Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has pitched for restarting 153 iron ore mining leases in ecologically sensitive Western Ghats areas. He also asked the Union environment ministry for a workable path on compensatory afforestation, citing scarce land in the state. The request revives a long-running debate over mining revival versus environmental safeguards.
India chose to bowl first in a rain-affected second ODI against New Zealand in Wellington, with both teams naming unchanged elevens. The match was trimmed to 47 overs a side, and further cuts remain possible on a wet day. New Zealand are seeking to level the series under disrupted conditions.
The Calcutta High Court has restrained Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections until a challenge to ward delimitation is decided. West Bengal raised KMC wards from 144 to 209, a move petitioners say was pushed without fair process. The stay keeps the expanded map on hold while the court hears the dispute.
Late-night clashes broke out near TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee’s Kolkata residence as workers prepared birthday celebrations. Reports said MAITC cadres and BJP supporters confronted each other, though police did not formally name parties. The unrest adds tension around Banerjee’s 39th birthday events in the city.
China said discussions are under way about a meeting involving Xi Jinping, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Trump is expected to travel to Shenzhen to meet Xi for a third time this year as a fragile trade truce nears a January expiry. The remarks keep diplomacy active around trade and great-power coordination.
French authorities are deploying about 70,000 security personnel as unions and students plan nationwide protests over living costs. The Yellow Vests movement intends a separate Paris rally despite an official ban on gatherings there. Officials say the large deployment aims to keep order across multiple cities on protest day.
US stocks rebounded as semiconductor shares led gains after the broader market had slipped to an 18-month low. Nvidia and AMD were among the chip names cited in the recovery. Traders treated the bounce as relief buying after a sharp AI-linked sell-off earlier in the week.
Officials were assaulted in Rajasthan after a cheetah linked to the Kuno conservation effort attacked cattle. Police traced the animal’s movement near Chandelipura under Mandrayal station limits. The clash underscores local anger over livestock losses as authorities try to manage free-ranging big cats near villages.
Ram Charan and director Sukumar are reuniting on a project tentatively called RC17. Makers are evaluating several actresses for the female lead and hope to finalise casting by December. The update keeps speculation high around the Telugu films ensemble as pre-production continues. Industry chatter has focused on who will share the screen with Charan as the project moves closer to a formal announcement.
The Supreme Court has asked former Chief Justice of India Bhushan R. Gavai to lead a special committee scrutinising orders passed in Tamil Nadu under the Forest Rights Act. The panel will examine how authorities handled claims and related decisions. The appointment came on Friday as the court pressed for closer oversight of disputed forest-rights cases in the state.