A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Devendra Fadnavis wants illegal structures demolished ‘on war footing’ after Kamala Mills fire kills 14: The Opposition blamed corruption in the Mumbai civic body and demanded a CBI investigation.
  2. Five Congress MLAs resign from Meghalaya Assembly, set to join BJP ally: They were among 8 legislators who are set to join the National People’s Party on January 4. There is, however, no immediate threat to the current government.
  3. The days of Edappadi Palaniswami’s government in Tamil Nadu are numbered, says TTV Dinakaran: He made the statement even as the AIADMK removed 130 functionaries loyal to him from the district units in Tirupur, Pudukottai and Dharmapuri.
  4. Indian-origin teenager shot dead in attempted robbery at fuel pump in Chicago: He was identified as 19-year-old Arshad Vora, a native of Gujarat.
  5. Nine killed in attack on church near Cairo, gunman shot dead: No terrorist group has claimed responsibility yet.
  6. Government exceeded its fiscal deficit target for 2017-’18 in November: The difference between expenditure and revenue was high because of lower GST collections and higher spending.
  7. School in Thiruvananthapuram agrees to take back students expelled for hugging: The St Thomas Central School changed its decision after a meeting with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
  8. Pakistan denies India’s claim that Kulbhushan Jadhav’s wife and mother were insulted: Islamabad’s Foreign Office said the meeting between Jadhav and his family was conducted in an ‘open and transparent’ manner.
  9. Elderly are denied pension, other benefits as fading fingerprints do not match Aadhaar data, says BJP MP: In the Lok Sabha, Sushil Kumar Singh brought up how his mother was denied a SIM card because of this problem with the biometric identification system.
  10. India using Afghanistan to conspire against economic corridor with China, claims Pakistani minister: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal’s statement comes days after Beijing said it was considering extending the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor into Afghanistan.