Recognition, including South India’s Young Talent Award, marks Yogiraj’s sculpting journey. PM Modi to attend opening ceremony
Updated On – 07:45 PM, Tue – 2 January 24
Sculptor Arun Yogiraj’s Ram Lalla idol chosen for Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir installation. Unique Krishna shila used; difficult divine child sculpting highlighted. Recognition, including South India’s Young Talent Award, marks Yogiraj’s sculpting journey. PM Modi to attend opening ceremony.
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India vs South Africa: File image of Jasprit Bumrah© AFP
India must focus on increasing the bench strength of their pace attack in 2024 as the Centurion Test exposed chinks in that department, reckons former pacer Irfan Pathan. Mohammed Shami‘s absence was felt badly in the heavy loss to South Africa in the opening Test of the two-match series in the Rainbow Nation last week.
Jasprit Bumrah, who did not get the support from the likes of Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna in the first Test, is also injury prone. Speaking to Star Sports on areas India need to improve in the new year, Pathan said: “India need to prepare a good fast bowling unit in 2024. We saw what happened in South Africa, the back ups were not ready. Shami was missed.
“If god forbid, something happens to Bumrah as we have seen in the past, injury can happen to him. If we don’t prepare a big pool, we won’t get quality pacers like them (Bumrah, Shami). You need to have 7-8 pacers ready for the highest level,” he said.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar wants the Indian team to have the right blend of youth and experience.
“The biggest focus should be on having a good blend of youth and experience. Because that is always something that comes in handy. You need to have a wise cool head to temper the excitement of the younger blood,” said Gavaskar.
India must also prepare leaders to take over from Rohit Sharma in due time, added Pathan.
“Leadership is another area we need to focus on. We need to have 2-3 leaders ready as this year we can see many changes. India did very well under Kohli in Test cricket for five years. He led from the front.
“Same with Rohit who led us to the World Cup final and we won Asia Cup under him. We need to groom leaders like them,” added Pathan.
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Iran calls the Israeli regime’s earlier assassination of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri an act of “frustration.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani made the remarks on Tuesday, shortly after an Israeli drone attack against a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut led to the martyrdom of six people, including Arouri.
Kan’ani said the Zionist regime had resorted to the targeted killing after suffering “heavy and irreparable defeat” in the face of Palestinian resistance movements during Operation al-Aqsa Storm.
Arouri, who used to serve as the deputy head of the Political Bureau of the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas, was known as the “architect” of the October 7 operation by Gaza’s resistance groups, during which hundreds were taken captive.
Kan’ani further said the assassination took place after Gaza’s people and resistance groups staged “heroic steadfastness” in the face of a genocidal war that the Israeli regime has been waging against the coastal sliver since the operation.
Still referring to the assassination, the spokesman said by perpetrating such atrocity, the criminal and fragile Zionist regime proved once again that it was “founded upon assassination and crime.”
Arouri’s martyrdom, he added, would heighten the impetus for resistance and anti-occupation struggle not only across Palestine but also throughout the region and among the world’s freedom-seeking people.
Kan’ani condoled with Hamas’ leadership, the Palestinian people, and Arouri’s survivors over his martyrdom.
The spokesman denounced the Israeli regime’s violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity during the drone attack.
He insisted that international organizations, especially the United Nations Security Council, had to issue “immediate and effective” reaction to the Zionist regime’s acts of terror.
Kan’ani finally warned the Israeli regime and its supporters about the consequences of Tel Aviv’s new adventurism.
The man made his way to the seventh floor of the building, police said.
A man broke into the Colorado Supreme Court building overnight, firing several shots and briefly holding a security guard at gunpoint before being arrested, police in the western US state said Tuesday.
The Colorado State Patrol (CSP) said it did not believe the incident was linked to the recent ruling by the high court barring Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot.
The CSP said in a statement that the man, who was not identified, had been involved in a car crash nearby and had pointed a gun at the other driver.
He later shot out a window in the Denver building which houses the Colorado Supreme Court and held an unarmed security guard at gunpoint.
The man made his way to the seventh floor of the building where he fired additional gunshots, the CSP said.
He surrendered to police about two hours later without incident.
“There is significant and extensive damage to the building and the investigation is ongoing,” the CSP said. “There are no injuries to building occupants, the suspect, or police personnel.
“At this time, it is believed that this is not associated with previous threats to the Colorado Supreme Court Justices,” it added.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled last month that Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is ineligible for the US presidency because of his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.
The Colorado Republican Party has appealed the decision to the US Supreme Court.
The top election official in Maine has also blocked Trump from the Republican presidential primary ballot in the northeastern state.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Collector Shajapur Kishore Kanyal seen gesturing to a truck driver at an official meeting.
“Achhe se bolo (speak nicely),” requested the truck driver to the top district official.
“Kya bol rahe ho jara dhyaan rakho. Kya karoge tum; Kya aukat hai tumhari (What are you saying. What will you do? What is your stature),” shot back the irate official at the meeting called to discuss the grievances of truckdrivers over the hit-and-run law that has sparked massive protests across the country.
“Yahi toh ladai hai ki hamari koi aukat nahi (This is the fight that we have no stature),” the driver, not backing down, told the officer.
The officer, Kishore Kanyal, Collector Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh, ended the conversation with “do not take law into your hands”, and threw in a suggestion: “this is not how you fight”.
“We have called you all to hear your grievances,” he added further.
The video however, in internet speak, has gone viral.
Hours later, the officer issued a clarification, saying he did not intend to hurt anyone.
आज ड्रायवर्स और उनके संगठनों के साथ संपन्न हुई बैठक में एक व्यक्ति द्वारा बैठक में बार-बार 03 जनवरी के बाद किसी भी लेवल पर जाने की बात कहने पर कलेक्टर श्री किशोर कन्याल ने उसे शांत करने के लिए थोड़े तल्ख लहजे में कही गई बात किसी को ठेस पहुंचाने के उद्देश्य से नहीं कही गई थी। pic.twitter.com/jgMvs5Gwwy
— Collector Shajapur (@collectorshajap) January 2, 2024
“In the meeting held today with the drivers and their organizations, when a person repeatedly asked about going to any level after January 3, Collector Kishore Kanyal said something in a harsh tone to pacify him. It was not said with the intention of hurting,” his office posted on X.
The person was repeatedly standing up in the meeting and creating disruption in the discussion, said his office, adding that the intention was “not to hurt anyone”.
“The Collector has made it clear that no one will be allowed to break law and order in the district. It is our responsibility to protect the public and we will not allow a law and order situation to arise under any circumstances. We will take strict action against those who break the law,” it said further.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor too shared the video and took a swipe at the government.
हर एक बात पे कहते हो तुम कि तू क्या है
तुम्हीं कहो कि ये अंदाज़-ए-गुफ़्तुगू क्या है?#Driverstrikehttps://t.co/ZeS0OJV9JZ— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 2, 2024
Later in the day, the truckers’ stir was called off as the Centre assured that it would consult stakeholders before implementing a contentious law against hit-and-run.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said the government has taken cognisance of the concerns of truckers regarding the provision of 10 years imprisonment and fine and held the detailed discussion with the representatives of the All India Motor Transport Congress.
The police said that woman succumbed to injuries on Wednesday. (Representational)
Gurugram:
A 21-year-old woman working with an IT company died and her friend was injured after their car overturned in Sector 54 area here while they were returning from a New Year party, police said on Tuesday.
The accident took place when Ananya Singh, a resident of Kalkaji, and her friend Siddharth were on their way to join the birthday celebrations of another friend after attending a New Year party on the night of December 31.
In his complaint, her father Prakash Singh said she was returning in a car at around 5 am on Monday when the vehicle lost control and overturned after colliding with the road divider near Sector 54.
“My daughter Ananya and her friend Siddharth, who was driving the car, got injured. Annaya got seriously injured and was rushed to hospital. It was around 8.30 am on Monday that Siddharth called my wife and told her about the accident. He also shared the location of the hospital. As soon as after receiving the information we reached the hospital where Ananya was unfit for statement,” Prakash Singh said.
Head constable Baljeet Singh said the woman succumbed to injuries on Wednesday.
An FIR has been registered against Siddharth, who was driving the car, under sections of the Indian Penal Code at the Sector 53 police station.
“We handed over the body to the family after post-mortem. The matter is being probed,” said Baljeet Singh, the investigating officer.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
PM Narendra Modi opened a state-of the-art international terminal at the Tiruchirapally airport.
Hyderabad:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day tour to Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep and Kerala, his first trip in the New Year, beginning the big push to the BJP’s “Mission South” in the run-up to the 2024 elections.
His visit, where he inaugurated multiple projects, came packaged with a big political message.
“Tamil culture and tradition is the talk everywhere,” the Prime Minister said on the occasion, citing the installation of the Sengol in the new parliament.
As other examples, he cited the Kashi Sangamam and Saurashtra Sangamam — festivals that aim to highlight the country’s cultural diversity and reconnect people with pilgrimage centres.
The inauguration of the 15-plus projects came with a reminder of the NDA government’s largesse for the states.
“In the 10 years before 2014, states got Rs 30 lakh crore. In the 10 years starting 2014, states got 120 lakh crores. Tamil Nadu got 2.5 times more funds, road infrastructure got 3 times more,” PM Modi said.
Of the 131 Lok Sabha seats in the south, the BJP has never won in 84 constituencies and three states. Their only stronghold was Karnataka, which is currently being ruled by the Congress. In 2019, the party won 25 of Karnataka’s 27 seats and got a toehold in Kerala with one seat.
The party is now working to expand its gains and make a niche in other southern states.
Today, PM Modi’s first stop was Bharatidasan University in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirapally, where he told students that the next 25 years were going to be the most important ever for the nation.
“Tamil Nadu is big on education… This is the best time to be young. Next 25 years are going to be most important in history. Attack on country targets knowledge centres… big hope from youth in science, arts, literature,” PM Modi told the students.
The Prime Minister also formally opened a state-of the-art international terminal at the Tiruchirapally airport, built at a cost of Rs 1100 crore, which he said, will boost economy and tourism.
It was done alongside the inauguration of 16 projects worth nearly 20,000 crores related to aviation, rail, road, ports, energy and natural gas pipeline. A demonstration was even held of the Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing plant at Kalpakkam.
The airport is Tamil Nadu’s second-largest terminal in terms of international traffic, after the one in the state capital Chennai.
At Lakshadweep, the Prime Minister fulfilled his promise of a submarine optical fibre link that is expected to increase internet speed 100 times. Mr Modi is staying overnight in Lakshadweep and would fly to Kerala’s Thrissur tomorrow afternoon.
XPoSat marks a major milestone in ISRO’s journey from being an agency tasked with placing satellites in orbit to a research organisation
Published Date – 11:30 PM, Tue – 2 January 24
The new year began with a bang for the Indian space research community with the successful launch of the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat), a unique mission to study X-ray polarisation and its cosmic sources such as black holes and neutron stars. This is India’s maiden endeavour — a game changer — to analyse the polarisation of X-rays emanating from bright celestial sources in the medium frequency band. XPoSat comprises two payloads, including X-ray Polarimeter (POLIX) and X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing (XSPECT). They have been built by Raman Research Institute and UR Rao Satellite Centre, both located in Bengaluru. It is the world’s second such mission after the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) launched by NASA in 2021. What is more fascinating about the endeavour is that it can unravel the universe’s deepest secrets and mysteries surrounding black holes and neutron stars. Because of their immensely strong magnetic fields, some of these celestial bodies emit highly energetic X-ray light. These cosmic rays are absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists, therefore, need X-ray telescopes in space to understand them. XpoSat has two such payloads which could help scientists scout for emissions from black holes, neutron stars and active galactic nuclei. Since the 1970s, imaging studies and spectroscopy have given scientists a fair idea of the energy, time and location of celestial X-rays. The introduction of polarimetry observations by IXPE marked the beginning of the endeavour to capture the degree and angle of light. Now, the Indian mission will complement NASA’s device and the information gathered by these two instruments together will help astronomers decipher the nature of pulsars and black holes.
The latest mission marks a major milestone in ISRO’s journey from being an agency tasked with placing satellites in orbit to a high-profile research organisation engaged in planetary exploration. The successful launch of Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-I in 2023 cemented India’s reputation as a leader in space exploration. Besides the lunar and solar missions, ISRO executed several other important projects, including the testing of the technology demonstrator of Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV-TD); the launch of the first in the second-generation navigation satellite series; and the testing of the crew escape module for the human space mission, Gaganyaan. Later this year, ISRO is set to join hands with NASA to send a mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the permanent laboratory in space about 400 km above the earth’s surface. A test flight of the Gaganyaan, without astronauts, is also scheduled for this year. With every venture, ISRO has sent signals that it has the expertise and maturity to contribute to all aspects of planetary research. India has already established a reputation as a dependable player in the commercial satellite market. It has been focusing its efforts on increasing its share of the global commercial space market. The Indian space industry’s major advantage is its cost-effectiveness.
David Warner in action for Australian cricket team© AFP
Australia vs Pakistan 3rd Test Day 1 Live Score Updates: David Warner will be looking to bid farewell to his red-ball career with a victory as Australia take on Pakistan in the third Test match in Sydney on Wednesday. Australia opted for an unchanged side while Pakistan decided to make two changes. Saim Ayub will be making his debut in place of Imam-Ul-Haq while senior fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has been left out for off-spinner Sajid Khan. Australia lead 2-0 in the three-match series. (Live Scorecard)
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