India

Lionel Messi thrilled fans at Wankhede Stadium during his GOAT India Tour 2025, spending an hour interacting with Sachin Tendulkar, celebrities and school kids. Tendulkar gifted him a signed India jersey, while Chief Minister Fadnavis launched Project Maha-deva

Goa authorities have launched an intensive inspection drive on nightclubs ahead of Christmas and New Year after a deadly fire killed 25. Two clubs have been sealed, and NOCs revoked as safety norms and structural violations come under scrutiny.

Unnati Hooda and Kiran George clinched the women’s and men’s singles titles at the Odisha Masters Super 100 in Cuttack. Hooda beat Isharani Baruah in straight games, while George overcame Indonesia’s Muhamad Yusuf in a three-game thriller

India defeated Pakistan by 90 runs in their U19 Asia Cup Group A match in Dubai. Aaron George scored 85, while Kanishk Chouhan and Deepesh Devendran took three wickets each. Pakistan managed 150, with Huzaifa Ahsan top-scoring with 70

Television prices may rise from January as a global memory chip shortage and a weakening rupee drive up import costs. Industry players warn that sustained pressure from AI-driven chip demand could further impact prices despite recent GST cuts

The 10th Indian Navy Marathon concluded in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, drawing over 17,000 runners, including athletes from 17 countries. Offering prize money exceeding Rs 10 lakh, the event underscored Vizag’s growing stature as a major sporting destination

ISRO has planned seven launch missions by March 2026, including the first uncrewed Gaganyaan flight, electric propulsion and quantum communication tests, and multiple commercial and strategic satellite launches using LVM3, GSLV and PSLV rockets

A Maharashtra-based NGO has pledged Rs 1 crore to develop Amitabh Bachchan's ancestral Babu Patti village in Uttar Pradesh. The project includes roads, sanitation, schools, public parks, gooseberry processing units, and a square named after poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan

The Supreme Court will hear a plea on December 15 seeking a national expert committee to draft guidelines for the care, rehabilitation, and protection of persons with autism and intellectual disabilities, including residential facilities and mandatory institutional standards

CJI Surya Kant emphasized that technology should support human judgment in the judiciary, not replace it. Speaking at a Cuttack symposium, he stressed strengthening judicial infrastructure to reduce case backlogs and ensure timely delivery of justice for citizens

The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has sought diversion of 148.15 hectares of forest land to expand its 3,000-acre R&D campus in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district. The proposal has received in-principle clearance from the Expert Appraisal Committee

Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has busted a nationwide spurious drug racket, uncovering a fake manufacturing unit and seizing counterfeit Schedule-H medicines worth over Rs 2.3 crore. Two accused have been arrested, and further raids are underway

Security forces in Manipur arrested seven militants, including two women cadres linked to banned outfits UNLF and PREPAK, during coordinated operations across multiple districts. Arms, ammunition and drugs were also seized as security operations intensified statewide

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s values and governance vision continue to inspire India’s self-reliance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing infrastructure growth, welfare schemes, and digital transformation

A year-long autopsy-based study by AIIMS, New Delhi, has found no scientific evidence linking COVID-19 vaccination to sudden deaths among young adults, reaffirming vaccine safety and attributing most such deaths to known medical conditions, particularly cardiovascular diseases.

The Centre has introduced regulatory relaxations and enhanced credit access to support MSME growth. Measures include BIS exemptions under quality norms, RBI-mandated loan benchmarking, credit guarantees and collateral-free lending to ease compliance and boost expansion

Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav announced Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve will host cheetahs before next monsoon, joining Kuno and Gandhi Sagar reserves. The state is expanding wildlife conservation, including tiger protection, rhinoceros and snake translocation, alongside initiatives to boost farmers’ income

India has emerged as the world’s third most competitive country in artificial intelligence, according to Stanford University’s AI Vibrancy Tool, ranking behind the US and China but ahead of several advanced economies, driven by strong talent, research growth and a robust startup ecosystem.

Kashmir’s higher reaches saw overnight snowfall, raising night temperatures above freezing in Srinagar for the first time this December. Pulwama remained the coldest at –2.7°C, while fog enveloped the valley as the region approaches the 40-day ‘Chillai Kalan’ winter

Eight of India’s top-10 most valued firms lost a combined Rs 79,129.21 crore last week amid a bearish market, with Bajaj Finance and ICICI Bank hit hardest, while Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro gained

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held meetings with European, UK, and Egyptian counterparts, including Xavier Bettel, Radoslaw Sikorski, Baiba Braze, David Lammy, and Badr Abdelatty, on the sidelines of the Sir Bani Yas Forum 2025 in Abu Dhabi 

Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal announced his engagement to long-time partner Gabriella Demetriades during Rhea Chakraborty’s podcast. The couple, dating since 2018, has two sons, Arik and Arav, while Rampal was previously married to Mehr Jesia

IATA warns of rising GPS spoofing and jamming incidents affecting global aviation, including India, with reported cases nearly doubling since 2022. Pilots are urged to remain vigilant, while authorities emphasize better coordination and awareness to mitigate risks

Chaos and vandalism during Lionel Messi’s event at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium drew widespread international media attention, with major global outlets highlighting mismanagement and crowd unrest, raising concerns over the city’s global image and event-handling capabilities.