News18 Evening Digest: Farmers Firm on Repeal Demand as Govt Offers Amendments and Other Top Stories

Farmers Firm on Repeal Demand, Threaten Walkout as Govt Offers Amendments; 10 Trade Unions Back ‘Bharat Bandh’ on Dec 8

The fifth round of talks between the Centre and farmers have begun. Union Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar during the meet told the farmer leaders that the government is open to re-examining the problematic contours of the farm laws. Earlier today, Union home minister Amit Shah was seen leaving 7, Lok Kalyan Marg — the prime minister’s official residence — after over-an-hour-long meeting with PM Narendra Modi, Tomar, defence minister Rajnath Singh and railways minister Piyush Goyal. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla was also spotted at the PM’s home. A union of crop growers has threatened to march from their state to Delhi via NH-8 and camp at Jantar Mantar if the issues are not resolved during Saturday’s meeting. READ MORE

Anil Vij, Haryana Health Minister Who Got Trial Dose of Covid Vaccine, Tests Positive

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij, who was administered a trial dose of a coronavirus vaccine recently, tested positive for Covid-19 and has been admitted to a hospital. Vij (67), who is also the state’s home minister, urged all those who had come in contact with him recently to get tested. The health minister had in November tweeted that he will be the first volunteer in his state for the anti-Covid vaccine, following which he was given Covaxin shots. READ MORE

‘Hindus Visiting Church will be Beaten’: Bajrang Dal’s Christmas Warning for Assamese in Viral Video

Aleader of the right-wing Bajrang Dal declared that those Hindus who visit churches to take part in Christmas celebrations will be ‘beaten’. The speech given at an event at Silchar in Assam’s Cachar district has been widely circulated in a video where Mithu Nath is seen giving the speech. Nath, the General Secretary of district unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (the Bajrang Dal’s parent body) says he is “outraged” by the alleged shut down of the Vivekananda Centre in Christian-majority Meghalaya state capital Shillong. READ MORE

‘Govt Toppling Game About to Begin in Rajasthan’: After Pilot’s Rebel, Gehlot Hints at Another Trouble

The government toppling game is set to begin in Rajasthan, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on Saturday, accusing opposition BJP of devising a plan. He further claimed that efforts are also being made to bring down the government in Maharashtra. “Ajay Maken has been witness to that development. When our MLAs were in the hotel for 34 days, they met Amit Shah, and Dharmendra Pradhan sat with them for an hour. Our MLAs had come and told us that they were ashamed to see Shah there,” Gehlot claimed. READ MORE

China Becomes Second Country in History to Plant a Flag on the Moon, 50 Years after US

Over 50 years after the United States planted the first human flag on the moon, China has become the second country to leave a flag on the lunar surface. Images of the flag, which were taken by a camera fitted to Chang’e 5, were shared by China’s National Space Administration. They were taken right before Chang’e 5 collected samples of lunar soil before exiting the moon and returning to Earth. READ MORE

Kamala Harris’ Husband Will Formally be Called ‘Second Gentleman’. But She’ll Call Him ‘Honey’

Indian-American Kamala Harris is all set to be sworn in as the the first woman of colour to become Vice President of the United States. And After much debate, it seems Harris’ office has finally decided on a moniker for Emhoff. In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Harris confirmed that her husband would indeed be officially referred to as the “Second Gentleman of the United States”, becoming the first man to be addressed thus. When the anchor further asks Harris if she would call him Second Gentleman, she says, “No, I’ll call him honey”. READ MORE

Chess Olympiad-winning Indian Team Vice Captain Had to Pay Custom Duty on Gold Medals

A 12-member Indian team won its first-ever gold medal at the FIDE (International Chess Federation) Online Chess Olympiad but the team’s vice-captain Srinath Narayanan had to wait for a long time to receive the gold medals and on top of that, he even had to pay customs on the same. Narayanan took to Twitter to express his frustration on the situation on December 2 and it was two days later that the Sports Ministry got in touch with him and promised support while the courier service that delivered the medals also apologised and promised refund. READ MORE

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