LIVE updates: Delhi records 11 new coronavirus cases in last 24 hours

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the ruling BJP in Karnataka will go solo in next year's assembly elections. Addressing a convention of BJP booth presidents, Shah urged party workers to ensure victory for the saffron party. "It is a direct contest. JD(S) and Congress are two sides of the same coin. Voting for JD(S) is as good as voting for the Congress in Karnataka," Shah said. He also expressed confidence that the BJP will win 21 seats in Bengaluru, and form the government in Karnataka. "The party workers should leave behind all other work and focus on achieving victory for the BJP," Shah added.

President Vladimir Putin used his New Year's address to the nation to accuse Western countries of aggression and trying to use the conflict in Ukraine to undermine Moscow. Putin made the video address, shown on state television in each of Russia's 11 time zones, from a military headquarters with soldiers in the background. "It was a year of difficult, necessary decisions, the most important steps toward gaining full sovereignty of Russia and powerful consolidation of our society," he said, adding, "The West lied about peace, but was preparing for aggression, and today it admits it openly, no longer embarrassed."
 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to increase the production of nuclear warheads exponentially and build a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, state media reported, signaling deepening animosities with the United States, South Korea and others. Kim's statement at a key ruling party meeting was released hours after North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters, entering 2023 with another weapons test following a record number of missile firings last year. KCNA cited Kim as saying North Korea is compelled to boost the production exponentially to mass-produce tactical nuclear weapons.