Daily News Notes

· India and Bangladesh have decided to operationalise Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty for transfer of sentenced fugitives which paves the way for extradition of ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia from Bangladesh and facilitate handing over of terrorists and criminals operating on each other's soil, thus the two sides reaffirmed their commitment not to allow the territory of either country for any activity inimical to each other's interests. The two nations are also agreed to operationalize the agreements on Combatting Organized Crime and Illegal Drug Trafficking, implement the Coordinated Border management plan, cooperation in capacity building of Police and other law enforcement agencies and decided to hasten the process verification of nationality status of prisoners lodged in jails of either country to enable their early repatriation.
· In Uttar Pradesh, amid strong protests from the entire opposition, the resolution for the division of the state in four new states was passed by a voice vote in the State Assembly.
· In Madhya Pradesh, the winter session of the state legislative assembly began today in Bhopal and on the first day itself leader of opposition Ajay Singh (INS) presented no confidence motion against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s government and demanded reduction in taxes imposed on petroleum products in the state.
· The Kerala High Court has banned the dumping of household waste wrapped in plastic carry bags in public places.
· The Centre (Home Ministry) has ordered an inquiry against at least 10 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) following reports that they were providing funds received from abroad for funding political activities such as protests and resort to other agitation programs against government policies and creating unrest in the country. The Government recently made it mandatory for all NGOs and charitable trusts to file details of foreign contributions received in their Income Tax returns along with their Foreign Contributions Regulation Act number.
· Two militants belonging to the anti-talk faction of the ULFA were killed when they were fixing the bomb on the railway tracks in upper Assam. The blast went off ahead of the arrival of the long-distance Dibrugarh-Kolkata Kamrup Express.
· An earthquake (of 5.8 Richter scale, occurred at a depth of 120 km from the sea level, lasted for around 30 sec; source: Seismological Observatory Centre at the Manipur University in Imphal) of moderate intensity rocked the Northeastern states of Assam, Manipur and Meghalay (epicenter has been located on the Indo-Myanmar border). Cracks developed in some high-rise buildings in Guwahati city.
· The long-awaited trial (in UN-backed war crimes court) of top four Khmer Rouge leaders, accused of genocide and other atrocities, gets under way (after 3 decades of 'Killing Fields' era) in Cambodia today.
· Myanmar's democracy campaigner, Aung San Suu Kyi, has confirmed that she will stand as a candidate in upcoming by-elections. It will be the first time Aung San Suu Kyi is taking part in an election since 1990.
· Jordan’s King Abdullah (king of one of the few Arab countries which recognizes Israel) will visit the occupied West Bank today and will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. The visit comes in the context of Jordan’s support for the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian people's right to have an independent state. The visit is significant in the wake of proposed peace talks between Israel and Palestine and between Hamas and Fatah on the other end.
· A 27-year-old (Jose Pimentel who is a US citizen and was under police surveillance since 2009 as a suspect of “Al-Qaeda sympathizer”) who planned to carry out terror attacks in the United States targetting police and military personnel returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan has been arrested in New york.
· In Arunachal Pradesh, preparation has been almost completed for hosting the 7th National Youth Boys and Girls National Weightlifting Championship in Itanagar tomorrow.
· India's Ankita Das (World Rank-25) crashed out of the World Junior Table Tennis Championships in Bahrain.
· Hosts and Defending Champions India maintained their splendid form in the 2nd World Cup Kabaddi Championship in Punjab, to emerge victorious in both Men's (defeated Canada) and Women's (defeated UK) category.
· In Spain, the head of the Conservative Popular Party, Mariano Rajoy, has claimed victory in the general election over the governing Socialists. Prime Minister Mr Rajoy will now be faced with devising majors to deal with Spain's huge debts.