China reiterated its claims on the Shaksgam Valley, saying that the infrastructure projects undertaken by its government in the disputed region were “beyond reproach”. This came two days after New Delhi stated that it reserved the right to take necessary measures to safeguard its interests in the region and that it was Indian territory.

The Shaksgam Valley is a disputed territory historically part of Jammu and Kashmir, which Pakistan ceded to China in 1963. India has not recognised this agreement. New Delhi has also repeatedly objected to the infrastructure projects being undertaken there by Beijing.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said that the area was part of “China’s territory”. She also reiterated that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was an economic initiative aimed at local economic and social development that will improve livelihoods. Read on.

United States President Donald Trump posted an image on social media declaring himself the “acting president” of Venezuela. The digitally altered image was captioned: “Acting President of Venezuela, Incumbent – January 2026”.

This comes after a US military operation in the South American country on January 3, during which Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were abducted. After Maduro’s capture, Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to immediately assume the role of acting president.

However, hours after the military operation, Trump said that the US will run Venezuela and tap its huge oil reserves. Read on.

The Supreme Court sought the Election Commission’s response on pleas by Trinamool Congress MPs alleging procedural irregularities during the special intensive revision of voter rolls in West Bengal. While the poll panel sought two weeks to file its response, the bench granted it a week.

The pleas by Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen will be heard next on January 19.

O’Brien has alleged that booth-level officers were receiving directions on platforms like WhatsApp instead of formal means, making it difficult to establish any audit trail of the process. Sen alleged that orders passed as part of the process were arbitrary, thereby leading to the deletion of eligible voters. Read on.

The Election Commission stated that the enumeration forms submitted by a former chief of naval staff, who has been asked to prove his eligibility in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Goa, were missing mandatory information. Former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash and his wife have been marked “unmapped” in the draft rolls published on December 16.

The retired officer said that he had received the Election Commission notice despite a booth-level officer visiting their home thrice. He added that the Booth Level Officer had not asked for additional information during the enumeration phase.

On the other hand, the poll panel stated that Prakash’s forms “did not contain the mandatory particulars relating to the previous SIR”, including the name of the elector, the elector’s photo identity card number, the name of the relative, the name and number of the Assembly Constituency, part number and serial number in the electoral roll. Read on.

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