The Delhi High Court on Thursday commuted the death sentence of two convicts to life imprisonment in the 2009 Jigisha Ghosh murder case.

A division bench of Justice S. Murlidhar and Justice I.S. Mehta modified the death sentence awarded to Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla by the trial court and said they would serve life imprisonment.

The death row convicts had challenged the trial court’s conviction and sentence.

The trial court had on July 14, 2016, held the two guilty of the murder of IT executive Jigisha Ghosh and other counts.

While sentencing the two to death, the trial court had said the 28-year-old woman was killed in a “cold-blooded, inhuman and cruel manner” and “brutally mauled to death”.

It was a cold morning with a shroud of dense fog covering the city on Thursday. Visibility stood at 50 metres disrupting train and flight operations.

At least 34 domestic and international flights were delayed, while three were cancelled. Around 14 trains were cancelled, 60 delayed and 18 rescheduled due to the thick fog in several parts of northern India.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 5 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season’s average, the Met said.

The humidity at 8.30. a.m. was 100 percent. The MeT predicted shallow fog towards the end of the day.

“The sky will be clear,” an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said. The maximum temperature was likely to hover around 19 degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature on Wednesday settled at 18.4 degrees Celsius, one notch below the season’s average while the minimum temperature was recorded at 7.4 degrees Celsius, normal for the season’s average.

Defending champions Chennai Smashers went down to Delhi Dashers after being forced to concede the last match of the tie due to an ankle injury to Gabrielle Adcock mid-way into the first game in the Premier Badminton League (PBL) at the BBD UPBA here on Wednesday.

The match which would have decided the outcome of the tie could not be completed as Gabrielle twisted her ankle while returning a shot.

Playing in their trump match, the Adcocks couple Gabrielle/Chris were trailing 5-6 in the match. Going into the match, Chennai were trailing 1-2, but a loss would have erased their slate while Delhi were awarded a point and won the tie 3-0 on points.

Earlier, South Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun, ranked 6th in the World beat World No.3 P.V. Sindhu to give Delhi a slight advantage (2-1 on points). Sung who had lost to Sindhu on both occasions in last season, exacted her revenge to disappoint the packed stadium that braved the chilly weather to witness their favourite star in action.

In a battle of equals in this marquee clash of the day, Sung prevailed over Sindhu 11-15,15-13, 15-14 though it was the lanky Indian who asserted early domination by taking an 8-6 lead at the interval in the first game.

Sindhu used the length of the court very well and tormented Sung throughout with her deceptive cross courts drop. She did not face much of a challenge and danced her way to win the game.

In the second game, Sung tried to force Sindhu onto the back-foot by engaging her in long rallies. Even though Sindhu tried her best to wrap up the proceedings, Sung drew level to send the match into the decider. It was a riveting contest in the final game with both the players engaging in a fierce battle. However, it was Sung who had the last laugh as she fought her way to victory to send Delhi ahead in the contest.

The tie was very crucial for both the teams as a win would put them in a strong position to enter the knock-out stages.

With four matches played in the tie, Delhi Dashers have won three matches while Chennai have won one.

Delhi are marginally ahead 2-1 on points as the mixed doubles clash between Chennai trump duo of Adcocks and Delhi’s team of Vladimir Ivanov/Ashwini Ponnappa will decide the outcome of the tie.

In the third match of the tie, World No.22 Tain Houwei of China beat Chennai’s Tanongsak Saemsomboonsuk 15-14,15-10 to keep Delhi alive in the tie.

In the first game, the lone Chinese started off well and breezed to establish an 8-2 lead at the interval. However, after the breather, Tian could not maintain his stronghold and Tanongsak fought his way back into the match.

In the second game, Tanongsak was leading 8-5 mid-way and should have tied the match. But he lost focus again and committed string of errors which allowed the Chinese to get back into the match and eventually emerge victorious 15-10.

In the second match of the day, Hong Kong’s Vincent Wong Wing Ki registered a comprehensive 15-10, 15-13 victory over France’s Brice Leverdez to reduce Delhi’s deficit in the tie. World No.15 Vincent started off in a jiffy rushing to an 8-2 lead in no time and it looked like he would win the game without facing much of a challenge.

Brice did improve gradually but could not stop the Hong Kong shuttler take the lead in the match. In the second game, Brice showed better determination and grit but could not stop the Delhi juggernaut as Vincent made his way to victory.

In the lung-opener of the day, the Indo/Taiwanese men’s doubles combination of B Sumeeth Reddy/ Lee Yang scored a superb 15-13,15-11 victory over the Russian trump duo of Ivan Sozonov/Vladimir Ivanov to help Chennai Smashers draw first blood of the tie.

The win saw Chennai log in their first point of the evening, while condemned Delhi to a -1 by the virtue of losing the trump match.

On Thursday, home team Awadhe Warriors will take on last year’s runners-up Mumbai Rockets.

US President Donald Trump dissolved his much-touted voter fraud commission, attributing the step to various states’ refusal to participate in the board, which was criticised as a misguided step to solve a practically non-existent problem.

In the wake of the announcement on Wednesday night, advisers outlined hesitation from within the White House for months about the commission.

“It’s a s**t show,” a White House adviser told CNN, adding that the commission went “off the rails”.

Trump established the commission last May after claiming without evidence that massive voter fraud had cost him the popular vote, and he appointed Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to lead the panel.

But after months went by and the commission faced pushback from officials across the country, civil rights advocates and even a member of the commission itself, Trump finally pulled the plug on Wednesday.

The White House said in a statement: “Despite substantial evidence of voter fraud, many states have refused to provide the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity with basic information relevant to its inquiry.

“Rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense, today (Trump) signed an executive order to dissolve the Commission, and he has asked the Department of Homeland Security to review its initial findings and determine next courses of action.”

Another White House official told CNN that the commission was unable to operate as structured under the Federal Advisory Committee Act which mandates a degree of transparency around commission activities and was the subject of litigation against it.

The official also suggested the Department of Homeland Security could take up the issue.

The Republican majority in the US Senate got narrower with the entry of two new Democratic senators, a situation that may further complicate enacting President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda in 2018.

The Senate opened a new working session on Wednesday with the swearing in of Doug Jones, the Democrat who in December defeated controversial Republican candidate Roy Moore in a special election in Alabama and Tina Smith, who temporarily replaces Democrat Al Franken of Minnesota after he resigned on Tuesday following accusations of sexual misconduct, reports Efe news.

Their arrival reduces the Republican majority in the upper house by one seat to 51, the other 49 seats being held by Democrats, 11 months before the mid-term elections in November.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be up for grabs, along with a third of the 100 Senate seats, in the upcoming election and the Democratic opposition hopes to be able to retake control of both houses, although the Republicans currently hold a 24-seat majority in the House.

Jones, who became the first Democrat to be elected to the Senate from Alabama in more than a quarter-century, took the oath of office accompanied by Joe Biden, who served for more than three decades in the Senate before becoming Vice President from 2009-2017.

The 63-year-old Jones will serve until 2024 after defeating Moore, a former judge who was accused by several women of having sexually abused them when they were minors during the 1970s.

Smith, a former lieutenant governor of Minnesota was appointed to the Senate seat on an interim basis when Franken announced his resignation a month ago after being accused by up to eight women of sexual misconduct.

She will hold the seat until November when her state will hold a special election to find a permanent replacement for Franken.

Smith is expected to run in that contest, but she may face other Democratic challengers and the Republicans may try to win that seat, given that Trump lost the state in 2016 by just 2 percentage points.

Vice President Mike Pence presided at the brief inauguration ceremony for Jones and Smith, which was also attended by former Democratic Vice President Walter Mondale, who served under Jimmy Carter from 1977-1981.

FC Goa held reigning champions ATK to a 1-1 draw in an unprecedented Indian Super League (ISL) tie which kicked-off two hours and forty five minutes after scheduled time on Wednesday and ended more than half an hour past midnight on Thursday here at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.

In the aftermath of a MiG-29K aircraft catching fire after skidding off the runway at Goa’s Dabolim International Airport on Wednesday morning, FC Goa players were left stranded at the airport all day before a chartered flight from New Delhi flew them from their base to Kolkata.

The visitors landed at 8:59 p.m. and headed straight to the venue.

The Sergio Lobera-coached side reached the stadium at 9:42 p.m. and were seen inspecting the pitch for some time before holding a huddled meeting near the touchline.

The teams were then seen warming up in sneakers, black jackets and shorts as reports of their kit not arriving surfaced.

The match, which was originally postponed to 9 p.m. from regular kickoff time of 8 p.m., was first pushed back to first 10:15 p.m. and then 10:45 p.m., when it actually began.

On the pitch, Robbie Keane (4th) made of most of visibly rusty Goa players to nod in a Ryan Taylor free kick to which goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani could only get his fingertips.

ATK could hold on to their slender lead for 20 minutes before Goa, braving all adversity, equalised courtesy their marksman and joint top-scorer Ferran Corominas (24th) who scored his ninth goal of the campaign so far to pip Bengaluru Fc’s Miku who is also on eight goals.

Manuel Lanzarote set him up from the inside right channel with the Spanish striker rounding keeper Debjit Majumdar and placing the ball in the back of the net.

Prabir Das tried to keep the ball out with a desperate slide but in vain.

At halftime, both teams were locked 1-1. In the second period, both teams had chances to take the lead but could not find the winner.

The result saw ATK remain in seventh position with nine points from seven games while Goa moved up a rung to fourth from fifth place with 13 points from seven outings.

Three Indian girls along with seven Nepalese girls who were a victim of human trafficking have been rescued from Kenya, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Thursday.

The 10 girls were rescued from the clutches of a crime syndicate in Mombasa which was involved in trafficking of girls.

“We have rescued three Indian girls from Kenya. The girls were victims of an organised crime syndicate that indulged in trafficking of girls. Seven Nepalese girls were also rescued. Their Passports and phones were taken and they were held captive in Mombasa,” Swaraj tweeted.

https://x.com/SushmaSwaraj/status/948764679605690368

“We have flown our girls back to India,” she added.

The minister further said that the Punjab government has been informed so that a case is registered against the agents and the people involved.

https://x.com/SushmaSwaraj/status/948764925878444032

She also appreciated the efforts of the Indian High Commissioner in Kenya, Suchitra Dura and thanked the local police for their help.

“I appreciate the efforts of Ms.Suchitra Durai, Indian High Commissioner in Kenya. Our First Secretary Karan Yadav deserves a special mention. We thank the Kenyan Police for their help,” she added.

https://x.com/SushmaSwaraj/status/948765376816365569

Actor Christian Bale, who played Batman in the famous Christopher Nolan series, has said that he not a fan of the superhero genre.

The 43-year-old actor starred as the iconic caped crusader in Nolan’s “Batman Begins”, “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises”.

During an interview on MTV’s ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast, Bale said he has not seen the performance of Ben Affleck as Batman but will certainly see it at some point.

“I have not seen (Ben Affleck’s Batman). Yes I’m interested (in seeing it), my son seemed like he was really interested but then I realised he just wanted to see the trailer. I tend to go see films that (my kids) want to see,” Bale said.

“I have to confess I’m not a huge superhero film fan.

People seem surprised at that, I don’t know why. I’ve not seen any of the ‘Avengers’ films or any of those films at all. I hear they’re very good, but I’m quite happy just hearing they’re very good,” he added.

Bale also confirmed the reports that he was approached for a role in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” that ultimately went to Woody Harrelson.

“Yes, (it was) very tempting. I not only love the films going back to my childhood but also have a very long relationship with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall because they did ‘Empire of the Sun’ many years back. There was discussion, (and) I hope there will be future discussions,” Bale said.

Tamil movie actor Rajinikanth, who recently announced his political plunge, on Wednesday met DMK President M.Karunanidhi to seek his blessings.

Speaking to reporters here after meeting Karunanidhi, he said he had informed the DMK patriarch about his starting a political party and got his blessings.

The actor said he greeted Karunanidhi for the New Year and also enquired about his health.

On December 31, 2017, Rajinikanth had announced his plans to float a political party and follow spiritual politics.

Speaking to reporters, DMK leader M.K.Stalin termed the meeting between his father and the actor as nothing surprising.

Stalin said Rajinikanth had requested a meeting with Karunanidhi and as per the tradition of this land, his request was acceded to.

He added that Rajinikanth also met Dayalu Ammal, Karunanidhi’s wife.

According to Stalin, even DMDK leader A. Vijayakant had sought Karunanidhi’s blessings when he floated his party.

He said support for Rajinikanth’s party would be decided at the time of elections.

The DMK leader, citing the view that Rajinikanth has been asked to float a political party to wipe out the Dravidian parties, asserted that the Dravidian culture cannot be wiped out of this land.

Jammu on Thursday recorded the coldest night of the season at 2.7 degrees Celsius as the cold wave intensified further in Jammu and Kashmir.

“There is no immediate relief in sight for at least another two to three days,” a Met official said.

Foggy mornings have been adding to the chill in Jammu city over the last four days.

Heavy fog lead to poor visibility disrupting flight operations at the Jammu airport on Wednesday till late afternoon. No flight landed there during that time.

The lowest temperature in the state was minus 20 in Kargil. Leh town recorded minus 14.2.

The minimum temperature was minus 3.9 in Srinagar, minus 4.5 in Pahalgam and minus six in Gulmarg.

In the Jammu region, the Mata Vaishno Devi base camp town of Katra recorded five, Batote 2.1, Bannihil minus 1.6, Bhaderwah minus 0.3 and Udhampur 1.3 degrees Celsius.

India Test opener Murali Vijay on Wednesday said he wants to play his ‘A’ game in the upcoming match against South Africa here on Friday.

Vijay also said he is in positive frame of mind for the match and not taking any sort of stress.

“I just want to go out there and whatever is thrown at me, I just want to play my ‘A’ game and do well for my country,” Vijay told reporters after the practice session here.

“I don’t want to think too much about what will happen in a couple days’ time. I just want to prepare myself and be in a confident state of mind, which I am at the moment,” he added.

Despite the conditions and pitch favouring the fast bowlers, the Tamil Nadu batsman said the role of spinners will also be important.

“It is actually a very, very important role because you have to support the fast bowlers as well. If you can bowl the spinners in the game, they can come in big time and get a couple of wickets here and there, so it will be a great help for us,” he said.

The right-hand opener revealed that this time he has done his homework better than the last time when he toured here.

“I am preparing myself to be a little more open-minded than I was last time. You cannot have a set pattern you cannot go into a Test thinking that you are going to leave so many balls. You also have to be in a frame of mind to score runs,” Vijay said.

Commenting on the pitch, Vijay said: “It is quite green. I don’t know how it is going to behave on day one. For an opening batsman, the swing is more difficult to face than bounce. Personally, I think I am able to manage bounce more. If the ball swings around, it is difficult for any batsman to keep his shape.”

The Sri Lankan Navy today arrested 13 Tamil Nadu fishermen for allegedly fishing in their territorial waters off Katchatheevu islet.

They also damaged a few boats and fishing equipment belonging to others using iron rods, before chasing them away.

Assistant Director of Fisheries, A Manikandan said, more than 2,000 fishermen from Thangachimadam had ventured into the sea yesterday in 523 boats and were fishing near Katchatheevu when the Lankan naval men came to the spot and arrested 13 fishermen.

They also snapped the fishing nets of 50 boats and damaged some boats using iron rods, he said.

The arrested fishermen were taken to Kangesanthurai port along with two boats.

On December 31, 13 fishermen from this island town were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing near Neduntheevu close to the island nation’s coast.

A total of 89 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry had been released by Sri Lankan authorities last year.

The Border Security Force (BSF) on Thursday successfully thwarted an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) by killing a militant who was trying to intrude into India.

According to reports, the incident took place in the morning in Arnia area of RS Pura sector of Jammu and Kashmir when Indian troops observed movement of two to three people along the border.

The troopers opened fire resulting in the death of one of the intruders while the others managed to escape.

This comes a day after a BSF head constable was killed by Pakistan Rangers indiscriminately targeting Indian posts in the Samba sector.

On Wednesday, Pakistan Rangers opened sniper fire at Indian positions at 4.15 pm injuring a head constable identified as RP Hazara, who was a resident of Tamara in Murshidabad, West Bengal.

The BSF also destroyed two Pakistani posts in retaliation to the killing of its jawan in the unprovoked firing.

West Indies cricket coach Stuart Law has defended out-of-form batsman Chris Gayle, saying critics who suggest his international career may be over “write him off at your peril.”

The 38-year-old Gayle scored only 38 runs in four innings on the West Indies’ disastrous tour to New Zealand which ended yesterday with a 119-run loss in the third Twenty20 international.

The tourists lost the two-match Test series 2-0, the three-match one-day series 3-0 and the Twenty20 2-0 with one match washed out.

Gayle looked largely disinterested, missing one of the one-day matches with a reported virus. He was out for a duck in his latest innings on Wednesday, throwing up his gloves to defend himself against a relatively innocuous short-pitched ball from Tim Southee.

Gayle came to New Zealand immediately after scoring 146 from 69 balls for the Rangpur Riders in the final of the Bangladesh Premier League, after which he proclaimed himself the best T20 batsman in world cricket.

His subsequent performances in New Zealand led to speculation he may soon retire from international cricket to continue his career in more lucrative professional leagues.

But Law said Gayle still has much to offer the West Indies.

“Right now it probably doesn’t look like it but there’s plenty of cricket left in the big man,” Law said. “He can destroy any attack, it doesn’t have to be a minnow.

“He’s central to the way this dressing room ticks and commands a lot of respect. He’s just got to start performing in the middle again.

“He didn’t click in this series. He had a viral infection in the one-dayers and, while T20 is probably his best format, he didn’t get the starts he wanted. He’s played this game long enough. He knows how to do it. He was pretty good in England a few months ago.”

Law said the West Indies’ form in New Zealand was disappointing but was due in part to the absence of a number of senior players who were key contributors to the team’s win in the World T20 two years ago.

“It was a pretty disappointing tour,” Law said. “New Zealand played good, disciplined cricket but we fell short.

“We need to do a lot of hard work, planning and understanding. That means some soul-searching by looking in the mirror and asking if we gave it everything to change a game, get into a game and win a game.”

Injured Japanese star Kei Nishikori pulled out of the Australian Open on Thursday, while Novak Djokovic says he will test his problem elbow at an exhibition before deciding whether to play.

Asian number one Nishikori has not played competitively since last August after suffering a torn tendon in his right wrist during a practice session at Cincinnati.

He said he still wasn’t ready for a gruelling Grand Slam campaign.

“I am very sorry to announce that I will miss the Aussie Open this year,” he said on his website of the opening major of the year, starting in Melbourne on January 15.

“The Aussie Open is my favourite Slam … it’s my ‘home’ Slam,” he added.

“It’s the Slam that takes incredible care of the players and their teams, and it hurts that I will have to miss it this year.

“My rehab is going well but I am just not ready 100 percent to come back yet in best of five set matches.”

Nishikori is not the only leading player struggling with injury, with a who’s who of the top names in the game battling to be fit for Melbourne Park.

Former world number one Djokovic hasn’t played since a right elbow issue forced him to quit Wimbledon in the quarter-finals in July.

He has already cancelled scheduled appearances at an exhibition in Abu Dhabi and the Qatar Open, and said he will test the injury next week at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne and a Tie Break Tens tournament in the same city.

“Novak is travelling to Australia where he will take part in two exhibition tournaments,” said a statement on 12-time Grand Slam winner’s website early today.

“After the two events, the decision will be made about his participation at the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open, where ‘Nole’ has been crowned champion six times.”

– Writing on wall –

===================

Another former number one, Andy Murray, is also struggling and withdrew from this week’s Brisbane International as he works to overcome a right hip injury which has sidelined him since Wimbledon.

The Scot raised the prospect this week of surgery, but still holds out hope of playing in Melbourne, saying he will decide by the weekend whether to stay in Australia or fly home.

Also returning from injury but set to play at the Grand Slam are Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic.

World number one Rafael Nadal, the reigning French Open and US Open champion, pulled out of Brisbane with a knee injury, but the Spaniard has said he still intends to be on court at the Australian Open.

The writing was on the wall for Nishikori, who also withdrew from Brisbane.

The 28-year-old, who reached a career high world number four in 2015, said in November he had chosen rehabilitation over surgery to repair the damage and was targeting a return to action in Australia.

His no-show is a major blow for the popular Japanese player, who concluded his 2017 season with a 30-13 match record.

The winner of 11 ATP Tour titles, he made the fourth round of the Australian Open last year, losing in five sets to eventual champion Roger Federer, who, aged 36, is one of the few top names to be fully fit.

The key Indian equity indices on Thursday were trading higher soon after opening.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex), was trading 69.56 points or 0.21 per cent higher soon after opening.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading 6.25 points or 0.06 per cent higher at 10,449.45 points.

The Sensex of the BSE, which opened at 33,912.49 points, was trading at 33,862.94 points (at 9.18 a.m.), higher 69.56 points or 0.21 per cent from the previous day’s close at 33,793.38 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 33,916.75 points and a low of 33,847.51 points in the trade so far.