As the year draws to a close, Rediff's Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya takes a look at the hits and misses, the highs and lows, the newsmakers and the dealbreakers in alphabetical order.
Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov beat China's Wei Yi to win the FIDE World Cup in Panaji on Wednesday, becoming, at 19, the youngest ever player to achieve the feat.
Quite a few films didn't do well, but particularly disappointing were the films that came from the south.
'I'm feeling strong. I am feeling fit, and I am feeling ready to go,'
Only firms that have scale in content and a technology engine that drives its discovery and monetisation can compete,' explains Vanita Kohli Khandekar.
This is India's second whitewash at home under head coach Gautam Gambhir.
What should have been a landmark footballing moment in Kolkata turned into a cautionary tale on Saturday morning, as Lionel Messi's brief appearance at the Salt Lake Stadium was cut short amid crowd mismanagement
This was perhaps a missed opportunity for India to spotlight a core domestic challenge: The scale of workforce preparation required for a young, populous, rapidly growing country seeking to reach net zero, points out Radha Roy Biswas.
'It is the biggest stage and it is the brightest lights. It is a series that could define teams, the people and players within it.'
The rupee plunged 26 paise to an all-time low of 90.75 against the US dollar in intra-day trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company has set a price band of Rs 2,061- Rs 2,165 per share for its Rs 10,600-crore initial public offering (IPO) that will open on Friday. At the upper end of the band, the country's largest asset manager will command a valuation of Rs 1.07 trillion.
From the Sensex firms, Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, Eternal, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the biggest gainers. However, ITC, Bajaj Finance, Titan and Tech Mahindra were the laggards.
Pandya's return from a nearly two-month layoff due left quadriceps injury propelled India to a massive 101-run win against South Africa in the opening T20I in Cuttack on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump, who has campaigned aggressively this year for a Nobel Peace Prize, was given FIFA's inaugural peace prize for his efforts to promote dialogue and de-escalation in some of the world's biggest hotspots.
The 2026 World Cup will kick off-on June 11 with joint-hosts Mexico playing South Africa at the Azteca Stadium - iconic venue of the 1970 and 1986 finals - followed by South Korea against a play-off winner after the complex draw was made on Friday.
Toyota Gazoo Racing, the Japanese car maker's motorsport division, will become title sponsor of the Haas Formula One team next season in a deal that strengthens an existing technical partnership.
Batting great Sunil Gavaskar strongly defended India head coach Gautam Gambhir despite the humiliating 0-2 series whitewash at the hands of South Africa.
'This will split the Marathi and Shiv Sena vote.' 'The BJP has conducted 3 surveys indicating they shall secure 109 seats in the BMC.' 'They do not wish for the Shinde Sena to demonstrate excessive strength in the BMC.' 'If the Thackerays secure 60-70 seats, that will affect Shinde's seats.'
McLaren, who secured the constructors' championship in October for the second year in a row, won both titles in the same season for the first time since 1998.
While this is a thoroughly modern SUV, the soul of the original '90s icon lingers.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the Sports Bill is a key reform aimed at building a "transparent, accountable and world-class sports ecosystem" in India.
The seasoned duo of Meg Lanning and Sophie Devine were also among the marquee picks. Giants bought Devine for Rs 2 crore, while UP Warriorz landed Lanning for Rs 1.90 crore.
'If I were a housewife, it would have been Ok. But I was set in my job and then suddenly I quit.'
Nancy Tyagi's sari-inspired look for Tyla's maiden visit to India is the inspiration moment that aptly blends global glam with desi charm.
US lawmakers have expressed concerns that policies enacted by the Trump administration, such as the H1B visa fee and tariffs on India, are detrimental to American businesses and threaten the relationship between the United States and India.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticizes the government's proposed bill to replace MGNREGA, arguing it weakens the guaranteed 100 days of employment for the poor and centralizes control over the scheme.
Among Sensex firms, Power Grid, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank and Infosys were the biggest laggards. However, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India were among the major gainers.
Pace bowling all-rounders always come at a premium and therefore, the troika of Green, Venkatesh Iyer and West Indies' Jason Holder, all coming at the highest base price of Rs 2 crore (US$220,000), are set to headline the bidding war.
When Chennai-based Wedding Designer Ambika Gupta first received a brief for a destination wedding in Udaipur, she had no idea it would turn into one of the most high-profile celebrations of the season.
Indian private sector and State-run refiners continued to receive crude oil from Russian suppliers even after November 21 -- the winding-down date for US sanctions on supplies from leading Russian oil producers imposed in October -- as new intermediaries sprung up in West Asia to sell the oil, according to senior refining sources and ship tracking data.
'Pick a sum insured that realistically covers major hospitalisation costs in your city.'
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From Rs 73k to over Rs 1.2L between January-December 2025 -- is buying gold in 2026 still sensible?
In the midst of crime and cop shows all over, a family comedy comes as a relief, notes Deepa Gahlot.
India's chances of reaching the World Test Championship finals (WTC) took a major hit as they slipped to the fifth spot in standings following their embarrassing 0-2 series whitewash to South Africa at home.
Following his earlier stint with India, he most recently served as National Head Coach and Technical Lead of Boxing Australia's High Performance Unit.
Jakarta overtakes Tokyo to become the most heavily-populated city in the world, with 42 million inhabitants, according to a November 2025 UN report on megacities.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India rose 18 per cent to $35.18 billion during April-September this fiscal year, while the inflow from the US more than doubled to $6.62 billion during the first half of this fiscal, according to government data released on Monday. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during April-September FY24 stood at $29.79 billion.
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