With the announcement of BMC elections, all the parties started preparations. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) was also seen in action. He formally launched the BMC election campaign at an event held in Worli on Tuesday (December 16). He addressed Shiv Sainiks on the occasion. In his speech, Aditya Thackeray gave a presentation of Shiv Sena’s development work for Mumbai in the last 25 years. He also gave an open challenge to BJP. He said that if BJP had done any such concrete development work for Mumbai, it should have done it in the Sardar Patel Stadium dome in Worli, but Uddhav Thackeray should stop taking credit for the government’s work. Sharp attacks on BJP and Shinde Group In this event, Aditya Thackeray made sharp attacks on BJP and Shinde Group. He said that once elections come, they deviate from development issues and raise issues like Hindu-Muslim, Bangladesh and Rohingya because they have no development work to show during their tenure. That is why they raise such issues. Referring to the work done during the Covid period, Thackeray said that the country’s first field hospital was started in Worli Dome. He said that the Mumbai model has also been praised by the WHO. Aditya claimed that economic discipline was maintained during the Uddhav Thackeray government without raising taxes, while Mumbai incurred a debt of over Rs 2.5 lakh crore during the current BJP-Shinde government. Attack on the present government Talking about issues like education, health, BEST bus service, water supply, environment protection, Dharavi redevelopment and coastal road, Aditya Thackeray said that the present government is only busy with inaugurations and taking credit, while Shiv Sena is working on the ground. He said that Shiv Sena will continue its struggle to protect the identity and interests of Mumbai. Elections on 15 January 2026 The 2026 elections of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have been announced. Maharashtra State Election Commission made this announcement on 15th December 2025. According to State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare, elections for 29 municipal corporations including BMC will be held on January 15, 2026. The results will be announced on January 16. Elections will be held in a single phase of 2,829 municipal seats, including 2,829 municipal corporations. BMC. 34.8 million voters will cast their votes in this election. Share this story Tags

The double murder committed by a boy in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh crossed all limits of cruelty. The boy first hit his mother over the head with an iron rod. When his father tried to call someone for help, the boy also attacked him, hit him over the head and then strangled him with a rope. After this, he cut his mother’s body into pieces with a saw. He cut both the bodies into three pieces, filled them in cement bags and threw them into the Gomati river. A severed part of the mother’s body did not fit in the bag, so the son threw it separately in the Sai river while going to Varanasi. This incident was done by the boy because of a family and money dispute. A search operation is conducted to recover the bodies. Shyam Bahadur (65) and his wife Babita (63) lived in Ahmedpur village. Shyam Bahadur had three daughters and one son. The son, Ambesh, lived in Kolkata with his wife and two children. He returned home alone three months ago. Only parents and son lived in the house. According to reports, Ambesh often argued with his parents. He had differences with him about money and property. Meanwhile, his daughter Vandana tried to call her father, but could not reach him. He called several times but got no response. He also tried to call his brother but could not reach him either. Missing parents On December 13, Vandana reported her parents and brother missing at the Zafarabad police station. Vandana told that her parents are not at home and her brother is also missing. The police started investigating the matter. On December 15, Ambesh was arrested by the police. However, Ambesh was repeatedly changing his statements, which made the police suspicious. Additional Superintendent of Police, City, Ayush Srivastava said that the accused boy confessed to his crime during strict interrogation. The boy told that he married a Muslim girl in Kolkata during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the marriage they also had two children. However, the family was not happy with this marriage. There used to be fights in the house due to inter-religious marriages. The family wanted him to divorce his wife. His wife claimed alimony. He talked to his family about money. His parents refused to give him money. As a result, he became angry on the night of December 8. In anger, he hit both of them over the head with an iron rod. When his father saw this and tried to call someone, he also repeatedly hit him on the head. When her father screamed, she strangled him with a rope. In the basement of the house, where construction work was going on, there were saws and other tools. Ambesh cut the corpses into three pieces with a saw. He then packed both bodies in six cement bags. Then he cleaned the floor with his parents’ clothes. After committing the murders, Ambesh drove his car out of the basement. He kept the bags with the bodies in the trunk. He threw the bags into the river at the Belav bridge, about 7 kilometers from his house. At that time, a piece of his mother’s body did not fit in the bag. Ambesh threw that piece in the Sai River while going to Varanasi. After this Ambesh went to Jaunpur and Varanasi. In Varanasi he wandered on the ghats. Meanwhile, when his sister called Ambesh and asked about his parents, he told that they had gone somewhere and that he was also looking for them. Then, on December 13, his sister Vandana went to the Jafrabad police station. The sister told the police that their parents have been missing since December 8, and their brother, who went looking for them, has also been missing since December 12. Police were looking for all three as it was considered a missing person case. When Ambesh was tracked down through surveillance, the police questioned him about his parents. Ambesh was repeatedly changing his statement, deepening the suspicion of the police. During police interrogation, Ambesh confessed to his crime. During crime scene reconstruction, Ambesh told the police how he committed the incident. Additional superintendent of police (city), Ayush Srivastava, said part of the father’s body was recovered by divers. A team of divers was deployed to search for the remaining body parts.

Elections to 29 local bodies including Municipal Corporation have been announced in Maharashtra. Voting will take place on January 15 and the counting of votes will take place on January 16. Due to this reason, the political temperature increased in the state. Attempts are made to create different political equations. Important signals are also being received regarding NCP and Shiv Sena. An important meeting is going to be held in Mumbai regarding a possible alliance between the two groups. Sunil Tatkare, Praful Patel and Ajit Pawar will be present at this meeting. According to sources, a major decision may be taken tomorrow regarding Sharad Pawar’s alliance. After meetings in Pune today, Ajit Pawar will leave for Mumbai. It is said that after the National Party meeting ends tomorrow, further talks will be held between Sharad Pawar Group and NCP based on the decisions taken there. Both groups see a lot of hope from this meeting and discussions. Shiv Sena holds on to 125 seats Shiv Sena has made its stand clear on the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. In the Vasant Smriti meeting held in Dadar, party officials decided that Shiv Sena will not compromise on less than 125 seats. According to sources, in 2017 Shiv Sena won 84+4 seats on the bow and arrow mark i.e. total 88 seats. Shiv Sena won back all these seats. In 2017, BJP won 82 seats, which are considered as BJP seats. Shiv Sena proposed to divide the remaining seats through mutual negotiations. Party leaders believe that less than 100 seats will be dangerous for Shiv Sena, hence the party is completely determined on 125 seats. Senior leaders also believe that the situation like the assembly elections should not be repeated in the municipal elections. There was resentment between uncle and nephew. Sharad Pawar was angry with Ajit Pawar who left the Nationalist Congress Party and joined BJP. He also expressed it many times. However, meetings have been taking place between the two uncles and nephews for some time now. It is believed that the old grudges are now dying down. For this reason, speculations are made about both of them getting together. Congress protests against the ED office: Congress has made serious allegations against the BJP government regarding the National Herald case. The Congress claims that an attempt was made to defame the Congress party, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, but the court’s decision exposed the lies of BJP. In protest against this, the Mumbai Congress will take out a protest march to the ED office till 1 pm tomorrow. All office bearers, district presidents, civil servants and block presidents have been requested to participate in large numbers. Share this story Tags

An incident has come to light from Chandrapur district of Maharashtra which brings out the scary truth of the debt of moneylenders. A farmer from Minthur village in Nagbhid taluka was forced to sell his kidney to repay his loan. This case not only shows the poor condition of farmers, but also draws attention to serious crimes such as illegal money lending and human organ trafficking. The victim farmer has been identified as Roshan Sadashiv Kude. Roshan Kude has about four hectares of agricultural land through which he supports his family. In the last few years, his financial condition has deteriorated due to repeated crop failures. Farming became a loss-making business, and his debts deepened. To support his family, Roshan Kude decided to start a dairy business along with farming. For this, he borrowed ₹50,000 from two different moneylenders, totaling ₹100,000, and bought milk-yielding cows. But unfortunately the cows died within a short time, and the fields did not produce as expected. The debt pressure increased. It is alleged that the moneylender started coming to her house regularly, insulting and mentally harassing her. Frustrated, Roshan Kude sold his two acres of land, his tractor and household items, but even with that he could not fully repay the loan. Share this story Tags

Today, the fourth match of the five-match T20 series between India and South Africa will be played. Both the teams will face off at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. The Indian team is currently leading the series by 2-1. Hence, Suryakumar Yadav and his team would like to win the match today and clinch the series. On the other hand, the South African team will try to stay in the series. Who has the upper hand in head-to-head matches? India and South Africa have faced each other 34 times in T20 International matches. Of these, India won 20 matches, while South Africa won 13 matches. One match had no result. India have emerged victorious seven times in the last nine T20 matches played between the two teams. India vs South Africa 4th T20 Match Prediction Our match prediction meter shows that India has the upper hand in this match. The South African team can give a tough competition to the Indian team at the Lucknow ground, but India has more chances to win. It won’t be wrong to say the odds are 60-40 in favor of India. Ekana Stadium Pitch Report There is a possibility of cold and fog in Lucknow in the evening. Dew can also be a factor from the start of the game. However, there have not been many scores in the recent T20 matches played at this ground. Fast bowlers initially swing with the new ball, while spinners become more effective as the ball ages. Hence we may see another low scoring match in Lucknow. India’s probable XI for the fourth T20: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey/Washington Sundar, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Chaskravable’s probable fourth for South Africa and Varthy XI. T20: Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Aiden Markram (captain), Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brewis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Marco Jensen, Corbin Bosch, Enrique Nortje, and Otniel Baartman.

The strict attitude of the police against criminals is clearly visible in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Under the zero tolerance policy of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the police, led by SSP Ashish Tiwari, conducted seven consecutive encounters in the last 24 hours. Seven notorious criminals were injured in the fire, while a total of 10 were arrested. These encounters took place in Dehat Police Station, Mirzapur, Mandi, Gagalheri, Deoband, Nakur and Badgaon Police Station areas. After the encounters in Dehat Police Station, Mirzapur and Mandi late on Monday night, criminals had another encounter with the police in the district. This time the notorious criminal became the target of police bullets. On Tuesday evening, the Gagalhedi police station was deployed at the check post on Bhagwanpur Road, Chandpur Marg. Criminals riding a bike without a number plate opened fire on the police. When the bike skidded during the chase, the criminals opened fire again from behind a tree. In retaliation, notorious criminal Nizamuddin alias Nizam, resident of Tarapuri, Meerut, was shot in the leg. The police arrested him, while his accomplice fled by taking advantage of the darkness. About a dozen cases have been registered against Nizamuddin in various districts under the Gangster, Robbery, Theft and Arms Act. Fifth encounter in Deoband After Gagal, the police conducted a major operation in Deoband police station area, in which Danish, a criminal with a reward of Rs 25,000, was injured and arrested. The miscreants opened fire on the police near Thithaki Bridge. In retaliation, Danish was shot in the leg, while his two companions Zafarian and Israr were surrounded and captured. Three pistols, live and empty cartridges and a Honda car were recovered from it. Around two dozen cases have been registered against Danes under Cow Slaughter, Gangster and Arms Act. Sixth encounter in Badgaon: Following this, Israr, carrying a reward of Rs 25,000, who fired at the police during checking near Chandrapur Majbata pigeon door in Badgaon police station area, was injured in an encounter and arrested. His accomplice Ilyas fled the scene and is being searched. A pistol, cartridges and a Splendor motorcycle were recovered from Israr. The accused is facing very serious charges including cow slaughter, hooliganism and Arms Act. Strong message from the police: The ongoing encounter clearly shows that the Saharanpur police are in no mood to spare the criminals. SSP Ashish Tiwari made it clear that there is no place for crime and criminals in the district. Police action will continue as such. Share this story Tags

The main Saudi market index, TASI, faces a number of challenges until the end of the year, the most important of which is the decrease in liquidity rates, as explained by the financial analyst at Al-Sharq, Mohamed Zidan. Zidane pointed out that poor liquidity exacerbated the pace of declines, as the market lost gains made over more than a month within a few weeks. The market is also seeing a decline in risk appetite and a weakening in investor sentiment, given the lack of institutional liquidity at current levels and technical pressures persisting. Adding to the challenges is the absence of any sector supporting the index, as with the exception of the communications sector, no sector managed to deliver regular performance during the year, including the highest-weighted banking sector, which failed to maintain its key levels. Zidane touched on the decline in the energy sector, supported by the drop in oil prices and pessimism about their continued decline in the short term due to the glut of supply, increasing pressure on TASI’s performance.

The United States is preparing to launch a new round of sanctions against the Russian energy sector, aiming to increase pressure on Moscow if President Vladimir Putin refuses to reach a peace deal with Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter. The people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the deliberations, said the United States was considering options including targeting ships belonging to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers used to transport Russian oil, in addition to the traders who facilitate those transactions. Some people added that these new measures could be announced during the first days of this week. They continued that Finance Minister Scott Besent discussed these plans during his meeting with a group of European ambassadors earlier this week. Trump made the final decision. “President Trump is the president of peace, and I reiterated that under his leadership, the United States will continue to prioritize ending the war in Ukraine,” Besant wrote in a post on the “X” platform after the meeting. The people noted that any final decision rests with President Donald Trump. The U.S. Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment submitted outside official business hours.

Within days, a new billionaire has emerged from a Chinese chip company, following a familiar path: learn from an industry giant, then start a solo venture, and continue amid geopolitical tensions between the United States and China. Five years ago, Chen Weiliang ended a 14-year career and left a senior executive position at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to focus on chip startups. MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai, the startup, went public in Shanghai on Wednesday at a valuation of $5.9 billion. After the stock jumped as much as 569% on its first day of trading, the value of Chen’s 55 million shares rose from $824 million to about $5.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. MetaX declined to comment. China’s New Billionaires The story of Chen, 49, rising to the ranks of billionaires takes a path similar to what happened to Moore Threads Technology founder Zhang Jianzhong, a former Nvidia executive whose wealth rose to $4.3 billion after the initial public offering of Moore shares earlier this month. Also Read: China Prepares $70 Billion Incentives To Support Chip Industry Together, the two founders reflect the rise of a new class of billionaires in China, supported by Beijing’s efforts to build a self-sufficient chip supply chain. However, both companies remain vulnerable to geopolitical pressures, significant cash outflows, intense domestic competition and reliance on hardware and equipment, which could quickly put these gains to the test. “In the technology war between China and the US, companies in Beijing’s priority sectors are receiving support well above the usual levels,” said Shen Meng, director of Chanson & Co, a Beijing-based investment bank. “While R&D is an easier issue for founders with experience in the US sector to handle, Chinese companies are still significantly behind large global companies in terms of system, systems and production level performance.” MetaX’s extensive recruitment of top-level engineering talent was a key factor behind its rapid rise, as it allowed Chen to bypass the learning curve typical of startups. Among their first hires were chief technology officers Peng Li, one of China’s first female scientists at Advanced Micro Devices, and Yang Jian. Like Moore, MetaX’s IPO made many people associated with the company rich. The fortunes of Peng and Yang rose to $374.2 million and $369.8 million respectively. Attracting tech talent Chen studied at the China University of Electronic Science and Technology, completed his master’s degree in engineering at Tsinghua University, and attracted a group of former colleagues at Advanced Micro Devices who currently hold key management positions at MetaX, including Chen Yang, Zhou Jun and Wang Ding. Also read: Chips ignite a major power struggle… Who is at the forefront of industry in the world? To maintain this efficiency, Chen used a series of limited partnerships before the IPO, which made a large number of R&D workers rich. In 2024 alone, the company distributed 461 million yuan ($65.5 million) in stock-based compensation to employees, according to the prospectus, the bulk of which went to senior executives. However, more than 80% of the workforce, numbering 870 employees, have indirect stakes through share ownership platforms. According to the offer price, a share that does not exceed 0.017% can be worth one million dollars, making its owner a millionaire. “It’s almost the only way to convince an established candidate to leave an established company,” says Echo Wang, regional director at Hays Shanghai, a technology recruitment company. She added that top talent from large international companies receive top-tier financial packages, and start-ups can usually only compete by offering attractive equity incentives to make up the difference. “Meta Read also: The US artificial intelligence tsar: China rejects NVIDIA H200 chips and supports its domestic chips. Along with giant American chip companies such as NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices, MetaX faces an arena full of domestic competitors, including More, Huawei Technologies, Hygon Information Technology, and Cambricon information technology, and Cambricon matureicon products, and Haigon matureicon products, and Haigon products. relations,” says Matthew Deng, consulting director at BDA China. Meta During the period from 2022 to 2024, the company spent more than 2.2 billion yuan on research and development alone. While revenue jumps strongly and reaches 915 million yuan in the first half of 2025, surpassing the entire previous year’s total, net profitability 1 billion, with a net loss of 1 billion. yuan in 2024. Meta Its position in the face of competing products, such as Huawei’s Ascend chips. A subsidiary of a Beijing-backed group that serves as a main channel for local chips to enter government data centers is another risk that MetaX operates as a chips without factories, but relies on third-party foundries to produce them, as the United States’ ability to tighten pressure on suppliers is subject to trade restrictions, our ability to deliver products could be materially affected,” the prospectus said.

Deepinder Goyal, co-founder of Eternal – the parent company of Zomato – has become India’s number one self-made entrepreneur in 2025 with a valuation of ₹3.2 lakh crore, overtaking Radhakishan Damani of Avenue Supermarts. IDFC FIRST Private Banking and Hurun India released the third edition of their 2025 list on Wednesday, December 17, ranking India’s top self-made entrepreneurs who started their companies after 2000. The list highlights founders behind the nation’s most valuable new age businesses. Here is the complete list of India’s top 10 self-made entrepreneurs, detailing their valuation and the cities in which they are based. 1. Deepinder Goyal – ₹3.2 lakh crore: The founder of Gurugram-based food delivery platform Eternal has made it to the IDFC FIRST Private & Hurun India’s Top 200 Millen200 Self-Made list. first time. 2. Radhakishan Damani – ₹3 lakh crore: The veteran investor behind Avenue Supermarts, ranks second on the list. Damani founded DMart in 2000 and built India’s largest supermarket chain, widely known for its low-cost, high-efficiency model. 3. Rahul Bhatia & Rakesh Gangwal – ₹2.2 lakh crore: The co-founders of InterGlobe Aviation entered the top three this year. InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, dominates India’s aviation market with a domestic market share of over 65%. 4. Abhay Soi – ₹1.1 lakh crore: The promoter, chairman and managing director of Max Healthcare Institute climbed to the fourth position on the list. Abhay Soi’s company is headquartered in Gurugram. 5. Sriharsha Majety & Nandan Reddy – ₹1.06 lakh crore: The co-founders of Swiggy are fifth on the list. The Bengaluru-based platform has expanded its business beyond food delivery to fast-paced commerce through Swiggy Instamart, grocery and essentials. 6. Deep Kalra & Rajesh Magow – ₹94,500 crore: The co-founders of MakeMyTrip are sixth on the list. Based in Gurugram, MakeMyTrip continues to lead India’s online travel booking sector, offering flights, hotels, vacations and corporate travel services. 7. Yashish Dahiya and Alok Bansal – ₹80,300 crore: The founders of Policybazaar built the company since its inception in 2008 with a mission to simplify insurance policy comparisons and combat mis-selling. Recently, the Gurugram-based platform has expanded into digital claims settlement and broader financial services, including loans and mutual funds. 8. Vijay Shekhar Sharma – ₹72,900 crore: The founder of Paytm has made a significant jump to the eighth position, marking a growth of 67% from last year. Headquartered in Noida, Paytm is one of India’s leading digital payments and financial services ecosystems. 9. Falguni Nayar, Adwaita Nayar Nykaa – ₹67,500 crore: The founders of Nykaa also retained their position in the top ten this year. The Mumbai-based company has grown into one of the country’s leading beauty and fashion retail platforms, offering more than 2,400 brands across makeup, skin care, hair care and wellness. 10. Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, Neha Bansal & Sumeet Kapahi – ₹67,000 crore: The co-founders of Gurugram-based eyewear retailer Lenskart made a significant leap to secure the 10th position for the first time, with a valuation increase of 60% from last year.