Grappling for answers to crises ranging from climate to conflicts to fake news, more than 2,800 leaders from around the world, including India, have begun gathering in this Alpine resort town for an annual five-day talkathon.

Those present for the 54th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting beginning on January 15 would include over 60 heads of state and governments, while Indian presence would be marked by three Union ministers, three chief ministers along with their ministerial colleagues and over a hundred CEOs.

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has asked India to withdraw its troops from the island nation by March 15, a top official said on Sunday, posing the latest in a series of diplomatic challenges from Malé to New Delhi since his September election win.

Abdullah Nazim Ibrahim, the Principal Secretary to President Muizzu on Public Policy, told a media conference at the Presidential Palace in Malé that Indian military personnel will no longer be permitted to reside in the Maldives, and that the troops have been asked to leave by March 15, 2024, according to Malé-based media.

The senior official’s announcement was made even as the India-Maldives High Level Core Group — set up when the Maldivian President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the UN climate summit in Dubai — held its first meeting, in Malé.

Every year on January 15, India celebrates its Army Day. The purpose of the day is to remember troops and all they have sacrificed for the country. Additionally, Army Day commemorates the year 1949, when Field Marshal Kodandera M Cariappa became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of Independent India, succeeding General FRR Bucher, the last British-serving chief of the Indian Army.

From 1949 till 2022, the Army Day parade was organised at the Cariappa Parade Ground in the Delhi Cantonment. The Chief of Army Staff reviews the marching contingents who also take part in the Republic Day Parade every year.

The capital city of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, will host a spectacular parade today to commemorate the 76th Army Day of the Indian Army. For the second year in a row, the Army Day parade has been relocated outside of Delhi. The parade was held at the Parade Ground of the MED & Centre in Bengaluru the previous year.

The Rural Development Ministry and State Bank of India on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate enterprise financing for rural self-help groups (SHG), an official statement said.

The MoU was signed by Additional Secretary Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission, Charanjit Singh and Chief General Manager, State Bank of India, Corporate office Mumbai, Shantanu Pendsey.

Rear Admiral Upal Kundu has assumed charge as Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command (SNC).

An alumnus of the Indian Naval Academy, he was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1991. He is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) specialist and commanded guided missile frigate INS Trikand, missile corvette INS Kuthar, erstwhile INS Akshay, and ashore units — INS Tanaji and INS Kadamba.

A graduate from the Defence Services Staff College (Wellington), he was also the Commodore, Bureau of Sailors. On promotion to flag rank, he assumed duties of Chief Staff Officer (Training) at the headquarters, SNC, prior to taking over as Chief of Staff, says a Navy release.

The Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, better known as the safest address of the greater one-horned rhinoceros, has recorded a 27% increase in the number of resident and winter migratory waterbirds.

The fifth waterbird census conducted through the citizen scientist initiative from January 9-10 across the 1,302 sq. km wildlife preserve revealed the presence of 84,839 birds, which was 18,063 more than the number recorded during a similar exercise in 2021-22.

This, park officials said, places Kaziranga among the top five habitats of waterbirds in the country.

Continuing his spree to set up state-of-the-art libraries in the state, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Thursday inaugurated 14 new ultra modern libraries constructed at a cost of 14.62 crore in the Sangrur district

The Chief Minister said these libraries will act as a harbinger of growth and prosperity in the state adding that this path breaking initiative is aimed at inculcating reading habits amongst the youth of the state. He said that this step will go a long way in empowering the youth and making them an equal partner in the social-economic development of the state.

“These will transform the destiny of the youth and produce bureaucrats, scientists, doctors, technocrats and others,” said Mann.

Byrnihat in Meghalaya topped the list of the most polluted cities in India in 2023, closely followed by Begusarai in Bihar and Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, according to a report released on Wednesday.

Delhi, known for its persistently high air pollution levels during winter, ranked as the eighth most polluted city, the report by independent think tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said.

Sunil Dahia, South Asia's analyst at CREA, said 227 cities with air quality data available for over 75 per cent of the days in 2023 were studied.

The Government of Maharashtra has declared a new Conservation Reserve in the forest land of Sangli district namely 'Atpadi Conservation Reserve'. The newly formed Atpadi Conservation Reserve connects the Maini Conservation Area in the west with the Maldhok Bird Sanctuary in the northeast. This will help in the protection of wildlife corridors and preserve the habitat of wolves, deer, foxes, civets and other mammals in the area.

This newly declared Conservation Reserve hosts three types of forest cover, Semi-evergreen, moist deciduous and dry deciduous. 36 tree species, 116 herb species, 15 shrub species, 14 vine species and 1 parasitic plant are found in this area. The Atpadi Conservation Reserve will help preserve the habitat of wolves, jackal, deer, foxes, civets, rabbits and other mammals in the area.

As a teenager, Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik felt uncomfortable being in the spotlight and wondered whether there was any way he could avoid becoming king.

Such doubts have been swept aside as the 55-year-old takes over the crown on Sunday, January 14, 2024 from his mother, Queen Margrethe II, who is breaking with centuries of Danish royal tradition and retiring after a 52-year reign. The crown prince will become King Frederik X.

An athlete, decorated military officer and rock music fan, Frederik has a more informal style than his mother but is equally popular in the Scandinavian country.