NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on All India Radio. This is VALSA WILLIAMS bringing glimpses of the major developments of the day from across the globe. Over the next half an hour, we shall bring to you the latest from the world of politics, economy, sports, entertainment and more.

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HEADLINES:

⦁ University Grant Commission unveils draft norms to allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India.

⦁ Indian Army deploys largest contingent of women peacekeepers in Sudan.

⦁ India's Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur launches logo, website and themes of Y20 Summit in New Delhi.

⦁ Deadlock in United States House of Representatives continues over election of Speaker.

⦁ India registers nearly 99 per cent decline in cases of Kala-Azar disease between 2007 and 2022.

⦁ And in cricket, third and final T20 match between India and Sri Lanka to be played on Saturday at Rajkot.

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UGC-FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has unveiled draft norms to allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India. The draft rules are intended to regulate the entry and operations of Foreign Universities to conduct various degrees, diplomas and certificate programmes. Talking to AIR News, UGC Chairman Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar said, the Foreign Universities will have autonomy to decide their fee structure and admission process  in India.

Highlighting the importance of the move, Prof Kumar said, it will be a great opportunity for Indian students as they will have access to international education in their homeland.

The draft regulation has been placed in the public domain by the UGC to seek comments and feedback.

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INDIA-TRF

India has declared The Resistance Front (TRF) as a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, UAPA. Home Ministry said, TRF is recruiting youth through online medium for furtherance of terrorist activities. The TRF came into existence in 2019 as a proxy outfit of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a proscribed terrorist organisation.

In a notification, the Ministry said, the organisation has involved in carrying out propaganda on terror activities, recruitment of terrorists, infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons and narcotics from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir. The Resistance Front is also involved in psychological operations on social media platforms for inciting people of Jammu and Kashmir to join terrorist outfits against the Indian State. The Ministry said, the commander of the Resistance Front - Sheikh Sajjad Gul has been designated as a terrorist.

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India women-un peacekeepers

India will deploy platoon of women peacekeepers to UN Mission in Sudan. This will be India's largest single unit of women Peacekeepers in a UN Mission since it deployed the first ever all women contingent in Liberia in 2007, stated the Permanent Mission of India to the UN. The Indian contingent, comprising two officers and 25 Other Ranks, will form part of an Engagement platoon and specialize in Community outreach, though they will be performing extensive security-related tasks as well. The deployment in Abyei will also herald India's intent of increasing significantly the number of Indian women in Peacekeeping contingents. The operation has been tasked with monitoring the flashpoint border between north and south and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid, and is authorized to use force in protecting civilians and humanitarian workers in Abyei.

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PM WOMEN PEACEKEEPERS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed pride that Indian Army has deployed its largest contingent of women Peace keepers in United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in Sudan. In a tweet, Mr Modi said India has a tradition of active participation in UN peacekeeping missions. He said the participation by India's Nari Shakti is even more gladdening.

The team will provide relief and assistance to women and children in one of the highly operational and challenging terrain conditions under the UN flag.

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ANURAG-Y20 LAUNCH

Youth Affairs and Sports Minister of India Anurag Singh Thakur has said, the country's youth are emerging as pioneers and fast adopters of new technology. The Minister was speaking at the Y20 India curtain raiser event at Akashwani Rang Bhawan in New Delhi on Friday. On the occasion, Mr Thakur launched the themes, logo and website of Y20 summit. Youth 20 (Y20) is the official youth engagement group of G20. It provides a platform that allows youth to express their vision and ideas on the G20 priorities.

Addressing the gathering, the Minister called India as a nation of software and spirituality. Calling Gen Z as the future of the world economy and humanity, he encouraged them to capitalise on India's G20 presidency by expressing their visions and ideas to the G20 leaders and build networks. He expressed his pride over India holding world's third position in terms of number of Start-ups and with over 100 unicorns. Mr Thakur said that today's youngsters are risk takers and will not settle for the average.

Mr Thakur also elaborated on the five themes of Y20. These include Future of Work, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction, Peacebuilding and Reconciliation, Shared Future and Wellbeing and Sports.

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KOLKATA-G-20

The first meeting of Financial Inclusion Working Group is scheduled to be held in Kolkata  from 9th  to 11th of this month. The opening session of the meeting will showcase a unique exhibition on India’s role on financial inclusion. The main session however starts from the second day and it will be a close door meet. The Cultural richness of eastern zone especialy Bengal will also be presented in the sidelines of the first meet of G20 series to be held throughout the year, said Srijan Shandilya, Under Secretary, G-20 Secretariat.

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SHAKTIKANT-IMF

The RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has emphasized on the cooperation among South-Asian countries to build green economies in the region to effectively deal with rising challenges posed by climate change.

Addressing the IMF Conference in New Delhi on Friday, Mr. Das said, the South-Asian region is vulnerable for climate change due to its large population and degradation of natural resources. He said, cooperation is required among south-asian countries to move in the direction of green transition at a faster pace with reasonable cost. He also stressed on strengthening cooperation in the energy security sector as south-asian countries have a high reliance on fossil fuel.

He said, rupee settlement of cross border trade and Central Bank Digital Currency can also be areas of greater cooperation in the future. Listing out the various challenges faced by the region, Mr. Das said, these challenges have been accentuated by multiple external shocks.

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VOICE OF GLOBAL SOUTH SUMMIT

India will host a special virtual Summit on 12th and 13th of this month called 'Voice of Global South Summit'. Briefing media in New Delhi on Friday evening, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said, the theme of the Summit is Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose. He said the Summit envisages bringing together countries of the Gobal South and sharing their perspectives and priorities on a common platform across a whole range of issues. More than 120 countries are being invited for this Summit.

The Foreign Secretary said, India has always been at the forefront and consistently championed the cause of the developing world. He said India has been strongly articulating the interests and concerns of partners in the Global South in all international fora.

The Foreign Secretary stressed that a consultative and outcome oriented conversation focused on the most pressing concerns, interests and priorities of the developing countries is the need of the hour. He said the Summit is India's endeavour to provide a common platform to deliberate on these concerns that affect the developing nations. He added that India will work to ensure that the valuable inputs generated from partner countries in the Voice of Global South deliberations receive due cognizance globally. India's ongoing G20 Presidency provides a special and strong opportunity to channelise these inputs into the deliberation and discourse of the G20.

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HOTSPOT

In today's Hotspot Section, we bring you a News Commentary on Water Vision @ 2047 a significant aspect in the country’s journey for the next 25 years.

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KALA-AZAR

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, the huge decline of Kala Azar cases in the country is an encouraging trend. In a tweet, Mr Modi asked the citizens to continue making efforts to eliminate Kala Azar.

India registered a 98.7 per cent decline in cases of Kala-Azar between 2007 and 2022. The country has also revised its goal to eradicate Kala-azar endemic from the year 2030 to 2023. In a tweet, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya expressed confidence that the country will eliminate the disease by the end of this year.

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PM POSTAGE STAMP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release a commemorative postage stamp on the sidelines of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on the 9th of January. The postal stamp is dedicated to safe and legal migration of India's pravasis. Ministry of External Affairs had launched the "Surakshit Jayen Prashikshit Jayen" - Go Safe, Go Trained campaign. The goal of this campaign is to raise public awareness about the importance of using safe and legal channels while traveling for overseas employment. This will enable well-informed migrants to seamlessly integrate and have a safe and productive stay abroad.

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JITENDRA-CSIR

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has said, India is scaling new heights each day in Science, Technology and Innovation eco-system. He said, all 37 CSIR Labs in India will be turned into Global Centers of Research and Innovation in their fields of specialization. The Minister was speaking at the launch of  “One Week One Lab" campaign in New Delhi. The 37 Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Labs spread across the country are dedicated to different exclusive areas of work. The "One week, One lab" campaign will offer an opportunity to these CSIR Labs to showcase the work being done by it so that others can avail of it. It will showcase the legacy, exclusive innovations and technological breakthroughs of each lab. During the campaign each CSIR lab will organise week long events including industry and start-ups meet, students connect, society connect, display of technologies.

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PURPLE FEST-GOA

Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dr. Virendra Kumar inaugurated a two-day Sensitization Workshop on 'Issues relating to Empowerment of persons with Disabilities' at Panaji in Goa on Friday. The workshop has been organised as a part of country's first-of-its-kind inclusive festival 'Purple Fest: Celebrating Diversity' at Panaji .

The Purple Festival was inaugurated by Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant earlier in the day. The festival, organized for people with special abilities, aims to showcase how we can come together to create a welcoming and inclusive world for everyone. More than 5,000 delegates from the country and abroad are participating in the event. It will feature discussions, games, and other activities for individuals with special abilities. The festival will conclude on Sunday.

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US-SPEAKER ELECTION

The deadlock in the United States House of Representatives continues as Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed to sway hardline party leaders to back his bid to become speaker, in a paralysis of US government not seen since the pre-Civil War era.

A group of right-wingers in McCarthy’s party derailed an 11th attempt to elect him on the third day of voting.

Republicans took over the House in November's midterm elections, but the impasse has left the chamber unable to swear in members or pass bills. Not since 1860, when the United States' union was fraying over the issue of slavery, has the lower chamber of Congress voted so many times to pick a speaker. Back then it took 44 rounds of ballots.

A group of 20 hard-line Republican lawmakers are refusing to give party leader Kevin McCarthy the necessary 218 votes.

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EU-CHINA

European Union (EU) has called on China to provide transparent Covid-19 data. A top European health official welcomed the bloc's agreement on a coordinated response to the Covid-19 situation in China and called on Beijing to provide transparent data on its epidemiological situation. In a tweet, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Kyriakides welcomed the agreement of Member States on a coordinated response to the Covid-19 situation in China at Wednesday's EU Integrated Political Crisis Response meeting. The EU official also said the regional European and global cooperation was the only way to tackle the pandemic.

The EU member states have agreed to put in place a recommendation concerning pre-flight Covid-19 testing and mask-wearing for passengers arriving from China. World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also asked China to share reliable data on Covid hospitalizations and deaths in the country.

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NEPAL-ELECTIONS

Political parties representing the House of Representatives discussed holding elections for the new speaker and deputy speaker on Friday in Nepal.

As per the parliamentary regulations, the House of Representatives shall elect its Speaker within 15 days of its first meeting. The first meeting of the new lower house has been scheduled for January 9. The election for the speaker may take place on January 21 and that of the Deputy Speaker may take place on January the 23rd.

The meeting also decided to take the business of seeking a vote of confidence from Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ahead as per the regulations. The Prime Minister is set to seek a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on January the 10th.

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MEXICO-DURG ARREST

Mexican authorities captured a drug trafficker and one of former cartel leader El Chapo’s sons, in a dramatic operation in the northern state of Sinaloa on Thursday. His arrest unleashed a spate of violence in Mexico with local officials telling citizens to take refuge in a safe placeamid clashes with cartel members in various parts of city of Culiacan in Sinaloa province.

The arrest comes days before US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visit Mexico City to attend the North American Leaders Summit.

The state of Sinaloa is home to the Sinaloa Cartel, where one of the world’s most powerful narcotics trafficking organizations. “El Chapo” was the leader of the cartel before he was sentenced to life in prison in 2020.

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SOUTH CAROLINA-ABORTION

In United States, in the first reversal of its kind, South Carolina's Supreme Court has overturned a law banning abortion after six weeks, inflicting a major setback for abortion opponents in the conservative, southern state.

The state court ruled that, their state's constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion.

The decision marked the first time a State top court has struck down such a law since the US Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in June last year.

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EVE IMD-COLD WAVE

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that dense to very dense fog conditions are likely to continue over northwest India during the next four to five days. According to the IMD, dense to very dense fog will be observed in the north indian states. Due to fog, over two dozen trains are running late in the Northern Railway region.

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CALIFORNIA-STORM

In the United States, heavy rain and powerful winds are pounding the northern California coast with forecasters warning people to expect more flooding and mudslides.

The powerful storm system known as a bomb cyclone claimed lives of at least two people, including a toddler who died when a redwood tree fell on his home.

California has been under a state of emergency since Wednesday. Over one lakh sixty thousand home and businesses have lost power.

Much of the state has been hit by atmospheric rivers - an airborne current carrying dense moisture from the ocean - bringing heavy rain to low-lying areas, powerful winds to San Francisco and snow to the Sierra Nevada mountains.

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UK-HOTTEST YEAR

2022 was the warmest year on record for the United Kingdom. Official figures relased by country's weather agency on Thursday showed the latest evidence that climate change is transforming Europe’s weather. Across twelve months, the mean temperature in the country was 10.03 degrees Celsius, the highest since comparable records began in 1884. The previous record was 9.88 degrees Celsius set in 2014. With this, UK's 15 of top 20 warmest years on record have all occurred in this century. The top 10 were witnessed within the past two decades alone.

Scientists said human activity - primarily fossil fuel emissions - has made such warm conditions vastly more likely.

Britain is not alone. France’s average temperature was above 14 degrees Celsius in 2022, making it the hottest year since weather readings began in 1900. Switzerland’s meteorological service said, the alpine nation’s annual average temperature of 7.4 degrees Celsius was by far the highest value since measurements began in 1864.

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HAWAII-VOLCANO

Weeks after Hawaii's Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in decades, neighbouring volcano Kilauea is showing activity again after a brief pause, according to officials.

Kilauea which had stopped erupting last month for the first time since September 2021 amid Mauna Loa's own eruption and subsequent slowdown had increased earthquake activity beneath its summit and recorded ground deformation on Thursday morning, officials said.

Kilauea's eruption in 2018 was one of the most destructive in recent Hawaii history, forcing evacuations of surrounding neighbourhoods and destroying hundreds of homes.

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WORLD NEWS CAPSULE

We now have a report from the business desk-

V/C-BUSINESS

The Sensex fell 452 points  to settle at 59,900. The Nifty also slipped 133 points to finish at 17,859. Among global stock markets, Asian stocks traded higher after China's latest reopening plans. South Korea’s KOSPI gained 1.1 percent and Japan's NIKKEI-225 rose half a percent. China’s Shanghai Composite markets ended almost flat. On the other hand, Singapore’s Straits Times fell half a percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.3 percent. European shares were positive in intra-day trade. Crude oil prices remained almost constant. Brent crude was trading near 78 dollars and 52 cents per barrel. Back Home, At the Multi Commodity Exchange, Gold futures for February was trading at 55,330 rupees per ten grams. Silver futures for March was trading at 68,490 rupees per kilogram. Arjun Choudhari for World News, All India Radio.

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CRICKET-INDIA-SL T20

The third and final T20 Cricket match between India and Sri Lanka will be played on Saturday at Rajkot.

India won the first match by 2 runs in Mumbai on Tuesday.

In the second match, Sri Lanka defeated India by 16 runs in Pune on Thursday. The series is now levelled at 1-1.

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FPR

Now let us take a look at the major developments around the world, as reported in the Foreign Press.

⦁ The Guardian writes UN envoy calls for release of jailed journalist on hunger strike in Senegal.

⦁ The New York Times writes Ukraine Claims Heavy Russian Losses in Waves of Missile Strikes.

⦁ The Business Recorder writes Myanmar mass pardons included 300 political prisoners: UN.

⦁ Wall Street Journal writes Venezuela’s Wager to Oust Maduro With Parallel Government Ends.

⦁ The Globe and Mail reports Canadian government tells travellers in Mexico to shelter in place due to violence.

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REPEAT HEADLINES

⦁ University Grant Commission unveils draft norms to allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India.

⦁ Indian Army deploys largest contingent of women peacekeepers in Sudan.

⦁ India's Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur launches logo, website and themes of Y20 Summit in New Delhi.

⦁ Deadlock in United States House of Representatives continues over election of Speaker.

⦁ India registers nearly 99 per cent decline in cases of Kala-Azar disease between 2007 and 2022.

⦁ And in cricket, third and final T20 match between India and Sri Lanka to be played on Saturday at Rajkot.

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And now, before we end, let us listen to Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajanVaishnav Jan, by artists from SERBIA.

AND WITH THAT, WE END THIS BULLETIN. WE'LL BE BACK AT THE SAME TIME TOMORROW WITH THE NEXT EDITION OF WORLD NEWS.

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