Actress Mallika Sherawat shared her excitement after receiving an invitation to the White House Christmas dinner.

Describing the experience as “completely surreal,” she expressed her gratitude for the honor, marking a special moment in her illustrious career. On Friday, the ‘Murder’ actress took to Instagram to share a series of photos from the White House Christmas dinner. In the pictures, Mallika could be seen posing amid the festive décor, with sparkling lights and beautifully adorned Christmas trees.

India's benchmark index Nifty is expected to touch 29,094 in one year based on long‑term valuation averages and earnings durability, a report said on Friday.

Wealth management firm PL Wealth said in the report that India enters the end of 2025 from a position of relative macro strength with record‑low inflation, a dovish monetary stance, resilient domestic demand and improved corporate earnings visibility.

"In the near term, large-cap stocks remain preferred due to their earnings stability and strong balance sheets, while selective exposure to high-quality mid-cap names is being added as visibility improves," the wealth management firm cited its strategy.

Domestic investors have pumped around Rs 4.5 lakh crore into the equity markets this year through mutual funds and other indirect investment routes, showing a clear shift in household savings towards market-linked assets, according to a report by the National Stock Exchange.

The report said India’s retail investor base has expanded rapidly after the pandemic. The number of individual investors has jumped from nearly three crore in 2019 to more than 12 crore in 2025.

A severe cold wave has tightened its grip across Bihar, with dense fog shrouding mornings and temperatures plunging sharply across the state. Even during daylight hours, damp conditions are intensifying the chill, making the cold persist throughout the day.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a cold wave and cold day alert for 27 districts, warning that the next 48 hours will be crucial as cold conditions are expected to intensify further.

As many as 2.17 million Afghans have been forcibly deported from Iran and Pakistan, with children comprising more than 60 per cent of returnees, according to the United Nations.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Afghanistan has been facing one of the world's largest displacement and returnee crises as Iran and Pakistan have been forcibly deporting Afghans.

Researchers from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) have uncovered a surprising player in autophagy, or the “self-eating” process that removes damaged parts of cells that can pave the way for developing therapies for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson's, and cancer.

Autophagy is a key biological process where cells clear out damaged and unwanted materials. When a cell fails to clear waste, its health suffers, especially in long-lived neurons. The autophagy pathway, which removes damaged material and defends against infections, is disrupted in diseases like Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s.

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal has sought the permission of the Election Commission of India (ECO) to allow assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) to assist the electoral registration officers (EROs) during the hearing sessions on the claims and objections on the draft voters’ list which was published on December 16.

Initially, it was decided that 10 EROs would handle the hearing session for each of the 294 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal. However, insiders from the CEO’s office pointed out that, considering the huge number of voters in each constituency who would be summoned for hearings, there is consideration to allow AEROs to assist the EROs in those sessions.

The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab on Friday said it would convene a special session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha next month against the Centre’s “attempt to hit the livelihoods of the poor by replacing the MGNREGA scheme”.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, “The BJP government at the Centre is trying to hit the livelihoods of the poor by replacing the MGNREGA scheme. A special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha will be called in the second week of January to raise the voice of Punjabis against this oppression.”

Actor Varun Sharma spoke about the emotional ups and downs of his journey in the film industry, stating that pressure, sleepless nights, and self-doubt were frequent companions. He added that beginning promotions for his upcoming film “Rahu Ketu” was a turning point, as the love and support gave a boost to his confidence.

Varun took to Instagram, where he shared a video of meeting his fans and the overwhelming response he got from them. The actor went on to reveal that he was in tears when he sat in the car after receiving so much love in Delhi.

Actor Suniel Shetty expressed pride and affection as he shared a set of glimpses featuring his son Ahan Shetty and son-in-law, cricketer KL Rahul.

Taking to Instagram, the veteran actor shared a slew of monochrome images and clips of the dapper dudes from a photoshoot.

Calling them “my suns,” Suniel mentioned in the caption section.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), here, is hosting India’s first workshop on advanced Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) to enhance doctors' expertise in device-assisted therapies for Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders.

The workshop, to be held from December 19 to 20, is dedicated exclusively to DBS in movement disorders and was endorsed by the International Movement Disorders Society.

DBS is a well-established and highly effective treatment that significantly improves motor symptoms and quality of life in carefully selected patients.

A whiff of nostalgia swept through as evergreen icon Zeenat Aman brought back the magic of her legendary chartbuster ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ on “Indian Idol” stage.

With contestant Anshika’s powerful and soulful rendition of the iconic song, which is originally from the 1971 film “Haré Rama Haré Krishna”, nostalgia filled the air, transforming the performance into a full-blown celebration.

Zeenat couldn’t resist stepping onto the stage and dancing to the timeless track, instantly earning thunderous applause from the judges, contestants, and audience alike. The moment became even more special when Kartik Aaryan joined the veteran diva on the dance floor.

Gold prices slipped in the domestic futures market on Friday morning, as investors booked profits after the Bank of Japan’s latest policy decision.

Softer inflation data from the United States also weighed on prices, even though gold is usually seen as a hedge against rising inflation.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures for February delivery were trading 0.56 per cent lower at Rs 1,33,772 per 10 grams during early trade.

Delhi continued to reel under severe pollution on Friday, with air quality deteriorating further and dense fog compounding commuting woes, particularly for air travellers.

The national capital’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 387 at 6 a.m., remaining firmly in the ‘very poor’ category and offering no respite from the prolonged pollution spell gripping the city.

The situation marked a clear decline from Thursday morning’s AQI of 356, underscoring a steady worsening of air quality across Delhi. Visuals from several parts of the city, including the ITO area, showed a thick layer of toxic smog blanketing roads and buildings, significantly reducing visibility.

In the draft voters’ list, published on December 16, the number of applications for new enrolment is negligible compared to the number of voters excluded from the previous list as of October 2025.

Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, have said that the number of applications for new voters’ enrolment during the first stage of their enrolment has been 3,24,800 compared to the massive figure of 58,20,899 excluded voters from the earlier list.

The suspect who launched a reign of terror at two elite US institutions with a mass shooting at the Ivy League Brown University and the murder of a nuclear science professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has killed himself, officials said.

The man was identified as Claudio Valente, a 48-year-old former Brown student from Portugal, and he was found dead in a storage facility as law enforcement closed in on him, Oscar Perez, the police chief of Providence in Rhode Island, said Thursday night.

After an extended dry spell of over two months, Jammu and Kashmir is likely to get rain and snow during the next 48 hours as the Meteorological (MeT) Department on Friday forecasted moderate snowfall in the higher reaches and rain in the plains starting late evening on December 20.

Mukhtar Ahmad, Director of the local MeT Department, told that snow in the higher reaches and rain in the plains of the union territory are expected during the night intervening December 20 and December 21, and the same is likely to continue till late afternoon on December 21.

Indian stock markets opened on a positive note on Friday, taking cues from supportive global markets, even as benchmark indices remained on track to close the week in the red for the third consecutive session.

In early trade, the Sensex was trading at 84,866.06, up 384.25 points or 0.45 per cent at around 9:20 AM.