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• The US House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump on charges of abusing the powers of his office and obstructing Congress. He is the third American president to be impeached.


• The Republican-led US Senate will now determine in a trial slated for sometime in January whether he should be removed from office, an unlikely event that will make him the first president removed in this fashion or be acquitted and remain in office, like President Bill Clinton in 1998.

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• Russian President Vladimir Putin dropped a cryptic hint seen by some as a sign he may not serve another term while also staunchly defending his Kremlin policies in a marathon news conference.


• Clocking in at four hours and twenty-five minutes, the question-and-answer session was one of the longest ever held by Putin in a format that has become an annual end-of-year tradition for the Russian leader.

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• Christianity Today, a leading US evangelical Christian publication, said that President Donald Trump is "morally lost and confused" and should be removed from office.


• In an editorial, the magazine said it generally steers clear of politics but "we do feel it necessary from time to time to make our own opinions on political matters clear."

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• Russia and Japan's foreign ministers met to try and find a solution to a territorial dispute that has prevented them from signing a formal WWII peace treaty.


• The Soviet Union seized the strategically located volcanic archipelago north of Japan's Hokkaido in the final days of World War II and has maintained a military presence there ever since.

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• US lawmakers in the House of Representatives approved a new continental trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, a victory for President Donald Trump even as he faces impeachment.


• A law to implement the new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority an unusual occurrence in the current political atmosphere with a vote tally of 385-41.


• The bill now must be approved by the Senate, where the Republican majority leader has said it will have to wait until 2020.

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• The US should not obstruct the flow of talent from India as it is an important part of the economic cooperation and almost acts as a strategic bridge between the two countries, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, emphasising the importance of H-1B visas, popular among Indian IT professionals, for the bilateral ties.


• The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.


• The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

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• Voting has begun for the fifth and final phase of the Jharkhand Assembly election. Polling is being done for the last 16 constituencies in the 81-seat Assembly.


• More than 40 lakh people will vote through the day today. Voting began at 7 am and will end at 3 pm in Borio, Barhait, Litipara, Maheshpur and Sikaripara districts, while it will continue till 5 pm in the rest of the constituencies.


• An electorate of 40,05,287 citizens, including 19,55,336 female and 30 third gender voters, are eligible to choose from 237 candidates who are contesting today.

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• India and the US asked Pakistan to take “immediate and irreversible action” to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorism against other countries and to prosecute the perpetrators of cross-border terror attacks, including Mumbai and Pathankot strikes.


• The two countries also asked Pakistan to take concerted action against all terrorist networks, including al-Qaeda, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Haqqani Network, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and D-Company of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, according to a Joint Statement issued after the 2+2 Dialogue between India and the US.

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• Internet services in Mangaluru and Dakshina Kannada districts have been suspended for two days after two people were killed in police firing during violent protests in Mangaluru against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).


• In a late-night order, Karnataka’s additional home secretary Rajneesh Goel said the internet was being shut so that social media platforms are not misused to spread rumors and to ensure law and order are maintained.

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• Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Staff Selection Commission (UPSSSC) has released the admit card for junior assistant exam 2019. Candidates can download the JA admit card online at upsssc.gov.in.


• UPSSSC will conduct the written exam on December 24.


• The written test is being conducted to recruit 1186 junior assistant. Those who have successfully applied for the post can download the admit card and take the test.

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• In a bid to encourage youth from Himachal Pradesh to pursue the company secretaries course, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has announced 50% fee wavier scheme for students from the hill state.


• The scheme will be launched during the Investor Awareness Program and Mega Career Awareness Programme scheduled to be held in Dharamshala.


• The event is being organized by the ICSI in association with Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPF) and will be presided over by Union minister of state for finance and corporate affairs, Anurag Singh Thakur.

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• IDBI Bank pays interest rates to the tune of 3.5-6.95 per cent to customers on fixed deposits up to Rs 2 crore.


• These fixed deposits - also known as retail term deposits - are available in 20 maturity options ranging from seven days to 20 years at the private sector lender.

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• Bandhan Bank pays interest rates to the tune of 3.5-8.15 per cent to customers on fixed deposits up to Rs 2 crore.


• These fixed deposits - also known as retail term deposits - are available in 11 maturity options ranging from seven days to 10 years at the private sector lender.


• Bandhan Bank pays slightly higher returns to senior citizen retail depositors compared to other customers.

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• IndusInd Bank pays interest rates to the tune of 4-7.75 per cent to customers on fixed deposits up to Rs 2 crore.


• These fixed deposits - also known as retail term deposits - are available in 19 maturity options ranging from seven days to 10 years at the private sector lender. IndusInd Bank pays slightly higher returns to senior citizen retail depositors compared to other customers.

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• State Bank of India (SBI) pays interest rates to the tune of 4.5-6.75 per cent to customers on fixed deposits up to Rs 2 crore.


• These fixed deposits, also known as retail term deposits, are available in eight maturity options ranging from seven days to 10 years at the country's largest bank. SBI pays higher interest rates to senior citizens among its depositors.

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• Himachal Pradesh’s Zeena Khitta upset a world-class field to win her maiden gold in the senior category in women’s air rifle at the National Championships in Bhopal.


• The first-year college student from Rohru was competing in a field that had the likes of world No 1 Elavenil Valarivan, Apurvi Chandela, Anjum Moudgil and Mehuli Ghosh. “It’s a good break for me,” said Khitta after her top podium finish.


• The 19-year-old qualified in fourth place with a score of 627.1 and then showed nerves of steel in the finals.


• She shot 252.2 in the eight-woman final, leaving behind Ghosh (250.5) and world No 3 Chandela (227.6) at second and third spots, respectively.

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• Ashleigh Barty and Rafa Nadal were named International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) World Champions for 2019, rewarding them for stellar seasons in which they finished at the top of women’s and men’s rankings respectively.


• Barty, who quit tennis to play cricket in 2014 before returning to the game in 2016, became the first Australian to win the French Open since Margaret Court in 1973 when she beat Czech Marketa Vondrousova in June.

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• Manipur has won the Best Performing State award from the State Institute of Rural Development in the North East and Himalayan Region for imparting the highest number of training programmes as well as training the highest number of personnel,official sources said.


• The National Awards, 2019 which were instituted by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India in a bid to recognize and encourage outstanding performers who are involved in the implementation of various Rural Development programs, was distributed by Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar and Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhavi Niranjan Jyoti.

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• The awards were recommended by the jury members representing 23 Indian languages under the Chairmanship of Dr. Chandrashekhar Kambar, President of SahityaAkademi.


• Usually Sahitya Akademi Award for 24 languages will be awarded. This time 23 languages were announced. Nepali (24th language) will be announced later.

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• Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE) was appointed as one of the board members of the United States (US)- India Business Council (USIBC), a global board of the US Chamber of Commerce.


• The appointment is to take immediate effect as she joins a prestigious list of Chief Executive Officers (CEO) and executives on USIBC 35-member board.

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• National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has restored former Tata group Chairman Cyrus Mistry as executive chairman of Tata Group who was ousted from his position citing nonperformance in work.


• He was then replaced by Natarajan Chandrasekaran. NCLAT has now held Natarajan Chandrasekaran appointment as illegal after Mistry’s restoration.