Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli was among the eight sportspersons who were on Wednesday picked for the prestigious Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian award.

Besides Kohli, the seven other sportspersons named for the award are Rio Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik, Paralympians Mariyappan Thangavelu and Deepa Malik, gymnast Dipa Karmakar, Indian hockey captain P R Sreejesh, discus thrower Vikas Gowda and blind cricket team captain Shekar Naik.

Kohli recently took over as the captain of the Indian cricket team in all the three formats of the game after Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down as skipper of the limited-overs side. The prolific batsman is among the most feared batsmen in world cricket right now.

Sakshi Malik won a bronze in the women's 58kg wrestling while Thangavelu and Deepa Malik bagged a gold and silver in the men's high jump T-42 and women's shot put F53 categories respectively at the Rio Paralympics.

Dipa Karmakar finished fourth in women's vault gymnastic event in Rio Olympics while Sreejesh was the captain of the Indian hockey side that reached the quarterfinals.

Gowda, the reigning Commonwealth and Asian champion, failed to advance beyond the qualifying round in men's discus throw in Rio.

The eight sportspersons were among 89 Padma Awardees announced by the government on the eve of the Republic Day.

There were no sportspersons in the list of Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awardees.

There were 75 names in the list of Padma Shri recipients.

With over seven lakh voters in a state of around 10 lakh population, Mizoram has one of the highest number of voters compared to its population, state Governor Lt Gen (retd) Nirbhay Sharma said on Wednesday.

Addressing a function on National Voters' Day, he said Mizoram has a population of around 10 lakh and 7,39,976 voters, according to the electoral roll published on January 5.

The National Voters' Day was celebrated across the state in all headquarters of the eight districts and big towns, an official statement said.

Burj Khalifa tower, the world's tallest building located in Dubai, will be lit up in the colours of the Indian National flag on Wednesday and Thursday to celebrate India's 68th Republic Day, a media report said.

The LED shows were to be held on both days along with complimenting Dubai Fountain shows, the Khaleej Times reported on Wednesday.

In addition to the shows, the Indian Consulate in Dubai has a flag-hoisting ceremony at the consulate premises by Consul General Anurag Bhushan, followed by flag-hoisting at the Indian High School grounds in Oud Metha. 

The ceremony at the school will include a march-past by the students. In the evening, a cultural programme titled "Aaj Ki Shaam Desh Ke Naam", will be hosted at the school grounds where the students will perform various folk dances and other activities. 

The programme, under the patronage of the Consulate, will also present people a chance to try various India cuisines. 

The lighting comes as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the guest of honour for India's Republic Day on Thursday. He was ceremonially welcomed by President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday and held talks in New Delhi with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both sides inked a number of agreements.

The Assam Secretariat Complex has been renamed as 'Janata Bhawan' by the state government vide a notification on Wednesday.

The order will come into force with immediate effect, an official release said here.

The state government had decided to rename the Assam Secretariat as 'Janata Bhawan' at a meeting on December 29.

After the capital of Assam was shifted from Shillong to Dispur, following creation of Meghalaya (from Assam in 1972), the Assam State Secretariat was functioning for 32 years from renovated tea warehouses.

The Assam State Secretariat Complex was christened as 'Janata Bhawan' by then Congress chief minister Sarat Chandra Sinha until a permanent multi-storey, modern Secretariat complex was constructed in the adjacent area.

The new seat of administrative power was inaugurated on November 22, 2004 by then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh who represented Assam in the Rajya Sabha.

Stressing that “personal comments” should be avoided at all cost, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday distanced itself from party MP Vinay Katiyar’s sexist comment against Congress President Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

“Nobody is expected to make personal comments particularly on women, BJP does not subscribe to it,” BJP leader and union minister M Venkaiah Naidu said.

Katiyar has courted controversy saying there were "prettier star campaigners" in his party than Priyanka who is the star campaigner for the Congress in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

Slamming Katiyar as well as the BJP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Katiyar has "exposed the mindset" of his party with his alleged sexist remarks against her.

"And if that is all he sees in my colleagues who are such strong, brave and beautiful women that have battled through all sorts of hardships to get where they are, then he makes me laugh even more. Because he exposes the BJP's mindset towards the better half of the population of India,” she said.
 

Former Lok Sabha Speaker, the late Purno Agitok Sangma has been conferred the Padma Vibhushan, his family said on Wednesday.

He become the first recipient from Meghalaya to be awarded India's second-highest civilian honour.

"It is an honour for the people of the Northeastern states and especially to our community (Garo tribals) that the government has conferred Padma Vibhushan to him," Sangma's widow Soradini K Sangma  said.

"We (family) are honoured. We feel that the award is in recognition to his selfless service and contribution to the people and to the nation," she added, while thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the selection committee for bestowing the award.

Echoing his mother, Sangma's son and Tura MP Conrad K Sangma said: "My father had enjoyed the support, love and affection of the people across the nation and especially from the people in Garo hills where they had elected him 10 consecutive times as their representative to the parliament and even to the Meghalaya assembly.

"The Padma Vibhushan is in recognition for his selfless sacrifice and contributions in every sphere to the nation. I will definitely work to fulfil his dreams."

Padma Shri awardee Patricia Mukhim said: "Sangma deserved the award for his contributions to the state and the nation as a whole. He was one of best Speakers in the parliament. In fact, he deserved the recognition much earlier; nonetheless it is a proud moment for the people of Meghalaya."

Sangma rose to become the country's first tribal Lok Sabha Speaker, serving from 1996 to 1998, when the country witnessed three coalition governments – that of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujral.

But he ably controlled parliamentary proceedings, using his gifted sense of humour to defuse tensions. Former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao had then commended him for his "sagacity" in conducting the proceedings of the 11th Lok Sabha.

The tribal leader donned many caps – of a lecturer, a lawyer and a journalist – before he was catapulted to national politics. He was also Meghalaya chief minister from 1988 to 1990.

In 1999, Sangma along with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar founded the Nationalist Congress Party after walking out of the Congress on account of Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin.

Sangma floated the National People's Party in 2013 after he unsuccessfully contested the 2012 presidential election against his "senior friend" of many years Pranab Mukherjee.

He was the candidate of the then opposition BJP-led NDA and some regional parties.

Born on 1 September, 1947 in Chapathi village of West Garo Hills in Meghalaya, Sangma died of a massive heart attack in New Delhi on March 4 last year.

In a bid to boost their strategic ties, India and the UAE on Wednesday signed more than a dozen pacts in key areas like defence, security, trade and energy apart from a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement amidst assertion by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that cooperation stands poised for a "major take off".

However, much-anticipated pact pertaining to the USD 75 billion investment fund, committed by the UAE, was not among the fourteen pacts which were signed after the talks between Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Al Nahyan, who arrived here on Tuesday accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers, senior officials and captains of industry, will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade tomorrow.

Terming his discussions as "fruitful and productive", Modi, at a joint press event with the UAE leader, said the discussions were wide ranging covering the entire spectrum of the bilateral engagement.

"We have shaped an ambitious roadmap of engagement to make our comprehensive strategic partnership purposeful and action oriented. The agreement that was exchanged just now has institutionalised this understanding," Modi said.

Asserting that security and defence cooperation have added growing new dimensions to the ties, he said their closer ties are of importance, not just to both the countries but also of significance to the entire neighbourhood.

He also said convergence between the two countries can help stabilise the region and the economic partnership can be a source of regional and global prosperity.

"We exchanged views on developments in West Asia and the Gulf, where both countries have a shared interest in peace and stability. We also discussed developments in our region, including Afghanistan. Our shared concern on growing threat from radicalism and terrorism to the safety and security of our people is shaping our cooperation in this space," Modi said.

He noted, "Moving forward, our cooperation stands poised for a major take off. I am confident, Your Highness, that your visit will build on the strong gains and understanding of our previous interactions. And shape its future framework marked by depth, drive and diversification of our partnership." 

However, the two sides did not sign a pact pertaining to the USD 75 billion investment as was hoped by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials yesterday.

Holding that the UAE has the largest sovereign fund, Secretary for Economic Relations in MEA Amar Sinha yesterday had told reporters, "During the visit, we are hoping to sign an MoU between their investment fund and our National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF)" which will put in place a framework as to how the fund will be administered and which all sectors it can be invested in.

Asked as of why the accord was not inked, senior officials said, "Talks are in an advanced stage and this visit has helped in identifying sectors in which the investment can be made.

Ninth seed and 2009 champion Rafael Nadal overcame third seed Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(7), 6-4 in their Australian Open quarter-final here on Wednesday.

He will play No.15 seed Grigor Dimitrov, a straight-sets winner over No.11 seed David Goffin, on Friday.

Nadal targeted Raonic's backhand early on, a tactic from fellow Mallorcan Carlos Moya, a former World No.1 and Raonic's former coach now working with Nadal.

Raonic saved one break point in the fifth game, but lost his serve by striking an overhead long to gift Nadal a 4-3 lead.

Nadal's 12 winners, nine of 10 net points won, and just two unforced errors highlighted a dominant display in the 43-minute opening set.

Raonic took an off-court medical time-out when he led 3-2 in the second set.

Nadal suddenly lost his confidence from there, and at 4-5 he recovered to save three set points.

Two stunning pieces of anticipation at 3-3 in the second set tie-break helped Raonic open a lead, but more set point chances went begging at 6-4 and 7-6.

Three straight forehand errors by Raonic saw him walk to his chair after a pulsating 81-minute second set, which Nadal eventually claimed.

Raonic recently beat the 14-time Grand Slam champion in the quarter-finals of the recent Brisbane International.

Film: Kaabil

Director: Sanjay Gupta

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Yami Gautam, Ronit Roy, Rohit Roy

Genre: Romance, Drama, Action

Hrithik Roshan is the Masterchef in Kaabil where revenge is a dish best served cold. And, the one-man show makes for a decent masala entertainer, defying expectations which had written off Sanjay Gupta’s latest before it even hit theatres.

The audience is introduced to the film’s leads early on Rohit Bhatnagar and his lovely wife Supriya (Yami Gautam), who are living an idyllic life, as most newly-weds deservedly should. The good-looking duo make the first 45-odd minutes very pleasant with their easy-breezy chemistry and some light-hearted moments here and there.

The film hits choppy waters as soon as the protagonists do, as Rohit’s wife is raped by Amit Shellar (Ronit Roy) and his best buddy Wasim. As a bewildered and rightfully aggrieved husband searches for justice via the legal route, which (surprise, surprise) is not forthcoming due to the culprit's political clout.

And while mercifully our blind hero does not do a Daredevil and punch the the bad guy’s lights out, the plot has enough loopholes to sink any film many times over. Ronit and Rohit Roy play brothers in the film. Rohit essays the role of the slimy politician Madhavrao Shellar without much conviction. When he isn't issuing threats in Marathi, he is busy turning a blind eye to his younger brother’s crimes which seem to keep getting heinous by the day. Somehow, despite only being a councillor, he has enough power in his area to get the hapless cops to look the other way no matter the severity of the offence. Go figure.

The director deftly keeps the spotlight on Hrithik throughout the film, as the star nails his role of the blind but perceptive man to the T. Yami plays the role of the vivacious and pretty girl well, but with both the Roy brothers not bringing their ‘A’ game to the table, each scene without Hrithik seems a drag, to be honest.

A sub-par soundtrack (the key songs being remixes of earlier hits) coupled with an item song that seemed to cripple Kaabil and despite Hrithik going all out with his performance, silly and predictable action sequences will make you groan aloud. Considering it is touted as a revenge flick, that just about adds the last nail in the coffin.

All in all, Kaabil isn't the shipwreck it had been made out to be. But that isn't saying much, as despite going in with seriously low expectations it will be difficult to justify spending a national holiday watching this film that extends to a run time of just over two hours.

Laboratory panels and medical equipment worth Rs.20 lakh was destroyed in a fire at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital, authorities said on Wednesday.

Hospital authorities said the incident was reported around 11.30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Microbiology laboratory caused due to a short circuit.

"The fire incident mostly affected the laboratory panels, some equipments, computers and wires. We have estimated the loss and it is around 20 lakh," A K Gadpayle, Medical Superintendent of RML hospital said.

Gadpayle said that the fire was later brought under control after the fire tenders came.

Once a master finisher, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's batting at the death in the past year has set tongues wagging but the former captain in his own inimitable way is trying to perfect the steer shot to counter the wide yorkers effectively bowled by England bowlers.

Ahead of the first T20 International at Green Park, Dhoni had a separate session with India's yorker specialist Jasprit Bumrah.

A small video uploaded by the bcci.tv showed that inside the practice nets, Dhoni measured a bat length from his off-stump and placed a white kookaburra there. It can be perceived as the length where a perfect wide yorker would be pitched.

Bumrah was then instructed to bowl the wide yorkers and Dhoni was seen trying to steer the deliveries instead of going for full blooded whacks over long-off — one of his trademark shots.

The Gujarat slinger was pitching those wide yorkers perfectly and Dhoni just opened his wrists a bit to angle his shots to the left of the imaginary point fielder.

With the field restrictions in place, it is difficult for bowling sides to keep a deep point or a third man during death overs, which may be a reason for Dhoni to try out something new.

Nothing fills the heart with more pride and nostalgia than the sight of India’s Armed Forces displaying their might in the air, and as they parade down Rajpath. Colourful tableaux of different states symbolising our country’s rich diversity and the Tricolour fluttering in the background on January 26 – India’s Republic Day is a treat to watch for every Indian.

Celebrated to honour the Constitution which came into being on this day in 1950, the Republic Day is not only about the ceremonious parades showcasing the power of the Indian defence forces and the colourful diversity of the country, but it is also a great reminder of the magnitude of the country's beauty.

As the country celebrate its 68th Republic Day on Thursday, here are some interesting facts about the day:

• January 26 in 1930 was celebrated as ‘Purna Swaraj Day’- Complete Independence Day of India. It is the day India decided to fight for freedom.
• It took three years to draft the Constitution. Of the 284 members of the Constituent Assembly, 15 were women.
• The Constitution was neither typed nor printed but handwritten and calligraphed both in English and Hindi. 
• The members signed the handwritten document on January 24 in 1950.
• The original copies are kept safely in the Parliament’s library in helium-filled cases.
• Before the Constitution came into being, India was governed by a document called the Government of India Act (1935).
• The Indian Constitution is the longest in the world comprising of 448 articles, 12 schedules and 98 amendments.
• The Republic Day celebrations last for three days till January 29, ending with the Beating Retreat ceremony.
• President Sukarno of Indonesia was the first chief guest at the first Republic Day celebrations held on January 26, 1950.
• A Christian hymn ‘Abide With Me’ is played at the parade as it was one of Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite songs. It is played as a tribute to the ‘Father of the Nation’.
• On this day, the President of India presents the Gallantry Awards to the brave-hearts of the nation.
• This day is declared as the third national holiday in the nation, other two- being Independence Day on August 15 and Gandhi Jayanti on October 2.

South Korea's top judge urged his colleagues to come to a quick verdict on the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye on Wednesday, at his last hearing before stepping down.

The rapidly dwindling number of judges at the country's Constitutional Court could throw Park a lifeline, after millions of people have taken to the streets to demand her resignation and she was impeached by parliament last month.

Pak Han-Chul will retire as the court's chief justice next week at the end of his six-year term, with another of his colleagues following suit on March 13.

That will leave the court with only seven sitting judges, but by law six votes — a two-thirds majority of the full court — will still be needed to uphold Park's removal from office.

As such, Park would need the backing of only two justices to return to the Blue House and see out her term.

The outgoing judges will not be replaced until a new president is elected.

The absence of two justices "could seriously distort the court's decisions", warned Park Han-Chul, who was appointed by the impeached politician.

The president was impeached over a corruption and power abuse scandal centred on her friend and confidante Choi Soon-sil.

The Constitutional Court has until June to decide whether to approve the decision, in which case new elections must be held within 60 days, or reinstate her.

An opinion poll by Real Meter published Wednesday put the main opposition Democratic Party's presidential hopeful Moon Jae-In well ahead of a pack of five other candidates including former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

Moon polled 29.1 per cent against Ban's 19.8 per cent, followed by another Democratic Party runner Lee Jae-Myung with 10.1 per cent.

South Korea's top judge urged his colleagues to come to a quick verdict on the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye on Wednesday, at his last hearing before stepping down.

The rapidly dwindling number of judges at the country's Constitutional Court could throw Park a lifeline, after millions of people have taken to the streets to demand her resignation and she was impeached by parliament last month.

Pak Han-Chul will retire as the court's chief justice next week at the end of his six-year term, with another of his colleagues following suit on March 13.

That will leave the court with only seven sitting judges, but by law six votes — a two-thirds majority of the full court — will still be needed to uphold Park's removal from office.

As such, Park would need the backing of only two justices to return to the Blue House and see out her term.

The outgoing judges will not be replaced until a new president is elected.

The absence of two justices "could seriously distort the court's decisions", warned Park Han-Chul, who was appointed by the impeached politician.

The president was impeached over a corruption and power abuse scandal centred on her friend and confidante Choi Soon-sil.

The Constitutional Court has until June to decide whether to approve the decision, in which case new elections must be held within 60 days, or reinstate her.

An opinion poll by Real Meter published Wednesday put the main opposition Democratic Party's presidential hopeful Moon Jae-In well ahead of a pack of five other candidates including former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

Moon polled 29.1 per cent against Ban's 19.8 per cent, followed by another Democratic Party runner Lee Jae-Myung with 10.1 per cent.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday named four women in a strong field of nine umpires to officiate in next months Women's World Cup Qualifier in its continued efforts and commitment to the overall growth and development of women's cricket.

The February 7-21 event in Colombo will see the experienced Kathleen Cross of New Zealand lead the group of women umpires who all have international experience and are being groomed for more future responsibilities by the ICC, according to a release.

Cross, who was the first woman to be named in an ICC umpires' panel in 2014 when she was named in the Associates and Affiliates panel, is the most experienced of the four officials with Sue Redfern of England, Claire Polosak of Australia and Jacqueline Williams of the West Indies the other women figuring in the list of umpires. 

The five men umpires in the 14-day tournament include Anil Chaudhary, Leslie Reifer, Raveendra Wimalasari (all from the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires), Ian Ramage and Mark Hawthorne (both from the ICC Associate and Affiliate International Umpires). Graeme Labrooy will be the match referee, while Peter Manuel will be the umpires coach.

With the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 to be staged in England and Wales from 24 June to 23 July, the Colombo event will provide an opportunity for the women umpires to push their casefor inclusion in the pinnacle women's event.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday named four women in a strong field of nine umpires to officiate in next months Women's World Cup Qualifier in its continued efforts and commitment to the overall growth and development of women's cricket.

The February 7-21 event in Colombo will see the experienced Kathleen Cross of New Zealand lead the group of women umpires who all have international experience and are being groomed for more future responsibilities by the ICC, according to a release.

Cross, who was the first woman to be named in an ICC umpires' panel in 2014 when she was named in the Associates and Affiliates panel, is the most experienced of the four officials with Sue Redfern of England, Claire Polosak of Australia and Jacqueline Williams of the West Indies the other women figuring in the list of umpires. 

The five men umpires in the 14-day tournament include Anil Chaudhary, Leslie Reifer, Raveendra Wimalasari (all from the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires), Ian Ramage and Mark Hawthorne (both from the ICC Associate and Affiliate International Umpires). Graeme Labrooy will be the match referee, while Peter Manuel will be the umpires coach.

With the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 to be staged in England and Wales from 24 June to 23 July, the Colombo event will provide an opportunity for the women umpires to push their casefor inclusion in the pinnacle women's event.

Are you prone to making hasty decisions? You may be at risk of becoming obese, say scientists who have found a link between having an impulsive personality and a high body mass index.

Researchers at University of Texas at Dallas showed that impulsive personality – the tendency to consistently react with little forethought – is the key factor that links brain patterns of impulsivity and a high body mass index (BMI).

"Our research points to impulsive personality as a risk factor for weight gain," said Francesca Filbey, associate professor in the School of Behavioural and Brain Sciences and the Centre for BrainHealth.

"Thus, addressing impulsive personality traits is essential to developing effective weight management programs that can help the 70 per cent of Americans who are overweight or obese," said Filbey.

Researchers recruited 45 individuals, ages 22 to 43 with an average BMI of 30.7, and analysed three separate measures to understand the role of impulsivity in body weight, including a self-report, neuropsychological testing and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

For the self-report, researchers used an impulsive sensation-seeking scale to gauge innate personality characteristics.

Participants were asked to rate how much they agreed with statements such as "I tend to change interests frequently" or "I tend to begin a new job without much advance planning on how I will do it." 

The neuropsychological measure sought to assess whether an individual's decision-making style was more impulsive or cautious.

It evaluated a participant's ability to distinguish between visual images on a screen and indicate an accurate response while being tested for speed.

An fMRI was used to examine brain activation and connectivity during an impulse control task that required participants to push one of two buttons depending on visual cues and refrain from pushing a button if an audio cue occurred at the same time as the visual cue.

"Despite performing similarly to controls on the impulse-control task in the scanner, individuals with a high BMI exhibited altered neural function compared to normal weight individuals," Filbey said.

"We expected that an impaired ability to inhibit impulses would be the factor linking high BMI and brain change, but our study showed that having the inherent, impulsive personality trait, not an impulsive decision-making state in a specific situation or in response to vices, is the mediating factor," he said.

"Given our findings, treatments that provide coping skills or cognitive strategies for individuals to overcome impulsive behaviours associated with having an impulsive personality could be an essential component for effective weight-loss programmes," Filbey said.

The findings were published in the journal Obesity.