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Israel Katz told Knesset lawmakers on Monday (local time), as reported by Times of Israel. Katz's comments to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee were reportedly made in a closed-door meeting, but leaks of his remarks were reported widely in the Hebrew press. «Israel is closer than ever to another hostage deal,» Katz was quoted as saying.

A statement attributed to «President Bashar al-Assad» and released on the Syrian presidency's Telegram channel on Monday stated that the country «fell into the hands of terrorism.» However, it is pertinent to note that the statement has not been independently verified, according to Al Jazeera. Al-Assad has not made any media appearances since he was granted asylum with his family by Russia.

food prices moderated, official data released Monday showed. The Wholesale Price Index-based inflation was 2.4% in October. A year earlier, it was 0.4%. On an average, wholesale inflation accelerated to 2.1% in fiscal 2024-25 till November, compared with a contraction of 1.3% in the corresponding period last year.

SUV sales are driving the share of diesel with nine out of ten diesel-powered vehicles sold in the country this year being SUVs. This has helped boost the share of diesel in the domestic passenger vehicle market for only the second time in 13 years at a time when the auto fuel is getting increasingly outshined by petrol, CNG and electric vehicles. The share of diesel in total PV sales is estimated at 18% as of the first half of December 2024, up from 17.8% in 2023, according to Jato Dynamics, a market research, data and analytics firm. Diesel vehicle sales climbed to 774,000 units from 738,000 units during this period. SUVs have a 55% share of total car sales this year, up from 48.4% in 2023. This is the second instance since 2011 of diesel improving its share in the Indian passenger vehicle market. It last rose in 2022 to 19% from 13% in 2021.

Bitcoin rose to a record high on president-elect Donald Trump’s support for digital assets and optimism about the upcoming inclusion of MicroStrategy Inc., an accumulator of the token, in a key US stock gauge.

Silo will end after its fourth season. The show is currently airing its second season, and new episodes will continue until January 17, 2025.

Yellowstone'-at least in its original form- has come to an end after five seasons. Viewers tuned into to learn the fate of the Dutton’s family ranch. “Yellowstone” Season 5 Part 2 episode 14 airs on Sunday, Dec. 15, at 8/7c on Paramount Network. While the episode was expected to serve as the series finale, Rip and Beth will continue to ride on after «Yellowstone» ends, as Kelly Reilly (Beth Dutton) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) have reportedly finalized their deals to reprise their characters in a new «Yellowstone» spinoff, reports USA Today. According to reports, Yellowstone will live on in a new form with original cast members returning. ALSO READ: Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2: When and where to watch for free and all-episode guide. Is Season 6 on cards?

Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, and Jennifer Lopez, with a twist, appear to be co-parenting together. Despite the reported tension, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, and Jennifer Lopez all came together for a very endearing co-parenting moment in a genuinely surprising move. The fact that this co-parenting moment was between Lopez's child Emme and Garner and Affleck's child Seraphina, who are reportedly closer than ever even after the divorce, makes it extra-sweet, as quoted in a report by SheKnows.

Centre for Science and Environment. India's urban water crisis could ease if all the wastewater is treated and reused, the report released here on Monday said. Rajiv Kumar Mital, Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), said, «Using and disposing of treated water without harnessing its potential means we are losing out on utilising an important resource. The challenge is to scale up and ensure that the work we do in this sector is impactful.» Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Director General Sunita Narain said India faces significant water scarcity challenges due to rapid urbanisation, industrial growth, population expansion and, most importantly, climate change.

S&P Global said on Monday that its flash manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.3 this month from 49.7 in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a flash reading of 49.8. A PMI reading below 50 indicates contraction in manufacturing, which accounts for 10.3% of the economy. A gauge of production at factories declined to 46.0, the lowest level since May 2020, from 47.9 in November.

Justin Trudeau about the best path forward for Canada. Freeland quit just hours before she was due to present a fall economic update to parliament, a document widely expected to show the Liberal government had run up a much larger 2023/24 budget deficit than planned. «For the last number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds over the best path forward for Canada,» Freeland said in a letter to Trudeau posted on X.

Expansion of the workforce base will also directly stabilise margins with the operating metrics such as utilisation and offshore mix at near peak levels for most software service providers. Experts say this is a key pillar for margin upside and companies are hiring freshers and investing in training facilities to stabilise the pyramid structure after a lull of the past almost two years.

Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) will not have any impact on the commitments signed in a trade agreement between India and the EFTA bloc, a top government official said on Monday. The Swiss government has suspended the most favoured nation (MFN), which could potentially impact Swiss investments in India and lead to higher taxes on Indian companies operating in the European nation. India and the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) signed the agreement in March. Its members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

The Indian-origin entrepreneur posed a simple yet thought-provoking question on X (formerly Twitter): “I think I should get a green card. Wdyt?”. And this wasn't just the only query. Srinivas, a graduate of IIT Madras and PhD holder from UC Berkeley, revealed that he has been waiting for his green card for three years. Known for his sharp, quirky and concise remarks, billionaire Elon Musk replied to the post with a straightforward “Yes.” The exchange quickly gained traction, with netizens, industry leaders, and Musk’s followers weighing in on the broader issue of US immigration policies.

carbon monoxide poisoning, local media reported, citing police. The Indian mission in Tbilisi said that all 12 victims were Indian nationals. However, Georgia's internal affairs ministry statement said 11 were foreigners while one victim was its citizen. It added that the bodies of all victims, employees in the same Indian restaurant, were found in bedrooms on the second floor of the facility.

Tata Steel has rolled out an all-women shift at its Noamundi iron mine in Jharkhand. This shift will comprise women employees for all the mining activities of the shift including Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM), shovel, loader, drill, dozer operators, and shift supervision. «This initiative, India’s first, underscores the company’s unwavering commitment to creating an equitable workplace and empowering women in traditionally male-dominated industries,» the company stated in a press release. “This all-women shift represents a landmark achievement not only for Tata Steel but also for the Indian mining industry....We are proud to lead this change and will continue to create more opportunities for women specially in our mining ecosystem. This initiative marks a significant addition to the 100 glorious years of mining at Noamundi," D B Sundara Ramam, vice president, raw material, Tata Steel said as stated in the release.

Ashton Kutcher shared a close friendship marked by frequent partying. However, their bond changed when Kutcher's relationship with Demi Moore began, leading to the end of their clubbing days, as per reports. In the early 2000s, Combs and Kutcher, alongside Jamie Foxx, regularly went out together. Combs described them as a modern-day «rat pack» with shared nights at clubs and entertainment events. The dynamic shifted in 2003 when Kutcher began seeing Demi Moore. Combs recalled an early conversation where Kutcher expressed that he had fallen in love with Moore. After this, their regular outings stopped, media reports said.

Therefore, any comprehensive regulatory framework on the subject can be effective only with significant international collaborations on evaluation of the risks and benefits and evaluation of common taxonomy and standards, Minister of State for Finance Pakaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. Further, he said, the need to balance investor protection and innovation must be assessed in light of the broader objective of protecting the Indian economy from the risks posed by the VDA sector while maintaining the financial and monetary stability of the economy.

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A few days ago, Signzy, a popular Know Your Customer (KYC) verification service used by India’s top banks and fintech firms, was affected by a cyber attack that may have exposed the sensitive personal information of millions. Our lack of safeguards for data that businesses collect and process is an urgent problem waiting to be addressed.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition collapsed in November, but some laws could still be passed before an early election in February. The departure from the coalition of the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) deprived Scholz's government of its parliamentary majority and left in limbo dozens of laws the coalition had been scheduled to pass in its remaining time. However, the FDP signalled on Friday its support for passing certain laws that were already well advanced through the legislative process and in which the party was deeply involved.