PM inaugurates redeveloped Ayodhya railway station, flags off 8 trains
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30 inaugurated the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station and flagged off two Amrit Bharat and six Vande Bharat trains, some virtually. He also addressed a public meeting after inaugurating the Maharshi Valmiki airport. He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than ₹15,700 crore.
Rajasthan Cabinet | Kirodi Lal Meena, Rajyavardhan Rathore among 22 MLAs sworn in as Ministers
Twenty two BJP MLAs were sworn in as Ministers of the Rajasthan government during a ceremony at the Raj Bhawan in Jaipur on December 30. Of these, 12 were sworn in as Cabinet Ministers, five as Ministers of State (independent charge) and five as Ministers of State. The MLAs inducted into the Rajasthan Cabinet are Kirodi Lal Meena, Madan Dilawar, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Gajendra Singh Khinvsar, Babulal Kharadi, Jogaram Patel, Suresh Singh Rawat, Avinash Gehlot, Joraram Kumawat, Hemant Meena, Kanhaiya Lal Choudhary and Sumit Godara. Sanjay Sharma, Gautam Kumar, Jhabar Singh Kharra, Surendra Pal Singh and Heeralal Nagar took oath as Ministers of State (independent charge).
India designates Canada-based Lakhbir Singh Landa an ‘individual terrorist’
The Ministry of Home Affairs has designated Lakhbir Singh Landa, a Canada-based member of Babbar Khalsa International, as an “individual terrorist” under Section 35 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The MHA said Landa, backed by a cross-border agency, was involved in the terror attack through shoulder-mounted Rocket Propelled Grenade on the building of Punjab State Intelligence Headquarter at Mohali and has been involved in the supply of improvised explosive devices, arms, sophisticated weapons, explosives from across the border to various modules for carrying out terrorist activities in Punjab.
Mehbooba Mufti stages sit-in in Poonch, says ‘being stopped’ from meeting victim families
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on December 30 staged a sit-in on a roadside after the police stopped her from meeting the families of the three civilians, who allegedly died due to torture in custody of the Army after the December 21 militant attack in Dera Ki Gali area. Ms. Mufti reached the Pir Panchal valley on December 30 to meet the families at Topa Pir village in Poonch’s Surankote area. However, in a series of videos posted by the PDP on social media, the road to the village was barricaded with barbed wires by the police.
ED summons Hemant Soren for seventh time in money laundering case
The Enforcement Directorate issued a summon to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for questioning in connection with an alleged land scam, sources said on December 30. Mr. Soren has been asked to depose at the federal agency’s office in Delhi and get his statement recorded on a date convenient to him and the agency in the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the sources said. Notably, this is the seventh time CM Soren has been issued a summons by the agency.
Lalan Singh vows to sue media outlets for reports alleging he plotted rebellion against Nitish Kumar
Former JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ on December 30 vowed to sue media outfits carrying reports that he had plotted a rebellion against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, in favour of the latter’s deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. Mr. Lalan issued a statement to the effect a day after he stepped down from the top party post, following which his proposal that Mr. Kumar take over as the national president was unanimously accepted. The strongly worded statement alleged that reports carried in “one major newspaper and some news channels” were “completely misleading, false and aimed at tarnishing my reputation”.
Airstrikes hit camps in central Gaza as Biden administration approves new weapons sales to Israel
Israeli warplanes struck two urban refugee camps in central Gaza on December 30, as the Biden administration approved a new emergency weapons sale to Israel despite persistent international cease-fire calls over mounting civilian deaths, hunger and mass displacement in the enclave. Residents in the urban refugee camps of Nuseirat and Bureij, two recent hot spots of combat, reported Israeli airstrikes overnight and into December 30.
Russia says it thwarted Kyiv drone attack following aerial assault against Ukraine
Thirty-two Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia on December 30, Moscow officials reported, a day after an 18-hour aerial barrage across Ukraine killed at least 32 civilians. Drones were seen in the skies over Russia’s Moscow, Bryansk, Oryol, and Kursk regions, the country’s Defence Ministry said in a statement. It said that all of the drones had been destroyed by air defences.
Nine top PLA generals dismissed from China’s Parliament
In a major purge of the Chinese military, nine senior generals of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), including senior officials of the country’s Rocket Force, have been dismissed from China’s Parliament, official media reported on December 30. Those dismissed from the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s Parliament, include five past or current top commanders of the PLA Rocket Force, which handles the missiles division and a key component of the country’s nuclear arsenal besides a former Air Force commander, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Magnitude 5.9 earthquake shakes Indonesia’s Aceh province; no casualties reported
A strong and shallow undersea earthquake shook part of Indonesia’s Aceh province on December 30, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.9 earthquake was centred 362 km (225 miles) east of Sinabang, a coastal town in Aceh province at a depth of 10 km. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said there was no danger of a Tsunami but warned of possible aftershocks. The agency put a preliminary magnitude at 6.3. Variations in early measurements of quakes are common.
Bajrang Punia urges Sports Ministry to restart wrestling activities in view of Paris Olympics
Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia on December 30 urged the Sports Ministry to restart the wrestling activities in the country with just seven months remaining for next year’s Paris Games, and said no one seemed to have taken the preparations for the quadrennial showpiece seriously. Wrestling action has come to a standstill for the last several months owing to the turmoil within the fraternity following the grapplers’ protests against former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
India in South Africa | Shardul Thakur gets hit on shoulder at nets; injury scare for India
The Indian team on December 30 received an injury scare after seam bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur suffered a blow on his shoulder at nets while batting. There is the possibility of him missing the second Test in Cape Town beginning on January 3, but the extent of the hit could be ascertained through scanning if required. At this moment, it couldn’t be confirmed if his injury warrants scans. But Thakur was in considerable discomfort and couldn’t bowl during the net session.
