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New Delhi: Currently based in Kuala Lumpur in preparation for their FIH Hockey Pro League opener, Max Caldas didn't mince his words when he emphasised on the importance of getting off to a good start in the League where they finished third last year behind winners Australia and Runners-up Belgium.

Mamata Banerjee has decided to stay away from the meeting of opposition leaders called by Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday. She is annoyed with the role of the State Congress and the CPI-M. These parties are constantly carping at her and her party and questioning her credibility as a real opponent of the BJP. They are calling the TMC “B-team” of the BJP.

In Assam, the much hyped Assam NRC updating operation was confidently projected as an ironclad mechanism to identify and deport illegal Bangladeshi ‘infiltrators’ during a ceremonial launch some time ago. Provisions approved by the Supreme Court ensured that ‘dubious’ people who could not be instantly pushed back into Bangladesh could be kept in indefinite quarantine in special jails. During the last few years, a deceptive calm concealing simmering tensions prevailed among the numerous major and minor linguistic/religious groups and communities. The people of Assam and the state Government deserve all credit for maintaining communal peace and harmony during an unusually sensitive period.

It is too early to predict the outcome of the coming Assembly elections in Delhi. It will not be a surprise if Arvind Kejriwal succeeds in getting a second term. Delhi, as a matter of fact, presents a very tough battle for the BJP. Aam Aadmi Party will want its work to speak for itself. According to present indications, Delhi is poised for a head-on clash between chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with BJP shying away from naming a CM face. After a series of electoral reverses for its incumbent state governments, BJP has opportunity to take advantage of anti-incumbency, if it exists. But AAP can boast of improvements in public infrastructure, with no corruption taint on its record. However, AAP’s job will be made harder by Congress, competing for similar voter segments.

The NITI Aayog has come out with a plan to hand over district hospitals to the private sector. According to them this has been done ‘to fill the gaps in the medical education as the government does not have enough resources and finances to provide medical education. This will be done by combining the strengths of public and private sectors. Accordingly scheme to link new hand or existing private medical colleges with functional district hospitals through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) would augment medical seats and also rationalize the costs of medical education’.

Greater Noida: Chandigarh’s Hunar Mittal emerged the overall winner of the IIFL Wealth-Faldo Series India junior Golf Invitational Championship at the Jaypee Greens here on Friday.

Bhubaneswar: Odisha FC will leave nothing to chance as they battle with Mumbai City FC, possibly their most direct competitors for the play-off spot in the Hero Indian Super League, at the Kalinga Stadium here on Saturday.

Hyderabad: Chennaiyin FC completed a double over Hyderabad FC with a dominant 3-1 win in the Hero Indian Super League clash at the GMC Balayogi Stadium here on Friday.

Pune: Ridhima Dilawari won the opening event of the 2020 Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour in a dramatic manner at the Poona Club Golf Course on Friday.

The prospect of war with Iran is terrifying. Experts predict as many as a million people could die if the current tensions were to lead to a full-blown war. Millions more would become refugees across the Middle East, while working families across the U.S. would bear the brunt of our casualties.