Morning Digest | ‘Many challenges’, says Nirmala Sitharaman, as India takes up G20 presidency; Congress to choose between Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor today, and more

‘Many challenges’, says Nirmala Sitharaman, as India takes up G20 presidency

Speaking to reporters on Saturday night, towards the end of her visit to Washington for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings, Ms. Sitharaman said that the current G20 President, Indonesia, had been through “a very difficult year” in the context of the geopolitical tensions. This had resulted in the G20, which met in Washington this past week, not agreeing to a joint communique. Indonesia had, instead , issued a “G20 Chair’s Summary”.

Congress to choose between Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor

The Congress is all set to witness a contest between Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor and party veteran Mallikarjun Kharge in the party’s presidential polls on Monday. For the first time in 24 years, no member of the Gandhi family is a candidate for the party’s top post. The last contest that the party witnessed was in November 2000, when Sonia Gandhi had defeated her rival Jitendra Prasada by a huge margin.

Kashmiri Pandits slam L-G for failing to provide security

The latest killing of a Kashmiri Pandit orchardist by militants in south Kashmir’s Shopian sparked a fresh wave of protests in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, as the Pandit community accused the J&K Lieutenant Governor’s administration of failure to provide them security.

Tamil Nadu worried over increased presence of Chinese Army in Sri Lanka

Tamil Nadu has flagged serious security concerns over the increased presence of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China in Sri Lanka. An alert issued by the State’s intelligence agency a few days ago said the activities of the Chinese in the neighbouring country is a concern to national security and called for intensified vigil along the coastline.

Byelections to 11 constituencies in Pakistan to test parties’ popularity

Ahead of the general elections next year, Pakistan’s major political parties were set to get a taste of their popularity amongst the voters on Sunday in a major byelection exercise involving 11 constituencies. Polling started at 8 a.m. on eight national assembly and three provincial assembly seats and would continue without any break till 5 p.m., according to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

U.K. Finance Minister Hunt vows to win back financial market trust

Britain’s new Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt promised to win back the country’s economic credibility by accounting for every penny of the government’s tax and spending plans, while insisting that his boss Prime Minister Liz Truss remained in overall charge.

Rising living expenses, climate inaction spark protest in France

Three weeks into a refinery strike that has caused fuel shortages across the country, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Paris on Sunday, adding to a growing picture of defiance and anger about inflation. The demonstration against the rising cost of living on Sunday was called by the left-wing political opposition and led by the head of the France Unbowed (LFI) party, Jean-Luc Melenchon.

India’s coal mines are severely under-utilised amid push for new ones: Report

On average, India’s coal mines use only two-thirds of the capacity with some large ones using only 1%, says an analysis by Global Energy Monitor (GEM), a firm that tracks utilisation of the fuel-source internationally. This suggests that 99 of India’s coal mine projects, expected to yield 427 MTPA (million tonnes per annum), under development are unnecessary and opening new coal mines wouldn’t contribute to easing short-term supply-crunches.

Preparations in full swing to clear legacy landfills by 2026

Preparations to complete one of the targets of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0 that was launched a year ago – the remediation of all legacy landfills in the country – are in full swing and a public dashboard on the progress at 2,200 such sites is in the offing, Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry officials said.

Scheduled Castes panel cannot initiate inquiry on unsubstantiated complaints: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has recently ruled that the National Commission for Scheduled Castes cannot initiate an inquiry based on any “specious complaint and unsubstantiated allegations” made by a person belonging to a Scheduled Castes.

Big private projects give investment boost in Q2

India’s private sector investment announcements soared 66% between July and September to nearly ₹5.7 lakh crore, compared to the first quarter of 2022-23, even as there was a worrying dip in the execution rate for outstanding projects already committed to. 

Men’s air rifle team wins gold in World Championship

It was another gold for India as Arjun Babuta, Kiran Jadhav and Rudrankksh Patil powered the team to a 16-10 victory over China in air rifle men’s team event of the World Championship in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday.