NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday condemned the fatal assault case of Tripura student Anjel Chakma and his brother in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun.In a social media post on X, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha pinned the blame of Chakma’s death on BJP, claiming that the hate crime was the result of “toxic content and irresponsible narratives.”

“What happened to Anjel Chakma and his brother Michael in Dehradun is a horrific hate crime. Hate doesn’t appear overnight. For years now it is being fed daily – especially to our youth – through toxic content and irresponsible narratives. And it’s being normalised by the hate-spewing leadership of the ruling BJP,” Rahul said.“India is built on respect and unity, not fear and abuse. We are a country of love and diversity. We must not become a dead society that looks away while fellow Indians are targeted. We must reflect and confront what we are allowing our country to become. My thoughts are with the Chakma family and the people of Tripura and North East. We are proud to call you our fellow Indian brothers and sisters,” he added.This comes after Chakma was assaulted by a group of miscreants in Dehradun on December 9 and later succumbed to his injuries on December 26 at a private hospital.According to police, the incident occurred on the evening of December 9 in the Premnagar police station area of Dehradun.“Two students from Tripura, Angel Chakma and his brother, Michael Chakma, lived near Nanda Chowki in the Premnagar police station area. This incident happened on the evening of the 9th, when they had gone to Selaqui for some work,” Superintendent of Police (City) Pramod Kumar said.He added that the two got into an argument with some local youths and another youth from the Northeast.“A fight broke out between them, during which it is reported that they were attacked with knives and other blunt objects. As a result, they were seriously injured. Their brother took them to the hospital, and subsequently, an FIR was registered,” he said.Meanwhile, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dham expressed condolences and assured justice for Tripura student’s familyDhami spoke with Anjel’s father, Tarun Prasad Chakma, and promised strict action against the perpetrators. “This was a regrettable incident. We will ensure the culprits receive the harshest punishment,” he said.According to police, One suspect, a Nepalese national, is on the run, and a reward has been announced for his capture. Dhami assured support, stating, “We are with you in this hour of need. We’ll provide whatever help we can.”“Five accused have already been arrested in the case, while another accused is suspected of having fled to Nepal. A reward has been announced, and efforts are underway to arrest the remaining accused,” said Dhami.According to Uttarakhand CMO, the chief minister told Tarun Chakma that Uttarakhand has never had such an atmosphere, as students from across the country and abroad come here to study. Therefore, this incident is distressing for everyone.He further said that after the incident, he spoke with Tripura chief minister Manik Saha, Union home minister Amit Shah, and defence minister Rajnath Singh.Earlier, members of the Tipra Indigenous Students Federation (TISF), the student wing of Tipra Motha Party, held a candle march at Astabal Maidan in Agartala on Sunday, demanding justice for Anjel Chakma, a student hailing from Nandanagar, Debram Thakur Para, who was killed in Dehradun on December 9.Tripura chief minister Manik Saha said his Uttarakhand counterpart, Pushkar Singh Dhami, had assured him that justice would be delivered in the case of a Tripura student.

The countdown to 2026 has begun, and everyone is scrolling through the 2025 album, revisiting the journey of the year. Some call it rewarding, some look at the tough love, while actor Nagarjuna describes his 2025 as ‘very, very satisfying.’ In a conversation with us, the popular star added, “On both the personal and professional front, I couldn’t have hoped for more. My younger son, Akhil, got married to a lovely girl, and he is very happy with her. My elder son Chaitanya got married on December 24, and they have just completed one year of happily married life.”Further sharing what a relief it feels to see his sons settled in their respective married lives, the National Award-winning artist says, “Everyone has to go through their share of upheavals. I am glad my sons have found their happiness.” Shedding some light on the professional aspect, he adds, “Akhil has a release coming up in 2026. It is shaping up well. I hope it works.”

A look back at Nagajuna’s professional trajectory in 2025

During our conversation, we also discussed how 2025 shaped the career trajectory of the actor. “Firstly, there was Kubera, where I got to work with Dhanush for the first time. It was a joy to work with him. We are both the kind of actors who don’t feel threatened by anyone’s presence. Later during the year came Coolie where again, I got to work with a Tamilian icon for the first time, this time it was the great Rajinikanth,” he says. For the actor, ‘Coolie’ was ‘important for other reasons.’ Sharing the same, he adds, “I played a villain for the first time in my career. My character, Simon, has become a metaphor. I am being asked by other filmmakers to do a Simon. I am not closed to the idea of playing the villain again. But I am happy being the good guy.”

The re-release of ‘Shiva’

2025 saw several re-releases, one of which was Nagarjuna’s ‘Shiva.’ Expressing his content on how the re-release of his iconic film helped him garner immense love, he states, “What an impact it made! It reconnected with the youth, the Gen Z, just as it had connected thirty years ago with youngsters.” He continues, “Even outside India, Shiva is a film I am most recognized for. I think ‘Geethanjali’ and ‘Shiva’ are my most influential films.”

What’s next for Nagarjuna?

“In 2026, I have my hundredth release coming up. We are in no hurry to release it. We want it to be something special,” he says, while discussing his upcoming film. “It is a family film with action. My character, his wife, and daughter are there. The director Ra Karthik has directed an OTT series before. This is his first feature film. I am open to working with new talent,” concluded the actor.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Delhi HC order granting Kuldeep Singh Sengar bail in the Unnao rape case, in which he has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice AG Masih, while challenging the suspension of sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case, asked Sengar to file response in four weeks and posted the matter for hearing in last week of January.“But here, the situation is peculiar since he is inside the jail for another case,” he added.This comes after the Central Bureau of Investigation moved the top court after Delhi high court suspended Sengar’s life sentence in the rape case.Representing the central probing agency, solicitor general Tushar Mehta requested the apex court to stay HC order claiming that the incident is a “very horrific case.”“This is a horrific case of rape of a child. Charges were framed under Section 376 IPC and Sections 5 and 6 of the POCSO Act,” he said.“Conviction is on two counts. I have quoted all relevant parts. Para 3 of my note has conviction order. There is a finding recorded which says the child was less than 16 and was 15 years 10 months. Against this conviction, appeal is pending,” he added.Mehta further argued that Sengar was a public servant at the time of incident, pleading for minumum 20 years of covicting.“Public servant is not defined in Pocso act by reference. Whatever defined in IPC will be the definition. Every word used in any statute is not mechanically getting definition public servant would mean a person who is in a dominant position over child,” he said.A division bench comprising of Justice Subramonium Prasad and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar while pronouncing the order noted that Sengar had already served seven years and five months in prison.The court ordered that the suspension will remain in force while his appeal against conviction is pending. While the high court granted him bail in the rape case, he will continue to remain in jail as he is serving a separate 10-year sentence in a CBI case related to the custodial death of the survivor’s father. His appeal in that case, along with a plea seeking suspension of sentence, is also pending.The high court imposed several conditions while granting bail, including a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties, a direction not to enter a 5-km radius of the survivor’s residence in Delhi, and a strict bar on threatening her or her mother.In December 2019, ex BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was sentenced to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 25 lakh.

“The Big Short“ investor Michael Burry has a China warning for the US. Burry, one of the most influential Wall Street investors, has warned that America’s reliance on power-hungry Nvidia chips will hand China victory in the artificial intelligence (AI) race. In a recent post shared on the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), he pointed to a widening energy production gap that he argues makes America’s current AI development strategy unsustainable. Sharing a chart comparing energy production growth across regions, Burry wrote that China’s advantage extends beyond total power capacity to the rate of acceleration, while US transmission grid development is actually decelerating due to permitting issues, even as China builds transmission infrastructure freely to match its expanding power output. In his X post, Burry shared a chart showing how China’s energy production has increased drastically compared to the US and the EU. He wrote: “Why China will win AI in one chart. Power hungry Nvidia chips are not the way forward for the U.S. It is not just the total power advantage. It is the slope.”

Why ‘The Big Short’ investor thinks Nvidia’s AI development roadmap is not right for the US

The hedge fund manager argues that Nvidia’s development strategy is essentially a power-consumption roadmap, with innovation focused on powering and cooling larger, hotter silicon as efficiency gains fail to keep pace with compute density. According to Burry, this creates a structural problem for American companies pouring capital into what he characterises as “a race it is structurally positioned to lose.” He also suggests that the US must pivot away from increasingly power-intensive chips toward AI-tuned ASICs instead. He believes that this transition is being hindered by Nvidia’s influence through investments and agreements with major US AI companies and startups.

Replying to his initial post, Burry wrote: “My post here was inexact. My post elsewhere was more complete, below. This chart shows why China will win if Nvidia’s chips are the way forward. Nvidia’s development roadmap is essentially a power consumption roadmap. and innovation is just figuring out how to power and to cool bigger, hotter silicon. Power needs keep climbing because efficiency gains cannot keep up with compute install. This chart shows that is not a path to victory for the U.S.Not only is China way ahead, it will continue to press its advantage – the slope is the key. That is acceleration of power generation development. US transmission grid development is actually decelerating due to permitting issues while China is building transmission at will to match power output. In fact, to the extent this is an AI arms race, US companies are plowing capital into a race it is structurally positioned to lose. So it cannot be an AI arms race, if the US can help it.The US needs to get away from bigger and bigger power hungry chips and innovate with AI-tuned ASICs like nobody’s business. Nvidia has a death grip on development through its investments and agreements with so many important US AI companies and startups.DOJ Antitrust is investigating and should act, but Trump probably stops that. It is left to the market to figure out LLMs are not the way to AGI or ASI, and stop feeding the beast. Can our biggest companies make the pivot?”

Silver continued its glittering rally on Monday, surging past the $80-an-ounce mark. The white metal’s momentum was lifted by tight supplies, rising industrial demand and expectations of further US interest rate cuts. Besides silver, platinum also touched a record high, briefly.Spot silver jumped 3.8% to $82.15 an ounce, after earlier hitting an all-time high of $83.62, according to Reuters.The metal has spiked 181% so far this year, sharply outperforming gold, as it broke through the $80 level amid supply constraints, low inventories and growing industrial and investment demand. Its inclusion on the US critical minerals list has also added to investor interest. The white metal later slipped 1.3% to $78.12 per ounce as investors booked profits.“A combination of profit-taking and seemingly productive talks between Trump and Zelenskyy regarding a potential peace deal have put gold, silver on the back foot,” KCM trade chief market analyst Tim Waterer told Reuters. Gold prices eased slightly after scaling fresh highs in the previous session. Spot gold slipped 0.1% to $4,527.79 per ounce by 1152 GMT on December 28, having touched a record $4,549.71 earlier. US gold futures for February delivery were steady at $4,553.10 an ounce. Gold has been lifted by a mix of factors, including US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and bets on further easing, geopolitical tensions, sustained buying by central banks seeking to diversify away from US securities and the dollar, and rising holdings in exchange-traded funds. Traders continue to price in two US rate cuts next year, a backdrop that tends to favour non-yielding assets. The US dollar hovered near the two-month lows reached last Wednesday, offering some support to bullion, which has enjoyed a strong rally in 2025, climbing 72% so far. Geopolitical developments also remained in focus. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine. Among other precious metals, spot platinum slipped 0.8% to $2,429.10 an ounce after earlier rising to a record $2,478.50, while palladium edged up 0.1% to $2,003.83 an ounce.

NEW DELHI: Former England cricketer Monty Panesar has criticised India’s Test captain Shubman Gill, saying the youngster is complacent and not yet equipped to handle the demands of all three formats at the international level.While acknowledging Gill’s natural talent, Panesar pointed out that the batter tends to play “lazy shots” during matches and lacks the intensity that defined Virat Kohli’s game across formats.

“He is a complacent cricketer. He has a lot of talent, but he starts playing lazy shots in the game. Virat Kohli’s intensity and aggression are evident in all formats. Shubhman Gill can’t do that. Too much burden for him. He can’t be the captain of all formats. It is too much for him,” Panesar told ANI.Panesar’s remarks come at a time when India have struggled in Test cricket under head coach Gautam Gambhir, with the side suffering two whitewash defeats — 3-0 against New Zealand and 2-0 against South Africa.Speaking about Gambhir’s tenure, Panesar said the former India opener has proven himself as a white-ball coach but still needs time and experience in red-ball cricket.“Gautam Gambhir is a good coach in white-ball cricket because he has been successful. He could become the Ranji Trophy coach, and he should talk to the coaches who have coached in the Ranji Trophy about how you build a team in red ball cricket. Right now, the Indian team is weak in Test cricket. This is the reality. It’s not that strong. It will take time. When you retire three big players, it becomes difficult to keep the remaining players ready,” the former England cricketer said.Panesar also underlined Virat Kohli’s absence in the longest format, stating that while India have managed without him in white-ball cricket, his impact is clearly missing in Tests.“In white-ball format, you won’t miss Virat Kohli that much. But yes, in Test Cricket, it’s evident that Virat Kohli is not there, and the team’s intensity is lower.”The former left-arm spinner further claimed that Indian cricketers are not adequately prepared for red-ball cricket, arguing that the focus of young players is largely on securing IPL contracts rather than putting in the hard yards required in four-day cricket.“Indian players are not ready for Test Cricket. In India, players who perform well in T20 and ODI don’t perform well in Test Cricket,” he said.Highlighting systemic issues, Panesar added that the gap between domestic cricket and the national Test side remains wide.“The gap between Ranji Trophy and India’s Test team is significant. The Ranji Trophy system is also very weak. The boys just want to play in IPL. They want to get a big contract. They want to play in T20I and ODI. It takes a lot of hard work in 4-day cricket. That’s why they want to give less time,” Panesar said.“They make more money in T20 cricket. They make less money in Test Cricket. But the reality is that the domestic cricket of the Ranji Trophy is very weak. It will take some time for India to make a comeback in Test cricket,” he added.

US President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, even as Russia intensified its attacks on Kyiv. Both leaders struck an optimistic tone, repeatedly suggesting that a peace deal was closer than at any previous point, yet they also acknowledged that several issues particularly territory, security guarantees and the future of occupied infrastructure remain unresolved.“I think we’re getting a lot closer, maybe very close,” Trump said after the meeting. Zelenskyy, thanking Trump for a “great meeting”, said Ukraine was “ready for peace” and that talks had yielded “significant results”, even if final decisions were still pending.

The talks came just hours after the 47th POTUS held a lengthy phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and against the backdrop of fresh Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities.

Putin’s shadow looms large

Zelenskyy’s visit followed what Trump described as an “excellent” phone call with Putin earlier the same day. The Kremlin later said the call was “friendly, benevolent and businesslike”, adding that Trump and Putin agreed to speak again promptly after Trump’s talks with the Ukrainian leader.

Trump insisted Putin still wants peace, despite Russia launching new attacks on Ukraine as Zelenskyy travelled to the US. “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed,” Trump said, adding that Putin had been “very generous in his feelings toward Ukraine succeeding”.Also read: Trump speaks to Putin ahead of Florida meet with ZelenskyyThat framing has alarmed some of Ukraine’s supporters, who note a pattern in which Trump speaks to Putin before meeting Zelenskyy. However, unlike previous encounters, this sequence did not lead to an openly tense exchange between the US and Ukrainian presidents.

Peace deal ‘90% agreed’

At the centre of the talks was a revised 20-point peace framework that US and Ukrainian teams have been refining for weeks. Zelenskyy said the plan was “90% agreed”, while Trump said he did not like using percentages but suggested the deal was nearly complete.“We discussed all aspects of the peace framework,” Zelenskyy later wrote. “We agreed that security guarantees are a key milestone in achieving lasting peace.”The two sides also agreed that their teams would meet again as early as next week to finalise remaining details, and that Trump would host Ukrainian and European leaders in Washington in January.

Territory remains the toughest obstacle

Both leaders acknowledged that the fate of the eastern Donbas region remains unresolved. Trump described it as “a very tough issue”, though he said it was getting closer to resolution. Zelenskyy was blunt about the divide. “Our attitude is very clear,” he said, adding that Ukraine and Russia hold fundamentally different positions.Trump suggested that making territorial concessions sooner rather than later could be pragmatic. “Some of that land has been taken,” he said. “And are you better off making a deal now?”Zelenskyy has shown new flexibility, saying any territorial settlement would require either a referendum or parliamentary approval, but only after a ceasefire, something Moscow has so far rejected.

Agreement in principle but details pending

Security guarantees emerged as the clearest area of convergence. Zelenskyy said US-Ukraine security guarantees were “100% agreed”, calling them essential to preventing future Russian aggression. Trump was more cautious, saying the talks were about “95% done” and stressing that European countries would need to shoulder much of the responsibility with US backing.During recent negotiations, Washington has floated Nato-like guarantees for Ukraine, even as Zelenskyy signalled he could drop Kyiv’s bid to formally join the alliance if equivalent protections were provided. Russia, however, has repeatedly rejected any Nato role and warned it would view allied troops as legitimate targets.

The nuclear question

Another unresolved issue is the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, which has been under Russian control since early in the war. Trump said the plant was discussed “at length” and suggested Putin was open to cooperation. “President Putin is actually working with Ukraine on getting it open,” he said.Under US proposals, the plant could be jointly run by the US, Russia and Ukraine, with shared profits. Zelenskyy is known to oppose any Russian commercial role, making this a potential flashpoint as talks continue.

Europe brought into the room

After their meeting, Trump and Zelenskyy spoke jointly by phone with a broad group of European leaders, including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Poland and Finland.Von der Leyen later said progress was “good” but stressed that “ironclad security guarantees from day one” would be essential. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said leaders underlined the urgency of ending the war and commended Trump for driving talks forward.

Trump’s deadline: Weeks, not days

Trump repeatedly warned that negotiations could still collapse. “In a few weeks, we will know one way or the other,” he said. “It’s possible it doesn’t happen.”Also read: Donald Trump’s favourite timeline – two weeksThe US president, who once claimed he could end the war in a day, now openly acknowledges its complexity. “This is not a one-day process deal,” he said. “This is very complicated stuff.”

Optimism tempered by war on the ground

Even as diplomacy intensifies, fighting continues. Russia launched major attacks on Kyiv and other regions ahead of the talks, knocking out power and heating for hundreds of thousands. Ukrainian officials described the strikes as evidence of Moscow’s true intentions.Still, both Trump and Zelenskyy emerged keen to project momentum. “I do think we’re getting a lot closer,” Trump said. Zelenskyy echoed that sentiment, thanking Trump and his team and reiterating: “Ukraine is ready for peace.”

Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah (ANI)

Jasprit Bumrah is widely celebrated for his pinpoint accuracy on the cricket field, whether with the new ball in Tests or during the final overs of a T20. His meticulous planning and research on opposition batters have become well-known among cricket fans. But according to teammate Axar Patel, there is another side to Bumrah that few people know—his passion for perfumes.Speaking on the 2 Sloggers YouTube channel, Axar shared some light-hearted insights about Bumrah’s perfume collection. He explained that Bumrah is deeply invested in fragrances and even checks the percentage of oil and perfume in each bottle, while the rest of the team simply smells a perfume, decides if it is strong enough, and moves on.

The conversation turned to Bumrah’s plans beyond cricket, with one of the YouTubers joking if this was a post-retirement hobby. Axar laughed and said, “Jassi Bhai dekhlena, partnership kardena,” hinting that Bumrah might even bring teammates into the perfume venture.Axar also shared a humorous story on the show about a bet he won against Bumrah. Recalling the incident, he said that Bumrah had promised Mohammed Siraj he would gift him a perfume during the Test match against the West Indies in Delhi. According to Axar, West Indies vice-captain Jomel Warrican may have casually asked which perfume it was because he liked the smell, and Siraj then insisted that Bumrah give it to him since he liked it so much. Axar added how he got caught up in the fun as well. “Tho isme meine sirf flow flow mein Boom bhai bole ab uske jagah mein tume dunga,” he said, meaning Bumrah decided to gift him a perfume too in the flow of the moment. The stories offer a lighter, more personal side to one of India’s most formidable fast bowlers, showing that off the field, Bumrah’s meticulous nature extends to his love for fragrances as well.