PM MODI RECALLS VALOUR, SACRIFICE OF BANGLADESHI FREEDOM FIGHTERS, INDIA'S FORCES ON VIJAY DIWAS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid tributes to the valour and sacrifices of Bangladeshi freedom fighters and Indian armed forces on the 50th anniversary of Vijay Diwas, which commemorates India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war.

Modi tweeted, "On the 50th Vijay Diwas, I recall the great valour and sacrifice by the Muktijoddhas, Biranganas and bravehearts of the Indian Armed Forces. Together, we fought and defeated oppressive forces. Rashtrapati Ji’s presence in Dhaka is of special significance to every Indian."

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday attended the Victory Day Parade as the ‘Guest of Honour’ in Dhaka.

A 122-member-strong triservices contingent from India also took part in the parade watched by Bangladesh President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, as well as ministers, diplomats and other dignitaries at the National Parade Ground. The Indian contingent drew loud cheers from the crowd as it marched past with the announcer acknowledging India's contributions to Bangladesh's Liberation War of 1971.

CONG SAYS GOVT FORGOT INDIRA GANDHI ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF 1971 WAR

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi recalled Indira Gandhi's role in Bangladesh's liberation and said it was under her leadership that India won the war to save the idea of democracy. 'Remembering the martyrs and veterans of the 1971 war. India won the war to save the idea of democracy under the able leadership of Former PM Smt. Indira Gandhi ji. Jai Hind! #VijayDiwas2021,' he tweeted.

He also accused the govt of ignoring her role in the 1971 War and said victory was achieved as the country was united then. She took '32 bullets for the country' but her name was not even mentioned at a govt event in New Delhi on the anniversary of the victory over Pakistan, he said in Dehradun, adding 'However, it does not make any difference because I know what she did for the country by giving her blood'.

His sister and All India Congress Committee general secretary Priyanka Vadra said, "Our first and only woman Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi is being left out of the misogynist BJP govt's Vijay Diwas celebrations." She said, this happened on the 50th anniversary of the day that she led India to victory and liberated Bangladesh. "Narendra Modi ji, women don't believe your platitudes. Your patronising attitude is unacceptable. It's about time you started giving women their due," Vadra said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi had at a function on Wednesday said that '1971 - in many ways was Indira Gandhi's finest year'. "It was this extraordinary convergence of a well-planned political, diplomatic and military strategy that gave 1971- a distinctive place in the history of the sub-continent. It was a history that reshaped geography as well," Sonia Gandhi said, adding that the 1971 war was a victory of the people of India under the leadership of Indira Gandhi.

PAKISTAN TOOK STEPS IN 2020 TO RESTRAIN ANTI-INDIA TERROR OUTFITS: US REPORT

Pakistan has taken some steps to restrain anti-India terror groups but many groups targeting Afghanistan and India continue to operate from its soil, even as JeM’s Masood Azhar and 26/11 accused Sajid Mir remain free in the country, according to a report by the US Department of State.

“Pakistan took steps in 2020 to counter terror financing and restrain India-focused militant groups from conducting attacks. Pakistan convicted Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and four other senior LeT leaders in multiple terrorism financing cases,” the 2020 Country Reports on Terrorism by US Department of State said. However, it stated, “Groups targeting Afghanistan — including the Afghan Taliban and affiliated HQN, as well as groups targeting India, including LeT and its affiliated front organizations, and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) — continued to operate from Pakistani territory. Pakistan did not take action against other known terrorists such as JeM founder and UN-designated terrorist Masood Azhar and 2008 Mumbai attack “project manager” Sajid Mir, both of whom are believed to remain free in Pakistan.”

In the context of India, the report acknowledged militancy activities in J&K and Maoist-affected areas. It said India did not have a notional policy for Countering Violent Extremism (CVE). “The Ministry of Home Affairs is the lead agency for CVE and maintains a counterterrorism and counter-radicalization division,” the report stated. “There is no national CVE policy. State govts have the lead on CVE strategy. Consequently, efforts are uneven and led by local police departments, which often have limited interactions with community organizations and civil society.”

NARENDRA MODI COULD MEET XI JINPING IN NEAR FUTURE: KREMLIN

Prime Minister Narendra Modi could meet Chinese President Xi Jinping along with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the "near future", a Kremlin official has suggested.

The summit of Russia, India and China can be held in the near future, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov was quoted by Russian news agency Tass as saying.

Significantly, his observations came less than a fortnight after Putin made a rare overseas trip during the pandemic to hold consultations with PM Modi.

“The topic of cooperation in the Russia-India-China format was addressed,” the Kremlin’s spokesperson said while speaking on the virtual meeting between Putin and Xi. The leaders “agreed to continue exchanging opinions in this regard and to endeavour to hold the next summit within the RIC framework in the near future,” Ushakov added. “Putin informed Xi Jinping about the visit to New Delhi on December 6 in this context,” he said.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST 17/Dec

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Thursday 7,163

Active Cases 86,415 (-830)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 4,76,869 (107)

Total Vaccination: 136.0 Crores (+70,46,805)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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EUROPE GRAPPLES WITH TRAVEL CURBS OVER OMICRON FEAR

France imposed travel restrictions on travellers from Britain on Thursday due to surging Covid cases there, and several European nations also strengthened border controls on visitors from other EU states. Plans for Christmas celebrations in Europe and many countries across the globe have been thrown into disarray by the rapid spread of the highly infectious Omicron strain.

New cases of Covid-19 in Britain hit a record high for the second day running on Thursday, as England’s chief medical officer warned daily hospital admissions could also hit new peaks due to Omicron. Britain reported 88,376 new infections, the highest since the start of the pandemic and up around 10,000 since the previous record set on Wednesday.

France is already facing a surge in cases attributed to the Delta variant, pressuring a hospital system that is short-staffed. Nearly 3,000 Covid patients are in ICU, the highest level since June, and the authorities expect that number to rise to 4,000 by the end of the year. A govt spokesman said that 240 Omicron cases had already been detected in France, but added that “there are probably more”.

The French move comes after Canada urged its citizens to avoid foreign travel over the Christmas holidays, saying the Omicron variant “makes us fear the worst”.

Sweden said it would require visitors from other Nordic nations to have a vaccine pass amid a jump in new infections in recent days.

At a EU summit in Brussels, tensions arose after Italy, Portugal and Greece said they would require people crossing their borders to have a negative Covid test as well as a vaccine passport.

Meanwhile, the chief executive of South Africa-based Discovery Health recently said at a briefing that doctors have noted a slightly different set of symptoms among those testing positive. The most common early sign was a scratchy throat, said CEO Dr Ryan Noach, followed by nasal congestion, a dry cough and myalgia manifesting in lower back pain.

Most of these symptoms are mild, said Dr Noach, but stressed that this does not mean that Omicron is less virulent.

US CDC PANEL RECOMMENDS PFIZER, MODERNA COVID VACCINES OVER J&J SHOT

Most Americans should be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot that can cause rare but serious blood clots, U.S. health advisers recommended Thursday.

The strange clotting problem has caused nine confirmed deaths after J&J vaccinations while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines don't come with that risk and also appear to be more effective, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Until now the U.S. has treated all three COVID-19 vaccines available to Americans as an equal choice, since large studies found they all offered strong protection and early supplies were limited. J&J's vaccine initially was welcomed as a single-dose option that could be especially important for hard-to-reach groups like homeless people who might not get the needed second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna options.

But the CDC's advisers said Thursday that it was time to recognize a lot has changed since vaccines began rolling out a year ago. More than 200 million Americans are considered fully vaccinated, including about 16 million who got the J&J shot.

THE REST

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UNION MINISTER AJAY MISHRA TENI ‘CAUTIONED’ BUT NOT SACKED

Despite immense pressure, both inside Parliament and outside, the govt and the BJP appears to be standing behind the beleaguered Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni, at least for now.

Though Mishra has been ticked off by the central leadership for his behaviour with journalists on Wednesday when he was asked about the additional charges being slapped on his son Ashish, reports add that the govt is “weighing options taking in mind all factors”. The govt seems to be taking the line that a father cannot be punished for the actions of his son.

Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha remained disrupted for the second day in a row over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and the demand of Mishra’s immediate resignation.

GOVT WORKS TO RAISE LEGAL AGE OF MARRIAGE FOR WOMEN TO 21

The govt has decided to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years, bringing it at par with that of men.

As of now, the legal age of women to get married is 18 while that for men is 21 years.

The decision is based on the recommendation of a four-member task force led by former Samata Party chief Jaya Jaitly. Speaking about the recommendation, Jaitly said there were two main reasons that were focused on.

"If we talk about gender equity and gender empowerment in every field, then we can't leave marriage out because this is a very odd message that girl can be fit to be married at 18 that cuts away her opportunity to go to college and the man has the opportunity to prepare himself for life and earning up to 21. But these days when girls are capable of doing so much and the main reason why they are married off is because they are not an income earning member of the family but why do we allow them that feeling," she said. "We should give them an opportunity to earn and be equal to a man and she can't become equal at 18 when man has 21 years to do that.

Secondly, we took opinions from lots of people but the main people who were most attentive were stakeholders themselves. We conducted assessment calls with young people - universities, colleges and in rural areas where they are still at school or getting out of school and the unanimous opinion of stakeholders was the marriageable age to be 22 or 23. Across all religions everyone had the same opinion which was a very heartening thing," she said.

SUPREME COURT SATISFIED OVER AIR POLLUTION MEASURES TAKEN BY CENTRE, PANEL

The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed satisfaction over the measures taken by the Centre and the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas to curb air pollution.

A Bench led by CJI NV Ramana asked the Commission to invite suggestions from the public and experts on further steps.

It posted the matter for the first week of February next year after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, “We have a committee for long-term solution with NEERI experts on board to find a solution so that knee-jerk reaction for every year is not needed.”

CPI(M) WANTS J&K HC CHIEF JUSTICE REMOVED OVER REMARKS ON CONSTITUTION

The CPM has written to President Ram Nath Kovind demanding the removal of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh over remarks made by him on the addition of the words “socialist” and “secular” to the Preamble to the Constitution. The two words had been added to the existing “sovereign democratic republic” in the Preamble by a Constitutional amendment in 1976.

Justice Pankaj Mithal had on 5 December said that the additions of the words “socialist” and “secular” to the already mentioned “sovereign, democratic, republic” in the Preamble of the Constitution in 1976 narrowed the “vastness of its spiritual image”. He made the remark while delivering the keynote lecture on ‘Dharma and the Constitution of India: The Interplay’ at a function organised in Jammu by the Adhivakta Parishad of J&K and Ladakh.

The letter by the CPI (M), signed by party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, claimed Justice Mithal “addressed a programme organized by an organization affiliated to the RSS…and spoke against the Constitution of India”. “Utterances against the country’s Constitution by a High Court Chief Justice, that too from a platform which preaches a particular ideology, is an unpardonable offence, which is in violation of the oath taken by him to carry out his constitutional functions,” it said.

A JAILED CONMAN EXTORTED ₹ 200 CRORE FROM EX RANBAXY OWNER'S WIFE

While a former billionaire is in jail, his wife spends hours on the phone discussing payments to obtain bail for him. She seems to believe that she is talking to senior govt officials, including the Home Secretary of the country. She asks for a meeting with the Home Minister - and is told it will happen in due time if she "co-operates." She discusses money that was paid without the promised results.

It takes months for her to discover that her conversations are with an impersonator, that she has been scammed for crores. After being alerted by the Enforcement Directorate in July, she starts recording the chats. She then hands these over to the Enforcement Directorate. And files a case with the Delhi Police alleging extortion and cheating adding up to 200 crores.

This is a story packed with twists. The biggest of which is that the man who was calling her was doing so from prison. He had access to a cellphone and used software that allowed him to 'replicate' or 'spoof' the phone numbers of top govt officers.

The recordings - 84 of them - have been submitted by the Enforcement Directorate to a Delhi court to help nail Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who has been in jail since 2017.

The woman who helped 'sting' him is Aditi Singh, whose husband, Shivinder Singh, at one time co-owned pharma giant Ranbaxy with his brother, Malvinder Singh. Shivinder Singh was arrested in 2019 on charges of money laundering.

WE WILL DEAL WITH IT: GANGULY ON KOHLI’S CLAIMS

India captain Virat Kohli's eyeball-grabbing media conference has forced a shell-shocked BCCI into a huddle as it explores its options on how to deal with the crisis ahead of an important Test series.

The Indian Test captain said that he was never asked "not to quit T20 captaincy", contrary to what BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had said to various media outlets.

While Kohli reached South Africa last evening, Ganguly made it clear that he will make no public statement on the raging debate in Indian cricket currently. "No statements, no press conference. We will deal with it, leave it to (the) BCCI," Ganguly told mediapersons.

Kohli had bluntly put forth his views on three issues. First, he rubbishing the rumours about his non-participation in the three ODIs. Then he mentioned about his removal as ODI captain 90 minutes before a team selection meeting and lastly, he contradicted Ganguly on whether he was asked to stay on as T20 skipper.

PV SINDHU AND 3 INDIAN MEN IN QFINALS OF BWF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

PV Sindhu tamed her recent tormentor Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-14, 21-18 in the prequarterfinals of the BWF World championships in Huelva, Spain on Thursday. And Kidambi Srikanth moved into quarterfinals with a 21-10, 21-15 win over Lu Guang Zu of China. In the quarterfinals, the world No.14 Indian will face world No.28 Mark Caljouw of The Netherlands. This would be the first meeting between the two.

However, the Indian challenge ended in doubles with the exit of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The duo lost to ninth seeds Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi of Malaysia 22-20, 18-21, 15-21. Earlier, Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy suffered a 13-21, 15-21 loss to Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand in women’s doubles.

Defending champion Sindhu raised her game to avenge her last two defeats to the Thailand shuttler. Chochuwong had defeated Sindhu at the All England and at the recent BWF World Tour Finals. In the next round Sindhu will face Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei. Tai overcame Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland 21-10, 19-21, 21-11.

Late on Thursday, India’s HS Prannoy accounted for No. 8 Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong, winning 13-21, 21-18, 21-19 in a stunning come-from-behind win in 71 minutes.

Indian's young hope Lakshya Sen also booked his Quarterfinal spot on Thursday with a show of brilliance in Madrid. The 20-year-old faced off against Kevin Cordon of Guatemala in the Last 16 clash and reached the quarters with a fine straight-sets win 21-13, 21-8 -  in just over 30 minutes.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

When you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you. - Andy Rooney

OFF TRACK

A doctor told Mrs. Stone to give her husband one pill a day and one drink of whiskey to improve his strength.

A month later, when Mrs. Stone came in for another visit, the doctor asked, "How are we doing with the pill and the whiskey?" 

Mrs. Stone answered, "Well, he's a little behind with the pills, but he's about six months ahead with the whiskey."