This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.

It’s the 26th of December and here are the headlines.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said the Central government has taken the recent attacks on merchant navy ships very seriously and will take strict action against those responsible by pulling them out even from the "depths of seas". Singh said, quote,"The Indian government has taken the drone attack on MV Chem Pluto and attack on MV Saibaba in the Red Sea seriously. We will find those who executed the recent attacks on merchant navy ships even from the depths of the seas and take strict action against them." Unquote.

Battling difficult terrains and dense forests, security forces continued to carry out cordon and search operations for the sixth consecutive day today to track down the terrorists behind the ambush that left four soldiers dead in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch last week. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to visit ground zero on Wednesday with top Army and civilian officials monitoring the situation in Poonch.

Meanwhile, criticising the Narendra Modi-led BJP government for not engaging in peace talks with Pakistan, Lok Sabha MP and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah today warned that India could meet the same fate as Gaza if a solution is not found through dialogue. Invoking former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Abdullah, stressed on how both India and Pakistan "will prosper if friendly relations are maintained."

Stealth guided missile destroyer INS Imphal, which has an ability to fire extended range supersonic BrahMos missile, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in Mumbai today. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar were present at the event that marked the formal induction of the third of four ‘Visakhapatnam’ class destroyers into the Navy. Designed by the navy’s in-house organisation, Warship Design Bureau and constructed by defence PSU Mazagon Dock Limited, it will join the Western Naval Command.

As per the health ministry, India recorded 412 fresh cases of Covid-19, while the number of active cases of the infection has gone up to 4,170. The death toll due to the viral disease was recorded at 5,33,337 with three new fatalities reported from Karnataka in a span of 24 hours. India’s Covid case tally currently stands at 4,50,09,660.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.