FirstUp: Israeli PM Netanyahu to meet Trump and other headlines of the day

It is set to be a busy Monday with several events lined up for the day.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the United States to discuss Gaza’s future with American President Donald Trump.

Iraq’s newly elected parliament holds its first session today. In India, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be visiting West Bengal today.

Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) is set to burn effigies of the central government across Punjab. The Indian Navy’s stitched sailing vessel, INSV Kaundinya, is set for its first overseas voyage today.

Here is all that will take place across the world.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visits US

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump in the United States to discuss plans for Gaza’s future.

In an online briefing, spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian explained that the Prime Minister has made the choice to meet personally with President Trump on Monday. “The Prime Minister will meet with President Trump on Monday, December 29, they will discuss the future steps and phases and the international stabilisation force of the ceasefire plan,” Bedrosian said.

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Netanyahu is making his fifth trip to Washington this year, but this meeting carries a different weight. It is the first time the two leaders will sit down since they made the collective choice to end two years of fighting in the Gaza Strip. By opting for a ceasefire and hostage deal, they have fundamentally changed the context of their diplomatic talks.

Iraq’s newly elected parliament holds first session

Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid issued a decree for the newly elected 329-member Council of Representatives to convene its first session today. This session marks the beginning of the sixth legislative term and must occur within 15 days of the Federal Supreme Court’s certification of the results.

In accordance with constitutional requirements, the inaugural session will be presided over by the oldest member of parliament, Amer al-Fayez of the Tasmeem Alliance. The 2025 election saw Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition secure the most seats (46), followed by the State of Law Coalition (29) and Taqaddum (27). Despite this, no single party holds a majority.

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Amit Shah to visit West Bengal

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to begin a three-day visit to West Bengal from today, ahead of the state assembly elections slated to take place in 2026. He will head to the state BJP headquarters to chair a marathon organisational meeting with core group leaders and central observers until late at night.

This visit is particularly critical as it follows the Special Intensive Revision (Sir) of electoral rolls, which has seen the deletion of approximately 7.5 per cent of the electorate. Shah is expected to provide a specific “roadmap” for party workers to address these demographic changes and counter the Trinamool Congress’s anti-Sir narrative.

KMM  to burn effigies across Punjab over MGNREGA overhaul

The Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) is set to burn effigies of the central government at district headquarters across Punjab today.  The protest is aimed at the “overhaul” of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which the Morcha alleges will deprive rural workers of their livelihoods.

The Morcha’s opposition centers on the newly introduced Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission-Gramin (VB-G-RAM-G) Bill, which seeks to replace MGNREGA. The new bill allegedly strips local Panchayats and District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO) offices of their implementation authority, centralising work approvals at the federal level.

The protest will be led by senior leader Sarwan Singh Pandher and demands restoration of MGNREGA in its original form, an increase in guaranteed work days from 100 to 200 days per year and A hike in daily wages to Rs 700 among other demands.

Stitched sailing vessel INSV Kaundinya to undertake maiden voyage

The Indian Navy’s stitched sailing vessel INSV Kaundinya is set to begin its maiden voyage from Gujarat’s Porbandar to Muscat in Oman from today.  The journey is intended to evoke historical maritime trade links between India and West Asia.

INSV Kaundinya is modeled after a 5th-century CE merchant ship, drawing inspiration from murals found in the Ajanta Caves. It was constructed using the traditional “stitched-plank” (Tankai) method, where wooden planks are stitched together with coconut coir rope and sealed with natural resins, rather than using metal fasteners.

The vessel is powered solely by square sails and guided by steering oars, without an engine. Notable design elements include a Simha Yali on the bow, sun motifs on the sails, and a Harappan-style stone anchor.

With inputs from agencies