Sai Sudharsan ahead of KL Rahul, Virat Kohli in elite IPL list

Gujarat Titans batter Sai Sudharsan has the best average in IPL since 2025. He has been one of the most consistent performers in the tournament, having scored three half-centuries in his last five IPL matches and is second on the IPL Orange Cap list.

Gujarat Titans batter Sai Sudharsan has the best batting average in IPL since 2020. The 24-year-old has been extremely consistent in the cash-rich league, having scored 1307 runs in 30 matches at a strike rate of 141.60. He made his IPL debut in 2022 and courtesy of his consistent performances in the tournament and also in domestic cricket, Sudharsan made his international debut in 2023.

In Gujarat’s last match against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025, Sudharsan made 82 runs off 53 deliveries as the hosts won the match by 58 runs. Meanwhile, courtesy of his fifth half-century in the last 10 IPL innings, Sudharsan surpassed KL Rahul to become the batter with the best average in the tournament. Rahul currently stands second with 48.24 while Sudharsan has 48.41.

Devon Conway stands third with an average of 47.9, Heinrich Klaasen 41.5 and Virat Kohli stands fifth with an average of 41.13.

Best average in IPL since 2020

PlayerRuns since 2020Average since 2020Sai Sudharsan130748.41KL Rahul279848.24Devon Conway100647.90Heinrich Klaasen107941.50Virat Kohli275641.13

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Bangladesh court issues arrest warrant against Sheikh Hasina and 18 others in graft case

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal earlier issued two identical arrest warrants against Hasina, her political colleagues and senior civil and military officials on charges like crimes against humanity.

A Bangladeshi court on Thursday issued a fresh arrest warrant against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her daughter Saima Wajed Putul, and 17 others, in connection with a graft case involving the illegal procurement of a residential plot. The arrest warrants were issued after the accused failed to appear in court, and the court accepted a charge sheet submitted by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain Galib accepted the ACC's charge sheet and ordered the arrest of the absconding individuals. The case revolves around allegations that Hasina and her daughter used fraudulent means to obtain a residential plot in the Purbachal New City Housing Project, located on the outskirts of Dhaka.

According to the charge sheet, Putul exerted undue influence on her mother, then-Prime Minister Hasina, to bypass the state-run Rajdhani Unyan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) and unlawfully secure the plot, violating the legal procedures governing land allocation. The ACC claims that Putul and her family already owned properties in Dhaka, further undermining the legitimacy of their actions.

Putul, who is currently serving as the South East Asian regional director for the World Health Organisation (WHO) in New Delhi, has also been implicated in the case.

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PM Modi talks tough with Yunus over northeast remarks: 'Any rhetoric that vitiates…'

PM Modi met Bangladesh Interim Government's Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC meeting in Thailand. PM Modi underlined in his meeting that any rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided, which is seen as India's response to Yunus' remarks on northeast states.

In what can be seen as India's response to Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus' remarks on northeast states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his meeting with the Chief Advisor, underlined that any rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided. He also emphasised that strict enforcement of the law and prevention of illegal border crossing, especially at night, is necessary for maintaining border stability and security, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

Yunus' remaks on northeast states stoke controversy

Last week, during his China visit, Yunus urged Beijing to extend its economic influence to Bangladesh. He also made a controversial statement, mentioning that India’s northeastern states being landlocked could prove to be an opportunity.

“It’s very important that we see China as our good friend,” Yunus said, projecting Beijing as a balancing factor against New Delhi. He expects bilateral relations to enter a new stage, Yunus told Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency in an interview.

Yunus' remarks drew reactions from India

Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economy advisory council, posted the video on X and questioned why Yunus mentioned India’s northeastern region.

“Interesting that Yunus is making a public appeal to the Chinese on the basis that 7 states in India are landlocked. China is welcome to invest in Bangladesh, but what exactly is the significance of 7 Indian states being landlocked?” he said.

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MS Dhoni returns as Chennai Super Kings captain after Ruturaj Gaikwad ruled out of IPL 2025 with fractured elbow

“Ruturaj Gaikwad ruled out the IPL due to a fracture on his elbow. MS Dhoni will be the captain in the remaining games,” CSK coach Fleming told reporters.

MS Dhoni returned as the Chennai Super Kings captain for the first time since their title-winning run in IPL 2023 after regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the remainder of IPL 2025. On the eve of their match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming confirmed that Gaikwad has a fracture on his left elbow and will not take further part in the 18th season.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and MS Dhoni(REUTERS)

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“Ruturaj Gaikwad ruled out the IPL due to a fracture on his elbow. We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as the captain in the remaining games,” Fleming told reporters in Chennai on Thursday.

“We are disappointed and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he has made in terms of trying to play, but unfortunately, he will be out of the tournament,” Fleming added.

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Soil From the Moon's Far Side Suggests Drier Conditions Than the Side Facing Earth

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  Soil and rocks returned from the moon's far side suggest it may be drier than the side constantly facing Earth

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Soil and rocks returned from the moon’s mysterious far side suggest it may be drier than the side constantly facing Earth, Chinese scientists reported Wednesday.

But they cautioned more samples are needed for a clearer picture.

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A better understanding of the abundance of water in the lunar mantle can help explain how the moon evolved, the researchers noted. But it could also be all the more reason for astronauts to stick close to the near side of the moon as currently planned.

China became the first country to land on the moon’s far side last year. The Chang’e 6 spacecraft scooped up the volcanic rock and dirt from the ancient, sprawling South Pole-Aitken basin, one of the largest impact craters in the solar system.

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The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Sen Hu said he and his team received 5 grams of soil samples, then selected 578 particles for detailed analysis using electron microscopes.

They estimated the water abundance at less than 1.5 micrograms per gram, on the dry end of what’s been found in samples gathered over past decades from the moon’s near side. Measurements on samples from the near side have ranged between 1 microgram and 200 micrograms per gram.

                                             

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Autocracies Are Growing. An Expert Wonders if the U.S. Might be Next.

A report estimates there were more global autocracies than democracies in 2024. Its lead author is worried about the way the American winds are blowing under Donald Trump.

       Key Takeaways:There were more autocracies than democracies around the world last year, an analysis shows.The number of people living in “autocratizing” countries comprises 40% of the world’s population.President Donald Trump’s early actions and ‘disregard of rule of law’ are ‘extremely worrying,’ the V-Dem Institute’s founding director says.

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                   Is democracy on the decline? One research institution says not only is the answer to that question “yes,” but that the decline has been happening for years – and the so-called democratic recession is deepening.The world in 2024 had more autocracies – meaning governments with at the very least “insufficient” levels of democratic freedoms, such as freedom of expression and association and free and fair elections – than democracies for the first time in more than two decades, according to a recent report from the Sweden-based V-Dem Institute. In total, 45 countries were “autocratizing” last year – an increase from 42 that were moving away from more democracy in 2023. That amounts to more than 3 billion people, or 40% of the world’s population.Data used in V-Dem’s analysis – which relies upon thousands of experts and more than 600 indicators assessing concepts such as government censorship, media bias and autonomy for opposition parties – only covers events until the end of 2024. But its researchers still included a whole section dedicated to the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has tested the limits of executive branch authority over the course of

• In fact, if trends described by the authors continue throughout 2025, the United States’ government regime would “definitely” be reclassified in next year’s annual “Democracy Report,” says Staffan Lindberg, an author and editor of the report, founding director of the V-Dem Institute and a professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

  “Normally, these things – over the past 25 years – play out over up to 10 years before democracy is sort of done away with,” Lindberg says. “The Trump administration was just unleashing all of it at the same time, more or less.”

  

  
  

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Priyansh Arya mocked by friends, told 'you won't get more than 1 crore' in IPL auction, used INR 45,000 to realise dream

Priyansh Arya's coach Sanjay Bharadwaj narrated an incident that spurred the Punjab Kings youngster to go even bigger than his potential.

Priyansh Arya is here, and he's taken the IPL 2025 by storm. The Punjab Kings youngster, who blew a tad cold after an encouraging start in the first against Gujarat Titans, with scores of 47, 8 and 0, utilised his full potential to bludgeon a maiden IPL century against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday. Priyansh's innings, laced with 4 fours and 9 sixes, along with a half-century from Shashank Singh, powered PBKS to 219/6. In reply, CSK, despite a good chasing effort, fell 18 runs short, finishing on 201/5 to suffer their fourth defeat of the season.

CSK never recovered from Priyansh Arya's assault(AFP)

Priyansh's journey from the lowkey alleys of Delhi to playing for the IPL 2014 finalists is a testament to the roller-coaster ride he has been on. It is common knowledge that making it big in Delhi cricket isn't easy. Not many know, but Priyansh Arya's coach Sanjay Bharadwaj, a renowned figure in the Delhi cricketing circuit, landed him the Delhi U19 trials, and if he hadn't gone out of his way, it might not have been possible. The coach paid a hefty club tournament entry fee of INR 45,000 so that his pupil would have a shot at the Delhi U19 trials.

"He was not in the U19 selection process. There was a tournament that a former India player was organising. The U19 selector was Gurusharan Singh. I wanted Priyansh to feature in the tournament as I was confident he would become the Player of the Series. I thought if he ends up performing well, I will request Gurusharan to consider him for a trial," Bharadwaj told The Hindustan Times.

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Trump Reverses Course on Global Tariffs, Announcing 90-Day Pause

The president further raised already steep tariffs on China, saying that Beijing should not have retaliated against his earlier trade actions.

President Trump on Wednesday abruptly reversed course on steep global tariffs that have roiled markets, upset members of his own party and raised fears of a recession. Just hours after he put punishing levies into place on nearly 60 countries, the president said he would pause them for 90 days.

But Mr. Trump did not extend that pause to China, opting instead to raise tariffs again on all Chinese imports, bringing those taxes to a whopping 125 percent. That decision came after Beijing raised its levies on American goods to 84 percent on Wednesday afternoon in an escalating tit-for-tat between the world’s largest economies.

In a post on Truth Social, the president said that he had authorized “a 90 day PAUSE” in which countries would face “a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff” of 10 percent. As a result, nearly every U.S. trading partner now faces a 10 percent blanket tariff, on top of 25 percent tariffs that Mr. Trump has imposed on cars, steel and aluminum.

Slumping markets quickly rallied after Mr. Trump’s post. The S&P 500 climbed several percentage points in a matter of minutes and closed with a rise of more than 9 percent, sharply reversing days of losses. Wednesday was the best day for the S&P 500 since the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis.

Nearly every stock in the index rose. Airlines, some tech companies and Tesla were among those companies to soar over 20 percent. Shares of automakers rose sharply even though 25 percent tariffs on imported cars remain in place. Ford and General Motors both rose more than 7 percent.

Mr. Trump, who for days had insisted he was not concerned about the market rout, acknowledged on Wednesday that the downturn had fed into his decision.

“Over the last few days it looked pretty glum,” Mr. Trump said. “I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line,” he said, in explaining his decision. “They were getting yippy. They were getting a little bit afraid.”

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Republicans in US Congress sweat Trump tariffs' hit to retirees, a critical constituency

• Summary

• Congressional Republicans worry about tariffs' toll ahead of midterm elections
• Older voters crucial for Republican victories
• Poll shows older Americans support long-term benefits despite short-term pain

WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) - Republicans in Congress are worried that the market rout sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs is taking a heavy toll on retirees and people approaching retirement age - a critical constituency for their party.

Stocks have plummeted in the week since Trump kicked off a trade war with the U.S.' major trading partners while Treasuries have also been hit with fresh selling pressure, weighing on the private 401(k) accounts and other investments Americans rely on to fund their retirements.

The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here.

Some Republican lawmakers have expressed worry this week about the hit to Americans' investments ahead of next year's midterm elections, when control of both chambers of Congress will be up for grabs.

"People are going to look at their 401(k) statements. They did vote for President Trump and they voted for me. ... I'm just trying to figure out if they are going to feel good about this," said Thom Tillis of North Carolina, one of seven Senate Republicans who have signed on to a bipartisan bill that would give Congress the authority to review and override new tariffs.

Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana expressed similar concern.

"It's not fun. I don't like it. I like it when the market goes up," Kennedy told reporters. He said he wants to give Trump's gambit a chance, but that the president ought to do a better job of informing the public about his short-term goals.

"We don't know how long it'll take (to see positive results), we don't know what the short-term consequences will be," Kennedy said. "We don't know if the medicine will be worse than the disease."

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How to Best Prepare for a Colonoscopy

Learn how to effectively prepare for a colonoscopy. This involves clearing your bowels so that your gastroenterologist can examine the inside of your colon to screen for cancer.

A colonoscopy is considered the gold standard when it comes to screening for colon polyps and colorectal cancer. Yet a colonoscopy – and the steps required to get one – can cause a spike of anxiety. But don't worry. Understanding the health benefits and the correct way to prepare for this routine procedure can assuage any apprehension.

While people often dread the prep involved for a colonoscopy, the screening saves lives. Read more to learn how to best prepare for this procedure, how much time it will take and other important information you should know about colonoscopies.

             Key Takeaways

• A colonoscopy is considered the gold standard for screening of colon polyps and colorectal cancer. It is a direct visualization of the entire colon and even allows the removal of any polyps that may be found.
• Colonoscopies are performed in an outpatient setting at hospitals or ambulatory surgery centers. During a colonoscopy, patients are put under sedation, and a flexible tube with a camera at the tip is inserted through the anus and into the rectum and colon.
• The procedure itself is painless, but the prep is often considered challenging. The goal is to empty your bowels so your gastroenterologist can properly examine the inside of your colon. If there's still stool in your colon, your doctor may not be able to see polyps or other problems and you may need to have the procedure again.
• Follow your medical provider's advice on bowel preparation for your colonoscopy, including adjusting your diet, drinking only clear fluids the day before the procedure and taking prescribed bowel cleansing liquids and/or pills.
  
  
  

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RFK Jr. Visits West Texas After Second Measles Death: What to Know

  A second school-aged child died after contracting measles as cases in West Texas near 500.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., right, arrives at Reinlander Mennonite Church, April 6, 2025, in Seminole, Texas.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. visited West Texas after the measles-related death of a second school-aged child to “console the families” and “to support Texas health officials” in efforts to control an outbreak that has reached nearly 500 cases with two pediatric deaths.

“I came to Gaines County, Texas, today to comfort the Hildebrand family after the loss of their 8-year-old daughter Daisy," Kennedy posted Sunday on social media. “I got to know the family of 6-year-old Kayley Fehr after she passed away in February. I also developed bonds with and deep affection for other members of this community during that difficult time.”

“My intention was to come down here quietly to console the families and to be with the community in their moment of grief,” he added.

Kennedy said he was also visiting the area to support state and local health officials to learn how HHS could partner with them to stem the spread of an outbreak that has infected 481 individuals across 19 counties throughout the South Plains and Panhandle regions as of April 4.

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Trump’s global tariffs LIVE: Trade war escalates as China, EU counterattack

The latest set of U.S. tariffs, including a massive 104% levy on Chinese imports, take effect on Wednesday (April 9, 2025), leaving markets around the world worried about whether the tariffs would be permanent or U.S. President Donald Trump would bring them down with negotiations.

Analysts have warned that financial markets will experience more swings up and down, given the uncertainty over how long Mr. Trump will keep the stiff tariffs on imports. It is expected to cause a recession if they last a long time.

Trump’s reciprocal tariff: Here’s the full list of targeted countries

China said it will “fight to the end” and warned of countermeasures after Mr. Trump threatened on Monday to raise his tariffs even further on the world’s second-largest economy.

Mr. Trump, on April 2, had unveiled a raft of punishing tariffs targeting countries around the world, including some of its closest trading partners, in a move that risks sparking a global trade war.

(With inputs from agencies)

Follow the latest updates here:

• APRIL 09, 2025 22:43

  Difficult situation in various sectors due to Trump tariffs, but India will overcome it: Ajit Pawar

  Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said a “difficult” situation prevails in various sectors due to US President Donald Trump’s retaliatory tariffs and expressed confidence that India would sail through it.

  “Due to the retaliatory tariff policy of the US, a difficult situation in various sectors, including trade and exports, is prevailing. Those in the US who voted Trump to power are now discontent (against his policies),” said Pawar.

  Pawar, who is also the State’s Finance Minister, said Trump does whatever he thinks is right, and his moves are now impacting other countries.

  He added that a lot of exports take place from India to the U.S., and Trump’s tariff policy has impacted all the exporters in the country.

  Pawar said that after the U.S. raised the tariff for China to 104%, the latter has also decided to increase it.

  “This shows that the decision by Trump regarding tariffs has led to a sort of unstable situation in the world. This situation has impacted all countries, including India,” he said.

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