TODAY News on December 07, 2024

News Headlines for CAT, CLAT and IPM aspirants

Source : The Hindu

National News

• Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to land in Dhaka on December 9 as tensions mount
• India issues travel advisory for Syria, advises citizens to restrict movements
• RBI Monetary Policy rate unchanged at 6.5% for 11th time in a row
• Centre to launch 100-day tuberculosis elimination programme
• Farmers postpone march to Delhi after Haryana police use tear gas
• Centre releases ₹944 crore to Tamil Nadu for Cyclone Fengal relief
• Pushpa-2 stampede: Actor Allu Arjun announces ₹25 lakh for victim’s family
• U.S. State Dept. behind anti-Modi ‘agenda’: BJP

International News

• Former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet to be conferred the Indira Gandhi Peace prize
• Manipur tribal students stage protest demanding release of ST scholarships
• India, China agree to take measures to further ease border situation at Delhi WMCC meeting: Beijing
• South Korea’s governing party head supports suspending President Yoon’s powers
• Iran says it conducted a successful space launch in a program long criticized by West

Headlines in detail

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to land in Dhaka on December 9 as tensions mount

In India’s first high-level diplomatic outreach to Bangladesh since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led regime, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will visit Dhaka on December 9, 2024, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Friday (December 6, 2024). His visit is part of “structured interactions” with Bangladesh, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

India issues travel advisory for Syria, advises citizens to restrict movements

The Indian government on Friday (December 6, 2024) issued a travel advisory for Syria, strongly advising Indian nationals to avoid all travel to the country until further notice. This warning comes in light of the situation prevailing in Syria, which poses significant risks to travellers.

RBI Monetary Policy rate unchanged at 6.5% for 11th time in a row

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Friday (December 6, 2024) decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.50% for the 11th consecutive time. The last time the MPC had increased rates to 6.5% was in February 2023. The MPC also decided unanimously to continue with the neutral stance and to remain unambiguously focused on a durable alignment to the 4% target of inflation while supporting growth. The MPC took note of the recent slowdown in growth momentum, which translates into a downward revision of the growth forecast for this year. The second half of this year and next year’s growth outlook remains resilient but warrants monitoring.

Centre to launch 100-day tuberculosis elimination programme

The Union Health Ministry, in collaboration with key stakeholders, is all set to launch a 100-day tuberculosis (TB) elimination campaign focusing on enhancing detection, reducing diagnostic delays, and improving treatment outcomes. The initiative, set to be implemented across 347 districts in 33 states and Union Territories, aims to strengthen programmatic activities and reduce disparities in tuberculosis outcomes across diverse regions of the country to achieve the aim of tuberculosis elimination, a Health Ministry statement said. The campaign envisages improving programme performance on key output indicators like tuberculosis incidence rates, diagnostic coverage, and mortality rates.

Farmers postpone march to Delhi after Haryana police use tear gas

Protesting farmers announced the suspension of their “Delhi Chalo” march after the Haryana Police used tear gas to disperse them at Shambhu on the Punjab-Haryana border on Friday (December 6, 2024). Pushing through the police barricades, they had attempted to resume their foot march to lay siege to the national capital.

Centre releases ₹944 crore to Tamil Nadu for Cyclone Fengal relief

The Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the release of ₹944.80 crore to Tamil Nadu from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for providing relief to the people affected by Cyclone Fengal, even as Chief Minister M.K. Stalin sought ₹6,675 crore towards relief and restoration in the affected districts.

Pushpa-2 stampede: Actor Allu Arjun announces ₹25 lakh for victim’s family

Two days after the stampede during the premier show of Pushpa-2 at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad that resulted in the death of a woman and hospitalisation of her 8-year-old son, actor Allu Arjun took to his social media handles to express condolences and his support to the bereaved family.

U.S. State Dept. behind anti-Modi ‘agenda’: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party alleged that the U.S. State Department was behind the targeted attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party and attempts to “destabilise India”. It also accused another group, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), of providing the “ammunition” for the agenda and the Congress of using OCCRP reports to disrupt Parliament.

Former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet to be conferred the Indira Gandhi Peace prize

The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2024 will be conferred on former Chilean president and prominent human rights voice Michelle Bachelet, a statement issued by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust said on Friday (December 6, 2024).

Manipur tribal students stage protest demanding release of ST scholarships

“At least 200 tribal students of different colleges in Manipur staged a protest near the Raj Bhavan demanding immediate release of Scheduled Tribe scholarship for 2023-24,” police said. Holding placards and raising slogans, the students, under the aegis of the All College Tribal Students Union (ACTSU), gathered in front of GP Women's College near Raj Bhavan to make their demand. They were, however, prevented from taking out a rally by security forces deployed at the location, leading to a brief confrontation. Police fired a few teargas shells to disperse the agitating students. "Few students complained of breathing difficulties, but no serious injuries have been reported," police added.

India, China agree to take measures to further ease border situation at Delhi WMCC meeting: Beijing

India and China agreed to take measures to further ease the situation at the borders while continuing to implement the October agreement to resolve the standoff in eastern Ladakh comprehensively, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said a day after talks in New Delhi. Both sides positively assessed the solutions reached on border-related issues and agreed to continue implementing them comprehensively and effectively while taking measures to further ease the border situation, according to a press release issued by the Ministry in Beijing on Friday (December 6, 2024).

South Korea’s governing party head supports suspending President Yoon’s powers

South Korea’s governing party chief expressed support Friday (December 6, 2024) for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol for imposing martial law this week, in a bombshell reversal that makes Mr. Yoon’s impeachment more likely. Opposition parties are pushing for a parliamentary vote on Mr. Yoon’s impeachment on Saturday (December 7, 2024), calling his short-lived martial law declaration an “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup.” But they need support from some members of the president’s People Power Party to get the two-thirds majority required to pass the impeachment motion.

Iran says it conducted a successful space launch in a program long criticized by West

Iran said Friday (December 6, 2024) it conducted a successful space launch, the latest for its program the West alleges improves Tehran’s ballistic missile program. Iran conducted the launch using its Simorgh program, a satellite-carrying rocket that had had a series of failed launches, at Iran's Imam Khomeini Spaceport in rural Semnan province. That's the site of Iran's civilian space program. The Simorgh carried what Iran described as an “orbital propulsion system,” as well as two research systems, to a 400-kilometer (250-mile) orbit above the Earth. A system that could change the orbit of a spacecraft would allow Iran to geo-synchronise the orbits of its satellites. Tehran has long sought that ability. Iran also put the payload of the Simorgh at 300 kilograms (660 pounds), heavier than its previous successful launches.