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Jallikattu: 22 bull tamers injured on day-1 of this bullfighting festival

Due to a lack of adherence to the rules set forth by the administration, the district collector Kavitha Ramu postponed the event that was initially scheduled for January 6

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Jallikattu: 22 bull tamers injured on day-1 of this bullfighting festival

The first Jallikattu celebration of the year, also known as the festival of taming the bull, was celebrated today in the Pudukottai region of Tamil Nadu, and at least 22 people were hurt.

Concerns about animal cruelty before of the harvest festival of Pongal led to the organisation of the event at Thatchankurichi hamlet in the area, where some 350 bulls and 250 bull tamers will take part.

Due to a lack of adherence to the rules set forth by the administration, the district collector Kavitha Ramu postponed the event that was initially scheduled for this month’s sixth.

The government of Tamil Nadu has implemented safety precautions to safeguard the safety of the bulls and spectators, including double barricading, veterinarian screening of the bulls, and surveillance by candidates for the animal welfare board.

Bull tamers must also present vaccination records in order to participate in the event, per the administration’s requirements.

However, the larger ceremony will take place on January 17 in the renowned Alanganallur in the Madurai district.

Only 150 bull tamers will be allowed to participate in the event, and 50 per cent of the seats in the galleries must be filled, among other limitations put in place by the district administration to prevent the virus from spreading. Also required are proof of vaccination and negative test results for spectators.

Avaniapuram in Madurai shall host Jallikattu on January 15 and Palamedu on January 16.

Many people have been killed or permanently injured by bulls during the years of this rustic pastime. Bulls have also been exposed to other sorts of brutality and torture, such as intoxication, pouring lemon into the animal’s eyes to make them hostile, pulling the animal by its tail, and spearing it, in addition to numerous tamers clinging to the beast’s hump.

Earlier, the sport had been outlawed by the Supreme Court. However, the law was changed as a result of protracted demonstrations in the state in 2017 that claimed the occasion was a religious and cultural custom. The supreme court is still debating the matter.

During the event, a significant sum of money is wasted, and winners receive everything from gold coins to motorcycles to cars. Untamed bulls likewise increase in value tremendously. According to Tamil history, the celebration was celebrated in ancient times to conserve the native cattle breeds, which were so favoured that women of the time cherished unions with bull tamers.

Cricket news

Irfan Pathan takes dig at Pakistan after India’s seven-wicket Asia Cup win

Irfan Pathan took a cheeky dig at Pakistan after India defeated them by seven wickets in the Women’s Asia Cup 2026.

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Irfan Pathan

Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan took a playful dig at Pakistan after India registered a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over their arch-rivals in the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 on Saturday.

Soon after India completed the one-sided win in their Group A encounter, Pathan posted a short message on X: “Aaj Sunday hai kya?” The remark quickly drew attention as it recalled his earlier social media banter involving Pakistan.

Irfan Pathan’s ‘Sunday’ jibe returns

Pathan’s latest post was a reference to his social media remarks from last year, when he had repeatedly poked fun at Pakistan after India won three T20I matches against the Men in Green on consecutive Sundays.

Following those victories, Pathan had used the phrase “Sunday kaisa raha padosiyo”, turning Sundays into a recurring reference in his posts aimed at Pakistan.

His latest comment came after another emphatic India victory, this time in the Women’s Asia Cup.

India bowl Pakistan out for 55

India’s victory was set up by a superb performance from their spin attack. Pakistan were dismissed for just 55 in 18.1 overs, which the report described as their lowest-ever total in T20 cricket.

Young spinners Shree Charani and Prema Rawat played a major role in dismantling Pakistan’s batting line-up.

Charani, a 22-year-old left-arm orthodox spinner, finished with figures of 3/7 from four overs. Leg-spinner Prema Rawat also claimed three wickets, returning figures of 3/9 from her four overs.

Shafali Verma picked up one wicket for 10 runs in three overs, while Deepti Sharma completed the innings with two wickets for five runs in 3.1 overs.

Pakistan initially reached 27 without losing a wicket, but their innings soon collapsed. After Muneeba Ali scored 13 and Shawaal Zulfiqar made 14, Pakistan lost six wickets for just nine runs and slipped to 36/6.

India’s bowlers also delivered 78 dot balls during the Pakistan innings, making it difficult for the batting side to recover.

Harmanpreet Kaur makes history

The match was also significant for India captain Harmanpreet Kaur. She became the first international captain, male or female, to lead India in 150 T20Is.

Harmanpreet’s milestone was followed by another strong team performance as India comfortably chased down Pakistan’s total.

India reached the target in just 8.4 overs. Shafali Verma was dismissed for 12, Smriti Mandhana made nine and Pratika Rawal scored four.

Harmanpreet remained unbeaten on 18, while Deepti Sharma finished unbeaten on 12. Harmanpreet also hit the winning six to seal India’s victory.

India continue their dominance over Pakistan

The victory further strengthened India’s record against Pakistan in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup.

According to the report, India have now won seven of their eight matches against Pakistan in the tournament, with Pakistan’s only victory coming once.

With India completing another comfortable win, Pathan’s “Aaj Sunday hai kya?” post added a social media twist to an already dominant performance by the Indian team.

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Tech

OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra with major upgrades in AI reasoning, coding and computer use

OpenAI has introduced GPT-6 Astra, a new flagship AI model with advances in reasoning, coding, computer use, science and cybersecurity.

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chtagpt ASTRA

OpenAI has introduced GPT-6 Astra, a new flagship artificial intelligence model designed to handle complex reasoning, coding, computer-use tasks, scientific work and professional workflows.

The company describes Astra as its most intelligent and aligned model so far. According to OpenAI, the model combines advances in pre-training, reinforcement learning and alignment to improve its ability to perform multi-step tasks and work with computers and software.

GPT-6 Astra focuses on computer use and professional tasks

One of the key areas of improvement is computer use. OpenAI says GPT-6 Astra can perform tasks such as filling online forms, updating records, organising calendars and conducting online research.

The model can also analyse scientific data, generate plots, create websites and perform frontend quality checks. Its capabilities are intended to allow it to complete longer workflows rather than simply generate text in response to individual prompts.

OpenAI reported a 72.6% score on OSWorld 2.0, compared with 65.7% for GPT-5.6 Sol in the comparison provided by the company. It also reported a 59.3% score on Agents’ Last Exam and 92.7% on ScreenSpot-Pro.

GPT-6 Astra brings stronger coding capabilities

OpenAI says GPT-6 Astra is its strongest model for software engineering to date. The model is designed to work on complex coding tasks and can use tools to inspect software, execute code and test applications.

Astra also introduces improved context handling in Codex. According to OpenAI, the model can preserve and retrieve information from earlier context windows, helping it maintain requirements and test results during longer coding sessions.

Advances in science and mathematics

GPT-6 Astra has also been developed for scientific and mathematical applications. OpenAI says it achieved a 96% score on GPQA Diamond, a benchmark covering graduate-level questions in biology, chemistry and physics.

The company also reported a 99.9% score on ARC-AGI-3 and a 98% score on FrontierMath Tier 4. OpenAI further said Astra helped establish new results related to both unusually small and unusually large gaps between prime numbers.

These results are benchmark claims made by OpenAI and should not be interpreted as meaning that the model has achieved human-level intelligence across every area.

Cybersecurity capabilities also see a major jump

Cybersecurity is another area where Astra represents a substantial increase in capability. OpenAI says the model meets the Critical threshold for cybersecurity under its Preparedness Framework.

In the company’s testing, Astra achieved a 100% score on ExploitBench, compared with 78.5% for GPT-5.6 Sol. OpenAI also said the model discovered and used two previously unknown zero-day vulnerabilities during one evaluation and that the vulnerabilities were disclosed to their maintainers.

Because of these capabilities, OpenAI says additional safeguards have been introduced to reduce the risk of harmful cyber use.

GPT-6 Astra rollout and availability

OpenAI says GPT-6 Astra is initially rolling out to a limited group of organisations. The company plans to make it available over the following days to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise users.

The model is also being made available through the OpenAI API and AWS. Developers can access it through the API using the model identifier gpt-6-astra.

OpenAI’s API documentation lists a 1.05-million-token context window and a maximum output of 128,000 tokens for GPT-6 Astra.

Does GPT-6 Astra mean AGI has arrived?

The launch has renewed discussion around artificial general intelligence (AGI) because of Astra’s performance across a wide range of tasks. However, OpenAI’s official announcement describes GPT-6 Astra as a highly capable frontier model and does not state that the company has declared AGI achieved.

Therefore, it would be more accurate to describe Astra as a major advancement in AI capabilities rather than definitively calling its launch the arrival of AGI.

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Entertainment

Musician Bhagirath Bhatt breaks silence on Bigg Boss 20 entry, says not going

Musician and sitarist Bhagirath Bhatt has clarified that he will not participate in Bigg Boss 20, citing his preference for calm music and peaceful surroundings.

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Bhagirath Bhatt

Sitarist and music composer Bhagirath Bhatt has clarified that he will not be participating in Bigg Boss 20, putting an end to speculation about his possible entry into the reality show.

Bhatt addressed the questions he had been receiving from followers on social media and thanked them for their interest. However, he made it clear that he is not part of the upcoming season.

Bhagirath Bhatt explains why he is not joining Bigg Boss 20

In an Instagram Story, Bhatt said that he does not think he is suited to a show like Bigg Boss. He explained that his personality is more aligned with calm and peaceful surroundings.

The musician said he is not someone who can shout or create unnecessary noise and described himself as a believer in calm music. He added that peaceful music has always been a source of inspiration for him.

His clarification came after his name had been circulating in discussions about possible contestants for Bigg Boss 20.

Bhagirath Bhatt’s work in films and series

Bhagirath Bhatt is known for his work as a sitarist and music composer. According to the report, he has worked on films including Padmaavat, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Border 2.

He has also been associated with projects such as Bandish Bandits and Heeramandi.

Meanwhile, the makers of Bigg Boss 20 are yet to officially reveal the complete contestant list. The new season is scheduled to premiere on September 6 at 9 PM.

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