News Roundup - 7 December 2014

1. Observing that Muslim girls who attain puberty or complete 15 years of age are eligible for marriage under the Muslim law, the Gujarat High Court has upheld the marriage of a minor girl from the community.
2. The chief of al-Qaeda’s global operations, Adnan Shukrijuma, wanted by the United States over a 2009 plot to attack the New York subway system, was killed in a raid in Pakistan’s restive tribal region, its military has said.
3. China’s anti-corruption campaign has targeted a former state security chief and a one-time Politburo member, Mr Zhou Yongkang, who is now facing arrest after being sacked from the Communist Party of China (CPC). Mr. Zhou is the highest-ranking official probed for corruption since 1949.
4. Typhoon Hagupit slammed into the central Philippines’ east coast.
5. Britain will broaden its military footprint in West Asia with the establishment of a permanent military base at the Mina Salman Port in Bahrain. It will be Britain’s first permanent military base in West Asia since it withdrew from the region in 1971, closing all bases east of the Suez. The naval base will become the springboard for Britain’s involvement in West Asia, most importantly its operations in Iraq as part of the U.S.-led collation against the Islamic State. The U.K. already has four mine-hunter warships permanently based in Bahrain that supports British destroyers and frigates in the Gulf.  The base will be built by Bahrain at a cost of £15 million, with the British underwriting the ongoing costs. It will be completed in 2015. Bahrain used to be a protectorate of the British, which is returning to the country with such a big security presence after a gap of 40 years. The country already hosts the Naval Support Activity Bahrain controlled by the U.S. government, which is the port where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is positioned. It is also where the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command for the region is headquartered.
6. The first Adaptation Gap Report by the United Nations Environment Programme says even with emissions cuts, costs of adapting to climate change are likely to be two to three times the current estimates of $70-100 billion per year by 2050.
7. Welspun India, part of the $3.5-billion Welspun group and among the world’s top three towel manufacturers, on Saturday, unveiled one of the largest spinning mills here to support its growing home textiles exports business.
8. Russian oil pipeline company Petrolight has signed a long-term agreement with Aratos Technologies India to provide pipeline security solutions in the oil and gas sector. The pact comes ahead of Russian President Vladmir Putin’s visit to India.

Credits: The Hindu, Google.