A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Bofors brought Congress down but Rafale will bring Modi back, claims defence minister in Parliament: Nirmala Sitharaman responded to the Congress’ allegations on the defence deal in the Lok Sabha on Friday. Rahul Gandhi later asked why she did not speak about Anil Ambani.
  2. Lok Sabha passes amendments to make Aadhaar voluntary for phones and banking: The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill proposed to amend three laws to comply with a Supreme Court judgement passed in September.
  3. Over 1,300 arrested in Kerala after protests even as chief minister’s office claims third woman entered Sabarimala temple: Curfew was imposed in parts of the state after violent protests on Thursday.
  4. No Indian citizen will be left out of NRC, Narendra Modi says in Assam: The prime minister launched several projects in Manipur during his trip to the northeast region.
  5. Pakistan, Sri Lanka lack policies to tackle money laundering and terror financing, says watchdog: The Financial Action Task Force said the Bahamas, Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Serbia, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and Yemen also need to do more.
  6. US Congress passes measures to end partial government shutdown, does not provide border wall money: However, President Donald Trump has vowed to veto the measures passed by the House.
  7. Supreme Court defers Ayodhya dispute hearing to January 10, says ‘appropriate bench’ will pass further orders: The hearing on Friday lasted under a minute and did not include arguments from either side.
  8. Congress government in Madhya Pradesh restores practice of singing Vande Mataram at state secretariat: Chief Minister Kamal Nath claimed his government had given the national song a ‘different look’.
  9. Supreme Court asks state and Centre for status report on Meghalaya rescue operation: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that rescue workers do not have blueprints of the mine’s structure since it is illegal.
  10. Scroll.in’s Mridula Chari wins Ramnath Goenka award for on-the-spot reporting: She won it for a story on the police forcing a man to sign a false report saying Muslims celebrated Pakistan’s win over India in the ICC Champions Trophy final.