India

Four members of a Manjeri family were killed in a road accident in Saudi Arabia while returning from Umrah. Three daughters were seriously injured and are undergoing treatment, as efforts begin to repatriate the bodies and support the bereaved family

A major fire at Thrissur Railway Station destroyed over 200 two-wheelers in the parking area near Platform No. 2. Firefighters contained the blaze within 30 minutes. Train services remained unaffected.

Congress has announced a nationwide ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’ from January 10 to February 25, demanding withdrawal of the VB-G RAM G Act and restoration of MGNREGA as a rights-based employment guarantee, alleging centralisation and federal violations

India batter Shreyas Iyer will return to competitive cricket in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Mumbai against Himachal Pradesh after recovering from a spleen injury. His availability for the upcoming New Zealand series will depend on fitness clearance

Hardik Pandya smashed 11 sixes, including five in one over, on his way to a 93-ball 133 for Baroda against Vidarbha in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. His maiden List A century lifted Baroda to 293 in 50 overs

Indian driver Sanjay Takale made history by winning the H3 Class in the Dakar Rally 2026 Prologue, finishing 35th overall in Cars. Driving a Toyota HDJ 100, he became the first Indian to podium in the Dakar Cars category

Tamil Nadu Dragons defeated Hyderabad Toofans 4-2 in a shoot-out after a 3-3 draw in regulation time in the Men’s Hockey India League opener. Goalkeeper Prince Deep Singh saved two penalties, while Raheel Mohammed scored the decisive strike in Chennai

Resonance Educational Institutions, Hyderabad, felicitated student Padakanti Viswanath Karthikey, recipient of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar. At 16, he became the youngest Indian and world’s second youngest to complete the Seven Summits Challenge. He now aims to join the NDA

World champion Meenakshi, Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain and Amit Panghal are among 600 boxers competing at the Elite Men and Women National Boxing Championships in Greater Noida from January 4-10, 2026, the first joint event for men and women

As the Union government replaces MGNREGA with centrally designed VB-GRAMG, it quietly dismantles a rights-based employment guarantee, putting rural women’s livelihoods at risk

Army’s Ajay Kumar won gold in the 10m Air Pistol Men’s final, while Karnataka’s Jonathan Gavin Antony completed a rare treble across Sub-Youth, Youth and Junior events. Tamil Nadu swept both Senior and Junior Trap Mixed Team titles at the National Shooting Championship

Tilak Varma’s century and Abhirath Reddy’s 71 lifted Hyderabad to 286 before CTL Rakshann’s three wickets helped dismiss Chandigarh for 150, sealing a 136-run win in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at Rajkot, Hyderabad’s first victory of the edition

Vivaan Dave and Naisha Rewaskar saved three match points in a thrilling decider to upset top seeds Aditya Das and Ankolika Chakraborty and reach the U-15 mixed doubles final at the WTT Youth Contender in Vadodara

The road transport ministry has proposed a Battery Pack Aadhaar Number (BPAN) system to assign a unique 21-character identification code to electric vehicle batteries. The initiative prioritises EV batteries, which account for nearly 90 per cent of India’s lithium-ion demand.

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant expressed shock at the scale of cybercrime in India, noting that senior citizens have lost thousands of crores to fraud and extortion. He emphasised the need for continuous training of judicial officers to address modern challenges such as digital crimes.

A woman doctor was sexually harassed near her PG hostel in Bengaluru by an unidentified man. CCTV captured the incident, and police have launched a search to arrest the accused

Fourteen Maoists were killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar range on Saturday. Security forces neutralised top CPI (Maoist) leaders in Sukma and Bijapur districts, recovering weapons during ongoing anti-Naxal operations in South Bastar.

Security forces neutralised two Maoists during an ongoing anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region. The encounter broke out in Bijapur district following intelligence inputs. Combing operations are continuing, with no casualties reported among security personnel.

Daily Horoscope: Your stars are bringing good tidings for you. Check out your astrological predictions for January 3, 2026. May the day bring you happiness

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders paid tribute to social reformer Savitribai Phule on her birth anniversary, remembering her pioneering role in women’s education, social equality and nation-building through reform and compassion-driven service.

A mason was allegedly beaten up in Bihar’s Madhubani district after being wrongly suspected of being a Bangladeshi national. Police acted after a video went viral, identified the accused, registered an attempt to murder case, and launched raids to arrest them

India batter Sai Sudharsan has fractured his rib during a Vijay Hazare Trophy game against Madhya Pradesh. The injury is expected to keep him out for six to eight weeks, ruling him out of Ranji Trophy but keeping him in contention for IPL 2026

Rajasthan Royals are likely to shift their IPL 2026 home games from Jaipur to Pune’s MCA Stadium due to disputes with the Rajasthan Cricket Association. The venue has hosted international matches and IPL teams before, with BCCI expected to confirm the move soon

Sjoerd Marijne has been reappointed as India women’s hockey coach, five years after guiding the team to a historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics. His first major challenge will be the World Cup qualifiers in Hyderabad from March 8 to 14