Celina Jaitly has reacted after the Delhi High Court dismissed her petition seeking consular access, legal assistance and communication with her brother, Major (Retd.) Vikrant Jaitly, who is currently detained in the United Arab Emirates.The court disposed of the plea after being informed that Vikrant Jaitly did not wish to communicate with his sister and preferred to handle legal matters only after consulting his wife, Charul Jaitly.

Responding to the development, Celina shared a detailed note on social media expressing gratitude to the court and the Government of India.

“Today was the last hearing of my writ petition in front of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi. I had approached the Hon’ble Court out of deep concern for the safety, security & well being of my brother, Maj Vikrant Kumar Jaitly,” she wrote.She added that with their parents no longer around, she felt a sense of responsibility toward her brother.“He is in a foreign nation & as his sister, especially in the absence of our parents, I felt it was my duty to ensure that he was not left without protection or support.”

‘My concern for my brother’s welfare compelled me to seek judicial intervention’

In her note, the actor revealed that she had moved court despite going through difficult personal circumstances.“I am myself navigating extremely difficult personal circumstances, including ongoing matrimonial proceedings, yet my concern for my brother’s welfare compelled me to seek judicial intervention,” Celina said.She also thanked the Indian government after being informed that officials had been in contact with Vikrant.“Today, I am grateful that before the Hon’ble Court, the Ministry of External Affairs has informed that they have had multiple legal accesses to him & are moving forward to ensure proper legal representation & his well being.”“This gives me a sense of relief & reassurance that the Government of India is standing by one of its soldiers,” she added.

Court notes Vikrant Jaitly declined legal representation and communication

According to Bar and Bench, the matter was heard on March 16 by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, who was informed that Vikrant Jaitly had already been granted consular access but had declined legal assistance.Authorities also told the court that a law firm had offered to represent him free of charge, but he refused the offer.The court recorded that Vikrant had “unequivocally stated that he is not willing to be represented by any of the law firms,” including a pro bono offer from a UAE-based firm.Celina had also sought permission to communicate directly with her brother, but that request was declined as well.While disposing of the petition, the court directed authorities to remain in touch with Vikrant and provide assistance if required.“In view of the facts and developments, there is no reason to keep this petition pending,” the court observed.

Detention in UAE since September 2024

Major (Retd.) Vikrant Jaitly, a former Indian Army officer and Celina’s brother, has been detained in the United Arab Emirates since September 6, 2024.Reports suggest the matter is linked to alleged national security concerns, though the exact charges have not been made public.Before his detention, Vikrant had been living in the UAE since 2016 and was reportedly working with the MATITI Group, a consultancy and trading firm. Celina has earlier raised concerns about the lack of clear legal representation, limited updates about the case, and the absence of direct communication with her brother.Concluding her statement, the actress wrote, “My only intention has always been his safety, dignity & fair treatment. I remain hopeful & thankful for the continued support extended to him by our Government as a son of our nation.”

The action shifts to Seddon Park, Hamilton, for the second encounter of this five-match T20I series. After a bruising opening loss, New Zealand find themselves in early trouble against a rejuvenated, ‘new-look’ South Africa side that showed no signs of transition jitters in the series opener.

The first T20I at Bay Oval was a one-sided affair. Opting to bat, New Zealand’s top order crumbled against a relentless South African pace attack. Reduced to 36/5 in the powerplay, the Black Caps were eventually bundled out for a paltry 91.

South Africa’s debutants stole the show. 19-year-old speedster Nqobani Mokoena took 3/26, while Connor Esterhuizen anchored the chase with an unbeaten 45 to guide the Proteas to a comfortable 7-wicket victory.

For the Black Caps, the primary mission at Seddon Park is to find some much-needed stability. With several senior stars being rested following the T20 World Cup, the responsibility of anchoring the innings falls heavily on the experienced shoulders of Devon Conway and Tom Latham. The experimental middle order appeared particularly fragile against the extra bounce in the series opener, and they will need to adapt swiftly to Hamilton’s surface, which historically offers much better conditions for batting. The spotlight remains on Mitchell Santner; as the only bowler who managed to maintain control in the first game with an economical spell of 1/8, the skipper will be hoping for that cheeky turn he noted in his post-match comments to unsettle the visitors.

South Africa, meanwhile, carries all the momentum as their ‘young blood’ looks to secure a 2-0 lead. Keshav Maharaj’s side appears incredibly balanced, with the pace trio of Gerald Coetzee, Ottneil Baartman, and Mokoena coming off a dominant performance where they exploited the conditions to perfection. While an injury cloud over Jordan Hermann remains the only real concern for the Proteas, they remain favourites heading into the second T20I. Coetzee will again be the man to watch; his aggressive opening spells have set the tone for the tour, and if he can remove Conway early, New Zealand’s inexperienced middle order will likely find themselves exposed to high-quality spin under the lights.

Seddon Park Pitch Report

The surface at Seddon Park in Hamilton is traditionally one of the most batter-friendly decks in New Zealand, often characterized by its true nature and consistent pace. Unlike the two-paced wicket seen in the series opener, this pitch typically allows the ball to come onto the bat nicely, rewarding aggressive stroke-play. The ground features notably shorter straight boundaries, which often forces bowlers to defensive lengths early in the innings. However, with the evening start time, the overhead conditions and the lush green outfield frequently assist the new-ball bowlers with a hint of swing during the first few overs. As the match progresses under the lights, the track tends to flatten out, though spinners often find a bit of cheeky grip if they use their variations well. Historically, a par score here ranges between 170 and 180, suggesting that the team winning the toss will likely look to chase, capitalizing on the evening dew and the settled batting conditions in the second half.

Also READ: Nqobani Mokoena sizzles as South Africa thrash New Zealand in the first T20I

Seddon Park T20I Stats and Records

• Total matches played: 21
• Matches won batting first: 11
• Matches won bowling first: 9
• Average 1st innings score: 167
• Average 2nd innings score: 145
• Highest total recorded: 212/4 (20 Overs) by New Zealand vs India
• Lowest total recorded: 78/10 (17.3 Overs) by Bangladesh vs New Zealand
• Highest score chased: 202/5 (19.4 Overs) by New Zealand vs Zimbabwe
• Lowest score defended: 161/7 (20 Overs) by New Zealand Women vs India Women

Also READ: NZ vs SA T20I Series: Date, Match Time, Broadcast and Live Streaming details

Gulf Arab nations have made it clear that they never asked the United States to go to war with Iran. However, many now caution that halting the conflict midway could leave the Islamic Republic in a position to threaten the Gulf’s vital oil shipping routes and the economies dependent on them, three Gulf sources told Reuters. “There is a wide feeling across the Gulf that Iran has crossed every red line with every Gulf country,” said Abdulaziz Sager, chairman of the Saudi-based Gulf Research Center. “At first we defended them and opposed the war. But once they began directing strikes at us, they became an enemy. There is no other way to classify them.”Hitting airports, ports, oil facilities, and commercial centres in the six Gulf countries with missiles and drones, Tehran has already showcased its capabilities, while disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil.Now, the Gulf nations have warned that in case US leaves before the task is finished, the region will be left to deal with Iran alone. “If the Americans pull out before the task is complete, we’ll be left to confront Iran on our own,” Sager said. These attacks have reinforced fears that leaving Iran with significant military or arms-production capabilities would allow it to hold the region’s energy supply hostage. As the war has entered its third week, with US and Israeli airstrikes intensifying and Iran targeting US bases and civilian sites, Gulf leaders reportedly believe that Trump must take action to seriously degrade Iran’s military power. “The alternative is living under constant threat,” said a Gulf source.Meanwhile, US officials are urging Gulf states to back the ongoing US-Israeli military campaign. According to the sources, US President Donald Trump is seeking regional support to bolster both the international legitimacy of the operation and its domestic backing.Predominantly Shi’ite Iran has long viewed Sunni Gulf neighbours with suspicion, though relations with Qatar and Oman have been less strained. Over the years, Iran and its allies have faced accusations of attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure, including the 2019 strike on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities, which Iran denied.For Gulf states, inaction is now seen as the greater risk. The UAE has stated it “does not seek to be drawn into conflicts or escalation” but reserves the right to protect its sovereignty and residents. Unilateral military action by any Gulf country remains unlikely, leaders prefer collective measures to reduce the risk of retaliation.The Gulf Cooperation Council, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the UAE, has held only one Zoom call, and no summit has been convened to plan a coordinated response. Leaders are cautious of triggering a wider conflict.US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Gulf partners are “stepping up even more” and are willing to “go on the offense,” working on collective air defence, though details remain unspecified. A senior UAE official said the country has exercised restraint, following Iran’s claim that US forces used UAE territory to strike Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal.Sager noted that Saudi Arabia may be forced to retaliate if Iran crosses red lines, such as attacking major oil facilities, desalination plants, or causing heavy casualties. “In that case, Saudi Arabia would have no choice but to intervene,” he said, while adding Riyadh would aim to manage its response carefully.Analyst Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics said Gulf states face a delicate balance: addressing the immediate threat of Iranian attacks while avoiding involvement in a US-Israeli-led war. Joining the campaign could increase their exposure to Iranian reprisals while adding little to US military superiority. The result is a strategy of calculated restraint: signalling red lines and defending sovereignty without entering a conflict they did not start.Iran’s control over which ships can pass through the Strait of Hormuz has revealed its leverage. “Now that Iran has shown it can shut down Hormuz, the Gulf faces a fundamentally different threat,” Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University told Reuters. While Trump has called for an international coalition to reopen the waterway, Haykel noted that much of the Gulf’s oil flows to China, Japan, and other Asian countries, which may also need to play a role.

Animal welfare in India received a strategic boost this week with the launch of the India Karuna Collaborative (IKC), a network of more than 50 organisations and 70 leaders from civil society, science, business and public health. The initiative aims to bring animal welfare—particularly industrial animal farming—to the centre of climate, public health and development conversations.The collaborative was launched at the Indian Merchants’ Chamber on Wednesday, drawing prominent figures from business, banking, fashion and science. Among those present were Harsh Mariwala, founder and chairman of Marico; fashion designer Anita Dongre; Motilal Oswal, founder and managing director of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited; Amala Akkineni, founder of Blue Cross of Hyderabad; and Gauri Maulekhi, trustee of People for Animals.Animal welfare is often framed within the narrow confines of ethics and compassion (karuna), overlooking the wider consequences of exploitative animal farming practices for public health, the environment and economic development. IKC seeks to foreground these intersectional risks.A report released by the collaborative—The Interconnected Crisis: Animal Welfare, Human Health, and Climate Change in India—notes that more than 1.5 billion farmed animals are embedded in India’s daily economic and food systems. Their cramped and often unsanitary conditions frequently remain unregulated and invisible, making it harder to connect these practices—from breeding and transport to slaughter—to their downstream impacts.Indian farmed animals contribute approximately 214.5 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions each year and account for 54.84% of the country’s agricultural methane output. On the public health front, about 70% of global antibiotics are used in animal agriculture, fuelling antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which could claim up to 10 million lives annually by 2050.At a panel discussion, Maulekhi of People for Animals said, “From antibiotic-laden feed for farmed animals to practices such as sewage-fed fish farming seen in parts of India, antibiotics are increasingly used to sustain industrial food production. While this system keeps costs low, the long-term price is far higher, accelerating antimicrobial resistance and the emergence of deadly superbugs.” The issue remains critically underexamined, she added.Mariwala called on businesses to build operational systems and supply chains that integrate animal care into the processes of production, consumption, regulation and innovation. “We need systems change; the private sector can help normalise alternatives,” he said.Also released at the event were the results of a YouGov survey of 3,000 Gen Z respondents on attitudes toward animal welfare. The findings showed that 69% of young dairy consumers and more than half of meat and egg consumers were willing to pay at least 10% more for products meeting higher animal welfare standards, while 53% said they were open to replacing some or all animal protein with plant-based alternatives—suggestive of a willingness to act in support of animals.Drawing on emerging science and field evidence, IKC plans to advocate for change across business practices, policy, regulation and consumer behaviour, positioning animal welfare as a cornerstone of the conversation.

Mondo Duplantis (AP Photo)

MUMBAI: Fresh from breaking the world record for the 15th time, pole vault superstar Mondo Duplantis is excited about returning to the scene where his extraordinary sequence began. Torun, a city in north-central Poland, will host the world indoors from March 20-22. It’s also where Duplantis etched his name in the record books for the first time in Feb 2020, representing a full-circle moment for an exceptionally gifted athlete who has absolutely dominated his sport in these six years. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“Torun is a very special place for me since I broke my first world record there,” the two-time reigning Olympic champion told reporters during a call on Sunday. “I’ve been fortunate enough to break a few since then, but the first one’s always a very life-changing moment.“You go from, in one instance, being not the world record holder, to the world record holder, which is one of my biggest childhood dreams. “I’m just really excited for it, honestly, especially after what I was able to do just now in Uppsala, which was, of course, really good.”If you missed out on Duplantis’s latest feat, the 26-year-old cleared the bar at 6.31m at his home meet, the Mondo Classic, last Thursday. It saw him extend his iron-clad grip on the world record he’s held since eclipsing Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie’s previous mark with a jump of 6.17m six years ago.The three-time indoor and outdoor world champion explained how tweaking his run-up by a couple of steps had played a key role in helping him control a stiffer pole while going for the 6.31m vault. “There was this one stiffer pole that I’d never been able to really just get to work,” he said. “I just couldn’t really make it work at the weight that I like to jump at. And so I was able to make it work this past weekend.“I did a little bit of a change with my approach and my run-up. I usually run from a 20-step approach and I moved it to a 22 step approach, which doesn’t sound like that much of a difference, but it’s actually quite different.“I don’t have speed data, but I think that I was clearly able to add some type of extra energy into the take-off because I was able to use that stiffer pole that I haven’t been able to use for like four years.”For someone who has won 38 straight competitions, with defeat last coming in Aug 2023, Duplantis was asked if he fears that his incredible streak would come to an end. “I never really had that problem,” said the Swede. “I think you can never have too much of a hubris and be over-confident when it comes to sports, and you can just never underestimate your opponents but also the sport itself.“I know that whenever I do the things that I know that I can do, and I focus and I jump the way that I know that I can jump, then I do feel like I’m the best one every time I step out onto the track.”But in “such a difficult sport”, Duplantis stressed, “there’s no slacking off ”. “Especially at this level, it’s like I just always have to bring my A game. I never feel like it’s just given to me,” he said.As to how further, or higher, he could still go, Duplantis said the thrill for him simply lay in “the journey” and “pushing the envelope” as long as he was competing.“I just expect a certain level out of whatever I think is possible on the day, so I’ll just keep pushing it, and as far as I can take it, then that’ll be what it’ll be,” he said.

Stock market today (AI image)

Indian markets recovered on Monday, but analysts cautioned that volatility may persist as investors remain wary of geopolitical tensions in West Asia and fluctuations in global energy prices. The ongoing conflict continues to weigh on sentiment and keep overall risk appetite restrained.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “With total uncertainty and confusion regarding the trend of the war continuing, this uncertainty is getting reflected in the market, too. Even seasoned experts lack conviction to advise investors on the right strategy. All that can be said with conviction now is: remain invested and continue with SIPs.” “Nifty’s sharp bounce of 257 points yesterday was triggered mainly by short-covering from oversold territory. This bounce back is unlikely to sustain, given the massive selling by FIIs which touched Rs 9366 crores yesterday. In the near-term this FII selling will continue since other markets like the South Korean and Taiwanese markets are giving better returns to FIIs. More importantly, the earnings growth prospects in these markets look much better compared to India’s. In brief, the sustained FII selling is likely to weigh on markets in the near-term.”Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net sellers during the session, offloading shares worth Rs 9,365 crore. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided support to the market by purchasing equities worth Rs 12,594 crore.Wall Street closed sharply higher on Monday, driven by gains in artificial intelligence related stocks. Meta Platforms rose after a report indicated that the company is preparing for sweeping layoffs. Asian markets also opened higher, supported by optimism that a greater number of oil tankers may soon be able to pass through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. The development lifted sentiment following the strong performance on Wall Street.Oil prices climbed more than 2 per cent in early trading on Tuesday, reversing part of the losses recorded in the previous session. (Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)

Udhayanidhi Stalin (File photo)

NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Monday said the Dravidian ideology practised by his party, the DMK, and the principles of Islam are “fundamentally the same”, as both teach “equality, love, and generosity”.“The religion that teaches equality, love, and generosity is our Islam. The principles of Dravidian ideology and the principles of Islam are fundamentally the same,” news agency ANI quoted him as saying. Stalin junior, who aslo happens to be the son of chief minister MK Stalin, said no “conspiracies” can break the relationship between the urling DMK and the Muslim coummunity.“As long as brotherhood and unity exist, no matter how many attempts or conspiracies take place, no one will be able to break the relationship between the DMK and the Muslim community,” said Stalin, who is DMK’s heir apparent.Addressing a DMK Minorities Welfare Rights Wing Iftar function in the poll-bound state, Stalin highlighted the works chief minister MK Stalin has done, including the laying of a foundation stone to build the Tamil Nadu Haj House at a cost of Rs 39 crore. He also targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is grinding hard to make inroads in Tamil Nadu, saying the national party “spreads hatred against minorities every day” which helps it to grow.“A BJP chief minister himself released a video targeting Muslims. I don’t need to explain to you about the BJP and others. The Union BJP government spreads hatred against minorities every day. It is through this hatred campaign that the BJP is growing,” Stalin said in a veiled attack on Assam chief minister Himanta Sarma. He further said: “No matter how much the BJP tries or how much trouble they create, the DMK will always stand firmly with you as your protector”.