SUBHADITYA NEWS CHANNEL PRESENTS NEWS OF THIS WEEK DATED 30/3/2024: SCIENCE,POLITICAL,SPORTS ,MOVIE AND BOOK NEWS THIS WEEK

 

1) Memories are made by breaking DNA — and fixing it: By Max Kozlov

Neurons (shown here in a coloured scanning electron micrograph) mend broken DNA during memory formation.

Nerve cells form long-term memories with the help of an inflammatory response, study in mice finds.When a long-term memory forms, some brain cells experience a rush of electrical activity so strong that it snaps their DNA. Then, an inflammatory response kicks in, repairing this damage and helping to cement the memory, a study in mice shows.

The findings, published on 27 March in Nature1, are “extremely exciting”, says Li-Huei Tsai, a neurobiologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge who was not involved in the work. They contribute to the picture that forming memories is a “risky business”, she says. Normally, breaks in both strands of the double helix DNA molecule are associated with diseases including cancer. But in this case, the DNA damage-and-repair cycle offers one explanation for how memories might form and last.

It also suggests a tantalizing possibility: this cycle might be faulty in people with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, causing a build-up of errors in a neuron’s DNA, says study co-author Jelena Radulovic, a neuroscientist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

Inflammatory response

This isn’t the first time that DNA damage has been associated with memory. In 2021, Tsai and her colleagues showed that double-stranded DNA breaks are widespread in the brain, and linked them with learning2.

To better understand the part these DNA breaks play in memory formation, Radulovic and her colleagues trained mice to associate a small electrical shock with a new environment, so that when the animals were once again put into that environment, they would ‘remember’ the experience and show signs of fear, such as freezing in place. Then the researchers examined gene activity in neurons in a brain area key to memory — the hippocampus. They found that some genes responsible for inflammation were active in a set of neurons four days after training. Three weeks after training, the same genes were much less active.

The team pinpointed the cause of the inflammation: a protein called TLR9, which triggers an immune response to DNA fragments floating around the insides of cells. This inflammatory response is similar to one that immune cells use when they defend against genetic material from invading pathogens, Radulovic says. However, in this case, the nerve cells were responding not to invaders, but to their own DNA, the researchers found.

A new MIT study reveals that encoding memories in engram cells is controlled by large-scale remodeling of the proteins and DNA that make up cells’ chromatin. In this image of the brain, the hippocampus is the large yellow structure near the top. Green indicates neurons that were activated in memory formation; red shows the neurons that were activated in memory recall; blue shows the DNA of the cells; and yellow shows neurons that were activated in both memory formation and recall, and are thus considered to be the engram neurons.

TLR9 was most active in a subset of hippocampal neurons in which DNA breaks resisted repair. In these cells, DNA repair machinery accumulated in an organelle called the centrosome, which is often associated with cell division and differentiation. However, mature neurons don’t divide, Radulovic says, so it is surprising to see centrosomes participating in DNA repair. She wonders whether memories form through a mechanism that is similar to how immune cells become attuned to foreign substances that they encounter. In other words, during damage-and-repair cycles, neurons might encode information about the memory-formation event that triggered the DNA breaks, she says.

When the researchers deleted the gene encoding the TLR9 protein from mice, the animals had trouble recalling long-term memories about their training: they froze much less often when placed into the environment where they had previously been shocked than did mice that had the gene intact. These findings suggest that “we are using our own DNA as a signalling system” to “retain information over a long time”, Radulovic says.

Fitting in

How the team’s findings fit with other discoveries about memory formation is still unclear. For instance, researchers have shown that a subset of hippocampal neurons known as an engram are key to memory formation3. These cells can be thought of as a physical trace of a single memory, and they express certain genes after a learning event. But the group of neurons in which Radulovic and her colleagues observed the memory-related inflammation are mostly different from the engram neurons, the authors say.

 To provide access to genes needed for the encoding and storage of memories, brain cells snap open their DNA, breaking both strands. A new study finds this happens more extensively than previously realized and that it occurs not only in neurons but other supporting cell types, too.

Tomás Ryan, an engram neuroscientist at Trinity College Dublin, says the study provides “the best evidence so far that DNA repair is important for memory”. But he questions whether the neurons encode something distinct from the engram — instead, he says, the DNA damage and repair could be a consequence of engram creation. “Forming an engram is a high-impact event; you have to do a lot of housekeeping after,” he says.

Tsai hopes that future research will address how the double-stranded DNA breaks happen and whether they occur in other brain regions, too.

Clara Ortega de San Luis, a neuroscientist who works with Ryan at Trinity College Dublin, says that these results bring much-needed attention to mechanisms of memory formation and persistence inside cells. “We know a lot about connectivity” between neurons “and neural plasticity, but not nearly as much about what happens inside neurons”, she says.

2) How to make an old immune system young again: By Heidi Ledford

Blood stem cells (example pictured; artificially coloured) generate red blood cells and immune cells.

Antibodies that target blood stem cells can rejuvenate immune responses in mice.

Old mice developed more youthful immune systems after scientists reduced aberrant stem cells in the aged animals1. The technique strengthened the old rodents’ responses to viral infection and lowered signs of inflammation.

The approach, published on 27 March in Nature, treats older mice with antibodies to diminish a population of stem cells that give rise to a variety of other cell types, including those that contribute to inflammation. Excess inflammation can wreak havoc in the body, and these pro-inflammatory stem cells become dominant as mice and humans age.

It will be years before the approach can be tested in people, but many aspects of the stem-cell biology that underlies immune-cell production are similar between mice and humans. “It’s a really important first step,” says Robert Signer, a stem-cell biologist at the University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the research. “I’m excited to see where they take this work next.”

Skewed immune system

For decades, researchers in Irv Weissman’s group at Stanford University in California have painstakingly tracked the fate of blood stem cells. These replenish the body’s stores of red blood cells (which carry oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body) and white blood cells (which are key components of the immune system) In 2005, Weissman and his colleagues found that populations of blood stem cells shift as mice age2. In young mice, there is a balance between two types of blood stem cell, each of which feeds into a different arm of the immune system. The ‘adaptive’ arm produces antibodies and T cells targeted to specific pathogens; the ‘innate’ arm produces broadbrush responses, such as inflammation, to infection.

In older mice, however, this balance becomes skewed towards the pro-inflammatory innate immune cells. Similar changes have been reported in the blood stem cells of older humans, and researchers speculate that this could lead to a diminished ability to mount new antibody and T-cell responses. That might explain why older people are more prone to serious infections from pathogens such as influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2, and why they have weaker responses to vaccination than younger people do.

Antibodies are proteins that can target and attack certain cells

Restoring the balance

If that were the case, then restoring balance to the populations of blood stem cells could also rejuvenate the immune system. The team tested this by generating antibodies that bind to the blood stem cells that predominantly generate innate immune cells. They then infused these antibodies into older mice, hoping that the immune system would destroy the stem cells bound by the antibodies.

The antibody treatment rejuvenated the immune systems of the treated mice. They had a stronger reaction to vaccination, and were better able to fend off viral infection, than older mice who had not received the treatment. The treated mice also produced lower levels of proteins associated with inflammation than did old, untreated mice. This is an important demonstration that the different populations of blood stem cells influence how the immune system ages, says Signer.

But it’s also possible that the antibody treatment did more than just affect the dominant blood stem cell population, says Enca Montecino-Rodriguez, who studies the development of white blood cells at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. The treatment might also affect the environment in which the blood stem cells live. Or it could clear other aged cells from the body, or trigger immune responses that affect how the mice respond to vaccines and viruses, she says.

Weissman says that his team is working on a similar approach to rebalance aged human blood stem cells. But even assuming ample funding and no unexpected setbacks, it will be at least three to five years before they can begin testing it in people, he says.

In the meantime, his team will continue to study mice to learn more about other effects of the antibody therapy, such as whether it affects the rates of cancer or inflammatory diseases. “The old versus the young blood-forming system makes a big deal of difference,” says Weissman. “It’s not just a difference in the bone marrow. It’s a difference all over the body.”

3) Earth’s oldest known earthquake was probably triggered by plate tectonicsBy Lucas Van Wyk Joel

 :In the Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa, silica-rich sedimentary rock layers squeezed by intense pressure into folds of chert (outlined) may offer evidence that plate tectonics triggered a powerful megathrust earthquake between about 3.2 billion and 3.6 billion years ago.

The quake dates to more than 3 billion years ago Scientists studying rocks in South Africa report evidence for the earliest known earthquake triggered by plate tectonics. The temblor struck more than 3 billion years ago.

The rocks preserve telltale signs of ancient submarine landslides that tend to occur in response to giant earthquakes set off by some collisions of slabs of the planet’s crust, geologists Cornel de Ronde and Simon Lamb report February 27 in Geology.

Finding evidence of such a giant earthquake so early in Earth’s roughly 4.5-billion-year history throws a spotlight on a hotly debated topic in geology: When did plate tectonics, the constant movements of interlocking pieces of crust, arise (SN: 1/13/21)?

Some geologists think it took a while for plate tectonics to emerge, no earlier than 2.8 billion years ago. Others argue it began much earlier (SN: 4/22/20). It’s hard to know for sure because very few rocks from this period of the planet’s history exist anymore.

“I am a strong advocate … of the other argument that plate tectonics has been with us at least as long as the oldest rocks preserved on Earth, and probably even much before,” says Timothy Kusky of the State Key Lab for Geological Processes and Mineral Resources in Wuhan, China. “This study lends strong support to this second view.”

The Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa contains remnants of ancient underwater landslides. Such landslides often result from massive earthquakes driven by plate tectonics.

De Ronde, of GNS Science in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, had mapped the distribution of the belt’s different rock types and published the results in 2021. When Lamb, of the Victoria University of Wellington, saw the map, he spotted something surprising: The distribution of ancient rock layers and formations looked a lot like Lamb’s map of the distribution of submarine landslides in New Zealand that were triggered by earthquakes relatively recently in geologic time.

“It’s different rock, but the way the rocks were arranged was uncannily similar,” Lamb says. “It unlocked the whole mystery of these early rocks.” The comparison suggests the Barberton rocks, like those in New Zealand, held signs of being churned by giant submarine landslides, and those landslides tend to occur in the wake of earthquakes caused by two tectonic plates colliding and one thrusting atop the other. This process, called subduction, can be so forceful that it causes megathrust earthquakes, such as the magnitude 9.1 earthquake in Indonesia in 2004 and the magnitude 9.0 temblor in Japan in 2011 (SN: 5/2/2022).

The study offers “some of the earliest evidence for giant subduction megathrust earthquakes,” Kusky says. It’s the fieldwork that makes the argument convincing, he notes. With fieldwork, assumptions about earthquakes and plate tectonics aren’t based on idealized models, but the rock record, which contains solid, verifiable evidence.

But Richard Palin, a geologist at the University of Oxford, isn’t entirely convinced. The initiation of plate tectonics, which today operates across the entire planet, is not a clean-cut story, he says (SN: 4/9/22).

“Some scientists may believe that subduction initiated everywhere all at once, hence the onset of plate tectonics is a bit like flipping a switch,” he says. “This seems very unlikely to me.” Palin suspects that subduction began in different places on Earth at different times.

4) Research shows that five three-horned dinosaurs lived, and died, together : by Naturalis Biodiversity Center

A heard of Triceratops horridus walking through a Cretaceous swamp.

A team from Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands was looking for a Tyrannosaurus in the summer of 2013 in Wyoming. Instead, they found a Triceratops: the famous dinosaur with the three horns and the large neck frill. And then they found another one. And another one. And more. The dig turned into a project that would last for more than 10 years. All in all, they dug up 1,200 bones and bone fragments, of at least five individuals. A team of professional and volunteer paleontologists and technicians spent years removing them from the quarry.

A researcher was hired to study the fossils: how did these dead dinosaurs end up there, together? What do their bones tell us of their lives and their deaths?

"The material is of very good quality," De Rooij reflects on the dino detective story that is his Ph.D. thesis. "This enabled us to show that these triceratops grew really slowly, for instance." The details of the bonebed indicate that the five dinosaurs died together, possibly mired in a swamp. They are in a thin layer of rock, without bones of other species. Research into the physical and chemical properties of the hundreds of triceratops teeth tells of a migratory existence—one that was the same for all five of the dinos. In other words: this species of dinosaur teamed up, at least occasionally. "And that of course leads to all kinds of new questions," De Rooij says, "How complex was this social behavior, exactly?"

De Rooij's supervisor, Prof. Anne Schulp (Naturalis/Utrecht University), is very happy about the entire trajectory from dig to defense ceremony.

Illustration of a fossilized triceratops. Triceratops, like many other dinosaurs, went extinct around 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.

"Naturalis, the national natural history museum of the Netherlands, now has the biggest triceratops find in the world, and Utrecht University has the first Dr. Triceratops in the Netherlands. De Rooij's work didn't just result in research papers, but also in an exhibition about his findings. As of October, the exhibition will kick off at Naturalis—and kick off the world tour—where the five triceratops are shown as they lived and died 67 million years ago: together."

5) Why did modern humans replace the Neanderthals? The key might lie in our social structures :by Nicholas R. Longrich, The Conversation

Reconstruction of Neanderthal man

Why did humans take over the world while our closest relatives, the Neanderthals, became extinct? It's possible we were just smarter, but there's surprisingly little evidence that's true.Neanderthals had big brains, language and sophisticated tools. They made art and jewelry. They were smart, suggesting a curious possibility. Maybe the crucial differences weren't at the individual level, but in our societies.

Two hundred and fifty thousand years ago, Europe and western Asia were Neanderthal lands. Homo sapiens inhabited southern Africa. Estimates vary but perhaps 100,000 years ago, modern humans migrated out of Africa.Forty thousand years ago Neanderthals disappeared from Asia and Europe, replaced by humans. Their slow, inevitable replacement suggests humans had some advantage, but not what it was.

Rock art showing a hunter-gatherer ritual dance; Kondoa, Tanzania.

Anthropologists once saw Neanderthals as dull-witted brutes. But recent archaeological finds show they rivaled us in intelligence.Neanderthals mastered fire before we did. They were deadly hunters, taking big game like mammoths and wooly rhinos, and small animals like rabbits and birds.They gathered plants, seeds and shellfish. Hunting and foraging all those species demanded deep understanding of nature.Neanderthals also had a sense of beauty, making beads and cave paintings. They were spiritual people, burying their dead with flowers.

Stone circles found inside caves may be Neanderthal shrines. Like modern hunter-gatherers, Neanderthal lives were probably steeped in superstition and magic; their skies full of gods, the caves inhabited by ancestor-spirits.Then there's the fact Homo sapiens and Neanderthals had children together. We weren't that different. But we met Neanderthals many times, over many millennia, always with the same result. They disappeared. We remained.

The hunter-gatherer society

Neanderthal hand axes, Aisne, France. Metropolitan Museum of art

It may be that the key differences were less at the individual level than at the societal level. It's impossible to understand humans in isolation, any more than you can understand a honeybee without considering its colony. We prize our individuality, but our survival is tied to larger social groups, like a bee's fate depends on the colony's survival.Modern hunter-gatherers provide our best guess at how early humans and Neanderthals lived. People like the Namibia's Khoisan and Tanzania's Hadzabe gather families into wandering bands of ten to 60 people. The bands combine into a loosely organized tribe of a thousand people or more.

These tribes lack hierachical structures, but they're linked by shared language and religion, marriages, kinships and friendships. Neanderthal societies may have been similar but with one crucial difference: smaller social groups.

Tight-knit tribes

Neanderthals lived in smaller groups. Esteban De Armas

What points to this is evidence that Neanderthals had lower genetic diversity.

In small populations, genes are easily lost. If one person in ten carries a gene for curly hair, then in a ten-person band, one death could remove the gene from the population. In a band of fifty, five people would carry the gene—multiple backup copies. So over time, small groups tend to lose genetic variation, ending up with fewer genes.In 2022, DNA was recovered from bones and teeth of 11 Neanderthals found in a cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia. Several individuals were related, including a father and a daughter—they were from a single band. And they showed low genetic diversity.

Because we inherit two sets of chromosomes—one from our mother, one from our father—we carry two copies of each gene. Often, we have two different versions of a gene. You might get a gene for blue eyes from your mother, and one for brown eyes from your father.But the Altai Neanderthals often had one version of each gene. As the study reports, that low diversity suggests they lived in small bands—probably averaging just 20 people.It's possible Neanderthal anatomy favored small groups. Being robust and muscular, Neanderthals were heavier than us. So each Neanderthal needed more food, meaning the land could support fewer Neanderthals than Homo sapiens.And Neanderthals may have mainly eaten meat. Meat-eaters would get fewer calories from the land than people who ate meat and plants, again leading to smaller populations.

Group size matters

Big societies have other, subtler advantages. Larger bands have more brains. More brains to solve problems, remember lore about animals and plants, and techniques for crafting tools and sewing clothing. Just as big groups have higher genetic diversity, they’ll have higher diversity of ideas.And more people means more connections. Network connections increase exponentially with network size, following Metcalfe’s Law. A 20-person band has 190 possible connections between members, while 60 people have 1770 possible connections.

If humans lived in bigger groups than Neanderthals it could have given us advantages.

Neanderthals, strong and skilled with spears were likely good fighters. Lightly built humans probably countered by using bows to attack at range.But even if Neanderthals and humans were equally dangerous in battle, if humans also had a numeric advantage they could bring more fighters and absorb more losses.

Big societies have other, subtler advantages. Larger bands have more brains. More brains to solve problems, remember lore about animals and plants, and techniques for crafting tools and sewing clothing. Just as big groups have higher genetic diversity, they'll have higher diversity of ideas.

And more people means more connections. Network connections increase exponentially with network size, following Metcalfe's Law. A 20-person band has 190 possible connections between members, while 60 people have 1770 possible connections.Information flows through these connections: news about people and movements of animals; toolmaking techniques; and words, songs and myths. Plus the group's behavior becomes increasingly complex.

Consider ants. Individually, ants aren't smart. But interactions between millions of ants lets colonies make elaborate nests, forage for food and kill animals many times an ant's size. Likewise, human groups do things no one person can—design buildings and cars, write elaborate computer programs, fight wars, run companies and countries.Humans aren't unique in having big brains (whales and elephants have these) or in having huge social groups (zebras and wildebeest form huge herds). But we're unique in combining them.

To paraphrase poet John Dunne, no man—and no Neanderthal—is an island. We're all part of something larger. And throughout history, humans formed larger and larger social groups: bands, tribes, cities, nation states, international alliances.It may be then that an ability to build large social structures gave Homo sapiens the edge, against nature, and other hominin species.

6) Persian Plateau Is The Hub For Early Human Migration Out Of Africa, Study Reveals

A person stands in Pebdeh Cave, in the southern Zagros Mountains, Iran, in this undated photo obtained by Reuters on March 25, 2024. Pebdeh Cave was occupied by hunter-gatherers as early as 42,000 years ago, inferred to be Homo Sapiens.

A new study has unveiled the Persian Plateau as a pivotal geographic location serving as a hub for Homo sapiens during the early stages of their migration out of Africa some 70,000 ago.

ebdeh Cave excavation in the southern Zagros Mountains. Pebdeh was occupied by hunter-gatherers as early as 42,000 years ago

After years of debate, the new study said the human species, who emerged in Africa more than 300,000 years ago and migrated out of the continent 60,000 to 70,000 years ago, have lingered for thousands of years in a geographic hub that spanned Iran, southeast Iraq and northeast Saudi Arabia. These bands of hunter-gatherers then went on to settle all of Asia and Europe starting roughly 45,000 years ago.

Putative migration waves out of Africa and location of some of the most relevant ancient human remains and archeological sites

Their findings were based on genomic datasets drawn from ancient DNA and modern gene pools, combined with palaeoecological evidence that showed that this region would have represented an ideal habitat, because of its capacity to support a larger population compared to surrounding areas in West Asia. "Our results provide the first full picture of the whereabouts of the ancestors of all present-day non-Africans in the early phases on the colonization of Eurasia," said molecular anthropologist Luca Pagani of the University of Padova in Italy, senior author of the study published in the journal Nature Communications, opens new tab.

Anthropologist and study co-author Michael Petraglia, director of the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution at Griffith University, said the study "is a story about us and our history - our goal was to unravel some of the mystery about our evolution and our worldwide dispersal." "The combination of genetic and paleoecological models allowed us to predict the location where early human populations first resided as soon as they exited Africa," Petraglia added.

The study, published in Nature Communications, highlights a crucial period between approximately 70,000 to 45,000 years ago when human populations did not uniformly spread across Eurasia, leaving a gap in our understanding of their whereabouts during this time frame.

Key findings from the research include:

Riverine landscape in the southern Zagros region providing fresh water resources for Homo sapiens populations

The Persian plateau as a hub for early human settlement: Using a novel genetic approach combined with palaeoecological modelling, the study revealed the Persian Plateau as the region where from population waves that settled all of Eurasia originated.

This region emerged as a suitable habitat capable of supporting a larger population compared with other areas in West Asia.

Genetic resemblance in ancient and modern populations: The genetic component identified in populations from the Persian Plateau underlines its long-lasting differentiation in the area, compatible with the hub nature of the region, and is ancestral to the genetic components already known to have inhabited the Plateau.

Periphery of Iranian Central Plateau where humans may have concentrated for tens of thousands of years before dispersing to other parts of Asia.

Such a genetic signature was detected thanks to a new approach that disentangles 40,000 years of admixture and other confounding events. This genetic connection underscores the Plateau's significance as a pivotal location for early human settlement and subsequent migrations.

Study co-author Professor Michael Petraglia, Director of Griffith University's Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, provided a much clearer picture of these early human movements. "Our multidisciplinary study provides a more coherent view of the ancient past, offering insights into the critical period between the Out of Africa expansion and the differentiation of Eurasian populations," Professor Petraglia said.

"The Persian Plateau emerges as a key region, underlining the need for further archaeological explorations."

First author Leonardo Vallini of the University of Padova, Italy, said: "The discovery elucidates a 20,000 year long portion of the history of Homo sapiens outside of Africa, a timeframe during which we interacted with Neanderthal populations, and sheds light on the relationships between various Eurasian populations, providing crucial clues for understanding the demographic history of our species across Europe, East Asia, and Oceania."

Senior author, Professor Luca Pagani added: "The revelation of the Persian Plateau as a hub for early human migration opens new doors for archaeological exploration, enriching our understanding of our species' journey across continents and highlighting this region's pivotal role in shaping human history."

 

1) As Kejriwal names Maguntas in court, father and son campaign for BJP ally in Andhra

Raghava and Srinivasulu, a four-time MP from Ongole, joined the TDP on February 28 this year – both were welcomed into the party by its chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

Named by ED as members of the 'South Group', the two joined TDP on February 28; agency's case built around one of them turning approver.

Away from the national capital’s courtroom where the case against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is playing out, two key figures embroiled in the excise policy case – four-time MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and his son Raghava Magunta Reddy – are busy campaigning for BJP ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP), with the former expected to get a ticket from Andhra Pradesh’s Ongole. Raghava is, in fact, one of the approvers based on whose statement the Enforcement Directorate has built its case against Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party.

The ED alleges the father-son duo, who own Balaji Distilleries, are part of the ‘South Group’, whose members received undue benefits under the Delhi excise policy in exchange for kickbacks paid to the AAP.

It was in September 2022 that Srinivasulu’s name first emerged in the case, as the ED searched offices, premises and properties owned by him in Nellore, New Delhi and Chennai. He was, however, never made an accused in the case. In February 2023, Raghava was arrested by the ED on money laundering charges. “Phir baap toot gaye (the father buckled then),” the CM said in Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday, alleging that following his son’s arrest, Srinivasulu changed his previous statement to the ED.

In October 2023, special court judge M K Nagpal allowed Raghava to turn an approver in the case. Kejriwal alleged that seven of Raghava’s statements were recorded, and six were not against him. “Only one statement was against me. As soon as he made a statement against me, he was released,” alleged the CM. Raghava turned approver and was granted pardon in the ED case in October last year, and anticipatory bail in a CBI case in February this year. He and Srinivasulu, a four-time MP from Ongole, joined the TDP on February 28 this year – both were welcomed into the party by its chief N Chandrababu Naidu. A former Congressman, Srinivasulu had quit the party ahead of the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and joined the TDP. After a loss in the 2014 general elections, he joined the YSR Congress Party and won from Ongole in 2019. After five years with the YSRCP, Srinivasulu returned to the TDP fold late last month.

According to TDP sources, Srinivasulu initially planned to retire from politics, paving the way for son Raghava, who he hoped would get a ticket from the same Lok Sabha constituency that has been his stronghold. However, the TDP is learnt to be more keen on giving Srinivasulu a ticket as the excise case shadow still looms over his son.

In fact, sources say the excise case was also behind the father-son duo quitting the YSRCP because the party did not back them after Raghava’s arrest. Since then, according to sources, he had been increasingly sidelined. According to sources in the YSRCP, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was apprehensive of fielding someone embroiled in a case that has drawn national attention. For the TDP, the family’s influence in Ongole presents an opportunity to make crucial inroads into the constituency. Apart from its political heft, the Magunta family owns Balaji Distilleries and two other companies, and has been in the liquor business for over seven decades.

As soon as the father-son duo joined the TDP, Raghava started campaigning in the first week of March, hopeful of a ticket from the family stronghold. He held door-to-door walks in assembly constituencies of Ongole, Darsi, Giddalur, Kanigiri and Kondapi, which fall under the Ongole Lok Sabha seat.

According to sources, Raghav was also expected to cover the Yerragondapalem and Markapuram Assembly constituencies, but once Kejriwal was arrested, the TDP leadership felt it would be better for Srinivasulu to contest, and conveyed this to him.

2) Over 600 lawyers write to CJI Chandrachud raising alarm on threats to judiciary's integrity

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.

The lawyers alleged that a vested interest group is trying to pressure the judiciary, influence judicial process and defame the courts based on frivolous logic. More than 600 lawyers, including senior advocate Harish Salve and Bar Council of India chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, from across India have written to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud expressing concern over what they perceive as a threat to the judiciary's integrity. The lawyers condemned the "vested interest group" attempting to manipulate judicial processes, influence court decisions, and tarnish the reputation of the judiciary with baseless allegations and political agendas.

in cases involving political figures accused of corruption, where efforts to sway court decisions and discredit the judiciary are most pronounced. One of the alarming tactics mentioned in the letter is the alleged fabrication of false narratives aimed at portraying a skewed view of the judiciary's functioning, with comparisons to a purported 'golden age' of the courts. Such narratives, the lawyers asserted, are intended to influence judicial outcomes and erode public trust in the judiciary.

The letter raised concerns about the “concocted theory of bench fixing,” wherein attempts are made to influence the composition of judicial benches and cast aspersions on the integrity of judges. The lawyers decried these actions as not only disrespectful but also damaging to the rule of law and the principles of justice.

“They have also stooped to the level of comparing our courts to those countries where there is no rule of law and accusing our judicial institutions with unfair practices,” the letter read.

“These aren't just criticisms; they are direct attacks meant to damage the public's trust in our judiciary and threaten the fair application of our laws,” it added. They expressed dismay over the phenomenon of political flip-flopping, where politicians switch stances on legal matters depending on their interests, thereby undermining the credibility of the legal system.

“It is strange to see politicians accuse someone of corruption and then defend them in court. If the court's decision doesn't go their way, they quickly criticise the courts inside the court as well as through media. This two-faced behaviour is harmful to the respect a common man should have for our legal system,” the lawyers alleged.They expressed dismay over the phenomenon of political flip-flopping, where politicians switch stances on legal matters depending on their interests, thereby undermining the credibility of the legal system.

“It is strange to see politicians accuse someone of corruption and then defend them in court. If the court's decision doesn't go their way, they quickly criticise the courts inside the court as well as through media. This two-faced behaviour is harmful to the respect a common man should have for our legal system,” the lawyers alleged.

They also claimed that “some elements are trying to influence who the judges are in their cases and spread lies on social media to put pressure on the judges to decide in a particular way.”

"The timing of their modus operandi also merits closer scrutiny- they do it at very strategic timings, when the nation is all set to head into elections. We are reminded of similar antics in 2018-2019 when they took to their 'hit and run' activities, including fabricating wrong narratives.

The lawyers called upon the Supreme Court to take firm measures to protect the judiciary from external pressures and uphold the rule of law.

“Staying silent or doing nothing could accidentally give more power to those who mean to do harm. This is not the time to maintain dignified silence as such efforts are happening since few years and too frequently,” they said.

3) PM's Scathing Tweet On Congress After 600 Lawyers Write To Chief Justice

No wonder, 140 crore Indians are rejecting them," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a swipe at the Congress after hundreds of lawyers wrote about concerns over attempts to undermine the judiciary's integrity Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a strong attack on the Congress party today after hundreds of lawyers and some bar associations across the country wrote to the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, expressing concerns over attempts to undermine the judiciary's integrity using political and professional pressure.

"To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. Five decades ago, they itself had called for a 'committed judiciary' - they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests, but desist from any commitment towards the nation," PM Modi said in a post on the microblogging website X.

"No wonder, 140 crore Indians are rejecting them," PM Modi said.To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture.5 decades ago itself they had called for a "committed judiciary"  PM Modi's comments came after over 600 lawyers, including Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, alleging that a "vested interest group" is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, especially in cases of corruption involving politicians. Union Minister and Arunachal West candidate Kiren Rijiju said sane voices are openly coming out now, referring to the letter by the lawyers.

"These Congress people coined the concept of committed judiciary and suspended Indian Constitution. The Congress and leftists want courts and constitutional authorities to serve them or else they immediately start attacking the very institutions," Mr Rijiju said. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in a statement said it is not proper form for the Prime Minister to pass comments on the judiciary. "However, as you consider India's institutions to be your personal property, I have some questions for you. Why did four senior-most Supreme Court judges hold an unprecedented press conference and warn against 'destruction of democracy' by your regime? Why was one of the judges nominated by your government to the Rajya Sabha..." Mr Kharge said in the statement.

Yesterday, the All Manipur Bar Association had also written to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud highlighting the need to speak out against "underhanded attacks" on the judiciary. The bar association in the letter had said it was extremely concerned about recent trends where vested interest groups were trying to defame the courts with "frivolous logic" and "stale political agendas". Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, responding to PM Modi, said the Prime Minister's comments "is the height of hypocrisy".

"The PM's brazenness in orchestrating and coordinating an attack on the judiciary, in the name of defending the judiciary, is the height of hypocrisy. The Supreme Court has delivered body blows to him in recent weeks. The electoral bonds scheme is but one example..." Mr Ramesh said in a post on X.

"All that the Prime Minister has done in the last 10 years is divide, distort, divert, and defame. 140 crore Indians are waiting to give him a befitting reply very soon," the Congress leader said. n the other letter by over 600 lawyers, they said the tactics used by the vested interest group "are damaging to our courts and threaten our democratic fabric." Chief Justice Chandrachud's leadership is crucial in these "tough times" and the Supreme Court should stand strong, they said, adding it is not the time to maintain dignified silence.The letter also targeted a section of lawyers without naming them and alleged they defend politicians by day and then try to influence judges through the media at night.

4) Simply building Ram Mandir won’t help': BJP veteran Shanta Kumar jabs own party

Former chief minister and BJP senior leader Shanta kumar

We built Ram Mandir but simply constructing the Ram temple will not help, we must also follow his principles," BJP veteran Shanta Kumar said.

Following the defection of rebel Congress MLAs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), veteran leader and two-time Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar voiced his distress over the "state of politics" in the country. He lamented that his party, too, has been swept up in the wave."We built Ram Mandir but simply constructing the Ram temple will not help, we must also follow his principles," he told reporters recently, apparently referring to BJP.On Saturday, six Congress rebels, along with three independents, joined the BJP in New Delhi. These nine MLAs had previously voted in favour of the BJP during last month's Rajya Sabha polls.

The Congress party termed the move as part of a conspiracy by the BJP to destabilise the state government.

"I am surprised. The politics of enslaved India was for the country, but the politics of free India is for the chair. And I am pained that my party is also swept in the wave," said Shanta Kumar, who has also been a Member of Parliament from Kangra seat four times."Politics of principle is the need of the hour and I pray that the leaders of my country follow their values and standard of politics improves in the country," he added.

In a statement issued on Sunday, deputy chief whip and Congress MLA Keval Singh Pathania asked the BJP to reconsider their colleagues' advice. The six former Congress MLAs, disqualified for disregarding party's whip to be present in the assembly and vote in favour of the government during the cut motions and budget, include Sudhir Sharma (Dharamshala), Ravi Thakur (Lahaul and Spiti), Rajinder Rana (Sujanpur), Inder Dutt Lakhanpal (Barsar), Chetanya Sharma (Gagret) and Devinder Kumar Bhutto (Kutlehar). Additionally, three independents, Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur constituency), Hoshiyar Singh (Dehra) and K L Thakur (Nalagarh) have also joined the BJP after they resigned from the assembly.

5) No alliance with SAD, BJP will contest Lok Sabha elections on its own in Punjab: Sunil Jakhar

BJP Punjab president Sunil Jakhar declared that the party will contest the Lok Sabha elections independently in the state, after taking into account the views of the public and party leaders.(

In his video message, Sunil Jakhar brought up the issue of Punjab’s farmers and the youth while announcing the decision to go solo in the Lok Sabha elections Putting a rest to speculations of a possible realliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), BJP Punjab president Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday announced that the saffron party will be going all alone in the Lok Sabha elections in the state.

Jakhar’s announcement has come after repeated statements from him as well as BJP national executive member Captain Amarinder Singh that the alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the SAD was the emotion of Punjab’s people. Not only this, but even Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also given hints about the same twice.

On Tuesday morning, Jakhar took to X to post his announcement via a video message, saying, “In Punjab, we will be going alone to contest this Lok Sabha polls. This decision has been taken after consultation with leaders and other strata of society in the state considering its future. The decision has been taken keeping in view the future of all strata of society”. “This decision was taken looking at Punjab’s youngsters, the welfare of industries, farming, and many other factors. Everyone knows what Modiji has done for every sector and even in future, he will continue to do so for the welfare of the masses. Hence for Punjab’s golden future, for communal harmony, and the betterment of the people at large, we took this decision to go all alone in Punjab,” he added.

In his message, Jakhar reminded the people of the state of the “pathbreaking” decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government — how the Kartarpur corridor was opened during his regime and how the Minimum Support Price is being implemented for Punjab’s farmers. “This decision was taken looking at Punjab’s youngsters, the welfare of industries, farming, and many other factors. Everyone knows what Modiji has done for every sector and even in future, he will continue to do so for the welfare of the masses. Hence for Punjab’s golden future, for communal harmony, and the betterment of the people at large, we took this decision to go all alone in Punjab,” he added.

In his message, Jakhar reminded the people of the state of the “pathbreaking” decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government — how the Kartarpur corridor was opened during his regime and how the Minimum Support Price is being implemented for Punjab’s farmers. The announcement by Sunil Jakhar has also come three days after the core committee meeting of the Shiromani Akali Dal during which party leaders had categorically stated their principles will remain above politics in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

On March 22, Sukhbir Singh Badal had said, “The party will continue to put principles above politics and it will never deviate from its historic role as a champion of the interests of Khalsa Panth, all minorities as well as all Punjabis. At the same time, we will continue to devote all our energies towards preserving the atmosphere of peace and communal harmony based on the vision of Sarbat da Bhala”.

“As the sole representatives of the Sikhs and all Punjabis, the party will continue its fight for more powers and genuine autonomy to the States. We have never compromised on these interests nor will let its vigil down on these in future,” Badal had said. As the sole representatives of the Sikhs and all Punjabis, the party will continue its fight for more powers and genuine autonomy to the States. We have never compromised on these interests nor will let its vigil down on these in future,” Badal had said.

They had also demanded the release of Bandi Singhs as per the written commitment of the Union government done over 5 years ago. Many other resolutions were also passed in the core committee meeting. In September 2020, the SAD had severed its alliance with the BJP over the now-scrapped controversial farm laws even as Punjab farmers have been protesting for a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for their crops.

The SAD and BJP had several rounds of talks before coming to this conclusion. It was even stated that the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab were scheduled in the last phase only to give more time to SAD and BJP to stitch up an alliance. Also, there were reports that besides these points, the parties were not able to reach a consensus on the sharing of seats. While the BJP was demanding at least six of the 13 parliamentary constituencies, the SAD was not willing to part with so many seats.

The BJP has been harping on the Ram Mandir as a major issue in Hindu-dominated areas of Punjab. Party leaders said that while the SAD could get votes for the BJP in rural areas, the saffron could help the SAD with urban Hindu votes. However, after months of talks, the BJP on Tuesday drew curtains over the possibility of an alliance.

With the BJP deciding to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections alone, the state will now see a multi-cornered contest. The Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who have come together at the national level, are also contesting in Punjab separately. The AAP has been hoping against the SAD-BJP alliance, feeling that it would be of advantage to the ruling party.

6) Play of colours in campaign season, parties trying to use festivities to woo voters

(From left) Ranaghat Lok Sabha candidates of the BJP, Trinamul and CPM — Jagannath Sarkar, Mukut Mani Adhikari and Alokesh Das, respectively — during Holi celebrations on Monday.

Political flags were conspicuous by their absence on Monday and the colours of different political parties and their supporters mingled in harmony — a rare break from the heated atmosphere of the election season Candidates of various political parties played with colours to celebrate Holi on Monday while also trying to use the festivities to woo voters in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

Candidates played Holi with voters and party workers. Many walked with people in rallies as an outreach endeavour. Political flags were conspicuous by their absence on Monday and the colours of different political parties and their supporters mingled in harmony — a rare break from the heated atmosphere of the election season.

Trinamul’s Krishnanagar nominee Mahua Moitra was probably the sole exception. She enjoys the Holi festivities but is allergic to abir, “I never play with colours as I am allergic to colour. But it is a great event for me to enjoy," she said adding that campaigning had been kept suspended for the day due to Holi celebrations in the constituency.

In Nadia, BJP’s Ranaghat candidate Jagannath Sarkar arrived at the Santipur horticultural grounds early in the morning to join the massive Holi celebration traditionally held there for years.A large number of people gathered there at a community Holi celebration. The sitting BJP MP interacted with people while celebrating the event without speaking politics. “It is just like a reunion. I attend the event every year and it was no exception this year. The event helped me reach out to many people together although I did not utter anything about politics," said the BJP leader

His rival CPM candidate Alokesh Das also attended the same event in Santipur. Das was welcomed by a large number of party supporters who smeared red abir on him.“Any social event is always a big opportunity for the political leaders. But Holi is something different as this day is the appearance day of Mahaprabhuu Chaitanyadev, who taught us harmony. So as usual I avoided politics today and celebrated the great occasion with people," Das, who later visited Nabadwip town to join another Holi celebration, said.In Hanshkhali, Trinamul nominee Mukut Mani Adhikari played Holi on his home turf with party supporters and local people. “There may be political differences among many people, but I always try to keep politics aside on this day of Holi," Adhikari said.In Barrackpore, Trinamul candidate Partha Bhowmick celebrated Holi with party supporters and residents beating a dhol (a large traditional drum). He also led a rally in Naihati organised on the occasion of Holi.

His rival, BJP candidate Arjun Singh visited the Baro Maa Kali temple in Naihati town of North 24-Parganas and offered prayers to launch his poll campaign on Monday. Singh later played Holi with party workers and supporters in his hometown Bhatpara. “Dol (Holi) has always been a special occasion for me to meet people, although I always keep in touch with people and share their joys and sorrows," Singh said.

CPM’s Jadavpur Lok Sabha candidate Srijan Bhattacharyya was also seen celebrating Holi in the Baghajatin area of the constituency and greeting people.In Kolkata North, BJP candidate Tapas Roy was also seen celebrating Holi and interacting with people from all walks of life.In Bishnupur, BJP candidate Saumitra Khan was seen celebrating Holi by riding a motorcycle with his wife Paromita on the pillion. The couple roamed across the town, celebrated the day with colours and met with people as well as party supporters.Khan also visited the local market early in the morning, where he met with traders and local people and exchanged pleasantries.

7) Arvind Kejriwal will continue as chief minister of Delhi, to run govt from jail: Atishi

Amid discussions about whether Arvind Kejriwal can continue as Delhi Chief Minister and the BJP’s call for his resignation, he has issued his first order from the Enforcement Directorate’s custody on Sunday.

The order relates to the water supply in the national capital and was sent to Delhi minister Atishi, who oversees the portfolio.

At a press briefing, Atishi revealed she was moved to tears upon reading the Chief Minister’s note.“Arvind Kejriwal ji has sent me a letter and a direction. On reading it, I was in tears. I kept thinking who is this man, who is in prison, but is still thinking about Delhi residents’ water and sewage problems. Only Arvind Kejriwal can do this because he considers himself a family member of Delhi’s 2 crore people,” Atishi said.

“I want to tell the BJP, you can arrest Arvind Kejriwal and put him in jail, but you cannot imprison his love and sense of duty for Delhi’s people,” she said, adding that the AAP leader may be in jail, but “no work will stop”. Reading out the letter, she stated, “Even today, after being arrested, Arvind Kejriwal ji is thinking about the people of Delhi”.

In his first order, Kejriwal ordered that sufficient water tankers be provided in areas facing shortages before the summer months arrive. He also directed to issue instructions to the chief secretary and other officers in this regard.The Aam Aadmi Party has maintained that Kejriwal will continue to serve as Delhi CM despite his arrest. Although there is no legal prohibition, prison regulations will pose significant challenges. Additionally, AAP leader Atishi mentioned that the party also considered asking the court for permission to hold Cabinet meetings in jail. “If necessary, all officers will go there, and we will obtain permission from the court to take files there. CM Arvind Kejriwal will run the Delhi government from jail, and we will not let the work for the people of Delhi stop even from jail,” she had said.

On Saturday, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stated that if his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal is imprisoned, they will ask the court for permission to set up his office in jail to manage government affairs from there. He also stressed that no one can take Kejriwal’s place in the Aam Aadmi Party. “It is not written anywhere that a government cannot function from jail,” Mann told news agency PTI.

“The law says he can work from jail till found guilty. We will seek permission from the Supreme Court, High Court for setting up office in the jail and the government will function,” Mann stated.

8) Electoral bond issue world's biggest scam: Nirmala Sitharaman's economist husband

sitaram`s husband

Esteemed economist Parakala Prabhakar has highlighted the significant impact of the "electoral bond issue" on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Prabhakar, spouse of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, shared his views with news channel Reporter TV, stating, "The electoral bond issue will gather much more momentum than it has today. Everyone is now realizing that it is not only the biggest scam in India but also the biggest scam in the world. Due to this issue, the government will face severe repercussions from the electorate."

As per data available on the official website of the Election Commission of India, the BJP has been the primary beneficiary of electoral bonds. Between April 12, 2019, and February 15, 2024, the BJP received the highest funds via electoral bonds, totaling Rs 6,986.5 crore. It was followed by West Bengal's ruling party Trinamool Congress (Rs 1,397 crore), Congress (Rs 1,334 crore), and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (Rs 1,322 crore). In a ruling issued in February, the Supreme Court struck down the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre's Electoral Bond Scheme, which permitted anonymous funding to political parties. The court ordered the State Bank of India to cease issuing electoral bonds immediately.

According to civil society activists, 41 companies under investigation by the CBI, ED, and the income tax department contributed Rs 2,471 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds. Of this amount, Rs 1,698 crore was donated after raids by these agencies.

"Future Gaming donated Rs 60 crore to the BJP within three months of raids conducted by the I-T and ED on November 12, 2023, and December 1, 2021, respectively. Aurobindo Pharma contributed Rs 5 crore to the BJP within three months of the ED raid on November 10, 2022," stated senior advocate Prashant Bhushan last week.

Following these revelations, opposition parties have criticized electoral bonds as legalized corruption, while the BJP has argued that abolishing the bonds could lead to the resurgence of black money in politics.

 

 

 1) Indian Open: India's big guns fail to fire on opening day

Pawan Munjal with 1983 cricket world cup winning captain Kapil Dev during a round of golf ahead of the Indian Open, in Gurugram

OP Chouhan and Aman Raj, who occupied top two positions of PGTI's Order of Merit last season, were the best-placed Indians. It's often referred to as the National Open but the Hero Indian Open has had far too few Indian winners of late. The DP World Tour co-sanctioned event last had a local winner back in 2017, and if the opening day results are an indication, the chances of this being a happy weekend look slim for the 31 Indians in the 144-strong field.

On a high-scoring day, under favourable conditions, and on a course that rewards attacking strokeplay, India's big guns fell silent as Dutchman Joost Luiten, Japan's Keita Nakajima, and Italy's Matteo Manassero, all of who shot seven under, took the opening honours on Thursday. Luiten and Nakajima, in particular, fearlessly attacked the greens while Manassero had a neat bogey-free round. Luiten, who was part of the title race deep into the fourth day of the 2023 iteration of this competition, blasted nine birdies to go with his early consecutive bogeys. Nakajima wasn't too far behind, hitting eight bogeys to go with a solitary birdie to end a fine day.

For India, the paltry saving grace arrived in the form of OP Chouhan, Aman Raj, and Karandeep Kochhar. The trio was the best-placed among Indians after the first day's action, each carding four under to finish tied 14th. The 37-year-old Chouhan, who has earned the European card for the year by virtue of topping the 2023 PGTI money list, was playing with a new set of irons, and the fresh "feel" put him in the right space early in the day.

"I just got my new drivers from Europe yesterday and I liked the ball flight and feel in the ProAm on Wednesday. I am someone who relies a lot on feel, and luckily it paid off today," he said.Capitalising on the morning start when the sun was not too harsh and the wind had not picked up at the DLF Golf and Country Club here, Chouhan didn't drop a shot in the first nine holes and made birdies on the par 5 fourth, par 3 fifth, and par 5 eigth holes.

The tricky back nine was dealt with birdies on the 11th, 15th, and 17th but bogeys on the 14th and the crucial par 5 18th holes meant he slipped from tied-fifth to tied-ninth before eventually ending the day outside top 10.

"The greens were firm and the wind picked up in the afternoon, but I didn't think about the course too much. I didn't try anything extra other than attempting to hit the fairways on the tee shot. The second shot was all about finding the greens," Chouhan said.Known to favour big hitters, the course still had enough for the short game. Chouhan, for instance, preferred his putting skills over range hitting, the former being an aspect of his game that he has been working on over the past few weeks. Despite missing putts on the 14th and 18th, Chouhan continued to trust his short game. "My second shot was too bad on the 14th. I tried to swing hard and ended up hitting extra. The ball went to the left into the grass which had me in trouble," he said. The par 5 18th hole, among the trickiest on the course with the twin challenge of roughs and lake, was always going to test Chouhan who hit the birdie putt wide and the ball swerved away on the slope. The resultant bogey did little to diminish Chouhan's confidence.

"I am not disappointed. I knew if I hit the slope, the ball will roll down. I knew the risk," he said.His compatriot Aman Raj had a good round too, making three birdies and a bogey (fifth hole) on the front nine and two birdies on the back."I gave myself a lot of chances, maybe converted only 50 percent of those but I am glad I am giving myself chances, hitting fairways, putting it on the green, giving myself 15-20 footers and the making the pars as well. I felt good throughout the day as I was hitting the ball well," the 28-year-old said.Kochhar, 24, came into his own towards the end of the day, making three birdies and a bogey on each nine to finish an identical four-under. Shubhankar Sharma and Anirban Lahiri had a disappointing day, with the former carding two-under to finish tied 34th. Lahiri, the 2015 winner, had a horror day that has all but ended his chances of making the cut. The 36-year-old struggled for rhythm throughout the day and made seven bogeys on a forgettable day.

2) Lakshya Sen interview: 'Padukone and Vimal have made a big difference'

India's Lakshya Sen plays a shot during the men's singles semi-final match against Indonesia's Jonatan Christie

The 22-year-old has staged a solid turnaround in recent times to all but assure himself of a berth at Paris 2024. Lakshya Sen’s career was on a downward spiral after suffering eight early exits – seven in Round 1 – from September to January. He also split with coach Anup Sridhar late last year. To make matters worse, his chances of qualifying for Paris Olympics became tougher as he slipped in the rankings.

But the 22-year-old staged a solid turnaround by reaching the semi-finals of both the French Open and All England Open earlier this month to all but assure himself of a berth at Paris 2024. The Commonwealth Games champion discusses his lean patch, having both Prakash Padukone and U Vimal Kumar in the coach’s chair and Paris qualification among other topics in this interview. Excerpts: There were a lot of changes in training. Keeping the results in mind, the confidence was not at a good place. I was struggling for form. But a few things that I changed in training in December were crucial in getting my confidence back. I started spending more hours on the court. I worked on my strengths and at the same time on things I needed to improve. It took me some time, but I started playing well. Malaysia Open and India Open didn’t go well but the way I played at Indonesia Masters (in January 2024) gave me a lot of confidence. Slowly, the things I was trying in training had started to show in the game. I was able to do those things at Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC). I was looking forward to playing more matches because I didn’t get many matches under my belt earlier. That part was missing. That helped me really prepare for the European circuit.

Can you elaborate about these changes?

Just spending more time on court and small things like working on particular strokes, working on variations from the back where I can keep the opponent guessing, focussing on standing shots, spend another 30-40 minutes after the session trying to sharpen dribbles and drops from the back. That is the tactical part. (Earlier) I didn’t get much time. Because of Paris 2024 qualification there were so many tournaments and I was always preparing for a tournament, coming back and leaving again. After November when the tournaments got over, I got a good 5-6 weeks where I could really train well and build my fitness to a certain level. It still needs a lot of improvement but last December-January was a key training phase.

Was there self-doubt during such a lean phase?

Yes. A few things needed to be addressed. During matches I felt there were things I needed to improve. After matches we would sit and analyse the key areas to improve on and areas I was doing right. It was tough. Prakash (Padukone) sir and Vimal (Kumar) sir told me to trust the process, train well, be disciplined, give my 100 percent at all times and not be in a hurry. They told me not to panic, to hang in and be patient for the results to come. I had been putting in the effort for a long time in training, doing all the right things but the results were not coming. So, yes there was self-doubt.

3) Golf: Shubhankar hopes to end India's drought

Shubhankar Sharma(

The national Open has had only two Indian winners in last 15 years, an anomaly Shubhankar is hoping to correct this weekend Shubhankar Sharma remembers the March afternoon of 2018 when he fell six spots on the final day to relinquish his overnight lead and ended the Hero Indian Open tied seventh with Stephen Gallacher. As the 27-year-old returns for another iteration of what he calls the fifth major, the memories -- and lessons learned -- are hard to subside.

"I remember it very well, even though that was a long time ago," he said on Wednesday. Back then, Sharma entered the DLF Golf and Country Club on the back of a good week in Mexico where he had finished tied-ninth at the WGC Championships. This year, a tied-seventh in Singapore in the run up to the Indian Open has put him in the right mindspace. The parallels are uncanny, giving Sharma hope, belief, and an opportunity to reflect.

Six years is a long time in sport, and it has seen him grow from a promising talent to the well-travelled golfer who has confidently and consistently rubbed shoulders with the best. Into his seventh season on the DP World Tour -- formerly European Tour -- Sharma finds himself at the critical intersection of experience and youth. There is a nuanced understanding of his game and body, his tee shots have become longer and sharper, his training is more regimented, and his playlist has gone from Tupac Shakur to '80s rock.

There are, however, a few constants. His go-to hit, for instance, remains Dire Straits' 'Where do you think you are going?' -- a song that sounds more like an existential question. His close circle still is the same, as is the feeling he calls home each time he enters the Gurugram course.

"This is my second home. I spent my teenage years here and all my evenings were spent playing putting matches till the lights went out. I used to live five minutes down the road. I know Gurgaon like the back of my hand and I've seen this golf course literally from its inception," he said.

"Mine has been a long journey, but the people that I draw energy from -- my parents and people like Anirban Lahiri -- have remained the same. I have been a pro for over a decade now and over the years I've just learned more about myself. Every year I've become a better player and a better person."While local knowledge will certainly help, it will all boil down to execution. Played on one of the most challenging and intimidating courses in the country, Indian Open has not had an Indian winner since 2017. Last 15 years have seen only two Indian winners -- Anirban Lahiri (2015) and SSP Chawrasia (2016, 2017) while no Indian finished in top 10 last year.

Sharma insisted the course is not easy to tame. The roughs have become a lot thicker over the years and the overgrowth of trees makes the fairway look a lot narrower. The first challenge will be to hit the fairway, but the importance of approach shots can't be undermined either.

"It is very tricky off the tee. Finding the fairways is very important here. Every aspect of your game -- chipping, putting, hitting -- will be tested here. Visually, it looks quite intimidating with all the grass and bushes around. The surface is not as hard as it was in 2017 which means you might have to hit slightly longer," Sharma, who finished tied-13 here in 2023, explained. "It is a test of being in the present. You can't really think about what you're going to do on the sixth hole when you haven't even reached the fourth. Just look at the shot you want to hit, look at the landing area and try to bring out your best swing. Pick your places where you can make birdies. Every pin is tough here. Going for the pin here is not the best tactic. I can say I have the advantage of local knowledge but translating that into execution is the key."

The field will also have the likes of Gaganjeet Bhullar and Lahiri in action while the next generation of India's male golfers -- Yuvraj Sandhu, Manu Gandas, Veer Ahlawat -- will also tee up. "It is one of the strongest Indian fields ever assembled at the Indian Open. While we have not had an Indian winner for some time, I think this weekend, we will surely have a few in contention. I certainly want to be one of those," Sharma said.

4) Brazil fight back to draw six-goal thriller with Spain

Brazil's midfielder Lucas Paqueta (R) celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the international friendly football match against Spain

Lucas Paqueta fired home a stoppage-time penalty to deny La Roja victory at the Santiago Bernabeu, after they had taken a late lead Brazil snatched a late leveller to share an entertaining and occasionally heated 3-3 friendly draw with Spain on Tuesday.

Lucas Paqueta fired home a stoppage-time penalty to deny La Roja victory at the Santiago Bernabeu, after they had taken a late lead. Spain captain Rodri scored two heavily debated penalties of his own in a pulsating battle under a closed roof in the Spanish capital.

The Manchester City midfielder opened the scoring from the spot in the 12th minute after electric winger Lamine Yamal tumbled in the box and Dani Olmo extended Spain's lead with a fine individual goal.

A mistake by Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon allowed Rodrygo to pull one back before the break and teen sensation Endrick, on as a substitute, fired Brazil level five minutes into the second half.Rodri dispatched his second spot-kick late on after Dani Carvajal was clipped by Lucas Beraldo but Paqueta had the final say. The match, arranged to help combat racism after various incidents of abuse aimed at Real Madrid and Brazil winger Vinicius Junior in Spain, proved a pulsating battle between two of football's heavyweight nations.

Vinicius captained Brazil for the first time but was largely kept quiet, with his teenage compatriot and future Los Blancos team-mate Endrick continuing to enjoy the limelight, while Yamal shone for Spain."It's a shame it got away from us in the last second, it was a penalty we could have avoided," Rodri told Teledeporte."We were united against a great team, they have such individual quality, we competed."Rodri was given the armband on this occasion by regular skipper Alvaro Morata, as a gesture for the recent death of the midfielder's grandfather. "I dedicated (the goals) to my grandfather, for everything that he taught me," added Rodri.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente picked a close to full-strength side to face the five-time World Cup winners.La Roja excelled in the first half, barely allowing Brazil a sniff in Selecao coach Dorival Junior's second match at the helm.'Never friendly' -

Yamal won the penalty converted by Rodri for the opening goal, although the Barcelona winger was fortunate it was given after tumbling easily under a challenge from Joao Gomes.The 16-year-old continues to grow in stature with every match and played in Olmo for the second goal.RB Leipzig attacker Olmo finished it brilliantly, with some slick footwork to take Beraldo out of the picture before curling past Brazil goalkeeper Bento.

Spain allowed Brazil into the match just before half-time when goalkeeper Unai Simon gave the ball away carelessly to Rodrygo, who lobbed the ball over his head and into the net.Dorival brought on Endrick, who scored the winner against England on Saturday in another friendly, at half-time, for his first appearance at the home of his future club, Real Madrid.The 17-year-old starlet did not have to wait long to net his first goal in the Spanish capital, volleying home with the help of a deflection after a corner was headed into his path.Spain thought they had won the game when Rodri slammed in his second penalty in the final stages after Carvajal hit the deck in a collision with Beraldo, but Brazil refused to throw in the towel. The visitors earned a penalty of their own deep in stoppage time when Carvajal, having fallen, cynically pulled back Galeno's leg.Paqueta, who was earlier lucky to survive without punishment for swinging an arm at Marc Cucurella, sent Simon the wrong way to equalise with virtually the last kick."A game against Brazil is never friendly, both sides want to win, we gave everything on the pitch with and without the ball," said Olmo.“In the end it didn't happen, but we have to be proud of what we did.”

5) World Cup 2026 qualifiers: Afghanistan ride late goals to shock India 2-1

Afghanistan's Sharif Mukhammad (2L) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC qualifiers football match between India and Afghanistan at the Indira Gandhi Athleti

Chhetri scores in 150th game but Afghanistan hit back through Akbari and Mukhammad

Head buried in his hands, Sunil Chhetri sat. On the pitch, Ashley Westwood, his coach through two I-League titles and a Federation Cup at Bengaluru FC, was being thrown in the air. Between disgrace and delirium there was less than 50 yards. Chhetri had scored to his 94th international goal in the 38th minute becoming the first player to have found the net in his first, 25th, 50th, 75th, 100th, 125th and 150th matches. But that will be a footnote on a night Afghanistan came back to score twice and win 2-1.

India remained second after the game in group A of this 2026 World Cup qualifiers and on course for a berth in the third round. But it is a quest for which they keep increasing the difficulty quotient. Till the 71st minute, India, leading by Chhetri’s penalty in Guwahati on Tuesday, would have needed to avoid defeat against Kuwait in Kolkata in June. Now, it is a must-win. To India’s seven shots, Afghanistan had 12; to the home team’s one shot on target, they had five. No wonder Westwood referred to the “stats” in the post-match television interview. Four Afghanistan players on the pitch have no clubs, neither did one on the bench, he said. Fitness could have been a problem, especially after Afghanistan started the same 11 they did last Thursday in Abha, Saudi Arabia. But they fought and ended the stronger of the teams.

“With the attacking players we have, there was no way, we wouldn’t score against India,” said Westwood, once in the reckoning for the job that is now Igor Stimac’s.

Like India’s goal, the equaliser in the 70th minute came against the run of play. Anwar Ali made two blocks, Subhasish Bose chested it out but only as far as Rahmat Akbary whose shot nutmegged Rahul Bheke wrong-footing Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Amiri’s header in the eighth minute which brought out a smart save from Sandhu was their only chance before that. Soon after, Taufee Skandari fired from range and Sandhu was called into action again.

This was more than what India had managed and by then Chhetri had been substituted. Replacements Anirudh Thapa and Lallianzuala Chhangte combined along with Nikhil Poojary to find Manvir, now a striker, who headed over. No impact from the bench, Stimac said, repeating the point he has made since the Asian Cup. Never in control after a bright start, India didn’t bargain for a communications failure between Sandhu and Ali leading to the goalkeeper barreling into an attacker and conceding a penalty. Defender Sharif Mukhammad, without a club, sent Sandhu the wrong way in the 88th minute and with India never looking like they could score, Afghanistan players were collapsing in tears of joy soon after.

Eighteen players have boycotted the national team and the rest, mostly cobbled from lower leagues and amateur teams in Europe and Canada, have bested the best of India. In 2013, with the Indian Super League (ISL) an idea whose time had not yet come, Afghanistan had done that in the final of the SAFF Championship. Small consolation that they had their best team then. After three draws, two of them through late goals, and a win in 2022 through a goal even later, this was the first time India, ranked 117, have lost to Afghanistan in nearly five years under Stimac.

“At time we lacked control. Our players were expected to fight harder. And we conceded silly goals,” said Stimac. Then he stated the obvious: their passing and ball control again showed where we stand, he said.

Chhetri had not scored for India after October 13. It looked like the lean spell would break three minutes into this 2026 World Cup qualifier but Chhetri found the upright. What should have been a goal was not because Manvir skied the rebound. Manvir won the penalty when Afghanistan skipper Haroon Amiri used his hand to stop a delivery. Chhetri did his two-step routine and fired into an angle too acute for goalkeeper Ovays Azizi.

6) World No.1 Iga Swiatek exits Miami with Coco Gauff after major upsets

ga Swiatek of Poland(

Garcia defeated her second straight Grand Slam champion to reach Miami's quarterfinals. She ousted four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka on Sunday.

World number one Iga Swiatek was knocked out of the Miami Open after inspired Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova triumphed 6-4, 6-2 in their fourth round match on Monday. World number one Iga Swiatek was knocked out of the Miami Open after inspired Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova triumphed 6-4, 6-2 in their fourth round match on Monday.

The 16th seed Alexandrova played brilliant attacking tennis from the outset to beat the Pole and leave the WTA tournament without any of the top three seeds in the quarter-finals with Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff also out France's Caroline Garcia upset world number three Gauff beating the American 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 on Monday to advance to the quarter-finals of the Miami Open, while world number two Aryna Sabalenka had been eliminated by Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina on Saturday.

Swiatek never looked comfortable after Alexandrova broke her in the opening game and took control of proceedings with some outstanding, attacking tennis.

The Pole, who was looking to become the second woman to win the 'Sunshine Double' after her triumph at Indian Wells, generated just one break point in the match but Alexandrova saved it to take a 4-2 lead in the second set. Having come from a set down in the previous round against Linda Noskova, Swiatek would have had some belief in turning the contest around but her Russian opponent was in no mood for mistakes.

She made short work of the second set, breaking to go 2-1 up with an startling cross-court return and ending the match with with 31 winners to Swiatek's 11.

The match was the first in which Swiatek has not broken serve since her defeat to Ash Barty in Adelaide in January, 2022."I just feel disappointed, for sure, because I thought I was going to play better here in Miami. But she played an amazing match and for sure was the better play out there today," said the 22-year-old, four-time grand slam winner.Swiatek said she had a hard time reading Alexandrova's serve but felt that things just hadn't clicked for her in the tournament."I was feeling that I couldn't play in a natural way but it's not like I always feel comfortable on court. I thought I would be able to work through that," she said.Alexandrova laughed off the suggestion that she had played a perfect match but was certainly not going to downplay her performance."It was such a great game for me in consistency, the serve, the returns, the playing from the baseline, I think it was pretty good and I hope I can keep for the next match," she said.A quarter-finalist also in Miami last year, that next match will be against fifth-seed Jessica Pegula on Wednesday.

7) Carlos Alcaraz sinks Gael Monfils to advance in Miami Open

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, celebrates a point against Gael Monfils, of France, during the Miami Open tennis tournament

The 37-year-old Monfils was coping well with the power play of the talented Spaniard until he hurt his ankle in the fifth game.

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz powered into the fourth round of the Miami Open with a 6-2, 6-4 win over French veteran Gael Monfils at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday. The 37-year-old Monfils was coping well with the power play of the talented Spaniard until he hurt his ankle in the fifth game. While Monfils carried on bravely, bringing out some wonderful defensive shots from Alcaraz, the world number two was too much for the Parisian.

There were plenty of smiles, in between the occasional wince from Monfils, who enjoyed some entertaining rallies where Alcaraz could show his deftness of touch.

With the outcome feeling like a formality, Alcaraz eased off the gas and Monfils was able to break for the first time to reduce the deficit to 5-3.

Monfils then held his serve with a brilliant cross court winner before Alcaraz wrapped up business to book a place in the fourth round against either Lorenzo Musetti or Ben Shelton. "He's a great athlete," Alcaraz said of Monfils, "He reads almost every ball so I had to be patient but at the same time, with my forehand, my best shot, try to move him around the court, to get him tired a little bit and give myself the chance to dominate the point, get to the net, hit my best shot."That's what I was trying to do in the match and it worked pretty well," he added.Earlier, fourth seed German Alexander Zverev came through a tricky test against American Christopher Eubanks, winning 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.Zverev delivered a crucial break when Eubanks was serving for the set at 5-3 before breaking early in the second to go 3-0 up and see himself through to victory. "He came out swinging and didn't give me chances to be aggressive. I tried to mix it up from the baseline," said Zverev.

"I was surprised how well he was playing from the baseline, not giving me many unforced errors. He makes a lot but usually misses a lot but today he wasn't missing, especially through some stages of the first set," he added.Australian Alex De Minaur moved on with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 victory against 24th seed Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany.De Minaur will face Fabian Marozsan in the next round after the Hungarian continued his impressive tournament with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Alexei Popyrin.

 

 A Gentleman in Moscow:

OTT release date : March 29

Platform : Jio Cinema

This English drama show chronicles the life of a Russian aristocrat named Alexander Rostov. The storyline revolves around Bolshevik Revolution where Alexander Rostov is sentenced to indefinite house arrest at the Metropol Hotel in Moscow and thus spared from execution. Over time, Rostov adapts to his new reality within the confines of the hotel amid the political turmoil and forges unlikely friendships.

Farrey

OTT release date : April 5

Platform : ZEE5

The story of this Hindi drama movie revolves around an orphan genius, Niyati who gets a scholarship to attend an elite school. Learn how the protagonist gets entangled in a cheating racket after she helps a rich but academically weak classmate during the exams.

Heer Tey Tedhi Kheer

OTT release date : April 1

Platform : ZEE5

This Punjubi drama show depicts how fate brings a clumsy but cheerful Heer and DJ, a rigid man, together in marriage. Its for the viewers to find out whether Heer can overcome the challenge of being a mother-in-law to his three older daughters-in-law.

Dead Enders

OTT release date : April 1

Platform : DUST

The plot of this English movie revolves around a disaffected gas station clerk who finds out why they call it the "graveyard shift". The film shows oil drillers setting loose an ancient race of mind-controlling parasites.

She

OTT release date : April 1

Platform : DUST

This English movie depicts London in the year 2091 where two service androids, a male and a female, are abandoned in an apartment following the city's evacuation. The female android aspires to know what is outside the door after several decades.

Patna Shukla

OTT release date : March 29

Platform : Disney+Hotstar

In the Hindi legal-drama, Raveena Tandon plays the protagonist. The story revolves around a small-time lawyer and housewife who fights a case against the education mafia. Her family's safety comes under threat while she leads her battle against corruption.

DADUR KIRTI – HOICHOI

Dadur Kirti is an exciting family drama on the list of new OTT releases that you can enjoy at home this weekend. The series follows an old man who uses his will as an excuse to meet his entire family together, however, the situation takes an unexpected twist when they learn about a hidden treasure.

CREW – THEATRES

Filmmaker Rajesh Krishnan’s much-awaited crime comedy film, Crew, starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tabu, Kriti Sanon, Diljit Dosanjh, and Kapil Sharma has finally arrived in cinemas. The film centers around three cabin crew members who get trapped in a web of deceit while trying to pursue all their dreams.

GODZILLA X KONG: THEATRES

Directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is an exciting sci-fi action flick that showcases the epic battle between two ancient titans (Godzilla and Kong). Amid all the chaos, the humans try to solve the mystery related to their connection with Skull Island.

BOOK OF THIS WEEK:

The Heartbreak Club: One Girl Vs One Twisted Legacy by Novoneel Chakraborty (Author)

A DARK ROMANCE IN WHICH A GIRL’S SEARCH FOR HER SISTER LEADS TO REVELATIONS ABOUT A SINISTER LEGACY.

Kisha Sen arrives in Fairmont High International School, Noida, from London as part of a student exchange programme. An achiever and all-rounder, she immediately catches everyone’s eye, including that of the school’s rugby star, Tavish Mathur. But unbeknownst to those around her, Kisha is on a mission of her own. Her elder sister, Anara, went missing from the school a few months ago, and Kisha has a tip that the notorious Heartbreak Club may have something to do with it.

The sinister club is all-powerful yet shrouded in secrecy. All Kisha knows is that they can make your life hell if they decide to. And no one appears to know how to contact them. But Kisha must make her way into the club, however impossible that may seem, if she is to find out what happened to Anara. The more she discovers, the murkier it all gets—but Kisha is not afraid to flirt with danger. Or risk her own life.

In this dark romantic thriller, Novoneel Chakraborty creates a world of passion, lies and revenge where no legacy, however strong, can stand up to a sister’s steely determination.

Novoneel Chakraborty

Novoneel Chakraborty is the bestselling author of 15 romantic thrillers. He is India's most popular thriller author known for his unique plotting and bizarre twists. His readers call him the 'Sidney Sheldon' of India. He works in Indian television, digital and films. He lives in Mumbai and can be reached at:

Email: nbcpresents@gmail.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/officialnbc

Instagram: @novoneelchakraborty

Twitter: novoxeno