ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2021 will comprise a total of 31 matches, including the semi-finals and the final, beginning January 30 in New Zealand.

The 50-over tournament will be the game's fourth event to be fully or jointly hosted in New Zealand after two men's World Cups in 1992 and 2015, and women's event in 2000.

The World Cup 2021 will run from January 30 to February 20, a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) statement said.

The hosts New Zealand and four other top teams based on the ICC Women's Championship standings will gain direct qualification for the 2021 tournament.

Currently, the top four teams in the point table are - Australia (22), defending champions England (22), India (16) and South Africa (16).

While the remaining three teams will get a second chance through the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier event in which the sides will be joined by Bangladesh and Ireland, and the winner of each regional qualifier in 2019 - Africa, Americas, Asia, East Asia Pacific and Europe.

Sports event practitioners Liz Dawson and Andrea Nelson have been appointed as chair and chief executive, respectively, of the Cricket 2021 Ltd - the independent company set up to run the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/photos/indian-womens-world-cup-team-meets-pm-modi-381&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjAtMSa_fLiAhVJv48KHc0cBo8QFjACegQICRAB&amp;usg=AOvVaw2_4AFROtOMjzbOaL5fCLpn">ICC Women's World Cup </a>2021 in New Zealand.

Dawson, who is a director of NZC, will chair a board comprising herself, former World Masters Games chief executive Jennah Wootten, Westpac Stadium Trust chief executive Shane Harmon, NZC chair Greg Barclay, and NZC chief executive David White.

Harmon is a current director of Netball New Zealand.

He has previously acted as GM Marketing and Communications of Rugby World Cup 2011 and was the Head of Marketing for the 2003 tournament in Australia.

Barclay and White were heavily involved in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018.

Nelson, on the other hand, has been GM New Zealand for the Rugby League World Cup 2017, and Director of Marketing and Communications for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

She will assume her CEO duties later this month after completing her current commitments on the inaugural Oceania Cup and Great Britain Lions Rugby League Series.

"This tournament is well positioned to take women's cricket to the next level - by showcasing the world`s best to new audiences here in New Zealand and around the world," Nelson said.

"I'm excited to be part of this event, which we hope will provide a global platform for the women's game and inspire a new generation of girls and boys to give it a go," added Nelson.

"With this event, alongside the International Working Group on Women in Sport and Women's Rugby World Cup, New Zealand will have the chance to make its mark as a global leader in women's sport," she said.

Dawson said it is a privilege for New Zealand to host such a significant tournament.

"This a fantastic event with a truly global reach and will bring together in New Zealand some of the best athletes in the world. It's a real growth opportunity and we aim to do the International Cricket Council and world cricket in general, proud," Dawson said.

ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2021 will comprise a total of 31 matches, including the semi-finals and the final, beginning January 30 in New Zealand. The 50-over tournament will be the game's fourth event to be fully or jointly hosted in New Zealand after two men's World Cups in 1992 and 2015, and women's event in 2000.

ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2021 will comprise a total of 31 matches, including the semi-finals and the final, beginning January 30 in New Zealand. The 50-over tournament will be the game's fourth event to be fully or jointly hosted in New Zealand after two men's World Cups in 1992 and 2015, and women's event in 2000. The World Cup 2021 will run from January 30 to February 20, a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) statement said. The hosts New Zealand and four other top teams based on the ICC Women's Championship standings will gain direct qualification for the 2021 tournament. Currently, the top four teams in the point table are - Australia (22), defending champions England (22), India (16) and South Africa (16). While the remaining three teams will get a second chance through the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier event in which the sides will be joined by Bangladesh and Ireland, and the winner of each regional qualifier in 2019 - Africa, Americas, Asia, East Asia Pacific and Europe. Sports event practitioners Liz Dawson and Andrea Nelson have been appointed as chair and chief executive, respectively, of the Cricket 2021 Ltd - the independent company set up to run the ICC Women's World Cup 2021 in New Zealand. Dawson, who is a director of NZC, will chair a board comprising herself, former World Masters Games chief executive Jennah Wootten, Westpac Stadium Trust chief executive Shane Harmon, NZC chair Greg Barclay, and NZC chief executive David White. Harmon is a current director of Netball New Zealand. He has previously acted as GM Marketing and Communications of Rugby World Cup 2011 and was the Head of Marketing for the 2003 tournament in Australia. Barclay and White were heavily involved in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018. Nelson, on the other hand, has been GM New Zealand for the Rugby League World Cup 2017, and Director of Marketing and Communications for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. She will assume her CEO duties later this month after completing her current commitments on the inaugural Oceania Cup and Great Britain Lions Rugby League Series. "This tournament is well positioned to take women's cricket to the next level - by showcasing the world`s best to new audiences here in New Zealand and around the world," Nelson said. "I'm excited to be part of this event, which we hope will provide a global platform for the women's game and inspire a new generation of girls and boys to give it a go," added Nelson. "With this event, alongside the International Working Group on Women in Sport and Women's Rugby World Cup, New Zealand will have the chance to make its mark as a global leader in women's sport," she said. Dawson said it is a privilege for New Zealand to host such a significant tournament. "This a fantastic event with a truly global reach and will bring together in New Zealand some of the best athletes in the world. It's a real growth opportunity and we aim to do the International Cricket Council and world cricket in general, proud," Dawson said.

ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2021 dates announced

From fun to life skills: How Team India's bonding enhanced over the years

Ahead of the much-awaited <a href="v">India and Pakistan clash</a>, famous Indian supporter Sudhir Gautam is cheering for his team, blowing a conch shell.

"Whoever will play better cricket, will win the match and as a fan, I can only cheer for my team," Gautam told ANI.

According to Sudhir, India is the best team in the world.

Body painted in tri-colour, 'Miss-U <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/sachin-tendulkar-sues-australian-cricket-bat-maker-spartan-over-2-million-in-royalties-227062">Tendulkar </a>10'&nbsp;written on chest, India on forehead and Indian map on top of his head, this is how Gautam readies up for every match that India play.

The 38-year-old resident of Bihar's Muzaffarpur makes his presence at the venue of almost every match that India play.

Also known as Sudya, he is an ardent fan of Sachin Tendulkar.

After master-blasters retirement, he ensures to be at the stadium and flashes 'Miss you Tendulkar'&nbsp;on his chest and the digit 10, the jersey number that Tendulkar would wear.

In 50 over World Cup history, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/three-cricketers-who-have-played-for-both-india-and-pakistan-227143">India </a>had never lost to Pakistan and will look to continue the trend in the ongoing ICC Men's World Cup on Sunday.

India had not lost any game in the three matches played so far, the last match against New Zealand was got abandoned due to rain.

Virat Kohli led side will face Pakistan on June 16 at Old Trafford.

Ahead of the much-awaited India and Pakistan clash, famous Indian supporter Sudhir Gautam is cheering for his team, blowing a conch shell. "Whoever will play better cricket, will win the match and as a fan, I can only cheer for my team," Gautam told ANI.

Ahead of the much-awaited India and Pakistan clash, famous Indian supporter Sudhir Gautam is cheering for his team, blowing a conch shell. "Whoever will play better cricket, will win the match and as a fan, I can only cheer for my team," Gautam told ANI. According to Sudhir, India is the best team in the world. Body painted in tri-colour, 'Miss-U Tendulkar 10' written on chest, India on forehead and Indian map on top of his head, this is how Gautam readies up for every match that India play. The 38-year-old resident of Bihar's Muzaffarpur makes his presence at the venue of almost every match that India play. Also known as Sudya, he is an ardent fan of Sachin Tendulkar. After master-blasters retirement, he ensures to be at the stadium and flashes 'Miss you Tendulkar' on his chest and the digit 10, the jersey number that Tendulkar would wear. In 50 over World Cup history, India had never lost to Pakistan and will look to continue the trend in the ongoing ICC Men's World Cup on Sunday. India had not lost any game in the three matches played so far, the last match against New Zealand was got abandoned due to rain. Virat Kohli led side will face Pakistan on June 16 at Old Trafford.

Tendulkar's iconic fan Sudhir is ready for India vs Pakistan clash

India on Saturday announced a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/india-set-to-levy-higher-tariffs-on-some-us-goods-next-week-sources-227113">hike in customs duties</a> on as many as 28 US products, including almond, pulses and walnut, in response to higher tariffs imposed by Washington on Indian products like steel and aluminium.

The increased <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/indias-indifference-to-the-us-on-gsp-is-the-perfect-response-225283">customs duties</a> will come into effect from Sunday, an official notification said.

The move will hurt American exporters of these 28 items as they will have to pay higher duties, making those items costlier in the Indian market.

Amending its June 30, 2017, notification, the Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs (CBIC) said Saturday's notification will "implement the imposition of retaliatory duties on 28 specified goods originating in or exported from USA and preserving the existing MFN rate for all these goods for all countries other than USA".

Earlier, the list included 29 goods but India has removed artemia, a kind of shrimp, from the list.

Watch: Tariff wars - What is India's stance?

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/india-watch-tariff-wars-whats-indias-stance-227217/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The country would get about $217 million additional revenue from such imports.

The government had on June 21, 2018 decided to impose these duties in retaliation to the US decision of significantly hiking customs duties on certain steel and aluminium products.

America had in March last year imposed 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent import duty on aluminium products. Earlier, there was no duty on these goods.

As India is one of the major exporters of these items to the US, the move has revenue implication of about $240 million on domestic steel and aluminium products.

India extended the deadline for imposition of these duties eight times in the hope that some solution would emerge during a negotiation between India and the US on a proposed trade package.

But those negotiations came to a halt following the decision of the US to withdraw export incentives to Indian exporters under its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme. These benefits were rolled back from June 5. It will impact goods worth $5.5 billion from India to America.

As part of the imposition of higher import duties on US products, India has notified higher tariffs on several goods.

While import duty on walnut has been hiked to 120 per cent from 30 per cent, duty on chickpeas, Bengal gram (chana) and masur dal will be raised to 70 per cent, from 30 per cent currently. Levy on lentils will be increased to 40 per cent.

The duty on boric acid and binders for foundry moulds would be hiked to 7.5 per cent, while that on domestic reagents will be increased to 10 per cent.

The other products on which duties will be hiked include certain kind of nuts, iron and steel products, apples, pears, flat rolled products of stainless steel, other alloy steel, tube and pipe fittings, and screws, bolts and rivets.

India has also dragged the US to the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism over the imposition of import duties on steel and aluminium.

India exports steel and aluminium products worth about $1.5 billion to the US every year.

India's exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at $47.9 billion, while imports were at $26.7 billion. The trade balance is in favour of India.&nbsp;

India on Saturday announced a hike in customs duties on as many as 28 US products, including almond, pulses and walnut, in response to higher tariffs imposed by Washington on Indian products like steel and aluminium.

India on Saturday announced a hike in customs duties on as many as 28 US products, including almond, pulses and walnut, in response to higher tariffs imposed by Washington on Indian products like steel and aluminium. The increased customs duties will come into effect from Sunday, an official notification said. The move will hurt American exporters of these 28 items as they will have to pay higher duties, making those items costlier in the Indian market. Amending its June 30, 2017, notification, the Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs (CBIC) said Saturday's notification will "implement the imposition of retaliatory duties on 28 specified goods originating in or exported from USA and preserving the existing MFN rate for all these goods for all countries other than USA". Earlier, the list included 29 goods but India has removed artemia, a kind of shrimp, from the list. Watch: Tariff wars - What is India's stance? The country would get about $217 million additional revenue from such imports. The government had on June 21, 2018 decided to impose these duties in retaliation to the US decision of significantly hiking customs duties on certain steel and aluminium products. America had in March last year imposed 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent import duty on aluminium products. Earlier, there was no duty on these goods. As India is one of the major exporters of these items to the US, the move has revenue implication of about $240 million on domestic steel and aluminium products. India extended the deadline for imposition of these duties eight times in the hope that some solution would emerge during a negotiation between India and the US on a proposed trade package. But those negotiations came to a halt following the decision of the US to withdraw export incentives to Indian exporters under its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme. These benefits were rolled back from June 5. It will impact goods worth $5.5 billion from India to America. As part of the imposition of higher import duties on US products, India has notified higher tariffs on several goods. While import duty on walnut has been hiked to 120 per cent from 30 per cent, duty on chickpeas, Bengal gram (chana) and masur dal will be raised to 70 per cent, from 30 per cent currently. Levy on lentils will be increased to 40 per cent. The duty on boric acid and binders for foundry moulds would be hiked to 7.5 per cent, while that on domestic reagents will be increased to 10 per cent. The other products on which duties will be hiked include certain kind of nuts, iron and steel products, apples, pears, flat rolled products of stainless steel, other alloy steel, tube and pipe fittings, and screws, bolts and rivets. India has also dragged the US to the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism over the imposition of import duties on steel and aluminium. India exports steel and aluminium products worth about $1.5 billion to the US every year. India's exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at $47.9 billion, while imports were at $26.7 billion. The trade balance is in favour of India.

India imposes higher customs duty on 28 US products, will come into effect from Sunday

India on Friday refused to endorse China's flagship connectivity programme--Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the Bishkek declaration of SCO's head of state council only mentioning names of six countries backing it.

The declaration said, "The Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, &nbsp;the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan reaffirm their support for China’s Belt and Road Initiative and praise the results of the &nbsp;Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (Beijing, 26 April 2019)."

The six countries also note the ongoing work to implement BRI initiative together, including efforts to align the Eurasian Economic Union projects with those under the Belt and Road initiative.

India has raised concern over BRI since part of it -- China Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) passes through Pakistan&nbsp;occupied Kashmir (PoK). At the SCO summit, Indian PM Modi said connectivity projects should be "transparent", "inclusive" and respect the "territorial integrity" of countries, a message that will not go unnoticed in Beijing.

But the SCO members --India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan agreed to "expand the practice of using national currencies in transactions" between themselves which will be seen as challenging the dominance of Dollar.

These were convergence on terrorism with the declaration saying "member States, stressing that acts of terrorism and extremism cannot be justified, believe it important to take comprehensive measures to intensify efforts against &nbsp;terrorism and its ideology"

It called for passage of Indian proposal Comprehensive Convention on &nbsp;International Terrorism or CCIT that calls for common definition on terrorism.

Along with India, other SCO members such as Afghanistan strongly raised the issue of terror.&nbsp;

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani highlighted the link between terror and narcotics and said they "threaten both our wellbeing and the security of CSO members and observers."

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said, "Terrorism, in its different types, extremism, unilateralism and interference of extra-regional countries in the affairs of other regions and interference in the internal affairs of other countries have put the international community in a grave situation".&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

India on Friday refused to endorse China's flagship connectivity programme--Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the Bishkek declaration of SCO's head of state council only mentioning names of six countries backing it.

India on Friday refused to endorse China's flagship connectivity programme--Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the Bishkek declaration of SCO's head of state council only mentioning names of six countries backing it. The declaration said, "The Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan reaffirm their support for China’s Belt and Road Initiative and praise the results of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (Beijing, 26 April 2019)." The six countries also note the ongoing work to implement BRI initiative together, including efforts to align the Eurasian Economic Union projects with those under the Belt and Road initiative. India has raised concern over BRI since part of it -- China Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). At the SCO summit, Indian PM Modi said connectivity projects should be "transparent", "inclusive" and respect the "territorial integrity" of countries, a message that will not go unnoticed in Beijing. But the SCO members --India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan agreed to "expand the practice of using national currencies in transactions" between themselves which will be seen as challenging the dominance of Dollar. These were convergence on terrorism with the declaration saying "member States, stressing that acts of terrorism and extremism cannot be justified, believe it important to take comprehensive measures to intensify efforts against terrorism and its ideology" It called for passage of Indian proposal Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism or CCIT that calls for common definition on terrorism. Along with India, other SCO members such as Afghanistan strongly raised the issue of terror. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani highlighted the link between terror and narcotics and said they "threaten both our wellbeing and the security of CSO members and observers." Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said, "Terrorism, in its different types, extremism, unilateralism and interference of extra-regional countries in the affairs of other regions and interference in the internal affairs of other countries have put the international community in a grave situation".

PM Modi refuses to endorse China's BRI at SCO, says connectivity projects must respect 'territorial integrity'

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-says-iran-written-all-over-tanker-attacks-227168">US President Trump says Iran 'written all over' tanker attacks</a>

'Iran did do it,' Trump said in an interview on "Fox and Friends," after the US military released footage it said showed an Iranian patrol boat removing an "unexploded limpet mine" from one of the tankers.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/india-set-to-levy-higher-tariffs-on-some-us-goods-next-week-sources-227113">India set to levy higher tariffs on some US goods next week: Sources</a> 
 
India is by far the largest buyer of US almonds and second largest buyer of US apples

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-judge-sets-february-2020-for-wikileaks-founder-assanges-extradition-hearing-227139">UK judge sets February 2020 for WikiLeaks founder Assange's US extradition hearing</a> 
 
Assange, 47, is accused of violating the Espionage Act by releasing a vast trove of classified military and diplomatic files in 2010 about US bombing campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/in-meeting-with-imran-khan-xi-offers-support-for-improvement-of-indo-pak-ties-227159">In meeting with Imran Khan, Xi offers support for improvement of Indo-Pak ties</a> 
 
Modi did not meet Khan on the sidelines of the SCO summit, spurning Pakistan Prime Minister's suggestion for a bilateral meeting in Bishkek.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/apology-from-mamata-banerjee-among-6-demands-put-forth-by-agitating-west-bengal-doctors-227140">Apology from Mamata Banerjee among 6 demands put forth by agitating West Bengal doctors&nbsp;</a> 
 
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has declared an All India Protest Day Friday in the wake of violence against doctors in Kolkata.

US President Trump says Iran 'written all over' tanker attacks 'Iran did do it,' Trump said in an interview on "Fox and Friends," after the US military released footage it said showed an Iranian patrol boat removing an "unexploded limpet mine" from one of the tankers.

US President Trump says Iran 'written all over' tanker attacks 'Iran did do it,' Trump said in an interview on "Fox and Friends," after the US military released footage it said showed an Iranian patrol boat removing an "unexploded limpet mine" from one of the tankers. India set to levy higher tariffs on some US goods next week: Sources India is by far the largest buyer of US almonds and second largest buyer of US apples UK judge sets February 2020 for WikiLeaks founder Assange's US extradition hearing Assange, 47, is accused of violating the Espionage Act by releasing a vast trove of classified military and diplomatic files in 2010 about US bombing campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. In meeting with Imran Khan, Xi offers support for improvement of Indo-Pak ties Modi did not meet Khan on the sidelines of the SCO summit, spurning Pakistan Prime Minister's suggestion for a bilateral meeting in Bishkek. Apology from Mamata Banerjee among 6 demands put forth by agitating West Bengal doctors The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has declared an All India Protest Day Friday in the wake of violence against doctors in Kolkata.

News brief: Big stories of the day

Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday offered Beijing's support for Pakistan and India to improve their strained relations during his meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan here, China's state-run media reported.

Xi's remarks come a day after his meeting with Narendra Modi on Thursday during which the Prime Minister made it amply clear that <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/no-modi-imran-pull-aside-at-sco-as-new-delhi-strongly-raises-terror-227148">dialogue with Pakistan is not possible</a> without Islamabad giving up terrorism. 
 
During their meeting on the sidelines of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pak-among-few-countries-to-have-successfully-turned-the-tide-against-terrorism-pm-imran-khan-at-sco-summit-227069">Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit</a>, Xi told Khan that China "supports Pakistan and India in improving their relations", state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Watch: PM Modi's tough stand against terror, no meet with Imran Khan

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/sco-2019-pm-modis-tough-stand-against-terror-no-meet-with-imran-khan-226413/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Prime Minister Modi raised the issue of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan during his talks with President Xi and said India expects "concrete action" by Islamabad to create an atmosphere "free of terror" for the resumption of dialogue.

Modi did not meet Khan on the sidelines of the SCO summit, spurning Pakistan Prime Minister's suggestion for a bilateral meeting in Bishkek.

India has not been engaging with Pakistan since an attack on the Air Force base at Pathankot in January of 2016 by a Pakistan-based terror group, maintaining that talks and terror cannot go together.

Early this year, tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Post-Pulwama attack, China made efforts to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan. President XI rushed Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou to Islamabad to discuss the Indo-Pak tensions.

During his talks with Khan, Xi also offered China's support for Pakistan in counterterrorism efforts.

China is willing to help Pakistan within its capabilities, Xi said, adding that China supports Pakistan in implementing its national counter-terrorism plan to the end and is ready to help the country strengthen its counter-terrorism capacity.

Stressing that the two sides should well maintain, consolidate, and develop their all-weather partnership and all-dimensional cooperation, Xi said that China and Pakistan should carry out in-depth communication on issues of common concern, so as to make joint efforts to safeguard regional and international security and stability.

The two sides should expand and enrich the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with a new focus on areas including industrial parks, agriculture and social welfare, Xi said, referring to the multi-billion dollar project which is part of his ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.

President Xi also called on the two countries to take the upgrade of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement as an opportunity to vigorously expand bilateral trade.

He also urged the two countries to foster a closer community with a shared future against complicated regional and international situations.

Xi noted that it has been his third meeting with the Pakistani prime minister in the past eight months.

This, he said, fully demonstrates the high level of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.

He called on the two countries to carry out closer coordination and cooperation.

Pakistan, Khan said, is committed to deepening its strategic relationship with China, and will firmly advance the construction of the CPEC.

He added that his country will take effective measures to ensure security for the project.

Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday offered Beijing's support for Pakistan and India to improve their strained relations during his meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan here, China's state-run media reported.

Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday offered Beijing's support for Pakistan and India to improve their strained relations during his meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan here, China's state-run media reported. Xi's remarks come a day after his meeting with Narendra Modi on Thursday during which the Prime Minister made it amply clear that dialogue with Pakistan is not possible without Islamabad giving up terrorism. During their meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, Xi told Khan that China "supports Pakistan and India in improving their relations", state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Watch: PM Modi's tough stand against terror, no meet with Imran Khan × Prime Minister Modi raised the issue of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan during his talks with President Xi and said India expects "concrete action" by Islamabad to create an atmosphere "free of terror" for the resumption of dialogue. Modi did not meet Khan on the sidelines of the SCO summit, spurning Pakistan Prime Minister's suggestion for a bilateral meeting in Bishkek. India has not been engaging with Pakistan since an attack on the Air Force base at Pathankot in January of 2016 by a Pakistan-based terror group, maintaining that talks and terror cannot go together. Early this year, tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir's Pulwama district. Post-Pulwama attack, China made efforts to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan. President XI rushed Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou to Islamabad to discuss the Indo-Pak tensions. During his talks with Khan, Xi also offered China's support for Pakistan in counterterrorism efforts. China is willing to help Pakistan within its capabilities, Xi said, adding that China supports Pakistan in implementing its national counter-terrorism plan to the end and is ready to help the country strengthen its counter-terrorism capacity. Stressing that the two sides should well maintain, consolidate, and develop their all-weather partnership and all-dimensional cooperation, Xi said that China and Pakistan should carry out in-depth communication on issues of common concern, so as to make joint efforts to safeguard regional and international security and stability. The two sides should expand and enrich the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with a new focus on areas including industrial parks, agriculture and social welfare, Xi said, referring to the multi-billion dollar project which is part of his ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. President Xi also called on the two countries to take the upgrade of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement as an opportunity to vigorously expand bilateral trade. He also urged the two countries to foster a closer community with a shared future against complicated regional and international situations. Xi noted that it has been his third meeting with the Pakistani prime minister in the past eight months. This, he said, fully demonstrates the high level of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. He called on the two countries to carry out closer coordination and cooperation. Pakistan, Khan said, is committed to deepening its strategic relationship with China, and will firmly advance the construction of the CPEC. He added that his country will take effective measures to ensure security for the project.

In meeting with Imran Khan, Xi offers support for improvement of Indo-Pak ties

Former captain Mohammad Yousuf is furious with the <a href="http://cms.wionews.com/sports/will-not-beg-india-to-play-cricket-with-us-says-pakistan-cricket-board-chief-227066">Pakistan Cricket Board </a>for allowing families of the players to stay with them ahead of the much-awaited match against <a href="http://cms.wionews.com/sports/shikhar-will-be-in-a-plaster-hopefully-will-play-in-semi-finals-virat-kohli-227026">India </a>in the World Cup.

Wives and children of the <a href="http://cms.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-pakistan-must-bring-their-a-game-against-india-says-waqar-younis-226912">Pakistani </a>players have joined them in Manchester ahead of the clash against India on Sunday.

"I was part of the 1999, 2003 and 2007 World Cups but the board never allowed players to have their families with them during the tournament," Yousuf said.

"In 1999 we had such a big team with so many big names that if we had pressurized the board to give permission to have our wives and children stay with us in team hotel they would have done so.&nbsp;

"But we didn't because the World Cup is high-pressure event and players need to just be focussed on cricket and reaching the final. That is what happened in 99' in England," Yousuf said.

Yousuf, who played 90 Tests and 288 one-day internationals, recalled that the board didn't even give permission to players in one-day series or tournaments to have their families stay with them in those days.

"I remember we were allowed to have our wives and children with us only during Test matches as it made sense as we stayed in one city for at least a week," Yousuf said.

The former Pakistan batsman said he couldn't understand the logic behind PCB's decision to allow the wives and children to join players before the all-important <a href="http://cms.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-high-pressure-india-game-a-must-win-for-pakistan-says-imam-ul-haq-226750">match against India.</a>

"If it was necessary to appease the players they could have been allowed to have their wives and children at the start of the tournament, not at the business end of the World Cup," Yousuf said.

Yousuf said with their families around it was a big distraction for the players and with important matches coming up he was worried about the results.

The PCB initially had refused to give permission to the players to have their families with them in the World Cup but it later changed its mind and said families could stay in the team hotel after the match against Australia which <a href="http://cms.wionews.com/sports/we-need-to-overcome-mistakes-to-beat-india-says-sarfaraz-after-australia-defeat-226683">Pakistan </a>lost.

Former captain Mohammad Yousuf is furious with the Pakistan Cricket Board for allowing families of the players to stay with them ahead of the much-awaited match against India in the World Cup.

Former captain Mohammad Yousuf is furious with the Pakistan Cricket Board for allowing families of the players to stay with them ahead of the much-awaited match against India in the World Cup. Wives and children of the Pakistani players have joined them in Manchester ahead of the clash against India on Sunday. "I was part of the 1999, 2003 and 2007 World Cups but the board never allowed players to have their families with them during the tournament," Yousuf said. "In 1999 we had such a big team with so many big names that if we had pressurized the board to give permission to have our wives and children stay with us in team hotel they would have done so. "But we didn't because the World Cup is high-pressure event and players need to just be focussed on cricket and reaching the final. That is what happened in 99' in England," Yousuf said. Yousuf, who played 90 Tests and 288 one-day internationals, recalled that the board didn't even give permission to players in one-day series or tournaments to have their families stay with them in those days. "I remember we were allowed to have our wives and children with us only during Test matches as it made sense as we stayed in one city for at least a week," Yousuf said. The former Pakistan batsman said he couldn't understand the logic behind PCB's decision to allow the wives and children to join players before the all-important match against India. "If it was necessary to appease the players they could have been allowed to have their wives and children at the start of the tournament, not at the business end of the World Cup," Yousuf said. Yousuf said with their families around it was a big distraction for the players and with important matches coming up he was worried about the results. The PCB initially had refused to give permission to the players to have their families with them in the World Cup but it later changed its mind and said families could stay in the team hotel after the match against Australia which Pakistan lost.

World Cup: Mohammad Yousuf slams PCB ahead of Pakistan's clash against India

The ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup has been bogged down by poor English weather and former English batsman Kevin Pietersen on Friday posted a <a href="http://cms.wionews.com/sports/india-vs-new-zealand-washout-frustrated-fans-come-up-with-funny-memes-226940">hilarious picture</a> on Instagram taking a jibe at the tournament.

So far, four matches have been <a href="http://cms.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-india-and-new-zealand-split-points-after-trent-bridge-washout-226923">abandoned due to rain</a> in the ongoing Cricket World Cup.

This is the most number of matches that have been called off due to rain in a single edition.

The matches between Sri Lanka-Pakistan, Sri Lanka-Bangladesh, South Africa-West Indies and India-New Zealand have gotten abandoned due to rain in the ongoing World Cup.

Three matches were washed out without a single ball bowled and in the South Africa-West Indies match, only 7.2 overs were bowled.

The scheduling of the Cricket World Cup has come under scrutiny as the matches keep on getting abandoned and the teams are being awarded one point each.

No reserve days have been put in place for the round-robin stage.

The reserve days are just in place for the semi-finals and finals.

In the picture that Pietersen posted, people can be seen playing cricket underwater and the image caption reads as 'Cricket World Cup final 2019'.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByreSQRlhXt/" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding:16px;">
<div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;">
<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>

<div style="padding: 19% 0;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByreSQRlhXt/" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div>

<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByreSQRlhXt/" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div>
</div>

<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByreSQRlhXt/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂</a>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kp24/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Kevin Pietersen</a> (@kp24) on <time datetime="2019-06-14T05:57:56+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Jun 13, 2019 at 10:57pm PDT</time>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

When asked about reserve days, <a href="http://cms.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-icc-defends-no-reserve-day-decision-blames-unseasonable-weather-226400">ICC CEO David Richardson</a> had said,&nbsp;"factoring in a reserve day for every match at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup would significantly increase the length of the tournament and practically would be extremely complex to deliver."

"Up to 1,200 people are on site to deliver a match and everything associated with it including getting it broadcast and a proportion of them are moving around the country so reserve days in the group stage would require a significant uplift in the number of staff," Richardson further stated.

The upcoming week in the Cricket World Cup 2019 also does not order well for the organisers as weather predictions for the ensuing week also indicate rain.

The ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup has been bogged down by poor English weather and former English batsman Kevin Pietersen on Friday posted a hilarious picture on Instagram taking a jibe at the tournament.

The ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup has been bogged down by poor English weather and former English batsman Kevin Pietersen on Friday posted a hilarious picture on Instagram taking a jibe at the tournament. So far, four matches have been abandoned due to rain in the ongoing Cricket World Cup. This is the most number of matches that have been called off due to rain in a single edition. The matches between Sri Lanka-Pakistan, Sri Lanka-Bangladesh, South Africa-West Indies and India-New Zealand have gotten abandoned due to rain in the ongoing World Cup. Three matches were washed out without a single ball bowled and in the South Africa-West Indies match, only 7.2 overs were bowled. The scheduling of the Cricket World Cup has come under scrutiny as the matches keep on getting abandoned and the teams are being awarded one point each. No reserve days have been put in place for the round-robin stage. The reserve days are just in place for the semi-finals and finals. In the picture that Pietersen posted, people can be seen playing cricket underwater and the image caption reads as 'Cricket World Cup final 2019'. View this post on Instagram 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 A post shared by Kevin Pietersen (@kp24) on Jun 13, 2019 at 10:57pm PDT × When asked about reserve days, ICC CEO David Richardson had said, "factoring in a reserve day for every match at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup would significantly increase the length of the tournament and practically would be extremely complex to deliver." "Up to 1,200 people are on site to deliver a match and everything associated with it including getting it broadcast and a proportion of them are moving around the country so reserve days in the group stage would require a significant uplift in the number of staff," Richardson further stated. The upcoming week in the Cricket World Cup 2019 also does not order well for the organisers as weather predictions for the ensuing week also indicate rain.

Kevin Pietersen posts hilarious picture on washed out World Cup matches

India will tour West Indies to begin its <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-heavy-rain-forecast-ahead-of-india-vs-new-zealand-match-226204">ICC</a> World Test Championship campaign, starting August 22 across two venues.

The five-week tour will see the teams competing in three T20Is and as many ODIs before testing themselves in two Test matches from August 22 to 26 at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua and from August 30 to September 3 at Sabina Park in Jamaica.

The two Tests open the new ICC World Test Championship, which will be played over the next two years.&nbsp;

It has been introduced to give greater context and competition in the ultimate test of the game, combining strategy, skill and endurance.

"The West Indies and India have a long and colourful rivalry, and the series will bring more thrilling competition across every format of the game. We'll be seeing some of the World's best players go head to head in T20Is, ODIs and then in the new World Test Championship. West Indies fans, young and old, will have the opportunity to see some incredible cricket," said Cricket West Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Officer, Johnny Grave in a statement.

The first two T20I matches will be played on August 3 and 4, respectively, at the Broward County Stadium in the city of Lauderhill in Florida, USA.

The third T20I will be played on August 6 at the National Stadium in Guyana, where the series also transitions to the 50-over format with the first ODI taking place on August 8, the first time in three decades the two sides will contest in an ODI in the South American nation.&nbsp;

The ODI series will conclude at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad where teams will meet for second and third <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/yuvraj-singh-deserved-a-better-farewell-says-india-vice-captain-rohit-sharma-226179">ODI </a>on August 11 and 14, respectively.

"We're excited to bring two more T20Is to Florida, giving the West Indies diaspora in North America the opportunity to watch the team play 'live' and in person," said CWI Commercial, Marketing and Communications Director, Dominic Warne.

"This continues our plans of growing our audience and the game's appeal in North America to increase participation and investment back into the West Indies. The series will provide a chance for a growing audience in the United States, who follow the West Indies, to experience the fast-paced action of the T20 format," Warne added.&nbsp;

India will tour West Indies to begin its ICC World Test Championship campaign, starting August 22 across two venues. The five-week tour will see the teams competing in three T20Is and as many ODIs before testing themselves in two Test matches from August 22 to 26 at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua and from August 30 to September 3 at Sabina Park in Jamaica.

India will tour West Indies to begin its ICC World Test Championship campaign, starting August 22 across two venues. The five-week tour will see the teams competing in three T20Is and as many ODIs before testing themselves in two Test matches from August 22 to 26 at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua and from August 30 to September 3 at Sabina Park in Jamaica. The two Tests open the new ICC World Test Championship, which will be played over the next two years. It has been introduced to give greater context and competition in the ultimate test of the game, combining strategy, skill and endurance. "The West Indies and India have a long and colourful rivalry, and the series will bring more thrilling competition across every format of the game. We'll be seeing some of the World's best players go head to head in T20Is, ODIs and then in the new World Test Championship. West Indies fans, young and old, will have the opportunity to see some incredible cricket," said Cricket West Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Officer, Johnny Grave in a statement. The first two T20I matches will be played on August 3 and 4, respectively, at the Broward County Stadium in the city of Lauderhill in Florida, USA. The third T20I will be played on August 6 at the National Stadium in Guyana, where the series also transitions to the 50-over format with the first ODI taking place on August 8, the first time in three decades the two sides will contest in an ODI in the South American nation. The ODI series will conclude at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad where teams will meet for second and third ODI on August 11 and 14, respectively. "We're excited to bring two more T20Is to Florida, giving the West Indies diaspora in North America the opportunity to watch the team play 'live' and in person," said CWI Commercial, Marketing and Communications Director, Dominic Warne. "This continues our plans of growing our audience and the game's appeal in North America to increase participation and investment back into the West Indies. The series will provide a chance for a growing audience in the United States, who follow the West Indies, to experience the fast-paced action of the T20 format," Warne added.

India to begin ICC World Test Championship against West Indies

Pakistan's relationship with India is probably at its "lowest point", Prime Minister Imran Khan has said even as he expressed hope that his Indian counterpart PM Narendra Modi will use his "big mandate" to resolve all differences, including the Kashmir issue.

Khan and Modi are in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek for the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/during-bilateral-talks-pm-modi-and-xi-jinping-discuss-pakistan-terror-and-boundary-dispute-226899">two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit</a>.

In an interview to Russian news agency Sputnik before heading to Bishkek, Khan said the SCO summit provided him an opportunity to speak to the Indian leadership to improve ties between the two neighbours.

Khan said the SCO summit provided Pakistan a "fresh outlet" to develop its relationship with other countries, including India.

"At the moment, our bilateral relationship with India is, probably, at its lowest point," he said.

Khan said Pakistan was open for "any kind of mediation" and seeks peace with all its neighbours, especially with India, asserting that the three "small wars" have damaged both the countries that now grapple with the "greatest amount of poverty".

The Ministry of External Affairs last week said that no bilateral meetings had been planned between Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Khan on the sidelines of the SCO Summit.

Khan has twice written to Prime Minister Modi, seeking resumption of dialogue on all issues, including on Kashmir.

Modi Thursday raised the issue of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan during his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping here and said India expects "concrete action" by Islamabad to create an atmosphere free of terror for the resumption of dialogue.

Khan said the emphasis should be on peace and resolving differences through dialogue.

"Our main difference with India is Kashmir. And if the heads of two countries resolve, if two governments decide, this issue can be resolved. But, unfortunately, we have not had much success from India so far," he said.

"But we hope now that the current prime minister has one big mandate, we hope that he will use this mandate to develop a better relationship and bring peace in the subcontinent," Khan said.

He said he believed that the money should be spent on getting people out of poverty, citing China's example which has lifted millions of people out of poverty.

"We hope that our tension with India decreases, so we do not have to buy arms because we want to spend money on human development. But, yes, we are looking for arms from Russia, and I know our military is already in touch with the Russian military," Khan said.

Pakistan has been holding joint military drills with Russia in the last couple of years besides going for defence purchases from it, triggering some concerns in New Delhi.&nbsp;

Pakistan's relationship with India is probably at its "lowest point", Prime Minister Imran Khan has said even as he expressed hope that his Indian counterpart PM Narendra Modi will use his "big mandate" to resolve all differences, including the Kashmir issue.

Pakistan's relationship with India is probably at its "lowest point", Prime Minister Imran Khan has said even as he expressed hope that his Indian counterpart PM Narendra Modi will use his "big mandate" to resolve all differences, including the Kashmir issue. Khan and Modi are in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek for the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. In an interview to Russian news agency Sputnik before heading to Bishkek, Khan said the SCO summit provided him an opportunity to speak to the Indian leadership to improve ties between the two neighbours. Khan said the SCO summit provided Pakistan a "fresh outlet" to develop its relationship with other countries, including India. "At the moment, our bilateral relationship with India is, probably, at its lowest point," he said. Khan said Pakistan was open for "any kind of mediation" and seeks peace with all its neighbours, especially with India, asserting that the three "small wars" have damaged both the countries that now grapple with the "greatest amount of poverty". The Ministry of External Affairs last week said that no bilateral meetings had been planned between Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Khan on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. Khan has twice written to Prime Minister Modi, seeking resumption of dialogue on all issues, including on Kashmir. Modi Thursday raised the issue of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan during his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping here and said India expects "concrete action" by Islamabad to create an atmosphere free of terror for the resumption of dialogue. Khan said the emphasis should be on peace and resolving differences through dialogue. "Our main difference with India is Kashmir. And if the heads of two countries resolve, if two governments decide, this issue can be resolved. But, unfortunately, we have not had much success from India so far," he said. "But we hope now that the current prime minister has one big mandate, we hope that he will use this mandate to develop a better relationship and bring peace in the subcontinent," Khan said. He said he believed that the money should be spent on getting people out of poverty, citing China's example which has lifted millions of people out of poverty. "We hope that our tension with India decreases, so we do not have to buy arms because we want to spend money on human development. But, yes, we are looking for arms from Russia, and I know our military is already in touch with the Russian military," Khan said. Pakistan has been holding joint military drills with Russia in the last couple of years besides going for defence purchases from it, triggering some concerns in New Delhi.

Pak-India ties at 'lowest point', hope PM Modi will use his mandate to resolve all issues: Imran Khan

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Thursday briefed media on the bilateral meeting that took place between <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/wuhan-provided-stability-and-momentum-to-india-china-ties-pm-modi-to-xi-226895">PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bishkek</a>, Kyrgyzstan on the sidelines of 19th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.&nbsp;

The foreign secretary informed that India reiterated its position on Pakistan.&nbsp;"We have a consistent position on Pakistan and look for a peaceful resolution," Gokhale said.&nbsp;

Gokhale said that the prime minister informed president Jinping that all efforts with Pakistan "have been derailed".&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
PM Modi on Pak to Chinese Prez: we have made efforts and these have been derailed. Pak needs to create an atmosphere free of terrorism and did not see anything of this sort happening. <a href="https://t.co/CCvkNYlALd">https://t.co/CCvkNYlALd</a>
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) <a href="https://twitter.com/sidhant/status/1139149245016158208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Gokhale noted that the prime minister, during his talks with the Chinese President, said, "Pakistan needs to create an atmosphere free of terrorism, India expects Pakistan to take concrete action".&nbsp;

Watch: PM Modi meets Xi Jinping for first bilateral meeting

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/19th-sco-summit-pm-modi-meets-xi-jinping-for-first-bilateral-meeting-226904/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

PM noted what had improved between the two sides is strategic communication and in that context, we have been able to resolve long pending issues like the opening of Bank of China branch in India and the issue related to the listing of Masood Azhar, Gokhale stated.&nbsp;

Gokhale informed that Jinping has confirmed a visit to India later this year and that PM Modi has proposed to hold 70 significant events - 35 each in China and India - next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of India-China bilateral ties.&nbsp;

"External Affairs Ministers of both the countries have been tasked to discuss and develop the course of the same,"&nbsp;Gokhale added.&nbsp;

He informed that both the leaders held a brief discussion on the boundary dispute and maintained that special representatives of India and China will meet on the issue and carry out a solution that would be "fair and mutually acceptable".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are slated to meet again at the G20 Summit, the BRICS Summit and during an informal summit that is slated to take place later in the year. &nbsp;

On Friday, PM Modi will participate at the SCO meet in the morning and will have a bilateral meeting with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Kyrgyzstan's President Sooronbay Jeenbekov. He will also have many pull-aside meeting with leaders of several countries but none with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected.&nbsp;

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Thursday briefed media on the bilateral meeting that took place between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on the sidelines of 19th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Thursday briefed media on the bilateral meeting that took place between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on the sidelines of 19th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. The foreign secretary informed that India reiterated its position on Pakistan. "We have a consistent position on Pakistan and look for a peaceful resolution," Gokhale said. Gokhale said that the prime minister informed president Jinping that all efforts with Pakistan "have been derailed". PM Modi on Pak to Chinese Prez: we have made efforts and these have been derailed. Pak needs to create an atmosphere free of terrorism and did not see anything of this sort happening. https://t.co/CCvkNYlALd — Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) June 13, 2019 × Gokhale noted that the prime minister, during his talks with the Chinese President, said, "Pakistan needs to create an atmosphere free of terrorism, India expects Pakistan to take concrete action". Watch: PM Modi meets Xi Jinping for first bilateral meeting PM noted what had improved between the two sides is strategic communication and in that context, we have been able to resolve long pending issues like the opening of Bank of China branch in India and the issue related to the listing of Masood Azhar, Gokhale stated. Gokhale informed that Jinping has confirmed a visit to India later this year and that PM Modi has proposed to hold 70 significant events - 35 each in China and India - next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of India-China bilateral ties. "External Affairs Ministers of both the countries have been tasked to discuss and develop the course of the same," Gokhale added. He informed that both the leaders held a brief discussion on the boundary dispute and maintained that special representatives of India and China will meet on the issue and carry out a solution that would be "fair and mutually acceptable". Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are slated to meet again at the G20 Summit, the BRICS Summit and during an informal summit that is slated to take place later in the year. On Friday, PM Modi will participate at the SCO meet in the morning and will have a bilateral meeting with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Kyrgyzstan's President Sooronbay Jeenbekov. He will also have many pull-aside meeting with leaders of several countries but none with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected.

In bilateral meeting, PM Modi and Xi Jinping discuss Pakistan, terror and boundary dispute

Pakistan on Thursday extended its <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/pm-modi-leaves-for-sco-summit-in-kyrgyzstan-avoids-pakistan-airspace-226690">airspace ban</a> along its eastern border with India for the third time till June 28, according to a notice issued by the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Pakistan fully closed its airspace on February 26 after the Indian Air Force struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist training camp in Balakot.&nbsp;

Since then, it has only opened two routes, both of them pass through southern Pakistan, of the total 11. Pakistan's civil aviation authority is expected to review the situation on June 15.

The IAF announced on May 31 that all temporary restrictions imposed on Indian airspace post the Balakot airstrike have been removed.&nbsp;

The CAA notice issued to airmen (NOTAM) on Thursday says: "Pakistani airspace will be closed until June 28 along its eastern border with India. The Panjgoor airspace will remain open for overflying transit flights from the western side as Air India had already been using that airspace."&nbsp;

A Pakistan government official told PTI that since there has been no official communication between the two countries regarding the opening of their airspace for each other the "status quo" will prevail.&nbsp;

"See if some development takes place at the government's level in this respect before June 28," he said.

On Wednesday Pakistan gave special permission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's VVIP flight to use its airspace for his official trip to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.&nbsp;

However, Modi's flight avoided flying over Pakistan. Earlier, Pakistan had allowed India's (former) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to fly directly through Pakistani airspace to participate in the meeting of SCO foreign ministers in Bishkek on May 21.&nbsp;

Pakistan earlier had indicated that it may lift the airspace ban along its eastern border with India imposed on February 27 to reciprocate India's decision to remove all restrictions on all air routes in the Indian airspace.&nbsp;

As a result of the ban, foreign carriers using Indian airspace have been forced to take costly detours because they cannot fly over Pakistan.&nbsp;

The closure mainly affects flights from Europe to Southeast Asia. The flights from Europe and the US flying in and out of New Delhi have been the worst hit.

Since Pakistan's airspace closure, the airfare on many routes has gone up significantly, including Delhi-Kabul, Delhi-Moscow, Delhi-Tehran and Delhi-Astana.&nbsp;

Pakistan on Thursday extended its airspace ban along its eastern border with India for the third time till June 28, according to a notice issued by the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Pakistan on Thursday extended its airspace ban along its eastern border with India for the third time till June 28, according to a notice issued by the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Pakistan fully closed its airspace on February 26 after the Indian Air Force struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist training camp in Balakot. Since then, it has only opened two routes, both of them pass through southern Pakistan, of the total 11. Pakistan's civil aviation authority is expected to review the situation on June 15. The IAF announced on May 31 that all temporary restrictions imposed on Indian airspace post the Balakot airstrike have been removed. The CAA notice issued to airmen (NOTAM) on Thursday says: "Pakistani airspace will be closed until June 28 along its eastern border with India. The Panjgoor airspace will remain open for overflying transit flights from the western side as Air India had already been using that airspace." A Pakistan government official told PTI that since there has been no official communication between the two countries regarding the opening of their airspace for each other the "status quo" will prevail. "See if some development takes place at the government's level in this respect before June 28," he said. On Wednesday Pakistan gave special permission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's VVIP flight to use its airspace for his official trip to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. However, Modi's flight avoided flying over Pakistan. Earlier, Pakistan had allowed India's (former) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to fly directly through Pakistani airspace to participate in the meeting of SCO foreign ministers in Bishkek on May 21. Pakistan earlier had indicated that it may lift the airspace ban along its eastern border with India imposed on February 27 to reciprocate India's decision to remove all restrictions on all air routes in the Indian airspace. As a result of the ban, foreign carriers using Indian airspace have been forced to take costly detours because they cannot fly over Pakistan. The closure mainly affects flights from Europe to Southeast Asia. The flights from Europe and the US flying in and out of New Delhi have been the worst hit. Since Pakistan's airspace closure, the airfare on many routes has gone up significantly, including Delhi-Kabul, Delhi-Moscow, Delhi-Tehran and Delhi-Astana.

Pakistan extends airspace ban along its eastern border with India till June 28 

Week 2 of World Cup marred by controversies, injuries and washouts

India head coach Ravi Shastri and support staff have been given a 45-day contract extension after the ongoing campaign at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.&nbsp;

Shastri and the support staff, including assistant coach <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/final-call-on-precious-shikhar-dhawan-only-after-10-12-days-sanjay-bangar-226591">Sanjay Bangar</a>, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar, will continue with their roles till the end of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/india-to-begin-icc-world-test-championship-against-west-indies-226732">India tour of West Indies</a>.&nbsp;

The series comprising three T20Is, three ODIs, and two Tests will take place from August 3 to September 3.&nbsp;

"Yes, they have got 45 days extension till the end of the West Indies tour because the process will complete after the World Cup. There is no time in between so it doesn't make sense to do things in a hurry," a BCCI official told ANI.&nbsp;

India have won their first two matches, defeating South Africa by six wickets and Australia by 36 runs, respectively.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/rain-set-to-play-spoilsport-at-india-vs-new-zealand-world-cup-clash-226768">Virat Kohli-led team</a> will take on New Zealand at Trent Bridge today.&nbsp;

India head coach Ravi Shastri and support staff have been given a 45-day contract extension after the ongoing campaign at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. Shastri and the support staff, including assistant coach Sanjay Bangar, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar, will continue with their roles till the end of India tour of West Indies.

India head coach Ravi Shastri and support staff have been given a 45-day contract extension after the ongoing campaign at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. Shastri and the support staff, including assistant coach Sanjay Bangar, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar, will continue with their roles till the end of India tour of West Indies. The series comprising three T20Is, three ODIs, and two Tests will take place from August 3 to September 3. "Yes, they have got 45 days extension till the end of the West Indies tour because the process will complete after the World Cup. There is no time in between so it doesn't make sense to do things in a hurry," a BCCI official told ANI. India have won their first two matches, defeating South Africa by six wickets and Australia by 36 runs, respectively. Virat Kohli-led team will take on New Zealand at Trent Bridge today.

Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Bangar among other support staff granted 45-day contract extension

Virat Kohli-led India will take on New Zealand in the 18th match of Cricket World Cup 2019 but the weather forecast at the venue is not looking good as there are slim chances of getting a full a game today in Nottingham.

The match starts at 10:30 GMT and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-heavy-rain-forecast-ahead-of-india-vs-new-zealand-match-226204">light rain is expected to fall </a>from 10:00 am and to an end at about lunchtime, around 1:00 pm.&nbsp;

After about an hour of relief from the rain, it's set to pour down again from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm and subside only by 6:00 pm in the evening.

The Met Office in England had issued a 'yellow warning'&nbsp;for heavy rain at Trent Bridge in Nottingham for today and the maximum temperature will be around 13 degrees through the day, making it extremely cold for both the teams on the field.&nbsp;

"The unsettled weather continues this week with further heavy rain and thunderstorms expected to impact some parts of the UK," published The Met Office on their website.&nbsp;

A record three matches have already been either abandoned or called off in the weather-hit tournament and the forecast is for further washouts this week.&nbsp;

The absence of reserve days is being brought up by the players and the coaches, but the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday defended not scheduling reserve days for group matches at the rain-marred World Cup and blamed the disruptions on "extremely unseasonable weather".

The organisers have been criticised for not allotting reserve days in the group stage and outgoing ICC chief executive David Richardson said it was not a feasible idea.

"Factoring in a reserve day for every match ... would significantly increase the length of the tournament and practically would be extremely complex to deliver," he said in a statement.

If the game is washed-out both <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/watch-injured-shikhar-dhawan-at-practice-session-ahead-of-new-zealand-contest-226574">India </a>and New Zealand will get one point each. 
 
New Zealand are at the top of the points table with six points from three games and India have four points from two games with two victories.

(All timings in GMT)

Virat Kohli-led India will take on New Zealand in the 18th match of Cricket World Cup 2019 but the weather forecast at the venue is not looking good as there are slim chances of getting a full a game today in Nottingham.

Virat Kohli-led India will take on New Zealand in the 18th match of Cricket World Cup 2019 but the weather forecast at the venue is not looking good as there are slim chances of getting a full a game today in Nottingham. The match starts at 10:30 GMT and light rain is expected to fall from 10:00 am and to an end at about lunchtime, around 1:00 pm. After about an hour of relief from the rain, it's set to pour down again from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm and subside only by 6:00 pm in the evening. The Met Office in England had issued a 'yellow warning' for heavy rain at Trent Bridge in Nottingham for today and the maximum temperature will be around 13 degrees through the day, making it extremely cold for both the teams on the field. "The unsettled weather continues this week with further heavy rain and thunderstorms expected to impact some parts of the UK," published The Met Office on their website. A record three matches have already been either abandoned or called off in the weather-hit tournament and the forecast is for further washouts this week. The absence of reserve days is being brought up by the players and the coaches, but the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday defended not scheduling reserve days for group matches at the rain-marred World Cup and blamed the disruptions on "extremely unseasonable weather". The organisers have been criticised for not allotting reserve days in the group stage and outgoing ICC chief executive David Richardson said it was not a feasible idea. "Factoring in a reserve day for every match ... would significantly increase the length of the tournament and practically would be extremely complex to deliver," he said in a statement. If the game is washed-out both India and New Zealand will get one point each. New Zealand are at the top of the points table with six points from three games and India have four points from two games with two victories. (All timings in GMT)

World Cup: Weather report of Nottingham for India vs New Zealand match

India has slipped by four points in an annual global index on peacefulness this year, finishing at 141 among 163 countries, while Iceland remained at the top position, according to a report by an international think tank.

The Global Peace Index (GPI) gauges ongoing domestic and international conflict, safety and security in society, and the degree of militarisation in 163 countries and territories by taking into account 23 indicators.

Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008, the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) said in a statement.

It is joined at the top of the index by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, and Denmark. Bhutan has recorded the largest improvement of any country in the top 20, rising 43 places in the last 12 years, it added.

"India's rank has moved down to 141 from in GPI 2019 (from its previous position at 136), among 163 countries, and it stands at fifth in the (South Asian) region," the statement said.

The IEP prepares the GPI report that presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis to date on peace, its economic value, trends, and how to develop peaceful societies, it said.

The 13th edition of the annual report, the world's leading measure of global peacefulness, also shows that the "average level of global peacefulness improved for the first time in five years", the statement said.

"However, despite the improvement, the world remains considerably less peaceful now than a decade ago, with the average level of peacefulness deteriorating by nearly four per cent since 2008," the report claimed.

The 2019 report also includes new research on the possible effects of climate change on peace, the statement said.

"India together with the Philippines, Japan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Pakistan are the nine countries with the highest risk of multiple climate hazards. India has the seventh highest overall natural hazard score," according to the report.&nbsp;

The report also claimed that the gap between the least and most peaceful countries "continues to grow".

Eighty-six countries improved their score in the 2019 report, while 76 deteriorated.

Afghanistan is now the least peaceful country in the world, replacing Syria, which is now the second least peaceful. South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq comprise the remaining five least peaceful countries, it said.

This is the first year since the inception of the index that Yemen has been ranked amongst the five least peaceful countries, the statement said.

The report covers 99.7 per cent of the world's population and uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources to compile the index. These indicators are grouped into three key domains - ongoing conflict, safety and security, and militarisation, the IEP said.

The IEP is an international and independent think tank dedicated to shifting the world's focus to peace as a positive, achievable and tangible measure of human well-being and progress. It has offices in Sydney, Brussels, New York, The Hague, Mexico City and Harare, the statement said.&nbsp;

India has slipped by four points in an annual global index on peacefulness this year, finishing at 141 among 163 countries, while Iceland remained at the top position, according to a report by an international think tank.

India has slipped by four points in an annual global index on peacefulness this year, finishing at 141 among 163 countries, while Iceland remained at the top position, according to a report by an international think tank. The Global Peace Index (GPI) gauges ongoing domestic and international conflict, safety and security in society, and the degree of militarisation in 163 countries and territories by taking into account 23 indicators. Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008, the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) said in a statement. It is joined at the top of the index by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, and Denmark. Bhutan has recorded the largest improvement of any country in the top 20, rising 43 places in the last 12 years, it added. "India's rank has moved down to 141 from in GPI 2019 (from its previous position at 136), among 163 countries, and it stands at fifth in the (South Asian) region," the statement said. The IEP prepares the GPI report that presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis to date on peace, its economic value, trends, and how to develop peaceful societies, it said. The 13th edition of the annual report, the world's leading measure of global peacefulness, also shows that the "average level of global peacefulness improved for the first time in five years", the statement said. "However, despite the improvement, the world remains considerably less peaceful now than a decade ago, with the average level of peacefulness deteriorating by nearly four per cent since 2008," the report claimed. The 2019 report also includes new research on the possible effects of climate change on peace, the statement said. "India together with the Philippines, Japan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Pakistan are the nine countries with the highest risk of multiple climate hazards. India has the seventh highest overall natural hazard score," according to the report. The report also claimed that the gap between the least and most peaceful countries "continues to grow". Eighty-six countries improved their score in the 2019 report, while 76 deteriorated. Afghanistan is now the least peaceful country in the world, replacing Syria, which is now the second least peaceful. South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq comprise the remaining five least peaceful countries, it said. This is the first year since the inception of the index that Yemen has been ranked amongst the five least peaceful countries, the statement said. The report covers 99.7 per cent of the world's population and uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources to compile the index. These indicators are grouped into three key domains - ongoing conflict, safety and security, and militarisation, the IEP said. The IEP is an international and independent think tank dedicated to shifting the world's focus to peace as a positive, achievable and tangible measure of human well-being and progress. It has offices in Sydney, Brussels, New York, The Hague, Mexico City and Harare, the statement said.

India slips to 141 in annual Global Peace Index; Iceland retains top spot

A final decision on Shikhar Dhawan's availability at the ongoing World Cup will be taken only after 10 to 12 days as he is too "precious" to be ruled out just yet, India's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar said Wednesday.

Dhawan will miss three to four games due to the hairline fracture on his left thumb and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/rishabh-pant-to-be-flown-in-today-as-cover-for-injured-shikhar-dhawan-says-bcci-official-226423">Rishabh Pant</a> will join the team as cover in Manchester ahead of the clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday.

"As far as Shikhar is concerned, we are observing him and it will take some time, around 10 or 12 days to figure out where he stands," Bangar said on the eve of the game against New Zealand here.

"We will be in a better position to take a call then because we don't want to rule out a precious player like Shikhar, straight at the time of the injury," he added.

The assistant coach's statement means that Dhawan will be out of the games against New Zealand (Thursday), Pakistan (Manchester, June 16), Afghanistan (June 22, Southampton) and West Indies (June 27, Manchester).

Bangar also informed that Pant is being summoned so that he can train with the team and be match-ready in case <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-shikhar-dhawan-ruled-out-for-three-weeks-due-to-injury-226202">Dhawan </a>is ruled out of the tournament.

"Since Dhawan's assessment will take 10-12 days, till that point of time, we wanted to make sure if and when the replacement is required and I am saying if and when, then it is always good to have a replacement player coming in and practising with the team as a stand-by," Bangar said.

A final decision on Shikhar Dhawan's availability at the ongoing World Cup will be taken only after 10 to 12 days as he is too "precious" to be ruled out just yet, India's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar said Wednesday.

A final decision on Shikhar Dhawan's availability at the ongoing World Cup will be taken only after 10 to 12 days as he is too "precious" to be ruled out just yet, India's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar said Wednesday. Dhawan will miss three to four games due to the hairline fracture on his left thumb and Rishabh Pant will join the team as cover in Manchester ahead of the clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday. "As far as Shikhar is concerned, we are observing him and it will take some time, around 10 or 12 days to figure out where he stands," Bangar said on the eve of the game against New Zealand here. "We will be in a better position to take a call then because we don't want to rule out a precious player like Shikhar, straight at the time of the injury," he added. The assistant coach's statement means that Dhawan will be out of the games against New Zealand (Thursday), Pakistan (Manchester, June 16), Afghanistan (June 22, Southampton) and West Indies (June 27, Manchester). Bangar also informed that Pant is being summoned so that he can train with the team and be match-ready in case Dhawan is ruled out of the tournament. "Since Dhawan's assessment will take 10-12 days, till that point of time, we wanted to make sure if and when the replacement is required and I am saying if and when, then it is always good to have a replacement player coming in and practising with the team as a stand-by," Bangar said.

Final call on 'precious' Shikhar Dhawan only after 10-12 days: Sanjay Bangar

Heavy rain threatens to play spoilsport when <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/live-updates-cricket-world-cup-2019-match-14-india-vs-australia-225643">India</a> face New Zealand in their next World Cup game at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

However, as per weather forecast, the rain is likely to subside by lunchtime on Thursday which means at least a curtailed game remains a possibility.

There have&nbsp;been <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/cricket-world-cup-2019-sri-lanka-bangladesh-hope-for-a-game-as-bristol-rain-threatens-washout-226177">persistent showers across the United Kingdom</a> for the past two days and the local Met department has issued a warning for the residents.

"A Yellow Warning for rain is in force in the Nottingham area for most of this week," local website 'Nottinghampost' reported.

The Met office's warning on its website covered a large area of England, including Birmingham, Peterborough and Newcastle.

"There is a chance that heavy prolonged rain could lead to localised flooding and disruption to transport," it said.

As per local Met Office weather forecast for Nottingham, the heavy rain will continue till 7 pm on Wednesday.

"That lighter rain is expected to finally come to an end at about lunchtime on Thursday. The maximum temperatures will be around 13 degree Celsius and minimum overnight temperatures will be around 10 or 11 degree Celsius," the website reported.&nbsp;

Heavy rain threatens to play spoilsport when India face New Zealand in their next World Cup game at Trent Bridge on Thursday. However, as per weather forecast, the rain is likely to subside by lunchtime on Thursday which means at least a curtailed game remains a possibility.

Heavy rain threatens to play spoilsport when India face New Zealand in their next World Cup game at Trent Bridge on Thursday. However, as per weather forecast, the rain is likely to subside by lunchtime on Thursday which means at least a curtailed game remains a possibility. There have been persistent showers across the United Kingdom for the past two days and the local Met department has issued a warning for the residents. "A Yellow Warning for rain is in force in the Nottingham area for most of this week," local website 'Nottinghampost' reported. The Met office's warning on its website covered a large area of England, including Birmingham, Peterborough and Newcastle. "There is a chance that heavy prolonged rain could lead to localised flooding and disruption to transport," it said. As per local Met Office weather forecast for Nottingham, the heavy rain will continue till 7 pm on Wednesday. "That lighter rain is expected to finally come to an end at about lunchtime on Thursday. The maximum temperatures will be around 13 degree Celsius and minimum overnight temperatures will be around 10 or 11 degree Celsius," the website reported.

World Cup: Heavy rain forecast ahead of India vs New Zealand match

Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping as "good friends", China on Monday hoped that the two leaders would discuss their respective trade frictions with the US and reach a consensus on opposing trade protectionism during their "very important" <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pm-narendra-modi-to-meet-chinese-president-xi-jinping-on-sidelines-of-sco-summit-225651">meeting this week on the sidelines of the SCO summit</a> in Bishkek.&nbsp;

This year's summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will be held in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on June 13-14 where Modi and Xi are scheduled to meet and discuss bilateral and international issues.

The meeting assumes significance as this is the first meeting between the two leaders after Modi-led BJP's massive victory in the recent elections in India.&nbsp; 
Xi had congratulated Modi on his re-election through a letter on May 23.

"Once again we congratulate Prime Minister Modi. President Xi and Prime Minister Modi are good friends. They had a very successful informal summit at Wuhan last year," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui told a media briefing here answering a question on the Modi-Xi meeting.

He said the Wuhan summit has provided strategic guidance for the development of India-China ties, paving the way for stable growth of China-India relations in the long run.

The April 27-28 Wuhan summit between Modi and Xi was largely credited to have turned around the bilateral relations soured by the 73-day Doklam standoff in 2017, triggered by Chinese troops' attempt to build a road close to the Indian border in an area also claimed by Bhutan.&nbsp;

After the Wuhan summit, both the countries stepped up efforts to improve relations in different spheres including the military-to-military ties. When asked about the meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the SCO summit, Zhang said, "While the details for the meeting are under discussion, I believe every bilateral meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Modi is very important. From the Chinese side, we will make good perpetrations for the success of the bilateral meeting."

He also said the China-US trade war and the "spectre" of emerging trade frictions between the US and India could become an important part of the discussions between the two leaders.

"Whether they will talk about trade frictions between China and the US and the spectre of trade frictions between the US and India, such things are not surprising. I believe this could become an important topic in his bilateral meetings with the related leaders," he said.

The two countries have been in an escalating conflict over trade for the past year. The scope of the battle has expanded in recent months as Washington has tightened trade restrictions on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei.

Hopes for an imminent trade deal were shattered in May after the Trump administration more than doubled tariffs on USD 200 billion of Chinese imports and threatened additional duties.&nbsp;

US President Donald Trump is demanding China to reduce the massive trade deficit which last year climbed to over USD 539 billion. He is also insisting on China to workout verifiable measures for the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), technology transfer and more access to American goods to the Chinese markets.&nbsp;

Chinese officials hope that India, which is also facing trade frictions with the US especially over the termination of its designation as a 'beneficiary developing country' under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), would join the fight against Trump's protectionist policies.&nbsp;

"Trade protectionism and unilateralism are very much on the rise. How to respond to the bullying practices of the US, its practice of trade protectionism this is an important question not only to China but also has a direct bearing on the recovery of the global economy," Zhang said.

"So I would say it will be helpful if the two leaders could exchange views and we hope their communication will lead to extensive consensus on upholding justice and opposing trade protectionism," he said.

"I hope with their cooperation, the two countries will not only enhance bilateral trade but also play an important role in promoting global economy," he said.&nbsp;

Xi will exchange views with his foreign counterparts on bilateral and international issues as well, he said.&nbsp;

Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping as "good friends", China on Monday hoped that the two leaders would discuss their respective trade frictions with the US and reach a consensus on opposing trade protectionism during their "very important" meeting this week on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek.

Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping as "good friends", China on Monday hoped that the two leaders would discuss their respective trade frictions with the US and reach a consensus on opposing trade protectionism during their "very important" meeting this week on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek. This year's summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will be held in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on June 13-14 where Modi and Xi are scheduled to meet and discuss bilateral and international issues. The meeting assumes significance as this is the first meeting between the two leaders after Modi-led BJP's massive victory in the recent elections in India. Xi had congratulated Modi on his re-election through a letter on May 23. "Once again we congratulate Prime Minister Modi. President Xi and Prime Minister Modi are good friends. They had a very successful informal summit at Wuhan last year," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui told a media briefing here answering a question on the Modi-Xi meeting. He said the Wuhan summit has provided strategic guidance for the development of India-China ties, paving the way for stable growth of China-India relations in the long run. The April 27-28 Wuhan summit between Modi and Xi was largely credited to have turned around the bilateral relations soured by the 73-day Doklam standoff in 2017, triggered by Chinese troops' attempt to build a road close to the Indian border in an area also claimed by Bhutan. After the Wuhan summit, both the countries stepped up efforts to improve relations in different spheres including the military-to-military ties. When asked about the meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the SCO summit, Zhang said, "While the details for the meeting are under discussion, I believe every bilateral meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Modi is very important. From the Chinese side, we will make good perpetrations for the success of the bilateral meeting." He also said the China-US trade war and the "spectre" of emerging trade frictions between the US and India could become an important part of the discussions between the two leaders. "Whether they will talk about trade frictions between China and the US and the spectre of trade frictions between the US and India, such things are not surprising. I believe this could become an important topic in his bilateral meetings with the related leaders," he said. The two countries have been in an escalating conflict over trade for the past year. The scope of the battle has expanded in recent months as Washington has tightened trade restrictions on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. Hopes for an imminent trade deal were shattered in May after the Trump administration more than doubled tariffs on USD 200 billion of Chinese imports and threatened additional duties. US President Donald Trump is demanding China to reduce the massive trade deficit which last year climbed to over USD 539 billion. He is also insisting on China to workout verifiable measures for the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), technology transfer and more access to American goods to the Chinese markets. Chinese officials hope that India, which is also facing trade frictions with the US especially over the termination of its designation as a 'beneficiary developing country' under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), would join the fight against Trump's protectionist policies. "Trade protectionism and unilateralism are very much on the rise. How to respond to the bullying practices of the US, its practice of trade protectionism this is an important question not only to China but also has a direct bearing on the recovery of the global economy," Zhang said. "So I would say it will be helpful if the two leaders could exchange views and we hope their communication will lead to extensive consensus on upholding justice and opposing trade protectionism," he said. "I hope with their cooperation, the two countries will not only enhance bilateral trade but also play an important role in promoting global economy," he said. Xi will exchange views with his foreign counterparts on bilateral and international issues as well, he said.

On sidelines of SCO summit, Xi and Modi may discuss US trade protectionism in Bishkek: China

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/at-g20-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-expresses-concern-over-citizenship-by-investment-scheme-for-economic-offenders-225812">Disallow offenders to use investment schemes for citizenship: India at G20</a> 
 
In a strong message to countries that provide citizenship to fugitive economic offenders through investment-based schemes, India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called for the need to deal with such practices.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kazakhstan-elects-new-leader-as-hundreds-arrested-in-protests-225813">Kazakhstan elects new leader as hundreds arrested in protests</a> 
 
The victory of career diplomat Kassym Jomart-Tokayev was never in doubt after he received the blessing of powerful Nazarbayev, who had led the Central Asian nation for the last three decades.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/booing-smith-not-acceptable-i-said-sorry-to-him-on-behalf-of-the-crowd-kohli-225807">Booing Smith not acceptable, I said sorry to him on behalf of the crowd: Kohli</a>

<a>Kohli said had apologised to Smith for the chants of "cheater" directed from the stands towards the former Australia captain.</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/major-fire-breaks-out-in-east-london-flats-225803">Major fire breaks out in east London flats</a> 
 
A fire broke out and set alight six floors of a residential block of flats in east London on Sunday evening , London Fire Brigade said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/situation-under-control-west-bengal-government-answers-home-ministrys-advisory-on-violence-225809">Situation 'under control', West Bengal government answers Home Ministry's advisory on violence</a> 
 
West Bengal Chief Secretary Malay Kumar De has informed the ministry that 'firm and appropriate actions' were initiated in case of a few 'stray post-poll clashes' in the state. 
&nbsp;

Disallow offenders to use investment schemes for citizenship: India at G20 In a strong message to countries that provide citizenship to fugitive economic offenders through investment-based schemes, India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called for the need to deal with such practices.

Disallow offenders to use investment schemes for citizenship: India at G20 In a strong message to countries that provide citizenship to fugitive economic offenders through investment-based schemes, India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called for the need to deal with such practices. Kazakhstan elects new leader as hundreds arrested in protests The victory of career diplomat Kassym Jomart-Tokayev was never in doubt after he received the blessing of powerful Nazarbayev, who had led the Central Asian nation for the last three decades. Booing Smith not acceptable, I said sorry to him on behalf of the crowd: Kohli Kohli said had apologised to Smith for the chants of "cheater" directed from the stands towards the former Australia captain. Major fire breaks out in east London flats A fire broke out and set alight six floors of a residential block of flats in east London on Sunday evening , London Fire Brigade said. Situation 'under control', West Bengal government answers Home Ministry's advisory on violence West Bengal Chief Secretary Malay Kumar De has informed the ministry that 'firm and appropriate actions' were initiated in case of a few 'stray post-poll clashes' in the state.

India is the fourth-ranked destination for London technology companies looking to expand outside of the UK over the past 10 years, behind Australia, Germany and the US, according to official data released on June 10.

London &amp; Partners, the Mayor of London's inward investment agency, also found that while London was the top city globally for tech foreign direct investment (FDI) over the past 10 years, Bengaluru&nbsp;emerged in sixth place as a hub for tech companies looking to expand internationally – ahead of the likes of New York City, Dublin, Shanghai and Beijing, according to the data released to mark the start of London Tech Week 2019.

Between April 2009 and March 2019, Indian investments into London involved 36 projects by 22 Indian companies, with a capex of nearly 523 million pounds.

India, while ranked fourth in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) into London, created 5,310 jobs – ahead of second-ranked Germany with 1,911 jobs and third-ranked Australia with 1,526 jobs. The US was the top-ranked country with 183 projects in the past decade, creating 11,074 jobs in the UK.

"Today's figures offer further proof that London is a fantastic place to grow and scale an international technology business. London not only offers access a high concentration of growth capital, talent, corporate HQs and some of the world's most early adopting consumers but it is a city that international entrepreneurs can genuinely be part of - we are a global, open community and always will be," said Laura Citron, CEO of London &amp; Partners.&nbsp;

"London Tech Week is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate our city's strengths to a global audience and I look forward to an exciting week of events," said Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

"London is Europe's leading tech hub and is helping to create even more jobs and investment for the capital and the wider UK economy. As our city's tech ecosystem continues to grow, it's important that we encourage greater inclusivity and diversity across the tech sector and ensure that London stays open to investment and talent from around the world," he said.

The 2019 Tech Week will see London welcome around 55,000 global visitors, from over 90 different countries including India, as well as 700 trade delegation representatives exploring further investment and expansion opportunities.

According to the latest figures released to coincide with the event, London pitched itself as a leading global hub for technology and innovation, attracting more FDI projects from overseas tech companies than any other city in the last 12 months.

In the past year, 91 international tech firms chose to expand or set up an operation in the UK capital with total investments worth 864 million pounds-&nbsp;more than the number of new tech investment projects in the likes of Singapore (79), Paris (46) and New York (32).

London's attractiveness as a top destination to grow and scale an international tech company was further boosted by the news that the city's tech firms received 2.56 billion pounds in venture capital funding in the first half of 2019, representing a record when compared with the first six months of any other year previously.

The findings from PitchBook, produced for London &amp; Partners, also demonstrate London's strength as Europe's largest tech hub, with the research showing that the UK capital continues to top the chart for VC investment into Europe. So far in 2019, London's tech sector has seen significantly more tech investment than the likes of Paris, Berlin and Stockholm.

Venture capital investment into London companies accounted for over 80 per cent of the total GBP 3.17 billion invested into the UK tech sector so far this year. The UK has also dominated the European investment landscape in 2019, with British tech firms raising over double the amount seen in Germany, France and Spain.&nbsp;

India is the fourth-ranked destination for London technology companies looking to expand outside of the UK over the past 10 years, behind Australia, Germany and the US, according to official data released on June 10.

India is the fourth-ranked destination for London technology companies looking to expand outside of the UK over the past 10 years, behind Australia, Germany and the US, according to official data released on June 10. London & Partners, the Mayor of London's inward investment agency, also found that while London was the top city globally for tech foreign direct investment (FDI) over the past 10 years, Bengaluru emerged in sixth place as a hub for tech companies looking to expand internationally – ahead of the likes of New York City, Dublin, Shanghai and Beijing, according to the data released to mark the start of London Tech Week 2019. Between April 2009 and March 2019, Indian investments into London involved 36 projects by 22 Indian companies, with a capex of nearly 523 million pounds. India, while ranked fourth in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) into London, created 5,310 jobs – ahead of second-ranked Germany with 1,911 jobs and third-ranked Australia with 1,526 jobs. The US was the top-ranked country with 183 projects in the past decade, creating 11,074 jobs in the UK. "Today's figures offer further proof that London is a fantastic place to grow and scale an international technology business. London not only offers access a high concentration of growth capital, talent, corporate HQs and some of the world's most early adopting consumers but it is a city that international entrepreneurs can genuinely be part of - we are a global, open community and always will be," said Laura Citron, CEO of London & Partners. "London Tech Week is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate our city's strengths to a global audience and I look forward to an exciting week of events," said Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. "London is Europe's leading tech hub and is helping to create even more jobs and investment for the capital and the wider UK economy. As our city's tech ecosystem continues to grow, it's important that we encourage greater inclusivity and diversity across the tech sector and ensure that London stays open to investment and talent from around the world," he said. The 2019 Tech Week will see London welcome around 55,000 global visitors, from over 90 different countries including India, as well as 700 trade delegation representatives exploring further investment and expansion opportunities. According to the latest figures released to coincide with the event, London pitched itself as a leading global hub for technology and innovation, attracting more FDI projects from overseas tech companies than any other city in the last 12 months. In the past year, 91 international tech firms chose to expand or set up an operation in the UK capital with total investments worth 864 million pounds- more than the number of new tech investment projects in the likes of Singapore (79), Paris (46) and New York (32). London's attractiveness as a top destination to grow and scale an international tech company was further boosted by the news that the city's tech firms received 2.56 billion pounds in venture capital funding in the first half of 2019, representing a record when compared with the first six months of any other year previously. The findings from PitchBook, produced for London & Partners, also demonstrate London's strength as Europe's largest tech hub, with the research showing that the UK capital continues to top the chart for VC investment into Europe. So far in 2019, London's tech sector has seen significantly more tech investment than the likes of Paris, Berlin and Stockholm. Venture capital investment into London companies accounted for over 80 per cent of the total GBP 3.17 billion invested into the UK tech sector so far this year. The UK has also dominated the European investment landscape in 2019, with British tech firms raising over double the amount seen in Germany, France and Spain.

India among top destinations for London tech firms: Report

India and Australia will clash in the standout game of the World Cup so far, with Virat Kohli's men looking to beat Aaron Finch-led <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-ricky-ponting-says-marcus-stoinis-is-best-outfielder-in-australia-squad-225437">Australia</a>.

One of World Cup's most talked about rivalries resumes on Sunday at The Oval in London.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-kohli-says-picking-two-spinners-was-masterstroke-in-win-against-south-africa-224854">India </a>started their campaign with a six-wicket victory against a stunned <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/india-beat-south-africa-by-six-wickets-in-cricket-world-cup-224756">South Africa.</a>

Meanwhile, Australia, with Steve Smith and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-net-bowler-hospitalised-after-getting-hit-on-head-by-david-warners-shot-during-practice-225478">David Warner</a> back in the squad, were professional against Afghanistan and brilliant in their come-from-behind victory against the West Indies.

India and Australia have played a total of 136 One Day International matches and Australia have had the better of India in 77, while India have managed to win 49 matches.

At the World Cup's, India and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-record-breaking-mitchell-starc-becomes-fastest-to-150-odi-wickets-225244">Australia </a>have battled each other 11 times, out of which Australia have dominated India and beat them 8 out of 11 times.

India last won against Australia in the 2011 World Cup Quarter Finals, knocking Australia out of the tournament.&nbsp;

India lifted the World Cup in 2011, defeating Sri Lanka in the final.

India would have to bring their A-game on Sunday as when the last time both the teams clashed during the ODI series in India, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/australia-beat-west-indies-by-15-runs-in-world-cup-225096">Australia </a>staged a miraculous comeback from being 2-0 down to winning the series 3-2.

India and Australia will clash in the standout game of the World Cup so far, with Virat Kohli's men looking to beat Aaron Finch-led Australia. One of World Cup's most talked about rivalries resumes on Sunday at The Oval in London.

India and Australia will clash in the standout game of the World Cup so far, with Virat Kohli's men looking to beat Aaron Finch-led Australia. One of World Cup's most talked about rivalries resumes on Sunday at The Oval in London. India started their campaign with a six-wicket victory against a stunned South Africa. Meanwhile, Australia, with Steve Smith and David Warner back in the squad, were professional against Afghanistan and brilliant in their come-from-behind victory against the West Indies. India and Australia have played a total of 136 One Day International matches and Australia have had the better of India in 77, while India have managed to win 49 matches. At the World Cup's, India and Australia have battled each other 11 times, out of which Australia have dominated India and beat them 8 out of 11 times. India last won against Australia in the 2011 World Cup Quarter Finals, knocking Australia out of the tournament. India lifted the World Cup in 2011, defeating Sri Lanka in the final. India would have to bring their A-game on Sunday as when the last time both the teams clashed during the ODI series in India, Australia staged a miraculous comeback from being 2-0 down to winning the series 3-2.

World Cup: Head-to-head records between India and Australia

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-record-breaking-mitchell-starc-becomes-fastest-to-150-odi-wickets-225244">Australian </a>team's practice session came to a temporary halt after a net bowler of Indian origin was hit on the head by a cracking drive from David Warner on the eve of their World Cup game against India.

It was during the end of the second hour when Jai Kishan, a British fast bowler of Indian origin was hit on the head trying to stop a David Warner shot.

Jai Kishan winced in pain before collapsing to the ground and the medical staff was rushed onto the field.

To everyone's relief, the player was responding as the entire <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-ricky-ponting-says-marcus-stoinis-is-best-outfielder-in-australia-squad-225437">Australian </a>team stopped their session.&nbsp;

A concerned Warner sat beside the player and subsequently called off his net session.

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-australias-adam-zampa-reprimanded-by-icc-for-abusive-language-225273">Australian </a>team's support staff along with local staff then helped him to be stretchered off the ground and was taken to a nearby medical facility.

"I have got a hit on the head. I am doing fine. My name is Jai Kishan and I am a fast bowler," the player said before being taken into the ambulance.

It is expected that he would be under observation for a minimum of 24 hours since he sustained an injury on the head.&nbsp;

"From Surrey medical facility, he has now been taken to hospital for precautionary measures. He was conscious when he was taken to the hospital. We will provide further updates when available," ICC venue manager Michael Gibson informed the media.&nbsp;

Australian team's practice session came to a temporary halt after a net bowler of Indian origin was hit on the head by a cracking drive from David Warner on the eve of their World Cup game against India.

Australian team's practice session came to a temporary halt after a net bowler of Indian origin was hit on the head by a cracking drive from David Warner on the eve of their World Cup game against India. It was during the end of the second hour when Jai Kishan, a British fast bowler of Indian origin was hit on the head trying to stop a David Warner shot. Jai Kishan winced in pain before collapsing to the ground and the medical staff was rushed onto the field. To everyone's relief, the player was responding as the entire Australian team stopped their session. A concerned Warner sat beside the player and subsequently called off his net session. The Australian team's support staff along with local staff then helped him to be stretchered off the ground and was taken to a nearby medical facility. "I have got a hit on the head. I am doing fine. My name is Jai Kishan and I am a fast bowler," the player said before being taken into the ambulance. It is expected that he would be under observation for a minimum of 24 hours since he sustained an injury on the head. "From Surrey medical facility, he has now been taken to hospital for precautionary measures. He was conscious when he was taken to the hospital. We will provide further updates when available," ICC venue manager Michael Gibson informed the media.

World Cup: Net bowler hospitalised after getting hit on head by David Warner's shot during practice

Australia assistant coach Ricky Ponting is impressed with all-rounder Marcus Stoinis'&nbsp;ability to bowl overs at the death and expressed his confidence that the all-rounder can have a big impact on this World Cup.

"I just like the overall package with him. He's probably our best outfielder, you saw what he can do with the ball at the death, he gives us another string to our bow as far as his death bowling is concerned. The boys love what he brings to the side. I'm working with him a lot on a daily basis and I think he can have a big impact on this World Cup," Cricket.com.au quoted Ponting as saying.

Stoinis has displayed a brilliant form with the ball so far, as he took two wickets in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-record-breaking-mitchell-starc-becomes-fastest-to-150-odi-wickets-225244">Australia's </a>opening match against Afghanistan while giving away just 37 runs from his seven overs.

He continued his form in the second match as well.

Despite not being able to clinch a wicket, Stoinis conceded just 18 runs from his four overs against <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/umpiring-decisions-sent-ripples-through-the-dressing-room-brathwaite-after-australia-defeat-225114">West Indies</a>.

However, Stoinis has unable to leave a mark on the field with his batting skills.

He has batted just once in this tournament so far and scored 19 runs.

Therefore, Ponting said he is working with Stoinis to improve his batting.

"If there's been a knock on his batting, it's been that he's been a bit of a shaky nervous starter and takes a lot of balls to get moving. (Against the West Indies) he didn't (look nervous) ... he was nice and sharp. He hit the ball nicely down the ground, he hit a really good pull shot early on. I had a chat to him just after he got out and he was pretty disappointed to get out the way he did. We've been doing a lot of work on that sort of stuff with his batting," he said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/australia-beat-west-indies-by-15-runs-in-world-cup-225096">Australia </a>have won both of their first two World Cup matches and now they will <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/key-battles-in-india-vs-australia-cricket-world-cup-clash-225419">compete with India </a>on June 9.&nbsp;

Australia assistant coach Ricky Ponting is impressed with all-rounder Marcus Stoinis' ability to bowl overs at the death and expressed his confidence that the all-rounder can have a big impact on this World Cup.

Australia assistant coach Ricky Ponting is impressed with all-rounder Marcus Stoinis' ability to bowl overs at the death and expressed his confidence that the all-rounder can have a big impact on this World Cup. "I just like the overall package with him. He's probably our best outfielder, you saw what he can do with the ball at the death, he gives us another string to our bow as far as his death bowling is concerned. The boys love what he brings to the side. I'm working with him a lot on a daily basis and I think he can have a big impact on this World Cup," Cricket.com.au quoted Ponting as saying. Stoinis has displayed a brilliant form with the ball so far, as he took two wickets in Australia's opening match against Afghanistan while giving away just 37 runs from his seven overs. He continued his form in the second match as well. Despite not being able to clinch a wicket, Stoinis conceded just 18 runs from his four overs against West Indies. However, Stoinis has unable to leave a mark on the field with his batting skills. He has batted just once in this tournament so far and scored 19 runs. Therefore, Ponting said he is working with Stoinis to improve his batting. "If there's been a knock on his batting, it's been that he's been a bit of a shaky nervous starter and takes a lot of balls to get moving. (Against the West Indies) he didn't (look nervous) ... he was nice and sharp. He hit the ball nicely down the ground, he hit a really good pull shot early on. I had a chat to him just after he got out and he was pretty disappointed to get out the way he did. We've been doing a lot of work on that sort of stuff with his batting," he said. Australia have won both of their first two World Cup matches and now they will compete with India on June 9.

World Cup: Ricky Ponting says Marcus Stoinis is 'best outfielder' in Australia squad

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/great-honour-to-host-pm-modi-on-his-first-visit-abroad-maldivian-foreign-minister-to-wion-225418">Maldives will be conferring PM Modi</a> with its highest honour accorded to foreign dignitaries - the Most Honourable Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen (Order of Nishanizzuddeen) - Maldivian President's house has announced.&nbsp;

The statement from the Maldivian President's house said that he is being conferred with the award, "in recognition of the many services he has performed to cement the longstanding, amicable ties between our two countries" and for the "magnanimous assistance that the Indian government has continued to provide the Maldives under <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/with-focus-on-neighbourhood-first-pm-modi-leaves-for-first-foreign-visit-on-saturday-225292">Prime Minister Modi</a>’s stewardship".

He will be conferred with the award at an event today evening at the Maldivian President's office.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
President <a href="https://twitter.com/ibusolih?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ibusolih</a> has announced his decision to confer on PM of India H.E. <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@narendramodi</a> the Maldives highest honour accorded to foreign dignitaries, “The Most Honourable Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen” during PM’s visit today. Namaskar, Swagatham 🙏
— Abdulla Shahid 🎈 (@abdulla_shahid) <a href="https://twitter.com/abdulla_shahid/status/1137254270527426560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

“Order of Nishan Izzuddeen” in the past has been conferred by Maldives to Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip; Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma; former President of South Korea, Chun Doo Hwan; former Secretary General of the Commonwealth Shridath Surendranath Ramphal and Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.

Earlier this year, PM Modi was conferred with Russia and UAE's highest civilian award. While Russia conferred PM Modi with its "Order of St Andrew the Apostle", the UAE conferred him with the Zayed Medal.

In the past, PM Modi has been conferred with the highest civilian award of Saudi Arabia - the King Abdulaziz Sash ( 2016), Afghanistan's highest civilian honour, the Amir Amanullah Khan Award (2016); Grand Collar of the State of Palestine which is is the highest order given to foreign dignitaries (2018); UN's highest environmental honour - Champions of the Earth award (2018) and 2018 Seoul Peace Prize. 
&nbsp;

The Maldives will be conferring PM Modi with its highest honour accorded to foreign dignitaries - the Most Honourable Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen (Order of Nishanizzuddeen) - Maldivian President's house has announced.

The Maldives will be conferring PM Modi with its highest honour accorded to foreign dignitaries - the Most Honourable Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen (Order of Nishanizzuddeen) - Maldivian President's house has announced. The statement from the Maldivian President's house said that he is being conferred with the award, "in recognition of the many services he has performed to cement the longstanding, amicable ties between our two countries" and for the "magnanimous assistance that the Indian government has continued to provide the Maldives under Prime Minister Modi’s stewardship". He will be conferred with the award at an event today evening at the Maldivian President's office. President @ibusolih has announced his decision to confer on PM of India H.E. @narendramodi the Maldives highest honour accorded to foreign dignitaries, “The Most Honourable Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen” during PM’s visit today. Namaskar, Swagatham 🙏 — Abdulla Shahid 🎈 (@abdulla_shahid) June 8, 2019 × “Order of Nishan Izzuddeen” in the past has been conferred by Maldives to Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip; Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma; former President of South Korea, Chun Doo Hwan; former Secretary General of the Commonwealth Shridath Surendranath Ramphal and Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. Earlier this year, PM Modi was conferred with Russia and UAE's highest civilian award. While Russia conferred PM Modi with its "Order of St Andrew the Apostle", the UAE conferred him with the Zayed Medal. In the past, PM Modi has been conferred with the highest civilian award of Saudi Arabia - the King Abdulaziz Sash ( 2016), Afghanistan's highest civilian honour, the Amir Amanullah Khan Award (2016); Grand Collar of the State of Palestine which is is the highest order given to foreign dignitaries (2018); UN's highest environmental honour - Champions of the Earth award (2018) and 2018 Seoul Peace Prize.

Maldives to honour PM Modi with highest award offered to foreign dignitaries

Key battles in India vs Australia Cricket World Cup clash

Air Commodore Kaiser Tufail, a retired Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officer and former director air operations at PAF Headquarters is not unknown in Indian military circles.&nbsp;

In 2009, without mincing his words, he wrote a brilliant essay on the treachery of the Pakistan Army in letting down its nation and the PAF by attempting to go alone into Kargil in an ill-conceived operation in 1999. The essay was well received in the Indian strategic community for various reasons. Very recently Tufail has employed communication skills mixed with his vast knowledge of aviation technology and air operations, to write a seminal piece for his popular blog.

This time he has taken on the Indian Air Force (IAF) and its operations post-Pulwama. These operations involved the air strike against terrorist facilities at Balakot and subsequent actions against the PAF in J&amp;K leading to the downing of an IAF Mig 21 Bison which culminated with the capture of Abhinandan and the alleged shooting down of an IAF Mi-17 helicopter in alleged friendly fire. &nbsp;It is well known that the PAF’s reputation has been in the dock ever since the US launched a helicopter based operation to eliminate Osama bin Laden in 2011. The Balakot operation made that reputation no better with the IAF’s extraordinary operation to avenge Pulwama; the PAF was outwitted and left to do no better than defend its reputation through the skilful use of information operations in which disinformation has played a major role. Kaiser Tufail’s essay appears an attempt to atone for what many in the Pakistan Armed Forces would have considered sacrilege when he wrote the piece on Kargil.&nbsp;

Being appreciative of the adversary’s ways and critical of one’s own win is never popular. What is, however, important for us to realise is cogent, focused and a continuous onslaught of information which Pakistan has put out to the world to make the international community believe in the narrative that it wishes to be known. He who wants to convince communities of the righteousness of his narrative will always make strident efforts to bring information to the fore; it is immaterial what type of information. In information operations which are nothing new, truth is immaterial; it is the narrative control which must remain in your hands.&nbsp;

Modern day information operations are facilitated hugely by emerging information technology. The instant availability of information for the asking, woven into events, writings, videos, chat groups and blogs goes around the world in milliseconds and we have yet witnessed only the tip of the iceberg. Pakistan has ardently followed and employed ‘information warfare’ having realised very early the power of information in influencing the adversary or even its own population. It will never be known why it decided to raise the information arm of the Pakistan Air Forces, within two years of independence. This has been mentioned ad nauseam in writings and discussions; that in India everyone knows the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) wing of Pakistan but hardly anyone knows the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) wing, raised in 1949. The latter is far more devious and for many years has run campaigns on behalf of Pakistan on narratives that the government wants to be believed. The most significant and strategic of these narratives is the one on J&amp;K which the ISPR repeatedly plays out at important cities, universities and institutions of the world.&nbsp;

As part of India’s strategic culture, the power of information as a game changer and force multiplier has hardly been realised. Information operations are also an essential part of hybrid warfare to form narratives and generally to influence political opinion-making among the target populations. We have been hesitant in its use in the insurgencies of the last half-century or more. While surprise and deception continue to rule strategic planning involving military or quasi-military operations the information domain remains relatively ignored. We all agree that our opinion and narrative is the right one, yet we are rarely able to convince the world that this is so. One sometimes tends to think that the Indian character and approach to life has an ethical element attached to it. We are straight-faced and insufficiently ingenious in using available instruments and have never attempted playing the information game to strategic advantage. We believe that there is no reason for anyone to disbelieve our version of things given our credibility as a successful democracy with a value-based leadership. However, that may not be the way that the world looks at things and that is why India needs to get realistic about the use of information as a system for the future. There can be no denying that veteran aviators of repute did step in to write their post-Balakot analyses but the voice was insufficiently heard internationally due to lack of institutional backing. Nations whose weapons and technology were employed for strategic effect should have been asked to partner in building a credible information campaign.

This is not the end of a narrative spin and narrative control for India. During Doklam 2017 the Indian government played the information game with greater credit than China. Post the event there was much analysis of the operational standoff but the information domain remained relatively neglected in terms of analyses for lessons learnt. For a nation whose advertising industry is one which arrived early and has accomplished much, there is no reason why the need for information strategy cannot be included in the system which addresses security issues. It’s not for nothing that I have been strongly recommending the constitution of a body to institutionalise the use of information for strategic gain.&nbsp;

It’s not just the current which should concern us, it’s also how things will be viewed by history. If we wish to leave behind legacies of achievements the information should be able to justify the narratives we wish to be remembered. It’s about time India thought more strategically about information as a system to win standoffs in the entire spectrum of military operations; that includes hybrid wars where the people matter more than anything else.

(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-information-name-of-the-game-2758327">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp;

Air Commodore Kaiser Tufail, a retired Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officer and former director air operations at PAF Headquarters is not unknown in Indian military circles.

Air Commodore Kaiser Tufail, a retired Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officer and former director air operations at PAF Headquarters is not unknown in Indian military circles. In 2009, without mincing his words, he wrote a brilliant essay on the treachery of the Pakistan Army in letting down its nation and the PAF by attempting to go alone into Kargil in an ill-conceived operation in 1999. The essay was well received in the Indian strategic community for various reasons. Very recently Tufail has employed communication skills mixed with his vast knowledge of aviation technology and air operations, to write a seminal piece for his popular blog. This time he has taken on the Indian Air Force (IAF) and its operations post-Pulwama. These operations involved the air strike against terrorist facilities at Balakot and subsequent actions against the PAF in J&K leading to the downing of an IAF Mig 21 Bison which culminated with the capture of Abhinandan and the alleged shooting down of an IAF Mi-17 helicopter in alleged friendly fire. It is well known that the PAF’s reputation has been in the dock ever since the US launched a helicopter based operation to eliminate Osama bin Laden in 2011. The Balakot operation made that reputation no better with the IAF’s extraordinary operation to avenge Pulwama; the PAF was outwitted and left to do no better than defend its reputation through the skilful use of information operations in which disinformation has played a major role. Kaiser Tufail’s essay appears an attempt to atone for what many in the Pakistan Armed Forces would have considered sacrilege when he wrote the piece on Kargil. Being appreciative of the adversary’s ways and critical of one’s own win is never popular. What is, however, important for us to realise is cogent, focused and a continuous onslaught of information which Pakistan has put out to the world to make the international community believe in the narrative that it wishes to be known. He who wants to convince communities of the righteousness of his narrative will always make strident efforts to bring information to the fore; it is immaterial what type of information. In information operations which are nothing new, truth is immaterial; it is the narrative control which must remain in your hands. Modern day information operations are facilitated hugely by emerging information technology. The instant availability of information for the asking, woven into events, writings, videos, chat groups and blogs goes around the world in milliseconds and we have yet witnessed only the tip of the iceberg. Pakistan has ardently followed and employed ‘information warfare’ having realised very early the power of information in influencing the adversary or even its own population. It will never be known why it decided to raise the information arm of the Pakistan Air Forces, within two years of independence. This has been mentioned ad nauseam in writings and discussions; that in India everyone knows the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) wing of Pakistan but hardly anyone knows the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) wing, raised in 1949. The latter is far more devious and for many years has run campaigns on behalf of Pakistan on narratives that the government wants to be believed. The most significant and strategic of these narratives is the one on J&K which the ISPR repeatedly plays out at important cities, universities and institutions of the world. As part of India’s strategic culture, the power of information as a game changer and force multiplier has hardly been realised. Information operations are also an essential part of hybrid warfare to form narratives and generally to influence political opinion-making among the target populations. We have been hesitant in its use in the insurgencies of the last half-century or more. While surprise and deception continue to rule strategic planning involving military or quasi-military operations the information domain remains relatively ignored. We all agree that our opinion and narrative is the right one, yet we are rarely able to convince the world that this is so. One sometimes tends to think that the Indian character and approach to life has an ethical element attached to it. We are straight-faced and insufficiently ingenious in using available instruments and have never attempted playing the information game to strategic advantage. We believe that there is no reason for anyone to disbelieve our version of things given our credibility as a successful democracy with a value-based leadership. However, that may not be the way that the world looks at things and that is why India needs to get realistic about the use of information as a system for the future. There can be no denying that veteran aviators of repute did step in to write their post-Balakot analyses but the voice was insufficiently heard internationally due to lack of institutional backing. Nations whose weapons and technology were employed for strategic effect should have been asked to partner in building a credible information campaign. This is not the end of a narrative spin and narrative control for India. During Doklam 2017 the Indian government played the information game with greater credit than China. Post the event there was much analysis of the operational standoff but the information domain remained relatively neglected in terms of analyses for lessons learnt. For a nation whose advertising industry is one which arrived early and has accomplished much, there is no reason why the need for information strategy cannot be included in the system which addresses security issues. It’s not for nothing that I have been strongly recommending the constitution of a body to institutionalise the use of information for strategic gain. It’s not just the current which should concern us, it’s also how things will be viewed by history. If we wish to leave behind legacies of achievements the information should be able to justify the narratives we wish to be remembered. It’s about time India thought more strategically about information as a system to win standoffs in the entire spectrum of military operations; that includes hybrid wars where the people matter more than anything else. (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

India needs to think more strategically about information as a system to win standoffs

#DhoniKeepTheGlove: Support pouring in from all and sundry

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should stand with <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/dhonikeeptheglove-twitter-welcomes-indian-cricket-boards-stand-on-dhoni-glove-row-225187">MS Dhoni on the gloves controversy</a> as it has nothing to do with politics.

"I am hopeful that BCCI will take up this matter with ICC and will solve this matter. MS Dhoni's identity is the country's identity, army's identity and it is not politics. So, BCCI should stand with Dhoni," he told reporters.

Rijiju said the government does not intervene in the affairs of the sports bodies as the bodies are autonomous and independent.

"I would like to say very clearly that the government does not intervene in the affairs of the sports bodies. BCCI or any sports federation, they are autonomous and they run their affairs independently," he added.

Dhoni was seen donning a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/icc-row-we-stand-by-dhoni-over-army-glove-insignia-issue-say-bcci-sources-225165">regimental dagger insignia</a> of the Indian Para Special Forces on his wicketkeeping gloves during India's World Cup 2019 opening match being played against South Africa in Southampton on Wednesday.

Rijiju also urged BCCI that they should put forward their views while keeping people's emotions in mind.

"The incident that took place during the World Cup is a thing related to India's reputation, I want to say that BCCI, on their level, should take up the matter with ICC and keeping Indian citizen's emotions in mind, they should put forward their views properly," Rijiju said.

Rijiju concluded saying that if necessary, BCCI should inform the government.

"I would like to request BCCI to take up the matter with ICC properly and if necessary inform the government accordingly," he said.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should stand with MS Dhoni on the gloves controversy as it has nothing to do with politics.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should stand with MS Dhoni on the gloves controversy as it has nothing to do with politics. "I am hopeful that BCCI will take up this matter with ICC and will solve this matter. MS Dhoni's identity is the country's identity, army's identity and it is not politics. So, BCCI should stand with Dhoni," he told reporters. Rijiju said the government does not intervene in the affairs of the sports bodies as the bodies are autonomous and independent. "I would like to say very clearly that the government does not intervene in the affairs of the sports bodies. BCCI or any sports federation, they are autonomous and they run their affairs independently," he added. Dhoni was seen donning a regimental dagger insignia of the Indian Para Special Forces on his wicketkeeping gloves during India's World Cup 2019 opening match being played against South Africa in Southampton on Wednesday. Rijiju also urged BCCI that they should put forward their views while keeping people's emotions in mind. "The incident that took place during the World Cup is a thing related to India's reputation, I want to say that BCCI, on their level, should take up the matter with ICC and keeping Indian citizen's emotions in mind, they should put forward their views properly," Rijiju said. Rijiju concluded saying that if necessary, BCCI should inform the government. "I would like to request BCCI to take up the matter with ICC properly and if necessary inform the government accordingly," he said.

BCCI should stand with MS Dhoni, says Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on glove row

No clear favourite has emerged to win the World Cup this year because the first few games have shown that all 10 teams are capable of beating each other at the tournament, former Australia skipper Allan Border has said.

Only New Zealand, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/australia-beat-west-indies-by-15-runs-in-world-cup-225096">Australia </a>and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/dhonikeeptheglove-twitter-welcomes-indian-cricket-boards-stand-on-dhoni-glove-row-225187">India </a>have not been beaten yet, with the latter two set to meet at the Oval on Sunday.

"There's no obvious runaway-looking team at the moment. All the sides are basically showing they can beat each other. That's the main thing that's come out of these early games," Border wrote in a column for the International Cricket Council.

"I think that is how most of us expected it to be at this point, that there would be a lot of teams you expect to do well and then there would be a few surprise packages," he said.

Pakistan pulled off arguably the biggest upset so far when they beat hosts and tournament favourites England on Monday, a day after Bangladesh sprung a surprise by defeating <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/no-regrets-south-africa-on-turning-down-ab-de-villiers-approach-224972">South Africa.</a>

Defending champions Australia beat Afghanistan comfortably in their first match but were pushed considerably harder in Thursday's 15-run victory over West Indies.

Border, who captained Australia to World Cup glory in 1987, said the team had room for improvement and would have a clearer idea of their chances after facing 2011 champions India.

"<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-kohli-says-picking-two-spinners-was-masterstroke-in-win-against-south-africa-224854">India </a>next up will be a big stumbling block. That's a tough hurdle for Australia but once they've played a couple of decent teams, they will have a better idea of where they are at with regards to the rest of the tournament," Border&nbsp;added.

No clear favourite has emerged to win the World Cup this year because the first few games have shown that all 10 teams are capable of beating each other at the tournament, former Australia skipper Allan Border has said.

No clear favourite has emerged to win the World Cup this year because the first few games have shown that all 10 teams are capable of beating each other at the tournament, former Australia skipper Allan Border has said. Only New Zealand, Australia and India have not been beaten yet, with the latter two set to meet at the Oval on Sunday. "There's no obvious runaway-looking team at the moment. All the sides are basically showing they can beat each other. That's the main thing that's come out of these early games," Border wrote in a column for the International Cricket Council. "I think that is how most of us expected it to be at this point, that there would be a lot of teams you expect to do well and then there would be a few surprise packages," he said. Pakistan pulled off arguably the biggest upset so far when they beat hosts and tournament favourites England on Monday, a day after Bangladesh sprung a surprise by defeating South Africa. Defending champions Australia beat Afghanistan comfortably in their first match but were pushed considerably harder in Thursday's 15-run victory over West Indies. Border, who captained Australia to World Cup glory in 1987, said the team had room for improvement and would have a clearer idea of their chances after facing 2011 champions India. "India next up will be a big stumbling block. That's a tough hurdle for Australia but once they've played a couple of decent teams, they will have a better idea of where they are at with regards to the rest of the tournament," Border added.

Virat Kohli-led India are tough hurdle for Australia at World Cup: Allan Border

india-0

India, News on India, stories on India, articles on India, India stories at Wion, India news, India latest news

india 0

ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2021 dates announced

From fun to life skills: How Team India's bonding enhanced over the years

Tendulkar's iconic fan Sudhir is ready for India vs Pakistan clash

India imposes higher customs duty on 28 US products, will come into effect from Sunday

PM Modi refuses to endorse China's BRI at SCO, says connectivity projects must respect 'territorial integrity'

News brief: Big stories of the day

In meeting with Imran Khan, Xi offers support for improvement of Indo-Pak ties

World Cup: Mohammad Yousuf slams PCB ahead of Pakistan's clash against India

Kevin Pietersen posts hilarious picture on washed out World Cup matches

India to begin ICC World Test Championship against West Indies

Pak-India ties at 'lowest point', hope PM Modi will use his mandate to resolve all issues: Imran Khan

In bilateral meeting, PM Modi and Xi Jinping discuss Pakistan, terror and boundary dispute

Pakistan extends airspace ban along its eastern border with India till June 28

Week 2 of World Cup marred by controversies, injuries and washouts

Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Bangar among other support staff granted 45-day contract extension

World Cup: Weather report of Nottingham for India vs New Zealand match

India slips to 141 in annual Global Peace Index; Iceland retains top spot

Final call on 'precious' Shikhar Dhawan only after 10-12 days: Sanjay Bangar

World Cup: Heavy rain forecast ahead of India vs New Zealand match

On sidelines of SCO summit, Xi and Modi may discuss US trade protectionism in Bishkek: China

News brief: Big stories of the day

India among top destinations for London tech firms: Report

World Cup: Head-to-head records between India and Australia

World Cup: Net bowler hospitalised after getting hit on head by David Warner's shot during practice

World Cup: Ricky Ponting says Marcus Stoinis is 'best outfielder' in Australia squad

Maldives to honour PM Modi with highest award offered to foreign dignitaries