India News
The Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till noon on Thursday as members from various parties, including National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), continued their protests on various issues for the fourth consecutive day.
Members from the TDP, AIADMK, TRS and TMC trooped into the Well, with many holding placards and raising slogans.
While the TDP was demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh, the AIADMK sought immediate setting up of Cauvery River Management Board. Members from the TRS were demanding an increase in quota.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan extended greetings for International Women's Day being celebrated on Thursday and also read out a message. Soon after members trooped into the Well even as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananthkumar requested the Speaker to continue with the Question Hour.
"We are ready to discuss irregularities in the banking (sector)," the minister said.
Under Rule 193, a discussion on alleged systemic irregularities in banking sector over the years and its impact on Indian economy has been scheduled for Thursday in the House.
As the din continued, Mahajan adjourned the proceedings till noon.
This is the fourth straight day that Question Hour has been washed out in the Lower House.
TDP leader and Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju was not present in the House even though it was the question day of the ministry. However, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha was present.
Disappointed over the Centre not granting special status to Andhra Pradesh, the TDP had late last night announced that the party's two ministers - Raju and Y S Chowdary - would resign from the central government.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Opposition parties as well as All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) members resumed their protests in Rajaya Sabha on Thursday on various issues soon after the lawmakers spoke on the occasion of the International Women Day.
Amid the din, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the House till 1400 hrs.
The House has witnessed disruptions in the morning hours on various issues including bank scam, special package for Andhra Pradesh and Cauvery Board issue since March 5, the day Parliament reconvened for the Budget session.
As soon as the House met on Thursday morning, Naidu made a reference to the International Women Day and wished Rajya Sabha members, especially the women MPs, and through them all citizens of the country.
Several women members as well their male counterparts stressed on the importance of women empowerment and suggested steps in this direction.
However, the amiable environment in the House was short- lived as slogan shouting members from the opposition Congress as well some from the AIADMK trooped into the Well.
Amid disruptions, the House could not take up the scheduled Question Hour and it was adjourned till 2pm.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Two weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned from a blunder-struck trip to India, Emmanuel Macron arrives in New Delhi hoping to avoid the missteps of his ally.
Trudeau and Macron are often compared internationally because of their broadly similar political views, as well as youth and good looks. But the French leader will be eager to make a different impression on his Indian hosts.
Trudeau, already facing suspicions in India that Canada was too soft on Sikh separatists back home, was seriously embarrassed when a former militant was invited to a dinner with him in Mumbai.
Even before this revelation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given Trudeau a cool reception, but he is expected to be much more welcoming for Macron after a warm meeting between the two in Paris last year.
Macron will "spend a lot of time with Narendra Modi," a source in the French presidency said, adding that they had "formed a close relationship" during Macron's first nine months in power.
They will meet on Saturday for talks before Macron attends a solar power summit on Sunday designed to showcase India and France's commitment to fighting climate change, which both leaders have made a priority.
Travelling with his wife Brigitte, France's 40-year-old president is set to make the almost obligatory visit to the monument to love, the Taj Mahal, on Sunday.
On Monday, he heads to Varanasi.
As well as discussing climate change and ways to build closer diplomatic ties, the two biggest issues between the countries in recent years - defence and nuclear energy sales - will also take centre-stage during private talks.
In September 2016, India finally inked a deal to buy 36 French-made Rafale fighter jets, much less than the 126 that were once discussed, but France and its manufacturer Dassault Aviation hold hopes of further sales.
Macron will also vaunt the quality of Airbus helicopters and Scorpene submarines in a country that buys 90% of its equipment from abroad, making it the world's biggest arms buyer.
Obstacles holding up the long-delayed sale of six nuclear reactors will also be discussed.
Macron has travelled widely since his election last May, presenting himself as the dynamic new face in the EU who is driving reform efforts in the 28-member bloc.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Y S Chowdary on Thursday said he and his colleague Ashok Gajapathi Raju were stepping down as ministers but would continue to be part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a move that was necessitated by "unavoidable circumstances".
Likening the decision to an unfortunate divorce, Chowdary, the Union minister of state for science and technology, said he and Raju, Union civil aviation minister, would continue to work as parliamentarians for Andhra Pradesh.
Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's announcement on Wednesday night that his leaders would exit the cabinet came a few hours after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Centre can't offer special status to Andhra Pradesh, but would offer a special package with equivalent funding.
"We will be happy when marriages happen, not when divorces happen. It is not a good move, but unfortunately due to unavoidable circumstances we had to take this move. We are stepping down as ministers, but our president has said we will be continuing as part of NDA," Chowdhary told reporters.
The beauty of democracy, he said, was to bring unanimity and make everyone happy and this was the BJP's responsibility.
"When they are in responsible positions they will have to balance such things and during the process of balancing they will have to face such situations."
Adding that Raju and he would continue to work in their personal capacities as parliamentarians and exert pressure to achieve their demand, he said: "All parliament members will work for this. We hope we will succeed in getting special status."
The TDP has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
Asked about Congress President Rahul Gandhi's offer to give special status to Andhra Pradesh if the party came to power, he said it was a hypothetical situation.
According to TDP MP Konagalla Narayana, Naidu waited for four years and the decision to withdraw the party's ministers was an outcome of his losing patience.
"The chief felt that during a fight for special status, it is not right to have our members in their cabinet. So he took this decision. Now if they don't act, this agitation will be intensified," Narayana said.
Another MP, Naramalli Sivaprasad, added that the BJP had considered them smaller all these days but would now understand their strength.
Naidu had said on Wednesday that the TDP joined the NDA government only to protect the interests of Andhra Pradesh following its bifurcation but claimed the Centre was taking unilateral decisions without thinking about solutions to the state's problems.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
China and India should shed their mental inhibitions and manage differences to enhance bilateral ties, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday and insisted that even the Himalayas cannot stop the two countries from friendly exchanges if there is political trust.
Wang's remarks on Sino-India relations came during his annual press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing parliamentary session.
Asked how China views relations with India this year after turbulence in ties in 2017 due to a number of issues including the Dokalam standoff, Wang said: "Despite some tests and difficulties, the China-India relationship continues to grow".
Bilateral ties were affected by a number of issues last year, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China blocking efforts at the UN to list Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist as well as India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Dokalam. The standoff ended on August 28 after the Chinese military stopped road building close to the strategic Chicken Neck corridor in an area claimed by Bhutan.
Wang, however, said the two countries must shed mental inhibitions, manage differences and meet each other half way.
"China is upholding its rights and legitimate interests and taking care to preserve the relationship with India," he said.
"Chinese and Indian leaders have developed a strategic vision for the future of our relations. The Chinese dragon and Indian elephant must not fight each other but dance with each other," he added.
"If China and India are united, one plus one will become eleven instead of two," Yi said.
Wang said the international situation is experiencing its biggest change in a century and China and India must do everything to emphasise this and support each other and avoid mutual suspicion and attrition.
He said mutual trust is the most precious commodity in the China-India relations.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Pakistan on Wednesday said it has approved India's humanitarian proposals about exchange of prisoners, issuance of medical visas and revival of a judicial commission, a move apparently aimed at de-escalating tensions between the two neighbours.
Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif after consulting with all the stakeholders, has approved the humanitarian proposals, which had been received from the Indian side, regarding the civilian prisoners incarcerated in both the countries, Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said.
The first proposal is about "exchange of three categories of prisoners, women, mentally challenged or with special needs and those above 70 years of age" and the second is about "revival of the Judicial Committee mechanism."
It said that third proposal is about "facilitating the visit of medical experts (from both sides) to meet and examine the mentally challenged prisoners for their repatriation."
The Foreign Office said that the minister also extended two more humanitarian proposals which include: exchange ofprisoners above 60 years of age and the exchange of child prisoners, below 18 years of age.
"The foreign minister expressed the hope that India would positively reciprocate Pakistan's proposals, in the spirit that they have been made," it said.
"He also stated that it was his desire that through such initiatives, Pakistan and India would embark on the road to a comprehensive dialogue, and make a conscious effort to de- escalate the extremely vitiated current environment and the situation on the Line of Control and the Working Boundary," it added.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Farooq Takla, an aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was on Thursday arrested in New Delhi by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, officials said.
Mohammed Farooq, better known as Farooq Takla, arrived here from Dubai and was arrested by the CBI when he was at an immigration counter at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Farooq, 57, will be produced before a designated court later on Thursday, a CBI spokesman said.
While the CBI declined to comment on how he reached Delhi as an Interpol red Corner notice was pending against him, officials said Farooq was deported from the UAE with the help of central intelligence agencies and put on a flight to Delhi.
The role of Farooq in the D-company was not clear, but some officials said that he used to look after the Dubai operations of the underworld don.
Farooq has been taken to Mumbai where he would be produced before the designated court hearing the case of 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai that shook the financial capital of the country leaving 257 dead besides damaging property to the tune of Rs82 crore.
Immediately after the blasts, Dawood, who was the main accused in the case, and others escaped to Dubai and later to Pakistan.
India's sustained campaign against Dawood was finally acknowledged by America in 2003 when the US Treasury department declared him a global terrorist having links with al-Qaeda. He also faces sanctions from the UN under its anti-terror resolution.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
A Parliamentary delegation from the Republic of Korea led by Chung SyeKyun, speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, called on President Ram Nath Kovind at RashtrapatiBhavan on Thursday.
Welcoming the delegation, the president said that India and South Korea share democratic values and a common economic vision. There is also a unique convergence of strategic interests.
The president said that we admire achievements of South Korea despite the difficult economic and political situation in its early days. He appreciated the determination with which both the people and leadership of South Korea have worked towards developing their country.
The president was happy to note that South Korean investors are looking at India as an investment destination, according to a Press Information Bureau statement. He stated that large participation of top Korean companies in the 2nd India-South Korea Business Summit, held last week in India, is a testimony to this. India sees South Korea as a key partner in its efforts towards rapid industrialisation.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Air India (AI) on Wednesday confirmed the launch of flights between New Delhi and Tel Aviv later this month which are expected to use Saudi airspace.
The move would effectively end a decades-long Saudi ban on the use of its airspace for flights to Israel.
The new route was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last July, with Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu first suggesting in January the route could pass over Saudi Arabia.
An AI spokesman told AFP on Wednesday the airline had received permission and a timetable for the route from the regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which appeared to confirm that route.
"The route time given by the DGCA to us is seven hours and five minutes, and looking at that schedule we believe it must be flying over the Saudi airspace," the spokesman said.
Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority did not respond to AFP's request for comment.
Saudi Arabia has no official ties with Israel, with Israel's national carrier El Al currently taking a detour over the Red Sea on its India service to avoid flying over Saudi Arabia as well as Iran.
Netanyahu told reporters in Washington earlier this week that AI had reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia to use their airspace.
But Wednesday's statement was the first official confirmation by the airline about operationalising the new air route, after weeks of speculation and reports in local media.
Flying over Saudi Arabia significantly shortens the route's flight time.
The thrice-a-week flight to Tel Aviv from Delhi will begin on March 22, the company said in its statement to the media.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Colombo - A daytime curfew was relaxed on Thursday in the troubled Sri Lankan district of Kandy where three people were killed in anti-Muslim riots, but schools remained closed as beefed-up security forces patrolled the streets.
More than 200 homes, businesses and vehicles were set ablaze during three days of violence sparked by the death of a man last week.
The unrest began in the central district on Monday, and escalated the following day when a man was found dead in a burned building.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Beijing - China's foreign minister urged the US and North Korea on Thursday to start talks as soon as possible, stressing that "the sincerity" of all parties to solve the nuclear crisis would be tested.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi cautiously welcomed Seoul's announcement that Pyongyang had offered to hold denuclearisation talks with the US in return for security guarantees.
The North also agreed to hold a historic summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
London - British detectives on Thursday scrambled to find the source of the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of a Russian former double-agent and his daughter.
Sergei Skripal, 66, who moved to Britain in a 2010 spy swap, is in a critical condition in hospital along with his daughter Yulia after they collapsed on a bench outside a shopping centre on Sunday.
A policeman also fell ill after coming to their aid but is showing signs of recovery, according to Interior Minister Amber Rudd.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Indian banks need to overcome their current problems quickly to be able to lend in large amounts, former Reserve Bank Governor C Rangarajan has said.
His remarks come amid the Rs12,700 crore fraud detected recently at the Punjab National Bank (PNB) and the banking system's overall struggle to overcome mounting bad loans.
Last month, the PNB had said it detected fraudulent transactions worth about Rs12,700 crore at one of its branches in Mumbai.
The primary role of the banks is to raise deposits and lend, he told PTI on the sidelines of an event in Hyderabad.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Ram Vilas Paswan, Union minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, said that the Centre is working on the portability of PDS entitlements and this will be progressively extended. Paswan stated this while addressing the first meeting of Food Commission chairmen from states/UTs in New Delhi on Wednesday, according to a Press Information Bureau statement.
He said that once portability of PDS implemented beneficiaries will be free to receive their entitlements from any fair price shops without being bound to a particular shop. This is already underway in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica are getting very far away from Riverdale. They're going to Bollywood.
Archie Comics and Graphic India say they're teaming up to create a Bollywood-style live-action film that re-imagines the American suburban perpetual teens as Indian characters.
The companies are touting the film as the first international comic to be translated for Indian screens. No release date has been announced.
Graphic India leader Sharad Devarajan says Archie comics have long been embraced by Indians and "now it's time to take them fully into Bollywood in an exciting new twist of a story."
The freckle-faced Archie first appeared in comic form in 1941 and went on to become an icon of wholesomeness. The characters are currently part of The CW's series "Riverdale."
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi, a pioneer of low-cost housing design, won the prestigious Pritzker Prize on Wednesday, considered architecture's Nobel equivalent.
The 90-year-old Doshi - one of the last living architects to have apprenticed with the Franco-Swiss trailblazer Le Corbusier - distinguished his work by committing to sustainable architecture and inexpensive housing, bringing modernist design to an India rooted in traditionalism.
He is the 45th Pritzker laureate and the first from India.
"Balkrishna Doshi has always created an architecture that is serious, never flashy or a follower of trends," said the Pritzker jury, which said Doshi "has continually exhibited the objectives" of architecture's highest honour.
"Balkrishna Doshi constantly demonstrates that all good architecture and urban planning must not only unite purpose and structure but must take into account climate, site, technique, and craft, along with a deep understanding and appreciation of the context in the broadest sense," the jury said.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
The BCCI has declined to renew fast bowler Mohammad Shami's contract pending an investigation into "unsavoury" allegations that he cheated on his wife.
Shami, who represented India during the tour of South Africa in January, has dismissed the accusations of infidelity as "part of a big conspiracy" to defame him.
The BCCI dropped Shami from a list of contracted players unveiled on Wednesday, which saw Skipper Virat Kohli and other top Test players awarded salaries just above USD1 million.
A supervisory committee overseeing BCCI affairs said the allegations against Shami put them in a difficult position and that his contract was on hold pending review.
"We are in a bit of Catch 22," Vinod Rai, chairman of the committee, told cricket website ESPNcricinfo.
"Ordinarily you would distinguish and say that is a personal issue and the contract is a professional issue," he said.
"But someone could easily point out and say this allegation is an unsavoury one and you are still rewarding him," he added.
A source from the BCCI confirmed the board's position when contacted by AFP.
Shami's wife Hasin Jahan, a former model, went public on Tuesday with a series of messages that Shami, 27, allegedly sent to women during their four-year marriage.
She also accused the cricketer, whom she married in 2014, of domestic violence.
The media reported that Jahan went to the police in Kolkata but did not file an official report against her husband.
Shami vented his frustration at his wife's accusations and sought to clear his record.
"What is being said about my personal life is completely false," he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
"It's definitely a part of a big conspiracy against me. This is just an attempt to defame me," he added.
The board elevated Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah to a new "A+" category for the highest salaried players.
Former Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin were placed in the next grouping and will receive an annual salary of USD777,000.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
India will meet Bangladesh in the second match of the Nidahas Trophy Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tri-series on Thursday.
The ODI match will be held in Colombo. In the first match, India lost to Sri Lanka, thanks to brilliant performance by Kusal Perera.
Captain Rohit Sharma expressed hope that his side would be able to contain Bangladesh.
"We are blessed to have a squad that has good batting depth, we also have a couple of all-rounders. Hopefully we'll come back strong," he said.
Meanwhile, Mahmudullah will lead Bangladesh in absence of the injured Shakib Al Hasan.
Senior batsman Tamin Iqbal admitted that it would be a different challenge for his side.
Iqbal said: "It will be a different challenge here for me and also our team. We know that we are not in the best of form as a team but this can happen as I have said it's normal for a batsman and a bowler, we go through good form and bad patches. So, as a team it is quite normal for that to happen."
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Bengaluru FC were held to a goal-less draw by Pune in the ISL season four semi-final first leg at the Balewadi stadium on Wednesday.
Pune's Issac Vanmalsawma had the best opportunity to score a goal, but he missed it.
Addressing the post-match press conference, Pune's head Coach Ranko Popovic said that he was satisfied with the performance, but not with the result.
Popovic said: "Everyone knows how important the score in this game is for the next game. None of the teams wanted to make mistakes and to lose advantage. I think this was a very quality and competitive game from both teams. The most interesting thing is how a 0-0 draw can be interesting and this game was interesting. I am satisfied with the performance, not with the result. The result is only the consequence of the work. Today we worked very hard and very well."
Bengaluru Coach Albert Roca said: "I am satisfied with the result, but not happy. Now we have a very tough home game against Pune. They have shown today that they are a very tough team with very good strikers and very good defenders. They are a very compact team. But we have a chance to go to the final. So, it is now in our hands and our team has to keep doing the work they have done all season."
Now Bengaluru will host the second and decisive leg on March 11.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
India registered their first victory in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey at Ipoh on Wednesday after defeating hosts Malaysia 5-1 in their fourth match.
Shilanand Lakra (10th minute), Gurjant Singh (42nd, 57th), Sumit Kumar (48th) and Ramandeep Singh (51st) scored for India.
For Malaysia, Faizal Saari (33rd) was the lone goal scorer.
Currently, India are at fifth place in the standings with four points.
They still have the chance to reach the final.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
India's Ankita Raina and her Belgian partner Kimberley Zimmermann crashed out of the doubles event of the USD60,000 ITF women, Zhuhai, China.
In the quarter-finals, China's Xinyu Jiang and Qianhui Tang defeated Zimmermann and Raina in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.
Other results: USD7,972,535 ATP, Indian Wells, US: Qualifying (first round): Yuki Bhambri bt Dennis Novikov (US) 7-5, 7-5; Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Michael Mmoh (US) 6-3, 7-5.
USD15,000 ITF women, Solarino, Italy: Pre-quarters: Tayisiya Morderger (Ger) bt Nandini Sharma 6-2, 6-3.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
India's Muskan Kirar and Promila Daimary won gold medals in the women's compound and recurve events respectively at the Archery Asia Cup in Bangkok on Wednesday.
In the compound final, Kirar defeated Malaysia's Zakaria Nadhirah 139-136 while Daimary stunned Russia's Erdynieva Natalia 7-3 in the final of recurve event.
Madhu Vedwan and Gaurav Trambak Lambe clinched bronze medals in the women's and the men's recurve events respectively. Vedwan got the better of Mongolia's Altangerel Enkhtuya 6-5 while Lambe defeated Malaysia's Kamaruddin Haziq.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Spain's Pablo Larrazabal took a "wild" ride to get to the start of the Indian Open when his alarm failed, but the near-disaster inspired him to a five-under 67 in Thursday's opening round.
A timely wake-up call from a European Tour official and a mad car dash got Larrazabal to the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon just before his 7am start time.
Larrazabal said his new phone went back on to Spanish time "and I woke up at the hotel 38 minutes before my tee-time".
"I woke up, had a 10-second shower and I ran. I arrived at the course 25 minutes before my tee-time. My heart was pumping big-time, I was very nervous," he said.
"I think the courtesy car made a world record from the hotel to the golf course in a couple of minutes, a ride that can take 10 or 15 minutes, it was really wild," added the 34-year-old whose score put him among the early leaders.
Larrazabal is not new to golf course adventures. He was attacked by hornets who stung him 20 times during the the 2014 Malaysian Open had to jump in a lake to escape.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Shubhankar Sharma's stunning rise up the golf rankings has taken many by surprise but former world number one Ernie Els predicted the Indian's ascent a decade ago.
The 21-year-old Sharma rocketed from 462nd to 66th place in three months following two European Tour wins and a strong showing at the WGC-Mexico Championships last weekend.
He ended tied ninth at the PGA Tour event in Mexico after leading going into the final round, when he was overtaken by American great Phil Mickelson.
Sharma has now revealed that it was Els who spotted his talent at a coaching clinic in 2008.
"He put the ball on the tee for me at Delhi Golf Course range and I hit two great shots right near the 100-yard board and he was really happy," said Sharma.
"He said you are going to be a great player one day and just keep practising. And for a kid like me who was only 10 at that time it just made my day, I was so happy that I couldn't sleep that night," the Indian said.
"I met Ernie after that in Abu Dhabi recently and I told him about the story and he was really happy that I have progressed so well," Sharma added.
Sharma has been invited to the Masters in April, where he will become only the fourth Indian to play after Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Anirban Lahiri.
And he is setting his sights high.
"There still is a lot to be done if you see golf at an international level. Obviously if you see from Indian standards some people feel I have done well and have to keep playing the way I have and get to the PGA Tour," said Sharma, who was introduced to the game by his father at the age of seven.
He highlighted Jordan Spieth's feat of winning the Masters at 21.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Coach P Gopichand has said that the Indian players will be strong contenders to win titles at the All England Badminton Championship next week.
"The event has become stronger as more and more players are looking to do well there. With a renewed hope that we should have a champion in both men's and women's singles, I feel the Indians are very strong contenders this time around compared to earlier editions," he said.
"It looks exciting that two women (PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal) and three men (K Srikanth, HS Prannoy and B Sai Praneeth) have the potential to win and what is heartening is that even the doubles combinations are capable of doing much better," he stated.
"The biggest challenge can be the conditions and aura of the championship itself. It can be a bit overwhelming compared to other Super Series. The conditions will be challenging, both physically and mentally, for anyone," he added.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Delhi Daredevils Skipper Gautam Gambhir has said that he is not focusing on a return to the Indian team through the IPL.
Gambhir last played for India in a Test match against England in 2016. He has failed to find a spot in the national team for ODIs and T20Is since 2013 and 2012 respectively.
Gambhir said he wants to play well not to stage a come back to the Indian team but to help Daredevils win matches in the upcoming season of the IPL.
"The target is not for me to come back, but the target is for the team to win. No leader can think like that," he said.
Gambhir said he will try to lead Daredevils by example, but the whole team will have to contribute to stand any chance of winning the trophy.
"A captain is only as good as his team. You can only try and lead by example. It is the team that will win the tournament. Not only by the performances of the playing 11, but by the contribution of all the 25 players," he said.
"If we play to potential, the team can go a long way, all the way," he added.
Meanwhile, Daredevils Chief Executive Hemant Dua and Coach Ricky Ponting praised Gambhir for his leadership qualities and long career.
"I had maintained that Gauti has unfinished business with the franchise. He was the second-highest scorer during the last IPL. Above all, he is a leader. Both Ricky and Gauti have spoken to each other. I am glad that they are both on the same page," Dua remarked.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) will dope test discus thrower Seema Punia before the Commonwealth Games as she could not be tested during the 22nd Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championships.
Punia was scheduled to be tested on March 5, but the NADA officials did not appear at the event on that day.
When the officials reached Patiala a day later, Punia had left the venue for home.
After co-ordinating with the Athletics Federation of India, the NADA officials will now travel to Sonipat to collect her urine sample.
"We have sent NADA the details of the location in Haryana where their officials can collect her dope sample," an official at the national camp said.
"NADA officials reached here late by a day. To be fair to her, Seema is not bound to wait for the NADA to come. She is not at fault," the official added.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
News from around East India over the past seven days. (In tomorrow's issue: West India)
Nationalist Democratic Progresstive Party (NDPP) leader Neiphiu Rio was on Thursday sworn in as Nagaland Chief Minister by Governor P B Acharya at a public function in Kohima.
This is Rio's fourth time as the chief minister of the state.
Rio is heading the 'People's Democratic Alliance' government in partnership with the BJP in the state.
BJP's Y Patton was administered the oath as the deputy chief minister by the governor.
Ten other ministers were also administered the oath of office. The ten included five from the BJP, three from the NDPP, an independent and a JD(U) MLA.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, BJP President Amit Shah and the party General Secretary Ram Madhav were present at the swearing-in ceremony.
The outgoing Chief Minister T R Zeliang was also present at the function.
The chief ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya also attended Rio's swearing-in.
Rio had staked claim to form the government on March 4 with the support of 32 legislators in the 60-member House - 18 MLAs of NDPP, 12 of the BJP, one of the JD(U) and an independent MLA.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
Outgoing Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has blamed the "unimaginable money power" and "continuous onslaught of media" as the reason behind the party's debacle in the just-concluded Assembly polls in the state.
The poll result was "unexpected" and people of the state and the country has noticed how the BJP used its all-out effort to oust the Left Front (LF) government, Sarkar said in an interview to 'Ganashakti', the party's mouthpiece in West Bengal on Sunday.
The Centre, he said, had in fact created an "economic blockade" against the government by reducing the central allocations in MGNREGA and housing schemes, among others.
In the interview, which was also published in the CPI-M mouth piece 'Daily Desherkatha' here today, Sarkar, also a CPI-M Politburo member, said: "The Left parties had fought the elections with all their might and the people were their main force to fight against the unimaginable money power and continuous onslaught of media".
He said that the CPI-M would review the causes of its debacle in the just-concluded Assembly elections in the state after all the information are made available.
"It is observed that the BJP-Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) (alliance) could manage to win the major portion of the anti-Left forces into their fold.
"We (Left Front) have secured 45% votes. It is also a fact that a portion of votes that we secured earlier has also gone in favour of the (BJP-IPFT) alliance. We will review why it had happened," Sarkar said.
He said, the CPI-M's movement for ideology and alternative principle would continue and never stop.
Sarkar claimed that the incidents of attack on Left workers and setting fire to the party offices has started coming in and added that the people who had voted for the BJP responding to their call for change perhaps did not want such atmosphere after the elections.
"I think these should be stopped henceforth. We hope their (BJP-IPFT) party leadership will take a positive step to stop these," he added.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
The Assam government on Saturday announced extension of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) by another six months in the state.
According to a statement, the Home and Political Department of Assam, through a notification issued on February 28, declared the entire state a "disturbed area" under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.
The Act, which gives special rights and immunity to security forces in carrying out various operations in "disturbed" areas, has been extended by up to six months unless withdrawn earlier.
However, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had on Thursday said the law and order situation in Assam had improved and the era of violence was over.
"In December 2014, I said there was no place for violence in the land of Assam. I am happy to say that the law and order situation has improved in Assam. The era of violence is over," he said at a function in Jamugurihat.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
The disappearance of a Kashmiri medical student from here took a new turn after a handwritten poster was found claiming that he was kidnapped by Maoists.
The Odisha Police, investigating the disappearance of AIIMS-Bhubaneswar student Suhail Ajjaj, on Monday said they are verifying the authenticity of the poster.
The poster, written on a plain paper, was found on the wall of the Baramunda overbridge here in the morning and local people informed the police.
"We are examining the authenticity of the poster and have started investigation. The police have seized the poster," Bhubaneswar DCP Satyabrata Bhoi said.
They demanded that Odisha Maovadi Party chief Sabyasachi Panda be released within a week, failing which Suhail would be killed.
While the subject matter of the poster is written in a blue ink and the name of the CPI (Maoist), Odisha State Committee, is in red.
The poster also threatened to "blast police stations and the railway station in Bhubaneswar on March 11 and kill hundreds of people," they said.
Maoist leader Panda's wife Subhashree Panda said the disappearance of the Kashmiri student has nothing to do with her husband.
"Sabyasachi Panda is no longer a member of the CPI (Maoist). Therefore, this poster should be fake one to mislead police," Subhashree told reporters.
She said Sabyasachi left the CPI (Maoist), Odisha Committee, ten years ago.
His father Ajjaz Ahmed Kataria, who is now here, said the police should take this matter seriously and make proper investigation.
Suhail, a second year MBBS student had left the hostel on February 9, informing his friends that he was leaving for a wedding ceremony in Chandigarh and would return in a week.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
India and Bangladesh will jointly inaugurate a first-of-its-kind "crime-free" stretch of 8.3km along the international border in West Bengal this week.
The decision to launch a project of creating such sanitised zones along the India-Bangladesh frontier was taken by the border guarding forces of the two countries - the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) - during their bi-annual director general-level talks that were held here in October last year.
"The aim of creating a crime-free zone is to have select border locations that are clear of illegal, anti-social and criminal activities by integrating the efforts of the BSF and the BGB, with assistance from the district administration, NGOs and border population of both the countries," a BSF officer said.
BSF chief K K Sharma and BGB DG Maj. Gen Abul Hosain will inaugurate the first such zone on March 9 at the Kalyani border outpost in West Bengal.
The 8.3km "crime-free" zone stretches between the BSF border posts at Gunarmath and Kalyani and the BGB posts at Putkhali and Daulatpur, the BSF officer said.
Once the pilot project succeeded, similar crime-free zones would be created all along the 4,096km border that ran across various states, he added.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region has stated North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd will set up a dedicated Venture Fund for the North Eastern Region (NER) with a corpus of Rs100 crore, according to a Press Information Bureau statement. This was stated by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
He said a committee under the chairmanship of chief executive officer, NITI aayog consisting of secretaries of ministries/ departments of development of north eastern region, expenditure, commerce, skill development and entrepreneurship, micro, small and medium enterprises, textiles, tourism, health and family welfare, power and industrial policy and promotion has suggested a roadmap for a new industrial policy for north eastern states, after consultation with stakeholders.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: PTI
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