THIS DAY, THAT YEAR-13TH APRIL: 1919: British troops massacre around 400 unarmed civilians at Jallianwala Bagh in India. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered his men to shoot into the crowd, in his own words “to punish the Indians for disobedience.” The Indian independence movement grew considerably after the Amritsar massacre

THIS DAY, THAT YEAR-13TH APRIL: 1970: An oxygen tank explodes on Apollo 13, leaving the spacecraft crippled. The emergency prompted Jack Swigert’s famous quote “Houston, we’ve had a problem”. The crew managed to return to Earth safely.

13TH APRIL-“National Scrabble” day is celebrated to praise the most popular board word game named Scrabble, on the birthday of its inventor, Alfred Mosher Butts. Scrabble is a game where players score points by placing the tiles; every person will bear a single letter onto the game board which is split into 15*15 grids of squares.

13TH APRIL-“National Be Kind To Lawyer’s” day is observed to dispel the myth of the Lawyers charging “more than they should from their clients” and raise awareness about the constructive and important role lawyers lay in ensuring that a society functions smoothly.

13TH APRIL-“International FND [Functional Neurological Disorder] Awareness” day to help educate people about what FND is and how people can help towards the cause of funding research for the disorder pertaining to the breakdown of communication between the brain and the body and finding a potential cure for it.

13TH APRIL-“Thomas Jefferson” day is observed to pay honour and tribute to the former President of the US. Thomas Jefferson is better known for his most significant achievement as signing the Declaration of Independence.

13TH APRIL-“Make Lunch Count” day Is observed to encourage people to take a break and go to lunch as taking breaks can help employees increase productivity, gain focus and energy after stepping away from their desks as a break with colleagues can not only help in preventing an unproductive, mid-afternoon slump but also improve mental health and boost creativity.

New Delhi: VP M Venkaiah Naidu and PM Modi to interact with Governors of various states on the COVID-19 situation. Centre looking to push for stronger adherence to the pandemic protocols among citizens across the country. The development comes days after PMs meeting with CMs had called for the involvement of governors in handling the pandemic

Berlin: German government aims to agree on a bill that would shift more powers from state to federal authorities to set pandemic restrictions. The country’s decentralised political system has resulted in an confusing patchwork of rules and regulations to reduce coronavirus infections in Germany’s 16 states. The goal of the bill is to have a single nationwide rule for all areas where there are more than 100 new weekly cases

Beirut: Lebanon’s minister of public works signs a decree that would formally extend Lebanon’s claims by 1,430 square kilometres (550 square miles) in a maritime border dispute with Israel. The unilateral move by Lebanon is likely to anger Israel and the US who are not expected to recognise Beirut’s extension of the disputed area. Lebanon and Israel began indirect talks with U.S. Mediation in October to reach a deal over the disputed area that is believed to be rich with oil and natural gas deposits.

Dubai: Iran blames Israel for a sabotage attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges, an assault that imperils ongoing talks over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal and brings a shadow war between the two countries into the light.

London: UK PM Boris Johnson urges people to continue to “behave responsibly” as shops, hairdressers, restaurants, pubs and gyms reopen their doors in the latest stage of the coronavirus lockdown easing in England. “While the case rate has declined in London, we have seen the concerning position in northern Europe. It is important that we all stick to the rules so further lockdowns, or restrictions, are avoided”- Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: London: Indian stars Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor, who died in April 2020, honoured at BAFTA’s [British Academy of Film and Television Arts] ‘in memoriam’ segment. In Memoriam’ segment honours personalities lost in the past year. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died on April 9, 2021 at Windsor Castle, Sean Connery, George Segal, Ben Cross, Christopher Plummer and Kirk Douglas were among the many celebrities who were remembered in the segment this year.

SPORTS – Cricket: IPL 2021: Match No.4: PBKS 221/6 beat RR 217/ 7 by 4 runs.

SPORTS – Football: EPL: West Brom beat Southampton 3-0: Everton draw Brighton 0-0