NEWS EXPRESS
New Delhi
Under-19 World Cup 2023: Indians UPSC:
celebrate after historic women's crack one of the world's
win
Indians are celebrating
after the women's cricket
team won the inaugural
Under-19 World Cup, in
what has been called a
landmark moment in the
history of women's cricket
in India.
India thrashed England by
seven wickets in an excit-
ing one-sided final held in
South Africa on Sunday.
This is the first women's
cricket team to have won
a world championship.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi called their victory a
thrilling and inspiring mo-
ment for the country.
Bharat Jodo Yatra:
Rahul Gandhi's unity
march ends in Kashmir
Rahul Gandhi, MP and a
senior leader of India's
main opposition Congress
party, is at the end of his
4,000km (2,485-mile)-
long "unity march" across
India.
The five-month-long
march began in Kanyaku-
mari in the southern state
of Tamil Nadu, and fin-
ished in Srinagar, the cap-
ital of Jammu and
Kashmir.
The march has drawn
large crowds across the
country, with a number of
celebrities endorsing it.
Mr Gandhi said the march
- called Bharat Jodo Yatra
- at uniting
How Indians
toughest exams
This is the first women's
cricket team to have won
a world championship.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi called their victory a
thrilling and inspiring mo-
ment for the country.
Legendary cricketer
Sachin Tendulkar said the
win would "inspire a whole
generation to take up
sports".
Indians against hatred
and fear being spread in
society.
Political analysts say it
was also aimed at reviving
the flagging spirits of the
beleaguered Congress
party which has been in
free fall since 2014, when
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi swept to power in
India.
The march culminated
with a rally in a stadium in
Srinagar on Monday after-
noon. It was attended by
Mr Gandhi and several
other Congress leaders
and also leaders from
some opposition parties
who joined in a
The official Twitter handle
of Indian Women's Cricket
Team at BCCI (Board of
Control for Cricket in
India) shared a short
video on the champions.
show of unity.
Addressing the rally, Mr
Gandhi said he was
warned against travelling
on foot by the local admin-
istration who said a
grenade could be hurled
at him.
The Congress leader said
he insisted on walking be-
cause "my family and [Ma-
hatma] Gandhi taught me
to live fearlessly, other-
wise, that is not living".
Mr Gandhi said he had re-
ceived "wholehearted
love" in the region where
he spent the last leg of his
march.
18 Dec 2023
For close to three years, She was preparing for the
Gamini Singla stayed country's civil service
away from friends, did not exams, one of the tough-
go on a vacation and est tests in the world. Ri-
avoided family meetings valled possibly only by
and celebrations. gaokao, China's national
college-entrance exam,
She stopped bingeing on India's Union Public Serv-
takeaways, going to the ice Commission (UPSC)
cinema and stepped away exams funnel young men
from social media. In- and women every year
stead, at her family home into the country's vast civil
near the northern Indian service.
city of Chandigarh, she Ms Singla came third in
woke up at the crack of the exam, along with two
dawn, pored over text other women, a first in the
books and studied for up history of the exam. She
to 10 hours a day. She qualified to become a part
crammed, did mock tests, of the elite IAS (Indian ad-
watched YouTube videos ministrative service),
of achievers and read which mostly runs the
newspapers and self-help country through collectors
books. Her parents and of India's 766 districts,
brother became her only senior government offi-
companions. "Loneliness cials and managers of
will be your companion. state-owned companies.
This loneliness allows you Successful candidates get
to grow," Ms Singla says. to choose the state where
they prefer to work.
Lured into "The day my results came
India's get- in, I thought a weight had
lifted. I went to the temple
rich-quick and then went dancing,"
selling the 24-year-old says.
schemes
Direct-selling company
QNET has been accused
by India's economic crime
agency of duping, "a huge
number of innocent in-
vestors".
The BBC has been speak-
ing to victims and cam-
paigners against the that their money - suppos-
scheme, who say QNET edly the start-up costs of
agents lured them in with their own business - was
promises they could make being routed into shell
quick cash if they bought companies.
its products to sell on. The agency says it has
An Indian government frozen 36 bank accounts
agency, the Enforcement pending further investiga-
Directorate, said in a tion.
press release last week
that people signing up to
the scheme were not told
NEWS EXPRESS
Adani Group says Hindenburg
fraud claim 'calculated attack on
India'.
The company owned by
Asia's richest man Gau-
tam Adani has issued a
detailed rebuttal of allega-
tions of wrongdoing by
short seller Hindenburg
Research.
In a document, which runs
to more than 400 pages,
Adani Group says the re-
port is a "calculated attack
on India".
Later on Sunday, Hinden-
burg said "Adani failed to
specifically answer 62 of
our
in its88report.
questions" detailed
Tension in Kashmir
after five killed
Parts of Indian-adminis-
tered Kashmir are tense
after five civilians were
killed in two separate at-
tacks in the same area in
less than 24 hours,
Four people were killed
and nine injured after mili-
tants fired at three houses
in Rajouri district on Sun-
day evening.
On Monday, a child died
and four people were hurt
after a blast took place
near the same houses.
Adani Group, an Indian
conglomerate, had more
than $50bn (£40.4bn)
wiped off its stock market
value last week.
It also said that it had
complied with all local
laws and had made the
necessary regulatory dis-
closures.
"All transactions entered
into by us with entities
who qualify as 'related
parties' under Indian laws
and accounting standards
have been duly disclosed
by us," Adani Group said
in a 413-page document
The cause of the blast
was not immediately clear.
Top police officials have
started an investigation
into the incidents.
Sunday's attack has trig-
gered protests and strikes
in Rajouri as people
blamed the local adminis-
tration for the security
lapse.Manoj Sinha, the
administrative head of the
region, has condemned
"the cowardly terror attack
in Rajouri"and announced
It went on to accuse the
Hindenburg report of
being intended to enable
the US-based short seller
to book gains, without cit-
ing evidence.
In response Hindenburg
said: "To be clear, we be-
lieve India is a vibrant
democracy and an emerg-
ing superpower with an
exciting future."
"We also believe India's
future is being held back
by the Adani Group, which
has draped itself in the In-
dian flag while systemati-
cally looting the nation."
financial assistance for
the families of the victims.
"I assure the people that
those behind this despica-
ble attack will not go un-
punished," he tweeted on
Monday.The Himalayan
region of Kashmir is hotly
contested by both India
and Pakistan, who both
claim it in full but rule it in
parts. The nuclear-armed
neighbours have fought
two wars and a limited
conflict over Kashmir
Supreme Court collegium:
The growing row over picking
judges in India
For long judges in India's
top courts have been se-
lected by their colleagues
through a mechanism
called the collegium sys-
tem. Judges of the
Supreme Court are ap-
pointed by the president
after consultation with fel-
low judges. (The law min-
ister puts up the justices'
recommendations to the
prime minister, who ad-
vises the president to ap-
point them.)
The government believes
this system needs radical
reform. In recent weeks, a
number of senior func-
tionaries, including the law
minister and the vice-
president, have spoken
out against the collegium.
‘Indian guru
jailed for life in
second rape
case’
An Indian court has sen-
tenced a self-styled spiritual
guru to life imprisonment for
raping one of his devotees.
Asaram was found guilty of
assaulting the woman several
times between 2001 and
2006 at his ashram in the
western state of Gujarat.
The 81-year-old is currently
serving a life sentence after
he was convicted of raping a
16-year-old girl in 2018.
His lawyer said he would ap-
peal against the latest court
sentence.
Asaram, known for his teach-
ings on yoga and meditation,
has millions of followers and
hundreds of ashrams around
the world.
A day earlier, the court in
Gandhinagar city had con-
victed Asaram under various
sections of the Indian Penal
Code, including rape and
wrongful detention.
Pg 2
In 2015, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's govern-
ment tried to change this
through a new law that
gave it more say in ap-
pointing judges. It would
have replaced the
decades-old collegium
system with a federal
commission that would in-
clude the law minister.
The Supreme Court
struck down the law, say-
ing it was "unconstitu-
tional".
Eight-year-old
Indian dia-
mond heiress
who became
a nun
Eight-year-oldDevanshi Sanghvi
could have grown up to run a
multi-million dollar diamond busi-
ness.
But the daughter of a wealthy In-
dian diamond merchant is now
living a spartan life - dressed in
coarse white saris, barefoot and
going door-to-door to seek alms.
Because last week, Devanshi,
the elder of the two daughters of
Dhanesh and Ami Sanghvi, re-
nounced the world and became
a nun.
The Sanghvis are among 4.5
million Jains who follow Jainism
- one of the world's oldest reli-
gions, which originated in India
more than 2,500 years ago.
Religious scholars say the num-
ber of Jains renouncing the ma-
terial world has been rising
rapidly over the years, although
cases involving children as
young as Devanshi are uncom-
mon.Last Wednesday's cere-
mony in Surat city in the western
state of Gujarat, where Devanshi
took "diksha" - vows of renunci-
ation - in the presence of senior
Jain monks, was attended by
tens of thousands.
NEWS EXPRESS
Last surviving Apollo 7
astronaut Walter Cun-
ningham dies at 90
US astronaut Walter Cun-
ningham, the last surviv-
ing member of the first
Nasa mission to ever
broadcast live TV from
orbit, has died at the age
of 90.
Apollo 7 was an 11-day
manned mission in 1968
that tested the ability to
dock and rendezvous in
space. But the crew also
won an Emmy for their
broadcast.
It paved the way for the
moon landing by Apollo 11
less than a year later.
Nasa confirmed Cunning-
ham's death, and said that
he was "instrumental to
our Moon landing's pro-
gram success".
A family representative
said he died at a hospital
in Houston on Tuesday
from natural causes "after
a full and complete life".
"We would like to express
our immense pride in the
life that he lived, and our
deep gratitude for the man
that he was - a patriot, an
explorer, pilot, astronaut,
husband, brother, and fa-
ther," the Cunningham
Donald Trump to be al-
lowed back on to Face-
book and Instagram
Donald Trump will be al-
lowed back on to Face-
book and Instagram, after
Meta announced it would
be ending its two-year
suspension of his ac-
counts.
The ban will end "in the
coming weeks", the social
media giant said.
In a statement, Nick
Clegg, Meta's president of
global affairs, said the
public "should be able to
hear what their politicians
are saying".
The then-US president
was indefinitely sus-
pended from Facebook
and Instagram after the
Capitol riots in 2021.
Meta had acted following
Mr Trump's "praise for
people engaged in vio-
lence at the Capitol", Mr
Clegg said.
family said in a statement
shared by Nasa, the US
space agency.
"The world has lost an-
other true hero, and we
will miss him dearly."
Cunningham was born in
Creston, Iowa, and went
on to earn a masters de-
gree in physics from the
University of California in
Los Angeles. While work-
ing as a civilian at the
time, he was one of three
astronauts chosen for the
first manned spaceflight in
the Apollo programme.
"The suspension was an
extraordinary decision
taken in extraordinary cir-
cumstances," he added.
He said a review had now
found that Mr Trump's ac-
counts no longer repre-
sented a serious risk to
public safety.
But because of Mr
Trump's past "violations",
he would now face height-
ened penalties for any
Pg 4
As lunar module pilot for
Apollo 7, he was accom-
panied by Navy Captain
Walter Schirra and Air
Force Major Donn Eisele.
He had previously served
in the US Navy and
Marines and flew 54 mis-
sions in a fighter jet over
Korea, retiring at the rank
of colonel.
After retiring from Nasa in
1971, he became a public
Italian woman
speaker and radio host.
He also became an out-
'punched and spat' on
spoken denier of human-
caused climate change.
India flight
future offenses.Meta's
Oversight Board - a body
it set up to review moder-
ation rulings - said that the
decision to reinstate Mr
Trump on its platforms
The crew of an Indian air- According to the com-
"sat with Meta alone - the
line tied an Italian woman plaint, the crew member
board did not have a role
to her seat during a flight had objected after the
in the decision".
after she allegedly woman left her economy
The board had previously
punched one member of class seat to sit in busi-
told Meta that Mr Trump's
staff and spat on another. ness class.
suspension needed to be
The woman, who was The complaint also ac-
revisited.
travelling on a Vistara cuses the woman of "strip-
It urged Meta to be trans-
flight from Abu Dhabi, was ping and littering the
parent and to provide ad-
arrested in Mumbai on plane"
ditional information about
Monday and later re- Vistara said in a statement
new policies covering
leased on police bail. that the flight's captain "is-
public figures so that it
Her lawyer has denied the sued a warning card and
could review their imple-
allegations, saying it is a made a decision to re-
mentation.
"false story". strain the customer" be-
Republicans have been
But Vistara said its staff cause of her behaviour.
pressing for Mr Trump to
had to restrain the woman The woman's lawyer,
be allowed back on Face-
for "continued unruly con- Prabhakar Tripathi, told
book as he prepares to
duct and violent behav- that she was "uncomfort-
run for the US presidency
iour". able" in her allotted seat
again next year.
and"requested to be
NEWS EXPRESS
Shah Rukh Khan’s film reg-
isters biggest one-week
haul in Bollywood history
Shah Rukh Khan’s
Pathaan has been creat-
ing waves at the box office
not only domestically, but
globally as well. The YRF
spy thriller, also starring
Deepika Padukone and
John Abraham, has made
a considerable dent at the
ticket counters, and has
already crossed Rs 500
crore mark internationally
with its first weekend col-
lection and will soon enter
Rs 600-crore club.
Pathaan’s box office col-
lection of India was Rs 55
crore on Wednesday, Rs
68 crore on Thursday, Rs
38 crore on Friday, Rs
51.50 crore on Saturday,
Rs 58.50 crore on Sun-
day, Rs 25 crore on Mon-
day, and an estimated Rs
21 crore on Tuesday. In
terms of worldwide gross,
The Siddharth Anand di-
rectorial has even man-
aged to break into the top
five earners list of North
American box office,
where it has crossed $10
million. Domestically,
Pathaan has minted a fig-
ure of around Rs 315
crore in seven days. It
also became the fastest
Hindi film to join the Rs
300 crore club, beating
past top earners like KGF:
Chapter 2 and Baahubali:
The Conclusion.
After Shah Rukh greeted
fans from his home, Man-
nat, the team of Pathaan
came together at an event
in Mumbai to speak of the
film’s stupendous suc-
cess. Shah Rukh,
Deepika, John and direc-
tor Siddharth Anand were
present at the first press
Kartik Aaryan-Kriti
Sanon postpone
launch ‘out of respect’
for 'Pathaan';
Shehzada, featuring Kar-
tik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon,
will arrive at the cinema
halls on February 17,
2023. The movie was
scheduled to release on
February 10, 2023, earlier.
However, it is being post-
poned by the team as a
gesture of respect for
Shah Rukh Khan’s
‘Pathaan.’
The makers of ‘Shehzada’
released an official state-
ment on Monday an-
nouncing the sudden
extension in the movie's
launch date. In its post,
the makers wrote that the
family drama would go on
floors on February 17,
2023, ‘out of respect’ for
SRK’s recent release,
‘Pathaan.’ This ‘gesture of
respect’ shown by the
makers of ‘Shehzada’ re-
flects Bollywood's love for
conference of Pathaan.
The makers decided not
to promote the film ahead
of its release.
Pathaan is the comeback
vehicle of Shah Rukh
Khan, whose last film
Zero had tanked miser-
ably at the box office. The Indian
Shah Rukh Khan has
seemingly impressed actress
everyone with his per- whose death
formance in the film, and
the movie continues to set off a
march forward despite storm
facing early obstacles and
boycott calls from mem- The alleged suicide of a
bers of the right-winged television actress has
outfits. been making headlines in
India because of the cir-
cumstances surrounding
her death and the arrest of
her former boyfriend amid
accusations of religious
manipulation. Tunisha
Sharma was found dead
Pg 3
for King Khan. Released
on January 25, ‘Pathaan’
is smashing all box office
records with its overflow-
ing collections at the
global box office windows.
The movie marks the
comeback of Shah Rukh
Khan on the big screen
after four years. His fans
are leaving no stone un-
turned to make ‘Pathaan’
one of SRK’s biggest hits
of his career.
‘Shehzada’ is an official
Hindi adaptation of Allu
Arjun starrer Telugu su-
perhit ‘Ala Vaikuntha-
purramloo.’ Directed by
Rohit Dhawan, the movie
is a family entertainer that
proposes something
worth watching for all gen-
erations. The team has re-
cently released the trailer
of ‘Shehzada’ on social
media platforms.
on 24 December in a toilet
on the set of her show Al-
ibaba - Dastaan-e-Kabul.
A day later, her co-star
and former boyfriend
Sheezan Khan was ar-
rested by police after
Sharma's mother accused
him of "abetment to sui-
cide" - which he denies.
The 20-year-old's death
has shocked India's enter-
tainment industry - she
was a rising star and had
a huge fan following on
social media.
hours before her death,
she had posted a photo of
herself on Instagram with
the caption "those who
are driven by their passion
doesn't [don't] stop".
Senior police official
Chandrakant Jadhav has
told reporters that Sharma
took her own life and are
investigating.