Top news of the day: More than 30 likely dead as airliner with 67 onboard crashes in Kazakhstan; one arrested for sexual assault of Anna University student on campus, and more

More than 30 likely dead as airliner with 67 onboard crashes in Kazakhstan; one arrested for sexual assault of Anna University student on campus, and more in top news on december 25, 2024

An Azerbaijani airliner with 67 people onboard crashed Wednesday (December 25, 2024) in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, leaving at least 32 survivors, according to officials. More than 30 people are likely dead.

One of the two men who allegedly sexually assaulted an Anna University student on the campus in Chennai on Tuesday (December 24, 2024) night has been arrested. The accused has been identified as Gnanasekaran, 37, from Kottur.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya raised “serious concerns” on Wednesday (December 25, 2024) over China’s military buildup as he met counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing, Tokyo said. On his first visit to China since becoming Japan’s top diplomat earlier this year, Mr. Iwaya told Mr. Wang that Tokyo was “closely monitoring the Taiwan situation and recent military developments”, according to his Foreign Ministry.

Leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) met at BJP president J.P. Nadda’s residence on Wednesday (December 25, 2024) on the birth centenary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, JD-U leader and Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Apna Dal (S) president and Union minister Anupriya Patel, as well as JD (S) leader and Union minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, were present at the meeting.

Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday (December 25, 2024) said the pending elections to local bodies in the state will be held in March-April 2025 if the Supreme Court gives its decision on the OBC reservation in the first week of January. Addressing a press conference here, he said a hearing on the quota for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) is listed in the apex court in the first week of January.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Wednesday (December 25, 2025) said the State, which has been in the grip of ethnic violence since May last year, needs immediate peace and appealed to two communities to reach an understanding.

Russia launched a massive missile and drone barrage targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Wednesday (December 25, 2024), striking a thermal power plant and prompting Ukrainians to take shelter in metro stations on Christmas morning. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said over 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and over 100 attack drones were used to strike Ukraine’s power sources, in a statement on X.