·       A massive fire ripped through an overcrowded prison in Burundi before dawn on Dec 7 , with fears of heavy casualties as many inmates were still sleeping at the time.

·       38 inmates were killed and 69 were seriously injured, reported .

·       The blaze broke out at about 4 AM local time and destroyed several areas of the facility in Burundi's political capital Gitega .

Four senior government ministers as well as Vice President Prosper Bazombanza rushed to the prison after the disaster.

·       A group of about 100 Japanese lawmakers prayed at a Tokyo shrine viewed by China and the Koreas as a symbol of Japanese wartime aggression on Dec 7  , 80 years after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.

·       Many of the lawmakers, including nine vice ministers and special aides in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, are members of his conservative governing party.

·       Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, brought the United States into World War II. In Japan, the date was Dec. 8.

·       Victims of Japanese aggression during the first half of the 20th century, especially Chinese and Koreans, see Yasukuni Shrine as a symbol of Japan’s militarism because it honors its war dead, including convicted war criminals.

·       Visits and donations to the shrine by Japanese political leaders are seen by critics as a sign of a lack of remorse over the country’s wartime actions.

·       Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in a rare move on Dec 7 , asked State Minister of Information Murad Hassan to resign for his “derogatory remarks” against women.

·       Hassan, who is also a doctor, drew criticism for his “hateful comments” in media against main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) acting chief Tarique Rahman's daughter and former prime minister Khaleda Zia's granddaughter.

·       He was also heard rebuking a well-known film actress in an audio clip which went viral on the social media, putting the government in an embarrassing situation.

·       Hasina has been serving as the prime minister for the third consecutive term but this was the first such incident when a member of her council of ministers was asked to resign.

·       Karl Nehammer was sworn in Dec 7  as Austria's third chancellor in two months, capping a round of upheaval triggered by the decision last week of Sebastian Kurz, the country's dominant political figure of recent years, to bow out of politics.

·       Nehammer, 49, has been Austria's interior minister since early 2020.

·       He also is taking over as leader of the conservative Austrian People's Party, which Kurz led to election wins in 2017 and 2019.

·       The cabinet of Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Dec 7  decided to call off the ongoing Hornbill Festival in protest against the killing of 14 civilians by security forces .

·       The state government has also decided to write to the Centre demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act .

·       The 10-day Hornbill Festival, the state's largest tourism extravaganza held at Naga Heritage Village in Kisama near the state capital, was scheduled to end on December 10.

·       Several tribes from eastern Nagaland and other parts of the state had suspended all activities at their respective Morungs over the killing in Mon district. 

·       Konyak Union (KU), the apex tribal body in Nagaland's Mon, imposed a day-long bandh in the district on  Dec 7  to protest the killing of 14 civilians by security forces, and announced seven-day mourning from the next day.

·       It demanded that 27 Assam Rifles immediately vacate Mon for failing to protect civilians, and Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act be removed from the entire Northeast.

·       Meanwhile, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has  demanded the repeal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 from the state, and said the state too has special powers.

·       Article 371(A) of the Constitution grants special provisions to Nagaland.   It states that no Act of Parliament shall apply to Nagaland unless its legislative assembly decides so by a resolution.

·       Rio also said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced an ex gratia of Rs 11 lakh and government job to the families of each victim.

·       The AFSPA is in force in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (excluding Imphal Municipal Council area), Arunachal Pradesh's Changlang, Longding, Tirap districts and areas falling within the eight police stations at the Assam border.

·       In another setback to the Congress ahead of Goa polls, party MLA and former chief minister Ravi Naik tendered his resignation from the state Assembly .

·       In October this year, former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro had resigned as Congress MLA and later join the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.

·       With Naik's resignation, the Congress' strength in the 40-member state Assembly has been reduced to three.

·       Russia's 15-year wait for a Davis Cup title ended  after another clutch performance from Daniil Medvedev.

·       Medvedev capped his amazing year with a 7-6 (7), 6-2 win over Marin Cilic in the second singles match to give Russia an insurmountable 2-0 lead over Croatia and its first Davis Cup title since 2006.

·       Cross-border terrorism, the unfolding situation in Afghanistan and military cooperation apart from trade figured in the summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir.

·       India and Russia inked as many as 28 agreements during Putin’s visit.

·       According to the joint statement released, Modi and Putin emphasised that Afghanistan’s territory should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing terrorist groups such as the LeT, ISIS and Al-Qaeda. The part condemning cross-border movement of terrorists is seen as a clear reference to Pakistan.

·       In all, 28 agreements signed, including nine government-to-government pacts. The G2G pacts include developing a roadmap for science, technology and innovation; IPR rights; military-technical ties from 2021 to 2031; earth sciences and geological study of subsoil; amendment to recognise seafarer’s identity documents; cultural exchange; peaceful use of outer space plus building and operating space launch vehicles and setting up ground-based space infrastructure

·       Four agreements in defence sector signed India and Russia concluded four major defence equipment deals, including on procuring 6,01,427 AK-203 assault rifles through Indo-Russia Rifles Prt Ltd. The rifles will be manufactured at a cost of around Rs 5,000 crore.

·       The agreements were signed at the 20th meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation.

·       Another pact was on amending the agreement on cooperation in the field of manufacturing of the Kalashnikov series of small arms that was originally sealed in February 2019