Amid Dissent In Karnataka Unit, BJP Stands By Party Chief Vijayendra

The BJP has backed its Karnataka leader amid massive infighting in the state unit, reprimanding one rebel and issuing a show cause notice to another. Snubbing those who have been pushing for the replacement of BY Vijayendra as the party chief, the BJP's central leadership has refused to entertain their complaints against him.

"The party has taken note of your continuing tirade and breach of discipline, in clear contravention of the discipline code in the party constitution," read the show cause notice to Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatmal, to which he has to reply within 72 hours.

The party chief has been facing challenge from hardliners since the Lok Sabha election and all factions of the party have gone to Delhi to meet the party high command. 

The rebel camp, including MLAs Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, BP Harish, former MLA Kumar Bangarappa and former Union Minister GM Siddeshwara,  had also planned to file a complaint against Karnataka state in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal.

In Delhi, the central leaders, upset with the row in the only southern state where the party has a footprint, refused to meet the rebel group. 

The group managed to meet former Chief Minister and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai and asked him to take the lead. But reports said Mr Bommai had declined, saying he would abide by the party's decision regarding the leadership.

The senior leadership of the party expressed outrage against the rebel camp for tarnishing the party's image. The Delhi leaders have also reprimanded former minister and BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi for making a false statement to the media, claiming that the group met party chief JP Nadda.

Last week, BJP MLA Suresh Gowda had said Vijayendra has been effectively leading the party and called for action against the rebel leaders.

"It is inappropriate to criticise former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa. If party leaders themselves make negative statements against him, it will deeply hurt party workers. Yediyurappa was instrumental in bringing the BJP to power in the state. Rebels like MLA Yatnal should address their concerns internally instead of making public statements," he said.

from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/d3eTqk8

Palestinians Have No Right Of Return Under Gaza Takeover Plan: Trump

President Donald Trump said Palestinians would have no right of return to Gaza under his US takeover plan, describing his proposal in excerpts of an interview released Monday as a "real estate development for the future."

Trump told Fox News Channel's Bret Baier that "I would own it" and that there could be as many as six different sites for Palestinians to live outside Gaza under the plan, which the Arab world and others in the international community have rejected.

"No, they wouldn't, because they're going to have much better housing," Trump said when Baier asked if the Palestinians would have the right to return to the enclave, most of which has been reduced to rubble by Israel's military since October 2023.

"In other words, I'm talking about building a permanent place for them because if they have to return now, it'll be years before you could ever -- it's not habitable."

Trump first revealed the shock Gaza plan during a joint news conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, drawing outrage from Palestinians.

The US president pressed his case for Palestinians to be moved out of Gaza, devastated by the Israel-Hamas war, and for Egypt and Jordan to take them.

In the Fox interview -- which will be broadcast Monday after the first half was screened a day earlier -- Trump said he would build "beautiful communities" for the more than two million Palestinians who live in Gaza.

"Could be five, six, could be two. But we'll build safe communities, a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is," added Trump.

"In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent."

'Unacceptable' 

Trump stunned the world when he announced out of the blue last week that the United States would "take over the Gaza Strip," remove rubble and unexploded bombs and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East."

But while he initially said that Palestinians could be among the "world people" allowed to live there, he has since appeared to harden his position to suggest that they could not.

Netanyahu on Sunday praised Trump's proposal as "revolutionary", striking a triumphant tone in a statement to his cabinet following his return from Washington.

"President Trump came with a completely different, much better vision for Israel," said Netanyahu, who was reportedly only briefed on the plan shortly before Trump's announcement.

The reaction from much of the rest of the world has been one of outrage, with Egypt, Jordan, other Arab nations and the Palestinians all rejecting it out of hand.

The criticism was not limited to the Arab world, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday labeling the plan "a scandal," adding that the forced relocation of Palestinians would be "unacceptable and against international law."

Trump's plan has also threatened to disrupt the fragile six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and the chances of it progressing to a second, more permanent phase.

Trump, however, repeated his insistence that he could persuade Egypt and Jordan, both major recipients of US military aid, to come around.

"I think I could make a deal with Jordan. I think I could make a deal with Egypt. You know, we give them billions and billions of dollars a year," he told Fox.

Last year, Trump described Gaza as being "like Monaco," while his son-in-law Jared Kushner suggested that Israel could clear Gaza of civilians to unlock "waterfront property."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/j1Kwv0V

BCCI Puts Iron Curtain Over Bumrah's Fitness Status. Only Three Know...

India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has recently completed his five-week off-loading and has started his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy even as he races against time to get match-fit for the Champions Trophy. Off-loading is a concept where an athlete is advised complete rest, including staying away from gym work. The BCCI has put an iron curtain on the information coming out of NCA, and save four-five people associated with the centre of excellence and the Indian cricket team, no one else has an accurate information about the pacer's latest fitness status.

However, PTI has learnt about the core team that is working with Bumrah at Bengaluru, as it tries its best to get one of the biggest match-winners of the Indian cricket team back on the park.

For the rehabilitation process of an injured centrally-contracted player, the norm for NCA is to allot one strength-and-conditioning coach, one physio for injury monitoring and a bowling or batting coach to monitor the skills part, which is also a part of Return To Play (RTP).

"Strength and Conditioning (S&C) coach Rajnikanth Sivagnanam and physio Thulasi Ram Yuvraj are currently working on Bumrah's rehabilitation with Head of Sports Science, Dr Nitin Patel, personally monitoring the whole process.

"Obviously, the national team S&C coach Soham Desai and physio Kamlesh Jain are also kept in the loop," a senior BCCI official told PTI on condition of anonymity.

There were some social media reports that Bumrah is working with Desai at NCA but the latter is travelling with the Indian team for the ongoing series against England and is also expected to head to Dubai as part of the support staff for the Champions Trophy.

If and when Bumrah is allowed to bowl, it is expected that Troy Cooley will be monitoring that part, and the final report prepared by Patel about his availability will be sent to BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Rohit Sharma will also be notified about Bumrah's status.

While the BCCI can straightaway name Harshit Rana as Bumrah's replacement if he fails to get ready in time, it is expected that the team would wait till last moment in order to get him ready for the marquee ICC event.

from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/FTGhV7P

US President Donald Trump Set To Script History By Attending NFL Super Bowl

The Kansas City Chiefs aim for a historic hat-trick of Super Bowl titles on Sunday when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles in front of a star-studded crowd in New Orleans headed by US President Donald Trump. A strident critic of the National Football League over the years, Trump will become the first sitting president ever to attend the Super Bowl when he takes his seat among a sell-out crowd of around 74,000 fans at the Caesars Superdome for the  biggest annual event in the American sporting calendar.

Pop superstar Taylor Swift will also be in the VIP seats to watch as her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his Chiefs team-mates bid to become the first team in history to lift three consecutive Vince Lombardi Trophies.

Trump's presence at the NFL showpiece will heighten security around an event which was already protected by a heavy police presence following the New Year's Day attack which left 14 people dead and many more injured in the Big Easy's famous Bourbon Street district.

"I'm confident the safest place this weekend will be under the security umbrella we have in place around (the Superdome)," Cathy Lanier, the NFL's chief security officer, said this week. "We have reviewed, and re-reviewed, all the events of January 1."

Trump's groundbreaking attendance at the game comes against a backdrop of a strained relationship with the NFL stretching back several decades, when he sought to join the league as an owner in the early 1980s only to be rebuffed.

Trump also triggered uproar during his first term as president when in 2017 he criticized NFL players who knelt during the playing of the US national anthem to draw attention to issues of racial injustice.

Players in Sunday's game have so far walked a diplomatic line when asked about Trump's presence, with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes saying playing in front of the US leader would be "cool."

Fans in New Orleans meanwhile expressed hope that Trump does not politicize the occasion.

"I'm hoping that basically he comes in and he's at his seat and they kind of like keep it quiet. I just want it to be a fun game and not be political," Debra Ward, a teacher from Virginia, told AFP.

As always, the Super Bowl crosses over into popular culture and the half-time show this year will feature hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar, who had a clean sweep at last Sunday's Grammys, winning in all five categories for which he received nominations.

Bookmakers and casinos meanwhile are taking odds on whether Chiefs star Kelce will propose to pop icon Swift after what might be his final game in the NFL. Reports late Saturday said the 35-year-old is considering retirement after the Super Bowl. 

American sports books, now legal in 38 states, could take an estimated $1.39 billion in bets on the Super Bowl according to an annual report from the American Gaming Association (AGA).

Chiefs favourites

For the more serious punters, the oddsmakers have the Chiefs as slight favourite for the game, a rematch of the Super Bowl from two years ago which the Chiefs won by three points.

The Chiefs defended their title last year, beating the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas and putting them one win away from an unprecedented "three-peat".

The 29-year-old Mahomes will become one of just four quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to have won more than three Super Bowls should he triumph again, having first led the Chiefs to Super Bowl glory in 2020.

But the Eagles have added serious offensive firepower since their defeat two years ago with mobile quarterback Jalen Hurts joined by the game-changing speed and power of running back Saquon Barkley.

The Chiefs put the finishing touches to their Super Bowl preparations on Saturday with a 30-minute walkthrough of a mock game.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid saluted his team's attitude to training over the whole week since arriving in Louisiana.

"I thought the guys worked hard, they got done what they needed to get done," Reid said.

The Eagles had a similarly relaxed final session before heading to the Superdome on Saturday for a team photo.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said his players were "hungry" and "ready to roll."

"We're ready for the challenge against a really good team," Sirianni said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/1OEetqK

Chiefs Of 3 Dairies Arrested In Connection With Tirupati Laddoo Case

Four men, who head three dairies in three states, have been arrested in connection with the Tirupati laddoo adulteration case that had shocked the country last year. The investigation by a special team set up the Supreme Court after a massive controversy, has uncovered the details of the deliberate contamination.

Those arrested include Bipin Jain and Pomil Jain, former directors of Bhole Baba Dairy (Roorkee, Uttarakhand), Vaishnavi Dairy (Poonambakkam, Tamil Nadu) CEO Apoorva Vinay Kant Chawda, and AR Dairy (Dundigal, Telangana) MD Raju Rajasekharan.

The investigation revealed serious violations during ghee supply, with irregularities at every step.

For the supply of ghee, representatives of Vaishnavi Dairy secured tenders in the name of AR Dairy, said sources in the Central Bureau of Investigation. They fabricated false documents and seals, using the name of AR Dairy to manipulate the tender process.

Employees of Vaishnavi Dairy also created fake records claiming they have sourced ghee from Bhole Baba Dairy in Roorkee. The investigators found that Bhole Baba Dairy did not have the capacity to supply such quantities of ghee.

The team identified the irregularities and arrested four individuals from three dairies.

Allegations that ghee adulterated with animal fat are being use to make the laddoos for prasadam at the Tirupati exploded across headlines last year, sparking a massive row that speedily became political. 

The Andhra government had red-flagged a report from a lab in Gujarat that said samples of the the ghee bought from a supplier in Tamil Nadu's Dindigul contained traces of fish oil, beef tallow, and lard. The lab also added a disclaimer about "false positives". 

The Supreme Court slammed the mix of religion and politics and ordered a special team be formed to investigate the animal fat allegations.

The special team comprised two CBI officers, two Andhra Pradesh Police personnel, and a senior official from the centre-run Food Safety and Standards Authority.

The kitchen at Tirupati makes around three lakh laddoos daily, with around 1,500 kg of ghee and vast amounts of cashew nuts, raisins, cardamoms, gram flour, and sugar used.
 

from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/nLZISVo

Madrid Derby Live: Starting XIs Out; Real Madrid Make Big Changes vs Atleti

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid LIVE Updates: Kylian Mbappe is set to play his first derby against Atletico Madrid, with the French striker attacked named in Real Madrid's playing XI for their LaLiga clash at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Mbappe had missed the reverse fixture, which ended in a 1-1 draw at the Metropolitano in September due to an injury. He starts in attack alongside Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and Rordygo Goes on either sides. League leaders Madrid host their city rivals, second and trailing by a single point, at the Santiago Bernabeu, after a tumultuous week in Spanish football. Last weekend Los Blancos dropped three points in a shock defeat at Espanyol.

Here are the LIVE Updates of Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid LIVE Score, La Liga 2024-25 from Estadio Santiago Bernabeu

from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/qwM7kWd

Marko Elez: DOGE Employee Who Was Re-Hired Despite Links To Racist Posts

Elon Musk has reinstated Marko Elez, a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer, who resigned after his racist and eugenicist social media posts came to light. Musk made the decision after conducting a public poll on X, where an overwhelming majority voted in favour of Elez's return.

The 25-year-old operated a now-deleted account, frequently posting racist and inflammatory content. In archived posts, he wrote, "Normalise Indian hare," "Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool," and claimed that "99 per cent of Indian H1Bs will be replaced by slightly smarter LLMs, they're going back, don't worry guys."

He also called for repealing the Civil Rights Act and expressed disdain for interracial marriage, writing, "You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity."

Elez also made controversial statements about the Middle East conflict, suggesting he would not care if "Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth."

Who is Marko Elez?

1. Marko Elez is a 25-year-old engineer who previously worked for Elon Musk's companies, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter).
2. He graduated from Rutgers University in 2021 where he majored in Computer Science. He has experience in vehicle telemetry, starship software, satellite software, search AI, and machine learning. His work history suggests he specialises in distributed systems, recommendation engines, and AI.
3. As a sophomore, he co-founded Unimetrics.io, a company aimed at helping high school students with their college applications, as per the Wall Street Journal.
4. He resigned from Musk's DOGE after his racist posts resurfaced. At DOGE, he had direct access to the US Treasury Department's Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) systems, which control federal payments, including Social Security and tax returns. His admin privileges reportedly allowed him to modify critical code in the Payment Automation Manager and Secure Payment System, raising security concerns. A Wired report said his access was beyond the "read-only" level and that he has visited a Kansas City office housing BFS systems.
5. A deleted social media account, @nullllptr, which previously used the username @marko_elez, posted racist content. The account also made derogatory remarks about Indian software engineers and posted extremist views on geopolitical conflicts. Elez currently operates another X account under the username @marko_elez, which has interacted with the same users and posted similar content as the deleted @nullllptr account.

from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/BWch8uk