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After years Shoaib Akthar raised questions on Harbhajan Singh’s on Monkey Gate scandal

By
Harshit
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Australian Cricket board might have surrendered in front of BCCI; Shoaib Akthar
Australian Cricket board might have surrendered in front of BCCI; Shoaib Akthar

Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akthar has raised question on Harbhajan Singh and BCCI, he said BCCI might have helped Harbhajan in terms of money power to get away with the ‘Monkey Gate’ scandal between him and Andrew Symonds. He added that the Australian cricket board might have surrendered in front of the BCCI’s power.

Making his statement much clearer he said, “Till the time you don’t go with justice, cricket will keep going down. If you want someone to score 20000 odd runs, it is your wish. It doesn’t affect me. If you don’t make cricket better, it does not impact my era.”

Future of cricket could be more limited

“The fans of our era are still our fans. Whether it be the West Indies’ era or our era of the 90s and even after that, we have had big names. People remember that era.”

Akthar also warned that ICC is not taking a tough decision nowadays. If the things will not change then international cricket will get limited to World Cups and certain global leagues only.

“I can tell you one thing, if you don’t go with justice for the next two years, there will be only two World Cups and ten leagues happening. If the ICC wants to go that route, then please do that so. It is your wish, we can only talk about cricket destruction but can’t do anything,” he added.

The Rawalpindi Express, showed his concern about the change in rules of the game which made things easier for the batsmen.

“You have to give permission for body-line bowling, you have tied the hands of the fast bowlers. What type of cricket are you organizing, two new balls with a restriction on bouncers, what do you want that the bowlers should go there just to be hit.”

Ben Stokes is the best all-rounder I played with: James Anderson

By
Harshit
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Over the years Ben Stokes urged as the greatest all-rounders and one of the biggest match-winners in international cricket. Ben Stokes has already surpassed the benchmark of Andrew Flintoff and now he on the way to overshadow Sir Ian Botham as England’s greatest all-rounder. James Anderson, his current teammate recently said Ben Stokes is the best all-rounder he played.

Stokes was the hero of England’s victory in the second test match. He scored 176 runs in the first innings against the West Indies. The all-rounder also made a remarkable performance with the bowl as well. Stokes jumped to third place in ICC batting rankings. He is also at top of the all-rounder’s rankings in test cricket.

Stokes is the greatest all-rounder of all time: James Anderson

“Ben was very stiff yesterday after doing pretty much everything over the five days of that Test match,” said Anderson. “He chases balls off his own bowling, he batted for most of our two innings, and he got wickets as well. It can take its toll so we’ve got to look after him and make sure we can keep getting the best out of them for as long as possible.”

“He’s certainly the best allrounder I’ve ever played with,” Anderson said, “and he’s becoming the best allrounder that England’s ever had. There’s no reason why he can’t go on to become even better. With the bat, he’s averaging in the 40s, with the ball he’s below 30, and he’s taking spectacular catches. It’s just incredible that we’ve got him on our team and he’s great to watch.”

Kim Kardashian West addresses Kanye West’s mental health after his controversial tweets

By
Shivani Negi
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Reality star Kim Kardashian shared a message about her husband Kanye West’s mental health on Wednesday.

Kim took to Instagram to acknowledge Kanye’s recent behaviour and revealed that he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, adding that it’s “incredibly complicated and painful” for many to understand.

“As many of you know, Kanye has bi-polar disorder. Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand,’ she wrote. “I’ve never spoken publicly about how this has affected us at home because I am very protective of our children and Kanye’s right to privacy when it comes to his health. But today, I feel like I should comment on it because off the stigma and misconceptions about mental health.”

“I understand Kanye is subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions,” she continued. “He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder. Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions,” she added.

Kardashian’s post comes a day after Kanye’s now deleted cryptic tweet wherein he had said that she and her mother Kris are trying to lock him up with a doctor.

Earlier this week, Kanye had made some shocking revelations about his family during his first presidential campaign. The address caused some media personalities and Kanye’s fans speculate about his well being and mental state.

Kanye had previouly opened about his mental health last year. While speaking to David Letterman, he had said that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had underwent a involunatry psychiatric hold in 2016.

Kanye is America’s one of the most popular music stars who enjoys a huge fan following. Earlier this month, he has surprised everyone by announcing his presidential bid for the US 2020 general election.

Kim had also supported Kanye in his decision.

Kim and Kanye married in 2014 and have 4 children together.

Coronavirus Latest Update: Amitabh Bachchan has denied that he has tested negative for COVID-19

By
Neha Kumari
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The overall tally in India rises to 1,238,635 after over 45,000 fresh cases were registered within of 24 hours. The death toll also increased from 28,732 to 29,861.

While Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has denied that he has tested negative for COVID-19. Earlier, there were media reports that Big B had tested negative for coronavirus.

“This news is incorrect,” Big B tweeted shortly after the news of him testing negative for coronavirus was reported.


The Jharkhand government has announced heavy fines in violation of instructions made to prevent corona infection. The state cabinet has approved the new guidelines (Jharkhand Infectious Diseases Ordinance). Now such a fine can be up to one lakh rupees and up to two years of imprisonment. The ordinance will be introduced in the assembly soon.


Rs 10,000 penalty to be imposed for social gatherings of more than permitted strength.Covid-19 patients violating home isolation instructions violating social distancing norms in Punjab will have to pay Rs 5,000 as fine: Punjab CMO (ANI).

Families of the people who succumb to #COVID19 will be provided Rs 1 Lakh from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund on behalf of the government: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy announces in the legislative assembly.

6 new #COVID19 positive cases have been reported in Dharavi area of Mumbai today, taking the total number of cases in Dharavi to 2,513 including 2,121 discharges and 142 active cases: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) #Maharashtra.

Rajasthan: SC says HC can pass order on PLEA aganist disqualification notice

By
Neha Kumari
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Highcourt Rajasthan

In a relief for the Sachin Pilot camp, The Supreme Court today said the Rajasthan High Court can pass order on MLAs’ plea against disqualification notice.

Representative image

“We are trying to find out whether this process (disqualification) was permissible or not,” the court said, while questioning Joshi on the reasons for disqualification notice against the 19 dissident Congress MLAs.

“We are not restraining the High Court from passing the order but it will be subject to the outcome of the petition (of Speaker) before the Supreme Court,” the bench said. The bench said that while fixing the plea for hearing on July 27.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai and Krsihna Murari said Joshi’s plea raises important questions and requires prolonged hearing.

File photo

Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C P Joshi had told the Supreme Court that the state high court has no jurisdiction to restrain him from conducting disqualification proceedings till July 24 against 19 dissident Congress MLAs, including sacked deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot.


Pilot had issued a statement — his first written statement since the crisis began — saying, “I am saddened but not surprised to be at the receiving end of such baseless and vexatious allegations being leveled against me. This is done solely to malign me and to stifle the legitimate concerns that I had raised against the party leadership of the state, as a member and MLA of INC.”


Former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot has served a legal notice to Congress MLA Girraj Singh and sought a written apology after the latter alleged that Pilot had offered him crores of rupees to switch over to the BJP.

Kulbhushan Jadhav: Pakistan filed a petition in Islamabad Court

By
Jyoti B
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In Kulbhushan Jadhav Case Pakistan has introduced a new maneuver. The government of Pakistan filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court to give Jadhav a consular access. The petition said that Jadhav cannot counsel without the help of the Indian government. It also said that Jadhav has refused to file a review petition against his sentence.

The petition, filed by Ministry of Law and Justice under a Federal Ordinance, expressed that the “IHC should appoint counsel to review and reconsider the verdict of the military court in accordance with the division of the ICJ” reported The Express Tribune.

Earlier, Pakistan on Friday (July 17) formally offered India third consular access to Jadhav, a day after India asserted that the second consular access was “neither meaningful nor credible”. A Note Verbale was sent to India on the matter and India is yet to respond. Jadhav was arrested by Pakistan on alleged espionage charges and is languishing in its jail.

Also read:

Kulbhushan Jadhav: Pakistan’s deadline for filing a review petition, terminated on Monday.

Air India cuts staff salary by 40 %; pilots express discontent

By
Shivani Negi
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Air India has cut the pay of its cockpit and cabin crew by 40 percent while allowance pay has been deducted up to 80 percent.

Paying its employees has become an almost impossible task for aviation sector due to loss faced in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

On July 21, Air India’s pilots beamed with joy as got their salary for the month of June. However, this happiness didn’t last long as it quickly turned into shock. They have revealed that the pay has been reduced by 60%(40% on salary and 85% on flying allowance)owing to the new wage structure and leave without pay policy.

The pilots also complained of differences in pay cuts announced by the airline for pilors and senior management. They have claimed that the airline management has takna 50 percent cut on just their allowances.

Discontent by the national carrier, a senior pilot was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying: “Other airlines have announced an overall percentage cut on the gross salary. Air India has announced a 40% salary cut for pilots and will also pay allowances for a maximum of 20 hours of flight time instead of 70. With the current situation, when the demand is low and flight operations are restricted, it is impossible to fly for 70 hours. All the top officials are aware of this,”

“Senior management has taken a cut on just arbitrary allowances, which comprises around 20% of their salary, so their cut comes down to just about 3-5%. Deductions have been strategically applied majorly on flying allowances; this move targets only pilots and brings down a pilot’s gross salary by 60-65 % on average,” another pilot said.

A senior pilot also mentioned that they were not only flying to bring back stranded Indians but also to transport necessary personal protection equipment (PPE) and resources during the nationwide lockdown.

“If a pilot gets infected with the virus, he is de-rostered without pay. He has to prove his complete medical fitness before boarding a flight. If a pilot sustains long-term lung damage or neurological or cardiovascular damage as a side effect of Covid-19, he will lose his livelihood,” the pilot added.

Meanwhile, Air India has refused to comment on the matter.

Payment service is also going to start soon through WhatsApp

By
Jyoti B
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So far, you could have chatting and audio-video calls on WhatsApp, but now payment service is also going to start soon. Apart from Chatting, amidst these increasing facilities, the news is that the company is also preparing to provide WhatsApp Pension and Insurance service in the coming time. Though initially, it will be a pilot project, under this, apart from insurance, facilities like microfinance and pension will be available.

Abhijit Bose, head of WhatsApp India said, “Our collective aim over the next two to three years is to enable low-wage earners and the unorganised sector access insurance, micro-credit and pension.”

Giving cases of some products the company is thinking about including a pension scheme targeted at 300 million self-employed workers which may cost as low as Rs 50 a day. 

“The goal is not to bring payments to the masses. We need to bring services to the masses,” said Bose at a conference, where he also highlighted that WhatsApp already has 15 million small business users in India. 

Early examples from ICICI, HDFC and Kotak banks have been very well-received, with ICICI crossing 10 lakh users within months of being launched and Kotak’s services have reached to more than 20 lakh users already. “Now, with the initial proofs of concepts in place, we now want to open up with more banks over this coming year to help simplify and expand banking services, Bose added.

Donald Trump backs wearing masks as coronavirus cases continue to rise in the US

By
Shivani Negi
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US President Donald Trump, who has been dismissive of coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, recently tweeted a picture of himself wearing a mask.

“We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance,” Trump wrote.

“There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!” he added.

The monochrome picture posted by the verified handle of Trump showed him wearing a dark mask with the presidential seal.

Earlier, during his address to media, Trump had refused to wear masks by saying that it is a symbol of weakness during a pandemic.

With only just over 100 days until the US Presidential elections 2020, Trump has touted his patriotism. The current president has been highly criticized by the public for his poor handling of the pandemic.

Ever since the virus first hit the state, Trump has insisted that it will just “disappear.” But that claim has just vanished as his opposite democrat Joe Biden continues to make an impact among the citiznes with his responsible addressing of the virus.

Moreover, the polls show public distrust in Trump’s management of the crisis handling. Throughout, he has denied the seriousness of the crisis, mocking healthcare workers who have constantly urged people to maintain social distancing and wear mask in public.

The nation’s top medical authorities, backed by several leading Republican figures, has said that mask wearing is crucial to halting the disease.

The United State is the hardest hit country by the pandemic worldwide. So far more than 140,000 Americans have died due to coronavirus and 3.8 million have tested positive. While people are trying to get back to normality to save the falling economy, the pandemic continues to surge in the in southern and western states of the country.

In the wake of fierce resurgence of the virus, Trump has now called it a “vicous and dangerous illness.” Talking about his strategy to tackle the virus, he has said that his administration is making some powerful development.

“We’ve learned a great deal about it (COVID-19) and who it targets. We are in the process of developing a strategy that”s going to be very, very powerful,” he said.

“Some areas of our country are doing very well; others are doing less well. It will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better,” Trump added.

US instructed China to shut consulate in Houston

By
Jyoti B
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The US has instructed China to shut its consulate in Houston, Texas, by Friday – a move described as “political provocation” by Beijing.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the decision was taken because China was “stealing” intellectual property.

Replying strongly to the US move, China Foreign Minister Spokesman Wang Wenhin termed it as an “unprecedented escalation” and warned retaliatory measures.

“China demands the US revoke the wrong decision. If the US went ahead, China would take essential countermeasures; he warned.

David R. Stilwell, who supervises policy for East Asia and the Pacific at the State Department, said in an interview that the Houston consulate had a history of engaging in “subversive behaviour” and was the epicentre of research theft in the United States. He gave few details to support that assertion, though other American officials released a document with more information on Wednesday night.

The official English-language newspaper China Daily on Thursday depicted the move as “a new gambit in the US administration’s bid to paint China as a malevolent actor on the world stage, and thus make it an outlaw to the international community”.

Daniel Hoffman, a former CIA station chief, said the spy agency would have “gamed out” how China would respond to the consulate closure and that the administration had decided it could stomach the results.

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro tests covid positive for the third time

By
Shivani Negi
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Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for the novel coronavirus again, his office announced on Wednesday. They also mentioned that the president would be extending his two-week quarantine, while adding that his upcoming travel plans have also been suspended.

Since testing positive after developing a fever and fatigue, Bolsonaro has been working by video conference from the presidential residence.

Until he was infected, he was often spotted walking the streets of Brasilia without a mask, exchanging hugs and handshakes, dismissing social distancing norms that WHO had declared mandatory.

“President Jair Bolsonaro’s health continues to improve, under the treatment of the presidential medical team,. The test taken by the president yesterday, (July) 21, resulted positive” his office said in a statement.

The leader had previously termed the pandemic as “little flu” and had flouted social distancing measures. He has been in self-isolation after testing positive for the virus on July 7.

Bolsonaro has been at the center of criticism after his dismissal of the pandemic. He had even opposed lockdown, saying “With my history as an athlete, if I were infected with the virus I would have no reason to worry. I would feel nothing, or it would be at most just a little flu.”

”If it continues like this, with the amount of unemployment what we will have later is a very serious problem that will take years to be resolved,” he said of the isolation measures, adding that lockdown would break the backbone of the country’s economy.

Brazil is the second worst country hit by the pandemic, only after the United States. It has recorded nearly 2.2 million infections with more than 80,000 fatalities so far.

Odisha renames village after popular folk song Rangabati

By
Neha Kumari
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Source - The Samikhsya.

The Odisha government has renamed the village “Bilung” under Bamra Tahasil of Sambalpur district as “Rangabati Bilung” after the famous folk song “Rangabati”.The government has renamed the village of Mitrabhanu Gountia, lyricist of Odisha’s popular folk song ‘Rangbati’ to ‘Rangbati Bilung’. Respecting the creativity of these great lyricists, the government’s move has made the popularity of the song even more widespread and timeless,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said.

File photo

Now village has been renamed as ‘Rangabati Bilung’ on the receipt of a “No Objection Certificate” from the Indian government, the Revenue and Disasters Management Department, Odisha government issued a notification in this regard on Wednesday.
The male singer of Rangabati is Jitendra Haripal, he received the Padmashree award in 2017. The song was first recorded in All India Radio (AIR), Sambalpur in 1975-76.
After its wide popularity, the Indian Record Manufacturing Company Limited (INRECO) recorded this song in disc format in 1976, which was finally released in 1978-79.

“This is a rare moment in the history of art of culture of the state,” Revenue and Disaster Management secretary B P Sethi told PTI, adding that the government declared the village after the son (Gauntia) keeping in view its popularity among all sections of people of the state.

Sambalpur district

“Rangabati is no longer a song. This unique chartbuster which celebrated its silver jubilee in the year 2004 has become a part of our ethos and part of our panoramic culture,” said a senior official in the state Culture department.


Rangabati has the unique distinction of being re- created in many other regional languages of India and the song is very popular in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar as well as Chhattisgarh.

Hackers accessed direct messages of 36 accounts in last week’s breach: Twitter

By
Shivani Negi
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Twitter has finally opened up about the hacking incident where 130 accounts were hacked on its social network last week. Twitter in its review said that the attackers accessed direct messaged of as many as 36 accounts, including one belonging to the elected official in the Netherlands.

Twitter’s review discovered that “any other former or current elected official had their DMs accessed,” according to a post by the Twitter support account.

Twitter had previously said that attackers tweeted from 45 verified accounts, including those belonging to prominent names such as reality star Kim Kardashian, former US Vice president Joe Biden, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and Bill Gates.

The case is currently being solved by FBI at company’s San Fransico head quarters.

Twitter’s analysis also discovered that several of company’s employees were also manipulated bu the hackers into privating internal credentials of the systems. The hacker were able to reset the password of 45 users, while eight had their data that included DMs as well. It also suspected that hackers may have also tried to sell the user names of some of the accounts.

The hackers would have been able to see phone numbers and email addresses of the accounts, the company added.

Telangana: Colonel Santosh Babu’s wife appointed deputy collector

By
Neha Kumari
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The Telangana government on Wednesday appointed Santoshi, wife of Col Santosh Babu, as Deputy Collector. Santosh Babu, who was martyred in the recent clashes at LAC. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao handed the appointment letter to Santoshi at Pragati Bhavan.

“The state government has appointed Ms Santoshi, wife of Col Santosh Babu who was martyred in the recent clashes on the Indo-China Border, as Deputy Collector.

Honourable Chief Minister Sri K Chandrashekhar Rao on Wednesday at Pragathi Bhavan handed over the appointment letter to Ms Santoshi,” an official release said.

CM also gifted a 711-square yard house site in Hyderabad near KBR park, worth of Rs 10 crore, to the late Col’s wife. Hyderabad collector Shweta Mohanty handed over documents of the plot to Santoshi. Later, KCR instructed officials to post Santoshi in Hyderabad or its surrounding areas. He also directed his secretary Smita Sabharwal to help her until her job training completes.

“In remembrance of the martyrdom of Col Santosh Babu, CM came to our house and helped…the Collector invited me today, showed the place (land in Hyderabad) to me and gave the related documents. I am thankful to the CM and Collector,” Santoshi told reporters.


On June 15, Col Babu, the commanding officer of the 16 Bihar regiment of the Indian Army was asked to check whether the Chinese troops pulled out of patrolling point 14 in Galwan, when the attack took place. At least 20 Indian soldiers martyred in the clashes.

SC grants bail to Bengali journalist arrested in Ponzi scam

By
Neha Kumari
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The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to Suman Chattopadhyay, Bengali journalist. He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in December 2018 for his alleged involvement in a ponzi scam.

Representative image

“We think this (is) one good reason for releasing the petitioner on bail. The petitioner be released on bail to the satisfaction of the trial Court immediately”, the bench comprising justices Navin Sinha and Indira Banerjee ruled.

“After being in incarceration for over a year and a half, justice has finally been meted out to Chattopadhyay. The Supreme Court has long been a guardian of personal liberties of citizens, and today’s order is a reflection of that. This may be an important step in his otherwise longer drawn battle”, Chattopadhyay’s lawyer, Sahil Tagotra told HT.

Supreme Court

A bench headed by justice Rohinton Nariman noted that Chattopadhyay is admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Bhubaneswar. He is admitted for serious heart trouble and lung infection. Therefore he is more prone to Coronavirus infection than other prisoners.

File photo

Suman was at editor of Ananda Bazaar Patrika and Ei Shomoy, a Bengali daily newspaper. But then he started his own newspaper, Ek Din, and raised money from I-Core services which had come up using chit funds.

I-Core group came under scanner after one Ajay Kumar Sahoo filed a complaint with the Bhubaneswar police. He complaini that after maturity of his deposit with I-Core, the amount was not returned to him. Suman and two promoters of I-Core were later arrested by CBI in the matter.

“Only three accused were arrested in the present case of which two main accused have already been granted bail by the high court. There has not been a single allegation against the petitioner that he may have attempted to influence the course of investigation, tamper with evidence or intimidate any witness”, the petition stated.

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