1. Pak fishing boat carrying weapons, 10 crew intercepted in Indian waters: Coast Guard
2. In phone call with PM Modi, Zelensky says India should implement his ‘peace formula’ as G20 host
3. PM Modi pays tributes to young martyrs on Veer Bal Diwas
4. Covid: Countrywide drills, booster doses, masks- India’s renewed Covid fight
5. ‘People responsible for delivering justice failing to do their job’: Union Law Minister slams judiciary, top lawyers

What Else

6. Twitter Data Breach: Hacker claims to have data of 400 million Twitter users, releases Salman Khan, Sundar Pichai’s user data as Proof
7. Govt panel wants Indian culture push in web video games, comics, TV shows
8. Beijing to distribute Pfizer’s Covid-19 drug as cases surge: Report
9. Pakistan: PM Shehbaz reiterates resolve to uproot menace of terrorism
10. Nepal: Dahal sworn in as prime minister

Pak fishing boat carrying weapons, 10 crew intercepted in Indian waters: Coast Guard

• A Pak boat that was trying to enter Indian waters with weapons, ammunition, and about 40 kg of drugs worth Rs 300 cr was intercepted by the ICG off the coast of Gujarat.
• Ten passengers on the Pakistani boat have been detained by the Indian Coast Guard.
• The operation was conducted based on the input provided by the Anti-Terrorism Squad to ICG, and as a result, on the night of Dec 25/26, the ICG deployed its fast patrol.
• The boat began evasive maneuvering when the ICG began questioning those on board, and it continued to do so even after the ICG fired warning shots.
• This is the 1^st crackdown where drugs and weapons were being smuggled into India and the 7^th joint operation between the ICG and ATS, Gujarat, in the last 18 months.
• A total of 346 kg of heroin worth Rs 1,930 crores has been found during this time, and 44 Pakistanis and 7 Iranians have been detained. (here)

In phone call with PM Modi, Zelensky says India should implement his ‘peace formula’ as G20 host

• Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Mon said he had a telephonic conversation with PM Modi.
• He added that as the current president of the G20, India should participate in the implementation of the ‘peace formula’ laid out by him in the last meeting at Bali.
• He also thanked the prime minister for India’s humanitarian aid for his country, which has been facing a full-scale Russian invasion since late Feb.
• PM Modi has also held regular discussions with Zelensky’s Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
• The 2023 G20 summit will take place in Delhi on Sept 9 and 10. (here)
• In a TV address, Zelenskyy says, “India can be more active in efforts to end aggression,” so I hope we can do more together for global stability in the coming year.
• Russia’s wealthy lawmakers and a fervent critic of President Putin, Pavel Antov, was founded dead after mysteriously falling from a hotel in Odisha, India. (here)
• Moscow’s proposals for settlement in Ukraine are well known to Kyiv and either Ukraine fulfills them or the Russian army will decide the issue, said Russian FM (here)

PM Modi pays tributes to young martyrs on Veer Bal Diwas

• PM Modi said on Mon as he led tributes to the 2 younger sons (6 & 9 years old) of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, who were bricked alive in the year 1705.
• Addressing a ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ event in the national capital, Modi said that in the name of history, people were being taught versions that promoted inferiority in them.
• “Any country with such a glorious history must be full of self-confidence and self-respect. However, concocted narratives are taught to infuse inferiority,” he said.
• On the occasion of Guru Gobind Singh’s birth anniversary on Jan 9, PM had announced that Dec 26 will be observed as ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ to commemorate them (here)

Covid: Countrywide drills, booster doses, masks- India’s renewed Covid fight

• India has renewed its fight against coronavirus even as the daily tally remains below the 300-mark at a time when countries are witnessing a worrying spike in caseload.
• Countrywide mock drills are set to take place on Tue at hospitals and health institutions in one of the many steps to check preparedness.
• In India, to avoid repetition of the tragedies witnessed during the second Covid wave, authorities have swung into action since last week to check preparedness.
• Union health minister on Mon stressed foiling an infodemic and sharing only authentic and verified information, during his meeting with 100 doctors and members of IMA.
• He urged doctors to educate the public on various aspects of the disease and its prevention and management.
• The Karnataka govt on Mon issued a set of guidelines and made it mandatory for citizens to wear masks, especially during New Year celebrations, with immediate effect.
• BF.7 – subvariant of Omicron – is said to be behind the current explosive spike in China cases. India has so far recorded 4 cases of the variant. (here)
• 7 more foreign nationals tested Covid positive in Gaya, samples were sent for genome sequencing

‘People responsible for delivering justice failing to do their job’: Union Law Minister slams judiciary, top lawyers

• Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Mon blamed the judiciary and top lawyers for pending cases and opined that the people responsible for delivering justice are failing.
• While speaking at the 16^th National Conference of advocate council in Haryana, he said, “Some lawyers keep on asking for dates and some judges even give them”
• Sharpening an attack on top lawyers, he said that there are some lawyers in the SC whose date comes 1^st and some who say that if you give them a case, they will help win.
• “Some lawyers charge Rs 30-40 lakhs for one appearance and some don’t have work. Why so? Provisions are the same for everybody,” he claimed. (here)

Twitter Data Breach: Hacker claims to have data of 400 million Twitter users, releases Salman Khan, Sundar Pichai’s user data as Proof

• The data of 400 million Twitter users have been put up for sale on the dark web in what has been described as one of the largest Twitter data breaches.
• The news comes just a day after the Irish agency announced an investigation into a previous data leak that affected over 5.4 million users, in late Nov.
• To prove that the data is genuine, the hacker has posted a sample of data on one of the hacker forums.
• The sample data contains information, like email, name, username, followers, creation date, and in some cases, the phone number of the users, including some Indian. (here)

Govt panel wants Indian culture push in web video games, comics, TV shows

• Govt wants to promote Indian epic-based AV materials to educate the kids about rich Indian culture and tradition, with the help of state broadcaster “DD Kid” under “Create in India”- the report a task force read, released on Mon.
• The 20-member task force on animation, visual effects, gaming, and comic-extended reality (AVGC-XR) was set up by the ministry in Apr.
• Headed by the I&B secretary, it was asked to identify interventions to build domestic capacity to serve the domestic market and meet global demand.
• The task force has suggested a national AVGC-XR Mission with a budgetary outlay to boost the sector and establish the country’s first National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) that would offer degree courses. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Beijing to distribute Pfizer’s Covid-19 drug as cases surge: Report

• As covid cases surge in China, Beijing will soon start distributing Pfizer’s Covid-19 drug Paxlovid to the community health centers in forthcoming days, CNN reported on Mon
• The report comes as the city grapples with an unprecedented wave of infections that has severely strained its hospitals and emptied pharmacy shelves.
• According to the state-run News Service, after getting training, community doctors would dispense the medicine to patients and provide information on how to use it.
• “We have received the notice from officials, but it is not clear when the drugs will arrive,” CNN cited a worker at a local community health center in Beijing.
• Paxlovid remains the only foreign medicine to treat Covid that has been approved by China’s regulator for use, but the drug’s access is a challenging process. (here)
• China on Mon announced an end to the coronavirus quarantine rule for inbound travelers from Jan 8, reported Reuters.
• The National Health Commission scrapped the rule which had been in place since the start of the pandemic 3 years ago.
• Authorities will also no longer refer to Covid-19 as a form of pneumonia.
• The intensity and magnitude of the country’s 1^st outbreak have remained largely a mystery as official figures from the central govt remain low, reported NYT (here)

Pakistan: PM Shehbaz reiterates resolve to uproot menace of terrorism

• As the country has been witnessing an uptick in terror incidents, PM Shehbaz Sharif Mon reiterated his resolve to uproot the menace of terrorism by using all resources.
• PM Shehbaz’s assurance came while commenting on the recent acts of militancy across the country, particularly highlighting the Bannu operation against the banned TTP
• In Bannu, terrorists took over the Counter-Terrorism Department compound, which was later cleared by security forces.
• Commenting on the state of development in Pakistan, the PM said that the country was led towards a disaster due to the wrong policies of the previous govt. (here)

Nepal: Dahal sworn in as prime minister

• President Bidya Devi Bhandari also administered the oath of office and secrecy to 7 ministers of the Dahal govt, including 3 deputy PMs.
• Bishnu Poudel of the CPN-UML, Narayan Kaji Shrestha of the CPN (Maoist Centre), and Rabi Lamichhane of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party were sworn in as deputy PMs.
• Poudel has been given the portfolio of Finance while Shrestha will head the Ministry of Physical Infra and Transport and Lamichhane has been given the Home. (here)
• Indian Prime Minister Modi and China embassy spokesman congratulate Dahal (here)