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“Jitni Umar Likhi Hai…”: Salman Khan On Lawrence Bishnoi Death Threats

by | Mar 27, 2025 | top-stories




Mumbai:

Speaking out on the continuous death threats he has been receiving, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has said his life is in the hands of God. During a promotional event for his upcoming movie Sikandar, Mr Khan was asked about the threats. “Bhagwan, Allah sab unpar hai. Jitni umar likhi hai, utni likhi hai. Bas yahi hai.” This roughly translates to, “It’s all up to God, Allah. What is written is written. That’s all.”

The 59-year-old actor acknowledged the challenges created by the heightened security cover provided to him following the threats and the shooting near his Mumbai apartment.

“Sometimes, having to move around with so many people becomes a problem,” he said at the press meet held amid tight security and off the camera. “Galaxy, shoot, shoot Galaxy. No detours,” he said.

In April last year, two men on a bike fired multiple shots outside Galaxy Apartments in Bandra, where the actor lives. The investigation later revealed that the shooting was aimed at intimidating the actor and was carried out on the instructions of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The gangster, who is in prison in Gujarat, is enraged with Salman Khan over the 1998 blackbuck shooting case, in which he was accused. The Bishnoi community holds blackbucks sacred. The actor has received frequent threats over the years.

On the professional front, the actor is now set for the release of Sikandar on Sunday. Directed by AR Murugadoss, it stars Rashmika Mandanna, Kajal Aggarwal and Sharman Joshi in key roles.





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People's Mandate Has Shown Who's Real Traitor: Eknath Shinde On Kunal Kamra Row

by | Mar 26, 2025 | top-stories




Mumbai:

Hitting out at the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena over the ‘gaddar’ (traitor) jibe, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has repeated the allegation that its use by Kunal Kamra in a satirical song about him was part of a ‘supari’ (contract) given to the comedian.

The Shiv Sena chief also alleged that while the Uddhav faction of the Sena and others in the opposition in Maharashtra are talking about the Constitution and freedom of speech now, there have been several instances in the past when they have acted against people who criticised them. Mr Shinde cited the example of the bulldozing of actor-MP Kangana Ranaut’s Mumbai office in 2020 after she spoke out against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government’s handling of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.

Mr Shinde has been called a traitor several times by the Uddhav Thackeray faction after he split the Shiv Sena in 2022 and joined hands with the BJP. The move had led to the Thackeray-led government falling in Maharashtra and being replaced with one headed by Mr Shinde.

Speaking in the Maharashtra Legislative Council on Wednesday, Mr Shinde thundered, “You keep calling me ‘gaddar, gaddar‘, you will soon have to close the ‘daar‘ (door in Marathi) of your party.”

Referring to the verdict given by the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker and the Election Commission – that the faction led by him is the “real” Shiv Sena – and the thumping win achieved by the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) in last year’s Assembly polls in the state, Mr Shinde continued, “The Election Commission, Supreme Court and the Speaker of the House have said who is the ‘gaddar‘. More importantly, the people, who are above everyone, have also given their verdict. No matter how much “supari” (contract) you give, nothing’s going to work.”

In a show shot at the Habitat Comedy Club in Mumbai’s Khar, Mr Kamra had made some comments on the Eknath Shinde chief – without naming him – through a satirical version of the song ‘Bholi si surat‘ from the 1997 blockbuster ‘Dil To Pagal Hai‘. The satirical song also had a mention of ‘gaddar‘.

‘Where Was Your Constitution?’

After a row erupted, Shiv Sena workers vandalised the Habitat Comedy Club on Sunday and a case was filed against him, Mr Kamra said he would cooperate with the police but would not apologise for his remarks. 

While ending his show, the comedian had also shown a copy of the Constitution to the audience and said, “For all of the people who will not like this show, I have something for you… This is the Constitution of India and this is what allows me to do what I do.”

Members of the Uddhav Sena and other opposition parties have also accused Mr Shinde of going against the Constitution by seeking action against Mr Kamra, prompting the Shiv Sena chief to hit back on Wednesday. 

Mr Shinde brought up instances of a retired Indian Navy personnel being beaten up in 2020 allegedly by Shiv Sena workers for forwarding a cartoon on Uddhav Thackeray and comedian Pranit More being thrashed last month for comments against Veer Pahariya, who is the grandson of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde of the Congress. 

Apart from the demolition of Kangana Ranaut’s office, the deputy chief minister also pointed to the united Shiv Sena’s reaction after popular Radio Jockey Malishka had made a satirical song about potholes in 2017. 

“Where was your constitution when you beat up a retired person from merchant navy? When Pranit More was beaten in Solapur… when you bulldozed Kangana’s office?” Mr Shinde asked.

“Anyone shows the constitution these days, in a diary,” he added, in what was seen as a dig at both Mr Kamra and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. 




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Despite Anti-Corruption Drive, Xi Jinping's Family Holds Millions: Report

by | Mar 25, 2025 | top-stories




Beijing:

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s relatives continue to possess millions of dollars in business ventures and financial investments, Radio Free Asia reported, citing a recent report from US sources.

After assuming power in 2012, President Xi initiated an anti-corruption campaign designed to eliminate corruption at all tiers of the Communist Party. This initiative, which focused on both high-ranking “tigers” and low-ranking “flies,” resulted in the investigation and punishment of hundreds of thousands of officials, as reported by RFA.

The RFA report pointed out that the US-backed intelligence agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), indicated that President Xi’s family has maintained substantial financial interests and may have gained from political ties through both private and state-owned enterprises.

“Their high-ranking positions could have provided them with access to privileged information, and both private and state-run enterprise activities might have benefited family investments due to their associations with people in political authority,” the ODNI stated in a report quoted by RFA.

The ODNI noted that centralized authority, a lack of independent oversight, and limited accountability, especially at the provincial level, are systemic issues that foster corruption in China, as mentioned by RFA. The report suggested that these conditions enable government officials to amass wealth through corrupt practices at a rate estimated to be four to six times their official salaries.

“Higher-ranking officials, who enjoy greater access to state assets, gain the most from bribery and illicit financial transactions,” the ODNI reported, using their membership in China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) as an example, as cited by RFA.

“The potential advantages of NPC membership encourage individuals to incur substantial costs to join, often through bribes, and to accept bribes while serving or even after their term to facilitate business transactions,” the ODNI stated, as reported by RFA.

The NPC, which is China’s legislative body that primarily functions as a rubber-stamp parliament, is regarded as a status symbol and a means to gain access to sensitive government information, according to the RFA report.
 

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




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BCCI Contracts: Shreyas Iyer To Make Comeback But Report Says Stakeholders Disagree Over Retention Of… | Cricket News

by | Mar 25, 2025 | top-stories






The BCCI central contracts for men are yet to be released, fuelling speculations over some rejigging in the A+ category following the retirement of stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja from the T20 format. While the women’s central contract list with 16 names across three categories was released on Monday, the men’s list which had 30 names last time, is expected to come out in the next few days. A+ category has a retainership fee of Rs 7 crore, followed by A where a player gets Rs 5 crore while cricketers in Grade B and C are paid Rs 3 crore and 1 crore respectively.

The central contracts are prepared by the national selection committee in consultation with the head coach and secretary (Devajit Saikia) before being placed in front of the Apex Council for approval.

It has been learned that not all stakeholders are on same page over retention of all senior players in A+ category. Bumrah, Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja were handed the highest category contracts last year.

A+ is a category where players who are automatic selections across all three formats are slotted. Now that Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja have all retired from T20 Internationals, they have become two format players. Only Bumrah, the Test captain-in-waiting, is an all format certainty.

However an influential section in BCCI wants status quo to be maintained as far as A+ category is concerned.

In the A category, Ravichandran Ashwin will not be there as he has already announced his retirement from international cricket. There is a strong chance that Axar Patel, who was recently named vice-captain for England T20I series, could be elevated from Group B to A.

Axar has been a regular in both ODIs and T20Is and has also played 14 Tests so far for India.

Shreyas Iyer, who was dropped last season, is certain to make a comeback in one of the categories considering he has played 11 ODIs this season.

For any player to enter the central contract list, he needs to play either three Tests or eight ODIs or 10 T20Is during a particular calendar year to be considered for the next season.

It will also be interesting to see if young Yashasvi Jaiswal gets an elevation from his Grade B contract considering his promise across formats. In the new list, Bengal speedster Akash Deep, who has played seven Tests and Sarfaraz Khan, who has played three during the calendar year, should be inducted in Group C.

Ditto for Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has already played the full Border-Gavaskar series (five Tests apart from four T20Is) and will get automatic induction into the central contract list.

Shardul Thakur and Ruturaj Gaikwad were part of the last year’s list but they are not fulfilling the requisite criteria at the moment to make the list. However, selection committee in consultation with head coach and secretary can always make exceptions.

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“No Regrets, Will Apologise Only If…”: What Kunal Kamra Told Mumbai Cops

by | Mar 24, 2025 | top-stories



Mumbai:

Comedian Kunal Kamra has told the police he does not regret his ‘gaddar‘, or ‘traitor’, remark, seen as referring to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, sources told NDTV Monday afternoon.

He also said he would only apologise – an apology has been demanded by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who this morning told the Assembly the freedom of expression argument could not extend to “low-level comedy and disrespecting the Deputy Chief Minister” – if told to by the courts.

Police sources further said Mr Kamra – who spoke to the cops from Tamil Nadu – denied rumours he had been paid by the opposition to target Mr Shinde. Sources also said Mr Kamra gave the cops permission to check his finances – to confirm no such payment was received – if needed.

News of the contact with Mr Kamra came shortly after the Mumbai studio that hosted the show was demolished by the city’s civic body, citing an unspecified violation.

This was after the studio was vandalised by Shiv Sena workers loyal to Mr Shinde Sunday night. They also burned Mr Kamra’s photo outside a police station in Thane – seen as his political stronghold. 

READ | Demolition Begins At Kunal Kamra Event Venue After E Shinde Jibe

Videos of the vandalism – all 11 of whom were released on bail within hours – showed a mob running rampant through the studio in Mumbai’s Khar area, damaging property and throwing chairs around.

The owners of the studio – Habitat Studio, which also hosted the episode of the ‘India’s Got Latent’ show featuring influencer Ranveer Allahabadia – earlier distanced themselves from Mr Kamra’s comment, arguing they could not be held accountable for comments by performers.

The owners also said they had decided to shut down. “We are shutting down till we figure out the best way to provide a platform for free expression without putting ourselves and our property in jeopardy.”

READ | Comic’s “Common Sense” Post Over Sena’s Mumbai Studio Rampage

The controversy – far from the first with Mr Kamra in the spotlight – broke after he seemed to use the term ‘gaddar‘, or ‘traitor’, to refer to Mr Shinde, a former (undivided) Shiv Sena leader whose rebellion against party boss Uddhav Thackeray in 2022 caused a split and brought down the latter’s government.

READ | On Comedian Kunal Kamra’s E Shinde Joke, D Fadnavis’ Reaction

Mr Shinde’s Sena faction then joined hands with the BJP to form the government.

Outrage by the BJP-led state government has seen multiple police complaints filed against Mr Kamra, including one based on a complaint by Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik.

A police case has also been filed against the studio vandals.

Mr Kamra’s comment has drawn countercriticism from the opposition – particularly the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena faction. Aaditya Thackeray, his son, labelled Mr Shinde an “insecure coward” and his colleague, Priyanka Chaturvedi pointed out that Mr Kamra had not actually named Mr Shinde.

“Their vandalism shows that it hurt them and that there is truth in the joke. What kind of intolerance is this? If you don’t like something, file a police complaint…” she said.




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Canada PM Calls Snap Election Amid Trade War, Trump's Annexation Threats

by | Mar 23, 2025 | top-stories




Ottawa, Canada:

Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, who took over after Justin Trudeau’s ouster, has called for snap election in the country on April 28. The ruling Liberal Party of Canada will be up against the main opposition party – the Conservative Party of Canada.

Prime Minister Carney said he has called for a snap election in order to ensure that his country gets a government with a stronger mandate than the Liberal Party currently has. This is important keeping in mind the trade war with neighbouring United States and President Trump’s repeated threat to annexe Canada to make it the 51st state of the US – which Canadians outrightly reject.

“I’ve just requested that the Governor General to dissolve parliament and call an election for April 28. She has agreed,” Prime Minister Carney said, referring to King Charles III’s representative in Canada, a member of the British Commonwealth.

During the sudden announcement, the prime minister said that Donald Trump “wants to break us, so America can own us. We (Canada) will not let that happen.” Claiming that the threat is serious, he said that to take bold decisions, his country must aim to provide a stronger mandate.

It has been just over one week that Mr Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, stepped down due to mounting pressure from within his party as well as Canada’s opposition, led by Pierre Poilievre. Mr Carney and an entirely new cabinet were sworn in on March 14.

Canada was origina;;y scheduled to go to polls in October this year.

The Liberal Party, which has been in power for a decade, had slid into deep unpopularity over Justin Trudeau’s leadership. Prime Minister Carney, who replaced Trudeau as prime minister and party leader, will now hope to capitalise on the wave of patriotism across the nation due to Trump’s takeover threats.

President Trump who had repeated called Canada the “51st state” and former PM Trudeau as “Governor” has already imposed heavy tariffs, which experts say, could have a vastly damaging impact on Canada’s economy.

Suddenly, issues such as cost of living, inflation, and immigration no longer are the biggest polling agendas – Trump, tariffs, and saving the nation are.

Donald Trump has said clearly that “I don’t care who wins up there,” he will go ahead with the plans he has.

On April 28, Canadians will elect 343 members of parliament to the House of Commons, an increase of five compared to the 2021 vote, reflecting the country’s growing population. Seats are won based on the first-past-the-post system.

Several parties can run candidates in an electoral district, also known as a ‘riding’. The candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of whether they secured an absolute majority of votes.

If a party wins 172 seats, they secure a majority government. If no individual party wins a majority, the party with the most seats is typically given the chance to form a government, which requires having “the confidence of the house.”

(Inputs from AFP)
 




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