Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari appoints Prachanda as new PM
President Bidya Devi Bhandari has appointed CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ as the new Prime Minister of Nepal. This follows a crucial meeting at former Prime Minister K.P. Oli’s residence where the CPN-Maoist Centre and other smaller parties agreed to form a government under the leadership of Prachanda. There has been an understanding between Prachanda and Oli to lead the government on rotation basis and Oli agreed to make Prachanda Prime Minister at the first chance as per his demand. The swearing in ceremony will take place at 4 p.m. on Monday, according to the President’s Office.
CAG detects anomalies in Assam NRC updation
The CAG report ending March 31, 2020, submitted to the 126-member Assam assembly on December 24, said 2,125 software utilities were added in a haphazard manner to the core software used for the updating exercise due to the lack of proper planning. “These were done without following the due process of either software development or selection of vendors through eligibility assessment following a national tendering,” the report said, noting that highly secure and reliable software was required for such an exercise. The haphazard development of software and utilities for the NRC data capture and correction posed the risk of data tampering without leaving any audit trail. Consequently, the intended objective of preparing a valid and error-free NRC was not met, the CAG report said.
Increasing the retirement age of Supreme Court and High Court judges could extend the years of service of non-performing judges and might have a cascading effect with government employees raising similar demands, the Department of Justice told a Parliamentary panel. It also said increasing the retirement age of judges would be considered along with measures to ensure transparency and accountability in appointments to the higher judiciary. The Department said increasing the retirement age may deprive tribunals of having retired judges as presiding officers or judicial members. It also cautioned that retirement age may have a cascading effect.
Mann ki Baat | Enjoy festivals, but with COVID precautions: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25 extended the season’s greetings to people, urging them to be a little cautious while enjoying the festivals, given that there has been an increase in COVID-19 cases in many countries. “I wish you all the best for the year 2023. May this year also be special for the country, may the country keep touching new heights, and together we have to take a resolution as well as make it come true,” Mr. Modi said during his “Mann Ki Baat” radio address.
Shift Kashmiri Pandit employees to Jammu till situation improves in Kashmir: Azad
Democratic Azad Party (DAP) chief Ghulam Nabi Azad on December 25 said Kashmiri Pandit employees should be temporarily shifted to Jammu till the situation improves in Kashmir. “Unfortunately, some incidents have happened. Life is a priority and so I am of the opinion that Kashmiri Pandit employees be transferred to safer places in Jammu. When the situation improves, they should be brought back,” Mr. Azad said.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray or UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on December 25 demanded to know why no Special Investigation Team was constituted against Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for his “insult” to Chhatrapati Shivaji. Mr. Raut also said the real reason the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government had ordered a SIT probe into the death of Disha Salian (former talent manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput) was to stifle the opposition for speaking out on important issues such as the Governor’s “insult” to Chhatrapati Shivaji, the Maharashtra-Karnataka border row, and the Chief Minister’s alleged involvement in the Nagpur land scam case.
China ready to work with India for ‘steady and sound growth’ of ties: Foreign Minister Wang Yi
“China and India have maintained communication through the diplomatic and military-to-military channels, and both countries are committed to upholding stability in the border areas,” said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, addressing a symposium on the international situation and China’s foreign relations in 2022. He said India and China have maintained communication through diplomatic and military-to-military channels. “We stand ready to work with India in the direction toward steady and sound growth of China-India relations,” he added.
World is starving for peace, Pope Francis says in Christmas message
Pope Francis called for an end to the war in Ukraine and other conflicts in his Christmas message on December 25, saying the world was suffering from a “famine of peace”. Delivering the 10th Christmas “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing and message of his pontificate, he also urged people to look beyond the “shallow holiday glitter” and help the homeless, immigrants, refugees and the poor in their midst seeking comfort, warmth and food. “Let us see the faces of all those children who, everywhere in the world, long for peace,” he said, speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter Basilica.
Putin says Russia ready to negotiate over Ukraine
President Vladimir Putin said Russia was ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the war in Ukraine but that Kyiv and its Western backers had refused to engage in talks. “We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them — we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are,” Mr. Putin told Rossiya 1 state television in an interview aired on December 25. Mr. Putin also blasted the West for trying to “tear apart” Russia, in extracts from the interview to be aired on national television later. “At the core of it all is the policy of our geopolitical opponents aiming to tear apart Russia, the historical Russia,” he said. “They have always tried to ‘divide and conquer’... Our goal is something else — to unite the Russian people,” he added.
China health commission stops publishing daily COVID figures
China’s National Health Commission stopped publishing daily COVID-19 data on December 25, amid doubts about their reliability as infections have exploded in the wake of an abrupt easing of tough restrictions. “Relevant COVID information will be published by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for reference and research,” the commission said in a statement. It did not specify the reasons for the change or how frequently China CDC will update COVID information.
Millions in U.S. hunker down from frigid, deadly monster storm
Millions of people hunkered down in a deep freeze overnight and early morning to ride out the frigid storm that has killed at least 18 people across the United States, trapping some residents inside homes with heaping snow drifts and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses. The scope of the storm has been nearly unprecedented, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, the National Weather Service said.
India beat Bangladesh by three wickets, win series 2-0
A dogged 71-run stand between Shreyas Iyer and R Ashwin came to India’s rescue as the visitors fought back from a hopeless situation to pull off a three-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second and final Test and clinch the series 2-0 here on December 25. With India at 74 for seven chasing 145, Bangladesh were on course for their first ever Test win against their formidable neighbours before Iyer (29 not out off 46) and Aswhin (42 not out off 62) denied them with an unbeaten 71-run stand off 105 balls.
