Interacting with state chief ministers, Modi underscored the enormity of what he described as the world's biggest vaccination exercise, which begins from January 16, saying over 30 crore citizens will get the jabs in the next few months in India against only 2.5 crore people vaccinated so far in over 50 countries in around a month.

After healthcare and frontline workers, priority will be given to those above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities numbering around 27 crore, it added.

'It is difficult to see how we will be able to get out of the hole that we have dug ourselves into and are digging deeper into,' notes Aakar Patel.

At the regional level, there will be 67 Associate Members taking part, said the ICC, adding that due to the depth of strength within Africa and Europe, both regions have sub-regional qualifiers feeding into a final qualifier for the region. Africa, Americas, EAP and Europe will have one top tier regional qualifier and Asia will have A and B to determine which teams will progress into the two eight-team global qualifiers.

Para-athlete and current para-badminton world champion Manasi Joshi, climate activist Ridhima Pandey and Isaivani for breaking male domination in the field of Tamil Nadu's Gaana singing also made the list.

Images from football friendlies played on Wednesday.

Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona is recovering well from a brain operation and post-surgery complications and should be discharged over the next couple of days, his personal physician said on Monday.

One Chinaman is three time more productive than an Indian at the workplace through his life, observes Virender Kapoor.

Maradona, 60, was taken to the Ipensa clinic in La Plata, about an hour from Buenos Aires. Maradona coaches the local club Gimnasia y Esgrima.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen qualified third, after a power unit scare in the second phase sent mechanics scrambling to fix his car, with AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly a stunning fourth on the grid.

Aerial photography has an uncanny ability to literally offer a fresh perspective on subjects that have been photographed to death, and this ability is on full display in the winners gallery of the first annual Aerial Photography Awards. The grand prize winner was Belgium's Sebastien Nagy, who was declared Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020. Scroll down to view some of the best images from the contest.

Marcus Rashford's penalty and a deflected strike from Mason Mount helped England come from a goal down to overcome top-ranked Belgium 2-1 at Wembley on Sunday and climb above them in their UEFA Nations League group.

Images from Day 1 of the 2020 French Open, in Paris, on Sunday.

Lewis Hamilton, who started on pole position in Sochi hoping for a 91st Formula One victory to equal Ferrari great Michael Schumacher's all-time record, finished third behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 70 on Thursday, and wishes poured in from top dignitaries, including the President and Vice President, Union ministers and leaders from across the political divide. The Bharatiya Janata Party is organising a number of events, mainly aimed at public service, across the country to celebrate Modi's birthday as 'Sewa Divas'.

'The Pangong Tso lake is frozen from September-October to February-March. The windchill factor is phenomenal. The night temperature goes to minus 40. The area is like a barren desert. You are out in the open with no trees or bushes to take cover.'

The family's departure marks the end of an era after 43 years and 739 Grands Prix.

As Pranab Mukherjee passes away, we remember the man, the politician, the Rashtrapati.

Abhinav Bindra became first Indian to win Olympic gold on August 11, 2008

Valtteri Bottas took pole position for Formula One's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix ahead of championship-leading Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton on Saturday.

M&M will close down GenZe, an e-scooter business in California, because it is unlikely it would stand on its own feet, and is ahead of its time.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju is hoping India would be abe to organise sporting events in a phased manner by September-October, saying it will help in boosting the confidence of people amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sports Ministry had resumed training camps of some Olympics disciplines in the last week of May and Rijiju said events will also gradually start in the near future.

News of all that transpired on and off the football field.

Star sprinter Hima Das is not losing her sleep over qualifying for the Olympics, having included cycling and a bit of cricket in her "medium-intensity" training regime while taking care to avoid the sweltering summer heat in Patiala.

Most Indian IT firms work as system integrators for Huawei and though the exposure is very less as of now, the potential is more due to 5G roll out. As pressure to keep the Chinese firm out of the 5G network grows, other global firms, including Japan's NEC, South Korea's Samsung, Finland's Nokia and Sweden's Ericssion are increasing their investments to grab more market share in the telecom sector.

Valtteri Bottas won a dramatic first race of the delayed Formula One season for champions Mercedes in Austria on Sunday

The front row lockout was a record-equalling 65th for champions Mercedes.

Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday

India's Davis Cup tie against Finland was on Friday postponed to 2021 as the International Tennis Federation pushed back all the matches, including the Finals, to next year owing to COVID-19 pandemic. India were scheduled to travel to Finland for the World Group I tie in September.

As many as 14,000 runners from across 15 countries will be lining up to take part in a nearly month-long initiative to raise funds for coaches and support staff in various sports amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers said on Thursday. Championed by celebrated national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, and Arjuna Awardees Ashwini Nachappa and Malathi Holla, 'Run to the Moon' will conclude on July 21 to coincide with the 51st anniversary of man's first landing on the moon.

India's top sprinter Hima Das, who had a stellar 2018, has been nominated for the prestigious Khel Ratna by the state government of Assam. The 20-year-old from Dhing village in Assam is one of the youngest nominees for Khel Ratna this year.

All you must know about soccer's return to action after coronavirus

The new deadline for Tokyo 2020 Qualification in shooting is June 6, 2021, according to the ISSF.

Professional soccer leagues around Europe are gearing up for a return to action following the novel coronavirus stoppage, but some are more advanced than others.

Iran were banned from an Olympic football qualifying match against Jordan later that year after refusing to remove their hijabs before kick-off.

The Prime Minister sought the athletes' support to raise awareness about the need for social distancing and personal hygiene at a time when the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in India has crossed 2,000. Hima Das expressed sadness at incidents of attacks on police personnel and doctors trying to discharge their duties during the country-wide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

'Follow social distancing and stay at home'

"From my personal experience, I must say that there is no alternative to staying at home. The risk of going abroad I took was absolutely not worth it. You are safe till you are at home," she said.

The president said the European Union has "failed to take the same precautions" as his administration had implemented to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Byju Classes' founder Byju Raveendran, Zomato co-founder Gaurav Gupta, CEO of Antara Senior Living, Tara Singh Vachani, Vinati Organics' MD & CEO Vinati Mutreja and Swapan Mehra, CEO of Iora Ecological Solutions are among 115 young leaders.