Lalbiakzama of the ruling Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) in Mizoram was elected as the Speaker of the state Assembly unopposed.

Pro-tem Speaker Lalfamkima said the Opposition did not nominate any candidate.

Lalbiakzama is a first-time MLA who won the November 7 elections from the Chalfilh constituency.

Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) Chairman B Janardhan Reddy, whose tenure during the previous BRS regime was marred by leaks of question papers of recruitment tests, has resigned from his post.

If Article 370 that gave special powers to J&K died on August 5, 2019 after the Centre read it down, it was buried when the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court upheld the government’s decision.

In a landmark verdict, a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud held that the abrogation of Article 370 was not malafide, adding the special status was a temporary and transitory provision.

Rijul Maini, a medical student from Michigan, has been crowned Miss India USA 2023 at the annual pageant held in New Jersey.

During the event, Sneha Nambiar from Massachusetts was declared as Mrs India USA and Saloni Rammohan from Pennsylvania won the title of Miss Teen India USA.

This year marks the 41th anniversary of the pageant which is the longest-running Indian pageant outside of India.

At least 23 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a Pakistan army base on  Dec 12y, an official said, in an attack claimed by militants affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban.

The early-morning attack targeted a base in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border.

Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan -- a new group affiliated with the Pakistan Taliban -- said the assault began around 2:30 am (2130 GMT) with a "martyrdom attack" by one fighter before others stormed the compound.

Pakistan has witnessed a dramatic spike in militant attacks, mainly in its border regions with Afghanistan, since the Taliban returned to power there in 2021.

The biggest threat to Pakistan is its domestic chapter of the Taliban known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which shares lineage and ideology with Kabul's rulers.

India voted in favour of a draft resolution in the UN General Assembly that demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict as well as the unconditional release of all hostages.

The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution, introduced by Egypt, at an Emergency Special Session. The resolution was adopted with 153 votes in favour, while 23 nations abstained and 10 voted against the text.

The resolution, sponsored among others by Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Palestine, demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and reiterated its demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, notably about the protection of civilians.

It also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access.

Bhajanlal Sharma will be the new Chief Minister of Rajasthan.  Sharma was unanimously elected the leader of the BJP Legislative Party in a meeting held at BJP headquarters in Jaipur. Union Minister of Defense Affairs Rajnath Singh, Vinod Tawde, and Saroj Pandey were present in this meeting as observers. Rajnath Singh said that former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje proposed the name of  Sharma, which was seconded by senior MLAs Kirori Lal Meena and Madan Dilawar.

Sharma hails from Bharatpur and he has been elected MLA from Sanganer Assembly constituency for the first time.  Sharma has been working as the State General Secretary for a long time. He also worked on various posts in the party.

Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa have been named as Deputy Chief Ministers. Diya Kumari is MLA from Vidyadhar Nagar of Jaipur while  Bairwa is MLA from Dudu.  MLA from Ajmer North Vasudev Devnani will be the Speaker of the Assembly.

The stage is set for the BJP leader Mohan Yadav who will take oath as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh on  Dec 13  Jagdish Devda and Rajendra Shukla will take oath as deputy chief ministers. The swearing-in ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other Union Ministers. Chief Ministers of 6 states - Yogi Adityanath from Uttar Pradesh, Eknath Shinde from Maharashtra, Bhupendra Patel from Gujarat, Neiphiu Rio from Nagaland, Conrad Sangma from Meghalaya, N Biren Singh from Manipur, besides Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, Devendra Fadnavis along with Nagaland Deputy CM Vanthungo Patton will be present at the event.

Yadav, who was not seen as a contender for the top post, is considered to be close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and hails from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community which accounts for more than 48 per cent of the state's population. After he was named as chief minister-designate, Yadav met Governor Mangubhai Patel and staked a claim to form the next government. Yadav was elected as MLA from Ujjain South seat for the first time in 2013. He retained the assembly seat in 2018 and again in 2023.