A look at the headlines today:
1. Mukund Naravane to take charge as Army Chief today
Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane will take charge as the Chief of Army Staff today, succeeding Gen Bipin Rawat. Gen Rawat has been appointed India's first Chief of Defence Staff. Lt Gen Naravane is currently serving as Vice Chief of the Army. Before taking charge as vice chief in September, Lt Gen Naravane was heading the Eastern Command of the Army which takes care of India's nearly 4,000-km border with China. In his 37 years of service, Lt Gen Naravane has served in numerous command and staff appointments in peace, field and highly active counter-insurgency environments in Jammu and Kashmir, and the northeast. He has also commanded a Rashtriya Rifles battalion in Jammu and Kashmir, and an infantry brigade on the eastern front. He was also part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka and had served as India's defence attache at the Indian Embassy in Myanmar for three years. Lt Gen Naravane is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy.
2. Maharashtra Congress ministers to meet Sonia Gandhi today
Maharashtra Congress leaders will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi for a routine appraisal, a day after the Maharashtra cabinet expansion announcement. One of the main takeaways from the expansion exercise was Aaditya Thackeray—the first-time MLA from the Thackeray clan—taking oath as cabinet minister at the age of 29. Expectedly, Ajit Pawar made a comeback as deputy chief minister, barely 37 days after he broke ranks with the NCP and joined hands with Devendra Fadnavis of BJP to form a government, which lasted for barely 80 hours. Another senior leader to take oath as a cabinet minister was former chief minister Ashok Chavan of Congress. However, another senior Congressman and former CM Prithviraj Chavan did not find place in Thackeray's ministry. There is a speculation that he may lead the state Congress unit. Apart from the opposition BJP, Sena MP Sanjay Raut also skipped the ministry expansion ceremony. Raut's absence was attributed to his brother Sunil Raut, a Sena MLA, not getting a berth.
3. Goa tourism scene looks up for New Year
With beaches and party spots in Goa teeming with visitors ahead of the New Year, the local tourism industry is now hoping to cover up the losses it had suffered in lacklustre Christmas season. In Goa, all-night New Year parties along the 105-km shoreline start from the evening a few hours earlier and continue till morning the next day or sometimes even till January 2. Lanes leading to beaches villages in North Goa, like Calangute, Candolim, Sinquerim, Baga and Keri, Morjim are the main party arenas with crowds thronging in their thousands. Industry body Travel and Tourism Association of Goa president Savio Messias told PTI the New Year season has so far been "not so bad, not so good". "Hotel occupancy is satisfactory at 80 per cent, with some establishments touching 95-100 per cent mark. However, the mid-segment and luxury hotels are not making much," said Messias. Shack Owners' Welfare Society president Cruz Cardoso claimed tourists are flocking to the beaches, with a sizable number being that of Russians and Britons.
4. Hong Kong will end 2019 with a massive protest
Hong Kong will end 2019 with multiple protests planned for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day aimed at disrupting festivities and shopping in the Asian financial hub. In the recent elections also, Hong Kong citizens had turned out in record numbers, kicking out the pro-government and pro-Beijing forces that dominated the city's 18 district councils.In Beijing, the election results could prompt the government to reconsider its approach to the crisis, which has been to express support for Lam and the police while not intervening directly. The military has several thousand troops in Hong Kong, but deploying them is a last resort as it would revive memories of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy student protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 and bring widespread condemnation from the U.S. and other western powers.
5. IOA to bid for either 2026 or 2026 CWG
The Indian Olympic Association on Monday said it will bid for either the 2026 or 2030 Commonwealth Games while also agreeing to withdraw its boycott call for the 2022 Birmingham edition over shooting's exclusion. The country's apex body for Olympic sports will next approach the government for the necessary clearances to host the multi-sport event. The country hosted the 2010 edition in the national capital. This was decided during the IOA's Annual general Meeting (AGM). "We have decided to make a bid for 2026 or 2030 Commonwealth Games and we have also decided to send our contingent to Birmingham for the 2022 Games," IOA secretary general Rajiv Mehta told PTI. The IOA also approved the National Rifle Association of India's (NRAI) proposal to host a separate Commonwealth shooting championship before the main Games in Birmingham, hoping to make up for the sport's withdrawal from the roster of the 2022 edition.
6. DDCA seeks time till Delhi polls for conducting president's election, Gambhir not eligible
The strife-torn Delhi and District Cricket Associations (DDCA) has sought time till the state assembly polls in February to conduct election for the post of its president. The DDCA also made it clear that former India opener Gautam Gambhir, whose name was doing the rounds, will not be eligible to contest for president's post as per Lodha recommendations. Gambhir had earlier called for the dissolution of DDCA. "Ombudsman Deepak Verma will be requested to give some extension to conduct election for president's post. Election is slated for January end but a request will be put that it is held after Delhi's assembly election in February," DDCA general secretary Vinod Tihara said. In a drama-filled AGM, also marred by exchange of blows, Justice (Retd) Deepak Verma was appointed as DDCA's new Ombudsman. On the sidelines of the AGM, ruling group's joint secretary Rajan Manchanda was slapped by opposition's Maqsood Alam.
-Inputs from PTI
