1) Bacteria store
'memories' and pass them on for generations, study finds :by University of
Texas at Austin
Bacterial swarm on a laboratory plate CrediT The University of Texas at Austin
Scientists have
discovered that bacteria can create something like memories about when to form
strategies that can cause dangerous infections in people, such as resistance to
antibiotics and bacterial swarms when millions of bacteria come together on a single
surface. The discovery—which has potential applications for preventing and
combatting bacterial infections and addressing antibiotic-resistant
bacteria—relates to a common chemical element bacterial cells can use to form
and pass along these memories to their progeny over later generations.
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin found that E. coli bacteria
use iron levels as a way to store information about different behaviors that
can then be activated in response to certain stimuli.
The findings are
published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Scientists had
previously observed that bacteria that had a prior experience of swarming
(moving on a surface as a collective using flagella) improve subsequent
swarming performance. The UT-led research team set out to learn why. Bacteria
don't have neurons, synapses or nervous systems, so any memories are not like
the ones of blowing out candles at a childhood birthday party. They are more
like information stored on a computer. "Bacteria don't have brains, but
they can gather information from their environment, and if they have
encountered that environment frequently, they can store that information and
quickly access it later for their benefit," said Souvik Bhattacharyya, the
lead author and a provost early career fellow in the Department of Molecular
Biosciences at UT.
It all comes back to
iron, one of the most abundant elements on Earth. Singular and free-floating
bacteria have varying levels of iron. Scientists observed that bacterial cells
with lower levels of iron were better swarmers. In contrast, bacteria that
formed biofilms, dense, sticky mats of bacteria on solid surfaces, had high
levels of iron in their cells. Bacteria with antibiotic tolerance also had
balanced levels of iron. These iron memories persist for at least four
generations and disappear by the seventh generation. "Before there was
oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere, early cellular life was utilizing iron for a
lot of cellular processes. Iron is not only critical in the origin of life on
Earth, but also in the evolution of life," Bhattacharyya said. "It
makes sense that cells would utilize it in this way." Researchers theorize
that when iron levels are low, bacterial memories are triggered to form a
fast-moving migratory swarm to seek out iron in the environment. When iron
levels are high, memories indicate this environment is a good place to stick
around and form a biofilm.
"Iron levels are
definitely a target for therapeutics because iron is an important factor in virulence,"
Bhattacharyya said. "Ultimately, the more we know about bacterial
behavior, the easier it is to combat them."
2) The bilingual
brain may be better at ignoring irrelevant information : by University of
Florida
People who speak two
languages may be better at shifting their attention from one thing to another
compared to those who speak one, according to a study published this month in
the journal Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. The study examined
differences between bilingual and monolingual individuals when it comes to
attentional control and ignoring information that isn't important at the time,
said its authors Grace deMeurisse, a University of Florida Ph.D. candidate
studying linguistics, and Edith Kaan, a UF professor in the department of
linguistics.
"Our results showed
that bilinguals seem to be more efficient at ignoring information that's
irrelevant, rather than suppressing—or inhibiting information," deMeurisse
said. "One explanation for this is that bilinguals are constantly switching
between two languages and need to shift their attention away from the language
not in use."
For example, if an
English- and Spanish-speaking person is having a conversation in Spanish, both
languages are active, but English is put on hold but always ready to be
deployed as needed.
Numerous studies have
examined the distinctions between the two groups in broad cognitive mechanisms,
which are mental processes that our brains use, like memory, attention,
problem-solving, and decision-making, deMeurisse said.
"The effects of
speaking two languages on a person's cognitive control is often debated,"
she said. "Some of the literature says these differences aren't so
pronounced, but that could be because of the tasks linguists use to research
differences between bilinguals and monolinguals."DeMeurisse and Kaan set
out to see if differences between the two groups would surface and used a task
that had not been applied in psycholinguistics before called the Partial
Repetition Cost task to measure the participants' abilities to deal with
incoming information and control their attention.
"We found that
bilinguals seem to be better at ignoring information that's irrelevant,"
Kaan said.The two groups of subjects included functional monolinguals and
bilinguals. Functional monolinguals were defined as those who had two years or
less of a foreign language experience in a classroom and use only the first
language that they learned as a child.Bilinguals were categorized as people who
had learned both their first and second language before the ages of 9 to 12 and
were still using both languages.Kaan explained that an individual's cognitive
traits continuously adapt to external factors, and as humans, we have very few
traits that remain fixed throughout our lifetime."Our cognition is
continuously adapting to the situation, so in this case it's adapting to being
bilingual," she said. "It doesn't mean it won't change, so if you
stop using the second language, your cognition may change as well."
The UF study
demonstrates a need to build more consistencies among the varied experiments
used to understand differences between those who speak one language and those
who speak more than one."In the study of bilingualism and cognition, we
are redefining the way we talk about differences between bilinguals and
monolinguals and searching for more factors to consider and more methods to
conduct that research," deMeurisse said.The researchers were also clear to
point out that their study was not intended to show that people who speak two
or more languages have an advantage over those who speak one.
"We are not looking
for advantages or disadvantages," deMeurisse said. "However,
regardless of cognitive differences, learning a second language is always going
to be something that can benefit you, whether those benefits are cognitive,
social, or environmental. It will never be a negative to be exposed to a second
language."
3) A rare,
extremely energetic cosmic ray has mysterious origins:By Emily Conover
The “Oh-My-God” particle
has a new companion.
In 1991, physicists
spotted a particle from space that crashed into Earth with so much energy that
it warranted an “OMG!” With 320 quintillion electron volts, or exaelectron
volts, it had the kinetic energy of a baseball zipping along at about 100
kilometers per hour.Now, a new particle of comparable energy has been found,
researchers report in the Nov. 24 Science. Detected in 2021 by the Telescope
Array experiment near Delta, Utah, the particle had an energy of about 240
exaelectron volts. And mysteriously, scientists are unable to pinpoint any
cosmic source for the particle. “It’s a huge, huge amount of energy but in a
tiny, tiny, tiny object,” says astroparticle physicist John Matthews of the
University of Utah in Salt Lake City, co-spokesperson of the Telescope Array
collaboration.Cosmic rays consist of protons and atomic nuclei that zip through
space at wide range of energies. Particles with energies over 100 exaelectron
volts are exceedingly rare: On average, scientists estimate, one such particle
falls on a square kilometer of Earth’s surface each century. And particles over
200 exaelectron volts are even rarer — only a few such particles have
previously been detected.
When a cosmic ray hits
Earth, it collides with a nucleus of an atom in the atmosphere, creating a
cascade of other particles that can be detected on Earth’s surface.
To catch the rarest,
highest-energy particles, scientists build giant arrays of detectors. The
Telescope Array monitors an area of 700 square kilometers using more than 500
detectors made of plastic scintillator, material that emits light when hit by a
charged particle. Additional detectors measure ultraviolet light produced in
the sky by the shower of particles (although those detectors weren’t operating
during the newly reported particle’s arrival). Based on the times that
individual scintillator detectors were hit by the cascade of particles,
scientists can determine the direction of the incoming cosmic ray and use that
information to trace it back to its origins.Extremely high-energy cosmic rays
come from outside the Milky Way, but their exact sources are unknown (SN:
9/21/17). Most scientists think they are accelerated in violent cosmic
environments, such as the jets of radiation that blast out of the areas around
certain supermassive black holes, or starburst galaxies that form stars at a
frenetic pace.
Whatever their origins,
the particles must come from the relatively nearby cosmic neighborhood. That’s
because the highest-energy cosmic rays lose energy as they travel, by interacting
with the cosmic microwave background, the afterglow of the Big Bang (SN:
7/24/18).Tracing back the particle’s location is complicated. “The issue is
that when you detect a high-energy cosmic ray at Earth, the arrival direction
that you get will not point to the source because it will be deflected by … any
magnetic field that would be in the way,” says Telescope Array collaborator
Noémie Globus, an astroparticle physicist at the University of California,
Santa Cruz and the RIKEN research institute in Japan.
The magnetic fields
present in the Milky Way and its environs scatter the cosmic rays like fog
scatters light. To trace the particle to its home, scientists must take that
scattering into account. But that backtracking pinpointed a cosmic void, a
region of space with few galaxies at all, much less ones with violent processes
going on. That makes this particle particularly interesting, says
astrophysicist Vasiliki Pavlidou of the University of Crete in Heraklion,
Greece. “It’s actually pointing towards nothing at all, absolutely in the
middle of nowhere.”That might hint that scientist are missing something. For
example, researchers may need to better understand the magnetic fields of the
galaxy, says Pavlidou, who was not involved with the research. “Every time you
have one of these very high-energy events, just because they are so rare, it’s
a big deal.”
4) Living in space:
First embryos from a mammal grown on International Space Station:By Hiyah Zaidi
Humans are one step
closer to living in space after mouse embryos have made it to an early stage of
development on board the International Space Station (ISS). In an experiment,
the first of its kind, more than 700 embryos were extracted from pregnant mice
in August 2021 and taken up to the ISS on a SpaceX rocket - with the results
suggesting it might be safe for humans to become pregnant in space.
Scientists from the
University of Yamanashi and the Riken Research Institute in Japan designed a
device that allowed astronauts to handle and thaw the embryos over four days,
which were then sent back to Earth for testing after the experiment was
conducted in 2021. Of the several dozen embryos that made it back to Earth,
nearly a quarter formed healthy clusters of cells known as blastocysts,
suggesting the radiation and weightlessness of space might not pose immediate
obstacles to mammalian reproduction, researchers reported in iScience and in a
statement how the study "shows mammals may be able to thrive in
space". Even though the study looks at only one part of the complicated
process of reproduction and development, the result provides a starting point
for biologists, says Christiane Hahn, a space biologist at the European Space
Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk, Netherlands, who wasn’t involved in
the research. Mouse embryos are the first mammal embryos that researchers have
grown in space, an important step in understanding how space affects human
reproduction. Other experiments have involved animals such as salamanders, rice
fish and quail. Previous research showed space to be harmful to the early
stages of reproduction of mice. When in space, the animals have been too
stressed to mate, and studies of the rodents’ eggs showed that they accumulated
several mutations due to the heavy radiation.
The scientists launched
two-cell embryos to the ISS to attempt to overcome this issue. After the
experiment ended, the cells were then sent back to Earth for analysis and out
of 360 samples, 72 survived the trip, and 17 of those developed into normal
blastocysts. The undamaged cells successfully multiplied and took on new
identities as either precursors of fetal tissue or the placenta.
Blastocysts cannot
survive for long outside of uteruses, so the experiment was designed to last
only a few days making it unclear how the cells would fare as development
unfolds. In the new study, three-quarters of the fetal precursors appeared to
settle in the right location. However more research is needed to fully
understand the effect of microgravity on the developing cells.
5) Study reveals
new clues about how whales and dolphins came to use echolocation :by New York
Institute of Technology
Restoration shows Xenorophus hunting sea turtles
A study published in
Diversity provides new insight into how toothed whales and dolphins came to
navigate the underwater world using sound waves. Whales and dolphins, which
lack external ears, rely on a technique called echolocation to navigate and
hunt in the dark. Much like shouting and listening for echoes, these animals
emit high-pitched sounds that bounce off objects and reflect back at them,
allowing them to map out their surroundings.
Their skulls and soft
tissues near and within the blowhole are asymmetrical, meaning that a structure
on one side is larger or differently shaped than its counterpart on the other
side. This "lopsidedness" enables the production of sound. At the
same time, a fat-filled lower jawbone conducts sound waves to the internal ear,
allowing the animals to locate where sounds are coming from (directional
hearing).
 |
| Fossils demonstrate asymmetry seen in Xenorophus |
Yet, how whales and
dolphins evolved this sophisticated "built-in sonar" is not fully
understood.Now, research co-authored by Jonathan Geisler, Ph.D., professor and
chair of anatomy at New York Institute of Technology, and first author Robert
Boessenecker, Ph.D., paleontologist and research associate at the University of
California Museum of Paleontology, provides vital clues. The researchers
analyzed a large collection of fossils that included two ancient species of
dolphins within the genus Xenorophus, one of which is new to science. These
species are some of the primitive members of Odontoceti, the suborder of marine
mammals that includes all living echolocating whales and dolphins.Xenorophus
was a large creature approximately three meters long that swam the waters of
Eastern North America 25–30 million years ago and likely fed on fish, sharks,
sea turtles, and small marine mammals. Externally, it resembled modern dolphins
but had several interlocking molar-like teeth, much like an ancestral land
mammal.Similar to today's odontocetes, Xenorophus had asymmetry around the
blowhole, though not as pronounced as its living relatives. Notably, it also
had a distinct twisting and shifting of the snout several degrees to the left.
Previous studies in other ancient whales (archaeocete whales) suggest that this
"snout bend" may be linked to the asymmetrical placement of fat
bodies in the jaw, increasing directional hearing abilities.However, Xenorophus
took this one step further. The fat bodies in its lower jaws, which functioned
like external ears in land mammals, were tilted, further exaggerating
directional hearing. This bending of the snout and tilting of the fat bodies
may have been similar to the asymmetrical ears of owls, which can detect the
precise location of prey based on their sounds.
The new evidence
suggests that Xenorophus, with lesser pronounced asymmetry near the blowhole,
may not have been as adept at producing high-pitched sounds or hearing high
frequencies as living odontocetes. However, it was able to determine the
location of sounds. Therefore, Xenorophus likely marked a key transition in the
history of how whales and dolphins came to use echolocation."While this
asymmetry is seen in other ancient whales, Xenorophus displays the strongest of
any whale, dolphin, or porpoise, living or extinct," said Boessenecker.
"In addition, although the blowhole-focused asymmetry in today's
odontocetes can be traced back to Xenorophus and other relatives, the twisting
and shifting of the snout is no longer seen today. This suggests that
Xenorophus is a crucial puzzle piece in understanding how whales and dolphins evolved
their echolocation abilities."In addition, while many scientists focus on
symmetry in nature, Geisler says their new study demonstrates the importance of
also examining asymmetry.
"Biological
symmetry, or the mirror-imaging of body parts across anatomical planes, is a
major feature in the evolutionary history of animals and humans. However, our
research shows the important role of asymmetry in adapting to different
environments, and that asymmetry should be closely investigated in fossils,
instead of being dismissed as individual variation or assumed to be caused by
geological distortion," he says.As a next step, the researchers will
examine other odontocetes and look for the snout bent to one side. These future
studies could help to determine whether the feature was widespread.
6) Fossil unearthed
in Mongolia's Gobi Desert suggests some dinosaurs slept in same position as
modern birds : by Bob Yirka , Phys.org
An illustration of a sleeping alvarezsaurid dinosaur, Jaculinykus, like modern birds Credit Seiji Yamamoto, from PLOS ONE (2023)
A team of
paleontologists and biologists from Hokkaido University, Hokkaido University
Museum, North Carolina State University and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences,
has uncovered a previously unknown species of dinosaur that appears to have
slept in the same position as modern birds. In their paper published in the
open-access journal PLOS ONE, the group describes where the fossil was found,
its condition, and the unique position in which the specimen had folded itself
before dying.
Until recently, members
of the Alvarezsauridae family, a group of small therapods (carnivorous bipedal
dinosaurs), were believed to be a kind of flightless bird—now, they are
classified as Maniraptoran dinosaurs, a type that is non-avian but is still
related to modern birds. In this new study, the researchers found a new species
of Alvarezsauridae they have named Jaculinykus yaruui. It translates to
"speedy, tiny dragon" and has a lineage with a group that had several
bird-like features.
The fossil was found at
a dig site in Mongolia's Gobi Desert called the Barun Goyot Formation, embedded
in rock in a place called Nemegt. The site has yielded a number of dinosaur
fossils over the past several years. The newly found fossil has been dated to
approximately 71 million years ago. The team describes it as being in very good
condition—it is a nearly complete, 3D preserved fossil.When alive, the research
team estimates the dinosaur would have been nearly a meter tall and weighed
approximately 30 kilograms. What was most interesting about the fossil,
however, was its position. It appeared to have settled in for a nap with its neck
and tail bent to make laying down more comfortable. It also had its hind limbs
folded under its pelvis. The position is similar to the sleeping position of
modern birds. The finding suggests that Maniraptorans in general may have slept
in the same position as modern birds.
Prior research has
suggested that modern birds curl up when they sleep as both a means of comfort
and to preserve heat. This finding suggests that Maniraptorans were also trying
to keep warm as they slept.
1) Rajasthan Assembly Elections Polling LIVE Updates: Voters turnout 40.27% at 1 pm:
Rajasthan Assembly
Elections Polling LIVE Updates: Stay tuned as we navigate through the twists
and turns of these assembly elections. This is the live blog for the 2023
assembly elections in five states — Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya
Pradesh, and Mizoram.
Following an intense
election campaign in Rajasthan, citizens are gearing up to participate in the
assembly elections scheduled for Saturday. Voting is scheduled to take place
from 7 am to 6 pm in 199 out of 200 constituencies, with the vote count set for
December 3. A number of 5,26,90,146 voters will play a crucial role in
determining the outcomes for 1,875 candidates, including 183 female contenders,
spread across 51,507 polling stations within the assembly constituencies.The
month-long electoral struggle will culminate in Telangana with single-phase
voting on November 30. The state, comprising 119 assembly seats, is poised for
a three-way contest, featuring the ruling Bharat Rashtriya Samithi (BRS) led by
K Chandrashekar Rao, the Congress, and the BJP, which enthusiastically entered
the competition after an initial period of disinterest.
Meanwhile, voters in
three out of the five states—Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram—have
already cast their votes. The outcomes for all states are anticipated to be
revealed on December 3. Voter turnout in Baran topped at 45.75 per cent among
all the districts in the state. Check the turnout in some other districts here:
Ajmer - 37.86%
Bhilwara - 39.74%
Bikaner - 39.39%
Churu - 40.66%
Jaipur - 40.32%
Jhunjhunu - 40.19%
Kota - 42.55%
Udaipur - 37.60%
Amid the ongoing voting
for the assembly elections in the state on Saturday, DGP Umesh Mishra said that
it is a festival of democracy and that police forces are keeping an eye on
safety"I would say that it's a festival of democracy, and people should
actively participate in it. One should exercise one's right to vote freely and
fearlessly... There's tight security... Our officers and flying squad are
keeping their eyes," he told ANI.
Rajasthan DGP Umesh Mishra
and Rajasthan Chief Secretary Usha Sharma cast their vote at a polling booth in
Jaipur. State Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra says, "There is
enthusiasm for Congress in the entire state. People are voting with joy. With
the kind of work done by Congress and the guarantees given by the party, there
is zeal. The management done by the state government during COVID has led to a
positive thought for the government among people. Congress government will come
back to power with a good majority. BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla says,
"This is not just a day of voting in Rajasthan but also the day of the
liberation of the state - liberation from the people who took the guarantee of
making Rajasthan number 1 in rape and crimes against women, liberation from the
people who took the guarantee of unemployment and paper leak in Rajasthan, from
people who did unprecedented corruption in Rajasthan, from those who promised
farm loan waiver but deceived them and auctioned the land of 19,500
farmers...Today, voters of the state have the opportunity to liberate the state
from misgovernance
"From 1952 to the
present time, the voting percentage has increased in every election, this has
strengthened our democracy. I congratulate the Election Commission of India for
conducting fair polls on such a large scale," says Lok Sabha Speaker Om
Birla as he arrives to cast his vote in Kota. Earlier
today, a disturbance ensued at a polling booth in Churu as voting commenced. A
polling agent claims that he was assaulted by a group of 4-5 individuals,
resulting in minor injuries. Gourav Vallabh, Congress candidate from Udaipur,
said, “10 per cent voter turnout till 9 am is a big thing because generally,
polling gathers pace after 9 am. Soon, there will be long queues outside
polling booths. And if voters are excited, then this means that they will vote
against the sitting MLA (Gulab Chand Kataria, BJP).”
2) Rajasthan
assembly elections 2023: A look at key constituencies, contestants
Polling will be held in
199 out of 200 constituencies from 7 am to 6 pm, while the counting of votes
will be taken up on December 3. After the high-voltage election campaign in
Rajasthan, people are all set to vote for assembly elections on Saturday.
Polling will be held in
199 out of 200 constituencies from 7 am to 6 pm, while the counting of votes
will be taken up on December 3. Due to the death of the Congress candidate in
Sriganganagar's Karanpur seat, Gurmeet Singh Koonar, who is also the sitting
MLA, the election in this constituency has been adjourned.
A total of 5,26,90,146
voters will decide the fate of 1,875 candidates, including 183 female
contestants, at a total of 51,507 polling stations in the assembly
constituencies.
Among the
constituencies, all eyes will be on Sardarpura, Tonk, Jhalarapatan, Nathdwara,
Jhunjhunu, Jhotwara, and Churu among others. Sardarpura is on the list of key
constituencies as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has won this seat since 1998. The
Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Mahendra Singh Rathore from the Congress'
bastion. The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and former Chief Minister
Vasundhara Raje is contesting from Jhalarapatan. The party's heavyweight has
been winning the seat since 2003 from here. In 2018, she secured 54 per cent
votes, defeating then-Congress leader Manvendra Singh, who is now the BJP's
candidate from the Siwana constituency, which was earlier a part of Barmer and
is now included in the newly formed Balotra district.
Among the highly
discussed seats is Tonk, where Congress' prominent leader and former Deputy
Chief Minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot will take on BJP's Ajit Singh Mehta.
In 2018, Pilot defeated the BJP's Yoonus Khan by a margin of 54,179 votes.
Moreover, Rajasthan
Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra has been pitted against BJP's Subhash
Mehria in the Lachhmangarh constituency.
From Udaipur, a BJP's
stronghold since 2003, the fight will be between Tarachand Jain and Congress'
Gourav Vallabh, who has been famous as the Congress party's national
spokesperson.
In Jhotwara
constituency, BJP has fielded former Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore
against Congress' Abhishek Choudhary. In 2018, Congress candidate Lalchand
Katariya defeated Rathore in this seat.
Another key constituency
would be Nathdwara, from where the BJP has fielded Vishwaraj Singh Mewar, a
descendant of Maharana Pratap Singh, against Congress veteran CP Joshi, the
current speaker of the Rajasthan Assembly.
In Jhunjhunu, three-term
MLA and Congress leader Brijendra Ola will take on his rival BJP's Nishit
Kumar. In 2018, Ola secured victory with 76,177 votes. Another key Assembly
segment to feature in the list is the Churu constituency, currently represented
by the incumbent BJP MLA Rajendra Rathore, who is the Leader of the Opposition
in the Rajasthan Assembly.This time, the BJP has fielded Harlal Saharan from
the constituency against Congress' Rafiq Mandelia.Notably, the BJP has fielded
Rathore from the Taranagar constituency this time.Moreover, the BJP has decided
to field the Lok Sabha MP from Alwar, Mahant Balaknath, from Tijara constituency,
against Congress candidate Imran Khan.Many rebel candidates of BJP and Congress
withdrew their names after persuasion.
But still, around 45
rebel candidates from both parties are in the fray. These also include MLAs,
former MLAs and party officials.Jhotwara has the highest 18 candidates,
followed by Rajgarh-Laxmangarh and Pushkar with 17 each. The lowest number
three are contesting in Lalsot. This time 419 candidates are contesting less as
compared to the last election.
A total of 2,294 candidates
contested the assembly elections held in 2018.
Earlier in the day,
Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said that polling stations have been set
up at a total of 36,101 places in the state.
"A total of 10,501
polling stations have been set up in urban areas and 41,006 in rural areas.
Live webcasting will be conducted at a total of 26,393 polling stations. These
polling centres will be monitored from the district-level control room. Across
the state, 65,277 ballot units, 62,372 control units and 67,580 VVPAT machines
including reserves will be used for voting," he said.
The Chief Electoral
Officer said that a total of 1,02,290 security personnel have been deployed to
ensure peaceful voting. A total force of 69,114 police personnel, 32,876
Rajasthan Home Guard, Forest Guard and RAC personnel have been deployed and 700
companies of CAPF have been deployed.
3) Uttarkashi
tunnel rescue op halted again, could delay for few more days: Official
On Friday, the US-made
auger machine hit a metal object in the debris and the shaft of the machine
stuck in the metal object when the machine was pushed back on Friday night With
the auger machine encountering obstacles time and again, the rescue operation
to pull out 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel for the past two
weeks in Uttarkashi has been delayed, and rescuers are now considering
switching over to manual drilling.“It may take a ‘few more days’ for the rescue
operation to get over,” an official involved in the rescue operation told HT on
the condition of anonymity. Rescue teams were not able to move even an inch
closer to the 41 workers trapped in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel by November
24 evening, the official said.
On Friday, the US-made auger
machine hit a metal object in the debris and the shaft of the machine stuck in
the metal object when the machine was pushed back on Friday night. The shaft is
a key component of the auger machine and consists of a long cylindrical rod
that connects the drilling head to the power source of the machine.
That snag was set right
earlier in the day, and the auger machine was restarted. But after a brief, the
operation had to be stopped again for the third time in three days. The
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had also said Friday that there
has been no progress in the movement of pipe through debris in the Silkyara
tunnel since Thursday.
“It is a big setback for
us and could delay the rescue operation for a few more days. First, we have to
try to take out the remaining shaft from the pipes and have to be cautious at
the same time. Pulling back the shaft could also damage the pipes that we have
inserted through the debris. It could take us to stretch and all our efforts
can go in vain,” said the official mentioned above.
“We are also considering
the option of manual drilling for the remaining part to be penetrated through
the debris. But it would be a slow process since a person had to go inside the
narrow pipes and operate manually,” he said. Meanwhile, the machine for
vertical drilling by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) may also start
working from the top of the tunnel.
Officials working to
rescue 41 workers trapped inside a tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara for the
past 14 days were unable to make any progress through the debris on Friday as
the drilling could not resume a day after a metal object in the debris damaged
the blades of the machine.
Drilling still remains
through another 10-12 metres of debris even after the auger machine has managed
to cut through 46.8 metres. Once drilling is complete evacuation pipes will be
installed to bring out 41 trapped workers.
Since this is at least
the sixth time that rescue officials have faced obstructions in the drilling
process, officials said they have now used ground penetration radar (GPR) to
scan the remaining debris.
4) Successfully
completed’: PM Modi takes sortie on Tejas aircraft in Bengaluru, shares
pictures:
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Saturday took a sortie on Tejas aircraft in Bengaluru, Karnataka.Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took a sortie on Tejas aircraft at the
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) site in Karnataka's Bengaluru.
“Successfully completed a sortie on the Tejas. The experience was incredibly
enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country's indigenous
capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about
our national potential,” Modi wrote on X while The prime minister has been
pushing for indigenous production of defence products and has highlighted as to
how his government has boosted their manufacturing in India and also their
exports. Several countries have shown interest in buying Tejas, a light combat
aircraft, and US defence giant GE Aerospace had inked a pact with HAL to
jointly produce engines for the Mk-II-Tejas during Modi's state visit to the
US.
“The Modi government has
taken giant steps for increasing our defence preparedness and indigenisation
which includes Tejas aircraft,” defence sources said.
The first version of the
aircraft was inducted into the IAF in 2016. Currently, two squadrons of IAF, 45
Squadron and 18 Squadron, are fully operational with LCA Tejas, the sources
added. “Under the Modi government, an order worth ₹36,468 crore for delivery of
83 LCA Mk 1A aircraft has been placed with HAL and delivery is scheduled to
begin by February 2024,” they said.
More than ₹9,000 crore
have been sanctioned for the development of LCA Mk 2, an updated and more
lethal version of LCA Tejas, the sources said. "To further promote
indigenisation, including of the aircraft engine, Transfer of Technology for
manufacturing of the GE engine in India has been negotiated with GE during
Prime Minister’s visit to the US in June 2023, they said.
Defence minister Rajnath
Singh had noted in April that India’s defence exports have reached an all-time
high of ₹15,920 crore in FY 2022-2023. It is a remarkable achievement for the
country, he had said. In October, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR
Chaudhari said the Indian Air Force was in the process of finalising a ₹1.15
lakh crore deal to procure an additional batch of 97 Tejas Mark-1A aircraft
besides upgrading 84 Sukhoi-30MKI jets at a cost of ₹60,000 crore.
In February 2021, the
defence ministry sealed a ₹48,000-crore deal with state-run aerospace major
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for the procurement of 83 Tejas MK-1A jets for the
IAF.
With the additional 97
Tejas Mark-1A jets, the total number of indigenously-developed aircraft being
procured by the IAF would go up to 180.
The Chief of Air Staff
also said that 84 Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets will be upgraded at a cost of a
little over ₹60,000 crore.The defence ministry is also looking at signing a
contract with the HAL next year to procure a total of 156 light combat
helicopters (LCH) out of which 66 will be for the IAF.The IAF now operates 10
light combat helicopters."We had signed the contract for 83 LCA-Mark 1As.
What we are looking at is now to supplement that contract with 97 additional
aircraft."So it will bring the total to about 180 LCA-Mark-1As. The
contract value will be a little over 1.15 lakh crores," Air Chief Marshal
Chaudhari said.
Asked about the timeline
for delivery of the LCA Mark-1As as HAL can produce only 15 of them annually,
he indicated that the aerospace major may increase the pace of production in
partnership with the private sector. The Chief of Air Staff said the number of
LCA-Mark-1A jets being procured is not linked to future procurement of Tejas
Mark-2 Light Combat Aircraft.
The highly anticipated Tejas
Mark2 aircraft is expected to be ready for the first flight by 2025.
What is Tejas aircraft?
Tejas is a single-engine
multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air
environments. It has been designed to undertake the air defence, maritime
reconnaissance and strike roles.
5) India would have
won Word Cup if..’: Mamata Banerjee's dig at BJP:
While addressing the TMC
party workers in Kolkata, Banerjee alleged that the BJP had attempted to
"saffronise" the national cricket team. West Bengal chief minister
Mamata Banerjee on Thursday joined the ongoing debate over India's loss in the
cricket World Cup final against Australia, claiming the team would have won the
World Cup if the final match was played either in Kolkata's Eden Garden or Mumbai's
Wankhede Stadium.
While addressing the
Trinamool Congress party workers at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata,
Banerjee alleged that the BJP had attempted to "saffronise" the
national cricket team.
"They are trying to
paint the entire country saffron. We are proud of our Indian players, and I
believe that we would have won the World Cup if the finals had taken place in
Kolkata or Wankhede (in Mumbai)," she said.The Bengal chief minister
further claimed that saffron practice jerseys were introduced for team players
but the men in blue resisted and didn't wear those jerseys during the matches.
"They even tried to
saffronise the team by introducing saffron practice jerseys. The players
resisted, and as a result, they did not have to wear those jerseys during the
matches," Banerjee said.
Dubbing PM Narendra Modi
as 'sinner', Banerjee said that wherever sinners go, they take along their
sins. "The Indian team played so well in the tournament that they won all
the matches in the World Cup, except the one attended by the sinners," she
said, without naming anyone.Earlier on Wednesday, Assam chief minister Himata
Biswa Sarma sparked the row saying that India lost the match against Australia
because it was played on former prime minister Indira Gandhi's birth
anniversary on November 19. He further requested the BCCI that it should ensure
in future that a final match is not organised on a day which coincides with the
birthday of a Nehru-Gandhi family member.
Row over Rahul Gandhi's
‘panauti’ jibe at PM Modi:
A political row broke
out after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a dig at PM Modi during an election
rally in poll-bound Rajasthan saying "PM means Panauti Modi",
insinuating that prime minister brings bad luck. A Hindi slang, panauti loosely
refers to someone who brings bad luck.
However, the BJP
denounced Gandhi's comment as "shameful and disgraceful" and demanded
an apology. The saffron party had also filed a complaint against Gandhi with
the Election Commission over the remarks.Election Commission of India today
issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi on his 'panauti' and 'pickpocket' jibes at PM
Modi and has asked him to respond by November 25.PM Modi, along with union home
minister Amit Shah, had attended the final match at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi
stadium . Australia defeated India by six wickets to bag the ICC Men's Cricket
World Cup on Sunday. India had won 10 successive matches before losing the
final match.
Tajpur port: Mamata
Banerjee makes tender announcement, cloud over Adani group role
The statement came as a
surprise as the Bengal government had given a letter of award to the Adani
group more than a year ago for the project that is expected to attract
investments worth Rs 25,000 crore The Mamata Banerjee government appears to be
distancing itself from the Adani group, announcing on Tuesday its decision to
decouple the proposed Tajpur port project from the conglomerate that is
battling a welter of allegations, from accounting shenanigans and stock price
manipulation to over-invoicing of coal imports.
“(There is) a proposed
deep sea port at Tajpur. That is ready. You can participate in the tender,” the
chief minister said, addressing industrialists present at the inaugural session
of the Bengal Global Business Summit 2023. The statement came as a surprise as
the Bengal government had given a letter of award (LoA) to the Adani group more
than a year ago for the project that is expected to attract investments worth
Rs 25,000 crore. The project also involves the establishment of a new port and
an adjacent industrial zone.
No one from the state
government wanted to go on record to explain the decision, but a source close
to Mamata said the Bengal government did not want to take the risk. “The
Centre’s clearance for the Tajpur project has a clause that says that it can go
through if there is nothing adverse in it. This means the Centre is putting the
onus and risk of implementing the project with the Adani group on us. Why
should we take the risk?” the source asked.
“In case something major
comes out against them, we would have to take the blame,” explained the
source.Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone had emerged as the highest bidder
in a tender floated by the government in March 2022 ahead of Sajjan
Jindal-promoted JSW Infrastructure. On October 12, 2022, Karan Adani, son of
group founder Gautam Adani and CEO of APSEZ, came to Calcutta to accept the LoA
from the Bengal government.The next step in the process would be the signing of
a formal concession agreement between the state and the group, which was
supposed to develop the greenfield port on design, build, finance, operate and
transfer basis. This agreement has yet to be signed.
In January, US
short-seller Hindenburg Research published a report that accused the Adani
group of trying to pull off the biggest corporate fraud in India through myriad
cross-border financial transactions involving entities established in offshore
tax havens.
The first sign of
uneasiness on the part of the Mamata Banerjee government was palpable during
the state budget where there was no mention of the Tajpur port, arguably the
state’s most ambitious infrastructure project in half a century.
However, a few industry
sources voiced the worry that the attempt to find a new investor in the Tajpur
project might have legal implications for the bidder brave enough to try to
build it.A source said the Adani group was not invited to the summit this
time.The decision comes in the backdrop of the controversy over the Lok Sabha
Ethics Committee’s recommendation to expel Trinamul MP Mahua Moitra on a
complaint that she had accepted money to ask questions against the Adani group
in Parliament.
“Today’s development
clears the confusion on whether Mahua has the support of the party’s top brass,
which was maintaining a silence on Mahua’s battle with the Adani group…. It is
clear now that Mahua has the endorsement of the party leadership,” said a Trinamul
source.
Moitra has another
reason to be happy as a government source said the Hiranandani group also was
not invited to the summit.Darshan Hiranandani had said on affidavit that he had
posted several questions on behalf of Moitra by using her log-in ID and
password. He also said he had showered expensive gifts on Moitra.
“Both the Adani and the
Hiranandani group have business interests in the state…. But Didi seems to have
overlooked it for political reasons and lent her weight behind Mahua, who has been
playing the role of a whistleblower in the case of Adani,” said a source.
6) EC issues show
cause notice to Rahul over remarks against PM Modi:
EC issues show-cause
notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks targeting PM Modi. The
Election Commission on Thursday issued a show cause notice to Congress MP Rahul
Gandhi over his remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The poll panel
said it received complaint from the Bharatiya Janata Party against the Congress
leader over remarks he made at an election rally in Rajasthan's Barmer.
“It is alleged that
comparing a prime minister to a ‘jaibkatra’ (pickpocket) and using the word
‘panauti’ is unbecoming of a very senior leader of national political party.
Further, the allegation of grant of waivers of ₹14,00,000 crore for the past
nine years, is asserted by the BJP, as not borne out on facts," the poll
panel said in a statement. Gandhi has been asked to appear before the Election
Commission on November 25.
The BJP had moved the
ECI against the remark made by Gandhi at the poll rally. “The pickpocket never
comes alone, there are three people. One comes from the front, one from the
back and one from the distance... Prime Minister Narendra Modi's job is to
divert your attention. He comes on TV from the front and distracts the public
by raising topics of Hindu-Muslim, demonetization, and GST. Meanwhile, Adani
comes from behind and takes the money,” Gandhi had said.
The BJP in its complaint
had said,“Calling any person for that instance a Jaibkatra not only amounts to
vicious abuse and personal attack but also a character assassination of that
person against whom such remark has been made with a clear intent to harm his
reputation and mislead the public."
7) Doctor's advice
amid concerns over latest pneumonia outbreak in China
Chinese officials say
they did not detect any "unusual or novel diseases" in the country,
according to the World Health Organization. Rising cases of respiratory
illnesses in northern China have sparked fresh health concerns, with
speculation online of a new pandemic threat four years after Covid-19 first
emerged in the country. Chinese health authorities, however, have attributed
the rising infections to the end of strict Covid restrictions, the arrival of
the cold season, and the circulation of known pathogens including influenza,
mycoplasma pneumonia, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and SARS-CoV-2.
While the World Health
Organization has requested more information on “undiagnosed pneumonia”, Beijing
asserted that “there has been no detection of any unusual or novel pathogens.”
Amid growing concerns
over the surge in respiratory illnesses in northern China, Dr Ajay Shukla, the
Director of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, has offered advice to the public on
minimizing the risk of infection and maintaining personal health practices.
Shukla emphasized the importance of cleanliness and urged people to exercise
caution, especially when in proximity to individuals displaying symptoms of
respiratory illnesses.
"If you feel that
there's someone who's got this respiratory illness or infection, try to
maintain distance from other people," ANI quoted Shukla as saying.
"Because we are
also dealing with pollution if you're going out, and if you can afford it, it's
better you should use a mask, preferably an N95 and N99 mask. Wash your hands
and maintain safe, healthy practices," he added. Shukla mentioned that one
expert pointed to a common but not dangerous bacterial infection, mycoplasma
pneumoniae, as a possible cause for the illness. The director of RML Hospital
further assured the public that, based on current information, there is no need
to worry about the disease in India.
"Not a single
patient infected with this disease has been found in India yet. There is no
increase in cases in any part of India so far, or any part of the world apart
from China," he affirmed.
Shukla asked people not
to panic and that a pandemic-like situation will not happen going by the
limited information that exists about this new influenza.
"According to the
very few details that are available, people are saying there's nothing to panic
about, there's nothing to suggest it is something that will take the shape of a
pandemic, like with COVID. So, we should not start comparing it with that. I
would suggest that we need to monitor the situation very closely and wait for
additional information before we reach any conclusion," he said.
8) Adani-Hindenburg
case: SC reserves its judgment:
Even as it reserved its
judgment on a bundle of petitions demanding investigation into allegations of
accounting fraud and stock manipulation against Adani group companies, raised
in a research report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research, the court remained
emphatic that it cannot order a probe based only on certain media reports and
without hearing the entities impacted by its orders.
“Where is the material
before us to start doubting Sebi? Sebi is a statutory body exclusively
entrusted with investigating stock market manipulation. Is it proper for the
highest court of the land to say without any proper material that ‘we don’t
trust Sebi, and we will form our own SIT’? This has to be done with a great
deal of calibration,” a bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y
Chandrachud told advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was appearing for one of the
petitioners in the case. The bench, which also comprised justices JB Pardiwala
and Manoj Misra, added that it cannot expect a statutory regulator like Sebi to
start issuing show-cause notices on the basis of reports published by
Hindenburg or by a news organisation such as Financial Times.
Both reports cited the
alleged violation of MPS norms by Adani group companies using 13 overseas
entities. Indian stock market laws require a listed company to have a minimum
public shareholding of 25% with the objective to keep a free float available
for price discovery of stocks. While the court-appointed panel had in its report
in May said that these allegations were in the realm of “not proved” “at this
stage”, Bhushan alleged that there was enough material contained in the two
reports to infer Sebi’s lapses. But the bench retorted: “We don’t think you can
ask a statutory regulator to take a newspaper source, even if it is Financial
Times, as a gospel truth. We are not saying that we doubt their sources, but we
can’t say it is evidentiary for Sebi. When you are dealing with evidentiary
requirements, someone who has to publish a news report cannot be treated on par
with a statutory regulator. Sebi is answerable to appellate authorities. If it
issues a show-cause notice based on this, it will be quashed the very next
day.”
During the proceedings,
the bench also enquired from Sebi about the steps it has taken to protect
investors by keeping extreme market volatility in check and the tightening of
pertinent regulations. At one point, the court observed that it has identified
four areas, pertaining to the regulatory regime and investors’ protection,
where it is inclined to issue further directions to the regulator. The court,
however, did not assign a date for delivering its order. On the Hindenburg
report, the apex court said that though it can be treated as some kind of
disclosure forming the starting point of a probe by Sebi, it can’t presume the
report to be credible. “We cannot make an assumption that it is credible or
lacking credibility. We will have to rely on our investigating agencies... And
Sebi says they have completed their investigation and are acting as per the
law. Should they disclose the investigation even before they issue notice?
Because then we will pre-judge guilt before hearing the party,” it added.
Hindenburg’s report
published in January claimed “brazen accounting fraud” and “stock manipulation”
by the Gautam Adani-led group. Though the conglomerate rejected the report as
“unresearched” and “maliciously mischievous”, it triggered a massive rout of
Adani group stocks, which lost over $140 billion in days and forced the
cancellation of a ₹20,000 crore share sale. The Supreme Court on March 2 set up
a six-member panel, led by retired Supreme Court judge AM Sapre, to look into
regulatory failure by Sebi and alleged breach of laws by the Adani group. In
its report submitted in May, the committee said the allegations of stock price
manipulation or violation of MPS norms by Adani group companies cannot be
proved “at this stage”.
On Friday, Bhushan
alleged that the market regulator did not apprise the court of an investigation
initiated by the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) against the Adani
group companies in 2013 over alleged overvaluation of import of equipment and
machinery by various entities of the group from a UAE-based subsidiary.
Rebutting the allegation,
solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Sebi, pointed out that the
issue of overvaluation was not only not germane to the present proceedings but
also that the DRI investigation got over in 2017, concluding there was no
incriminating evidence to prove the allegations. The conclusion was first
affirmed by the Customs, Excise And Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) and
finally by the apex court, Mehta added. At this point, the court told Bhushan:
“You have to be also very careful. We are not giving a character certificate to
anyone. Equally, you must think of fundamental principles of fairness. You are
relying on a DRI communication to Sebi. DRI closed the matter. CESTAT concluded
it. Your entire allegation is based on overvaluation which was decided upon.
So, if there was no overvaluation, where is the question of DRI investigation?”
1) India vs
Australia, WC final highlights: Head hundred seals AUS' record 6th title; Kohli
wins Player of Tournament:
Travis Head slammed 137
off 120 balls while Mitchell Starc bagged three wickets to help Australia beat
India by 6 wickets in the final. Australia were on the money in the field and
with the ball and India had to grind their way to 240 all out. Australia
captain Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bowl first and India's Rohit
Sharma said that they would have batted first anyway. While Rohit got off to a
rocket of a start as usual, Shubman Gill, who had a fantastic record across
formats in Ahmedabad, fell early to Mitchell Starc. Virat Kohli came in all
guns blazing but Rohit soon fell to Glenn Maxwell thanks to a fantastic catch
from Travis Head three runs short of his half-century.
Australia's captain Pat
Cummins (L) receives the trophy from India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C)
and Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Richard Marles
Australia's captain Pat
Cummins (L) receives the trophy from India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C)
and Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Richard Marles
(AFP)
Cummins then got the
in-form Shreyas Iyer in the next over and KL Rahul and Kohli tried to steady
the Indian ship. The boundaries dried up almost entirely after the 10th over
and Kohli fell on 54 off 63. Rahul then tried to hold the innings together but
India were dealt another blow when Ravindra Jadeja, promoted ahead of
Suryakumar Yadav, fell in the 36th over. Rahul ground out a half-century while
SKY gave him company in what was the last stand of recognised batters for
India. That ended with Rahul falling on 66 off 107 to Starc. Mohammed Siraj and
Kuldeep Yadav then hacked together 14 runs for the last wicket and India were
all out for 240 in 50 overs.
Team India started their
defence well with Mohammed Shami taking the new ball instead of Mohammed Siraj
and he struck with the second ball of his first over, sending back David
Warner. Jasprit Bumrah then got the wicket of Mitchell Marsh. While both
bowlers were expensive, they sent back two of Australia's most dangerous
top-order batters.
Leading Australia's response
after a shaky start, opener Travis Head slammed a brilliant century while
Marnus Labuschagne played a patient knock of 57 off 109 balls. The
second-highest run stand in the World Cup final powered Australia to a
six-wicket win as Rohit and Co. extended their trophy drought in the ICC
events. Superstar Head was named the Player of the Match for his memorable
137-run knock against the hosts at the Narendra Modi Stadium. India's Virat
Kohli was named the Player of the World Cup.
Here are a few pointers
surrounding the India vs Australia World Cup 2023 final:
Australia won the toss
and chose to bowl first
Rohit got off to a quick
start as usual but Shubman Gill fell early
Virat Kohli then came
out all guns blazing but Australia struck back again with the wickets of Rohit
and the in-form Shreyas Iyer.
Kohli and KL Rahul then struggled to get away
and while the former scored another 50, he eventually fell to Pat Cummins.
Rahul ground out a half-century but then saw
Ravindra Jadeja fall at the other end.
Suryakumar Yadav was
also unable to provide a big finish.
Mohammed Siraj and
Kuldeep Yadav dragged India to a score of 240.
Bumrah conceded 15 runs in the first over but
Shami got the wicket of David Warner off just his second ball of the
match.Bumrah took two more, sending back Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith in the
first 10 overs.
Staging a comeback,
Travis Head scored a century off 95 balls to help Australia reach 185/3 in 33.5
overs.
Marnus Labuschagne
scores 11th half-century in 99 balls in the 40th over.
Head's 137-run knock guided Australia to a
six-wicket win over India in 43 overs.
India XI: Rohit
Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar
Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed
Siraj
Australia XI: Travis
Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn
Maxwell, Josh Inglis(w), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins(c), Adam Zampa, Josh
Hazlewood
2) India vs Qatar
FIFA World Cup Qualifier Football Match Highlights: QAT beat IND 3-0:
India vs Qatar, FIFA
World Cup Qualifier Football Match Highlights: India lose 0-3 to Qatar in FIFA
World Cup Qualifier match
India vs Qatar, FIFA
World Cup Qualifier Football Match Highlights: The Indian men's football team
endured a tough 0-3 loss against Qatar in the FIFA World Cup qualifier
encounter at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. This was Qatar's second win in
as many matches. They had beaten Afghanistan 8-1 last India, on the other hand,
endure their first defeat after coming into the tie with a 1-0 away win over
Kuwait.
Qatar, who are also the
reigning Asian Champions, started the match on an attacking note and maintained
the tempo throughout the 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Mustafa Meshaal broke
the deadlock in the initial stages of the first half, and fans witnessed the
same being happened in the second only the scorer this time being different. Al
Moez Ali netted the second goal for Qatar and substitute Gaber AbdulSallam
scored the third and final goal of the match.
India, on the other
hand, showed spark during the course of the match but the intensity was nowhere
close to their opponent.
3) India vs
Australia 1st T20I Highlights: Rinku finishes off thrilling chase, IND win by 2
wickets:
Rinku Singh finished
unbeaten on 22 off 14 balls after Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav powered
India's record chase.
Josh Inglis smashed a
50-ball 110 and propelled Australia to a score of 208/3. Suryakumar Yadav won
the toss and chose to bowl in his first match as India captain. Australia have
rested a number of their World Cup winners but Steve Smith has opened the
batting and is off to a flying start. His scoring was eventually curtailed
while opening partner Matthew Short fell to Ravi Bishnoi but Josh Inglis has
since taken the game by the horns. He blasted a half-century in just 29 balls
with Smith holding up the other end. The pair ended up putting 130 runs off
just 66 balls for the second wicket, with Smith scoring just 36 off 23 in that.
Smith eventually fell on 52 off 41 and Inglis then crossed his century in just
47 balls, equaling Aaron Finch's record for the fastest T20I century by an
Australian.
India got off to a shaky
start but they came roaring back thanks to Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan. The
pair put up 112 runs in just 60 balls for the third wicket. Kishan fell for 58
off 39 but Suryakumar has soldiered on since then. Tilak Varma fell after a quickfire
12 and now, Rinku Singh has got off to a flying start. It came down to India
needing seven to win off the last over. It looked like India would do it easy
when Rinku hit the first ball for four. The batters ran a leg-bye second ball
but Axar Patel was then dismissed, which suddenly made the game a thriller.
India ended up requiring one run to win off the last ball with Rinku on strike.
He hit it for a six but Sean Abbott had overstepped and so, only the one run
that came due to the no-ball was counted. Rinku finished off on 22 off 14.
Suryakumar had earlier scored 80 off 42. India surpassed their own record for
highest successful T20I run chase and took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
4) China Masters
Super 750: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty enter men's doubles
semi-finals:
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy
and Chirag Shetty will face the winner of the other quarterfinal match between
He Ji Ting, Ren Xiang Yu and Liu Yu Chen, Ou Xuan Yi. Asian Games champions
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stormed into the men's doubles
semifinal with a straight-game win over Indonesia's Leo Rolly Carnando and
Daniel Marthin at the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament, on Friday.
The top seeded Indian pair dished out an attacking game to outwit the world no.
13 Indonesian combination 21-16 21-14 in 46 minutes.
Satwik and Chirag, who
won the Indonesia Super 1000, Korea Super 500 and Swiss Super 300 this year,
will face the winner of the other quarterfinal match between two Chinese pairs
-- He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu and eighth seeds Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi.
The former world number
one Indian duo showed great coordination as they interchanged their positions
frequently, also altered the direction of their stinging attack which made life
difficult for their Indonesian rivals, who wilted under pressure.
The match started on an
even keel with both the pairs fighting tooth and nail. But the Indian
combination soon started dominating the proceedings with an onslaught of
attacking shots to break off at 14-14. Chirag made some right judgements as
they were 19-16 up soon and then the Mumbaikar displayed his attacking intent
once again, coming to the front court after serving to quickly close out the
issue with a quick return.
The Indians kept up the
tempo to surge to a 5-2 lead early in the second game. A few taps went to the
net from but they ensured a two-point lead at 7-5 with Satwik unleashing a
stiff return. A flurry of smashes took the Indians to a healthy 11-6 advantage
at the interval.
The Indonesians couldn't
match the attack of their rivals, who were relentless from the first point. The
Indians quickly moved to 17-10. The longest rally of the match with 48 shots
ensued next with Marthin producing a precise smash.
A lucky net chord put
the Indians three points away and Marthin next went to the net as they grabbed
seven match points. Satwik and Chirag squandered one before winning a video
referral to seal their last four place.
5)
Record-smasher-cum-record-extender Novak Djokovic has the mind of a beast
hell-bent on attacking and winning
Djokovic is going
strong at 36 and his demolition of Jannik Sinner is a sign that he isn't
stopping anytime soon. Novak Djokovic is 36 years old. In a sport like tennis
where physicality matters a lot, most athletes contemplate retirement at this
age but the Serb is defying the norm and appears to be getting more and more
ruthless by the day. He appears to be vindictive too. He may slip up once but
very rarely will he slip up twice.
However, despite
his superhuman performances over the years, Djokovic doesn’t enjoy the kind of
following Roger Federer did during his playing days or even today. Rafael Nadal
too appears to have the upper hand in that regard. It’s probably down to
Djokovic’s tendency not to hold back in his media addresses. He doesn’t mince
his words, calls a spade a spade which doesn’t make him a likeable character.
Like earlier this month after winning the Paris Masters, he indirectly took a
massive dig at Nadal. The Serbinator said he was going to break all possible
records that he could break and he won’t pretend that he was not playing for
records unlike some people. Frankly speaking, he is not only breaking records
but is also extending them.
Djokovic means what
he says. This year has been fabulous for him. He equalled (at the Australian
Open with a record-extending 10th title) and surpassed Nadal’s record of
maximum grand slam wins (at the French Open) in men’s tennis. And then with the
win in the US Open, he extended his lead at 24 wins. He has finished the year
as the world’s number one player, for a record-extending eighth time.
Nadal isn’t the
only one who has faded a bit against Djokovic’s brilliance. Federer, who has
won 20 grand slams, too has lost one of his big records to Djokovic. The Serb’s
win against Sinner on Sunday brought him his seventh triumph at the ATP Finals.
A record seventh title. Heading into the event, Djokovic and Federer were tied
at six titles each. The Paris Masters win was also a record-extending seventh
title for the Serb. Djokovic has made massive strides this year and left behind
his biggest rivals Nadal and Federer. The Swiss has retired from the sport and
the injury-troubled Spaniard has announced he is likely to call it quits next
year. From the current crop, there are not many who can hold their own against
Djokovic for long in a game so he is certain to be in the ascendancy for a few
years more, subject to how long he can keep himself fit. As of now there is no
end in sight for Djokovic. Be that as it may, it will be interesting to see if
Djokovic will be able to keep up his ruthlessness once Nadal, the last of his
arch-rivals, walks off into the sunset. Who else would he like to prove a point
to? Djokovic has not won an Olympic gold as yet. The 2008 Bronze winner has often
spoken of his ardent desire to tick that box. He hasn’t achieved a Grand Slam
(to win all four titles in a calendar year) either - in fact nobody has
achieved it in men’s tennis since Rod Laver in 1969 - and maybe these two
unfulfilled desires will keep him going.
6)
Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in World Cup qualifying after crowd violence delays
start:
Nicolás Otamendi
scored the only goal in a 1-0 win for Argentina after a brawl between fans that
delayed the start of the game.Many fans came to the Maracana Stadium to watch
Lionel Messi in his likely last match in Brazil, a superclasico in World Cup
qualifying against the hosts.Instead, they saw Nicolás Otamendi score the only
goal in a 1-0 win for Argentina after a brawl between fans that delayed the start
of the game.
The World Cup
champions inflicted the first home defeat on Brazil ever in World Cup
qualifying. It was Brazil’s third consecutive loss in the round-robin
tournament — another negative mark for new coach Fernando Diniz.
Messi left the
pitch in the 78th minute amid a mixture of jeers and applause from Brazil fans.
Dozens of children arrived at the Maracana wearing the shirts of Barcelona, the
star’s previous club, and Inter Miami.
The Argentine star
wasn't able to end one of his last barriers in the sport at the Maracana,
though, to score against the Brazilians in a World Cup qualifier. Argentina
will return home not only atop the South American qualifying standings but also
having given its fans one more chance to celebrate a victory at the historic
stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Two years ago, Ángel di Maria scored the only goal
in an empty Maracana to give his team the Copa America title.
The violent
pre-match incident, starting shortly after the national anthems, stalled the
start for 27 minutes. Argentina, led by Messi, headed to the locker rooms for
22 minutes. At least one fan left the stadium bleeding from his head. Rio
police said they had arrested eight people due to the brawl.
The aggression
between fans was reflected on the field in the first 20 minutes of the
encounter; the referee gave fouls against Brazil during that time. The tension
eased and allowed Argentina to avoid direct confrontation.
The Village (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video) Release Date:November 24
Embarking on a thrilling
journey inspired by the gripping graphic novel by Asvin Srivatsangam, Vivek
Rangachari, and Shamik Dasgupta, this fast-paced series delves deep into the
eerie landscapes of Tamil Nadu. Driven by desperation, Gautham (Arya) navigates
through the haunting enigma of a cursed village, seeking help from the locals
in a frantic quest to rescue his captive family. In a parallel unfolding, an
unyielding successor dispatches hired soldiers on a quest to recover a
mysterious entity. As these two narratives intertwine, the suspense heightens,
setting the stage for a gripping tale of survival in the face of unimaginable
horrors.
I Don’t Expect
Anyone to Believe Me (Streaming on Netflix) - Release Date: 22 November 2023
Embark on a gripping
narrative as a young writer sets foot in Barcelona with dreams of pursuing a
PhD in Literature. However, the picturesque city reveals a darker underbelly as
our protagonist becomes entwined in the sinister threads of a criminal network.
Faced with unexpected challenges, his journey takes an unexpected turn,
inspiring him to weave a tale of intrigue, diabolical twists, and literary
ambition.
Squid Game: The
Challenge (Streaming on Netflix) - Release Date: 22 November 2023
Step into the real-life
Squid Challenge with 456 players from around the world. Inspired by the Netflix
sensation Squid Game, contestants battle it out for a jaw-dropping prize of USD
4.56 million. While the stakes are high, rest assured, this game is minus all
the lethal consequences. Get ready for an adrenaline-pumping, wallet-fattening
experience.
Antormahal -
November 24 (hoichoi)
Find out what happens
when Riti and Indro, a happily married couple with a solid marital tie, start
fighting as they contemplate starting a family.
Leo is coming to Netflix
on 24th Nov in India:
Thalapathy Vijay's
recently released movie Leo has been all over the headlines ever since it was
announced. The action thriller, which was directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, has
come with an interesting ensemble of cast including Thalapathy Vijay, Sanjay
Dutt, Arjun, Trisha, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Mysskin, Madonna Sebastian, George
Maryan, etc. In fact, Leo has been the third entry in the Lokesh Cinematic
Universe.
Animal
The film stars Ranbir
Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Triptii Dimri and Rashmika Mandanna in the
lead roles. Animal will release on December 1 in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada,
and Malayalam. It is produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar's T-Series,
Murad Khetani's Cine1 Studios, and Pranay Reddy Vanga's Bhadrakali Pictures.
The trailer of the movie depicts the relationship of a troubled father-son
bond.
BOOK OF THIS WEEK:
Tomb of Sand' by
Geetanjali Shree (Author), Daisy Rockwell (Translator)
In northern India, an eighty-year-old woman slips into a deep depression after the death of her husband, and then resurfaces to gain a new lease on life. Her determination to fly in the face of convention - including striking up a friendship with a transgender person - confuses her bohemian daughter, who is used to thinking of herself as the more 'modern' of the two.
To her family's
consternation, Ma insists on travelling to Pakistan, simultaneously confronting
the unresolved trauma of her teenage experiences of Partition, and
re-evaluating what it means to be a mother, a daughter, a woman, a feminist.
Rather than respond to
tragedy with seriousness, Geetanjali Shree's playful tone and exuberant
wordplay results in a book that is engaging, funny, and utterly original, at
the same time as being an urgent and timely protest against the destructive
impact of borders and boundaries, whether between religions, countries, or
genders.
Geetanjali Shree (Hindi: गीतांजलि श्री; born 12
June 1957), also known as
Geetanjali Pandey, is an Indian Hindi-language novelist and short-story writer
based in New Delhi, India. She is the author of several short stories and five
novels. Her 2000 novel Mai was shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award in
2001,while its English translation by Nita Kumar was published by Niyogi Books
in 2017. In 2022, her novel Ret Samadhi (2018), translated into English as Tomb
of Sand by Daisy Rockwell, won the International Booker Prize. Aside from
fiction, she has written critical works on Premchand.
At university, she
studied history. She completed a BA at Lady Shri Ram College,and a master's
degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. After beginning her PhD
work at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda on the Hindi writer Munshi
Premchand, Shree became more interested in Hindi literature.She wrote her first
short story during her PhD, and turned to writing after graduation
Daisy Rockwell :
Rockwell was born in
1969 in Massachusetts. She has translated a number of classic works of Hindi
and Urdu literature, including Upendranath Ashk’s Falling Walls, Bhisham
Sahni’s Tamas, and Khadija Mastur’s The Women’s Courtyard. Her 2019 translation
of Krishna Sobti’s A Gujarat Here, a Gujarat There was awarded the Modern
Language Association’s Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Translation Prize.
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