As many as 65 top US universities, including Harvard and MIT, have challenged the Trump administration in a court against its new stringent visa policy for foreign students, warning that the new 'backdating' rule will have a detrimental effect on America's higher education system.
The new policy announced by the Trump administration in August places restrictions on overstaying a visa.
With the new rules, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can set retroactive start dates for unlawful presence that begins the day after an individual's degree programme is complete or the day after a person's visa expires.
Israel to Hold Early Elections
As per reports, Israeli coalition leaders agreed to hold early elections in April, seven months before they are due.
Coalition party heads in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government have decided to dissolve Parliament and hold elections in early April.
Mr. Netanyahu's coalition was left with a one-seat majority in Parliament following Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman's resignation in November over a controversial Gaza ceasefire deal.
Mr. Netanyahu is also facing mounting pressure over a series of corruption investigations.
According to Arun Jaitley, India will soon move to a new standard rate between 12% and 18%, with "luxury and sin goods as an exception, maintaining the government's position that the current goods and services tax regime will be simplified and standardised over time.
When this happens, India will effectively have three GST rates of 0%, 5%, and the standard rate, which will apply to most products and services.
Operations of Iran's Strategic Chabahar Port
India formally took over operations at Chabahar Port in Iran, giving a major boost to the country's efforts to support war-torn Afghanistan.
New Delhi's efforts to develop the port, which allows India to ship supplies to Afghanistan while bypassing Pakistan, received a fillip when Washington exempted Chabahar from Iran-related sanctions in November.
Iran formally handed over the port to India during a first meeting of the follow-up committee for the implementation of the Chabahar Agreement between Iran, Afghanistan, and India in the port city Tehran.
Sterlite Power Won Contract
Sterlite Power won a $600 million transmission project in Brazil.
The project would be executed over the next 3-5 years at Rio Grande do Sul in the southern region of the country.
With this order, the company's investment in Brazil's transmission sector crossed $2 billion with a portfolio of 10 projects.
The newly-elected Congress government in Chhattisgarh has said it will return the land acquired from tribal farmers in Bastar in 2005 by the state government for the proposed Tata Steel project, which did not take off.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has issued directions to the concerned department and the process of returning the land of the tribals will start soon.
The Congress had promised in its manifesto that since the land is lying idle for more than five years it would be returned to the tribals as per Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act, 2013, if they come to power.
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot's Cabinet
The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan will have 23 ministers, including 17 new faces. It will have 13 cabinet ministers and ten ministers of state.
The strength of the council of ministers in Rajasthan cannot exceed 30 or 15% of the total number of seats in the 200-member state assembly.
The MLAs who are going to be a part of the state cabinet are: Bulaki Das Kalla (Bikaner west), Parsadi Lal Meena (Lalsot), Shanti Dhariwal (Kota North), Lalchand Kataria (Jhotwara), Raghu Sharma (Kekri), Vishvendra Singh (Deeg-Kumher), Harish Choudhary (Baytoo), Ramesh Meena (Sapotra), Master Bhanwarlal Meghwal (Sujangarh), Pratap Singh Khachariyawas (Civil Lines), Udai Lal Anjana (Nimbahera), Saleh Mohammad (Pokaran), Govind Singh Dotasara (Lachhmangarh), Mamta Bhupesh (Sikrai), Arjun Bamania (Banswara), Bhanwar Singh Bhati (Kolayat), Sukhram Bishnoi (Sanchore), Ashok Chandna (Hindoli), Tikaram Jully (Alwar Rural), Bhajan Lal Jatav (Weir), Rajendra Singh Yadav (Kotputli) and Subhash Garg from Bharatpur (Rashtriya Lok Dal).
Tenth Naval Hospital
The Indian Navy commissioned a hospital ship INHS Sandhani at Naval Station Karanja in Uran in Maharashtra's Raigad district. INHS Sandhani is the tenth Naval Hospital of the Navy.
The hospital had modest beginnings as a small primary health centre in 1955. With the steady expansion of the naval station over the last few decades, a need was felt for a multispecialty hospital.
The sanction for the same was given by the Ministry of Defence in September 2016.
The entire world witnesses Christmas festivities on December 25, but in Lucknow this day also marks the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
A series of events has been lined up from December 24 to 27 by social organisations, literary organisations, government departments, individuals and fan clubs in memory of Vajpayee.
The district administration will celebrate Vajpayee's birth anniversary as 'Sushashan Diwas' (Good Administration Day) by organising seminars, discussions, debates, camps etc.
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