India

Set in 1948, Champion follows a gifted footballer-turned-cop posted to a Nizam-ruled region of Hyderabad, where personal dreams collide with political unrest. The film explores love, resistance and a forgotten chapter of history

BJP leaders on Thursday said India is poised to become the world’s third-largest economy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, citing strong GDP growth, rising global trust, and recent IMF-linked projections placing India ahead of major global economies

Security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur neutralised Maoist leader Fagnu Madvi during an early morning gun battle, seizing arms and equipment. The operation marks a major blow to insurgency, part of intensified anti-Naxal campaigns across Bastar and Bijapur districts

The Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre and Uttar Pradesh on a plea by a woman advocate alleging illegal detention, custodial sexual assault, and CCTV tampering at Noida’s Sector 126 police station, directing preservation of relevant footage

A leopard entered a residential society in Thane, Maharashtra, injuring two to three people. Forest Department and Sanjay Gandhi National Park teams launched a rescue operation, monitoring the animal closely and urging residents to stay indoors and avoid crowding

Flipkart has acquired a majority stake in Minivet AI, an AI/ML solutions provider, to enhance generative AI capabilities for e-commerce. The move aims to create interactive, immersive shopping experiences with AI-driven video and advanced product discovery

The Enforcement Directorate attached assets worth Rs 8 crore of former Karnataka minister B Nagendra in the alleged Valmiki scam linked to money laundering. The properties include lands and a building, with proceeds traced under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act

A Visakhapatnam-bound Air India Express flight from Vijayawada was cancelled on December 18 due to a technical snag detected before take-off. Passengers, including M Venkaiah Naidu and Andhra Pradesh ministers, were provided accommodation, refunds, and rescheduling options

Actress Mallika Sherawat described her White House Christmas dinner invitation as surreal, sharing photos and videos on Instagram. She previously attended the 2011 Correspondents’ Dinner, and her career includes Bollywood hits like Murder and international films such as Hisss and Politics of Love

Dense fog at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport caused 79 flight cancellations and delayed over 230 flights, with average departure delays of 49 minutes. Airport authorities continue operations under CAT III conditions while assisting affected passengers

President Droupadi Murmu urged Public Service Commissions to anticipate technological challenges, enhance transparency, and recruit civil servants with honesty and integrity. She emphasized building globally competitive teams during the National Conference for PSC Chairpersons in Hyderabad

Kerala High Court denies bail to former TDB president N Vasu and two officials in the Sabarimala gold loss case. SIT probe continues, investigating Unnikrishnan Potty and others for allegedly removing gold plates from the shrine’s Dwarapalaka and Sreekovil

Security forces in Rajouri district, Jammu, launched a large-scale search operation after reports of suspicious movements in villages between Thanamandi and Manjakote. Joint teams of Rashtriya Rifles, J&K Police, and Special Operations Group conducted cordon and search operations

Sourav Ganguly has issued a Rs 50 crore defamation notice and filed a police complaint against Uttam Saha of the Argentina Football Fan Club for falsely linking him to Lionel Messi’s India tour and tarnishing his reputation

Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh criticized multiple PILs filed against IT park projects by TCS, Cognizant, Sattva, and Raheja Corp, warning they threaten over 1 lakh jobs and could deter investment, while YSRCP denies involvement in the litigations

A firefight erupted between security forces and Naxalites in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh, during an anti-Maoist operation in Bhairamgarh-Indravati. Intermittent firing continues. Earlier, three Naxalites with bounties totaling Rs 12 lakh were killed in Sukma district

Daily Horoscope: Your stars are bringing good tidings for you. Check out your astrological predictions for December 19, 2025. May the day bring you happiness

Dense fog blanketed the Indo-Gangetic plains from Punjab to Bihar, slashing visibility to zero in several cities. The IMD issued a red alert for Delhi and orange alerts elsewhere, warning of disruptions to road, rail and air traffic 

Mumbai stocks rebounded sharply as Sensex and Nifty rose in early trade after four losing sessions, tracking global market gains, easing US inflation data, expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts, and strong foreign and domestic institutional buying, boosting investor sentiment

The Union government told Parliament that no conclusive data directly links higher AQI levels to lung diseases, though air pollution triggers respiratory ailments. It highlighted health awareness programmes, early warning systems, and initiatives like Ujjwala and Swachh Bharat to mitigate pollution-related risks.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah attended a dinner hosted by Minister Satish Jarkiholi in Belagavi, fuelling speculation amid the Congress leadership tussle. The meetings come as the party navigates power-sharing debates during the winter legislature session.

The Bombay Natural History Society, in collaboration with Wetlands International South Asia, will conduct the nationwide Asian Waterbird Census in January, inviting birders and citizens to participate in monitoring migratory waterbirds across India. Launched in 1987, the census tracks population trends and assesses the health of wetland ecosystems, contributing to national conservation planning and international environmental commitments.

A 23 year old woman shooter alleged she was raped at a Faridabad hotel while attending a competition. Police arrested three people, including her friend. The victim reportedly locked the accused in the room after the assault and alerted authorities.

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra has denied reports of an Income Tax raid at her Mumbai residence, with her legal representative clarifying that officials only conducted routine verification. The denial comes amid an ongoing Rs 60 crore fraud case registered by the Economic Offences Wing against Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra, linked to Best Deal TV Pvt. Ltd.