector undertaking or government, the RBI said. The central bank also clarified that the extant instructions on the requirement of prior approval of the RBI to acquire shareholding or voting rights of 5 per cent or more will continue.

·       The RBI has  also said payments banks must operate for at least five years before applying to become small finance banks (SFB), going against the group’s recommendation of three years of operations.

·       Also, the RBI accepted the proposal that there is no need to fix any cap on the promoters’ holding in the initial five years. The central bank has accepted the recommendation to tighten the rules controlling huge NBFCs, making them as strict as the banking laws. The regulator also accepted proposals that allowed for an increase in the minimum initial capital requirement for licensing of new banks.

·       Recommendations: What's approved?

·       Out of the 33 sets of recommendations by the working group, the RBI accepted 21, many with modification

·       Accepts raising the cap on promoters’ stakes to 26 per cent from the current 15 per cent

·       Puts on hold the entry of corporate into banking

·       Tightens the rules governing big NBFCs to be as stringent as it is for banks

·       RBI said payments banks must operate for at least 5 years to become small finance banks, against recommendation of three years

·       Rejects non-promoter shareholding should be raised to 15% for all non-promoter shareholders

·       Indian Oil Corporation's Mathura refinery has received environmental clearance for projects to expand its crude processing capacity to 11 mmtpa. Mathura Refinery has processing capacity of 8 mmtpa, at present.

·       The proposal would generate employment opportunities (direct and indirect). Mathura Refinery, since inception, has shown its concern for the environment through plantation and reducing sulphur content in diesel and petrol produced at the unit

·       It has set up air monitoring stations at Farah, Keetham, Sikandara and Bharatpur to ascertain air quality in the area. The refinery has undertaken projects to upgrade its diesel and gasoline units to bring down sulphur level by nearly 80 per cent.