Latest news with #Noor
Bahrain This Week
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Bahrain This Week
Live FM 107.2 Hosts Unforgettable Experience for ILA Sneha Recreation Centre Children
Live FM 107.2 recently opened its doors and studios to the children of the Indian Ladies Association (ILA) Bahrain's Sneha Recreation Centre, providing an enriching and unforgettable experience that underscored the radio station's commitment to community engagement and inclusivity. This special visit, championed by ILA President Smitha Jensen, saw the children delve into the vibrant world of radio broadcasting. The team at Live FM 107.2, known for its dynamic programming, extended a particularly warm welcome to the young visitors. At the heart of this immersive experience were the station's popular RJs, Noor and Shibu, who hosted the children during their 'Live Drive' show. The RJs meticulously guided the children through the inner workings of a live radio station, enthusiastically explaining concepts of sound, music, and the fascinating art of communication. The palpable joy of the children as they engaged with the hosts and witnessed the energy of a live broadcast was a testament to the success of the initiative. The Indian Ladies Association expressed its deepest gratitude to Live FM 107.2 for their unwavering hospitality and profound commitment to inclusivity. The station's willingness to provide such a unique platform plays a vital role in empowering the children of Sneha Recreation Centre, offering them invaluable opportunities to interact with the wider community in significant and memorable ways. Smitha said 'A heartfelt thank you was specifically directed to the entire dedicated team at Live FM 107.2, for their pivotal role in creating such a special and lasting memory for the children. Their warmth, generosity, and active participation in this initiative have made a significant impact, marking this visit as a truly remarkable milestone in the ongoing journey of the Sneha Recreation Centre.' This collaboration between ILA and Live FM 107.2 exemplifies how community organizations and media outlets can work hand-in-hand to foster a more inclusive and supportive environment for all.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
The rise and rise of the young Indian cricketers
In an era long gone by, Afghanistan's left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad would have walked away with the Purple Cap for being the highest wicket-taker at the conclusion of the league phase of the Indian Premier League. Noor might still do so – he leads this year's race with 24 wickets despite his team, Chennai Super Kings, propping up the table for the first time in the tournament's history – but if Prasidh Krishna continues his red-hot form, he will get at least one opportunity to build on his tally of 23 wickets when Gujarat Titans take on Mumbai Indians in Friday's Eliminator in Mullanpur. The IPL is essentially by the Indians and for the Indians – yes, yes, it does include top players from most of the rest of the world – and never has that been more apparent than in Season 18, when Indian stars established and emerging have taken the tournament by storm. There are notable exceptions, as there are bound to be – Noor, for one, alongside Trent Boult and Josh Hazlewood among the bowlers -- and Mitch Marsh, Jos Buttler and Nicholas Pooran when it comes to the batters. But homegrown talent has held massive sway, reiterating that the future of Indian T20 cricket, at the very least, is in safe, competent, young hands. The phenoms No one is younger, of course, than the kid from Samastipur in Bihar who very few knew about two months back. Vaibhav Suryavanshi had made his Ranji Trophy debut at 13 and already scored a century for India Under-19 against Australia Under-19 in a four-day 'Test' last year, but it was the grand stage that the IPL is that propelled him into international limelight. At 14 years and 32 days, he became the youngest batter to score a century in senior T20 cricket; his 35-ball ton for Rajasthan Royals against Gujarat Titans is the fastest by an Indian. He might have begun the tournament as a starry-eyed teenager who must have gobbled at a price tag of ₹1.1 crore, but he ends it a marked lad, someone of whom great things are already being expected and who is, unfairly, drawing comparison with India's most famous teen phenom, a certain Sachin Tendulkar. Suryavanshi and his India Under-19 captain Ayush Mhatre, who sparkled after belatedly being blooded by CSK, are already spreading waves of awe and fear within the junior fraternity – outside it, too, but it's the Under-19 opponents who are most likely to feel the brunt of their fury in the immediate future. The Indian colts travel to England next month for five 50-over games and two four-day fixtures. Perhaps echoing the sentiments of the rest of the cricket world, former New Zealand captain and CSK coach Stephen Fleming admitted he worried 'a little bit about the Under-19 oppositions that will come up against two pretty handy openers when the World Cup comes around.' 'It's amazing how much talent they have, how composed they are,' Fleming, who himself was only 19 when he first played for his country, crowed. The swashbuckling 14-year-old left-hander and the more orthodox 17-year-old right-hander from Mumbai headlined a rash of extraordinary but lesser-known talent that took the league stage of the tournament by storm with the bat. Priyansh Arya might appear of a different vintage from the two teenagers – he is only 24 but how do you compete with 14 and 17 for eyeballs? – but he has had a memorable first season. Bought by Punjab Kings for ₹3.8 crore, he has more than justified the price tag and the expectations with 424 runs at the whopping strike-rate of 183.6, showing that marrying consistency with naked aggression comes reasonably easy to him. He announced himself early in the tournament with a hundred and hasn't disappointed since; like his equally fearsome opening partner Prabhsimran Singh (499 runs), he will have at least two more chances to add to that tally, given that the Kings have made it to the playoffs (as the top-ranked team, no less) for the first time since 2014. Racking it up Of the 10 batters who racked up more than 500 runs in the league phase are seven Indians, none of whom can be called a newcomer by any stretch of imagination. B. Sai Sudharsan, who leads the race for the Orange Cap with 679 runs, 30 more than Gujarat Titans opening partner and new India Test skipper Shubman Gill, is perhaps the 'newest comer' of this bunch. The other five – Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli (who has topped 600 runs for a third season on the bounce), Yashasvi Jaiswal, K.L. Rahul and Shreyas Iyer – have all been there and done that. Indians have accounted for seven of the nine hundreds this far (Mitchell Marsh and Heinrich Klaasen are the exceptions). Outside of this '500 club' and those mentioned previously, Abhishek Sharma has continued on his merry way, Ishan Kishan has sets hearts aflutter in Hyderabad and who can forget Jitesh Sharma's extraordinary onslaught on Tuesday night that muscled Royal Challengers Bengaluru past Rishabh Pant's Lucknow Super Giants and to the second place at the end of the league skirmishes? Openers Sai Sudharsan and Gill, alongside former England skipper Buttler who will miss the playoffs due to international commitments, accounted for the bulk of Gujarat's runs this season. The left-handed Sai Sudharsan and his equally classy right-hander mirror-image captain have together put on 909 runs as an opening pair, including an unseparated 205 against Delhi Capitals in a most surreal run-chase. A little while back, in the immediacy of Rohit Sharma and Kohli's retirement from T20Is, it seemed as if Gill and Jaiswal would be the long-term 20-over openers for the country, an opinion that gathered pace when they put on 67 and 156 (unbroken) in successive outings in Zimbabwe last July. Then, Abhishek and Sanju Samson threatened to queer the pitch with Gill and Jaiswal away on Test duty. Now, a new pair is in town, making it impossible to overlook its exploits. India seem spoiled for batting choices. See how Tilak Varma, who made successive centuries whilst batting at No. 3 in South Africa last December, hasn't even figured in this piece till now? These are the obvious success stories but there are others who don't have the same inflated numbers and yet have made a grand impact – men like Dhruv Jurel, Ayush Badoni, Ashutosh Sharma, Shashank Singh, even Vipraj Nigam and Riyan Parag, who smashed six sixes in as many deliveries (spread over two overs) in a losing cause. Several of them have been around for a while and while Jurel and Parag are already internationals, the rest know that if they aspire to don the India Blue, they still have plenty of work ahead of them. What a luxury for T20 captain Suryakumar, head coach Gautam Gambhir and selection panel chief Ajit Agarkar to be able to dip into an overflowing pool of riches that is clearly the envy of the rest of the world. If the batters have hogged the space till now, put it down to cricket being a batter's game. But India's bowling group hasn't been too shabby either. Of the 17 bowlers who had at least 15 wickets after the 70-match first phase, only five are non-Indians. There is a nice blend of the proven and the promising, of pacers and spinners, of left-armers and right-armers, of the orthodox and the unconventional among the dozen Indians in that grouping. There is Jasprit Bumrah – of course there will be Jasprit Bumrah, even if he missed the first four matches – and there are the usual suspects, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakaravarthy and Harshal Patel and Kuldeep Yadav but most heartening must be the form shown by Prasidh and the spunk revealed by R. Sai Kishore, the curly-mopped other left-handed 'Sai' from Chennai who led the State side in the Ranji Trophy last season. Prasidh has been terrific to watch all season, making use of his bounce and his recent burst of confidence and feel-good to produce wicket-taking deliveries with exceptional consistency. He is among the tallest fast bowlers in India currently and is beginning to make excellent use of that feature, hitting the lengths that make it impossible for batters to get him away. His wickets have come at one every 14.34 deliveries but that's not only because batters have tried to go after him. He hasn't 'bought' his wickets, if you like, as an economy of 7.90 runs an over will testify. Having impressed on his Test comeback after 12 months in Sydney in January, it will be a huge surprise if he doesn't line up alongside Bumrah at Headingley in three weeks' time when the first Test gets underway. This isn't a case of the IPL fast-tracking a Test career, it is just that Prasidh has reiterated that even in 20-over cricket, traditional values will still hold a bowler in grand stead. Sai Kishore tapered off a little after a glorious start but like Prasidh, he is also a smart and orthodox cookie but hardly unidimensional. He has been on the selectors' radar for a while and with Ravindra Jadeja in the autumn of his career, should fancy his chances across formats though the re-emergence of Krunal Pandya, who has 15 wickets to Sai Kishore's 17 but is handier with the bat, might dictate otherwise, at least in the 20-over game. To many, the IPL is an opportunity to make a very good livelihood out of cricket while reconciling to the knowledge that they might not seriously tickle the national selectors' mind space. To others like Sai Kishore, the IPL is only a springboard to greater heights, stemming from a realistic assessment of one's abilities and aspirations. As the tournament hurtles towards its business end, there will be grandstand performances, for sure, but it will take something special to overshadow the league riches. Now, that's something to look forward to, right?
The National
4 days ago
- General
- The National
'It's not worth the risk': Middle East students put US dreams on hold amid Trump visa crackdown
Young people in the Middle East have spoken of their fears after the US government decided to freeze overseas student interviews and plan to begin vetting their social media accounts. The directive signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and sent to diplomatic and consular posts stops interview appointments at US universities. The move was announced only days after the US took steps to bar foreign students from Harvard University as part of a campaign against some higher education institutions. The Trump administration said Harvard has not done enough to fight anti-Semitism and change its admissions practices – allegations the university has strongly denied. Consular officers have, since March, had to conduct mandatory social media reviews looking for evidence of support for 'terrorist activity or a terrorist organisation', which could be as broad as showing support for the Palestinian cause, according to The Guardian, quoting a State Department message. In 2023-2024, the US hosted an all-time high of 1.1 million international students. About 90,000 are from the Arab World, according to estimates. Students left in limbo For Noor, a 20-year-old Syrian student accepted into a Ivy League university, the moment she received her US visa should have been a triumph. Instead, it has left her sick with anxiety. "I got my visa last week, but what if it gets revoked?' she told The National. " Even if it doesn't, I'm scared I might not be allowed into the States.' The student still believes the US will provide her with the best opportunity to pursue her academic ambitions. "Despite everything, I still believe going to the US is my best option,' said Noor. "As a Syrian, I need a full scholarship – and that's hard to find elsewhere.' She is well aware, however, of the challenges she and fellow students in the region must overcome to study in the US. "There's a real fear among Mena students that their identity could work against them,' she said. "I've even avoided posting anything political, especially about Palestine. Once we're in the US, we won't be able to speak freely. People are being arrested for what they post." Swapping US for Finland Arjun Menon Tiwari, 17, who has lived most of his life in Abu Dhabi, was accepted into US universities including NYU, UNC Chapel Hill and Boston University. But, he has made the difficult decision to walk away. "With the new Trump administration, a lot of student visas are being taken away,' he said. "If I'm not able to stay long enough to complete my degree and find a job, then it's not worth the risk.' Arjun has instead chosen to study computer science at the University of Helsinki in Finland, favouring not only the country's high-quality education but also its reputation for happiness, safety, and long-term opportunity. "It was disappointing to let go of a dream, but in hindsight, it feels like the best decision. "Europe feels more stable. There's less risk, and the opportunities are still world-class. You have to think long term, not just about getting in, but what happens after.' Aisha Almekhlafi, a 21-year-old psychology graduate from UAE University, faces a nerve-racking wait before finding out where her future lies. She was accepted into a master's programme at NYU starting in September, but is still to receive her visa. "It's been really stressful,' she said. "Everything depends on getting that visa – my travel, my housing, even my mental focus. A colleague of mine had her visa rejected and lost an entire term. That fear is always there.' The timing has upset the plans for thousands of students, particularly from those from regions already under tight scrutiny. One parent, with a daughter set to return to study in the US after the summer told The National that she will have to wipe all social media, and WhatsApp before returning, and that her daughter is frequently asked on returning to the US from the UAE why she spends so much time in the Middle East. Anxiety grows with uncertainty At UniHawk, a UAE-based university counselling firm supporting hundred of US-bound application, the mood has darkened. "Even those who've already secured their visas and booked accommodation are now asking if they should proceed,' said Varun Jain, chief executive of UniHawk. "There's considerable anxiety, especially among students with upcoming embassy appointments.' In response, Mr Jain said his team is encouraging students to keep their operations open. "We always advise strong backup plans – the UK, Canada, UAE, Australia or Europe. Even those admitted to their dream universities are now actively considering alternatives, not out of doubt in their choice, but out of precaution.' Mr Jain added that students can still apply to top universities in the UK through UCAS Clearing or directly to institutions in Ireland, Europe, and Australia. Many top-tier Australian universities – often referred to as the Group of Eight – are still accepting applications. For some, enrolling in a university in the UAE for their first year and transferring later to the US when the situation stabilises is a practical strategy.
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Noor Chahal shines as the voice of a generation with ‘Girl With A Guitar' live at The Piano Man in Delhi
After making waves with an intimate launch in London, Girl With A Guitar has made a powerful debut in India at The Piano Man, Eldeco Centre, Delhi, with singer-songwriter Noor Chahal taking centre stage. The rising star captivated the packed house with nothing more than her voice, her guitar, and a heart wide open, delivering a performance that was as soulful as it was spellbinding. In a time when the music industry is saturated with over-production, Girl With A Guitar brings something rare: a stage where honesty sings louder than autotune, and where vulnerability becomes art. Noor Chahal delivered a live performance that was equal parts raw, rooted, and revolutionary, proving not just her musical prowess but her power to move a generation. Opening the night with folk classics like 'Bajre Da Sitta' and 'Masakali', Noor instantly created an intimate, spiritual space that was rooted in Punjab and accessible to every heart in the room. With each transition—from 'Raavi' to 'Phir Le Aaya Dil', from 'Akh Kashni' to 'Sanson Ki Mala'—she transported the audience across moods and memories. The evening wasn't just a concert; it was a musical journey through longing, joy, rebellion, devotion, and womanhood. Her original tracks—'Away,' 'Malang,' and 'Channa Surma'—echoed with depth and maturity far beyond her years. They weren't just songs—they were confessions of spirit, longing, and identity. The evening marked more than just a concert; it was the Indian premiere of a new-age musical movement. Girl With A Guitar is a passion project co-conceptualised by Noor Chahal and RTIST 91, aimed at spotlighting emotionally rich, culturally rooted, and powerfully honest female voices in music. 'What began as a shared idea—just a girl, her guitar, and a room full of honest hearts—has now grown into something far bigger,' said the team behind the project. And it showed. Following the rousing response in Delhi, the Girl With A Guitar tour is now set to travel across cities, carrying forward its vision of creating space for storytelling, identity, and soul through song. Stay tuned for the next chapter! *Partnered Content
Express Tribune
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Mehak lifts Federal Cup tennis title
The 37th edition of the OGDCL Federal Cup National Ranking Tennis Championships has reached its final stages following an exciting week of high-caliber competition at the PTF-SDA Tennis Complex, Islamabad. Mehaq Khokhar triumphed in the ladies singles championship. In a nail-biting final, 3rd seed claimed the ladies singles title, defeating Noor Malik of Lahore in a gripping three-set marathon: 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. Mehaq won the toss and chose to serve, quickly gaining a 4-1 lead in the opening set by breaking Noor's serve in the 2nd and 4th games, eventually sealing the set 6-3. The second set saw Noor rally back to a 3-1 lead. Although Mehaq broke back to level the score at 4-4, Noor held her nerve, breaking Mehaq in the 11th game and serving out the set to take it 7-5. The decisive third set turned into a battle of wills, with both players exchanging breaks until the score reached 5-5. In a dramatic 12th game, Mehaq displayed exceptional control at the net and secured the match by breaking Noor's serve after an error at 30-40. The thrilling contest lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes. In Boys 14 & Under Singles Final: M. Junaid Khan (Peshawar) clinched the title with a commanding 4-1, 4-1 win over Shayaan Afridi. In the Men's Doubles Final: The duo of Muhammad Shoaib and Muzammil Murtaza claimed the championship in style, defeating 2nd seeds Barkatullah and Yousaf Khan in straight sets: 6-3, 6-1. In the Boys 18 & Under Singles – Semi-Finals: Muhammad Salar Khan battled past Abdul Basit in a comeback victory: 1-6, 6-0, 6-1 whereas M. Hazik Aasim (Islamabad) upset 2nd seed Muhammad Yahya in straight sets: 6-1, 7-5, to book his place in the final. The championship has once again showcased Pakistan's emerging tennis talent, promising a bright future for the sport in the country. The finals in remaining categories are expected to be equally thrilling as the event draws to a close. On Saturday 24th May 2025: The Junior 18&Under singles final will start at 9:00 am, whereas men's singles final will be played at 4:00 pm.
