NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Monday granted 10-day interim bail to Sharjeel Imam in a case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots, for attending his brother’s wedding.Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai was hearing the interim bail application filed by Imam, seeking relief for six weeks to attend the marriage scheduled this month. The court granted interim bail from March 20 to 30.Imam is an accused in the case pertaining to the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi that left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured. The interim bail comes months after the Supreme Court of India rejected Imam’s regular bail plea in January this year. At the time, the top court had refused bail to Imam and fellow student activist Umar Khalid in the Delhi riots conspiracy case.In its January 6 order, the Supreme Court said that delay in trial and long incarceration cannot be a “trump card” to secure bail in cases registered under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The court observed that while personal liberty is important, it cannot be the sole factor when allegations involve serious offences affecting public order and national security.The bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria rejected the bail pleas of Khalid and Imam but granted relief to five co-accused in the case. Those granted bail included Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad.The court said Khalid and Imam stood on a different footing compared with the other accused due to the “hierarchy of culpability”. Both activists have spent more than five years in jail in connection with the case.The riots erupted in February 2020 during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, leading to communal clashes in parts of northeast Delhi during the visit of then US President Donald Trump to India.The Supreme Court had said the two accused could apply for bail again after one year or after all protected witnesses in the trial had been examined, whichever occurs earlier.The top court also said that the mere passage of time cannot automatically justify bail in cases involving offences under special statutes such as UAPA. It stressed that courts must balance constitutional protections under Article 21 with Parliament’s intent behind stricter bail conditions in laws dealing with national security related offences.

After India’s historic 96-run victory over New Zealand in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 final, the Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav, head coach Gautam Gambhir and ICC Chairman Jay Shah visited a Hanuman temple in Ahmedabad with the gleaming trophy. The visit, captured in heartwarming videos circulating on social media, showed the trio offering prayers and seeking blessings after the team’s triumphant campaign.

Temple visit before departure

Before the players dispersed to their respective destinations following the grand victory, several members of the Indian contingent made a spiritual pit stop at a Hanuman temple in Ahmedabad. Videos shared widely on social media platform X showed Suryakumar Yadav, Gautam Gambhir and Jay Shah walking into the temple premises, with the World Cup trophy held aloft for devotees to see.

The captain, who lifted the trophy on Sunday night in front of over 130,000 spectators at the Narendra Modi Stadium, was seen in a composed and grateful mood as he received blessings from the temple priest. Gambhir, the architect of India’s aggressive brand of cricket, stood alongside, his usually intense demeanour replaced by a serene smile.

In one particularly touching video, the temple priest was seen performing a special aarti for the trophy itself, waving the holy flame in front of the silverware as players and officials watched with folded hands. The priest then applied tilak on the foreheads of Suryakumar, Gambhir and Shah, blessing them for their roles in India’s historic achievement.

A video shared by news agency ANI captured the moment when Suryakumar held the trophy close as the priest chanted prayers, the early morning sunlight glinting off the silverware. The captain, known for his 360-degree strokeplay on the field, appeared completely at peace in the spiritual setting.

Also READ: T20 World Cup 2026 Awards: Full list of winners – From Jasprit Bumrah to Sanju Samson

Jay Shah’s tribute to the India team

ICC Chairman Jay Shah, who played a crucial role in the tournament’s successful organization across India and Sri Lanka, was seen interacting warmly with the players during the temple visit. Videos showed him congratulating Suryakumar and Gambhir, their shared joy evident in the relaxed body language.

Shah also took to social media to congratulate the winning team.

“What an incredible finale to the most global and accessible @ICC event ever! Congrats to India, who became the first team to win back-to-back #t20worldcup titles. Well done to Suryakumar Yadav and the whole squad and staff. Congrats also to @BLACKCAPS for their great campaign, “ he wrote.

What an incredible finale to the most global and accessible @ICC event ever!
Congrats to India, who became the first team to win back-to-back #t20worldcup titles.
Well done to Suryakumar Yadav and the whole squad and staff.

Congrats also to @BLACKCAPS for their great campaign. pic.twitter.com/7pzFmpjyDT

— Jay Shah (@JayShah) March 8, 2026

Also READ: From Anushka Sharma to Anil Kapoor – Bollywood stars go gaga in jubilation as India lifts back-to-back T20 World Cup titles

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday hit back at the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, calling it a “fake news factory” after the West Bengal chief minister accused the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of insulting President Droupadi Murmu.The row erupted after the President expressed displeasure over arrangements during her visit to Bengal to attend an international Tribal conference near Siliguri, including the change of venue and the absence of senior state representatives to receive her at Bagdogra airport.

The BJP’s West Bengal unit responded to Banerjee’s allegation that PM Modi had insulted the President by remaining seated while she stood to present an award to BJP leader LK Adavani, saying in a post on X that the claim was misleading and accusing the TMC of spreading misinformation.

“TMC’s Fake News factory at it again. The truth behind TMC’s manufactured outrage,” the party said.“As per official protocol during the presentation of Bharat Ratna award, others present remain seated while the award is being conferred. There was absolutely no breach of decorum,” the post added.The BJP further said, “It is shameful that TMC is once again trying to twist a dignified moment involving the Hon’ble President Smt Droupadi Murmu, PM Shri Narendra Modi and Bharat Ratna Shri LK Advani for petty politics. Respect the dignity of the highest constitutional office instead of spreading misinformation.”The political exchange intensified after PM Modi earlier on Sunday accused the TMC government of “insulting” a tribal woman President.Responding at a protest in Kolkata, Banerjee rejected the allegations and questioned the timing of the criticism, suggesting it was politically motivated ahead of the state assembly elections.Banerjee also displayed an enlarged photograph of an event showing the Prime Minister seated while the President stood nearby to present the Bharat Ratna award to veteran BJP leader LK Advani, saying it contradicted the BJP’s charge.“The picture shows that the PM is seated when the President is standing. We never do that. It is the BJP which carries the culture of insulting the President, not us,” she claimed while presenting the image as “evidence”.“You are targeting Bengal on the eve of assembly elections by saying whatever pleases you. Why? Why? Why?” she added from the sit-in platform in central Kolkata.She reiterated that the state government had “full respect for the chair of the President and the Constitution of India, which we consider our mother; do not blame us”.The chief minister also denied any breach of protocol during Murmu’s visit and said the state government had not been informed about the details of the programme by the organisers.According to Banerjee, if there had been mismanagement at the venue, including issues such as garbage, problems with the green room and the absence of women’s toilets, the responsibility lay with the private organisers and the Airports Authority of India, on whose premises the event was held.“We did not pick the venue, you did,” she said.Banerjee added that Siliguri mayor Goutam Deb had been present at Bagdogra airport to receive the President and maintained that protocol had been followed. Explaining her own absence, she said, “I am sitting in a dharna to protect people’s rights. How can I leave?”

As the Middle East war continues to cast a shadow over energy supplies, G-7 nations are considering to jointly release strategic oil reserves. According to a report by Financial Times, finance ministers of the Group of Seven are set to discuss a potential joint release of strategic emergency reserves, on Monday, in a bid to calm surging crude prices.The ministers will be holding a call at 8:30 am New York time, and any decision taken will be in coordination with the International Energy Agency, according to sources familiar with the matter. The agency said that till now, three G7 nations, including United States, have already expressed support for the approach.

Historically, coordinated drawdowns of strategic oil stockpiles have been carried out only five times, including twice in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Earlier releases were made to manage supply disruptions in Libya, following Hurricane Katrina, and during the first Gulf War, Bloomberg reported.The crisis has sent Brent crude soaring to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday, up from roughly $72 before the outbreak of the conflict. Brent crude, the global benchmark, surged above $118 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) followed a similar path, jumping nearly 30% from Friday’s close of $90.90.At 0230 GMT, WTI was up 30.04% at $118.21 per barrel before easing slightly, while Brent traded 27.54% higher at $118.22.The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, trapping exports from Persian Gulf producers. Major oil producers, including the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, have already been forced to reduce output due to limited storage, while Saudi Arabia is scrambling to redirect shipments to the Red Sea.Reports of a potential coordinated release have helped temper some of the price gains. Financial Times cited a source saying that some US officials believe a joint release of 300 million to 400 million barrels, roughly 25–30% of the 1.2 billion barrels in reserve, would be appropriate.Consumers worldwide are already feeling the impact of the supply disruptions. Petrol stations are facing long queues, jet fuel prices are rising, and airfares are climbing. Many Asian refineries, dependent on Middle East oil, have been forced to reduce operating rates as they struggle to secure alternative supplies.

OpneAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly thanked Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang after the Nvidia CEO revealed the aggressive efforts to expand computing capacity for ChatGPT-maker OpenAI across multiple cloud platforms. In a post shared on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) Altman wrote, “Very grateful to Jensen for working to expand Nvidia’s capacity at AWS so much for us!” The remakes made by Altman came shortly after Huang confided that Nvidia will invest $30 billion in OpenAI, describing it as one of the last opportunities to back a ‘consequential company’ before it goes public. Huang made the comments earlier this month at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, where he emphasized Nvidia’s role in scaling AI infrastructure.

Expanding across clouds

CEO Jensen Huang also explained that Nvidia has been working ‘like mad’ in order to ramp up OpenAI’s computing power not only on Microsoft Azure, but also on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. This expansion is made is make sure that OpenAI has the GPU resources required to support its rapidly growing AI systems.

Beyond OpenAI, Nvidia is also expanding infrastructure support for other leading AI companies, including Anthropic and Meta Platforms, as competition intensifies to secure the computing backbone for next-generation AI models.

Nvidia is reportedly planning new chip for OpenAI

Nvidia is said to be working on a new processor that will be built specifically for AI inference computing – a type of processing that allows AI models to respond to user queries – specifically for OpenAI. Reportedly, the announcement is expected at Nvidia’s GTC developer conference in San Jose next month, and ChatGPT-maker has already agreed to become one of its largest customers.According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, this essentially marks marking one of the most significant shifts in the Nvidia’s business strategy since the start of the AI boom. This is because Nvidia has long dominated the market for GPUs – specialised chips used for training AI models. These include its Hopper, Blackwell and Rubin GPU series, and reportedly most analysts estimate Nvidia controls over 90% of the GPU market.But GPUs were designed with training in mind, and now the AI industry is shifting from building models to actually running them, essentially limiting their use. The new processor is designed around inference computing rather than training. Nvidia will incorporate technology from Groq, a chip startup it acquired in a roughly $20 billion deal late last year.

India’s dominant win over New Zealand in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 final sparked celebrations across the country. Amid the jubilation, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir stood out for a gesture that reflected humility and respect for those who helped build the team’s success. Instead of taking credit for guiding India to a historic title, Gambhir used the moment to acknowledge the people who laid the foundation for the team’s triumph – most notably his predecessor Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, the head of the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE).

Gambhir’s comments after the final showed that he viewed the victory not as an individual achievement but as the result of years of collective effort within Indian cricket. He made it clear that the success of the current team was built on the systems and culture established before his tenure began.

Gautam Gambhir pays tribute to Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman

For Gambhir, one of the most important contributors to India’s success was Rahul Dravid. The former head coach had overseen a period of stability and development in Indian cricket, ensuring that the team remained competitive across formats. Gambhir felt that the current triumph was a natural continuation of the groundwork laid during Dravid’s tenure.

“I think first of all I should dedicate this trophy to Rahul [Dravid] bhai, and then to VVS Laxman [bhai],” Gambhir said. “Because what Rahul bhai has done to keep Indian cricket in such a good shape during his tenure, I have to thank him for everything.”

Dravid’s influence extended beyond tactical planning or match strategies. He focused heavily on creating a strong team culture, emphasizing discipline, preparation, and belief in young players. That environment allowed the next generation of cricketers to develop with confidence, something Gambhir acknowledged openly after the World Cup win.

Gambhir also paid special tribute to VVS Laxman, who currently oversees the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence. According to the head coach, the CoE plays a crucial role in Indian cricket’s long-term success by constantly preparing new talent for the national stage.

“And then VVS Laxman for unconditionally doing so much for Indian cricket behind the doors, because the CoE remains the pipeline for Indian cricket.”

Under Laxman’s leadership, the Centre of Excellence has become a hub for grooming emerging cricketers, offering advanced training facilities, technical guidance, and mentorship. Gambhir acknowledged that the steady supply of talented players coming through this system has strengthened India’s bench strength and ensured that the national team always has quality replacements ready.

Also READ: T20 World Cup 2026 Awards: Full list of winners – From Jasprit Bumrah to Sanju Samson

Gambhir backs India’s selection panel

Another key figure Gambhir recognized was Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of selectors. Selection decisions in Indian cricket often attract heavy scrutiny, and Agarkar has frequently faced criticism for difficult calls. However, Gambhir praised the selector’s honesty and commitment to building the best possible team.

“And third is obviously Ajit Agarkar, because he does take a lot of flak, but the amount of honesty he has worked with,” said Team India head coach.

Behind every successful squad lies a selection process that balances form, potential and team combinations. Gambhir made it clear that Agarkar’s willingness to make tough decisions played a significant role in shaping the World Cup-winning team.

Also READ: Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and other cricket stars lead congratulatory messages for India’s T20 World Cup 2026 triumph