1. Despite India’s stern warning, one of the India-origin Canadian politician Ramandeep Brar, on January 2 had met the farmers who have been protesting against the newly-passed agriculture laws.
2. Senior Bihar Congress leader and former Congress MLA from Lalganj, Bharat Singh, has claimed that 11 MLAs could soon defect to the Janata Dal (United).
3. In his last book, former President of India Pranab Mukherjee has said criticised Congress’s failure to see the end of its once charismatic leadership that led to the 2014 Lok Sabha election defeat with Prime Minister Narendra Modi sweeping the polls.
4. The Centre has issued a bird flu alert to states after cases of H5N1 avian influenza were reported from several places across the country.
5. Outgoing United States Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster said Our close coordination has been important as India confronts, perhaps on a sustained basis, aggressive Chinese activity on its border.