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Senior batter KL Rahul and reserve keeper Dhruv Jurel will be flying to Australia for the second 'unofficial Test' between India A and Australia A starting November 7 at the MCG to give them some game time before the first game at Perth from November 22. Rahul and Jurel were part of the Indian squad for the New Zealand series but while the former played the opening game before being dropped from the playing XI, Jurel, who made his debut against England earlier this year, hasn't got a game since Rishabh Pant's comeback.

The Indian team management wants to give everyone a fair chance to get game time under their belt especially the reserves who could come into action anytime in a marathon series spanning over seven weeks. 

Unprecedented series defeats against Sri Lanka and New Zealand have placed Gautam Gambhir under immense pressure barely three months into his appointment as the head coach of the Indian team.

He was appointed to the top post amid much fanfare and was also given a rare seat at the selection committee meeting for the tour of Australia. However, his initial report card clearly suggests things aren't looking good for the former India opener.

Unless there is a remarkable turnaround Down Under, Gambhir, who was given a free hand in selection matters, may not have as much say in issues concerning the team in the coming times.

Right after Gambhir took over the reins, India lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka for the first time in 27 years, and then New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of his side in Tests at home on Sunday, something the team never experienced in its long cricketing journey.

While the coach can do only as much, questions are now being raised about the lack of prudence on display by going for a rank turner in Mumbai despite knowing that the top-order has time and again failed in last six to seven years against quality spin bowling on wickets offering decent turn.

Even Gambhir's philosophy of playing the same way, come hell or high water, is something that those associated closely with Indian cricket have failed to fathom.

Agreeing to send pacer Mohammed Siraj as night-watchman on the second evening of the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai and Sarfaraz Khan at No.8 in the first innings are some of the tactical moves that are being questioned by everyone.

"Gautam Gambhir was given access which his predecessors Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid didn't have. The BCCI's rule book doesn't allow coaches to be a part of the selection committee meetings, but for Australia tour selection meeting, an exception was made.

"The head coach was allowed to attend considering the magnitude of the tour," a senior BCCI source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

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S Jaishankar's "4 Reasons" For India And Australia's Deepening Ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasised the transformation in India-Australia relations, attributing the progress to four key factors while reflecting on the evolution of the bilateral partnership between the two nations while addressing the Indian community at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, on Sunday.

During his address, S Jaishankar stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Australian government, the global dynamics, and the contributions of the Indian community were the key factors for the evolution of the India-Australia relationship.

Reflecting on the growth in ties between the two nations, S Jaishankar remarked that Australia would have featured among India's crucial partners a decade ago but that has changed significantly.

"This is my fifth visit to Australia in the last three years... I first came to Australia when I was Foreign Secretary. Yesterday, before I boarded the flight, I launched a book in which they highlighted seven crucial friendships of India, Australia was one of them. And I told the author; that if he had written the book 10 years ago, I am not sure it would have been. I am saying this because I am trying to stress how much this relationship has in the last decade and why has it changed... There are four reasons. One PM Modi, two Australia, three the world and fourth is all of you. That is the reason why the relationship has come a long way," the EAM said.

S Jaishankar noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi posed a question back in 2014, when he became the Prime Minister, on the development of the India-Australia relationship. He stated that this inquiry initiated a reevaluation of the relationship, recognising the potential that had previously gone untapped.

S Jaishankar acknowledged the inherent connections between the two countries, citing shared language, culture, and tradition as foundational elements.

He reiterated that the transformation in the relationship between the two nations was not done on "autopilot" but was done by efforts, leadership, and ambition from both sides.

"I mentioned PM Modi for a particular reason. After he had become Prime Minister, he posed a question to me in 2014. He asked, Why hasn't our relationship with Australia developed? Despite having such a natural faith, there is language bonding, shared culture and tradition. I had no answer that day because I hadn't reflected on it myself and maybe even if I had, I would not have probably realised that at the end of the day, things do not happen automatically; they need effort, leadership, and ambition. They need people, governments, and leaders at both ends. So when I present to you today a picture of such transformation, this did not happen when the India-Australia vehicle was on autopilot. It happened when people have worked at it; at both ends, there was a realisation of the value of these ties and the great efforts of building it," the EAM added.

EAM S Jaishankar is on his five-day visit to Australia from November 3 to November 7, during which he will inaugurate the fourth Indian consulate in Australia in Brisbane on November 4.

Earlier today, EAM landed in Brisbane for his five-day visit to the QUAD partner nation.

"Namaste Australia! Landed in Brisbane today. Look forward to productive engagements over the next few days to take forward the India-Australia Dosti," the EAM said on social media platform X.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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COP16 Summit Ends Without Funding Roadmap, Set To Reconvene On Key Issues

The world's biggest nature conservation conference closed in Colombia on Saturday with no agreement on a roadmap to ramp up funding for species protection.

The 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) to the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was suspended by its president Susana Muhamad as negotiations ran almost 12 hours longer than planned and delegates started leaving to catch flights.

The exodus left the summit without a quorum for decision-making, but CBD spokesman David Ainsworth told AFP it will resume at a later date to consider outstanding issues.

The conference, the biggest meeting of its kind yet, with around 23,000 registered delegates, was tasked with assessing, and ramping up, progress toward an agreement reached in Canada two years ago to halt humankind's rapacious destruction of nature's bounty.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework that emerged from that meeting had set 23 targets to be met in just over five years from now.

They include placing 30 percent of land and sea areas under protection and 30 percent of degraded ecosystems under restoration by 2030, reducing pollution, and phasing out agricultural and other subsidies harmful to nature.

The Canada summit had also agreed that $200 billion per year be made available to protect biodiversity by 2030, including the transfer of $30 billion per year from rich to poor nations.

The actual total for 2022 was about $15 billion, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

On top of that, nations have pledged about $400 million to a Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) created last year to meet the UN targets.

In Cali, negotiators were split largely between poor and rich country blocs as they haggled over increased funding and other commitments.

The biggest ask from the summit -- to lay out a detailed funding plan -- turned out to be a bridge too far.

Muhamad, Colombia's environment minister, had offered a draft text proposing the creation of a dedicated biodiversity fund, which was rejected by the European Union, Switzerland and Japan.

Developing nations had insisted on the creation of a dedicated biodiversity fund, saying they are not adequately represented in existing mechanisms including the GBFF, which they say are also too onerous.

'Clock is ticking'

The meeting did manage to coalesce around the creation of a fund to share the profits of digitally sequenced genetic data taken from plants and animals with the communities they come from.

Such data, much of it from species found in poor countries, is notably used in medicines and cosmetics that can make their developers billions, very little of which ever trickles back down.

Delegates also approved the creation of a permanent body to represent the interests of Indigenous people under the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity.

Representatives of Indigenous peoples, many in traditional dress and headgear, broke out in cheers and chants as the agreement was gaveled through.

But the talks on biodiversity funding stumbled even as new research presented to coincide with COP16 showed that more than a quarter of assessed plants and animals are now at risk of extinction.

Only 17.6 percent of land and inland waters, and 8.4 percent of the ocean and coastal areas, are estimated to be protected and conserved.

UN chief Antonio Guterres, who had stopped over in Cali for two days with five heads of state and dozens of ministers to add impetus to the talks, reminded delegates that humanity has already altered three-quarters of Earth's land surface and two-thirds of its waters.

"The clock is ticking. The survival of our planet's biodiversity -- and our own survival -- are on the line," he said.

The meeting was held amid a massive security deployment following threats from a Colombian guerrilla group with its base of operations near Cali. No incidents were reported.

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Elon Musk Loses Bid To Move Case Over $1 Million Voter Prizes

A U.S. judge on Friday denied Elon Musk's bid to move a Pennsylvania lawsuit over his $1 million voter prizes to federal court, moving the case back to state court.

It was not immediately clear if the decision would affect the billionaire's plan to keep awarding money until the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday.

The decision was issued by U.S. District Judge Gerald Pappert in Philadelphia federal court.

Musk has been giving $1 million checks to randomly selected registered voters who sign a petition supporting free speech and gun rights.

Musk's America PAC had awarded $1 million prizes to 14 people as of Friday and said the final prize will be given on Tuesday.

Democratic Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner sued Musk and his political action committee, which backs Republican former President Donald Trump, on Oct. 28 in a state court to try to block the giveaway. Krasner called the program an illegal lottery.

Two days later, Tesla CEO Musk and his America PAC sought to move it to federal court, arguing Krasner's lawsuit raised questions about free-speech rights and election interference that belong in federal court. That prompted the state judge who had been overseeing the case to put it on hold.

In arguing that the case belonged in state court, Krasner called Musk's maneuver an attempt to "run the clock until Election Day." Krasner did not allege the giveaway violates federal law.

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania, one of seven battleground states likely to determine the outcome of the race between Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Musk's offer is limited to registered voters in the seven states expected to decide the election - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Musk gave away the first $1 million at an Oct. 19 America PAC rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital.

The giveaway falls in a gray area of election law, and legal experts are divided on whether Musk could be violating federal laws against paying people to register to vote.

The U.S. Department of Justice warned America PAC the giveaway could violate federal law, according to media reports, but federal prosecutors have not taken any public action.

Musk has so far given nearly $120 million to America PAC, according to federal disclosures.

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Israel Says It Killed One Of Hamas' Last Senior Officials In Gaza

The Israeli military said on Friday it killed senior Hamas official Izz al-Din Kassab, describing him as one of the last high-ranking members of Hamas responsible for coordinating with other groups in the Gaza Strip, in an airstrike in Khan Younis.

The Palestinian group mourned the death of Kassab in a statement, adding that he was killed along with another Hamas official named Ayman Ayesh in an Israeli attack on their car in the enclave.

Hamas sources told Reuters that Kassab was a local group official in Gaza but not a member of its decision-making political office.

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China To Allow Visa-Free Entry To Citizens From 9 More Countries

China will extend visa-free entry to citizens from nine additional countries, including South Korea, Norway and Finland, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

Starting November 8, nationals from these countries, which also include Slovakia, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco and Liechtenstein, will be allowed to enter China for business, tourism, family visits, or transit for up to 15 days without a visa, the ministry said.

The policy will be in effect through December 31, 2025.

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Trump Extends Diwali Greetings, Vows To Strengthen Ties With India, PM Modi

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said that the United States' "great partnership" with India and "my good friend Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi" will be strengthened under his administration.

In a post on X, Trump also extended his greetings on Diwali. "... Happy Diwali to All. I hope the Festival of Lights leads to the Victory of Good over Evil!," he posted.

In the same post, the former President condemned the violence against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.

"I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos," he said, adding that it would have "never happened" on his watch.

Trump accused Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden of ignoring Hindus across the world and in America.

He also vowed to make "America Strong Again and bring back Peace through Strength".

I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos.

It would have never happened on my watch. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2024

"We will also protect Hindu Americans against the anti-religion agenda of the radical left. We will fight for your freedom. Under my administration, we will also strengthen our great partnership with India and my good friend, Prime Minister Modi," he said.

The former President further said that Harris will "destroy your small businesses with more regulations and higher taxes".

"By contrast, I cut taxes, cut regulations, unleashed American energy, and built the greatest economy in history. We will do it again, bigger and better than ever before -- and we will Make America Great Again," he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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