[Nasheman news] Bengaluru Bruised by the narrow three-wicket loss to Australia in the series opener, India will aim to come back strong and avoid a 0-2 whitewash in the second and final T20I at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, here on Wednesday.

After finishing their overseas assignments in Australia and New Zealand on a high, India were handed a stern reality check in the opening match, which saw the famed India batting lineup crumbling for a paltry 126/7 before the Aussies overcame Jasprit Bumrah’s impressive spell to romp home in the last ball thriller.

With only a handful of international games to be played ahead of the ICC World Cup, India’s focus may surely be on getting their strategy and combination right, but the hosts will also need to tighten a few screws going into the second T20I if they are to avoid a whitewash.

In the first match, the Indian batsmen failed to cash in the opportunity of playing on a placid track at Vizag, and barring comeback man Lokesh Rahul’s 50, skipper Virat Kohli and former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, none of the batters could even reach the double digits. 

While Rahul, who replaced regular opener Shikhar Dhawan, grabbed the opportunity with both hands, the other youngster Rishabh Pant, a strong contender for a World Cup 2019 berth, will be itching to perform after getting out cheaply on Sunday.

The pressure will also be on veteran stumper Dinesh Karthik, who is left with just one game to present his case before the World Cup squad is finalised.

Coming to the bowling department, Bumrah’s triple strikes gave jitters in the Kangaroos’s chase but fellow pacer Umesh Yadav leaked runs and was not able to defend 14 in the final over. India could replace Umesh with Siddharth Kaul or bring in all-rounder Vijay Shankar to beef up the batting department.

On the other hand, Australia will be hoping for a repeat of their performance, but with a cautious approach from the top order batsmen.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Krunal Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Sidharth Kaul, Mayank Markande.

Australia: Aaron Finch (Captain), D’Arcy Short, Pat Cummins, Alex Carey, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Peter Handscomb (wk), Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Adam Zampa.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting here to discuss internal security, a day after the Indian Air Force (IAF) bombed the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror outfit’s biggest training camp in Pakistan.

The issues discussed in the meeting included the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir, intelligence inputs after Tuesday’s air strikes and further strategy, said sources.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Intellligence Bureau chief Rajiv Jain, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Anil Kumar Dhasmana were present in the meeting along with other senior officials.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi Three Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16 fighter jets on Wednesday violated Indian airspace in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir, but were pushed back by the Indian side, top police sources said.

“The jets entered into the Indian air space over Nowshera sector of Rajouri district this morning,” a police official said, adding that the Indian fighter jets on air patrol immediately scrambled and pushed them back beyond the Line of Control (LoC). 

Following which, all commercial operation in Leh, Pathankot, Jammu and Srinagar have been put on hold, airport authorities informed.

There were no immediate reports of the Pakistani side having dropped any payload in the Indian territory.

Indian Air Defence Systems have been put of maximum alert.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi congress President Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday praised the pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) following reports that they crossed the Line of Control (LoC) with their fighter jets and returned after dropping a payload in Pakistan.

“I salute the pilots of the IAF,” Gandhi tweeted. 

Kejriwal in a tweet said: “I salute the bravery of Indian Air Force pilots who have made us proud by striking terror targets in Pakistan.” 

Pakistan claimed on Tuesday that IAF fighter jets crossed the LoC and returned after the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) scrambled war planes.

Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Asif Ghafoor in a tweet confirmed that the jets dropped in the payload near Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi/Islamabad Pakistan claimed on Tuesday that Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and returned after the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) scrambled war planes.

Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Asif Ghafoor tweeted early Tuesday and Radio Pakistan claimed that the IAF planes dropped payload in haste before leaving, which fell near Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The alleged incident took place in the Muzaffarabad sector, claimed Radio Pakistan.

It follows a suicide bombing attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama on February 14 that killed 40 troopers. 

The attack was claimed by Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and prompted a spike in tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The Indian government is yet to respond to the development but multiple reports have claimed that the IAF carried out the strike at a terror camp well beyond the LoC.

Flight tracking websites spotted heightened activities along the border with an IAF early warning plane Emb 145 and mid-air refueller circling in the area early in the morning.

Reports claimed that the IAF strike was carried out by a group of Mirage 2000 fighters at around 3.30 a.m.

The strike in Balakot is significant as the location is beyond Pakistan Administered Kashmir, indicating it was not merely an LoC violation but a punitive action inside Pakistani territory. 

Nasheman News :  State-run Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has won Rs 234 crore export order from Elbit Systems Electro-Optics Elop Ltd, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems Ltd in Israel, to make components for airborne applications.

“We received the export order from Elbit arm at the Aero India air show, held here from February 20-24, to make electro opto infra red (EOIF) payloads for airborne applications,” the company said in a statement, here on Monday.

Elbit Chief Executive B. Machilis gave the export order to BEL Chairman Gowtama in the presence of BEL Director (marketing) Anandi Ramalingam.

“As part of the ‘make in India’ initiative, we entered into an agreement with Elbit’s arm for technology transfer to make EOIR payloads and provide lifetime maintenance support at its facility in Chennai,” it said .

BEL has the infrastructure to supply payloads to domestic as well as foreign clients.

“We are augmenting facilities to meet the growing need for variants of EOIR payloads for domestic and export markets,” it said.

BEL is also global supply chain partner of Elbit arm.

[Nasheman news] Mumbai With the Hindi film industry condemning the Pulwama terror attack and not releasing films in Pakistan besides banning all Pakistani artistes from working in India, National award-winning actress Vidya Balan on Friday said a strong stand needs to be taken this time.

“Though I have always believed that art should be kept away from all boundaries and politics, I think we have to take a stand now. Enough is enough,” Vidya told the media at the launch of her debut radio show “Dhun Badal Ke Toh Dekho.” 

In the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in 1989, a suicide bomber on February 14 rammed his SUV packed with explosives into a CRPF bus in Pulwama district, killing at least 40 troopers. Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed later claimed responsibility for the attack.

When asked if art should be kept away from politics, the “Tumhari Sulu” actress said, “As an individual I believe that there is no better way to bring people together than arts, be it music, poetry, dance, theatre, cinema or any other art form. But this time I think we should just take a break from this practice and see what can be done for the future. As I said, some tough calls have to be taken at some point.”

A host of Bollywood actors, including Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Ajay Devgan and Vicky Kaushal, among others, have condemned the Pulwama attack. 

The film “Total Dhamaala” directed by Indra Kumar too did not release in Pakistan for the same reason.

[Nasheman news] ShimlaWith the weather clearing up on Saturday following days of snowfall, rescuers sped up their search efforts near the Tibet border in Himachal Pradesh, where an avalanche killed a soldier and five more went missing earlier this week.

The authorities suspect that the possibility of survival of those trapped in the snow pile was minimal as the searches entered the fourth day.

“The search operation began early in the morning and we are hopeful,” an Indian Army spokesperson told IANS.

Mountaineers of Dogra Scouts, as well as specialised equipment, including thermal radars, have been deployed in the search operation.

Blizzard conditions, high speed winds, fresh snowfall and poor visibility had severely hampered the rescue operations, the spokesperson added.

An avalanche on February 20 was triggered when the glacier near Namgia Dogri bordering Tibet slid, burying six soldiers of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles when 16 of them were on a routine patrol. 

Body of one soldier was found later. Five Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) troopers were also injured in the disaster.

The state government said two separate parties of the Army and the ITBP were patrolling at Namgia Dogri when the avalanche hit.

The soldier who died has been identified as Rakesh Kumar, 41, belonging to Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur district. His body was airlifted on Friday and sent to his native village.

Meanwhile, the movement on the national highway between Pooh and Karcham in Kinnaur (NH-5) continued to be hampered due to rock falls and snow slides.

The General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF), a wing of the Border Roads Organisation, has been deployed to clear the road, officials said.

The disaster spot, which is some 350 km from the state capital, had been witnessing heavy snowfall over the past few days.

[NASHEMAN NEWS] Srinagar In a tough move authorities have detained dozens of Jamaat-e-Islami cadres in the Kashmir Valley, including its top leadership during a mass crackdown, police sources said.

The nocturnal raids were conducted in south, central and north Kashmir districts to mop up the senior-most members of the political group.

A spokesman of the Jamaat said those detained include the chief, (Ameer-e-Jamaat) Abdul Hamid Fayaz.

The authorities have given no explanation as to why the raids were necessitated on the oldest religio-political organisation which has over 5,000 cadres.

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik was also detained by the police in Srinagar on Friday. He has been lodged in a police station.

[Nasheman news] ChennaiSitting AIADMK MP S. Rajendran died in a road accident near Tindivanam in Viluppuram district on Saturday, police said. He was 62.

Elected from the Viluppuram constituency, Rajendran was travelling in his car when it hit the median on the road.

The Lok Sabha member was severely injured and succumbed at a hospital. Three others, including the driver, have also been injured and were being treated.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami condoling Rajendran’s death said it was a great loss for the party and the people of Viluppuram.