HT News, Author at Hindustaan Times

Team India will play the first T20 International (T20I) of the New Year with Sri Lanka on January 5 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. It would be the first match of the three-match series.

Stars of Team India

Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan were out of the cricket due to their injuries. Bumrah suffered a stress fracture while Dhawan was continuously dogged by injuries throughout 2019. But now they are fit and fine and ready to take on Sri Lanka in the first T20I on Sunday.

Rohit Sharma is back after taking complete rest for the series. Also, KL Rahul is ready to surprise the Sri Lankans with his batting skills. He had been a star player in India’s last T20I series against West Indies.

The team India would want to start the first match of the series with a happy note. The team wants to continue its winning streak in 2020.

About India vs Sri Lanka T20I

January 5, Sunday at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati

The T20I begins at 07:00 PM IST

The match will be telecast on the Star Sports Network

T20I would also be available on Hotstar

Cricket fans can catch live updates of T20I

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International News & Politics

Trump Warns Iran Of More Attacks If Latter Takes Revenge

HT News January 5, 2020

US President Donald Trump warned Iran of more attacks if it even tried to attack the US. He even disclosed the number of sites on the American target in his tweets.

Trump warns Iran

In reply to the revenge threat by Iran, Donald Trump said that Iran would be hit harder than ever before. He said that 52 sites of importance for Iran were under the target and that America would use the latest military equipment to carry out the attack. Trump reminded Iran of the Americans held hostage at the US embassy in Tehran for more than a year in late 1979 and tweeted that 52 represents those Americans.

No threat to homeland security

The US Department of Homeland Security released a bulletin to assure the citizens that there was no specific, credible threat against the homeland. But soon after the bulletin, a group claiming to be linked to Iran posted a message to revenge Soleimani’s death with the Iranian flag on the website of the Federal Depository Library Program.

Democrats stand against Trump

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said that the information given by Trump, a Republican, raised serious doubts over timing, manner, and justification of the strike. The Democrat said that Trump’s provocative military engagement continues to put American forces and allies in danger. Another Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the president a monster.

Hashed warns Iraqi forces

Hashed said that Iraqi forces guarding US installations should quit their posts by Sunday at 5:00 pm local time. The pro-Iran group is up in arms against the US.

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News & Politics

Shiv Sena And BJP Slam Congress Seva Dal For Its Booklet “Veer Savarkar, Kitne Veer”

HT News January 4, 2020

Congress Seva Dal in Madhya Pradesh released a booklet containing controversial statements about Veer Savarkar and Nathuram Godse. The book said that both the leaders were in a homosexual relationship. After this book, the Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha also released similar sentiments about Rahul Gandhi.

Congress Seva Dal booklet

The Hindi book titled “Veer Savarkar, Kitne Veer” cited an incident mentioned in Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins’s ‘Freedom at Midnight to claim that before adopting brahmacharya, Nathuram Godse was in a physical relationship with Veer Savarkar.

Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Maha Sabha replied to Congress

The Mahasabha president Swami Chakrapani said that he had heard similar things about former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. He discarded the claim about the physical relationship of Savarkar and Godes as ridiculous and said that Rahul Gandhi was also homosexual.

Shiv Sena replied to the book

Shiv Sena slammed the party over the controversial book that had left many Shiv saniks fuming over the physical relationship remark for Veer Savarkar and Nathuram Godse.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut went a step ahead to target Congress-affiliated Seva Dal for questioning Savarkar’s credentials as a patriot. He said that Veer Savarkar was a great man and that the booklet unearthed the dirt in the minds of Congress workers.

But it wasn’t the first time that Shiv Sena showed its displeasure to Congress. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi’s reply to rape comment that he won’t apologize for the comment because he was not Rahul Savarkar had rattled Shiv Sena, the new ally of Congress in Maharashtra.

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Devotional International

Gurudwara Nankana Sahib Attacked And Anti-Sikhism Slogans Shouted In Pakistan

HT News January 4, 2020

Gurudwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan came under attack on Friday. According to initial reports, hundreds of angry people surrounded the iconic gurudwara and started pelting stones at the devotees inside. Nankana Sahib was the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.

Attack on Gurudwara Nankana Sahib

It was said that the group attacking the gurudwara was led by a family whose boy abducted the daughter of a gurudwara official from her home and forcibly converted her to Islam. Jagjit Kaur was abducted from her home in Nankana Sahib in August last year.

Another report told that the scuffle was the result of a minor altercation between two Muslim groups in the city of Nankana Sahib. It happened at a tea-stall but the district administration swung into action and controlled the situation.

India condemns the incident

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh appealed Pakistan PM Imran Khan to intervene and assure the safety of the devotees stuck inside the iconic gurudwara. Akali Dal MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa also tweeted to condemn the wanton act of destruction.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan replied

In response to the tweets of Indian leaders, Pak PM tweeted a video alleged to be of Indian police attacking Muslims. But on checking, the video was found to be of Bangladesh and was shot in 2013. The Pak PM wasted no time in deleting the tweets.

Pak Foreign Office statement

The authorities in Punjab province released a midnight statement to assure the world community that the gurudwara remained unchanged and undamaged in the attack.

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International

US Strikes Again: Iraq Braves Another Air Strike Hour Ahead Of Funeral Procession Of Soleimani

HT News January 4, 2020

A fresh air strike ahead took place hours after the precision drone strike by the US in Baghdad on Friday. The earlier strike killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary heavyweight Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Timing of the fresh attack

The bombardment took place in north of Baghdad and the Iraqi television reported it was a US air strike. But there was no comment from the US according to AFP. The AFP further reported that the fresh air strike left “dead and wounded”.

Elaborate mourning procession

A procession was planned to take the bodies of the slain military leaders for a state funeral in Baghdad and to the holy shrine city of Najaf. The mortal remains of the guards would be taken to Iran that had declared three-day mourning for Soleimani. Tehran had also announced Soleimani’s deputy, Esmail Qaani to be his successor.

Tehran leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised “severe revenge” before tens of thousands of protestors that touched US flags and chanted “death to America”.

The US hailed the killing

US President Donald Trump that he decided to kill Soleimani after learning that the latter was prepared to attack US diplomats and troops. He further said that the US took the action to stop war and not to start a war.

But hours after the Trump’s statement, Pentagon said that the US would send approximately 3,500 troops from the 82nd Airborne Divisions Global Response Force to Kuwait. Around 750 troops had already reached Baghdad to reinforce the US embassy.

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International

America Killed Top Iran-Iraq Military Officers In Baghdad Airport Attack

HT News January 3, 2020

In a dramatic escalation of tension between Washington and Tehran, top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and seven others were killed in a US strike on international airport of Baghdad on Friday, said the powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force of Iraq.

US strike killed prominent figures

Deputy chief of Hashed, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was also killed in the attack along with the head of Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani. On Friday, the Baghdad airport was hit with a volley of missiles just after midnight. The bombardment targeted a Hashed convoy in which eight people including important figures were seated. They all were said to have been killed in the attack.

Hashed

The Hashed is an armed group of mostly Shiite armed units. Many of these units had close ties with Tehran and many of them officially incorporated into the armed forces of Iraq. The Shiite armed groups jointed Iraqi forces to fight the Islamic State group in 2014 but many of them had prior experience of fighting with the US forces during the Iraq war.

Muhandis was the deputy chief of Hashed but in reality, he was the real shot-caller in Hashed. Soleimani was head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force. He also served as Iran’s point man on Iraq. He visited Iraq many times during difficult times. Both the prominent persons had been sanctioned by the US.

They will pay

The US was silent over the development of the attack but it was vocal at the time of the attack on the US embassy by a mob of Hashed. But the US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that America feared more attacks from Iran-backed groups but strengthened that … Read the rest

Today's Special

GATE 2020: Download Your Admit Card From IIT Website On 3rd January

HT News January 3, 2020

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) would be made available the admit card or hall ticket for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) on its official website on 3rd January 2020. For more information, students can visit gate.iitd.ac.in. The GATE exam is scheduled to be conducted in February on 1, 2, 8 and 9.

GATE 2020: Important documents

Candidates need to download their admit cards from the IIT website. They would carry the printouts of admit cards along with valid photo ID proves to the examination hall.

GATE 2020: Important things to check

Photograph and signature: The photo on the admit card must match with the valid photo ID carried by candidates. Candidates are advised to use A4 size paper and laser printer for printing their admit cards.

Contact: Candidates should report to [email protected], in case they have any queries or issues. The candidates would be held responsible for any issue found at the time of frisking and the authorities have the right to cancel candidature as a penalty.

Details: Candidates’ details on the GATE 2020 admit cards like name, parents name etc. should match with the valid photo IDs carried. Also, the candidates should check other details like exam date, venue, reporting time and instructions.

GATE 2020: Exam pattern

All GATE tests would consist of 65 questions for a total of 100 marks. It would be an objective type test with multiple answers. Candidates would get one or two marks for the correct answer and there would be a deduction of 1/3 of allotted marks for every wrong answer.

Of the 65 questions, 10 questions of 15 marks would be on General Aptitude … Read the rest

National News & Politics

PM Modi Released 12 Thousand Crore Rupees For 6 Crore Farmers

HT News January 3, 2020

PM Narendra Modi released the third installment of Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi in Karnataka. He pressed the button from his tablet while addressing a gathering in Tumkur. PM is on a two-day visit to Karnataka. He said that the money has been deposited in the eighth crore farmer of the nation.

PM Modi in Tumkur

He transferred 12 thousand crore rupees in 6 crore farmer families from the rally of Tumkur. Also, he displayed his displeasure at many state governments not implementing PM-KSAN due to politics.

PM Modi said that efforts were made to identify specific products from every block and district and calculate their value. Separate identification of products would increase their export value. He hoped that the states would rise above domestic politics and implement the PM-KSAN scheme.

He said there was a time when a considerable amount of government funding was withdrawn by middlemen. Only 15 paise reached the poor out of every rupee sent by the government. Middlemen used to withdraw 85 paise from that money. But today the money is transferred directly to the bank accounts of needy people.

The Third installment of PM-KSAN

PM released the third installed of PM-KSAN and awarded certificates to the beneficiaries of the scheme from eight states and union territories. He also gave Krishi Samman Awards on this occasion.

Outstanding farmers were awarded the Krishi Karman Award and Citation. Also, PM Modi handed over the keys of deep-sea fishing boats and transporters to selected Tamil Nadu farmers. He assured that his government was doing its best to improve the condition of farmers.

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Cricket Sports

Hardik Pandya Engaged To A Serbian Actress

HT News January 2, 2020

Hardik Pandya took to Instagram to break the news of his engagement with Serbia actress Natasa Stankovic. He posted a picture of him and Natasa on his Instagram account and gave it the caption “Mai tera, Tu meri jaane, saara Hindustan. 01.01.2020 #engaged”.

Fans flooded the Instagram page of the 26-year old all-rounder as soon as the news of his engagement went public. His teammates were the first to send him best wishes for getting engaged with the beautiful model. Kuldeep Yadav was first to congratulate the cricketer for his engagement.

Cricket career of Hardik Pandya

Recuperating from a back injury, Hardik Pandya has to miss out on the T20I and ODI series against Bangladesh and West Indies. Also, he is kept out of the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka and Australia. But the Board of Control for Cricket is considering him for India A’s squad for the New Zealand tour.

Last international match Hardik Pandya played was a T20I against South Africa in September 2019. After the series, he went to London for a surgery to cure his lower back problem in October.

Hardik Pandya’s interview

He revealed why he decided to take the surgery after the T20I match. He thought that he must get fit before the World T20 and he needed at least a couple of months to fully recover from the surgery. He wanted to play IPL and World T20 and for this reason he went for the treatment to become fit to join the team.

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Today's Special

Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti: Interesting Facts About The Life Of Tenth Guru In Sikhism

HT News January 2, 2020

The birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru of Sikhs, is falling on the second day of the New Year 2020. He was born on 22 December 1666 according to Gregorian calendar but his birth anniversary is calculated according to lunar calendar and for this reason celebrated on this day.

Guru Gobind Singh

He became guru at the tender age of 9 and did miraculous deed during is lifetime. He stood up against the Mughals who were doing injustice to the people of other faiths at that time. He set up an army of saint soldiers and named it “Khalsa”. He maintained a strict code of conduct and spiritual discipline and asked his army to follow the code. Guru Gobind Singh was both a military and spiritual leader whose teachings still inspire many, even today.

It was Guru Gobind Singh who developed Sikhism as a religion and announced that Guru Granth Sahib to be the eternal Sikh Guru that the Sikhs should turn to the Holy Scripture for teachings.

Celebrations of birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh

The celebrations start with processions displaying the events related to life of Guru Gobind Singh. Today these processions have also become a medium to spread social messages. The processions are followed by prayer meetings at gurudwaras.

Sikh people distribute sweets and food to those coming to gurudwaras and even to those passing by the gurudwaras. Also, they do karsewa cleaning shoes of the visitors and organizing fee medical camps for needy people.

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