India | Pakistan

India clung on to beat England by seven runs in a thrilling T20 World Cup semi-final in Mumbai on Thursday, despite Jacob Bethell’s superb 105. After Sanju Samson’s scintillating 89 laid the platform for India to pile up a massive 253-7, England fell just short in what would have been a record chase, finishing on 246-7. Phil Salt (5), Harry Brook (7) and Jos Buttler (25) fell early, but Bethell, aided by Will Jacks (35) kept England in the hunt. The left-hander hit seven sixes and eight fours in his 48-ball thrash before his run out in the final over finally allowed India to celebrate in front of 35,000 jubilant fans in Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium. India will face New Zealand in Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad as they attempt to become the first team to retain the trophy and the first to win it on home soil. The hosts, having been asked to bat by Brook, earlier flayed England’s attack to all parts of the ground, hitting 19 sixes and 18 fours. Samson signalled his intent with a four and six off Jofra Archer’s first ...

The Foreign Office (FO) said on Thursday that the agreement between India and Canada for uranium supply represented “yet another country-specific exception in the field of civil nuclear cooperation”. On Monday, India and Canada reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power. “In civil nuclear energy, we have struck a landmark deal for long-term uranium supply,” Modi said, adding the countries would also work together on small modular reactors and advanced reactors. Responding to media queries on the matter, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said, “Pakistan has noted with concern the long-term uranium supply agreement concluded between Canada and India and potential cooperation on small modular reactors and advanced reactor technologies between the two sides. “This arrangement represents yet another country-specific exception in the field of civil nuclear cooperation,” he said. He maintained that “it is parti...

Harry Brook conceded on Wednesday that India were favourites to win the T20 World Cup on home soil, but warned them that England’s “perfect performance” was “just around the corner”. The previous two winners of the T20 World Cup — India won in 2024, England in 2022 — will go head-to-head in a blockbuster semi-final at Mumbai’s famed Wankhede stadium on Thursday night. The match will be played in a cauldron-like atmosphere — temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-30s Celsius with a capacity crowd of 35,000 Indian fans raising the roof. Hundreds of millions more will follow on TV and streaming sites across the cricket-obsessed nation. Asked if it gets any better than that, Brook said: “It’s up there for sure. “It’s a dream come true for most of us to play in a World Cup semi-final against the home nation on a very iconic ground,” the England captain told reporters at the Wankhede stadium, minutes before his side’s final training session ahead of the semi-final. “We’re obviously going into the game very conf...

England will go into their T20 World Cup semi-final against India with no fear, said all-rounder Sam Curran on Tuesday, adding that their first job would be to silence a raucous home crowd. England will take on the favourites and hosts in front of 35,000 fiercely partisan fans in Mumbai on Thursday, with a place in the final against South Africa or New Zealand at stake. The noise will be deafening at times in the cauldron-like confines of the Wankhede Stadium. But Curran said that because he and many of his England teammates — such as Will Jacks at the Mumbai Indians — play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), they will not be fazed. “It’s an experience as a young cricketer you dream of — playing India in the semi-final of a World Cup,” left-arm seamer Curran told reporters. Curran was in the international wilderness a year ago but forced his way back into the England squad with eye-catching performances in T20 franchise leagues, including the IPL. “India are a quality side but we’ve played a lot of cricket he...

India and Canada on Monday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust, and positivity,” Modi said. Ties effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi of orchestrating a deadly campaign against Sikh activists in Canada, accusations India rejected. Carney’s visit — his first to India since taking office last year — is not only aimed to reset strained ties, but also to push efforts to diversify trade beyond the United States. “There has been more engagement between the Canadian and Indian governments in the last year than there has been in more than two decades combined,” Carney said in New...

Sanju Samson’s sparkling unbeaten 97 kept alive India’s dream of retaining the T20 World Cup at home as they knocked out the West Indies with a five-wicket win in Kolkata on Sunday to set up a semi-final against England. Samson hit 12 fours and four sixes in his superb 50-ball knock in the winner-takes-all final Super Eights match to thrill a capacity 67,000 fans at a pulsating Eden Gardens. After the West Indies smacked 70 off the last five overs to score 195-4 after being asked to bat, India lost two early wickets but were always up with the required rate. Samson, opening for the second match in succession, led the way. When India slipped to 41-2, he was joined by captain Suryakumar Yadav (18) and the pair added 58 for the third wicket. Tilak Varma was next to join Samson and scored 27 off 15 before departing in the 15th over with the score 141-4 and India still needing 55. Samson stood firm and though Hardik Pandya fell for 17, India reached the target with four balls to spare to spark celebrations and fir...

NEW DELHI: India inaugurated its first semiconductor assembly and test facility on Saturday, a milestone in the government’s push to reduce dependence on foreign chipmakers and stake a claim in a sector dominated by China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened US firm Micron Tech­n­o­logy’s Semiconductor Assembly, Test and Packaging unit in his home state of Gujarat, hailing the “dawn of a new era” for India’s technology ambitions. “When young Indians look back in the future, they will see this decade as the turning point in our tech future,” Modi told the event, which was broadcast on his official YouTube channel. The plant will convert advanced semiconductor wafers from Micron’s global network into finished memory and storage products. India’s semiconductor market has expanded from $38 billion in 2023 to an estimated $45-50bn in 2024-25, with government targets of up to $110bn by 2030. New Delhi is currently developing 10 chip projects worth more than $18bn , including two cutting-edge 3-nanometre des­ign fac...

India revived their T20 World Cup campaign with their “fearless” brand of cricket ahead of a winner-takes-all decider against the West Indies for the last semi-final berth. Hot favourites to defend their title on home soil, India thrashed Zimbabwe by 72 runs in Chennai on Thursday to bounce back from their heavy defeat against South Africa in their Super Eights opener. India’s batting, led by opener Abhishek Sharma’s blistering 55 and an unbeaten 50 by Hardik Pandya, piled up 256-4, the second-highest total in the history of the tournament. In a brutal show of power hitting, the Indian batters demolished the opposition bowling with 17 sixes and 17 fours at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. India face the West Indies, who went down to South Africa by nine wickets, in Kolkata on Sunday to decide the second semi-finalist from Group 1. “We want to play fearless cricket, the brand of cricket we played today and we played since last year,” batter Tilak Varma said. “The same intent we want to keep in the next game as we...

Defending champions India thrashed Zimbabwe by 72 runs in their Super Eights T20 World Cup match on Thursday, a result that guaranteed South Africa a place in the semi-finals. India posted a mammoth 256-4 and then restricted Zimbabwe to 184-6 in Chennai to make their clash with West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday a winner-takes-all decider for the last semi-final berth. South Africa hammered the West Indies by nine wickets earlier in Ahmedabad. At Chennai’s MA Chidambaram stadium, opener Abhishek Sharma blasted 55 and Hardik Pandya an unbeaten 50 as India piled up the second highest total in the history of the tournament after being invited to bat first. “I think we wanted to leave everything behind. We didn’t think too much about what we did in the league stage or in the last game in Ahmedabad,” said India captain Suryakumar Yadav. “With contributions from the top order right down to number seven, I think there was hardly anything missing in our performance. He said they had not thought about what is now a knoc...

India will soon give final shape to a mutually beneficial free trade agreement with Israel, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday. The two countries will also pursue joint development, production, and transfer of technology in defence, Modi said at the end of his two-day trip aimed at strengthening ties with Israel. Modi said Tel Aviv and New Delhi agreed there was “no place for terrorism in the world”. “India and Israel are clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world, in any form… We will oppose it shoulder to shoulder. We will always oppose it in the future,” Modi said at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. “Humanity must never become a victim of conflict,” he added. Following their meeting, Netanyahu’s office said the “two leaders will sign a series of agreements between Israel and India in economic, security, and diplomatic fields”. Separately, Modi said he and Israeli President Isaac Herzog held “extremely fruitful and wide-ranging” t...

Pakistan on Thursday accused India of involvement in terrorism inside its territory and alleged that New Delhi is engaged in anti-Pakistan propaganda, while also warning that recent Israeli actions pose a serious threat to regional peace.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told lawmakers in Jerusalem on Wednesday that India stands “firmly” with Israel following Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023. Modi also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a two-day visit aimed at deepening trade and defence ties that has drawn criticism at home. “I … carry with me the deepest condolences of the people of India for every life lost and for every family whose world was shattered in the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7,” Modi said in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. “We feel your pain, we share your grief. India stands with Israel firmly with full conviction in this moment and beyond.” In his speech, Modi did not explicitly mention the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza during the more than two-year-long Israeli onslaught. But he said that India “supports all efforts that contribute to durable peace and regional stability”. Modi also told Israeli lawmakers that his country’s economic growth and Israel’s leadership...

The Israeli opposition has planned to boycott the address of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Knesset during his visit to the country, top Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Tuesday. The Indian prime minister will visit Israel from February 25 to 26, India’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday. It will be Modi’s second visit to Israel. According to the report, the opposition — led by Yair Lapid — is in a “standoff” with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana due to his decision not to invite the Israeli Supreme Court President Isaac Amit to attend a special session of the parliament “as is customary”. The report said that Lapid on Monday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure Amit’s invitation. According to Haaretz, Lapid, in a post on X, said: “We want to be in the session, we need to be in the session. Prime Minister Netanyahu must instruct Ohana to allow us to participate in the session.” As per the report, Lapid, while speaking in the Knesset last week, warned that “boycotting Justice Amit is...

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks about a plan to ally with India and other countries to counter Muslim nations. The resolution moved in the House by PPP’s Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan deplored the continued provocative steps and statements by the Israeli leadership that threatened the regional and international peace and stability, including the latest statement about forming “alliances” against Muslim nations. Addressing a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country “will create an entire system — essentially a kind of hexagon of alliances — around or within the Middle East”, Times of Israel reported. Netanyahu listed India, Greece, Cyprus, and “unnamed Arab, African and Asian countries”, the report added. “The intention here is to create an axis of countries that see reality, the challenges, and the goals in the same way, in contrast to the radical axes,” he was quoted as saying. “B...

Defending T20 World Cup champions India need “two big performances” to reach the semi-finals after Sunday’s huge defeat to South Africa, said their assistant coach. India came into the T20 World Cup as hot favourites on home soil but were thrashed by 76 runs in the Super Eights as 80,000 fans at the massive Narendra Modi stadium were stunned into silence. In their first chase of the tournament, India’s batting came up woefully short in the face of some disciplined South Africa bowling. India collapsed to 111 all out in 18.5 overs in response to South Africa’s 187-7 as their 12-match win streak in the T20 World Cup came to a crashing end. The magnitude of the defeat has left India with a desperate net run-rate of -3.8 and likely needing to win their last two Super Eight matches convincingly to make it to the semi-finals. Anything less and India will need to rely on a combination of other results going their way. “Very disappointed in the performance,” said Ryan ten Doeschate. “When you set out to win a World C...

South Africa ended India’s 12-match winning streak at the T20 World Cup with a crushing 76-run win in Ahmedabad on Sunday in the opening Group 1 Super Eights match. After a counter-attacking 63 by David Miller and some late hitting from Tristan Stubbs took South Africa to 187-7, the defending champions were all out for 111 in 18.5 overs, failing badly in their first chase of the tournament. Left-arm quick Marco Jansen finished with 4-22, while left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj took 3-24 as the South African bowlers exposed India’s fragile batting line-up. “Great performance. Very different type of wicket to what we’ve had here, so great to see the boys assess that pretty early and adapt their skills to execute their plans,” said South Africa captain Aiden Markram. “We’re really pumped for the bowling group. They’ve been working hard, started the comp a bit tough, but the way they rocked up tonight was a great effort.” Hot favourites to defend their crown on home soil, India will need to win their two remaining ...

India and Brazil agreed to boost cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after talks in New Delhi with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “The agreement on critical minerals and rare earths [is] a major step towards building resilient supply chains,” Modi said. Brazil has the world’s second-largest reserves of critical minerals, which are used in everything from electric vehicles, solar panels and smartphones to jet engines and guided missiles. India, seeking to cut its dependence on top exporter China, has been expanding domestic production and recycling while scouting for new suppliers. “Increasing investments and cooperation in matters of renewable energies and critical minerals is at the core of the pioneering agreement that we have signed today,” Lula said. The details of the deal were not immediately available. Nine other agreements and memoranda of understanding were finalised on Saturday, the foreign ministry’s spokesman said, touchin...

The United States is in “active negotiation” over the sale of Venezuelan oil to India, to help India diversify its sources of crude oil, US Envoy Sergio Gor said on Friday. The US has made diversification away from Russian crude a condition for cutting tariffs on goods imported from India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer. “The Department of Energy is speaking to the Ministry of Energy here, and so we’re hoping to have some news of that very soon,” Gor told reporters on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi where India joined the US-led Pax Silica initiative aimed at building a silicon supply chain for high-tech products. US President Donald Trump this month agreed to cut tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent under an interim trade deal. He also removed a 25pc punitive levy after India agreed to end the purchase of Russian oil, which the US said helps fund Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said India would buy more oil from the US and potentially Venezuela. A final trade deal with India wi...

France and India are entering a new era of defence cooperation with plans to jointly produce Rafale fighter jets as well as helicopters, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, adding France also hopes to sell more submarines to India. India’s expected order for another 114 Rafales is a “new step forward” in defence ties between the two countries and France hopes to see this replicated with submarines as well, Macron told reporters at the end of a three-day visit to India. “On Rafale, what we want to do is expand. India confirmed a few days ago its willingness to command a new bunch of Rafales … 114 … and to co-produce in India,” Macron said. The Defence Acquisition Council of India’s defence ministry last week gave initial clearance to acquire 114 more Rafale jets for the air force, besides other planes and missiles, months after the worst fighting in decades between India and Pakistan. So far, India has purchased 36 Rafales for its air force and ordered another 26 marine versions of the jet for t...

Bill Gates pulled out of India’s AI Impact Summit hours before his scheduled keynote address on Thursday, dealing another blow to a flagship event already marred by organisational lapses, a robot row and complaints of traffic chaos. Gates’ absence, followed by another high-profile cancellation by Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, adds to a difficult opening for a summit billed as the first major artificial intelligence forum in the Global South, where India has sought to position itself as a leading voice in worldwide AI governance. The Gates Foundation said the billionaire will not deliver his address “to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities”. Only days ago, the foundation had dismissed rumours of his absence and insisted he was on track to attend. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for children’s safety on AI platforms as he addressed the gathering on Thursday, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. “We must be ...