THE HEADLINES
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay foundation stone of 10,600 crore rupees Ammonia-Urea fertiliser project at Namrup in Assam today.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology warns citizens of GhostPairing cyber scam used for hijacking WhatsApp accounts.
CBI arrests an army officer and a private person in defence bribery case.
Delhi government intensifies enforcement drive under GRAP Stage IV to curb air pollution.
In Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup Cricket, India to take on Pakistan in the title clash in Dubai today.
And, World Meditation Day, coinciding with winter solstice in Northern Hemisphere, being observed today.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform Bhumi Pujan and lay foundation stone of the 12,000 crore rupees Ammonia-Urea fertiliser project at Namrup in Assam today. He will also address a public meeting at Namrup. Our correspondent has the details:
“The Prime Minister will do Bhumi Pujana of the 10,600 Crore rupees Ammonia-Urea fertiliser project. He will also address a public meeting at Namrup. Prime Minister in the morning will interact with 25 meritorious students as part of programme Pariksha Pe Charcha while sailing on the Brahmaputra river aboard the cruise ship MV Charaideo, After that Prime Minister Modi will visit the newly constructed Swahid Smarak Kshetra at Boragaon in Guwahati in memory of 860 martyrs of Assam Movement to pay tribute to the martyrs. Aminul Haque Jwadder, AKASHVANI NEWS, gUWAHATI.”
Yesterday, the Prime Minister inaugurated the state-of-the-art New Terminal Building at Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport in Guwahati. Spread over nearly 1.4 lakh square metres, the New Terminal Building is designed to handle up to 1.3 crore passengers annually.
Addressing a huge public meeting outside the new Terminal building, Mr Modi said that Union Government is committed for the development of Assam. He said that during the last 11 years, several mega historic infrastructure projects were initiated and completed in the state.
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Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Viksit Bharat G RAM G Bill is not only beneficial for farmers and workers but also connected to the development of villages in every aspect. He said this while addressing the Chaudhary Charan Singh Awards 2025 in New Delhi yesterday. Mr Chouhan highlighted the establishment of Chintan Shivir to bring together farmers, experts and agri scientists for the formulation of schemes effectively.
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The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued an advisory saying that a cyber campaign, called GhostPairing, is being used for hijacking whatsApp accounts. The Ministry said that the offenders or hijackers are exploiting WhatsApp’s device-linking feature to hijack accounts using pairing codes without authentication requirement. It added that the campaign usually begins with victims receiving a message, such as Hi, check this photo, from a trusted contact. The message contains a link with a Facebook-style preview which later leads to a verifying process via phone number.
The Ministry asked citizens not to click on suspicious links and never enter their phone number on external sites. It further urged people to check linked whatsApp device settings regularly and to not fall for such traps.
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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an army officer and a private person Vinod Kumar for allegedly accepting bribe of three lakh rupees from a Bangalore based company. The CBI said that during the searches at the house of Army officer Lieutenant Colonel Deepak Kumar Sharma in Delhi, it seized the bribe amount of three lakh rupees as well as cash amount of over two crore rupees.
The CBI said that on the basis of reliable source information, it has registered a case against Lt. Col. Sharma posted in the Department of Defence Productions and his wife Colonel Kajal Bali, Commanding Officer of 16 Infantry Division Ordinance Unit in Sri Ganganagar and others including representatives of a Dubai-based company involved in defence products manufacturing and exports.
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Vice President C P Radhakrishnan has said the quality of civil services will play a decisive role in attaining Vikasit Bharat by 2047 and implementation of national priorities depend on the quality of administrators. Addressing the valedictory session of the two-day Conference of Chairpersons of state Public Service Commissions (PSCs) in Hyderabad last evening, Mr Radhakrishnan said as the country in marching towards the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047, the quality of governance and the quality of people who run institutions will be decisive.
Citing the example of UPSC’s Pratibha Setu, the vice President exhorted the PSCs to explore innovative approaches to talent mapping and employability to match the right talent with the right roles. He also suggested that PSCs explore fair and structured assessments of behavioural and ethical competencies alongside knowledge-based tests.
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The Delhi government has intensified its enforcement drive across Delhi and the NCR to curb air pollution, with GRAP-IV, the highest level of emergency curbs, currently in force in the region. More details from our correspondent:
“Under the measure, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa has warned of strict action against polluting industries and construction sites. In a statement, the state government said that a total of 612 non-compliant industries faced closure, and over one lakh Pollution Under Control Certificates were issued in three days. The government conducted over three thousand inspections, issued 12 thousand challans, and checked more than 16 thousand vehicles. It also directed area engineers and district officers to maintain real-time supervision. With Rishu Jaiswal, Adarsh Kumar for Akashvani News.”
The air quality in Delhi-NCR continues to remain in the Very Poor category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the average Air Quality Index (AQI) of the National Capital was recorded at 393 as of 7 AM today.
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The India Meteorological Department has forecast heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit Baltistan today. Cold wave conditions are expected over Madhya Maharashtra, North Interior Karnataka, South Interior Karnataka and Telangana for the day. Meanwhile, Bihar and East Uttar Pradesh will witness cold day conditions. Dense fog will prevail over parts of Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Chandigarh. Similar conditions will exist over Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Northeast India.
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Cold conditions continue to grip Uttarakhand, affecting both the plains and the hilly regions. The Met Department has issued an update highlighting fog, cold day conditions, and the possibility of snowfall in higher altitudes. A report:
“The impact of cold weather continues across Uttarakhand. According to the Met Department, dense fog is likely to prevail at a few places today in the plains of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar, along with Nainital, Champawat, Pauri, and Dehradun. Cold day conditions are expected to persist in all these districts, and chilly winds may intensify the feeling of cold. Snowfall is likely in areas located above 3,500 meters in the state. Meanwhile, light snowfall and rain may occur at isolated places in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, and Pithoragarh. Weather conditions in the remaining districts of the state are expected to remain generally dry. Sakshi Singh, Akashvani News, Dehradun.”
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Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has announced that the state government will enact a new law to curb hate speech against any religion or community, including acts of instigation and provocation that could trigger disturbances. The proposed legislation will be tabled in the state assembly during the budget session. Speaking at the state-organised Christmas celebrations in Hyderabad last evening, Mr Reddy said that the state government treats all religions and communities equally, he said everyone has the freedom to follow their faith and an equal responsibility to respect other religions.
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The US Department of Justice is continuing to release thousands of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Democrats have alleged that several files from the Epstein release disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage within a day, including a photo of US President Donald Trump. However, the Department of Justice has rejected these allegations, stating that it is not redacting the names of any politicians.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act was signed into law last month. It requires the Justice Department to release all unclassified Epstein-related records with limited redactions allowed only for victim info or active investigations.
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United States has seized an oil tanker that had recently departed from Venezuela, according to the US Department of Homeland Security. It is the second time this month that the US has seized an oil-carrying ship off the country’s coast. The move comes after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was ordering a “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. Venezuela has condemned the latest US seizure, describing it as “theft and kidnapping”.
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In the ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup 2025, India will take on arch rivals Pakistan in the final match at ICC Academy Ground in Dubai this morning. The match will begin at 10:30 AM, Indian Time. Led by Ayush Mhatre, India will aim to clinch the title for record ninth time.
Earlier, India have beaten Pakistan in the group stage match.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced India’s squad for the upcoming five-match T20 series against New Zealand and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The Men’s Selection Committee yesterday picked a 15-member squad with Suryakumar Yadav as Captain and all-rounder Axar Patel as Vice-Captain.
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Second World Meditation Day is being observed today. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21st of December as the ‘World Meditation Day’ last year. The date was chosen to coincide with the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, which symbolizes introspection and inner calm.
Diplomats from around the world, UN officials, and yoga leaders joined in a “Meditation for Global Peace and Harmony” event at United Nations Headquarters in New York, yesterday.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE
Almost all newspapers today open with stories on surging air pollution, blinding fog and frigid temperatures sweeping across northern India.
The Hindustan Times leads with, “Cold snap, dense fog paralyse north India.” The Sunday Pioneer mentions, “Fog Chaos: Hundreds of flights cancelled.” The Sunday Times on its front page informs, “Rajdhani mows down 7 elephants, 4 of them calves.”
The Hindu on its front page leads with, “U.S wants India’s nuclear norms globally aligned.”
The Economic Times notes, “US Cost Plan Return of Indian Pros Urge immigration experts to give H-1B visa holders early interview slots for stamping, some allow remote working.”
The Financial Express informs “Exports in 2025 highest ever” “Record demand for made-in-India cars.”
As India unveils 15 man squad for 2026, The Asian Age writes, “T20 World Cup: Gill Out, Ishan and Rinku in.”
And finally adding to the elite list of Indian cities with metro rail services, The Sunday Statesman notes, “Bhopal joins India’s metro map with launch of Orange Line Priority Corridor.”
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay foundation stone of 10,600 crore rupees Ammonia-Urea fertiliser project at Namrup in Assam today.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology warns citizens of GhostPairing cyber scam used for hijacking WhatsApp accounts.
CBI arrests an army officer and a private person in defence bribery case.
Delhi government intensifies enforcement drive under GRAP Stage IV to curb air pollution.
In Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup Cricket, India to take on Pakistan in the title clash in Dubai today.
And, World Meditation Day, coinciding with winter solstice in Northern Hemisphere, being observed today.
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