Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Tendulkar finishes maiden political speech online after chaos in parliament

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar on Friday resorted to Facebook to finish his much-anticipated maiden speech as a parliamentarian after his first attempt was thwarted by chaotic scenes in the upper house.

The "little master", widely revered as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, rose to his feet Thursday in India's parliament to give his inaugural address since being awarded an honorary seat in 2012.


But the 44-year-old's god-like status in India meant little in the chamber, where he was drowned out by feuding politicians who forced parliament to adjourn just as Tendulkar was finding his stride.

"Sachin out for duck in Rajya Sabha," ran a headline in The Hindu newspaper on Friday, using the Hindi name for India's upper house.

The cricket icon Friday finished his speech through his Facebook page, which is followed by roughly 28 million fans.

Tendulkar made reference to the false start before picking up where he left off, imploring Indians to take up a sport to improve their health.

"Being a sportsman, I will talk about health, sports and fitness of India, for it has a telling impact on our economy," he said.

Tendulkar's decision to accept the nomination for the upper house seat -- one of 12 reserved for Indians with distinguished records -- caused some surprise, and his patchy attendance has been criticised.

The highest run-scorer of all time in both Test matches and one-day internationals, Tendulkar retired after playing in 200 Tests, in which he scored 15,921 runs.

More For You

Streeting hails India’s global role as Labour backs bilateral relations

Wes Streeting addresses the Republic Day reception at the Guildhall in London last Tuesday (28),joined by Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Vikram Doraiswami

Streeting hails India’s global role as Labour backs bilateral relations

WES STREETING spoke of the priority prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour government attach to relations with India when he addressed a Republic Day reception at the Guildhall in London last Tuesday (28).

But the secretary of state for health and social care won over the large Indian crowd by paying an unexpected tribute to Rishi Sunak.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sri Lanka seeks to negotiate with Adani over renewable energy plants

Gautam Adani

Sri Lanka seeks to negotiate with Adani over renewable energy plants

SRI LANKA’S government started talks with India’s Adani Group to lower the cost of power from two wind power projects the group will build in the island nation’s northern province, the cabinet spokesman said last Tuesday (28).

Sri Lanka has been reviewing the group’s local projects after US authorities in November accused billionaire founder Gautam Adani and other executives of being part of a scheme to pay bribes to secure Indian power supply contracts. Adani has denied the allegations.

Keep ReadingShow less
Badenoch proposes stricter citizenship rules for all migrants

Kemi Badenoch delivers speech on January 16, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Badenoch proposes stricter citizenship rules for all migrants

CONSERVATIVE PARTY on Thursday (6) proposed a clampdown on all migrants by tightening citizenship rules and barring social benefit claimants from residency rights.

Kemi Badenoch, who took over from Rishi Sunak in November last year, outlined her first major policy agenda as Tory leader in a move seen as an attempt to win back the support of Conservative voters drawn to the far-right anti-immigrant Reform party.

Keep ReadingShow less
New body led by Sir Sajid Javid aims to amplify ‘unheard’ voices
Sajid Javid

New body led by Sir Sajid Javid aims to amplify ‘unheard’ voices

A NEW independent commission to improve cohesion would engage across all nations and regions of the UK by moving beyond Westminster-centric discussions and include more diverse voices, the director of British Future thinktank has said.

Sunder Katwala said building confidence across different groups will be a priority, as economic pressures and tensions due to Middle East conflict have polarised communities in the UK.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan court gives unusual punishment to Youtuber Rajab Butt for owning lion cub

Pakistani zookeeper Mohammad Amir holds the confiscated lion cub at Lahore’s safari zoo last Tuesday (28)

Pakistan court gives unusual punishment to Youtuber Rajab Butt for owning lion cub

A PAKISTANI YouTube star who was gifted a lion cub on his wedding day avoided jail after promising a judge to upload animal rights videos for a year.

Rajab Butt has one of the largest online followings in south Asia, and his week-long nuptials in December were plastered over celebrity gossip websites.

Keep ReadingShow less