National:

Former Salwa Judum leader killed Chinnram Gota, a leader of the erstwhile anti-Naxalite movement, Salwa Judum, in Bijapur was killed by Maoists at Pusler village under the Farsegarh police station. Mr. Gota was targeted twice by the Maoists in 2009 and earlier this year.Mr. Gota had gone to the village to inspect the harvest when he and his guards were encircled by the rebels. Mr. Gota was one of the main leaders of the Salwa Judum and first started the campaign in his village. In recent years, he left the Salwa Judum to work as a farmer. Geophysicist Devendra Lal dead Devendra Lal, geophysicist and visiting professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) of the University of California, San Diego, has died. He was 83. Professor Lal started his research career when he was 20 at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. He won the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 1967 and Padma Shri in 1971. He was the recipient of the NASA Group Achievement Award (Skylab III) and the Hans Peterson Medal from the Royal Swedish Academy. From 1972 to 1983, he served as Director of the Physical Research Laboratory, which is mainly supported by the Department of Space. Gandhis march for a cause It was a beautiful sight to see 1,012 children clad in white dhoti and towel, carrying stick, spinning wheel, waving the flag, wearing golden frames and slippers taking out a rally to promote non-violence, ahimsa and Gandhian principles at Visakhapatnam. The initiative was taken by Youth Under Various Achievements to promote Gandhian principles and also to get into The Guinness Book of World Records. Biodiversity expo has something for everyone Even as public and private stakeholders start debating national and global concerns at the second Indian Biodiversity Congress in Bangalore a three-day exposition accompanying it will showcase them in their common, visible and practical hues: as food, medicine, vegetation, animals and almost everything else natural that our lifestyle affects. This is the first major expo being held in the country during the ongoing United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020, according to its organizers. Part-Bengal, part-white tiger cubs Vandalur zoo officials who have been on tenterhooks for a year-and-a-half, were all pleased as three cubs were born to nine-year-old Royal Bengal tiger Vijay, and his companion Akansha, a three-year-old white tigress, a few days ago. The birth marks the first successful cross breeding of the two species of tigers in the city zoo at Chennai, and officials say, is the first time such a procedure has been carried out in the country . The move was also aimed at preventing inbreeding among white tigers. International kite festival adds colour to Delhi skies A two-day Delhi International Kite Festival was inaugurated with great fanfare by Delhi Women and Child Development Minister Kiran Walia on the India Gates lawns on 8 December.

International:
Countries unhappy with proposals, yet continue with Doha talks The climate talks continued at Doha with Conference of Parties (COP) 18 president Abdullah Bin Hamid Al Hattiyah of Qatar pushing for a conclusion, while accepting that everyone was unhappy with the proposals, but at the same time wanting an outcome. The COP president, determined to finish the meeting said there could be no text to make everyone happy and if they were reopened for discussion, it would be like opening a Pandoras box and would take another two or three weeks to reach a conclusion. On what he described as the final day, he called on countries to accept what we can offer, while agreeing that it was not perfect.

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Sri Lankan Chief Justice guilty, says parliamentary panel Sri Lankas first woman Chief Justice faced the threat of dismissal from office after a parliamentary panel found her guilty of three accusations of professional misconduct. The charges against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake have raised international concerns that the government is trying to control the judiciary. The panel said it had found Ms. Bandaranayake guilty of three out of five charges of financial and professional misconduct brought by the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance. The charges on which she was found guilty include failing to declare nine bank accounts and interfering in a case involving a company from which her sister had bought an apartment. If the Chief Justice is found guilty of even one charge, and a majority of the 225-member house votes for her removal, the President can dismiss her within a month. Philippines braces for return of killer typhoon A powerful typhoon that has killed hundreds of people and wreaked devastation in the Philippines was set to smash into the country again. Typhoon Bopha had looked to be heading away after destroying whole communities in the south. Bopha smashed into Mindanao from the Pacific Ocean with gusts of up to 210 kilometres an hour. At least 548 people have been killed and about 500 others missing. Psy apologises for anti-U.S. performances South Korean singer Psy, famed for his runaway hit Gangnam Style, apologised for anti-American performances a decade ago, ahead of a planned show before U.S. President Barack Obama. In 2002 the singer smashed a model U.S. tank at a protest over the American military presence in South Korea and the death of two South Korean teenagers who were struck by a U.S. military vehicle. Two years later, he used controversial expletive-laden lyrics calling for the killing of Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives at a concert after a South Korean evangelist was beheaded by Islamist militants in Iraq during the U.S.-led conflict. This happened after Seoul rejected their demand to halt a troop deployment to the country.

Business and economy:

Wipro to acquire Waxsons for $144 m Wipro announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the entire stake of the L.D. Waxsons Group, a Singapore-based fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, for a consideration of $144 million. Waxsons, which is expected to earn revenues of about $68 million in 2012, would account for about 9 per cent of Wipros Consumer Care and Lighting Business. The acquisition is to be consummated in 60 days.

Sport:
World jr. meet The Volkswagen World Junior table tennis championship gets underway (WJTTC) at the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) indoor stadium, Gachibowli at Hyderabad.

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