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‘Favourites’ India peaking at the right time before World Cup: Laxman

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Nasheman News : Putting India and England as favourites to win the forthcoming ICC World Cup, batting great V.V.S. Laxman on Wednesday said Virat Kohli and Co. are peaking at the right time after their historic ODI series triumphs in Australia and New Zealand.

“It’s all about peaking at the right time which is so important. The World Cup is a long format so every player should be at his best physically and mentally if India has to win the World Cup. They start as favourites. For me, India and England start as favourites,” Laxman told reporters on the sidelines of Bengal’s Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament preparations here.

The 44-year old is a batting consultant of the Bengal team as a part of Cricket Association of Bengal’s Vision 2020 programme.

The World Cup kicks off in England from May 30 with India taking on South Africa in their opening game on June 5 in Southampton.

The Indian team edged Australia 2-1 in the three-match series and then went on to thump New Zealand by a healthy margin of 4-1 in the 50-over format.

India will now take on Australia at home in five ODIs and two T20s starting February 24.

“I think brilliant. The way they played, I would like to congratulate the entire team,” Laxman said.

“The way they played right from the Australia series to the New Zealand series… and it’s not only one or two players who have put their hand up. Everyone has contributed. So it’s great to see bowling and batting departments contribute,” he added.

Talking about the Bengal team which failed to make the final at home last season after finishing third in the Super League Group B of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Laxman said: “The preparation has been really good. We had a lot of match simulation. In T20 cricket, better than nets is match simulation. It has been a very realistic practice. We played a couple of games too.”

The 2011 champions Bengal open their domestic T20 campaign against Mizoram in their group D fixture at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on February 21.

Laxman was part of a three-day camp which took place at the Eden Gardens and concluded at the Jadavpur University Campus ground here on Wednesday.

Laxman, who has been with the team led by Manoj Tiwary since 2014, said he was disappointed with Bengal failing to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Ranji Trophy, adding the team has the potential to win the tournament.

“I am disappointed that they did not qualify but the potential of the side is to go on and win the Ranji Trophy,” he said.

Laxman also backed Bengal coach and former India opener Arun Lal, saying his presence in the dressing room will make the players mentally strong.

“Arun has always been someone who is mentally tough and he will inspire the team. He is a great asset to the team.”

Laxman also hoped that the BCCI look into playing U-23 CK Nayudu Trophy final in neutral venues with the summit clash game this time between Punjab and Bengal ending in just two days. Punjab edged past Bengal by one wicket to clinch the title.

“That is something that the BCCI has to work out. The wicket could have been better. It was spinner friendly. You want U-23 finals to go the distance as it gives an opportunity for the youngsters to showcase their talent. But youngsters should also know how to play in different conditions,” he concluded. 


Modi government has made Governors BJP General Secretaries: Stalin

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Nasheman News :  DMK President M.K. Stalin on Thursday said the Modi government was converting Governors as BJP General Secretaries and extended his support to Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy who is protesting outside Lt Governor Kiran Bedi’s residence.

In a tweet, Stalin said: “Lt Governor being the reason for the abnormal political situation in Puducherry is unconstitutional.

“This is an example of the BJP government converting Governors as their party General Secretaries. Once again, the question about the need for the Governor post arises.”

The protest by Narayanasamy and his five ministers outside Bedi’s official residence entered a second day on Thursday.

Narayanasamy began his protest on Wednesday, wearing a black shirt and black dhoti. He was protesting against Bedi for not permitting implementation of his government’s welfare schemes.

He was joined by his ministerial colleagues and DMK MLAs.

Narayanasamy accused Bedi, a former police officer, of interfering in the day-to-day activities of the Puducherry government.


US public debt at record high above $22 trillion

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Nasheman News : America’s public debt has reached a record high of more than $22 trillion, according to data released by the US Treasury Department.

The amount of the debt as of February 11 was quoted in a daily statement by the department on Tuesday.

“The national debt has now eclipsed $22 trillion, as we added $1 trillion in debt over just the last 11 months,” said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a non-partisan organisation dedicated to addressing America’s long-term fiscal challenges.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in January estimated that federal budget deficit was about $900 billion in 2019 and exceeds $1 trillion each year beginning in 2022.

Because of persistently large deficits, the public debt is projected to grow steadily, reaching 93 per cent of US gross domestic product (GDP) in 2029 and about 150 per cent of the US GDP in 2049, according to the CBO.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has warned that the rising public debt in the US could lead to the next economic recession.

Analysts said the Trump administration’s $1.5-trillion tax cut and increased government spending have fueled the rapid increase in budget deficits and public debt.

“Reaching this unfortunate milestone so rapidly is the latest sign that our fiscal situation is not only unsustainable, but accelerating,” Xinhua quoted Peterson as saying.

“As we borrow trillion after trillion, interest costs will weigh on our economy and make it harder to fund important investments for our future,” Peterson said.

“We already pay an average of $1 billion every day in interest on the debt, and will spend a staggering $7 trillion in interest costs over the next decade,” he said, adding “we must put our fiscal house in order and begin to manage our national debt”.


NASA declares end of Opportunity rover’s mission on Mars

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Nasheman News :  NASA has announced the end of its Opportunity rover’s mission, 15 years after its arrival on Mars.

The announcement was made on Wednesday at a press conference at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, following NASA’s last attempt to communicate with the rover on Tuesday night which got no response, Xinhua reported.

The rover last communicated with Earth on June 10, 2018, as a planet-wide dust storm blanketed the solar-powered rover’s location on Mars. It has not been heard from for eight months since then.

Opportunity likely experienced a low-power fault, a mission clock fault and an up-loss timer fault, according to the mission team.

Team members have tried to rouse the rover ever since, and radiated more than a thousand commands to restore contact. However, no signal was heard from again.

“Saying goodbye is hard, but it comes the time,” said John Callas, project manager for Opportunity.

“It is because of trailblazing missions such as Opportunity that there will come a day when our brave astronauts walk on the surface of Mars,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.



“When that day arrives, some portion of that first footprint will be owned by the men and women of Opportunity, and a little rover that defied the odds and did so much in the name of exploration,” he said.



The golf-cart-sized rover far exceeded its planned 90-day mission lifetimes. It has worked for nearly 15 years and travelled over 45 km by the time it reached its most appropriate final resting spot on Mars — Perseverance Valley.



Opportunity landed on Mars on January 24, 2004. First among the mission’s scientific goals was to search for and characterise a wide range of rocks and soils for clues to past water activity on Mars.

Journalists body condemns the arrest of Philippine’s Maria Ressa

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Nasheman News : The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the arrest of Maria Ressa, the chief of news portal Rappler, who was arrested earlier on Wednesday in Manila for an alleged “cyber libel” case.

“Freedom of the press is an essential pillar of democracy and Human Rights. The arrest in the Philippines of Maria Ressa, founder and executive editor of the news website Rappler, is an alarming development,” CPJ said in a statement to the media

It also called on the government to “immediately release” the journalist and “drop all charges” against her, Efe news reported. Rappler’s investigative report linked Keng to alleged drug and human trafficking.

CPJ’s board chair Kathleen Carroll said that “the arrest of Maria Ressa is an outrage”, adding that “she should be freed immediately and the Philippines government needs to cease its multi-pronged attack on Rappler, its talented leader, and its brave staff”.

The organisation said on Wednesday the letter was launched after its board of directors, made up of influential journalists, approved an exceptional resolution in a meeting held at their New York headquarters.

Ressa was arrested in her office at the Rappler headquarters in Manila, for a story published in May 2012 about local businessman Wilfredo Keng.

The Justice Department of the Philippines filed charges of “cyber libel” against Rappler, Ressa, as the portal’s CEO, and investigative journalist Reynaldo Santos for the story published in 2012.

Three Justice Department prosecutors ruled in Keng’s favour in January even though Keng filed his complaint five years after the report was published, even though the statute of limitations established by Philippine law for a defamation charge is only one year.

Rappler has been very critical of the administration of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte. However, this not the only case pending against Ressa.

Last November, an arrest warrant was issued against her on five charges of alleged tax evasion. Ressa had posted bail at the time and the case is still pending trial.

The Philippine President has made no secret of his hostility towards Rappler, accusing it of being financed by the CIA and banning its reporters from the presidential palace in February 2018.

Rituparna, Riya enter pre-quarters of senior badminton Nationals

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Nasheman News :  Former champion Rituparna Das of PSPB and top seed Riya Mookerjee of the Railways put on a brilliant display to book their berths in the pre-quarterfinals of the 83rd Senior National Badminton Championships here on Wednesday.

Also winning on Day 2 of India’s biggest domestic badminton event was former champion Sourabh Verma and 2017 runner-up Lakshya Sen, both of whom made it to the pre-quarters.

World No.57 Das, who was crowned the champion in 2017, needed only 24 minutes to breeze past Namita Pathania 21-10, 21-7. 

Riya, placed 114th in the world, staved off some stiff resistance from the ninth-seeded Gayatri Gopichand to win 21-17, 21-17.

The 14th seeded Sen continued his fine run from the Inter-Zonal competition with yet another facile 21-10, 21-10 victory over Bengal’s top seed Arintap Dasgupta. 

Verma, the winner of the Nationals in 2011 and 2017, was equally dominant in his 21-13, 21-14 triumph over Munawer Mohammed.

Harsheel Dani of Maharashtra was made to work hard by Kartikey. The World No.131 fought back from a game down to register a 16-21, 21-18, 21-8 win in 56 minutes.

Sixth seed Aryamann Tandon beat Madhya Pradesh’s Priyanshu Rajawat 21-15, 21-10 while fifth seed Rahul Yadav from Telangana emerged a 21-12, 21-11 winner over Jaswanth D.

In the women’s singles, 14th seeded Malvika Bansod caused an upset by ousting the seventh-seeded Shikha Gautam 21-11, 21-16 in a fourth-round encounter that lasted 33 minutes.

Fourth seed Vaidehi Choudhari faced no hassles in her 21-17, 21-13 dismissal of Kerala’s Aadya Variyath.

Maharashtra’s sixth-seeded rising star Vaishnavi Bhale too progressed, courtesy of a 21-19, 21-9 win over the 10th seeded Reshma Karthik. 

Maharashtra had a double delight on Day 2 of the Senior Nationals as the 15th seeded Neha Pandit showed her admirable fighting spirit in her 21-18, 20-22, 21-16 upset win over third seed Bhavya Rishi.

Eighth seed Shruti Mundada and unseeded Deepshikha Singh advanced when their respective opponents, Vrushali Gummadi and Deepali Gupta, retired.

Seasoned campaigners Manu Attri and Maneesha K, seeded seventh at this tournament, showed the door to the mixed doubles top seeds Utkarsh Arora and Karishma Wadkar 21-19, 21-18 on their way to the quarter-finals.

Shlok Ramchandran and Mithula UK also joined them by prevailing over Sanjai Srivatsa D and Kavipriya S 21-17, 21-13.

The veteran men’s doubles team of V Diju and Rupesh Kumar KT also kept their impressive run going. Kumar, former South Asian Games gold medallist, and Diju, a former World No. 6 in mixed doubles, required just 20 minutes to dispatch Prince Chaturvedi and Sangram Chutia 21-15, 21-11 en route to the pre quarter-finals.

The top shuttlers, led by Saina Nehwal and P.V.Sindhu, will begin their challenge from Thursday. 

The top eight seeds in singles have been directly placed in the pre-quarters while the top four seeds in doubles will start from the quarters.


Indian shooters will shine at World Cup: Apurvi Chandela

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Nasheman News :  Expressing confidence ahead of the 2019 shooting World Cup, to be held at the Dr Karni Singh shooting range here from February 20, Commonwealth Games 2014 gold medallist Apurvi Chandela hopes the prestigious event will fetch India a number of Olympic quotas.

Shooters from around the world will be eyeing the 16 quota places on offer at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in eight events for men and women.

Speaking to media, Apurvi, who has already bagged an Olympic quota for India last year after finishing fourth at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup 2018 in Changwon, South Korea, said that as Indian shooters will be competing on their home turf this time, they will enjoy home advantage while simultaneously battling increased expectations.

“The advantage would be that we are getting a chance to train here (India). But of course it is the match day which matters the most,” the 26-year-old said.

“The other countries are also strong including us (India). So, we will try to do well and I hope more quotas come for the country for the 2020 Olympics,” she added.

Commenting on how home conditions will help her, Apurvi said: “I compete in the 10 metre air rifle event, which is held indoors. So conditions won’t matter much for me. But yes, it will matter in the 50 metres event because of the wind factor.

“But the way we are practising, I believe everything will be good for India,” she added.

The Jaipur-born shooter, who paired with Ravi Kumar for the 10 metre air rifle mixed team event and won a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games, also said her personal target will be to deliver her best and bring more medals for the country.

With the Tokyo Olympics nearly a year away, Apurvi said that as a team India looks strong with a mixture of youth and experience.

The ace shooter, however, said she won’t change her strategy or technique in the World Cup but might opt for a new kit in the Olympics.

“I haven’t changed my style or technique. I have been shooting consistently and getting good results and so I am satisfied,” she said.

Karnataka Assembly adjourned amid BJP protest

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Nasheman News : Karnataka Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar adjourned the House till 3 p.m. on Thursday amid protests by BJP legislators against the attack on its MLA’s residence in Hassan.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators walked towards the Speaker’s podium and raised slogans against the attack on Preetham Gowda’s residence by Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) workers in Hassan, about 180km from here.

JD-S workers had attacked Gowda’s house by pelting stones on Wednesday after he allegedly bad-mouthed its supremo H.D. Deve Gowda, who represents the district in Lok Sabha.

Hassan is Gowda clan’s home constituency.

BJP’s state unit president B.S. Yeddyurappa urged the Speaker for a thorough probe into the incident.

“We have submitted a letter to Governor Vajubhai Vala on the stone pelting issue. Our legislator (Preetham Gowda) and his family were threatened by the JD-S workers,” Yeddyurappa told the media earlier in the day.

Anti-government protests by the BJP have marred the state Budget Session, which began on February 6

Three sisters burnt alive in Amritsar house fire

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Nasheman News : Three women, all sisters, were burnt alive in a fire in their house in the walled city area here on Wednesday evening, police said.

Police is investigating the cause of the mysterious fire that charred the three sisters to death in Gali Mochian area near Hakima gate of the congested old city.

The victims were identified as Indu, 45, and her younger sisters Vandna and Preeti.

While Indu was married and living in Amritsar, her sisters were unmarried and had shifted with her recently from Delhi.

Amritsar’s Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police J.S. Walia told media that the incident was being investigated for all three angles – accident, suicide or murder.

Forensic experts were called to collect samples from the spot.

Foul play has also not been ruled out. The house was found locked from inside.

Local residents said that that the fire brigade and police took time to reach the spot and the fire had spread by that time.


4 ‘rebel’ Congress MLAs attend Karnataka assembly session

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Four ‘rebel’ Congress legislators, who defied the party whip to absent themselves from the budget session since February 6, came to the assembly on Wednesday and were seen sitting on the treasury benches.

“All our four legislators — Ramesh Jarkiholi, Umesh Jadhav, B Nagendra and Mahesh Kumatalli – returned to Bengaluru on Tuesday night and attended the session today (Wednesday), sitting along with our party members,” a Congress leader told media.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah had on Monday petitioned Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar to disqualify the four under the anti-defection law for skipping the session for five days since February 6 in defiance of the whip and two notices served on January 18 and February 8.

“The legislators’ return is timely, as the assembly is set to debate the budget (presented on February 8) and vote for passing it,” said the Congress leader.

Denying that they were in touch with BJP to join the party, the legislators said they would not resign from the assembly or the party.

“As I had written to Siddaramaiah in response to his February 8 notice. I could not attend the session since February 6 as I was indisposed and in hospital,” said Kumatalli.

Chincholi legislator Jadav told reporters outside the assembly building that he could not come to Bengaluru for the session till Tuesday as he was pre-occupied with constituency work.

Though the rebels responded to the notice Siddaramaiah served on them for skipping the session till Tuesday, the latter earlier said the unanimous opinion of the CLP was for legal action against them under the anti-detection law, as sufficient opportunity was given to them to fall in line.

In the 225-member Assembly, including one nominated from the Anglo-India community, the Congress has 80, including the Speaker, the Janata Dal-Secular 37, the BJP 104 and remaining are an Independent and one each from the Bahujan Samaj Party and regional outfit KPJP.

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