Almost three weeks after Uttar Pradesh top cop Sulkhan Singh demitted office, one of the largest police forces in the world continues to be headless.

While the state government had named CISF chief OP Singh as the next Director General of Police (DGP), he is yet to join and officials in the government seemingly have no clue on what’s happening.

Sources in the Home Department said that the delay in Singh taking up his new assignment is because the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), which has to sign his relieving letter, has not met as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been busy with Israeli Prime Minister’s visit and other matters.

Senior officials, however, don’t buy this argument as they point out that the ACC action was just a “formality on paper”.

Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar says that the central government had “not responded” so far to the state government’s proposal. In a letter to the Union government, the state had informed that it had take a decision to name O.P. Singh as the next DGP and had requested that “his services with the Centre may be concluded and he reassigned to UP”. No action seems to have been taken on this proposal.

Opposition parties have been taking potshots at the government on this count. “The BJP has governments both at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh, so what’s the delay? This is a bizarre case where the police force does not have a head even as the crime rate is on the rise,” Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’, Leader of the Congress party in the state Assembly, told IANS, adding that the delay also shows chinks in the ruling party.

“There is no independent decision-making in the present government; the ropes of governance are in the hands of the Centre. I think if (Chief Minister) Yogi Adityanath was given a free hand, the state would not be suffering such a situation where there is no police head,” he contended.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav too is vocal in deriding the state government for its failure to get the DGP to join. “Suna hai naye DGP ache dinon ke aane ka intezaar kar rahe hai, aise mein kya kahein, janata ki kise fikr hai, ye sab dikh raha hai” (We have heard that the DGP designate is waiting for an auspicious day to join. The less said the better, no one seems to be bothered about the people), he said.

Insiders in the ruling party confided that the DGP’s joining had been stuck because of opposition by some state leaders who feel that another Thakur officer in the already Thakur-dominated police and bureaucracy would “send the wrong signals”.

The previous DGP, Sulkhan Singh, was also a Thakur and had been given a three-month extension by the government at end of September last year. There are many Thakur officials in the state in lucrative positions, giving the opposition enough ammunition to allege that the Chief Minister, himself a Thakur, was giving preference to caste over competence.

A senior BJP minister, unwilling to be named, said that a “rethink on the DGP’s name is on” and that a majority of state leaders want a competent, clean and fair officer to head the state police.

O.P. Singh has served in many senior positions in the state government but his name has also been tarred by controversies. He was the SSP of Lucknow when a murderous attack took place on BSP chief Mayawati. He was suspended thrice and is known to be close to former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.

With so much undercurrents and delays, it is going to be while before the new DGP arrives in the state and gives some direction to the police force, that invariably is slammed for being poor in crime control.

A quarter- final berth already secured, India will be aiming to keep their unbeaten run intact when they take on another weak opponent in Zimbabwe in the ICC Under-19 World Cup, here tomorrow.

A confidence-boosting win against past champions Australia and demolition of Papua New Guinea has put India in a comfortable position and they can experiment a bit before the knockout stage.

The only test for the Indians was their tournament-opener against Australia, who they thumped by 100 runs, courtesy an all-round show by the last edition’s finalists.

Indian fast bowlers Kamlesh Nagrakoti and Shivam Mavi have impressed with their testing pace so far and it remains to be seen if legendary coach Rahul Dravid fields them again or keeps them fresh for the quarter-finals.

Vidarbha bowler Aditya Thakare, called as a cover for an injured Ishan Porel, might get a chance. Porel is nursing a bruised left heal and was replaced by Arshdeep Singh in the match against PNG.

India’s bowling unit has looked in complete control with left-arm spinner Anukul Roy complementing his pace colleagues well.

India’s top-order batsmen, led by skipper Prithvi Shaw, are also in sublime form and are yet to be tested under difficult situations.

They are expected to make merry against Zimbabwe’s attack, plundered by the Australians during their seven-wicket win yesterday.

Barring an upset win for Zimbabwe tomorrow, India and Australia will progress to the quarterfinals from Group B.

India will top the Group with their third win a row and will be followed by Australia, who have two wins from three matches.

India have not lost to Zimbabwe in any of the four matches so far, with the first contested way back in 2005 during the Afro-Asian Under-19 Cup.

Teams (From):

India: Prithvi Shaw (C), Shubman Gill, Aryan Juyal, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Harvik Desai, Manjot Kalra, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Pankaj Yadav, Riyan Parag, Himanshu Rana, Anukul Roy, Shivam Mavi, Shiva Singh.

Zimbabwe: Liam Roche (C), Robert Chimhinya, Jonathan Connolly, Alistair Frost, Taun Harrison, Wesley Madhevere, Tanunurwa Makoni, Donald Mlambo, Tinashe Nenhunzi, Nkosilatu Nunu, Kieran Robinson, Jayden Schadendorf and Milton Shumba.

Match starts at 06:30am IST.

Properties of fruits and vegetables play a crucial role in deciding the time of not having them. Like all foods, few fruits and veggies have more calories, sugar or acids than others. However, they aren’t comparable to eating candies, yet unfortunately; they aren’t good for you if eaten on an empty stomach.

Eating sugary fruits boost insulin levels which in turn increase the load on the pancreas that has just “woken up”. This may lead to diabetes. Also, few fruits are loaded with fruits acids and can cause acidity and gastritis if eaten as first thing in the morning.

Don’t start your day with a diet filled with those fruits that can adversely affect your health in any ways.

Pear: Pear contains crude fibre. Eating it on an empty stomach can injure delicate mucous membranes.

Bananas: Eating bananas when your stomach is empty may harm your heart as it sharply increases the amount of magnesium in the blood.

Citrus fruits like grape fruit: Citrus fruits are loaded with fruit acids. They can increase the risk of gastritis, gastric ulcers and heart burn if eaten when your stomach is empty.

Litchi: Consuming fresh litchis on an empty stomach may increase sugar level drastically. It may also stimulate the gastric mucous resulting in stomach pain.

Black dates: Black dates are rich source of pectin and tannic acid, both of which can combine easily with gastric acid in the human body and produce insoluble lumps in the stomach. They should not be eaten on an empty stomach. Also, people suffering from chronic gastrointestinal disease shouldn’t eat black dates.

Mango: Mango is not recommended to be eaten as first food in the morning. It is high in natural sugar and can cause a drastic spike and drop in blood sugar levels.

Tomato: High level of tannic acid found in tomato increases acidity in the stomach. It may cause gastric ulcers too.

Cucumber: Being rich in amino-acids, cucumber can lead to flatulence, abdominal pain and heartburn if consumed on an empty stomach.

Eating these fruits and veggies on an empty stomach in the morning may worsen your health and also be the source of many ailments.

Be aware, be healthy!

The B-Town couple, Hrithik Roshan and Sussanne Khan, decided to go their separate paths in 2013. Sussanne Khan walked out of the Roshan’s house and it left everyone in shock. After one year of separation, the duo got a divorce.

Unlike other couples, there wasn’t any public spat between them. However, they stayed friends and were spotted at parties together. Sussanne Khan was there with the actor at film screenings and they even took vacations along with their children.
ALSO READ: Hrithik Roshan becomes world’s most handsome actor, beats Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans

They stayed close even after the divorce and recently there have been anticipations of them getting back together. According to a Deccan Chronicle report, “Hrithik and Sussanne are working it out. They identified the stress areas in their relationship and are doing their best to work their way around them. Give them time – they will come together again.”

Although, a close member of the family revealed, “They are done with one another — to even suggest that they can be a couple again is ridiculous. They’ve agreed to meet and spend time together for their children’s sake whenever they feel like it. Beyond their obligation as parents, both Hrithik and Sussanne have their own separate lives,” as per media reports.

READ MORE: 5 controversies of Hrithik Roshan that you may have missed

On the work front, Hrithik is planning to release his Krissh franchise film Krissh 4 on Christmas 2020.

Apple has announced to contribute $350 billion to the US economy over the next five years that includes an estimated $55 billion investment this year.

The investments will concentrate in three areas where Apple has had the greatest impact on job creation: direct employment by Apple, spending and investment with Apple’s domestic suppliers and manufacturers, and fuelling the fast-growing app economy which Apple created with iPhone and the App Store, the Cupertino-based iPhone maker said in a statement on Thursday.

“Apple is a success story that could only have happened in America, and we are proud to build on our long history of support for the US economy,” said CEO Tim Cook.

“We believe deeply in the power of American ingenuity, and we are focusing our investments in areas where we can have a direct impact on job creation and job preparedness,” he added.

The contribution will not include Apple’s ongoing tax payments, the tax revenues generated from employees’ wages and the sale of Apple products.

Apple is already responsible for creating and supporting over 2 million jobs across the US and expects to generate even more jobs as a result of the initiatives being announced on Thursday.

Planned capital expenditures in the US, investments in American manufacturing over five years and a record tax payment upon repatriation of overseas profits will account for approximately $75 billion of Apple’s direct contribution.

Apple, already the largest US taxpayer, anticipates repatriation tax payments of approximately $38 billion as required by recent changes to the tax law.

As part of the total investment, Apple will spend an estimated $55 billion with US suppliers and manufacturers in 2018.

Apple expects to invest over $30 billion in capital expenditures in the US over the next five years and create over 20,000 new jobs through hiring at existing campuses and opening a new one. Apple already employs 84,000 people in all 50 states.

“The company plans to establish an Apple campus in a new location, which will initially house technical support for customers. The location of this new facility will be announced later in the year,” Apple said.

Over $10 billion of Apple’s expanded capital expenditures will be investments in data centres across the US.

The iOS app economy has created more than 1.6 million jobs in the US and generated $5 billion in revenue for American app developers in 2017.

“With demand for coding skills stronger than ever, today there are more than 500,000 unfilled programming-related positions across the country, and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2020 there will be 1.4 million more software development jobs than applicants qualified to fill them,” Apple said.

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the ban by three states on the release of controversial Bollywood film “Padmaavat”.

Also read: Padmaavat producers move SC against ban by various states

This is one war between traditional rivals India and Pakistan that has really been scaling new heights. The war of flags between the two countries at the Attari-Wagah joint check post (JCP) is set for a renewal with the authorities on the Indian side readying to make the tricolour flutter once again on top of a 360-feet tall flagpole at Attari.

While the Pakistani national flag has been fluttering since last August, the Indian flag had to be taken off on a few occasions last year as strong winds along the border belt have repeatedly damaged the tricolour.

The Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT), which manages the Indian flag at Attari, 30 km from the Sikh holy city, has handed over the task of hoisting and maintenance of the flag to Delhi-based company Fast Track. The company manages the giant national flag fluttering at the Central Park in New Delhi’s busy Rajiv Chowk.

Both the countries are spending millions of rupees annually to remain involved in this war of flags. The AIT has given the contract for maintaining the flag to the company for over Rs 46 lakh (almost $72,000) annually.

The 360-feet high pole and flag was installed last year at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore. The flag, which got damaged four times, has been replaced five times at a cost of Rs 6 lakh each time.

Even though the Pakistani flag is fluttering on a higher 400-feet pole, the Indian authorities have decided to keep the tricolour at a height of 360 feet only.

“The height of the pole will remain fixed at 360 feet. There is no proposal at present to increase the height. The company will be responsible for keeping the tricolour fluttering,” AIT executive engineer Ravi Kumar said.

India had pipped Pakistan in this war of flags by hoisting the flag in March last year, much ahead of Pakistan’s move to hoist a flag near the JCP. It was reported that the Indian flag was even visible from Lahore city, one of the biggest cities in Pakistan which is around 15 km from the Wagah border.

However, the Indian flag had to be taken off from the pole as the strong winds repeatedly damaged it. The main reason for this was that the tricolor is made, as per specifications, from Khadi material which could not sustain itself at the height of 360 feet. The Pakistani flag is reported to be made from finer and stronger material which can sustain strong winds.

The Attari-Wagah JCP gets thousands of visitors from both sides every evening to witness the lowering of the national flags of the two countries at the border gates and the closure of the gates for the night.

“We could see the Pakistan national flag from some distance during our visit. But on our side, only the tall pole was standing and there was no flag. We were disappointed,” Arvind Chauhan, a visitor from Delhi, said.

The AIT had put up another flag, on top of a 170-feet pole, at Ranjit Avenue along the National Highway No. 1 (NH-1) which connects Amritsar bypass to the border belt at Attari. The flag here has also been replaced 14 times.

Activists feel that putting up of the flags was a wasteful move due to the high cost of putting them and spending lakhs of rupees annually on maintenance.

Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Thursday successfully launched a new Earth observation satellite, equipped with X-band radar which is capable of obtaining high-resolution terrain images.

The Advanced Satellite with New System Architecture for Observation (ASNARO-2) was launched aboard a third-generation Epsilon rocket from the Uchinoura Space Center, in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, Japan, Efe reported.

“The launch and flight of Epsilon-3 took place normally,” JAXA said in the statement, and further confirmed that after approximately 52 minutes into the flight, the 570 kg ASNARO-2 satellite successfully separated from the rocket.

ASNARO-2, developed by Japanese tech firm NEC, will perform Earth-observation tasks for five years from its orbit at an altitude of about 500 km and can deliver all weather radar imagery at a 1 meter resolution on the ground.

This was the first launch of a JAXA Epsilon rocket ordered by a private company, a successful concept which the Japanese Aerospace agency hopes will boost this type of order.

The Japanese aerospace agency designed the Epsilon to be smaller than conventional rockets to reduce the cost of launching small-sized satellites.

The cost of this launch is estimated to be around $36 million, roughly half the cost of conventional rockets.

The first Epsilon rocket was launched in September 2013 to put the first remote planetary observing space telescope into orbit.

The results of the Chartered Accountants (CA) Final Examination 2017 and Common Proficiency Test (CPT) were declared on Wednesday evening by the Institute of Chartered Accountancy of India (ICAI).

Mohit Gupta from Karnal in Haryana topped the exams. Prashant and Aditya Mittal, both from New Delhi, came in second and third, respectively.

Gupta scored 73.38 per cent. He got 587 of the total 800 marks.

ICAI said that 15.91 per cent of the 39,328 candidates who appeared for the Group I test in CA finals passed the exam. The Group II test was cleared by 15.11 per cent of the 39,753 candidates who appeared.

The overall pass percentage is 22.76 per cent.

CA Nilesh S Vikamsey, President, ICAI congratulated all rank-holders and successful candidates for their hard work and results.

“However, I would like to convey to all candidates who could not qualify despite their hard work, to plan and study efficiently and work harder, which will eventually help them in achieving success,” he said.

The results can be checked on the following websites:

http://icaiexam.icai.org

http://caresults.icai.org

http://icai.nic.in

After the major series debacle in South Africa, the Indian cricket fans and captain Virat Kohli have got something to cheer about. Virat was named as the International Cricket Council One Day International (ODI) Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards on Thursday. The Indian captain was also named the ICC Cricketer of the Year and captain of both ICC Test and ODI teams.

Indian skipper had led India to the final of Champions Trophy 2017 against Pakistan, ODI series win over England, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and Test series win over Bangladesh, Australia and Sri Lanka (twice).

The award was decided for performance based on the period between September 21, 2016 to December 31, 2017, Virat Kohli scored 2,203 Test runs at an average of 77.80.

The Delhi lad also scored eight centuries in the time period in the longest format, including five double hundreds.

In ODIs, Kohli scored 1,818 ODI runs at an average of 82.63 including seven tons, and 299 T20I runs at a strike rate of 153. With Kohli as skipper, India went on to register 9 consecutive series win in the longest format, a record that India share with Australia.

#TeamIndia Captain @imVkohli sweeps ICC Awards
ICC Cricketer of the Year ✅
ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year ✅
Named Captain of both ICC Test & ODI Teams ✅

Listen to what he has to say on being honoured with the awardshttps://t.co/47ypVcT6Je pic.x.com/6sWIZsQWT7

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 18, 2018

Virat Kohli had also past the record of Aussie legend Ricky Ponting to the second spot in place in the all-time ODI centurion list with his 31st hundred. ‘God of cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar still holds the first spot.

Last year, Virat Kohli had become the fastest batsman to score 9,000 runs in the ODI. Virat had also surpassed Ponting by becoming the most successful captain in an ODI year.

Virat Kohli is also the table topper of the ICC rankings for ODI batsmen with 889 rating points, the best ever by an Indian cricketer.

Here is a complete list of players named in ICC awards:
1. ICC Cricketer of the Year 2017, Virat Kohli, India
2. ODI cricketer of the year: Virat Kohli, India
3. Winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy: Virat Kohli, India
4. ICC T20I performance of the year: Yuzvendra Chahal, India
5. ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year: Hasan Ali, Pakistan
6. ICC Test Cricketer of the Year: Steve Smith, Australia
7. ICC Associate Cricketer of the Year: Rashid Khan, Afghanistan
8. ICC Fans’ Moment of the Year: Pakistan’s Champion’s Trophy 2017 triumph
9. ICC Umpire of the Year: Marais Erasmus, England
10. ICC Spirit Of Cricket Award: Anya Shrubsole, England

Here is ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year
1. David Warner, Australia
2. Rohit Sharma, India
3. Virat Kohli (captain), India (Winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and ODI Cricketer of the Year awards, as well as captain in both the Test and ODI
4. Babar Azam, Pakistan
5. AB de Villiers, South Africa
6. Quinton de Kock (wk), South Africa
7. Ben Stokes, England
8. Trent Boult, New Zealand
9. Hasan Ali, Pakistan
10. Rashid Khan, Afghanistan
11. Jasprit Bumrah, India

ICC‏ Men’s Test Team of the Year
1. Dean Elgar, South Africa
2. David Warner, Australia
3. Virat Kohli (cap), India (Winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and ODI Cricketer of the Year awards, as well as captain in both the Test and ODI Team of the Year)
4. Steve Smith, Australia
5. Cheteshwar Pujara, India
6. Ben Stokes, England
7. Quinton de Kock (wk), South Africa
8. Ravichandran Ashwin, India
9. Mitchell Starc, Australia
10 Kagiso Rabada, South Africa
11. James Anderson, England

Having played for the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan, among others, Brazilian footballing icon Ronaldinho called time on a stupendous career on Wednesday and some of the biggest names from the beautiful game paid tribute to the 37-year-old.

Don’t miss: Gianluca Zambrotta reveals his all-time top XI!

Kaka, the last player to win the Ballon d’Or before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo began their decade-long domination of world football, posted:

Foi um prazer te ver jogar, um privilégio jogar ao teu lado e uma honra conquistar títulos juntos! Muito sucesso na próxima etapa da sua vida meu parceiro Gauchinho!!! @ronaldinho ⚽️

A post shared by Kaká (@kaka) on Jan 17, 2018 at 10:21am PST

The recently-retired Kaka’s post, after translation, reads: It was a pleasure to see you play, a privilege to play beside you and an honour to win titles together. Much success in the next stage of your life my partner!”

Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard, a player who enjoyed great midfield battles against Ronaldinho, had this to say on the 37-year-old:

This fella was on a different planet to most . The best in the world when at his peak at Barcelona enjoy your retirement @ronaldinho

A post shared by Steven Gerrard (@stevengerrard) on Jan 17, 2018 at 8:37am PST

Pele, widely regarded as the best footballer ever, penned:

@Ronaldinho, you brought a smile to everyone’s face. It was impossible to love football and not be your fan. Thank you for the show. I hope you glide through life, like you glided through tackles. // @Ronaldinho, você trouxe um sorriso no rosto de todos. É impossível amar o futebol e não ser seu fã. Obrigado pelo show. Desejo que você consiga driblar todos os desafios da vida, assim como fez nos gramados.

A post shared by Pelé (@pele) on Jan 17, 2018 at 4:49am PST

AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini, who stayed at the San Siro for the entirety of his career, posted:

Chi ama il calcio non può non aver sognato guardandoti giocare , oggi smette ufficialmente uno dei giocatori più tecnici e divertenti di sempre . È stato un piacere giocare prima contro e poi insieme a te , grazie di tutto @ronaldinho

A post shared by Paolo Maldini official (@paolomaldini) on Jan 17, 2018 at 11:07am PST

Maldini’s translated tribute reads, “Those who love football may not have dreamt watching you play, today officials stops one of the most technical and fun players ever. It was a pleasure to play first against and then along with you, thanks for everything Ronaldinho.”

Don’t miss: Lionel Messi, Neymar pay moving tributes to Ronaldinho

Chelsea icon and current Aston Villa player John Terry, against whom Ronaldinho scored that famous goal at Stamford Bridge, effused:

@ronaldinho an UNBELIEVABLE player and a great ambassador for our game, without doubt one of the BEST players EVER. Congratulations on a great career ⚽️ A real pleasure to play against and test myself against the very best. LEGEND

A post shared by John Terry (@johnterry.26) on Jan 17, 2018 at 10:06am PST

Former midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo, a teammate of Ronaldinho’s during their AC Milan days, penned:

One of the best ⚽ Grazie Ronny è stato un piacere giocare con te! @ronaldinho

A post shared by Andrea Pirlo Official (@andreapirlo21) on Jan 17, 2018 at 5:32am PST

Pirlo’s post, after translation, reads: ” One of the best. Thanks Ronny, it was a pleasure playing with you!”

Current Chelsea winger Willian’s post:

Meu ídolo , não tive o privilégio de jogar ao seu lado. Mas te ver jogar me alegrava , para mim sempre será o melhor de todos os tempos. @ronaldinho #genio #magico #numero1

A post shared by Willian Borges Da Silva (@willianborges88) on Jan 17, 2018 at 5:22am PST

When translated, the Brazilian wide-man’s post reads as “My idol, I didn’t have the privilege of playing beside you. But watching you play made me glad, for me you will always be the best of all time.”

Philippe Coutinho, fresh off a €160 million move from Liverpool to Barcelona, expressed:

Obrigado ídolo @ronaldinho por ter nos alegrado e encantado com a sua genialidade! Todos nós admiradores do futebol vamos sentir muito sua falta. #meuídolo #genio

A post shared by Philippe Coutinho (@phil.coutinho) on Jan 17, 2018 at 5:55am PST

The twinkle-toed midfielder’s post, after translation, reads: Thank you idol for having us and delighted with your genius! All of us football fans will miss you so much.”

Fellow Brazil legend Ronaldo, with whom Ronaldinho won the 2002 FIFA World Cup, stated:

Dividir o nome, o apelido e tantos momentos históricos com esse gênio foi uma honra. Termina agora uma trajetória vitoriosa, perpetuando o rastro de arte e alegria no nosso futebol. Valeu, xará! @ronaldinho

A post shared by Ronaldo (@ronaldo) on Jan 17, 2018 at 11:08am PST

Ronaldo’s post reads: “Sharing the name, the nickname and so many historical moments with this genius was an honour. It ends now on a victorious trajectory, perpetuation the trail of art and joy in our football. Thanks, namesake!”

Vinicius Junior, a player tipped for big things in the future, posted:

Ídolo de todos que são apaixonados pelo futebol, muito obrigado por todas as mágicas dentro de campo. O futebol arte vai sentir a sua falta bruxo! ‍♂️ Obrigado pelo carinho também. Você é de outro mundo @ronaldinho ⚽️ #R10

A post shared by Vinicius Jr (@viniciusjr_00) on Jan 17, 2018 at 6:31am PST

The teenaged sensation’s translated post reads: “Idol for all who are passionate about football, thank you so much for all the magic in the field. Footballing artist, you will be missed wizard! Thank you for caring too. You are from another world.”

Lionel Messi and Neymar, two of the biggest draws in world football at the moment, were glowing in their praise for a man who lit up matches each time he played:

Como siempre dije, aprendí mucho a tu lado. Siempre te estaré agradecido por lo fácil que me hiciste todo cuando llegué al vestuario. Tuve la suerte compartir muchas cosas con vos y me alegro muchísimo porque, además de un fenómeno con la pelota, sos una grandísima persona y eso es lo más importante. Aunque decidas irte, el fútbol no se olvidará de tu sonrisa jamás. Todo lo mejor, Ronnie.

A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi) on Jan 17, 2018 at 8:28am PST

Messi’s glowing tribute, after translation, reads: “Like I always said, I learned a lot by your side. I’ll always be grateful for how easy you made it when I got to the locker room. I was happy to share many things wit you and I am very happy because, besides a phenomenon with the ball, you are a great person and that is most important.

Even if you decide to leave, football will never forget your smile. All the best, Ronnie.”

Also read: Barcelona icon Ronaldinho bids football adieu with moving post, hints at things to come

@ronaldinho que honra fazer parte da sua história. Sempre vou me lembrar da sua alegria em campo, você deixou um legado que dificilmente será batido no futebol ARTE… Obrigado por tudo que fez pelos amantes do FUTEBOL.

A post shared by Nj neymarjr (@neymarjr) on Jan 17, 2018 at 2:57am PST

The world’s most expensive footballer’s post reads: “What an honour to be part of your story. I will always remember your joy on the field, you left a legacy that will be hard to beat in footballing art… thanks for everything you did for football lovers.”

After major series defeat in South Africa, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday blasted at the reporters during a post-match conference in Centurion. The confident South African squad thrashed India in the second Test match by 135 runs. Visitors had lost the opening Test match by 72 runs in Newlands Cape Town.

South Africa is dominating the three-match Test series with 2-0.

During the post-match conference, one of the journalists once again brought the question on the team selection and the best playing eleven Kohli could’ve fielded during the Test match. “What is the best 11?” asked furious Kohli when asked if visitors played the best combination of ‘sub-continental’ conditions at Centurion.

“If we had won this, was this the best 11? We don’t decide the 11 according to results. You are telling me that you could have played the best 11. You tell me the best 11 and we will play that,” Virat went on.

The head coach Ravi Shastri along with captain Kohli and team management had come under heavy criticism when Rohit Sharma was retained in the second Test in place of Test specialist Ajinkya Rahane.

The cricket lovers were also furious with the decision of Virat when he dropped the star Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for Ishant Sharma.

“I am saying the loss obviously hurts but you make one decision and you got to back it. We don’t sit here and say if you will fail in one game, you are not good enough to beat this level. Didn’t we lose in India when we had the best 11 there?”

“Whoever is picked should be good enough to do the job for the team. That is why we have got such a big squad. They are good enough to beat this level but you need to do that collectively as a team. You can’t pinpoint and say which is the best 11. We have played with teams in the past which have looked really strong and lost,” said Kohli.

When Virat Kohli was asked if the team was losing because of too many changes in the team in different Test matches, he countered, “How many Test matches have we won out of 34? How many have we won? How many have we won? 21 wins (20 actually). Two losses. How many draws? Does it matter? Wherever we play we try to do our best. I’m here to answer your questions, not to fight with you.”

When the reporters asked, India is the table toppers of ICC in Test ranking but after the major series defeat if he still believes his squad is the best?

“Look, we have to believe that we are the best side. Even when we came here, if you don’t have the belief that you can win the series here, there is no point coming here.

“We have not come here just to participate. And answering your question, how many times did South Africa come into the game in India?” he concluded.

In a major shot in the arm for the country’s defence forces, India on Thursday successfully test-fired the nuclear capable Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), officials said.

The surface-to-surface missile, which has a range of 5000 km and can reach can reach the northern-most parts of China, was fired from a test range on Abdul Kalam island off Odisha coast at 9.53 am.

“We have successfully launched nuclear capable ballistic missile Agni-V today,” Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman confirmed in Chennai.

The Agni-V was last tested on December 26, 2016, which was then described as the fourth and final experimental test of the three-stage missile, developed and successfully tested by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.

This missile has been tested four times so far – two of the tests have been conducted from a canister on a road mobile launcher. All the four missions have been successful.

The Agni-V missile, in its operational form is designed to be stored and launched from the canister, enhancing its storage, operational readiness, transportability, response time and shelf life.

The missile employs Ring Laser Gyro-based Inertial Navigation System (RINS) and Micro Navigation System (MINS) for navigation, which support the missile to reach the target point within a few metres of accuracy.

About 17 metres long, 2-metre wide and has launch weight of around 50 tonnes, the missile can carry a nuclear warhead of more than one tonne.

Once the Agni-V is inducted in the Indian military, India would join the super exclusive club of countries with ICBMs alongside the US, Russia, China, France and Britain.

The first test of Agni-V was conducted on April 19, 2012, while the second test was launched on September 15, 2013 and the third on January 31, 2015.

At present, India possesses Agni-I with 700 km range, Agni-II with 2,000 km range, Agni-III and Agni-IV with 2,500 km to more than 3,500 range in its armoury of Agni missile series.

Days ahead of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s “human chain against child marriage” event, police on Thursday said they have arrested a man in Samastipur district for marrying a minor girl.

Mohd Saddam who lives in Haripur village is already a father of three.

“Child marriage is not only illegal, it is a punishable crime and police have arrested one such offender,” Dilnawaz Ahmad, a district police official said.

According to police officials, the minor belongs to a poor family, forcing her parents to marry her off.

Earlier this week, a court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Madhubani district, sentenced jail to a minor girl’s parents for marrying their daughter off.

Both the incidents occurred days ahead of Nitish Kumar’s much hyped “human chain” against child marriage and dowry event, scheduled on January 21.

The Bihar government plans to form “the world’s longest human chain against child marriage and dowry”.

Nitish Kumar launched a massive campaign against the child marriage and dowry in the state on October 2, 2017.

Filmmaker Onir, known for movies like My Brother…Nikhil and “I Am”, is excited that his first romantic feature film Kuchh Bheege Alfaaz will hit the screens on February 16, the Valentine’s Day weekend.

Backed by Saregama’s Yoodlee Films, the film is a modern-day love story in the age of social media, as seen through two primary characters — RJ Alfaaz, played by debutant actor Zain Khan Durrani, and meme artist Archana, played by Geetanjali Thapa.

Onir said in a statement: “I am excited that my first romantic feature film will be released the week the world celebrates love. The film releases on February 16 and it celebrates the new age love as it emerges through the world of social media.

“The medium of communication is new but the essence — that is the same exhilarating essence of a true romance.”

Actor Karanvir Sharma, who has featured in movies like Zid and Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana, has joined the cast of an action thriller film, which will also star Sunny Deol.

Talking about the film, backed by Tony D’Souza’s production house, Karanvir said in a statement: “This is an out-and-out action-thriller. I am trained in Mixed Martial Arts and have done my own stunts (season two of ’24’). This project is a notch up.

“The director (Behzad Khambatta) and I are trying to be as real and organic in our approach as possible.”

For his stunts, he has been taking training too. He is currently shooting for the project.

Former Telecom Minister A. Raja, acquitted in the so-called 2G scam case, contends that the sanctity of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) office was “severely compromised” by Vinod Rai who clearly had “ulterior motives” in over-reaching the bounds of his constitutional function while auditing accounts relating to the 2G spectrum allocation in 2010.

“He (Rai) had to foist his personal (or influenced) agenda by sensationalising information and creating the appearance of procedural lapses and financial misappropriation. His presumptive loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore has been subsequently debunked, but it became engraved in public memory and led to my tribulations,” says Raja in his book “2G Saga Unfolds” (Har-Anand Publications).

The book, completed much before the judgment of the CBI court in December and set for release on Saturday, details the decisions Raja took on spectrum allocation and how he had followed rules and kept everybody, including then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in the loop.

He says he was pained when a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court cancelled the 122 2G licences granted by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2007 on the basis of false narratives and media sensationalism.

He also has a grouse over the “silence” of Manmohan Singh and then cabinet colleague P. Chidambaram in defending his “wholly justified” actions when institutions like the Central Vigilance Comission (CVC), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and the Supreme Court were “refusing” to hear his defence.

“I never asked for any clemency from the courts in the criminal case that was filed against me, but I am disturbed by the manner of implementation of the rule of law,” he says in the preface to the 222-page book, completed on May 10, 2017.

He said he tried to establish, right from the issuance of 2G licences, that arrows of suspicion and false propaganda were fired at him with statutory and constitutional bodies concerned “setting off from a position of misinformation and remaining steeped in incomprehension”.

“…CAG Vinod Rai, while appearing well-intentioned, has executed the functions of his office with ulterior motives and lack of objectivity.”

The former minister, who had to quit the UPA II following the CAG report, refers to Rai’s book “Nation’s Conscience Keeper”, in which he wrote a few chapters on 2G allocation, and says as the government auditor, he was the “sutradar who created the devious apparition which the media and political opposition followed”.

“It is unfortunate that even the highest court of the country became a prey to this.”

In fact, he says that during the trial, he wanted to call Rai as witness but the CBI took the stand that it didn’t take the CAG report as the basis of its investigation.

“Whatever it is, they cannot cover up the fact that the CBI chargesheet contains only the ‘irregularities’ pointed by the CAG in its report. Clearly, Rai, whose statements would not have stood the test of cross examination in the court, was being protected by the CBI from being called as a witness.”

In the chapter on his resignation, he writes that the government’s intention became quite clear when the 2G case was divided into two parts — “making one as their shield and the other as a sword — for the CBI to wield against me”.

Raja writes about how he was in favour of a JPC to probe the allegations but Chidambaram was opposed to this.

“Chidambaram’s stand on 2G case is still a puzzle to me. He is an administrator of strong acumen, an able lawyer and a seasoned politician, yet I was surprised to see him shying away from discussing the 2G situation with me and even avoided speaking to me when we happened to pass each other at an airport.

“The only grouse that I have is that he did not support the idea of JPC and as a result the Supreme Court bench had — what I can best describe as — an emotional outburst against me and the government. He need not have done anything to protect or support me but he could certainly have helped a good government from being subjected to ignominy and its image being tarnished.”

Raja says he heard from his cabinet colleagues from the Congress that Chidambaram was of the view that there might be a “big scam” and hence his arrest was temporarily essential to steer the wrath of the Supreme Court and to avoid criticism against the Prime Minister.

“This is hearsay and is possibly untrue gossip. However, Chidambaram’s silence and his avoiding me put me on caution about what might be coming down the road. I sensed that a decision to put me behind the bars had been taken to salvage the government’s image. I was preparing myself both mentally and physically for jail life — I became vegetarian and started exercising twice daily.”

In the last chapter on closing arguments, Raja says that it was his contention that the “sanctity of the CAG was severely compromised by its then head Vinod Rai.

“Vinod Rai clearly had ulterior motives in over-reaching the bounds of his constitutional function.

“It is my conviction consequent to the whole experience of the trial that there was political motivation to kill UPA II and Rai’s was the shoulder on which the gun was placed. It is indeed sad that in spite of having so many intelligence agencies and eminent legal minds at its disposal, the UPA II government couldn’t sense this and only tried to use me as a shield but were still unable to escape the bullet.

“The UPA government’s and even more so Manmohan Singh’s palpable silence in relation to defending my wholly justified actions, especially when the governing bodies (CVC, CBI, JPC and the Supreme Court) were refusing to hear my defence, felt like silencing of our nation’s collective conscience.

“My sense of victimisation was compounded by the fact that for the first time in history an individual (Raja) was thus hounded by various institutions (constitutional bodies) with the full force of their bureaucratic machinery,” Raja writes.