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• Five women who accuse Jeffrey Epstein of abusing them say Prince Andrew witnessed how people were given massages at the sex offender's homes.


• The lawyer for the women has told BBC Panorama he plans to serve subpoenas to force the Duke of York to testify as a witness in all five cases.


• He says the prince could have important information about sex trafficking.


• The prince says he did not witness or suspect any suspicious behavior during visits to Mr. Epstein's homes.

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• The US is preparing tariffs on $2.4bn (£1.85bn) worth of French exports as retaliation against the country's new digital services tax.


• The top US trade official said the new tax, which France approved in July, unfairly targets American tech giants.


• He said the potential tariffs were intended to deter other countries from taking similar steps.

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• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to call for Nato unity amid growing tensions within the military bloc.


• A summit to mark the founding of the 29-member defence alliance 70 years ago gets underway near London.


• The gathering is overshadowed by a bitter row between France and Turkey, and a continuing debate over money.


• Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron described Nato as "brain dead", saying alliance members were no longer co-operating on a range of key issues.

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• China suspended US warships and military aircraft visits to Hong Kong and sanctioned American NGOs including Human Rights Watch in retaliation against Washington passing two bills supporting pro-democracy protests in the city last week.


• The escalation of the China-US diplomatic tussle comes in the backdrop of the two largest economies in the world trying to reach a “phase 1” deal to resolve the ongoing trade war.


• China did not hit back with new tariffs on US goods as part of its retaliatory measures against the two bills.

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• US President Donald Trump landed in Britain ahead of the NATO summit, arriving in London just 10 days before a crucial general election.


• En route, Trump boasted that he had convinced European allies to boost their defence spending, tweeting: "Since I took office, the number of NATO allies fulfilling their obligations more than DOUBLED."


• Fellow NATO leaders will be relieved that Trump, who derailed last year's summit agenda with his demands, appears to be satisfied with how the allies have stepped up their military investment.

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• The United States threatened to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on $2.4 billion in French goods in retaliation for a digital services tax it says is discriminatory.


• French sparkling wine, yogurt, and Roquefort cheese are on the list of goods that could be targeted as soon as mid-January after a report from the US Trade Representative's office found the tax penalizes American tech companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon.

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• Laws governing the upcoming British election are not fit for purpose and steps by Facebook and Google to increase transparency around digital adverts are not a substitute for reform, the Electoral Commission said.


• In May the government pledged to safeguard elections through new legislation, including a requirement for a digital imprint on election material and stronger laws on foreign donations, after calls from the Electoral Commission to update the laws regulating elections for the digital age.

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• India's growth and potential in defence sector present significant opportunities for Swedish companies to manufacture in India for domestic market and for exports, President Ram Nath Kovind said.


• In his speech at the event hosted in honor of Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the president said he was happy to note that India-Sweden bilateral trade and investment relations are gaining strength.


• He said that India sees Sweden as a key partner in its Make in India, Start-up India, Clean India, Digital India, and Smart City programs.

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• Union Home Minister Amit Shah will today move the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Rajya Sabha.


• The Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on November 27. It was passed with a voice vote, while Congress MPs had walked out of the House in protest.


• The BJP will meet today as the party deliberates on its strategy for the remaining winter session of parliament, which ends on December 13.


• The party MPs were informed today in the Parliamentary Party meeting that Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament next week, party sources said.

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• The Rajya Sabha passed the bill that seeks to prohibit the production, trade, transport, storage and advertisement of electronic cigarettes in the country, with a voice vote. Opposition members, however, questioned the government’s decision to bring an Ordinance on the issue and not extend the ban to include cigarettes and other tobacco products.


• During the discussion on the passage of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Bill, 2019, which was passed in the Lok Sabha last month, the Opposition also questioned why the bill does not make any reference to the action that will be taken for “possession and use” of e-cigarettes.

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• The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a yearlong programme to make citizens aware of their fundamental duties.


• Activities such as online quizzes, competitions, essay competitions and preamble pledge signing contest will be organised to educate them about their constitutional responsibilities.


• The emphasis on “duties” is part of the yearlong celebrations of the 70th anniversary of Constitution Day that was celebrated on November 26. DOJ, a part of the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, has outlined which duties should be handled by each ministry and asked them to prepare a calendar of activities.

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• Staff Selection Commission (SSC) is expected to commence online application process for Combined Higher Secondary Level (CHSL) exam 2019. The Commission will release recruitment notification today and begin the application process.


• The Commission is unlikely to announce today the number of vacancies available and will release number of available vacancies in due course of time.

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• Centuries from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor ensured New Zealand drew the rain-hit second Test against England in Hamilton, sealing a 1-0 series win.


• The weather turned sour soon after lunch on the fifth day when New Zealand, having taken advantage of some sloppy fielding, were 241 for two in their second innings, 140 ahead with Taylor on 105 and Williamson on 104.

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• Tennis great Roger Federer is to become the first living Swiss to have a coin minted in their honour, with a commemorative 20 franc ($20.06) silver piece bearing his image being issued in January. The 38-year-old 20-time Grand Slam champion is regarded by many as the greatest tennis player ever and is a national hero in Switzerland. Swissmint confirmed that 55,000 of the coins, featuring Federer delivering a backhand, will be produced and will be available for pre-order from Tuesday until Dec. 19.

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• United States World Cup icon Megan Rapinoe won the women's Ballon d'Or prize at an awards ceremony in Paris.


• Rapinoe, 34, succeeds Norway's Ada Hegerberg, the inaugural winner of the women's prize last year, after starring on and off the field as the US retained the World Cup in France in July.


• "It's been an incredible year," said Rapinoe in a recorded video message having been unable to return to France to collect her award due to playing commitments.

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• Lionel Messi won a record sixth men's Ballon d'Or award at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, beating Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk to take the honours.


• Now aged 32, it is Messi's first Ballon d'Or since 2015 and his sixth overall as he moves one ahead of his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished third in the voting.


• Messi, who attended the ceremony at the Chatelet Theatre in the French capital with his wife and children, succeeds Luka Modric, the Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder who won the prize last year.

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• Soma Roy Burman was appointed as the 24th Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, Soma Burman is also the 7th woman to be in that post.


• Before taking charge as the CGA, Soma Burman worked as Additional Controller General of Accounts in the office of CGA (Accounting and Finance). She has also played a major role in strengthening Public Financial Management in the Union Government.

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• Masatsugu Asakawa was elected as the 10th President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by the Board of Governors of the ADB.


• Asakawa will be assuming office on January 17, 2020, after the resignation of Takehiko Nakao, the current President of ADB. Asakawa will finish the term of Nakao on November 23, 2021.

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• Nasa says one of its satellites has found the debris of India's Moon rover which crashed on the lunar surface in September.


• The space agency released a picture showing the site of the rover's impact and the "associated debris field".


• Nasa has credited an Indian engineer, Shanmuga Subramanian with helping locate the site of the debris.


• Mr. Subramanian examined a Nasa picture and located the first debris about 750 meters north-west of the crash site.