DUBAI : The International Cricket Council (ICC) has introduced a number of changes to its playing conditions which will be effective in all series starting 28 September or later.

The significant changes include a restriction on the dimensions of the bat, the introduction of player send-offs for misconduct and changes to the Decision Review System, all of which will commence from the two upcoming Test series – when South Africa hosts Bangladesh and the one between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates.

ICC in a statement said Â“Most of the changes to the ICC playing conditions are being made as a result of changes to the Laws of Cricket that have been announced by the MCC. We have just completed a workshop with the umpires to ensure they understand all of the changes and we are now ready to introduce the new playing conditions to international matches.”

To maintain the balance between bat and ball, the playing conditions now restrict the size of the edges of the bats as well as their thickness. The restriction on the length and width of bats remain unchanged but the thickness of the edges can’t be more than 40mm and the overall depth can be 67 mm at the most. Umpires will be issued with a new bat gauge, which they can use to check a bat’s legality.

In a new playing condition pertaining to players’ conduct, a player can now be sent off the field for the rest of the match for any serious misconduct, meaning it will apply to Level 4 offences while the Level 1 to 3 offences will continue to be dealt with under the ICC Code of Conduct.

Threatening to assault an umpire, making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with an umpire, physically assaulting a player or any other person and committing any other act of violence all constitute Level 4 offences.

The above changes will be applicable across all formats, as will be a change in the DRS rules by which a review will now not be lost in case of a decision that remains unchanged, solely as the result of an ‘umpire’s call’.

As for DRS in Test matches, there will be no more top-up reviews after 80 overs of an innings, meaning that there can only be two unsuccessful reviews in each innings, while the DRS will now also be allowed to be used in T20Is.

An important change with respect to run outs is that if a batsman is running or diving towards the crease with forward momentum, and has grounded his/her bat behind the popping crease but subsequently has lost contact with the ground at the time of the wickets being put down, the batsman will not be run out. The same interpretation will also apply for a batsman trying to regain his/her ground to avoid being stumped.

For boundary catches, airborne fielders making their first contact with the ball will need to have taken off from within the boundary, otherwise a boundary will be scored.

Also, a batsman can now be out caught, stumped or run out even if the ball bounces off the helmet worn by a fielder or wicket-keeper.

NEW DELHI: India will continue with the development projects in Afghanistan to help stabilize the war-torn country but will not send its troops there, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

“There shall not be any boots on the ground from India,” Ms. Sitharaman said while speaking to reporters after delegation level talks with the visiting U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis.

As President Donald Trump had called for greater Indian involvement in Afghanistan, speculation has been rife about the possibility of India deploying its troops in Kabul.

India had welcomed President Trump’s new US Strategy for Afghanistan announced last month. “Today, I had useful discussions with Secretary Mattis on how we could strengthen our cooperation bilaterally as well as with the Government of Afghanistan in pursuit of our common objective of a peaceful, democratic, stable and prosperous Afghanistan,’’ Mrs. Sitharaman said in her media statement.

The two Defence Ministers also resolved to eradicate terrorist safe havens across the globe. “There can be no tolerance of terrorist safe havens. As global leaders, India and the US resolve to work together to eradicate this scourge,” Mr. Mattis said in his statement.

Extending a warm welcome to the U.S. Defence Secretary, Mrs. Sitharaman said that Mr. Mattis was  a special visitor for her personally as he happens to be  the first Ministerial counterpart she has  met since taking over as the country’s new Defence Minister, the first woman to be whole time in charge of the ministry. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had held the Defence portfolio as additional charge.

Describing her talks with Mr. Mattis as “very substantive, constructive and forward-looking,’’ she said that India and the U.S.  share a strong and vibrant strategic partnership.

Noting that defence cooperation between India and the US has grown significantly in recent years and emerged as a key pillar of the strategic partnership, Mrs. Sitharaman said “our military-to-military engagement continues to grow.’’

“Cooperation in defence equipment has grown steadily over the past years. The US is now a leading supplier of state-of-the-art defence equipment to India. I appreciated Secretary Mattis’ willingness to share further cutting-edge platforms which would enhance India’s defence preparedness to meet current and emerging threats,’’ she said in a media statement.

The two Defence Ministers agreed agreed on the need to expand on the progress already made by encouraging co-production and co-development efforts. Mrs. Sithraman  reiterated India’s deep interest in enhancing defence manufacturing in India under Prime Minister’s Make in India initiative.

“In this context, we agreed that the full implementation of the understanding reached following the announcement by the US last year recognizing India as a Major Defence Partner will provide further energy and momentum to our collaboration on defence technology and manufacturing.

“We also discussed how to refocus and re-energize the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) as a mechanism to promote technology sharing as well as co­ development and co-production efforts,’’ the media statement said.

Both Mr. Mattis and Ms. Sitharaman also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest and held extensive discussions on the situation in India’s neighbourhood and the growing menace of cross-border terrorism were discussed in depth.

“We both recognize the importance of holding those who use terrorism as an instrument of state policy to account and to dismantle the infrastructure that supports terrorism,’’ she said.

The two Defence Ministers also discussed the issues relating to maritime security in the Indian Ocean and the broader Asia-Pacific Region as well as regional connectivity issues. India supports the freedom of navigation, over-flight and unimpeded lawful commerce. Mrs. Sitharaman welcomed her US counterpart’s reiteration of the US commitment to work with India in ensuring maritime security in the lndo Pacific and as first responder to HADR situations.

Mrs. Sitharaman expressed confidence that India was entering a new phase in its  strategic defence partnership with the United States. Mr. Mattis is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

INS Tarasa, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft was commissioned into the Indian Navy by Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai today. At an impressive commissioning ceremony, Vice Admiral Luthra expressed confidence that the new INS Tarasa will discharge her duties with élan and resolve, and bring laurels to the Western Naval Command and the Nation.

Complimenting the designers, builders, engineers, overseers, and the officers and the men whose efforts have fructified in the commissioning of the ship, he said that the ship is of proven design, has good endurance, low draught, high speed and manoeuvrability,  thus making her most suited for her primary role of extended coastal and offshore surveillance and patrol. He reserved special praise for the ship’s crew and the Warship Overseeing Team, Kolkata for ensuring that the ship has been commissioned with all Weapon and Sensor trials completed. The passage of the ship during her maiden voyage from Kolkata to Mumbai, in rough weather, bears testimony to the seaworthiness of the ship. 

INS Tarasa is the fourth and last of the follow-on Water Jet FAC’s built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata. The first two ships of the class i.e. IN ships Tarmugli and Tihayu were commissioned in 2016 and are based at Visakhapatnam; while the third ship INS Tillanchang was commissioned earlier this year at Karwar on 09 March 2017.  These ships are an upgrade of the Car Nicobar class Fast Attack Crafts with the Indian Navy, which were also indigenously designed and built by GRSE, Kolkata.

INS Tarasa is 50 m long and powered by three waterjets which give it speeds of over 35 knots (65 kmph). The ship is armed with a 30 mm main gun indigenously built , and a number of light, medium and heavy machine guns to undertake costal defence operations. The ship is an ideal platform for missions like coastal and off-shore surveillance, EEZ Patrol, law enforcement as well as non-military missions such as Search and Rescue, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. The commissioning Commanding Officer of the ship is Lieutenant Commander Praveen Kumar.

This is the second ship of the Indian Navy to be named INS Tarasa. The first INS Tarasa was in service of the Navy from 1999 to 2014. She was gifted to Seychelles Coast Guard as a symbol of India’s partnership with friendly maritime nation in IOR. The new INS Tarasa will be based at Mumbai under the operational control of Western Naval Command.

NEW DELHI : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh appealed to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to call off the ongoing bandh in the Darjeeling Hills. He also asked the Union Home Secretary to convene an official level meeting in the Ministry of Home Affairs within a fortnight to discuss all related issues.

“After Home Minister’s Appeal seniors leaders of Morcha has discussed and decided withdraw the bandh from 6 am on Wednesday.” Said GJM Assistant General Secretary Jyoti Rai 

Rajnath Singh had earlier today said in a statement that in a democracy, is the only way out to resolve any problem. Solutions can be found through restraint, mutual dialogue and within the legal ambit.

Eleven precious lives have been lost so far, several have been injured and the entire people of Darjeeling hills have suffered a lot since the strike. I have been pained immensely by what has happened in Darjeeling hills, he added

Newborn in Aktau city, Mangystau oblast, Kazakhstan. Photo: UNICEF/UN044581/Kim

There is no period more critical in a child’s development than the first 1,000 days of life, and yet 32 countries – including Bangladesh and the United States – lack three basic national policies to support parents of babies and young children, says a new United Nations report issued today.

According to Early Moments Matter for Every Child, published by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), only 15 countries – including Cuba, France, Portugal, Russia and Sweden – have the three policies critical to support young children’s healthy brain development: two years of free pre-primary education; paid breastfeeding breaks for new mothers for the first six months; and adequate paid parental leave.

These policies, UNICEF noted in a news release, help parents better protect their children and provide them with better nutrition, play and early learning experiences in the crucial first years of life when the brain grows at a rate never to be repeated.

The report states that around 85 million children under five are growing up in 32 countries without any of the three critical policies in place; 40 per cent of these children live in just two countries – Bangladesh and the US.

“What’s the most important thing children have? It’s their brains. But we are not caring for children’s brains the way we care for their bodies – especially in early childhood, when the science shows that children’s brains and children’s futures are rapidly being shaped,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake.

“We need to do more to give parents and caregivers of young children the support they need during this most critical period of brain development.”

The report also points out that millions of children under five live in areas affected by conflict, are starved of nutritious food, and are deprived of stimulating activities fundamental for healthy brain growth.

Urging governments to invest in children and their families, UNICEF called for actions to support early childhood development. Among these is to make family-friendly policies, including two years of free pre-primary education, paid parental leave and paid breastfeeding breaks, a national priority.

“Policies that support early childhood development are a critical investment in the brains of our children, and thus in the citizens and workforce of tomorrow – and literally the future of the world,” said Mr. Lake.

At the beginning of 2017, UNICEF launched the #EarlyMomentsMatter campaign, aimed at raising awareness about the critical impact that early experiences have on children’s brain development during their first 1,000 days of life.

NEW YORK, SEPT. 25: In a strong rebuttal of Pakistan’s charge of India being “mother of terrorism in South Asia”, India on Monday asserted that the Permanent Representative of Pakistan had sought to divert attention from her country’s role as the hub of global terrorism.

A young Indian diplomat Paulomi Tripathi, in her statement at the UN in exercise of India’s right of reply, accused Pakistan’s Permanent Representative of misleading the assembly to spread falsehood against India by displaying a 2014 picture of Rawya aby Jom’a, a girl from Palestine, to show “brutality” of India in Kashmir.

The Indian diplomat accused Pakistan of brandishing a fake picture to embellish its false narrative on Kashmir. Ms. Tripathi waved the photo of a martyred Indian Army officer from Kashmir Lieutenant Umar Faiyaz who had been killed by Pakistan supported terrorists in May this year.  She pointed out that Lt Faiyaz was kidnapped at a wedding celebration, brutally tortured and killed by Pak-supported terrorists. 

“This is a true picture. It portrays a harsh and tragic reality. A picture of terrorism emanating from across our border that the people of India, especially in the state of Jammu and Kashmir have to struggle with everyday. This is the reality which the Permanent Representative of Pakistan sought to obfuscate,” the Indian diplomat who handles human rights at India’s Permanent Mission at the U.N. pointed out while taking on Pakistan’s seasoned diplomat at the U.N. 

Paulomi Tripathi  held up together the two photographs – one of Lt- Umar Faiyaz and the other of Pakistan’s permanent representative to UN Maleeha Lodhi showing the picture of a Palestinian girl and declared, “True face of Pakistan is not hidden from anyone.” 

Ms. Tripathi belongs to 2007 batch of the Indian Foreign Service and is a junior ranking diplomat at India’s permanent mission to the U.N. which is headed by Syed Akbaruddin who had earlier served in New Delhi as the MEA’s spokesperson. 

NEW DELHI: Former Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi today took over as the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG) on Monday.

Mr Mehrishi took the oath of office during a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Mehrishi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the dignitaries present on the occasion. 

Rajiv Mehrishi will have a tenure till August 7, 2020.

Mr. Mehrishi belongs to 1978 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of Rajasthan cadre. He completed his two- year fixed term as the Union Home Secretary last month. He will have a tenure of three years as the CAG who is the top auditor of the Union Government. CAG reports are presented before Parliament. 

NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a new scheme Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana –“Saubhagya” to ensure electrification of all willing households in the country in rural as well as urban areas.

The total outlay of the project is Rs. 16, 320 crore. The Government of India will provide largely funds for the Scheme to all States/UTs. The States and Union Territories are required to complete the works of household electrification by the 31^st of December 2018.

The beneficiaries for free electricity connections would be identified using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data. However, un-electrified households not covered under the SECC data would also be provided electricity connections under the scheme on payment of Rs. 500 which shall be recovered by DISCOMs in 10 instalments through electricity bill.

The solar power packs of 200 to 300 Wp with battery bank for un-electrified households located in remote and inaccessible areas, comprises of Five LED lights, One DC fan, One DC power plug. It also includes the Repair and Maintenance (R&M) for 5 years. The Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) will remain the nodal agency for the operationalisation of the scheme throughout the country.

On this occasion PM Modi said that New India will require an energy framework that works on the principle of equity, efficiency and sustainability. He said the change in work culture in the Union Government is strengthening the energy sector. This in turn, will positively impact the work culture of the entire country, he added. 

“We are turning them from job-seekers into job-providers.”

In 2015, we set ourselves a target of 2030 to find solutions to many challenges on this Agenda. Two of these years have already passed. Surely it is already time to ask how much has happened. If complacency defines the next 13 years then we are in danger of losing control. We need a sense of urgency as well as unshakeable fortitude to take decisions that can avert catastrophe.

India has displayed the courage and leadership to take tough decisions which have launched the interlinked process of sustainable development. The complete eradication of poverty is the most important priority of the present government. There are two ways of addressing the curse of poverty. The traditional method is through incremental levels of aid and hand-holding. But our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen the more radical route, through economic empowerment. The poor are not helpless; we have merely denied them opportunity. We are eliminating poverty by investing in the poor. We are turning them from job-seekers into job-providers.

All our economic programmes have a principal purpose, the empowerment of the poor: Jan Dhan, Mudra, Ujjwala, Skill India, Digital India, Clean India, Start-Up India, Stand-Up India. 

The Jan Dhan plan must surely count as the world’s largest financial inclusion scheme. Those who did not have any money their bank accounts were opened with zero balance and this would not have happened anywhere in world that if you do not have any money you have a bank account. They have a bank passbook. But this impossible has been made possible in India. At least 300 million Indians, it’s not a small amount. This is the total population of USA. At least 300 million Indians who had never crossed the doors of a bank today have bank accounts: this is equivalent to the population of the United States of America. This was, understandably, not easy to complete in three years, but our banks, achieved this visionary goal set by our Prime Minister. While some remain to be included, the target has been set – every Indian family will have a bank account.

Mudra yojana has enabled government to fund the unfunded. Those who had never dreamt that bank credit was within their options, today, through Mudra, are getting soft loans without collateral to begin micro businesses. I am particularly delighted to inform you that over 70 per cent of these loans have gone to women. Unemployment spreads despair. Through Skill India, Start-Up India and Stand-Up India poor and middle class youth are being trained to match their honed talent with bank credit and become self-employed or small-scale entrepreneurs.

Ujjwala is a signature scheme of our government for poor women. They had to work hard for their kitchens, and sometimes they lose their eye sight because of smoke. Free gas cylinders are being provided to the poor so that women do not have to suffer the dangerous consequences of wood-fired kitchens. Uniquely, gender emancipation is at the creative core of this programme.

Demonetisation was a courageous decision to challenge one of the by-products of corruption, the “black money” that disappeared from circulation. Today, India has passed the Goods and Services Tax legislation, through which there is one-tax across the country, without the untidy and punishing system of multiple taxes under differing categories in different parts of the country. Our “Save the girl, Educate the girl” campaign is reducing gender inequality. Our Clean India programme is generating what can only be described as a revolutionary change in social attitudes and habits. 

The nations with rising capabilities will be able to generate such change, but the developed world must become an active partner in helping those vulnerable countries which are still mired in stagnant poverty reach SDG horizon within 2030. That is why the principle of Global Partnership was included in SDGs. 

“India has risen despite the principle destination of Pakistan’s nefarious export of terrorism”

Why is it that today India is a recognised IT superpower in the world, and Pakistan is recognised only as the pre-eminent export factory for terror? What is the reason for this have they ever thought? There is only one reason. India has risen despite the principle destination of Pakistan’s nefarious export of terrorism. There have been many governments under many parties during 70 years of India’s freedom for we have been a sustained democracy. Every government has done its bit for India’s development. We have marched ahead consistently without pause creatingIIMs, IITs, AIIMS and in the fields of education, health, space and across the range of human welfare.We established scientific and technical institutions which are the pride of the world. But what has Pakistan offered to the world and indeed to its own people apart from terrorism? We produced scholars, doctors, engineers. They have produced terrorists and terrorist camps. Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hijbul Mujahideen, Haqqani Network. We produce scholars, doctors, engineers, scientists. What did you make Pakistan? You created terrorists and Jihadis. And you know, Doctors save people from death; terrorists send them to death. Your terrorist organisations are not only attacking India but are also affecting our two neighbours, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

In the history of UNGA it may be a first that a country asked for a right of reply and it had to answer to 3 countries. Does this fact does not depict the reality of their actions? If Pakistan had spent on its development what it has spent on developing terror, both Pakistan and the world would be safer and better-off today. 

Terrorism is at the very top of problems for which the United Nations is searching for solutions. We have been the oldest victims of this terrible and even traumatic terrorism. When we began articulating about this menace, many of the world’s big powers dismissed this as a law and order issue. Now they know better. The question is: what do we do about it?

“Terrorism is an existentialist danger to humankind”

India has proposed a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) as early as in 1996, yet two decades later the United Nations has not been able to agree upon a definition of terrorism. If we cannot agree to define our enemy, how can we fight together? If we continue to differentiate between good terrorists and bad terrorists, how can we fight together? If even the United Nations Security Council cannot agree on the listing of terrorists, how can we fight together?

Through you, with utmost sincerity, I would like to request this august assembly to stop seeing this evil with self-defeating and indeed meaningless nuance. Evil is evil. Let us accept that terrorism is an existentialist danger to humankind. There is absolutely no justification for this barbaric violence. Let us display our new commitment by reaching agreement on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism this year itself.

“We mean peace not only among human beings but also peace with nature” 

Climate change has been indentified as one of the significant dangers to our existence. India has already said that it is deeply committed to the Paris Accord. This is not because we are afraid of any power, influenced by friend or foe, or tempted by some imagined greed. This is an outcome of a philosophy that is at least 5000 years old. Our Prime Minister has, on his personal initiative, launched the International Solar Alliance as witness to our abiding commitment to a cause.

When we talk of world peace, we mean peace not only among human beings but also peace with nature. We understand that human nature is sometimes inimical to nature, but we would like to amend human nature when it tends in the wrong directions. When we inflict our greed upon nature, nature sometimes explodes. We must learn to live with the imperatives, cycles and creative urges of nature; in that lies, our own salvation.

NEW DELHI : Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has said that the media has to avoid sensationalism and maintain its credibility while disseminating news. He was addressing the gathering after presenting the 14^th Shailikaar Prabhakar Samman Award to eminent journalist Smt. Anuradha Prasad, today. The award was instituted in memory of well-known Hindi writer, journalist and freedom fighter, Pt. Kanhaiya Lal Misra ‘Prabhakar’

Mr. Naidu said that the credibility was the most important thing in journalism and said, “Information with confirmation is more than ammunition”. He further said that any content that offends the sensibilities of the people was a matter of concern and self-regulation was the best way to address such a problem.

Recalling the pioneering role of journalism in freeing India from colonial rule and subsequently in strengthening democracy in post-Independent India, the Vice President said that a vibrant electronic and print media were continuing to play an important role in moulding public opinion. He further said that news values appear to have changed over the years. What would not have been considered to be even a filler in the past was becoming ‘Breaking News’ today and many a time, an off-the-cuff remark becomes a screaming headline, he added.

Asserting that he was not advocating any censorship, the Vice President pointed out that the media because of its reach and impact has a huge responsibility in ensuring that the people were not swayed or agitated by controversies which are best ignored. He further said that the cinema too must avoid obscenity, vulgarity, violence and double meaning dialogues. Of late there was a tendency of mixing news and views, he added.

Referring to freedom of expression, the Vice President said that it is best utilized when the value of such freedom was fully appreciated. He called upon newspapers and channels to refocus on developmental journalism so that different social and economic issues affecting the people and the country get highlighted and even bring about policy changes at the highest level. Development journalism was all the more relevant in a country like India to unravel various complexities and put things in the right perspective, he added.

Vice President said that we need to accord importance to mother tongue, while pursuing English as the link language. Describing various Indian languages including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Assamese, Oriya and Gujarati as national languages, he said that proficiency in the mother tongue was vital before learning other languages.