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Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider said U.S. President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden ought to be “publicly hung” over accusations of “treason.”

Bollywood has created a mythical version of Punjab that’s all unending mustard fields, water flowing through canals, homes where elderly ‘beeji’ and ‘bauji’s word is law, brothers live happily with brothers, their wives make gigantic glasses of lassi and alu ke parathe and gajar ka halwa… Don’t forget that omnipresent tractor in the big courtyard of their ‘khandani’ haveli, and the one gurudwara that looks after the rest of the ‘pind’…

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Covid case tally stood at 4.50 crore (4,50,07,964). The death toll was recorded at 5,33,332 with four new deaths -- two from Kerala, one each in Rajasthan and Karnataka -- reported in 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated. The number of people recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,44,71,212, and the national recovery rate stands at 98.81 percent, the health ministry said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the amount of military aid NATO allies have been shipping to Ukraine to help its fight against Russia’s invasion means “everyone is in big trouble” with military supplies.

external affairs ministry announced that, as part of its development assistance programme, India has extended 308 lines of credit aggregating to $32.02 billion to partner countries over the years. Of this, about $17.06 billion has been extended to Asia, $12.15 billion to Africa and $2.81 billion to others, it said. Around 600 projects have been taken up and executed in several sectors, including infrastructure, power, connectivity, agriculture, education and health, the minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. He said grant assistance projects are concentrated primarily in India’s neighbourhood in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. “India’s developmental projects are based on the needs and aspirations of the partner countries. The main instruments of support include lines of credit, grants-in-aid as well as capacity building programmes.

decision to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could open the way for Beijing to increase investment in the country's oil and other sectors, as part of a deepening of decades-old ties. Angola said on Thursday it was leaving OPEC, effective from Jan. 1, following a row with the producer group over the size of its output quota.

White House on Friday said it was closely monitoring Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, but did not expect the situation to have a significant impact on holiday prices or the availability of products. Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters that the U.S. economy was proving resilient, with inflation having come down faster than even the more optimistic forecasts had indicated, the labor market rebounding, and growth remaining solid.

Argentina’s newly elected leader, Javier Miliei, has struck down forced legal tender laws forcing Argentinians to settle debt obligations in specific currencies, enabling use of alternatives like USD and Bitcoin (BTC).

Alex Batty, the missing British boy who was found last week walking alone near the French city of Toulouse, has officially told his story — and made corrections to his own earlier statements.

By Georgina McCartney and Arathy Somasekhar

Chinese automaker, BYD (SZ:002594) announced Friday that the company has decided to build a new energy vehicle production base in Hungary.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) — Mexico will review whether workers at a Fujikura auto parts plant in the northern border city of Piedras Negras were denied the right to choose their union after a U.S. request under a trilateral trade agreement, authorities said on Friday.

BJP lost 16 of the 80 seats in UP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections — the party won 62 on its own and its ally, Apna Dal, got two. In the 2024 polls, it is aiming for a clean sweep and to achieve this, it has adopted a 'NaMo' formula. BJP sources told ET that the party is targeting to add 20 million youth on the NaMo app. They will be contacted with the development agenda of the Modi government and BJP, and will be asked to spread the message on the ground.

Gaza during Israel's war against Hamas, health officials said on Friday, the latest indication of the staggering cost of the conflict as Israel expands its ground offensive and orders tens of thousands more people to leave their homes. The deaths, amounting to nearly 1% of the territory's prewar population, are just one measure of the devastation wrought by the conflict that over 11 weeks has displaced nearly 85% of Gaza's people and leveled wide swaths of the tiny coastal enclave. More than half a million people in Gaza — a quarter of the population — are starving, according Oct. 7 attack.

Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order threatening penalties for financial institutions that help Russia circumvent sanctions, the White House said in a statement, as Washington seeks to increase pressure on Moscow. The order also gives Washington the ability to broaden import bans of certain Russian goods, such as seafood and diamonds, the White House said.

Mint’s queries till press time. Furthermore, the two countries are now exploring opportunities in Asia, expanding their focus beyond Latin America and Africa.

INDIA bloc leaders and its MPs staged a protest in the national capital on Friday against the suspension of 146 MPs during the just concluded winter session. Many senior leaders of the INDIA bloc gathered at the Jantar Mantar here to launch the 'Save democracy' protest, and addressed the gathering denouncing the Modi government over the suspension of the opposition MPs which they said was part of the «undemocratic streak of the government». Addressing the gathering, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge stressed the need for a united fight against the Modi regime.

Covid-19 caseload increased to 2,997 on Friday, amid a surge in cases over the past few days following the detection of sub-variant JN.1. «Covid is a cyclical disease, now returning to India after a seven-month gap,» said Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the Indian Medical Association's national Covid Task Force. He said JN.1 appears to be driving it elsewhere in the world and is rapidly spreading within the country as well. «In areas where testing is done, cases are being found. Not only are cases being found, but the proportion of Covid among people with such symptoms is also increasing, indicating a rapid spread within the community,» he said. Jayadevan said while the infection is spreading among people who are relatively healthy people, the focus should be on preventing the virus from reaching more vulnerable segments, including the elderly and those with significant health conditions.

Christmas and year-end season? Pretty much everywhere! Going by most accounts, the October to December quarter this year is likely to be a bumper quarter for the travel and hospitality sector with most companies claiming to have an even better momentum than in 2019. «There is a lot of talk about high airfares but the important thing to note is that people are travelling,» said Rajesh Magow, cofounder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip. «Typically, international travel bookings, even for short-haul travel, are made a couple of weeks or more in advance. However, with markets such as Thailand and others making the entry process a lot easier, we are seeing advance purchase windows for these destinations becoming shorter, in many cases, stretching to a couple of days,» he said. As per MakeMyTrip data, the top destinations for the last week of December in the domestic sector include Goa, Rajasthan, Varanasi, Kerala, Rishikesh and Kashmir. In terms of international flight bookings, popular destinations such as the UAE, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia continue to be favourites.

PGA Tour’s Q-School. The next two weeks are a brief period of relief in the calendar of professional golf. However, there is a build-up of anticipation for the impending resumption. The golfing calendar for the year 2024 begins with the PGA Tour, announcing a return to its original schedule. This is followed by the DP World Tour, PGA Tour Championships, Korn Ferry, and LPGA events. Fans though need to be waiting till February for the comeback of LIV Golf.