1. India: Four terrorists killed in encounter with security forces in Jammu
2. Amit Shah chairs high-level meetings on Leh-Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir
3. National Investigation Agency raids at least 28 locations across Kerala linked to banned PFI
4. Türkiye, ISA & military MoU on agenda during India, Cyprus Foreign Minister talks
5. Covid: Two international passengers test Covid positive at Mumbai airport

What Else

6. South Korea issues details of Indo-Pacific strategy
7. India-assisted Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project handed over to Bhutan’s Power Corp
8. Ready to assist in probe: WHO after Uzbekistan claims child deaths from Indian syrup
9. NCB refuses to provide information on complaints against its Deputy Director General
10. Nepal: After Prachanda becomes PM, China sends experts to Kathmandu for feasibility study of cross-border railway line
11. Russia and China hold naval drills, practise submarine capture
12. China population: increasingly educated workforce could mitigate ‘perils’ of shrinking, ageing society
13. Protest of ‘Give Rights Tehreek’ continues in Gwadar
14. Imran insists on snap polls as his ‘facilitators’ still in establishment: Bilawal

India: Four terrorists killed in encounter with security forces in Jammu

• 4 terrorists were killed during an encounter on the outskirts of Jammu in India, the police authorities said on Wed.
• The forces intercepted a truck in which the terrorists were traveling and all 4 of them were killed in retaliatory fire.
• The police also said that the truck caught fire during the gun battle and they were able to recover arms and ammunition from the vehicle.
• While the terrorists were all killed, the truck driver was able to escape and the police are conducting search operations in the nearby villages.
• The ammunition recovered from the truck included 7 AK rifles, one M4 carbine, 3 pistols, and other minor weapons. (here)

Amit Shah chairs high-level meetings on Leh-Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wed chaired a high-level meeting on Leh-Ladakh and J&K over developmental projects and security-related issues.
• The two separate meetings were held in the North Block office in the presence of senior officers from the ministry and the two UTs.
• The meeting on Leh-Ladakh took place at around 3 pm, while the discussion on Jammu and Kashmir started at 4 pm.
• In the J&K meet, which took place at 4 pm, Lt Gov, along with the top officials of Ministry, Intelligence, and state and border security chiefs were in attendance.
• Shah was apprised of the UT’s developmental projects and current security situations in the Valley. (here)
• A terror ecosystem that aid, abet and sustain the terrorist-separatist campaign to the detriment of the well-being of the common man requires to be dismantled, Shah said.

National Investigation Agency raids at least 28 locations across Kerala linked to banned PFI

• The NIA started a massive search operation at 28 locations across Kerala in the early hours of Thu targeting 2^nd-rung leaders of the banned Popular Front of India.
• The raid was in the wake of PFI leaders’ plan to regroup the outfit in some other name, a senior official said.
• While 8 locations linked to the PFI leaders were raided in Ernakulam, 6 premises were under the radar in Thiruvananthapuram.
• The raid started at around 4 am and was continuing at the time of writing this.
• The raids were conducted following specific inputs against cadres who are accused of their involvement in several terrorist acts and the murder of several persons.
• The ministry had earlier said that such activities have been carried out with the objective of “disturbing public peace and tranquillity and creating a reign of terror in the public mind”. (here)

Türkiye, ISA & military MoU on agenda during India, Cyprus Foreign Minister talks

• India’s external affairs minister Dr. S Jaishankar will be on a 3-day visit to Cyprus from Thu, during which he will hold talks with his counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides.
• This is the first-ever visit by an Indian EAM to Cyprus in more than a decade, the last being of Pranab Mukherjee in May 2007.
• Both the ministers will hold talks on Thu and sign MoU on defense and military cooperation and a pact to include Cyprus in the India HQ International Solar Alliance.
• The visit comes in a year when India and Cyprus mark 60 years of diplomatic ties and will see discussions on “economic cooperation of the two, EU-India relations..” and “Turkey’s provocative actions against Cyprus” as per Cyprus foreign ministry.
• Turkiye and Cyprus’s relationship remains strained over Ankara’s backing of Northern Cyprus as a separate state and other historical issues.
• Last year, India was quick to support Cyprus after Turkiye was seen violating UNSC resolutions by opening the ghost town of Varosha.
• They will also sign a Declaration of Intent to start negotiations on a pact on immigration and mobility. (here)

Covid: Two international passengers test Covid positive at Mumbai airport

• Two international passengers were found Covid positive in random sampling at the Mumbai International airport, the state Health Department informed on Wed.
• As per health officials, both samples have been sent for whole genome sequencing.
• Screening of international passengers arriving in Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur airports has been on since Dec 24.
• A nationwide Mock drill was conducted on Dec 27, to review the preparedness.
• 36 new cases were reported in the Maharastra on Wed. 1 Covid death was also reported. The case fatality rate in the state was 1.82%.
• Also, 36 patients were discharged today, taking the total number of recoveries, so far, to 79,88,008. The recovery rate in the state was at 98.17% (here)
• Washington on Wed announced a NEW COVID testing policy for air travelers coming from China, just as the communist govt is rolling back its strict COVID policies. (here)
• China’s sudden shift from Covid-zero raises more questions than answers
• People who were grateful for the precautions are asking why the time wasn’t used to prepare for the current surge
• Officially, daily infections are in the thousands and deaths are minimal but social media outpourings paint a different picture (here)

South Korea issues details of Indo-Pacific strategy

• South Korea issues details of the first-ever strategy on Indo-Pacific.
• Terming India as the main actor in the region with high potential, and the same values, the policy aims to strengthen the Special Strategic Partnership and economic ties with New Delhi
• SK said India is a “leading regional partner with shared values” which presents “great potential for growth”
• Calls for advancing ties with “special strategic partner” India.
• It also emphasizes the African coast of the Indian Ocean and hopes its dialogue partnership with IORA will help.

India-assisted Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project handed over to Bhutan’s Druk Green Power Corp

• The India-assisted 720 MW Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Power Project has been handed to Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) in Bhutan.
• The handover was held in Thimphu on Dec 27 in a ceremony that was witnessed by Bhutan’s Minister of Economics Lyonpo Loknath Sharma and India’s envoy.
• With the handing over of the project, India and Bhutan have completed 4 mega hydroelectric power projects, Bhutan’s Ministry said in a statement.
• The Mangdechhu project was jointly inaugurated by PM Modi and his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering in 2019.
• The commissioning of the project has increased Bhutan’s Electrical Power Generation Capacity by 44% and it is now at 2,326 MW. (here)

Ready to assist in probe: WHO after Uzbekistan claims child deaths from Indian cough syrup

• As many as 18 children died of acute respiratory disease after having a cough syrup from an Indian pharma, Doc-Max, the Health Ministry of Uzbekistan has claimed.
• In response to an email, seeking details on the deaths, the WHO said that it is in contact with the health authorities and is ready to assist in further investigations.
• Previously, 66 children had died in Gambia allegedly after consuming India-made cough syrups, which govt had denied any link to.
• On the death in Gambia, the Centre had recently stated that the samples of 4 cough syrups that allegedly led to the deaths were found to be of standard quality. (here)

NCB refuses to provide information on complaints against its Deputy Director General

• The Narcotics Control Bureau on Wed refused to provide information on the complaints received against its DDG Gyaneshwar Singh.
• The information was sought by the Right to Information activist who had sought the action taken report on various complaints received against DDG and the current status.
• The NCB has denied the info under Section 24 of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
• Notably, DDG was a part of the team which investigated the Cordelia cruise drugs case, involving a Bollywood star’s son. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Nepal: After Prachanda becomes PM, China sends experts to Kathmandu for feasibility study of cross-border railway line

• Hours after Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” was sworn in as PM, a team from China reached Kathmandu to feasibility study the Nepal-China cross-border railway line.
• “(It was) an important implementation of our leaders’ consensus and a solid step forward to turn Nepal from a land-locked to a land-linked country,” Chinese Embassy.
• Chairman of the CPN (M) Prachanda who administered the oath of office and secrecy on Mon (Dec 26) is known to be close to China.
• Notably, China has been increasing its channels to foray into Nepal through various ventures, including connectivity projects, under Beijing’s ambitious BRI (here).

Russia and China hold naval drills, practise submarine capture

• Russia and China have completed naval drills in the East China Sea, after a week of joint exercises, which included the capture of submarines and the firing of artillery.
• The Dec. 21-27 exercises, entitled “Maritime Interaction-2022”, included Russia’s Pacific Fleet and were carried out in waters off Zhoushan and Taizhou in China.
• The ships of the 2 countries, with the support of anti-submarine aviation, jointly searched for a submarine of a conditional enemy and fired a volley of jet depth charges.
• Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to speak to President Vladimir Putin before the end of the year, TASS news agency said. (here)

Protest of ‘Give Rights Tehreek’ continues in Gwadar

• The police and the protesters continued to face each other on Tue, and shelling and stone pelting continued due to which the situation remained tense.
• Balochistan’s CM condemned the incident and sought a report from the authorities, while home minister has said that ‘FIR should be filed against the Give Rights Tehreek.
• The CM has ordered to form a special team to arrest the accused, while the State Govt claims that a policeman has died due to the firing of protesters.
• Police arrested 27 more activists of Give Rights Tehreek, phone network and internet service in Gwadar and highways connecting the coast city are also down.
• The Chief Justice of Pakistan, who was on vacation with his family in Gwadar was also trapped due to the protests, after which he was airlifted.
• Local journalists, police, and govt officials of Gwadar have told the media that the tension that arose after the police crackdown on the protestors, who have been sitting on a dharna for two months on Gwadar’s Port Road, has continued until now.
• Local journalist Sadaqat Baloch said that the whole day on Tue, the clash between the protesters and the police continued.
• Thousands of protesters, including women, surrounded the official residence of the Deputy Commissioner.
• Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman, the leader of the movement, says that hundreds of workers and more than 40 leaders of the Give Rights Tahreek are missing since the arrest. According to a local journalist, a large number of protesters are on the streets of Port Road, Marine Driver, and other areas in Gwadar. (Jasarat)

China population: increasingly educated workforce could mitigate ‘perils’ of shrinking, ageing society

• An increasingly educated workforce could “offset the perils” of China’s shrinking and aging working-age population that threatens to weigh down on a wobbling economy.
• The average age of China’s workforce grew from 32.3 years in 1985 to 39 in 2020, according to a report released last week.
• China’s working-age population – aged between 16 and 59 – shrank by more than 40 million from 2010 to 879 million in 2020, according to data from 7^th national population census, released at the start of 2021.
• But the new report also said that the national average years of schooling increased from 6.1 in 1985 to 10.7 in 2020. (here)

Imran insists on snap polls as his ‘facilitators’ still in establishment: Bilawal

• PPP’s Chief Bilawal Bhutto Wed once again took a jibe at PTI chief Imran Khan, saying the deposed PM’s insistence on snap polls comes following the possible presence of his “facilitators in the establishment”.
• Bilawal, the 34-year-old minister for foreign affairs, also said that Khan’s “facilitators” have moved away from “one institution”, but they might still be present in another.
• Hinting at the establishment’s role in snap polls earlier today, Imran Khan said that it is necessary for those “backing” the incumbent govt get convinced for the elections.
• “If elections are held on time, Imran Khan’s facilitators perhaps will not be in any institution,” Bilawal added.
• He went on to say that Khan, who was ousted in April this year, is using all kinds of tactics including “politics of lies, hatred, and division” due to this problem. (here)