NDTV Sports-Cricket

Rishabh Pant was on Tuesday appointed as the captain of Delhi Capitals for the upcoming edition of the IPL, marking a wonderful chapter in his miraculous comeback saga. The keeper-batter missed cricketing action for 14 months after suffering a horrific car accident in December 2022. "We are delighted to welcome Rishabh back as our captain. Grit and fearlessness have always dictated his brand of cricket, and not surprisingly, even his road to recovery.

"I can't wait to see him walk our team out once again as we look forward to a new season with renewed passion, vigour and enthusiasm," said DC chairman and co-owner Parth Jindal in a media release.

The left-hander has been a part of the Capitals pre-season preparatory camp in Visakhapatnam, ahead of their first IPL 2024 match against Punjab Kings in Chandigarh on March 23.

The IPL begins on March 22.

Earlier, Pant was given clearance by the BCCI to play as a wicketkeeper batter in this year's IPL.

"After undergoing an extensive 14-month rehab and recovery process, following a life-threatening road mishap on December 30, 2022, near Roorkee, Uttarakhand, Rishabh Pant has now been declared fit as a wicket-keeper batter for the upcoming IPL 2024," the board had stated in a medical update.

Delhi head coach Ricky Ponting too had given a thumbs-up for the way Pant was playing at nets during the team's camp.

"We missed him incredibly last year. The whole tournament missed him. Rishabh brings so much energy to the team. He's got that smile on his face, he's hitting the ball as good as ever and he tends to lift all of his teammates around him," said Ponting.

Last year's Australian veteran David Warner had led the Capitals and they finished ninth in the 10-team league with five wins and nine loses ahead of Sunrisers Hyderabad.

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Presidential Immunity Invoked For Pak President In Corruption Case

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's counsels on Tuesday invoked presidential immunity for him in a corruption case, commonly known as the Park Lane reference, in which he is accused of influencing authorities to release loans to front companies.

Judge Nasir Javed Rana of an Islamabad-based accountability court presided over the hearing in the Park Lane case.

The case is based on the allegation that Zardari influenced relevant authorities during his previous term as the president - from 2008 to 2013 - to release loans for his front companies.

During the hearing, Zardari's lawyers contended that after becoming the president, he enjoyed presidential immunity against court cases, and any proceedings against him could not continue.

Zardari was elected president of Pakistan for the second time on March 9.

Zardari, 68, his sister and several of their alleged business associates were being probed as part of the 2015 case involving fake accounts and fictitious transactions.

On being asked by the court if the case could progress against the co-accused, the lawyers responded affirmatively that legal action could proceed against the remaining defendants.

The court adjourned the hearing till April 17.

The case is based on the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) claim that Zardari got a loan of Rs 1.5 billion released for his front company, Parthenon Private Limited, and the money was later transferred for his personal use through fake bank accounts.

The NAB accused the president of causing the national exchequer a loss of Rs 3.77 billion. 

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

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2023 Broke Every Single Climate Indicator: UN Weather Agency

Greenhouse gas levels, surface temperatures, ocean heat and acidification, and sea level rise all reached record highs in 2023, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released on Tuesday.

The report, titled "State of the Global Climate 2023", confirmed that 2023 was the warmest year in the 174-year observational record, with the global average near-surface temperature at 1.45 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline (1850-1900).

"Sirens are blaring across all major indicators... Some records are not just chart-topping, they are chart-busting. And changes are speeding up," said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"Never have we been so close - albeit on a temporary basis at the moment - to the 1.5 degrees Celsius lower limit of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The WMO community is sounding the red alert to the world... The climate crisis is the defining challenge that humanity faces," WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said.

"Climate change is about much more than temperatures. What we witnessed in 2023, especially with the unprecedented ocean warmth, glacier retreat, and Antarctic Sea ice loss, is cause for particular concern," she added.

COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber said the world has no time to spare.

To limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, countries must deliver enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), economy-wide emissions reductions, and investments in nature and adaptation, he stressed.

Concentrations of the three main greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide - reached record-high observed levels, the report said.

At 417.9 parts per million (ppm), the global average concentration of carbon dioxide in 2022 was 50 per cent higher than in the pre-industrial era, trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Real-time data showed the CO2 concentration continued to rise in 2023 while the global mean sea level reached a record high.

The rate of sea level rise in the last 10 years (2014-2023) has more than doubled since the first decade of the satellite record (1993 - 2002), the WMO said.

Antarctic sea-ice extent reached an absolute record low in February. The annual maximum extent was around 1 million square kilometres below the previous record low maximum.

The global set of reference glaciers for the hydrological year 2022-2023 experienced the largest loss of ice on record (1950-2023), driven by an extremely negative mass balance in both western North America and Europe, the WMO noted.

Extreme weather and climate events had major socio-economic impacts on all inhabited continents, including major floods, tropical cyclones, extreme heat and drought, and associated wildfires, it said.

The WMO report also cited figures showing that the number of people who are acutely food insecure worldwide has more than doubled, from 149 million people before the COVID-19 pandemic to 333 million people in 2023 (in 78 monitored countries by the World Food Programme).

WFP Global hunger levels remained unchanged from 2021 to 2022.

However, these are still far above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels: In 2022, 9.2 per cent of the global population (735.1 million people) were undernourished.

Protracted conflicts, economic downturns, and high food prices, further exacerbated by high costs of agricultural inputs driven by ongoing and widespread conflict around the world, are at the root of high global food insecurity levels, aggravated by the effects of climate and weather extremes.

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Afghanistan Retaliates Against Pak After Air Strikes Kill 8

Eight civilians were killed Monday in "reckless" air strikes by Pakistan's military in the border regions of Afghanistan, prompting Afghan forces to retaliate against Pakistani military outposts, Taliban officials said.

Border tensions between the two countries have steadily escalated since the Taliban government seized power in 2021, with Islamabad claiming militant groups are carrying out regular attacks from Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani aircraft "bombed civilian homes" in Khost and Paktika provinces near the border with Pakistan at around 3:00 am (2230 GMT Sunday), adding that all of the dead were women and children.

Afghanistan's defence ministry said its border forces retaliated in response to the airstrikes, targeting Pakistan's military posts along the disputed border with "heavy weapons".

Cross-border skirmishes in the region were reported by both sides on Monday, the latest in a string of incidents on the disputed frontier.

The Taliban government "strongly condemns these attacks and calls this reckless action a violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty", Mujahid said in his statement.

"Such incidents can have very bad consequences which will be out (of) Pakistan's control."

The Pakistani foreign ministry confirmed on Monday evening it had carried out "anti-terrorist operations in the border regions inside Afghanistan".

It said in a statement it was targeting the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, one of several factions of the homegrown Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), that are responsible for a surge in border violence against police and security officials.

Drones and jets

Malak Noor Khan, a tribal elder in the Sperah district of Khost, said he saw at least four explosives dropped from drones and jets and that multiple homes were destroyed, one with a woman and her children inside.

"When the drone came first, we all, including women and children, left our homes and went into the trees on the mountainside, it was very cold as there was snow on the ground," he told AFP.

A local government official in Pakistan's border regions, who asked not to be identified, told AFP residents had been instructed to evacuate the area during the skirmishes.

Islamabad has accused Kabul's Taliban government of harbouring militant fighters, allowing them to strike on Pakistani soil with impunity.

Kabul has denied the allegations.

In the first half of 2023, attacks rose by 80 percent, with 112 people killed in August, according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

A senior government official based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who asked not to be identified, told AFP that, despite repeated complaints, "Afghanistan does not seem to be taking the matter seriously".

Regional analyst Saira Aqil said that, while increased attacks in Pakistan are "prompting inevitable retaliation", the country "cannot afford to lose Afghanistan as an ally".

"Pakistan must bear this in mind, as maintaining a friendly relationship with Afghanistan presents greater opportunities than having them as an adversary," said Aqil, a professor at the defence and strategic studies department of Quaid I Azam University in Islamabad.

'We will respond'

The Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement posted on X it had summoned the head of the Pakistani embassy in Kabul to protest against Monday's strikes.

It called on Pakistan's new government to "not allow some circles to complicate the relationship between two neighbouring Muslim countries" -- an apparent reference to certain Pakistani military leaders.

The Pakistan foreign ministry in turn said that "certain elements among those in power in Afghanistan are actively patronising TTP and using them as a proxy against Pakistan", urging them "to make a clear choice to stand with the people of Pakistan".

Monday's strikes came after seven Pakistani troops were killed in an attack by an armed group inside Pakistan's territory on Saturday, for which President Asif Ali Zardari vowed retaliation.

"Pakistan has decided that whoever will enter our borders, homes or country and commit terror, we will respond to them strongly, regardless of who it is or from which country," he said while attending the funeral prayers of the soldiers, who included a lieutenant colonel.

A Pakistani military statement said security forces also carried out an operation overnight Sunday in North Waziristan district, which borders Khost and Paktika, killing eight militants accused of being involved in Saturday's attack.

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Apple In Talks To Bring Google's Gemini AI To iPhone, Says Report

Apple is in advanced negotiations with Google to adopt its powerful Gemini AI models for the iPhone, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The move, if confirmed and resulting in a deal, would answer one of the big questions about the iPhone-maker's AI strategy, which has been criticized as lagging its tech giant rivals.

Google's share price soared by well over six percent on the news. Apple's was up by as much as 2.5 percent.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is seeking to partner with Google for its next iOS operating system release and will likely feature on its next iPhone, expected later this year.

Apple and Google are already locked in a search engine partnership that sees Google pay Apple tens of billions of dollars every year to give the search engine a prominent place on the iPhone.

That long-running search engine deal is facing a historic lawsuit from the US Department of Justice for alleged violations of antitrust law.

Bloomberg reported that Apple had also held talks with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, to partner on generative AI, without providing more details.

Apple CEO Tim Cook last month said there would be major updates in store on the AI front, though some observers may be disappointed that the company is teaming up with others to deliver on AI.

"For Google, any hypothetical deal with Apple could mean they essentially 'own' generative AI on mobile devices (Android + iOS)," said Colin Sebastian, an analyst at Baird.

"It also means Apple may not be in a position to catch-up to GenAI leaders, at least not in the next generation of devices," he added.

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NDTV Sports-Cricket

After pulling out of the recently-concluded Test series against England, star batter Virat Kohli is set to return to action during the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Kohli returned to India, following the birth of his son Akaay, and is set to join his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore's training camp. Kohli was in the UK to be with his wife Anushka Sharma, who gave birth to their second child, Akaay, on February 15. He had opted out of the England series, citing personal reasons.

On Sunday, Kohli was spotted at the Mumbai airport, just days ahead of RCB's opening match of the season against the defending champions Chennai Super Kings.

Speaking about his predecessor, RCB captain Faf du Plessis opened up about his partnership with Kohli at the top of the order.

Du Plessis suggested that Kohli is one of his favourite players to bat with, adding that the former RCB captain brings a lot of energy to the table.

"Batting is probably the other thing that we click on equally. You know, it is unbelievable batting with him. He's one of my favourite guys to bat with. He brings out so much energy in me, like sometimes, I feel like I'm fist-bumping my glove through his hand because he gets so passionate. Him being out there in the middle, which is really infectious, the way he gives that energy, and I remember being in the opposition and how that really is," the former South Africa captain told Star Sports.

"Let's hope for that amount of energy, because it was like this guy is just always on. How did you manage it? So it's really infectious, the same thing on the field, because, like catching balls, we are both very competitive, and I make sure we get those good catches for the team. So he's really important to me in terms of the field. I think, indeed, so many things fast as a team. But fielding is, he said, so he sets the time for the energy on the field," he added.

Kohli had stepped down as RCB captain after IPL 2021. The franchise roped in du Plessis ahead of IPL 2022 for Rs 7 crore, before naming him as captain.

Over the past two seasons, RCB have finished fourth and sixth respectively.

Last seasons, du Plessis was the leading run-scorer for RCB, amassing 730 runs in 14 games.

RCB take on CSK in the IPL opener on Friday, March 22.

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Bulgarian Foreign Minister Thanks Indian Navy For Rescuing Hijacked Vessel

Bulgarian Foreign Minister, Mariya Gabriel on Sunday expressed gratitude to the Indian Navy for successfully carrying out a rescue operation to take back control of a hijacked merchant vessel and its 17 crew members including seven Bulgarian nationals in the Arabian Sea.

She thanked the Indian Navy for the support and reaffirmed cooperation to protect the lives of the crew.

Taking to X, Bulgerian Foreign Minister said, "I express my gratitude to the Indian navy for the successful operation to rescue the hijacked vessel Ruen & its crew members, including 7 BG nationals Thank you for support & great effort. We continue to work together to protect lives of the crew."

On Saturday, the C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force executed a precision air-born drop of two boats along with Indian Navy MARCOS in the Arabian Sea in support of ongoing anti-piracy 'Operation Sankalp'.

The operation was carried out to rescue the crew of the bulk carrier vessel MV Ruen which was hijacked by Somali pirates near the Yemeni island of Socotra recently.

In a post on X, the Indian Air Force, hailing the operation, stated, "In a remarkable display of Jointness & Integration, an IAF C-17 aircraft executed a precision Airborne Drop of two Combat Rubberised Raiding Craft (CRRC) boats, along with Indian Navy MARCOS in the Arabian Sea in support of ongoing anti-piracy Op Sankalp."

"Flying for almost 10 hrs to an area 2600 kms off the Indian Coast, the Op was carried out to rescue crew of bulk carrier vessel MV Ruen. The ship was hijacked by Somali pirates near Yemeni island of Socotra recently. Working seamlessly with @indiannavy, the mission was successful with all the 17 crew on-board recovered safely," the Indian Air Force added.

The Indian Navy thwarted the piracy attempt on MV Ruen, which was under the control of Somalian pirates since last December, by safely evacuating 17 crew members and coercing 35 pirates to surrender.

The Indian Navy informed in a statement that the mission was carried out by INS Kolkata on Saturday.

"INS Kolkata, a mission deployed in the Arabian Sea, through the sustained high tempo of operations, has thwarted the designs of the Somali pirates to hijack ships transiting through the region by intercepting the pirate ship MV Ruen, on March 16. The merchant vessel had been hijacked in December 2023 and was under the control of the Somalian Pirates till now," the statement read.

Earlier, the navy informed that the Indian warship INS Kolkata successfully cornered and coerced all 35 pirates to surrender, ensuring the safe evacuation of 17 crew members from the pirate vessel without any injury.

In the rescue operation, which lasted for the last 40 hours, INS Kolkata intercepted the under-attack pirate ship Ruen, sailing almost 2600 km from the shores of the Indian Coast, and forced the pirate ship to stop through calibrated actions.

In the action to safely rescue the crew members and take full control of the distressed vessel, the operation was supported by the Indian warship INS Subhadra, High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE RPA) drones, P8I maritime patrol aircraft, and MARCOS PRAHARs airdropped by C-17 aircraft.

Later, the vessel was also sanitised for the presence of illegal arms, ammunition, and contraband.

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