The Catch Up: 22 December

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Tomorrow morning at 7:00 am, we will publish an episode of Indian Express podcast in collaboration with Parul University. The episode, "Global Classrooms, Local Convenience: The New Face of Online Degrees" will explore the dynamic landscape of online education where, I, Flora Swain will be in a conversation Dr Kunjal Sinha, Director of the Centre for Distance and Online Eduction at Parul University, as she navigates through the transformative journey of online courses.
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Now, on with the show.

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.

It’s the 22nd of December and here are the top stories of this week.With the Opposition benches in both Houses almost empty, three more MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The three Congress MPs — Deepak Baij, Nakul Nath and D K Suresh — were suspended as they continued their protest showing placards, shouting slogans and tearing papers and throwing them at the speaker chair. Now, the total number of suspended MPs from the Parliament stands at 146.

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed The Central Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023, piloted by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It also passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill, 2023 on the same day. The Parliament also passed The Telecommunications Bill, 2023 this week. Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed three amended criminal bills in a bid to overhaul the country’s criminal justice system by replacing colonial-era laws. The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023 will replace the the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973 (originally enacted in 1898), and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, respectively.

A total of 21 cases of the new coronavirus variant have been recorded in the country as of yesterday. Goa reported the maximum number of cases at 19. The Health Ministry said that RT-PCR tests continue to be the most trusted method of detecting the new sub-variant. Of the 594 new Covid-19 infections recorded in the country till 8 am yesterday, Kerala reported 300 of them. The Ministry, which is already doing a mock drill of preparedness to take on a public health challenge, is monitoring the situation across states at the district level.

Olympian Sakshi Malik has announced quitting wrestling following Sanjay Singh's election as president of Wrestling Federation of India. Speaking at the press conference last evening, she said, quote, "We fought this battle with our heart). In the end, we slept for 40 days on the roads but I’d like to thank the several people of our country who came to support us during the protests earlier this year." She walked out in tears with those present at the venue appealing her to reconsider her decision.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that India’s relations with Canada may have undergone a "tonal shift" after the release of a US indictment alleging a conspiracy to murder a Sikh separatist on American soil. In an interview, Trudeau said, quote, "I think there is a beginning of an understanding that they can’t bluster their way through this and there is an openness to collaborating in a way that perhaps they were less open before." Unquote.

This was the Catch up on 3 Things by The Indian Express.