Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan was among the officials who resigned hours ahead of the cabinet reshuffle. Vardhan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has come under close scrutiny. “In one clean sweep, you have senior ministers being removed,” journalists and political analyst Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay told the Associated Press. “The government has admitted by these changes that it has failed miserably in handling the pandemic as it should have.” India has reported 400,000 coronavirus deaths, the third most of any country....

The central Asian nation, however, was a regular feature of the Nehru Cup in the later half of last decade, and had faced off against India twice with the Blue Tigers earning the bragging rights on both ocassions. Indian Football: AIFF discuss option three, final decision after feedback from clubs and IMG-Reliance On August 26th, 2007, India defeated them 3-0 in a group league match, coming on the back of a disapppointing 3-2 loss against Syria, which had put their qualiciation hopes for the final in doldrums....

In a match that saw kick-off delayed, the Indian colts had a sight at goal in the 5th minute, which saw Salio work the opposition goalkeeper into a neat save. That set the tempo for the Tiger Cubs’ foray into the opposition half with Bekey’s impressive long-range effort in the 17th minute needing another super save from the opposition ‘keeper. The scoreline wouldn’t be kept blank however, as Bekey snared the opener in the 18th minute....

Bhutia, and also his vice-Chairman Savio Messias, now finds himself out of the Technical Committee altogether. Henry Menezes is the new vice-chairman of the committee, which also includes GP Palguna, Abhishek Yadav, Pradip Dutta, Ishfaq Ahmed, Prosanto Banerjee and Sundar Raman. However, among the new inductions across all the committees, there are several IMG members as well. The foresaid list of IMG members in the AIFF sub-committee include Sundar Raman, Vandana Gupte (Legal Advisory Committee), Chirag Tanna, Rochak Langer (League Committee), Devang Bhimjyani (Competitions Committee), G Srinivasan (Futsal and Beach Soccer Committee), Yas Patel (Development Committee) and Swati Kothari (Women’s Football Committee)....

Isaac and Zohmingliana join the Super Machans from FC Pune City and Bengaluru FC respectively following the expiry of their contracts. Laldinliana joins the South Indian outfit on a free transfer from Mizoram Premier League (MPL) outfit Chhinga Veng FC, having completed a loan stint at Aizawl FC in the 2017-18 chapter of I-League. Speaking on his transfer, 21-year-old winger Issac commented, “I am very excited to have joined the champions....

The agreement is likely to see the world-renowned academy share its best management practices and football know-how with the 2016 ISL semifinalists. As part of the deal, Aspire Academy coaches, talent scouts and analysts will travel to Delhi to help develop the club’s existing talent and promote best practice in scouting for the club’s youth development programmes. India U19s to shift focus to SAFF Championship Importantly, young and promising talents on Delhi Dynamos’ books will get a chance to travel to Qatar to participate in a new Aspire Residential Programme, under which they will live, study and train at Aspire in world class facilities....

The 28-year-old has been a part of the FC Goa setup since the 2015 campaign and has been the first choice custodian in both the seasons. Bagan & East Bengal opted not to pay ISL franchise fee After a disappointing 2016 Indian Super League season, where they finished bottom, Kattimani played on loan at Mumbai FC and unfortunately ended up being relegated. Though Zico, who was in charge of the Goans from the inaugural season, has departed, the team management has opted to hand a three-year deal to the custodian who has played for the Indian U23 team but is yet to win first International cap....

The Gun Violence Archive’s mass shooting tracker found that a total of 29 people were injured or killed in mass shootings that took place across several states by the end of Thursday. Indianapolis police said eight people were killed in the shooting at a FedEx facility near Indianapolis International Airport. A preliminary police report revealed that seven people had also been injured. Two victims were treated at the scene and five were sent to local hospitals after the shooting....

Dixon, a four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion, is vying for his second Indy 500 victory after winning the 200-lap race in 2008. He is currently the odds-on favorite to win the 2017 Indy 500, but don’t rule out two-time Formula One world champion and McLaren Honda Andretti entry Fernando Alonso. MORE: Indy 500 schedule Andretti has four cars in the front three rows including the defending race champion, Alexander Rossi, and Michael Andretti’s own son, Marco....

Police said the victims included two women, a man, and the infant, who were killed in two neighboring homes. Officers raced to a home in Lakeland at around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday morning after shots were heard in a neighborhood close to Lake Gibson High School. When police arrived at the home, they found a truck on fire and a “popping noise” in the front yard. At a later press briefing, Polk Sheriff’s Office Sheriff Grady Judd said shortly afterward police found a man “totally outfitted in body armor” who was “ready for battle....

The CNBC/Survey Monkey poll surveyed over 3,500 adults earlier this month about how they are feeling going into the holiday season this year. In particular, they were asked about what concerns they might have about being able to afford gifts. Two topics that have dominated economic conversations in the last year, recession and inflation, both scored highly as worrying factors for most respondents. Around 69 percent of those surveyed said that the possibility of an impending global recession has them considering cutting back on the amount they buy this year....

Access to social media has made it simple for anyone to share their opinions, personal beliefs and fears with a wide audience. We’ve already seen in memes, Tiktoks and passionate Instagram expressions about the coronavirus. But some of these personal expressions hold dangerous or inconsiderate claims that spread fear and not the facts, making it feel nearly impossible to tell the difference. Instagram and Tiktok, specifically have been full of conversations that claim the coronavirus is something it’s likely not....

During the informed consent process, your healthcare provider makes sure you understand your diagnosis, treatment options, and the benefits and risks of those treatment options. Importantly, informed consent also involves assessing whether you are able to provide consent to move forward with (or decline) care. Depending on your treatment plan, you could be asked to sign an informed consent document that gives your doctor permission to run tests or give you certain therapies....

The Barca captain sat out last week’s 2-0 win at Athletic Bilbao and the Champions League trip to Olympiacos and had remained in doubt for Saturday’s match at Camp Nou. Iniesta 3/1 to score v Sevilla Iniesta was named in Julen Lopetegui’s Spain squad on Friday for their friendlies with Costa Rica and Russia, sparking suggestions the 33-year-old was ready to return to action. Ernesto Valverde was keen to impress that even then Iniesta’s fate for the weekend had not been decided, insisting his participation was to depend on Barca’s late training session....

The Real Madrid midfielder is suffering from a rib problem, having featured in the 3-1 win over Northern Ireland on Thursday. Germany 5/1 favs to win World Cup Low has been cautious with his squad selection for these two encounters and also left out Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil from the initial panel on medical grounds. Echoing the precautions he took in leaving the former Wolfsburg man out of his initial squad, he has done likewise for Kroos ahead of what amounts to little more than a friendly for Germany....

PLAYERS Conventional Wisdom B. Clinton (+) Sure, your transition ship is leaking, but it’s finally floating in the right direction. H. Clinton (+) Whaddaya mean, what role will she play? She’s Clinton’s Jim Baker. A. Core (+) Ozone Man cooking with high octane; first veep ever with veto power. R. Neel (+) Who? Anonymous, golfing Gore aide is Inner Sanctum mystery guest. B. Lindsey (+) Low-profile Little Rock lawyer is the Sancho Panza of the Ozarks....

The gravedigger wasn’t exactly sure what to do next. “There’s no police,” he recalled later; shortly after the Islamist Hamas organization seized power in June, Gaza’s police chief, who is loyal to Fatah, suspended all civilian law enforcement. Abu Moghaseb asked a neighbor to call the Hamas-controlled “Executive Force,” a network of troops composed mostly of former militants from the group’s Izzedine al-Qassam militia. When the Hamas men arrived, wearing their trademark black uniforms and cradling Kalashnikovs, Abu Moghaseb helped them uncover the graves....

“My roommate said, ‘Duh, Jen, that’s because you’re good at it. You’re like a professional bridesmaid or something,’” Glantz told Newsweek. Her roommate’s words sparked an idea: If she could be a bridesmaid for distant friends, why not for strangers? That night she posted an ad on Craigslist offering her services as a hired bridesmaid. In just 48 hours, Glantz received over 300 responses and booked her first client....

Alex Wood has returned from the minors and jumped back into the Braves rotation a little sooner than expected following Gavin Floyd’s season-ending elbow injury. The lefthander was sharp in his first start back Wednesday and now has a 2.60 ERA and 8.3 K/9 in eight starts this season. He’s worth grabbing in all formats if he was cast away during his demotion. MORE FANTASY BASEBALL: Closer Watch | Heavenly hitters | Rankings updates...

Watching Eastwood’s harrowing film, which raises pointed questions about how heroes, and wars, are packaged and sold, it’s hard not to think his movie is a commentary on today. Images of Jessica Lynch pop into your brain. And when Sgt. Mike Strank (Barry Pepper), the unit’s leader, is killed by friendly fire, your thoughts turn to Pat Tillman, the ex-football star whose death was initially rewritten to suit the mythical role the military, and the media, had decided he must play....