US, UK warplanes launch new airstrikes on Yemeni capital

Mangaluru, Nov 13: In a significant boost for junior cricket in the region, two promising talents from Dakshina Kannada district, Rehan Mohammed and Eesa Hakeem Puthige, have been named in the Karnataka State Cricket Association's (KSCA) Under-19 squad for the prestigious BCCI Cooch Behar Trophy 2025-26 season.

The selection of the two young cricketers underscores their impressive performances in the domestic age-group circuit, marking them as players to watch in the highly competitive national long-format tournament.

Karnataka's campaign in the Cooch Behar Trophy is set to kick off at the Alur Cricket Stadium in Bengaluru, where they will face Uttarakhand in their first four-day encounter, scheduled from November 16 to 19.

Rehan Mohammed, a skilled wicketkeeper-batsman, and Eesa Hakeem Puthige will join the state's best junior players as they aim to emulate Karnataka's recent success in the tournament. The Cooch Behar Trophy is a vital stepping stone, traditionally serving as the proving ground for cricketers aspiring to play at higher levels, including the Ranji Trophy and the India U-19 team.

Karnataka U-19 Squad for Cooch Behar Trophy 2025-26 

Nitish Arya
Dhruv Krishnan
Adesh D Urs
Manikanth Shivanand (Captain)
Rehan Mohammad (WK)
Akshath Prabhakar (Vice Captain)
Dhyan Mahesh Hiremath
Rathan BR
Kuldeep Singh Purohit
Virat R Ganya
Vaibhav Sharma
Eesa Hakeem Puthige
Pratheek Akhil
Sidharth Akhil
Rohith AA

The Cooch Behar Trophy: A Long-Format Crucible

The BCCI Cooch Behar Trophy is India's national Under-19 inter-state cricket tournament, famed for its multi-day, long-format matches. Established during the 1945-46 season, it is named after the family of the Maharaja of Cooch Behar.

This four-day format provides young athletes with crucial exposure to the demands of longer cricket—challenging their batting endurance, bowling stamina, and match-reading tactics, preparing them for the rigours of First-Class cricket.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department is set to take complete control of the 108 ambulance services by February 2026. The move aims to enhance efficiency and ensure uninterrupted emergency medical support across the state.

As part of the transition, the department plans to conduct recruitment tests for Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) who provide first aid and medical assistance during patient transit.

The government will also procure 175 new ambulances from the Road Safety Authority to replace older vehicles that have frequent breakdowns. The new fleet will be equipped with Mobile Data Terminals—tablet devices designed to help technicians and drivers locate patients and nearby hospitals more effectively.

These devices will also integrate ambulance operations with e-Sanjeevini, the national telemedicine platform, allowing hospital doctors to guide EMTs in real time and prepare facilities before a patient’s arrival.

A new command control centre, staffed with over 250 personnel, will operate using 112 NGERSS software developed by C-DAC. This system enables call dispatchers to track ambulances, patients, and hospitals, ensuring that the nearest available vehicle is promptly assigned. All government hospitals have already been geo-tagged, and private hospital data is being added for full integration.

A pilot project in Chamarajanagar district has already demonstrated successful, delay-free ambulance dispatch using the new system.

To streamline fleet management, the department also plans to engage district-level agencies to manage ambulance drivers, ensuring transparency and accountability in service operations.

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has again made provocative remarks suggesting that Muslims in the state becoming more prosperous could signal the “surrender of the Assamese people” — a statement widely criticised as divisive and communal.

Addressing a press conference after a cabinet meeting, Sarma claimed that alongside demographic changes, Assam was witnessing an “economic shift,” with Muslims allegedly becoming wealthier. He further implied that this shift represented the beginning of “the Assamese people’s surrender.”

Citing data from 2001 to 2011, Sarma said the Hindu population growth rate was falling while the Muslim population continued to rise. “In every block of Assam, the growth of the Hindu population is coming down and the Muslim population is increasing,” he said.

The chief minister went on to link the issue to property ownership, asserting that land sales from Hindus to Muslims were disproportionately high. “We are seeing that the sale of land from Hindus to Muslims is very high, while the vice versa is less,” Sarma said, adding that such transactions are now scrutinised under a directive issued last year requiring government permission.

While claiming that his government has “no problem” with Assamese or indigenous Muslims, Sarma continued to frame economic mobility among Muslims as a threat to Assamese identity. “So far, we were thinking that only the numbers have risen, but now we see that even the wealth pattern has changed,” he said.

Critics say Sarma’s repeated references to religion in matters of demography and economy reflect a deliberate attempt to polarise communities and deepen mistrust. His comments equating Muslim prosperity with “surrender” of the Assamese people, they argue, expose the communal undercurrent in the state’s political discourse.

The chief minister said he would hold another press conference soon to “elaborate” on the matter.