TITBITS:
1. President
Anura Kumara Dissanayake secured a landslide win in Sri Lanka's November 14
general elections, shattering records of strong governments of the past and
making history in the island's ethnic minorities-dominated north, east, and
hill country.
2. The
National Task Force (NTF) report filed in the Supreme Court in the suo motu
case concerning the R.G. Kar rape and murder case has said there is no need to
enact a "separate Central law" to protect healthcare
professionals.
3. Flagging
concerns over the fiscal and overall health of urban local bodies, the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found that the city
self-governments in 18 states that cater to 241 million residents are facing a
42% gap between their resources and expenditure and only 29% of their
expenditure goes towards programmatic and development work.
4. A quarter-century ago, over 200
scientists from the US, Europe, the Maldives, and India came together to study
the haze over the Indian Ocean. Led by atmospheric scientist V Ramanathan of
the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California, the Indian Ocean
Experiment (INDOEX) undertook intensive field observations using aircraft,
ships, surface stations, and satellites.