India on Wednesday urged world leaders at the global climate talks COP28 to implement the Paris Agreement in letter and spirit through the Global Stocktake process while maintaining the focus on the principles of equity and climate justice.

Speaking at the closing plenary of the COP28, where a historic climate deal that called for a transition away from fossil fuels was reached, Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said the collective efforts here have sent positive signals to the world in reinforcing commitment to maintaining the temperature goals set in Paris.

China, jointly with Egypt, launched a new MisrSat-2 satellite into space on Monday hitting a milestone in its space cooperation program with the African country. The MisrSat-2 satellite was launched on the Long March-2C carrier rocket around 12:10 p.m. Beijing Time from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in China's Gobi Desert, according to the Chinese state media. The optical remote sensing satellite has successfully entered the orbit. China also helped Egypt build the satellite assembly integration testing center

The satellite, which boasts its role in crucial functions such as farming, national resources, urban planning, and coastal change monitoring in space, was tested and developed jointly at the Chinafunded Satellite Assembly, Integration, and Test Center (AITC) in Cairo. It underwent the three month orbital testing phase before it was handed over to the Egyptian Space Agency. The Egyptian staff received the training programs from China that included the entire satellite design, assembly and testing.

A proposed comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Oman is on a fast-track mode, with a team of officials from the department of commerce in Muscat for negotiations, people aware of the matter said.

It is learnt that the department of commerce has set an internal deadline of finalising the deal by month-end.

The development assumes significance since India and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) —has not been able to begin negotiations for more than a year. This is due to differences pertaining to the terms of reference, especially with Saudi Arabia. If the trade works out, Oman will be the second GCC member after the UAE to ink an FTA with India. That apart, the proposed agreement is also expected to further strengthen India’s economic ties with West Asia.

Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare Professor S.P. Singh Bhagel and Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar today released the Strategic Framework of Drowning Prevention in India, in New Delhi. The ministry has released the framework in a bid to reduce preventable drowning incidents in the country. The framework aims to undertake and catalyze concrete action and attention to drowning prevention.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar said that prevention of drowning is crucial and can have a sizeable impact on the burden of the problem. The minister emphasized on the crucial role of multi-sectoral role stakeholders to take forward this initiative.

Government of India is committed to make provision for safe & potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality and on a regular & long-term basis to all rural households in the country. Towards this end, the Government of India launched the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), to be implemented in partnership with states, in August 2019. Drinking Water is a state subject, and hence, the responsibility of planning, approval, implementation, operation, and maintenance of drinking water supply schemes, including those under the Jal Jeevan Mission, lies with State/UT Governments. The Government of India supports the States by providing technical and financial assistance.

Significant progress has been made in the country since the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, towards enhancing access to tap water to rural households. At the start of Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019, only 3.23 Crore (16.8%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs as on 07.12.2023, around 10.53 Crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 07.12.2023, out of 19.24 Crore rural households in the country, approximately 13.76 Crore (71.51%) households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT has said that the program- 'YUVAi- Youth for Unnati and Vikas with AI’ will be featured at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit beginning from Tuesday in New Delhi. The programme, designed to equip the youth with essential AI skills, has garnered attention for its innovative approach and commitment to enabling a future-ready workforce. The programme is a collaborative initiative of the National e-Governance Division, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Intel India.

The Ministry said, YUVAi aims to foster a deeper understanding of AI, to enable school students from class 8 to 12 across the nation with AI skills, and to empower them to become human-centric designers and users of AI.

Finland, on Monday, awarded the International Gender Equality Prize for 2023 to an NGO in Afghanistan that works to promote and protect the rights of women in Afghanistan. The organisation Afghan Women Skills Development Center does important humanitarian work to promote the safety of Afghan women.

Ever since the Taliban came into power, Afghanistan is an example of a country where women's human rights are systematically suppressed and girls have been denied access to secondary education and women to higher education.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo attended the ceremony and presented the EUR 300,000 Prize to the organisation's representative, Mahbouba Seraj, in Tampere.

Myanmar has surpassed Afghanistan to become world’s largest source of opium in 2023 after a third consecutive year of expanding cultivation fueled by the country’s civil war, the United Nations said in a new report.

This has happened due to various factors such as domestic instability and a significant decline in opium cultivation in Afghanistan. After the Taliban imposed a ban on drugs in 2022, opium cultivation in Afghanistan decreased by 95%, leading to a global shift in the opium supply to Myanmar.

The UNODC's report highlighted that political, social, and economic instability resulting from the 2021 coup in Myanmar prompted many individuals to turn to poppy farming.

Bank of India has introduced a unique savings account called Nari Shakti, specifically designed for women aged 18 and above who have an independent source of income. This account aims to provide them with enhanced privileges and features to support their financial empowerment.

Australian batter Travis Head, who smashed an explosive century to help Australia win their sixth ICC Cricket World Cup title, has been named as the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for November 2023.

Head beat tough competition from teammate Glenn Maxwell and India seamer Mohammed Shami to claim the honour.

Maxwell scored a magnificent double-century against Afghanistan during the World Cup, while Shami had a brilliant run with the ball during the same tournament, becoming the leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets in just seven matches, as per the ICC.