"Rang Neela Hi Rahega": Ex Pakistan Star Flaunts His Indian Roots

One of the finest wicket-keepers to play for Pakistan, Rashid Latif is known for his quirky yet strong opinions on cricketing topics. However, not many know of the former wicket-keeper batter's Indian roots. In a video that has surfaced on social media, Latif could be heard flaunting his Indian roots, as he explained why people from Uttar Pradesh (where his father lived before migrating to Pakistan in 1950s) should not be messed with. Rashid, who proudly flaunted his India connection, also has a half-brother who still lives in UP.

In the video, Latif revealed that about 90% of his family members still live in Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh) from where his father migrated in the 1950s.

"Mulq chhod diya hai iska matlab logo ko bhul thodi na jayenge. Rang to neela hi rahega na humara to. Ek humare bhai Sultanpur mein rehte hain and humari 90 percent family Sultanpur mein rehti hai. Goro nei aisi hi nahi Uttar Pradesh ka naam Upper Province rakha tha ["Leaving the country doesn't mean we'll forget the people. Our color will still remain blue, won't it? One of my brothers lives in Sultanpur, and 90 percent of my family resides there too. The British didn't name Uttar Pradesh the 'Upper Province' without reason]," Latif said.

Rashid latif is now Claiming he is Indian pic.twitter.com/YGbfuCDLmp

— The StatPadder (@The_statpadder) December 2, 2024

Latif further Uttar Pradesh, saying people from the state are among the best when it comes to politics, intelligence, and even abuses.

"Politics mein and brain mein and gaaliyon mein number one Uttar Pradesh. Hum log waha se hain. Toh panga nahi lene ka apan se. [In politics, intelligence, and even abuses, Uttar Pradesh is number one. That's where we come from. So, it's better not to mess with us]," the former Pakistan wicketkeeper said.

For the unversed, Rashid's half-brother Shahid decided to remain in India and built a career while working for a newspaper in Kolkata.

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Honor 300 Ultra, Honor 300 Pro, Honor 300 Launched With 5,300mAh Batteries: Price, Specifications

Honor 300 Ultra, Honor 300 Pro and Honor 300 were launched in China Monday. All three phones feature a 50-megapixel main rear camera and a 50-megapixel selfie shooter. They run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipsets and ship with Android 15-based MagicOS 9.0. The Honor 300 series smartphones feature full-HD+ displays with up to 120Hz refresh rate. They have an IP65 dust an...

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Mamata Banerjee Wants UN Force In Bangladesh, Says PM Modi Must Intervene

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday called for a United Nations peacekeeping force be deployed in Bangladesh and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal intervention to secure the safety of religious minorities in the violence-hit neighbouring nation.

Ms Banerjee's demands come amid reports that at least three Hindu priests - from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness - have been arrested in civil unrest that has roiled Bangladesh since August, when a student-led rebellion forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to stand down and the Army took over, before an interim government was installed.

"We have families... properties... and loved ones in Bangladesh. We accept whatever stance the Government of India takes on this...but we condemn atrocities on religious grounds anywhere in the world and appeal to the union government, and the Prime Minister, to intervene," she said.

Addressing the Bengal Assembly, Ms Banerjee said she had spoken to the chief of the ISKCON's Kolkata unit to extend her sympathies and support, and stressed, "If Indians are attacked in Bangladesh, then we cannot tolerate it. We can bring back (repatriate) our people from there."

"The Government of India can take this matter up with the United Nations... so a peacekeeping force can be sent to Bangladesh," Ms Banerjee thundered.

The Bengal Chief Minister said she was not seeking to interfere with the internal affairs of another country, but pointed out that when Bangladeshi fishermen had mistakenly entered Indian waters, or when a Bangladeshi trawler had capsized, her government had "rescued them and treated them (well)".

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Bangladesh Estimates $16 Billion Siphoned Yearly During Sheikh Hasina Rule

An average $16 billion may have been illicitly siphoned out of Bangladesh annually during former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule, according to the findings of a committee formed by interim leader Muhammad Yunus.

The panel led by economist Debapriya Bhattacharya submitted a white paper on the state of Bangladesh's economy to Yunus in Dhaka on Sunday, according to a government statement.

Sheikh Hasina was ousted by student protesters in August after 15 years of increasingly authoritarian rule. The army and protest leaders tapped Nobel laureate Yunus, who pioneered microcredit to the poor, to lead an interim government.

"Our blood curdles to know how they plundered the economy," Yunus said in the statement. "The sad part is they looted the economy openly. And most of us could not summon courage to confront it."

The document shows "the economy we inherited after the July-August mass uprising," he said.

Leaders in Sheikh Hasina's party are in jail or hiding in Bangladesh, or have left the country. The party doesn't have a spokesperson who can be contacted to comment on allegations in the white paper.

As part of its investigations, the committee looked into seven large projects out of 29 which had more than 100 billion taka ($836 million) expenditure outlay each.

The initial cost of the seven projects examined was estimated at 1.14 trillion taka. Hasina's government later revised project costs to 1.95 trillion taka through the addition of more components and inflated land prices among others, according to the statement.

"The problem is deeper than what we have thought," Bhattacharya said, adding that the 400-page white paper will show "how crony capitalism gave birth to the oligarchs, who controlled the policy framing."

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"When We Have Said...": Congress Reacts To AAP Going Solo For Delhi Poll

The Congress on Monday confirmed what many expected and what AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal said Sunday - there will be no alliance for the Delhi Assembly election due early next year.

Udit Raj, the party's ex-Delhi (North-West) Lok Sabha MP, pointed out that the interim boss of his party's Delhi unit, Devender Yadav, "had already said we will not have any alliance". "When Congress has already said it, then where does this question (of a seat-share deal) arise?

"It means they (the AAP) are afraid and want to create an environment that compromises the Congress. Otherwise, when this has been clarified, then it should not happen again. A week ago, Delhi Congress had said that we would not make an alliance with anyone..." he said.

On Sunday former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ruled out the possibility of an alliance between his party and Congress, or any INDIA bloc partner, for the Delhi election.

"There will be no alliance in Delhi," Mr Kejriwal said at a press conference.

The AAP and Congress fought the Lok Sabha Elections together, but it ended in a debacle as the BJP won all seats. The AAP and Congress were also engaged in seat-sharing talks before the Haryana Assembly elections in October, but the talks failed, and the BJP won the elections.

The AAP-Congress break-up has been mocked by the BJP, which is seen as the AAP's clearest rival in the February election. "After coming together for the Lok Sabha election... they lacked ambition and could not win any seat in Delhi. Now, this is the 'friendship with benefits' model. Here they are saying they will contest against each other but come together in Parliament," Shehzad Ponnawalla said.

The BJP's newest recruit - former AAP leader Kailash Gahlot - also threw in a jab.

"I think people of Delhi have decided to bring the BJP to power. In the Lok Sabha election, there was no impact of alliance (between AAP and the Congress). People of Delhi are troubled due to damaged roads, overflowing sewers and other issues."

Meanwhile, Mr Kejriwal will personally run point on his party's solo bid to win a third consecutive Delhi Assembly election, sources said. The ex-Chief Minister - who resigned September after (finally) securing bail in the alleged liquor policy scam - will "micro-manage" the re-election bid.

READ | AAP "Fishing In Congress' Waters" As Kejriwal Plots Re-Election Bid

That bid has already begun; the AAP has already released a first list of 11 candidates, three of whom are sitting MLAs and have been dropped to ward off the anti-incumbency factor.

Two of the 11 named candidates have recently joined from the Congress.

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Head Breaks Silence After Hazelwood's Comments Suggesting Divide In Team

Australian big-hitter Travis Head on Monday asserted there is no "divide" between his team's struggling batters and its potent bowling attack as they geared up to bounce back in the pink-ball Test against India, starting here on December 6. Australia suffered an embarrassing 295-run loss as their batters struggled to cope with the bouncy Perth pitch, managing just 104 & 238 in their two innings. On day three of the Test, pacer Josh Hazlewood, who picked four wickets in first essay, made a comment that seemed to suggest frustration with the team's batters. triggering speculation of tensions in the dressing room.

Head said there was no reason to doubt the dressing room dynamics.

"It can be put to bed. We hold high expectations for both sides (batting and bowling) and it's a very individualised sport," Head said.

"So batters, we want to hold our own - we know how good our bowlers have been for us in the past and they've got us out of trouble a lot. As a batting group, we know that if we get enough runs on the board, we put ourselves in a great position.

"As a batter myself, I try to take a whole lot of pride in what I do, and knowing that if I can set it up for the big boys, that they can knock it down for us, so definitely no divide," he explained.

Hazlewood was questioned about Australia's approach to day four, given they were 12/3 in pursuit of 534.

"You probably have to ask one of the batters that question probably, I am sort of relaxing and trying to get a bit of treatment, and I am looking mostly to next Test," Hazlewood had said.

The Australian top-order comprising the likes of Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne crumbled at Perth.

Labuschagnem, in particular, has been woefully out of form and several former players have called for his exclusion from the side but Head backed him to get some big runs.

"Knowing Marnus, he would have worked on a few things over the last few days and it would have been hard to probably keep him out of the nets," he said.

"No doubt over the next few days we'll see him working hard again. He's a guy that has played well over a long period of time. He would like some more runs — so would everyone." Trailing the five match series 0-1, Australia have their backs against the wall as the race for the World Test Championship final has also intensified.

However, Head backed his team to bounce back from the horror show in Perth.

"This team has dealt with adversity well. The small amount that we have had in the last three or four years, we have played well," he said.

"We didn't have a very good week. That's fine. But we have got four more opportunities to do it, we will crack on as we do, as we have done for the last few years.

"Over the last couple of years, there's a lot of teams that lost the first Test or gone down in the series and brought it back and played really well," 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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Jay Shah Officially Begins Tenure As ICC Chair

The BCCI's outgoing secretary Jay Shah on Sunday took charge as the chairman of the International Cricket Council, becoming the fifth Indian to head the global body. The 36-year-old Shah, who has been the BCCI secretary for the last five years, was the unanimous choice of ICC's Board of Directors and replaced New Zealand attorney Greg Barclay, who didn't wish to continue for a third consecutive term.

Before Shah, businessman late Jagmohan Dalmiya, politician Sharad Pawar, lawyer Shashank Manohar and industrialist N Srinivasan had all headed the world cricket body.

Shah, the son of India's Home Minister Amit Shah, will have his task cut out as the ICC needs to find an acceptable solution to implement the 'Hybrid Model' for the Champions Trophy originally scheduled in Pakistan. 

In his first statement as ICC Chair, Shah outlined his priorities for his term, including leveraging the sport's inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games as a pivotal opportunity as well as further accelerating the growth of the women's game.

“I am honoured to take on the role of ICC Chair and grateful for the support and trust of the ICC Directors and Member Boards,” Shah said in a statement.

“This is an exciting time for the sport as we prepare for the LA28 Olympic Games and work to make cricket more inclusive and engaging for fans worldwide.

“We are at a critical juncture with the coexistence of multiple formats and the need to accelerate the growth of the women's game.

“Cricket holds immense potential globally, and I look forward to working closely with the ICC team and Member countries to seize these opportunities and take the sport to new heights.”

Shah brings extensive experience in cricket administration, having started his journey in 2009 with the Gujarat Cricket Association. During his tenure, he oversaw the development of the world's largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

In 2019, Shah joined the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), becoming its youngest-ever Honorary Secretary.

He has also played important roles as the President of the Asian Cricket Council and as Chair of the ICC's Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee.

Shah will now succeed Greg Barclay as ICC Chair. Barclay was in the role from November 2020, and Shah acknowledged his contribution to ICC's achievements over the last four years.

“I would also like to thank Greg Barclay for his leadership in the role for the past four years and the milestones achieved during that period,” he said.

“I look forward to working closely with the ICC team and the Member countries to expand the game's reach and evolution on the global stage.”

With PTI Inputs

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Speed Limit Reduced, Hefty Fines For Violators On Noida, Yamuna Expressways

The speed limits for both light and heavy vehicles will be reduced on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and the Yamuna Expressway starting December 15. This measure, aimed at enhancing road safety during the foggy winter months, will remain in effect until February 15, 2025. The decision was confirmed by DCP Traffic, Yamuna Prasad, who stressed on the importance of this annual safety protocol.

Why The Change?

The new speed limits are being enforced due to the increased risk of accidents during the winter season. Dense fog and freezing temperatures make it difficult to drive safely. Fog significantly reduces visibility, while cold weather can cause the roads to become slippery.

Speed Limits

Noida-Greater Noida Expressway:

• Light vehicles: Speed limit reduced from 100 km/h to 75 km/h
• Heavy vehicles: Speed limit reduced from 60 km/h to 50 km/h

Yamuna Expressway:

• Light vehicles: Speed limit reduced from 100 km/h to 75 km/h
• Heavy vehicles: Speed limit reduced from 80 km/h to 60 km/h

These revised speed limits will be in place from December 15, 2024, to February 15, 2025, during the peak winter months when road conditions are most hazardous.

Enforcement Measures

• New signs will be installed along both expressways to inform drivers of the updated speed limits. Fog lights will also be placed to improve visibility.
• The Noida Authority will work closely with the traffic police to ensure compliance with the revised speed limits. The authorities have also planned regular patrols and monitoring on both expressways.

Fines for Violators

Violators of the new speed limits will face hefty fines:

• Light vehicles: Rs 2,000 fine
• Heavy vehicles: Rs 4,000 fine

These fines will be imposed during the period from December 15 to February 15.

Additional Safety Measures

• Truck Driver Welfare: In an effort to prevent truck drivers from falling asleep at the wheel, the authorities will offer tea to truck drivers travelling late at night along the expressways.
• Emergency Response Resources: Jaypee Infratech has deployed patrol vehicles, ambulances, cranes, and fire tenders along the Yamuna Expressway to handle any emergencies swiftly.

The new speed limits were introduced in response to a major accident on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) on November 19. A speeding bus had collided with a stalled truck due to dense fog, injuring 17 people.

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