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BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday announced that the BJP and JD(U) will fight 17 seats each and the LJP will fight in 6 seats in Bihar for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Addressing the media, he further said that Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) patron Ram Vilas Paswan will be the Rajya Sabha candidate of the NDA.

Close to 1 million employees of various banks, including private lenders, have called for a strike to protest against the proposed amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda. Around 3.20 lakh officers from various state-run banks were on a one-day strike on December 21, seeking immediate wage revision and opposing the proposed merger.

A partial US government shutdown that entered its 2nd day on Sunday was set to stretch through Christmas, after Congress adjourned for the weekend with no deal in sight to end an impasse over funding for President Trump's wall on the US-Mexico border. Due to the shutdown, Trump said he would remain in Washington over Christmas instead of going to Florida.

India were humbled by Australia in the second Test in Perth by 146 runs, prompting the likes of legendary Sunil Gavaskar to question the team management's selection policies and demanding more accountability from captain Virat Kohli and the head coach.

Coach Ramesh Powar had accused Mithali of throwing tantrums and putting her interest ahead of the team’s while the cricketer was ‘deeply saddened and hurt’ by the aspersions cast on her commitment to the team.

A group of 12 women left from Chennai on Saturday for Sabarimala temple. There were 30 women initially, but the number came down to 12, following threats from different quarters. Out of 12, 11 women are below 50 years of age. Stay tuned for more live updates.

A TOI report dated December 22, 1910 says that the men of Calcutta’s famous Tollygunge Club were playing golf one evening that month when Pierre de Caters, a Belgian baron, took off on a biplane from its expansive grounds for a practice flight with one Mrs N C Sen seated in tandem behind his pilot’s seat.

Some 584 people were injured and hundreds of homes and other buildings were "heavily damaged" in the tsunami which struck late on Saturday. On Dec. 26 in 2004, an Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an earthquake killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.

Both sides were quiet on why Mahmood was prevented from visiting but, as official sources said, Pakistan had been late in seeking approval for the visit. Both Indian and Pakistan high commissioners are required to seek approval from local authorities for any visit outside the capital.

Bombay high court overturned a 1997 trial court order acquitting Macchindra Sonawane (who was 19 at the time of the incident and is now 41), and held him guilty of rape and sentenced him to seven years in jail. The bench refused a plea to show the accused leniency over the two-decade delay and directed Sonawane to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation.

This made the saffron camp see red. An outraged mahant of the Dandiya temple, Bharat Vyas, said, "A gathering of sex workers in Lord Ram's birthplace would send a wrong message... in the holy town where pilgrims come to wash their sins. We oppose Morari Bapu's move." For the women, it was the experience of a lifetime.

With the latest round of cuts, effective January 1, the government has reduced rates on nearly 360 items since GST was introduced almost 18 months ago. There are indications that in the next meeting a simpler set of rules will be put in place for small- and medium-scale industries and small service providers.

Terming the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as a "genocide" and a "mass crime against humanity", the HC on December 17 convicted Sajjan Kumar , 73, in a riot case and sentenced him to imprisonment "for the remainder of his natural life". After holding him guilty for criminal conspiracy to murder, promoting enmity and acts against communal harmony, the HC had cancelled his bail and directed him to surrender by December 31 to undergo the sentence. It had also restrained him from leaving the city.

The encounter began after a joint team of 42 Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operations Group and CRPF launched a cordon-and-search operation after receiving intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists at Arampora hamlet, said S P Pani, IG-Kashmir range. The security forces fired a few warning shots, to which the terrorists retaliated, triggering a gunfight.

The list featured all the agencies, barring Delhi police, that have been named by the Centre. "On an average, between 7,500 to 9,000 orders for interception of telephones are issued by the central government every month. On an average between 300 to 500 orders for interception of emails are issued by central government per month" government told RTI applicant, Delhi resident Prosenjit Mondal, in 2013.

The Asian giant edged past the equity market of Europe's largest economy for the first time in seven years, according to Bloomberg data. The move reflects India's positive returns this year as companies' reliance on domestic demand enabled them to avoid the meltdown in other emerging markets.

Eighteen months after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a land and sea blockade aimed at bringing Qatar to heel, this tiny, gas-rich strip of sand jutting into the Persian Gulf is refusing to capitulate. In the meantime, Qatar has adapted, retooling its economy and foreign relations in ways that could reshape its strategic layout.