The Delhi Police arrested four people in connection with the data leak case of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR.Sources said that the arrests were made following an investigation by the central probe agencies which revealed that personal details of more than 81 crore Indians were compromised and offered for sale on the dark web, originating from the ICMR’s data bank.

The accused, who had reportedly met on a gaming platform, conspired to hack the data and capitalise on the sale for quick financial gains. Earlier this year, the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit of the Delhi Police took suo motu cognizance of the situation after reports surfaced regarding the significant data breach.

According to official sources, data of more than 81.5 crore Indians, with the ICMR, was put on sale on the dark web,

which contained crucial information such as Aadhaar and passport details, along with names, phone numbers, and addresses.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has won a third term with 89.6 percent of the vote in the Arab world's most populous country, the national election authority said .

The outcome of the December 10-12 poll was widely expected after the former army chief with a fondness for infrastructure mega-projects campaigned against a small field of relative unknowns.

It secures 69-year-old Sisi his third and, according to the Egyptian constitution, final term in office, starting in April and set to run for six years.

His victory comes despite a painful economic crisis, marked by a currency plunge and runaway household prices, and heightened regional tensions sparked by the Israel-Hamas war in neighbouring Gaza.

Annual inflation is running at 36.4 percent, sending up prices of some food staples by the week and hurting household budgets in the country of nearly 106 million.

Even before the current economic crisis, about two thirds of Egypt's population were living on or below the poverty line.

A decade-long crackdown on dissent had eliminated any serious competition for Sisi, Egypt's fifth president to emerge from within the ranks of the military since 1952.

It was the third time in a decade Sisi wins a landslide victory, albeit with his smallest margin. In both 2014 and 2018, Sisi won over 96 percent of the vote.

The runner-up Hazem Omar, who leads the Republican People's Party, received 4.5 percent of the vote.

Next came Farid Zahran, leader of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, and Abdel-Sanad Yamama from the Wafd, a century-old but relatively marginal party.

The election authority said turnout was "unprecedented" at 66.8 percent of 67 million registered voters. This was up from 41 percent in 2018 and 47 percent in 2014.

Sisi, a retired army field marshall, was first voted in as president after leading the overthrow of elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

The ruling emir of oil-rich Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, died on  Dec 16  aged 86, the royal court said, after three years in power marked by repeated political disputes.

Meanwhile, the nation's crown prince and Nawaf's half-brother, Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al-Sabah, was named the Gulf nation's new emir.

Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah is 83 years old. Attention is now focused on whether the family will appoint a younger generation ruler as the next crown prince.

Sheikh Nawaf ascended to the role of crown prince in 2006, appointed by his half-brother Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. He assumed the position of emir upon Sheikh Sabah's death in September 2020 at the age of 91.

A leading Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen was due to be presented with the Hannah Arendt prize for political thought on Friday. But the award ceremony will now not take place as planned after the Green party-affiliated Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBS) said it was withdrawing its support, according to The Guardian.

The HBS said it objected to and rejected a comparison made by Gessen in a December 9, 2023 essay in The New Yorker between Gaza and the Jewish ghettos in Europe.

In the essay, Gessen, who uses they, criticised Germany’s unequivocal support of Israel, drawing attention to the Bundestag’s 2019 resolution condemning the Israel boycott movement BDS as antisemitic and quoting a Jewish critic of Germany’s politics of Holocaust remembrance as saying memory culture had “gone haywire”.

India's merchandise exports slipped by 2.83 per cent to USD 33.90 billion in November while the trade deficit narrowed to USD 20.58 billion, according to government data.

Imports also fell by 4.33 per cent to USD 54.48 billion in November.

Cumulatively, the country's merchandise exports in April-November FY2023-24 contracted by 6.51 per cent to USD 278.8 billion.

Imports were also down by 8.67 per cent to USD 445.15 billion in the eight-month period due to a fall in oil imports.

Oil imports dipped to USD 113.65 billion as against USD 139.29 billion in April-November 2022-23.

The trade deficit difference between imports and exports - during the eight-month period was USD 166.35 billion against USD 189.21 billion in the corresponding period last year.

All key export sectors have recorded negative growth during the April-November period of this fiscal and that include petroleum products, gems and jewellery, chemicals, garments, and engineering goods.

Sectors which registered positive growth include electronics, iron ore, and pharma.

The other import segments whose inbound shipments are contracted include coal, coke; pearls, precious and semi-precious stones; and fertiliser.

However, gold imports increased by 21 per cent to USD 32.93 billion.

Electronic goods' imports have risen to USD 57.83 billion during April-November 2023-24 against USD 51.89 billion in the same period last year.

The gold imports in November rose by 6.24 per cent to USD 3.44 billion.

Oil imports during the month, however, dipped by 8.47 per cent to USD 14.93 billion.

Exports in October had grew by 6.21 per cent.

According to the data, the estimated value of services export for November is USD 28.69 billion, as compared to USD 26.93 billion in November 2022.

During the eight-month period, these exports stood at USD 220.66 billion as compared to USD 208.30 billion in April-November 2022.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has forecast that global trade will grow only by 0.8 per cent in 2023.

According to UNCTAD report, global trade is expected to shrink by nearly 5 per cent in 2023 amid geopolitical strains and shifting trade patterns.

 A division bench of the Calcutta High Court  has ruled in favour of Harsh Vardhan Lodha continuing as Chairman of MP Birla Group. The order came a little over three years after a single judge of the high court passed an order directing removal of Harsh Vardhan Lodha as the Chairman of the MP Birla Group.

The 300-page verdict ruled that the lower court could not have interfered with the functioning of the companies, trusts and societies of MP Birla Group. The court also imposed several restrictions on the functioning of the committee of administrators, which in the past few years have taken several decisions and pressured companies, trusts and societies of the MP Birla Group to implement them.

In their verdict, the two judges clarified that the administrators can’t interfere with the internal affairs of companies, trusts and societies on directions of the single judge of the Calcutta High Court. The committee of three administrators was formed in pursuant to an order passed by the division bench of the high court in August 2012.

Harsh Lodha is the son of the late Rajendra Singh Lodha.  

India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world and Kerala has immensely contributed with the number of startups in it, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of Fatima Mata National College, Sitharaman said Kerala has also contributed immensely towards India's fintech industry too.

The Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Sitharaman told the graduating students that with all these opportunities and good educational institutions, "India 2047 is in your hands to build".

She later handed over gas stoves under the PM Ujjwala Yojana to beneficiaries during the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra programme at Mangalapuram Gram Panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram.

She handed over cheques to beneficiaries of various Central Government Schemes including PM MUDRA Yojana, PM SVANidhi and Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM), Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme and PM Employment Generation Programme.

Bangladesh thrashed UAE by 195 runs at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Dec 17  to claim their maiden U19 Asia Cup title. After setting a target of 283 for their opponents, Bangladesh bundled out UAE for 87 runs. Earlier, Ashiqur Rahman Shibli registered a stunning 129-run knock as Bangladesh posted 282 for 8 on the board after getting an invitation to bat first. Chowdhury Md Rizwan (60) and Ariful Islam (50) also gave important contributions with the bat. For UAE, Ayman Ahamed (4 for 52) was the top wicket-taker.