Virat Kohli's India will be aiming to strengthen their number one position in the world Test championship when they start a two-match series against Bangladesh on Thursday.
India start as favourites to pick up 120 points from the two games against a Bangladesh side missing key players.
The hosts have recorded two sweeps in the five-day format since the start of the Test championship in August, beating South Africa and the West Indies. New Zealand and Sri Lanka are second and third, already 180 points behind though they have played only one series each.
India go into the first match in Indore boosted by a 2-1 Twenty20 series win over Bangladesh.
Kohli, who opted out of the T20 matches, returns to lead the side that recently won their record 11th straight series at home.
Rohit Sharma has been on hot form, hitting two centuries and a double ton in his debut series as opener against South Africa.
The pace department also looks settled despite the absence of injured Jasprit Bumrah and played a key part in the three convincing Test wins over South Africa.
Bangladesh, under new captain Mominul Haque, had a troubled build-up to a series after star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was banned for two years, with one year suspended, by the International Cricket Council.
He admitted failing to declare illegal approaches by bookies and the ban ruled Shakib out of the tour and next year's World T20 in Australia.
Earlier a player revolt put the India tour in doubt before the national board gave in and increased match payments.
The touring side is also missing prolific opener Tamim Iqbal who took a break due to family reasons.
Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad will lead the team's batting alongside Mominul who was not part of the T20 squad.
"I never considered captaincy as pressure or responsibility. If I keep thinking that as a captain I have to take extra responsibility to carry the team forward then I will be in some pressure," Mominul said after being named captain.
"But if I play my natural game, and think that I am a batsman who needs to score for his team, then it will not have any effect."
The second match of the series will be the first day-night Test to be staged in India. Kolkata's Eden Gardens will host the spectacle.
Family members and relatives of Megha Mehta, who died in the Air India plane crash, during her funeral at a crematorium, in Ahmedabad, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)
MORE than a week after an Air India flight crashed in Ahmedabad, 220 victims have been identified through DNA testing and the remains of 202 of them handed over to their families, Gujarat health minister Rushikesh Patel said on Friday.
The London-bound Air India flight AI-171 was carrying 242 passengers and crew when it crashed on June 12, killing all but one person on board. Nearly 29 others were killed on the ground when the aircraft hit a medical complex in Meghaninagar shortly after take-off.
Authorities have been using DNA testing to identify the victims as many bodies were charred or damaged beyond recognition. “So far, 220 DNA samples have been matched, and relatives of these victims were contacted. The mortal remains of 202 victims have already been handed over to their kin. The process to identify more victims is underway,” Patel said.
According to Patel, among the 202 identified individuals, there are 160 Indians — including 151 passengers — along with seven Portuguese nationals, 34 British nationals and one Canadian.
He added that 15 sets of remains were sent by air, while 187 were transported by road. Earlier, the state government had said DNA samples were collected from 250 victims, including those on board and those killed on the ground.
Airline says aircraft was 'well-maintained'
Air India, in a statement on Thursday, said the aircraft involved in the crash was properly maintained before the flight. “The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023,” it said.
“Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight,” the airline said.
Indian authorities have not yet released the cause of the crash involving the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said the investigation was “progressing steadily.”
“Key recovery work, including site documentation and evidence collection, has been completed, and further analysis is now underway,” the bureau said.
At least 38 people died in the residential neighbourhood the plane struck. The crash resulted in widespread destruction, making identification of some victims difficult. Civil hospital medical superintendent Rakesh Joshi said that by Thursday evening, 215 victims had been identified by DNA testing, all but nine of them passengers.
Joshi added that the remains of about 15 victims had been transported by air. Six people injured in the crash remain hospitalised, with one expected to be discharged soon and the others in stable condition.
Details of passengers and crew
According to Air India, the flight had 169 Indian passengers, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese and one Canadian on board, in addition to 12 crew members.
The airline also shared details of the flight crew. “The flight was led by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a highly experienced pilot and trainer with over 10,000 hours flying widebody aircraft,” it said. “First Officer Clive Kunder had over 3,400 hours of flying experience.”
The aircraft caught fire shortly after take-off and crashed within minutes, turning into a fireball as it fell onto the ground.
India’s civil aviation regulator said preliminary checks on other Dreamliner aircraft had not revealed any major safety concerns since the incident.
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Funds held in customer accounts by Indian clients rose by 11 per cent in the year to 346 million Swiss francs (£3.14m) and accounted for about one-tenth of overall funds.
INDIAN money in Swiss banks more than trebled in 2024 to 3.5 billion Swiss francs (£3.1bn), attributed to a rise in funds held through local branches and other financial institutions, annual data released by Switzerland's central bank showed on Thursday (19).
However, funds held in customer accounts by Indian clients rose by 11 per cent in the year to 346 million Swiss francs (£3.14m) and accounted for about one-tenth of overall funds, the report showed.
The increase in the overall funds follows a 70 per cent decline in funds by Indian individuals and firms in Swiss banks, including through local branches and other financial institutions, in 2023 to a four-year low of 1.04 billion Swiss francs.
This is the highest since 2021, when the total Indian money in Swiss banks hit a 14-year high of CHF 3.83 billion.
These are official figures reported by banks to the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and do not include money that Indians, non-resident Indians or others might have in Swiss banks in the names of third-country entities.
According to the SNB, its data for 'total liabilities' of Swiss banks towards Indian clients takes into account all types of funds of Indian customers at Swiss banks, including deposits from individuals, banks and enterprises. This includes data for branches of Swiss banks in India, as also non-deposit liabilities.
The total amount of CHF 3,545.54 million, described by the SNB as 'total liabilities' of Swiss banks or 'amounts due to' their Indian clients at the end of 2023, included • CHF 346 million in customer deposits (up from CHF 310 million at 2023-end), • CHF 3.02 billion held via other banks (up from CHF 427 million), • CHF 41 million (up from CHF 10 million) through fiduciaries or trusts, and • CHF 135 million as 'other amounts' due to customers in form of bonds, securities and various other financial instruments (down from CHF 293 million).
The total amount stood at a record high of nearly 6.5 billion Swiss francs in 2006.
However, the 'locational banking statistics' of the Bank for International Settlement (BIS), described in the past by Indian and Swiss authorities as a more reliable measure for deposits by Indian individuals in Swiss banks, showed an increase of nearly six per cent during 2024 in such funds to $74.8m (£55.7m).
An exchange of information in tax matters between Switzerland and India has been in force since 2018. Under this framework, detailed financial information on all Indian residents having accounts with Swiss financial institutions since 2018 was provided for the first time to Indian tax authorities in September 2019 and this is being followed every year.
Swiss authorities have maintained that assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland cannot be considered as 'black money' and they actively support India in its fight against tax fraud and evasion.
The UK topped the charts for money deposited by foreign clients in Swiss banks at CHF 222 billion, followed by the US (CHF 89 billion) and West Indies (CHF 68 billion).
Germany, France, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Singapore, Guernsey and the UAE completed the top ten countries.
India was in 48th place, up from 67th at the end of 2023, but below 46th place at the end of 2022.
Pakistan also saw a dip to CHF 272 million (from CHF 286 million), while Bangladesh witnessed a sharp increase from CHF 18 million to CHF 589 million.
ASIAN businessmen have donated generously to the ruling Labour party and the Liberal Democrats in the first quarter of 2025, the latest data from the Electoral Commission has revealed.
Property tycoon Maqbool Ahmed was the biggest Asian donor, contributing more than £75,000 to Labour, while Amin Hemani gave £50,000, and Lord Waheed Alli contributed £35,000 in January. Businessman Sudhir Choudhrie made six donations totalling more than £23,000 to the Liberal Democrats, data from January to March showed.
Choudhrie was the top donor among Asians in the preceding quarter.
Meanwhile, Reform UK received donations from Mohamed Amersi and Bassim Haidar, who each gave £25,000 during the first quarter.
The data, published by the Electoral Commission last Tuesday (10), also showed that Asians have demonstrated an increasing interest in Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, while support for the Conservatives has declined.
Labour donor Ahmed was the second biggest individual contributor to the party during the period as he gave £75,180 in February. Lords minister and former Labour general secretary Reginald Collins was the top individual donor with £350,000. Ahmed began his journey in property development in 1984, after qualifying as an accountant. He made his first purchase in inner-city Birmingham, renovating neglected properties into family homes. He later expanded into commercial properties.
Ahmed brought in his brother Fazal in 1992 to help manage the increasing number of developments. Their firm, MIA Properties (Birmingham) Limited is one of the leading property development groups in the Midlands.
Hemani, who donated through Scottish Labour in January, is a major shareholder in Fieldgate Properties (UK) Limited, a London-based property development company established in 2004. It focuses on building project development and operates out of the City of London. Hemani shares ownership of the company with Christopher Attwood.
Media entrepreneur Lord Alli has been a long-time supporter of the Labour party. Over the past three decades, he has built a diverse business empire spanning the media, retail, entertainment and technology industries. Born to a Hindu mother and a Muslim father of Indo-Caribbean descent, Lord Alli ranks among Labour’s most significant donors, having contributed over £700,000 from his estimated £200 million fortune to the party.
London Hotel Group, led by directors Gauhar Nawab and Meher Nawab, donated £3,750 to Labour in March.
PG Paper Company Ltd, with Puneet Gupta and Poonam Gupta listed as directors, donated a total of £3,928 to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s party during the period.
The Conservatives, under Kemi Badenoch, raised more d o n a t i o n s than any other major political party in the first quarter of 2025, according to the data. Bansols Beta Limited, with director Moonpal Singh Grewal, contributed £3,000 to the Tories, and Faith Hotels Limited, under the directorship of Tejinder Chetal, donated £5,000 to the party in February.
The Tories received over £3.3m, while Labour collected £2.3m during the same period. Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats each secured £1.5m.
Businessman Ramesh Dewan, who has interests in commercial real estate and publishing, emerged as a notable donor to the Lib Dems. He made a onetime donation of around £3,000 to the party in January.
Other recent contributions to the Lib Dems include Nagwa MSA Abdelmottaleb and Ahmed AA Hindawi, each donating £12,500. London-based care provider, Goodcare Limited, led by Dr Arujuna Sivananthanan and Karthika Sivananthanan, made two donations to Reform UK, totalling £15,000 in January.
Jackie Killeen, director of electoral administration and regulation at Electoral Commission said: “Over £12.95m in donations was accepted by political parties in the first quarter of 2025. The UK political finance regime has high levels of transparency, and we know that voters are interested in where parties get their money from. This publication is an important part of delivering this transparency for voters. “
However, there are parts of the system that need strengthening, and we have been calling for changes to the law in three key areas: to limit company donations to the money that they have made in the UK; to legally require parties to conduct know-your-donor checks on donations to assess and manage their risks; and to ensure that those who donate to unincorporated associations are permissible donors.”
“The UK government is currently considering these recommendations as part of reforms to the political finance regime. Addressing the gaps would help to improve coverage of the donation controls and ensure voters can have confidence in the political finance system.
BIRMINGHAM City Council will become the first in England to recognise Sikh and Jewish identities in its data collection.
A motion tabled by the Birmingham Labour group was passed at a full council meeting. It will change how information is collected from residents in the future. Current council questionnaires do not include the categories, despite the presence of over 30,000 Sikhs and around 2,000 Jewish residents in the city.
The Labour group said the change would help the council better understand its communities and tackle discrimination. It added that Sikhs and Jews have been legally recognised as ethnic groups for more than 40 years, but public bodies have not routinely collected data on them.
The motion was brought by councillor Jamie Tennant and seconded by councillor Rinkal Shergill.
Tennant said he would encourage other councils to follow Birmingham’s lead.
Shergill said the move was important for communities not recognised in NHS data despite being disproportionately affected by certain diseases and during the pandemic.
THE NHS said on Thursday (19) it will not offer two new treatments for Alzheimer's disease, citing high costs and "too small" benefits.
Donanemab and Lecanemab have been hailed as breakthrough treatments for slowing down the symptoms of early-stage Alzheimer's, the most common type of dementia.
They are active substances used to treat adults with mild memory and cognitive problems. They target a cause of the disease by binding to amyloid, a protein which builds up in the brains of people living with Alzheimer's, rather than just treating the symptoms.
According to NHS spending watchdog NICE, the medicines have been effective in delaying the progression from mild to moderate Alzheimer's by four to six months.
But, the benefits were "too small to justify the additional cost to the NHS".
Last year, NHS England suggested in a briefing that the cost of bringing the drugs to the service could be £500 million to £1 billion per year.
Donanemab is sold as Kisunla by American pharma giant Eli Lilly and Lecanemab as Leqembi by Japan-based Eisai. Both labs have said they will appeal the decision.
Chris Stokes, Eli Lilly UK and Europe president said: "If the system can't deliver scientific firsts to NHS patients, it is broken."
Both treatments were approved last year by the UK's medicines regulator for treating early stages of Alzheimer's.
Donanemab is advertised as costing between £60,000 and £80,000 per year, according to Alzheimer's Research UK.
In April, Leqembi became the first such medicine approved for sale in the EU based on its health watchdog's endorsement following initial misgivings.
"Naturally, there is disappointment that the first breakthrough treatments won't be available on the NHS," said Siddharthan Chandran, director of UK Dementia Research Institute.
However, he said the drugs paved the path for "more affordable and effective treatments and diagnostics".
"NICE is simply doing its job," said Atticus Hainsworth, professor of Cerebrovascular Disease at the University of London.
He added however that the new drugs had shown that "the needle can be moved in dementia" treatment.