Latest news with #Po
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
IPL 2025: Lack of 'home' work cost Delhi Capitals this season
Delhi Capitals' captain Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and others at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals' campaign derailed when they arrived at their home ground at Ferozeshah Kotla in the Capital three weeks into the IPL season. They had won the first four games — two at their adopted home in Vizag and two away matches. With five home matches at Kotla up ahead, it seemed qualifying for the next round would not have been a problem. Yet, they ended up winning just one match at home, that too in the Super Over against Rajasthan Royals. The most glaring issue was the lack of homework done on the home ground. When the Capitals overhauled the entire coaching staff in Oct last year, the only pre-season visit to the Kotla, by head coach Hemang Badani, director Venugopal Rao and bowling coach Munaf Patel, was in late Feb. Badani was busy coaching Dubai Capitals in the ILT20. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The management decided to hold all pre-season training at co-owner GMR's facilities near Delhi airport. Before the tournament got underway, the players played just one practice match at Kotla before they moved to Vizag. Who's that IPL player? With the team going through massive changes after the mega auction, familiarity with the Kotla surface became evident. Even during the season, the team chose to skip Kotla and practice at its own facilities where pitch conditions are distinctly different. When TOI reached out to Badani, he refused to comment on the planning for the season. The team management wanted drier surfaces at Kotla to aid their spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav , Axar Patel and Vipraj Singh. Kevin Pietersen , who was brought in as a mentor at the last minute, had said true batters stand out on such surfaces. Pietersen had emphatically claimed in the middle of the campaign that KL Rahul should be batting at No. 4 for India in T20Is. Yet, the management used him erratically, be it making him open the innings or bat at No. 3 and No. 4. It clearly exposed the lack of clarity. The management chose to have 40-year-old Faf du Plessis as an opener, who struggled right through the tournament. Young Abhishek Porel was pushed to open the innings after Jake FraserMcgurk had a horrid run. When Porel got used to giving the team flying starts, Rahul was made to open since he got stuck against spinners in the middle overs. The role of Ashutosh Sharma was limited to the last five overs despite him pulling off a heist in the opening match of the season. IPL 2025: The unsung heroes of India's T20 league Axar's indifferent season, under-utilised Kuldeep New captain Axar Patel seemed to be more focused on carrying the middle-order as a batter than playing a significant role as a bowler. He clearly underbowled himself and rarely finished his spell. He ended up getting just five wickets and only managed to score 263 runs. It all came down to Kuldeep Yadav. Interestingly, Kuldeep wasn't used in the Powerplay unlike the last season. Instead, he bowled his overs sporadically. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
Business Times
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Times
China vows to ready emergency plans, signals calm amid trade war
[BEIJING] China vowed to 'fully prepare' emergency plans to ward against increasing external shocks, taking a patient approach in defending growth as a deepening trade war with US President Donald Trump piles pressure on the world's No 2 economy. The decision-making Politburo led by President Xi Jinping also pledged on Friday (Apr 25) to set up new monetary tools and policy financing instruments to boost technology, consumption and trade, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Such steps could allow for faster deployment of low-cost credit for investment in targeted areas. 'We must keep improving the policy toolbox to stabilise employment and the economy, and launch measures already planned at an earlier date,' top leaders said, according to the readout. They also pledged to 'go all out to consolidate the fundamentals of economic development and social stability.' Beijing is signalling it is in no rush to be aggressive in expanding economic stimulus just a month after unveiling measures including a commitment to run a record-high budget deficit. China's stronger-than-expected growth in the first quarter bought more time for the government to consider new steps. 'The stimulus hope is still alive as it vowed to add new incremental policies and enhance extraordinary countercyclical adjustments,' said Zhaopeng Xing, senior strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group. 'But the leaders clearly adopt a wait and see approach.' Policymakers reiterated China should free more cash for banks 'when needed,' and carefully 'pick the timing' for rate cuts. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Futures on 30-year government bonds jumped the most since Apr 9 after the Politburo's comments on timely rate and reserve requirement ratio cuts. The yield for 10-year notes stayed little changed and the offshore yuan was flat. China's onshore stock benchmark CSI 300 Index closed 0.1 per cent higher after an advance of as much as 0.5 per cent. 'China's Politburo on Friday sent a calmer message than the market expected – yes, emergency trade-war plans are being prepared to support the economy, but no, it's not an all-in moment,' said Bloomberg Economics economists Eric Zhu and David Qu. 'The meeting readout suggests the focus remains on executing the stimulus plan approved in early March – with faster delivery – and sticking to medium and long-term reform plans.' Beijing has typically dispensed support only when warranted to protect the nation's annual growth goal. While expansion in the first quarter came in above the government's target of about 5 per cent for this year, more stimulus is still needed as the economy could lose momentum significantly from April, when Trump's punitive reciprocal tariffs kicked in. The authorities may unleash more economic aid when they get a better idea of the prospects of trade negotiations with the US, with the next huddle of the Politburo in three months' time a window to watch, according to Jacqueline Rong, chief China economist at BNP Paribas. 'Policymakers will likely wait until the July Politburo meeting to unveil new stimulus,' she said. 'Because by then two things will become clearer: how trade talks with the US will go and how the economy is faring with most of the policies approved at the Two Sessions having been rolled out,' she said, referring to the annual legislative session. The Xinhua report came one day after Beijing dismissed claims from the US that there were talks on reaching a trade deal. China's Commerce Ministry also re-upped its demand this week for Washington to revoke all unilateral tariffs, showing it's in no rush to start negotiations despite Trump's suggestion he could substantially lower levies in a deal. Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun reiterated on Friday that 'China and the US are not having any consultation or negotiation on tariffs.' Speaking at a daily press briefing, he said 'the US should not mislead the public.' Some of the pledges from the Politburo readout have been previously floated by senior officials, such as a 'sci-tech board' in the bond market and relending facilities for elderly care, as well boosting service consumption. The meeting appears to be giving the tasks greater urgency after Trump hiked levies on most Chinese goods to as high as 145 per cent. The 24-member Politburo typically uses its April huddle to discuss economic issues. While the readouts rarely reveal numerical targets, the vaguely worded statements can give important clues on policy shifts. This month's meeting is being closely watched for any signs of Beijing rolling out stimulus. 'We must strengthen the bottom-line thinking and fully prepare contingency plans to concrete do well the economic work,' top leader said in the meeting readout, adding that more work needed to be done to allow the economy to keep recovering. BLOOMBERG
South China Morning Post
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Jackie Chan and Jet Li played kung fu hero Wong Fei-hung in film, but what's the story behind the legend?
Po Fung spent 20 years researching the life and times of the legendary martial arts master and medicine man Wong Fei-hung . But, 'over the past century, his life has been added to, layer upon layer,' says Po, ahead of the 100th anniversary of Wong's death this week, on April 17. 'There are no real records, no recordings, not even a photo of him.' Advertisement The no-photo claim is contested, and even the date of his passing has been called into question. What is not disputed, however, is the outsize effect this man from Guangdong has had on Chinese culture over the past 100 years. Kwan Tak-hing (right) plays the title role in The Story of Wong Fei-hung, Part 1 (1949). Photo: courtesy Youqiao Film Company According to academics such as Po, a noted film critic and former research officer at the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA), currently relaxing into retirement in Taiwan, Wong died impoverished and embittered in 1925, not knowing he would posthumously become a hero. In the century since his death, the martial artist has been the inspiration for a continuous stream of novels and comics, and more than 100 movies and television series stretching back to the first film to use his character, Wu Pang's The Story of Wong Fei-hung, Part 1, released in Hong Kong in 1949. Jackie Chan reprised Wong's character in 1978's Drunken Master , Jet Li followed suit in Once Upon a Time in China , in 1991, and, more recently, Eddie Peng Yu-yan took a turn in 2014's Rise of the Legend As a master of the southern style of kung fu, hung ga in particular, Wong passed on teachings still followed by hundreds of thousands of students across the globe, 'but what do we know about him as a man?' asks Po. 'We don't know much, so I guess that allows people to create whomever they want from him.' Jet Li in a still from Once Upon a Time in China (1991). Photo: courtesy Golden Harvest Most agree Wong was born around 1847 in the village of Luzhou, in Guangdong province, into a family deeply rooted in martial arts. His father, Wong Kei-ying, was one of the 'Ten Tigers of Canton', a group of martial artists who traced their skills and teachings back to the legendary Southern Shaolin monastery, said to have existed in the Tang dynasty (AD618-907). Advertisement
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
5 men tied to Tren de Aragua arrested in Osceola, Polk sheriff says
Five Venezuelan immigrants with alleged ties to Tren de Aragua have been jailed in Osceola County following a string of dozens of retail thefts committed throughout Central Florida, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The suspects — identified as Alexis Rodriguez-Benavides, 27; Samuel Anthony-Charle, 25; Darwins Vasquez-Leon, 28; Ildemaro Escalona-Mendoza, 26; and Ramon Carpintero-Luna, 26 — are accused of stealing from stores in eight counties, including Orange, Osceola and Seminole, the agency said in a Friday news release. Rodriguez-Benavides and Anthony-Charle were listed by the agency as being 'documented members' of Tren de Aragua, which began as a prison gang in Venezuela but is now a transnational criminal outfit targeted by state and federal authorities. The group has become notorious as the Trump administration maintains it is directed by the Venezuelan government, a claim contradicted by a U.S. intelligence assessment. President Donald Trump has invoked war powers to deport its alleged members without customary due process on that basis, triggering a series of court battles. The other suspects in the local case are considered 'associates' of the gang, but an agency spokesperson was unable to say how investigators linked them. Their identities, however, were revealed following a robbery early March of a Sam's Club in Lakeland, where surveillance video reportedly shows the men attempting to steal thousands of dollars in high-end liquor before being chased off by a store employee. Dubbed 'scotch bandits' by the Sheriff's Office in images released to news outlets, the video showed them salvaging two cases of liquor before speeding away from the scene. The getaway car was then abandoned after getting stuck atop a bush when the driver hopped a concrete curb in a nearby parking lot. The abandoned vehicle, authorities said, contained the stolen merchandise, cellphones and a passport. Osceola County jail records show two of the men, Anthony-Charle and Escalona-Mendoza, have sat in the hoosegow since March 20, charged with crimes stemming from an armed robbery at an apartment complex in Kissimmee. Escalona-Mendoza, according to court filings, is the accused gunman who detectives said held up two people looking to lease a unit, taking with him several credit cards and $2,300 in cash. While investigators said surveillance video did not show how the suspects escaped, Anthony-Charle allegedly made several transactions with the cards, including attempted purchases at a nearby Walmart and a barbershop. Their criminal cases as of Friday are ongoing, and it's unclear whether those are part of the string of statewide robberies now being handled by Florida's Office of Statewide Prosecution. As for Vasquez-Leon, he was jailed Wednesday after he was caught driving without a license with his Venezuelan passport as his only form of identification, according to one affidavit. Rodriguez-Benavides and Carpintero-Luna were arrested the same day on a Polk County warrant, though it's unclear from available records how they were found. All five men entered the U.S. illegally, the Sheriff's Office said, and their arrests have already caught the attention of the Department of Homeland Security. Florida officials have ramped up immigration enforcement efforts following President Trump's return to office on the pledge to tackle criminal organizations like Tren de Aragua, the scourge du jour of agencies seeking to support the president's agenda. To date, scores of immigrants with alleged ties to Tren de Aragua and other gangs have been arrested statewide and elsewhere, though the evidence tying them to these groups has at times appeared scant. Gov. Ron DeSantis trumpeted the arrest of Franklin Jimenez-Bracho, an alleged Tren de Aragua member captured in Osceola County after years in the U.S. According to Venezuelan news media, Jimenez-Bracho, nicknamed 'El Patalisa,' was among the 10 criminals most wanted by Interpol, which placed him on their list in 2021 for extortion, contract killing and human trafficking. He's also wanted in the country for the killings of his wife and her cousin.
The Independent
11-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Man Utd trio provide the answer to Ruben Amorim's biggest problem
Another night, another bright spark, another calamity – or two. As Ruben Amorim looks to mould the Manchester United squad into one that is his own, there have been signs of improvement over recent weeks, and there were more last night despite the Red Devils slipping to a 2-2 draw in Lyon. This was a performance that was encouraging in places, with United probably the better of the two sides with Bruno Fernandes and Leny Yoro particularly impressive. But in a match that briefly looked like one of the most positive of Ruben Amorim's reign, there were, once again, a few reminders of the scale of the job the Portuguese has on his hands, as Andre Onana 's mistakes meant that United had to settle for a draw. And as he tries to win the Europa League, Amorim is battling the same problems that many managers face – in terms of injuries, set-up and personnel – though it seems as though he is at a loss as to what the defining factor is in United's mixed form. But it is precisely these issues that Amorim will have to solve in Europe if his side are to win the competition, with victory potentially providing a vital stepping stone in the Portuguese's Old Trafford rebuild. In terms of Amorim's problems, the team's style and formation make all the headlines, but for all the talk of the 3-4-2-1, United's results are consistently influenced by moments of quality – or, as was the case yesterday, a lack thereof – rather than the system itself. The attacking is often slow and ponderous rather than clearly rehearsed or deeply ingrained, and though there are glimpses of the sorts of attacking runs Amorim wants his players to make, they are less frequent than they should be. They have improved somewhat defensively as a unit, but United still leak goals and look worryingly open at times at the back. But is this a case of Amorim's tactics or a lack of player ability and intelligence? It seems he may not even know. Many will point to the latter as a first retort, citing the performances of Onana, Rasmus Hojlund and others as they ask what more Amorim could do. But the answer was clear against Lyon, with the general improvement in the team evident after the introduction of Joshua Zirkzee alongside the previously sidelined Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount. That trio's cameos illustrated that the gap in quality between some players is simply bewildering, and Amorim must be quietly excited as to what he could produce if all of his favoured players stay fit until the end of the season. If he can find a way to balance the quality available to him with his favoured formation, United would theoretically have more than enough to win the competition, with each remaining side capable of surprisingly poor performances, as evidenced by Athletic Bilbao's draw to 10-man Rangers and Lazio's 2-0 loss to Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt. And while the system-personnel debate will remain a vicious circle at the club, with no clear answer until Amorim has a few transfer windows, unfortunately the Portuguese needs a solution now, even if it means some compromises. Normally it would seem foolish to put so much importance on a Europa League campaign, but such is the need for change within the squad and the club as a whole that winning the tournament could be pivotal for Amorim's longer-term future at Old Trafford. This is due in part to the financial ramifications of a place in next season's Champions League, which would help alleviate the problems caused by the club's well-publicised PSR struggles. In one scenario, United have another transfer window akin to the one we saw a few months ago, with a sombre mood around the club as it reflects on one of its worst-ever seasons. On the other, there is a less shackled summer in which United also becomes an attractive prospect for transfer targets, with the good feeling of Amorim's maiden trophy making United a positive place to be again, dispelling, however briefly, the 'toxic' reputation that the club has fallen into. Plenty of ifs, buts and maybes, plenty of intangibles, but there is one certainty – the Europa League could prove to make or break for Amorim given the club's current fragility. And it is a mix of these complicated factors that add up to put the former Sporting manager at a potentially vital – though perhaps hidden – crossroads just six months or so into the job. He won't be sacked for not winning the Europa League, but finding an immediate solution to his issues could be the difference between long-term success and failure. And so the stage is set for next week's second leg against Lyon at Old Trafford. Win, and it could be a step towards a successful rebuild for Amorim. Lose, and it could be the beginning of the end already.
