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At least 16 people, including a child, were killed and around 40 others hospitalised in a deadly shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach during a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, the first day of the Jewish festival. The incident occurred during a “Chanukah by the Sea” event at the Bondi Park Playground. Sunday marked the first day of Chanukah, also known as Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights. https://mybs.in/2esQCEV

The Centre has proposed a raft of big changes to the MGNREGA -- apart from renaming it -- as it seeks to increase the mandatory work days from 100 to 125, while altering the current funding structure which shifts a portion of the financial responsibility to the states. The funding pattern between the Centre and state will change to 60:40 as against the existing maximum 90:10 under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (GRAMIN) or VB- G RaM G. https://mybs.in/2esQCHE

Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows. https://mybs.in/2esQCFj

Delhi woke up to dense fog on Monday, sharply reducing visibility and slowing early-morning traffic across the city. With no relief in sight, residents found themselves enveloped in a thick layer of smog as air quality remained firmly in the ‘severe’ category. https://mybs.in/2esQCEw

Markets With BS | From Swiggy to Tata Elxsi, here are a few stocks likely to be in focus today Take a look https://mybs.in/2esQCEZ

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India's IndiGo on Friday estimated a payout of more than 5 billion rupees ($55.19 million) in total to customers impacted by the carrier's mass cancellations last week. The airline had scrapped around 4,500 flights last week because of poor pilot roster planning, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded, following which it was directed by the civil aviation regulator to cut 10% of its domestic winter schedule. Details: https://mybs.in/2esPGf2

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has allocated portfolios of newly created departments among ministers, keeping Civil Aviation with himself, an official notification said. The Bihar cabinet on December 9 approved proposals to create three new departments -- Youth, Employment and Skill Development Department, Higher Education Department and the Civil Aviation Department -- and changed the names of three other departments. Read more: https://mybs.in/2esPGjN

Nepal is preparing to permit the circulation of Indian currency notes above ₹100, nearly a decade after high-denomination notes were banned in the Himalayan nation, according to a report by The Kathmandu Post. “We are in the final stages. We are preparing to publish the notice in the Nepal Gazette, and will then issue circulars to banks and financial institutions about the new rule,” Guru Prasad Poudel, spokesperson for the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), was quoted as saying. https://mybs.in/2esPGi4

The Commission for Air Quality Management on Saturday invoked stricter Grap Stage-III restrictions, including shifting schools to hybrid mode up to Class 5 and restrictions on construction and demolition work, in Delhi-NCR after pollution levels rose sharply amid unfavourable meteorological conditions. The national capital's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 349 but jumped to 401 by 10 am on Saturday, "owing to slow wind speed, stable atmosphere, unfavourable weather parameters and meteorological conditions and lack of dispersal of pollutants", the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said in a statement. https://mybs.in/2esPGhm

Lunch With BS | "There are many things to pick from, but one can only choose a few,” says Razorpay cofounder Harshil Mathur, who takes Ajinkya Kawale and Shivani Shinde through the payment aggregator's journey, its challenges, his vision for it, and where his optimism comes from. Read here: https://mybs.in/2esOnFi

Book Review | The Serpent's Tale: A book on Kundalini Yoga's texts and institutions The book looks at the textual sources and examines the gurus and the institutional frameworks that have come up around Kundalini Yoga. Read the full review by Arundhati Dasgupta 👇 https://mybs.in/2esOnGO

The government informed Parliament that widely cited global air quality indices (like IQAir, WHO, and EPI) are not conducted by any official authority and are advisory, not legally binding. India uses its own comprehensive National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), notified in 2009 for 12 pollutants, tailored to fit the country's unique geography and socio-economic factors. So what are India’s official air quality standards? Read here: https://mybs.in/2esOmwV

A coalition of 19 US states, led by California and Massachusetts, is preparing to sue the Trump administration over its recently announced $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications, aiming to block the policy before it takes effect. Read more: https://mybs.in/2esPGft

Opinion | There’s much to blame IndiGo for, but its greatest crime is to have made the government appear as a saviour in the face of furious public opinion—the same government that ran Air India and Indian airlines as monopolies and ran them into the ground and lived through multiple aircraft-purchase scandals. ✍️ Shekhar Gupta for today's BS Opinion https://mybs.in/2esOnFM

Datanomics | Auto components, telecom parts drive India exports to Mexico India exported goods worth $3.17 billion to Mexico in the first seven months of FY26—a Y-o-Y fall of 10%. Read the full piece by Yash Kumar Singhal 👇 https://mybs.in/2esOn5I

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The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a proposal to allow 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, according to a senior government official on condition of anonymity. “This is a move aimed at accelerating capital inflows and expanding coverage in one of the world’s fastest-growing insurance markets. The Cabinet has today approved the 100 percent FDI,” said the official. https://mybs.in/2esOnAT