International
SA v IND: We have discussed it with Pant, he knows his mistake, says Kohli

India Test captain Virat Kohli said that they have had conversations with wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant in the practice sessions ahead of the third Test starting at the Newlands Cricket Ground from Tuesday. Kohli added that Pant is someone who reflects on his mistakes and will make improvements on them in the future.
In the second innings of the second Test at Johannesburg, Pant played a reckless shot to be out for zero. After being beaten outside the off-stump, Kagiso Rabada rattled Pant with a snorter of delivery, by hitting him on the gloves through a ball that bounced a bit. On the very next ball, Pant stepped out to slog on a short ball from Rabada but gave a feather edge behind to Verreynne. The manner of dismissal brought a lot of criticism for Pant from all quarters.
“We have had conversations with Rishabh Pant at practice. The batters know before everybody else whether they’ve played a shot to get out was the right shot or not. As long as an individual, everyone has to accept that responsibility, I think progress happens from there. We have had made mistakes in our careers in important situations,” said Kohli in the pre-match press conference on Monday.
“We have been out due to pressure or our mistakes or even the bowler’s skills. It is important to understand what was player s mindset and decision at that moment and where did the person make the mistake. Once we find our mistake, we can understand and improve upon it to make sure it doesn’t happen,” added Kohli.
Kohli then went on to reveal an advice former India captain MS Dhoni gave him on making mistakes in international cricket. “MS Dhoni gave me very good advice in the start. He once told me ‘there should be a gap of at least 7-8 months between repeating one and another mistake. Only then can you have a long career in international cricket.”
“This piece of advice really stuck with me that I won’t make the same mistake all over again. It happens when you reflect upon your mistakes, which Rishabh does. I know this and will definitely improve going ahead. He will make sure that in important situations, he will stand for the team and will give a big performance after improving from his mistakes.”
Siraj unavailable
Talking about his availability for the third Test, Kohli declared himself fit but added that Mohammed Siraj won’t be available for the series decider. “Yes. I’m absolutely fit. Siraj is still recovering from the niggle he had in the last game. At present, I don’t think he’s match-ready to take the field in the third Test. You cannot risk a guy who isn’t 110% as a fast bowler because we know how that little niggle opening up and extending into an injury could be for the team. So, Siraj is not up to the mark but I am absolutely fit to play tomorrow.”
With Siraj unavailable for the winner takes it all affair, it will be a toss-up between Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav for another pacer’s slot in the playing eleven. Kohli disclosed that the chat on Siraj’s replacement is yet to happen within the team.
“We are yet to sit down. Myself, the head coach, vice-captain to decide what we want to do about the replacement. I say because of our bench strength, the fact I had mentioned that it is difficult to figure out who will play because everyone is at the top of their game, bowling well, batting well and these things become a point of discussion, contention.”
“You have to have a healthy discussion around a decision like that and just agree everyone feels balanced about it. So, we are yet to have that discussion but I would rather be in this position where we have to decide who is going to play rather than to figure out other options with our balance and stuff like that.”
International
Murder of Hindu leader: India slams Bangladesh, says killing follows pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities

New Delhi, April 19: India on Saturday issued a sharp condemnation of the abduction and brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent Hindu community leader in northern Bangladesh, calling it part of a “pattern of systematic persecution” of minorities under the country’s interim government.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal voiced India’s grave concern, stating that the incident reflects an alarming trend of targetted violence against Hindus and other minority groups in Bangladesh.
“We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Shri Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh. This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government, even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity,” Jaiswal said in a post on social media platform X.
He added, “We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions.”
India has previously expressed similar concerns over rising attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, but this latest incident has drawn particular attention due to Roy’s prominence in the Hindu community.
Roy, who served as the Vice-President of the Biral unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, was abducted from his residence in Dinajpur district on Thursday evening. According to police and family accounts, he received a phone call around 4:30 p.m., after which four unidentified men arrived on motorcycles and forcibly took him to Narabari village. He was reportedly assaulted and later found unconscious. He was rushed to a hospital in Dinajpur, where he was declared dead on arrival. His wife, Shantana Roy believes the attackers used the call to confirm his location before carrying out the abduction.
Opposition leaders in India also slammed the shocking incident in the neighbouring country.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted that religious minorities, especially Hindus, are being persecuted in Bangladesh.
“Attacks on other religious minorities are also continuing. Recently, the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh made a very condemnable and disappointing comment about the northeastern states of India. The persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh, human rights violations, and the attempt to erase the memories of the 1971 Liberation War are efforts to weaken the relationship between India and Bangladesh. From 1971 till today, India has always wished for peace and prosperity for all the people of Bangladesh. This is in the best interest of the subcontinent,” he said.
International
Death toll from US airstrikes on Yemeni fuel port rises to 38: Houthis

Sanaa, April 18: The death toll from US overnight airstrikes on the Yemeni fuel port of Ras Isa has increased to 38, with 102 others wounded, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported on Friday, citing Houthi-controlled local health authorities.
According to al-Masirah, the casualties include five paramedics who were killed upon arriving at the scene, when the US military launched another wave of airstrikes on the port just minutes after the first on Thursday night.
More than 14 airstrikes on the fuel port were reported during the two waves, igniting massive fires in tanks storing imported fuel. The fires were extinguished within hours, said the report.
The US Central Command said earlier in a statement that it struck and destroyed the Ras Isa port on Thursday to “eliminate this source of fuel for” and “degrade the economic source of power of” the Houthis, Xinhua news agency reported.
In mid-March, US President Donald Trump ordered “decisive and powerful military action” against the Houthis after the group announced plans to resume attacks on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea, citing Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza as the reason.
Earlier on April 17, Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi had said his group had launched 26 attacks against Israel and 33 strikes on the US aircraft carrier and warships in the Red Sea since March 15.
In a televised speech aired by the group’s al-Masirah TV on Thursday, the Houthi leader said the attacks on Israel were carried out using “30 ballistic missiles and drones,” while those targeting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and its escorts involved “122 ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones”.
However, the Israeli military has reportedly intercepted many of the Houthi projectiles before they reached targets, Xinhua news agency reported.
The US Central Command dismissed the Houthi claims of daily attacks on the US aircraft carrier as “outlandish” in a post on the social media platform X.
Meanwhile, the Houthi leader noted that the US military had conducted more than 900 airstrikes against his group’s positions across northern Yemen during the past 30 days.
Tensions between the Houthi group and the US military have escalated since Washington resumed airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15 to deter the group from attacking Israel and US warships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis, which control much of northern Yemen, said their attacks aim to press US-backed Israel to stop the offensive against the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported last Saturday that a Yemeni drone was intercepted near the Dead Sea within the Jordanian airspace before it could reach Israel.
The Jordanian army confirmed later last week that an unidentified drone entered Jordanian airspace and crashed in the Ma’in area of Madaba governorate, near the Dead Sea, and no casualties were reported.
Even since Israel renewed its intensive strikes in March across the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have been launching frequent attacks against Israeli and US targets.
Earlier last week, the Houthi military spokesperson claimed fresh attacks against the US aircraft carrier, USS Harry S Truman, and other US warships in the northern Red Sea.
International
Houthis say 123 civilians in Yemen killed in one month of US airstrikes

Sanaa, April 15: A total of 123 civilians have been killed and 247 others injured, mostly women and children, since the US military resumed airstrikes across Yemen in mid-March, Houthi-run health authorities said in an statement.
The statement was issued following US airstrikes against a ceramic factory on the western outskirts of Yemen’s capital Sanaa late on Sunday night, which killed seven people and injured 29 others.
The health authorities’ previous statement on April 9 put the death toll from the renewed US air raids at 107 and the number of injuries at 223.
The Houthi group rarely discloses casualties among its fighters. However, the US military has repeatedly said the strikes have killed dozens of Houthi leaders, which the group has denied, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on Sunday, Yemen’s Houthi group announced that it had shot down another US MQ-9 drone, the 19th it has downed since November 2023.
“A US MQ-9 drone was shot down while carrying out hostile missions in the airspace of Hajjah province” in northwestern Yemen, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.
Sarea added that the drone was downed by a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile, stressing “the ongoing US aggression” has not crippled the group’s military capabilities.
The statement affirmed the group’s support for the Palestinian people, saying its operations will continue “until the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and the siege on it is lifted.”
The US resumed its air campaign against Houthi forces on March 15, stating that its strikes were aimed at deterring the group from launching attacks against Israeli and US naval assets in the Red Sea.
The Houthis, who control vast areas of northern Yemen, have been attacking Israeli targets since November 2023 to show solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip.
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