Haryana Steelers produced an outstanding display on the mat to beat Patna Pirates 32-23 and clinch their maiden Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) crown in Pune on Sunday. With show-stopper Mohammadreza Shadloui in full flow, Haryana Steelers won the final with consummate ease. For Haryana Steelers, Shivam Patare scored nine points, Shadloui seven and Vinay added six more. The champions were awarded Rs 3 crore, while the runners-up got Rs 1.8 crore.

Haryana Steelers were off to a quick start, picking up the first few points and the lead in the early exchanges. Devank and Ankit put up a dogged fight Patna Pirates, but Haryana Steelers kept dictating terms and controlling the tempo, with Shivam Patare and Shadloui doing the heavy lifting.

Haryana Steelers' defence, led by Jaideep and Rahul Sethpal, showed why it considered one of the best units in the competition, as it made scoring extremely difficult for Patna Pirates. However, as the half progressed, Gurdeep and Sudhakar brought Patna Pirates within touching distance of their opponents. Devank and Ayan then levelled things up, before Shivam Patare and Vinay put Haryana Steelers in the box seat. At the half-time break, Haryana Steelers led 15-12.

Former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili was formally inaugurated as President of Georgia on Sunday (December 29, 2024), cementing the ruling party's grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.

Outgoing pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said Sunday (December 29, 2024) morning that she would vacate her residence at the Orbeliani Palace in Tbilisi, but insisted she was still the legitimate office holder.

“I will come out of here, come out to you and be with you.... This presidential residence was a symbol as long as there was a President here who was legitimate. I bring legitimacy with me,” Ms. Zourabichvili told a crowd of supporters outside the palace.

The Indian Army has recently unveiled a grand statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Pangong Tso in Ladakh near the India-China border, a move that has drawn both praise and criticism.

Installed by the Fire and Fury Corps on December 26, the statue honours the legendary Maratha king, celebrated for his courage and foresight. While the installation underscores India's strategic and cultural presence in the contested region, it has also sparked controversy over its relevance to Ladakh's heritage and ecology.

Pangong Tso, a picturesque yet strategically vital high-altitude lake in eastern Ladakh, has long been a flashpoint in India-China relations. The lake gained prominence during the 2020 standoff, when both nations’ forces engaged in intense confrontations along its banks.

Jimmy Carter, a champion of peace, global health, and human rights, has left an indelible mark on the world. As the 39th President of the United States, he played a pivotal role in brokering peace in the Middle East during his tenure from 1977 to 1981.

Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Ind., mayor, Pete Buttigieg, left, and his husband Chasten Buttigieg, second from the right, meet with former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter at the Buffalo Cafe in Plains, Ga., March 1, 2020.

The 2024-25 edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) is set to begin tomorrow with Rourkela, Odisha, serving as one of the host cities. The opening match will feature Delhi SG Pipers facing off against Gonasika at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela. Seven teams have already arrived in the city in preparation for the tournament. The men’s league will be played in two phases. Phase One will run from the 28th of December to the 18th of January, with each team competing once. Phase Two will begin on January 19, where teams will be split into two pools and play against the others in their respective pools. The top four teams from this phase will progress to the semifinals, set for the 31st of January, 2025. While four matches will be held in Ranchi, all other games will occur in Rourkela. The final match of the league is scheduled for the 1st of February, 2025. Hockey fans in Odisha and across India eagerly anticipate a thrilling tournament filled with top-level action.

The pair of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka, who finished fourth in the Paris Olympics, rounded off a successful year by clinching the Skeet Mixed Team national title for their home state of Rajasthan. In the final held at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range (DKSSR) on Wednesday, as part of the ongoing 67th National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC) for Shotgun events, the duo secured a tight 44-43 victory over Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Areeba Khan of Uttar Pradesh (U.P). Punjab's Ganemat Sekhon and Abhay Singh Sekhon took bronze.

Earlier in the day, three 25-shot round totals of 72 and 71 by Maheshwari and Anantjeet, respectively, ensured their spot in the gold medal match as the toppers of the seven-team qualification round.

The bald eagle, a symbol of the power and strength of the United States for more than 240 years, earned an overdue honor. It officially became the country’s national bird. President Joe Biden signed into law legislation sent to him by Congress that amends the United States Code to correct what had long gone unnoticed and designate the bald eagle – familiar to many because of its white head, yellow beak and brown body – as the national bird.

The bald eagle has appeared on the Great Seal of the United States, which is used in official documents, since 1782, when the design was finalized. The seal is made up of the eagle, an olive branch, arrows, a flag-like shield, the motto “E Pluribus Unum” and a constellation of stars.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal launched the Dr Ambedkar Samman Scholarship scheme for Dalit students ahead of the upcoming Delhi assembly elections.

His announcement comes after a row erupted in parliament over union home minister Amit Shah's allegedly “disrespectful” remarks on the father of the constitution.

Addressing a rally, Kejriwal stated that if AAP wins the assembly polls in February next year, the Delhi government will fund the education of foreign-bound Dalit students through the Dr Ambedkar Samman Scholarship.

Aisake Valu Eke was elected as Prime Minister of Tonga on Tuesday, Radio Nukualofa reported.

He will replace Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni, who resigned on December 9.

Valu Eke, who will be officially sworn in as Prime Minister in February, was first elected to parliament in 2010 and served as minister of finance between 2014 and 2017. He will be in office for less than a year before the South Pacific island nation of 105,000 people holds its next election in November 2025.

China has approved the construction of the world's largest dam, stated to be the planet's biggest infra project costing $137 billion, on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet close to the Indian border, raising concerns in riparian states — India and Bangladesh.

The Chinese government has approved the construction of a hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, the Tibetan name for the Brahmaputra, according to an official statement quoted by state-run Xinhua news agency on Wednesday (December 25, 2024).

The dam is to be built at a huge gorge in the Himalayan reaches where the Brahmaputra river makes a huge U-turn to flow into Arunachal Pradesh and then to Bangladesh.

The total investment in the dam could exceed one trillion yuan ($137 billion), which would dwarf any other single infrastructure project on the planet including China’s own Three Gorges Dam, regarded as the largest in the world, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Thursday.