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Updated December 17th, 2021 at 11:39 IST

Top 10 headlines: PM Modi meets 40 MPs from UP; Omicron spread; Goa polls & more

Republic top 10 headlines: Yogi Adityanath takes a dig at SP ahead of UP polls; Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar justifies outrageous rape comment and more.

Reported by: Srishti Goel
Top 10 headlines
Image: Republic World | Image:self

PM Modi Meets 40 MPs From Uttar Pradesh Today As 2022 Assembly Election Looms

Months ahead of the Assembly election, PM Modi met nearly 40 MPs from Uttar Pradesh over breakfast at his official residence in the national capital on Friday. This comes after his key visit to Varanasi where he inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath Dham and chaired a conclave of Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states. Sources mentioned that this shall be his 4th such meeting during the ongoing Winter session of Parliament having already met parliamentarians from all north-eastern states, southern states and Madhya Pradesh.

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Goa Polls: BJP Sees 1st Exit In Current Assembly Tenure As MLA Alina Saldanha Joins AAP

AAP's campaign for Goa polls received a huge fillip on Thursday as ex-BJP leader Alina Saldanha joined the party in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Saldanha, a sitting BJP MLA from Cortalim, had resigned from the saffron party as well as the Goa Assembly earlier in the day. She had entered electoral politics by winning a by-election after her husband and former Minister Mathany Saldanha's demise in 2012 and also retained the seat in the 2017 election. 

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Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar Justifies Outrageous Rape Comment, Calls It 'off The Cuff'

Following the degraded remarks over rape passed by Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar before Karnataka Assembly on Wednesday, the MLA of Srinivaspur justified his outrageous statement while expressing his 'sincere apologies to everyone'. While stating his remorse, the former Speaker admitted that his comment was 'indifferent and negligent'. Kumar stoked controversy after he trivialised and mocked the heinous offence of rape.

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BJP To Move Calcutta HC Over CAPF Deployment During Civic Polls In West Bengal's Capital

The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party is said to approach the divisional bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday, requesting the deployment of Central Armed Police Forces during the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections on December 19. This came a day after the BJP moved the single bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha on Thursday. However, the party's plea was turned down.

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NIA Files Charge Sheet Against 3 KLF Terrorists In Comrade Balwinder Singh's Murder Case

In a key development, the National Investigation Agency on Thursday filed a supplementary charge sheet against three Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terrorists in connection with the Comrade Balwinder Singh Sandhu murder case. The NIA in January had re-registered the case and filed a charge sheet against eight accused in the case. Shaurya Chakra awardee Comrade Balwinder Singh Sandhu was killed at his residence-cum-school in Bhikhiwind, District Tarn Taran, Punjab, last year.

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Pakistan Made No Progress To Counter Terrorism, Remains Safe Haven For JeM, LeT: US Report

In a major revelation of Pakistan's intention and its dual policy on terrorism, a new US report said Islamabad has failed to take adequate steps to counter terrorism and prosecute terrorists. According to the analysis report published by the US Department of State, several UN- and US-designated terrorist groups that focus on attacks outside the country continued to operate from Pakistani soil. The report highlighted Islamabad proffered safe heaven for major terror outfits including, the Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, and Jaish-e-Mohammed. The US analysis report noted that the Pakistan government and military did not act consistently to dismantle certain terrorist groups. The government also failed to prosecute terrorists including, masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) founder Masood Azhar and Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) Sajid Mir.

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Yogi Adityanath Takes Dig At SP Ahead Of UP Polls: 'India Needs Ram Rajya, Not Socialism'

Speaking on the floor of the UP Assembly on Thursday, CM Yogi Adityanath took a swipe at Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party over its thrust on socialism. Contending that socialism is the "biggest superstition" of this century, he chided SP for denigrating this doctrine during its tenure in power. Instead, he opined the concept of a 'Ram Rajya' is better equipped to ensure the welfare of the poor. To buttress his point, Adityanath highlighted the achievements of his regime as well as the BJP government at the Centre under the leadership of PM Modi. 

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COVID-19: WHO Raises Concern Over Vaccine Inequality In Africa Amid Omicron Spread

Amid rising concerns over the new COVID variant Omicron, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus raised grave concerns over vaccine inequality,  especially in African nations. While addressing the International Conference on public health in Africa, the WHO chief Dr Ghebreyesus highlighted how the vaccine injustice devastated South Africa and other African nations, adding that only 8% of the African population got both doses of the coronavirus vaccine. He said on December 16, around 44% of the world population got both the vaccine doses.  

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US: Biden Signs Bill To Up Debt Limit By USD 2.5 Tn To Avert Potential Economic Disaster

As the United States inched close to economic peril, President Joe Biden signed a bill, on December 16, Thursday, in order to expand the debt ceiling of the country. According to the statement released by the White House, the bill will provide the authority to increase the debt limit by $2.5 trillion. Notably, the President's signature over the Bill came a day before the Treasury Department (US Finance Ministry) calculated it would run out of resources to keep paying the country’s bills. With the latest development, the US will not default on its debt for the first time ever until 2023.

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China Warns Japan Against Jeopardising Relations Over Joining US-led Olympics Boycott

On Thursday, China's ambassador to Japan Kong Xuanyou has urged Japan not to join and support the US-led diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing over human rights issues. During an interview held at Kyodo News, the Chinese envoy said, "Unfortunately, some people in Japan have been attacking China's political system based on their biased views and spreading rumours and lies about the human rights situations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong to call for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games." 

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Published December 17th, 2021 at 11:39 IST

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