Renowned Urdu Poet Munawwar Rana Dies At 71

Renowned poet Munawwar Rana passed away at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences here on Sunday. He was 71 years old.

He was suffering from throat cancer for a long time.

Munawwar Rana's daughter Sumaiya Rana told PTI that her father died at the hospital late on Sunday night and will be laid to rest on Monday.

The poet is survived by his wife, four daughters and a son.

"He was hospitalised for 14 to 15 days due to illness. He was first admitted to Medanta in Lucknow and then to SGPGI where he breathed his last around 11 pm today," Munawwar Rana's son His son Tabrez Rana told PTI.

Munawwar Rana's poem 'Maa', which is considered one of his most famous poems, has a different place in the world of Urdu literature.

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

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Man Hugs Virat Kohli During Match, Detained For Security Breach

After a hiatus of more than 14 months, Team India's talisman batter Virat Kohli was back in T20I colours on Sunday, playing a handy knock to help his team beat Afghanistan in the second T20I in Indore. The crowd inside the Holkar Stadium gave a special ovation to Kohli everytime he touched the ball or collected a boundary. While no one has ever doubted Kohli's intent and desire while batting, the former India captain came out to bat with a different mindset as India blew away Afghanistan in a rather chilly evening in Indore.

Striking at 181.25, Kohli raced his way to 29 off just 15 balls before a mistimed shot ended his innings prematurely. He cracked five fours during his stay in the middle before being caught at mid-off.

While fans were chanting his name throughout the game, a fan seized his opportunity to meet Kohli as he ran inside the outfield while Kohli was fielding near the boundary.

The fan hugged Kohli and the star batter made his day by embracing him too. Pictures of the same moment has gone viral on social media. The incident happened in the 18th over.

A Fan Hug Virat Kohli

The GOAT THE KING KOHLI #ViratKohli | #INDvsAFG | #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/Ag0pqsnBZv

— Muhammad Ibrar (@iMIbrarr) January 14, 2024

Everything is temporary but King Kohli Hug is Permanent#PAKvsNZ #INDvsAFG pic.twitter.com/75PWeWefHb

— Ahtasham Riaz (@AhtashamRiaz_) January 14, 2024

However, the fan was detained for breaching security arrangements.

After detaining him, cops took the young man to Tukoganj police station.

A police official said that the youth had a ticket for the match and entered the Holkar Stadium from Narendra Hirwani Gate.

He said that the young man seemed to be a big Kohli fan and entered the ground by climbing the fence of the spectators' gallery with the desire to meet the player.

The officer said that the youth was being interrogated.

Further steps will be taken in the case on the basis of interrogation, the official said.

(With PTI Inputs)

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"Can't Guarantee Every Nation Will Support Us": Minister On Maldives Row

"Politics is politics" and it can't be guaranteed that every country will support or agree with India every time, asserted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as he spoke about the India-Maldives row.

He was speaking at an event in Nagpur on Saturday.

"Politics is politics. I cannot guarantee that in every country, every day, everybody will support us or agree with us," he said.

Moreover, he said that in the last 10 years, India has been trying to build a very strong connection with the world.

"But, seriously, as a solution, what we have been trying to do in the last 10 years, with a lot of success, is to build a very strong connection, so that, though the politics may go up and down, the people of the country, the society, generally have good feelings towards India and understand the importance of having good relations with India," the Minister said.

S Jaishankar said that India has been engaged in infrastructure development in other countries.

"We are involved today in building roads, electricity, transmission, supplying fuel, providing trade access, making investments, and having people holiday in other countries," he added, stressing that "all these are parts of how you develop those relationships."

"Sometimes, things do not go in a good way, and then you have to reason with people to bring things back to where they should be," Jaishankar emphasised.

A diplomatic row was triggered between India and Maldives after three Maldivian leaders - Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna, and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid - posted derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and mocked him over his trip to Lakshadweep.

The matter was strongly raised by India, with Male and the top Opposition leaders of the island nation slamming the ruling establishment over the row.

Further, the Maldives is facing a boycott from Indian tourists, one of its biggest sources of tourism income, following the incident.

Amid an outpour of anger on social media over the disparaging references to PM, with #BoycottMaldives a top trend across online forums, leading faces from the Indian film industry as well as top celebrities came out in support of the call to promote beach tourism in Lakshadweep and elsewhere in India.

In the face of the online agitation, the Maldivian government distanced itself from the remarks against the PM.

Maldivian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Moosa Zameer, said such remarks against foreign leaders are "unacceptable" and do not reflect the official position of the government.

However, taking a strong exception to the remarks, New Delhi summoned the Maldivian envoy and registered a strong protest.

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

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Maldives President's Party Loses Key Local Poll To Pro-India Opposition

In a setback to Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, pro-India opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Saturday secured a landslide victory in the capital Male's Mayoral election.

The MDP candidate, Adam Azim, has been elected as the new mayor of Male, a post held by Muizzu till recently. Muizzu resigned from the position to contest the presidential elections last year.

The Maldives media reported Azim's win as a "landslide" and "victory by a large margin".

The MDP is headed by pro-India former president Mohammad Solih, who was defeated by Muizzu, a pro-China leader, in the presidential elections.

With 41 boxes counted, Azim has taken a huge lead with 5,303 votes. His rival Aishath Azima Shakoor of Muizzu's People's National Congress (PNC) got 3,301 votes, Maldives' Sun Online news portal reported.

The poll was marked by a low turnout, according to reports.

The Mayoral election victory is expected to revive the political fortunes of the MDP, which still holds a majority in the Parliament.

Muizzu returned to Male on Saturday after a five-day state visit to China.

The Mayoral polls were held in the backdrop of derogatory comments posted by three deputy ministers of the Muizzu government against Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading to a diplomatic row with India. During his high-profile visit to China, Muizzu sought to align Maldives closer to Beijing.

Muizzu suspended the three ministers after their social media postings, which stirred concern in India and calls for a boycott by Indian tourists who ranked highest in numbers followed by Russia. Chinese tourists figured third. 

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

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Nitish Kumar Proposed Rahul Gandhi For INDIA Top Job, He Declined: Sources

Giving an exclusive look into what happened at the virtual meeting of the INDIA alliance on Saturday, top sources have told NDTV that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had initially proposed the name of Rahul Gandhi as chairperson of the bloc, but the Congress leader declined.  

And, when his own name was proposed for the post of convenor, Mr Kumar said his colleague from Bihar, Lalu Yadav, would be a better choice because he is more senior. The convenor is a separate post in the alliance, just below that of the chairperson.

The sources said that when the discussion on the chairperson for the 28-party alliance began, the Janata Dal (United) chief proposed the name of Mr Gandhi, who declined, saying he was working at the grassroots level and his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra would also begin on Sunday. The Congress leader proposed party chief Mallikarjun Kharge's name for the alliance's top job, which was endorsed by Sonia Gandhi.

"The proposal was backed by several other parties and Mr Kharge's name is nearly finalised for the post," said a source.

Mamata Banerjee's Objections?

CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury then proposed Nitish Kumar's name for the post of convenor, which the Bihar chief minister was reportedly upset about not getting. 

The sources said Mr Kumar, however, did not appear very interested and said RJD chief Lalu Yadav would be a better pick. When Mr Yadav said no, Rahul Gandhi brought up Mr Kumar's name again and - on finding support from some other parties - pointed out that Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had some objections and discussions would be needed. 

Refusing to reveal what the objections were, the sources said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and some Congress leaders have been deputed to speak to Ms Banerjee - who did not attend the meeting - to resolve the issue. Apart from the Trinamool Congress chief, other key allies like Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) also gave the virtual gathering a miss. 

Focus On Unity

Saturday's meeting was held to discuss seat-sharing for the all-important Lok Sabha polls and, while not much progress was reportedly made on the issue, the parties stressed on ensuring unity at the national level and not letting rifts at the state level derail their agenda of defeating the BJP. 

In a post on X, Mr Kharge said seat-sharing discussions are progressing "in a positive way" and that he and Rahul Gandhi had invited all INDIA parties to join the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. 

Leaders of INDIA Coordination Commitee today met online and had a fruitful discussion on the alliance.

Everyone is happy that the seat sharing talks are progressing in a positive way.

We also discussed about joint programs in the coming days by INDIA Parties.

I, along with…

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) January 13, 2024

"Leaders of INDIA Coordination Commitee today met online and had a fruitful discussion on the alliance.  Everyone is happy that the seat sharing talks are progressing in a positive way.  We also discussed about joint programs in the coming days by INDIA Parties," the Congress chief wrote. 

"I, along with @RahulGandhi  ji invited all INDIA Parties to join 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' at their convenience and use the opportunity to raise the social, political and economic issues plaguing common people of this country," he added.

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On Camera, Gang Throws Petrol Bombs, Fires Shots At House In Delhi

A gang holding petrol bombs marched through a narrow lane in Delhi's Adarsh Nagar last night following a fight between three people living in the same neighbourhood. 

A group of youngsters were marching toward a house, with their faces covered, around 11:30 pm on Thursday, visuals from a surveillance camera outside a house showed. A man and a woman, who were ahead of the group, were running after spotting the gang heading in their direction with petrol bombs. 

A youngster, wearing a purple shirt with his face covered, threw a petrol bomb which landed very close to a car parked in the narrow street. The terrifying visuals show a dog running to safety and another inflammable charge landing very falling very close to the animal who managed to escape. 

The attack was a result of a dispute between Bhuppi, Kishan and Rahul, who have a past criminal record and live in the same neighbourhood, the police said. 

When the gang were right outside the house, loaded a gun and fired shots. The police said none of the family members were injured in the attack mounted by the group. 

The police have filed a case under relevant sections and a minor has been apprehended and an investigation is on. The cops said they would catch the other accused soon. 
 

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No Shami, Kishan As India Name Squad For 1st Two Tests vs England

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced Team India's squad for the first two Tests against England. Among notable absentees, pacer Mohammed Shami, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan and all-rounder Shardul Thakur are not part of the 17-man squad. The first two Test matches will be played in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, respectively. Shami has been out of action due to an ankle injury, while Kishan had asked for rest. Meanwhile, young wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel has received a maiden call-up for the series starting January 25. Rohit Sharma will lead the side, while star pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been named vice-captain.

"The Men's Selection Committee announced India's squad for the first two Tests against England. India are set to play a 5-match Test series, the first of which will be held in Hyderabad from January 25, 2024," the BCCI said in a statement on Friday.

Pacer Avesh Khan has also been added to the squad, having been part of the group for the second and final Test against South Africa earlier this month. Pacer Prasidh Krishna will also take no part in the first two Tests.

As per a report in news agency Press Trust of India, Krishna is doubtful for the upcoming series, having picked up an injury during Karnataka's Ranji Trophy match between Gujarat.

The report also added his availability for the last three Tests will be assessed following an MRI scan.

"PTI understands while his MRI scans results are awaited, Prasidh is all set to miss the match against Gujarat. However, his availability for the five-match home Test series against England, staring later this month, is yet to be ascertained," the report read.

Jurel inclusion in the squad as third-choice keeper comes following Kishan's absence. He had pulled out of the Test series against South Africa, and was not included in squad for the ongoing T20I series against Afghanistan.

Jurel, who had made his First-Class debut last year, has so far made 790 runs from 15 matches at an average of 46 with a hundred and five fifties in the domestic circuit.

The first Test will be played in Hyderabad from January 25-29 while Vizag will host the second game between February 2-6.

The remaining Tests will be played in Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala, respectively.

Squad for first 2 Tests vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan

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