NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Tuesday said some mechanism needs to be devised, not necessarily punitive, to make voting compulsory so that democracy gets stronger by attracting more eligible people to contest elections and render Nota option redundant. A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the Nota option was devised to attract better candidates to the fray and to encourage voters to exercise their franchise. The decade-long experience shows that a minuscule percentage of voters exercised the option, the bench said.These observations came from the bench which was hearing a PIL by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy which argued for making Nota a candidate in the constituencies where only one candidate is in the fray to find out whether the lone contestant had the confidence of voters.Senior advocate Arvind Datar said that putting Nota on the ballot as a candidate would discourage the candidates with money and muscle power to make their opponents withdraw from the contest. The bench pointed out that to make Nota a candidate, Parliament would be required to carry out an amendment to the Representation of People Act. Attorney general R Venktaramani said when voting is not a fundamental right how could a PIL under Article 32, which is the recourse to approach SC directly in case of violation of fundamental rights, be maintainable.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar said putting Nota on the ballot as a candidate would discourage the candidates with money and muscle power to make their opponents withdraw from the contest.Attorney general R Venktaramani said when voting is not a fundamental right how could a PIL under Article 32, which is the recourse to approach SC directly in case of violation of fundamental rights, be maintainable.“Let judiciary not decide what amendments are to be carried out in the RP Act. It is for Parliament to decide if any deficiency is required to be remedied or any amendment is to be carried out in a statute,” said the attorney general.The bench said it is the educated and well-off people who do not come out in large numbers to vote, which is in stark contrast to the people in rural areas where voting day resembles a festival that everyone celebrates by exercising their franchise.Govt in its affidavit had opposed the PIL and said, “Nota option is not a person which has been duly nominated at any election, hence cannot be held to be a candidate under Representation of People Act, 1951. ‘Nota’ ought not to be given an artificial personality. ‘Nota’ is merely an option or an expression and does not fit within definition of ‘candidate’.”

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz has fired back at fears that Anthropic’s new AI security tool could eat into his company’s business—by sharing what happened when he asked Claude itself to replace CrowdStrike. The move comes after Anthropic’s Claude Code Security launch wiped roughly a fifth off CrowdStrike’s market cap across two brutal trading sessions, dragging the wider cybersecurity sector down with it.Claude said no.“I have to be straightforward: building a replacement for CrowdStrike isn’t something I can do here,” the AI chatbot responded, according to a screenshot Kurtz posted on LinkedIn. Claude went on to describe CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform as “a massive platform built by thousands of engineers over a decade-plus,” citing its real-time kernel-level monitoring and proprietary threat intelligence graph as things that can’t be “replicated with a script.“Kurtz added his own punchline: “If you want to create AI, you need GPUs. If you want to deploy AI, you need security. That’s not a hallucination—it’s a fact.”

Anthropic’s Claude Code Security tool triggered a sharp sell-off across the cybersecurity sector

The CEO’s response comes after Anthropic’s announcement of Claude Code Security on February 20 sent cybersecurity stocks tumbling. The tool, currently in a limited research preview, scans codebases for security vulnerabilities and suggests patches for human review. Anthropic says its Claude Opus 4.6 model has already found over 500 vulnerabilities in production open-source codebases—bugs that went undetected for decades.CrowdStrike shares dropped roughly 8% on Friday and fell another 10% on Monday. Across the sector, Okta lost over 9%, SailPoint shed about 9%, Cloudflare slumped over 8%, and Zscaler dropped around 5.5%. The Global X Cybersecurity ETF fell to its lowest level since November 2023.

Analysts say the sell-off is overblown since the AI tool doesn’t handle real-time threat detection

Several analysts have pushed back on the panic. Bank of America noted that Anthropic’s tool primarily threatens code scanning platforms like GitLab and JFrog—not endpoint protection or identity management vendors. Robert W. Baird analyst Shrenik Kothari called it “a panic-driven, narrative-led selloff,” pointing out that Claude Code Security doesn’t handle live intrusion detection, active threat response, or runtime security.Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora echoed that sentiment on a recent earnings call, saying he was “confused” why the market viewed AI as a threat to cybersecurity rather than a tailwind.

CrowdStrike has lost roughly a fifth of its market cap in just two trading sessions

Still, the broader software sector remains under pressure. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF is down more than 23% this year, on pace for its worst quarterly drop since 2008. Jefferies analyst Joseph Gallo expects “headline headwinds to intensify” before the cybersecurity sector finds its footing, but maintains that the industry will ultimately be a net winner from AI adoption.For now, Kurtz is betting that Claude’s own words make the best case for his company’s durability.

The Pallekele International Cricket Stadium is bracing for a high-octane T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 encounter as Pakistan and England face off in a match that could define their semi-final trajectories.

Coming off a frustrating washout in Colombo against New Zealand, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha won the toss and elected to bat first, citing the need to set an ‘above-par total’ on a pitch that has historically favored the side setting the target. With the sun beating down on a fresh surface, England captain Harry Brook admitted he would have also preferred to bat first but remains confident in his side’s ability to chase down any total on what looks like a classic batting-friendly track.

T20 World Cup 2026: Reason why Faheem Ashraf is not playing today’s PAK vs ENG game

The headline news from the Pakistan camp is the return of their premier fast bowler, Shaheen Afridi, who replaces Faheem Ashraf in the only change from the side named for the rained-off game. Captain Salman Ali Agha clarified that while Faheem has been a reliable all-round option, the decision to bring back Shaheen was a strategic move to bolster the early-innings wicket-taking threat against England’s explosive top order. Agha noted that the team’s balance remains strong, stating:

“From the rained-off game, Faheem misses out and Shaheen comes back into the side. We have a strong spin attack, but our fast bowling is just as good. Depending on the situation, I can go either way. This being my first ICC tournament as captain, it’s obviously a responsibility, but I’m enjoying it and really looking forward to the challenge.”

Also READ: ‘If Pakistan are serious about T20 World Cup’: R Ashwin’s masterplan to neutralise England’s spin threat in Pallekele

T20 World Cup 2026: A must-win Super 8 game for the men in green in Pallekele

The road through the T20 World Cup 2026 has been a game of momentum and weather-watching for both sides. England enters this fixture at the top of Group 2, having already secured a clinical 51-run victory over Sri Lanka, where Will Jacks and Jofra Archer dismantled the hosts. For Pakistan, the journey has been more precarious; after a solid group stage, the “No Result” against New Zealand has left them with just one point, making today’s game a virtual knockout. A loss would leave Pakistan relying on complex mathematical scenarios and other results to reach the semi-finals.

The rivalry adds another layer of pressure, as Pakistan have never beaten England in their three previous T20 World Cup meetings. However, with Sahibzada Farhan leading the tournament run-scoring charts and a spin-heavy attack designed to exploit the Pallekele grip, Pakistan is banking on their familiarity with Sri Lankan conditions to break the curse. For Brook’s England, a win tonight would secure their spot in the semi-finals with a game to spare, while for Pakistan, it is a fight to keep their World Cup dreams alive before their final Super 8 clash against Sri Lanka.

Also READ: ENG vs PAK, T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium Pitch Report, T20I Stats and Records

NEW DELHI: What slows down a court case, why public trust in courts matters, and how corruption can affect access to justice are now questions Class 8 students will encounter in their civics textbook, with the latest NCERT social science book explicitly listing corruption, massive case pendency and shortage of judges as challenges facing India’s judicial system.The revised chapter, titled ‘The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society’, forms part of the new class VIII social science textbook released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Unlike earlier editions that focused largely on the structure of courts, judicial independence and access to justice, the updated chapter includes a detailed section on the problems confronting the judicial system.The book states that “people do experience corruption at various levels of the judiciary” and notes that for “the poor and the disadvantaged, this can worsen the issue of access to justice”. It adds that efforts are being made at both State and Union levels to “build faith and increase transparency in the judicial system, including through the use of technology, and to take swift and decisive action against instances of corruption wherever they may arise”.Highlighting the scale of pendency, the textbook pegs pending cases at around 81,000 in the Supreme Court, 62.4 lakh in high courts, and 4.7 crore in district and subordinate courts. It attributes the backlog of cases to several factors, including an inadequate number of judges, complicated legal procedures and weak infrastructure.A separate section in the civics chapter explains that judges are bound by a code of conduct governing their behaviour both inside and outside courtrooms.It refers to internal accountability mechanisms and an established procedure for receiving complaints through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), noting that more than 1,600 complaints were received between 2017 and 2021.The chapter also quotes former Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, who in July 2025 said that instances of corruption and misconduct within the judiciary “inevitably have a negative impact on public confidence”. “However, the path to rebuilding this trust lies in the swift, decisive and transparent action taken to address and resolve these issues… Transparency and accountability are democratic virtues,” he is quoted as saying.

Priyanka Chopra is currently promoting her upcoming film ‘The Buff’, co-starring Karl Urban. In a recent interaction, the actress opened up about the nicknames she has been given. She went on to call it horrible. Let’s take a look at it.

Priyanka Chopra reveals her nickname

In a video shared on the Hey U Guys Instagram account, Priyanka Chopra and Karl Urban can be seen interacting with the host of the interview. The duo was asked to share if they have any nicknames. To which Priyanka shared, “Oh my god. I’ve had many. Umm, in India we have a culture of giving people nicknames as a way of showing love, and most people, especially in the north of India, have like a nickname. So, my name is Priyanka; it has nothing to do with anything that my nickname sounds like. It’s Mimi. Why is my nickname Mimi? I don’t know. We have two names usually.”

Priyanka Chopra reveals the nickname given by her co-star

The actress then shared another nickname she was given by her co-star, without mentioning the actor’s name. She said, “I also was given this other name by an actor friend of mine, a co-actor of mine many years ago. It’s gonna follow me if I say it, though.”Karl Urban chimed in, “Yeah, that’s the thing; you gotta be careful.” Priyanka added, “It’s a bad one though.” When Karl said, “Tell us,” the actress revealed, “Piggy Chops.”Both Karl and Priyanka burst into laughter, with him saying, “What? Piggy Chops? Oh my God, that’s outrageous!”Priyanka said, “I think I ate like a pig.” Karl mentioned that he won’t be able to look at her without thinking “Piggy Chops.” The actress quickly shared, “I know that’s horrible,” and added, “Karl Urban is definitely not sharing his nickname.”He shared, “I am struggling to think now after that revelation.”

Netizens react to Priyanka Chopra’s revelation

Soon, netizens in the comment section revealed that it was Abhishek Bachchan who gave her the nickname “Piggy Chops.” Though there are no confirmed reports on the same, the people of the internet mentioned Junior Bachchan in the comments as well.

More about ‘The Bluff’

Directed by Frank E. Flowers, the film stars Priyanka Chopra, Karl Urban, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Safia Oakley-Green, and Temuera Morrison. It will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on February 25, 2026.

The stage is set for a historic summer of cricket as the International Cricket Council (ICC) officially unveiled the full schedule for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. Taking place in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5, this 10th edition marks a significant milestone as the largest tournament in the history of women’s T20 cricket, featuring an expanded field of 12 nations.

The action kicks off with a high-octane opening fixture at Edgbaston, where the hosts and 2009 champions, England, will take on Sri Lanka on June 12. This year’s lineup sees the addition of four qualifying powerhouses, Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands, who secured their spots following a rigorous qualifying tournament in Nepal. They join the elite ranks of defending champions New Zealand, six-time winners Australia, India, West Indies, South Africa, and Pakistan.

High-stakes rivalry: India and Pakistan to lock horns at Edgbaston

Of all the group-stage fixtures, none carries the weight of expectation quite like the clash between India and Pakistan. The arch-rivals are scheduled to face off on Sunday, June 14, at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Given the massive diaspora and the historical intensity of this rivalry, the venue is expected to be a complete sell-out.

Historically, the Indian women’s team has held a dominant upper hand in this fixture, remaining unbeaten against Pakistan in all eight of their previous T20 World Cup encounters. However, the stakes have never been higher. India, the reigning ODI World Cup winners, enters the tournament with a surge of momentum, while Pakistan look to rewrite history on English soil. This “Super Sunday” match is not just about points on the table; it is a battle of nerves in front of a global audience that recently saw viewership records shattered during their 2025 ODI World Cup meeting.

Also READ: Fans erupt as Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney steer Australia to dominant victory over India in Women’s ODI opener

Complete ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 Fixtures

The 12 teams have been divided into two competitive groups. Group 1 features heavyweights Australia, India, and South Africa alongside Pakistan, Bangladesh, and debutants the Netherlands. Group 2 comprises England, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, and Scotland.

The tournament will span 24 days across seven iconic venues, including Headingley, Old Trafford, and The Oval, before reaching its grand crescendo at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 5.

Also WATCH: Georgia Voll plucks a screamer to remove Richa Ghosh in 1st WODI

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