Global Outlook

 Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday voiced confidence that India's presidencies of the SCO and G20 will build multi-dimensional cooperation between the two countries and will strengthen the stability and security in Asia and the entire world. While India formally assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, it took over the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on September 16. In his New Year messages to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin noted that Russia and India marked the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2022 and, relying on positive traditions of friendship and mutual respect, the countries continue to develop their specially privileged strategic partnership, the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin said the two countries carried out large-scale trade and economic projects in addition to energy, military technology, and other areas of cooperation, and coordinated efforts in addressing important m

 India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s condition is stable after a car accident that took place early Friday morning. The 25-year-old cricketer met with an accident while driving from his residence in Roorkee to New Delhi. Reportedly, his vehicle hit a road divider at around 5:15 am. His car caught fire. However, he was able to escape from the window. He got injuries to his head, back, and feet. He was hurt on his forehead, his right wrist, ankle and toe as well suffered abrasion injuries on his back. Superintendent of Police Dehat Swapna Kishore Singh reached the spot to help him. He was admitted to Saksham Hospital near Delhi. Later on, he was shifted to Max Hospital in Dehradun. His condition is currently stable. He is currently being treated at that hospital. Dr Ashish Yagnik, Max Hospital, Dehradun, reportedly said that he is under the observation of Orthopedics & plastic surgeons. Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar reportedly said that Pant’s car caught fire after hitting the div

 Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced today that beginning January 1, travelers to India from China and five other nations will need to submit a negative Covid test report prior to their arrival. Prior to departure, travelers from China , Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand must send their reports to the Air Suvidha website. "Beginning on January 1, 2023, RT-PCR testing will be required for all flyers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand. Before leaving, they must post their reports to the Air Suvidha portal "In a tweet, Mr. Mandaviya stated. The statement comes as Covid instances in China and several other nations are on the rise. According to experts, BF.7, a novel coronavirus type, is to blame for the increase. India has issued a warning and ordered all states and union territories to be ready for anything. Additionally, starting on Saturday, the government will require random coronavirus testing for 2% of al

The UAE (United Arab Emirates) has announced that it will give a year-long paid leave to citizens working in the government sector who want to start their own businesses in the country.  The UAE will implement this measure from January 2, 2023. The ruler of Dubai, vice president and prime minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has also confirmed the news. The UAE cabinet has approved the initiative in order to increase the number of businesses in the country. The leave would be approved by the head of the federal authority under which the employee works. Employees can combine unpaid leave and annual leave. The UAE government termed this leave an "entrepreneurship leave." His Highness reportedly wrote on Twitter, "Today, within the Council, we decided to give one year leave for citizens working in the government who wish to run their own businesses.” According to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the one-year leave comes with half t

In response to worries about the "lack of open data" flowing from Beijing, the US government may impose new COVID-19 requirements on visitors from China, according to US officials on Tuesday. The action follows the announcement of stricter regulations for tourists from China by Japan, India, and Malaysia in the previous day, claiming an increase in diseases there. Japan has stated that it will want a negative COVID-19 test result from visitors from China. Malaysia implemented further tracking and monitoring procedures. The persistent COVID-19 outbreaks in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genome sequence data, being reported from the PRC have raised growing worries in the international community, the officials added. As the virus spreads mostly unchecked across the 1.4 billion-person nation of China, certain hospitals and funeral homes there are currently at capacity. However, according to official figures, there was just one Covid fatality in the seven

 When Covid Zero abruptly ended, the public in China experienced a range of emotions. Some expressed relief and were planning their first excursions outside in three years, while others expressed concern about the spread of illnesses. On Twitter-like Weibo, where the government's decision to halt subjecting inbound tourists to quarantine from January 8 was a top trending topic on Tuesday, one user said, "We have lost far too much in these few years with the pandemic." Wishing everyone a swift recovery, the person continued, "hoping that we may all breathe freely and go everywhere we want freely." In contrast to the desire for a speedy return to regular life, there were worries about overburdened hospitals, which have already experienced strain in Beijing and Shanghai . One Weibo user noted that "domestic infections are still on the rise." Indirectly addressing the government, the person questioned, "Isn't it obviously attempting to get everyon

The year 2022 finishes strong concerning India-UAE relations, with business and political ties between the two nations scaling new levels. The UAE is India's third biggest exchanging accomplice and the reciprocal exchange between them outperforms $88 billion. Indians, besides, comprise 39.9 percent of the UAE populace and their settlements to India amount to more than $17 billion, the biggest for any nation abroad. To tell the world what the future will be like, 0 assembled The Exhibition hall Representing things to come, which discusses the conceivable outcomes representing things to come. To propel the vision of Sheik Mohammed canister Rashid Al Maktoum, Leader of Dubai , to bridle the most recent advances in coding, huge information examination, man-made consciousness, virtual and expanded reality, and human-machine communication to drive what's in store. "Dubai never fails to stun me. It has forever been a city of development and investigation with vast conceivable out

 Al Habtoor Group (AHG), a company located in Dubai, has announced intentions to build three enormous residential complexes for a combined AED9.5 billion ($2.59 billion) in 2023. "The new projects include residential buildings, and one of them will be the greatest in the world in terms of size and quantity of units," said Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, founding chairman of the Al Habtoor Group. "Dubai's strong economic recovery in 2022 and the development levels that have increased to new heights not even seen before the COVID-19 crisis , were encouraging aspects to be involved again in the real estate market and expand investments in new quality projects," he continued. The first development contains residential buildings, one of which is the biggest in the world and is situated in Al Habtoor City. The complex is a crucial location for entertainment and hospitality. This project will have a construction budget of AED 4.5 billion. Al Habtoor continued, "It is a v

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it would help power 2,500 household generators for civilians in Ukraine who are affected by the ongoing crisis.  The assistance would comprise 2,500 household generators, each with a power output of between 3.5 and 8 kilowatts in order to provide civilians with some of the electricity. The UAE aims to alleviate the suffering of crisis-affected families. Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, the Minister of State for International Cooperation, said that the aid was part of the country's continuous efforts to mitigate the suffering of people and humanitarian repercussions of the Ukrainian crisis. The UAE will transport approximately 1,200 household generators to Warsaw, the capital of Poland. The country would transfer the remaining generators by January 2023. The aid includes the $100 million humanitarian relief aid allocated by the UAE to the Ukrainians affected by the crisis. The UAE has taken the initiative to help Ukrainians affected by th

 The EASY6 Grand Prize of Emirates Draw was won by an Indian driver in the UAE for Dh15 million. Ajay Ogula, 31, has been employed at a jewellery store since he moved from his village in southern India to the UAE. He felt responsible for providing for his family, which includes an aging mother and two younger siblings who live in a run-down, leased home. "You keep wasting money here and there, so why not utilize it instead on a chance like this," my supervisor asked in response when I mentioned reading about someone winning a big sum with Emirates Draw, according to Ogula. Ogula downloaded the Emirates Draw mobile app on the recommendation of his work and bought two tickets for his initial participation in Emirates Draw EASY6. I was out with my friend when I got the email of congratulations. I initially assumed that the winning amount would be less, but as I read, the zeros kept stacking up, and when I discovered the total, I nearly passed out. Ogula initially intends to bri

 The Indian Institute of Technology, one of India 's most esteemed institutes, will shortly be based in Abu Dhabi (IIT). IIT Delhi stated that a new curriculum would be released in 2023. The perspective abroad campuses' needs will be taken into account when developing the new curriculum. In addition to the UAE , Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tanzania, and Malaysia are all planned as locations for IIT's offshore campuses. IIT, a government-funded engineering school in Delhi, is managed by the Indian Ministry of Education. IIT is regarded as one of the greatest training, research, and scientific institutions in the nation, and it is now ranked number 54 globally in engineering and technology courses, as shown by the QS World University Rankings for 2021. "The Lok Sabha, the lower House of the Indian Parliament, was told of the visit of a high-level team from the Indian institute to Abu Dhabi and intensive discussions with ADEK officials and other players in the project, according to

 Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan have been in the news for various reasons. Recently, they attended KIFF (Kolkata International Film Festival), wherein they talked about censorship in films. Subsequently, fans started trolling them on social media. Amitabh Bachchan, who has never willingly been into a political controversy, also came into the limelight. It seemed that he had enough of Bollywood being bullied by trolls. A major fight erupted between two political parties TMC (Trinamool Congress) and BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) over comments made by actor Bachchan. Bachchan's comments on freedom of expression resulted in controversy. Arijit's song 'Rang de tu mohe gerua (colour me saffron)' also increased political tension.  Shahrukh’s speech at the KIFF also led to a political rift. He talked about the negative influence of social media. His comments came amid the controversy surrounding his upcoming film ‘Pathaan’. Deepika Padukone’s swimsuit colou

 Governments from all around the world gathered for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15). Over the next ten years, participants were expected to devise new objectives and a plan of action for nature. From December 7 to December 19, 2022, the meeting was held in Montréal, Quebec, the location of the UNCBD Secretariat. The UN honored 10 ground-breaking initiatives for their contributions to repairing the natural world at Cop 15 from throughout the globe. The winning projects have been named World Restoration Flagships and are qualified to receive promotion, guidance, or funding from the UN. They were chosen as part of the global initiative organized by the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The Ganges River Rejuvenation project in India is one of these initiatives. According to a UN news release, a significant effort is being made to reduce pollution, regenerate forest cover, and provide a wide range of benefits to the 520 mi

 Cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where people are racing to acquire foods rich in vitamin C to enhance their immunity in the newest fight against the epidemic, are driving up demand for Wen's lemons. Lemon producers in China are experiencing an unexpected business boom as people resort to natural cures to combat an increasing number of Covid infections. One farmer, identified only by his surname when reached by phone and going by the name Wen, stated, "The market is very much on fire." In Anyue, a county in the southwest province of Sichuan, where roughly 70% of the fruit is produced in China , Wen cultivates lemons on an area of around 130 acres (53 hectares). Cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where people are racing to acquire foods rich in vitamin C to enhance their immunity in the newest fight against the epidemic, are driving up demand for Wen's lemons.  Another illustration of how an unprepared population is being forced to deal with the government's abrup

 According to a press release, Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, is known for his style of governance, and teams traveling abroad to represent the UP government at roadshows are bringing back valuable investment suggestions for the state. Up to 25 investment offers totaling 20,000 crores had been made in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and DP World had indicated a desire to form a joint venture in the logistics and cargo industries. Ikea, a Swedish firm that makes furniture, home furnishings, and appliances, will also need to invest 4,000 crores in Uttar Pradesh in order to build retail stores and luxury malls. The Gemini Corporation of Belgium had previously indicated an interest in constructing a 200-crore plastic recycling facility in Varanasi. A Canadian company named JMQ Global expressed interest in making a purchase in the UP health technology market. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath dispatched teams from the state administration to perform roadshows abroad in

 The President of the United States, Joe Biden , held a private memorial service on Sunday to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of his first wife, Neilia, and their little daughter. Biden’s 30-year-old first wife and their 13-month-old daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car crash. Biden was not present in that car. On December 18, 1972, Biden’s wife and daughter were broadsided by a tractor-trailer as they went out to buy a Christmas tree. Biden’s two sons Beau and Hunter were also brutally injured due to that accident. They survived the accident. However, Beau died of brain cancer in 2015.  After the tragic incident in 1972, Biden married Jill Jacobs in 1977. The couple has a daughter, Ashley. They also joined Biden on Sunday. Hunter also attended the memorial service.  Biden wanted to leave his political career after that incident. He expressed immense grief at that time. However, he decided to continue his political journey on the advice of other senators. Biden was elected to t

 The Indian box office for James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water is already off to a fantastic start. The movie made about 38–40 crore on Friday, it's opening day. This indicates that it outperformed Spider-Man: No Way Home's and Avengers: Infinity War's first-day takings. However, it was still unable to topple Avengers: Endgame, which had the greatest Hollywood opening in American history. Spider-Man: No Way Home collected 32 crores while Avengers: Infinity War brought in 31 crores on the first day. With a 53 crore opening, Avengers: Endgame stood tall above them all. With a $2.9 billion worldwide box office haul, Avatar, Part 1 is still the highest-grossing movie ever made. Pandora, a moon, and the colonization that threatens the native Na'vi humanoids that live there are the subjects of Avatar: The Way of Water. According to the review website RottenTomatoes.com, 80% of critics have given it a positive rating. Movie Mom's Nell Minow called it "more of

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday held a telephone conversation and reviewed bilateral cooperation in areas of energy, trade and defence and security. Following up on their meeting in Samarkand on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, the two leaders reviewed several aspects of the bilateral relationship, including energy cooperation, trade and investments, defence and security cooperation, and other key areas, Prime Minister's Office (PMO) informed. PM Modi also briefed President Putin on India’s ongoing Presidency of G-20, highlighting its key priorities. "He also looked forward to both countries working together during India’s Chairship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. They agreed to remain in regular touch with each other," the PMO added. In the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Prime Minister Modi reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy as the only way forward, in his

 United Arab Emirates (UAE), India's geopolitically dependable friend, strongly supported the country's permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council as India assumed the leadership of the UN Security Council in December 2022. (UNSC). India's permanent seat has also received support from other nations, including France and the UK. UAE minister Noura Bint Mohammed Al Kaabi congratulated India and its UN mission on what she called a "very successful" eight terms on the Security Council. Speaking at the UNSC Open Debate on "Maintenance of International Peace & Security: New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism," Al Kaabi praised India's presence on the multilateral international platform and argued for New Delhi's permanent The 193 UN member nations have the authority to accept binding responsibilities from the UN Security Council, which is charged with preserving world peace, prosperity, and security. The US, UK, France, Chin

 The United States (US) has urged India and the People’s Republic of China to utilize existing bilateral channels to discuss disputed boundaries in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang district.  On Tuesday, the White House said that the Joe Biden administration was happy that the two countries disengaged after clashing in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector. During a press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US was monitoring the situation after the border clash between the two countries. The border clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Tawang sector on Friday led to minor injuries to military personnel on both sides. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the situation was stable after the border clash.  Reportedly, over 200 Chinese soldiers clashed with Indian troops in the Yangtse area of the Tawang sector. Around 80 Indian soldiers were on duty on December 9. Reportedly, the Chinese Army clashed with three units of the India

 Last week the People’s Republic of China ended its harsh zero-Covid policy. Despite relaxation in Covid restrictions, protests have continued in some Chinese cities. Over the weekend, there have been 68 dissent incidents across 31 cities in China , according to Nathan Ruser, an OSINT (open source intelligence) researcher. Protests have continued in Beijing, Wuhan, Hebei, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Shanghai. Students, residents, and workers are still protesting on the streets to challenge the Covid restrictions.  Reportedly, at least nine new protests in eight Chinese cities were tracked by China Protests Monitor. On December 7, residents in Cangzhou, Hebei gathered at the gate of the heating company to protest against Covid restrictions. Another protest was reported in Jingmen, Hubei.  On December 10, around 300 students of West China School of Clinical Medicine, Sichuan University, protested against the high intensity of work. Another protest was reported at Chongqing Medical University

Harry Kane, the captain of England, accepted responsibility for the Three Lions' quarterfinal loss to the defending champions France. France defeated England 2-1 at Al Khor on Sunday to advance to the semifinals of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 thanks to goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud.  In the waning moments of the game, Kane had a penalty opportunity to score the equalizer, but he missed what may have been the most important penalty of his team's season. "It takes place every four years. It takes a while to wait. I'm happy with the boys. We had a fantastic camp and World Cup , and I'll accept credit for the minor elements that made the difference," Kane was reported by Skysports as saying. "I am not concerned with the team or how it may impact them. We have some excellent skills. Although it will hurt, not only myself but everyone involved, football is a sport. Sometimes, you just have to roll with it and keep going," he went on

 In a night of intense World Cup drama, Argentina defeated the Netherlands 4-3 on penalties after a thrilling 2-2 extra-time draw. Argentina will now play Croatia in the World Cup semi-finals. Emiliano Martinez, the goalkeeper for Argentina, saved the team's bacon in the penalty shootout after Lionel Messi had put the South Americans on the verge of the semifinals with a two-goal lead in the last minutes of regulation. The Netherlands rallied with seven minutes left in regulation time to force extra time thanks to two dramatic goals from Wout Weghorst, the second coming from a free kick that was surprisingly creative. After Messi produced a fantastic assist for Nahuel Molina and a precise goal from the penalty spot, Argentina appeared like it would easily advance to the round of four. Argentina prevailed to maintain interest in the sport in South America just hours after Brazil and Neymar were eliminated from the tournament by the Croats on penalties. With at least 75% of the 88,2

Twitter is facing a growing number of cases in the wake of its recent massive layoffs of staff. Two women are claiming that Twitter disproportionately let go of female employees. After taking over Twitter, the new CEO Elon Musk introduced a cost-cutting measure that led to the termination of almost 3,700 workers, including women workers. Those workers are taking Musk to court over Twitter layoffs. A case was filed in San Francisco federal court. According to the case, 57 percent of the female employees were laid off in comparison to 47 percent of the male employees. They accused Twitter of breaching federal and California laws banning sex discrimination in the workplace. Shannon Liss-Riordan, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, also filed other cases against Twitter. The lawyer reportedly said, “We intend to hold him (Elon Musk) accountable.” The lawyer further claimed that Twitter laid off workers and contractors without proper notice and refused to allow the work-from-home facility for p

  Elon Musk on Tuesday criticized San Francisco Mayor London Breed following a report the city is investigating Twitter Inc. for setting up bedrooms at its headquarters, saying the company was being unfairly attacked for "providing beds for tired employees."  Twitter in recent weeks has turned several conference rooms at the office into makeshift bedrooms, complete with furniture like bedside tables and armchairs, according to people familiar with the matter. It no longer needs as many conference rooms now that thousands of employees have either been laid off or fired after the billionaire's $44 billion purchase of the company in late October. A spokesperson for the city's Department of Building Inspections told the San Francisco Chronicle that it would conduct a site inspection on Twitter headquarters following a complaint about the bedrooms, a possible violation of the building code. In a tweet, Mr. Musk attached a link to a recent Chronicle report about a baby'

 According to a new report, severe heat waves, which have caused thousands of deaths across India over the past few decades, are occurring more frequently than ever before. Soon, the nation may experience heat waves that are too intense for humans to survive, making it one of the first places in the world to do so. The country is reportedly experiencing higher temperatures that arrive earlier and last much longer, according to a World Bank report titled "Climate Investment Opportunities in India 's Cooling Sector." "India had a terrible early spring heat wave in April 2022 that brought the nation to a stop and caused temperatures in the capital, New Delhi, to rise to 46 degrees Celsius (C) (114 degrees Fahrenheit). The warmest month ever recorded was March, which had very high temperature rises "It stated. The two-day "India Climate and Development Partners' Meet," which is being organized by the World Bank in collaboration with the Kerala governme

 US-based scientist, Andrew Huff, who worked at a controversial research lab in China's Wuhan, has said that COVID-19 was a "man-made virus" that leaked from the facility. COVID was leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), a state-run and funded research facility, two years ago, news agency ANI reported quoting an article published in the New York Post. The article mentioned US-based researcher Andrew Huff's statement in the British newspaper The Sun. In Huff's latest book, "The Truth About Wuhan," he claims that the pandemic was caused by the US government's funding of coronaviruses in China . Excerpts of epidemiologist Andrew Huff's book have been out in the UK-based tabloid The Sun. Huff claims in his book that China's gain-of-function experiments were conducted with inadequate security, resulting in a leak at the Wuhan lab, according to New York Post. According to the New York Post report, Huff is the former vice president of th

  Kanye West has called the world's richest person, Elon Musk, 'half-Chinese' after his account was suspended from Twitter for allegedly breaching rules. Musk said that Kanye West had "violated our rule against incitement to violence." Subsequently, Kanye West shared a post on Monday on his Instagram account. He took a dig at Musk, calling him "half-Chinese.” He wrote on Instagram, "Am I the only one who thinks Elon Musk could be half Chinese? Have you ever seen his (Musk) picture as a child?" Kanye has millions of followers on Instagram.  In the post, he referred to himself as the future president of the United States. He said, "On Jay Zs birthday Future president of the United States Ye uses Mark Zuckerberg’s platform to incite a mass investigation of Elon Musk 's childhood photos." Kanye also referred to Musk as Obama. Subsequently, Musk reacted to his post. He wrote on Twitter, "I take that as a compliment." Later on, Kan

 Cash-strapped Three days early on Friday, Pakistan avoided defaulting on its obligation to repay USD 1 billion in relation to a matured international Sukuk (Sharia-compliant bond). According to the actual plan, the nation was supposed to return the maturing investment in the international bond denominated in US dollars on December 5 according to The Express Tribune's article on Saturday. Abid Qamar, a spokesperson for the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), confirmed to the publication that the USD 1 billion payment had been made. The bank has already paid Citigroup, which will next distribute the monies to the investors. Prior to that, the risk of default, as determined by a CDS for a period of five years, reached a record high of 123% last month, largely due to the impression that the nation would be unable to make the payment due to its low foreign exchange reserves. A derivative of insurance known as a CDS protects against the risk of repayment default. However, experts claimed tha