Stealth-guided missile destroyer Mormugao commissioned into Indian Navy
Remarking that the state-of-the-art warship INS Mormugao was a major example of the country’s indigenous defense production capability, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on December 18 expressed confidence about India being able to cater to not just local but global ship-building needs as well. Mr. Singh was speaking at Mumbai’s Mazagaon docks during the Commissioning Ceremony of the INS Mormugao, the second of four ‘Visakhapatnam’-class destroyers, also classed as P-15B stealth, guided-missile destroyers, indigenously designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau.
PM Modi speaks on development and welfare initiatives of the ‘double engine’ government
“Tripura earlier used to be discussed outside on two matters – elections and violence”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said addressing a public rally in Agartala on December 18, adding that now people talk about the state in matters of Swachhata and other matters. He said Tripura recently got first prize from the centre for successful management of the Swachhata campaign in the small state category. He said the employment, economic and communication scenarios of the state will get boosted after completion of sanctioned projects in all spheres.
COP15 | India pushes for new, dedicated fund for biodiversity conservation
There is an urgent need to create a new and dedicated fund to help developing countries successfully implement a post-2020 global framework to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, India has said at the U.N. biodiversity conference in Canada’s Montreal. It has also said that conservation of biodiversity must also be based on ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities’ (CBDR) as climate change also impacts nature. “There is a need to create a new and dedicated mechanism for the provision of financial resources to developing-country parties. Such a fund should be operationalised at the earliest to ensure effective implementation of the post-2020 GBF by all countries,” Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.
Kamal Haasan to join Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Delhi
Makkal Needhi Maiam founder and actor Kamal Haasan will join Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Delhi on December 24. Party sources who were a part of the emergency governing council and executive council meeting on December 18 said Mr. Haasan accepted the invitation of Mr. Gandhi who had written a letter asking him to walk with him in Delhi. Speaking to the reporters briefly, Mr. Haasan said that his participation in the Yatra will indicate where his sympathies lie in politics.
PM Modi and not Rajnath Singh must answer on border issue in Parliament: Congress
The Congress on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “running away” from a debate in Parliament on the situation along the border with China and said he and not the Defence Minister must answer on this issue. The opposition party also alleged that the Prime Minister does not utter the word “China” and asked whether the government was “silent” due to its “close ties” with that country.
Amid ED probe, Chhattisgarh CM says prepared for more such moves from Centre as polls approach
Amid the probe by Enforcement Directorate in the alleged coal levy scam and the arrest of a few bureaucrats and businessmen, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on December 18 called the action “vendetta politics” and said he was prepared for more such moves by the Centre. “We welcome action against corruption. But if the action is politically motivated then it is wrong. Whenever I campaigned in elections in other States, raids were conducted in Chhattisgarh by the central agencies,” Mr. Baghel said.
No infighting within Himachal Congress, ‘conflict’ was for CM post: Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
There is no infighting within the Himachal Pradesh Congress and the “conflict” was only for chief ministership as there were three-four claimants, newly sworn-in CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has said, adding if something were wrong, there would have been a “Rajasthan-like situation”. He asserted that no Congress legislator in the State would defect to the BJP and the party’s government was committed to work for the people and would fulfil the promise of restoring the old pension scheme for government employees in the first cabinet meeting.
Libya militia held Lockerbie suspect before handover to U.S.
Around midnight in mid-November, Libyan militiamen in two Toyota pickup trucks arrived at a residential building in a neighborhood of the capital of Tripoli. They stormed the house, bringing out a blindfolded man in his 70s. Their target was former Libyan intelligence agent Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi, wanted by the United States for allegedly making the bomb that brought down New York-bound Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, just days before Christmas in 1988. The attack killed 259 people in the air and 11 on the ground.
Fuel tanker tunnel blast kills at least 19 in Afghanistan
At least 19 people were killed and 32 injured when a fuel tanker exploded in a tunnel north of the Afghan capital Kabul, a local official said December 18. The Salang Tunnel, which is around 80 miles north of Kabul, was originally built in the 1960s to assist the Soviet invasion. It is a key link between the country’s north and south.
North Korea fires two ballistic missiles in resumption of testing
North Korea test-fired a pair of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles with a range of striking Japan on December 18, in a possible protest of Tokyo’s adoption of a new security strategy to push for more offensive footing against North Korea and China. The launches also came two days after the North claimed to have performed a key test needed to build a more mobile, powerful intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland.
FIFA World Cup 2022 | Messi is great, but France is here to win, says Hugo Lloris
The world may have billed this as a Lionel Messi versus Kylian Mbappe final, but France captain Hugo Lloris said it would be foolish on his team’s part to just focus on the Argentine captain. “I believe the event is too massive to focus on one player. It’s a final between two big nations but when you play that type of a player [Messi], you need special focus. But Argentina is a tough team with a young generation of player who are dedicated to Leo Messi,” Lloris said.
India demolishes Bangladesh, Shakib’s gallant cameo notwithstanding
India made short work of the Bangladesh tail, removing the last four wickets for 52 runs in 11.2 overs, to record a thumping 188-run victory and take a 1-0 series lead, at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on December 18. The win was important in India’s quest to keep its World Test Championship dream alive. It is now second in the table behind Australia (with five more Tests remaining in this cycle), nosing ahead of South Africa which lost in Brisbane, also on Sunday, in under two days.
