Farzaneh Ashoorioun
Press TV, Tehran
More than 100,000 Iranians have attended a huge religious ceremony at the Azadi Stadium.
The participants marked the birth anniversary of the second Imam of Shia Muslims, Imam Hassan (peace be upon him), and showed their unwavering support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Naresh, who was working in the office as a computer operator on an outsourcing basis, was also removed from the job and had no ties with the Siddipet MLA’s office thereafter.
Published Date – 27 March 2024, 07:35 PM
Hyderabad: Amidst allegations of misappropriation of the Chief Minister Relief Fund (CMRF) cheques, the office of former Minister and Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao denied any involvement. Responding to reports suggesting cheques were encashed by individuals linked to him, Harish Rao’s office clarified that the accused Naresh had no direct association with the former Minister.
In a statement, Harish Rao’s office informed that his ministerial camp office ceased operations on December 6, 2023, immediately after which he demitted the office and all staff members were immediately dismissed. Naresh, who was working in the office as a computer operator on an outsourcing basis, was also removed from the job and had no ties with the Siddipet MLA’s office thereafter.
Regarding the CMRF cheques incident, the statement revealed Naresh unauthorisedly took some cheques without knowledge of other staff members during the office closure. Upon learning about it, a complaint was filed at the Narsingi police station on December 17, 2023.
The Jubilee Hills police arrested Naresh along with three others, in connection with the theft of CMRF cheques on Wednesday. Based on a complaint from Patloth Ravi Nayak, a farmer from Peerla Thanda in Medak district, a case was registered under sections 417, 419, 420, 120(b) read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code, as well as sections 66(B) and 66(C) of the Information Technology Act.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Sameer Rizvi made an impactful Indian Premier League (IPL) debut against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Tuesday and he talked about the advice he received from the franchise’s poster boy and legendary former skipper MS Dhoni ahead of his first appearance at the major level. The fortress at Chepauk stood untouched as the Chennai Super Kings registered a comprehensive 63-run win over the Gujarat Titans on Monday in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
During this match, Rizvi, bought by CSK for Rs 8.4 crores in the IPL auction held last year, came in the 19th over and took one of the best T20 bowlers of the world, Rashid Khan, to the cleaners with a massive six on the very first ball he faced in his IPL career. He would go on to hit him for one more six before perishing for a short, but a valuable cameo of 14 in six balls. Despite the amount of runs being not so big, Rizvi’s big-hitting and positive intent while facing a world-class bowler stood out. Many lauded the fact that he did not sweat at all in launching Rashid for those two sixes.
In a video posted by the IPL’s official X handle, Rizvi said that he was determined to launch any ball coming into his radar, into the skies.
He announced his arrival to #TATAIPL in some style
The @ChennaiIPL batter shares the feeling of making his debut and dream of playing with @msdhoni – By @RajalArora
WATCH
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 27, 2024
“The way the situation was in the 19th over when I was sent, I was going to hit it big if a delivery was on my radar. The very first ball was in my area and I smashed it for a six,” said Rizvi, who shot to fame with his performances in the UPT20 League last year.
He scored 455 runs in 10 matches at an average of over 50, with two tons and a fifty. His runs came at a strike rate of over 188. In 11 T20s for UP, he has scored 295 runs at an average of 49.16 and an SR of over 134, with two fifties.
Earlier in February, he smashed a triple century during the Colonel CK Nayadu Trophy quarterfinals against Saurashtra, Rizvi smashed 312 runs in 266 balls. His knocks had 33 fours and 12 sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 117.29.
Rizvi said that he was happy to be picked up by the Yellow franchise since it was his life-long dream to meet Dhoni.
“When auction happened, CSK picked me up, I was happy because meeting MS Dhoni was a dream, let alone playing with him. It has been fulfilled. I got to learn a lot from him and the staff. I am trying to learn as much as possible and do well,” said the batter.
Recalling Dhoni’s advice, Rizvi said that India’s World Cup-winning skipper asked him to play his natural game.
“MSD has told me to play the way I do, telling me that the game is the same, the skill is the same, but the mindset is different. He has asked me not to feel pressure and to play as per the situation. He told me to take care of my nerves in the first match in front of a huge crowd,” said Rizvi.
On his jersey number, Rizvi said that he originally wore number seven but had to settle for number one as his favourite number was already in use by none other than Dhoni.
“My jersey number is seven. That belongs to bhaiya (Dhoni). Hence, I could not get it. So I got jersey number one. In this team, everyone loves and supports each other. I was playing IPL for the first time and everyone cheered for me with all their hearts. Whenever I want to ask something, I ask my fellow players. I ask them about the mindset of batting. I want to learn these things,” he concluded.
Coming into the match, GT put CSK to bat first. Fiery knocks from Rachin Ravindra (46 in 20 balls, with six fours and three sixes), skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (46 in 36 balls, with five fours and a six) and Dube (51 in 23 balls, with two fours and five sixes) took CSK to 206/6 in 20 overs.
Rashid Khan (2/49) and Spencer Johnson (1/35) were among the picks of the bowlers for GT.
In the run-chase, GT kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Sai Sudharsan (37 in 31 balls, with three fours), Wriddhiman Saha (21 in 17 balls, with four boundaries) and David Miller (21 in 16 balls, with three fours) tried to put up a fight, but it was just not enough. GT was restricted to 143/8 and lost by 63 runs.
Tushar Deshpande (2/21), Deepak Chahar (2/28) and Mustafizur Rahman (2/30) were the top bowlers for CSK.
Dube took home the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
He directed them to provide shade and watering facilities to nurture the saplings in the nurseries in view of sweltering heat wacondtioins.
Published Date – 27 March 2024, 07:30 PM
Mancherial: Collector Badavath Santosh asked officials to keep nurseries ready to plant saplings for the ensuing financial year. He along with District Forest Officer Shiv Aasheesh Singh convened a review meeting with the officials of various departments here on Wednesday.
Santosh told the officials to take steps to ensure hospital conditions for germination of seeds in nurseries. He instructed them to take up germination of new seeds in the nurseries if required. He directed them to provide shade and watering facilities to nurture the saplings in the nurseries in view of sweltering heat wacondtioins.
ve The Collector further asked the officials to record growth and other details of saplings in registers available at Panchayat Secretaries by visiting nurseries. He told them to prepare a full-fledged action plan to meet targets of plantation drive set to villages, municipalities and various departments in the 2024-25 financial year.
District Rural Development Officer Kishan, municipal commissioners, forest beat officers and many other officials were present.
Brussels, Belgium:
Amazon on Wednesday lost its fight to suspend a requirement regarding its online advertising under EU tech rules after Europe’s top court backed EU regulators, saying EU interests outweigh the US online retailer’s material interests.
Under the Digital Services Act (DSA) which kicked in last year, Amazon was designated as a very large online platform subject to tough rules to tackle illegal and harmful content on its platform.
The company subsequently challenged a DSA requirement to make publicly available a repository containing detailed information on its online advertising and also asked for an interim measure until the court rules on the case.
A lower tribunal in September agreed to its request for an interim measure to suspend the contested obligation, which prompted the European Commission to turn to Europe’s top court.
The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) set aside the suspension order and dismissed Aamzon’s application for an interim measure.
The judge said that Amazon’s argument that the obligation unlawfully limits its fundamental rights to respect for private life and the freedom to conduct a business was not irrelevant.
He also said that without a suspension, it was likely that Amazon would suffer serious and irreparable harm before any judgment annulling the Commission’s decision.
However, he said a suspension could have a detrimental impact on the objectives of the DSA.
“Suspension would lead to a delay, potentially for several years, in the full achievement of the objectives of the Regulation on a Single Market for Digital Services and therefore potentially allow an online environment threatening fundamental rights to persist or develop,” the judge said.
“The interests defended by the EU legislature prevail, in the present case, over Amazon’s material interests, with the result that the balancing of interests weighs in favour of rejecting the request for suspension.”
Amazon said: “We are disappointed with this decision, and maintain that Amazon doesn’t fit the description of a ‘Very Large Online Platform’ (VLOP) under the DSA, and should not be designated as such.”
The case is C-639/23 P(R) | Commission v Amazon Services Europe.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Israel continues to target residential areas and healthcare facilities across the besieged Gaza Strip, notwithstanding a UN Security Council resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire for the remaining days of the holy month of Ramadan.
The regime’s forces killed at least 76 people across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
The figure brought the total number of people Israel has killed in Gaza since October to 32,490, according to the ministry.
In the southern city of Rafah, which is packed with about 1.5 million displaced people, the forces killed at least 24 people, mostly women and children, over the past 24 hours.
In central Gaza, the military hit the Bureij camp, killing five people.
And in Khan Younis, Israeli forces surrounded two hospitals and attacked a camp for the displaced, killing at least 12 people, including children, according to the health ministry.
The Palestinian Red Crescent has warned that thousands are trapped in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and “their lives are in danger.”
The situation is also growing worse throughout northern Gaza, where people are facing a severe shortage of food and water and health supplies.
UNICEF has warned about an “imminent famine” in Gaza, saying more aid must be rushed into the territory by road rather than by air or sea.
UNICEF spokesman James Elder said the necessary help was “a matter of kilometers away” in aid-filled trucks waiting across Gaza’s southern border with Egypt.
The UN Security Council resolution passed on Monday also demanded “the urgent need to expand the flow” of aid into the besieged Palestinian territory. But it has in no way deterred the regime from continuing its relentless attacks and war crimes across the Gaza Strip.
The AAP national convener was arrested by the ED on March 21. (File)
New Delhi:
MLAs from both the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP held protests on the Delhi Assembly premises on Wednesday raising slogans against each other.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs held a demonstration demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been arrested by the ED in an excise policy-linked money laundering case, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators and their supporters raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Both the parties staged protests simultaneously. As the BJP legislators took out a march carrying placards, the AAP leaders and workers, dressed in yellow T-shirts, started raising slogans against PM Modi while following the saffron party’s MLAs.
Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said Arvind Kejriwal should resign as the chief minister.
“The chief minister should resign from his post. There are almost a dozen allegations of corruption against him. If the excise policy was world class, why did he take it back? We are demanding Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation,” Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said.
The BJP MLAs congregated at the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the premises where they protested.
Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said while Arvind Kejriwal currently faces charges in one case, investigations are ongoing in numerous others, necessitating his accountability for multiple alleged scams. He asserted that resignation remains the only viable recourse in such circumstances.
He said Arvind Kejriwal continuing to occupy of the chief minister’s post undermines both moral and constitutional principles, advocating for his prompt resignation to prevent further detriment to Delhi.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva also held a demonstration outside the entrance of the assembly premises around noon with a group of about 100 party workers from Mayur Vihar, along with the party’s Mahila Morcha and Yuva Morcha office-bearers, demanding the resignation of Arvind Kejriwal.
Dressed in black, the BJP workers gathered at the Vidhan Sabha entrance gate and started raising slogans. Virendra Sachdeva himself scaled the gate shouting slogans.
Police did not allow them to enter the assembly premises. The security personnel locked the main gate and subsequently detained the protesters.
Virendra Sachdeva said the people of Delhi are frustrated watching the “illegal” political melodrama of the Arvind Kejriwal government and claimed that they will teach a lesson to the AAP-Congress alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls by totally rejecting them.
He said two ministers of the Delhi government are already in jail and claimed that Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj might also land in prison soon for allegedly issuing fake letters.
Before the commencement of the assembly proceedings, the AAP MLAs staged a protest outside the House and raised slogans demanding Arvind Kejriwal’s immediate release from the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) custody.
The party leaders, including Atishi and Bharadwaj, were part of the protest. They were dressed in yellow T-shirts with slogans like “Main Bhi Kejriwal” and “Modi ka Sabse Bada Dar Kejriwal” written on them. They also burnt an effigy.
The AAP national convener was arrested by the ED on March 21 and subsequently remanded to the federal agency’s custody till March 28 by a court here.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 15.
New Delhi:
Arvind Kejriwal has received no relief from the Delhi High Court over his petition challenging the Enforcement’s Directorate March 15 arrest. The court has given the probe agency time till April 2 to file its response to Mr Kejriwal’s petition.
Mr Kejriwal will, therefore, remain in jail for now. The AAP leader is currently in the custody of the ED; he is in the probe agency’s lock-up at its Delhi office.
He inquired about the enrollment of students and the number of teachers in the schools. As the enrollment was low, steps should be taken to increase the enrollment in the next academic year, he suggested.
Published Date – 27 March 2024, 06:50 PM
Khammam: District Collector VP Gautham has directed the education department officials to make efforts to increase enrollment of students in government schools.
The Collector visited Mandal Parishad Primary and Higher Secondary Schools and Mittapalli Zilla Parishad Higher Secondary Schools in Gollagudem, Telagavaram, Anjanapuram and Malsur thanda villages of Tallada mandal in the district on Wednesday.
He inquired about the enrollment of students and the number of teachers in the schools. As the enrollment was low, steps should be taken to increase the enrollment in the next academic year, he suggested.
The parents of the students should be explained about the availability of proficient teachers, English medium teaching, free textbooks, uniforms and mid-day meals in the government schools, Gautham said.
He interacted with the students of Mandal Parishad Primary School in Malsur thanda and encouraged them to study well and reach higher positions in their lives.
The Collector later had lunch with the students. Earlier in the day, the Collector conducted a surprise inspection at the Palle Dawakhana in Mittapalli village and told the medical staff to be available to the public.
He enquired about the services provided to the people and availability of medicines Gautham told the staff to ensure that every child should be vaccinated and medicines have to be made available for snake and dog bites.
Estimated due date (EDD) chart should be displayed for pregnant women to know the date of onset of labour pains and necessary tests for pregnant women should be done on time.
The plea has also challenged the vires of several provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Published Date – 19 March 2024, 10:30 PM
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has moved the Delhi High Court challenging all summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy case.
A bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain is scheduled to hear the matter on Wednesday.
According to the legal team of the Delhi Chief Minister, all nine summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have been challenged. The plea called these summons unconstitutional and illegal.
The plea has also challenged the vires of several provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Last week, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal on two complaints filed by ED for non-compliance with summons issued by the agency. During the hearing, Kejriwal appeared physically before the court.
According to the ED, the agency wants to record Kejriwal’s statement in the case on issues like the formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalized, and allegations of bribery.
In its sixth charge sheet filed in the case on December 2, 2023, naming AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his aide Sarvesh Mishra, the ED claimed that the AAP used kickbacks worth Rs 45 crore generated via the policy as part of its assembly elections campaign in Goa in 2022.
The now-scrapped excise policy was aimed “at revitalizing the city’s flagging liquor business” and replacing a sales-volume-based regime with a licence fee for traders.
Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena had ordered a probe into alleged irregularities in the policy. AAP has accused Saxena’s predecessor, Anil Baijal, of sabotaging the move with a few last-minute changes that resulted in lower-than-expected revenues.
Two senior AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are in judicial custody in the case.
Sisodia, who was the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI on February 26 following several rounds of questioning. On October 5, ED arrested Sanjay Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member.
