Pak Selector Makes Big Remark On India Clash At Asia Cup: "Like It Or Not..."

Pakistan chief selector Aaqib Javed fired a warning at India ahead of Asia Cup 2025 as he said that their side was ready to beat any opponent. Pakistan named their 17-member squad with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan both missing out. The Asia Cup will begin on September 9 and the final will be played on September 28. Pakistan are placed in Group A along with India, Oman and United Arab Emirates. Javed said that the team has the ability to beat India and even acknowledged that the clash between the two teams is still the biggest in world cricket. He also hinted at the political tensions between India and Pakistan before adding that it should not put any extra pressure on the cricketers.

“This team has the ability to beat India in the Asia Cup. Whether you like it or not, the match between India and Pakistan is the biggest in world cricket. Every player knows this,” Javed told reporters.

“Our squad can beat any team. Everyone is ready. Everyone knows the situation surrounding the two countries. But we don't need to put extra pressure on them,” he added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson claimed that former captain Babar Azam has been asked to improve his strike rate following his exclusion from the upcoming Asia Cup squad.

Babar is not the only former T20I captain who has been sidelined for the T20I tri-series and the continental showpiece in the UAE. Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is also snubbed from both tournaments. The duo have not played a single T20I game for Pakistan since December last year.

However, Hesson has cleared the air on Babar's repeated omission in the T20I format, saying that he needs to develop an aggressive scoring style to earn a spot back in the shortest format.

"I think it's really harsh to challenge a player on their form in three games," he said at a press conference. "Babar played nicely in the first ODI but missed out on the next two. There's no doubt Babar's been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate. Those are things he's working really hard on."

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Why Several Voters' Homes Listed As "House Number 0"? Poll Body Clarifies

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said instances of a person holding multiple voter identity cards arise due to migration or administrative lapses and the poll authority is working to rectify such mistakes.

Addressing a press conference here, Kumar also said the 'House number zero' issue flagged by political parties also arises as several voters do not have a home or their homes have not been given numbers by the panchayat or their respective municipality.

Kumar said the Commission had also addressed the issue of the same voter identity card number allotted to different persons in different states and corrected 3,00,000 such instances.

"Even if a person has votes in two places, he goes to vote at only one place. Voting at two places is a crime and if any person makes a claim of double voting, then proof is required. Proof was asked but was not given," the CEC said.

Kumar said knowingly or unknowingly, some people have ended up having multiple voter identity cards due to migration and other issues, and exercises like the special intensive revision (SIR) would rectify such discrepancies.

On the issue of several voters listing their homes as 'house number zero', the CEC said: "Many people do not have a home, but their name is also in the voter list. The address that is given is the place where that person comes to sleep at night. Sometimes on the side of the road, sometimes under the bridge." "If such voters are called fake voters, it would be a big joke on the poor voters," he said.

Kumar said crores of people have 'zero number' in their house addresses because the panchayat or the municipality has not given the number to the house.

"There are unauthorised colonies in the cities, where they do not have a number, so what address should they fill in their form? So the instructions of the Election Commission say that if there is any such voter in this country, the Election Commission stands with him and will give him a notional number," he said.

"Just because when he fills it in the computer, he sees zero, it does not mean that he is not a voter. In the conditions of becoming a voter, your address is not as important as your citizenship and your completion of eighteen years of age and as long as you live in the vicinity of that booth," Kumar said.

On the issue of a person holding multiple identity cards, Kumar said this was because there was no website of the Election Commission before 200 that had all the data at one place.

"So, since technical facilities were not available before 2003, many such people who migrated to different places, their names were added to many places. Today there is a website, there is a computer, you can select and delete it," Kumar said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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1.4 Lakh Users Buy New FASTag Annual Pass On Day One

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has successfully implemented the 'FASTag Annual Pass' facility at about 1,150 toll plazas on National Highways and Expressways across the country.

The annual pass has received an overwhelming response from the National Highway users, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Till 7:00 pm on the first day of implementation on August 15, around 1.4 lakh users purchased and activated the annual pass and around 1.39 lakh transactions were recorded on toll plazas.

Around 20,000-25,000 concurrent users are using Rajmargyatra App at any point of time and annual pass users are receiving SMS messages for zero deduction of toll fee, according to the NHAI.

"NHAI officials and Nodal officers have been appointed on each toll plaza to ensure a smooth travel experience for the pass users. NHAI is addressing queries of the pass users through various channels. Also, to address the grievances of pass users, 1033 National Highway Helpline has been further strengthened with the addition of over 100 executives," said the highways authority.

Providing a seamless and economical travel option to the National Highway users, the FASTag Annual Pass eliminates the need to frequently recharge FASTag through one-time fee payment of Rs 3,000 for one year validity or 200 toll plaza crossings.

The FASTag Annual Pass is applicable for all non-commercial vehicles with a valid FASTag and gets activated within two hours of the one-time fee payment through Rajmargyatra App or NHAI website.

With a penetration rate of around 98 per cent and over 8 crore users, FASTag has revolutionised the Electronic Toll Collection system in the country.

The introduction of the Annual Pass facility will not only enhance the FASTag user experience but will also make journeys on the National Highways and Expressways more economical and seamless, said the ministry.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Human Extinction Could Be Imminent, Mouse Experiment Suggests

In 1968, Dr John B Calhoun, a behavioural researcher at the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), began a groundbreaking study that may hold chilling warnings for humanity's future. Nicknamed Universe 25, officially titled the "Mortality-Inhibiting Environment for Mice", the experiment placed mice in a sealed, predator-free habitat measuring 4.6 feet (1.37 m) per side, stocked with unlimited food, water, nesting material, and climate control. The enclosure featured 256 nest boxes linked by mesh tunnels, creating a supposed rodent paradise, but what unfolded hinted at the potential path to human extinction.

Universe 25 began with just eight healthy albino mice, four male and four female. After about 3 and half months, the first offspring were born. Thereafter, the mice population doubled every 55 days. 

By around month 19, the population peaked at approximately 2,200 mice. Despite the environment being capable of supporting up to 3,800-4,000 mice, reproduction began to slow as density increased. 

Watch the video here: 

With overcrowding came social breakdown. Young male "dropouts" unable to attain dominance amassed in the pen's centre, often engaging in violent brawls. Dominant males could no longer protect females, who in turn neglected or attacked their young. Females abandoned litters before weaning; some even turned aggressive towards their pups. 

Abnormal behaviours intensified: females isolated themselves, while certain males, termed "the beautiful ones", spent their days grooming, eating, and sleeping but avoided mating or social interaction. This phenomenon was described by Calhoun as the "behavioural sink", a collapse of social behaviour under extreme overcrowding. 

As social pathology increased, births ceased within about 600 days of the experiment's start, and the population rapidly declined toward extinction. By the early 1970s, all the mice in Universe 25 had died.

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