New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson says leaving the IPL amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic in India was an "interesting" experience but he remained confident that the BCCI would ensure a safe passage to England for his first UK tour.

Rather than worry about what picture of India is being painted in the foreign media, the focus must be on marshalling all our energies to provide relief and solace to our deeply wounded and dispirited citizens, says former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.

We can expect to see more Chinese wolf warrior diplomats on the prowl, in India's neighbourhood, though its mailed fist is not so visible while dealing with India, observes Colonel R Hariharan (retd).

A look at what the IPL teams and players are doing to support the people of India in this massive battle against the deadly coronavirus.

Tendulkar thanked his mother for always loving him while Sehwag penned an emotional poem

'I urged the chief minister even before she took her oath requesting her to send a tough message to the police and the administration that any violent activity, any destruction of property, any arson, loot in your area, they will be held accountable.' 'Her silence on this speaks volumes.'

'One cannot avoid speculating whether there was something else at play that led to the uncovering of this saga.'

'The situation has improved because oxygen tankers are now coming.' 'Before this it was chaotic.'

The ban on travellers from India by Australia had added "anxiety" for its cricketers after the Indian Premier League's suspension, Australia vice captain Pat Cummins said, as players isolated in the COVID-ravaged Asian nation on Wednesday.

The Delhi high court on Tuesday asked the Centre to reply on a PIL over striking down the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Amendment Act which increases the powers of the lieutenant governor.

Jaydev Unadkat will donate 10 percent of his IPL salary to help COVID-19 patients

'When an individual becomes authoritarian, you can overthrow the individual easily. 'When the system becomes authoritarian, whoever challenges the system will be called a criminal or an anti-national.'

'This IPL, probably more than any other, has become more about what's happening on the outside than what's happening here.

Your high expectations and attachment to certain property can make you buy property which is not financially suitable.

The USS John Paul Jones acted like a dog marking the lamp post, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

"Around 20 candidates have been shifted to Jaipur from Assam today," said Congress chief whip in the Rajasthan assembly, Mahesh Joshi.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said it is true that rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution are available to all the persons who may or may not be citizens but the right not to be deported, is "ancillary or concomitant" to the right to reside or settle in any part of India.

ShareChat on Thursday said it has raised $502 million (about Rs 3,725 crore) in funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Tiger Global, valuing the homegrown social media platform at over $2.1 billion. Snap Inc (which owns photo-messaging app Snapchat) and existing investors Twitter and India Quotient, among others, also participated in the funding round in Mohalla Tech, the parent company of ShareChat and short video app, Moj. Founded in 2015, Mohalla Tech has raised over $766 million across six fundraising rounds.

Anmol Ambani, the eldest son of industrialist Anil Ambani, has lashed out against a new round of lockdowns being imposed amid the surge in COVID-19 cases, saying such restrictions do not concern health but control and that they destroy the very backbone of the society and economy. The 29-year-old former executive director of Reliance Capital Ltd in a series of tweets lambasted the new semi-lockdown rules hurting small businesses and daily wage earners. "Professional 'actors' can continue shooting their films. Professional 'cricketers' can play their sport late into the night. Professional 'politicians' can continue their rallies with masses of people. But YOUR business or work is not ESSENTIAL. Still don't get it?" he said in a tweet.

'The regime -- and particularly the home ministry under Amit Shah -- have sought to suppress and destroy these struggles through intimidation, bullying, threats, through false cases, arrests, custodial torture, the use of draconian laws like the UAPA.'

A wise politician would disarm his critics, try to take them along, co-opt them, or, at least, take the criticism in his stride. Developing a thick skin ought to be an essential part of any politician's toolkit, notes Virendra Kapoor.

There is a perception getting built inside the government that big technology companies -- a common term used for firms like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Amazon and the like - are becoming very powerful and present multiple threats to entire nations and their citizens today. The digital ecosystem is replete with CSAM (child sexual abuse material), fake news, drug trade, radicalisation, trolling among other social vices. Given the network effect that these platforms have, it is important to ensure that these platforms are not misused.

The Polar Bear Hotel, part of the Harbin Polarland theme park in Heilongjiang's capital and largest city, Harbin, opened its doors on Friday with the promise of round-the-clock polar bear viewing from all 21 guest rooms.

The politics of polarisation became part of the political landscape of the national capital after the Batla House encounter.

'This government will end after five years, but farmers will not end after five years.' 'This is the source of our confidence.'

'The government has assured us support.' 'The civil aviation ministry have told us that whatever we need, we will get prime airport slots and bilateral rights.'

The promise of a less suspicious government is surprising. What about the disconnect between the new business stance and earlier push to dictate the narrative in politics and public life, wonders T N Ninan.

New Zealand's biggest city Auckland went into a seven-day lockdown from Sunday after the emergence of a new local case of the coronavirus of unknown origin.

Fresher hiring is expected to more than double compared to last year.

Ravi was arrested by a Cyber Cell team of the Delhi Police from Bengaluru and brought to Delhi. She was currently in police custody.

Think again, is what Ashwin is telling the 'community' as a whole.

'I don't believe that it beholds democracies like us who claim to be the largest democracy in the world, to have such a thin skin about the possibility of foreign commentary.'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the arrest of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists including Rajdeep Sardesai in connection with first information reports lodged against them for their alleged 'misleading' tweets on the violence during the farmers' tractor rally on the Republic Day.

For those who think India's democracy is just fine and there has been no change in the last few years, perhaps it would be instructive to see what has happened on a few issues, observes Aakar Patel.

Neither Biden nor his successors can any longer ignore the threat China has come to pose to the US in both economic and military fields, observes Virendra Kapoor.

'There is nothing more this government can do now to break our agitation.' 'It has used all the tactics and has failed'

Countering the opposition claim that farmers across the country are agitated over the three new laws, he said that those in just one state are being misinformed and instigated.

Recognising that peaceful protests are a hallmark of a thriving democracy, the United States has said that it encourages dialogue between the protesting farmers and the Indian government to resolve their differences.

'Let us stand together in displaying our utter and complete lack of spine, in safeguarding our hundreds of crore rupees of income and in supporting this military-style mobilisation against the very masses who have practically treated us as gods and to whom we owe everything we enjoy.'

'He just has to keep performing, and mustn't let this go to his head.'