BCCI boss Jay Shah likely to replace Greg Barclay as new ICC chairman amid $4.5 billion TV rights fight

News Network
August 21, 2024

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah is all set to replace the incumbent Greg Barclay as the new chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), according to media reports. 

The development comes amid a $US3 billion ($4.46 billion) dispute between the governing body and its major broadcast rights holder Star, which is seeking relief from the enormous deal it signed with the ICC in late 2022 for the rights to broadcast global cricket events into India from 2024 to 2027.

Star chiefs want to renegotiate the deal and reduce its value by up to half, potentially meaning the loss of millions of dollars from the budgets of major cricket countries over the next four years.

ICC directors have been served with a reduction notice from Star, a trigger for renegotiating the rights or possibly moving to “blend and extend” the deal on revised terms for a longer period.

Star’s winning bid for both TV and digital rights, of some $US3 billion over four years, was made on the understanding that it would on-sell a portion of the deal to ZeeTV, which in turn was in the process of a merger deal with Sony.

However with the ZeeTV-Sony merger collapsing, ZeeTV has likewise backed out of sub-licensing the ICC rights, leaving Star to foot the entire bill. The company’s discomfort with the cost of winning the rights was underlined by an unsuccessful request, earlier this year, to relocate the T20 World Cup from the USA and the Caribbean to India.

Barclay told ICC directors, including Cricket Australia's chair Mike Baird, that he has no intention of running for the post, for the third term during a video conference. His decision comes after being informed of Jay Shah's intentions to replace him in November. Shah has the backing of cricket boards from England and Australia, and hence, has the numbers to do be crowned the as the chief of the ICC.

ZeeTV and Star are fighting out the circumstances of their collapsed deal in the London Court of International Arbitration. At the same time, Star is in the process of being sold by Disney to the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, which owns the broadcaster Viacom18.

Jagmohan Dalmiya (1997 to 200) and Sharad Pawar (2010-2012) are the only two Indians who have held the position of ICC's chief in the past. Shah, who is also the son of India's home minister Amit Shah, will become the third to do so when he officially replaces Barclay in November.

"ICC chair Greg Barclay confirmed to the board that he will not stand for a third term and will step down from the post when his current tenure finishes at the end of November. Barclay was appointed as the independent ICC chair in November 2020, before being re-elected in 2022," an ICC spokesperson told The Age.

"Current directors are now required to put forward nominations for the next chair by 27 August 2024 and if there is more than one candidate, an election will be held with the term of the new chair commencing on 1 December 2024."

As per ICC rules, the chairman's election comprises of 16 votes and now a simple majority of nine votes is required (51%) for the winner. Earlier, to become the chairman, the incumbent needed to have two-third majority.

He enjoys a lot of goodwill with most of the 16 voting members. Currently, Shah has another one year left as the BCCI secretary before going on a mandatory cooling off period of three years from October, 2025.

As per the BCCI constitution approved by the Supreme Court, an office bearer can stay for six before he needs to go for a cooling off of three years. In all, a person can stay in office for a cumulative period of 18 years, -- nine in state association and nine in BCCI.

If Shah decides to move to ICC with a year of his secretaryship still left, he will have four years left in the BCCI.  At 35, he will become the youngest chairman in the history of ICC.

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News Network
November 5,2024

Mangaluru: Pilikula Biological Park has welcomed several exotic species, including a six-year-old Asiatic lion, a wolf, two gharial crocodiles, and four rare birds (two silver pheasants and two yellow-golden pheasants), as part of an animal exchange programme with Nandankanan Zoological Park, Odisha. The exchange was approved by the Central Zoo Authority, marking a major addition to Pilikula Zoo's growing collection.

Animal Exchange Details

Park Director H Jayaprakash Bhandary provided insights into the exchange programme. In return for the new arrivals, Pilikula Zoo will send four dholes (wild dogs), four rare reticulated pythons, two Brahminy kites, three Asian palm civets, and two large egrets to Nandankanan Zoo. Notably, all animals sent from Pilikula were born in the zoo, showcasing the zoo's success in breeding rare species.

Purpose of the Exchange

The animal exchange programme serves multiple purposes, including providing companions for solitary animals and preserving pure bloodlines. Pilikula Zoo already houses three lions, and the new male Asiatic lion was introduced as a companion. Since the number of Asiatic male lions in Indian zoos is relatively low, the zoo sourced this lion from the distant Nandankanan Zoological Park.

Care During Transport

To ensure the animals' safety and well-being during the 2,000-kilometre journey — the longest distance covered in Pilikula’s animal exchange history — two veterinary officers and eight caretakers from Nandankanan accompanied the animals. Both zoos will share equal responsibility for the care of the exchanged animals.

Future Animal Additions and Revenue Boost

Pilikula Biological Park, home to approximately 1,200 animals, birds, and reptiles, is one of India’s 18 large zoos. Discussions are ongoing for future exchanges with other prominent zoos, including Chhatbir Zoo in Punjab, Byculla Zoo in Mumbai, and the Madras Crocodile Bank. The zoo also plans to introduce rare species like the Anaconda and the Humboldt penguin, for which special enclosures will be built, thanks to donor contributions.

The addition of these rare animals and birds is expected to boost the zoo’s revenue, helping it become self-sustaining, Bhandary said.

Quarantine and Public Display

Before being introduced to the public, the new arrivals will spend around 15 days in a quarantine ward to adapt to the local environment. They will receive necessary vaccinations and treatments during this period, after which they will be displayed to visitors.

Record-breaking Exchange

This animal exchange marks a significant achievement for Pilikula Zoo, with the animals being transported over approximately 2,000 kilometres from Nandankanan Zoological Park. This sets a new record, surpassing the previous longest exchange with Udaipur Zoo in Rajasthan, which was around 1,700 kilometres.

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News Network
November 10,2024

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The media office in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli regime has been waging a genocidal war since last October, says as many as 188 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the onset of the brutal military onslaught.

The office provided the figure on Saturday, naming four journalists as the most recent victims of the onslaught.

It identified the foursome as Zahraa Mohammad Abu Sukheil, Ahmad Mohammad Abu Sukheil, Mustafa Khadr Bahar, and Abdel Rahman Khadr Bahar.

The office said it “strongly condemns the targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation and holds it fully responsible for committing this heinous crime.”

“We call on the international community, international organizations, and those involved in journalistic work worldwide to take action against the occupation, pursue it in international courts for its ongoing crimes, and pressure it to halt the genocide and the targeted killings of Palestinian journalists,” it said.

Earlier in the day, the office said the Israeli regime had bombed the tents sheltering journalists and displaced persons at the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza for the ninth consecutive time.

The atrocity that claimed the lives of two people and injured 26 others came as part of “the genocidal crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army against hospitals, civilians, and displaced persons,” it said.

The media office held the regime and the United States, its biggest ally, as well as other countries aiding the genocide fully responsible for such systematic crimes.

At least 43,552 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 102,765 others wounded since the launch of the war that followed a retaliatory operation by Gaza’s resistance groups.

The fatalities include 44 people, who were killed across the coastal sliver, in the most recent phase of the military onslaught.

As many as 24 of the victims were killed in the northern part of the territory, where the regime has markedly intensified its deadly attacks for weeks.

They included an eight-year-old child and a five-year-old one, who lost their lives after Israeli warplanes targeted a group of minors filling up jerry cans with water alongside their mother at the Jabalia Refugee camp.

Gaza’s heath ministry, meanwhile, said a number of victims remained under the rubble and in the streets following Israeli airstrikes, saying ambulances and civil defense teams could not reach them due to the sheer extent of the destruction caused by the raids and obstruction caused by the regime.

Also on Saturday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, a United Nations-backed assessment, warned that famine was looming in northern Gaza amid escalated Israeli aggression and the regime’s near-total siege of the targeted areas.

The alert from the Famine Review Committee warned of "an imminent and substantial likelihood of famine occurring, due to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip."

On October 17, the body projected that the number of people in Gaza facing "catastrophic" food insecurity between November and April 2025 would reach 345,000, or 16 percent of the population.

The IPC report classified that figure as Phase 5 -- a situation when "starvation, death, destitution, and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident."

The Israeli military, however, questioned the report's credibility.

"To date, all assessments by the IPC have proven incorrect and inconsistent with the situation on the ground," the army said in a statement, denouncing "partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests."

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News Network
November 1,2024

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Bengaluru, Nov 1: Hardline BJP leader and Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "Nationalise Waqf Assets", alleging Waqf board of "blatant violation" in claiming of the lands of Farmers, temples and mutts.

Taking to his social media, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal posted on X, saying "I have written a letter to the hon'ble PM Shri Narendra Modi ji to Nationalize the Waqf Assets in view of the arbitrary, blatant violation in claiming of the lands of Farmers, Landowners, Temples, Trusts and Mutts across the country by the Waqf board. All the citizens of the country have equal rights on the land. If the motive of Waqf is welfare and social service, this has to be done without bias and religious discrimination as India is a secular nation."

Additionally, Vijayapura MLA also attached the letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his post.

Earlier, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya had accused the Waqf Board of encroaching on thousands of acres of farmers' lands with the support of the Karnataka government.

Surya stated, "There have been multiple press conferences and videos in the public domain where the Minister himself has admitted that these Waqf adalats are being conducted under the Chief Minister's instructions. This is a grave matter, where thousands of acres of farmers' lands are being encroached upon by the Waqf Board with the active support and collusion of the State Government."

He mentioned that, in recent days, farmers from various districts across Karnataka have reported that, without prior notice, ownership of their lands has been abruptly transferred to the Waqf Board.

Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge criticised BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, claiming he has done nothing for Bengaluru. Kharge's remarks came in response to the BJP MP's accusations regarding Waqf Board land encroachment.

The Congress leader assured that the Karnataka government is committed to protecting farmers' properties.

Kharge further questioned the BJP's record on protecting temples during its previous government, stating that the Karnataka government is committed to safeguarding temples and common people's properties.

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