Last Updated:January 27, 2025, 18:58 IST

Chris Martin and Dakota Johnson were seen walking hand-in-hand on Ahmedabad streets after the concert.

British rock band Coldplay set the stage ablaze with their energetic performance at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on January 26. As the videos of the concert have taken the Internet by storm, a clip of Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin walking hand-in-hand with his girlfriend Dakota Johnson on Ahmedabad streets after the show has gone viral.

In the video, Chris and Dakota, who ditched their luxury rides to avoid the traffic, were seen walking on the footpath while holding hands. Surrounded by fans and security guards, the duo also shared some conversations and laughter with Indian fans who quickly thronged the duo.

Another clip depicted the crowd following the couple, while the traffic police ensured that the traffic moved smoothly. A fan could be heard greeting Chris with a hello, to which he responded with a smile.

The singer opted for a casual blue t-shirt paired with black trousers, shoes and a blue cap, while Dakota wore a white top and black trousers. As soon as the clip was shared online, it captured the audience’s attention. An Instagram user wrote, “Omg! He is super cool.” Another one wrote, “His security should be more tight, like anything can happen.”

During the concert, Chris surprised fans with his soulful rendition of the patriotic songs Maa Tujhe Salaam and Vande Mataram on the occasion of the 76th Republic Day. He ended the concert with, “Salute to Mother India” and extended heartfelt wishes to everyone.

Another key highlight of the show was Chris dedicating a special song for the Indian star cricketer Jasprit Bumrah. He said, “O Jasprit, my beautiful brother. The best bowler in the whole of cricket. We did not enjoy watching you destroy England, wicket after wicket.”

Chris then addressed the audience in Hindi and thanked them for coming in large numbers from different corners of the country. “Dhanyawaad dosto. Aap sabhi ka bohot swagat hai hamare show me. Aap sabhi  ka bohat dhanyawaad ki aapne hume yaha perform karne ka mauka diya. Hume Ahmedabad me aake bohat hum bohat khushi ho rahi hai. Aur namaste aap sabko jo hume live stream par dekh rahe hai,” he said amidst a cheering audience. (Thank you, friends, we welcome you to this concert. Thanks for inviting us to your country and greetings to all those watching us on the livestream.)

With the Ahmedabad concert, Coldplay has concluded their Music of the Spheres tour in India. Before this, they performed in Mumbai on January 18, 19 and 21.

Last Updated:January 27, 2025, 18:44 IST

14 ambulances have been deployed at these four locations. They will operate from 7 am to 10 pm during peak hours and cover an area of 10 to 12 kilometres

Residents and visitors to Noida and Greater Noida should exercise caution as certain roads present significant safety hazards. Familiarising oneself with these hazardous roads and taking necessary precautions is essential to ensure personal safety.

Four black spots, areas with a statistically high occurrence of accidents, have been identified in Noida and Greater Noida. Motorists frequently using these routes are urged to exercise increased caution.

The number of road accidents resulting in injuries is consistently rising at these four locations in Noida and Greater Noida, which have been designated as black spots due to this concerning trend.

These include Badlapur, Pari Chowk, Sector 62, and Sector 39 District Hospital. These frequently used roads are known for their heavy traffic congestion, which contributes to a high number of accidents and injuries.

To address this issue, the Gautam Buddha Nagar Health Department has deployed 14 ambulances in these four locations. This initiative enables injured persons to be taken to the hospital immediately by dialling 108. The ambulances will operate from 7 am to 10 pm during peak hours and will cover an area of 10 to 12 kilometres. Each ambulance will be staffed with a driver and an EMT.

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari recently made a significant announcement. Following a meeting with state Transport Ministers in Delhi, he declared that individuals who transport accident victims to hospitals within the crucial “golden hour” will receive a reward of Rs 10,000. This initiative aims to encourage immediate assistance and potentially save lives. A formal notification detailing the policy is expected to be released shortly.

Last Updated:January 27, 2025, 18:21 IST

India’s newly appointed batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak opened up on Shami’s absence in the series so far. 

Mohammed Shami’s inclusion in India’s squad for the ongoing T20I series came as a pleasant surprise as the pacer looked to make a full recovery after his absence from international cricket for over a year.

However, despite being named in the T20I squad and the Champions Trophy coming soon, many expected Shami to start, but the Indian team management felt otherwise.

Speaking ahead of the third T20I in Rajkot, India’s newly appointed batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak opened up on Shami’s absence in the series so far.

“Pacer Mohammed Shami is fit. The call on when he will play will be taken by the team management,” said India’s new batting coach.

The previous T20Is that took place in Kolkata and Chennai, had pitches that were more favoured for the spinners. The Men in Blue had opted to use five specialist batters and three all-rounders to lengthen their batting order as well.

Shami has had a rather tough road to recovery after his tremendous display in the 2023 edition of the ODI World Cup in India where he finished as the highest wicket-taker with 24 wickets despite playing only seven games.

With three more T20Is left, followed by the three-match T20I series, the Indian team would not want to take unnecessary risks with Shami and risk his participation in the Champions Trophy as well.

That said, it will also be equally important that the veteran pacer has enough international game time under his belt to ensure that he can deliver at his expected levels.

The pitch in Rajkot could be a batting-friendly track where Shami could be deployed to test his mettle against a quality English batting line-up led by the in-form Jos Buttler. Looking to wrap up the series victory early on, Shami’s inclusion will also be a closely watched topic with fans eager to see their World Cup hero back on the international stage.

India’s T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Axar Patel (VC), Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Shivam Dube, Ramandeep Singh.

Last Updated:January 27, 2025, 18:17 IST

Anant Ambani was recently spotted wearing a limited edition Richard Mille watch. The dial of the watch features a panda which has been adorned with diamonds and black sapphires.

The Ambani family knows how to make statements with their looks. Not just their impeccable outfits, they go big even when it comes to their accessories. Recently, Anant Ambani was seen sporting a luxurious limited edition Swiss watch.

Here’s all that you need to know about Anant’s luxurious watch which is a masterpiece in itself.

For his recent appearance, Anant Ambani sported a luxurious Richard Mille. Known as the Richard Mille RM26-01 Tourbillon Panda, the watch is as exclusive as it can get. According to the official website, only 15 pieces of this watch are available globally. The watch comes with a fixed 18kt white gold diamond set bezel and a classic black leather leather strap.

The focal point of this watch is the Panda art which adorns the dial. The dial features a panda along with detailed bamboo shoots. The panda has been made entirely from diamonds and black sapphire to mimic the black and white fur of the animal. The bamboo leaves, on the other hand, are hand-painted to perfection.

Anant has previously been spotted wearing Richard Mille watches. On a previous occasion, he wore the super exclusive Richard Mille RM 52-04 ‘Skull’ Blue Sapphire. Only three pieces of this watch are available globally. Apart from Anant, director Atlee was also spotted wearing a Richard Mille RM 65-01 Automatic Chronograph Full Rose Gold watch. Similarly, Punjabi singer and rapper Karan Aujla also wears a watch by the same brand.

Last Updated:January 27, 2025, 18:09 IST

The BJP used a video of Arvind Kejriwal’s controversial home to remind voters of the alleged opulence inside, including automatic doors for Rs 70 lakh, ovens costing Rs 9 lakh, and massage chairs worth Rs 4 lakh

In the final leg of its campaign for the Delhi assembly elections, the BJP once again trained the spotlight on the controversial ‘Sheesh Mahal’, without attacking sops offered by the AAP government – this is a significant shift from its strategy applied during the 2020 polls.

In fact, the BJP’s insistence that it will continue the Delhi government’s ‘freebies’ has forced the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to announce more such promises this time.

Late on Sunday, the BJP reminded voters of former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s house, which has automatic doors allegedly for Rs 70 lakh, ovens allegedly costing Rs 9 lakh, and massage chairs allegedly worth Rs 4 lakh.

A nearly three-minute detailed footage of the house, which has captured the voter’s imagination, answered the most frequently asked question – how does the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ look from the inside?

The video captures sitting rooms, gyms, bathrooms, bedrooms giving a sense of the opulence of the AAP chief’s residence, whose claim to fame was his appeal to the “commoner”. This has left the AAP voter base, consisting of those from the lower strata, much distracted ahead of the election.

Shehzad Poonawala, BJP national spokesperson, posted the video on X calling the “display of wealth” a “symbol of Arvind Kejriwal’s megalomania, corruption and obscene shamelessness and political conversion from no big house to making a mahal, swaraj to sharab”.

The BJP started the new year with Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching a scathing attack on Kejriwal, making his residence an election issue. On the same day, the central government gave away homes to the poor in Delhi.

“…poora desh janta hai ki Modi ne kabhi apne liye ghar nahin banaya…pichle 10 saalon mein 4 crore logon ko ghar diye…main bhi Sheesh Mahal bana sakta tha…par mere liye deshwasiyon ko ghar dena sapna tha (The country knows that Modi never built a home for himself. But, in the last 10 years, 4 crore citizens have been given houses. I could have also built a ‘Sheesh Mahal’. But, my dream was to give my citizens a house),” he said.

With polling only a few days away on February 5 and the issue reignited, the AAP may find itself on the backfoot at a crucial time in its campaign to win a fourth consecutive term in the national capital.

Last Updated:January 27, 2025, 17:52 IST

KL Rahul has been named in Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy squad in the must-win clash against Haryana.

Seasoned India batter KL Rahul was on Monday named in the Karnataka squad to face table-toppers Haryana in their final league match of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C, beginning here on January 30.

Rahul was given a go-ahead by the BCCI medical team as the wicketkeeper batter was rehabilitating from an elbow niggle after the tour to Australia, where he played all the five Tests.

PTI had reported on January 21 that Rahul would play for Karnataka in the final league match which will be his first Ranji Trophy match since appearing against Bengal at Kolkata in 2020.

Most of the senior India players such as Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravindra Jadeja appeared for their respective domestic sides in the previous round, but Rahul sat out of the match against Punjab which Karnataka won by an innings and 207 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Rahul is expected to train with the Karnataka squad, which will be led by opener Mayank Agarwal, from Tuesday.

Karnataka has also received a boost in their pace bowling department with Vidwath Kaverappa making a return after missing a large part of the ongoing domestic season due to an injury.

Karnataka are placed third in Group C with 19 points behind leaders Haryana (26) and Kerala (21).

A win, preferably with a bonus point, here is mandatory for Karnataka to keep their knockout hopes alive.

Karnataka squad against Haryana: Mayank Agarwal (captain), KL Rahul, Shreyas Gopal (vice-captain), Devdutt Padikkal, KV Aneesh, R Smaran, KL Shrijith (wk), Abhinav Manohar, Hardik Raj, Prasidh Krishna, Vidwath Kaverappa, Vasuki Koushik, Abhilash Shetty, Yashovardhan Parantap, Nikin Jose, Sujay Sateri (wk), Mohsin Khan.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)

Last Updated:January 27, 2025, 17:45 IST

England pacer, Mark Wood revealed that the bowling unit will look to focus on a wicket-taking approach to curb India’s ultra-aggressive batting unit.

The England bowling attack has been told not to worry about leaking runs and rather just focus on taking wickets against an ultra-aggressive Indian batting unit, senior pacer Mark Wood said on Monday.

Wood, who is in the middle of his first international commitment since July, has bowled decently in the series thus far. Fellow pacer Jofra Archer, however, conceded as many as 60 runs in four overs in the previous game in Chennai with Tilak Varma taking him to the cleaners.

India has taken their T20 game to the next level under skipper Suryakymar Yadav and England must find a way to counter them in the third T20I here on Tuesday. India leads the five-match series 2-0.

“We’ll just be trying to take wickets. I don’t think (Brendon) McCullum wants us to worry about runs too much, he’s all about how can we impact the game that way,” Wood said on the eve of the third T20I.

“We bowled well in the last game as a group. With the target they were chasing (167), we were always looking for that attacking option of taking wickets. Some might have gone for a few runs at times but I also felt what was going to win us the game was trying to bowl them out.”

England has struggled against the Indian spinners while the pace group led by Wood has posed a few challenges for the host team’s batters. Rajkot pitch usually offers plenty of runs, making it a batters versus batters contest.

“Speaking of pace against spin, I still think we’ve got one of the best spinners in the world in Adil Rashid, he’s a huge weapon for us and every time he plays, he looks like he’s going to get wickets. I wouldn’t count him out of our attack, he’s a vital part of it,” said Wood.

“And we’ve got a lot of options: Livingstone, Bethell if he comes back. As a pace bowling group, the other night maybe there were one or two overs we might have changed but in general, we kept coming at the India batters.

“One guy played exceptionally well (Tilak Varma), if the luck was slightly different: a top-edge that went for six over the wicketkeeper, if that goes straight up in the air, it’s a different story,” explained the 35-year-old.

Coming back to action after a long lay-off, Wood is satisfied with the pace he is generating but is seeking more accuracy.

“I felt a little bit hit and miss – I’ve done a couple of good things, it’s great that my pace has been up there and I feel it’s coming out my hand well but the accuracy at times hasn’t been quite where I wanted it. But when I haven’t played since August, it’s pretty much expected – I’ve played two games since then.

“Hopefully the more I play, the better I get leading into the 50-over stuff and the Champions Trophy. I’ll keep trying my best and try to improve in training. Hopefully, that narrows my focus even more.”

On India’s young guns including Varma and Abhishek Sharma, Wood added: “They play good shots. The depth of Indian batting, they have got experienced players and these young guys coming in but my concentration is on England.”

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)

Last Updated:January 27, 2025, 17:30 IST

We are also covering: US Suspends Funding To Bangladesh After Trump Orders 90-Day Freeze On All Foreign Aid, Jasprit Bumrah Wins ICC Test Cricketer Of The Year 2024 Award, and other top stories.

In today’s evening digest, News18 brings latest updates on Amit Shah’s Maha Kumbh visit, Uniform Civil Code implemented in Uttarakhand, and other top stories.

‘Anti-Hindu’: BJP Hits Back At Congress Chief Kharge Over ‘Dubki’ Remark On Amit Shah

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday courted controversy by targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who took a holy dip in Sangam at Prayagraj, saying that even after 100 births, he wouldn’t ascend to heaven. Read More

Uniform Civil Code In Uttarakhand From Today, Impact On Marriage, Divorce, Live-In Relationships Explained

Uttarakhand became the first state on Monday to implement Uniform Civil Code (UCC), to bring uniformity in personal civil matters irrespective of caste, religion, gender and other factors. Read More

Waqf Bill Cleared By Joint Parliamentary Committee, 14 Amendments Proposed By NDA Accepted

The Joint Parliamentary Committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill cleared the bill on Monday, adopting all amendments proposed by the ruling BJP-led NDA members and negating every change moved by opposition members. Read More

US Suspends Funding To Bangladesh After Trump Orders 90-Day Freeze On All Foreign Aid

After the Donald Trump administration issued a “stop-work” order for all existing foreign assistance and pausing new aid, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) suspended its funding in Bangladesh. Read More

Jasprit Bumrah Wins ICC Test Cricketer Of The Year 2024 Award

Star Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who accounted for the dismissal of 71 batters in 13 Test matches last year, won the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year 2024 award on Monday, January 27. Bumrah was in red-hot form for India in the home series against England and the away series against Australia. Read More

Sonu Nigam Disappointed As Alka Yagnik, Shreya Ghoshal Not Honoured With Padma Awards: ‘Kuch Nahi Mila’

Sonu Nigam has expressed disappointment as singers like Alka Yagnik, Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan and Kishore Kumar have not been honoured with Padma awards as of now. Recently, the singer took to his Instagram handle and shared a video in which he questioned the decision of not honouring these singers with Padma awards. He mentioned that these singers are an inspiration to all and therefore, their talents must be recognised. Read More

Last Updated:January 27, 2025, 17:31 IST

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to focus on stimulating economic growth in next month’s budget through measures

Budget Expectations

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to focus on stimulating economic growth in next month’s budget through measures such as income tax cuts. However, multiple brokerages suggest that a significant increase in capital expenditure is unlikely.

Since the government’s last budget announcement on July 23, 2024, India’s benchmark indexes have fallen around 7%, driven by concerns over slowing economic growth, corporate earnings, US trade policies, and persistent foreign outflows.

The Nifty 50 and Sensex are poised to record their fourth consecutive month of losses in January, marking their longest monthly losing streak in over 23 years.

Consumption Boost

According to Citi, addressing the cyclical slowdown in the domestic economy while maintaining macroeconomic stability could be the budget’s main focus. Consumer staples and agricultural input companies are expected to benefit from higher allocations to government schemes aimed at boosting rural incomes, as well as a potential increase in income tax exemption limits, Phillip Capital noted.

Fertilizer, insurance, and healthcare sectors could also gain from higher fertilizer subsidies, capital infusion into state-owned insurers, and potential tax rate reductions on life and health insurance, the brokerage added.

Jefferies pointed out that any increase in welfare spending could positively impact cement and rural recovery stocks, with companies like Bharti Airtel, Ultratech Cement, and TVS Motor likely to benefit from such initiatives.

Meaningful Income Tax Cut

Both Citi and Jefferies highlighted that meaningful income tax cuts for individuals earning between 1 million and 2 million rupees ($11,600-$23,200) could boost demand. Jefferies further noted that tax cuts could spur consumer discretionary spending, benefiting companies like Jubilant FoodWorks, Devyani International, Trent, V-Guard, Havells, and Maruti Suzuki India.

Job CreationAxis Securities anticipates that the budget will focus on boosting job creation and supporting employment-generating sectors, which could benefit infrastructure and consumer-centric companies.

Brokerages also noted that an increased focus on job creation might positively affect sectors such as manufacturing, construction, and textiles.

PLI Boost For Electronics Manufacturers

Jefferies suggested that the success of the production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes in sectors like electronics could lead to an expansion of the program to include sub-component manufacturing. Companies such as Syrma SGS, Kaynes Tech, and Amber Enterprises could be key beneficiaries of such an expansion.

Capex Pressure On the Industrial Sector

The government may project a 10% growth in capital expenditure (capex) for fiscal year 2026, following an already slow growth of up to 6% in the current financial year, according to multiple brokerages.

Jefferies noted that justifying a capex growth of more than 10% would be challenging amid rising social spending pressures. Any shortfall in capital expenditure could negatively impact engineering, procurement, and construction contractors like Larsen & Toubro and the broader industrial sector.