Breaking News, December 26 | HIGHLIGHTS

A total of 178 illegal properties built by criminals and drug traffickers with the proceeds of crime have been demolished in Haryana, Home Minister Anil Vij said on Monday even as a heated exchange took place between Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and INLD legislator Abhay Chautala over the issue in the Assembly. During the Question Hour on the first day of the three-day Assembly session, Vij said the state government was tightening the noose around criminals and drug smugglers, who have built illegal properties with the proceeds of crime.

Days after an associate professor of the Rajasthan Technical University was arrested for allegedly demanding sexual favours from a student, one of his former students has made similar allegations against him. Separately, the university on Monday removed another professor, Rajiv Gupta, from the post of dean after deciding to reopen a two-year-old case against him pertaining to the alleged harassment of a contractual employee.

Two people were shot dead by al-Shabab militants and several houses torched in a rural area in coastal Kenya, police said Monday. The Christmas night attack happened in the Pandaguo area in Lamu county that neighbors Boni forest, where security agencies have been conducting an operation since 2015 to flush out militants in hiding.

Over Rs 200-crore revenue was generated by the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala in the last 39 days of the two-month long annual pilgrimage season. Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president K Ananthagopan, in a release, announced that Rs 222.98 crore was earned by the temple since the Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage began on November 17.

Two motorcycle-borne men were killed after being hit by a school bus amid dense fog here on Monday, a senior police official said. The accident occurred near Sirhaul Bamba bridge at around 9 am killing Narayan (30) and Arjun (25) on the spot, Senior Superintendent of Police Jai Prakash Singh said.

First batch of Agniveer from Jammu and Kashmir join the Indian Army Training

South Korea's military fired warning shots, scrambled fighter jets and flew surveillance assets across the heavily fortified border with North Korea on Monday, after North Korean drones violated its airspace for the first time in five years, officials said.

Four persons died in a road accident at Eravu area of Thrissur district in Kerala on Monday when the car they were travelling in collided with a private bus. An officer of Anthikad police station, within whose limits the accident occurred, said the four persons who died were -- Vincent, Mary, Joseph and Thomas -- and they are believed to be members of the same family.

Mother Dairy hikes milk prices again in Delhi-NCR by Rs 2 per litre.

Jamia Millia Islamia has set up a committee to look into implementation of the University Grants Commission's directive on rolling out four-year undergraduate honours degrees from the next academic session, a senior university official has said. The committee's report will be presented during a meeting of the Academic Council in January following which the Executive Council, the varsity's highest decision-making body, will take up the matter. At present, students become eligible for an honours degree after completing a three-year undergraduate programme.

A truck driver and his helper were killed when their vehicle, loaded with empty LPG cylinders, rolled into a deep gorge along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on Monday, a police official said.

Two covid positive cases have been detected at the Kolkata Airport. One of the positive passengers came from Dubai on Dec 24 while another came from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Both samples sent for genome sequencing.

Sources confirm that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been admitted to AIIMS Delhi for a routine check-up.

Four foreigners -3 from Myanmar & 1 from Bangkok-have tested positive for COVID-19 at Gaya airport. They are asymptomatic and have been placed under isolation.

PM Narendra Modi took part in a program to mark 'Veer Bal Diwas' at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in Delhi.

The CBI, on Monday, arrested Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot who is accused in ICICI money laundering case. 

Union minister Meenakashi Lekhi visited the 'Exam Warriors' painting competition organised by NDMC at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi.

Two persons dead after a truck carrying LPG cylinders met with an accident near Battery Cheshma on National Highway-44 today.

Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya will hold a meeting via video conferencing with the Indian Medical Association today on Covid19 situation and preparedness.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi paid tributes to Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Sadaiv Atal today.

Schools in Patna will remain closed for students up to class 8 from today till year-end in view of cold wave conditions.

Rescuers on Sunday recovered the victims from a bus that ran off a bridge and plunged into a river on Christmas Eve, killing six passengers and injuring the driver and another passenger, Spanish authorities said.

Dozens of hungry and weak Rohingya Muslims were found on a beach in Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh on Sunday after weeks at sea, officials said. The group of 58 men arrived on Indrapatra beach at Ladong, a fishing village in Aceh Besar district, early Sunday, said local police chief Rolly Yuiza Away.

A mini passenger van carrying 24 people from Madurai to Kumbakonam met with an accident. Injured people have been admitted to the Madurai Government Hospital for treatment.