Breaking News, December 24 | HIGHLIGHTS

A boat carrying at least 142 suspected Rohingya refugees, including women and children, was intercepted by coastal security agencies near Shaheed Dweep in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Sunday, police said. The boat left from Bangladesh around 14-15 days ago and was on its way to Indonesia, they said.

A 37-year-old Mumbai police constable died on Sunday afternoon after his throat got slit by kite string, an official said. The incident took place when deceased Sameer Suresh Jadhav was on Vakola bridge on the Western Express Highway, he said. "Jadhav is attached to Dindoshi police station in Goregaon and was going back to his home in Worli on his motorcycle. After his throat got slit, he was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival," the official added.

Maharashtra on Sunday reported 50 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections since the beginning of the spread of coronavirus to 81,72,135 nearly three years ago, said a daily bulletin by the health department.  Of the fresh cases, nine were caused by JN.1, increasing the number of infections tied to the new sub-variant in the state to 10, it said.

Well-known comedy actor ‘Bonda’ Mani died here due to ill-health, sources said on Sunday. He was 60 and is survived by wife, a son and a daughter.

The Indian Navy has launched an investigation into the drone strike on a Mangalore-bound cargo vessel off India's west coast in the Arabian Sea even as the merchant ship is set to reach Mumbai on Monday escorted by a Coast Guard ship, officials familiar with the matter said.

A fire broke out in the pantry car of the Delhi-bound Sadbhavana Express near the Shivanagar Railway station of the district on Sunday, officials said.

Two drone-dropped packets containing six battery-operated Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), a pistol and some cash were seized in a joint operation by the Army and police near the Line of Control in the Akhnoor sector here Sunday, officials said.

Delhi Police has made elaborate security arrangements at all churches in the national capital for Christmas celebrations, including deployment of paramilitary forces, officials said on Sunday. "The Delhi police has also sought the assistance of paramilitary forces for providing security cover to major churches in the city which expect larger footfall," a Delhi Police spokesperson said.

Around 5,000 students received degrees and certificates at the convocation held at Jadavpur University on Sunday. Buddhadeb Sau, who was removed as the officiating vice chancellor of the university by Governor CV Ananda Bose on Saturday night on disciplinary grounds, declared the ceremony open but did not address the gathering or hand out the degrees but sat through the proceedings on the podium.

Army personnel posted at a camp in the Boniyar area of Baramulla district were among the first to respond when a massive fire broke out in the main market of the border town Saturday night, officials said. The fire gutted several shops in the market. However, there was no loss of life.

Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Banwarilal Purohit on Sunday extended warm greetings to people on the joyous occasion of Christmas. In his message on Christmas eve, Purohit, said the life of Jesus Christ expounded the message of love, peace, mercy, compassion and tolerance to the entire mankind.

Three Assamese, including two children, were injured in an explosion that occurred while they were sorting through junk in a scrapyard near Kadirur in this district on Sunday, police said. Based on the preliminary examination by the bomb squad, police said they are suspected that the explosion occurred due to a country-made bomb.

National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Sunday said his party would abide by the decision of the INDIA alliance on seat sharing in Jammu and Kashmir for next year’s Lok Sabha elections. The former J-K chief minister asked why the government was not holding local bodies elections when it was claiming that peace had been restored in the Union Territory. “We are part of the INDIA alliance and will abide by its decision,” the National Conference (NC) leader said.

A bomb disposal squad of Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday defused a rusted mortar shell in a controlled explosion in Samba district, officials said. The mortar shell was found lying in a field in Regal, a border village in the Rajpura area, by locals, they said. Acting on information, the bomb disposal squad reached the spot and recovered the mortar shell, the officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday interacted with about 250 students representing almost every district of Jammu and Kashmir as part of 'Watan Ko Jano' programme under which they have been touring the country. Official sources said these students come from an underprivileged background.

Senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra minister Sunil Kedar has been disqualified from the state legislative assembly following his conviction by a court for misappropriation of funds at the Nagpur District Central Cooperative Bank (NDCCB).

A man and his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter were killed while his wife sustained injuries when a truck overturned on their motorcycle in Sirohi district, police said on Sunday.

A 35-year-old man allegedly killed a woman after an argument with her over her pet dog barking at him continuously in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city, police said on Sunday.

Cold weather conditions prevailed in most parts of Punjab and Haryana on Sunday. While Balsamand in Hisar was the coldest place in Haryana, recording a minimum temperature of 4.9 degrees Celsius, it was followed by Bhiwani (6.2 degrees Celsius) and Jhajjar (6.7 degrees Celsius).

The capital generated through mainboard IPOs dipped slightly to just over Rs 52,000 crore in 2023 amid global volatility driven by rising interest rates and geopolitical risks, while the number of issues rose. Experts maintain a strong bullish outlook on the IPO market for 2024.

Foreign direct investments into India is likely to gather momentum in 2024 as healthy macroeconomic numbers, better industrial output as well as attractive PLI schemes will attract more overseas players amid geopolitical headwinds and tighter interest rate regime globally.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to the 'Lokkhe Konthe Gita Path' event in Kolkata on Sunday, expressing his belief that the recitation of the Bhagavad Gita by a huge gathering from diverse backgrounds will not only enhance social harmony but also infuse energy into nation's development journey.

More than 90 Palestinians, including dozens from an extended family, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on two homes in Gaza, rescuers and hospital officials said Saturday, a day after the U.N. chief warned that nowhere is safe in the territory and that Israel's offensive creates “massive obstacles” to distribution of humanitarian aid.

A merchant vessel, with around 20 Indian crew, was hit by a suspected drone about 217 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast in the Arabian Sea on Saturday but there was no report of any casualties in the incident, Indian military sources and a maritime security agency said.