In western India, strata of old rocks are providing a glimpse of what may have been a world of heat, a world of creeping continents, and one of giant reptiles. The fossil evidence discovered in Gujarat has attracted scientific notice due to evidence of a snake of extraordinary size that existed during what is loosely defined as the Eocene era, some 47 million years ago. The era is significant from a geological perspective in that it represented one of Earth’s hottest periods in recent geological history, during which “tropical climates covered large regions of Earth’s surface.” Finding proof of an extraordinary snake from an era in which Earth was extremely hot may appear esoteric; nevertheless, it remains significant in an area of scientific research where proof of past existence increasingly depends on interpreting data from fossils.

Patna has joined India’s growing network of high-performance computing hubs with the inauguration of Param Rudra, a state-of-the-art supercomputer installed under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM). The system was formally launched on Friday at IIT Patna, in the presence of senior government officials and academic leaders.

Speaking at the event, Amitesh Kumar Sinha, additional secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, said the installation reflected the steady expansion of India’s supercomputing ecosystem. Under the NSM, he noted, 37 supercomputers have already been deployed nationwide, delivering a combined computing capacity of around 39 petaflops and serving more than 12,000 researchers. A further 10 systems are expected to be installed soon, taking the country’s total capacity beyond 100 petaflops.

China on Friday opened to traffic a 22.13-km-long tunnel, which it claimed to be the "world's longest", in Xinjiang province.

The Tianshan Shengli tunnel, which traverses through the central Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has reduced a treacherous mountain journey of several hours to about 20 minutes, official media reported.

According to Song Hailiang, chairman of China Communications Construction Company, the tunnel has "set two world records".

"It is the longest expressway tunnel in the world and has the deepest vertical shaft for a highway tunnel," Song said.

Tripura Assembly Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen passed away in Bengaluru on Friday (December 26, 2025). He was 72.

Sen was undergoing treatment for some months after suffering a massive cardiac arrest in Agartala. The State government facilitated his shifting to Bengaluru to respect the wishes of his family.

Sen, who had been with the Congress, switched to the BJP ahead of the 2018 Assembly election. He was elected to the Assembly several times from the Dharmanagar constituency in north Tripura.

In a significant move to bolster India's fight against organised crime, terrorism, and extremism, the first-ever weapons database, the 'Lost, Looted and Recovered Firearm' database, was launched in India on Friday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the database prepared by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), India's central anti-terror agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The database was formally dedicated to the nation on Friday when the Union Home Minister launched it during the inaugural session of the 'Anti-Terror Conference-2025, a two-day annual event organised by the NIA.

Mohammad Bakri, a prominent Palestinian actor and director who was known for his work in "Homeland" and the Oscar-nominated 1984 drama 'Beyond the Walls', passed away on December 24 in Israel, reported Variety. He was 72.

CNN and other outlets reported that Bakri had been suffering from heart problems. He was seen in Season 2 of Amazon Prime Video's Biblical drama House of David and the Wonder Project, portraying the King of Edom.

In Punjab, the 150th Shree Baba Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan, the oldest Hindustani classical music festival in the country, is starting from tomorrow evening at Shree Devi Talab Temple, Jalandhar. The festival is being organised in collaboration with the North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC), Patiala of the Union Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India and supported by the state government.

The 3-day festival is dedicated to the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and acclaimed Banaras Gharana vocalist Pt Chhannu Lal Mishra, who passed away in October this year.

Renowned classical music artists like folk vocalist icon Vidushi Malini Awasthi, Pt Sajan Mishara, his son Swaransh Mishra, Pt Ronu Majumdar, Shashank Subramanyam, Ashwini Bhide, Pt Sanjeev Abhyankar, Pt Shubhendra Rao, Saskia Rao-de-Haas, Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, Pt Vijay Ghate, V Selvaganesh, Naveen Sharma and Shikharnaad Qureshi, among others, will perform from 26 to 28 December.

India will take over as a Vice Chair of Kimberley Process from today, before assuming the chairpersonship from 1st January next year. The Kimberley Process is a tripartite initiative involving governments, the international diamond industry and civil society to prevent the trade in conflict diamonds. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India’s selection reflects global trust in the government’s commitment to promoting integrity and transparency in international trade.

As Vice Chair in 2025 and Chair in 2026, India will work closely with all participants and observers to ensure rule-based compliance, enhance its credibility, in line with its core objectives and evolving global expectations, while working towards making the Kimberley Process a more inclusive and effective multilateral framework. The initiative currently has 60 participants accounting for over 99 per cent of the global rough diamond trade, making it the most comprehensive international mechanism governing this sector.

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday released the Constitution of India in the Santhali language at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, marking a significant step towards linguistic inclusion and accessibility.

Addressing the gathering, the President said it was a moment of pride and happiness for the Santhali-speaking community that the Constitution is now available in their own language, written in the Ol Chiki script. She said this would enable SWanthali speakers to read and understand the Constitution more easily and connect more deeply with its values and principles.

The President noted that the release assumes special significance as the country is celebrating the centenary year of the Ol Chiki script. She appreciated the Union Ministry of Law and Justice and its team for bringing out the Constitution in the Ol Chiki script during this milestone year.

When the world is racing on the highway of connectivity, smartphones will be prohibited for married women belonging to a sect of the Jat community in Rajasthan’s Jalore district from Republic Day in 2026. The diktat was issued at a caste panchayat held in Ghazipur village on December 21.

The panchayat ordered that no daughter-in-law or young woman from 15 villages in the Bhinmal-Khanpur area carry camera-enabled mobile phones to weddings, public gatherings, and even while visiting neighbours, from January 26. They can use only basic keypad phones for voice calls.

The Sundhamata Patti panchayat of the Chaudhary clan took the decision “with consensus”, citing concerns of mobile addiction and the impact of screentime on children’s eyesight. Panch Himmataram read out the proposal, which was passed as a resolution after discussions among all panchayat members and elders, who agreed to implement the rule.