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Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), David Miller, Abdul Samad, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Avesh Khan

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Dubey, Riyan Parag(c), Nitish Rana, Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced an Easter truce in the conflict in Ukraine starting this evening and lasting till midnight on Sunday.

The short-term ceasefire proposal from Russia comes as President Donald Trump has been pressing both Moscow and Kyiv to agree a truce, but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin.

“Today from 1800 (1500 GMT) to midnight Sunday (2100 GMT Sunday), the Russian side announces an Easter truce,” Putin said in televised comments, while meeting Russian chief of staff Valery Gerasimov.

Easter, a major holiday for Christians, is celebrated on Sunday.

“I order for this period to stop all military action,” Putin said, calling the truce “based on humanitarian reasons”.

“We are going on the basis that the Ukrainian side will follow our example, while our troops must be ready to resist possible breaches of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions,” Putin said.

He said that Gerasimov had told him Ukraine “more than 100 times… breached an agreement on not striking energy infrastructure”.

Russia on Friday abandoned a moratorium on striking Ukrainian energy targets after each side accused the other of breaking a supposed deal without any formal agreement put in place.

The latest truce proposal will show “how sincere is the Kyiv’s regime’s readiness, its desire and ability to observe agreements and participate in a process of peace talks,” Putin said.

Previous attempts at holding ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 were not implemented after both sides failed to agree on them.

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

Riyan Parag and Rishabh Pant at toss (BCCI Photo)

NEW DELHI: The Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants clash in IPL 2025 on Saturday began with an unexpected moment of laughter, thanks to a toss blooper that had Rishabh Pant and Riyan Parag cracking up at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
As stand-in skipper Riyan Parag stepped up to flip the coin, he, quite literally, fumbled it.
The coin barely spun in the air, prompting Rishabh Pant to refrain from making a call. The toss referee called for a redo. On the second attempt, Pant called “tails” and nailed it.
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Laughing right after the failed attempt, Pant couldn’t help but tease Parag: “Tune aise hi fek diya, spin bhi kar yaar!” — roughly translating to, “You just tossed it like that, at least make it spin!”
The moment brought smiles all around and set a light-hearted tone before an intense clash.
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Rajasthan also made headlines by naming Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a 14-year-old prodigy, as their impact substitute.
At just 14 years and 23 days, he becomes the youngest-ever player to be named in an IPL matchday squad. While he didn’t start, Parag hinted that the youngster would be brought in during the chase.
At the toss, Parag explained his decision: “We were looking to bowl first. It’s a little warm under lights, and we’re comfortable chasing here. Vaibhav comes in today. We’ve had honest team chats and are looking to click together.”

Pant, meanwhile, seemed confident in his call to bat first: “The wicket looked dry, so we want to take early advantage. There’s no dew expected. We’re focusing on improving the little things — that’s been our missing piece.”
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), David Miller, Abdul Samad, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Avesh Khan
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Dubey, Riyan Parag(c), Nitish Rana, Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande

Malayalam film actor Shine Tom Chacko, who fled from a hotel in Kochi during a narcotics raid earlier this week, was arrested by Kochi police on Saturday after about a four-hour long interrogation in connection with a drug case. The actor managed to secure bail a few hours later. 

The police said that he was charged under Sections 27 (consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance) and 29 (abetment and criminal conspiracy) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The cops added that the medical examination and further proceedings will be conducted soon.

The 41-year-old actor, who hit the headlines with fantasy comedy film Ithihasa – which was the highest-grossing Malayalam film in 2014 – on Saturday appeared before the Kochi City Police for questioning in response to a formal notice issued by the police.

The controversy began earlier this week, on Wednesday, when Chacko reportedly fled during a police raid linked to an alleged drug use case.

On Thursday, actor Vincy Aloshious filed a complaint with the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce and the Malayalam film industry’s internal complaint committee against Chacko, accusing him of misbehaving on the set of the film ‘Suthravakyam’ while allegedly under the influence of alcohol.

In an Instagram video, Vincy shared her experience and said that she would no longer work with individuals who misuse substances such as alcohol or drugs.

Earlier this month, Chacko was also named by an arrested woman drug peddler, who claimed to have supplied drugs to him and actor Sreenath Bhasi.

A nightmare unfolded in a part of the national capital in the early hours of Sunday when a four-storey building came crashing down like a stack of cards, killing eleven people and leaving as many injured. 

Around 3 am, the building in Mustafabad’s Shakti Vihar collapsed, trapping several under the rubble. While eleven people were pulled out alive by rescue teams, eleven others were declared dead. All the rescued people were rushed to a hospital, where five are undergoing treatment, while six have been discharged.

Using cranes and thermal cameras, rescue teams from Delhi Fire Services, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and local volunteers have been working through the night. The congested bylanes of Mustafabad are making it harder to move heavy equipment.

Even though the officials are yet to comment on the reason for the collapse, locals have alleged that a dividing wall on the ground floor of the building was removed without reinforcing the pillars, making it vulnerable.

The incident comes close on the heels of a building collapse in Madhu Vihar recently during a dust storm, killing one. 

“They should have checked the building. We kept saying it was shaking after the rain. But, nobody came,” said a local.

Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra has blamed the collapse on rampant illegal construction in unauthorised colonies. “All such colonies are unauthorised. We will act against the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) officials who cleared these houses.”

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has assured strict action against the culprits. “Strict action will be taken against the culprits. Investigations have been ordered,” she posted on X.

(Picture Courtesy: Facebook)

NEW DELHI: Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko was arrested by Kerala Police on Saturday in connection with alleged drug use, news agency PTI reported.
According to police officials, he has been booked under Sections 27 (consumption of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances) and 29 (abetment and criminal conspiracy) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
They added that a medical examination will be conducted soon, along with further legal proceedings.
According to police sources, Shine arrived at the Ernakulam North Police Station around 1 am along with his lawyers. The actor was questioned to determine the circumstances surrounding his alleged attempt to flee from a hotel during a recent police search.
Police had served a notice to the actor on Friday, instructing him to appear for questioning at 10 am on Saturday at the Ernakulam North Police Station.
The interrogation is being conducted by a team led by the Ernakulam Central Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP).
On Wednesday night, when Shine reportedly realised that a police team had arrived at the hotel, he allegedly jumped from the third-floor window of his room to a second-floor terrace. From there, he leapt into the swimming pool located on that floor and fled using the staircase, police sources said.
As no narcotics were recovered from the hotel, a case has not been registered in connection with the incident.
Although Shine’s family had initially informed police that he would appear by 3 pm, the actor reached the station earlier, at 10 am.
In a separate matter, actress Vincy Aloshious had earlier filed a complaint with the Film Chamber, accusing Shine of “inappropriate behaviour” under the influence of drugs. While she also reported the alleged misconduct to the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), she has not filed a police complaint. The incident reportedly occurred on the sets of the yet-to-be-released film ‘Soothravakyam’.

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Representative image (Picture credit: ANI)

India’s central bank saw a sharp jump in the value of its gold reserves during the week ending April 11, driven by a global rally in gold prices amid heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday, the value of its gold holdings surged by Rs 11,986 crore in just one week. With this increase, the total value of RBI’s gold reserves has risen to Rs 6,88,496 crore, reported ANI.
This sharp increase also reflects a broader trend over the past year. The RBI’s gold holdings have nearly tripled in value during this period, underlining a significant rise in gold purchases by the central bank.
This comes at a time when central banks worldwide are stepping up their gold accumulation to hedge against global risks.
Gold continues to be seen as a safe-haven asset during periods of uncertainty. The ongoing global trade tensions, particularly those linked to tariff disputes between the US and China, along with concerns over a weakening US dollar, have pushed central banks to increase their gold exposure.
On the domestic front, gold futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) hit fresh record highs. The June 5 contract soared to Rs 95,935 per 10 grams on Thursday. The surge has been attributed to safe-haven demand spurred by the Trump administration’s tariff policy and retaliatory measures from China.
“Gold prices raced to an all-time high, driven by a weaker dollar, trade war tensions and concerns over global economic growth due to US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, which led to safe-haven inflows,” said Manav Modi, senior analyst, commodity research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
The RBI’s increasing gold reserves, coupled with a steady rise in overall foreign exchange reserves, point to a more resilient position in managing external shocks. Growing interest in gold-backed ETFs and central bank buying amid persistent geopolitical concerns has further fuelled the yellow metal’s upward trajectory globally.