Sports

PCB chief stirs controversy, refers to India as “Dushman Mulk” in viral video

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Zaka Ashraf has stirred another controversy amid the Pakistan team’s visit to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

Published Date – 11:15 AM, Fri – 29 September 23


PCB chief stirs controversy, refers to India as “Dushman Mulk” in viral video

ANI Photo

Islamabad: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee chairperson Zaka Ashraf has stirred another controversy amid the Pakistan team’s visit to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, starting from October 5 onwards.

In a video that is viral on social media, Zaka was heard talking about players going to “dushman mulk” (enemy country) for tournaments, while he was addressing the media about PCB’s new contracts for players. His remark was allgeddly targeted at India.

In the viral video, Ashraf said, “We gave these contracts to our players with love and affection. Never in the history of Pakistan, such an amount of money has been given to players. My aim was to keep the players’ morale high as they go to countries, the enemy country (‘Dushman Mulk’) for competitions.”

These remarks made by Zaka Ashraf amid the warm reception received by Pakistan’s players in India at Hyderabad ahead of the tournament have drawn the ire of both Indian and Pakistan cricket fans, with many expressing their anger against Zaka’s statements on social media.

Several Pakistani netizens criticised Zaka for his statement. “Shame on PCB chairman on calling India “Dushman mulk* despite a warm welcome from them, zaka ashraf is the real dhusman of our team. Dear Indian don’t take him serious, he just a political tout that’s why he was made chairman. #PAKvNZ #PakistanCricketTeam,” said Pakistan cricket fan Tehseenqasim in a post on X.

Another cricket fan in Pakistan described the statement from the PCB Chief as irresponsible

“Irresponsible statement from the head of PCB Zaka Ashraf. India is not ourt enemy.” posted Sultan Khan on X The Pakistan team, will play their first warm-up match against New Zealand in Hyderabad today. It will be followed by another warm-up match against Australia on October 3. Pakistan will start its World Cup campaign against the Netherlands from October 6 onwards

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New York City's Hotspots Sinking Faster Than Others, Reveals New NASA Report

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New York City's Hotspots Sinking Faster Than Others, Reveals New NASA Report

The threat presented by the city’s sinking is being worsened by increasing sea levels.

New York City is collapsing beneath the weight of its own city and among the first areas to be affected by such a tragedy are LaGuardia Airport, Arthur Ashe Stadium and Coney Island, according to a recent NASA report. The five boroughs of New York City are sinking more quickly than the city as a whole, which is sinking at a rate of 1.6 millimetres annually, according to research conducted by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Rutgers University.

According to research published in Science Advances, from 2016 to 2023, the US Open Venue- Arthur Ashe Stadium and runways at LaGuardia airport saw the most sinking, lowering at rates of 3.7 and 4.6 millimetres per year, respectively. These two locations may have sunk the fastest since they were both constructed over previous landfills.

Further, the threat presented by the city’s sinking is being worsened by increasing sea levels. Hurricanes and extratropical storms have caused coastal flooding in the city, among other problems. One of the examples is Superstorm Sandy of 2012 which devastated the city.

“Protecting coastal populations and assets from coastal flooding is an ongoing challenge for New York City. The combined effect of natural sea level variations and destructive storms is being increasingly exacerbated by ongoing sea level rise,” the researchers wrote in the report.

NASA research also added that Interstate 78, which passes through the Holland Tunnel that connects Manhattan to New Jersey, is also sinking at nearly double the rate of the rest of the city. The southern half of Governors Island, Midland and South Beach in Staten Island and Arverne by the Sea, a coastal neighbourhood in southern Queens are also sinking faster.

The report was released after the United States Geological Survey discovered earlier this year that the New York metropolis’s more than 1 million buildings weigh close to 1.7 trillion pounds and that the city was gradually collapsing under its own weight. The report stated that the city was sinking at the rate of 1-2 millilitres per year. The researchers arrived at the result by comparing the geology beneath the city to satellite data showing its footprint.

“New York faces significant challenges from flood hazard; the threat of sea level rise is 3 to 4 times higher than the global average along the Atlantic coast of North America… A deeply concentrated population of 8.4 million people faces varying degrees of hazard from inundation in New York City,” lead researcher and geologist Tom Parsons of the United States Geological Survey wrote in the report in May.

The team of researchers calculated the cumulative mass of the more than 1 million buildings in New York City, which worked out to be 764,000,000,000 kilograms or 1.68 trillion pounds. They divided the city into a grid of 100-by-100-metre squares and converted building mass to downward pressure by factoring in gravity’s pull. Increased urbanisation, including the draining and pumping of groundwater, could only add to New York’s subsidence problem, the researchers warned earlier.
 

Hyderabad

Telangana: Chanaka – Korata lift wet run held successfully

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Works on the pump house, which has three motors of the same capacity, were completed with an intention to give water to the ayacut during the Rabi season.

Published Date – 11:25 AM, Fri – 29 September 23


Telangana: Chanaka – Korata lift wet run held successfully

Works on the pump house, which has three motors of the same capacity, were completed with an intention to give water to the ayacut during the Rabi season.

Hyderabad: A wet-run of the Chanaka-Korata project pump of 5.5 MW capacity conducted in the early hours of Thursday was successful.

Works on the pump house, which has three motors of the same capacity, were completed with an intention to give water to the ayacut during the Rabi season. The lift constructed on the barrage will help irrigate 52000 acres in Adilabad and Boath constituencies.

The barrage was built across Penganga river in Adilabad district. The dry-run of the pump house was conducted successfully two days ago.

Sports

Roma suffers 4-1 defeat against newly-promoted Genoa in Serie A

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Mateo Retegui put the home side back in the lead just before halftime with some impressive teamwork, despite Bryan Cristante’s 22nd-minute equalizer.

Updated On – 11:20 AM, Fri – 29 September 23


Roma suffers 4-1 defeat against newly-promoted Genoa in Serie A



Rome: Roma’s poor form in Serie A continued as they were destroyed by newly-promoted Genoa 4-1.

Having only picked up one victory from their previous five games, the Giallorossi’s slow start to the new season continued when they found themselves behind after five minutes when ex-Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman assisted for Albert Gudmundsson to finish with a low strike, reports Xinhua

Despite Bryan Cristante’s equaliser in the 22nd minute, Mateo Retegui restored the lead for the home side on the stroke of halftime after some good team play.

Genoa extended their lead in the 74th minute with Rade Dragusin’s header, before Junior Messias sealed the win with a first-time strike.

Also on Thursday, Fiorentina shared the spoils with Frosinone in a 1-1 draw, while Monza and Bologna played out a goalless draw.

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Drones May Deliver Medicines And Groceries In Kolkata's New Town Soon

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Drones May Deliver Medicines And Groceries In Kolkata's New Town Soon

The service will expand to other parts of the city as well. (Representational)

Kolkata:

People of Kolkata, especially the ones living in the New Town area, are likely to get various commodities such as medicines, groceries and food delivered to their doorsteps with the help of drones soon, as a Delhi-based logistics solution provider is planning such a move with the help of local authorities.

Capt Eshaan Khullar, the associate vice president of Skye Air Mobility Pvt Ltd, said the company has already made agreements with 10 -12 housing societies in New Town for the service as drones will help reduce the time taken in conventional ways of delivering goods.
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“We want to start with New Town and then move to Salt Lake and other parts of Kolkata, besides going to the rural parts where connectivity is an issue, where going from point A to point B is a problem,” Mr Khullar told PTI on the sidelines of a presentation programme.

He also said that the company is looking forward to partnering with various authorities such as the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) to enable drone deliveries in housing societies across Kolkata and West Bengal.

“Tie-ups with societies are needed to create infrastructure. We create skypods where we drop the packages. These are kind of mailboxes placed in any society,” Mr Khullar said.

“The drone service can be very useful for carrying samples of pathological tests, for delivering life-saving drugs. This will be very useful when every minute counts,” NKDA chairman Debasish Sen said after attending the presentation programme on Wednesday.

He said that police often need to create a green corridor for various medical reasons so that a patient or a product can reach their destinations fast.

Mr Khullar said the company hopes to start delivery in New Town within two to three months and full-fledged operations are likely to begin within six months.

However, orders for delivery by drone have to be made through food aggregators and e-commerce sites with which the company has a tie-up.

Drones are used with permission from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and its associated agencies, he said.

The company said its drones are designed to deliver packages with weights ranging from 500 gms to 50 kg.

The company is focused on streamlining drone deliveries as a mainstream logistics solution for healthcare, e-commerce, quick commerce, agri-commodity and other industries, Mr Khullar said.

The company said that it has earlier also conducted the World’s longest BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) medicine delivery flight with Flipkart Health of 104 km between Baruipur and Medinipur in West Bengal, reducing the delivery time by 80 per cent compared to conventional means. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

World

Brazil’s President Lula set to undergo hip replacement surgery

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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is scheduled to undergo hip replacement surgery

Published Date – 10:55 AM, Fri – 29 September 23


Brazil’s President Lula set to undergo hip replacement surgery

File Photo

Rio De Janeiro: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is scheduled to undergo hip replacement surgery Friday, a procedure likely to put a temporary halt to his frequent international trips but otherwise not disrupt his activities.

The 77-year-old leader should spend a few days in the Hospital Sirio-Libanes in the capital, Brasilia, before heading back to the presidential palace early next week, said Andrea Cordeiro of the president’s press office.

“The impact of Lula’s surgery will probably be small and should not affect the decision-making process or negotiations in a significant way,” said Paulo Calmon, a political science professor at the University of Brasilia.

“It is very likely that Lula, even in recovery, will continue to influence main decisions and will certainly demand to be informed of everything that is happening,” Calmon added.

Hip replacement surgery is a common procedure, which usually takes one to two hours, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Recovery varies from patient to patient, but most can resume light, day-to-day activities within three to six weeks.

Many patients initially use a cane, crutches or a walker until balance and strength improve, to avoid falls that could jeopardize the surgery’s success, says the orthopedic organization. The Brazilian newspaper O Globo said Thursday that Lula would use a walker. His press office could not confirm that information.

Lula is the oldest president in Brazil’s history. During the election campaign last year, he often joked that despite being over 70, “I have the energy of a 30-year-old and the lust of a 20-year-old.” Having served two previous presidential terms, in 2003-2010, Lula said during the campaign that if he won he had no intention of running for a fourth four-year term. But in July, he said that U.S. President Joe Biden‘s re-election campaign was an “encouragement” for him to run again in 2026.

Lula has been busy since taking office Jan. 1 from the man he defeated in the October 2022 runoff election, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. After vowing to “bring Brazil back” onto the world stage, Lula has traveled to 21 countries, including United States, China, France, India, Argentina and Angola.

“He tried to include all these crucial trips before the surgery,” said Oliver Stuenkel, an associate professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university in Sao Paulo. “Now he can’t continue to travel like that.” This week the president wore a mask to public events, following medical directives to lessen the risk of contracting a respiratory illness before his operation.

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London's Tower Bridge Gets Stuck In Raised Position, Causes Major Traffic Jams

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London's Tower Bridge Gets Stuck In Raised Position, Causes Major Traffic Jams

An eyewitness said that people cheered when the bridge closed after a long time.

The iconic Tower Bridge in London was stuck in an open position after it allowed a boat to pass underneath on River Thames on Thursday around 1.15 pm, causing traffic to come to a halt, as per a report in the Independent. At that time, the sailing barge Adieu was supposed to pass beneath the bridge, however, the bridge struggled to close, causing chaos on London’s roads.

According to people present at the spot, the bridge finally closed after more than half an hour. An eyewitness told the outlet, “I first thought it was nice to see the bridge open but then realised something might be wrong due to the different angles. I watched it for a little while. A lot of traffic (built-up) with two tourist buses waiting on the bridge and large crowds.”

He added that people started cheering when the bridge closed after a long waiting time. “I was almost more excited to see a Thames seal which I had never seen before pop up (in the water). There were cheers from the bridge as it eventually closed with bikes first allowed through and then traffic a moment later,” the man said.

As per Metro UK, a vital passage in central London was cut off while the hydraulically driven bascules of the bridge struggled to drop back down.

The movable Tower Bridge is built over River Thames between the Greater London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Southwark in London, as per Britannica. It is a historic landmark in the city that “complements” the Tower of London, which is located next to it. The bridge was completed in 1894 and has an entrance that is 76 metres (250 feet) broad and 240 metres (800 feet) long. Its twin towers soar 61 metres (200 feet) above the River Thames. There are also two glass-covered walkways between the two towers that are well-liked by tourists.

Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Teenage boy dies in tragic Ganesh idol immersion accident

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Snehanath (14), a class nine student from Cherlapatelguda, came under the rear wheel of the trolley after its driver missed to notice him. Snehanath suffered grievous injuries and died on the spot.

Updated On – 11:05 AM, Fri – 29 September 23


Hyderabad: Teenage boy dies in tragic Ganesh idol immersion accident

Representational Image.

Hyderabad: In a tragic incident which occurred during Ganesh idol immersion process, a teenage boy died after he was run over by a tractor trolley carrying the idol at Pocharam in Ibrahimpatnam on Thursday night.

Snehanath (14), a class nine student from Cherlapatelguda, came under the rear wheel of the trolley after its driver missed to notice him. Snehanath suffered grievous injuries and died on the spot.

Case is under investigation.

India

Pregnant woman set on fire by family in Uttar Pradesh

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With over 70% burns, the woman’s condition is critical. She has been transferred to a higher-level facility for specialized treatment.

Published Date – 10:40 AM, Fri – 29 September 23


Pregnant woman set on fire by family in Uttar Pradesh



Hapur: A young woman was allegedly set on fire by her mother and brother in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district after she was found to be pregnant, said police on Friday.

The incident took place in Nawada Khurd village on Thursday night.

The woman, who is in critical condition after sustaining over 70 per cent burns to her body, has been referred to a higher centre for treatment.

The woman’s mother and brother have been taken into custody by the police.

According to police, the woman, who is unmarried, had physical relations with a young man from the same village and became pregnant. When her family members came to know about this, they were upset.

On Thursday, the woman’s mother and brother took her to a nearby forest where they sprinkled petrol on her and set her on fire. The victim suffered severe burns and was rushed to the hospital.

Additional Superintendent of Police (Hapur) Rajkumar Aggarwal said investigation into the matter was on.

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Box Office Report: SRK's Jawan Inches Closer To 600 Crore Mark

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Jawan Box Office Collection Day 22: Shah Rukh Khan's Film Inches Closer To 600 Crore Mark

Deepika and SRK in a still from Jawan. (courtesy YouTube)

New Delhi:

Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan is motoring towards the ₹ 600-crore mark. The film has currently made ₹ 581.43 crore at the Indian box office, Sacnilk reported. It will soon overtake the lifetime collection of Gadar 2 and Pathaan. Jawan collected ₹ 5.50 crore on Day 22 (third Thursday). To celebrate the achievement, Red Chillies Entertainment has rolled out the offer of “buy-1-get-1-ticket-free” starting from Thursday to Saturday (September 28-September 30). Jawan, co-starring Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara, opened in cinemas on September 7.  As per trade analyst Taran Adarsh, Jawan is an “unstoppable force” and the “buy-1-get-1-ticket-free” offer will most likely boost its business over the extended weekend.

The film critic wrote, “Jawan remains an unstoppable force… Also, the Buy-1-Get-1 free ticket offer [Thursday to Saturday] should boost its biz… [Week 3] Friday ₹7.10 crore, Saturday ₹ 11.50 crore, Sunday ₹ 13.90 crore, Monday ₹ 4.90 crore, Tuesday ₹ 4.40 crore, Wednesday ₹ 4.45 crore. Total: ₹ 519.69 crore. #Hindi. #India biz. #Boxoffice.” 

Jawan also features Deepika Padukone and Sanjay Dutt in special appearances. Sanya Malhotra, Sunil Grover, Priyamani, Girija Oak, Ayesha Qureshi, Ridhi Dogra, and Lehar Khan were also a part of the project. 

Jawan was well-received by fans and critics. NDTV film critic Saibal Chatterjee wrote, “Shah Rukh Khan carries off the onerous task with such phenomenal panache that one barely notices when one entity gives way to the other. The narrative is never in danger of losing its balance even as the performer and the character shorten the distance between them. On one level, Jawan is a fan service masala film. On another, it is a tale of revenge that is also a political statement, and a loud and clear one at that.”

After Jawan, Shah Rukh Khan is gearing up for the release of Dunki, helmed by Rajkumar Hirani. The film also stars Taapsee Pannu. It is co-produced by  Red Chillies Entertainment, Jio Cinemas and Rajkumar Hirani Films. Dunki is eyeing a Christmas release. As reported by Taran Adarsh, Dunki will clash with Prabhas’ Salaar at the box office.