Poonam Pandey performed for over 30,000 at Dubai's inclusive New Year's Eve celebration with diverse dancers.
Poonam Pandey performed at a government-hosted Dubai New Year's Eve celebration before over 30,000 people, with organisers emphasising inclusivity by inviting workers and labourers and employing coordinated music, choreography and security and crowd-management measures to accommodate a diverse, large-scale audience.

Tejashwi Yadav challenges framing of charges in alleged IRCTC hotel contract irregularities; court seeks CBI response and lists further hearing.
Delhi High Court sought the CBI's response to Tejashwi Prasad Yadav's petition against a trial court order that framed charges in the alleged IRCTC hotel contract irregularities. The trial court had framed charges on October 13, 2025, against 14 accused, including Lalu, Rabri Devi and Tejashwi, for cheating (IPC 420), criminal conspiracy (IPC 120B) and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act relating to criminal misconduct and abuse of position by a public servant.

Lexar and the Argentina National Football Team launch a global commercial partnership with co branded SSDs and joint product promotion.
Lexar is established as the official global storage partner of the Argentina National Football Team, delivering co-branded AFA editions of portable SSDs and leveraging its portfolio (CFexpress, NVMe SSDs, DRAM, portable SSDs) to support professional sports imaging, gaming, and fan memory storage; the collaboration centers on brand alignment, co-branding, distribution, and joint promotion, with co-branded SSDs slated for release in the first half of 2026.

India services sector growth slowed in December as PMI readings eased, job creation stalled, but exports rose.
India's services sector expansion eased in December with the HSBC India Services PMI falling from 59.8 to 58.0 and the Composite PMI Output Index declining to 57.8, reflecting slower new work and output, stalled private sector job creation, rising new export orders, and only benign increases in input costs and output charges amid heightened market uncertainty and exchange rate concerns.

Cuban envoy condemns US military action in Venezuela as violation of the UN Charter and urges global unity.
The Cuban Ambassador condemned a US military operation in Venezuela as a violation of the United Nations Charter and international law, describing it as a criminal unilateral action against a sovereign state, and urged global unity via the United Nations and BRICS to counter unilateral coercion and restore geopolitical balance, highlighting India's pivotal role and longstanding Cuban grievances over the US blockade and related measures.

Asian and US markets rose after Venezuela's leadership capture, triggering oil volatility and policy-related investor shifts.
Markets rose after the US capture of Venezuela's president, causing energy-market volatility and broad equity gains. Venezuela's oil industry remains degraded by neglect and international sanctions, creating legal and investment barriers to rapid reconstruction. US proposals for firms to aid rebuilding raise issues about sanctions waivers and corporate regulatory exposure. Market attention also focuses on US services and employment data that bear on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook.

Innodisk launches EXMP-Q911 COM HPC mini module delivering 100 TOPS Edge AI performance with Qualcomm Dragonwing.
Innodisk's EXMP Q911 COM HPC Mini module, powered by Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ 9075, delivers up to 100 TOPS AI inference performance with 36GB LPDDR5X, 128GB UFS 3.1, extended temperature operation ( 40 C to 85 C), and longevity support through 2038; the module includes extensive I/O (PCIe Gen4, USB 3.2, dual 2.5GbE, DP1.2, MIPI CSI 2, CAN FD) and is offered with Innodisk's driver, peripheral integrations, carrier boards, open developer resources (IQ Studio) and cloud management (iCAP) to accelerate industrial edge AI deployment.

Bybit launches a fully sponsored market education program for Sri Lankan creators; educational, not investment advice.
Bybit and Mastering the Markets launched a fully sponsored 10-week market education program for Sri Lanka-based creators, selected by application, covering market structure, technical analysis, risk awareness, and disciplined decision-making. The curriculum is educational and not financial, investment, or trading advice, may reference digital assets but teaches broadly applicable analytical frameworks, and aims to improve accuracy and responsibility in creators' public financial communication.

Lexar unveils an AI storage vision with AI-grade products and a global partnership with the Argentina football team.
Lexar announces the AI Storage Core, a storage framework focused on performance, reliability, and flexibility, and will launch three AI-grade product categories-AI-Grade SSD, AI-Grade Storage Stick, and AI-Grade Card-targeting AI PCs, edge analytics, and 8K imaging. The company pairs this product strategy with flagship high-performance storage solutions and a global brand partnership with the Argentina National Football Team, including co-branded portable SSD editions showcased at CES 2026.

Commercial cricket centres enable low cost pay and play sports businesses built around bowling machines and scalable technology.
Commercial pay and play cricket centres rely on an initial Rs. 5-10 lakh investment in bowling machines, nets and basic facilities to offer short session bookings, with reported monthly net incomes of Rs. 50,000-3,00,000 and typical capital recovery within a year. Marketed bowling machines and auto feeders designed for heavy commercial use, together with supplier guidance on configuration and layout, are presented as the operational enablers that allow the model to scale across metro and smaller towns.

Stock markets fall as tariff warnings over oil purchases and heavy blue chip selling hit investor sentiment and prompt volatility.
A US warning to potentially raise tariffs on India over its Russian oil purchases pressured investor sentiment and, together with heavy selling in major blue chips like Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank, drove early declines in the Sensex and Nifty; foreign institutional investors showed net outflows while domestic institutions were net buyers, and market volatility was attributed to geopolitical and tariff related concerns despite supportive domestic fundamentals.

Siddaramaiah becomes longest-serving chief minister after equalling the tenure record and aims to complete his final term amid leadership tensions.
Siddaramaiah has equalled the state chief minister tenure record of 2,792 days by combining his 2013-2018 term and his ongoing second term from May 2023, amid brief intra-party challenges over deputy leadership. The summary foregrounds his political metamorphosis from Janata Parivar stalwart and anti-Congress activist to a two-term Congress chief minister, noting key episodes-sacking from his former party, AHINDA mobilisation, multiple electoral defeats and comebacks, coalition roles, and his consolidation as a mass leader and budget presenter.

Rupee rises to 90.12 against US dollar as a softer dollar and lower crude underpin gains amid market headwinds.
The rupee rose 18 paise to 90.12 against the US dollar in early trade due to a softer dollar and lower Brent crude, while US tariff remarks, FII outflows, and weak domestic equity markets capped further gains; market indicators cited include the dollar index, ISM PMI, Brent futures, and reported equity selloffs.

Pune land deal accused Shital Tejwani arrested in alleged loan default and bank fraud involving diverted loan proceeds.
The accused, a power of attorney holder connected to a land transaction, is alleged to have taken multiple loans from a cooperative bank and diverted proceeds to unauthorised uses and to co-accused accounts, including purchasing a different luxury vehicle than financed and transferring business-expansion loan funds to a co-accused; the probe links the matter to widespread non-performing assets at the bank and alleges a forged vehicle registration certificate for an unregistered luxury car.

U.S. military action in Venezuela prompts congressional concern over war powers, oversight, costs, and political aftermath.
A U.S.-conducted military operation in Venezuela spurred classified briefings in which top administration officials informed a congressional leadership group after the action began, raising concerns about delayed notification, the scope and cost of continued U.S. involvement, potential ground forces, the administration's sidelining of certain Venezuelan opposition actors, and the need for congressional authorization through a pending war powers resolution.

Bilateral security cooperation faces public threats of foreign military intervention used as negotiation leverage, while enforcement and diplomacy continue.
Threats of unilateral foreign military action are assessed as very unlikely due to strong bilateral cooperation, economic interdependence and legitimate domestic governance; authorities have rejected foreign military intervention while increasing domestic enforcement, extraditions and deportation agreements. Public threats serve as a negotiation weapon to secure concessions-such as expanded access for foreign security agencies, high profile captures or trade leverage-while analysts caution that military intervention would suspend cooperation and raise sovereignty and international law concerns.

Pune land deal accused Shital Tejwani arrested over alleged loan diversion, defaults and a fabricated vehicle registration.
Maharashtra CID arrested Shital Tejwani for alleged loan default and fraud at Seva Vikas Cooperative Bank, accusing her of obtaining multiple loans for vehicle purchase and business expansion and diverting funds to unauthorized recipients and co accused accounts; investigators say she defaulted on six accounts with outstanding dues in her matters of Rs 20.49 crore including interest and that a fabricated vehicle registration certificate was produced for an unregistered Lamborghini.

BJP leader says Vilasrao Deshmukh's memories will be wiped from Latur; Congress condemns the remarks.
A senior BJP leader announced that memories of the late former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh would be "wiped out" from Latur after urging party workers to chant nationalist slogans. The Congress condemned the remarks as arrogant and disrespectful, defended Deshmukh's development legacy in Latur and Maharashtra, and warned that local sentiment and the family would not tolerate attempts to erase his memory.

US tariffs claimed to generate over $600 billion, framed as strengthening national security and correcting unfair trade.
The executive asserts collection of over USD 600 billion in tariffs imposed on imports, presenting those levies as strengthening the United States financially and in national security, and describes the measures as corrective trade policy addressing unfair foreign treatment of American products while anticipating a consequential tariff decision.

Northern India faces extreme cold with sub-zero lows, snowfall risks in higher reaches, and fog alerts affecting mobility.
Extreme cold affected high-altitude and mid-hill regions with sub-zero minima and freezing of water sources; the IMD forecasted isolated light rain or snowfall in higher reaches, issued a yellow alert for dense fog in specified districts, and warned of falling minimum temperatures and icy road conditions that may disrupt mobility.