A woman in Andhra Pradesh's West Godavari district was shocked on receiving a parcel containing the body of an unidentified person.

The horrific incident was reported from Yendagandi village in Undi mandal of West Godavari district.

A woman, identified as Naga Tulsi, had submitted an application to the Kshatriya Seva Samithi for financial help to construct the house. The Samithi had sent tiles to the woman.

She again petitioned the Kshatriya Seva Samithi for further help in construction. The Samithi had reportedly promised to provide electricity appliances. The applicant had received a message on WhatsApp that she would be provided items like lights, fans, and switches.

A person delivered a box to the woman at her doorstep on Thursday night and left after informing her that it contained electrical appliances.

As mercury dropped to minus 6.2 degrees Celsius on Friday, J&K's Srinagar city recorded the season's lowest minimum temperature.

MET Department officials said that at minus 6.2 degrees Celsius, Srinagar city recorded the lowest minimum temperature of this season so far.

Gulmarg had minus 6 degrees Celsius while Pahalgam recorded minus 8.2 degrees Celsius as the night's lowest temperature.

Jammu city registered a minimum temperature of 6.9 degrees Celsius, Katra 6 degrees Celsius, Batote 1 degree, Banihal minus 3.8 degrees, and Bhaderwah minus 1.6 degrees.

The MET office has forecast light snow in the higher reaches between December 21 and 22, while generally cold and dry weather is likely to continue in J&K until December 28.

Despite the absence of rainwater on the streets, slippery road conditions prevented people from venturing out of their homes in the morning in Srinagar and other towns in the Valley.

As many as four people were burnt alive and 30 were critically injured as a truck hit a tanker full of chemicals in front of the Delhi Public School in Jaipur on Friday morning. The impact of the collision was such that the tanker burst and the chemicals spread all around and caught fire.

More than 20 vehicles caught fire in the accident on the Ajmer Highway. A sleeper bus running behind the tanker also got incinerated.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma reached SMS Hospital and spoke to the doctors regarding the condition of the injured.

The tanker full of chemicals caught fire after being hit by a truck near Pushparaj Petrol Pump near Bhankrota on Ajmer Road in the capital at around 5.30 A.M. on Friday.

Demolition of some shops by the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) triggered tension and protest at Alkapur Colony in the Manikonda area of the state capital on Thursday.

Teams of HYDRAA carried out the demolition of shops attached to Anuhar Morning Raga Apartments following complaints by residents.

Shopkeepers had heated arguments with the HYDRAA officials and staged a protest at the site. They questioned how their shops could be demolished when they have been paying lakhs of rupees as tax to the Manikonda municipality.

Grocery, fruit, and vegetable shops on the apartment’s ground floor were demolished. The shopkeepers claimed that the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) had given permission to them in 2016. They claimed that there were no deviations in setbacks, floors, or parking provisions.

At minus 6 degrees Celsius on Thursday, Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K) Srinagar city recorded the lowest minimum temperature of the season so far as severe cold swept across the Valley.

MET Department officials said that the minimum temperature dropped to minus 6 degrees Celsius on Thursday in Srinagar city, which is the lowest recorded this season so far.

“Srinagar recorded minus 6, Gulmarg minus 5 and Pahalgam minus 6.8 as the minimum temperature today. “Jammu city had 5.1, Katra 6.6, Batote 2.5, Banihal minus 1.9 and Bhaderwah minus 0.6 as the minimum temperature.

“Due to a clear night sky, the temperatures are likely to drop till the evening of December 21 when a feeble Western Disturbance is expected to result in light snowfall in the higher reaches of J&K”, MET officials said.

Five terrorists were killed and 2 Army soldiers injured on Thursday in a fierce gunfight in J&K’s Kulgam district.

Officials said that five terrorists were killed and two soldiers injured in a fierce encounter between the joint forces and holed up terrorists in Kadder village of Behibagh area of Kulgam district today.

This is the largest number of terrorists killed in a single operation by the security forces in J&K in 2024.

“Joint forces including 34 Rashtriya Rifles, police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) started a CASO (Cordon & Search Operation) in Kadder village after receiving information about a group of terrorists hiding inside the village.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality in India's capital, Delhi, has plummeted to hazardous levels, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 448 at 7 A.M. on Thursday. The situation in the National Capital Region (NCR) cities also remains critical, with Haryana's Faridabad at 289, Gurugram at 370 and Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad at 386, Greater Noida at 351, and Noida at 366.

In Delhi, most areas are grappling with severe air pollution, with AQI levels ranging between 400 and 500 which falls in the 'severe plus' category.

Alarming figures have been reported from Anand Vihar (478), Ashok Vihar (472), Bawana (454), Burari Crossing (473), Mathura Road (467), Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range (451), Dwarka Sector 8 (460), ITO (475), Jahangirpuri (478), and Punjabi Bagh (476). Other notable locations include Nehru Nagar (485), Rohini (470), Vikas Marg (466), and Vivek Vihar (475).

These figures indicate hazardous air quality, which poses severe health risks to residents, particularly vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and those with respiratory conditions.

An encounter has started between security forces and terrorists in the Kadder area of South Kashmir's Kulgam district, the police said on Thursday.

"Encounter has started at Kadder area of Kulgam district. Police and security forces are on the job," police said.

The operation started after a joint team of police and security forces received input about the presence of terrorists in that area.

There have been a series of encounters between terrorists and security forces across Jammu and Kashmir in the recent past in which many terrorists and their commanders have been eliminated. Security forces have also taken casualties.

ension grew in a village near the Indi-Bangladesh border at Dinhata subdivision in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district on Wednesday after some construction workers recovered a Pakistani mortar shell while digging.

When one of the construction workers first noticed the shell, he mistook it as some ordinary explosive and panicked.

The local police and Border Security Force (BSF) were informed.

At least one person is reported drowned and another 66 rescued among 80 tourists aboard a private ferry boat in a suspected collision with another vessel near the Gateway of India, officials said here on Wednesday.

The maritime disaster happened around 5.15 p.m. when the launch with around 56 tourist passengers was sailing from the iconic Gateway of India to the UNESCO Heritage Elephanta Islands.

According to the Joint Operations Command (JOC) and BMC, the ferry boat, ‘Neelkamal’ suddenly wobbled and overturned near Uran, Karanja. Videos of the tragedy, clicked by passengers from other ferries showed gruesome sights of people screaming for help, flaying their arms and legs to remain afloat or attempting to hold their near and dear ones from sinking in the Arabian Sea waters.

On receiving the information of the disaster, the Indian Navy’s four helicopters, the Marine Police, the Indian Coast Guard, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, along with local fishers and other ferry boats launched a massive rescue effort to save the tourists.