A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck near Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, on Saturday afternoon, with its epicentre located at a depth of 10 kilometres. Tremors were felt in several parts of Pakistan.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
More details awaited
MS Dhoni‘s return to Chennai Super Kings captaincy was a forgettable one as his team slumped to a massive loss against Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai in the IPL 2025 on Friday. Sunil Narine‘s all-round efforts – a spell of 3-13 and a knock of 44 – played a critical part in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) thoroughly outclassing Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by eight wickets in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Narine, whose 18-ball 44 helped KKR chase down 104 with 59 balls to spare, said he endeavors to try and give his team flying starts.
Meanwhile, MS Dhoni’s controversial dismissal left social media divided during Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2025 encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai on Friday. Dhoni came out to bat at No. 8 behind the likes of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja but he was dismissed for just 1. During the 16th over of the CSK innings, Dhoni was beaten by a delivery from Sunil Narine that crashed into his pads. The on-field umpire raised his finger but the veteran CSK star instantly went for a review. There were very small spike in the UltraEdge when the ball went past the bat but the third umpire decided to stay with the existing decision. The decision led to a lot of chatter on social media with many criticising the third umpire for his call.
Later, Virender Sehwag was asked about whether decision would have made a difference had Dhoni been not out. “I don’t think it would have made a difference had MS Dhoni been given not out. Had he been not out, how much would CSK have gotten to? Maximum 130? So, by when did KKR chase down the target (10. 1 overs)? We would have analysed the match at 11:30 pm instead of now. That would have been the only difference,” Sehwag said on Star Sports.
— not psyduck (@psymedia33) April 11, 2025
Talking about the match, Sunil Narine said: “Almost (a complete game), next time hope I can take a catch as well (Narine dropped Vijay Shankar‘s catch on zero). I try to focus on my strengths. Batters play well, but if you focus too much on batters, you are already on the back foot.
“You get accustomed and try to adapt as soon as possible. You see what happens in the power-play and try and help the team. It’s very simple – trying to get the team off to a flying start. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” said Narine, the Player of the Match awardee, after the game ended.
Moeen Ali, who bowled a tidy spell of 1-20 and kept CSK batters in check, was in praise of how other bowlers and fielders helped him maintain a stranglehold on the five-time champions.
“Having two left-handers helped my case. Kept as straight as possible. Rinku dived and stopped four early, which helped my confidence.”
“In power-play, you cannot bowl quick. Give it time to spin. Sometimes it skids on, sometimes it spins. Sunil has been outstanding for a long time. If I can bowl a couple of overs at the top and save them for later, it helps. I am learning from them. At the top, you can’t spin every ball. You just need one to grip, and that puts doubts in the batters’ minds,” he added.
KKR, the defending champions, will now have some time off before facing off against Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on April 15.
With ANI inputs
Topics mentioned in this article
NEW DELHI: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Saturday directed her attack at leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, for remaining silent during the debate on the Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament.
In a post on X, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister questioned Gandhi’s decision not to speak on the contentious Bill, despite widespread opposition to it.
“Despite the opposition denouncing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and dubbing it as a case of flouting the Constitution like the CAA, is the decision of the LoP in Lok Sabha to not speak on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the House despite the fact that there was an extensive debate on the issue justified?” she wrote.
She added, “In any case, the Congress and the BJP are equally guilty of virtually depriving the Dalits of welfare, government jobs, education by virtually making the reservation rights ineffective and redundant”.
Mayawati said the Bill has sparked anger among Muslims and frustration among INDIA bloc partners. She further accused both the Congress and BJP of failing the Dalit community by rendering reservation rights ineffective and limiting access to welfare, education, and government jobs.
“It’s important for religious minorities to recognise the ongoing deception by these parties,” she added.
The BSP leader also criticised the growing trend of privatisation in the power and other sectors, warning that the government must fulfill its constitutional responsibility to safeguard public welfare. She accused the BJP of undermining the law while marginalising Bahujan communities.
Earlier, on Thursday, Mayawati had urged the Centre to suspend and review the new Waqf law. She raised concerns about a key provision in the amended Act that allows non-Muslims to be included in Waqf Boards, saying it “prima facie does not appear appropriate.”
The Waqf Amendment Act, 2025 received President Droupadi Murmu’s assent on April 5 and was officially notified by the Centre on Tuesday. It was passed after heated debate, with 288 MPs voting in favour and 232 against in the Lok Sabha, and 128 supporting it in the Rajya Sabha while 95 opposed.
As the interrogation of recently-extradited Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Tahawwur Rana began, two police officers Jaya Roy and Ashish Batra led the charge.
The two senior officers, who also played an instrumental role in Rana’s extradition from the US 16 years after the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, are leading a 12-member National Investigation Agency (NIA) team that will investigate the case.
Ms Roy is a 2011 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Jharkhand cadre and is currently serving as the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the NIA. Born on April 22, 1979 in West Bengal, she passed the UPSC Civil Services exam in 2011 after completing her MBBS. The same year, she was inducted into he Jharkhand Police ranks.
She has been on Central deputation since 2019 when she was appointed the Superintendent of Police (SP) of NIA. But perhaps the most famed achievement of her career is her team’s crackdown on cyber criminals in Jharkhand’s Jamtara, the revelations of which inspired a web series.
Also Read | Love For Pak Army Uniform, Meets With ISI: Tahawwur Rana Questioning Day 1
Mr Batra is a 1997 batch IPS officer of Jharkhand cadre, is currently serving as Inspector General (IG) in the NIA. He was deputed to the agency in 2019 for a tenure of five years, which was extended by two years by the Union Home Ministry. He led the anti-insurgency unit Jharkhand Jaguar in 2018.
Rana, a 64-year-old Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman, was extradited to India from the US on Thursday and subsequently sent to NIA custody for 18 days.
His investigation will aim to uncover the “deeper layers of the conspiracy”, after the probe agency told a Delhi court it suspects he had plans to target other Indian cities as well with similar large-scale strikes.
Rana has to be confronted with a lot of evidence and his statements would lead to “additional discoveries”, the NIA submitted. The agency further told the court it needed to investigate his links with other terrorists and those accused in the Mumbai attack case, Rana, who is a close associate of 26/11 main conspirator David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, a US citizen, is accused of conspiring with the latter and operatives of designated terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI) along with other Pakistan-based co-conspirators, to carry out the 2008 attacks across 10 locations of Mumbai.
Rana is charged with numerous offenses, including conspiracy, murder, commission of a terrorist act, and forgery in the country.
NEW DELHI: Union health minister and BJP national president J P Nadda on Friday hit out at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her government of obstructing the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat health scheme, and declared that the “time has come for the lotus to bloom” in the state.
Speaking at the official launch of Ayushman Bharat in Odisha’s Cuttack, Nadda drew parallels between states that resisted the scheme and electoral outcomes, citing examples of Delhi, Odisha, and Bengal. He said, “There were three states that didn’t implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme despite repeated requests by the Centre. One was Odisha, where the lotus has bloomed. The second one was Delhi, where (Arvind) Kejriwal became a hindrance to the scheme and faced defeat. I want to tell that neighbouring Bengal has also not implemented it.”
Union Minister JP Nadda launching the Unified Ayushman Card & Ayushman Vay Vandana Yojana in Odisha.
Assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled for March-April 2026.
Taking a direct jab at former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Nadda said, “I kept telling Kejriwal to implement it, implement it, implement it, but his nose is so long that it came in the way of the people of Delhi, he did not let it be implemented, the people of Delhi defeated him and made the lotus bloom.”
He further accused Odisha’s former CM Naveen Patnaik of blocking the scheme out of “ego” and said it took the people’s mandate to make way for its implementation. “I kept telling him that you should explain to Naveen Babu… His ego did not allow it to be implemented,” Nadda said.
Odisha, which was ruled by the BJD until June 2024, had earlier opted out of Ayushman Bharat, instead launching its own Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), now rebranded as the Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana (GJAY). Nadda noted that both central and state health schemes will now run in tandem.
He added that nearly 3.5 crore out of Odisha’s 4.5 crore population will benefit from the dual implementation of Ayushman Bharat and GJAY.
Lauding the state’s decision, Nadda said, “Because of taking the right decision at the right time, today the right policy has been implemented on the land of Odisha… both the Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojana and Gop Bandhu Jan Arogya Yojana have started reaching about 3 crore 51 lakh people.”
Nicholas Pooran faces a significant challenge against Mohammed Siraj as the Gujarat Titans, currently at the top of the table, meet the Lucknow Super Giants in an IPL match today (April 12).
With the sweltering heat of Lucknow, an exciting contest is expected since both teams are closely matched. The Titans have secured four consecutive wins, sitting confidently in first place with eight points, thanks to their superior net run rate over the Delhi Capitals, who are also enjoying four victories.
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On the other hand, LSG are currently fifth with six points, navigating a congested mid-table, but they are showing signs of improvement.
In matches of this magnitude, key sub-plots often determine outcomes, and this game will showcase a battle between the tournament’s leading run-scorer, Pooran, and Siraj, one of the best fast bowlers in the league.
Pooran is leading the run charts with 288 runs and has only one failure in five innings. His impressive tally includes 24 sixes and 25 fours, reflecting his dominance in the T20 format. With a strike rate of 225, he poses a serious threat to any opposing captain. Positioned at No. 3 by head coach Justin Langer, Pooran has thrived under the leadership of skipper Rishabh Pant.
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However, Pooran will have to contend with Siraj, a skilled bowler who has excelled during Powerplay overs, taking 10 wickets in five matches with a respectable economy rate of 7.70, especially considering the rapid pace of the game.
Siraj’s ability to bowl traditional Test-length deliveries while generating movement off the pitch is also noteworthy. Hitting him during Powerplay isn’t easy, and both Pooran and the opening pair of Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh will need to be cautious.
The absence of Kagiso Rabada hasn’t hindered the Titans, as Prasidh Krishna has emerged as a revelation this season, claiming 8 wickets with an economy rate of 7.05. Additionally, left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore has outperformed the team’s star spinner Rashid Khan, taking 10 wickets while maintaining an economy rate of 7.25.
IPL: RCB mentor Karthik questions Chinnaswamy pitch after twin defeats
There’s a slight possibility of rain in the evening, but a significant interruption is unlikely in Lucknow. So far at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, pacers have claimed 15 wickets, while spinners have only taken six.
After Rishabh Pant and LSG mentor Zaheer Khan voiced their concerns about the pitch not supporting spinners in their loss to Punjab Kings, the curators prepared a black-soil surface. However, spinners only managed to take two out of the ten wickets that fell in the high-scoring 472-run match. Given that this is a day game, they may perform better this time around.
Lucknow Super Giants predicted XI: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Rathi
Impact sub: Ravi Bishnoi
Gujarat Titans predicted XI: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Impact sub: Kulwant Khejroliya/Washington Sundar
Rishabh Pant: Criticism Part And Parcel Of Game. Everyone’s Trying To Read The Game
Lucknow Super Giants squad: Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant (c&wk), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Aryan Juyal (wk), Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Ayush Badoni, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi.
Gujarat Titans squad: B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (Captain), Jos Buttler (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Arshad Khan, Jayant Yadav, Nishant Sindhu, Kulwant Khejroliya, Gerald Coetzee, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra, Gurnoor Brar, Karim Janat.
LSG and GT will meet today for only the sixth time in the IPL, and will meet in Lucknow for the third time. In the five matches before this, GT have been the clear winners, clinching four contests with LSG sealing the one remaining, which happened to be the most recent one.
As per Accuweather, Lucknow is going to be sunny on Saturday morning, with temperatures rising as high as 36 degrees Celsius. There is a small chance of rain towards the evening, around 3pm with intermittent clouds.
Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates believes that people need to be “pretty hard on” themselves if they wish to work hard and not fool themselves.
Last year, Mr Gates appeared in Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath’s podcast series ‘People by WTF. ‘ The two discussed a variety of subjects ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) to special relationship with India. The second part of their conversation was released on YouTube on Friday, April 11.
In the show, Nikhil Kamath told Mr Gates that he always seems in a hurry whenever he is in India and asked whether he is hard on himself. He questioned the billionaire as to why he keeps running around “so much” and meeting politicians and others.
To this, Mr Gates said, “It is a lot of fun. No, I think if you want to work hard and not fool yourself, you better be pretty hard on yourself.”
The Microsoft co-founder has paid several visits to India, where he has held discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers JP Nadda, Hardeep Singh Puri and Jitendra Sing,h among others. His most recent visit to the country was in March this year.
Elsewhere in the podcast, Nikhil Kamath sought Bill Gates’ views on whether a huge population is a boon or a bane from a “very capitalistic lens.”
In reply, the 69-year-old said that artificial intelligence would have “changed things enough” about two decades from now that it will “free up a lot of time”
“You know, you can retire early, you can work shorter work weeks. It’s gonna require almost a philosophical rethink about, okay, how should time be spent?” he added.
On being asked what people will do if they don’t have to work, he added, “I don’t have to work. I choose to work.”
Mr Gates thinks that it may not be that radical to think about whether people could retire at 40. “But if you said you never need to work at least to me… What? That is so different,” he stated.
Adding to this, Nikhil Kamath said that people can look forward to figuring out a hierarchy that might not look like the current one but is “another way to segregate ourselves.”
Mr Gates stated that the idea of pure communism, which is that everybody is totally the same, is a “pretty unnatural behaviour for humans.”
On his podcast, Nikhil Kamath even sought Bill Gates’ views on his philanthropic works, asking how it “make sense to want to make money while you want to also give away money?”
Full Episode 8, @BillGates Part 2
Live now: https://t.co/M4ha3oFWko pic.twitter.com/buX16cgTZa— Nikhil Kamath (@nikhilkamathcio) April 11, 2025
The podcast series was launched by Kamath on his YouTube channel last year, with Bill Gates being the first guest.
In the maiden episode, Bill Gates talked about his “fantastic relationship” with India and the “amazing people” he works with.
More than 15 years after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, anti-terror agency NIA is now zeroing in on an elusive figure who allegedly met Tahawwur Rana, one of the key accused, in Dubai before the carnage. According to NIA sources, this person knew about the attack.
Rana, a 64-year-old Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman and confidant of convicted 26/11 plotter David Coleman Headley, is now under high-security NIA custody in New Delhi, following his long-awaited extradition from the United States. His questioning, NIA officials believe, could finally unravel the ‘Dubai connection’ to one of the worst terrorist attacks in India’s history.
Who was the man that Rana met in Dubai before the Mumbai siege began: This individual, according to records shared by US investigative agencies with Indian authorities, knew about the impending attack. The NIA has confirmed that it is investigating the identity and role of this individual.
READ | In Tahawwur Rana Probe, An ISI Link, And Two Names: Major Iqbal, Sameer Ali
According to NIA sources, Headley – also known as Daood Gilani – had explicitly warned Rana in 2008 not to travel to India, hinting at imminent terrorist operations. Headley allegedly arranged for Rana to meet a co-conspirator in Dubai who confirmed the attack was imminent.
According to NIA sources, authorities are probing whether this individual was associated with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, a senior figure within the Pakistani Army, or a leader of a designated terror group operating from Pakistan.
For the NIA, the most intriguing element is that this individual’s identity has been kept under wraps even within elite counter-terror networks. The agencies believe that Rana may have referred to him in earlier questioning by US authorities, whose classified reports are now in Indian hands.
Another line of questioning revolves around a decision made by Rana and Headley in November 2008: neither renewed the lease of an office in Mumbai operated under the guise of Rana’s immigration consultancy. This office was reportedly used as a cover by Headley to conduct reconnaissance of potential targets, including key hotels and public sites in the city.
READ | Fresh Images Show Tahawwur Rana Being Handed Over To Indian Officers
According to a previous NIA investigation, in August 2005, Headley had reportedly informed Rana about Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) plan to send him to India to conduct reconnaissance under the guise of working for Rana’s firm. Headley suggested that Rana’s immigration business would be a suitable front to mask the activities, with Headley posing as a consultant.
Headley’s westernised appearance and US passport allowed him to move freely, surveying Mumbai’s elite landmarks, video recording them, and sending the data back to his handlers in Pakistan.
According to NIA sources, the tactics used in Mumbai may have been part of a broader design to launch similar attacks in other Indian cities. As part of this inquiry, Rana’s travel records are being examined closely.
Between November 13 and 21 in 2008, Rana visited multiple Indian cities with his wife, Samraz Rana Akhtar. The cities include Hapur and Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Kochi, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai. Authorities are investigating whether these trips were part of a reconnaissance mission to carry out similar attacks.
During earlier stages of the investigation, the NIA named several individuals believed to be part of the broader conspiracy. These include Hafiz Saeed, founder of LeT; Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, operational commander of LeT; Sajjid Majid; Illyas Kashmiri; and Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, also known as Major Abdurrehman or Pasha.
The agency also alleged that these men worked in tandem with ISI officials, including individuals identified as Major Iqbal alias Major Ali and Major Sameer Ali alias Major Samir. All are suspected of playing roles in the planning, funding, and logistical execution of the Mumbai attack.
Rana and Headley attended military school together in Pakistan and later partnered in the immigration consultancy business, which authorities allege was used as a cover for terror operations.
Rana is being held in a fortified cell at the NIA headquarters in the CGO complex, Delhi. Armed CRPF and Delhi Police personnel guard the outer perimeter. Inside, there is round-the-clock surveillance.
Every 24 hours, a medical examination is conducted. Rana is allowed to meet his legal counsel on alternate days – but only under supervision, and only with a soft-tip pen.
READ | 14×14 Feet Cell, 24-Hour Surveillance: How Tahawwur Rana Is Being Held
The current Director General of NIA, Sadanand Vasant Date, was a senior police officer injured in the line of duty during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Mr Date had engaged attackers Ajmal Kasab and Abu Ismail at the Cama Hospital and received serious injuries.
NEW DELHI: A junior commissioned officer (JCO) of the Indian Army was killed in a gunfight with terrorists during an infiltration attempt and ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the Line of Control in Jammu’s Akhnoor sector on Friday night, officials said.
The encounter took place in the Keri Bhattal area, where troops spotted a group of heavily armed terrorists moving near a stream in a forested zone. When challenged, the infiltrators opened fire, triggering a fierce exchange. A JCO sustained critical injuries in the clash and later succumbed. Reinforcements were immediately deployed, and a search operation is currently underway in the area.
This marks another major ceasefire breach since India and Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to the 2021 LoC ceasefire agreement.
The encounter with terrorists comes just two days after brigade commander-level talks were held between the two sides in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, aimed at managing border tensions and preventing such incidents.
Also read: Three terrorists killed in ongoing Kishtwar encounter
Meanwhile, anti-terror operations continue elsewhere in Jammu and Kashmir, with three terrorists killed in Kishtwar district.
The Army’s White Knight Corps shared that a joint “search and destroy” mission with Jammu and Kashmir Police was launched on April 9 in the Chhatru forest of Kishtwar based on intelligence inputs. One terrorist was killed in an initial firefight that evening.
A follow-up update from the Corps stated: “In the ongoing operations at Chhatru, Kishtwar, despite bad and inclement weather, two more Pakistani terrorists have been eliminated. A large quantity of war-like stores including one AK and one M4 rifle have been recovered.”
In a similar incident earlier this year, two Army personnel, including a captain, were killed and another injured when terrorists triggered an improvised explosive device (IED) in the same region on February 11.
The Indian Army has formally raised a strong protest with the Pakistani side over repeated cross-border terror attempts and ceasefire violations.
Just days before this latest encounter, on April 5, Border Security Force (BSF) personnel shot dead a Pakistani intruder along the International Border in the R S Pura sector, following which a flag meeting was held with the Pakistan Rangers.
AP Inter Result 2025 LIVE: The Board of Intermediate Education, Andhra Pradesh (BIEAP) will declare the AP Inter 1st Year and 2nd Year Results 2025 today, April 12, at 11am. Students who appeared in the Intermediate Public Exams (IPE) March 2025 can access their results online through the official portal – resultsbie.ap.gov.in.
To download the AP Inter results 2025, students will need their hall ticket number and date of birth.
Students can view their Andhra Pradesh Inter Results 2025 through the following methods:
Official Website: resultsbie.ap.gov.in
Via WhatsApp: Send a “Hi” message to 9552300009 on WhatsApp (Mana Mitra Service)
Via NDTV: Direct Link Here
Steps To Check AP Inter 1st, 2nd Year Results 2025 Online
Follow these instructions to access your results on the official website: