Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman returned to Chennai to join his side Chennai Super Kings (CSK) today after completing his visa procedure.   Mustafizur came back to Bangladesh from IPL on April 2 as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) called him to complete the visa process for the USA where the T20 World Cup will be held alongside West Indies in June.   Mustafizur was the part of CSK in the first three matches and took seven wickets so far to occupy the second spot. Chennai played the last game without him and lost the game. However, CSK will take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tomorrow and Mustafizur is expected to be available for the selection.   Source: BSS

Taylor Swift has joined Elon Musk as ranking among the world's wealthiest people, according to a new rich list. The American pop star entered the Forbes World's Billionaires List for the first time with $1.1bn (£877m), along with Sam Altman, creator of the AI chatbot ChatGPT on $1bn (£800m). LVMH French luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault and his family topped the chart with an estimated $233bn (£185bn). Forbes said there were a record 2,781 billionaires for 2024. The figure is 141 more than last year and 26 more than the previous record set in 2021. Forbes added the elite were richer than ever - with a collective wealth of $14.2tn (£11.3tn). Singer-songwriter Swift entered the rich list after achieving megastar status. She stole the show at this year's Grammy Awards, becoming the first performer to win the prize for album of the year four times. Her album 1989 (Taylor's Version) was also the best-selling vinyl LP of last year. Swift's success is not just confined to the world of music. Her mere presence at American football games to watch her boyfriend Travis Kelce has been credited with raising NFL viewing figures. After Frenchman Mr Arnault and his family, Mr Musk, the owner of Tesla and X, formerly Twitter, is listed second, with an estimated net worth of $195bn (£155bn). He is followed in third by Amazon owner Jeff Bezos. Musk's riches are up 8% from last year but down on his net worth in November 2021, when he became the first person ever to be worth $300bn (£239bn). Also joining Forbes's list is basketball legend Magic Johnson with wealth of $1.2bn (£950m) and TV producer Dick Wolf, behind the US Law and Order and Chicago PD series, also on $1.2bn. Chase Peterson-Withorn, senior editor on wealth for Forbes, said it had been an "amazing" year for the world's richest people. "A record-breaking 14 centi-billionaires have 12-figure fortunes. Even during times of financial uncertainty for many, the super-rich continue to thrive," he added. The $100bn Club Forbes said the class of billionaires for 2024 were 255% richer than a decade ago, now worth $2tn (£1.59tn) in all, meaning just 0.5% of the world's 2,781 billionaires hold 14% of all billionaire wealth. Geographically, the US still has more billionaires than any other country, with a record 813 on the list. China remains second, followed by India. In the UK, hedge fund manager Michael Platt is the richest person, followed by part-owner of Manchester United Sir Jim Ratcliffe and inventor Sir James Dyson. Source: BBC  

Following Moscow concert hall attack, Italian official said "surveliance and checks will be increased" ahead of the religious Easter holiday. Italy joined France on Monday in raising its security alert level following the  attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall for which an affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility. The decision was reached during a national security council meeting in Rome on Monday, bolstered security is planned for the various events this week ahead of the Christian Easter religious holiday this weekend. Pope Francis has a busy schedule of events in Rome and at the Vatican in the days leading up to Easter Sunday. "Both surveillance and checks will be increased, paying the most attention to the places of greatest aggregation and transit of people, as well as sensitive targets," Italy's Interior Ministry said in a statement. France had taken the same step on Sunday, saying it found the Afghan branch of the Islamic State (ISIS-K) claiming responsibility for the attack in Moscow plausible. President Emmanuel Macron said the group "also tried to commit several actions on our own soil."  The attackrenewed attention in Europe on the risk from the extremists as the continent gears up for big events such as the Paris Olympics and the European Championship in Germany. In Germany, Interior Ministry spokesperson Cornelius Funke said the threat from Islamic extremists "remains acute" but authorities' risk assessment hadn't changed so far as a result of the Moscow attack..  

BLACKPINK has made history by joining Spotify's Billions Club alongside famous pop icons like Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake. The famous K-pop girl group reached the milestone after their 2020 hit single 'How You Like That' garnered more than one billion streams this week. The four-member group is the first and only K-pop girl group to have achieved this feat to date. The group consists of four K-pop idols- Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. Thanks to their popularity on a global level, BLACKPINK is regarded as the “biggest girl group in the world.” Their new Spotify record makes 'How You Like That' the first song by a female K-pop group and the first Korean song without collaboration by a K-pop act to have 1 billion streams on the platform. With their 2020 hit, the group has joined another K-pop and global sensation, BTS, who have two tracks, Dynamite and Butter, listed in the Billions Club. While this is the first time that BLACKPINK has made it to the prestigious list, the group member, Lisa, has individually broken the record with her solo track Money. Moreover, Jennie has also received over a billion views on YouTube for the music video of her track, Solo.   Source: Hindustan Times  

OpenAI has named Emmett Shear, formerly the CEO of Twitch, as its interim CEO, after surprisingly firing Sam Altman last week. Altman had become something of the public face of the ChatGPT large language model. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced on Monday that ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, along with co-founder Greg Brockman, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. Former OpenAI President and co-founder Brockman had quit over Altman's firing on Friday. Meanwhile, tech publication Wired on Monday published what it said was a letter from some of OpenAI's most senior staff members threatening to quit en masse and follow Altman to Microsoft unless the company's board was replaced.  "Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI," said the letter.  Signatories included the company's chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, and even one member of the four-person board that had ousted Altman.  Microsoft is OpenAI's key business partner and has invested billions of dollars into the startup and helped provide the computing power to run its AI systems. "We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI," Microsoft's Nadella said as she announced Altman would join the company. "We look forward to getting to know Emmett Shear and OAI's new leadership team and working with them."  Former Twitch CEO brought in at OpenAI OpenAI on Monday named Emmett Shear as an interim CEO to take over from Altman. Shear was previously the CEO of social media company Twitch.  The company caused further headlines over the weekend by initially announcing that Mira Murati would take over Altman's role, only to later demote her again and leave the top job open once more.    What does Altman's removal mean? The tech world was shocked by Altman's sacking at OpenAI. He and the company shot to fame last year amid the hype surrounding the release of a new large language model, ChatGPT, and other products like the image-generating AI Dall-E.  Many emplyoees were also blindsided by the abrupt change in management.  Major investors had pushed for reinstating him. However, the board stood by its decision, saying it was "the only path to advance and defend the mission of OpenAI." "Put simply, Sam's behavior and lack of transparency in his interactions with the board undermined the board's ability to effectively supervise the company in the manner it was mandated to do," the board said in the memo. Investors had said Altman's sudden removal could lead to an exodus of talent from the company, and affect an upcoming $86 billion share sale.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin joined the opening session of the 43rd Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the Plenary Hall of Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on Tuesday. The three-day summit is being held on September 5-7 as Indonesian President Joko Widodo is chairing it. BSS Reports. Bangladesh President Shahabuddin along with his wife Dr Rebecca Sultana reached the summit venue at about 9:50 am (local time). On arrival, they were welcomed by the ASEAN chair and the Indonesian President after a formal state reception. The Indonesian President along with his wife Iriana Joko Widodo also took part in a photo session with the Bangladesh President and his spouse. Chairperson of Bangladesh National Advisory Committee on Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Saima Wazed and Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen are also accompanying the President at the opening ceremony. Along with 10 organizational leaders from ASEAN countries, several heads of the state and the government and leaders of partner countries are participating in the opening session of the summit. Host country Indonesia invited as many as 27 world leaders and concerned personalities of international bodies like executive directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank for the summit, said ASEAN secretary general. The ASEAN summit will feature the issue of development and strengthening of the organisation's cooperation with external partners, several important themes such as the Code of Conduct regarding the South China Sea, the South East Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (SEANWFZ), the ASEAN Maritime Outlook, the ASEAN Outlook in Indo Pacific (AOIP), and issues related to Myanmar. It is also expected that the summit will also witness several important agreements related to ASEAN infrastructure strengthening, food security, blue economy, green economy, digital economy and payment ecosystem, according to ASEAN secretariat. On the sidelines of the summit, the Bangladesh President will join the 18th "East Asia Summit (EAS)", where he will deliver his speech in its concluding session. 10 ASEAN countries and the United States, the Russian Federation, New Zealand, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and India will join the East Asia Summit. According to programme schedule, the Head of the State will have separate bilateral meetings with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo, Secretary General of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Dr Salman Al Farisi and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on September 7. The ASEAN summit is a biannual meeting as it serves as a prominent regional (Asia) and international (worldwide) conference, with world leaders attending its related summits and meetings to discuss various problems and global issues.

US President Joe Biden on Thursday joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi in warning Pakistan to crack down on terrorists that target New Delhi. In a joint statement issued as PM Modi paid a state visit to Washington, the two leaders called for action against terror groups based in Pakistan such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. "They strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks," the statement said. They called on Pakistan to punish perpetrators of attacks including the bloody 2008 siege of Mumbai. India under PM Modi has taken an increasingly hard line on Pakistan, announcing an airstrike in 2019 in response to an attack. The United States historically has been a close partner of Pakistan but its patience wore thin over ties between Afghanistan's Taliban and Islamabad's powerful military and intelligence apparatus. The Biden administration has kept Pakistan at arm's length since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, in contrast to warming relations with India. India and the United States also voiced "deep concern about the deteriorating situation in Myanmar," where the military ousted a fledgling civilian government in 2021. The two countries called for "the release of all those arbitrarily detained, the establishment of constructive dialogue and the transition of Myanmar toward an inclusive federal democratic system." The United States has imposed a slew of sanctions on Myanmar's junta but New Delhi has maintained a comparatively cordial relationship, mindful that the country borders unstable parts of northeastern India. The statement released by the White House referred to the country as Myanmar and not the former name of Burma, which the United States uses. Source: ndtv.com

NATO foreign ministers are gathering in Brussels to discuss the war in Ukraine as Finland is set to become the 31st member of the alliance. NATO foreign ministers are meeting on Tuesday at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels for a two-day summit to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The meeting coincides with the 74th anniversary of the alliance's founding. At the same time, Finland is becoming the 31st member of NATO, doubling the length of the alliance's border with Russia. Although Finland had to overcome Turkish opposition, the Nordic country completed all the formalities in well under a year, making it the fastest accession process in the alliance's recent history. Only the ceremonial part remains. Finland's foreign minister will hand the accession papers to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the keeper of NATO's founding treaty, and then the country's blue-and-white flag will be raised hoisted alongside those of its new allies, in front of the gleaming headquarters in Brussels. Stoltenberg: Putin is getting the opposite of what he wanted Finland's accession to NATO will be a historic event and direct result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said, adding the alliance would ensure that Sweden will also become a full-fledged member. "[Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin had as a declared goal of the invasion of Ukraine to get less NATO," he told reporters ahead of a meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers. "He is getting exactly the opposite. ... Finland today, and soon also Sweden will become a full fledged member of the alliance." Russia decried the move as as an "assault" on Russia's security and national interests. "The expansion of NATO is an attack on our security and Russia's national interests," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Russia would be forced to take countermeasures accordingly, he added.   Finland is in, Sweden still out The event marks the end of an era of military non-alignment for Finland that began after the country repelled an invasion attempt by the Soviet Union during World War Two and opted to try to maintain friendly relations with neighbouring Russia. Finland applied for NATO membership alongside Sweden in May 2022 in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but its application got tangled up in Ankara's opposition to Sweden's entry. Sweden's application for membership remains blocked by Turkey due to a number of sticking points, among them Ankara's concerns over what it says is a lack of cooperation in fighting terrorism. All NATO members must unanimously agree to admit new members. Talks with Ukraine The accession ceremony for Finland will be followed by a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, a high-level forum for ministers of the alliance to discuss cooperation with Kiev. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is to take part. The NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting is taking place over objections from Hungary. Budapest has accused Ukraine of failing to respect the Hungarian language rights of the country's Transcarpathian ethnic minority. Hungary, like Turkey, has also not yet ratified Sweden's NATO membership. In a government statement, Hungary cited "an ample amount of grievances" with Sweden over EU budget funds, among other things.

Davis has become one of few artists to have won all four top arts awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Meanwhile, Beyonce could break the record for the most Grammys won by an artist. Actor Viola Davis has become the latest star to earn a coveted EGOT — a combination of an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony — at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. Davis completed her EGOT status by winning the Grammy for best audio book, narration and storytelling for her memoir "Finding Me." "I wrote this book to honor the 6-year-old Viola, to honor her, to honor her life, her joy, her trauma, her everything," the actor said as she accepted her award. Davis is the third Black woman to achieve EGOT status, and the 18th person overall. Beyonce poised to sweep Grammys Pop superstar Beyonce has so far won three Grammys during the ceremony on Sunday. The singer won the Grammy for best dance-electronic music recording with "Break My Soul," and also won for best traditional R&B performance with "Plastic Off The Sofa." During the televised ceremony, Beyonce then won best R&B song with "Cuff It." She has now won 31 Grammys throughout her career. With six more nominations on top of those three wins — including for album, song and record of the year — Beyonce is on track to become the most-awarded artist in Grammys history. That record has been held by Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti, who has 31 Grammys, since 1997. Beyonce already holds the title of most Grammys won by a female artist. Who is nominated for album of the Year? Beyonce's house-inspired album Renaissance has been nominated for the night's top gong: album of the year. She is up against some of the biggest names in music from pop, rap, rock and R&B. They include ABBA with "Voyage," Adele's album "30," "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers" by Kendrick Lamar and "Harry's House" by Harry Styles. Meanwhile, Puerto Rican rapper has been nominated with "Un Verano Sin Ti," as has Mary J Blige with "Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe)," Brandi Carlile with "In These SIlent Days," Coldplay with "Music of the Spheres" and Lizzo with "Special."

Shortly after the EU agreed on a price cap on Russian oil, G7 nations also adopted the measure to starve Russia of funds for its war in Ukraine. Poland agreed on Friday to the European Union's deal for a $60 (€57) per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil. "Crippling Russia's energy revenues is at the core of stopping Russia's war machine," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas posted on Twitter. Poland, which was promoting a lower cap, has now withdrawn its objection to the EU proposal, and the deal will be made official in the coming days, Warsaw's Ambassador to the EU Andrzej Sados told reporters. The Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency, said in a statement that "ambassadors have just reached an agreement on price cap for Russian seaborne oil.'' The decision must still be officially approved with a written procedure, which is expected to go through. Shortly after the EU agreed on the measure, the Group of Seven (G7), which includes Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as EU members France, Germany and Italy, and Australia also adopted the $60-per-barrel cap. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the agreement will help achieve the goal of restricting Putin's "primary source of revenue for his illegal war in Ukraine while simultaneously preserving the stability of global energy supplies." "Today's announcement is the culmination of months of effort by our coalition, and I commend the hard work of our partners in achieving this outcome," she said. Embargo on Russian crude oil from Monday The EU, G7 and Australia will impose an embargo on Russian crude oil from Monday. Poland's Sados said the embargo was the most significant sanction so far placed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. He added that Poland and the EU were "working on the next package of sanctions, which will be painful and expensive for Russia." Since the war in Ukraine began, a primary target for Western governments has been to try to limit Russia's revenues from energy exports.