Sitharaman, the first woman defence minister of India, is currently on a five-day maiden trip to the US.

A human tide of would-be Americans, rolling toward the border. American rockets streaking across the darkness over Damascus. Students fleeing a gunman at a Florida high school, their hands raised in the air. Associated Press photographers were there to record a world in constant motion in 2018. Some of it was huge, and destructive — lava pouring from a Filipino volcano, the wildfires that raced across California. Some of it was human scaled, but no less epic — disgraced comedian Bill Cosby being led in handcuffs from a Pennsylvania correctional facility; a malnourished boy in a hospital in war torn Yemen. But the AP was also there when the world stopped, at least for a moment. US President Donald Trump's historical meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Dressed entirely in red, the Queen of Soul rests in her coffin. And women drove on the street of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the first time.

In the first eight months (April-November) of the current fiscal, the government has mopped up over Rs 7.76 lakh crore from GST.

The Indian Navy, the marine branch of The Indian Armed Forces, celebrated Navy Day on December 4 to commemorate the maritime operations during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, securing the maritime borders of the country as well as strengthening relationships with other countries through humanitarian missions, calamity relief and joint exercises. In a spectacular celebration at the Gateway of India in Mumbai, the naval officers displayed their skills in combat and Beating Retreat ceremony, which attracted over hundreds of visitors to witness the valor of our "Guardians of the Sea." President Ramnath Kovind, the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces wished the officers and said, "Nation is proud of your commitment to protecting our maritime frontiers, securing our trade routes, and providing assistance in times of humanitarian emergencies." Many leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Piyush Goyal took to Twitter to wish and congratulate the brave officers protecting our seas. Image Source: PTI/IANS/Associated Press (AP)