Here are the leading headlines for December 29:Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is new JD(U) national presidentOn December 29, after days of speculation, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was announced the new national president of the Janata Dal (United) after former national president and Member of Parliament Rajiv Ranjan Singh quit the post.India reports 145 cases of JN.1 variantTill December 28, India reported 145 cases of the COVID-19 JN.1 variant based on samples collected between November 21 and December 18.On December 28, India reported 4,091 active COVID-19 cases and five deaths. Kerala accounts for the maximum number of cases (2,522), followed by Karnataka (568), Maharashtra (369) and Tamil Nadu (156).SKM begins MSP stirThe farmers’ body Samyukta Kisan Morcha has launched its Jan Jagran Yatra awareness campaign over its demand that minimum support price as per the Swaminathan commission’s recommendations be implemented. It also plans to highlight the demand for a one-time loan waiver, the dangers of privatisation of the electricity sector and termination of junior Union minister Ajay Mishra, who is connected to the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre.Qatar removes death penalties on Indian navy veterans The death penalties placed by a Qatar court on eight retired Indian navy veterans employed by a private firm in the country in October this year on allegations of espionage have been reduced, per latest reports.PM to inaugurate projects worth Rs. 15,000 crores in AyodhyaPM Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to visit Ayodhya on December 30, will unveil several projects – including an airport and railway station – worth Rs. 15,000 crores. The visit, and flurry of projects, comes just before the the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in the city on January 16.500 mountaineers scaled Everest in 2023 Five hundred climbers, including four Indians, surmounted Mount Everest – the world’s tallest peak – in the year 2023, the 70th year anniversary of the first successful summit by Edmund Hillary and Nepal’s Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.Odisha CM launches expansion of state’s flagship health schemeNaveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha launched the third phase of the state’s flagship health scheme, the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana. Almost 90% of Odisha’s population will be provided health insurance under the scheme.Tribal and Dalit community members in Jharkhand can avail themselves of pension after 50Members of tribal and Dalit communities in Jharkhand will be eligible for pension benefits once they reach 50 years of age, announced Chief Minister Hemant Soren on December 29 at a function in Ranchi to mark the four years of the JMM-led government in the state.