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In a candid television interview, the outgoing chairman of selectors of the BCCI, Sandeep Patil, revealed the circumstances that led to the retirement of cricketers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar. Patil, a former cricketer himself, said he had staged the meeting after which Tendulkar decided to retire from One-Day Internationals, though he continued to play Test cricket for another year. He also said the selectors had considered sacking Dhoni from captaincy several times due to dwindling performances.
Five months after the Panama Papers leak, another trove containing 1.3 million files on offshore tax links to the island nation of the Bahamas, has revealed incorporation details on 175,000 firms, including 475 files that name corporate personalities from India. The Bahamas is a well-known tax haven and often referred to as the 'Switzerland of the West'.
To promote second season of Quantico, Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra went to The Jimmy Fallon Show and the two competed in apple bobbing to welcome the fall season. The duo took turns in picking apples with their mouth, as is the norm, within a 20-second timeframe. While the Baywatch star struggled initially, it was nothing compared to the epic fail that Fallon turned out to be when it was his moment to shine. Like a sinister villain straight out of a comic book, Priyanka even did a little dance on the side as Fallon vengefully grappled underwater to get those apples out.
India 'thickened' its operational posture along the Line of Control as the atmosphere between the two nuclear-armed neighbours remained tense, while Pakistani fighter jets flew over Islamabad last night, according to a Pakistani journalist. Last Sunday's attack on the army base in Uri has led to a deterioration of the relationship between the two countries. On Thursday night, senior Pakistani journalist and author Hamid Mir tweeted that F16 fighter jets were flying over Islamabad.
Yesterday, Yahoo reported the largest data breach in history — affecting over 500 million user accounts — only months after first detecting signs of an intrusion. The company has blamed it on 'state-sponsored' hackers. Reportedly, cyber crooks may have stolen names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth and encrypted passwords. Now, media reports predict that Yahoo's massive breach could affect their upcoming $4.8 billion deal with Verizon.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai after she complained of fever and dehydration. The 68-year-old AIADMK chief was taken to Apollo Hospital late Thursday night where her condition is stated to be stable now.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh is set to return to Panjab University to teach economics. As the law that prohibits lawmakers from holding positions with monetary benefits, Singh had sought to know if his taking up the job would invite disqualification as an MP. The Human Resources Development panel chief responded that they had 'cleared' Singh's new position. According to reports, Singh will only draw a daily allowance of ₹5,000 and not a fixed salary.
For two continuous days, a large number of Kashmiri youth participated in a drive in Anantnag for recruitment in the army, significantly on a day when separatists had given a call for march to this district which was the epicentre of the ongoing unrest in the valley. "After the overwhelming response on the first day and inspite of 'Anantnag Chalo' call (by separatists), a large number of candidates from the districts of Budgam, Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag and Kulgam turned up on the second day of the rally today," an army spokesman said.
Delhi government is set to launch a website dedicated to the martyrs and freedom fighters with an aim to create a virtual gallery to make young India aware of the sacrifices made by them and inculcate the feeling of patriotism. The website would be launched on 27 September on the occasion of 110th birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh.
From violence against women, to atrocities against the minority groups in Maharashtra — in situations like these, leaders of all sections of the society must pursue the path Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's idea of 'Maharashtra dharma', writes Vinay Sahasrabuddhe in Mint. "As far as long-term measures are concerned, all irritants in the path of greater social harmony need to be weeded out. One such would be concerted and result-oriented campaigns to ensure that all quota seats are filled in from people of the respective social group. Filling vacant quota seats temporarily with people from other groups through ad hoc appointments causes further divide. To the marginal sections for whom the seat is reserved, these appointments become a cause of consolidating a feeling of deprivation. On the other hand, since the occupant of the positions continues to be an ad hoc appointee, the group to which he/she belongs to also carries a sense of pseudo-deprivation," he says.
That it took 69 years after Independence for India to merge the Railway Budget with the Union Budget is an indication of how difficult it can be to junk colonial-era traditions that may have outlived their utility, says an editorial in The Hindu. "India's annual economic jamboree will now be over in two days — the tabling of the Economic Survey followed by the Union Budget — instead of three. Railway Ministers will no longer need to conjure up fancy and often regurgitated promises about new, improved services for passengers without charging them the operational costs of reaching their destination. The pressure to hold commuter fares has skewed the Railways' freight rates, year after year. Indeed, the change is already being felt; tweaking of tariffs outside the Budget has begun," it says.
Like 26/11 or the 2013 border skirmishes in which an Indian soldier was beheaded, we will see a lot of stories and counter-stories, all quoting sources that are Anonymous and Top. We need to take all such stories with large doses of salt, wrote Shivam Vij for HuffPost India. "At the best of times, the Indian media is pro-establishment... In matters of National Security, the media goes a step further and allows itself to become a mouthpiece of the government," he said.
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