The Indian Express

Australian authorities are investigating the Bondi Beach attack as a possible terror incident, after it emerged that the father-son duo involved had travelled to the Philippines weeks before the shooting. The attack, which targeted members of the Jewish community, left 15 people dead and 25 injured. Investigators are examining links to Mindanao, a region with a long history of militant activity, including ISIS-affiliated groups, and past conflicts rooted in the Bangsamoro movement. While police in India have said there is no adverse record against Sajid Akram, who was originally from Hyderabad, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said some evidence suggests the attack was “inspired by a terrorist organisation, by ISIS.” Naveed Akram remains in custody, while Sajid was killed in an exchange of fire with police.

The Punjab government has notified Amritsar’s walled city, Sri Anandpur Sahib, and Talwandi Sabo as ‘holy cities’, banning the sale of liquor, meat, tobacco and cigarettes within their municipal limits. The notification, issued on December 15, follows a resolution passed by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha during a special session marking the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, moved by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The three towns are home to three of Sikhism’s five Takhts, and the government has said the move aims to preserve their religious sanctity while focusing on development, cleanliness, security and religious tourism, with budgetary support and central assistance. Click on the 🔗 below to read the full article. https://lnkd.in/gFs_pDqy

Omar Abdullah in conversation with Vandita Mishra at Express Adda, sharing his insights on a region whose politics resonate far beyond its borders and whose trajectory will shape the national conversation in the years to come. Join us live on https://lnkd.in/gUH6kcYr today at 7PM. Radico Khaitan

In April 2013, Mohammad Ilyas left home in Ludhiana telling his 17-year-old son: “Aaj ya toh bahar, ya hamesha ke liye andar.” He had been an accused in the 1996 Ghaziabad bus blast case, which killed 18 and injured 48, since 1997. That year, a trial court sentenced him and co-accused Abdul Mateen to life imprisonment for planting a bomb on a Delhi–Roorkee bus. On November 10, the Allahabad High Court acquitted Ilyas, 29 years after charges were first framed and 12 years after he was jailed. The judges said the railway ticket and diary seized from him did not prove his involvement, held that his confession to police was inadmissible because TADA had lapsed in 1995, and noted that key prosecution witnesses had disowned their statements. Ilyas’s family is now waiting for his release from Dasna Jail. Click on the 🔗 below to read how the case against him unravelled in court https://lnkd.in/gB_tHFzw

A look at parliamentarians in New Delhi during Parliament’s Winter Session — the moments outside the House, away from floor speeches and formal proceedings. From quick greetings at the gates and conversations in the corridor to files carried in and out under tight security cordons, these frames captured lawmakers moving through the Parliament complex as the day’s business unfolded. One set showed a lawmaker wearing a respirator mask outdoors; another showed a protest placard that read, “जहरीली हवा है. सरकार लापता है.” (“The air is poisonous. The government is missing.”). The winter light, winter layers, camera flashes and the red sandstone backdrop of the complex set the scene for a day that mixed politics, procedure, and protest in the national capital. Photos: PTI

‘My life has shrunk to the size of my inhaler’: How Delhi’s pollution is wrecking lives — and family budgets Delhi’s polluted winter is especially cruel to those with existing lung conditions. It traumatises them physically and psychologically, and hits their pockets hard. And for most, leaving Delhi for places with cleaner air is not a viable option. Here are stories of 5 Delhi residents paying the price of bad air. Click on the 🔗 below to read in detail https://lnkd.in/g8xgtEnp Written by: Ankita Upadhyay #Delhi #Delhiair #Delhipollution

Yearender 2025 | What did India ask the internet in 2025? 🔍 From films to food, politics to pop culture, this A–Z is built entirely from what people actually typed into Search this year. A is for Saiyaara stars Aneet Padda and Ahaan Panday, who topped entertainment searches, while the film’s title track became the most searched song. B is for Bryan Johnson’s walkout on Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, which pushed “air quality near me” into trending “Near Me” queries. People looked up meanings like “ceasefire”, followed tributes to Dharmendra, checked “earthquake near me”, and searched both Final Destination and the dating term “floodlighting”. Google Gemini, Nano Banana prompts and X’s Grok featured among AI-related searches, while IPL led sports, alongside Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Jemimah Rodrigues. Maha Kumbh, Operation Sindoor, the Waqf Bill, Labubu toys, traditional recipes like Thekua and Ukadiche Modak, Phu Quoc travel, and searches for Zubeen Garg all found a place in India’s 2025 search alphabet. Created by: Angshuman Maity #yearender #yearender2025

#BusinessAsUsual — 17.12.25 #TodaysPaper #IndianExpress Follow The Indian Express on Instagram for crisp news cards and visual explainers👇🏽 https://lnkd.in/dF-MZFB9

The court took on record the Election Commission’s instructions governing videography and preservation of the counting process for the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections, polling for which was held on December 14.

Three Indian students were among at least 40 people injured in a suspected terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach during a public ‘Hanukkah by the Sea’ event, according to Australian media reports. The incident, described as Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly three decades, claimed at least 15 lives, including that of a 10-year-old child. Click on the 🔗 below to read the full article. https://lnkd.in/gFfXmger