ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israel defence chief, Hamas leader

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.

In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza".

Judges said there were also reasonable grounds to believe the blockade on Gaza and lack of food, water, electricity, fuel and medical supplies "created conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population in Gaza, which resulted in the death of civilians, including children, due to malnutrition and dehydration". 

Russia fired ICBM after being hit with US missiles: Kyiv

Ukraine said Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile at the city of Dnipro, in what would be the first use in war of a weapon designed to deliver long-distance nuclear strikes.

Ukraine fired US and British missiles at targets inside Russia despite warnings by Moscow that it would see such action as a major escalation. 

Space and sea should be subjects of cooperation, not conflict: PM

India and Guyana have seen similar slavery and struggles, PM Narendra Modi recalled the long-standing historical ties between the two nations and noted that despite the geographical distance, shared heritage and democracy brought the two nations close together.

Addressing the National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana during a special session the first Indian PM to do so Modi said, "For the world, this is not a time for conflict. It is time to identify and eliminate the conditions that lead to conflict. I believe that space and sea should be subjects of universal cooperation, not universal conflict."-

As the deadline looms, nations, and blocs reject the draft negotiating text

A day before the scheduled close of talks, the COP29 meeting in Azerbaijan's Baku stared at a major crisis with almost every country and bloc rejecting the latest draft negotiating text, not just on finance the main focus of this conference- but on every other negotiating track. 

While differences over the finance agreement prompted most of the objections to the draft negotiating texts, particularly from the developing countries, major disagreements came to the fore on other issues as well, including mitigation and adaptation. 

But the biggest issue was regarding the right approach in which the decisions were taken in the Global Stock Take (GST) in Dubai.

This issue cropped up at the start of the conference as well and delayed the adoption of the agenda for hours. 

Leaner, faster, fairer

The Appointment of a new Chief Justice of India offers an opportunity to address one of the country's most intractable problems: The administrative bottlenecks choking the judicial system. 

The Supreme Court's Centre for Research and Planning (CRP) published a report, 'State of the Judiciary', in which the current Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna's suggestions find a place. 

The two things he suggested were to "measure court performance" and "introduce robust processes to divide judges into high, above average, and below average performers" and to give "positive reinforcement to high performers". 

What is the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, launched at Brazil G20?

The G20 Leaders' Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was headlined by the official launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty (henceforth "the Alliance").

One of the main initiatives championed by Brazil during its G20 presidency in 2024, the initiative will serve as a platform for connecting countries in need of assistance with public policies targeted towards eradicating hunger and poverty, with partners willing to offer expertise or financial support. 

RBI Governor: Stable inflation bedrock for sustained growth

Stable inflation is a cornerstone for sustained economic growth, which can improve purchasing power and provide a stable environment for investments, Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said.

"A stable inflation or price stability is in the best interest of the people and the economy. It acts as a bedrock for sustained growth, enhances the purchasing power of the people and provides a stable environment for investment,"

Das said in his address at the High-Level Policy Conference of Central Banks from the Global South. He, however, said that the resilient growth in India has given the RBI the space to focus on inflation to ensure its durable descent to the 4 per cent target. 

The government has given the RBI the target to maintain inflation in the 2-6 per cent band. The RBI has been focusing on maintaining CPI print at 4 per cent on a durable basis. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) accelerated to a 14-month high of 6.21 per cent in October, compared to 5.5 per cent in September.