BEIRUT, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese General Labor Union head Bechara Asmar called Tuesday for a nationwide strike on Friday to accelerate government formation, local media reported.

"We call for a nationwide strike this coming Friday for the public and private sectors in a bid to push officials to form a government and save the Lebanese people," Asmar was quoted by the National News Agency as saying.

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) Congress President Rahul Gandhi Tuesday condoled the demise of Bollywood actor and writer Kader Khan, who passed away in Canada after prolonged illness.

Khan, 81, died at a hospital in Canada on Monday.

"I am sorry to hear about the demise of noted actor Kader Khan Ji. I offer my deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans all around the world," Gandhi said.

"We will miss him," the Congress chief said in a Facebook post.

02 Jan 2019; DW: Alejandro Aparicio had been sworn in as mayor and was walking with supporters on the street when assailants shot him. Mexico has had a recent rise in political violence, with local politicians being targeted the most.

The major of Tlaxiaco, a small municipality of Oaxaca, Mexico, was gunned down on Tuesday straight after he had been sworn in.

Bhopal, Jan 1 (PTI) The incident of "Vande Mataram" not being sung on the the first working day of January at Madhya Pradesh secretariat has come to light, with the opposition BJP Tuesday pointing the finger at Chief Minister Kamal Nath.

Singing of the national song in the Mantralaya or secretariat on the first working day of every month has been the norm since the time of erstwhile Shivraj Singh Chouhan government of the BJP.

KHARTOUM, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Sudan said on Tuesday that it intends to reduce the country's inflation rate to 27.1 percent in 2019.

"The policies of the Central Bank of Sudan for 2019 intend to achieve monetary and financial stability to realize sustainable growth," Mohamed Khair al-Zubair, governor of Sudan's central bank, said at a press conference in the capital Khartoum.

The central bank hopes to "contribute to achieving a real growth rate in GDP estimated at about 5.1 percent," he added.

02 Jan 2019; AFP: A British probe into a stabbing at a Manchester railway station on New Year's Eve which injured three people is being treated as "a terrorist investigation", the city's police force said on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old man who was arrested at the scene on Monday night is now being detained under a mental health law, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said late Tuesday.

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) The Shiv Sena said Tuesday "Lord Ram is not bigger than the law" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he has said that his government can take a decision on an ordinance for the Ram temple's construction only after the judicial process is over.

The Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP, has demanded an ordinance to pave the way for the temple's construction in Ayodhya, arguing that the matter has been dragging in courts for decades.

HATAY, Turkey; 01 Jan 2019; AA: Over 40,000 Syrians left Turkey over the last year for their hometowns liberated from terrorists in northwestern Syria.

Taking refuge in Turkey due to civil war in Syria, a total of 40,574 Syrians from different parts of Turkey used the Cilvegozu border gate in southern Hatay province to go to Syria’s terror-free areas of Idlib region.

Syrians headed to their homeland after legal procedures at the border.

Noida (UP), Jan 1 (PTI) Infrastructure projects worth Rs 2,881 crore, including elevated roads, underpasses and a new district hospital building, would be inaugurated or works for them started in Noida in 2019, officials said Tuesday.

The projects to be opened for the public, include a Dada-Dadi Park in Sector 62 at a cost of Rs 14.57 crore, a Traffic Park in Sector 108 at Rs 34.71 crore, a Shilp Haat and Bunkar Bhawan in Sector 33-A at Rs 72.57 crore and a Command Control Centre in Sector 94 at Rs 22.35 crore, a senior official said.

BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- China is striving to gain a lead in the global race toward building an intelligent and data-driven society, as the country has the highest number of smart city pilot projects in the world, the China Daily reported Wednesday.

The world's second-largest economy has more than 500 smart city pilot projects ready or under construction, accounting for about half of the world's total, the newspaper cited a recent report by consulting company Deloitte.

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) GST collection dropped to Rs 94,726 crore in December 2018, lower than Rs 97,637 crore collected in the previous month.

The total number of sales returns or GSTR-3B filed till December 30, 2018, is 72.44 lakh, the finance ministry said in a statement.

Compensation released to states for August-September stood at Rs 11,922 crore.

Of the Rs 94,726 crore collected, Central GST (CGST) collection is Rs 16,442 crore, State GST (SGST) is Rs 22,459 crore, Integrated GST (IGST) is Rs 47,936 crore and Cess is Rs 7,888 crore.

KANPUR: When the name of Havelock Island in Andaman & Nicobar was renamed, it erased the memory of barbarity connected with that Brigadier General in Kanpur during 1857. Although Kanpur is famous for different features at present yet the fierce fight between Peshwa Nanrao army and the British forces cannot be forgotten. The Massacre Ghat is an open example of the past incident.