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Hundreds evacuated from dozens of flooded neighbourhoods around Jakarta on Tuesday as torrential rains pounded the Indonesian capital and its surrounding satellite cities, causing several rivers to overflow.There were no immediate reports of casualties after the latest deluge, but parts of the city, home to around 11 million people, ground to a halt as whole neighbourhoods were swamped in muddy water.Heavy rain began on Monday, causing some flooding in Jakarta and nearby the cities of Bogor, Bekasi and Tangerang.Water was seen metres high in areas of east and south Jakarta on Tuesday after the rain caused the Ciliwung river to overflow, affecting 1,446 people from 224 houses in one village alone, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said.In Bogor, more than 300 people were evacuated, dozens of houses were damaged and one bridge collapsed. In Tangerang, 350 houses were flooded after the Cimanceuri River overflowed.Residents took to rooftops or used ropes to pull themselves to safety through the floodwater in one south Jakarta district, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.Authorities said they were distributing ready-to-eat food, blankets and tarpaulins to those affected by the floods, and deploying rubber boats to evacuate residents.”If there is a shortage, the public can ask for more. We are ready to help,” BNPB deputy for emergency response Lukmansyah said in a statement.The low-lying city is prone to flooding during the wet season which runs from around November to March.In 2020 torrential rain triggered flooding and landslides that killed nearly 70 people in and around Jakarta, while thousands more were forced to evacuate to shelters.

China’s leadership gathered at their largest political event of the year in Beijing on Tuesday, seeking a response to US President Donald Trump’s latest salvo of tariffs targeting an already sluggish economy.The closed-door meetings, known as the “Two Sessions”, are concurrent talking shops of China’s rubber-stamp parliament and a separate political advisory body.Voting is tightly controlled and legislation is pre-approved by the ruling Communist Party.Proceedings kicked off Tuesday at 3:00 pm (0700 GMT) with the opening ceremony of China’s People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) attended by President Xi Jinping and other party top brass, an AFP journalist in the hall said.The political gathering will offer a rare glimpse into how Beijing plans to meet its economic growth target — which analysts say would likely be five percent — while it faces down an unpredictable United States.Ahead of the meeting, parliament spokesman Lou Qinjian acknowledged that the Chinese economy faced “many difficulties and challenges”.”World economic and political uncertainty is increasing… domestic demand is insufficient, and some companies are facing difficulties in production and operation,” he told a news conference.Lou also expressed confidence in the economy’s ability to weather those headwinds, saying it had “stable foundations, many advantages, strong resilience and great potential”.The opening of proceedings coincided with the implementation of additional US tariffs, against which China announced countermeasures on Tuesday.All eyes will also be on possible stimulus to boost domestic demand, sorely needed to counter a potential drop in tariff-sensitive exports.- Economy in focus -Tuesday’s CPPCC is low-stakes compared to the almost simultaneous gathering of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), which starts on Wednesday.Premier Li Qiang will deliver a speech expected to unveil economic targets during the NPC’s opening session.Analysts polled by AFP broadly agreed that Beijing will set a goal of around five percent growth — the same as 2024.Observers say this is ambitious given the economic headwinds China is facing.Analysts expect policymakers to widen the scope of a consumer goods trade-in programme initiated last year that allows shoppers to exchange older home appliances and other items.China is also grappling with a prolonged property sector crisis and high youth unemployment, issues that have dampened confidence in the economy — which long enjoyed double-digit growth but has struggled to make a full recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic.Investors will also be watching for signs of further support for the private sector following Xi’s rare talks with Chinese tech tycoons last month.Officials will try to send a positive message that China is “still in good shape”, said Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.However, specific policies may not be announced during the meetings, with impact on the markets likely “limited”, he said.”In the past, the NPC meeting was more about agenda-setting. Now, it’s more about sending a message and propaganda,” Wu said.”Now, it’s one-man politics.”- Trump’s back -The talks will be closely watched for signals about how China plans to deal with an increasingly unpredictable United States, its largest trading partner and strategic rival.Donald Trump has overturned the international order and proven even more mercurial than in his first term in just over a month back in the White House.”People will be watching (for) how Xi might be responding to the uncertainties and unpredictability set before him by the challenge that is the current Trump administration,” said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.Pressure from Trump could motivate Beijing to strengthen the kinds of support for the economy seen last year — interest rate cuts, easing local government debt pressure and expanding subsidy programmes for household goods.”We expect China to increase policy support in response to greater external shock from the US,” Wang Tao, chief China economist at UBS, told AFP.China will also announce its annual military budget this week.Analysts expect an increase as Beijing navigates deepening tensions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.”I expect further investment in capability, especially in terms of missiles, aircraft, artificial intelligence that boost the military,” Chong said. For years, China’s defence budget has expanded at a faster rate than its economic growth target.

Under a dry, smoggy sky, a beekeeper in Pakistan’s Punjab province carefully loads boxes filled with tens of thousands of bees onto the back of a truck.Together they will travel 500 kilometres (around 300 miles) in an increasingly desperate chase to find flowering plants, clean air and moderate temperatures for honey production as climate change and pollution threaten the industry.”We move the boxes according to where the weather is good and the flowers bloom,” Malik Hussain Khan told AFP, standing in a field of orange trees whose blossoms arrived weeks late in February and lasted only for a few weeks.Pakistan’s beekeepers typically move seasonally to spare their charges stifling heat or freezing cold.Summers are spent in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and winters in central Punjab province. But weather patterns made unpredictable by climate change — coupled with some of the worst pollution in the world — mean beekeepers must move more frequently and travel further.This winter was marked by soaring, hazardous smog levels that the government declared a national disaster. Research has found air pollution can make it harder for bees to locate flowers.Diminished rainfall, meanwhile, failed to clear the choking air and triggered drought warnings for farmers. “Almost half of my bees died when the smog and fog hit this winter because they could not fly. There was hardly any rain,” said Khan, who moved his bees as frequently as every few weeks in January and February.- Honey varieties plummet -The bees of Pakistan’s 27,000 beekeepers once had diverse foliage fed by reliable rainfall, offering a rich source of nectar.Their honey is used in local flu remedies, drizzled over sweets, and given as gifts.Since 2022 however, Pakistan’s honey production has dropped 15 percent, according to the government’s Honey Bee Research Institute (HBRI) in the capital Islamabad. “Heavy rainfall and hail storms can destroy the flowers, and erratic rainfall and high temperatures during the winter flowering season can stop them from blooming,” said Muhammad Khalid, a researcher at the institute. “When the flowers disappear, the bee population declines because they cannot find nectar, resulting in reduced honey production.”Bees are threatened globally by changing weather patterns, intensive farming practices, land-use change, and pesticides.Their loss threatens not just the honey trade, but food security in general, with a third of the world’s food production dependent on bee pollination, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation.Pakistan’s bees once produced 22 varieties of honey, but that has plummeted to 11 as flowering seasons shorten. Three of the country’s four honey bee species are endangered. “The places that used to be green for our bees to fly 30 years ago, no longer are,” says 52-year-old honey trader Sherzaman Momaan, who speaks with tenderness about his winged charges. “We didn’t move around then as much as we do now.”His hives were almost entirely wiped out by 2010 floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but he believes deforestation is the most significant long-term change and threat. Yousaf Khan and his brother, based in Islamabad, have been producing honey for 30 years, moving short distances around neighbouring Punjab to catch the best blooms. “Now, we go as far as Sindh (province) for warmer temperatures and to escape extreme weather conditions,” Khan told AFP, referring to areas up to 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) away.”Bees are like babies, they need a good environment, good surroundings, and proper food to survive.”- ‘Fight and kill’ -Moving the bees comes with its own risks.”If the weather is very hot, or if the distance is too long, there is a chance that some bees could die. It has happened to my bees before,” Khan explained.On long trips, they must also be fed artificial food because they cannot produce honey while travelling.Moving so often is expensive for beekeepers in a country where fuel prices have risen dramatically in recent years.And beekeepers seeking better weather can face harassment if they set up in areas without permission from landlords. On barren land outside Chamkanni in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gul Badshah watches helplessly as bees appear and disappear from dozens of boxes on a fruitless search for flowers.”They fight and kill each other if the weather conditions do not suit them,” he told AFP.Badshah, whose boxes were also washed away in floods in 2010, and again in 2022, has given up travelling long distances.”There is nowhere to be found. We do not know where else to go.”- Cool bees -Some hope is offered by new technology intended to keep bees cool, addressing the problem of how extreme temperatures affect the insects — if not their food source.Abdullah Chaudry, a former beekeeper, developed new hives with improved ventilation based on inspiration from other honey-producing nations dealing with rising temperatures, including Turkey and Australia.Early signs suggest the boxes improve production by around 10 percent.”Extreme heat does not make bees comfortable and instead of making honey, they keep busy cooling themselves,” he told AFP at the capital’s beekeeping research centre.”These modern boxes are more spacious, and have different compartments giving more space to the bees.”The improved hives are just part of the adaptation puzzle though, he acknowledges.”It is an ongoing battle,” Chaudry told AFP.

Donald Trump’s latest tariff hike targeting China is likely only the start of his intensifying trade war against Beijing, which may struggle to shield its already ailing economy, analysts warned.The unpredictable White House returnee railed against major US trading partners during his campaign, vowing to impose blistering measures on China once elected.After just six weeks in office, the new tariffs — which Trump says are retaliation for Beijing’s failure to stem the devastating US fentanyl crisis — already surpass those of his first term.”(This is) a move we see as signalling an aggressive stance,” wrote Ting Lu, Chief China Economist at Nomura.Tuesday’s step adds to another blanket 10 percent tariff imposed last month, lifting average US levies on Chinese imports to around 33 percent, according to estimates by Nomura.”The tariff hikes that Trump has completed on China are nearly double the size of the tariff hikes during his entire first term,” wrote Lu.Leaders in China — an export powerhouse that has failed to achieve a strong post-pandemic economic recovery — are nervously eyeing a renewed trade war with the United States under Trump.The rubber-stamp National People’s Congress is convening in Beijing this week for a key annual political conference, during which officials will hash out plans for how to boost the sluggish economy and respond to US tariffs.Growth in the first quarter of the year is at risk of slowing, wrote Zichun Huang of Capital Economics.”And that’s before the hit from tariffs is felt in earnest,” said Huang.”Unless the leadership unveil greater-than-expected stimulus at the National People’s Congress, it is hard to see how a slowdown can be avoided this year,” she added.- ‘Crosshairs’ -Trump’s first few weeks in office have seen him hit Canada and Mexico with even higher 25 percent tariffs, which also came in force on Tuesday.And his initial salvos against China of two 10 percent tariffs are lower than the much more drastic 60 percent rate threatened during the campaign.That has been interpreted by some as a sign that Washington is adopting a softer approach than expected in managing its rocky relationship with Beijing.But experts say that China is likely to represent the new Trump administration’s primary economic and geopolitical foe in coming years — something that is obscured in recent weeks by domestic US issues and major developments in the Russia-Ukraine war.”While Trump has shown some inclination towards making a fresh ‘deal’ with China on trade lately, the big picture is that the country is still very clearly in his crosshairs,” said Thomas Mathews of Capital Economics.”The threat of tariffs, export controls, investment restrictions, and the like is still a big downside risk, in our view, for investors in China’s markets,” he added.Observers are also anticipating a tougher response by Beijing, which retaliated last month with targeted measures including 15 percent duties on US coal and liquefied natural gas.Condemning the latest tariffs, Beijing vowed Tuesday that it will take retaliatory measures that will “resolutely safeguard its own rights and interests”. – More coming -“US-China tensions may take centre stage in the coming months,” said Lu of Nomura.”This probably won’t be the final tariff hike on China,” wrote Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics, noting that Trump has threatened to impose “reciprocal” tariffs on various countries as soon as early April.”China is not an obvious target for reciprocal tariffs given that it has lower duties on the US than vice versa,” said Evans-Pritchard.But there are other ways for Trump to further aggravate the trade war, he said, such as through targeted levies on specific goods similar to those imposed under his predecessor Joe Biden.Trump may also seek to terminate China’s status of having “permanent normal trade relations” with the United States, a move that would push the average levy on Chinese goods to above 40 percent, he added.Chinese state-backed tabloid Global Times reported Monday that Beijing is now considering implementing its own measures in response to Trump’s tariffs, citing “reliable sources”.”I think the policymakers and exporters in China already anticipated higher tariffs in the United States, and made plans accordingly,” said Zhiwei Zhang, President and Chief Economist of Pinpoint Asset Management.

Australia captain Steve Smith says his team are confident they can counter India’s quality spin attack in their Champions Trophy semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday.The two teams will face off at the Dubai International Stadium in a rematch of the 2023 World Cup final won by Australia in Ahmedabad.Australia beat rivals England by five wickets in their opening match but their next two games were abandoned because of rain in the Pakistani cities of Rawalpindi and Lahore.India made it three wins from three in Group A with a victory over New Zealand on Sunday delivered by their four spinners on a tricky pitch.Varun Chakravarthy took 5-42 in Dubai in only his second one-day international to boost his hopes of selection.”Yeah, I mean, not just Chakravarthy, I think the rest of their spin is quality as well,” Smith told reporters on Monday.”So I think for us, the game is probably won and lost how we play their spin, particularly in the middle overs, the way we get through there. It’s going to be a challenge…”I think there’s going to be some spin, by the looks of it. Yeah, we’ve got to counter that… We’ve got a few options of ways we can go about it.”The world champions are missing several key players including fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc to injuries.But Smith said they could call upon part-time spinners, including Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, to support Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell on a track he believes “looks a dry surface”.”We’ve got a lot of part-time options that could certainly play a role on here and a couple of front-liners as well,” he said.- Aggressive Head -Cooper Connolly, a batting all-rounder who bowls left-arm spin, has joined the squad as a replacement for Matthew Short, who was ruled out of the rest of the tournament due to a thigh injury.Both Australia and Group B winners South Africa flew to Dubai from Pakistan without knowing who they would play in the semi-finals, the line-up for which was decided after the India-New Zealand match.India have been slammed for playing all their games at one venue, in Dubai, while other teams shuttle between three Pakistani cities and the UAE.India refused to play in host nation Pakistan due to political reasons.But Smith played down any perceived disadvantage.”We guessed right in the end,” Smith said on his team travelling to Dubai.”We had a little reset and a chance to have a couple of days here outside of a pretty strict sort of bubble, I suppose, in Pakistan with the security and stuff. It’s been nice to just have a couple of days chill here, a bit of training.”Australia beat India by six wickets in the 2023 World Cup final, with Head hitting an unbeaten 137.”I mean, there’s pressure every time you play in a big game,” said Smith of Head.”But, as we know, Travis has stood up in many of those in the past. And, you know, he looked in great touch the other night against Afghanistan.”I’m sure he’s going to be looking to come out here and play the same way he’s played for a long time, with good intent, good aggression.”South Africa face New Zealand in the second semi-final in Lahore on Wednesday.

Rohit Sharma warned his India team Monday to expect “fightbacks” and “nervy times” against Australia in the Champions Trophy last four in a rematch of the 2023 ODI World Cup final.India hammered New Zealand by 44 runs Sunday to be unbeaten in three matches and top Group A of the 50-over tournament played in Dubai and Pakistan.They next face the Steve Smith-led Australia on Tuesday in Dubai for a place in the final of the eight-nation event.Australia beat Ashes rivals England by five wickets in their opening match but their next two games were abandoned because of rain.They are also missing several key players, but the Australians have a reputation for raising their game when it matters and beat hosts India in the World Cup final, the last time the two countries played an ODI.”Look, it is a great opposition to play against,” skipper Rohit told reporters.”All we have to do is what we have been thinking about the last three games and we have to approach that game in a similar fashion.”We understand the opposition and how they play and stuff like that.”Australia are on paper a weaker team from the one that beat India by six wickets in Ahmedabad in November 2023.The world champions lost fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood to ankle and hip injuries respectively for the Champions Trophy.They are also without Mitchell Starc, who is out for personal reasons.Mitchell Marsh is also absent with an injury and Marcus Stoinis announced his retirement on the eve of the tournament.”Look, Australia have been such a great team over the years,” said Rohit.”So we will expect some fightbacks, we will expect some nervy times as well in the middle. “But that is how the game is being played these days. And you are talking about a semi-final.”- ‘Dubai not home’ -India went in with four spinners including two all-rounders in their last group match in Dubai and came up trumps with Varun Chakravarthy returning figures of 5-42.Rohit said he will be tempted to keep the same combination against Australia.”He just showed what he is capable of,” Rohit said of man of the match Chakravarthy, a wrist spinner with many variations up his sleeve. “Now it is up to us to think and see how we can get that combination right. He did everything that was asked for… it is a good headache to have.”India have been slammed for playing all their matches at one venue, in Dubai, while other teams shuttle between three Pakistani cities and the UAE.India refused to play in tournament hosts Pakistan because of political tension.Rohit dismissed the notion it gives India an advantage.”Even for us it is a little bit of a question mark as to which pitch is being played,” said Rohit.”Because there are four or five surfaces that are being used here. I don’t know which pitch is going to be played in the semi-finals.”But whatever happens we will have to adapt and see what is happening and what is not. And this is not our home, this is Dubai.”

“Dram”, meaning a measure of whisky. “Turm”, describing a cavalry unit. “Taupie”, a foolish youngster.Not words in a typical teen’s vocabulary, but all come easily to Pakistani prodigy Bilal Asher, world under-14 Scrabble champion.Despite a musty reputation, the word-spelling game has a cult youth following in Pakistan, a legacy of the English languageimposed by Britain’s empire but which the country has adapted into its own dialect since independence.In the eccentric field of competitive Scrabble, Pakistan’s youngsters reign supreme — boasting the current youth world champion and more past victors than any other nation since the tournament debuted in 2006.”It requires a lot of hard work and determination,” said 13-year-old Asher after vanquishing a grey-bearded opponent.”You have to trust the process for a very long time, and then gradually it will show the results.”- ‘English in taste’ -Karachi, a megacity shrugging off its old definition as a den of violent crime, is Pakistan’s incubator for talent in Scrabble — where players spell words linked like a crossword with random lettered tiles.Schools in the southern port metropolis organise tutorials with professional Scrabble coaches and grant scholarships to top players, while parents push their kids to become virtuosos.”They inculcate you in this game,” says Asher, one of around 100 players thronging a hotel function room for a Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) event as most of the city dozed through a Sunday morning.Daunters (meaning intimidating people), imarets (inns for pilgrims) and trienes (chemical compounds containing three double bonds) are spelled out by ranks of seated opponents.Some are so young their feet don’t touch the ground, as they use chess clocks to time their turns.”They’re so interested because the parents are interested,” said 16-year-old Affan Salman, who became the world youth Scrabble champion in Sri Lanka last year.”They want their children to do productive things — Scrabble is a productive game.”English was foisted onthe Indian subcontinent by Britain’s colonialism and an 1835 order from London started to systematise it as the main language of education.The plan’s architect, Thomas Macaulay, said the aim was to produce “a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect”. It was instrumental in creating a colonial civil service to rule for Britain according to Kaleem Raza Khan, who teaches English at Karachi’s Salim Habib University.”They started teaching English because they wanted to create a class of people, Indian people, who would be in the middle of the people and the rulers,” said Khan, whose wife and daughter are Scrabble devotees.British rule ended in the bloody partition of 1947 creating India and Pakistan.Today there are upwards of 70 languages spoken in Pakistan, but English remains an official state language alongside the lingua franca Urdu, and they mingle in daily usage.Schools often still teach English with verbose colonial-era textbooks.”The adaptation of English as the main language is definitely a relation to the colonial era,” PSA youth programme director Tariq Pervez. “That is our main link”.- ‘Language of learning’ -The English of Pakistani officialdom remains steeped in anachronistic words. The prime minister describes militant attacks as “dastardly”, state media dubs protesters “miscreants” and the military denounces its “nefarious” adversaries.Becoming fluent in the loquacious lingo of Pakistani English remains aspirational because of its association to the upper echelons.In Pakistan more than a third of children between the ages of five and 16 are out of school — a total of nearly 26 million, according to the 2023 census.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared an “education emergency” last year to address the stark figures.”People are interested in Scrabble because they can get opportunities for scholarships in universities or for jobs because it provides the vocab,” said Asher’s sister Manaal.But the 14-year-old reigning female number one in Pakistan warned: “You’ve got to be resilient otherwise Scrabble isn’t right for you.”In the Karachi hotel, Scrabble — invented in the 1930s during America’s Great Depression by an unemployed architect — is an informal training programme for success in later life.”The main language of learning is English,” said Pervez.”This game has a great pull,” he added. “The demand is so big. So many kids want to play, we don’t have enough resources to accommodate all of them.”At the youngest level the vocabulary of the players is more rudimentary: toy, tiger, jar, oink.But professional Scrabble coach Waseem Khatri earns 250,000 rupees ($880) a month — nearly seven times the minimum wage — coaching some 6,000 students across Karachi’s school system to up their game.In Pakistani English parlance “they try to express things in a more beautiful way — in a long way to express their feelings,” said 36-year-old Khatri.”We try to utilise those words also in Scrabble.”But when Asher wins he is overwhelmed with joy, and those long words don’t come so easily.”I cannot describe the feeling,” he says.

It flaps its ears and squirts water from a waving trunk, but this elephant is a life-size mechanical replica rolled out to replace the endangered animals in India’s Hindu temples.Made of fibreglass and rubber, and trundling on a wheeled metal frame strong enough to hold a rider, the model is one of dozens that animal rights campaigners are trumpeting as an alternative to keeping elephants in captivity in India.Elephants are used during many Hindu temple ceremonies, paraded through packed crowds with flashing lights, thumping drums and ear-splitting music.Deadly attacks by panicked pachyderms are common.”It is a wild animal, it likes to live in jungles,” said C.G. Prakash, 68, a former official at the popular Chakkamparambu Bhagavathy temple in India’s southern Kerala state.”We are capturing it and torturing it. It’s totally unethical”. Prakash was instrumental in bringing the robot elephant to the temple.It was donated by the Voice for Asian Elephants Society, which said it would aid “cruelty-free temple traditions”.- ‘Remain with their families’ -Campaigners from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India say the more than 2,700 captive elephants in the country often face “severe physical and psychological stress”.Despite being herd animals, they are often kept alone and chained up for much of the day.PETA has funded more than a dozen models since 2023, donated on the condition that temples move their elephants to approved sanctuaries.”Mechanical elephants help retain age-old traditions in a modern way,” said PETA’s Khushboo Gupta. “They help ensure real elephants can remain with their families in their natural jungle habitats”.Like the real thing, models are draped with a golden headdress and bedecked with flower garlands.Modelmakers say a luxury version — complete with electric motors powering a nodding head, rolling eyes and a lifelike swishing tail — can cost more than $5,500.Professional model maker Prasanth Prakasan, 42, said he and three friends began making elephant models as an art project, but are pleased they are now helping protect real animals.”What we are doing is saving elephants, and we are happy about it,” he said.The team has made nearly 50 such elephants — with a production line at the workshop building several more.For those keen on an elephant at their wedding, models can be rented without the cumbersome permits required for a costly real one, he pointed out.- ‘Exploited’ -Accidents involving spooked elephants trampling crowds are common and some temples switching to models cite the safety of their worshippers.In February alone, PETA recorded incidents in Kerala involving nine captive elephants losing control, with five people killed.In one, an elephant at a festival was spooked by fireworks, jabbed its companion with a tusk and triggered a stampede that killed three people and injured dozens.”Those who take care of them, many don’t follow the rules”, said V.K. Venkitachalam, 60, from the Heritage Animal Task Force rights group.Animal welfare is also gaining growing attention.In November, Kerala’s High Court issued guidelines for the better treatment of captive elephants.”Their use is often sought to be justified on the touchstone of tradition and religious practice,” the court wrote.But “animals are being commercially exploited without any care or concern for their well-being”, it said.The guidelines were later stayed by the Supreme Court saying guidelines were impractical.- ‘Non-violence’ -There are fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund, the majority in India, with others in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.The species is endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.As elephant habitats shrink, conflict between humans and wild elephants has grown — 629 people were killed by elephants across India in 2023-2024, according to parliamentary figures.Over the same period, 121 elephants were killed — the vast majority by powerful electric fences, as well as by poaching, poisoning, and being hit by trains.For animal rights activists, the model elephants are a safe solution that fits with religious principles.”This initiative honours ahimsa, or non-violence, a tenet of Hinduism”, PETA’s Gupta told AFP.Among some worshippers, the placid models are a relief.”When it is a live elephant, there’s a fear amongst us. What if it runs amok?” 58-year-old teacher Jayasree Sivaraman Narayaneeya said.”Since it’s a robotic elephant, we feel much safer.”

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy on Sunday became a “good headache” for India ahead of their Champions Trophy semi-final against Australia after his match-winning five-wicket haul against New Zealand, said captain Rohit Sharma.Mystery spinner Chakravarthy returned figures of 5-42 in Dubai to help India beat New Zealand in their last group match of the 50-over tournament.His recent 14 wickets in a 4-1 T20 series win over England at home got Chakravarthy back into the India reckoning in the white-ball formats and he was a last-minute addition to the Champions Trophy squad.After being left out for the first two games, Chakravarthy made the team in India’s last group match and was named player of the match in just his second ODI after his debut against England last month.India face Australia in the first semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday.”Varun has got something different, wanted to try and see what he had to offer,” said Rohit. “We got to think a little about what to do for the next game, good headache.”Chakravarthy went wicketless in three matches in Dubai during the 2021 T20 World Cup, but put that disappointment behind him in style.”The first spell of mine I was little nervous because the previous things, the emotions and all were playing whatever happened in the last three years before in this ground,” the 33-year-old Chakravarthy told reporters.”Where little bit it was playing with me and I was trying to keep it down, control it. But Virat (Kohli), Rohit (Sharma) and even Hardik (Pandya), they were telling (me to) calm down. That really helped.”Chakravarthy made his mark in the Indian Premier League for Kolkata Knight Riders, playing a key part in the team’s title win last year.A wily bowler with lot of variations up his sleeve, Chakravarthy gets the ball to spin both ways.He also varies his pace to make life difficult for the opposition, a trait with which he bamboozled the New Zealand batsmen including Will Young, who he bowled for 22.- Praise from Henry -“It is the patience game,” Chakravarthy said on bowling in ODIs.”You just need to wait it out… on such slow wickets… the ball doesn’t turn fast, it turns slow. So, you need to wait it out and it just happens, if it’s your day it happens to you.”A late starter in professional cricket, Chakravarthy harboured other dreams before he took up the sport and made his international debut at nearly 30 years of age.”After 26 is when I started dreaming about cricket,” said Chakravarthy. “Before that, my dreams were all being an architect and making movies.”He added, “So, I’ve had different career paths. And all those things are happening. So yeah, it’s been good right now.”New Zealand pace bowler Matt Henry also took 5-42, albeit in a losing cause.”He bowled beautifully, didn’t he?,” Henry said of Chakravarthy.”I think he showed his skill tonight, the way he turned the ball both ways, and even the way that he could bowl pace. I thought he was brilliant, and yeah, that they were able to put us under pressure right throughout.”New Zealand will take on Group B winners South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday and Henry said they are “excited” to face the best teams.

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy returned figures of 5-42 as India beat New Zealand by 44 runs on Sunday to set up a semi-final clash with Australia in the Champions Trophy.India won all three of their group matches to top Group A and will play the first semi-final of the 50-over tournament in Dubai on Tuesday.”Important to finish on a high,” India skipper Rohit Sharma said after the win.”New Zealand are a good team who are playing some good cricket. Very important to get a good result, we played a perfect game.”New Zealand will take on Group B winners South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday in the second semi-final.India are playing all their matches at the Dubai International Stadium after they refused to tour hosts Pakistan, citing security concerns.Rohit’s team lost the 2023 ODI World Cup final to Australia in Ahmedabad.”Australia has a rich history of playing ICC tournaments well, but it is about us and what we want to do well on that particular day,” said Rohit.”It will be a great contest, looking forward to that. Hopefully we can stitch one towards us.”Australia and South Africa had to travel to Dubai from Pakistan despite not knowing if they would be playing there, as India were told ahead of the tournament they would play the first semi-final if they qualified no matter where they finished in the group.South Africa will now have to fly back to Pakistan ahead of their meeting with New Zealand.Shreyas Iyer’s 79 and a late 45 by Hardik Pandya steered India to 249-9 after being invited to bat first.New Zealand pace bowler Matt Henry stood out with figures of 5-42 from his eight overs.”The key for us was getting wickets in the powerplay, and that was good to see,” New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said. “Our next game is in Lahore where Henry will be massive.”- Airborne Phillips -Player of the match Chakravarthy took his first ODI five-wicket haul in just his second match as India bowled out New Zealand for 205 in 45.3 overs despite a valiant 81 by Kane Williamson.Williamson survived two dropped catches on 17 and 68 in his 120-ball knock before he finally fell, stumped off Axar Patel.New Zealand lost Rachin Ravindra early as Patel took a superb catch to dismiss the opener for six.Chakravarthy cut short Will Young’s innings on 22 when he bowled him with a googly.Williamson stood firm but could not find a long-term partner as Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham were dismissed for 17 and 14 respectively.India’s spinners dominated in helpful conditions, as Kuldeep Yadav sent back Mitchell and Ravindra Jadeja trapped Latham lbw.In between the two wickets, Williamson hit Jadeja for a boundary to raise his 47th ODI half-century but India kept taking wickets.Earlier, India were in trouble at 30-3 when Virat Kohli, playing in his 300th one-day international, fell victim to a stunning one-handed catch from Glenn Phillips.An airborne Phillips clung on to a fast-travelling ball at backward point to dimiss Kohli for 11 off Henry.Kohli was left standing in disbelief before trudging off the ground to stunned silence.Iyer and Patel, who made 42, put on 98 for the fourth wicket to rebuild the innings against a disciplined New Zealand attack.Another stunning catch, this time by Williamson, who flung himself to his left at backward point to make a one-handed grab close to the ground, dismissed Jadeja for 16 off Henry.Pandya struck four fours and two sixes in his run-a-ball innings to give India a total which proved to be enough.