Two new justices sworn in as Supreme Court judges

  • Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna took over the responsibility on Friday at the chamber of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
  • Supreme Court now has 28 judges as against the sanctioned strength of 31.
  • Maheshwari served as a chief justice of Karnataka High Court and Khanna served as a judge at Delhi High Court.

DGCA bans Airbus A320neo aircraft from flying to Port Blair

  • The decision affects Indigo and Go Air private airlines.
  • The Airbus A320neo is fitted with Pratt & Whitney engines which have experienced glitches in the past necessitating emergency landing.
  • The decision was taken as the nearest emergency landing space around Port Blair is at least one hour away.
  • On December 23, an IndiGo flying from Port Blair to Kolkata had to make an emergency landing at Port Blair. 

Centre curtails CBI Special Director Asthana’s tenure

  • The Centre approved the proposal to end Rakesh Asthana’s tenure along with Joint Director Arun Sharma, Deputy Inspector General Manish Sinha, and Superintendent of Police Jayant Naiknavare. 
  • CBI former director Alok Verma and Asthana had accused each other of corruption.
  • The Delhi High Court has refused to quash a FIR filed against Asthana.

International Gandhi Peace Prize for 2015 to 2018 announced

  • The International Peace Prize was announced by the government after a gap of 4 years.
  • The 2015 prize was given to Vivekananda Kendra in Kanyakumari and the 2016 was given to AkshayaPatra Foundation and  Sulabh International. The 2017 and 2018 prize were given to Ekal Abhiyan Trust and Yohei Sasakawa, respectively.  
  • The International Gandhi Peace Prize was started in 1995 and is given to people or organisation whose work espouse Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals.