GB curlers on brink of early exit after Canada defeat

Team GB's Winter Olympics curling medal hopes are now in serious jeopardy after Bruce Mouat's world champions were beaten 9-5 by Canada in Cortina.

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Tarique Rahman To Take Oath As Bangladesh's Prime Minister Today

Tarique Rahman will take the oath as the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh on Tuesday after leading his party to a forceful victory in the crucial general elections.

Rahman's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has bagged 209 out of 297 seats, while right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami secured 68 seats in the 13th Parliamentary elections. Deposed premier Sheikh Hasina's Awami League was barred from contesting polls.

Breaking with a long-standing tradition, the swearing-in ceremony of the 60-year-old BNP chairman would be held at the South Plaza of the Parliament Complex instead of Bangabhaban.  President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath to the new cabinet members at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad on Tuesday afternoon, state-run BSS news agency reported on Monday.

"The Parliament Secretariat is set to hold the oath-taking ceremony of the new cabinet members at 4:00 pm tomorrow," Secretary of the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat Kaniz Maula said.

Earlier Tuesday, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin would administer the oath to all newly elected members of the parliament.

All 297 newly elected lawmakers of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (JS) will "first take oath as the members of parliament (MPs) and then as the members of the Constitutional Reform Council," said a press release of JS Secretariat.  BNP has called a parliamentary party meeting at the Parliament Building at 11:30 am to elect the parliamentary party leader.

"As the leader of the majority party, our party chairman, Tarique Rahman, will be the Prime Minister," said Salah Uddin Ahmed, a member of the standing committee of the BNP.

The Constitutional dictates - immediately after their swearing-in, the BNP MPs will elect their leader who will be invited by the President to form the government, a Bangabhaban presidential palace official said on Monday.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of Rahman. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Secretary-General of Lok Sabha Utpal Kumar Singh are also likely to accompany Birla.

Rahman would become the prime minister for the first time. He will replace the interim government chief Muhammad Yunus, under whose tenure Dhaka's relations with New Delhi witnessed a significant downturn.

Yunus took charge in August 2024 after the collapse of Hasina's Awami League regime following the massive anti-government protests.

After his party's victory, Rahman visited the homes of his political rivals, including Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman and National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam, where he exchanged greetings and held cordial discussions.

In a post-election press conference, Rahman called for “national unity” and “peace” in the national interest, warning that divisiveness would undermine democracy. He said the country faces a fragile economy, weakened institutions, and a deteriorating law and order situation.

“Our paths and opinions may differ, but in the interest of the country, we must remain united. I firmly believe that national unity is our collective strength, while division is our weakness,” he said.

  He said the new government faces two major challenges - tackling the economy and ensuring good governance.

Rahman, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and BNP's founder, late President Ziaur Rahman, returned home two months ago after 17 years of self-exiled life in London. His principal credentials are dynastic, but he has not held any public office so far. Analysts say the family background earned him a sort of political acumen.

When a journalist asked how he would reconcile with the millions of Awami League supporters, Rahman answered, "By ensuring the rule of law".

In response to a related question, he said there was "no room for politics of vengeance", warning that attacks based on political affiliation or differing opinions would not be tolerated.

The BNP has invited about 1,200 domestic and foreign guests to the event.

Maldives President Mohammed Muizzoo, Turkish Undersecretary Beris Ekinci and Sri Lanka's Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr Nalinda Jayatissa would be among those attending Rahman's oath ceremony.

Bangladesh held the significant 13th parliamentary election on February 12 after a period of tumultuous political vacuum, instability and fragile security situation, including widespread attacks on minorities after the fall of the 15-year rule of Hasina.

Four candidates from minority communities, including two Hindus, all from the BNP, won in the elections.

Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, a member of the BNP's highest policy-making standing committee, and Nitai Roy Chowdhury, one of the vice presidents of the party, won their seats.

The third minority MP-elect is Saching Pru, a senior BNP leader and follower of the Buddhist faith, while the fourth minority candidate, Dipen Dewan, belongs to the Buddhist majority Chakma ethnic minority group.

Hindus comprise approximately eight per cent of the population in the Muslim-majority country of 170 million people.

Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General and coordinator of the liaison committee of the 11-party alliance, AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, has said that they want to play a constructive role as an opposition party.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Himachal Governor Cuts Assembly Speech To 2 Minutes, Row Erupts

The Budget Session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly began on a stormy note, with sharp differences surfacing between Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla and the state government over the contentious issue of Revenue Deficit Grant or RDG. In a rare development in parliamentary practice, the Governor wrapped up his customary address in just 2 minutes and 1 second, significantly cutting short what is typically a detailed outline of the government's policy roadmap.

The flashpoint was the speech prepared by the government, portions of which allegedly questioned the functioning of the Centre and certain constitutional institutions. The Governor objected to these sections, saying pages 1 to 16 of the document contained remarks that were, in his view, against the "institutional framework".

Maintaining that he could not read out comments that undermine the dignity of constitutional bodies, he chose to read only the opening two paragraphs and the concluding portion.

He skipped paragraphs 3 to 16, the core section dealing with the Revenue Deficit Grant and the state's financial concerns. Before exiting the House, he asked members to read the remaining text themselves, triggering sharp political reactions.

Reacting to the stand-off, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu downplayed the Governor's move, saying it was "not an exception" and that Governors have skipped addresses in the past. However, he remained firm on the financial dispute. "This is not about the government. RDG is our right. Do not harm the rights of the state," he asserted.

The unprecedented brevity of the address has set the stage for a charged Budget Session, with the RDG issue likely to dominate proceedings in the days ahead.

RDG Withdrawal and its impact

*The Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) is a constitutional lifeline under Article 275 (1), designed to bridge the gap between a state's own revenue and its essential spending. For Himachal Pradesh, its discontinuation by the 16th Finance Commission from the 2026-27 fiscal year creates a fiscal crisis.

*The state is already struggling to pay Rs 8,500 crore in revised salary arrears and Rs 5,000 crore in Dearness Allowance (DA). Without the RDG, these payments face an indefinite freeze.

(With inputs from VD Sharma in Shimla)

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Swedish Man Suspected Of Helping Over 100 Men Buy Sex With His Wife

A man in northern Sweden is suspected of helping more than 100 men buy sex with his wife, a prosecutor told AFP on Monday.

Sweden's law on prostitution bans the buying of sex but not the selling.

The man, who is in his 60s, was arrested in late October after his wife reported him to police and has been remanded in custody since then, prosecutor Ida Annerstedt told AFP.

"He is suspected of having facilitated, or profited financially from, the sale of the complainant's sexual services," Annerstedt said.

Annerstedt said the man had been remanded in custody suspected of the crime of "procuring".

She said police were looking into other suspected crimes but declined to give any details, citing the confidentiality of the ongoing investigation.

She also declined to say whether the woman, who is in her 50s, had been forced to sell sex or not.

The suspected crimes were believed to have occurred from January 2022 until the man's arrest last year.

Annerstedt said she expected to press charges on March 13.

The prosecutor said 120 individuals who were suspected of having bought sexual services had been identified but it was unlikely that all of them could be investigated as part of the main probe.

Separate investigations into the buyers could be launched after the case concluded.

Public broadcaster SVT reported that the man, who has denied the alleged crime, had previously been convicted of several offences, including assault and unlawful coercion.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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'Quit For Self-Respect': Bhupen Bora Resigns From Congress After 32 Years

Senior Congress leader in Assam, Bhupen Bora, on Monday announced that he has resigned from the party, ending his 32-year-long association with the grand old party.

Speaking to reporters here, Bora said he sent his resignation letter to the party's central leadership at around 8 a.m. “I have resigned from the Congress. I have already forwarded my resignation letter to the central leadership,” Bora said, adding that the decision was taken to protect his self-respect.

“I have quit the party for my own self-respect,” he asserted.

Expressing deep dissatisfaction with the functioning of the party, Bora alleged that the Congress leadership has failed to take timely and decisive calls on organisational matters.

“The party is unable to even decide who should attend its rallies and who should not,” he said, pointing to what he described as growing confusion and lack of coordination within the organisation.

Bora said he had devoted the prime years of his political life to the Congress.

“I gave 32 years of my life to the Congress party,” he said, underlining his long association and contributions at various levels of the organisation.

While refraining from naming specific leaders, Bora hinted at persistent internal issues and leadership paralysis that, according to him, made it difficult to continue in the party.

He said that despite raising concerns on multiple occasions, there was no meaningful response from the top leadership.

Asked about his future political course, Bora said he will take a decision after consulting his supporters and well-wishers. However, he made it clear that his resignation was final and not an impulsive move.

“This is not a sudden decision. I have thought about it carefully,” he said.

Bhupen Bora's exit is being seen as a significant setback for the Congress in Assam, where the party has been struggling to regain political ground ahead of the next Assembly elections.

His resignation comes at a time when the party is already grappling with internal challenges and leadership questions in the state.

Political observers believe Bora's departure could trigger further churn within the Assam Congress unit in the coming days.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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US boards second tanker in Indian Ocean after tracking it from Caribbean

The US accuses the Veronica III of violating a "quarantine" on oil shipments from Venezuela.

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Ind vs Pak ICC Revenue Comparison: BCCI Gets Rs 2,079 Crore, PCB Nowhere Close

The matches between India and Pakistan are undeniably the most lucrative in world cricket. The encounters between the two Asian rivals is the most profitable event for the International Cricket Council (ICC), with the commercial value of a game estimated to be around Rs 1,800 crore and Rs 2,200 crore (USD 200-250 million). The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) inevitably end up as the biggest benefactors, with India generating more than 70 per cent of cricket's global revenue. As such, the BCCI also enjoys the largest share in the ICC's annual revenue share.

In the ICC's ongoing four-year cycle, BCCI are set to earn nearly 40 per cent of the global body's revenue share between the years 2024 and 2027.

BCCI have a 38.50 per cent share of ICC's 2024-27 revenue, which is more than England, Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh combined.

This equates to the BCCI getting approximately Rs 2,079 crore from the ICC's revenue.

On the other hand, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)'s share of the ICC revenue is 5.75 per cent, meaning they earn around Rs 310 crore.

However, given the magnitude, interest and revenue generated by an India-Pakistan clash, both teams are set to benefit from a financial standpoint.

When it comes to the on-field record, India boast a significant head-to-head advantage over Pakistan in recent history. Pakistan last won a T20I against India over three years ago.

In T20I cricket, India boast a staggering advantage, having won 13 out of 16 matches till date.

India overcame a tricky phase to defeat Pakistan in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in 2024. Jasprit Bumrah was the star of the show, picking up three wickets and conceding just 14 runs as India defended a total of 119.

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