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ACG-NBA Jump programme, identifying aspiring Indian basketballers, set to return

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The National Basketball Association (NBA) and ACG, a pharma manufacturing solutions company, on Wednesday announced the return of ACG-NBA Jump, a basketball scouting programme that provides aspiring players from across India with a platform to showcase their skills.

The 2022 edition, happening for the first here since the Covid-19 outbreak, will begin from May 21 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here and will visit cities like Kottayam, Ludhiana, Mumbai and Kolkata.

The top players from the five venues will be invited to the culminating ACG-NBA Jump National Finals on July 2-3 at NBA Academy India.

“The programme has been instrumental in identifying aspiring players and giving them the resources to maximise their potential,” said NBA Academy India technical director Scott Flemming.

“It is great to be back on the ground alongside the NBA to build the local basketball ecosystem and talent pathway for India’s best basketball players,” said ACG MD Karan Singh.

The programme was first launched in 2015. Palpreet Singh, the top prospect from the inaugural edition, attended the 2016 NBA G League National Tryout in the US and was subsequently drafted by the Long Island Nets in the 2016 NBA G League Draft.

NBA Academy India opened in 2017 and has seen 20 graduates earn scholarships to prep schools and junior colleges in the US or sign professional contracts, including Princepal Singh, who became the first NBA Academy graduate to sign with the NBA G League and first player from India to win an NBA Summer League Championship.

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Desperate Pakistan ‘pleads’ with India to reconsider Indus Waters Treaty suspension

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New Delhi, May 15: Nearly a few days into the understanding with Pakistan after the Indian Armed Forces left the Pakistani defence and military shattered, Islamabad has now reportedly written a letter to New Delhi, urging it to reconsider the decision of putting the Indus Waters Treaty which it has put into abeyance.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Water Resources has reportedly written a letter to New Delhi to resume the flow of rivers into its territory under the Indus Waters Treaty, media reports have claimed.

The Indus Waters Treaty is a pivotal water-sharing accord that has endured for more than six decades.

The plea comes after India halted the 1960 agreement in the wake of yet another Pakistan-backed terrorist attack, this time in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, which left 26 civilians dead, mostly tourists.

India, invoking its national security prerogative, has placed the treaty in abeyance until Islamabad “credibly and irrevocably” ends its support for terrorism.

The move was endorsed by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the apex decision-making body on strategic affairs, marking the first time New Delhi has hit pause on the World Bank-brokered agreement.

In a letter sent to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the Pakistani Ministry warned that suspending the treaty would trigger a crisis within the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first address since Operation Sindoor, underlined the government’s uncompromising position.

“Water and blood cannot flow together,” he declared.

“Terror and talks cannot happen at the same time. Terror and trade cannot happen simultaneously.”

However, Indian officials have dismissed these concerns, pointing to Pakistan’s longstanding use of terrorism as a state policy.

The treaty allocates three western rivers, Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, to Pakistan, while the eastern rivers – Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi, remain with India.

India has now announced a three-tier strategy — short-term, mid-term, and long-term to prevent any flow of Indus waters into Pakistan.

Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil said that steps are being taken to ensure not a single drop of water is allowed to leave Indian territory unutilised.

India’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reinforced the government’s stance, saying, “The Indus Waters Treaty was founded on goodwill and friendship. Pakistan has trampled on these values by supporting cross-border terrorism for decades.”

The strong response follows Operation Sindoor, a swift military campaign launched after the Pahalgam attack, which resulted in a brief ceasefire agreement. But New Delhi has made it clear: dialogue with Islamabad will now be limited to one agenda — ending terrorism and ensuring the return of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

As per the 1960 treaty, India got around 30 per cent of the total water carried by the Indus River System located in India, while Pakistan got the remaining 70 per cent.

With the Indus Waters Treaty suspended, the Narendra Modi government is expected to take major steps toward completing the stalled hydroelectric projects.

A key meeting is likely to be held this week with Home Minister Amit Shah, along with Water Resources Minister Paatil, Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and senior officials from all related Ministries. Since the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, two meetings have already taken place between Amit Shah, Paatil, and top officials of the Ministry.

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Centre approves reopening of 32 airports as tensions ease on India-Pakistan border

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New Delhi, May 12: The Centre on Monday issued the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to reopen the 32 airports that had been shut down since May 9 due to the cross-border drone and missile attacks following heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam massacre of 26 tourists by Islamabad-backed terrorists.

The airports that will gradually reopen include Chandigarh, Srinagar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bhuntar, Kishangarh, Patiala, Shimla, Kangra-Gaggal, Bathinda, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Halwara, Pathankot, Jammu, Leh, Mundra, Jamnagar, Hirasar, Porbandar, Keshod, Kandla and Bhuj.

The airports will be opened gradually as, although the ceasefire announced following the Pakistan DGMO’s (Director General of Military Operations) request is largely holding, the government does not want to take any chances.

“The night remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir and other areas along the International Border. No incidents have been reported, marking the first calm night in recent days,” according to a statement issued by the Indian Army on Monday.

The opening of these airports which are close to the Pakistan border reflects a de-escalation in the cross-border hostilities which saw India successfully launching ‘Operation Sindoor’ to avenge the Pahalgam killings.

The reopening of these airports will help to restore normalcy in flight operations which have undergone widespread disruption due to the conflict.

Meanwhile, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said on Monday that operations at the airport are “currently smooth,” however, due to changing airspace conditions and increased security measures, some flight schedules and security checkpoint processing times may be affected.

The airport management has advised passengers to follow updates and instructions from their airlines, allow extra time for security checks due to heightened measures and adhere to hand baggage and check-in luggage regulations.

Passengers have been advised to check the latest flight status through their airline or the official Delhi Airport website.

Although an agreement for a ceasefire was reached on Saturday, the government is not taking any chances on the security front.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting on Sunday with the three service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff to take stock of the latest situation.

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Sports

PCB postpones men’s domestic tournaments with immediate effect amid India-Pak tensions

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Lahore, May 10: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday announced the immediate postponement of all men’s domestic tournaments in the country owing to escalating cross-border tensions with India.

“The Pakistan Cricket Board confirms that the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade-II, Regional Intra-District Challenge Cup, Inter-District U19 One-Day tournament have been postponed with immediate effect due to prevailing security condition in the country.”

“The tournaments will resume from the same stage later and a revised schedule will be shared closer to the resumption,” said the PCB in its official statement on Saturday.

Previously on Friday, after the BCCI paused IPL 2025 for a week due to growing tensions between the two nations on the border areas, the PCB had announced it has postponed the ongoing edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for an indefinite period, citing the advice given by Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The tournament’s postponement news came hours after PCB claimed it was going to host the remaining eight matches of the tournament in the UAE, though the organisation didn’t specify the dates or venues of those rescheduled matches.

PSL’s future had come under great uncertainty after a drone had crashed at a food street near the Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium, which resulted in Thursday’s match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings being postponed indefinitely.

Two weeks after 26 people were gunned down by terrorists in Pahalgam – a popular tourist destination in Jammu & Kashmir, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ to target terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.

Pakistan continued its aerial attacks, comprising drones and missiles, on Indian border cities as well as across other military stations in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat on Friday. But all of them were successfully foiled by India’s defence systems.

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