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The Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) has the potential to fundamentally change urban mobility patterns while acting as a catalyst for decentralised economic growth along transit corridors, real estate consultant Knight Frank said in a new report, PTI reported.According to a Knight Frank India study released on Friday, titled ‘Regional Rapid Transit System: Testing the Commuters’ Pulse’, the RRTS represents a significant step in India’s push for faster, more efficient and better-integrated regional transport, PTI reported.The report said the high-speed rail system could sharply reduce travel time, expand labour markets and help peripheral cities integrate more closely with national and global value chains, strengthening their economic relevance.The flagship Delhi–Ghaziabad–Meerut RRTS corridor, being implemented by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), has already begun phased operations. Approved at a cost of over Rs 30,000 crore, the 82-km corridor is expected to cut travel time between Delhi and Meerut to under an hour.Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of Knight Frank India, said the RRTS should be viewed as more than a transport project. “RRTS is not only a transport solution, but a catalyst for decentralised economic growth,” he said.“For investors and developers, RRTS corridors represent tangible opportunities for growth where infrastructure dovetails with land-use planning and commercial momentum,” Baijal added, while noting that long-term success would depend on coordinated planning across transport, land use and investment priorities.The report described RRTS as a structural intervention in India’s urban growth dynamics, stressing that its impact would hinge on more than timely infrastructure delivery. It called for coordinated efforts to expand economic opportunities, strengthen social and physical infrastructure, and ensure the availability of affordable housing along RRTS corridors to support sustainable urbanisation

England’s Ben Stokes reacts after attempting to stop a boundary on the first day of the fourth Ashes cricket Test match between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne. (AFP)

New Delhi: The Bazballers arrived on Australian shores with plenty of noise, wrapped in bravado and belief, armed with soundbites about fearlessness and a self-appointed mission to save Test cricket — a cause they have gone gaga over for the past few years. But the aura has thinned. The defiance feels rehearsed. Australia have done what they have done to almost every visiting side — barring India in 2017–18 and 2020–21 — strip away the noise, test the method, and grind it down to its barest truths.This was not a clash of philosophies; it was a reality check.

England swung hard, spoke louder, and clung to conviction even as conditions, quality, and context caught up with them. England’s Bazball didn’t just lose the Ashes in 11 days; it lost its credibility. The idea still survives, loudly defended by its believers, but the illusion of invincibility is gone. And once that disappears, cults are forced to confront the hardest question of all: what remains when faith turns to failure?Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Eight weeks into this Ashes, the Bazball philosophy lies bruised on the mat, sobered and unmistakably exposed. Australia is not an easy place to win. The scoreline is unforgiving at 3–0, and after Day 1 at the MCG, there appears to be no end to England’s suffering. Twenty wickets fell on a frenetic opening day, but it was the home side who emerged on top with a sizeable first-innings lead of 46 runs.England have been under intense scrutiny since landing Down Under, with several former greats — including former captains Michael Vaughan, Ian Botham and Geoffrey Boycott — publicly questioning Brendon McCullum’s side and its preparation for the series.

England’s Josh Tongue, center, celebrates the wicket of Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne, left, during their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)

There had been genuine optimism ahead of the tour that England might finally end their 14-year wait for an Ashes triumph in Australia. Instead, history repeated itself. England once again fell short, extending their winless run on Australian soil to 18 Tests. That number may well reach 19 by the end of the week.Individually, two of England’s modern day greats – Joe Root and skipper Ben Stokes – have never won a Test in Australia. Overall, Root has lost 21 Ashes Tests and Stokes 17.England have also drawn attention during the tour for their off-field activities. The team was first spotted playing golf in Perth both before and immediately after their two-day defeat in the opening Test.

England’s Ben Stokes, second right, celebrates with teammates. (AP/PTI Photo)

Following their eight-wicket loss at The Gabba, the ‘Bazballers’ then took a pre-arranged mid-series break in Noosa. Players were seen relaxing with drinks and a casual kickabout on the beach. In the aftermath of the third Test, the BBC reported that England’s players had been out drinking for six days following the second Test.During England’s 4–1 mauling at the hands of Rohit Sharma’s young Indian side a couple of years ago, former England captain Nasser Hussain had remarked: “At times, Bazball in this regime has been described as a cult where you cannot criticise, either within or externally.”That mindset has been one of the cornerstones of Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s leadership since they took charge in the summer of 2022. No finger-pointing, only good vibes. Crusty old quotes from former players, media and critics are ignored, irrespective of results. Winning, as has been said repeatedly, isn’t even the most important thing.

Hertha Berlin supporters

Bazball may sound like a novel idea in modern cricket, but it finds precedent in the world of club football — particularly among the Ultras. The term refers to supporters whose loyalty crosses into fanaticism, defined by uncompromising devotion to their teams.Their history has often been marred by violence and gang rivalries, giving the movement a bloodstained reputation. Yet the intensity of their support is such that Ultras, usually stationed behind the goals, wield real influence, commanding the attention of players and club hierarchies alike. Trophies matter, but what truly defines an Ultra is the disciplined, almost militaristic backing of the club through success and failure.Take the example of Berlin’s top clubs. Hertha Berlin and Union Berlin, shaped on opposite sides of the Wall, carry a more understated identity than Germany’s global powerhouses Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. There were even periods when Berlin lacked a top-flight club altogether. Still, beneath the surface, the city’s football culture has remained vibrant and deeply entrenched.

England players celebrate the wicket of Australia’s Scott Boland, center left, during their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)

“If you want to define culture as being about success, titles, numbers and industry, f**k off. Then you have to go to Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund,” rapper Liquit Walker, a lifelong Union Berlin fan, once told Copa90. “But if you want to see real culture, real football culture, this is the place to be.”Much like football Ultras, the Bazball movement has found loyal supporters — particularly among sections of the media and former cricketers, who have sold the idea as though cricket has been reinvented.But cricket can never be football. No matter how it is packaged, the Bazball idea is falling flat, and its accompanying arrogance has only made matters worse.Take Alastair Cook, England’s hero during the 2010–11 Ashes — the last time they won in Australia. Cook scored 766 runs. In India in 2012, another rare overseas triumph, he made 562 runs. Substance, not slogans, defined those victories.

England’s Ben Stokes walks off after losing his wicket to Australia during their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)

But Stokes has famoulsy said that even England’s greatest past players might not have survived in the current regime. They went all in on the cult of Bazball and initially found the backing of fans to flourish. But in recent weeks, Australia — a side Stuart Broad had labelled the “weakest since 2010” — have outplayed England in every facet, despite not fielding their best XI in every Test.This England side, like many cults before it, is beginning to fracture. The Bazballers, once tipped to be invincible, appear closer to their reckoning.

Former England captain Mike Atherton captured it succinctly in his column for The Times: “The biggest fascination for me about ‘Bazball’ was always whether ‘no-consequence’, carefree cricket could hold up under the fiercest pressure… The answer, clearly, has been no. The harsh realities of professional sport have resurfaced and swamped them.”So far, this Ashes for the Bazballers has been defined by golf, beaches, booze — and batterings.

India’s exports of creative goods rose in the first seven months of FY26, driven by strong demand for fashion accessories, jewellery, carpets and toys, with the UAE emerging as the largest destination, according to an ET analysis.The exports of creative goods increased 7.3% year-on-year to $12.5 billion during April–October FY26, up from $11.7 billion in the same period last year. This segment includes products such as fashion accessories, jewellery, carpets, interior, and toys, with fashion accessories and jewellery continuing to dominate the export mix.The United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) defines creative goods as products involving “the cycle of creation, production and distribution of a tangible product with creative content, economic and cultural value and a market objective”. Over half of India’s creative goods exports were shipped to the UAE and the US during the period. UAE emerged as the fastest-growing market, with its share rising to 31% in April–October FY26 from 23.2% a year earlier. In contrast, US share declined to 26.1% from 34% over the same period.“A lot of front loading happened due to the US tariffs and there were Christmas orders which were shipped out which gave a bump up to the exports,” Manu Gupta, chairman of the Toy Association of India, said, ET reported.India’s growing role as a hub for outsourcing work such as game development and game support services has also contributed to the sector’s expansion. Among developing economies, India was the third-largest exporter of creative goods in 2023, after China and Hong Kong, accounting for 3% of global creative goods exports.Trade watchers noted that lab-grown diamonds are gaining traction in fashion jewellery, as affordability, convenience and demand for ethical and sustainable options appeal to younger consumers. The US, Spain, the UK, the UAE and the Netherlands remain the key markets for Indian fashion jewellery exports.

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday issued a strong-worded response to the recent incidents of violence in Bangladesh against Hindus and other minorities, warning that these could not be brushed aside as mere “media exaggerations or dismissed as political violence.“Responding to the recent developments in Bangladesh, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “In the last few days, we have issued more than a couple of statements rejecting the false narrative being projected in Bangladesh.”On the killing of another Hindu man, Amrit Mondal, he said, “We are aware of the recent developments in Bangladesh and are closely monitoring the situation.”

“The unremitting hostilities against minorities in Bangladesh, including Hindus, Christians and Buddhists, at the hands of extremists are a matter of grave concern. We condemn the recent gruesome killing of a Hindu youth in Mymensingh and expect the perpetrators of the crime to be brought to justice,” the spokesperson said.“Over 2,900 incidents of violence against minorities, including cases of killings, arson and land grabbing, have been documented by independent sources during the tenure of the interim government,” he added.“These incidents cannot be brushed aside as mere media exaggerations or dismissed as political violence,” the MEA spokesperson said.Also read: Hindu group protests in Dhaka; demand action over minority lynchings in BangladeshA day after another Mondal was lynched in Bangladesh’s Rajbari district, Yunus-led interim government claimed the incident was not related to communal violence. It said Mondal was “accused” in several serious criminal cases.In the statement, the Bangladeshi government said that it has taken note of the spread of what it termed “misleading information” on social media regarding the killing.On the return of BNP leader Tarique Rahman after 17 years, the MEA spokesperson said, “India supports free and fair elections in Bangladesh, and this development should be seen in that context.”

Mumbai’s Rohit Sharma and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (PTI Photo)

Mumbai batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi was taken to hospital in Jaipur after suffering a serious head injury during the Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Uttarakhand on Friday, triggering concern among players and fans alike. The 21-year-old was hurt while fielding at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium and had to be stretchered off the ground immediately.According to media reports, Raghuvanshi, who represents Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, was shifted to a nearby medical facility for further checks. Images and videos of him being carried off the field quickly circulated on social media, highlighting the severity of the incident and prompting widespread worry.

Earlier in the match, Raghuvanshi contributed 11 runs from 20 balls as Mumbai piled up a formidable 331 for seven. The total was built on a series of solid and impactful performances across the batting order.Rohit Sharma, coming off a commanding 155 not out in Mumbai’s opening game of the tournament, was dismissed for a duck on this occasion. However, Mumbai recovered well through half-centuries from Musheer Khan and Sarfaraz Khan. Musheer scored 55 off 56 balls, striking seven fours, while Sarfaraz added 55 from 49 deliveries, which included six boundaries and a six.Wicketkeeper-batter Hardik Tamore provided the late surge, remaining unbeaten on 93 from 82 balls with seven fours and two sixes. Skipper Shardul Thakur chipped in with 29, while Shams Mulani made a valuable 48, as Mumbai accelerated from 230 for six to reach 331 for seven at the end of 50 overs. For Uttarakhand, Devendra Bora was the standout bowler, finishing with figures of three for 74.Mumbai had begun their Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign in emphatic fashion, crushing Sikkim by eight wickets. That match was headlined by Rohit’s blistering century, as Mumbai chased down a target of 237 in just 30.3 overs.The opening fixture was played in front of a near-capacity crowd of around 20,000 on Christmas Eve, with fans witnessing a trademark ‘Hitman’ onslaught that featured 18 fours and nine sixes, setting the tone for Mumbai’s campaign.

England’s Ben Stokes, second right, celebrates with teammates. (AP/PTI Photo)

The fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground erupted into history on Friday as a staggering 20 wickets fell on the opening day — the first time such carnage has unfolded on Day One of an Ashes Test since January 1902. In a breathless, old-school shootout, Australia were bowled out for 152 yet still emerged with a first-innings lead after England collapsed for 110, leaving the contest finely poised despite the chaos.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The mayhem played out before a record-breaking Boxing Day crowd of 94,199 at the MCG, the largest ever for a day of Test cricket, eclipsing the attendance at the 2015 World Cup final. What they witnessed was a throwback to the uncovered-pitch era — movement, mistakes and momentum swings by the over.

England struck first after Ben Stokes won the toss on a green-tinged surface. Josh Tongue produced a career-best spell of 5 for 45, ripping through Australia’s top order as the hosts slid to 72 for 4 by lunch. Travis Head and Jake Weatherald departed cheaply, Marnus Labuschagne edged behind, and captain Steve Smith was bowled for nine attempting an ambitious drive.Usman Khawaja (29) briefly steadied the innings, while Michael Neser (35) and Cameron Green (17) added 52 for the seventh wicket, but Tongue returned to mop up the tail, dismissing Neser and Scott Boland with consecutive deliveries. Australia were done by tea — but the drama was only beginning.

Most wickets on Day 1 in AUS vs ENG Tests

England’s reply unraveled even faster. They slumped to 16 for 4 as Michael Neser (4 for 45) and Mitchell Starc exploited the same treacherous conditions. Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell fell cheaply before Joe Root edged behind for a duck.Harry Brook counter-punched with a brave 41 off 34 balls, adding 50 with Stokes, but Scott Boland (3 for 30) slammed the brakes on, removing Brook, Jamie Smith and Will Jacks in quick succession. England were dismissed inside 30 overs, conceding a 42-run deficit.Australia survived a nervous over before stumps to reach 4 without loss, leading by 46. The 20 wickets marked the most on Day One of a Boxing Day Test and the first Ashes Day One with 20 wickets since 1901/02.

Most wickets on Day 1 of a Test in Australia

Nvidia has acquired the assets of AI chip startup Groq in a $20 billion. The deal represents a 3x premium over Groq’s valuation just months ago and it is being viewed as a defensive play to protect Nvidia’s dominance against a rising trend of tech companies preferring custom silicon, specifically Google TPUs. The move is said to be driven by two key factors: the need for cost efficiency and the demand for higher processing speeds. Nvidia is currently struggling to meet the overwhelming global demand for its GPUs, and tech companies are looking for specialised alternatives as AI race hots up.Nvidia lost billions after Meta reportedly struck deal with Google for TPUsEarlier this year, Nvidia issued a statement defending its market position after a report claimed that one of its biggest customers, Facebook parent company Meta, is in advanced talks to spend billions on Google’s competing AI chips. This hit Nvidia’s stock, erasing roughly $250 billion in market value.

Difference between Nvidia GPU vs Google TPU

Before we jump on to Nvidia vs Google debate, it must be understood the difference between the products offered by both the companies. Nvidia GPUs have are ‘General Purpose’, which means they can be utilised for AI, gaming, crypto mining and scientific simulations. Google TPUs, however, are specialised chips designed for speeding up the “tensor” math that powers machine learning. Apart from flexibility, other differences include speed and efficiency. While Nvidia’s GPUs offer excellent speed, it has overhead for general tasks and are costly. Google’s TPUs are ultra-fast for specific AI training/inference (running an AI model and getting an answer with less lag), and can be mixed-and-matched with Nvidia GPUs to increase efficiency and lower cost.

Why Nvidia struck deal with Groq

Groq offers a technology similar to Google’s TPUs. According to the company’s website:Groq builds fast AI inference. Groq LPU AI inference technology delivers exceptional AI compute speed, quality, and affordability at scale. Groq AI inference infrastructure, specifically GroqCloud, is powered by the Language Processing Unit (LPU), a new category of processor. Groq created and built the LPU from the ground up to meet the unique needs of AI. LPUs run Large Language Models (LLMs) and other leading models at substantially faster speeds and, on an architectural level, up to 10x more efficiently from an energy perspective compared to GPUs.By acquiring Groq’s fast and efficient LPU technology to complement its powerful GPUs, Nvidia is trying to neutralise the risk of a rival offering a low-cost alternative that could have ‘shrunk’ the company’s dominance to the “training-only” market. The strategic deal will allow Nvidia to capture the entire customer lifecycle through a tiered offering – directing premium clients toward high-end GPUs for heavy-duty model training and steering price-sensitive users toward LPUs for high-speed inference.

Representational AI photo

Doctors in China have grafted a woman’s torn-off ear onto her foot to keep it alive, before later reattaching it to her head.The woman lost her ear in a workplace accident in April that also caused severe injuries to her scalp, neck and face. According to medical news platform Yixue Jie, also known as Med-J, her ear was completely severed.When the patient was brought to the hospital, the hand, foot and reconstructive microsurgery team first attempted to repair the scalp using standard surgical methods, Qiu Shenqiang, deputy director of the microsurgery unit at Shandong Provincial Hospital in Jinan, said, reported South China Morning Post.However, the damage to the scalp tissue and blood vessels was too severe, and the procedure failed. Doctors were unable to reattach the ear at that stage, as the skull tissue needed time to heal.To keep the ear alive, the medical team decided to graft it onto the top of the woman’s foot. Qiu said the arteries and veins in the foot were of a suitable size and compatible with those of the ear.He added that the skin and soft tissue on the foot are similar in thinness to those on the head, which reduced the need for major adjustments later.

A long and delicate surgery

The initial operation to graft the ear onto the foot took 10 hours. One of the main challenges was reconnecting the ear’s extremely fine blood vessels, which measured only 0.2 to 0.3 millimetres in diameter.Five days later, doctors noticed problems with blood circulation, known as venous reflux. The ear turned a purplish-black colour, putting it at risk.To save it, the team carried out manual bloodletting around 500 times over five days.While monitoring the ear, doctors also worked to restore the woman’s scalp. Skin taken from her stomach was grafted onto her head to repair the damaged area.After months of recovery and reconstruction, the ear was eventually reattached to its original position.

China’s history of unusual reconstructive surgeries

This is not the first time Chinese doctors have used unconventional methods to rebuild damaged body parts.In 2013, a 17-year-old girl named Xu Jianmei received a pioneering face transplant after doctors grew facial tissue on her chest using skin taken from her leg. She had been badly burned in a fire at the age of five and had lost her chin, eyelids and part of her ear.In 2017, doctors grew an artificial ear on a man’s arm for three months before transplanting it onto his head. The man had lost his ear in a traffic accident, and the surrounding skin and blood vessels were too damaged for a standard implant.