Confirmation of Ahmedabad as the host city for the 2030 Commonwealth Games (CWG) has sounded the starting gun for an accelerated infrastructure race across the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar belt. The Commonwealth Sport General Assembly’s approval on Wednesday has pushed the twin cities into delivery mode, with officials stressing that major venue construction plans are locked into a firm timeline.Speaking to the media in Glasgow after Ahmedabad won hosting rights, Gujarat principal secretary (sports, youth and cultural activities) Ashwani Kumar said that the city is poised to be the sports capital of India. “The construction of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave (SVPSE) and the Police Academy Sports Hub will begin in April 2026 and finish by late 2028 or early 2029,” he said.

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He announced that funding for both these projects had been secured by the govt and that “most venues for the 2030 Games are ready”. He also said that the “organising committee will be constituted within a month”.Long-term visionMuch of the Games’ footprint will be centred on the SVPSE — a purpose-built zone that will anchor Gujarat’s longterm sporting ecosystem. The enclave will house an arena, aquatic centre, tennis courts, training zones, and athlete villages. The Karai Police Academy complex will host athletics, shooting and other disciplines. For Gujarat, the CWG is as much about global visibility as about creating infrastructural and sporting capacity that endures beyond 2030.

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Unlike some sporting meets that span multiple states, the 2030 Games will be strikingly compact, concentrated almost entirely within the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar cluster. That will enable faster movement and a lower carbon footprint. “This compactness cuts athlete travel time and allows seamless integration of metro, BRTS and electric mobility,” states the document, ‘Games Vision, Concept and Legacy — Commonwealth Games 2030’, presented before the CWG committee. Only two disciplines — cycling at the Statue of Unity (near Kevadia) and women’s cricket in Vadodara — will take place outside this hub.The Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s largest cricket stadium, will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2030 Games — massive productions that are expected to reflect the Commonwealth Sport values.Beyond the Games, Gujarat — which hosted the National Games in 2022 — is pushing lesser-known disciplines like netball, lawn bowls, kabaddi, and yogasana into the spotlight. The bigger shift is strategic — Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar aim to become year round sports cities, with high performance labs, community spaces and university-linked infrastructure to ensure post Games utilisation.

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Focus on sustainabilityAhmedabad also plans to discuss sustainability, diversity and inclusion during the Commonwealth heads of govt meeting (CHOGM) 2026 and 2028.Tejas Joshi, president of Credai Gujarat, said, “Hosting the CWG will be a game changer for Ahmedabad. The city’s infrastructure will see a drastic change with improved roads and connectivity. It will create demand for around 20,000 star-category hotel rooms and boost hotel and retail development. It will also eventually bring new migration to the city, resulting in increased housing demand.”Accommodation is expanding fast. “Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar offer 5,420 hotel rooms in the 3-5 star range, with 3,000 more planned, including 1,500 new 5-star rooms. Upgraded university hostels will house athletes during the Games and serve students later,” states the proposal.

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Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport, handling 13.4 million passengers annually, will add a new terminal by 2026 to double its capacity and introduce e-gates and kiosks.Eye on olympics“World-class sports academies will be set up, encouraging a sports culture among city youths. After the Commonwealth Games, Ahmedabad aims to host the 2036 Olympics. The next decade will bring historic developments to the city,” said Joshi.Behind the scenes, athlete development is accelerating. Gujarat’s sports budget has grown from Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 521 crore over two decades, strengthening long-term athlete development pathways and strengthening academies. Part of the focus is also on scaling up talent hunts like Khel Mahakumbh, which saw engagement from 7 million participants, and schemes such as Shaktidoot to support athletes.

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Public participation will also be a defining layer. Programmes like Active Gujarat will convert riverfronts and parks into fitness zones. At the same time, Sabarmati Sundays — weekly openstreet events — will be expanded in the run-up to 2030. College students will join as youth ambassadors through the National Service Scheme (NSS) and the National Cadet Corps (NCC). By 2030, Gujarat plans to train 10,000 volunteers and create over 30,000 jobs linked to the Games.

Hong Kong, one of the world’s major financial centres, saw a tragic incident on Wednesday afternoon when a massive fire swept through high-rise towers. The flames tore through the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po, killing more than 90 people and leaving hundreds injured or missing.As the fire raged, residents watched their homes burn and their neighbourhood fill with smoke. Many people said they were left devastated, homeless and unsure of what to do next.

Local resident Shirley Chan said the sight was unbearably sad. “Imagine a home — gone, burnt. Anyone would be heartbroken. I can relate to that; it’s truly heartbreaking. A home, gone in flames,” Chan said. “I can’t even put it into words.”For many longtime residents, the shock was even deeper.A 65-year-old man surnamed Yuen said he had lived there for more than forty years. His neighbourhood is full of elderly people, many of whom rely on wheelchairs or walkers, and the fire left him and his wife without a home.“The windows were closed because of the maintenance, (some people) didn’t know there was a fire and had to be told to evacuate via phone calls by neighbours,” Yuen told AFP. “I’m devastated.”Tong Pingmoon, 74, who lives in Block 1, said he first noticed the smell of smoke. Moments later, a firefighter knocked on his door and warned him and his wife that a neighbouring building was on fire. Believing their unit would remain safe, the couple chose not to evacuate.But the situation quickly worsened, he said. As the smoke thickened, Tong and his wife hid in the bathroom, blocked the gap under the door with wet towels, switched on the ventilation fan and called for help. Rescuers eventually reached them around 6 p.m., he said.“We were so lucky,” said Tong, speaking from a nearby school that had been turned into a shelter, wrapped in a blanket as he recounted the escape. “It was pitch dark,” he told NYT. “We wouldn’t have made it if we had to head out by ourselves.”One description simply said to Reuters “27th floor, room 1: He is Volunteers rushed in to help. One of them, 29-year-old Logan Yeung, said he planned to stay on-site until the rescue work ended.“My heart is tingling,” he told AFP, adding that he believes construction issues were the cause of the incident.Another Tai Po resident, a 57-year-old surnamed So, said the scenes were painful to watch.“There’s nothing that can be done about the property. We can only hope that everyone, no matter old or young, can return safely,” So told AFP.A man in his 40s who owns an apartment in the complex said he didn’t know where to go or what to do next.“The fire is not yet under control and I dare not leave, and I don’t know what I can do,” he said.Residents were evacuated in large buses as nearby buildings were also cleared for safety. Fire services struggled to enter the towers because of the extreme heat.“The temperatures inside the buildings concerned are very high, so it’s quite difficult for us to enter the building and go upstairs and conduct firefighting and rescue operation,” said Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of the Hong Kong Fire Services Department.Also read: China Taiping shares slump on feared insurance exposure; disaster city’s worst in decades

What led to the tragedy?

The fire began around 2:50pm on Wednesday. The complex has eight towers with about 2,000 apartments. Workers had been doing repairs, and the buildings were wrapped in bamboo scaffolding, a material that burns easily. Last year, officials had already warned about the danger of bamboo after another fire spread quickly in a similar situation.Although the exact cause of the fire is still unclear, the bamboo scaffolding is suspected to have played a major role, as the traditional material is highly combustible.By Thursday morning, police arrested three men and said that flammable materials left behind during repair work helped the fire “to spread rapidly beyond control”.Officials later confirmed 55 deaths, including a 37-year-old firefighter who lost contact with his team while battling the flames. Hundreds of people were still unaccounted for, though some were later found safe. More than 900 residents had to leave their homes and move into temporary shelters.Also read: 55 dead, hundreds still missing; videos show flames leaping from high-rise towers

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 Mega Auction has officially concluded. With teams opting for strategic releases due to retention constraints, the auction pool was deep, setting the stage for aggressive bidding wars and some truly spectacular purchases. Franchises strategically overhauled their squads, focusing on all-round talent and proven match-winners to gear up for the upcoming season.

Indian stars shine bright

While overseas players like Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine grabbed headlines, the auction was also a huge endorsement for high-quality domestic talent. Deepti Sharma and Shikha Pandey were top-five buys, reinforcing their status as non-negotiable assets for any WPL team.

The uncapped Indian leg-spinner Asha Sobhana went to UP Warriorz for a huge ₹1.1 Crore, reflecting the immense value placed on domestic spinners, especially after recent international and WPL performances.

The biggest shock: Alyssa Healy goes unsold

In the most astonishing turn of events, Australian captain and one of the most destructive T20 batters in the world, Alyssa Healy, found no takers. Her high base price and the strategic use of overseas slots by teams likely contributed to this decision, highlighting the ruthless calculus involved in team composition under the WPL’s roster constraints.

Also READ: Fans erupt as veteran star Shikha Pandey secures massive payday at WPL 2026 mega auction

Complete list of Sold players at WPL 2026 auction

Also READ: Deepti Sharma emerges as the second most expensive player in WPL history

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.

NEW DELHI: The income tax department has launched a fresh campaign to nudge those with overseas assets or income to disclose details in India. Initially, around 25,000 high-risk cases will be targeted through SMS and e-mails, with the campaign proposed to be expanded mid-Dec to cover others, and improve the compliance ecosystem.The initiative comes exactly a year after a similar move led to nearly 25,000 taxpayers disclosing Rs 29,000 crore overseas assets and income of Rs 1,090 crore.Following analysis of data for 2024, from other tax jurisdictions, Central Board of Direct Taxes has identified high-risk cases in which foreign assets seem to exist, but have not been reported in FY 2024-25 I-T returns, a statement said. ‘Second NUDGE’ to advise people to review their returns by Dec 31The “second NUDGE campaign” will advise taxpayers to review and revise their returns by Dec 31 to avoid penal consequences. “The campaign aims at facilitating correct reporting in Schedule Foreign Assets and Foreign Source Income (FSI) in ITRs. Accurate & complete disclosure of foreign assets and income is a statutory requirement under the Income Tax Act, 1961, and the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015,” CBDT said.The Black Money Act has prescribed penalty of Rs 10 lakh for non-disclosure of overseas assets apart from tax of 30% and penalty of 300% on the taxable amount.The income tax department has assessed around 1,080 cases, raising demand of Rs 40,000 crore till June 2025.Searches were also conducted in Delhi, Mumbai & Pune, based on data received on investments in Dubai, unearthing undisclosed foreign assets and income worth several hundreds of crores, an official said. Tax officials said that as part of the campaign, large companies whose employees have foreign assets and have not disclosed them are also being onboarded to sensitise taxpayers. Industry bodies, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, and other associations have been requested to create awareness.

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Kolhapur: Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, while campaigning at Rahimatpur in Koregaon tehsil of Satara district on Thursday, alleged massive discrepancies in Mumbai’s electoral rolls. He claimed over 11 lakh duplicate voters exist and that genuine voters are being manipulated into different wards if they do not favour specific candidates.“The count of double, triple, quadruple voters in Mumbai is around 11 lakh. If a few voters are not voting in ones favour, pushing them into a different ward is the trend being seen recently. I have requested the Election Commission to correct the mistakes in the voter list. This has been ongoing for several years. This kind of double, triple voting will not be tolerated in Maharashtra,” he said while addressing a public rally organised by NCP and Shiv Sena ahead of the Rahimatpur Municipal Council elections. He also appealed to the residents to vote for Nandana Sunil Mane for the post of mayor for assuring development in terms of education, health, good roads, transport systems and playgrounds.“Elections are not won by giving threats. Showing arrogance to the voters won’t be tolerated. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar ensured equal right to vote for every caste and religion, for rich and poor. If some official is knowingly or unknowingly making mistakes, then it should be corrected immediately. Let people decide who they want to win,” he said,Earlier in the day, the deputy CM addressed political rallies at Wadala and Kurduwadi in Solapur district. “NCP is based on the ideology of Shiv-Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar. We are moving forward on the path of civilisation shown by the former chief minister, late Yashwantrao Chavan. No one would be deprived of development. Farmers should live happily. If the farmers break down, the state breaks down,” Ajit Pawar said.Former zilla parishad president Baliram Sathe of NCP (SP) also joined NCP along with his colleagues. Amidst his busy schedule, Ajit Pawar took time to visit Ram temple built within the complex of the educational institution of MLA Subhash Bapu Deshmukh in Solapur on Thursday noon.Later, Pawar addressed a joint public meeting at Kurduwadi in Madha tehsil of Solapur district organised by the NCP and RPI (A) in the backdrop of the Kurduwadi municipal council election. Here Pawar appealed to the people to elect Surekha Nivrutti Gore for the post of mayor, along with other candidates of their party.