India’s cricket board elects Devajit Saikia to top job

India’s powerful and hugely wealthy cricket board on Sunday elected its new chief, former player and advocate Devajit Saikia, the only person nominated to the top post.”Devajit Saikia is declared duly elected as the Secretary of BCCI”, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said in a statement.Saikia, 55, succeeds Jay Shah who left the position to become chairman of the International Cricket Council, the global governing body.Businessman and state cricket administrator Prabhtej Singh Bhatia has been appointed BCCI treasurer, the board added.Shah’s departure last month to become chairman of the ICC prompted the appointment of Saikia, who was already on the BCCI board as interim secretary.An unknown among fans after a modest playing career, Saikia has close ties with India’s ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Saikia began in administration by serving as general secretary of a cricket club in the northeastern state of Assam under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma.Sarma is now Assam’s chief minister for the BJP, which has governed India nationally since 2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Saikia and Sarma both later served in the Assam state cricket association. When Sarma was tapped to lead the state, he appointed Saikia his advocate general — the government’s chief legal adviser.Saikia was a wicketkeeper-batsman with modest returns in first-class cricket where he played four matches for his home state Assam, scoring just 53 runs.

Apple wants to keep diversity programs disavowed by other US firms

Apple’s board of directors has recommended shareholders vote against a proposal to end the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, going against the grain of decisions by other large US corporates.The National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, proposed Apple shareholders consider ending the firm’s DEI program to prevent lawsuits following a 2023 Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action in universities. But the Apple board has recommended voting against the proposal when it meets late this month.”The proposal is unnecessary as Apple already has a well-established compliance program,” said the board, which includes Tim Cook, the California-based company’s boss. “The proposal also inappropriately attempts to restrict Apple’s ability to manage its own ordinary business operations, people and teams, and business strategies,” it said, accusing the think-tank of trying to “micromanage” the company. The board said the iPhone maker “is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in recruiting, hiring, training, or promoting on any basis protected by law”. The proposal will be put to a shareholder vote at Apple’s annual general meeting on February 25. Following in the footsteps of McDonald’s, Ford, Walmart and a host of others, Meta became the latest US firm to end its DEI programs. The Friday announcement by Meta which owns Facebook and Instagram, comes amid what it described as “a changing legal and policy landscape”.President-elect Donald Trump who takes office next week, has been a harsh critic of Meta and its owner Mark Zuckerberg for years, accusing the company of bias against him and threatening to retaliate against the tech billionaire once back in office.Zuckerberg has been moving aggressively to reconcile with Trump since his election in November, including donating $1 million to his inauguration fund and hiring a Republican as his public affairs chief.Republicans are also fiercely against DEI programs in corporate America, many of which were established in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter movement and the nation’s attempt to reckon with longstanding racial disparities.

Indian Hindu pilgrims take the plunge ahead of largest gathering

Indian farmer Govind Singh travelled for nearly two days by train to reach what he believes is the “land of the gods” — just one among legions of Hindu pilgrims joining the largest gathering of humanity.The millennia-old Kumbh Mela, a sacred show of religious piety and ritual bathing that opens Monday, is held at the site where the holy Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers meet.This edition of the mega fair, in the north Indian city of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh state, is believed to be the biggest ever.Organisers expect up to 400 million pilgrims from India and beyond over six weeks, running from January 13 to February 26.”It feels great to be in the land of the gods for the Kumbh Mela,” said the 53-year-old Singh, who came from a village in Madhya Pradesh state, a journey of more than 600 kilometres (375 miles). “I will stay as long as the gods want me to.”The riverside in Prayagraj has turned into a vast tent city.Many pilgrims are already taking dips in the chilly water, with temperatures on the banks at midday around 20 degrees Celsius (around 70 degrees Fahrenheit).A shivering Sunny Pratap Gaur’s eyes teared up and his teeth clenched in the cold as he stood by the river after a bath in the grey waters.But he said he was happy to have “beaten the crowds” with his early dip. “I took leave from the office to be here,” said Gaur, a mid-level government bureaucrat from the state capital Lucknow.- ‘Another world’ -Beyond the bathing area, scores of boats lined up, offering pilgrims a trip to the Sangam, the spot believed to be the confluence of the three rivers.Hindus believe bathing there during the Kumbh helps cleanse sins and brings salvation.The festival is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for control of a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality.”Hundreds of boatmen from all over the state have come with their boats to serve the pilgrims,” said Ramheet Nishad, one of them.Sprawling fields of tents — divided into sectors, complete with restaurants, shops and makeshift toilets — flank the river.Wealthier pilgrims camp in luxurious tents; more humble ones huddle under tarpaulin sheets.Saffron-robed monks and the naked ash-smeared ascetics roam the crowds, offering blessings to devotees.They will lead the dawn charge into the river waters on the most auspicious bathing dates.The massive congregation is also an occasion for Uttar Pradesh’s local Hindu nationalist government to burnish its credentials. Billboard after billboard lists the government’s achievements — some with QR codes linked to a specially designed website advertising the state’s public schemes.Indian police said they were “conducting relentless day-and-night patrols to ensure top-notch security” for the event.But for some visitors, the fair transcends politics and religion –- a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”It is about the feel,” said 26-year-old Rohit Singh. “The people, the river, it is another world.”

Cyclone-ravaged Mayotte on high alert as new storm approachesSun, 12 Jan 2025 07:46:00 GMT

Residents of the French territory of Mayotte braced Sunday for a storm expected to bring strong winds and flash floods less than a month after the Indian Ocean archipelago was devastated by a deadly cyclone.Mayotte was placed on red alert from 1900 GMT on Saturday in anticipation of the passage of Dikeledi, a storm forecast …

Cyclone-ravaged Mayotte on high alert as new storm approachesSun, 12 Jan 2025 07:46:00 GMT Read More »

Jean-Marie Le Pen inhumé dans l’intimité dans sa ville natale de la Trinité-sur-Mer

Jean-Marie Le Pen, décédé mardi à l’âge de 96 ans, a été inhumé samedi après-midi dans le cimetière de sa ville natale de la Trinité-sur-Mer (Morbihan), à l’issue d’une messe célébrée dans la plus stricte intimité familiale.Environ 200 personnes, dont Marine Le Pen, sa soeur Marie-Caroline ou encore la petite-fille du défunt Marion Maréchal, ont assisté à l’hommage funèbre dans l’église Saint-Joseph. Le président du Rassemblement national Jordan Bardella était également présent mais il est resté loin des caméras, selon plusieurs sources.A l’issue d’une cérémonie qui a duré environ deux heures, une Marine Le Pen éplorée, entourée de membres de sa famille et de proches de l’ancien leader d’extrême droite, a suivi le corbillard jusqu’au cimetière, distant de quelques centaines de mètres. Le cimetière, comme tout le centre-bourg, avait été placé sous haute surveillance par les forces de l’ordre pour éviter tout débordement ou manifestation, mais la journée s’est déroulée sans le moindre incident.-“Jean-Marie, on t’aime”-Plusieurs centaines de personnes ont pris part à la procession qui s’est terminée sous les applaudissements à l’arrivée au cimetière, selon des journalistes de l’AFP sur place. “Jean-Marie, on t’aime!”, a lancé un sympathisant.Conformément à son souhait, le cercueil de celui qui aimait se faire appeler “le menhir” a ensuite été déposé dans le caveau où reposent ses parents, non loin de la maison familiale des Le Pen au centre du bourg. Marine Le Pen a serré quelques mains en repartant, au son des binious et cornemuse d’un ensemble traditionnel.Parmi les invités figurait l’ancien député et ancien bras droit de Jean-Marie Le Pen, Bruno Gollnisch.”C’est émouvant pour moi de lui rendre un dernier hommage ici et de prier pour le salut de son âme”, a-t-il déclaré à l’AFP.”C’est quelqu’un qui a marqué mon existence indiscutablement”, explique-t-il. “Il n’était pas du tout conforme à l’image que certains veulent donner de lui aujourd’hui à partir de deux ou trois mots plus ou moins malheureux, très loin d’être représentatifs de toute son oeuvre, de son intelligence, de sa culture, de son tempérament chaleureux, impérieux certes, mais chaleureux. Il était un joyeux camarade!””Je suis venu en curieux, pour rendre hommage à un homme qui a servi la France et qui a aimé la France”, explique pour sa part Johann, 40 ans, qui vit non loin à Auray (Morbihan). -Sécurité renforcée-De nombreuses forces de l’ordre ont été déployées dans le bourg d’environ 1.700 âmes et le port. Une centaine d’entre eux, dont un escadron de gendarmes mobiles, ont été mobilisés, selon une source proche du dossier. Plusieurs membres du service d’ordre du Rassemblement national, le DPS, étaient également présents.Mardi soir, plusieurs centaines d’opposants s’étaient rassemblés dans certaines villes de France, dont Paris, Lyon ou Rennes, pour célébrer, avec chants, fumigènes et feux d’artifice, le décès de “JMLP”, ce qui avait justifié l’imposant dispositif policier samedi.Une autre cérémonie, “religieuse et d’hommage”, aura lieu le 16 janvier à 11H00 en l’église Notre-Dame-du Val-de-Grâce à Paris, rattachée au diocèse aux Armées françaises. Cette messe, décidée par Marine Le Pen et ses sÅ“urs Marie-Caroline et Yann, sera elle ouverte au public.Tribun provocateur, obsédé par l’immigration et les juifs, Jean-Marie Le Pen a été condamné pour plusieurs de ses déclarations sur la Seconde guerre mondiale, et pour des injures homophobes.Elu député en 1956 sous la IVe République, il avait sorti l’extrême droite française de sa marginalité au cours d’une carrière politique qui a marqué la Ve République.Le 21 avril 2002, il choque la classe politique et une grande partie de l’opinion publique françaises en accédant au second tour de la présidentielle derrière le sortant Jacques Chirac.Jean-Marie Le Pen, après avoir été marié avec Pierrette Lalanne, la mère de ses filles Marie-Caroline, Yann (elle-même mère de l’eurodéputée Marion Maréchal) et Marine, avait épousé en secondes noces Jany Paschos.En 2019, le port breton et l’église Saint-Joseph avaient accueilli les obsèques d’une autre célébrité de la Trinité-sur-Mer, le chanteur Alain Barrière. Ce dernier est enterré dans le cimetière qui accueille désormais la dépouille de Jean-Marie Le Pen.