News in Short

• India marks its National Mathematics Day on the birth anniversary of Mathematics genius Srinivasa Ramanujan, who was born on the same day in 1887.
• Ramanujan was one of the youngest members of Britain's Royal Society and the first Indian to be elected a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge University.
• His contribution to mathematical analysis, infinite series, continued fractions and number theory was immense. Ramanujan is most popular for his contribution in analytical theory of numbers, elliptic functions, continued fractions, and infinite series.

• US Congress has passed new legislation that reaffirms the rights of Tibetans to choose a successor to their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, a move that infuriated China.
• China regards the exiled Dalai Lama as a dangerous "splittist", or separatist, and the latest show of support from the US Congress could increase already tense ties between the two countries.
• China seized control of Tibet after its troops entered the region in 1950 in what it calls a "peaceful liberation". Tibet has since become one of the most restricted and sensitive areas in the country. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

• US President-elect Joe Biden has added another Indian-American to the top tier of his administration by selecting Bharat Ramamurti as deputy director of his National Economic Council.
• Ramamurti is currently managing director of corporate power programme at Roosevelt Institute, a think tank.
• He has previously served on a congressional commission overseeing the rollout of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Ramamurti has also served as an aide to Senator Elizabeth Warren for seven years.
• Biden has named a number of Indian-descent Americans to his team. He has nominated Neera Tanden as cabinet secretary in charge of budget and Vivek Murthy as surgeon general.
• Vinay Reddy is a top speech-writer for the president-elect, continuing in a role he started when Biden was vice-president.

• United States’ President Donald Trump has conferred the Legion of Merit, one of the highest military honours of the US, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “exceptionally meritorious service” as the leader of India.
• The Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, was bestowed on Modi on behalf of Trump. The medal is rarely awarded and can only be conferred by the US President. It is usually given to heads of state or heads of government.
• The Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, was also awarded to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
• Trump had earlier awarded the Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, to Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of Kuwait on September 18. Before that, the medal was last awarded in 1991.

• Prominent Baloch activist Karima Baloch was found dead in unexplained circumstances in the Canadian city of Toronto.
• Karima Baloch was a former chairperson of the Baloch Students Organization-Azad (BSO-Azad) and is the second prominent Baloch campaigner to be found dead in a foreign country this year.
• Karima was included in BBC’s list of 100 inspirational and influential women for 2016, in which she was described as a campaigner “for independence for Balochistan from Pakistan”.
• She fled Pakistan in 2016, saying she feared for her life due to threats from the army and intelligence agencies, and sought refuge in Canada.