The star bowler of Indian cricket team, Mohammed Shami, was recently attacked by social media trollers on micro-blogging site Twitter after he posted a New Year Tweet in which he attached a photograph of Shiva Linga.

“As the New Year renews all the happiness and good tidings, hope the joyful spirit keeps glowing in your heart forever! Happy New Year!”2018 to you and family’s,” Indian pacer Mohammed Shami wrote on Twitter.

After his Tweet, Shami was slammed by few twitter users and his New Year Tweet was described as ‘un-Islamic.’

Shami deleted the Tweet after people started to backlash him on social media.

I hate sami

— Manknojiya Arshad (@Maknojiyaarshad) January 1, 2018

New year ki mubarak baad diya to diya shiv ling ko bhi apna liya lanat he tujh par shami

— Faisal Khan (@FaisalK28862408) January 1, 2018

Kya hamare nabi mohammad sahab ne kisi ko new year ka mubarak baad diya

— Ajaz Ali (@AjazAli97424968) January 1, 2018

Sudar ja varna barbad ho jayega Allah tujhe kar dega

— sabdar khan (@sabdark31257939) January 1, 2018

@MdShami11.
Kuch tarif k liye b ye sab karna padta hai.
Allah hidayat de bus.
Aamin

— Md Sharique Ahmad (@MdShariqueAhma3) January 1, 2018

Abe sharam kar tu muslim hai iman se khariz ho jaayega muslaman
Me pathar ko nahi pujte…..

— Inaam Pathaan (@PathaanInaam) January 2, 2018

cheap publicity के लिए

— Mahmood Al Quraish (@quraishmahmood) January 1, 2018

However, this is not the first time when he is being targeted by people on social sites. Last year, he was trolled because he posted a photograph of his daughter on her second birthday celebration and people started telling him that his wife had committed a sin just because she was not wearing hijab in the photograph.

National Award-winning actor Akshay Kumar, who is addressing the issue of menstrual hygiene in his forthcoming film “Pad Man“, says women should get sanitary napkins for free as it is a basic necessity for them.

Asked if the “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha” actor wants to reach out to the government to cut down on GST rate of sanitary napkins, Akshay told media here on Thursday: “Why just cut down on GST? I think women should have free access to sanitary napkins. This is their basic necessity. It is about menstrual hygiene and not luxury.”

“It is unfortunate and I am ashamed to say that 82 per cent women in this country have no access to sanitary pads and they are mistreated during those five days of their menstruation period. This is unfortunate,” he added.

“Pad Man” is a biopic on Arunachalam Muruganantham, the inventor of a low-cost sanitary pad making machine in India. The subject of “Pad Man” is considered a taboo or a sensitive issue. So what are the elements that he has kept in mind while promoting the film?

“Firstly, do not call it a sensitive issue. It is a natural process of a human body. It is time to get rid of those taboos attached to it. It is time to treat the issue maturely. Also from the women’s end, they should not shy away from talking about the issue, and certainly should not whisper about it,” he said.

He feels that the way festivals like Holi and Diwali are celebrated, people should also “celebrate when a girl meets with her puberty”.

“When you celebrate it, the girl who is already going through a physical and hormonal transition, will feel confident and secure. But we excluded our women from the normalcy of life during those five days. So from the first experience, women feel that period is something they should hide. So you know where we should start from,” he added.

Produced by Akshay’s wife Twinkle Khanna and directed by R. Balki, “Pad Man” is slated to release on January 26.

A court here on Thursday declared liquor baron Vijay Mallya as an absconder in a case relating to alleged violation of foreign exchange rules.

“Keeping in view the submissions made and the fact that accused Vijay Mallya failed to appear before this court despite the lapse of more than 30 days and no representation has been made on his behalf, accused Vijay Mallya is declared as a proclaimed offender in the present case,” Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat said.

The court order came after Special Public Prosecutor N.K. Matta told the court that the proclamation had been published in local newspapers in English and Kannada.

It has been further submitted that over 30 days had passed but the accused failed to appear before the court.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in November 2017 moved an application seeking to initiate proceedings to declare Mallya as a proclaimed offender in the case over alleged violation of foreign exchange rules.

The court was hearing the final arguments in the 2000 case relating to reported violation by Mallya of the provisions of erstwhile Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) in arranging funds to advertise his company’s liquor products abroad.

On July 9, 2016, the court had asked Mallya to personally appear before it on September 9, after allowing the ED plea to withdraw the exemption given to him from personal appearance in the case.

Earlier, the court had allowed the Directorate plea to seek recall of a court order that granted permanent exemption from appearance to Mallya, who faces money laundering charges in India.

According to the ED, Mallya allegedly paid $200,000 to a British firm for displaying the Kingfisher logo in the Formula One World Championships in London and some European countries in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

The agency had claimed that the money was allegedly paid without prior approval from the Reserve Bank of India, in violation of the FERA norms.

Mallya was summoned and tried in the case. He was granted exemption from personal appearance by the Delhi court on December 20, 2000.

Dalits in a Madhya Pradesh city on Thursday protested the violent incident in a Pune village.

Parts of Burhanpur city were tense after a shutdown was called and more than 10 buses were damaged.

Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Sagar said the situation was under control.

On Monday, disturbances erupted in Maharashtra’s Koregaon-Bhima village during celebrations to mark the bicentenary of the Anglo-Peshwa war.

Hundreds of thousands of Dalits had congregated around the Victory Pillar (Vijay Stambh) erected by the British in Sanaswadi village when suddenly stone-pelting started, allegedly by some rightwing groups carrying saffron flags.

In the clashes that ensued between the two groups, a youth was killed.

Dalit parties had called a Maharashtra shutdown on Wednesday to protest the incident.

A speeding truck hit a car due to poor visibility as a result of fog, injuring four people here, the police said on Thursday.

The accident occurred last night in Dadri due to dense fog, they said.

The injured were rushed to a private hospital in Ghaziabad.

Former captains, ace midfielder Sardar Singh and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, are among the 33 players named by Hockey India on Wednesday for a 10-day national camp to begin on January 4 at the Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru to prepare for the tight schedule ahead.

This year features Commonwealth Games in April followed by the Hockey Champions Trophy Breda in July, the Asian Games Jakarta in August, Asian Champions Trophy in October and the World Cup Bhubaneswar g in November.

India will begin the season with the Four Nations Invitational Tournament in Tauranga and Hamilton, New Zealand which will see Belgium, Japan and the hosts.

“Like always, the evaluation of the previous tournament needs to come from the players so that’s the first thing we do when we meet for this camp. I would like to understand what their experience was of the tournament and what they think needs to improve,” said coach Sjoerd Marijne.

“For me, Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final gave an insight into what is necessary to improve when we play higher ranked teams and I certainly believe we can do better in our 1 vs 1 defending. In the next tour, this will be one of the key areas we would like to improve,” added the 43-year-old Dutchman.

“The camp will be short and we need to deal with the players who just played domestic matches which means we need to be careful in training considering we play eight matches in New Zealand,” opined Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne.

Goalkeeper Krishan B Pathak, part of the winning team of 2016 Junior Men’s World Cup, finds himself in the group along with Akash Anil Chikte and Suraj Karkera. They will be joined by former captain PR Sreejesh, who is vying to find top form after nearly eight months of injury break.

Nilam Sanjeep Xess, the young defender from Sundargarh, Odisha, who led the Indian team to U-18 Asia Cup win in 2016, has been elevated to the Senior Core Group. He will train alongside stalwart Sardar Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Dipsan Tirkey, Varun Kumar, Rupinder Pal Singh, Birendra Lakra, Surender Kumar, Gurinder Singh in the back line.

The line-up of midfielders remains unchanged with Manpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh, S.K. Uthappa, Sumit, Kothajit Singh, Satbir Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Simranjeet Singh, Harjeet Singh in the group.

Young forward Sumit Kumar, who featured in the Indian Junior Men’s Team in 2016, has been included for the camp with seniors’ SV Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Armaan Qureshi, Affan Yousuf, Talwinder Singh.

Rajasthan government on Thursday declared a red alert across the state in the wake of a large number of patients being reported positive for swine flu.

According to health officials, 85 new cases have tested positive for swine flu in last three days. The dip in temperature has activated the Michigan virus which is affecting a large number of patients and has become a big cause of concern in the state.

Around 3,619 cases of swine flu were reported in 2017 out of which 279 lost their lives. Some 417 persons tested positive in the month of December alone.

The health department has sounded the alert to ensure that the flu is checked and deaths are prevented.

Health Minister Kalicharan Saraf said that swine flu, this year, has gone aggressively quite early.

He added that all chief medical and health officers and principal medical officers have been directed to follow the directions issued by the health department for preventing the spread of swine flu.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived here on Thursday on the first leg of a three-nation tour that will also take her to Indonesia and Singapore.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted that the Minister got a “warm welcome” in Thailand — “our geographic, historic and cultural neighbour”.

During her two-day visit to Thailand, Sushma Swaraj will meet Don Pramudwinai, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

According to the External Affairs Ministry, all aspects of bilateral relations will be discussed with particular focus on political, defence and economic ties and on further enhance India’s engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries.

Thailand will take over from Vietnam the role of coordinator country for India-Asean relations from the middle of this year.

Sushma Swaraj will also share with her interlocutors information about the upcoming Asean-India Commemorative Summit that marks 25 years since the establishment of Dialogue Partnership between India and the regional bloc.

In a unique first, the leaders of the Asean countries are expected to attend this year’s Republic Day celebrations collectively as chief guests. After Thailand, Sushma Swaraj will visit Indonesia and Singapore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Conference on Transformation of Aspirational Districts on Friday.

This event is being organised by NITI Aayog at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.

PM Modi will interact with officials in-charge of transformation of over 100 districts.

This event is in keeping with PM Modi’s vision of a New India by 2022. The Union Government has embarked upon a major policy initiative for the rapid transformation of districts that are lagging on specific development parameters.

Senior government officials in the rank of Additional Secretary and Joint Secretary have been designated as officers in-charge, to coordinate the efforts of the Centre and the States in addressing the specific developmental needs of these districts.

Prolific does not seems the right word to describe India’s performance in 2017. Last year, Indian skipper and his squad seemed invincible with their consecutive nine Test series win. And if Virat Kohli’s boys will manage to defeat South Africa in their backyard, the Indian side will hold the records of 10 consecutive series win and they will become the first to win a Test series against Proteas on their home soil. The Indian team is currently world number one in the ICC Test ranking and they are high on confidence with their win over Islanders in the recently concluded series.

Even though in 2017 Virat Kohli shattered many records as a batsman as well as a captain, yet India’s South Africa tour is considered toughest for this team. Even the stats favour Poteas in the upcoming series, as none of the Indian team has won any series against Africa at their home.

Ahead of the three-match Test series, here is our pick for the top 5 Indian bowling performances:

1. Zaheer Khan (4/88, Johannesburg, 2013)

Who can forget Zaheer Khan’s 4/88 at Johannesburg in 2013? During India’s South Africa tour for two Test match series in 2013, Zaheer wrote history in the first Test by taking four wickets for 88 in the first inning of the match.

In the match, India was rattled at the score of 280 runs. Other than ‘run machine’ Virat Kohli no other player had crossed the 50 mark in that match. India needed an exceptionally good bowling performance for stopping Africa and that’s exactly what the left-arm pacer did.

2. Ravindra Jadeja (6/138, Durban, 2013)

Ravindra Jadeja’s stupendous performance came in the second Test of the two-match series during India’s tour to South Africa in 2013. Even though India lost the match by 10 wickets, yet everyone praised Ravindra Jadeja’s spell in which he took six wickets for 138 runs. In the first inning, Jadeja sent Alviro Petersen (62), Graeme Smith (47), Jacques Kallis (115) and AB de Villiers (74) back to pavilion. Though the Proteas scored 500 runs, had it not been for Jadeja, they might have scored more.

3- Ravichandran Ashwin (5/32 and 7/66) (Nagpur, 2015)

Who can forget South Africa’s India tour when India beat the visitors 3-0? In the third Test match, Ashwin continue showing his excellence and took five wickets for 32 runs in the first inning and seven wickets after giving 66 runs in the second inning.

4- Ravichandran Ashwin (8/90) and Ravindra Jadeja (8/76) (Mohali, 2015)

In 2015 during South Africa’s India tour, India were all set to return the favour to South Africa after a series loss in rainbow nation in 2013. In the first Test match of the four match series, the spectators witnessed some brilliant bowling spells. But Ravichandran Ashwin with eight wickets for 90 runs and Ravindra Jadeja with eight wickets for 76 runs stole the show with their extraordinary bowling skills.

5. Ravindra Jadeja (5/30 and 2/26), (Delhi, 2015)

In the last Test match, Proteas were bowled out for 143 runs and India won the Test match by 337 runs and the series by 3-0. In the Delhi Test match, Ravindra Jadeja was the star bowler of the day, as he took wickets in regular intervals.

A stoppage-time goal by Hector Bellerin helped Arsenal play a 2-2 draw against Chelsea on Wednesday. The draw left Arsenal with 39 points, one fewer than fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur, who will play their 22nd match on Thursday against West Ham United.

Meanwhile, Chelsea with 46 points from 22 matches is one point behind second-place Manchester United and 16 behind league leaders Manchester City.

Talking about the match, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said it to be a great football game that saw fantastic action on both sides and a game where his players showed great mental resources. “I think it was a great football game, where we saw fantastic action on both sides and a game where we have shown great mental resources. I knew before the game that the last 20 minutes could be difficult for us, because we have a big disadvantage with the schedule. We got, again, a farcical decision but we knew that as well before, so we have to deal with that. That’s it basically,” he said, according to www.arsenal.com.

Meanwhile, Wenger seemed to be impressed with Jack Wilshere’s display who scored in the Premier League after two and a half years. He said at his post-match press conference that Wilshere deserved a great credit for his remarkable strength. “I think he is at the level now where not many people expected him to be. When was the last time he played for England? Exactly, against Iceland [at Euro 2016], he came on. Since he has not played for England and I would say that means that everybody had given up on him. Today, nobody would be surprised if he was selected again. So that means instances of us being criticised for that, I think first of all he deserves a great credit for remarkable strength and we do as well,” Wenger was quoted by the official website of Arsenal.

Talking about Hector Bellerin’s resolve, the Arsenal manager said, “Well, what you get at the moment, no matter who you are, is criticism. That’s for free on the market. It flies around in a very severe way and that, I think every player gets that. The only response they can give is on the football pitch and he is a remarkable fighter.”

A probe has been ordered into the incident of a Jet Airways’ pilot allegedly slapping his woman commander on a London-Mumbai flight, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju informed the Lok Sabha today(4 Dec,2018).

Responding to the issue raised by Kirit Somaiya (BJP) during the Zero Hour, Raju said a probe into the incident has been ordered and time-bound action would be taken.

Somaiya alleged that the incident had put the lives of hundreds of passengers at risk and sought action against the airlines and the two pilots. He claimed that both the pilots had come out of the cockpit which was a violation of rules.

He also objected to the reported statement of the airlines that the incident was the result of a misunderstanding.

Jet Airways grounded two of its senior pilots following the mid-air brawl on a London-Mumbai flight on January 1, in which the male commander allegedly slapped his female counterpart.

Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Thursday condemned the killing of a 25-year-old man by unknown gunmen in Sopore area of north Kashmir Baramulla district.

“(I am) deeply saddened and strongly condemn the killing of 25-year-old Arif Ahmed Sofi of Sopore by unknown assailants,” Mirwaiz wrote on his Twitter handle.

“Killing human beings in every form is cowardly and against humanity,” the separatist leader said.

Arif Ahmed Sofi, a resident of Wahipora-Younsoo in Handwara, was shot dead by the gunmen at Harwan-Bomai in Sopore last night.

Villarreal striker Cedric Bakambu looks certain to leave the club to join Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan, Villarreal coach Javier Calleja confirmed.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of Thursday’s King’s Cup away tie to Leganes, Calleja on Wednesday said that the Congoloese striker, who has netted nine goals so far this season in the Spanish Liga Santander, would be moving in a deal estimated to be worth around 40 million euros ($48 million), reports Xinhua news agency.

“Bakambu’ s transfer is being finalised and it could be completed in a matter of hours,” said Calleja, who admitted that his club could not turn down such an offer.

“The move is in the interest of all parties, he has a buy-out clause in his contract and it looks like they (Beijing)are going to pay it,” he said.

Bakambu’s two and a half years on the east coast of Spain have seen him score 48 goals in all competitions as his speed and power make him a handful for opposing defenders.

In a startling revelation, Justice Shivpal Singh, who is set to pronounce the quantum of punishment for RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in a case of fodder scam has said that he “got phone calls from Lalu’s men”.

“I got phone calls from Lalu’s men about the case,” the judge said indicating that he might have been threatened to award a lighter sentence to the former Bihar chief minister.

Lalu is likely to get three to seven years’ punishment, as per reports. If he is awarded three years’ sentence, he will be able to get bail soon.

The shocking statement comes after Lalu’s sentencing was deferred by the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) till Friday.

The court was to pronounce the sentence on Wednesday but was postponed till Thursday on Wednesday on account of the death of two lawyers. However, on Thursday it was again deferred till Friday.

The 70-year-old Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief, who is lodged in the Birsa Munda jail in Ranchi after being convicted on December 23, is seeking minimum punishment owing to his age.

His co-accused and former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra was let off in the case pertaining to embezzlement of over Rs. 85 lakh from the Deoghar Treasury between 1991 and 1994.

A total of 17 accused including Lalu were pronounced guilty by the court while six were let off.

The RJD chief has already been convicted in another fodder scam case that cost him his Lok Sabha seat and disqualified him from contesting elections. Both Lalu and Jagannath Mishra are out on bail in the case.

Hearing in the multi-million fodder scam case was completed on December 13.

In all, there were 34 accused in the case, out of which 11 died during the course of the trial, while one turned CBI approver and admitted the crime.

The year 2017 was exceptionally good for Virat Kohli and his boys. Last year, the Indian skipper shattered many records and proved that he is insatiable. Currently, the men-In-Blue under Kohli hold the record of nine consecutive Test series win along with Australia. But if the Indian squad manage to win the three-match Test series against South Africa, the India will become the first side to win 10 consecutive Test series.

However, if cricket experts and Pandits are anything to be believed, then India’s winning streak is under threat from South Africa and Proteas have the capacity to thrash the visitors in Africa.

However, Kohli’s side will try to do their best to dominate and win the series and by doing so they will become the first from India to win a Test series against South Africa in their backyard.

The Proteas have an advantage in the upcoming series as their players are well aware of the conditions of the pitch. Proteas will also like to return the favour by winning the series by 3-0, as they were beaten by India in 2015 by same score. Meanwhile, the cricket experts are also talking about how India became the number one Test team in the world by winning on Asian soil only. So the upcoming series is going to be tough challenge for Virat’s boys.

The opening and the first Test match of three match series will be played in Cape Town at Newlands, starting from January 5. The weather of the stadium is expected to be cloudy and humid. However, there is good news for Indian squad as South Africa have to choose between Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. And Steyn has not played any international match since November 2016.

Meanwhile, there is a big dilemma for Virat Kohli as well, as he has to decide who to bat at the 6th spot. Hardik Pandya is the best possible solution but will Kohli expose him or not, is yet to be seen. However, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s form is great news for Team India.

Talking about the combination of the team, opener Murali Vijay said: “You cannot have a set pattern. You cannot go into a Test match thinking you are going to leave so many balls. You also have to be in a frame of mind where you also have to score runs. If they bowl in good areas, then you have to try to counter and come out stronger. These are the things, I think, which will be critical for us to move forward.”

Meanwhile, Vernon Philander said, “They [India] have played most of their games at home, so it’ll be interesting to see how they go in South Africa. It’s a total different ball game. We’re going to have to wait and see once they pass the first Test match.”

Prediction: In the first inning of the Test match, South Africa may dominate India but if Virat Kohli’s boys do well in the second, they have the chance to dominate the series.

India squad for SA Tests: Virat Kohli (Captain), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.

South Africa squad – 1st Test: Faf du Plessis(c), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn.

Juventus defeated Torino 2-0 to win the derby and qualify for the Coppa Italia semifinals.

Juve, in pursuit of a fourth straight Coppa title, were aggressive from the start on Wednesday and took the lead in the 15th minute with a goal by Douglas Costa, reports Efe.

Torino got a chance for the equaliser just three minutes later, but M’Baye Niang’s strike hit the post and Juventus went on to dominate for the rest of the half.

Mario Mandzukic and Blaise Matuidi each squandered opportunities before the Croatian international made it 2-0 for the Bianconeri in the 67th minute with an assist from Paulo Dybala.

Torino protested, alleging a foul by Sami Khedira against Afriye Acquah, but officials upheld the goal after watching the video replay.

Juve held on to post their 15th clean sheet of the season and continue their defence of the Coppa Italia, where their next opponent will be Atalanta, who stunned Napoli 2-1 in Tuesday’s quarterfinal.

The other semifinal will feature a dual between Lazio and AC Milan.