Top 10 world news: RBI receives bomb threat, Russia confirms damage to warship by Ukraine, and more

New Delhi, India

In the latest, security agencies quickly responded after being notified of a potential explosion behind the Israeli Embassy situated in the Chanakyapuri district of Delhi, which is the diplomatic hub of the capital city. Additionally, RBI, HDFC, and ICICI banks in Mumbai received email bomb blast threats, demanding an urgent resignation from the Indian finance minister. In other news, Russia has acknowledged that its warship was attacked by Ukraine. 

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India: Bomb blast scare near Israel Embassy, security agencies on toes

Security agencies were on their toes after receiving an alert about an alleged blast behind the Israeli Embassy located in the Chanakyapuri area of Delhi, the diplomatic neighbourhood of the capital. 

Russia acknowledges damage to warship in Black Sea by Ukraine

Russia has officially acknowledged the damage inflicted on one of its warships during a Ukrainian airstrike on a Black Sea port.

Israel mulling over increasing defence spending by US$8 billion in 2024

Israel's finance ministry is apparently planning to increase defence spending by at least 30 billion shekels ($8.3 billion) next year amid the ongoing war against Hamas, Bloomberg reported. 

Plane with Indians grounded in France lands in Mumbai, only 276 passengers return

The airplane with around 300 Indian passengers on board detained near Paris over suspicions of human trafficking landed in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday (Dec 26) at 4 am.

"The plane, which had been grounded since Thursday, departed shortly after 14:30 pm (local time),” BFM TV, a French news broadcast television and radio network, reported.

Relief for Imran Khan's party: Peshawar High Court restores PTI's 'bat' election symbol

Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) will be breathing easy after the Peshawar High Court on Tuesday (Dec 26) suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) declaration of the PTI’s intra-party polls as unconstitutional whilst calling for revocation of the party's 'bat' election symbol. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s YouTube channel crosses 20 million subscribers; highest among global leaders

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the first world leader whose YouTube channel has crossed the 20 million (two crore) subscribers mark. Regarding views and subscribers, PM Modi has far surpassed the YouTube channels of his Indian and global contemporaries. 

TikTok users more likely to subscribe to pro-China views: Research

A new research published by Taiwan's Information Environment Research Centre (IORG) has revealed that people using the short-video app Douyin, the Chinese-language version of TikTok are more likely to subscribe to views in favour of the communist Chinese government. 

India: Email bomb threat sent to RBI, HDFC, ICICI banks in Mumbai, authorities investigate

The Mumbai Police said on Tuesday (Dec 26) that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other banks, including the HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank in the city, received a bomb threat. In an email, the sender said bombs were planted at 11 different locations across Mumbai. 

India vows to find out culprit behind drone attack on merchant ships off its coast, take strict action

India vowed on Tuesday (Dec 26) to find out who was behind the drone attack on merchant navy ships of its coast even if it makes it search "depths of seas". Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the government has taken the drone attack very seriously. He was speaking in Mumbai during the commission ceremony of an Indian Navy warship.

Turkey: Luxury cars seized from criminal gangs turned into traffic police vehicles

The Turkish police is making the best use of resources it has confiscated from crime organisations. According to the country's interior ministry, as many as 23 luxury cars seized by Istanbul police have been converted to traffic police vehicles to maintain the law and order situation.