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Archives for March 2023

2023 ODI WC in India likely to start on Oct 5, final in Ahmedabad

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NEW DELHI: The 2023 ODI World Cup in India is likely to start on October 5 with the final to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19, according to a report.

The BCCI has shortlisted at least a dozen venues for the 10-team marquee event, which will see 48 matches, including three knockouts across the 46-day period, an ESPNcricinfo report said.

The 11 other shortlisted venues, according to the report, are Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Rajkot and Mumbai.

Except for the final match, which is set to be played at the world’s largest stadium in Ahmedabad, the BCCI has not specified the venues for any games as yet.

The list of 12 cities, however, does not include Mohali and Nagpur, which had hosted a Test match against visiting Australia recently.

India had won the title when it last hosted the 50-over World Cup in 2011.

PM Modi reviews state of hospitals amid rise in COVID-19

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NEW DELHI: As COVID-19 and influenza cases are seeing a surge in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a high-level review meeting and directed hospitals to conduct regular mock drills to ensure they are prepared for all emergencies.

Highlighting that COVID-19 is far from over, the PM emphasised on following appropriate behaviour, including wearing of masks in hospital premises by both patients and health workers. He also advised senior citizens and those with comorbidities to wear masks when in a crowded area.

His directions came at a high-level meeting to assess the COVID-19 and Influenza-related preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics, the status of the vaccination campaign, the emergence of new COVID-19 variants and Influenza types and their public health implications.

This review meeting comes against the backdrop of a spike in Influenza cases in the country and a rise in COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks. “The PM highlighted that COVID-19 there is a need to monitor the status across the country on a regular basis,” said a statement issued by the union health ministry.

India has been witnessing a slight rise in new Covid-19 cases with average daily cases reported as 888 and weekly positivity reported as 0.98 per cent in the week ending March 22. However, 1.08 lakh daily average cases have been reported globally during the same week.

For the past few months, India is reporting a high number of Influenza-like illnesses, especially H1N1 (Swine flu) and H3N2 (Influenza A virus subtype), and Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) cases.  Two deaths were reported in the country due to influenza caused by the H3N2 virus. PM Modi directed officials for the effective monitoring of these cases and oversee that testing for Influenza, Coronavirus and Adenovirus are being followed up with states.

The Prime Minister was informed about the monitoring and availability and prices of 20 main Covid drugs, 12 other drugs, 8 buffer drugs and 1 influenza drug, the statement said.

The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary to PM PK Mishra, Member (Health) NITI Aayog Dr V K Paul, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, Advisor PMO Amit Khare, and other senior officials.

Cancer, high BP, diabetes have treatment in Ayurveda but not in allopathy: Ramdev

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Cancer, high BP, diabetes have treatment in Ayurveda but not in allopathy: Ramdev

Haridwar: Yoga guru Swami Ramdev once again targeted the allopathic system of medicine, saying that there is no cure for diseases like cancer, hypertension and diabetes in allopathy, whereas through Ayurveda they can be eradicated from the root.

Ramdev made the remark while addressing the closing session of the International Ayurveda Conclave-2023 organised under the joint aegis of Uttarakhand Ayurved University and Deendayal Kamdhenu Gaushala Samiti on Sunday.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, cabinet minister Satpal Maharaj, and vice chancellor of Ayurveda University Sunil Joshi also attended the programme.

Noting the importance and medical properties of cow’s milk, Ramdev said it increases the body’s immunity.

It “cures” many diseases naturally, he said, adding people around the world have it.

Ramdev claimed that diseases like cancer have been cured by the combination of cow urine extract and Ayurvedic medicines in his institute.

While addressing the students of Ayurveda, the Yoga guru said that there is no cure for diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer in allopaths whereas Ayurveda has remedies for all these illnesses.

The Yoga guru has been in controversy with Ramdev in the past for making such statements against allopathic medicine.

DC thrash MI by nine wickets to jump to top of WPL table

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DC thrash MI by nine wickets to jump to top of WPL table

Navi Mumbai: A breathtaking boundary-hitting show after a clinical bowling attack helped Delhi Capitals thrash Mumbai Indians by nine wickets to jump to the top of the table in the Women’s Premier League here on Monday.

South African pacer Marizanne Kapp (2/13) struck twice in two balls early on to help Delhi restrict Mumbai, who were put in to bat, to a meagre 109 for 8. Shikha Pandey and Jess Jonassen also chipped in with two wickets for DC.

Chasing a small total, the top three Delhi batters of captain Meg Lanning (32 not out off 22 balls), Shafali Verma (33 off 15 balls) and Alice Capsey (38 not out of 18 balls) competed among themselves in hitting boundaries as their side chased down the target with 66 balls remaining.

Lanning struck four boundaries and one six during her unbeaten knock, while her opening partner Verma hit six fours and one six. One-down Capsey then hoisted five sixes and one four during her blitzkrieg to take Delhi to 110 for one in nine overs.

Already in the play-offs before Monday’s match, Delhi and Mumbai now have 10 points from seven matches each. But Delhi are ahead on net run rate — plus 1.978 as against plus 1.725 of Mumbai.

Delhi face UP Warriorz — who also have qualified for the play-offs — on Tuesday, while Mumbai take on Royal Challengers Bangalore — who are out of reckoning — on the same day.

Tuesday’s matches will decide which team tops the table and directly qualifies for the final. The second and third place teams will play the eliminator.

Defending a small total, Mumbai needed early wickets but Delhi openers Lanning and Shafali denied them any breakthrough till the fifth over when the latter was out for 33 off just 15 balls. Verma hit six fours — including three in the second over bowled by Issy Wong — and one six during her aggressive innings.

Lanning, who began with two fours in the first over, then took upon herself to chase down the target in a jiffy. She hoisted Wong for a six in the last ball of the powerplay.

Capsey then took over as she punished Hayley Matthews with three sixes in the seventh over before hitting Saika Ishaque to end the match.

Earlier, invited to bat in the top-of-the-table clash, Mumbai were reduced to 10 for 3 in 3.3 overs with Kapp (2/13) fetching wickets off consecutive deliveries in the third over, and they never recovered from there.

Pooja Vastrakar top-scored for Mumbai with a 26 while captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Issy Wong contributed 23 each.

The 37-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Kaur and Vastrakar was the highest for Mumbai.

Kapp first forced Yastika Bhatia (1) to edge an in-swinging delivery to wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia before knocking off Nat Sciver-Brunt’s stumps the next ball for a first ball duck.

Kapp could not complete a hat-trick as Kaur defended solidly. But, Mumbai suffered another jolt as Hayley Matthews (5) fell the next over with the lively Jemimah Rodrigues taking a stunning one-handed catch at mid-on off the bowling of Shikha Pandey.

Mumbai were in tatters at 10 for 3 in the fourth over and they crawled to their lowest powerplay total of 19 for 3, before another blow struck them.

Introduced in the seventh over, Arundhati Reddy struck in her fifth ball, dismissing Amelia Kerr, who offered a loose shot into the hands of Bhatia behind the stumps as Mumbai wickets continued to tumble.

Vastrakar then struck a six and a four out of the blue as Mumbai took 18 runs from the 10th over to reach 46 for 4 at the halfway mark.

With Kaur needing to play sheet-anchor, Vastrakar was given the task to take risks and she had another couple of boundaries in the next over. But her stay was cut short with Jonassen dismissing her in the 12th over for 26.

Runs were hard to come by and even an in-form Kaur could not force the pace of Mumbai innings. She had a soft dismissal, trying to find a boundary with Jemimah taking the catch at deep midwicket.

Mumbai were 74 for 6 when Kaur was out and they added 35 runs in the last five overs to go past the 100-run mark.

Sukhoi fighter jet engages aircraft arrester barrier on landing at Pune airport; probe on

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Sukhoi fighter jet engages aircraft arrester barrier on landing at Pune airport; probe on

Pune: A Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet of the Indian Air Force had to engage an arrester barrier to stop the aircraft because of inadequate deceleration experienced by the pilots due to a technical snag on Monday, said the IAF.

The incident, which basically involved the use of a speed control technique, took place in the morning at the Air Force Station in Lohegaon in Pune after a routine training sortie, and a probe has been ordered.

Wing Commander Ashish Moghe, IAF Public Relations Officer (PRO), said, “Today, a Su-30 MKI of the Indian Air Force engaged the aircraft arrester barrier at the Air Force Station, Pune. The event occurred after a routine training sortie, following inadequate deceleration experienced by the pilots, on the landing roll due to a technical snag. Engaging of an arrester barrier gear is a planned activity for stopping of a fighter aircraft.”

The runway, which was closed for sometime, was made operational again, he said, adding a probe has been ordered into the incident.

The Pune international airport is a civil enclave operating from the IAF station at Lohegaon. It is a base for the IAF’s frontline Sukhoi aircraft.

Surat court’s verdict in defamation case against Rahul over ‘Modi’ surname remark likely on Mar 23

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Surat court's verdict in defamation case against Rahul over 'Modi' surname remark likely on Mar 23

Surat: A court in Gujarat’s Surat city is likely to pass an order on March 23 in a criminal defamation case against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his alleged “Modi surname” remark, his lawyer said on Monday.

The Congress leader will remain present in the court when the order will be passed, the lawyer Kirit Panwala told PTI.

The case was filed against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remark on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.

The complainant claimed that the controversial remark was made at a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections which defamed the entire Modi community.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, H H Varma, concluded hearing final arguments from both sides last Friday and set March 23 as the date to pronounce the judgment, lawyers said.

“The court concluded the hearing of the criminal defamation case and kept the matter for judgement on March 23. Rahul Gandhi will remain present in the court when it passes the order,” Kirit Panwala said.

Rahul Gandhi had remained present in the court on three occasions during the hearing of the case. He last appeared in October 2021 to record his statement and pleaded not guilty.

The final arguments in the defamation case resumed in February 2023 after the Gujarat High Court vacated the interim stay it had imposed on proceedings in March 2022 on the complainant’s plea demanding the personal appearance of Rahul Gandhi.

The complainant, Purnesh Modi, had served as a minister in the first term of the Bhupendra Patel government in Gujarat. He was re-elected from the Surat West assembly seat in December 2022 elections.

The lawyer for the complainant argued that CDs and a pen drive of Rahul Gandhi’s speech prove that he had indeed made the remark at the rally and that his words defamed the Modi community.

Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer argued that the proceeding was flawed from the beginning as the legal procedure under section 202 of the CrPC was not followed.

He also argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and not Purnesh Modi, should have been the complainant in the case as an aggrieved party because most of Rahul Gandhi’s speech had targeted the prime minister.

Indian-origin Laxman Narasimhan assumes role of Starbucks Chief Executive Officer

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Indian-origin Laxman Narasimhan assumes role of Starbucks Chief Executive Officer

New York: Indian-origin executive Laxman Narasimhan on Monday officially assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of global coffee giant Starbucks, joining the growing cohort of business leaders originally hailing from India at the helm of global corporations.

In September last year, Starbucks had announced that Narasimhan would become the company’s next chief executive officer and a member of the Starbucks Board of Directors.

Following the global search for the new leader of Starbucks to succeed company founder and now former CEO, Howard Schultz, Narasimhan joined Starbucks as incoming CEO on October 1, 2022 after relocating from London to the Seattle area.

“Effective today, Laxman Narasimhan has assumed the role of chief executive officer and will join the company’s board of directors,” Starbucks said in a statement.
Narasimhan will lead Starbucks Annual Shareholder Meeting on March 23.

“As he ascends into the role, Narasimhan will continue engaging the leadership team, sharing his early learnings and insights and assessing opportunities for the company as they chart a path forward,” the company said.

Narasimhan, the former CEO of UK-based consumer health, hygiene and nutrition multinational Reckitt Benckiser, brings to Starbucks nearly 30 years of experience leading global consumer goods businesses and advising retail, grocery, restaurant and e-commerce companies.

The company said that over the past five months, he has embarked on a unique immersion experience, traveling to work with employees in over 30 stores, manufacturing plants and in support centers around the world, “earning his barista certification” along the way.

“I am humbled to officially step into my role as Starbucks chief executive officer, leading our incredible team of more than 450,000 green apron partners around the world,” the company statement quoted Narasimhan as saying.

He said the foundation laid by Schultz “building from scratch an iconic global brand fuelled by a lasting passion to uplift humanity” is truly remarkable, “and I am honoured to have the opportunity to build on this deep heritage.

“As a human connection business, we have limitless possibilities to deliver for our partners, our customers, our investors and our communities through every cup and every connection. I am excited to work alongside our partners worldwide to unlock the limitless future of Starbucks.”

With his appointment, Narasimhan joined the growing list of Indian-origin CEOs at the helm of global giants, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and IBM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna. Indra Nooyi had served as PepsiCo’s CEO for 12 years before stepping down in 2018.

Former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga was last month nominated by US President Joe Biden to lead the World Bank.

Narasimhan holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the College of Engineering, University of Pune, India.

He also has a Master of Arts in German and International Studies from The Lauder Institute at The University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.

Starbucks said that it has unveiled a company-wide reinvention strategy and continues to deliver on more than USD 1 billion in investments in retail partners and stores for prioritized areas such as increased pay and sick time accrual, new financial well-being benefits, modernized training and collaboration, store innovation and equipment and the celebration of coffee.

Independent Starbucks Board of Directors chair Mellody Hobson said in the statement that Narasimhan’s “intensive immersion” into the business coupled with his extensive experience as a proven brand builder, innovator and operator have uniquely prepared him to lead Starbucks into its next phase of growth.

“This immersion has deepened Laxman’s understanding of Starbucks culture and values. In this time of learning and listening, he has already won the hearts and minds of our partners around the world,” Hobson said.

Previously, Narasimhan has served as an executive in various leadership roles at PepsiCo, including as global chief commercial officer, where he was responsible for the company’s long-term growth strategy and commercial capabilities.

Prior to PepsiCo, he spent 19 years at McKinsey & Company, where he advised companies across the retail, consumer goods, and healthcare industries in the US, Asia, and India.

He is a trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Build Back Better Council and a member of Verizon’s Board of Directors, according to the Starbucks website.

Amazon to cut 9,000 jobs in second round of layoffs, says report

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Amazon to cut 9,000 jobs in second round of layoffs, says report

New York: Amazon announced on Monday it will lay off 9,000 corporate and technology workers, eliminating jobs in addition to the 18,000 job cuts undertaken by the company in the last few months.

“As we’ve just concluded the second phase of our operating plan (OP2) this past week, I’m writing to share that we intend to eliminate about 9,000 more positions in the next few weeks mostly in AWS, PXT (People, Experience, and Technology), Advertising, and Twitch. This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement.

The 9,000 job cuts, which will be completed by mid to late April, are in addition to the massive 18, 000 layoffs that the company undertook since November last year.

Jassy said that “given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount” adding that the “overriding tenet of our annual planning” this year was to be leaner.

Jassy acknowledged people may question why the additional 9,000 job cuts were not announced together with the previous lay-offs.

“The short answer is that not all of the teams were done with their analyses in the late fall; and rather than rush through these assessments without the appropriate diligence, we chose to share these decisions as we’ve made them so people had the information as soon as possible,” Jassy said.

Technology giants Google, Microsoft and Facebook have announced massive job cuts in the last few months, amid global economic uncertainty. Digital consumption soared during the years of the pandemic, prompting companies to diversify portfolios and scale up hiring.

But as consumers cut back on their digital footprint as normalcy returned after the pandemic, companies have been forced to restructure and cut costs.

Last week, Facebook-parent Meta had said it will lay off another 10,000 workers and will not fill another 5,000 positions, announcing the second round of significant job cuts by the tech major in four months.

The latest move came after Meta slashed approximately 13 per cent of its workforce, or 11,000 jobs in November last year, in the single largest round of cuts in the company’s history.

In a Facebook post, CEO Mark Zuckerberg had said the job cuts will take place “over the next couple of months.”

“We expect to announce restructurings and layoffs in our tech groups in late April, and then our business groups in late May,” he wrote.

In January this year, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the company was slashing 12,000 jobs.

A day before Google’s announcement, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said his company will lay off 10,000 workers, or less than five per cent of its total workforce, as the technology giant aligns its cost structure with revenue and customer demand.

Heavy unseasonal rains lash Mumbai and satellite cities

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Mumbai: Heavy unseasonal rains lashed Mumbai and satellite cities on Tuesday morning, bringing down the temperature.

Officials said transport services like local trains and buses have remained unaffected.

Satellite cities like Thane, Mira-Bhayander, and Vasai-Virar too received a spell of heavy showers in the morning.

The India Meteorological Department attributed the westerly wind and moisture incursion from the Arabian Sea as the reason behind the spell.

It is unusual for Mumbai to witness rains in March.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that some parts of Mumbai city and suburbs have recorded up to 20-25 mm of rain between 7 am and 8 am.

In the island city, Central Mumbai areas like Mondavi fire station, Memonwada fire station, Byculla fire station, and BMC headquarters reported 28 mm, 25 mm, 23 mm and 19 mm rainfall, respectively.

Eastern suburbs like Mulund, Gavanpada, and Bhandup Complex recorded 20 mm and 19 mm rainfall respectively between 6 am to 7 am. In the Western suburbs, Dahisar fire station and Chincholi fire station reported 18 mm and 14 mm rainfall, respectively.

Authorities said public transport services like railways and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) remained unaffected.

The civic body said the BEST bus operations are normal, and nowhere in the city, bus routes were changed due to rain or waterlogging.

Railway authorities said train services in the city on all three suburban corridors- main line, harbour line and western line- were running normally.

“Heavy rain was reported in various sections of the Mumbai division, but trains are running smoothly,” Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer of Central Railway said.

PM security breach: Disciplinary proceedings against then Punjab DGP, two police officers

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PM security breach: Disciplinary proceedings against then Punjab DGP, two police officers

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Monday ordered the initiation of “disciplinary proceedings for major penalty” against former DGP S Chattopadhyaya and two other police officers over the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state in January last year.

Apart from Chattopadhyaya who has since retired, the disciplinary proceedings for major penalty will be initiated against Inderbir Singh, the then deputy inspector general (DIG) of police of Ferozepur range, and Harmandeep Singh Hans, the then senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Ferozepur.

Official sources said these officers would be asked to submit their responses.

According to the Home Affairs department’s communication to the Personnel department issued on Monday, Mann also decided that explanations be sought from Naresh Arora, the then ADGP (Law and Order), G Nageshwara Rao, the then ADGP Cyber Crime, Mukhvinder Singh Chhina, the then IGP Patiala Range, Rakesh Agrawal, the then IG Counter Intelligence and Nodal Officer, Surjeet Singh, the then DIG Faridkot, and Charanjit Singh, the then SSP Moga, as to why disciplinary proceedings should not be initiated against them as recommended in the Supreme Court-constituted inquiry committee report.

The move came after the Supreme Court-appointed committee, which probed the security breach during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Punjab in January 2022, had indicted several state officers for lapses.

On January 5, 2022, Modi’s convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur after which he returned from Punjab without attending any event, including a rally.

The top court on January 12 last year had appointed the committee to probe the breach, saying these questions cannot be left to “one -sided inquiries” as they needed “judicially trained independent minds” to investigate.

The Union Home Secretary had last month written to the Punjab chief secretary to submit an action taken report in the matter.

A few days ago, Punjab Chief Secretary V K Janjua had said that the state government would send an action taken report to the Centre.

The chief secretary had then said that penalties to the erring officials can include stopping increments, demotion and in worse case dismissal of those still in service.

The security breach ahead of the Punjab assembly elections led to a major political controversy.

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