Don’t have time to keep a tab on news throughout t the day? CNN News18 brings you the day’s top news and newsmakers in less than 3 minutes! Here are today’s top picks: EC recommends disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs

SPORTS

For an athlete, nothing can be worse than a career threatening injury and when it happens at the biggest stage of them all - the Olympics - it can sometimes break him or her down, mentally more than physically. Vinesh Phogat was 21 and among India's brightest hopes of a medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics when disaster struck. Phogat dislocated her knee in the quarter-final bout against China's Sun Yanan and was stretchered off the mat in agonizing pain. But now she is back on the mat and aims to give her 100% in the tournaments she plays in future.

ENTERTAINMENT

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a PIL to block the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie Padmaavat. “We have to function as a constitutional court. Can't block a movie from screening,” said a bench of the apex court. The PIL, filed by lawyer ML Sharma, question the Censor Board’s certificate to the Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor starrer. He claimed there could be murders and arson if the film is released. Rejecting Sharma’s argument, the SC said law and order was a job of the states. “Won't re-hear the case. We have rejected even states’ objections and have decided that a ban isn't permissible,” the court said. The Supreme Court had cleared Bhansali’s film and suspended the ban orders by four states on Thursday.

TECH

To help businesses communicate better with their customers globally including in India, WhatsApp on Thursday launched "WhatsApp Business" - a free-to-download Android app for small businesses. The new app will make it easier for companies to connect with customers, and more convenient for its 1.3 billion users to chat with businesses that matter to them.

Don’t have time to keep a tab on news throughout t the day? CNN News18 brings you the day’s top news and newsmakers in less than 3 minutes! Here are today’s top picks: States can’t ban Padmaavat, Karni Sena threatens agitation

SPORTS

The bane of match-fixing has reared its head again and this time it has tried to bring Indian football in its clutches. A couple of players from the I-league club Minerva Punjab were approached by bookies to fix matches in exchange for Rs 30 lakh in each case. One of the players is Indian while the other is a foreigner according to the owner Ranjit Bajaj. The club has reported the matter to the AIFF and the AFC and will also be filing an FIR.

ENTERTAINMENT

Former CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani has hailed the Supreme Court decision to lift the ban imposed by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana on the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period film Padmaavat. Describing the Supreme Court's judgment as a “historical” decision for the film industry, Nihalani told News18.com, “It's completely wrong that some people are trying to ban the film even after it has got clearance from the CBFC. There's a Cinematography Act of 1952 which clearly says that if a film gets a certificate from the CBFC then it's the job of the state to take care of the law & order situation. And I think Supreme Court has given the judgement according to that.” Nihalani further said the Supreme Court ruling is an eye-opener for all those organisations that held protests against the film and that “it’s the responsibility of the state government to provide full security for a safe release of the film.

TECH

Microsoft on Wednesday announced that its 2-in-1 detachable Surface Book 2 is coming to all Surface markets, including India. Pre-orders for the 15-inch Surface Book 2 began on Wednesday in countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Britain. "Later in the year, 13-inch and 15-inch Surface Book 2 will be rolled out to China, Hong Kong and India, among others," Microsoft wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.

Auto

Maruti Suzuki has officially opened the bookings of the 2018 Swift for a token price of Rs 11000. The new Swift will be launched at the 2018 Auto Expo in February and will be offered in 6 colors, including 1 new orange paint. This is the 1st time that the Maruti Swift will be offered with an automatic gearbox. A total of 4 variants, 2 each for petrol and diesel will get the AGS gearbox, while the rest 4 will come with manual gearbox.

Don’t have time to keep a tab on news throughout t the day? CNN News18 brings you the day’s top news and newsmakers in less than 3 minutes! Here are today’s top picks: ‘Top Gun’ Niramala Sitharaman flies in Sukhoi, Defence Minister takes off on Su-30 MKI from Jodhpur, Move to take stock of Indian Air Force’s operational preparedness.

SPORTS

On the fifth and final day of the Centurion Test between South Africa and India, Cheteshwar Pujara needed to be the central figure for his team as they aimed to chase 287 to keep the series alive. But what happened in the early part of the morning session was quite the opposite as Pujara ran himself out. The right hander’s dismissal in this fashion in the second innings means, he now has the unenviable record of being the only Indian batsman to have been run out in both innings of a Test match. The last time a batsman was run out in both innings was New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming in 2000. Pujara's now also becomes the 25th batsman to be be run out in both innings of a Test match.

ENTERTAINMENT

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Padmaavat continues to be embroiled in controversy even as its filmmakers move the Supreme Court to act against the individual bans on the film being instituted by states. So far four states have banned the release of the film.

TECH

Huawei's sub-brand Honor has launched its latest smartphone Honor 9 Lite in India today. The new Honor Lite will go on sale on January 21, exclusively via Flipkart. The device will be available in two variants, 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM with 64GB internal storage for Rs 10,999 and Rs 14,999 respectively. The smartphone was previously launched in China and is the second major launch by the brand in India this year after the launch of Honor View 10. Honor 9 Lite comes with a quad camera setup, an 18:9 edge-to-edge display, Android 8.0 and a sleek glass unibody design.

Don’t have time to keep a tab on news throughout the day? CNN News18 brings you the day’s top news and newsmakers in less than 3 minutes! Here are today’s top picks: Judges talk of danger to democracy, Justice J Chelameswar says could not convince CJI, Cases of murder of Justice Loya and MCI scam probable reasons

ENTERTAINMENT:-

On Thursday, while in a meeting with bipartisan lawmakers about immigration reform, Trump referred to El Salvador, Haiti and a handful of African nations as "s-thole countries," questioning why the US could not receive more immigrants from places like Norway. Late Night TV Shows ' Hosts took a jibe calling him racist and well... Trump. While Kimmel noted that now Americans have to get pitchforks and chase him out of the White House, Meyers dedicated a new section to his outrageous comment called, "Seth Has to Walk Away for a Minute", leaving his desk while mumbling under his breath. Celebrated Late Night host Stephen Colbert blasted the US President by stating that those countries couldn't be s**tholes "for one, Donald Trump isn't their President.

SPORTS:-

A day before the second Test between India and South Africa begins in Centurion, Cricketnext spoke exclusively to the curator at the stadium Bryan Bloy who believes the visitors will be welcomed with pace, bounce and lateral movement in the second Test. The South African pacers are in for a treat. Indian batsmen will definitely have their task cut-out with pace and bounce not being something that Virat Kohli and his boys are too comfortable against.

TECH:-

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its 100th satellite from the port of Sriharikota on Friday morning, the space agency’s last lift-off under the chairmanship of AS Kiran Kumar. On its 42nd mission, ISRO trusted workhorse 'PSLV-C40' carried the weather observation 'Cartosat-2' series satellite and 30 co-passengers (together weighing about 613 kg) at 9.28 am. The 30 other satellites comprise one micro and nano satellite each from India as well as three micro and 25 nano satellites from six countries.

Don’t have time to keep a tab on news throughout the day? CNN News18 brings you the day’s top news and newsmakers in less than 3 minutes! Here are today’s top picks: Aijaz Ahmed Mir says militants’ deaths shouldn’t be celebrated, Martyrdom of security forces saddens me too, says MLA

ENTERTAINMENT:-

Weeks after CBFC suggested to change the name of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus Padmavati to Padmaavat, the makers have officially accepted the suggestion. The makers have changed the name on all social media sites, namely Twitter and Instagram, and are expected to change the same in the official poster, trailer and released songs as well.

SPORTS:-  

Cameron White will fancy playing his first one-day international in three years after replacing the injured Chris Lynn in the Australia squad for the five-match series against England beginning on Sunday. A calf injury to explosive batsman Lynn opened an unlikely door for 34-year-old White, who played the last of his 88 ODIs in 2015 in Hobart. Melbourne hosts the first one-dayer between the Ashes rivals, before the series moves on to Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.

TECH:-

Smartron has expanded its smartphone portfolio with the launch of t.phone P. The smartphone comes as the third offering by the company and features a full metal body and a massive 5000 mAh battery. The company claims to have focussed on the build quality, performance as well as aesthetics of the smartphone. Priced at Rs 7,999, the smartphone will be up for sale starting January 17, exclusively on Flipkart in a Flash sale at 12 pm.

Don’t have time to keep a tab on news throughout the day? CNN News18 brings you the day’s top news and newsmakers in less than 3 minutes! Here are today’s top picks: Decision taken at Cabinet Meeting, Govt. allows 49% FDI in Air India

ENTERTAINMENT:-

After a hush-hush wedding ceremony in the Italian city of Tuscany, two grand receptions in Delhi and Mumbai and an extended honeymoon in Cape Town, Anushka Sharma is back in the bay. The actor, who has resumed the shoot of Aanand L Rai's film Zero, co-starring Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif, on Tuesday took to Twitter to share the motion poster of her another upcoming movie Pari- Not A Fairytale. Given it's a first horror film for Anushka, the motion poster looks even intriguing. In the 18-second snippet, the actor can be seen staring at the camera with blood flowing out of her eyes and hideous injuries taking over her skin. Being directed by debutant Prosit Roy, Pari happens to be Anushka's third production after NH10 and Phillauri. The film is slated for a Holi release on March 2, 2018.

SPORTS:-

Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown is India and is playing for the Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League. The former England man feels it is important that India quickly sort out the issues in the domestic circuit and build one single league. The defender who believes it is important to initiate youngsters into the sport at the age of 5 or 6, just like it happens with cricket, says that a strong domestic structure is important to raise standards in the future.

TECH:-

Samsung has launched the Galaxy A8+ as its mid-segment smartphone to compete with the likes of OnePlus 5T, Nokia 8 and others. The new Galaxy A8+ (2018) boasts of an Infinity Display, just like the one seen on Samsung's once flagship, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Samsung has announced a Rs 32,999 price tag for the Galaxy A8+ and the smartphone will be available for purchase starting January 20, exclusively on Amazon. Surprisingly, the price of the smartphone comes south of what was expected earlier, judging from its pricing in Vietnam.

Don’t have time to keep a tab on news throughout the day? CNN-News18 brings you the day’s top news and newsmakers in less than 3 minutes! Here are today’s top picks: India strikes back, kills over 10 Pakistan rangers, India takes revenges of its BSF jawan killed on birthday, Pakistan releases video of Kulbhushan Jadhav, Speculations of Jadhav video being doctored.

ENTERTAINMENT

Actor Dileep, who was arrested and later released on bail in connection with the sexual assault of a Malayalam actress, posted on social media after a long time. The actor decided to release the first look poster of his next film titled Kumarasambhavam on Facebook with an elaborate description. He wished his fans a Happy New Year and thanked them for supporting him in his bad times. He further dedicated the film to those who’ve created and distorted history. The actor was arrested in July 2017 on the charges of the abduction and sexual assault of a top Malayalam actress.

SPORTS

When Cricket South Africa flew in SuperSports Park curator Bryan Bloy from Centurion to assist Newlands Stadium curator Evan Flint in preparing the wicket for the opening Test between India and South Africa in Cape Town from January 5, the writing was very much on the wall. Faf du Plessis and the boys mean business. India skipper Virat Kohli has often spoken about the opening Test in a three-game series setting the tone for the remainder of the series and how it gets very difficult for teams to get back from the dungeons after losing the opening Test. Speaking to CricketNext, a CSA official said that the idea was to create not just a fast wicket, but also one that has sideways movement (seam movement) as that is one area where the Indian team has failed to adapt in the last couple of years (like England), even as they have done decently in other countries like Australia and New Zealand

TECH

The world's top chipmaker, Intel Corp on Wednesday confirmed a report about a potential security flaw in its Chips that is vulnerable to hacking and promised to fix the bug as soon as possible. Intel said that the vulnerability, discovered by a British tech website, is not unique to Intel products.

Don’t have time to keep a tab on news throughout the day? CNN-News18 brings you the day’s top news and newsmakers in less than 3 minutes! Here are today’s top picks: Bhima-Koregaon Violence Disrupts Lok Sabha, Opposition Blames RSS & Hindutva Outfits, Maharashtra Govt Being Blamed for Failed law & order, and opposition questions PMs' Silence

ENTERTAINMENT:-

The New Year has begun for Karan Johar's Dharma Productions with new hopes and new blockbusters in making. Starring Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor, Brahmastra is Karan Johar's ambitious project which is to be directed by Ayan Mukerji. The director and the two actors are currently in Israel for the preparations and the shooting will begin in February. Brahmastra will be Ranbir and Ayan's third collaboration after Wake Up Sid and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. The film also marks the debut pairing of Ranbir and Alia. The film is expected to be made as a trilogy, the first part of which is expected to release in 2019.

SPORTS:-

Speaking exclusively to Cricketnext in Cape Town, Indian wicket keeper Wriddhiman Saha believes the batting line up is not at all worried about the pace battery of the South Africans. Saha, further noted that if the Proteas have the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel or Dale Steyn in their ranks, India have the likes Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami who are equally capable of bowling fast. The confident Saha also added that to win a Test match, the most important thing will be picking up 20 wickets and dismissing the opposition in time. Saha, who believes India’s success at home was due to the hardwork put in all season, acknowledges that India will be a better team after the South Africa tour.

TECH

The United States today urged Iran to stop blocking online social media and advised its citizens to set up virtual private networks, or VPNs, to circumvent censorship. Steve Goldstein, the State Department's under-secretary for public diplomacy, denounced Iran's attempts to restrict net access and urged Iranians to find a way to log in.

Don’t have time to keep a tab on news throughout the day? CNN News18 brings you the day’s top news and newsmakers in less than 3 minutes! Here are today’s top picks: Sanjay Singh, Sushil Gupta, ND Gupta likely nominees, Rajya Sabha polls on January 16, AAP PAC to meet tomorrow

ENTERTAINMENT:-

Singer Sunidhi Chauhan and her husband welcomed their first child on Monday. The singer gave birth to a baby boy at Mumbai's Surya Hospitals at 5:20 pm. Director, Pediatrics of Surya Hospitals, Bhupendra Avasthi told IANS that the delivery was uneventful and the baby boy is healthy and doing well. The 34-year-old singer kept her pregnancy under the wraps for quite some time. Sunidhi and Hitesh tied the knot on April 24, 2012 at a low profile wedding ceremony in Mumbai.

SPORTS:-

The MCG pitch for the fourth Ashes test has been rated "poor" by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after last week's drawn clash between hosts Australia and England saw only 24 wickets fall over five days. "The bounce of the MCG pitch was medium, but slow in pace and got slower as the match progressed," match referee Ranjan Madugalle said in his report to the ICC, reflecting the concerns of the match officials over the performance of the pitch.

TECH:-

Xiaomi’s Android One device – Xiaomi Mi A1 has started receiving the Android 8.0 Oreo update. Xiaomi forum has announced an over-the-air (OTA) update for the smartphone, starting December 31. Subsequent to the Android Oreo update, Xiaomi Mi A1 devices will receive Oreo specific features like Picture-in-Picture mode, Smart Text selection, new Notification dots, Night Light mode, Auto-fill as well as Background limits.

AUTO:-

Kawasaki has finally launched the Vulcan S 650cc motorcycle in India for Rs 5.44 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) and the company has already started accepting bookings for the same. The bike will be officially unveiled at the 2018 Delhi Auto Expo. The 2017 Vulcan S shares its underpinnings with Ninja 650 and is powered by the same 649cc 4-stroke, 2-cylinder, DOHC, liquid-cooled engine which is mated to the 6-speed gearbox which comes with the positive neutral finder.

Don’t have time to keep a tab on news throughout the day? CNN News18 brings you the day’s top news and newsmakers in less than 3 minutes! Here are today’s top picks: 1.9 crore of 3.29 Crore applicants make the cut, Others At Various levels of verification, says RGI

ENTERTAINMENT:- 

Gadar director Anil Sharma on Monday introduced newcomer Ishita opposite his son Utkarsh Sharma in his upcoming directorial Genius. The director took to Twitter to make the announcement. Also starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Ayesha Jhulka and Mithun Chakraborty, the film marks the acting debut of Sharma's son Utkarsh, who had featured as a child actor in the 2001 Sunny Deol-starrer Gadar. The film is expected to release in mid-summer this year.

SPORTS:- 

James Anderson has denied the charges of ball-tampering, that surfaced during the fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England. In his defence, Anderson said, "(I was) getting dirt off the ball. They'd watered the square so the footholes on the old wickets had mud. "We went to the umpires to make sure they were happy with it.” The fourth Test match ended in a draw, and England’s Alastair Cook scored a brilliant 244 not out.