Source: Click Here

• Elon Musk, the founder of tunnelling enterprise Boring Company, said in a tweet that a commercial tunnel in Las Vegas would "hopefully" be fully operational in 2020.


• Musk, who also leads electric-car maker Tesla Inc and rocket company SpaceX, has been seeking to revolutionize transportation by sending passengers packed into pods through an intercity system of giant, underground vacuum tubes known as a hyperloop.

Source: Click Here

• More than 1,000 people rallied in the rain in a park in Hong Kong's financial district on Sunday, chanting slogans for democracy as they huddled under a sea of umbrellas.


• The crowd, a mix of young and elderly people, wore black and turquoise surgical masks to hide their identities as they listened to organizers speaking on a makeshift stage.


• "There may be fewer people. We all know that no matter how many people come out or how many times, the government ignores you," said a 30-year-old woman in black clothing surnamed Wong, who works in the legal sector.

Source: Click Here

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called at a ruling party meeting for “positive and offensive measures” to ensure security ahead of a year-end deadline he has set for denuclearisation talks with the United States, state media KCNA said.


• Kim convened a weekend meeting of top Workers’ Party officials to discuss policy matters amid rising tension over his deadline for Washington to soften its stance in stalled negotiations aimed at dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.


• Kim suggested action in the areas of foreign affairs, the munitions industry, and armed forces, stressing the need to take “positive and offensive measures for fully ensuring the sovereignty and security of the country,” KCNA said, without elaborating.

Source: Click Here

• Iraqi anti-government protesters blockaded an oil field and rallied in southern cities Sunday while political factions remained paralysed in their attempts to form a new government.


• Several hundred people demanding jobs shut off access to the Nassiriya field, 300 kilometers (190 miles) south of Baghdad, which produces 82,000 barrels of oil per day, executives said.


• The two-day-old blockade is the first to disrupt operations in OPEC’s second-largest producer since the start of the popular revolt set to enter its fourth month in early January.

Source: Click Here

• Amid the largescale protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Union Home Minister Amit Shah will hold a public meeting in Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s home turf, Jodhpur, on January 3.


• The rally is part of the BJP’s mass awareness campaign across the country to educate people about the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Source: Click Here

• Indian Ambassador to Austria, Renu Pall, who rented an apartment for herself at Rs 15 lakh per month, has been recalled by the Ministry of External Affairs for financial irregularities and misuse of government funds.


• An Indian Foreign Service officer of 1988 batch, Pall was to complete her tenure in Austria next month. As per an investigation ordered by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and conducted by the Ministry of External Affairs, she “incurred huge expenditure to the tune of crores of rupees on the government residence without the permission of the ministry”.

Source: Click Here

• Janata Dal (United) national vice president Prashant Kishor opened a new front by claiming that the party should get larger share of seats in the 2020 assembly polls.


• A miffed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said decision on seat sharing was a prerogative of the NDA’s top leadership.

Source: Click Here

• An upcoming meeting of presiding officers of Parliament and state assemblies may see a proposal to rejig legislative powers of speakers to better handle cases under the anti-defection law in the wake of recent controversies, according to people familiar with the matter.


• The proposal, which will be discussed threadbare during the meeting in mid-January in Lucknow, may veer around a reduced role for the speaker of the House and state assemblies in cases related to defection after some assembly speakers pointed out how the chair in various assemblies has faced criticism in recent months.

Source: Click Here

• Central Selection Board of Constable (CSBC), Bihar has released the admit card for the constable recruitment exam on its official website. Candidates who have registered for the recruitment exam can download their admit card online at csbc.bih.nic.in.


• The recruitment exam will be conducted on January 12 and 20, 2020, in two shifts. The morning shift will begin at 10 am and the afternoon shift at 2 pm.


• The recruitment drive is being conducted to fill 11,880 vacancies of constables in Bihar Police, Bihar Military Police (BMP), Special India Reserve Battalion (SIRB) and Bihar State Industrial Security Battalion (BSISB).

Source: Click Here

• Agriculture Scientist Board has released the admit card for the ICAR NET 2019 on its official website. Candidates who have registered for the examination can download their admit card online at asrb.org.in.


• Agriculture Scientist Board will be conducting the ICAR NET 2019 examination from January 8 to 10, 2020, across different centers. Earlier, ICAR NET 2019 exam was scheduled to be conducted from December 9 to 12, 2019.

Source: Click Here

• NEET PG 2020 admit card will be released tomorrow. A notice on the National Board of Examination (NBE) says that 'Admit Cards for NEET PG 2020 shall be live on 31st December 2019'.


• The examination will be held on January 5. The NEET PG exam is conducted for admission to all MD/MS/PG Diploma Courses.


• The examination will be conducted on a single day in a single session. The examination will be held from 3:30 pm to 7:00 pm.


• Candidates appearing for the exam will have to carry they're admit card with their photo pasted on it.

Source: Click Here

• The Centre will conduct negotiations on the Goods & Services Tax (GST) structure after presenting Budget 2020, reports Mint.


• Finance ministers from the Centre and states will reportedly discuss an overhaul of the GST slabs and rates.


• Officials will also discuss methods to stem the shortfall in revenue collection and GST compensation to states for the next fiscal, a source told the paper.

Source: Click Here

• India is expected to overtake Germany to become fourth-largest economy in 2026 and Japan to become third largest in 2034, according a recent report by the UK-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).


• It further said India is also set to reach a gross domestic product (GDP) of USD 5 trillion by 2026, 2 years later than the government's target.


• "India has decisively overtaken both France and the UK to become the world's fifth-largest economy in 2019.


• It is expected to overtake Germany to become fourth-largest in 2026 and Japan to become the third-largest in 2034," the report, titled 'World Economic League Table 2020', said.

Source: Click Here

• Liverpool needed the aid of VAR to re-establish their 13-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Wolves as a late Chelsea fightback inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Arsenal in Mikel Arteta's first home game in charge.


• Manchester City remain 14 points adrift of the runaway league leaders, but closed the gap on second-placed Leicester thanks to second-half goals from Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne to beat Sheffield United 2-0.


• Sadio Mane scored the only goal of a controversial clash at Anfield as Liverpool extended their unbeaten run at home in the league to 50 games.

Source: Click Here

• Modou Sougou's brace helped 10-man Mumbai City FC to a 2-1 win over Hyderabad FC in a Indian Super League (ISL) tie at the Mumbai Football Arena.


• Bobo did get on the score-sheet late in the game for the visitors, but Hyderabad still suffered their seventh defeat of the season.


• The win takes Mumbai to the fourth spot, level on points with defending champions Bengaluru FC with 16 points. Hyderabad remain rooted to the bottom with a mere five points.

Source: Click Here

• Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy claimed the World Women's Rapid Chess Championship title after drawing the Armageddon game against Lei Tingjie of China in Moscow, Russia.


• The 32-year-old Indian made a stunning comeback, winning the 12th and final round game against another Chinese Tang Zhongyi, to force the tie breaker against Tingjie.


• "When I started my first game on Day 3 I did not imagine I would be at the top. My hope was to reach top three.


• I didn't expect to play the tie-break games," said Humpy, who had taken a two-year sabbatical from 2016 to 2018 after she became a mother, in an interview with FIDE.

Source: Click Here

• Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) working president Hemant Soren was sworn-in as the 11th Chief Minister of Jharkhand here.


• Governor Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office and secrecy to Soren. A galaxy of leaders from across the political spectrum graced the occasion at Mohrabadi Ground in Ranchi.

Source: Click Here

• Australian pacer Peter Siddle has announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 35.


• Siddle, who took 221 wickets in 67 Tests, will continue to play domestic cricket for Victoria state and Twenty20 side Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League.


• Siddle was released from the squad for the third Test against New Zealand.