NATO Vows Ukraine Backing After Russian Missile 'Intimidation'

NATO pledged support for Ukraine at talks in Brussels Tuesday after Russia's attempt to "intimidate" Kyiv's backers by firing an experimental hypersonic intermediate-range missile last week. 

Russia on Thursday carried out a strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro which President Vladimir Putin said was a test of its new Oreshnik missile.

Putin said the missile attack was in response to Ukraine firing weapons supplied by the United States and Britain into Russia.

The Kremlin leader warned that Moscow felt "entitled" to hit military facilities in countries that allow Ukraine to use their weapons against Russia. 

"During the meeting, NATO allies reaffirmed their support for Ukraine," the alliance said in a statement after the talks.  

"The attack, which targeted Dnipro, is seen as another attempt by Russia to terrorise the civilian population in Ukraine and intimidate those who support Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia's illegal and unprovoked aggression."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had called the strike "the latest bout of Russian madness" and appealed for updated air-defence systems to meet the new threat.

Kyiv called for "concrete and meaningful outcomes" after calling the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. 

A NATO official said Ukraine identified air defence systems that it needs to try to counter the new missile threat from Moscow ahead of a gathering of alliance foreign ministers in Brussels next week. 

Some allies hinted that they could make announcements at the meeting next week on fresh air defences for Kyiv, the official said. 

The escalating tensions over Ukraine come as questions hang over the future of Western support following the re-election of Donald Trump in main NATO power the United States. 

Moscow on Tuesday pledged "retaliatory actions" to fresh Ukrainian air attacks inside Russia using US-supplied ATACMS missiles. 

In a rare admission, Russia said the fresh strikes had caused damage to military hardware and wounded some of its personnel on the ground in the Kursk region.

Trump has cast doubt on maintaining Washington's vast military aid for Kyiv and pledged a quick deal to end the war.  

On the battlefield, Ukraine's fatigued troops are struggling to halt advances by Russian forces in the east of the country. 

NATO and Ukraine established the joint council in 2023 that allows Kyiv to call meetings with the alliance when it sees fit.
 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Wedding, Not Politics: Devendra Fadnavis Explains Quick Visit To Delhi

Devendra Fadnavis, seen as the front-runner in the race for the top job in Maharashtra, came to Delhi this evening, sparking anticipation about a meet with the Central leadership to resolve the Chief Ministership issue. But he doused expectation saying no meeting on the matter has been planned and he is in the national capital to attend the wedding of the daughter of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. 
Mr Fadnavis is expected to return to Mumbai later tonight, ahead of Union minister Amit Shah's expected visit to the country's financial capital on Tuesday.

Two days after the Maharashtra assembly election results were declared, there has been no announcement about the big question of who would be the next Chief Minister of the state. 

While Mr Fadnavis has been seen as the front-runner for the post, ally Shiv Sena is keen that its chief Eknath Shinde continues in the top job. Off the records, leaders say that he deserves the job since it is his government's welfare projects that helped the ruling alliance reach a sweeping victory.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Naresh Mhaske cited the "Bihar model" to assert that Mr Shinde should continue as the chief minister. In Bihar, Nitish Kumar has continued as the Chief Minister despite the BJP's better performance in the last assembly election.

"We feel Mr Shinde should be the Chief Minister, just like in Bihar where BJP did not look at the numbers but still made JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar the CM. Senior leaders of the Mahayuti (in Maharashtra) will ultimately take a decision," he was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.

At the Sena MLAs' meeting, slogans were raised in demand of Mr Shinde as the Chief Minister.

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP, sources said, may support Mr Fadnavis for the top post, tilting the scales in favour of the BJP. 

Since the results were declared, leaders of all three parties in the ruling alliance have said they would sit down together and take a call on the issue. Mr Fadnavis had even lightened the mood at a post-election press conference, saying they will consult all allies including Ramdas Athawale, the chief of Republican Party of India-Athawale which contested one seat under the BJP flag and lost. 

Led by Mr Fadnavis, the BJP won the highest ever 132 seats for the party, while the Shiv Sena faction led by Mr Shinde bagged 57 seats. Ajit Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party won 41 seats, taking the ruling alliance Mahayuti score to a whopping 230 of the state's 288 seats. 

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Audi Drops Iconic Four Rings Logo In China, Internet Says "Bad Move"

German carmaker Audi has dropped its iconic four rings logo in China, a move that has shocked social media. The logo has been a symbol of the luxury cars since the 1930s, but wasn't a part of a new E Concept electric sportback that was showcased in Shanghai earlier this month. The car just carried 'AUDI' in all caps on the front. This comes at a time when Jaguar's new logo has sparked a buzz on social media, with users criticising the move.

Internet is shocked by Audi's rebranding too - though it has so far only happened in China.

"Very confusing branding choice," commented one user. "Bad move. Everyone knows the Audi logo. This new one is lame," said another.

While explaining the reason behind Audi's move, another user expressed his disappointment by saying, "The Chinesification of foreign premium brands in China continues, one way to survive the bloodbath."

The new AUDI logo is part of a project with Chinese automaker SAIC to co-develop electric vehicles aimed at attracting younger customers in the world's largest auto market.

It marks an effort by both Audi and SAIC to win back market share in China, where legacy local players and foreign automakers have been losing ground to EV- and hybrid-focused rivals.

"The customers (here) are much younger than the rest of the world, 30 and 35 (years old) on average in the premium segment, while the rest of the world is 55," Fermin Soneira, CEO of the project, told news agency Reuters.

"The EV series aims to attract younger drivers who seek high-end technology features such as advanced driver-assistance systems," the CEO further said.

The new EV series uses automotive architecture co-developed with SAIC, and Audi says it will rely more on local suppliers and technologies.

Audi sold fewer than 15,000 EVs in China in the first nine months of 2024, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. In comparison, Chinese premium EV brands Nio and Xpeng sold roughly 10 and seven times more, respectively.

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LSG Full Squad, IPL 2025: List Of Players Bought By Lucknow Super Giants

LSG Full Squad, IPL 2025: Rishabh Pant on Sunday etched his name in history books, becoming the most expensive buy ever in the history of the IPL auction. Pant was bought by Rs LSG for a shattering sum of Rs 27 crore. LSG were in a bidding war with RCB and DC, who had released the player ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. DC tried to use RTM on Pant when LSG had the bid on Rs 20.75 crore. However, LSG made a final counter bid of Rs 27 crore, which DC couldn't match. As a result, Pant became the most expensive player, surpassing PBKS' bid of Rs 26.75 crore for Shreyas Iyer earlier in the same auction. (Full Squad)

LSG also bolstered their squad by the notable signings of Aiden Markram, David Miller, Mitchell Marsh and Avesh Khan.

Full list of players bought at auction:

1. Rishabh Pant - Rs 27 crore

2. Aiden Markram - Rs 2 crore

3. David Miller - Rs 7.5 crore

4. Mitchell Marsh - Rs 3.4 crore

5. Avesh Khan - Rs 9.75 crore

6. Abdul Samad - Rs 4.2 crore

7. Aryan Juyal - Rs 30 lakh

Full list of retained players: Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni

Full list of released players: KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Quinton de Kock, Ashton Turner, Deepak Hooda, Krishnappa Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Mohd. Arshad Khan, Prerak Mankad, Yudhvir Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, David Willey, Shivam Mavi, Shamar Joseph, Matt Henry, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Naveen ul Haq, M Siddharth

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"I Deserve": Chahal's Bold Declaration On Being Most Expensive IPL Spinner

India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal reflected on his move to Punjab Kings (PBKS) for Rs 18 crore in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction and said that he deserved this price. Chahal was roped in by Punjab Kings (PBKS) for Rs 18 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 season. For Chahal, there was first a huge bidding war between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings and then between Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Eventually, he was roped in by PBKS for Rs 18 crore.

Chahal is the chart-topping bowler in the league, owning the most wickets by an Indian in T20is and by any bowler in the IPL. In 80 T20Is he has taken 96 wickets at an average of 25.09 with best figures of 6/25. Also in overall T20s, he has taken 354 wickets in 305 matches.

Speaking exclusively on JioCinema, Chahal said that he was "nervous and anxious" during the time of the IPL 2025 mega-auction.

"I was quite nervous and anxious because this amount is what I got in the last three seasons combined. I think I deserve this price, and I am very excited," Chahal was quoted in a release from JioCinema as saying.

The India spinner added that he has a strong bond with Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep Singh and is excited to play with them in the Punjab-based franchise in the upcoming season.

"I'm excited as my bond with Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep Singh is strong, and I will also get to learn a lot from Ricky Ponting sir. At least I'm closer to home now. It was Jaipur initially, and now it will be Chandigarh," he added.

Chahal remains the leading wicket-taker for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), even after departing in 2021 following a tenure that began in 2014. In 113 matches for RCB, he took 139 wickets at an average of 22.03, with a best of 4/25.

Since joining Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2022, Chahal has helped the team reach the playoffs twice in three seasons. He is also the leading wicket-taker in IPL history, amassing 205 wickets in 160 matches at an average of 22.44, with a best of 5/44. He won the Purple Cap in 2022, his debut season with RR, securing 27 wickets in 17 matches at an average of 19.51, with best figures of 5/40.

Punjab Kings finished ninth in the 2024 IPL season. The team has not reached the playoffs since 2014 when they finished as runners-up.

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Riddhima Kapoor Reveals Rishi Kapoor's Last Two Wishes

Late actor Rishi Kapoor's daughter Riddhima Kapoor recently revealed what his last two wishes were, during an interview with Zoom. The veteran actor died in 2020 after prolonged illness. Riddhima, who recently made her onscreen debut with the Netflix show Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives, got candid during the interview and shared that her father had two wishes before dying - to see Ranbir married and settled in life, and to see the Kapoor family house built and ready.

"His last two wishes were getting Ranbir married and getting the house ready. So the house is almost ready, and Ranbir is married. It was very very emotional for us. I really wish he was here with us but I guess god had other plans," Riddhima shared. 

Ranbir is now happily married to Alia Bhatt and the two have a beautiful daughter together, Raha Kapoor. The Kapoor house, on the other hand, is nearing completion. 

Riddhima also opened up on Ranbir and Alia's wedding in 2022, sharing her brother's reason behind having a small function. "I had a really big wedding so I didn't have a good time at my wedding at all. My dad wanted to have the biggest wedding, which he did. So Ranbir was like, 'You know what, we have had a big wedding in the family, a big celebration so this time...' And he is a very simple guy. Both Ranbir and Alia are very simple people. So they were like we want to do it very small," she said.

Elaborating how the bride and the groom enjoyed every bit of their wedding and had a lot of fun, Riddhima added, "They said we just want people who matter to us, people who we are in touch with every single day and we want to have a good time ourselves and they did. Both of them were beaming with joy. They have thoroughly enjoyed their wedding and they met everyone, spent time with everyone."

Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives released on Netflix last month. The show that originally started with Mumbai's Bollywood wives, Neelam Kothari, Seema Sajdeh, Maheep Kapoor, and Bhavana Pandey in the first two seasons, introduced three new entrants from Delhi this season - Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, Shalini Passi, and Kalyani Saha Chawla.

 

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"Ek Hain Toh Safe Hain": PM Modi On 'Biggest Message' Of Polls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today congratulated the Mahayuti alliance for the historic sweep of Maharashtra, and warned those who in the pursuit of "opportunistic politics" lose sight of their core values.

At the BJP headquarters in Delhi where hundreds of supporters had arrived to celebrate the Maharashtra win, PM Modi referred to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance as something that was stitched at the last minute for selfish reasons.

"The people of Maharashtra have stopped the conspiracy hatched by the Congress and their friends. Maharashtra has given a verdict - ek hai toh safe hai is India's mantra," PM Modi said, alluding to the need for a stable and safe government with no vested interests pulling it in all directions.

PM Modi said the Congress can no longer win elections on its own, and whenever it loses, the party drags others down as it sinks, referring to the numbers in Maharashtra.

"The Congress is all about the family. No matter how much hard work a party worker puts in, the family will take all credit. There are many senior citizens who have seen the old Congress. They are searching for it today," PM Modi said.

The Mahayuti or the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 236 of the 288 assembly seats, while the MVA comprising the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party managed to get only 48 seats.

In Jharkhand, however, the NDA could not breach the INDIA fortress held by Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Congress, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
 

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