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“Wanted some space”, says Virat Kohli on stepping down as RCB skipper

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PTI
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"Wanted some space", says Virat Kohli on stepping down as RCB skipper 2

Virat Kohli, who had stepped down as the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper after the 2021 IPL season, said he took that call to give himself some space and manage his workload.

Kohli had announced his decision to leave IPL captaincy after saying that T20 World Cup will be his last tournament as India skipper in the shortest format. He was later removed as ODI captain before he quit the leadership role in a five-day format.

”I’m not someone who holds onto things more than I should. Even if I know I can do a lot more, if I’m not going to enjoy the process, I’m not going to do it,” Kohli, one of the modern-day greats, said on ”The RCB Podcast” about dropping the captain’s armband.

The former RCB and India skipper asserted that it is very difficult for people to understand what a cricketer thinks while taking such decisions.

”Because it’s very difficult for people to understand your decisions unless they are in your situation. From the outside, people have their own expectations ‘Oh! How did that happen? We are so shocked’,” added Kohli, who is on the verge of playing his 100th Test.

”There’s nothing to be shocked about. I explain to people, I wanted some space and I wanted to manage my workload and the story ends there.” Right from the inaugural IPL till last season, RCB has never won the cash-rich tournament.

Rubbishing all the conversations that people had about his decision, Kohli cleared the air saying, ”There was actually nothing at all. I keep my life very simple and basic, when I wanted to make a decision, I made a decision and I announced it.

”I didn’t want to think about it and contemplate it for another year. That would’ve done nothing to me, nothing to the environment I’m part of. Quality of life is something very important to me. And the quality of cricket is something very important to me. ”Over a period of time, you want to do what you’re doing day-in-and-day-out and you want to do as much as you can, but at the end of the day, you have to realize that quality is far more important than quantity,” stressed Kohli.

The elegant top-order batter also stressed that he has always been himself.

”Quantity in hard work but quality in execution. That is the key. If you go for quantity in execution, then you’re going to get burnt out. If I can’t be myself in my everyday life and I can’t be myself on the field, I will change something.

”Because that is who I am. That is the reason I am where I am. And that is the reason why people can connect to me at a certain level. My loved ones, people who are close to me, my friends they connected to me because of that factor, because I’ve always been myself,” he signed off.

France’s Macron calls on Russia to end military actions in Ukraine

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Web Team
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France's Macron calls on Russia to end military actions in Ukraine 4

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned on Thursday Russia’s military actions in Ukraine and called on Moscow to end them immediately.

“France strongly condemns the decision of Russia to start a war with Ukraine. Russia must immediately put an end to its military operations,” wrote Macron on his Twitter account.

Russian forces fired missiles at several cities in Ukraine and landed troops on its coast on Thursday, officials and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east.

Macron’s office added that, in reaction to the Russian move, France had decided to convene a national defence council meeting on Thursday morning. The French presidential palace also said Macron had spoken via mobile phone to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who had asked for multiple interventions in support of his country.

Zelenskiy earlier said that Putin wanted to destroy the Ukrainian state. European Union leaders will discuss new, tough sanctions on Russia at an emergency meeting later on Thursday in reaction to its “barbaric attack” on Ukraine, the EU said.

U.S. President Joe Biden, reacting to an invasion the United States had been predicting for weeks, said his prayers were with the people of Ukraine “as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack”, while promising tough sanctions in response.

“I will be meeting with the leaders of the G7, and the United States and our allies and partners will be imposing severe sanctions on Russia,” Biden said in a statement.

Stocks slump, rupee slides, gold glitters as Russia-Ukraine crisis shells markets

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PTI
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Stocks slump, rupee slides, gold glitters as Russia-Ukraine crisis shells markets 6

Markets were awash in red and the Indian currency slumped against the dollar on Thursday amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine pushing investors to seek refuge in safe-haven assets.

Gold, as well as crude oil prices, surged, with the latter even crossing the USD 102 per barrel mark.

The domestic stock market opened deep in the negative territory, tumbling over 1,700 points and eroding investors’ wealth by more than Rs 8 lakh crore in less than an hour of the start of trade on Thursday.

At 1245 hours, the 30-share Sensex was trading 1833 points or 3.20 per cent lower at 55,399.06 while the broader NSE Nifty fell 561.70 points, or 3.29 per cent, to 16,501.55.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.02 against the US dollar, then slipped further to 75.33. At 1245 hours, it was trading at 75.26 against the dollar, registering a decline of 65 paise from the last close of 74.61.

Gold prices rallied on safe-haven buying along with the US dollar on deepening geopolitical risks and fears of severe sanctions on Russia and possible disruption of supplies of commodities.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 5.61 per cent to USD 102.27 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.38 per cent to 96.55.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said the increase in hostilities by Russia has expectedly spooked the global markets.

While a fall on Thursday is a reaction to this development, markets anyway have been factoring in such a development. In that sense, a short-term bottom may happen over Thursday or Friday, he said.

”However, the repercussions of these actions in terms of impact on commodity prices, including crude, supply disruptions and the sanctions that can be levied by the western nations remains uncertain and could result in the next leg down after a brief recovery,” Jasani said.

Asian bourses were also in the red amid investors turning risk-averse in the wake of rising uncertainties and possible fallout of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities) at HDFC Securities, said gold prices rallied with MCX Gold April futures surging by 2.25 per cent to Rs 51,500 per 10 grams on Thursday.

”Spot Gold prices at COMEX are trading near USD 1,940 per ounce breaching near-term resistance of USD 1,920 per ounce while the next target seems at USD 1,970 per ounce on geopolitical risk. MCX Gold April prices are expected to touch Rs 52,500 in the near term above which can find resistance near Rs. 53,800 per 10 grams,” he said.

Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental) at Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers said investors should continue to hold growth stocks and let volatility pass.

“Markets would be keen to know how the Ukraine crisis evolves and what kind of counter-measures are announced by the West. Post that one could expect markets to stabilise. Investors could add stocks in a staggered manner once the market stabilizes and as a strategy should focus on domestic-oriented businesses for now,” he noted.

European Union to hit Russia with new sanctions over ‘barbaric’ attack on Ukraine

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Web Team
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European Union to hit Russia with new sanctions over 'barbaric' attack on Ukraine 8

European Union leaders will impose new sanctions on Russia, freezing its assets, halting access of its banks to the European financial market and targeting “Kremlin interests” over its “barbaric attack” on Ukraine, senior officials said on Thursday.

Russian forces fired missiles at several cities in Ukraine and landed troops on its coast on Thursday, officials and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east.

“President Putin is responsible for bringing war back to Europe,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said, adding that the EU would hold him accountable. “With this package, we will target strategic sectors of the Russian economy by blocking their access to key technologies and markets,” she said in an emergency statement. “We will weaken Russia’s economic base and its capacity to modernise.

“In addition, we will freeze Russian assets in the EU and stop the access of Russian banks to the European financial market.” The EU approved a first round of sanctions on Wednesday, including blacklisting Russian politicians and curbing trade between the EU and two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine whose independence Putin has recognised.

The new measures, to be discussed at an evening summit of national EU leaders starting at 1900 GMT, will be “the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented”, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said. “This is among the darkest hours for Europe since the end of World War Two … Russia’s leadership will face unprecedented isolation.”

The EU will also prepare a new aid package for Ukraine, he added. “We will also be active in supporting evacuation operations, including our own staff in zones affected by this Russian attack,” he said. Shortly after Putin spoke in a televised address on Russian state TV, explosions could be heard in the pre-dawn quiet of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Gunfire rattled near the capital’s main airport, the Interfax news agency said, and sirens were heard over the city.

The special military operation aimed at ‘demilitarisation and denazification’ of Ukraine: Russian Prez Putin

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PTI
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The special military operation aimed at ‘demilitarisation and denazification' of Ukraine: Russian Prez Putin 10

Unfazed by tough Western sanctions, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he decided to launch a ”special military operation” aimed at the ”demilitarisation and denazification” of Ukraine and also bring to justice those who committed numerous crimes against peaceful people, including Russian nationals.

”People’s republics of Donbass approached Russia with a request for help. In connection therewith, I made the decision to hold a special military operation,” Putin said in a special television address.

He said the goal of the military operation is to “protect the people that are subjected to abuse, genocide from the Kiev regime for eight years, and to this end we will seek to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine and put to justice those that committed numerous bloody crimes against peaceful people, including Russian nationals.” Justice and truth are on Russia’s side, Putin was quoted as saying by state-run TASS news agency.

”Forces are always needed but they can be of different quality,” he said. ”And we know the real strength is in justice and truth that are on our side.” Putin said all the Ukrainian servicemen that will refuse to perform unlawful orders of Kiev and disarm will be able to freely leave the zone of military activities.

”Do not perform their unlawful orders! I urge you to immediately disarm and go home. To make it clear: all servicemen of the Ukrainian army that will fulfill this demand will be able to freely leave the zone of combat action and return to their families,” Putin said. ”All the responsibility for possible bloodshed will be entirely on the conscience of the regime ruling in the territory of Ukraine,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defence has said that it used precision weapons to neutralise Ukrainian air forces and air defences, as well as military infrastructure.

”Ukrainian military infrastructure, air defence facilities, military airfields, and air forces are being neutralised by high-precision weapons”, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry stressed that the Russian military is not attacking Ukrainian cities, so there are no threats to the civilian population.

President Putin on Monday signed decrees to recognise Ukraine’s regions of “Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics” as “independent”, escalating the tension in the region. He also ordered Russian troops into eastern Ukraine in what the Kremlin called a ”peacekeeping” mission in the Moscow-backed regions.

On Thursday, Putin announced the launch of a military operation in eastern Ukraine just as the UN Security Council was holding an emergency meeting on the crisis.

The US-led West, which has already imposed punitive sanctions on Russia, has warned Moscow that it would face severe consequences for its actions in Ukraine.

Rohit, Dravid taking Team India in a fabulous direction, says Dinesh Karthik

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ANI
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India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has said that new skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid are taking the Men in Blue in a fabulous direction. Karthik also hailed Team India’s victory over West Indies in the recently-concluded T20I series. India will now lock horns against Sri Lanka in the shortest format.

“What I enjoyed most was Rohit’s captaincy. I thought he led the team beautifully. Tactically very, very sound, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way the team played in the last couple of series against West Indies,” Karthik said on ‘The ICC Review‘. “The new captain and there’s a new coach, I think they are taking the team in a fabulous direction. They’ve plugged small holes, which were probably there previously, and that has been the beautiful part about it. And along the way, in the journey, they’ve managed to become No.1,” he added.

After beating West Indies 3-0, Team India also managed to become the No.1 ranked side in the shortest format of the game. “Who doesn’t want to be world No.1 even if it is for some period of time? Because other teams will play matches and then India plays more matches post the IPL so that could change. But for the moment, knowing that Team India is the No.1 T20 team in the world is I think a very, very good feeling,” said Karthik. “I think it is the quality of players. When you talk about good teams over a period of time, they always talk about the fact that bench strength needs to be very important, and India has great bench strength,” he added.

Talking about Suryakumar Yadav and Venkatesh Iyer, Karthik said: “The guys coming in new have really grabbed on to their places. Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer. It’s just good to watch Harshal Patel – he has been an absolute revelation. So I think, the guys coming in are grabbing their opportunities with both hands and that’s always a good sign.”

EU says it will hold the Kremlin accountable for attack on Ukraine

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Web Team
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EU says it will hold the Kremlin accountable for attack on Ukraine 13

The European Union will hold Moscow accountable for the “unjustified” attack on Ukraine, the chief of the bloc’s Executive Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Thursday.

“In these dark hours, our thoughts are with Ukraine and the innocent women, men and children as they face this unprovoked attack and fear for their lives,” she said on Twitter. “We will hold the Kremlin accountable,” von der Leyen added.

EU leaders are set to hold an emergency summit in Brussels later on Thursday after the first round of EU sanctions on Russia took effect on Wednesday.

Congress fully dedicated to interests of govt employees: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

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PTI
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Congress fully dedicated to interests of govt employees: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra 15

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday hailed the Rajasthan government’s decision to implement the old pension scheme, saying her party is fully dedicated to the interests of government employees.

In a major announcement in its budget, the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government decided to implement the old pension scheme from next fiscal for all employees appointed on or after January 1, 2004.

”The Congress government of Rajasthan has taken a big decision in the interest of government employees by implementing the Old Pension Scheme,” Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

The Congress party is fully dedicated to the interests of government employees, she asserted. ”We have worked in the interest of the people, will continue to do so,” the Congress general secretary said.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot on Wednesday presented the Budget for the year 2022-23, with the main focus on sectors like health, education, infrastructure, social security and tourism.

Russia attacks Ukraine as defiant Vladimir Putin warns US, NATO

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PTI
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Russia attacks Ukraine as defiant Vladimir Putin warns US, NATO 17

Russian troops launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions, warning other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen”.

Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as world leaders decried the start of a Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine’s democratically elected government.

US President Joe Biden pledged new sanctions meant to punish Russia for an act of aggression that the international community had for weeks anticipated but could not prevent through diplomacy.

Putin justified it all in a televised address, asserting the attack was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine – a false claim the US had predicted he would make as a pretext for an invasion. He accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia’s demand to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees and credulously claimed that Russia doesn’t intend to occupy Ukraine but will move to “demilitarise” it and bring those who committed crimes to justice.

Special PMLA court sends NCP leader Nawab Malik to ED custody till 3 March

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Afternoon Voice
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Special PMLA court sends NCP leader Nawab Malik to ED custody till 3 March 19

A Special Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) court sends Maharashtra Cabinet Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik to Enforcement Directorate custody till 3rd March, in connection with Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case.

“The court will hear tomorrow our applications seeking permission to allow Nawab Malik to carry his medicines and get food from his home during his custody, and the presence of lawyers during his custodial interrogation,” said Tariq Sayyed, Nawab Malik’s lawyer.

Earlier, ED had sought 14-day custody of the NCP leader from the court. He was arrested today by Enforcement Directorate.

According to the sources, Malik was not cooperating during the questioning. Soon after his arrest, the leader said that he is not scared and will fight and win.

ED had earlier today summoned Malik in connection with an alleged money laundering case related to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Last week, the ED on Tuesday conducted raids at the residence of Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parkar in Mumbai in connection with the money laundering case.

Searches were carried out by the ED at several places linked to people associated with the underworld in Mumbai, informed sources said on Tuesday. The ED had also conducted searches at 10 different locations related to late Haseena Parkar, sister of Dawood Ibrahim, in Nagpada.

The agency had also questioned Dawood’s nephew and Parkar’s son Alishah Parkar and Chota Shakeel’s henchman Salim Qureshi aka Salim Fruits.

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