News Dabba for 26 December 2023: Five stories for a balanced news diet

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 the commissioning of INS Imphal, damage to a Russian warship in the Black Sea, to Australian storm.

Russia confirms damage to warship in Black Sea, BBC reports

Russia has confirmed one of its warships has been damaged in a Ukrainian attack on a Black Sea port. BBC reports the airstrike took place at Feodosiya in Russian-occupied Crimea early on Tuesday morning. Russia's Ministry of Defence said the large landing ship Novocherkassk was struck by Ukrainian aircraft carrying guided missiles. The head of the Ukrainian Air Force said earlier its warplanes had destroyed the ship. The report adds that one person was killed in the attack. Read the full report here.

Hindustan Times: Rajnath Singh vows to find drone attacks culprits from 'depth of ocean'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the central government has taken the recent drone attacks on commercial ships in the Arabian sea very seriously and it will find out the culprits even from the depth of the ocean. Hindustan Times reports that he made the remark at the commissioning ceremony of INS Imphal. The Indian Navy has deployed several aircraft and destroyers in the region to maintain a deterring presence, the report adds. Read the full report here.

Australia storm cuts power to 110,000 homes: The Straits Times

Christmas night thunderstorms and strong winds cut power to 110,000 homes in eastern Australia and The Straits Times reports that it toppled a tree that killed one woman. People lost electricity as the storm wrought “catastrophic” damage, downing power lines in Queensland’s capital Brisbane and the Gold Coast area, energy company Energex said. The report quoted the Bureau of Meteorology saying severe thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts, large hail and heavy rainfall were forecast for December 26. Read the full report here.

The Quint on first warship to be named after Northeast city - INS Imphal

The Indian Navy on Tuesday commissioned INS Imphal, The Qiunt reports, an indigenously-built stealth-guided missile destroyer, at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The warship is all set to join the Western Naval Command. It had been delivered to the Navy on 20 October after completing a thorough trial programme both at harbour and at sea. INS Imphal is the first ship to be named after a city in north-east India, the report mentions, and it got approval for the same from the President in 2019. Read the full report here.

NDTV report on fliers from grounded plane who stayed back in France

Over two dozen passengers on board the charter plane held in France for days over suspected human trafficking stayed back despite the aircraft flying out to Mumbai after legal clearances, NDTV reports. These include 20 adults and five minors who have sought asylum in France, but their nationality is not clear. Their applications would be processed at the Paris airport, the report adds. Asylum seekers can't be sent back to their country of origin under international law. Two others questioned by the French police over suspected trafficking stayed back too, but they have received an expulsion order from France. Read the full report here.