The situation went from bad to worse for Mumbai Indians as the Hardik Pandya-led side slumped to their third consecutive defeat in IPL 2024. The five-time champions were completely outplayed by Rajasthan Royals as they suffered a six-wicket loss on Monday. The loss means that MI are in the tenth position with the worst Net Run Rate (NRR) in the competition. This has been a terrible start for them and the defeat certainly increased the pressure on Hardik and Co. On the other hand, RR claimed the top spot from Kolkata Knight Riders with the comprehensive victory.
A clinical Rajasthan Royals romped home for a third win on the trot in IPL 2024 with a six-wicket hammering of Mumbai Indians, whose skipper Hardik Pandya continued to be on the receiving end of fans’ anger,.
After Yuzvendra Chahal (3/11) and Trent Boult (3/22) combined to suffocate Mumbai Indians with the bat, restricting them to 125/9, Riyan Parag (54 not out) churned out yet another top-drawer knock to take Rajasthan Royals to the first spot in the IPL points table.
The 22-year-old Parag continued to make giant strides this season with a knock that reflected his maturity and aggression, dishing out some spectacular hits while being single-minded to not relent until his side was over the line.
Parag’s knock was studded with five fours and three sixes as Royals reached 127/4 from 15.3 overs, winning with 27 balls to spare.
Meanwhile, there was no letup for Pandya who was booed on several occasions in Mumbai Indians’ first home game. It started with Pandya being booed when he took field for warm-up drills and the fans hit the player hard again when he came out for the toss.
Even though commentator and former India and Mumbai player Sanjay Manjrekar appealed to the crowd to “behave”, the boos continued until Pandya hit a few fours to bring smile back on Mumbai fans after their side was left reeling at 20/4 inside the powerplay.
According to report, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi “will take the oath of office on the constitution Tuesday.
Cairo:
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be sworn in on Tuesday for a third consecutive term in the new capital being built outside Cairo, government newspaper Al-Ahram confirmed Monday.
In power for over a decade, Sisi “will take the oath of office on the constitution Tuesday in the new parliament premises in the administrative capital”, east of Cairo, Al-Ahram said.
Officially, the 69-year-old Sisi will begin his term on Wednesday, more than three months after he was reelected with 89.6 percent of the vote against three largely-unknown candidates.
The former head of the army and minister of defence, Sisi led the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi following massive popular protests around the country.
His new term of six years is supposed to be his last, according to the constitution.
MP Mustafa Bakri, who is close to the ruling powers, said the government will likely resign after Sisi’s inauguration to allow for a cabinet reshuffle.
The swearing-in comes against the background of a severe economic crisis, with spiralling inflation and a foreign currency shortage that is stifling foreign trade.
In the first trimester of 2024, however, Egypt benefitted from an influx of billions of dollars, of which $35 billion came from the United Arab Emirates, and an increase of $5 billion of an original loan of $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund.
Sisi’s supporters say the flow of foreign currency will revitalise the economy, but observers are sceptical there will be any improvement without structural reforms to reduce the outsize role of the army and government in the economy.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
PM Modi has himself raised the issue with different leaders, Says S Jaishankar. (File)
Surat:
The Indian government has taken up on priority the issue of ban on imports of Russian-origin unpolished diamonds by the European Union (EU) and G7 nations as the measure will end up hurting the domestic diamond polishing industry mainly centred in Gujarat’s Surat city, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday.
The initial stage of an EU and G7 ban on imports of Russia-origin diamonds via third countries came into effect in early March, a step taken as part of sanctions on Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
“Our effort is to delay (the initial stage of ban), soften it, and best of all, not let this happen at all. For us, this has become a priority issue, and we will try to find out a solution in coming days,” S Jaishankar said.
He was responding to a question on how the ban is going to hurt the Surat diamond industry, which polishes 90 per cent of the world’s rough diamond.
S Jaishankar said at an interaction with young business leaders organised by the Disha Foundation in Surat that the 27-member EU has imposed sanctions on imports of Russian diamonds, and G7, the group of the world’s wealthiest nations, is also going in that direction.
The countries which have banned the imports of Russian rough diamonds via third countries as part of sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine are only consumers and their employment does not depend on it, the minister noted.
“Their idea is to hurt Russia. And this subject is completely different from blood diamonds. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has himself raised the issue with different leaders and sent me to different countries, including Belgium (which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency), to discuss the issue with the government there,” S Jaishankar emphasised.
Sanction have been currently imposed on 1-carat diamond, and the issue can be resolved if there is a ceasefire (between Russia and Ukraine), but this is not likely to happen any time soon, he said.
“If the war continues, it will create challenges (for the Indian diamond industry). We are holding discussions collectively and on a bilateral basis over the issue. Only a few days ago, PM Modi talked to the Belgian Prime Minister (Alexander De Croo), and our (Union Commerce) Minister Piyush Goyal is going to follow up on this in the next few days,” S Jaishankar informed.
The government’s effort is to make the EU and G7 countries understand that their decision ends up hurting the third person and not the target (a reference to Russia), the minister pointed out.
As far as the challenges that the Surat textile industry faces from Bangladesh and Vietnam are concerned, the Indian government’s effort to enter into a Free Trade Agreement with the EU will help tackle them as the sector will be a big beneficiary of such a business pact, he noted.
In his interaction, S Jaishankar stressed that instead of following the ‘China Plus One’ strategy, entering into the new supply chain being created across the world and gaining a foothold in the digital world through India’s reputation of trustworthiness will help the country’s industry.
The strategy encourages companies to diversify their supply chain and manufacturing activities away from China to mitigate risks.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress move to name Abhay Kashinath Patil from Maharashtra’s Akola has put a firm period to its intended friendly ties with Prakash Ambedkar’s VBA (Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi). Though the alliance plans of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the VBA fell through, the Congress and Mr Ambedkar had declared support for each other, especially in Akola, a seat the Dalit leader wished to contest.
In Telangana, the Grand Old Party has announced a candidate for Warangal — Kadiyan Kavya, who crossed over from K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi a few days ago. Ms Kavya is daughter of senior BRS leader and sitting MLA Kadiam Srihari, who also served as deputy chief minister in then BRS government. The sitting BRS Lok Sabha member from Warangal, Pasunoori Dayakar, also joined the Congress in Telangana recently.
In Maharashtra, when the MVA and the VBA were discussing seat sharing, the alliance was ready to give Prakash Ambedkar the Akola seat along with four others.
But after the VBA decided to go solo, the Congress — which had been the one pushing for a tie-up — had said it would support Mr Ambedkar from Akola. Mr Ambedkar, whose party has significant support among Dalits in the state, had also promised support to the Congress in multiple seats.
The national party’s move to field its own candidate from the seat, however, indicates it is no longer supporting the VBA as promised and vice versa.
Last week, Mr Ambedkar’s VBA had declared its intention to go it alone in the election, upset over the MVA’s failure to come to an understanding over a handful of contentious seats in the state. Mr Ambedkar later claimed he had spoken to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil and got his support.
Shortly after, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena UBT had jumped the gun and announced candidates for 17 seats, sparking speculation about an open rift within the MVA. Four of the 17 seats were coveted by the Congress.
Trump is seeking to evict his Democrat rival Biden from the White House in November’s vote (File)
Washington:
You might argue it’s a cruel joke no matter what side of American politics you fall on: Donald Trump sent a message to supporters Monday that appeared to announce he was suspending his reelection campaign, but it turned out to be an April Fools’ fundraising bid.
The former Republican president, seeking to evict his Democrat rival Joe Biden from the White House in November’s vote, sent the abrupt message stating “I’m suspending my campaign” to supporters by email and text, accompanied by a link.
But clicking on it took users to a site inviting them to donate money to his campaign.
“Did you really think I’d suspend my campaign? Happy April Fools Day!” he wrote in capital letters.
The Biden team quickly clapped back with a jibe at Trump’s allegedly lazy schedule.
“Trump hasn’t campaigned in 16 days. So not sure what the difference is,” said Biden campaign staffer Ammar Moussa.
For years, US political candidates have courted small donors, inundating supporters with text messages, emails, and phone calls — sometimes more than a dozen a day — appealing for them to contribute financially to the cause.
They can rake in millions of dollars by doing so, a key source of cash in a country where a presidential run can cost billions of dollars.
But the tsunami of requests forces candidates to be increasingly creative to stand out from the crowd.
Trump regularly airs his legal woes, accusing the Biden administration of seeking to jail him, though he offers no evidence for his claims.
For now, the Biden campaign is ahead in the fundraising race — an advantage it is savoring by referring to Trump, a fan of cruel nicknames, as “Broke Don.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Big powers are busy with other conflicts in West Asia and Europe and it’s here that India can play a crucial role
Published Date – 1 April 2024, 11:59 PM
Afghanistan is mineral-rich country and by connecting energy-rich Central and West Asia to South Asia, both Afghanistan and Pakistan will benefit
By DhananjayTripathi
When the United States of America exited Afghanistan in August 2021, it was a long war of 20 years that came to an end. Every war has its cost, both material and human. For example, America invested almost $2.3 trillion during its military involvement in Afghanistan. Reports indicate that in this war, nearly 2,400 US military and 70,000 Afghan military and police personnel lost their lives. Though there is no concrete data, the civilian casualties are high — estimated between 1 lakh and 1.5 lakh people, including Taliban fighters. Needless to say, it is a traumatic experience for ordinary Afghans who remain unsettled for almost four decades.
The return of the Taliban ended the conflict, but there are several issues, mainly related to women’s rights, that are unresolved. The unfortunate part is that after the exit, the US and its Western allies are not focused enough on Afghanistan. There is still confusion on how to deal with the Taliban. Is the world going to officially recognise it, and when? Let us deal with some of these questions.
Return of History
In 1989, the Soviets, after fighting for 10 years in Afghanistan, retreated but left the country in complete disarray. The US, after fulfilling its objective of defeating the Soviets in Afghanistan, turned its back and returned only in 2001 after it was attacked by Al-Qaeda, whose leader Osama bin Laden was based in Afghanistan. Armed re-entry of the US in Afghanistan was termed as part of a decisive war on terrorism. However, soon the US entered into another war in a different region by invading Iraq in March 2003 on the pretext of SaddamHussein possessing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
The Taliban, which was under pressure, fled and took refuge in Pakistan and started regrouping after 2003 as the US had to divert attention from Afghanistan. Now, documents and papers reveal how the Pentagon and the White House remained indecisive on Afghanistan, lacked a coordinated policy and kept changing the goalposts. Ultimately, just like the Soviets, the US had to leave Afghanistan in 2021 after formally negotiating a peace deal with the Taliban. The same Taliban that was chased out of Kabul by the US was brought back through a deal.
Taliban 2.0
The sudden departure of the US from Afghanistan surprised many. Today, Afghanistan has a government, but there are several doubts about governance. The Taliban, during the peace process, assured the international community that it would not allow Afghan land to be used for terrorism. Unlike the earlier Taliban that was facing stiff resistance in Afghanistan, this time, there is no organised opposition. Moreover, unofficially, the Taliban has a wider international reach and is hopeful of formal recognition by the international community.
While these are new things about the Taliban, we have not witnessed any real reform on several fronts. The most important is women’s rights, and here, the Taliban is unwilling to relent. This year again girls over the age of 12 were kept out of schools. As per the Taliban’s education policy, girls beyond sixth grade are not permitted to continue their learning in a school. While one can be critical of the US’ Afghan policy, during the tenure of the US-supported government of HamidKarzai and Ashraf Ghani, Afghan women enjoyed fundamental rights. Today, there are around 1 million Afghan girls who are out of school.
Taliban’s defence of the present ban on girls’ education is based on its interpretation of Sharia. The Taliban also claim that their position on girl’s education is in the context of Afghan culture, which is undoubtedly a debatable proposition. Faced with international criticism, the Taliban often argue they are preparing an appropriate Islamic curriculum for girls. Even if one takes this reason of the Taliban, it fails to convince how long it will take to prepare a curriculum.
Experts believe that the Taliban as an organisation consist of leaders and cadres who are trained in a very conservative orthodox ideology. Therefore, it is difficult for the top leadership of the Taliban to radically change their politics. However, they don’t want to completely close themselves to the outside world. In brief, let us not expect sudden alterations in the Taliban’sworldview. Nevertheless, it is pertinent that one keeps raising these concerns regarding the rule of the Taliban.
Future of Afghanistan
Afghanistan, for the last many decades, remained politically volatile and violent. It has affected the people and only added to lawlessness. Long internal conflict, the near absence of good governance and the presence of several unwarranted non-state actors only added to the troubles of common Afghans. Now, with the Taliban in Kabul, things can go in the right direction, provided the international community remains concentrated on the country. Afghanistan has economic potential, but it requires external assistance for growth. According to the World Bank data, Afghanistan received aid of $6.75 billion in 2011, which reduced to $4.66 billion in 2021, the year the US decided to end its intervention in this country. There was a concern that post-2021, the aid may shrink further.
In 2021, more than two-thirds of the Afghan population desperately needed international assistance. Even today, the ground realities have not changed much, and some 23 million people cannot lead a proper life without some kind of support. In one of its studies, the Centre for Disaster Philanthropy underlined that between “November 2023 and March 2024, around 15.8 million people are projected to experience high levels of food insecurity” in Afghanistan. Fortunately, international aid agencies have not abandoned Afghanistan and provided $6.9 billion in humanitarian aid from August 2021 to September 2023. This generosity of the aid agencies checked the rising inflation in the country and provided some economic cushion.
External backing is necessary, but Afghanistan has to develop its own industrial base for long-term economic sustainability. It is a mineral-rich country, and geographically connects South to Central and West Asia. According to a report published in Reuters, the country has natural resources worth $3 trillion. To highlight a few, Afghanistan has copper reserves of around 30 million tonnes and some 2.2 billion tonnes of iron ore that can be used for steelmaking. It is relevant to note that by connecting energy-rich Central and West Asia to South Asia, both Afghanistan and Pakistan will benefit.
What can be Done?
Once again, Afghanistan is at a crossroads and requires aid and political engagement. The international community cannot afford to isolate the Taliban. It is time to think about giving official recognition to its regime. There are diplomatic tribulations because, at the official level, one is dealing with the Taliban, but when it comes to ordinary Afghans, they cannot travel easily to another country. It is difficult for an Afghan to obtain a Visa. At present, big powers of the world are busy with other conflicts such as in West Asia and Europe, and may not prioritise Afghanistan. Here, India has a role. Let us hope that after the general election, the new government will take some diplomatic initiatives on Afghanistan.
(The author is Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, South Asian University, New Delhi)
The Congress move to name Abhay Kashinath Patil from Maharashtra’s Akola has put a firm period to its intended friendly ties with Prakash Ambedkar’s VBA (Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi). Though the alliance plans of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the VBA fell through, the Congress and Mr Ambedkar had declared support for each other, especially in Akola, a seat the Dalit leader wished to contest.
In Telangana, the Grand Old Party has announced a candidate for Warangal — Kadiyan Kavya, who crossed over from K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi a few days ago. Ms Kavya is daughter of senior BRS leader and sitting MLA Kadiam Srihari, who also served as deputy chief minister in then BRS government. The sitting BRS Lok Sabha member from Warangal, Pasunoori Dayakar, also joined the Congress in Telangana recently.
In Maharashtra, when the MVA and the VBA were discussing seat sharing, the alliance was ready to give Prakash Ambedkar the Akola seat along with four others.
But after the VBA decided to go solo, the Congress — which had been the one pushing for a tie-up — had said it would support Mr Ambedkar from Akola. Mr Ambedkar, whose party has significant support among Dalits in the state, had also promised support to the Congress in multiple seats.
The national party’s move to field its own candidate from the seat, however, indicates it is no longer supporting the VBA as promised and vice versa.
Last week, Mr Ambedkar’s VBA had declared its intention to go it alone in the election, upset over the MVA’s failure to come to an understanding over a handful of contentious seats in the state. Mr Ambedkar later claimed he had spoken to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil and got his support.
Shortly after, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena UBT had jumped the gun and announced candidates for 17 seats, sparking speculation about an open rift within the MVA. Four of the 17 seats were coveted by the Congress.
Rishi Sunak faces a potential revolt from within his party ranks over new legislation. (File)
London:
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces a potential revolt from within his party ranks over new legislation that is set to criminalise homelessness and hand police powers to crack down on rough sleepers on the country’s streets.
According to a report in ‘The Times’ on Monday, several Conservative Party MPs have warned that they will vote against the measures in the Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently going through the House of Commons and set to become law before a general election expected later this year.
The proposals, which had been unveiled by former Indian-origin home secretary Suella Braverman, would mean rough sleepers in England and Wales could be fined as much as 2,500 Pounds or face prison terms.
“A lot of colleagues believe that the bill as it stands is completely unacceptable because it would have the effect of criminalising people who have no choice but to sleep on the streets. We are urging ministers to think again,” said Tory MP Bob Blackman, who is also joint secretary of the powerful Conservative backbench 1922 Committee.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and former deputy Prime Minister Damian Green are among the other Tory MPs who have signed amendments that would remove the new police powers. Green said he supported Blackman’s amendment because it represented “a practical way forward to help people off the streets” rather than criminalising them.
“People are not homeless because they want to be. These plans are even worse than the vagrancy act that was first introduced after the Napoleonic wars that this is supposed to be replaced,” an unnamed Tory MP was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
The Criminal Justice Bill is designed to present the Conservatives as tough on crime as it prepares for a gruelling general election campaign, with the odds stacked against the governing party due to intense anti-incumbency sentiments.
The proposals within the legislation include expanding police powers to test suspects for drugs on arrest and enter premises to search for stolen goods such as mobile phones. It would also give probation officers the power to administer lie-detection tests to sex offenders and terrorists after their release from prison and also increase sentences for some offences.
However, ministers are concerned the bill will be overshadowed by controversies such as the homelessness debate.
“That’s just part of the things we’re looking to do in terms of making sure that people don’t sleep on the streets and that’s not right, we want to provide the resources for people, housing, improving the number of refuges people can sleep in, and the amount of social housing and affordable housing, which we’ve done,” said UK Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake.
Polly Neate, chief executive of the homelessness charity Shelter, stressed that the legislation was unfair.
“Instead of punishing people for being homeless, politicians should be trying to prevent them from ending up on the streets. Everyone at risk of sleeping rough should have a right to suitable emergency accommodation, and to end homelessness for good it must invest in genuinely affordable social homes – we need 90,000 a year,” she said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
India has already imposed anti-dumping duty on several products. (Representational)
New Delhi:
India has initiated an anti-dumping probe into the import of a chemical used in the rubber industry from China and Japan following a complaint by a domestic player.
The commerce ministry’s investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is probing the alleged dumping of ‘Insoluble Sulphur’.
Oriental Carbon & Chemicals Ltd has filed an application before the authority to undertake a probe into the alleged dumping of the chemicals coming from these two countries.
According to the DGTR’s notification, the applicant has provided prima facie evidence with respect to the injury suffered by the domestic industry due to the dumped imports.
“The authority hereby initiates an anti-dumping investigation into the alleged dumping and consequent material injury to the domestic industry,” it said.
If it is established that the dumping has caused material injury to domestic players, the DGTR would recommend the imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports.
The finance ministry takes the final decision to impose duties.
Anti-dumping probes are conducted by countries to determine whether domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports.
As a countermeasure, they impose these duties under the multilateral regime of the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO). The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters.
India, China and Japan are members of the WTO, which is a 166-member multi-lateral trade body.
India has already imposed anti-dumping duty on several products to tackle cheap imports from various countries, including China
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
