A hospital case report has said that Angel Chakma, a student from Tripura, suffered right-side paralysis after a racial attack. The report from Graphic Era Hospital said she had serious injuries to her head, back, and spine. She was treated for 17 days but later died. After her death, police added murder charges in the case. Doctors said the spinal damage led to loss of movement on one side of her body. The incident has raised questions about the safety of students studying outside their home states. Police said they are continuing the probe and will file a full report after completing the investigation. (PC: India Today)

China has begun large military drills around Taiwan, saying the exercise is a warning to “separatist forces”. The drills involve the army, navy, air force and rocket force, and include live-fire activity. The operation is codenamed “Justice Mission 2025”. It comes days after the United States announced a major arms sale to Taiwan. Taiwan’s presidential office criticised the move, calling it a challenge to global norms. Taiwan’s defence ministry said Chinese aircraft and ships were detected near the island on Monday. It has deployed its own forces and missile systems and placed them on high alert. China claims Taiwan as its territory and says it may use force to stop any move towards independence. (PC: BBC)

Rajasthan has allowed new “low-density” activities on large parts of urban hill terrain under rules approved in April. The 2024 regulations replace older norms and divide hills into three slope groups. Areas with slopes above 15 degrees are marked non-developable. Hills with slopes between 8 and 15 degrees can host farmhouses, resorts, wellness centres and solar projects. These zones include parts of the Aravalli range inside cities. The move comes as the Centre faces questions on mining threats to the Aravallis and the Supreme Court starts suo motu hearings. The state says the rules balance growth and conservation and are open to review after court guidance. (PC: The Indian Express)

US President Donald Trump said talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida made progress on ending the war, but key issues are still unresolved. Speaking at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said “one or two very thorny issues” remain, mainly over land in eastern Ukraine. Zelensky said about 90% of a 20-point peace plan has been agreed. Trump added that security guarantees for Ukraine are about 95% complete. The leaders said teams will meet again next week. Russia controls large parts of the Donbas region. Trump said the idea of a demilitarised zone there is still open. He also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier. (PC: BBC)

Bangladesh has stepped up criticism of India over comments on minority violence and the killing of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi. Dhaka accused New Delhi of spreading a “misleading narrative” and said some incidents were being exaggerated. It also claimed that two suspects in the Hadi murder fled to Meghalaya. Indian border forces and state police rejected the charge. They said there was no proof of any border crossing and no such persons were traced. India earlier condemned the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das and cited thousands of attacks on minorities. Both sides have lodged protests through their foreign ministries as tensions rise ahead of Bangladesh’s national elections in February.

Delhi-NCR saw very low visibility on Monday as dense fog covered large parts of the region. The India Meteorological Department issued an orange alert for very dense fog in the national capital. It said maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to stay near 22 and 7 degrees Celsius. The fog led to delays of several flights at the Delhi airport during early morning hours. Many roads also reported slow traffic due to poor visibility. Authorities in Noida ordered the closure of schools for the day as a safety step. The weather office said parts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are also under an orange alert. (PC: India Today)

One passenger died after two coaches of the Tatanagar–Ernakulam Express caught fire in Andhra Pradesh early Monday. The incident took place at Yalamanchili, around 66 km from Visakhapatnam. Police said they received information about the fire at 12:45 am. There were 82 passengers in one affected coach and 76 in the other. The body of Chandrsekhar Sundaram was found in the B1 coach. The two damaged coaches were detached, and the train continued its journey to Ernakulam. Arrangements are being made to send stranded passengers to their destinations. Two forensic teams are examining the cause of the fire. (PC: NDTV)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Florida on Sunday for talks with US President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence. The two leaders are set to discuss an updated US-backed 20-point peace plan aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Russia has not yet agreed to the proposal. Speaking on arrival, Zelensky said that key decisions could be made before the New Year and noted that Russia had carried out thousands of attacks this week. Trump said the talks were in their final stages and that progress could come quickly. The meeting follows Trump’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he described as “very productive”. (PC: BBC)

An incident was reported at a cafe in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, after members of a Hindu group entered a birthday party and accused two Muslim youths of “love jihad”. The party was hosted by a nursing student on Saturday evening and was attended by nine classmates. According to police, six girls and four boys were present. The group allegedly shouted slogans and a scuffle followed. The woman told them it was only a birthday event, but the disruption continued. Police reached the spot and brought the situation under control. The two youths and two cafe staff were detained for questioning. Parents of the students were also called. Police said a probe is under way. (PC: India Today)

The India Meteorological Department has placed Delhi under an orange alert for dense fog on December 29. Night and morning fog is likely across Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and west Uttar Pradesh till December 31. East Uttar Pradesh may see low visibility till January 1. IMD also warned of cold day and cold wave conditions in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana. Several cities, including Amritsar, Agra and Gwalior, reported near zero visibility. A fresh western disturbance is expected from December 30 and may bring rain or snow to the western Himalayas and nearby plains. (PC: HT)