Trump survives assassination bid at U.S. poll campaign rally

Former U.S. President Donald Trump was shot at during a campaign rally after a major security lapse, an attack that will likely reshape for presidential race.

Mr Trump, 78, had just begun a campaign speech in Butler, Pennsylvania, about 50 km north of Pittsburgh, when shots rang out, hitting the former President's right ear and streaking his face with blood.

Oli to take oath as Nepal PM 

K.P. Sharma Oli was appointed the Prime Minister of Nepal for a fourth term. Mr Oli, 72, will be expected to provide political stability to the Himalayan nation.

He will succeed Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives. 

On the jurisdiction of the CBI

Recently, the Supreme Court upheld the maintainability of the West Bengal government's suit accusing the Union government of "constitutional overreach" by employing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register and investigate cases in the State despite its withdrawal of general consent on November 16, 2018.

Under Section 6 of the DSPE Act, the CBI is required to obtain consent from the concerned State government before initiating an investigation within its jurisdiction.

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, pressed the Court to dismiss West Bengal's suit by raising preliminary objections to its maintainability. 

He argued that the CBI was an "independent agency" since it did not function under the direct control of the Union government. 

The Union government's rein on financial transfers to different States

Ever since the start of the Fourteenth Finance Commission award period (2015-16), the Union government has been reducing financial transfers to States. 

This is particularly strange given that the Fourteenth Finance Commission recommended devolving 42% of Union tax revenues to States, which is a clean 10 percentage points increase over the 13th Finance Commission's recommendation. 

The Fifteenth Finance Commission retained this recommendation of 41%, excluding the devolution to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh, which were recategorised as Union Territories.

Three die of asphyxiation at illegal coal mine in Gujarat

Three labourers died of asphyxiation inside an illegal coal mine in the Surendranagar district of Gujarat.

It is the fourth such incident reported this year in which a total of 10 people had lost their lives while digging for low-grade coal in illegal mines found in several parts of the district. 

Product information made mandatory on bulk packages

The Department of Consumer Affairs has decided to amend the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 to ensure mandatory declaration of all information on prepackaged commodities used for retail sale.

The decision comes in the wake of information that packaged commodities above 25 kg are available for retail sale without mandatory declarations on the packages.

The Centre said that the amendment will bring clarity among manufacturers, packers and importers of packaged commodities of any quantity to make declarations if these are for retail sale.

The rules, however, do not apply to the packaged commodities meant for industrial or institutional consumers.

When trees and trade flourished along the Southern Silk Route

A recent publication by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) documents the flora and landscapes of one of the oldest trading routes of South Asia the Silk Route, meandering through Kalimpong and Sikkim in the eastern Himalayas and going to Lhasa in Tibet.

The book, A Southern Silk Route: Sikkim and Kalimpong Wild Flowers and Landscapes, not only documents 1,137 flowering plants, a host of butterflies, insects, birds, and mammals but also the historical significance of the route and the link between botany and politics of the region.

A celebration of Indigenous seeds sows change in the farm landscape

A popular movement to preserve indigenous seed varieties many on the verge of extinction in the tribal-dominated regions of southern Rajasthan is helping to promote not just crop diversity but also climate resilience.

Thousands of tribal people, from nearly 1,000 villages and hamlets in the tribal belt at the trijunction of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, took part in a series of Beej Utsavs, or seed festivals.

Some 90 such events were held, giving participants a chance to learn the techniques of preserving indigenous seeds for use in different crop seasons. 

K.P. Sharma Oli appointed Nepal Prime Minister

K. P. Sharma Oli, the leader of Nepal's largest communist party, was appointed Nepal's Prime Minister for a fourth term to lead a new coalition government that faces the daunting challenge of providing political stability in the Himalayan nation.

Mr. Oli, 72, succeeds Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives.

President Ram Chandra Paudel appointed Mr Oli, Chairman of the Communist Party of NepalUnified Marxist Leninist (CPN- UML), as the new Prime Minister.

Mr Oli became the Prime Minister with the support of the Nepali Congress, the largest party in parliament.