Top National and International Headlines of the Week transcript on 9 December 2023
In top national news: In what has triggered resignations in the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission, a quasi-judicial authority, the Eknath Shinde-led government has asked it to “ascertain the existence of exceptional circumstances and or extraordinary situations in the context of Maratha community justifying exceeding of the limit of 50% reservation as laid down in the judgements of the Supreme Court.” The Terms of Reference, appended to a letter by Shinde to the MSBCC Chairman, on November 13, is being interpreted by some members of the Commission as almost asking it to obtain data to justify quota for the Maratha community. Two of its nine members resigned in just the last week, one more said he was contemplating resignation.
In more political news: Newly elected Telangana Chief Minister A Reddy got down to work almost immediately after taking oath on Wednesday afternoon, approving the “six guarantees” the Congress had made in the run-up to the elections. Revanth signed two files on his first day. While one pertained to the pre-poll guarantees, the other one was regarding employment for a differently abled woman, T K Rajini, to whom he had promised a job while campaigning in Achampet in Nagarkurnool district. Rajini will be allotted a job at a district collector’s office of her choosing. Earlier in the day, even before the swearing-in ceremony began, the fence outside Pragathi Bhavan, which will now be renamed Jyotiba Phule Praja Bhavan, was removed.
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit, the Ministry of External Affairs said that India was allowed consular access to the eight former Navy personnel who have been sentenced to death in Qatar on espionage charges. While addressing a question on the issue at a press conference in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the Indian Ambassador got consular access to meet them in prison on the 3rd of December. Bagchi added that India is closely following the matter and extending all legal and consular assistance.
In some tragic news: Veteran actor Naeem Sayyed, popularly known as Junior Mehmood, passed away at his home in Khar, Mumbai on Friday after a battle with stomach cancer. He was 67. The actor’s family confirmed his demise in a statement to indianexpress.com. The statement read, “Junior Mehmood passed away at 2:15 am at his residence. He was suffering from stomach cancer. May his eternal soul rest in peace.” Junior Mehmood’s son Husnain told indianexpress.com, “We took him to Tata Memorial Hospital. The dean there told us that treatment and chemotherapy at this stage would be very painful. The hospital had suggested that we take care of him at home.”
In top international news: Hunter Biden was indicted on nine tax charges in California on Thursday as a special counsel investigation into the business dealings of the president’s son intensifies against the backdrop of the looming 2024 election. The new charges come in addition to federal firearms charges in Delaware alleging Hunter Biden broke a law against drug users having guns in 2018. He had been previously expected to plead guilty to misdemeanour tax charges as part of a plea deal with prosecutors who said he failed to pay taxes on $4 million in personal income in 2017 and 2018. Defence attorneys have signalled they plan to fight any new charges.
In news from Gaza: Israeli troops fought fierce battles with Hamas in southern Gaza on Wednesday after reaching the heart of the city of Khan Younis, forcing Palestinian civilians to seek refuge elsewhere as the number of safe areas decreases. Israeli warplanes also bombarded targets across the densely populated coastal territory in one of the heaviest phases of fighting in the two months since Israel began its military campaign to eliminate the Palestinian militant group. Palestinian medics said hospitals were overflowing with dead and wounded, many of them women and children, and supplies were running out. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people driven out of the north were seeking shelter in the dwindling number of places in the south.
President Vladimir Putin was escorted to the Middle East by four Russian fighter jets on Wednesday for a rare trip abroad, during which he will discuss oil, Gaza and Ukraine with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Putin’s meeting with the prince known as MbS comes after oil prices fell despite a pledge by OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, to further cut output. The Kremlin chief’s plane was flanked by Sukhoi-35S fighter jets, which the defence ministry showed flying beside his Ilyushin-96 aircraft from Russia to the United Arab Emirates.
Lastly: The UK government on Tuesday signed a new treaty with Rwanda which it says addresses the Supreme Court’s concerns that blocked the original scheme to fly out illegal migrants to the African nation while their asylum claims are processed. Home Secretary James Cleverly signed off on the pact with Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta during a visit to Kigali and stressed that the treaty addresses the court’s concerns with assurances that Rwanda will not remove anybody transferred under the partnership to another country. He described it as a far more “robust” agreement than previous proposals for the scheme to tackle illegal migration, deemed unlawful by the highest court in the UK last month.
