India should have made the semis with the kind of talent in the team: Mamatha Maben

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India should have made the semis with the kind of talent in the team: Mamatha Maben

As Mignon du Preez whipped Deepti Sharma on the last ball of a thrilling match at Hagley Oval on Sunday to take South Africa home, it marked the end of India’s dream to enter the semifinals of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. It was a heartbreaking end to a campaign where India oscillated from being great on one day to going listless on the very next day.

Former India skipper Mamatha Maben feels the Mithali Raj-led side should have made the cut for the semifinals of the World Cup based on the talent in the team. “So close yet so far; basically, that’s the thing. However, if you have to look at it from a deeper perspective, we had all the ingredients and kind of skill-sets required in a team to at least make it to the finals. But I think we have fallen short. Let me put it this way, we had the personnel with the required skill-sets and had talent in stock.

“In those terms, we have fallen short. We should have made the semis with the kind of talent we have in this team,” said Maben in an interview with an interview.

In India’s up-and-down campaign in the World Cup, one thing which Maben believes the Mithali Raj-led side lacked was having a settled combination. Despite playing a five-match ODI series against hosts New Zealand followed by two official warm-up matches as preparation for the World Cup, India came across as a team that was still trying to figure out what their best eleven was.

“What was stark was that we never had a settled combination, be it batting or bowling. When you head to a big tournament like the World Cup, 90 percent of your core is set. One or two (changes), that happen based on form or injury. But from game one, we never had a set kind of an eleven or batting order.

“I feel this is one area where we need to look at and it is the one where we should have done better: to have a more settled eleven and batting order, especially. It could have probably helped us a lot. There are positives in lots of young and bright talent but we need all to fire together. For that to happen, we need a proper and settled (unit).”

Maben, who captained India in 19 ODIs from 2003 to 2004, expressed surprise over players like Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, and Deepti Sharma being rotated in the batting order during the World Cup. Verma was left out of the eleven after making a duck against Pakistan. Bhatia filled in for her at opening till Verma was brought back into the eleven for the match against Australia while Bhatia moved to number three.

Sharma batted at three in the first two matches, then at number four for the next two matches. But she was then left out for the next two matches till being included in the playing eleven against South Africa.

“Even in the bowling unit, if you see, we didn’t have anything settled. Someone was coming in and (going) out. Given all these factors, what we needed was a more settled kind of approach. From day one, very surprising that Shafali and Yastika were being rotated. Deepti played up the order, then down and went in and out. Except for a few, nothing looked settled though lots of individual brilliance was there.”

Maben also pointed out that Raj too being rotated in the batting order was baffling. Raj batted at number three against the West Indies and England while being slotted at number four for the rest of the matches.

“Even Mithali, truth be told, she played brilliantly but it was just not enough and she was even shuffled up and down the order. However great a batter is, it’s not easy. We all know how these small dynamics matter. If at all we can get better, probably going into a big tournament like the World Cup, a settled look would have helped us.”

Amidst all the shortcomings, Maben dwelled on the positives from the campaign, like Harmanpreet Kaur making 318 runs in seven innings at an average of 53 and Verma coming back into her strokeful self with 53 against South Africa.

“In pockets, we had a lot of positives like Harry (Harmanpreet) coming back to form. That was a big thing as preceding that (World Cup), she was in very patchy form for quite some time. But her coming back (into the form) was one of the great positives. Shafali eventually came back and scored some runs. Mithali got something; Smriti also got (327 runs in seven innings at 46.71).

“In patches, we were kind of striking. The positive to take home is this, like the innings played by Shafali (against South Africa) was so brilliant. Also, the way we fought till the end and never gave up, all these things are the positives.”

Meta brings Slack-like shortcuts to Messenger

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Meta brings Slack-like shortcuts to Messenger

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is adding a new Slack-like “@everyone” functionality that will notify all participants in a chat about a new message.

When you start a message with @everyone, all participants in the chat will be notified. @everyone is perfect for group reminders, impromptu get-togethers, or when you need to gather the brain trust to crowdsource an answer to a time-sensitive question.

“@everyone is perfect for group reminders, impromptu get-togethers, or when you need to gather the brain trust to crowdsource an answer to a time-sensitive question. This way, your message gets maximum exposure, and nobody misses out,” the company said in a statement.

The company is also rolling out a “/silent” functionality. When you type in “/silent” before sending a message in a group chat, the members of the group will not receive a notification of your message at all.

Sending a message with /silent removes the anxiety of interrupting someone with a non-urgent pop-up notification or disturbing them during their off-hours.

“Now, you can share those late-night epiphanies at the moment without disturbing the peace, and your friends can read your message at their leisure,” the company added.

In addition, /a paid shortcut makes it even easier to send and receive money right in your one-on-one Messenger chats. Simply type /pay to send or request money securely without fees – perfect for quickly paying a friend for dinner or getting paid back for a ride. Meta is also going to introduce a “/gif” shortcut that will allow users to quickly find and send GIFs. This feature will be coming to iOS users only.

India’s active Covid caseload falls below 15,000 after 707 days

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India’s active Covid caseload falls below 15,000 after 707 days

In a significant development, India’s active Covid-19 caseload has declined to 14,704 after 707 days, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday.

The active cases now constitute 0.03 percent of the country’s total positive cases.

The least active caseload was 14,759 on April 21, 2020.

A total of 1,233 fresh Covid cases and 31 deaths were reported in the country in a span of 24 hours, said the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday.

The new deaths take the total number to 5,21,101.

A total of 1,876 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients since the beginning of the pandemic is now at 4,24,87,410. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.75 per cent.

Also in the same period, a total of 6,24,022 tests were conducted across the country. India has so far conducted over 78.85 crore cumulative tests.

There has been a sustained fall in the weekly and daily positivity rates too. The weekly positivity rate in the country currently stands at 0.25 percent and the daily positivity rate is also reported to be 0.20 percent.

On the vaccination front, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 183.82 crores as per provisional reports till 7 a.m. on Wednesday morning. This has been achieved through 2,19,19,610 sessions.

Over 1.50 crore adolescents have been administered with the first dose of Covid vaccine since the beginning of the inoculation drive for the 12 to 14 age group, said the ministry on Wednesday morning.

More than 15.95 crore balance and unutilized Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered, according to the health ministry as of Wednesday morning.

Poland, Senegal secure berths to FIFA World Cup in Qatar

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Poland, Senegal secure berths to FIFA World Cup in Qatar

Poland qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the ninth time in history and for the second time in a row after defeating Sweden 2-0 at home in the playoff. Captain and Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring for the home team with a penalty in the 49th minute, and midfielder Piotr Zielinski made it 2-0 after a defensive error in the 72nd minute.

“Bravo WHITE-RED! POLAND goes to QATAR with its head held high! Great success after a very good game! A well-deserved victory! PRIDE! Thank you!!!” Polish President Andrzej Duda tweeted his excitement after the game on Tuesday night.

Senegal too qualified for the World Cup for the third time in their history and for the second time in a row after defeating Egypt on penalties in their playoff.

Having lost the first leg 1-0, Senegal won the second leg by the same scoreline thanks to a goal from Boulaye Dia. With both teams unable to score a decisive goal, the match went to penalties where Senegal prevailed 3-1.

Senegal had also beaten Egypt on penalties to win their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations in February.

Meanwhile, Algeria failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing 2-1 to Cameroon. Karl Toko Ekambi’s goal for Cameroon in stoppage time killed the hopes of Algeria, who were just minutes away from qualification after Ahmed Touba scored in the 118th minute to cancel out a first-half goal by Bayern Munich forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

Algeria had won 1-0 away in the first leg four days ago in Douala but missed the ticket to Qatar on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw.

Cameroon joins Ghana, Senegal, Morocco, and Tunisia in representing Africa at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Hacker steals $625 mn in crypto from Blockchain platform Ronin

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Hacker steals $625 mn in crypto from Blockchain platform Ronin

In one of the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) breaches yet, a hacker has stolen cryptocurrencies worth $625 million from Ronin, a Blockchain platform behind the popular non-fungible token (NFT) game Axie Infinity.

The Blockchain platform and Axie Infinity operator Sky Mavis admitted the security breach, saying that 173,600 Ethereum and 25.5M USDC (a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar) were drained from the Ronin bridge in two transactions.

“The attacker used hacked private keys in order to forge fake withdrawals. We discovered the attack after a report from a user being unable to withdraw 5k ETH from the bridge,” Ronin Network said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The company has temporarily paused the Ronin Bridge to ensure no further attack vectors remain open.

“Binance has also disabled their bridge to/from Ronin to err on the side of caution. The bridge will be opened up at a later date once we are certain no funds can be drained,” said the company.

The company was working with law enforcement officials, forensic cryptographers, and investors to make sure all funds are recovered or reimbursed.

“As we’ve witnessed, Ronin is not immune to exploitation and this attack has reinforced the importance of prioritizing security, remaining vigilant, and mitigating all threats,” said the Blockchain platform.

“As of now, users are unable to withdraw or deposit funds to Ronin Network,” it added.

In January this year, hackers stole crypto tokens worth $120 million from the Blockchain-based decentralized finance (DeFi) platform BadgerDAO. Several crypto wallets were drained before the platform could stop the cyber attack.

In December last year, cybercriminals stole cryptocurrency worth $80 million from Qubit Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform.

KTR hits back at Rahul Gandhi over paddy issue

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KTR hits back at Rahul Gandhi over paddy issue

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao has hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his criticism of the TRS government over the paddy procurement issue.

Rama Rao listed the steps taken by the TRS government for the welfare of farmers and claimed that it delivered in seven years what Congress governments could not deliver in 50 years.

“Your party has been given the opportunity to govern this country for over 50+ years. When in power INC couldn’t provide even 6 hours of electricity to farmers causing distress and suicides in Telangana,” tweeted KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known.

He was reacting to a tweet by Rahul Gandhi, who alleged that the BJP government at the Centre and TRS government in the state were playing politics over farmers’ issues and escaping from their moral duty to procure paddy from farmers.

Information Technology, Industries, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KTR, who is the son of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, claimed that with innovative schemes like Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bhima, Mission Kakatiya, 24 hours of free power supply, and with focus on irrigation, the Chandrasekhar Rao government has ushered in an agricultural revolution.

“What your party couldn’t deliver in 50 years, our Govt has delivered in 7 years. Comparing the performance of TRS Govt with past INC Govts will put your party to shame,” wrote the TRS leader.

Rahul Gandhi’s tweets had Tuesday sparked a war of words between between CM KCR’s daughter K. Kavitha and Congress MP in charge of Telangana Manickam Tagore.

Kavitha, who is a member of the State Legislative Council, had advised Rahul Gandhi not to just resort to tweets for political mileage but extend support to the TRS demand for a uniform procurement policy for the entire country.

Manickam Tagore hit back at Kavitha, asking her not to play with Telangana farmers by ‘one nation one procurement’ demand. He reminded Kavitha that she was defeated in the Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 as she couldn’t keep the promise made to farmers of setting up a turmeric board.

Tagore warned Kavitha that “if TRS will play with farmers, then it will meet the same fate in 2023 as she did Nizamabad”.

Kavitha then hit back, this time targeting Rahul Gandhi. “This arrogance reduced your party into double digits in the same Parliament. Win or lose, I did not run away from my constituency as your ex-CP Rahul Gandhi did. Also, I did not contest two seats like your ex-CP,” the former MP said, tagging Rahul Gandhi.

‘Shaadi Mahals’ will be closed, scholarships to continue: Bommai

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‘Shaadi Mahals’ will be closed, scholarships to continue: Bommai

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated on Tuesday that ‘Shaadi Mahals’ which have been established for conducting the marriages of the poor people belonging to the minority communities would be closed. He also clarified that there is no proposal to stop scholarships for students from such communities.

Replying in the Legislative Council to a question in this regard by the opposition Congress leader B.K. Hariprasad, Bommai clarified that there was an attempt made earlier to stop scholarships for school children and for higher education. But, nothing will be stopped, he assured.

Hariprasad had told Bommai that let the government do anything over the hijab issue, but it should not stop scholarships to minority students. “The scholarships to minority students are being stopped,” he claimed.

Bommai stated that he would allocate Rs 100 crores for the scholarships and won’t stop them. There will be no discrimination among students in this regard. Barring the ‘Shaadi Mahals’ (marriage halls) no other scheme for the minorities will be stopped, he said.

The ‘Shaadi Mahal’ scheme was introduced during the tenure of the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the BJP in the opposition had opposed it tooth and nail.

I-League: Sudeva Delhi fight back to salvage a point against Real Kashmir

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I-League: Sudeva Delhi fight back to salvage a point against Real Kashmir

Naihati, (West Bengal) Two goals down, Sudeva Delhi FC managed to salvage a point against Real Kashmir FC after a thrilling 2-2 draw in the I-League 2021-22 here on Tuesday.

A first-half brace by Tiago Adan gave Real Kashmir a lead to carry at the break, but an inspired second-half fightback saw Sudeva Delhi take away a point from the contest thanks to goals from Sreyas V.G and Seithenlang Lotjem.

Real Kashmir got off to a fantastic start by taking the lead through Brazilian frontman Tiago Adan as early as the 2nd minute. With the ball in his possession on the edge of the Sudeva Delhi box, Pratesh Shirodkar was shaped to shoot at first but ended up playing a delightfully weighted clipped pass for Tiago Adan.

Adan made a clever run in space behind the Sudeva Delhi defense and calmly slotted the ball into the far corner with his first touch.

Goalkeeper Sachin Jha got a touch on the ball, but it wasn’t enough to stop his side from falling behind in the early exchanges.

The side from the Capital made a steady recovery despite the early setback, seeing plenty of the ball in the opposition half, albeit without a clear look at the goal.

Sudeva Delhi had another scare in the 23rd minute when Tiago Adan’s mishit cross from the left came back off the woodwork, bamboozling Sachin Jha in goal.

If his previous effort left room for interpretation, there was no doubting Tiago Adan this time around, as the Brazilian got his second goal of the match in the 39th minute. After his initial through pass was blocked, the ball ricocheted back into the path of Adan, who produced an instinctive snapshot from 20 yards that beat Sachin Jha all ends up and curled beautifully inside the far post.

However, coach Mehrajuddin Wadoo freshened things up for the second half, making a number of changes in personnel in order to find a way back into the game.

The renewed vigour paid dividends in the 51st minute, as substitute Sreyas pulled one goal back for Sudeva Delhi FC.

The game continued along with the same pattern in the second half, with Sudeva Delhi holding plenty of ball possession, and the Snow Leopards defending resolutely to keep their slender lead intact.

As the contest boiled down to the final minutes, Sudeva Delhi’s perseverance earned them a well-deserved equalizer in the 91st minute. With a set-piece opportunity, Abhijit Sarkar delivered a flat and bending cross into the front post, which was nodded on towards the far post with an expertly taken header by Seithenlang Lotjem.

The two substitutes combined to snatch a late equalizer for Sudeva Delhi and end the contest with nothing to separate the two sides.

SC halts construction activity on Rs 2,000 cr extension of Karwar port

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SC halts construction activity on Rs 2,000 cr extension of Karwar port

The Supreme Court on Tuesday told the project proponent to not continue with construction activities in connection with the Rs 2,000 crore extension of the commercial Karwar port in Karnataka.

After hearing arguments in the matter on the plea filed by a fishermen association, a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana issued notice to the Karnataka government and others.

Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat and advocate Amit Pai, representing the petitioner, questioned the validity of the high court judgment passed on July 29, 2021, declining to entertain the association’s plea against the project.

Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing DVP Infra Projects Private Ltd, contended before the top court that halting the construction activity would escalate the costs. However, the bench replied that beaches and the environment can’t be destroyed, and also made an oral observation against carrying out further construction activities.

The plea contended that Karwar is an ecologically sensitive area, therefore, the environmental clearance given to the 2nd stage expansion of the commercial Karwar port by the state-level authority is bad in law. “For the said expansion, only the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change could have given prior environmental clearance upon the recommendation of the Expert Advisory Committee (EAC),” added the plea. It further contended that it is also a Critically Vulnerable Coastal Area (CVCA).

Counsel representing the petitioner insisted that there should be status quo on the project and pointed out that construction commenced based on environmental clearance (EC) granted from state-level authorities on January 23, 2019. The plea contended that this EC was in contravention of the Environment Impact Assessment notification of September 14, 2006.

The plea claimed the high court did not pay heed to the livelihood of the fisherfolk, which would be adversely impacted by the project, and added that Karwar is notified as a “ecologically sensitive area” as per 2011 and 2019 notifications.

The plea contended that the project of the 2nd Stage Expansion of the Karwar Commercial Port has the impact of directly and adversely impacting the right of the people to enjoy the beach.

7 weeks after Lata Didi’s passing, her kin feel ‘orphaned’

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7 weeks after Lata Didi’s passing, her kin feel ‘orphaned’

Nearly seven weeks after the legendary singer, Lata Mangeshkar passed away into eternity, her brother and sisters, and other relatives feel they have become ‘orphans’.

Emerging in public on Tuesday for the first time after Lata Didi’s passing, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar, and others joined for a proud yet emotional moment at the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Auditorium in Vile Parle – the unveiling of a large color portrait of their beloved sister.

The portrait of a smiling Lata Mangeshkar was unveiled by a close family friend of nearly seven decades, well-known actor Vikram Gokhale, moving to tears the assembled Mangeshkar clan who yearned for their beloved and eldest Didi, who left them on February 6.

Inaugurating the portrait, Gokhale recalled how his father and the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar families were related for centuries.

“We used to address him as ‘Dinaa ba’… Our families had a very close relationship and he was also my father’s ‘Guru’. He had presented a musical instrument to my father on which he would do ‘riyaaz’ (practice) for hours,” said Gokhale with moist eyes and a voice choking.

Asha Bhosle confessed how Lata Didi’s sudden passing was a huge shock and pain to her and the entire family.

“Whenever I used to go anywhere, I would always take Lata Didi’s blessings. She would ask me ‘not to touch her feet always, as her blessings and that of our parents, are forever with me, wherever I am and whether I went to her or not,” said Bhosle in a moving tribute.

The sole brother, music director Hridaynath Mangeshkar said Lata Didi’s passing has proved to be sad and devastating for the entire family and said “we still can’t believe she is no more” with us.

“I had seen our father’s picture in this auditorium and in four theatres in Pune. I never imagined a day would come when I would have to witness the unveiling of our sister’s (Lata Didi) photograph besides our father. It causes a lot of anguish,” said Hridaynath.

The family will put up large-sized pictures of Lata Didi at the four theatres in Pune and also plan to construct memorials for her at various places.

Asha Bhosle wondered that after Lata Didi’s departure, “whose blessings should I seek, who should I turn to for my problems.”

“When we were very young and our Baba (father, Deenanath) expired and then our Mai (mom Shevanti) also passed, it was Lata Didi who cared for us as parents. After her departure, we have all been rendered orphans. We never thought it would happen like this and could have lived for many more years,” said Bhosle.

The family members said that Lata Didi will “continue to inspire us all” and that future generation would feel blessed by her photos hanging on the auditorium walls in Mumbai and Pune.

Others present included Usha Mangeshkar, who cared for her Lata Didi for several years, was weeping inconsolably and could not remain present for the photo sessions, Bharti Mangeshkar, Roopkumar Rathod, and Sonali Rathod, Adinath Mangeshkar, Krishna Mangeskar, Jenai Bhosle, Anuja Bhosle, Mayuresh Pati, and Ashish Shelar.

This is the first time the entire clan came together for a public event after Lata Didi’s passing on February 6, followed by her public funeral at Shivaji Park that day and then the post-funeral rituals at Nashik after four days.

ICC Rankings: Wolvaardt replaces Healy as No 1 batter, Mithali climbs three places

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ICC Rankings: Wolvaardt replaces Healy as No 1 batter, Mithali climbs three places

South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt on Tuesday replaced Australian batter Alyssa Healy as the No. 1 batter while India skipper Mithali Raj climbed three places to be at the sixth spot in the latest ICC women’s ODI rankings.

Wolvaardt has scored more runs (433) at the Women’s World Cup than any other player. She has made five half-centuries from seven innings, with her top score of 90 coming against tournament favorites Australia in Wellington last week.

The stylish South African batter moved up two places and overtook two Australians in the process to claim the top ranking. She replaced Australia wicket-keeper Healy, who dropped four places to now be rated fifth in the Women’s ODI rankings.

Healy’s teammate Beth Mooney remains in second place in the rankings, with Australia captain Meg Lanning (third) and England veteran Nat Sciver (fourth) rounding out the remainder of the top five batters on the latest rankings.

Mithali Raj’s fifty against South Africa helped her make a three-place jump to No 6. However, the match ended in heartbreak for the Indian skipper as her team crashed out of the World Cup in a last-ball thriller.

Among other Indians, opener Smriti Mandhana occupied the tenth position. Veteran Jhulan Goswami is the only bowler from India in the top ten, while she has company from Deepti Sharma in the all-rounders’ category.

While there is plenty of movement in the latest rankings for the batter, the same cannot be said for the bowling or all-rounder rankings.

England spinner Sophie Ecclestone — who is the leading wicket-taker at the World Cup with 14 scalps — remains the highest-ranked bowler, while Australia’s Jess Jonassen is second.

In-form South Africa seamer Shabnim Ismail moves up one spot to take third in the rankings from Australia veteran Megan Schutt, while India pacer Jhulan Goswami rockets up two places to fifth.

It’s status quo in the all-rounder ranks, with Australia veteran Ellyse Perry remaining at the top of the rankings and the top eight players retaining their current spots. England’s Katherine Brunt moves up two places to ninth, while Goswami loses one spot to drop to 10th.

Pakistan all-rounder Nida Dar — fresh from 118 runs and 10 wickets at the World Cup — moves up four places to 12th, while Bangladesh veteran Salma Khatun is up to seven spots to 19th.

Punjab to appoint nodal officers to redress issues of NRIs

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Punjab to appoint nodal officers to redress issues of NRIs

Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Tuesday said the government has decided to appoint nodal officers in all 23 districts for the ease of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), besides setting up special courts in Amritsar, Patiala, Ludhiana, and Bathinda districts.

Chairing a high-level review meeting with officials of the NRI Affairs Department and members of the NRI Commission, he issued directions that the appointment of the nodal officers should be made in a transparent manner and the working of these officers should be reviewed by the Deputy Commissioners on a regular basis.

Dhaliwal said the government has continuously been working with full zeal and commitment to resolving the issues of Punjabis residing in foreign countries and requisite directions have also been issued to the Special Chief Secretary of the department.

Special courts will be set up in the districts of Amritsar, Patiala, Ludhiana, and Bathinda to resolve cases related to NRIs in a time-bound manner and directions have been issued to the department to initiate the process, he added.

Dhaliwal said the state would also coordinate with the Union government and embassies to resolve the problems of NRIs. The government would honor the NRIs who have done commendable work in various walks of life, he said.

Kerala reports 424 new Covid cases

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Kerala reports 424 new Covid cases

Kerala on Tuesday reported 424 new Covid cases while the test positivity rate came down to 2.38 percent, Health Minister Veena George said.

No fresh Covid deaths were reported, and the death toll continued to stand at 67,844.

Meanwhile, 528 people recovered, bringing the active cases in the state came down to 3,555.

On the vaccination front, 100 percent (2.69 crores) had the first dose of which 87 percent (2.33 crore) have taken both doses.

Likewise, in the above aged 15 to 18 years, 79 percent (12.09 lakh) have been given one dose, while 47 percent (7.18 lakhs) have now received their second dose also.

Petrol prices up again; rise by Rs 4.80 per litre in 8 days

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Petrol prices up again; rise by Rs 4.80 per litre in 8 days

The domestic retail selling prices of petrol and diesel were increased for the seventh time in eight days on Tuesday.

Consequently, in the past eight days, petrol and diesel prices have increased by Rs 4.80 per liter in the national capital.

These prices were revised for the very first time on Tuesday, March 22, after a gap of more than four months.

On Tuesday, the price of petrol and diesel in New Delhi have increased again by 80 paise and 70 per liter.

As per pump prices, petrol now costs Rs 100.21 per liter and diesel Rs 91.47 per liter in the national capital.

On Monday, petrol prices were increased to Rs 99.41 per liter and diesel Rs 90.77 per liter in Delhi. In the financial capital Mumbai, prices were hiked from Rs 115.04 per liter for petrol and diesel to Rs 99.25 per liter.

Besides, the prices of both the transport fuels were raised in Kolkata. The petrol prices rose to Rs 109.68 and diesel to Rs 94.62 per liter.

In Chennai too, they were increased. Petrol there now costs Rs 105.94 and diesel Rs 96 per liter.

Till last Tuesday, fuel prices were steady since November 2021 when the Centre reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 per liter, respectively.

The OMCs revise the transportation fuel cost based on various factors such as rupee to US dollar exchange rate, cost of crude oil, and demand for fuel amongst others.

Resultantly, the final price includes excise duty, value-added tax, and dealer’s commission.

It was widely expected that the OMCs will revise the current prices due to high crude oil costs.

Lately, crude oil prices have been volatile on fears of tight supplies due to sanctions against Russia.

The crude oil price range is a cause of concern for India as it may ultimately add Rs 10-15 in petrol and diesel selling prices.

At present, India imports nearly 85 percent of its crude oil requirements.

‘Radhe Shyam’ TV premiere on April 24

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‘Radhe Shyam’ TV premiere on April 24

After the theatrical release of Telugu superstar Prabhas and Pooja Hegde-starrer Radhe Shyam’, it is all set to be premiered on TV on April 24.

The film will be shown at Zee Cinema.

Directed by Radha Krishna Kumar the film is a story of love between two characters – Vikramaditya and Prerana shot in the beautiful locations of Italy, Georgia, and a few parts in Hyderabad.

With the legendary Amitabh Bachchan lending his voice to the film, ‘Radhe Shyam’ also stars Bhagyashree, Murali Sharma, Priyadarshi, Krishnam Raju, and Jagapathi Babu in key roles.

Twitter testing India-only Cricket Tab for Android users

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Twitter testing India-only Cricket Tab for Android users

Micro-blogging site Twitter on Tuesday announced that it is testing an India-only Cricket Tab for Android users.

The company said that the tab will bring together the best of cricket and fans will be able to access exclusive video content, real-time match updates through a Scorecard, and other interactive widgets. Users will also be able to activate custom cricket team emojis in English and seven Indic languages including Hindi and Tamil.

“Through our new Cricket experiment offering an immersive experience, we want to make it easier for India’s cricket fans to find relevant and engaging content as well as encourage conversations and find latest updates including the score all in one place,” Shirish Andhare, Director of Product for Twitter India, said in a statement.

“We endeavor to provide a live sports experience that can’t be found anywhere else by way of #OnlyOnTwitter content,” he added.

Twitter said that starting this week, the service will be testing a Cricket Tab on its Explore page, rolling out the experiment to some people in India who use Twitter on Android.

The tab will be a single landing point that will serve as a channel of discovery for what’s happening in cricket along with relevant, exclusive, and Twitter-first content.

Twitter also said that between the months of January 2021 to January 2022, at least 4.4 million Indians on Twitter shared 96.2 million Tweets about cricket.

IPL 2022: Chahal and Ashwin will be a threat to Sunrisers Hyderabad, says Dhawal Kulkarni

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IPL 2022: Chahal and Ashwin will be a threat to Sunrisers Hyderabad, says Dhawal Kulkarni

As the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Sunrisers Hyderabad take on the inaugural season winners Rajasthan Royals at the Maharashtra Cricket Association, Pune on March 29, all eyes will be on the spin duo Ravichandran Ashwin and YuzvendraChahal.

“Ashwin and Chahal are world-class bowlers who have proven themselves. They have lots of experience behind them and have done it for their respective sides. It is going to be a tough ask for Sunrisers Hyderabad,” Dhawal Kulkarni said during a Gameplan episode on Star Sports.

Former India batter Aakash Chopra said that he is not expecting a lot of spin in the first game.

“I am not expecting a lot of spins because it is just the first game. However, there may not be any dew as it is an open field in comparison to the other three venues. When you talk about Ashwin and Chahal, you talk about a lot of quality. I expect them to pick up a few wickets and be economical as well,” he said.

Vijay Deverakonda drops crazy update on next film with Puri Jagannadh

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Vijay Deverakonda drops crazy update on next film with Puri Jagannadh

Telugu star Vijay Deverakonda who made his way to Bollywood with his upcoming movie ‘Liger’, has reteamed with director Puri Jagannadh for another time.

Vijay Deverakonda and Puri Jagannadh announced their next venture titled ‘JGM’, at an exhilarating event in Mumbai, on Tuesday.

Billed to be an action drama, the big-ticket pan-India entertainer will showcase Vijay in a never seen role, aiming for his next breakthrough performance.

‘JGM’ will be produced by Charmme Kaur, Vamshi Paidipally, and Puri Jagannadh, while Puri Jagannadh will pen the screenplay and dialogues along with the direction.

The action entertainer is a pan-India film and will be released in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Elated Vijay Devarakonda, who appeared at the press meet on Tuesday, said, “I am supremely excited about JGM, as it is one of my most challenging scripts. The story is special and it will touch every Indian.”

Vijay continued, “I am honored to be a part of Puri’s dream project. Looking forward to working with Charmme and her team. I am sure this movie will leave an impact on the audiences.”

The shoot for ‘JGM’ will commence in April 2022 and will be shot across multiple international locations.

JGM is a Puri Connect & Srikara Studio Production. Produced by Charmme Kaur, Vamshi Paidipally producer Srikara Studio, Singa Rao director of Srikara Studio.

Written and directed by Puri Jagannadh this action entertainer is set to release in cinemas in August 2023 worldwide.

Hockey Pro League: England women’s team pulls out of India tour due to Covid cases

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Hockey Pro League: England women’s team pulls out of India tour due to Covid cases

The Indian women’s hockey team’s upcoming FIH Hockey Pro League matches against England have been postponed due to the high number of Covid-19 positive cases in the English team.

The double-header between the men’s teams from the two nations will however go ahead and will be played on April 2-3 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

The announcement regarding the postponement of the Pro League match between India and England women’s teams was made by FIH after England Hockey conveyed to them that the women’s team would not be traveling to Bhubaneswar for the two matches as “several members of the team have positive for Covid-19 while some were unavailable due to injuries in the squad”.

It appears a situation similar to the matches against Germany a few weeks ago when their women’s team toured India for two Pro League matches while the men’s team pulled out citing “several Covid cases in the team”.

Earlier, the Netherlands women’s team had not traveled to India for their Pro League matches because of an adverse travel advisory by their government because of the Covid-1p pandemic.

The two world-class teams taking to the field were hugely anticipated as hockey fans around the globe were looking forward to the Indian women’s team and England facing off, according to a release by Hockey India.

Commenting on rescheduling the India-England women’s matches, Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam said, “It is unfortunate that the England women’s hockey team had to cancel their India trip for the weekend matches in Bhubaneswar. We understand these are challenging times for every team as we all continue to battle the pandemic.”

The FIH will now be working with the federations from India and England to decide alternate dates for the two matches.

The Indian women’s team will next play the Netherlands in a double-header on April 8-9.

Dulquer Salmaan’s ‘Hey Sinamika’ to release on OTT on March 31

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Dulquer Salmaan’s ‘Hey Sinamika’ to release on OTT on March 31

Choreographer-turned-director Brinda Master’s ‘Hey Sinamika’, featuring actors Dulquer Salmaan, Kajal Aggarwal, and Aditi Rao Hydari in the lead, will release on Netflix and Jio Cinema on March 31.

The film will release on OTT after having a reasonably good run in theatres.

Director Brinda took to Twitter to make the announcement.

She said, “Hey Sinamika on Netflix from 31st March.” However, she later went on to retweet a couple of tweets that claimed that the film would be simultaneously available on both Netflix and Jio Cinema.

The story of ‘Hey Sinamika’ revolves around Mouna (Aditi), a weather scientist who falls in love with Yaazhan (Dulquer), a quirky and loving guy. What happens to their relationship after a couple of years and how things take an unexpected turn after the arrival of Malarvizhi (Kajal) form the crux of the story.

Govind Vasantha of ’96’ fame has scored the music for ‘Hey Sinamika’, which has been produced by Jio Studios with Global One Studios as Associate Producer.

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