Akshita Kapoor

[ad_1] Seattle Orcas finished runners-up in the first season of the Major League Cricket and sixth in the second season. (Image: X/SeattleOrcas) New Delhi: Seattle Orcas CEO Hemant Dua believes USA's win over Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup has played a pivotal role in helping cricket get its first foot in the door. The win helped USA cricket take a significant initial step towards achieving a goal, which, in the bigger picture, is to make the sport popular in a country where it is in unchartered territory."Cricket has grown overall. It was always on the straps for very long here, but it was more at the amateur level in the USA. The cricket board has gone through a lot of challenges. I think off late, ICC started investing in it and seeing cricket in the USA as the […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress on Wednesday indulged in a political slugfest after one Sena (UBT) leader vowed to blacken Rahul Gandhi's face for his 'derogatory' comments about freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.Nashik city unit chief of Sena (UBT), Bala Darade, slammed Rahul for calling Savarkar 'mafi-veer' and said that he will pelt stones at Congress leaders' convoy if he ever visits Nashik."We are proud that we live in the birthplace of Swatantrya-veer Savarkar. Rahul Gandhi's statement about Savarkar, calling him 'Mafi-veer', was insulting," Darade told a Marathi news channel on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the Hindutva ideologue."We condemn it strongly. We will blacken Rahul Gandhi's face if he comes to Nashik. If we cannot do that, we will pelt stones at his convoy," he added.Nashik-resident Devendra Bhutada has […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: India is set to hold civil defence mock drills on Thursday across four states bordering Pakistan, including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir. The drills aim to test emergency response coordination and civilian evacuation strategies in case of cross-border hostilities or terror-related incidents.Government officials said the exercise would involve local civil defence teams, police, disaster response units, and medical staff. The drill is intended to test emergency response coordination, civilian evacuation protocols, and inter-agency communication in case of cross-border hostilities or terrorist incidentsThe mock drill comes just weeks after India launched Operation Sindoor on the night of May 6–7, a retaliatory strike reportedly targeting terror camps and military infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). The operation was a response to the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed the lives of […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday refuted Assam chief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarma's allegations regarding his British wife Elizabeth Colburn's alleged connection with Pakistan’s ISI, calling it the “plot of a C-grade Bollywood movie.”In his first public statement on the matter, Gogoi clarified that his wife spent only one year in Pakistan in 2013 while working on an international project focused on climate change in South Asia.“About 14–15 years ago, my wife — a well-known expert in public policy — was involved in an international initiative addressing climate change in South Asia. As part of that work, she spent a year in Pakistan and then came to India in 2012–13, where she has been working ever since. In 2015, she took up a new job,” the Congress leader said.“I accompanied her in 2013, about 12 years ago. The […]

[ad_1] CHANDIGARH: The city recorded its first Covid fatality on Wednesday as a 40-year-old patient from Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, who was referred from Ludhiana, succumbed to the infection at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32. This marks a concerning development for Chandigarh, which had not reported a single Covid-19 case until now, even as the nation grapples with a fresh surge in infections.Dr. G.P. Thami, Medical Superintendent at GMCH, confirmed the death, stating that the patient, who worked in Ludhiana, was admitted to the hospital two days ago with severe respiratory problems. He tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday and passed away early Wednesday morning."We tested him on the second day as he came with respiratory distress and was put on a ventilator," Dr. Thami explained. The patient was immediately placed in isolation within the hospital's Covid […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: ITC shares fell over 5% in early trade on Wednesday following reports that British American Tobacco (BAT), its largest shareholder, is set to sell a 2.3% stake in the company through a major block deal worth over Rs 11,600 crore ($1.4 billion).The stock dropped 4.33% to Rs 415.10 on the BSE and fell 4.81% to Rs 413 on the NSE, making it the biggest loser among BSE Sensex stocks.According to VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, "BAT's decision to sell 2.3 per cent stake in ITC will keep the stock subdued."The stake sale comes amid BAT’s push to increase financial flexibility, reduce debt, and boost its share buyback program.The deal, carried out via BAT’s arm Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Ltd, will reduce BAT’s holding in ITC from 25.44% to 23.1%. The offer is priced at […]

[ad_1] BENGALURU: The trial in former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna sextape case took an interesting turn Monday with his car driver stating that the former's mother Bhavani Revanna had been apprised of his wayward behaviour. The driver, N Kartik, 34, from Kadavinakotte village in Holenarasipura, testified before a special court for elected representatives in the city. He stated that Bhavani knew about Prajwal's physical relationships with many women and his habit of recording their private moments on his mobile phone. The revelations came to light when special public prosecutor Ashok Nayak examined Kartik. According to Kartik, Prajwal's mobile phone contained more than 2,000 obscene pictures and around 40 such videos during his tenure as Hassan MP. Kartik said he had brought this to the notice of Bhavani, who initially did not believe him. However, when he showed her the photographs […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: The Embassy of India in Tehran has on Wednesday said that it is actively working with Iranian authorities to trace three Indian citizens who have been reported missing after travelling to Iran.According to a statement issued by the Indian Embassy, family members of the missing individuals approached the mission with concerns about their relatives’ sudden disappearance. "Family members of 3 Indian citizens have informed the Embassy of India that their relatives are missing after having traveled to Iran," the statement read.In response, the embassy has "strongly taken up the matter" with the Iranian government, urging an immediate and thorough investigation into their whereabouts.“The Embassy has strongly taken up this matter with the Iranian authorities and requested that the missing Indians should be urgently traced and their safety ensured,” the statement read.While the identities of the missing individuals […]

[ad_1] Bengaluru: A Hebbal traffic cop was found riding pillion without wearing a helmet while on duty on a department bike. The incident took place around noon on May 24 near the Hebbal ring road junction. A commuter clicked a photograph of the violation and uploaded it on social media, prompting police to impose a fine of Rs 500 on the rider.The photo, along with details, was uploaded by the X account @concernedcitizen. Calling it ironic that cops who collect fines for traffic violations are breaking the rules themselves, the netizen sought fines to prove police aren't above the law. On Monday, Hebbal traffic police imposed a penalty of Rs 500 on the rider — a police constable, who was wearing a helmet. The pillion rider was an assistant sub-inspector, who was carrying a personal digital assistant machine to fine […]

[ad_1] Image shows Grant Hardin, a former police chief and convicted killer, escaping the North Central Unit prison wearing a disguise in Calico Rock, Ark. (Pic credit: AP) A convicted killer and former police chief, known as the "Devil in the Ozarks," is now at the centre of an intense manhunt after pulling off a daring prison escape that has shaken communities across northern Arkansas.Grant Hardin, once the top cop in the small town of Gateway, disappeared Sunday afternoon from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, a medium-security prison in the rocky terrain of the Ozark Mountains. His escape wasn't a sudden breakout or an act of brute force, it was a calculated deception.According to Arkansas prison officials, Hardin disguised himself in a fake law enforcement outfit, one that looked convincing enough to allow him to evade detection during […]