gstar288 Srinagar, Dec 23: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday met with representatives of the Open Merit students in a bid to address the growing concerns surrounding the reservation policy, which has sparked protests. The meeting comes against the backdrop of increasing unrest among students, particularly from the Open Merit category, who argue that the reservation system is undermining merit-based opportunities in education and employment. “Today, I met the representatives of the Open Merit Students Association. The beauty of democracy is the right to be heard and dialogue in a spirit of cooperation. I have made certain requests of them and given them several assurances. This channel of communication will remain open without any intermediaries or hangers-on,” Omar said in a social media post with pictures of a visiting delegation of students. The student representatives presented their grievances during the meeting, highlighting concerns that the current reservation policy disadvantages students who, despite their merit, do not benefit from quotas based on caste, religion, or socio-economic status. The group argued the need for a merit-based system, arguing that the existing framework has created an uneven playing field in competitive fields such as medical, engineering, and civil services. The CM responded by assuring the student body that their concerns would be taken into account, with the government remaining committed to addressing issues in a fair and transparent manner. The meeting was seen as a crucial step in opening a direct line of communication between the government and the protesting student bodies. While no immediate policy changes were announced, both sides expressed optimism that the ongoing dialogue could lead to more comprehensive discussions on potential reforms to the reservation system. Meanwhile, according to student leaders, CM Omar assured the delegation that the cabinet sub-committee formed to review the reservation policy in J&K would submit its report within six months. “We met the CM and held discussions on the reservation issue for about 30 minutes. The crux of the discussion was that the CM has asked for six months for the sub-committee to complete its work,” one of the student leaders told reporters after meeting CM Omar at his residence.

During their first three-game winning streak of the campaign, the Kings have often had their “A” game, and if last season’s series with the Dallas Stars was any indicator, they’ll need it again when they welcome the green and white on Wednesday. After being outscored 13-3 in a clean sweep of the three-game set last season, the Kings will face the Stars for the first time in 2024-25. Described recently as being simultaneously prone to playing down to lesser opponents and incapable of rising to the occasion consistently against top teams, the Kings have quieted doubters. After a highly convincing win over the delight of the early season, the Winnipeg Jets, they tallied two victories in two days over the .500-ish Ducks and Ottawa Senators . Overall, they’ve outscored opponents 11-4 during their surge. “We’ve just got to keep rolling and keep building in the right direction. We’re getting better,” Kings forward Trevor Moore said. “We’re playing really good defensive hockey right now, goals are starting to come and we have some confident guys.” The Kings also quieted another narrative, one based largely on two poor third periods in San Jose, the last of which condemned them to a 7-2 loss to the Sharks on Nov. 25. Against both Ottawa and the Ducks, they entered the final frame tied, pulling away to reaffirm their status as one of the NHL’s most prolific teams in the closing stanza. “That third period in San Jose was obviously not up to our standard, and we’ve obviously done a good job rebounding from that,” Moore said. Among their six injured players, goalie Darcy Kuemper seemed closest to making his return. Drew Doughty continued to have a longer timeline. Another two-time Stanley Cup champ, Trevor Lewis, will be stuck on 999 games for another four to six weeks, Jim Hiller told reporters Tuesday. Lewis has 101 career goals and 232 career points as he sits on the precipice of what’s now a deferred milestone. Of the 267 forwards with 1,000 or more NHL games played, there are only 49 with fewer goals than Lewis has total points. There are but three forwards in league history with 1,000 games played who have actually recorded fewer points than Lewis. Two were outright enforcers with authoritative nicknames like “The Chief” (Craig Berube) and “The Don” (Donald Brashear). Another, Steve Staios, had over 1,000 career penalty minutes, too. Today, Staios is the general manager of the Senators, Berube coaches the Toronto Maple Leafs and Brashear is still playing at age 52 in a Quebecois minor league. Only the sandpaper-laden fourth-liner Cal Clutterbuck (293 points) and longtime Detroit penalty kill specialist Kirk Maltby (260 points) joined Lewis among other 1,000-game forwards who didn’t penetrate the 300-point barrier. In addition to being a mainstay on the PK, Lewis has proven a popular teammate that’s also a willing extension of the coaching staff, giving him value that overflows from the playing surface onto the bench, into the dressing room, during film sessions and even aboard the team plane, as Hiller explained. “(Lewis) just does so much for our team. He’s a really hard guy to replace,” Hiller concluded. Heading into Dallas, 37-year-old Kings captain Anže Kopitar has eight points in his past five games. The Stars’ own ageless wonder, Joe Pavelski, retired this past offseason, but veterans Matt Duchene and currently injured Tyler Seguin ranked Nos. 1 and 3 in team scoring. Though he’s had a relatively slow start to the season, Arcadia native Jason Robertson has five goals and 12 points in his past seven games against the Kings, six of which were Dallas victories. When: 7 p.m. Where: Crypto.com Arena How to watch: TNT, Max, Victory+

VICTORIA - British Columbia Premier David Eby says his fellow premiers and the federal government have hatched a game plan to fight U.S. tariffs, with conservative premiers lobbying Republican counterparts, left-leaning provincial leaders courting the Democrats, and Ottawa focusing on president-elect Donald Trump. The premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talked about using their political diversity and connections to thwart the prospect of Trump’s proposed 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, Eby said Thursday in a year-end interview. He said it was discussed that conservative premiers Danielle Smith in Alberta, Doug Ford in Ontario and Nova Scotia’s Tim Houston are well-placed to lobby Republican governors and business leaders. Eby said as a New Democrat he will likely have more in common with Democrat governors and business leaders from the West Coast states. “I can easily have conversations with governors and businesses down the West Coast of the U.S., where we have close relationships and our politics are very similar,” he said. “Premier Smith can have conversations with Republican governors. That would be more challenging for me, and (she) would have more connections potentially with the Trump administration than an NDP administration in B.C. would.” He said a meeting last week between the premiers and Trudeau discussed Canada’s diversity of representation, and how it could bring leverage and advantages in tariff talks. “It’s interesting, there was a lot of talk about what unity means in terms of Canada’s response to the tariffs,” he said. “There’s obviously a diversity of views around the Council of the Federation table of all the premiers. Certainly, mine is not the same as Premier Smith’s or Premier Ford’s or Premier Houston’s, and that diversity of views is actually potentially a significant strength for us as we enter into these discussions.” Eby also said he was prepared to appear on American’s right-leaning Fox News TV network, as did premiers Ford and Smith. “Anything that I can do to support the national effort to protect the families in Canada from the impact of tariffs and also families in the U.S. from those unjustified tariffs,” he said. “Absolutely, if I thought it was helpful.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Tim Houston’s first name was John.

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Melbourne, Dec 30 (IANS): The trio of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli fell cheaply in a massive chase of 340 as India reached 33/3 in 26.1 overs on day five of the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. After Jasprit Bumrah completed his five-wicket haul by castling Nathan Lyon and ended Australia’s second innings on 234 in 83.4 overs, India got through the first hour of their chase unscathed in the face of Australia’s bowlers asking them tough questions. But a double wicket maiden from skipper Pat Cummins and Starc taking out Kohli at the stroke of lunch meant Australia ended the session strong. With Yashasvi Jaiswal unbeaten on 14 off 83 balls and Rishabh Pant to join in after lunch, the game is still on a knife’s edge, though its tilted more towards Australia. Chasing 340, India had an extremely watchful start as Australia’s bowlers beat them consistently with great deliveries. It meant that Rohit and Jaiswal had to curb their run-scoring shots, allowing Australia to settle into great rhythm. Rohit’s first attempt in playing an aggressive shot caused his downfall – in a bid to whip off Cummins through the leg-side, he got a leading edge and was caught by gully on the second attempt to dismiss the skipper on nine runs off 40 balls. On last ball of the same over, Cummins bowled a back of the length ball which left KL Rahul in two minds and nicked behind to second slip for a five-ball duck. With Australia keeping a lid on the run-flow, Jaiswal and Kohli went into a shell. They were also beaten while defending, but at the stroke of lunch, Kohli went for a big drive and was caught at first slip off Starc's full length delivery to be out for five off 29 balls. With Jaiswal, Pant and all-rounders to follow, India need to put in a rearguard effort if they are to avoid losing the match. Previously, India took only ten balls and conceded just six runs to wrap up Australia’s second innings. Bumrah got his fifth wicket by sending Lyon's stumps flying with an inswinger sneaking through the gate. It also took Bumrah’s match figures to 9/156, with his tally of wickets in this series standing at 30. Brief Scores: Australia 474 and 234 in 83.4 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 70, Nathan Lyon 41; Jasprit Bumrah 5-57, Mohammed Siraj 3-70) lead India 369 and 33/3 in 26.1 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 14 not out; Pat Cummins 2-10) by 307 runs

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Published 04:45 IST, December 30th 2024 INS Tushil, India’s newest stealth missile frigate, which is a Russia-built warship, is set to reach India’s western coast by mid-February. New Delhi: INS Tushil, India’s newest stealth missile frigate, which was commissioned into the Indian Navy on December 9 at the Yantar Shipyard in Russia’s Kaliningrad, is set to reach India’s western coast by mid-February. According to the defence officials, the warship will be a part of the Mumbai-based Western Fleet. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who attended the commissioning ceremony, hailed INS Tushil as a "proud testament" to India's growing maritime power. He also described the event as a "significant milestone" in strengthening the long-standing friendship between India and Russia. As part of efforts to strengthen naval cooperation and bilateral ties between India and Morocco, INS Tushil made a stop in Morocco’s Casablanca, on December 27, as it made its way to India. The warship will also conduct anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Guinea, located off the coast of West Africa before it reaches India. In October 2023, India and the European Union held their first naval exercise in the Gulf of Guinea aimed at boosting maritime security and fighting piracy. INS Sumedha, an offshore patrol vessel, joined forces with Italian, Spanish, and French warships during the exercise. INS Tushil is an upgraded Krivak III class frigate, part of Project 1135.6, and is one of six such vessels built for the Indian Navy. It is equipped with advanced weapons like BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, Shtil surface-to-air missiles, and an upgraded medium-range anti-air gun system. The warship is also designed for operations across air, surface, underwater, and electromagnetic domains. Notably, INS Tushil has around 26% indigenous content, which is double that of the previous Teg-class frigates. Contributions came from 33 Indian firms, including Bharat Electronics Limited, BrahMos Aerospace, and Nova Integrated Systems, a subsidiary of Tata Advanced Systems Limited. INS Tushil is part of a $2.5 billion deal with Russia for four more Krivak/Talwar class stealth frigates for the Indian Navy. Two of these ships are being built at the Yantar shipyard in Russia, while the remaining two will be constructed at Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) with technology transfer from Russia. The second frigate, named Tamal, is expected to be commissioned into the Indian Navy in mid-2025. INS Tushil is specifically designed for blue-water operations, making it capable of handling the full spectrum of naval warfare. The ship is equipped with advanced technologies, including an electronic warfare and communication suite to enhance its operational capabilities. Updated 04:45 IST, December 30th 2024