A man tried to set himself on fire in front of the Parliament building in Delhi on Wednesday. The police reported that he is now in the hospital, where he is receiving treatment. This shocking incident has drawn attention and raised concerns about people’s mental health and the issues they face. Officials are investigating the situation to understand why he took such a drastic step.
Author: Supriya Jena
-
Indian Market Update: Stocks Dip Ahead of Christmas – Key Insights
The Indian stock market was closed on Wednesday, December 25, for Christmas. On Tuesday, the main stock indices in India ended slightly lower. Big losses in important financial and IT companies covered up some gains in consumer goods and car companies. With fewer major events expected this week, experts think the stock market will move within a tight range after a bounce back on Monday from a tough week.
The benchmark BSE Sensex dropped by 67.30 points, or 0.09%, finishing at 78,472.87. Meanwhile, the broader Nifty 50 index closed at 23,727.65, down 25.80 points, or 0.11%.
Vinod Nair from Geojit Financial Services said the market ended flat before the holiday. He mentioned that metal and power stocks brought down performance, while sectors like consumer goods and automobiles showed some strength after previous drops. Nair also said the market’s direction will largely depend on the upcoming third-quarter results and the government’s budget. However, concerns like a strong US dollar, high bond yields, and worries about interest rate cuts are making traders cautious
-
46 Killed in Pakistan’s Airstrike in Afghanistan: Taliban Promises Revenge
A recent airstrike by Pakistan in Afghanistan’s Paktika province has killed 46 people, says Hamdullah Fitrat, a spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban. The attack targeted places where the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were thought to be hiding.
This was the second strike like this since March, when Pakistan also targeted these areas based on intelligence reports. The Afghan Taliban has promised to respond to these attacks. On social media, they warned that such actions won’t solve any problems.
The airstrikes occurred on the night of December 24 and hit seven villages, including Laman, where five members of one family were killed. Reports state that a village named Murg Bazaar in Barmal faced severe damage.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Defense condemned the airstrike, insisting that defending their land is their right. They also mentioned that some people who had fled from Waziristan were affected by these attacks.
So far, the Pakistani government has not publicly acknowledged these airstrikes. Since November 2022, the TTP has been increasing attacks on Pakistani security forces after ending a cease-fire agreement with the Pakistani government.
-
Giriraj Singh Proposes Bharat Ratna for Nitish Kumar and Naveen Patnaik
Union Minister Giriraj Singh recently suggested that the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honor, should be awarded to Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, and Naveen Patnaik, the former Chief Minister of Odisha. Singh praised both leaders for their contributions to their states. He said that Bihar improved a lot under Nitish Kumar’s leadership, changing the state from having bad roads and schools to being much better. He also recognized Naveen Patnaik for serving Odisha for many years.
Even though Singh has been critical of Kumar in the past, he stated that the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) plans to contest upcoming elections in Bihar with Kumar as their leader. This comes as the RJD, which has worked together with Kumar’s party before, is trying to weaken the NDA’s position. Tejashwi Yadav, son of RJD leader Lalu Prasad, accused the BJP of trying to take control of the Chief Minister’s office, claiming that key aides of Kumar are in close contact with the BJP leaders.
There are speculations that the BJP may not publicly support Nitish Kumar as their candidate for the elections, similar to what happened in Maharashtra, where they didn’t promote their Chief Minister during the elections. After that election, the BJP became the largest party and ended up influencing who became the new Chief Minister.
-
Delhi Government Responds to 84,765 Pollution Complaints Amid Crisis”
The Delhi government has received a whopping 84,765 complaints about pollution using the Green Delhi App this year. Most of these complaints are being handled by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the Public Works Department (PWD), and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
The MCD has the highest number of complaints at 54,878. So far, they have solved 46,279 of these, which is about 84 out of every 100 complaints. But there are still 8,599 complaints waiting to be addressed. The PWD got 12,327 complaints and fixed 10,803 of them, which means they’ve cleared about 88 out of 100. There are still 1,524 complaints pending with them. The DDA recorded 4,795 complaints and resolved 4,424, meaning they’ve tackled about 92 out of every 100 complaints. But 371 complaints are still not resolved.
The Green Delhi App was launched by the Delhi government in 2020. It allows people to report pollution problems by sending in pictures or videos, marking their location, and stating what the issue is. The complaints are sent to the relevant civic agency, and people can see updates about their complaints.
Other agencies also reported complaints: the Irrigation and Flood Control Department had 2,032 complaints (with 92 out of 100 resolved), the Revenue Department got 1,041 complaints (about 85 out of 100 resolved), and the Delhi Jal Board received 3,056 complaints (with nearly 98 out of 100 resolved). The Delhi Traffic Police had 362 complaints, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation received 564.
Some complaints are overdue, meaning they haven’t been addressed in time. There are 10,656 overdue complaints in total, with the MCD responsible for 8,322 of them.
In November, Delhi faced its worst air pollution of the year, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) hitting an alarming 491. This level of pollution is extremely unhealthy, posing serious risks to health. Delhi’s Chief Minister, Atishi, said this situation is a medical emergency. To help with the crisis, the Delhi government took steps like closing schools, stopping construction activities, and limiting vehicle movements.
-
Foreign Investment in Indian Stocks: Declines in 2024, Hope for 2025″
In 2024, foreign investors have pulled back their investments in Indian stocks after a strong performance in 2023. They’ve put in over Rs 5,000 crore this year, mainly because prices are high in India and global tensions are making investors nervous. Looking to 2025, experts believe investments could recover, especially in Indian sectors like capital goods, manufacturing, and infrastructure. However, if companies’ prices stay high compared to other countries like those in Southeast Asia or Latin America, this might hold back investments.
Feroze Azeez from Anand Rathi Wealth thinks certain factors might boost investments, like global tensions easing, central banks lowering interest rates, and potential tariff changes in the U.S. Foreign investors have invested around Rs 5,052 crore in Indian stocks and Rs 1.12 lakh crore in debt markets until December 24 this year. Last year, they put in a whopping Rs 1.71 lakh crore into stocks, excited about India’s strong economy. In contrast, 2022 was tough, with a huge outflow of Rs 1.21 lakh crore because global banks raised interest rates aggressively.
In 2024, foreign investments in stocks dropped in January, April, May, October, and November. Analysts suggest that high prices pushed investors to look at cheaper stocks in China, especially since China is introducing new plans to support its economy. Global tensions, especially the Israel-Iran conflict, made investors wary, while worries about the U.S. elections and fewer expected interest rate cuts added to the fear.
In India, high valuations, weak company earnings, rising inflation, slow economic growth, and a weakening rupee have made investors less confident. Unlike stocks, foreign investors are showing great interest in Indian debt markets, investing Rs 1.12 lakh crore this year compared to Rs 68,663 crore last year. This growth is due to India being added to JP Morgan’s Government Bond Index, with even more foreign money expected as India is expected to join other global bond indices.
In the past, foreign investors pulled out money regularly, with a record Rs 1.05 lakh crore leaving in 2020. The financial services, oil & gas, and FMCG sectors saw the biggest withdrawals in 2024. In January, foreign investors took out Rs 25,700 crore, worried about rising U.S. bond yields. However, they returned to investing in February and March, putting in Rs 36,600 crore, encouraged by India’s strong growth and falling U.S. bond yields.
Unfortunately, this rebound didn’t last, and in April and May, investors were scared away by political uncertainties during general elections. They returned to buying in June, with a net investment of Rs 57,359 crore in September, driven by a rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve. But things took a turn again in October and November, with huge withdrawals totaling Rs 1.16 lakh crore. October alone saw Rs 94,017 crore leave, the biggest drop in a month, due to investors preferring Chinese stocks and concerns over Indian companies’ weak earnings. Thankfully, December showed signs of recovery, with more than Rs 20,071 crore flowing back into Indian stocks, showing renewed interest.
-
Blake Lively Accuses Justin Baldoni of Harassment: Industry Reacts!”
Blake Lively, the star of Gossip Girl and It Ends With Us, has filed a serious complaint against her co-star and director, Justin Baldoni. She claims that during filming, he sexually harassed her. Lively’s complaint also says that Baldoni’s public relations team used a sneaky tactic called astroturfing, where fake social media posts were created to paint her as a “difficult” person. After these claims, many people started criticizing Lively for her past actions, like some old interviews and her wedding on a plantation.
However, the situation has now flipped, with more and more people starting to side with Lively and question Baldoni instead. Support from the film industry is coming in for Blake, while Baldoni’s reputation is taking a hit. He even lost an award he received for supporting women.
Even though Baldoni’s lawyer has denied the allegations, he has seen challenges; he was dropped by his talent agency, WME. Others tied to Baldoni, including his podcast partners, are also distancing themselves from him. What’s more, a woman named Stephanie Jones, who used to work for him, has sued him for defamation and breaching their contract.
A legal expert thinks that if things keep going this way, Lively could potentially win a lot of money—maybe even up to $10 million. The expert noted that this situation is very much about reputations. Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, are very rich, so this isn’t really about money but changing the public’s view of her.
Additionally, the expert compared this case to the famous Depp-Heard trial and suggested that there could be more surprises ahead, especially since Lively’s legal team reportedly has strong evidence.
Justin Baldoni now has a tough road ahead to save his career. With the support of big names like Sony and the author Colleen Hoover, Lively is standing strong. Sony even said they support her and criticize any attacks on her character.
-
Feel free to adjust any specific wording to better fit your style
On Wednesday, Sonipat, a city in Haryana, experienced a little earthquake with a strength of 3.5. The quake happened at 12:12 PM and was quite shallow, occurring just 5 kilometers below the ground. Thankfully, there were no injuries or damage reported following this event, according to the National Centre of Seismology. Residents felt a quick shake, but everyone is safe!
-
Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crashes Near Aktau, Kazakhstan”
A passenger plane has crashed close to the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, according to reports from Russian news agencies. The plane, which belonged to Azerbaijan Airlines, was flying from Baku to Grozny, a city in Russia’s Chechnya region. However, due to foggy weather in Grozny, the plane was rerouted. Sadly, it ended in a crash. More details about the accident are being reported.
-
Stocks Dip in Asia While US Markets Celebrate Holiday Gains
Shares in Tokyo and Shanghai went down on Christmas Day, which is one of the few market days open during the holiday. Oil prices went up, with US oil at $70.17 per barrel and Brent oil at $73.23. The Japanese Yen also changed, moving to 157.37 from 157.11 per dollar, while the Euro increased to $1.0431 from $1.0397.
On Tuesday, Wall Street stocks rose during a short trading session. Big Tech companies, like Apple and Amazon, helped the S&P 500 index gain 1.1%. The Dow Jones went up 0.9%, and the Nasdaq climbed 1.3%. For every stock that went down, more than three stocks went up on the New York Stock Exchange.
Notable gains included Broadcom at 3.2%, Apple 1.1%, and Amazon 1.8%. Tesla had a significant jump of 7.4%! Even after experiencing a small setback, American Airlines ended up just a bit higher at 0.6%.
In another part of the market, US Steel increased by 1.9% following discussions about a big sale to Nippon Steel. In a surprising move, health care company NeueHealth saw its stocks soar by 74.9% after deciding to sell itself for about $1.3 billion.
Many investors are feeling hopeful as the end of the year is known for making stocks rise, especially in the last five trading days of the year and the first two days of the new year, continuing a cheerful trend since 1950. Despite earlier struggles this month, the US stock market has shown strong growth and is expected to perform well in 2024. The S&P 500 is up 26.6% this year and remains close to its all-time high from earlier in December.