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External Affairs Ministry refutes criticism on press freedom, minorities in India
New Delhi: At a press conference in the Netherlands, Sibi George, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, strongly rejected concerns about minority rights and press freedom in India. Responding to the question, George defended India’s democratic and social structure, saying that the country’s strength lies in its diversity, religious co-existence and democratic freedom.Addressing foreign journalists and observers in The Hague, George said the concerns raised on these issues stemmed from a “lack of understanding” about India’s history, institutions and social fabric.“India is a country of 1.4 billion people, the most populous country in the world. A country with a civilization more than 5,000 years old. It is a diverse country,” George said, describing India as a society where many religions, cultures, languages and communities co-exist peacefully.Describing India as a “vibrant democracy”, the senior diplomat said freedom of expression and freedom of the press are deeply embedded in the country’s democratic culture.“You know how many of these there are in India? Smartphones? 900 million of them. And these are very important weapons,” he said, referring to freedom of public participation and communication in India.He said, “Everyone in the country has freedom of expression, freedom of the press. And that makes our democracy a very noisy democracy. And we are proud of that.”George highlighted India’s recent elections as an example of democratic participation and said more than 90 percent of voters voted. “This is the beauty of India. It is a vibrant democracy,” he said.The External Affairs Ministry official also countered criticism regarding minorities in India and argued that religious and linguistic communities continue to flourish in the country.He said, “When we became independent, the minority population in India was 11%. Now it is more than 20. Name a country where the minority population has increased. You will not find this anywhere else but India.”Pointing to India’s long history of hosting and protecting diverse religions, George said Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism all originated and flourished in India. He also noted the historical presence of Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities in the country.He said, “Judaism was in India for more than 2,500 years, co-existing continuously. India is one of the few countries where the Jewish population never faced persecution.”On Christianity, George said that “Christianity came to India soon after the resurrection of Jesus Christ” and that the religion “came to India long before it came to Europe”.Speaking about Islam, he said, “Islam came to India during the time of Prophet Muhammad and flourished in India.”He repeatedly described India’s multicultural coexistence as “the beauty of India”, arguing that persecuted communities from different parts of the world have historically found refuge in the country.George also highlighted the linguistic diversity of India and said that all the major languages are continuing to flourish. “There are 22 official languages. If you take an Indian currency, there are 22 languages written on it,” he said.Linking India’s democratic structure to its economic rise, the diplomat said the country has achieved sustained development without compromising democratic principles.“Today we are the largest, fastest growing major economy in the world. An increase of 8% in the last 25 years. And how did we achieve it? Without compromising our democratic principles,” he said.George said, “We did not use violence to eliminate poverty. We adopted the democratic process to eliminate poverty.”Concluding his remarks, George invited critics and foreign observers to visit India and experience first-hand its diversity and democratic environment.He said, “So I would invite you to come to India and see for yourself how India lives, how prosperous its economy is, what a vibrant democracy it is.”
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KKR vs GT | Sunil Narine, the greatest player in IPL history: Ambati Rayudu makes bold claim
While Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni dominate the popularity charts, former India batsman Ambati Rayudu believes that the discussion about the greatest IPL player of all time belongs to someone else. After Kolkata Knight Riders’ big win over Gujarat Titans, Rayudu overtook the league’s most famous icons to crown Sunil Narine the undisputed number one.
Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Rayudu delivered a scathing verdict on the West Indian’s legacy, highlighting his unmatched value as a genuine two-way player.
“Best IPL An all-time player in my opinion,” Rayudu said, “a match-winner with the ball and with the bat. I don’t think there have been that many great players in the IPL, but this guy always stands out. That’s at the top of the list for me.”
Overcome Controversy to Achieve Greatness
Former India coach Sanjay Bangar strongly supported Rayudu’s claim and placed Narine firmly in the top five of all-time. Bangar praised the KKR star’s resilience and how he rebuilt his bowling after his action was questioned several times during his career.
“He had to overcome a lot of problems in terms of his action being questioned,” Bangar said. “But he found another way of bowling the ball while maintaining the ability to turn the ball both ways. This creates a huge doubt in the mind of the batsman. These qualities make him a legend.”
Historic 200th match keeps KKR alive
The praise came at just the right time, including from Narine Historic 200th IPL match for KKR, it is necessary to win at any cost.
Batting first, KKR scored a season’s best score of 247 runs for 2 wickets. Opener Finn Allen played a stormy innings of 93 runs in 35 balls, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi (82*) and Cameron Green (52*) ended the innings brilliantly by making an unbeaten 108-run partnership.
Captain of Gujarat Titans in reply Shubman Gill gave a brilliant counter attackKept his team in the competition by scoring 85 runs. However, it was Narine who broke the game open. The experienced spinner outwitted the dangerous Gill, and trapped him in an errant shot on his way to taking 2 for 29.
Despite half-centuries from Jos Buttler (57) and Sai Sudarshan (53*), GT finished at 218 for 4. The 29-run win kept KKR’s play-off hopes alive, proving that even after 200 matches, Sunil Narine is one of the ultimate match-winners in the IPL.
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British tourist breaks neck during trip to France, faces huge medical bill after traveling without insurance
A British man was left unable to walk after breaking his neck while on holiday in France and facing huge medical bills because he traveled without insurance.Guy Evans, 30, suffered the life-changing injury on April 19 while visiting his father’s holiday home in the Loire Valley with his brother Stan.What started as a simple attempt to remove broken tree branches from the garden soon turned into a nightmare when Guy fell about 10 feet over a stone wall after a branch broke beneath him.
Briton ‘destroyed’ vertebra in strange accident
The freelance copywriter was taken to hospital, where doctors revealed he had a broken C6 vertebra in his neck.Describing the terrifying experience from his hospital bed, Guy said he had “wiped out” one of the vertebrae near the top of his spine.“Very fortunately I haven’t had my spine severed, which obviously would have been more or less curtains for me,” he said.Doctors performed a six-hour emergency surgery the day after the accident, reconstructing the damaged vertebra using bone taken from his left hip. A second operation took place a week later.
No travel insurance means families face huge costs
While Guy has returned to the UK for treatment at King’s College Hospital in south London, his family is struggling to cover rising medical and repatriation expenses because he did not take out travel insurance before the trip.Guy admitted his mistake, saying, “I’m a stupid, stupid guy. You always think these things won’t happen to you.”His younger brother Robbie Evans launched a GoFundMe page to help pay the rising costs of getting Guy back to the UK and support his rehabilitation.
GoFundMe donations flood in
The fundraising impressed people online and soon passed the £102,000 mark.In an update shared on the fundraising page, Robbie said the family is “completely overwhelmed” by the support they have been receiving from strangers.He explained that a portion of the money has already been used to fund Guy’s medical transfer back to the UK, while the remaining funds will help with his long recovery process and future living arrangements if he is unable to regain full mobility.
still unable to walk
Although Guy has regained some movement in his arms and hands, he is still unable to walk and now faces months of intensive rehabilitation.According to him, the first 18 months after such an injury are considered crucial for recovery.Despite the ordeal, Guy says he feels lucky doctors were able to save his spinal cord from more devastating damage.
IN-SPACe leads space-tech delegation to Italy, companies announce deals
Bengaluru: India’s space regulator-cum-promoter Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) led a delegation of space-tech companies at the Space Meetings Veneto 2026 held in Venice, Italy, where several Indian companies announced partnerships with European companies.Organized by Advanced Business Events and supported by the Italian Trade Agency and Aggenzia Spaziale Italiana, the event brought together space industry companies, startups, policy makers and technology providers from several countries.The delegation included nine Indian companies, including Astrogate Labs, Astrobase Space Technologies, VyomIC, Suhora, Kepler Aerospace, Hyspace Technologies, Techme2Space, Jarbits Pvt Ltd and Dhruv Space.Among the agreements announced during the visit, Karnataka-based Astrobase Space Technologies signed an MoU with Italy’s Impulso Space to support customer access and explore launch opportunities through an integrated mission management and launch services network.Kepler Aerospace signed a framework agreement with Apogee Space to expand Ground Station as a Service (GSaaS) infrastructure and strengthen satellite collaboration between India and Europe. The companies will also explore collaboration in CubeSat systems, payload technologies and mission operationsMeanwhile, VyomIC announced collaboration focused on navigation and flexible infrastructure technologies during the event. The delegation was led by PK Jain, Director (Directorate of Program Management and Authorization), IN-SPACe.“India’s participation reflects growing global confidence in the country’s space capabilities and private sector ecosystem. More importantly, this year’s engagements have translated into meaningful strategic partnerships between Indian and international space companies,” Jain said.According to IN-SPACe, the visit follows the visit of the Italian Aerospace Delegation to India in 2025 and is part of efforts to deepen commercial space cooperation between India and Italy under the 2025-2029 India-Italy Joint Strategic Action Plan announced during the G20 Summit in 2024.
