Quick Reads
News Dabba for 15 December 2025: Five stories for a balanced news diet
Here are the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites.
Indie Journal brings you the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites. Here's a glance through some of the National and International news updates, from Delhi flight cancellations due to smog, Central Govt scrapping MGNREGA, to updates on Australia's Bondi Beach shooting.
100 flights cancelled, 300 delayed due to Delhi smog, NDTV reports
A dense blanket of smog continued to cover Delhi and its adjoining areas on Monday morning as the air quality remained in the 'severe' category, reducing visibility and disrupting flight and train operations, NDTV reports. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital stood at 456 at 6 am, according to the data available on the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) website - making it the season's second-worst AQI. It was 461 on Sunday, the report says, the second-worst air quality day on record. Read the full report here.
Govt set to scrap MGNREGA, to bring Viksit Bharat G Ram G rural job scheme: Hindustan Times
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government will replace the country’s flagship job scheme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) with Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) VB—G RAM G BILL, 2025. Hindustan Times reports that the legislation will establish a “rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. It will be done by providing a statutory guarantee of one hundred and twenty-five days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work; to promote empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation for a prosperous and resilient rural Bharat. Read the full report here.
Chile elects far-right José Antonio Kast as next president, BBC reports
BBC reports that Chile has elected the far-right wing José Antonio Kast to be its next president, after an election campaign that was dominated by themes of security, immigration and crime. Kast beat the governing left-wing coalition candidate Jeanette Jara decisively with more than 58 percent of the vote in his third attempt at running for president. It marks the biggest shift to the right since the end of Chile's military dictatorship in 1990, the report says. Kast has openly praised Chile's former right-wing dictator, Augusto Pinochet. Read the full report here.
Supreme Court allows lawyers to appear virtually as AQI breaches severe mark, India Today
With Delhi’s air quality slipping into the severe to hazardous zone, the Supreme Court has allowed lawyers and litigants to appear via video conferencing instead of attending hearings in person, India Today reports, responding to growing concerns over health risks linked to the deteriorating weather. The Supreme Court registry on Sunday issued a circular advising advocates and parties to make use of the video conferencing facility, wherever convenient, the report says. The advisory follows requests from several senior lawyers who had urged the Chief Justice of India to permit virtual appearances as the air quality index continued to dip sharply. Read the full report here.
Al Jazeera: Australia to discuss gun laws after 15 killed after Bondi Beach shooting
A mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney killed at least 15 people and wounded 40, Al Jazeera reports. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said gun laws would be discussed by the national cabinet today. Police said one attacker, 50, was also killed at the scene; the second, his 24-year-old son, sustained “critical” injuries and remains in hospital. Read the full report here.
