A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
His much-awaited Olympic debut has been delayed by a year but star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is unfazed as he feels humanity needs to focus on the coronavirus pandemic more than anything else right now.
Mehbooba Mufti will be CM while Nirmal Singh will again be the deputy chief minister in the new cabinet, a post he had held in the Mufti Mohammed Syeed's dispensation.
According to senior officials, nine additional commissioners have been allocated departments and office spaces at different floors of the Civic Centre, while three deputy commissioners were also appointed.
New Zealand is the latest country after the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka which has offered to host the Indian Premier League in case the T20 league can't be held in India due to rising cases of coronavirus. The postponement announcement of the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in October-November in Australia, is imminent, creating a window for the 13th edition of IPL.
"I am in constant contact with athletes around the world and I know that many are experiencing financial hardship as a consequence of the shutdown of most international sports competition in the last two months," Coe said in a statement.
'This is a good time to restructure your portfolio because the sectors and stocks that performed in the last bull market may not perform as much now.'
The timeline for disinvestment of Air India and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) may be pushed by two to three months due to impact of the second Covid-19 wave. However, the government is confident of wrapping up the sale of the two companies by FY22 and meeting the disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 trillion. This will be achieved by sale of government stake in core and non-core public sector undertakings (PSUs).
Japan is preparing to host the Tokyo Summer Olympics as planned, the government's top spokesman said on Wednesday, amid speculation the Games could be postponed because of the coronavirus threat.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Wednesday attended the four-day congregation of Buddhist monks and scholars that triggered a diplomatic row between India and China and led to the postponement of border talks, but refused to make any political comments.
Stakeholders are confident the Spanish league season can resume in mid-June in closed stadiums without spectators, with fans not expected to be able to return to grounds until 2021.
Nine-times Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis on Sunday called for the 2020 athletics season to be scrapped and July's Tokyo Games to be postponed until 2022 because of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed thousands. With the uncertainty now of whether there will be a Games in 2020 and the tightening of people's movement by governments to try to control the virus, "we are in the twilight zone," Lewis said.
The report comes after two members of the Ugandan Olympic delegation tested positive for the coronavirus last month upon arrival in Japan. One tested positive at Narita airport near Tokyo, but the remainder of the team was allowed to travel to a training site.
The postponement of major sporting events during the coronavirus pandemic has left some British charities concerned about their survival, representatives have told Reuters, while others are worried about delivering services to vulnerable people.
All teams now have one wild card pick each to fill their final slots in June.
Local trains will be allowed to operate with 50 per cent capacity till 7 pm, while all shopping malls and markets will be allowed to remain open till 10 pm but with half their capacities, he said.
A high-powered probe committee set up by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the site and appealed to the general public to share videos, statements or any other evidence about the incident.
With growing revenues, a spreading business empire, and surging aspirations, companies are seeing a strong demand for luxury products from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
La Liga side Valencia have said more than a third of their playing and backroom staff have tested positive for the coronavirus but that all cases were currently asymptomatic.
The government issued a fresh advisory with a ban on all existing foreign visas, except a few categories like diplomatic and employment, till April 15 in the wake of new positive cases of novel coronavirus in the country.
Student bodies like the Left-affiliated All India Students' Association and the Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India have been raising the issue and have demanded the postponement of the two exams.
The Congress had convened a meeting of its Lok Sabha members to evolve the party's strategy in the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday.
'There are challenges of being in the bubble, you do not meet new people. People have to be mentally strong'
Mr Modi has indicated he will carry on, and intensify, India's 'Look East' policy. But this start is hardly inspiring.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday gave further unequivocal backing to this summer's Tokyo Olympics, urging athletes to prepare "full steam" despite the coronavirus threat. Multiple sports events around the world have been cancelled during the epidemic, which has killed more than 3,000 people in China and spread to more than 60 nations including Japan where infections are near 1,000 and 12 people have died.
The former India captain not just rejected the accusations thrown at him but also offered a gentle reminder to his critics -- much before becoming the BCCI boss, he was a celebrated India cricketer and played in a whopping 424 international matches -- 113 of them Tests.
Steady rain hit the US Open on Monday, washing out the last match on Arthur Ashe Stadium court featuring five-time champion Roger Federer.
Wrestler Bajrang Punia will be the flag bearer at closing ceremony at Tokyo Games on August 8.
Florida's Jimmy Patronis has offered an alternative option.
Following the decision in March to postpone the Games, the Olympics are now due to begin on July 23, 2021.
Italy is one of 12 host nations across Europe, and plans for the month-long tournament to go ahead as originally planned have been questioned as COVID-19 continues to spread.
Mental health Anu Krishna offers advice on how to take charge of your life.
The Jharkhand high court on Friday deferred till November 27 Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad's bail plea hearing in a fodder scam case related to Dumka treasury, after the Central Bureau of Investigation sought more time to file a written reply in the matter.
ONGC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, PowerGrid, Axis Bank, HCL Tech, NTPC and ITC. On the other hand, UltraTech Cement, TCS, Tata Steel, Titan and HDFC were among the gainers.
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by 1.4 per cent in November as most components like manufacturing, electricity, mining, primary goods, and consumer durables witnessed a slowdown, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Wednesday. This is on the base of a decline of 1.7 per cent in November 2020 and before the new Covid variant started impacting economic activity. IIP growth was lower than the 4 per cent expansion recorded in the previous month but was better than a 1.6 per cent contraction seen in November 2020. Separately, rising prices of kitchen staples pushed retail inflation, or rate of price increase, to 5.59 per cent in December 2021, bringing it close to the upper band of Reserve Bank's comfort zone.
It said it was also cancelling all veterans tour events and Table Tennis X events for the entire year while looking into cost-cutting measures to meet the financial challenges.
There is money to buy the central public sector enterprises, but buyers will need a firm assurance that the disvestment programme will keep environment issues front and centre of their corporate plans.
Government may also consider giving relief to some of the worst-affected sectors.
All athletes and staff took daily PCR tests during their time in Japan and their movements were heavily restricted.
Senior international Olympics official John Coates said on Saturday the delayed Tokyo Olympics could end up being the greatest Games ever, coming next year as the world emerges from COVID-19 crisis. Coates, Australia's Olympic chief and head of the International Olympic Committee's inspectorate for the Games, cited the examples of positive Summer Games that followed the two world wars of the 20th century. The Tokyo Games were postponed for a year to 2021 in the aftermath of the new coronavirus outbreak.
