World

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

Over 2.17 million Afghans, including 60% children, have been forcibly deported from Iran and Pakistan, straining Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure. Refugees face harassment, extortion, and human rights violations, while UNDP urges international support to prevent worsening humanitarian crises

A Cessna C550 business jet crashed near Statesville, North Carolina, killing seven, including retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his wife, and children. The plane caught fire during a return attempt after takeoff. FAA and NTSB investigations are ongoing

The Justice Department faces a Friday deadline to release nearly two decades of files on Jeffrey Epstein, detailing sexual abuse investigations and potential links to high-profile figures. Public demand for transparency grows amid past controversies and victims’ civil and criminal cases

Tom Cruise will star in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s upcoming English-language film Digger, releasing October 2, 2026. A comedy of catastrophic proportions, Cruise plays the world’s most powerful man. The cast includes John Goodman, Riz Ahmed, and Sophie Wilde

Police say Claudio Neves Valente, suspected in a Brown University mass shooting that killed two and wounded nine, was found dead by suicide in New Hampshire. Investigators also believe he fatally shot an MIT professor near Boston earlier this week

TikTok has agreed to sell its US business to investors Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, with the deal expected to close on January 22. The new venture will store user data locally, retrain its algorithm on US data and operate under American majority oversight, ending uncertainty over a potential US ban

Sharif Osman Hadi, a key leader of Bangladesh’s July Uprising and an election candidate, died in Singapore after being shot in Dhaka. His death triggered protests in the capital. The interim government announced state mourning and promised swift action against those responsible

Sumit Nagal clinched a golden-point decider to lead AOS Eagles past Aussie Mavericks Kites in the World Tennis League in Bengaluru. Paula Badosa and Gael Monfils also starred as the Eagles sealed a commanding 25-13 victory at S M Krishna Stadium

India face South Africa in the fifth and final T20I in Ahmedabad on Friday. With Gill injured and Suryakumar struggling for form, Samson may step in as India aim to finish the home series on a winning note

Adelaide: Skipper Pat Cummins (3-54) and Nathan Lyon (2-51) led a dominant bowling show at the Adelaide Oval, reducing England to 213 for eight in reply to Australia’s 371 on Day 2 of the third Ashes Test on Thursday. England appeared to be in a strong position after claiming the two wickets required to bowl […]

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri 21-11, 16-21, 21-11 at the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, registering their second straight win to lead Group B and move closer to the semifinals

Haryana’s Ketan Malik won the women’s 10m air pistol title at the 68th National Shooting Championships in Delhi, beating Meenu Pathak and Surbhi Rao. Vanshika Chaudhary and Lakshita Bishnoi topped junior and youth events, while Haryana dominated team competitions

India and Oman signed a historic Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, enhancing trade, investment, and strategic cooperation. PM Modi and Sultan Haitham discussed energy, agriculture, finance, and cultural ties, marking 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations

Rainfall on Iran’s Hormuz Island turned its famous Red Beach a dramatic deep crimson as iron-rich soil washed into the sea, creating a striking natural spectacle that draws tourists and photographers and highlights the island’s rare geology and seasonal weather patterns

Former Nepal prime minister KP Sharma Oli was elected CPN-UML chairman for a third consecutive term with a two-thirds majority at the party’s 11th general convention, consolidating his dominance despite his recent ouster from government after student-led protests

Turkey warned Russia and Ukraine to exercise caution over Black Sea security after Turkish F-16 jets shot down an unidentified drone that entered its airspace. Ankara cited risks of the Ukraine war spilling over, following recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian tankers near Turkish waters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said 21st century India takes bold and swift decisions, sets ambitious goals and delivers results within defined timelines, while addressing the Indian community in Muscat during his two-day visit to Oman.

Amandeep Singh-Bola, of Indian-Kiwi origin, helped restrain one of the Bondi Beach attackers during a December 14 shooting that killed 15 and injured 40. He acted alongside police to subdue the suspect, demonstrating courage amid the terrorist attack

Ecuadorian footballer Mario Pineida, a defender for Barcelona de Guayaquil, was shot dead in Guayaquil amid escalating violence in Ecuador. Another person was killed and one wounded, highlighting the country’s worsening security crisis and rising homicide rates

Dust storms in northern China, largely originating from Mongolia, highlight regional desertification and climate challenges. China is exporting anti-desertification expertise, including tree-planting and land management techniques, to Mongolia, balancing cooperation with local nomadic traditions and rising environmental diplomacy

Africa was the hardest hit by President Donald Trump’s expanded US travel restrictions, with several countries facing full or partial bans, prompting muted official reactions, concern over unfair treatment, and warnings of strained US–Africa relations and wider diplomatic, economic and social impacts

EU leaders meet in Brussels to seek agreement on a massive loan plan to fund Ukraine’s military and financial needs, amid divisions over using frozen Russian assets, economic risks, and opposition from several member states as negotiations intensify at a high-stakes summit

Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Peter Arnett, renowned for frontline reporting from Vietnam to Iraq and iconic Gulf War broadcasts from Baghdad, died at 91 in California after battling prostate cancer, leaving a lasting legacy in global journalism.