New Delhi: Pakistan pace great Wasim Akram has revealed he developed a cocaine addiction after his retirement from the game but quit following the death of his first wife in 2009.
The 56-year-old has opened up about his dependency on cocaine in his upcoming autobiography ‘Sultan: A Memoir.’
Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in both Test and ODI cricket said he started to crave “a substitute for the adrenaline rush of competition” when he was travelling away from his first wife Huma.
“The culture of fame in south Asia is all consuming, seductive and corrupting. You can go to 10 parties a night, and some do. And it took its toll on me,” Akram told the Times.
“It made me volatile. It made me deceptive. Huma, I know, was often lonely in this time… she would talk of her desire to move to Karachi, to be nearer her parents and siblings.
“I was reluctant. Why? Partly because I liked going to Karachi on my own, pretending it was work when it was actually about partying, often for days at a time.”
Widely regarded as one of the best bowlers of all times, Akram made his international debut in 1985, playing 104 Tests and 356 ODIs for Pakistan. He picked 414 Test wickets and 502 ODI wickets.
“Huma eventually found me out, discovering a packet of cocaine in my wallet… ‘You need help.’ I agreed. It was getting out of hand. I couldn’t control it. One line would become two, two would become four; four would become a gram, a gram would become two. I could not sleep. I could not eat.
“I grew inattentive to my diabetes, which caused me headaches and mood swings. Like a lot of addicts, part of me welcomed discovery: the secrecy had been exhausting.”
Akram went for rehab but his experience with the doctor was all but pleasant, resulting in a relapse.
“The doctor was a complete con man, who worked primarily on manipulating families rather than treating patients, on separating relatives from money rather than users from drugs,” he said.
“Try as I might, part of me was still smouldering inside about the indignity of what I’d been put through. My pride was hurt, and the lure of my lifestyle remained.
“I briefly contemplated divorce. I settled for heading to the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy where, out from under Huma’s daily scrutiny, I started using again.”
However, the legendary pacer, who continues to take up commentary and coaching assignments around the world, said he eventually stopped after Huma’s sudden death from a rare fungal infection in 2009.
“Huma’s last selfless, unconscious act was curing me of my drug problem. That way of life was over, and I have never looked back,” he added.
36 cases of XBB subvariant of Omicron found in Maharashtra so far; experts worry about ‘long COVID’
Mumbai :The number of cases of XBB subvariant of Omicron in Maharashtra has reached 36, the health department said on Saturday, adding that in most of these cases patients recovered in home isolation.
The experts on the state government’s COVID-19 Task Force, however, expressed concern about rising cases of `long COVID’ at a recent meeting, it said.
Pune district has reported 21 XBB cases to date, followed by 10 in Thane, two in Nagpur and one each in Akola, Amravati and Raigad.
Two of the XBB patients were in the 11-20 age group, 13 in the 21-40 segment, 14 in the 41-60 category and seven were over 60. The patients comprised 22 males and 14 females.
“Nine of the 36 patients had some symptoms, while others displayed mild symptoms or were asymptomatic. A total of 32 patients recovered in home isolation and the rest four had to be hospitalised as a precautionary measure or due to lack of necessary conditions for home isolation,” the release said.
No “atypical” symptoms were found in any of these 36 patients and none of them required oxygen or ventilatory support, it added.
Barring two of the 36 patients, all had been vaccinated, and five had taken the booster dose as well. Six XBB patients had been diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier.
Against the backdrop of the XBB detections, a meeting of the State COVID-19 Task Force was held on October 24.
“After studying the XBB variant found in Maharashtra, Singapore and elsewhere, (it has been observed that) even if the infections increase, the new variant seems mild and most patients could be treated in home isolation. Minimal number of patients may need hospitalization,” the release said.
However, experts on the task force expressed concerns about ‘long COVID’.
“Incidence of conditions such as diabetes, brain fog and heart diseases seem to be increasing. Therefore, monitoring and follow-up of COVID-recovered patients is necessary,” the release said.
The experts instructed that it would be beneficial to wear masks in hospitals and clinics by health workers and others.
‘Long COVID’ is the term used for mid- and long-term effects that persist after a person recovers from the initial coronavirus infection.
120 dead after Halloween crowd surge in Seoul: Officials
Injured people are helped at the street near the stampede scene in Seoul
Seoul: At least 120 people were killed and 100 more were injured as they were crushed by a large crowd pushing forward on a narrow street during Halloween festivities in the capital of Seoul, South Korean officials said.
Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire department, said the death toll could rise and that an unspecified number among the injured were in critical conditions.
He said 74 of the dead have been sent to hospitals while the bodies of the remaining 46 who had been kept on the streets were being transported to a nearby gym so that workers could identify them.
Officials say it was believed that people were crushed to death after a large crowd began pushing forward in a narrow alley near Hamilton Hotel, a major party spot in Seoul.
At least 59 people were killed and 150 more were injured after being crushed by a large crowd pushing forward on a narrow street during Halloween festivities in the capital of Seoul, South Korean officials said.
Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire department, said the death toll could rise as emergency workers were continuing to transport the injured to hospitals across Seoul following the stampede in the leisure district of Itaewon on Saturday night. He said 13 of the dead have been sent to hospitals while the bodies of the remaining 46 were still on the streets.
Officials say it was believed that people were crushed to death after a large crowd began pushing forward in a narrow alley near Hamilton Hotel, a major party spot in Seoul.
More than 400 emergency workers and 140 vehicles from around the nation, including all available personnel in Seoul, were deployed to the streets to treat the injured.
The National Fire Agency separately said in a statement that officials were still trying to determine the exact number of emergency patients.
TV footage and photos from the scene showed ambulance vehicles lined up in streets amid a heavy police presence and emergency workers moving the injured in stretchers. Emergency workers and pedestrians were also seen performing CPR on people lying in the streets.
In one section, paramedics were seen checking the status of a dozen or more people who lied motionless under blue blankets.
Police, which were restricting traffic in nearby areas to speed up the transportation of the injured to hospitals across the city, also confirmed that dozens of people were being given CPR on Itaewon streets. The Seoul Metropolitan Government issued emergency text messages urging people in the area to swiftly return home.
A local police officer said he was also informed that a stampede occurred on Itaewon’s streets where a crowd of people gathered for Halloween festivities. The officer requested anonymity, saying the details of the incident was still under investigation.
Some local media reports earlier said the crush happened after a large number of people rushed to an Itaewon bar after hearing an unidentified celebrity visited there.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a statement calling for officials to ensure swift treatment for those injured and review the safety of the festivity sites. He also instructed the Health Ministry to swiftly deploy disaster medical assistance teams and secure beds in nearby hospital to treat the injured.
Local media said around 100,000 people flocked to Itaewon streets for the Halloween festivities, which were the biggest since the start of the pandemic following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in recent months.
Calling girl ‘item’ is derogatory, used to objectify her with sexual intent: Mumbai court
Mumbai: A special court in Mumbai has sentenced a man to one-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for harassing a minor girl, observing that calling a girl an “item” is derogatory and objectifies her in a sexual manner.
In the order passed on October 20, the court refused to show leniency to the accused and said such “roadside Romeos” need to be taught a lesson in order to protect women from such uncalled-for behaviour.
Special Judge A J Ansari, designated to hear cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, held the man, aged 25 years at the time of the incident, guilty of outraging the modesty of the 16-year-old victim by addressing her as an “item” and pulling her hair near her residence in suburban Mumbai in July 2015.
“The fact that the accused intentionally caught hold of the victim’s hair and pulled it and called her an ‘item’, in my opinion, will certainly go to prove the fact of him having outraged her modesty,” the judge said.
The behaviour of the accused was “wholly inappropriate”, the court observed.
“The accused addressed the girl with the term ‘item’, which is a term used generally by boys to address girls in a derogatory fashion as it objectifies them in a sexual manner. The same will clearly indicate his intention of outraging her modesty,” the order said, adding, “Using the term ‘item’ to address any girl is obviously insulting in nature.”
The acts of the accused were obviously done with a sexual intent as the word item when used to address a girl is only used to objectify her sexually and nothing else, the judge said.
The court further said leniency could not be shown to the accused as the case related to the harassment of a minor girl on the street. “Such offences need to be dealt with a heavy hand as a lesson needs to be meted out to such roadside Romeos, in order to protect women from their uncalled-for behaviour, it said.
On July 14, 2015, when the victim was returning from school, the accused accosted her and called her an “item”.
When the girl asked the man not to harass her, he started abusing her and pulled her hair. She then called the police helpline number 100 and sought help.
The police reached the spot but the accused fled.
The girl went home and informed her father, following which, a complaint was lodged at Sakinaka police station in Mumbai.
The accused was subsequently arrested and released on bail.
Belthangady: After 4 months in coma, man injured in road accident dies
Mangaluru, Oct 26: A man from Karnataka, who was seriously injured in a road accident in neighbouring Kerala four months ago and remained in coma since then, has died at a hospital here on Wednesday, an official said.
Ashraf, a resident of Ujire in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, was critically injured after he was hit by a motorcycle while crossing the road at Pazhayangadi in Kannur district on June 4.
The cloth store owner was admitted to the hospital here and was in coma since then. However, Ashraf did not show any improvement despite prolonged treatment and breathed his last today, the hospital official said.
Leopard caught in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony after child’s death
Mumbai: A male leopard was captured in Aarey Milk Colony here on Wednesday but it was not clear if it had killed a toddler two days ago as another leopard is roaming in the area, a forest official said. A three-year-old leopard walked into a cage trap set in Unit 16 of Aarey Colony in the small hours of Wednesday and later taken to the rescue centre at the adjoining Sanjay Gandhi National Park, he said.
A one-and-half-year-old girl was attacked and killed by a leopard in Unit 15 of Aarey Colony on Monday morning.
“There is another male leopard, identified as `C-56′, in the field. We will continue to monitor his movements through 30 camera traps and have also set up three trap cages at strategic locations,” the forest official said.
It was yet to be ascertained if the captured leopard was the one which killed the girl on Monday as there were two animals in the area, he said.
The captured leopard has been kept under observation of forest department veterinarian Dr Shailesh Pethe, he said. Around 30 wildlife volunteers, members of NGOs, forest department officials and staff of SNGP are working together to deal with the incidents of human-animal conflict in the area, said Pawan Sharma, president of Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare and an honorary wildlife warden.
The measures taken for avoiding such incidents include increased patrolling, installation of trap cages and spreading awareness about precautionary steps among local residents, he said.
Mallikarjun Kharge forms 47-member Steering Committee, retains most from CWC
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor in New Delhi, Wednesday, Oct 26, 2022.
New Delhi: New Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday set up a 47-member Steering Committee that includes former prime minister Manmohan Singh and the party’s ex-presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The interim panel headed by him would take the place of the Congress Working Committee, the apex decision-making body, till a new CWC is formed after Kharge’s election is ratified at the party plenary.
All members and permanent invitees of the last CWC have been retained in the committee except Vivek Bansal.
Bansal, a former MLA who was a permanent invitee in the previous CWC, is now the in-charge for Haryana affairs of the party.
None of the special invitees to the previous CWC under Sonia Gandhi have found a place in the new Steering Committee announced by Kharge hours after he took over as the new party Congress president.
Shashi Tharoor, who contested against Kharge, is not among the panel members. He was earlier heading the Professional Congress wing of the party but resigned ahead of the party’s presidential election.
The CWC special invitees not included in the new panel are Ajay Kumar Lallu, Chinta Mohan, Deepender Singh Hooda, Sachin Rao, besides Seva Dal chief organiser Lalji Desai, IYC chief Srinivas B V, NSUI chief Neeraj Kundan, Mahila Congress chief Netta D’Souza and president of Intuc G Sanjeeva Reddy.
Anand Sharma, a CWC member and a prominent leader of the G23 dissident group that was pushing for organisational overhaul, has been retained in the Steering Committee.
Earlier in the day, soon after Kharge took over as the new chief, all CWC members and office bearers of the party tendered their resignations to the new party chief to enable him to choose his own team.
There is a tradition of all office bearers of the Congress resigning soon after the election of the new president.
“All the CWC members, AICC general secretaries and in-charges have tendered their resignation to Congress president,” said AICC general secretary Organisation KC Venugopal.
According to a communication from the AICC general secretary (Organisation), the steering committee members include senior party leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, A K Antony, Ambika Soni, Anand Sharma, K C Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala and Digvijaya Singh.
“As per Article XV (b) of the Constitution of the Indian National Congress, the Congress president has constituted the Steering Committee which would function in place of the Congress Working Committee,” Venugopal said in the order.
The CWC is the highest decision-making body of the Congress and the Steering Committee will now take all decisions till the ratification of Kharge’s election at the party’s plenary session attended by all PCC delegates.
According to the party Constitution, 11 members of the CWC will be nominated and 12 will be elected. Besides, the leader of the party in Parliament and the Congress president will also be the members of the working committee.
The session is likely to be held in March next year.
Among those who resigned was Anand Sharma who assured of all cooperation to the new chief and thanked Sonia Gandhi for her leadership.
Congratulating the new Congress chief, Sharma said, “It has been a privilege for me to have served as a member of the CWC with the outgoing president Sonia Gandhi and also with former president Rahul Gandhi.”
“As you assume the office of the Congress president, I am submitting my resignation from the CWC. I consider, that it is important for the new president to have the freedom to reconstitute the CWC as required under the provisions of the Constitution of the Indian National Congress,” he said, assuring his support in all endeavours for strengthening the party.
82 COVID-19 cases registered in Karnataka
Bengaluru: Karnataka on Wednesday reported 82 fresh COVID-19 cases taking the cumulative tally in the state to 40,68,193, the health department said.
There were no COVID-19 fatalities and the death toll due to the virus remained the same at 40,242.
Also, 271 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 40,25,944, according to a health bulletin. The active cases count stood at 1,953, the bulletin said.
Bengaluru Urban district accounted for the maximum number of 57 cases. Other districts too reported fresh infections.
According to the COVID-19 bulletin issued by the department, 20 districts reported zero infections and zero fatalities.
A total of 4,367 samples were tested in the state including 2,507 using RT-PCR methods, taking the cumulative number of specimens examined across the state to 6.94 crore.
The number of COVID vaccinations administered in the state rose to more than 12 crore, with 372 people being inoculated on Wednesday, it said.
JD(S) to begin Pancharatna Rath Yatra from Karnataka’s Kolar on November 1
Bengaluru: A two-day national executive meet and national council meet of the Janata Dal (Secular) would take place in the party head office JP Bhavan here from Thursday, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy said on Wednesday.
The office-bearers and executive committee members of the party from 13 States would participate in the meeting, the JD(S) second-in-command told reporters here.
“During the two-day meet, we will discuss political developments in the country and the State along with economic and communal issues. Some important decisions will be taken in these two days,” Kumaraswamy said.
The JD(S) leader explained that the party would launch its pancha rathna’ scheme from Kurudumale Ganapati temple in Kolar from where a ratha yatra’ would start on November 1. On Thursday, a ritual would be performed on the chariot of the proposed meet.
The pancha rathna scheme is aimed at focusing on employment, education, irrigation, agriculture, health, women and youth empowerment, the JD(S) leader said.
According to him, his father and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda started his election campaign in 1994 from Kurudumale due to which his party came to power in the Karnataka Assembly on its own.
“Now, we have also decided to organise our election campaign from Kurudumale Ganapati temple,” Kumaraswamy said.
The leader said the first list of the candidates for the upcoming Assembly election would be released on November 1 at Kurudumale at a public event.
Kumaraswamy told reporters that the ratha yatra would pass through 5 Assembly constituencies of Kolar from November 1 to 5.
From November 6 to 10, it would go around Chikkaballapura district.
The yatra would be conducted in Bengaluru Rural district from November 11 to 13; in Tumakuru from November 14 to 23; in Hassan from November 24 to 30; in Kunigal on December 1; and in Ramanagara from December 2 to 5.
The first phase of the ratha yatra would go on for 35 days and it would pass through various villages and towns, Kumaraswamy said.
The next phase of the pancha rathna ratha yatra would start in January next year after offering tribute to Goddess Chamundeshwari in Mysuru and the entire region would be covered, he added.
The JD(S) leader clarified that his ratha yatra is different from Rahul Gandhi-led ‘Bharat jodo yatra’ and BJP’s ‘jana sankalpa yatra’ in Karnataka.
Kumaraswamy said he may not be able to attend the next Assembly session as he would be busy with the ratha yatra.
Modi like avatar of god: UP minister
Uttar Pradesh minister Gulab Devi
Sambhal (UP): Uttar Pradesh minister Gulab Devi on Wednesday said PM Narendra Modi is like an incarnation of god and he can remain on his post as long as he wishes.
“Modiji is like an avatar. He is a person of extraordinary talent. No one can compete with them. If he wishes, he can remain the prime minister till he is alive,” the Chandausi MLA told reporters after a programme here.
When asked that some opposition leaders are saying that a person from a minority community should be made the prime minister, Devi said, “Nothing happens by speculation. He is such an extraordinary personality. God has sent him as his representative.”
The minister said Modi makes people do whatever he wishes. “See, the entire country follows his words. What can be a greater acceptance than this,” said the minister.
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