Allahabad HC allows court-monitored inspection of Mathura’s Shahi Idgah mosque
The Allahabad High Court allowed an application seeking appointment of a court commission to inspect the Shahi Idgah mosque, which sits next to the Krishna Janambhoomi temple in Mathura. The order comes at a time when the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is already conducting a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, after petitioners claimed that it was a Hindu temple.
Tender for redevelopment of Parliament security infra was floated a day before breach
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) had floated a tender for additional security infrastructure for the Parliament complex, including security gadgets and bulletproof enclosures, a day before the security breach in the Lok Sabha took place. The CPWD comes under the ambit of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry. The CPWD tender document — titled, “Redevelopment of reception lounge & other security infrastructure in Parliament Complex, New Delhi” — had an estimated cost of ₹35 crore and was published on December 12.
India, U.S. concur on need for speed on virtual assets’ standard
India and the United States of America, in a bilateral dialogue on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, agreed about the pressing need to accelerate global implementation of standards for virtual assets like crypto currencies to effectively to effectively address the issue of regulatory arbitrage, the Finance Ministry said.
After 7 months, bodies of 64 Manipur victims airlifted for last rites
The bodies of 64 people who died during the ethnic violence in Manipur more than seven months ago were airlifted for the last rites. The airlifting of the bodies followed the Supreme Court’s November 29 directive to the Manipur government seeking “decent and dignified” disposal of unclaimed bodies of those killed in the ethnic conflict.
Iran set to remove visa requirement for Indian travellers
Iran is expected to remove visa requirement for Indian travellers. According to an official announcement from Tehran, India is on a visa-exemption list that has 32 other countries, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan and the UAE. India has recently been placed on similar visa-exemption lists of countries such as Malaysia and Sri Lanka that are seeking to boost tourism and trade.
Israel bombs Gaza as rift with U.S. grows
Israel bombed Gaza in its war against Hamas militants as a top White House adviser travelled to Jerusalem with a rift growing over civilian casualties. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas. It began a relentless bombardment and ground invasion that has left swathes of Gaza in ruins. According to the Gaza Health Ministry's latest toll, 18,608 people, mostly women and children, have been killed.
E-cigarettes are not shown to be effective for quitting tobacco use: WHO
E-cigarettes as consumer products are not shown to be effective for quitting tobacco use at the population level. Instead, alarming evidence has emerged on adverse population health effects, said the World Health Organisation. It added there is an urgent need to control e-cigarettes to protect children, as well as non-smokers and minimise health harms to the population.
Supreme Court extends interim bail granted to AAP leader Satyendar Jain till January 8
The Supreme Court extended till January 8 the interim bail granted to former Delhi Minister Satyendar Kumar Jain in a money laundering case. A Bench of Justices Bela M. Trivedi and S.C. Sharma granted the relief to Mr. Jain after noting that he suffered a fracture in the leg on December 9. “Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, we are inclined to extend interim order,” the Bench said.
Chhattisgarh cabinet clears 18 lakh rural homes in first meeting
In its first Cabinet meeting held, the newly sworn-in Bharatiya Janata Party government of Chhattisgarh cleared the proposal of implementing the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna for over 18 lakh poor families in rural areas. The promise of constructing these houses was one of the key pre-election promises made by the BJP. Announcing the decision at a press conference held in Nava Raipur, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said earlier the poor did not get the benefit of the Central scheme.
The Supreme Court conditionally suspended the conviction of former Bahujan Samaj Party MP Afzal Ansari in a 2007 Gangsters Act case. A Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan in a majority verdict said Mr. Ansari, a former MP from the Ghazipur constituency of Uttar Pradesh, would not cast his vote in the Lok Sabha nor draw any perk but could attend the proceedings of the House
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies surged to an all-time high of ₹354.41 lakh crore in early trade, with investors becoming richer by ₹3.22 lakh crore, as the benchmark Sensex hit its all-time high level driven by a rally in global equities. Global markets rallied after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged and signalled that they expect to make three quarter-point cuts to their benchmark interest rate next year.
The Madras High Court has raised a doubt as to whether a conspiracy hatched to kill leaders belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or even the killing of Hindu religious leaders as such can be termed as a ‘terrorist act.’ Justices S.S. Sundar and Sunder Mohan said, an act would fall under Section 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 if had been committed with an intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, economic security or sovereignty of the country.
Doctors advise Singaporeans to vaccinate, put on face masks amidst COVID-19 wave
Doctors in Singapore are calling on people to vaccinate and to put on a face mask to reduce the usual year-end increase in acute respiratory infections, including COVID-19, influenza and the common cold. Both Healthway Medical, the largest general practice chain with more than 120 clinics, and Parkway Shenton with 55 GP clinics, say they have seen a 30% increase in respiratory infections, according to a report by The Straits Times on December 12.
Mohammed Shami nominated for Arjuna Award, Satwik-Chirag for Khel Ratna
Pacer Mohammed Shami has been nominated for this year’s Arjuna Award, while the men’s doubles badminton pair of Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were nominated for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. As per the Ministry’s sources, a special request was made by the BCCI to the sports ministry to include Shami’s name as he originally didn’t figure in the list.
