International

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said Wednesday he would consider suspending a 2018 inter-Korean military pact if the North violates its airspace again, his office said, amid tension over a recent intrusion by North Korean drones.
2. China’s state media rallied citizens Wednesday for a “final victory” over Covid-19 as health officials abroad tried to work out the scale of its raging outbreak and how to stop it spreading.
3. Amazon announced Wednesday it will cut more than 18,000 jobs from its workforce, citing "the uncertain economy" and the fact that the retail giant has "hired rapidly over the last several years."
4. The United Nations Security Council is due to meet privately next week to discuss a decision by Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration to ban female humanitarian aid workers, diplomats said Wednesday.

National

1. The union cabinet on Wednesday cleared the government’s ambitious National Green Hydrogen Mission with an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore. It aims to make India a global hub for green hydrogen production and fuel cell technology.
2. Supreme Court judge Justice Bela M Trivedi recused herself Wednesday from hearing a batch of pleas challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case in which she was gangraped and seven members of her family killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots. She did not give any reason.
3. Over 63,000 animals, including four Asiatic lions and 73 elephants, died on railway tracks between 2017-18 to 2020-21, the CAG has cited, raising concern over steps taken by the Union environment ministry as well as the railways in preventing such episodes.
4. Senior Indian Police Service officer Deven Bharti was Wednesday appointed as ‘special commissioner of Mumbai police’, officials said.
5. More than 95,000 women beneficiaries, who were given house sites in Andhra Pradesh two years ago, are now refusing to build houses under a government scheme for a variety of reasons, according to Housing Department officials.
6. The police Wednesday prevented Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu’s entry into his Kuppam constituency, days after the Andhra Pradesh government issued an order (GO No.1) prohibiting public meetings and rallies on roads across the state.
7. In a major relief to the Uttar Pradesh government, the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Allahabad High Court order directing it to hold urban local body polls without reservation for the other backward classes (OBCs).
8. Over 5.7 crore Indians are affected by serious fungal diseases, 10 per cent of which are from potentially deadly mold infections, according to a review of over 400 published research articles.

Odisha

1. As per a notification issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department, contractual professors of government medical college and hospitals will get Rs 2,30,000 as revised remuneration with 5 per cent hike per annum against the existing remuneration of Rs 1,25,000 with 3 per cent hike per annum.
2. Odisha has won the UN-HABITAT’s coveted World Habitat Awards 2023 for the former’s Jaga Mission – a 5T initiative of the State, which is the world’s largest land titling and slum upgrading programme that aims at empowering the lives of slum dwellers.
3. Union Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will launch 5G services in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and several other towns, on January 5. Telecom companies Jio and Airtel have made necessary arrangements to provide 5G network in the areas.
4. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will be inaugurating here Thursday the Birsa Munda hockey stadium, which is the biggest hockey arena in India. The stadium has been built at an expenditure of `146.5 crore and will host matches of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup beginning January 13.
5. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday inaugurated three academic blocks and a sculpture garden on Utkal University of Culture (UUC) premises to mark the 24th foundation day of the university.
6. Odisha Staff Selection Commission (OSSC) Wednesday said it has plans to complete 10,000 recruitments in nine months or less this year.
7. State government’s total revenue collection has registered a growth of 5.6 per cent by the end of December of current financial year 2022-23 over the corresponding period of last financial year.
8. After high schools, now hospitals in Ganjam district will undergo transformation under 5T Initiative. The government has taken a decision in this regard at an emergency meeting at the district Collectorate, Wednesday. The meeting was presided over by Collector Dibyajyoti Parida.

Sports

1. Fresh from a hugely successful India debut, pacer Shivam Mavi has made his intention clear of becoming the country’s strike bowler, saying he wants to take early wickets in powerplays by targeting the stumps.
2. Pant has been airlifted from a Dehradun hospital to Mumbai where he will undergo extensive treatment for ligament injuries in the knee and ankle which he had sustained during a car crash December 30, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a press release.
3. World No.8 HS Prannoy and Commonwealth Games gold medallist PV Sindhu will lead a strong Indian contingent in the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships, to be played in Dubai from February 14-19.