Musician Anoushka Shankar has criticised Air India after her sitar was damaged during a recent flight. She said she was “devastated” as the airline had charged a handling fee but still failed to protect the instrument. In a video shared on Instagram, she showed cracks on her sitar and said this was the first such incident in more than 15 years of travel. Anoushka questioned how the airline could be so careless, especially with a traditional Indian instrument. Fans and artists, including Zakir Khan and Vishal Dadlani, expressed support. Anoushka recently received multiple Grammy nominations for her new album.

The Trump administration has ordered stricter checks for H-1B visa applicants. A new State Department cable asks US diplomats to review LinkedIn pages and resumes of applicants to see if they worked in areas like content moderation, fact-checking, misinformation tracking or online safety. Officers must check if any applicant took part in restricting speech protected under US law. If so, the visa can be denied. The rule covers all visa types but focuses on H-1B workers, many of whom come from India’s tech sector. Both new and repeat applicants will face this review. (PC: India Today)

India’s World Cup-winning cricketer Richa Ghosh has joined Bengal Police as an assistant commissioner. She reported for duty in her new uniform at Bhabani Bhavan on Wednesday and met state police chief Rajeev Kumar. Richa will serve in the Siliguri Police Commissionerate. She has been appointed as a deputy superintendent of police but given the post of assistant commissioner. The 22-year-old wicketkeeper played a key role in India’s title win, scoring 34 off 24 balls in the final. Bengal Police shared her joining picture on X, calling her a proud addition to the force. (PC: Instagram)

IndiGo has cancelled over 170 flights on December 4, 2025, with nearly 200 additional flights delayed or cancelled across major airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. The disruption is primarily due to a severe shortage of pilots and crew following the implementation of stricter Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms on November 1, requiring longer rest periods and tighter rostering. Technical issues, winter schedule changes, airport congestion, and adverse weather have further compounded the situation. In November alone, IndiGo cancelled 1,232 flights, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and prompting DGCA to summon the airline for explanations. (PC: India Today)

House Oversight Committee Democrats have unveiled previously unseen photos and videos of Jeffrey Epstein’s Little Saint James estate in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The material, captured by authorities in 2020, depicts bedrooms, a dental-chair room with unsettling masks, a study featuring words like “power,” “deception,” and “truth,” and other interiors. The release is intended to increase transparency around Epstein’s operations and pressure the U.S. Department of Justice to publish comprehensive investigative files by the December 19 deadline. The documents highlight the chilling environment within Epstein’s private island estate.

The Indian rupee touched an all-time low of ₹90.41 per U.S. dollar on December 4, 2025, continuing its downward trend this year. Analysts cite three primary reasons for the 4 % decline in 2025: persistent foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows, a widening trade deficit driven by high imports—especially gold—and limited intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Delays in a potential India–US trade deal have also contributed to reduced dollar inflows. The depreciation raises concerns about rising import costs, inflationary pressures, and economic uncertainty for businesses and consumers.

Ukraine has attacked the Druzhba pipeline in central Russia’s Tambov region, marking the fifth strike this year on the key route supplying Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. The strike reportedly involved remote-controlled explosives, though operators in Hungary and Slovakia reported that oil flows remained normal as of Wednesday. Kyiv asserts that such attacks on energy infrastructure are intended to weaken Moscow’s war effort, in response to ongoing Russian strikes on Ukraine. The incident underscores escalating energy-security tensions in Europe amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

A Russian foreign-policy analyst says that for Vladimir Putin the foremost objective in his upcoming engagement with Narendra Modi is to protect the strategic partnership between India and Russia from external interference, notably from Donald Trump’s push on New Delhi to curb Russian energy and defence ties. The analyst argues Moscow views the relationship as a safety-net in a volatile international system—so maintaining it, even under Western sanctions regime, is critical. India’s balancing act between Russia and the West is therefore being framed by Russia as central to its geostrategic interests. (PC: AP)

The U.S. State Department has directed consular officers to review H-1B visa applicants’ employment histories and online activity, especially roles linked to content moderation or censorship of protected speech. A cable dated December 2 instructs officers to flag applicants — and accompanying family members — whose LinkedIn profiles or resumes suggest involvement in misinformation, fact-checking, or online safety operations that restricted free expression. The scrutiny applies to both new and returning applicants, reflecting broader moves under the Donald Trump administration to clamp down on visa access tied to speech-suppression concerns. (PC: India Today)

IndiGo has cancelled over 150 flights and recorded just 35 % on-time performance amid implementation of the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms issued by DGCA. The rules, which came into effect in November, mandate 48 hours of weekly rest, limit night landings to two between midnight and 6 am, and restrict consecutive night duties. The airline blamed the disruptions on a crew shortage, tech glitches and weather, while the DGCA has sought a detailed report. (PC: PTI)