Celebrate trophies, not personal milestones, says India coach Gambhir
India's success has been powered by a deliberate move away from celebrating individual milestones, head coach Gautam Gambhir said on Sunday after the team retained their Twenty20 World Cup title, Reuters reported.
India thrashed New Zealand by 96 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium to become the first team to win the tournament three times, sealing back-to-back titles after their 2024 triumph.
Gambhir, appointed shortly after they lifted the trophy in 2024, said he set the tone early in his tenure that personal landmarks would not determine selection, and that approach helped India commit fully to a dominant style under captain Suryakumar Yadav, according to Reuters.
Iraq coach calls for delay to World Cup playoff amid travel shutdown
Iraq coach Graham Arnold has called for the team's inter-confederation World Cup playoff in Mexico later this month to be postponed amidst the travel chaos triggered by the conflict in neighbouring Iran, Reuters reported.
The Iraqis are concerned they might not be able to get their players and ‌staff over to Mexico for their scheduled clash with either Bolivia or Suriname in Monterrey on March 31 because of the travel lockdown in the Middle East.
Arnold said putting together a team solely with players based outside Iraq would hinder the country's chances of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1986, according to Reuters.
Milan edge Inter in derby to keep distant title chase alive
AC Milan claimed a vital 1-0 home victory over city rivals Inter Milan on Sunday with Pervis Estupinan's late first-half strike offering a glimmer of hope in the Serie A title race, Reuters reported.
Inter are top with 67 points and a seven-point gap over Milan. But Milan's hard-fought win at the San Siro stadium has sparked hope for their fans as the season enters its final phase with 10 games left for each team.
The clash - known as the "Derby della Madonnina" after a statue of the Virgin Mary on top of Milan Cathedral - has been contested since 1909, according to Reuters.
RSP leads PR vote count with over 3.67 million votes
A total of 7,575,193 votes have been counted so far in the Proportional Representation System of the House of Representatives member election.
As of 5:50 am today, Rastriya Swatantra Party has received the highest number of votes with 3,672,265. Similarly, Nepali Congress received 1,238,381 votes, CPN-UML 1,047,512 votes, Nepali Communist Party 538,270 votes, Rastriya Prajatantra Party 258,666 votes, and Shram Sanskriti Party 240,763 votes.
Vote counting is underway.
RSP candidates emerge victorious in 21 out of 26 constituencies of Lumbini Province
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidates have emerged victorious in 21 out of 26 electoral constituencies of the Lumbini Province having 12 districts.
According to the Election Commission, Nepali Congress and Nepali Communist Party have won the election in two constituencies each while CPN-UML secured its victory in one constituency.
Rastriya Swatantra Party candidates have been elected in all five constituencies of Rupandehi district.
Sunil Lamsal emerged victorious in Rupandehi-1, Sulabh Kharel in Rupandehi-2, Dr. Lekhjang Thapa in Rupandehi-3, Kanhaiya Baniya in Rupandehi-4, and Taufik Ahmed Khan in Rupandehi-5.
Similarly, Bikram Khanal of the same party won in West Nawalparasi-1 and Narendra Kumar Gupta in West Nawalparasi-2, the Election Commission informed.
Mohan Lal Acharya from the RSP won in Kapilvastu-1, while Bikram Singh Thapa secured his place in Kapilvastu–2. Likewise, Abhishek Pratap Shah from Nepali Congress won in Kapilvastu-3.
RSP candidates, Dev Raj Pathak, Bipin Kumar Acharya, and Kamal Subedi emerged victorious in Dang constituencies 1, 2 and 3.
Similarly, Sagar Dhakal and Govinda Panthi of the RSP also emerged winners from Gulmi 1 and 2.
In Bardiya–1, RSP's Thakur Singh Tharu and in Bardiya–2, Shridhar Pokhrel of the same party were elected, according to the Election Commission.
RSP candidates Suresh Kumar Chaudhary and Khagendra Sunar won in Banke-1 and 3 while Mohammad Ishtiyak Rai of the CPN-UML emerged victorious in Banke-2.
Nepali Communist Party coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal won the election from Rukum West while Barshaman Pun got re-elected from Rolpa.
RSP candidate Sushant Baidik won the election from Pyuthan.
Sandeep Rana of the Nepali Congress won the first-past-the-post election from Palpa 1 while RSP candidate Madhav Bahadur Thapa has been elected from Palpa 2, according to the Office of the Chief Returning Officer, Palpa.
Hari Prasad Bhusal of Rastriya Swatantra Party has won in Arghakhanchi.
Oil prices surge 20% on supply fears as US-Israeli war with Iran expands
Oil prices surged about 20% in early trade on Monday, hitting their highest since July 2022, as the expanding U.S.-Israeli war with Iran fuelled fears of tighter supply and prolonged disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.
Iran on Monday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader, signalling that hardliners remain firmly in charge in Tehran a week into its conflict with the United States and Israel.
Brent crude futures rose as much as $18.35, or 19.8%, to $111.04 a barrel and were up $14.38, or 15.5%, at $107.07 as of 2314 GMT, according to Reuters.
Iranian army says at least 104 killed in US attack on Iranian warship last week
The Iranian army said on Sunday that at ‌least 104 people were killed and 32 were wounded in an attack by the U.S. on an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka's coast last week, Reuters reported.
A U.S. submarine sank the frigate Dena in the Indian Ocean ‌about 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka's southern port city of Galle on Wednesday, killing dozens of sailors and dramatically widening Washington's pursuit of the Iranian navy.
Iran names Khamenei's hardline son Mojtaba as new supreme leader, oil surges
Iran on Monday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel, Reuters reported.
Mojtaba, a cleric with influence inside Iran's security forces and vast business networks ‌under his father, had been viewed as a frontrunner in the lead-up to Sunday's vote by the Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 clerics tasked with choosing Ali Khamenei's successor.
"By a decisive vote, the Assembly of Experts, appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the third Leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the Assembly said in a statement issued just after midnight Tehran time, according to Reuters.
