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(1) Kerala section assemblage polls: Congress-led UDF makes a comeback
Kerala’s section assemblage polls for territory panchayats, gram panchayats, municipalities and corporations concluded connected Saturday past week (December 13), giving major wins for the Congress-led United Democratic Front. The UDF won 4 of the six corporations, 54 of the 87 municipalities, 7 of 14 territory panchayats and 505 of the 941 gram panchayats
The National Democratic Front, led by the BJP, became the azygous largest confederation successful the Thiruvananthapuram corp for the archetypal clip this twelvemonth by winning 50 of the 101 wards. The LDF had won 54 seats successful 2020.
The elections were held successful 2 phases, and recorded a elector turnout of astir 73%, and comes earlier assembly elections slated for adjacent year.
(2) Mexico extends tariffs connected prime Indian imports
Mexico extended tariffs connected prime Indian imports past week, with imports going implicit 50% for immoderate categories. While Mexico is not a important export destination for India, immoderate circumstantial sectors mightiness spot much disruption. Since 2017, India sent beneath 1.3% of full exports to Mexico. The U.S. and China are acold much important commercialized partners.
However, immoderate sectors similar the car assemblage mightiness beryllium deed harder. Around 13% of exports of centrifugal cars and immoderate different vehicles went to Mexico arsenic of 2024. On the different hand, Indian imports made up 7.5% of each imports of these products into Mexico. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, an manufacture group, said that car imports from India bash not cater to the high-end conception that Mexico manufactures for the North American Market, according to Reuters.
Mexico and India are funny successful getting into a escaped commercialized statement and talks are expected to beryllium initiated soon. Such FTAs volition assistance countries debar the steepest tariffs and negociate for a amended woody with Mexico.
(3) Kerala histrion rape lawsuit convicts get 20 years imprisonment
The six convicts successful the 2017 histrion rape case were, connected Friday (December 12, 2025), awarded imprisonment for 20 years each connected 2 counts for pack rape (IPC 376 D) and transgression conspiracy [IPC 120 (b)] among different punishments.
However, each the punishments of the convicts volition tally concurrently and they volition person to service a jailhouse word of 20 years. The fig of days they were imprisoned during the pendency of the proceedings volition beryllium deducted from the 20-year jailhouse term, the tribunal announced.
All the accused were slapped with a good successful the case. An magnitude of ₹5 lakh shall beryllium paid to the subsister successful the lawsuit of the good being realised, the tribunal directed. Here is simply a timeline of events that transpired since the incidental successful February 2017.
The tribunal had earlier acquitted histrion Dileep and 3 others successful the case. This appeared to percolate into canvass time conversations successful the State connected Tuesday (December 9, 2025)
United Democratic Front (UDF) convenor Adoor Prakash appeared to person reignited the debate centring connected the proceedings court’s determination to acquit Dileep of conspiracy charges, alleging that the Kerala authorities was seeking to “further victimise” the histrion by deciding to entreaty the verdict successful the High Court.
The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) seized connected the connection and sought to weaponise it against the UDF arsenic polling for the archetypal signifier of the section assemblage polls picked up gait crossed 7 confederate districts successful Kerala.
(4) Australia bans societal media for children nether 16
On December 10, Australia became the archetypal state successful the satellite to instrumentality a societal media prohibition connected users nether the property of 16. The prohibition blocks children from accessing astir 10 large societal platforms, including X and Facebook. Platforms that don’t comply with the caller rules volition look a good of up to $33 cardinal (A$49.5 million). Australia’s prohibition caps a year-long statement implicit whether governments tin efficaciously halt teenagers from utilizing societal media platforms. Now, astir fractional a twelve countries person signalled that they volition survey Australia’s caller argumentation and spot if they tin emulate it.
Though the prohibition covers 10 platforms initially, including Alphabet’s YouTube, Meta’s Instagram and TikTok, the authorities has said the database volition alteration arsenic caller products look and young users power to alternatives.
The government’s rationale is that banning societal media volition support the intelligence wellness and well-being of children. The authorities sees societal media arsenic a fertile crushed for cyberbullying, harmful contented generation, and online predatory practices.
(5) Trump threatened tariffs connected Indian atom days earlier tariff-related negotiations
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump hinted that he mightiness deed India with further tariffs, this clip connected rice, to forestall it from “dumping” atom successful the U.S. However, an investigation of commercialized information betwixt the 2 countries shows that specified tariffs would wounded the U.S. acold much than India, since the U.S. makes up astir 3% of India’s full atom exports, whereas Indian atom comprises much than one-fourth of the atom imported into the U.S.
In different words, the U.S. is not a large export destination for India, but India is simply a large import root for the U.S. erstwhile it comes to rice.
However, connected Friday (December 13, 2025), 3 influential U.S. lawmakers - Deborah Ross of North Carolina, Marc Veasey of Texas and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois - have introduced a solution successful Congress aimed astatine ending the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on India, saying the “irresponsible tariff strategy” toward Delhi is simply a counterproductive attack that “weakens a captious partnership”.
Mr. Trump has imposed a 50% tariff connected India, the highest successful the world, including 25 per cent for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
