Sports

We are not going to take any risk, high time NCA gives clarity on Shami’s fitness: Rohit

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Shami made his comeback from injury during the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and has also been named in Bengal’s squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, starting Saturday.

Published Date – 18 December 2024, 03:10 PM


We are not going to take any risk, high time NCA gives clarity on Shami’s fitness: Rohit

Mohammed Shami

Brisbane: India captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday said it is high time the NCA provides clarity on Mohammed Shami‘s fitness, emphasising that he won’t risk fielding the pacer in the ongoing Border Gavaskar series until they are sure of his condition.

Shami made his comeback from injury during the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and has also been named in Bengal’s squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, starting Saturday.

“It’s high time somebody from NCA talks about him. Really, that’s our National Cricket Academy where he is doing his rehab. Those guys are the ones who need to come up and give us some kind of update,” Rohit said during the post-match press conference.

Following the pink ball Test in Adelaide, Rohit had revealed that Shami had developed swelling in his knees while playing in SMAT. “But look, I understand he’s playing a lot of cricket back home. But there have been some complaints about his knee as well. So, the last thing you want is the player coming here and then pulling out in the middle of the game. You know what happens when that kind of thing happens.

“So, there’s no way we want to take that chance. Unless we are not 100%, 200% sure, we are not going to take any risk,” he added.

The 34-year-old Shami, who last played for India in the ODI World Cup final in November 2023, was forced into the long layoff due to an ankle injury that needed surgery.

Just before his much-anticipated comeback against New Zealand, he developed swelling in the knee, delaying his return.

Rohit said the door remains open for Shami if he is completely fit.

“Like I said in the last press conference, the door is open. If those guys at the NCA feel that he is okay to go and recover and play, we’ll be happy to have him,” said Rohit.

Last week a BCCI official had told PTI that Shami himself feels he is not ready to take the rigours of red ball cricket right now.

“The swelling seems to come and go. He himself is keen on playing more and more domestic cricket. He can then bowl at least three spells and 10 overs per game,” the BCCI source had said.

Top News

Can Elon Musk Become US President? Donald Trump Says…

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Could Elon Musk, who holds major sway in the incoming Trump administration, one day become president? On Sunday, Donald Trump answered with a resounding no, pointing to US rules about being born in the country.

“He’s not gonna be president, that I can tell you,” Trump told a Republican conference in Phoenix, Arizona. 

“You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born in this country,” Trump said of the Tesla and SpaceX boss, who was born in South Africa.

The US Constitution requires that a president be a natural-born US citizen.

Trump was responding to criticism, particularly from the Democratic camp, portraying the tech billionaire and world’s richest person as “President Musk” for the outsized role he is playing in the incoming administration.

As per ceding the presidency to Musk, Trump also assured the crowd: “No, no that’s not happening.”

The influence of Musk, who will serve as Trump’s “efficiency czar,” has become a focus point for Democratic attacks, with questions raised over how an unelected citizen can wield so much power.

And there is even growing anger among Republicans after Musk trashed a government funding proposal this week in a blizzard of posts — many of them wildly inaccurate — to his more than 200 million followers on his social media platform X.

Alongside Trump, Musk ultimately helped pressure Republicans to renege on a funding bill they had painstakingly agreed upon with Democrats, pushing the United States to the brink of budgetary paralysis that would have resulted in a government shutdown just days before Christmas.

Congress ultimately reached an agreement overnight Friday to Saturday, avoiding massive halts to government services.

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


World

FM spox. condoles martyrdom of embassy staffer in Damascus

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On Saturday, Baghaei expressed his condolences to the Iranian people and the family of Davoud Bitaraf, a local staff member at Iran’s embassy in Syria, who was tragically martyred when his vehicle was shot by “terrorist elements” in Damascus on December 15.

Baghaei strongly condemned this “criminal act”, noting that Bitaraf’s body had been found, identified, and returned to Iran in recent days.

He also reminded Syria’s transitional government of its responsibility to identify and punish those responsible for this crime, emphasizing that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is pursuing the matter seriously through various diplomatic and international channels in an appropriate manner. 

MNA/

Business

India’s 100 richest surpass $1 trillion, Gautam Adani ranks 2nd: Forbes-Telangana Today

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India’s wealthiest are now valued at $1.1 trillion, more than double their worth in 2019, according to Forbes’ list of the top 100 billionaires. The report highlights infrastructure magnate Gautam Adani as the biggest dollar gainer, citing his strong recovery from last year’s short-selling attack and the recent appointment of his sons and nephews to key positions.





Published Date – 10 October 2024, 01:00 PM


India’s 100 richest surpass $1 trillion, Gautam Adani ranks 2nd: Forbes


New Delhi: The collective wealth of India’s 100 richest tycoons surpassed the trillion dollar milestone for the first time as more than 80 per cent of the country’s richest tycoons are now wealthier than they were a year ago, a Forbes report showed on Thursday.

In a record-breaking year, India’s wealthiest are now worth $1.1 trillion, more than twice as rich as they were in 2019, according to the Forbes list of India’s top 100 billionaires.

“The biggest dollar gainer is infrastructure magnate Gautam Adani, who posted a strong recovery from last year’s short-selling attack and recently placed his sons and nephews in key positions,” the report noted.

“With his brother Vinod (Adani), he added $48 billion to take the family’s net worth to $116 billion, enough to retain the No. 2 position,” it added.

According to the report, India’s wealthiest added $316 billion or nearly 40 per cent in just the past 12 months, as investor enthusiasm about the country’s growth story remains robust under Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s third term.

“Savitri Jindal, matriarch of steel-to-power conglomerate OP Jindal Group, whose son Sajjan Jindal recently made an ambitious foray into electric vehicles with MG Motor, moved up to No. 3 for the first time. She’s one of nine women on the list, up from eight a year ago,” the report revealed.

Mahima Datla, who controls privately-held vaccine producer Biological E. is one of four newcomers to the Forbes list.

Others on the coveted list are B. Partha Saradhi Reddy, founder of Hetero Labs, a maker of generic medicines and pharma ingredients; Harish Ahuja of apparel maker Shahi Exports and Surender Saluja, founder and chairman of Premier Energies, which makes solar panels and modules.

Dilip Shanghvi, founder of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, jumped three spots to fifth position with $32.4 billion and siblings Sudhir and Samir Mehta of Torrent Group more than doubled their wealth to $16.3 billion.

From the Godrej family, brothers Adi and Nadir Godrej, who control listed companies under the Godrej Industries Group, and their cousins Jamshyd Godrej and Smita Crishna Godrej, who control privately-held flagship Godrej & Boyce under the Godrej Enterprises Group, are on the list.

Nikhil Kamath, 38, who co-founded and runs online brokerage Zerodha with his brother Nithin, 45, is among the six nonagenarians on the list.

Hyderabad

Swami Smarananandagiri highlights the power of Kriya Yoga on World Meditation Day

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Swami Smarananandagiri emphasized how meditation is not merely a spiritual practice but a practical tool for navigating life’s challenges. He explained that our day-to-day decisions are often influenced by personal preferences or past experiences, which may lead to mixed outcomes

Published Date – 21 December 2024, 09:13 PM


Swami Smarananandagiri highlights the power of Kriya Yoga on World Meditation Day


Hyderabad: On the occasion of World Meditation Day, the Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) conducted a transformative workshop at Arya Vaishya Abhyudaya Sangam in Hyderabad. The event, led by Swami Smarananandagiri, Vice President of YSS, was centered on the theme “Kriya Yoga Meditation for a Happy and Successful Life.”

Swami Smarananandagiri emphasized how meditation is not merely a spiritual practice but a practical tool for navigating life’s challenges. He explained that our day-to-day decisions are often influenced by personal preferences or past experiences, which may lead to mixed outcomes.

In contrast, decisions guided by intuition are infallible. “Intuition,” Swamiji said, “is the silent voice of the soul, and it never fails. Through the disciplined practice of Kriya Yoga Meditation, we can awaken and refine this inner guidance system.”

Swamiji described meditation as essential nourishment for the body, mind, and soul, likening it to food that sustains our well-being and clarity. He urged the audience to embrace meditation as a practical solution to life’s challenges, whether personal, professional, or spiritual.

In his talk, Swamiji further highlighted the importance of learning meditation correctly. “If only people knew how to meditate properly, everyone would meditate. Meditation is the universal answer to achieving happiness and success, but it must be practiced with proper guidance,” he said.

Sports

India to face Pakistan in thrilling opener of inaugural Kho Kho WC on this date

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India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the opening match of the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup on January 13, 2024, marking the start of the week-long event which will be organised at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the national capital and at the Noida Indoor Stadium

Updated On – 18 December 2024, 05:45 PM


India to face Pakistan in thrilling opener of inaugural Kho Kho WC on this date

Representational Image

New Delhi: Hosts India will face arch rivals Pakistan in the opening match of the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup on January 13, the organisers announced on Wednesday.

As many as 24 countries have already confirmed their participation in the week-long event (January 13-19), which will be organised at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the national capital and at the Noida Indoor Stadium.

“The league matches will start on January 13. There will be an opening ceremony on that day and after that the most exciting match of the season, the match between India and Pakistan men’s teams will be played on January 13,” Kho Kho World Cup CEO Vikram Dev Dogra said in the press conference on Wednesday.

“Thereafter, on 14th, 15th and 16th January, the remaining league matches will carry on, following which the quarterfinals will be held on January 17 and semifinals on January 18 and final on January 19.” He said the national camp of 60 men and 60 women is currently undergoing at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, and the Indian teams — men and women — for the World will be selected from among these players. Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) president and chairman of the tournament’s organising committee, Sudhanshu Mittal announced that Bollywood megastar Salman Khan will be the brand ambassador of the World Cup.

“I am announcing with pride that the brand ambassador of the event will be Salman Khan.” Mittal said. USA, England, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil are among the teams that have confirmed their participation in the tournament.

The event will take place in a league-cum-knockout format, for both men and women. Among Asian countries, Indonesia will send only their women’s team while all other nations will send both their men and women’s squads. Mittal said that 615 players and 125 support staff will take part in the event. Each team will comprise 15 players, one coach, one manager and international technical officials.

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Kohli Labelled 'Bully' Over Argument With Female Reporter: "Berated Her…"

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Star India batter Virat Kohli has been labelled as “bully” after his recent argument with a female journalist earlier this week. This comes after Kohli lashed out at Nat Yoannidis, a local journalist upon landing with his family at the Melbourne Airport. Kohli was seemingly unhappy with the journalist for filming his kids without his permission, citing privacy concerns. The 36-year-old had also warned Indian journalist in the past, against clicking pictures of his son and daughter. However, this rule doesn’t apply in Australia as the journalist are free to record and click pictures of the celebrities.

Kohli urged the journalist to delete the images and videos of his kids, but asked her to keep his solo ones. He was also seen shaking hands with the journalists upon getting assurance that they were not filming his kids.

Now, a Nine Sports journalist has lashed out at Kohli, labelling the former India captain as a “bully”. He slammed Kohli for “berating” the female reporter.

“Nat was out there with a cameraman, a Channel 7 reporter was out there with his cameraman and they were doing what we do on a daily basis essentially, and that’s be at the airport to actually get identities, whether they’re politicians, whether they’re sporting identities or whatever. He took umbrage, he being Virat Kohli, to the fact the cameras were focused on him,” Jones was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.

“Well duh! You’re a batting superstar, you’re a global superstar in the world of cricket, and he takes umbrage to the fact that the attention is focused on him. What really got my back up when I saw the footage was that he turned around to the three blokes, the two cameramen and the reporter from Channel 7, and said you guys are OK, it’s her,” he added.

“Really? Big tough man, Virat. And then he stood over this girl, Nat Yoannidis, who’s about five foot one, five foot two, and just absolutely berated her. You’re nothing but a bully, Virat,” a fuming Jones said.

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World

Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme emerging threat to US: White House

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Washington: Asserting that Pakistan developing sophisticated missile technology will give it the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including in the US, a top White House official said on Thursday that the Asian country’s actions are an emerging threat to the United States. Such a remark by the top White House official comes […]

Updated On – 20 December 2024, 07:17 AM


Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme emerging threat to US: White House

Source: IANS

Washington: Asserting that Pakistan developing sophisticated missile technology will give it the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including in the US, a top White House official said on Thursday that the Asian country’s actions are an emerging threat to the United States.

Such a remark by the top White House official comes a day after the US slapped sanctions on four Pakistani entities, including the state-owned flagship aerospace and defence agency — National Development Complex (NDC) — on charges of them contributing to Pakistan’s ballistic-missile programme.

The other three entities are Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, Affiliates International and Rockside Enterprise. All three are based in Karachi. Based in Islamabad, the NDC is responsible for the ballistic-missile programme. It has worked to acquire items to advance Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile programme.

“As a result, the (Joe) Biden administration has implemented a series of steps to contend with further development of long-range missile systems. Over the last year, we have issued three rounds of sanctions against non-Pakistani entities that have provided support to Pakistan’s ballistic-missile programme,” Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer told a think-tank here.

“And yesterday, we issued sanctions directly against Pakistan’s state-owned National Development Complex, which the United States assesses is involved in the development and production of Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missiles, the first time we have sanctioned a Pakistani state-owned enterprise tied to missile development,” he said.

“Simply put, we are going to keep the pressure on Pakistan regarding its long-range missile programme, even as we also continue to seek diplomatic resolutions to address our concerns,” Finer said in his remarks at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a top American think-tank.

In his remarks, Finer said recently, Pakistan has developed increasingly sophisticated missile technology, from long-range ballistic missile systems to equipment that would enable the testing of significantly larger rocket motors.

“If these trend lines continue, Pakistan will have the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including in the United States, raising real questions about Pakistan’s intentions,” he said.

The list of countries that possess both nuclear weapons and the missile capability to directly reach the US homeland is very small, and they tend to be adversarial towards the United States — Russia, North Korea and China — Finer observed.

“So candidly, it is hard for us to see Pakistan’s actions as anything other than an emerging threat to the United States. Now, leaders across our administration, myself included, have raised these concerns repeatedly with senior Pakistani officials,” he said.

“We have been a longtime partner with Pakistan on development, on counter-terrorism and other security issues, including quite sensitive issues. We have provided support to Islamabad during difficult times and we continue to desire a cooperative relationship in these areas of shared interest,” Finer added.

“That makes us question even more why Pakistan will be motivated to develop a capability that could be used against us. Unfortunately, it is our sense that Pakistan has failed to take these concerns and, frankly, the concerns of others in the international community seriously and continues to advance these capabilities,” he said.

“Just looking at a map and looking at ranges, we believe that this is fundamentally focused on us,” Finer said in response to a question.

“I think that is an inescapable conclusion based on the information that we have got and that is why this is of such great concern because the United States cannot, will not simply sit back and watch the development of this capability that we believe could pose a threat ultimately down the road,” Finer said.

Business

Ratan Tata avenged Ford’s humiliation by acquiring Jaguar, Land Rover-Telangana Today

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In 1998, the legendary industrialist launched his dream project, the Tata Indica, which was India’s first hatchback with a diesel engine. However, sales were slow initially, prompting Tata Motors to consider selling its nascent car business within a year of its debut. The US auto giant Ford was viewed as an ideal candidate for the acquisition.





Updated On – 10 October 2024, 01:38 PM


Ratan Tata avenged Ford’s humiliation by acquiring Jaguar, Land Rover


Mumbai: The story of two iconic brands Jaguar and Land Rover entering the Tata stable began with an insult Ratan Tata couldn’t bear.

Back in 1998, the legendary industrialist launched his dream project, Tata Indica — India’s first hatchback with a diesel engine. But sales initially were slow and Tata Motors decided to sell off its fledgling car business within a year of its debut.

US auto giant Ford was seen as an ideal candidate.

The company acceded to a meeting requirement from Ford Motors. Officials of the US firm came to Bombay House for talks sometime in 1999.

During the meeting at the Tata headquarters, the American company evinced interest in buying out the business.

To take the deal forward, Ratan Tata and his team flew to Detroit to meet Bill Ford, then the chairman of Ford.

The meeting lasted about three hours but did not go well.

The American businessman was condescending and “humiliated” the Indian businessman, according to a person who attended the meeting.

“You do not know anything, why did you start the passenger car division at all,” the Ford officials told their guests, and spoke about doing a favour to the Indian company by buying out the latter’s business.

The deal fell.

The team decided to return to India immediately after the meeting, which was described as “humiliating” by the person present. On the 90-minute flight taking them back to New York, a sombre Ratan Tata spoke very few words.

The mortifying experience only made Ratan Tata more focused on his goals. He decided not to sell the unit and what followed was a classic example of a failure-turned success story.

Nine years later, Ford was on the verge of bankruptcy following the Great Recession of 2008. Tata offered to buy two iconic brands in the Ford portfolio — Jaguar and Land Rover.

The USD 2.3 billion all-cash deal was completed in June 2008 and Ford chairman Bill Ford thanked Tata, saying, “You are doing us a big favour by buying JLR’,” Pravin Kadle, who was part of the team that travelled with Ratan Tata to the US in 1999, had recounted during a public event in 2015.

Post-acquisition, the Tata Group has scripted one of the most fabulous turnarounds in the auto industry and has been able to position the marquee British brands as formidable entities in the fiercely competitive global car market.

Even as Tata Motors has come a long way and gained market share in India, it continues to earn a significant part of revenues from the JLR.

Today, JLR is the backbone of Tata Motors.

Hyderabad

Telangana Assembly adjourned sine die

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During the seven days, the Assembly worked for 37.44 hours, eight bills were passed and discussions were held on a few issues

Published Date – 21 December 2024, 09:04 PM


Telangana Assembly adjourned sine die

Telangana Assembly

Hyderabad: After a marathon discussion on Rythu Bharosa on Saturday, Speaker G Prasad Kumar adjourned the Assembly sine die after seven days of heated arguments, debates and other proceedings in the House.

During the seven days, the Assembly worked for 37.44 hours, eight bills were passed and discussions were held on a few issues. The last day of the session witnessed arguments between the members of treasury and opposition benches over Rythu Bharosa.

Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu said during the last seven days, short discussions were held on amenities in gurukuls, State finances and outstanding liabilities, tourism policy and Rythu Bharosa.

Addressing media persons, the Minister said Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had also given a statement on Telangana Thalli. Similarly, the Legislative Council worked for 28.3 hours and members filed 38 questions, he added.