Barely two weeks after touching down on Mars, NASA's InSight lander has taken its first selfie using the spacecraft's robotic arm, the US space agency has said. InSight landed safely at Elysium Planitia on Mars on November-26, kicking off a two-year mission to explore the deep interior of the Red Planet. In addition, InSight sent another set of mosaic composed of 52 individual photos.

Japan has picked the kanji character for "disaster" as its "defining symbol" for the year 2018, following a series of natural disasters that struck the country this year. The symbol, which is chosen by popular vote, best embodies the events that take place in a particular year. The second most popular kanji character was "peace".

The Punjab government announced a compensation for the violence hit Sikh community in Shillong, Meghalaya. Sikhs and their properties were attacked during the clashes between the tribals and non-tribals including Sikhs. The Captain Amarinder Singh government approved relaxation in instructions of the Relief and Resettlement Department for providing Rs.60L as compensation to the Sikh-community against damage caused to their properties during violence in Shillong.