Newly-appointed East Bengal coach Mridul Banerjee injured himself during his first training session on Wednesday, club officials have confirmed.

Banerjee, who won the Santosh Trophy with Bengal this year and is an A-licensed coach, took over the reins from Trevor Morgan on Tuesday after the latter was sacked for the club's underwhelming displays in the ongoing I-League.

On his first day at a practice session with the red and gold brigade whose league winning aspirations have gone up in smoke after their fourth reversal in a row to DSK Shivajians, Banerjee twisted his ankle while running and has been taken for a scan.

"He twisted his ankle while running backwards during training and fell awkwardly. There was no body contact. He has been taken for a scan and we will know whether he can attend our next game by today evening," an East Bengal official said.

"He has been advised bed rest."

East Bengal take on Minerva Punjab FC at home in an I-League encounter on April 23.

In a major move to free state-owned land from illegal occupants, Yogi Adityanath government has decided to set up an anti-land mafia task force at the earliest.

"The chief minister has given a clear directive to start a campaign for vacating properties which have been under illegal occupation after identifying them in a month's time," an official spokesman said here on Wednesday.

"The chief minister during the presentation of the finance department late last night asked the officials concerned to set up the task force at the earliest to free government land from illegal occupants and encroachers," he said.

Adityanath has also ordered department-wise identification of properties under illegal occupation and make them useful for people on a priority basis, he said.

The seriousness of the problem of illegal occupation on government land was highlighted last year when two police officers and 22 squatters were killed in a bloody conflict at Jawahar Bagh public park in Mathura in June.

The squatters, an armed group led by a Ram Vriksh Yadav, once a follower of Jai Gurudev, had been occupying the site since 2014.

Following a court order on their eviction in 2016, the police tried to forcibly evict them, triggering violence, that claimed the lives of two senior police officers, including a superintendent of police. The police then returned fire, killing several squatters.

During the presentation, the chief minister said though local bodies will be allowed a free hand in taking up welfare works, useless expenditure will not be allowed and they (local bodies) will have to take effective measures for improving basic amenities to people.

He also instructed that in case of parallel schemes of the state and central government being run on the same subject, they will be implemented only through the central schemes, the spokesman added.

Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Daniel Vettori heaped praise on Chris Gayle for his 38 ball 77, saying that the batsmen like swashbuckling West Indies opener do not need guidance from any coach or captain with regard to their batting.

Gayle smashed a blistering half-century before Yuzvendra Chahal returned with a three-wicket haul as Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Gujarat Lions by 21 runs here on Tuesday night.

“Good thing about international cricketers is that they probably talk to themselves more than any captain or coach talking to them about their performances,” said Vettori at the post match press conference.

“They take pride in their performances, they really want to contribute to the team and Chris is a really prideful man, he wants to do well for RCB, do well for any team he plays for. Chris is the strongest and powerful player on these kind of wickets and he can take any bowler down.”

The former New Zealand skipper said Gayle made the most of the opportunity he got because of AB de Villiers' injury.

“Today was his opportunity. AB's injury allowed him to come out and play. We wanted him to play with freedom and we had given him the confidence,” Vettori said.

The 38-year-old coach also applauded leg-spinner Chahal's three for 31.

“I have been lucky enough to have worked with Chahal for the past four years and also played against him when he was in Mumbai. The way he bowled in the Champions League final was the reason why we wanted to get him into RCB,” said Vettori.

“He is competitive coupled with a lot of skills. I think those two qualities make a formidable combination for a spin bowler and he is positive and confident of what he is doing.

“If you can succeed in a stadium like Chinnaswamy then it means you are special and we saw that again today with Chahal's performance,” he added.

Vettori expressed hope that injured players of RCB would attain fill fitness quickly.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Lions' medium pacer Basil Thampi said getting Gayle out was the “best feeling of my life”.

“It was the best feeling of my life. It was my first wicket in the IPL. I got the big man's wicket and I'm very happy to get him out,” said Thampi after taking his maiden IPL wicket in the form of Gayle.
The tall pacer from Kerala revealed that he enjoys bowling in pressure situations.

“It has given me enjoyment. The main thing is that I have to enjoy my bowling. Nowadays, I am bowling well and I just keep doing that. I actually allow the pressure to bowl like that. I know that the batsmen can hit me anytime, but I can also build the pressure that time. I enjoy that pressure,” said the 23-year-old.

Thampi said that his ability to bowl yorkers came from playing tennis ball cricket.

“I got my yorkers from tennis ball cricket. When I came for the camp, I kept on practicing it in the nets with my coaches and they motivated me to keep doing that,” he said.

The Congress has praised the Goa Forward Party leader and state minister Vijai Sardesai who recently warned the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders not to make provocative statements.

"The statement made by a VHP leader that their cadres would impose beef ban if the government failed to do so is an attempt to disturb the communal harmony in our state," Goa Congress spokesperson Trajano D'Mello said here.

"Cabinet Minister Vijai Sardesai has taken a bold stand saying if such utterances are repeated, the government would not hesitate to use the law to ban such elements," D'Mello said, speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening.

VHP functionary Radha Krishna Manori had said on Sunday that his organisation would "impose a ban" on beef consumption in Goa in the next one or two years if the government didn't do so.

Sardesai, whose party is a part of BJP-led Goa government, slammed the VHP, warning that if its leaders continued in the same vein, they would meet the fate of Pramod Muthalik, the controversial chief of Sri Ram Sene who was banned from entering Goa in the past.

"I would like to refresh your memory that it was I who took up the issue of banning Muthalik," D'Mello told reporters.

All secular people who want communal peace should appreciate and support Sardesai's warning, he said.

"No one should play politics on this sensitive issue," D'Mello said, adding that the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who also holds the charge of home department, should issue similar warning to any organisation which tries to disrupt the peace in the coastal state.

Non-fossil fuels- renewables, nuclear and large hydroelectric power plants-will account for more than half (56.5 per cent) of India's installed power capacity by 2027, according to a draft of the third National Electricity Plan (NEP3).

The draft notes that if India achieves its target to install 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022-as committed under the 2015 Paris Agreement-it will not need to install, at least until 2027, any more coal-fired capacity than the 50 GW currently under construction.

The Ministry of Power produces a National Electricity Plan every five years, in which it reviews the progress made over the previous five years, and sets out a detailed action plan for the next 10 with the overarching aim of achieving universal access to electricity and ensuring that power is supplied efficiently and at reasonable prices.

NEP3 outlines how the government expects the electricity sector to develop over the five years from 2017 to 2022, as well as the subsequent five years to 2027.

When the draft was released, India had installed just over 50 GW of renewable power capacity, of which wind energy made up 57.4 per cent and solar 18 per cent. This gave renewables a 15 per cent share in total installed capacity of just over 314 GW, while coal made up 60 per cent-the remaining being large hydropower, nuclear, gas and diesel.

Renewables will have to scale rapidly to meet a national target set in 2015 to increase capacity to 175 GW by 2022 -100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind and the remainder from sundry smaller sources such as biofuels and biomass.

NEP3 projects that not only will the 2022 target be achieved, renewable power capacity will reach 275 GW in 2027. This is three times the projection made in NEP2, of 70 GW, and significantly more ambitious than publicly proclaimed targets.

Comparing NEP3 with India's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) under the Paris Agreement reached at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2015 shows a higher level of ambition to reach a low-carbon economy faster.

In its INDC, India had said it planned to achieve 40 per cent cumulative installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

NEP3 is significantly more upbeat, predicting that non-fossil power will make up 46.8 per cent of total installed capacity by 2021-22 and 56.5 per cent by 2027-10 years from now. If the NEP3 target is met as per the projected timelines, total installed renewable capacity will surpass coal-based capacity around 2024.

Such ambitions are underpinned by the rapidly changing economics of wind and solar, whose price is falling rapidly. In February 2017, solar power was auctioned at a record low of Rs.2.97-Rs.2.979 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Soon after, in auctions for wind power projects in March 2017, the winning bid quoted an all-time low price of Rs.3.46/kWh. Solar and wind are expected to reach grid parity-when they cost as much as conventional power — in the near future, perhaps as early as next year.

As for other zero-emission sources like nuclear and large hydropower, NEP3 projects an addition of 7.6 GW of nuclear and 27.3 GW of large hydroelectricity capacity up to 2027, up from 6.7 GW and 44.4 GW of hydro installed as of March 2016, as ongoing and approved projects come online during 2017-22.

While expecting renewable capacity to surge, NEP3 says no new coal-based capacity addition is required for the 10 years to 2027 beyond the 50 GW under different stages of construction and likely to come online between 2017 and 22.

As per NEP3 projections, the 2022-27 period would require an addition of about 44 GW of coal-based capacity to meet projected demand, a requirement that would be adequately met by the 50 GW that will come online during 2017-22. This leaves India with 6 GW of extra capacity.

The NEP's projections for coal are different from INDC, which suggested the country would require 100 GW, and perhaps as much as 300 GW, of additional coal-fired capacity by 2030.

The downgrading of coal expansion is not unexpected because rapid expansion of renewables means fossil fuel-based power plants are already under-utilised. NEP3 shows the average coal plant load factor — a measure of how much plants are used-has fallen from around 70 per cent to just over 62 per cent in the last four years, an "exceptionally low" level, according to the Economic Survey 2016-17.

While renewable capacity is rising globally, developing countries including India are widely expected to continue using cheap coal. The International Energy Agency (IEA), an intergovernmental organisation that provides key information and statistics about the oil and energy markets, has forecast that India would witness massive growth in coal-fired capacity, with 438 GW of cumulative capacity by 2040, assuming India's power system would quadruple in size to keep up with demand increasing by five per cent every year. 

NEP3 agrees with the IEA's projections about growth in India's coal capacity up to 2022, reflecting the 50 GW of capacity currently under construction, but suggests the IEA's projections for the post-2022 scenario-made just two years ago-may need to be adjusted downwards.

The current NEP concerns itself with the next 10 years only, but if the current trend of falling renewable power prices continues and India remains committed to cutting emissions, the country may well beat IEA forecasts while upholding and perhaps surpassing its INDC.

Every submarine in the US fleet was designed with the height, reach and strength of men in mind, from the way valves are placed to how display screens are angled. That's going to change.

With women now serving aboard submarines, defence contractor Electric Boat is designing what will be the first Navy subs built specifically to accommodate female crew members.

The designers are doing the obvious things, such as adding more doors and washrooms to create separate sleeping and bathing areas for men and women and to give them more privacy. But they are also making more subtle modifications that may not have been in everyone's periscope when the Navy admitted women into the Silent Service.

For example, they are lowering some overhead valves and making them easier to turn, and installing steps in front of the triple-high bunk beds and stacked laundry machines.

The first vessel built with some of the new features is expected to be delivered to the Navy in 2021, the future USS New Jersey.

The Navy lifted its ban on women on submarines in 2010, starting with officers. About 80 female officers and roughly 50 enlisted women are now serving on subs, and their numbers are expected to climb into the hundreds over the next few years.

For now, the Navy is retrofitting existing subs with extra doors and designated washrooms to accommodate women. But Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, is at work on a redesign of the Navy's Virginia-class fast-attack subs and is also developing a brand-new class of ballistic-missile submarines, relying on body measurements for both men and women.

“We have a clean sheet of paper, so from the ground up, we'll optimise for both men and women,” said Brian Wilson, Electric Boat director of the new ballistic-missile sub program.

Electric Boat officials had no immediate estimate of how much the modifications will cost.

As anyone who watches war movies knows, submariners are always turning valves, whether to operate machinery, redistribute water between tanks or isolate part of a system that has been damaged.

On the Columbia-class boats, valves will generally be placed lower, Wilson said. Sometimes there will be an extension handle, and some will be easier to turn. Sailors will be able to connect their masks into the emergency air system at the side of passageways, instead of overhead.

Emergency air masks are being moved on fast-attack submarines, too, but the bulk of the changes on those subs are to ensure privacy.
Seats in the control room on the ballistic-missile submarines will adjust forward a little more so everyone can touch each display and reach every joystick. Steps will be added so shorter people can climb into the top bunk or see into the washers and dryers, since clothes that get stuck in the machines are a fire hazard.

The first Columbia-class ballistic-missile sub is scheduled to join the fleet in 2031.

At 5-foot-6, Lt Marquette Leveque, one of the first women to serve on a submarine, said that she didn't have any trouble reaching valves and other equipment but that the ergonomic changes will be helpful for shorter crewmates.

Leveque was assigned to a compartment with two other female officers on the USS Wyoming. They shared a washroom with male officers. A sign on the door could be flipped to show whether a man or woman was using it.

With so few women on board, the timesharing worked, she said. But with more on the way, the need for separate spaces is greater, she added.

“Privacy is important anywhere you are,” she said. “We live on this boat, as well as work there.” 

Suspected militants on Wednesday looted a bank branch in Shopian district of Kashmir, police said.

"Two to three gunmen, believed to be militants, entered into the Jammu and Kashmir Bank branch at Harmain in Shopian at 11.00 AM and looted some cash," a police official said.

He said the gunmen managed to escape after committing the robbery.

The bank officials are in the process of ascertaining the amount of cash looted from the branch, the official said.

The rich legacy of India textiles and handicrafts is set to foray into the global market at an international trade event to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June that will showcase products from "Fibre to Fashion".

The Ministry of Textiles held a curtain raiser at the Crafts Museum here on April 18 to 'Textiles India 2017' – the first global business to business textile and handicrafts event in India – scheduled to be held in Gujarat from June 30 to July 2.

The preview to the main event saw the representation of artisans, weavers, emerging and established designers from across the country.

Fashion designers and craftsmen showcased the strength of the Indian textiles sector in cotton, silk, wool, woven and hand-printed, embroidered as well as modern and futuristic textiles.

The textile story was narrated through the works of well-known designers like Manish Arora, Manish Malhotra, Rahul Misra, Ritu Kumar, Rohit Bal, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and many others.

Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani inaugurated the event to celebrate textiles and handicrafts legacy of India that highlighted Prime Minister Modi's vision – "From Farm to Fibre, Fibre to Factory, Factory to Fashion, Fashion to Foreign."

"The textile sector in India has got huge potentiality in terms of employment opportunity," Irani said at the event.

She said with rich handicraft collection, the 'Textile India 2017' would showcase more than 1,000 stalls from across the country.

Ace designer Sabyasachi told IANS on the sidelines of the event: "I am very happy to be a part of the initiative and contribute in taking ahead this movement. My work focuses on zardozi material from West Bengal."

Social activist Medha Patkar has said the Smart City-related evictions in India were “brutal” and alleged that the demolition of the habitats in the name of development was undermining the very existence of people living there.

“In India there are hundred smart cities that are going to be developed. The (World) Bank is in it as it is said in one of the research documents of the 'Ambanis' the name is known because they are Indian multinationals,” Patkar said during a panel discussion on 'Emerging Lessons on Environmental Assessment' being held on the sidelines of the Spring Meeting of the World Bank.

“The Smart City related evictions which is so brutal without paying one rupee compensation and which may initially be seen as an eviction just for the road widening,” she said.

Patkar said it was not just road widening, it was demolishing the cultures, demolishing the habitats and undermining the very existence, rights and role of the hundred years old community who were not only not consulted but were just written off.

The World Bank is involved in India's ambitious Smart City projects in multiple ways including funding and sharing of technological expertise. In her remarks, the well-known Indian social activist rued about the dangers of development being carried in the name of Smart City projects in India.

Opposing such demolition or uprooting is dismissed at times as foolish, she said.

“So, delineating that context the largest of the map which would include not just the various categories of people but the various projects and the sub projects which would have the impacts rolling out,” 62-year-old social activist said.

“That may happen after five years or ten years where if you raise a question, you are considered as a fool or just an opponent or the Maoist as the Vedanta opposing tribal communities were just called yesterday in one of the reports for the Ministry of Home Affairs in India,” she said.

This has become a big issue because the Supreme Court asked the communities to decide. The communities decided not to allow the corporate to mine their lands.

It is not something like the Old Seattle experiment, it is the present time experience that the communities are going through, the Narmada Bachao Andolan leader said.

Patkar said the screening and scoping is always the inappropriate and unacceptable sequence at this point.

“It has to be scoping first and screening later. How can one decide the category A, B or C without really drawing the full scope of impacts and also the feasibility of solutions at least at the primary or the preliminary level,” she said.

“If that is not done then we have an umpteen number of experiences where these illegal sand mining for example was till yesterday a minor mineral mining and would not have a major impact and now the country recognises and they have green tribunals to the Supreme Court have passed orders calling them as the major impact projects,” she added.

So it's just changing of laws, changing of definitions or making it more inclusive that can bring certain impacts and certain kind of projects in a different category, the environmentalist said.

“It is necessary that the first and foremost scoping exercise needs to be taken very seriously otherwise the downstream impact of the dams for example, generally when the downstream people raise an issue related to the environmental flows of the sea ingress,” she said.

“Yesterday I was talking to someone and the senior person in the bank asked us too how can the sea come inside? The sea does come in, when you stop the major river from flowing 1,300 kilometres long to have each reservoir as much in length as 200 and more kilometres, imagine the scale of impact it has not only to people but nature including the river and the sea itself,” Patkar said.

The sea coming in and salinising the ground water and surface water is something that becomes a faint after 20 or 30 years as it is happening in Narmada today, she said.

Patkar said now no one is going to take up any issue, it is the final settlement to be the final order of the Supreme Court as in the case of Sardar Sarovar bridge where now no questioning is permitted. “We would find a way out very soon,” she said.

When the catchment area treatment remains on paper, in the case of a dam, one cannot even say that it is compensating or mitigating the acceptation risks and related impact on the lifespan of the project itself, she said.

“It is therefore necessary that the options assessment is taken with much more depth and much more understanding to be able to make the right kind of technological choice. It's not technological in that sense, it has the social and environmental impacts which differ a lot and that is rarely happening,” Patkar added.

“Why can't you start from the beginning and say that okay, if such large reservoirs or large mega cities or the smart cities is really treating the people like commodities and not even considering them as the units in the alive democracy then leave it out. Let the people decide. So it has to be not just consultation but consent that we would like to underline,” she said.

The US has seen a steep decline in the number of applications for the H-1B visas, the most sought-after by Indian IT firms and professionals, with the country's immigration agency receiving 37,000 less petitions for the 2018 fiscal year, according to new data.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency which receives and determines the successful applications for H-1B visas, said yesterday that it received 199,000 H-1B applications for the 2018 fiscal year.

As per the USCIS figures, it received 37,000 less H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2018 beginning October 1 this year than the 236,000 it received in 2017.

These applications were received in the first five days before USCIS stopped receiving the H-1B petitions.

The successful applicants have been decided on the basis of a computerised draw of lots.

USCIS, as per Congressional mandate can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas every year.

In addition, it can issue another 20,000 to those who have completed their higher education at a US university.

In 2017, USCIS had received 233,000 applications. In 2015 it had received 172,500 H-1B applications and 124,000 in 2014.

The USCIS gave no reason for the drop in H-1B visas this year as compared to the previous two years, but experts attributed this to the current rhetoric against it.

This years applications are “surprisingly low”, William Stock, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association told 'San Francisco Chronicle'.

Stock said a reason behind the drop could be that companies that hire engineers to handle other businesses' programming needs may have filed fewer applications.

India's Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro accounted for the majority of H-1B applications filed in California last year, the daily reported.

Frustration behind the lottery system could be another reason for the drop in the applications, said Martin Lawler, a Bay Area immigration attorney.

“We need more math-based professionals, and it is quite depressing that we can't go out and get the best and brightest,” he told the daily.

He said the demand “is going to continue so long as Silicon Valley is doing well.

US President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order that would tighten the process of issuing the H-1B visas and seek a review of the system for creating an “entirely new structure” for awarding these visas.

In a heartwarming show of sportsmanship and camaraderie, the Indian cricket team sent a special retirement gift to Shahid Afridi by presenting him a Virat Kohli shirt signed by all the players.

A Pakistani journalist uploaded the shirt on which Kohli wrote: "Shahid Bhai, best wishes, always a pleasure playing against you".

The jersey — number 18 and VIRAT on it — had the signatures of Kohli, Ashish Nehra, Suresh Raina, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya, among others.

The 37-year-old Afridi bid adieu to his 21-year-old international career in February when he announced his retirement from the T20 version of cricket. He had already retired from Test and One-Day formats of the game.

He was recently announced as one of eight Champion Ambassadors for the Champions Trophy to be held in the United Kingdom from June 1 to 18, along Harbhajan Singh, Habibul Bashar, Ian Bell, Shane Bond, Mike Hussey, Kumar Sangakkara and Graeme Smith.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday ordered a crackdown on all sex determination centres alleged to be running in the state.

Reacting swiftly on Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's appeal to deal firmly with illegal sex determination centres, Amarinder directed the state Health Department to take immediate and stern action against all such activity, according to an official spokesperson.

The chief minister has made it clear to the department officials that any laxity in this matter would be treated as complicity, and has warned that strict action would be taken against those found guilty of negligence in acting against such centres.

Amarinder has also directed the police to extend full cooperation to the Health Department in conducting surprise raids to identify health centres flouting the law to undertake sex determination tests, which usually lead to abortion of the female foetus, resulting in a skewed sex ratio.

Recalling that he had come down heavily on all such centres during his previous tenure as chief minister, Amarinder said his government would once again go all out to save the girl child by cracking the whip on all illegal sex scan centres.

Doctors, nurses, ancillary medical staff and others found involved in the conduct of illegal tests of this kind will be booked immediately, followed by exemplary punishment under the law, he warned.

The chief minister has also taken cognisance of the media report stating that the Haryana government's health department had conducted nearly two dozen raids across Punjab's districts to identify several illegal scan centres over the past two years.

Terming this as a serious matter, the CM said the total lawlessness prevailing under the erstwhile SAD-BJP rule had led to this situation, which his government was now working hard to amend.

Amarinder said his government was fully committed to protecting and securing the girl child and centres found conducting such illegal prenatal tests would be dealt with strictly.

The Congress government was also committed to bringing in other major health sector reforms to ensure that hospitals and health centres are managed and run in a transparent manner, and stringently follow all rules and regulations.

Reiterating his government s commitment to fulfilling all poll promises for the welfare of the girl child, the Chief Minister said steps to provide free education to girls from Class-I to PhD had already been initiated, with other measures also in process to ensure the uplift of the girl child.

With Borussia Dortmund still going through the darkest hours of its football history after the bomb attack on the team bus eight days ago, forward Marco Reus represents Borussia Dortmund's best hopes of progressing to the Champions League semi-final.

After a 2-3 defeat in the first leg only 24 hours after the attack, the international experience of the 27-year old in this Wednesday's second leg will give the 2013 finalists an energy boost, according to coach Thomas Tuchel, reports Xinhua news agency.

After being out of the game for six weeks with an injury, Reus made a sensational return last weekend scoring a dream goal in Dortmund's 3-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt. The German international eliminated all fears he might need time to return to top form.

Dortmund's managing director Michael Zorc called Reus a "quick starter, that is one of his impressing abilities".

For captain Marcel Schmelzer, Reus is a team leader who stands for confidence and fun. "No matter how long he is sidelined, we can rely on developed automatism," Schmelzer told German media.

Reus was substituted after only 45 minutes to save energy ahead of the Champions League quarterfinal encounter in Monaco. Few of its teammates can count on a similar international experience as Reus who has scored 24 goals in 42 Champions League games. In all games Dortmund had to play this season, Reus was only 1,090 minutes on the pitch but was involved in 13 goals (seven goals, six assists). In average, every 84-minute he scored. 

More than his impressive goal scoring, Reus has a vital influence on the team's game. In Dortmund's offensive triangle, Reus is an important cornerstone alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembele as he is the link between the midfield and the front men.

Reus' speed and ball skills make him the man to help find space behind Monaco's well-organised midfield and defence as Dortmund has to overturn the first leg defeat against a team with an excellent home record.

With Reus on board, it seems the team will be able find a balance between getting over last week's events and making sure they keep their minds of achieving their aims for the season. Several players say they are still suffering problems after the attack. The Swiss goalkeeper Roman Buerki told German media that has difficulties trying to get to sleep.

From that perspective, Reus' return and the latest Bundesliga victory stand for a turning point after the terrible experience last week. "It was an attack on our lives," said defender Sokratis. Dortmund coach Tuchel said the performance showed great character which cannot be overestimated.

Schmelzer is convinced the game gave the team confidence that the consequences of the attack could be overcome. It was going to be hard getting back to business as usual but the team should first simply enjoy playing football which would be the best the team could achieve under the circumstances.

Tuchel emphasised that the team, with the help of professional psychiatrists, has learned that it is possible to regain back emotional stability within two or three days after such a traumatic incident. The team would benefit from the strong support from its fans and would grow together day by day.

Still recovering from injury, Reus missed the first leg against Monaco and was not in the bus with his team mates. It means the striker has a special role to play for his side as his experience is vital and he may be not so badly affected mentally as his team mates are.

Reus is not the only one giving the team moral, Marc Bartra too. The Spanish defender was badly injured in the attack but was able to leave hospital over the weekend after being visited by countryman Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets from Barcelona. In contrast to Reus, Bartra will watch his team' s game on television at home in Dortmund as will be out for at least four weeks.

Reus meanwhile announced he and the rest of the team feel specially motivated to return from Monaco with a present for Bartra. And the best gift of all would be a victory. Director of sport Zorc is convinced with Reus on the pitch "we can manage a victory by two goals in Monaco". 

Last time Reus returned after an injury break in November 2016 Borussia won a by 8-4 against Legia Warsaw and Reus scored twice and delivered two assists.

Former One Direction star Harry Styles has opened up about his romance and split with Pop sensation Taylor Swift and the singer believes being in limelight makes it hard to maintain a relationship.

The musicians dated from October 2012 to January 2013 and Styles says it was a learning experience for him, reported RollingStone.

“…Relationships are hard, at any age. And adding in that you don't really understand exactly how it works when you're 18, trying to navigate all that stuff didn't make it easier.

“I mean, you're a little bit awkward to begin with. You're on a date with someone you really like. It should be that simple, right? It was a learning experience for sure,” Styles says.

After Swift released her first pop album, 1989, in October 2014, many people assumed she had written “Out of the Woods” and “Style” about Styles.

The 23-year-old “Sign of the Times” singer says he does not fault Swift for using her experiences as musical material.

“I mean, I don't know if they're about me or not… But the issue is, she's so good, they're bloody everywhere,” he says, adding, “I write from my experiences; everyone does that. I'm lucky if everything (we went through together) helped create those songs. That's what hits your heart.”

“That's the stuff that's hardest to say, and it's the stuff I talk least about. That's the part that's about the two people. I'm never going to tell anybody everything,” Styles says.

The BJP on Wednesday said it was holding "discussions" with two of its legislators in Goa as the party wants a vacant seat for the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar who needs to get elected to the state Legislative Assembly.

"Discussions are going on with Curchorem MLA Nilesh Cabral and also (Panaji MLA) Siddharth Kuncolienkar (to see if either of them is ready to resign). Parrikar has shown interest in contesting from Panaji which is his traditional bastion," Goa BJP chief Vinay Tendulkar told PTI today.

Parrikar returned to the coastal state as the CM though he hadn't contested Assembly elections in February.

He was elected from Panaji constituency in 2012, but resigned after he was made the Union Defence Minister.

Kuncolienkar replaced him in subsequent by-poll, and retained the seat in this year's elections, defeating United Goans' Atanasio Monserratte with a thin margin of 1,500 votes.

Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare insisted he was proud of his players despite seeing their remarkable run in the UEFA Champions League come to an end at the hands of Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals, according to a statement on the club website (www.lcfc.com).

Facing a 1-0 first leg deficit, the Foxes needed to score three on Tuesday after Saúl Niguez headed Atlético into a 2-0 aggregate lead, but Jamie Vardy’s second half strike gave them hope going into a frantic final period. 

Despite having plenty of chances, they were unable to find a second goal and the tie end 1-1 on the night (2-1 to Madrid on aggregate), ending a sparkling run for the Foxes who had briefly threatened to dethrone Europe’s elite.

Afterwards, the manager said: “I’m disappointed to go out but immensely proud of our performance tonight. I thought we ran an excellent team [close] in the form Madrid and we gave it a real shot. The players can be immensely proud of their performance, but we’re ultimately disappointed to go out. 

“I hope the benefit is that they want some more of it (Champions League football). They’re very disappointed but they can be proud of what they’ve achieved. As a football club we can be proud of how we’ve conducted ourselves but they should want more of this because the Champions League is the highest level. To do that we have to get back to winning ways in the Premier League.” 

Shakespeare admits that he knew Leicester would face a challenge against experienced opposition, but that he had worked on several different approaches in the build up in the event of the visitors taking the lead. 

“We had planned different scenarios in advance,” he said. “I didn’t expect to make changes that early but we needed to be more of a threat in their half, especially in front of goal. We spoke about playing direct, playing Jamie Vardy off Leonardo Ulloa and playing with wing-backs. We’d worked and spoken about it, but I didn’t expect to do it that early. 

“The players attitude towards making that work was first class and you could see in the second half that we got the goal, but not the breaks we needed to get more. 

“I’ve said before that their (Atlético’s) history speaks for itself – finalists in two of the last three years. We knew what kind of challenge would be put in front of us but we knew from the first leg that we still felt in the tie. We had a right go tonight but ultimately we’ve just failed at the last hurdle,” Shakespeare added.

The Congress has praised the Goa Forward Party leader and state minister Vijai Sardesai who recently warned the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders not to make provocative statements.

"The statement made by a VHP leader that their cadres would impose beef ban if the government failed to do so is an attempt to disturb the communal harmony in our state," Goa Congress spokesperson Trajano D'Mello said here.

"Cabinet Minister Vijai Sardesai has taken a bold stand saying if such utterances are repeated, the government would not hesitate to use the law to ban such elements," D'Mello said, speaking to reporters last evening.

VHP functionary Radha Krishna Manori had said on Sunday that his organisation would "impose a ban" on beef consumption in Goa in the next one or two years if the government didn't do so.

Sardesai, whose party is a part of BJP-led Goa government, slammed the VHP, warning that if its leaders continued in the same vein, they would meet the fate of Pramod Muthalik, the controversial chief of Sri Ram Sene who was banned from entering Goa in the past.

"I would like to refresh your memory that it was I who took up the issue of banning Muthalik," D'Mello told reporters.

All secular people who want communal peace should appreciate and support Sardesai's warning, he said.

"No one should play politics on this sensitive issue," D'Mello said, adding that the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who also holds the charge of home department, should issue similar warning to any organisation which tries to disrupt the peace in the coastal state.