Eknath Shinde's "Ties With Dawood Ibrahim" Dig At Opposition

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday took a dig at the Opposition for boycotting the customary tea party on the eve of the Budget session of the state legislature, and said it was good that those having ties with terrorist Dawood Ibrahim did not turn up for it.

The budget session of the state legislature, which begins on Monday, will end on March 25. The opposition parties - the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Congress - boycotted the tea party hosted by the government on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters here later, CM Shinde said, "In a way, it was good that the opposition did not turn for the high tea when some of them have ties with terrorist Dawood Ibrahim. Instead of calling our (Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party) alliance as anti-Maharashtra, will you not call such people anti-nationals? There are some people in the opposition parties who have had ties with Haseen Parkar, sister of Dawood Ibrahim." Shinde was apparently referring to former state minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik, who is currently in jail following his arrest last year in a money-laundering case linked to the activities of Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.

The chief minister also took a dig at senior NCP leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.

"Ajit Pawar is saying that I changed my allegiance (from Uddhav Thackeray to the BJP), but he should not forget that I am still following what late Balasaheb Thackeray taught us. Even the Election Commission's decision to allot us the name Shiv Sena and symbol (of bow and arrow) proves it," Shinde said.

"Unlike Pawar, who on one day took an oath with Devendra Fadnavis (in November 2019) and changed it again within a couple of days. You need not have to be wise to make any random allegations. Pawar is like a fish out of water. Since he is out of power, he is acting in this manner," the CM added.

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

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Watch: "What On Earth" - Pope's "Unbelieveable" Catch To Dismiss Mitchell

England's Ollie Pope took a sensational catch to dismiss New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell on Day 2 of the second Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Saturday. The incident occurred on the final ball of the 33rd over when Mitchell, batting on 13, tried to defend Jack Leach's delivery at full stretch. However, to his surprise Pope, who was deployed at silly point, showed tremendous reflexes and plucked the ball diving down to his right.

What on earth

This is UNBELIEVEABLE from Ollie Pope

The perfect to finish the session! #NZvENG pic.twitter.com/hehHIe5UO0

— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) February 25, 2023

England are on the verge of a series sweep after dominating day two at the Basin Reserve, reducing the Black Caps to 138-7 when rain forced an early end, having earlier declared their first innings at 435-8.

Stokes only declared once Root had reached 153 not out, the 32-year-old having advanced easily from 101 overnight, unperturbed by the early dismissal on Saturday of Harry Brook for 186.

Anderson (3-37) then stepped up with the ball, unleashing a lethal opening spell that validated his elevation this week to top spot in the world Test bowling rankings - at 40, the oldest player to hold the perch.

The exacting paceman removed Devon Conway (0) and Kane Williamson (4) to have the hosts languishing at 12-2, before dismissing Will Young (2) after the break.

Red-hot England have employed the same mix of aggressive batting and potent new-ball bowling that was at the heart of their commanding 267-run win in the first Test at Mount Maunganui.

All three batsmen feathered edges to gloveman Ben Foakes, extending the number of Test victims caught by a wicketkeeper off Anderson to 188 - 36 more than any other bowler.

Spinner Jack Leach (3-45) ripped through the middle order, leaving New Zealand staring at a 297-run deficit with three days remaining.

Left-handers Tom Latham (35) and Henry Nicholls (30) looked to be launching a rearguard action, but both fell when attempting to reverse-sweep Leach, offering catches to fielders around the bat.

(With AFP Inputs)

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Congress To Reserve 50 Percent Of All Party Positions For Women, Youth

The Congress carried out 85 amendments in its constitution at its 85th plenary session here on Saturday to provide a 50 per cent reservation to scheduled castes (SCs), scheduled tribes (STs), other backward classes (OBCs), women, youth and minorities in its working committee and at all party positions.

According to the amended constitution of the party, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) will now include former prime ministers from the party and former AICC chiefs, besides leaders of the Congress in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The party decided to provide 50 per cent reservation to SCs/STs/OBCs/minorities vertically and provide horizontal reservation to youth below 50 years and women in both reserved and unreserved categories.

The number of CWC members will go up to 35 from the earlier 23, with 18 members to be elected and 17 to be nominated.

The amended constitution says from now on, the party will only have digital membership and records.

The party also amended its constitution to make stringent provisions for those taking Congress membership and they should abstain from taking intoxicating drugs and psychotripic substances.

Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala, who is the convener of the committee looking into amendments to the Constitution, said the party has added the words psychotropic substances and intoxicating drugs which includes alcohol, tobacco and other substances.

He said the party has decided to provide recognition to transgenders in its membership forms as well as provide recognition to single parents by including names of mothers and spouses in the form.

The Constitution Amendments Committee was chaired by senior leader Ambika Soni and had detailed deliberations before carrying out 85 major and minor amendments.

The concept of "50 Under 50" as enunciated in the Udaipur Shivir has been incorporated in the Constitution, Mr Surjewala said.

Changing with the times, he said the Congress will only have digital memberships starting January 1, 2025, and will accept online donations.

Bringing changes in the organisational structure, the party has added an intermediary level by having Panchayat Congress Committee, Ward Congress Committee for Urban Areas and other Intermediate Congress Congress Committee at Mandal and Janpad levels.

The amended constitution, Mr Surjewala said, will give more representation for panchayati raj, local bodies and cooperatives at every level and elected members of the party at every level will be ex-officio members of the Block Congress Committee, District Congress Committee (DCC) and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC).

For example, members of panchayat samiti, municipality samiti and mandi samiti will be in the Block Congress, he said.

Members of zilla panchayat, president of the municipal council, president of the district cooperative bank will be members of the DCC, he said, adding the presidents of the zilla panchayat, president of the municipal corporation, president of state level cooperative banks and marketing societies will be members of the PCC.

The Constitution currently provides that the election of one All India Congress Committee (AICC) member is made by eight PCC delegates and after amending the constitution now every six PCC delegates will elect an AICC member.

Hence, the total number of elected members will go up from 1,240 to 1,653, Mr Surjewala said, adding that the strength of co-opted AICC members has also been increased from 15 per cent of the elected and AICC members to 25 per cent of the elected AICC members.

The Constitution has been amended to incorporate the provision of political affairs committee at the PCC Level.

Minor changes in the fee structure of Congress members, DCC delegates, PCC delegates, AICC members have also been made and now membership fee has been hiked from Rs 5 to Rs 10.

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

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Jharkhand To Cull Nearly 4,000 Chickens, Ducks Amid Bird Flu Outbreak

The process to cull nearly 4,000 birds, including chickens and ducks, began in Jharkhand's Bokaro district late on Saturday evening after a bird flu outbreak was reported at a state-run poultry farm, an official said.

H5N1, a type of avian influenza virus, was confirmed among a protein-rich breed of chicken, 'Kadaknath', at the farm in the Lohanchal where 800 birds died and 103 had to be culled, he said.

"The process to cull a total of 3,856 birds, including chickens and ducks, began late this evening in the affected area -- 1 km radius of the farm," Institute of Animal Health & Production, Ranchi, director Dr Bipin Bihari Mahtha told PTI.

He said the culling will continue on Sunday as the process is time-consuming.

After birds started to die at the farm on February 2, samples were sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal for testing and the flu was confirmed, he said.

A process has been started to determine the compensation for the people whose chickens and ducks are being culled, he added.

The district administration has already declared areas within 1 km radius of the farm as the affected zone, while areas within 10 km radius have been declared surveillance zone. It also banned the sale of chicken and ducks in the district.

Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Arun Kumar Singh earlier said the state was on an alert.

A medical team was formed to monitor the border areas of the district, and for the sampling of chickens and ducks at large farms. Besides, it has also been asked to collect samples of people living in the affected zone.

A separate ward has been set up at the Sadar Hospital for people infected with bird flu.

Symptoms of the infection among humans include severe upper back pain, fever, cough, shortness of breath, cold and blood in the sputum, officials said.

The Animal Husbandry Department issued an advisory, urging people to inform it if they see dead birds.

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

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Box Office Report: Akshay's Selfiee Earns Rs 2.55 Crore On Opening Day

Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi's new release Selfiee, which hit the theatres on Friday, earned merely Rs 2.55 crore on its opening day, Bollywood trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted. Taran Adarsh described the film's opening day collection as "disastrous." Taran Adarsh wrote in his tweet: "Selfiee has a disastrous Day 1... Sends shock waves throughout the industry... One of the lowest starts for a film that has several prominent names attached to it... Fri Rs 255 cr+ India biz."

Read the tweet shared by Taran Adarsh here:

#Selfiee has a disastrous Day 1... Sends shock waves throughout the industry... One of the lowest starts for a film that has several prominent names attached to it... Fri 2.55 cr+. #India biz. pic.twitter.com/juk8aCCvZq

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) February 25, 2023

In a separate tweet, Taran Adarsh compared Selfie's opening day collection to that of Pathaan and Shehzada. Both the films released this year. He mentioned that Pathaan, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, earned Rs 27.08 crore on its release day. Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon's Shehzada's opening day collection was Rs 2.92 crore.

#Selfiee at national chains... *Day 1* biz...#PVR: 64 lacs#INOX: 43 lacs#Cinepolis: 23 lacs
Total: 1.30 cr
Nett BOC.
SHOCKINGLY LOW NUMBERS

2023 releases... national chains only - *Day 1* biz...
#Pathaan: 27.08 cr
#Shehzada: 2.92 cr
Nett BOC. pic.twitter.com/Gi9W9gaqep

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) February 25, 2023

The film opened to largely underwhelming reviews. In his review for NDTV, film critic Saibal Chatterjee gave the film 2 stars and he wrote: "Script isn't King in Selfiee. It is an unabashed Akshay Kumar show. The star leaves absolutely nothing to chance. He stamps himself on everything that the vapid film has on offer. The narrative (derived from the late Sachy's screenplay) is tweaked and stretched to make space for an actor in search of a hit. But nothing clicks."

Selfiee, directed by Raj Mehta, is based on the 2019 Malayalam film Driving Licence, which featured Prithviraj Sukumaran and Suraj Venjaramoodu in the lead roles. Selfiee also features Nushrratt Bharuccha and Diana Penty.

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Student In US Brutally Thrash Teacher Who Confiscated His Nintendo Switch

In a disturbing event that occurred in the United States, a female staff member of a Florida school was brutally thrashed by a teenage student after she took his Nintendo Switch away.

According to the Fox News story, the violent altercation took place at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, Florida, on Tuesday. The Flagler County Sheriff's Office reported that a 17-year-old was detained and charged with felony aggravated assault with bodily harm.

According to deputies, he became irate when a female teacher's assistant stole his Nintendo Switch during class.

The disturbing event was captured on tape by the CCTV cameras, and it reveals the 6'6" and 270-pound 17-year-old student pushing the teacher's assistant to the ground before continuing to punch and kick her.

After continuously stomping on the paraprofessional inside Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, the youngster punched the woman many times.

According to The New York Post, several other employees who saw the savage assault ran to rescue the teacher from the violent student, who was then taken to a nearby hospital. She is expected to recover from her injuries.

In another video made public by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, the assailant is shown being handcuffed inside a Matanzas High School classroom.

BUNNELL, Florida - On February 21, 2023, the FCSO School Resource Deputies assigned to Matanzas High School were alerted to a paraprofessional employee being physically attacked on campus. Upon arrival, deputies located the female paraprofessional on the ground with severe… https://t.co/w5CpZIFuhk pic.twitter.com/rB9EhOfGIr

— Denn Dunham (@DennD68) February 22, 2023

"The student stated that he was upset with the victim because she took his Nintendo Switch away during class," police said in a statement.

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Old Video: Zookeeper Puts Head Inside Crocodile's Mouth, This Happens Next

A horrific old video has resurfaced online showing the moment a crocodile bit a zookeeper's head before viciously thrashing him side to side. The short clip was shared a few days back by an Instagram page called 'earth.reel'. According to the Express, the incident took place in 2017 at a free crocodile show on the island of Ko Samui, in Thailand.

In the video, a zookeeper is seen kneeling before a crocodile and placing his entire head inside its motionless mouth. The man holds his position for ten seconds before the reptile suddenly snaps down on his head and violently thrashes him around. 

"WARNING! Not for Weak Heart People," the Instagram user wrote in the caption of the post. 

Watch the video below: 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Earth Reels (@earth.reel)

Towards the end of the clip, as the crocodile continues to thrash the man around, shrieks are heard in the background. But fortunately, seconds later he is left on the ground reeling from his injuries while the crocodile slides back into the water. 

According to the Express, the horrifying incident took place around six years back at one of Thailand's famed crocodile shows for a small group of people on the tourist island of Ko Samui. At the time, it was reported that the zookeeper's condition remained unknown. The man was also said to have been "showing off" previous crocodile-related wounds, including a missing finger, to the crowd of six shortly before the performance.

Also Read | Bureaucrat Shares Pic Of Old Indian Coins, Internet Says "Gone Are The Beautiful Era Of 90s"

Meanwhile, on Instagram, the old video has accumulated more than 1,800 likes and over 44,000 views. In the comment section, one user wrote, "If you mess with a wild animals, you have to expect this will probably happen, and it is on you". Another said, "When you play with fire you get burned, when you play Russian roulette you get shot, when you play with alligators or crocodiles you get your a** ate up lol the lesson here has been learned by the idiot and taught by the wild a** professor."

"Some people have to learn the hard way," added third. "Human stupidity is unbelievable!! I can't believe what this guy does!! What the animal does is instinct, what the other animal does is stupidity," expressed fourth. 

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