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Afghan national team footballer Zaki Anwari dies in fall from US plane at Kabul airport

On Thursday, the Afghan news agency Ariana reported that Zaki Anwari, a soccer player for the Afghan national team, died after falling from a US plane at the Kabul airport on Monday. Crowds of people seeking to flee Afghanistan have gathered at the airport since Taliban fighters took power on Sunday, many of whom were seen trying to board a moving plane. Ariana said that Zaki Anwari fell from a US Air Force Boeing C-17 plane, and the death was confirmed by the Directorate General for Sports. Anwari was one of thousands of Afghans who flocked to Hamid Karzai International Airport on Monday, a day after the Taliban seized the Afghan capital, hoping to board a plane out of the country. He reportedly boarded a C-17 that was about to leave Kabul.

Zaki Anwari’s remains were said to have been found aboard the US Air Force C-17 transport plane after the aircraft dashed to escape the advancing Taliban while carrying hundreds of refugees. Hundreds of Afghans were seen crowding a US Air Force plane as it took off from the runway. Some managed to stick to the wheels of flight or sit on the wings, only to fall into the sky. New videos emerged from the Kabul airport showing women crying for help outside the gates and barbed wire, asking troops to let them in. In the video, women are heard saying: "Help us, the Taliban are coming."

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Google once considered teaming up with Tencent to take over Epic Games

When Epic publicly rejected Apple and Google's App Store terms and hit the "Sue All" button in 2020, it seemed like the battle was just beginning. Apparently though, the daggers had already been out for a while, and were as sharp as possible. Today we learned that a Google executive even proposed to resolve a dispute with Epic by reaching an agreement with Tencent to wrest control of the company from founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. Tencent, the Chinese group that owns Riot Games and parts of several other large developers, owns 40% of Epic Games, while Sweeney is the majority shareholder. According to a court document filed by Epic today, an anonymous Google executive once suggested that if Epic isn't playing well, Google should talk to Tencent about buying Epic stock "to gain more control" from the Fortnite developer, or even can do it working with Tencent to take over Epic entirely. "Google has realized that Epic may not accept its offer." As a "potential alternative," a senior Google executive suggested that Google "consider approaching Tencent," a company that has a minority stake in Epic, (i) buy Epic shares from Tencent to gain more control over Epic. or (ii) Join Tencent to buy 100% of Epic. The details come from a unredacted complaint Epic filed today in the US District Court in Northern California. Tencent was still hidden along with other details. But yesterday the court rejected the search giant's request to keep this information sealed, which is why the full document has now been made public. "It appears, sadly, that Google was indeed contemplating a coordinated, multinational hostile takeover attempt of Epic in response to Fortnite launching outside of Google Play," Sweeney wrote on Twitter. Epic's lawsuit against Google is very similar to the lawsuit filed by Apple, which was prosecuted earlier this year. Epic says Google's anti-competitive actions are "forcing app developers and consumers" to use the Google Play Store, which requires sales cut just like Apple's App Store.

The big difference is that Apple's App Store is mandatory on iPhones, but for phones running Google's Android operating system, Epic had the option to launch Fortnite as a side-download app, which it did. According to the filing, Google feared that the Fortnite launcher, which later became the Epic Games Store, was a "contagion" that would alienate others from the Google Play Store. Epic presents Google as a scheme that tried to strike a special deal to prevent the Google Play Store from rejecting it, while at the same Tencent surprise everyone. The complaint also notes that Google made similar side agreements with other game publishers, including Activision Blizzard, to keep them on the Google Play Store, and describes the agreements Google made with phone manufacturers to prevent them from pre-installing non-Google stores, resulting in "exclusivity". Epic is seeking an injunction requiring Google to stop what Sweeney and his company consider anti-competitive measures. As in the case of Apple, Epic frames the lawsuit as a fight for software freedom and says Google has failed to deliver on its promise to maintain "an open and competitive Android ecosystem for all users and industry participants."

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India's Shaili Singh wins silver in women's long jump at U20 World Athletics Championships in Nairobi

Shaili Singh, a 17-year-old long jumper won the silver medal at the Under-20 World Championships in Nairobi on Sunday. Under the guidance of long jump great Anjo Bobby George and coached by her husband Robert, Shailie missed gold by 1 cm but has established herself as a star to watch. Incidentally, Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra became the U-20 world champion five years ago. In her third jump, Shelley breaks her personal best of 6.59m to move to provisional first after dropping to fourth at the end of the second round. However, Sweden's Maya Askag, the junior European champion, beat Shaili in fourth round by the narrowest margin to finally win the gold medal. Shaili previous best jump was 6.48m. Shaylee's next two jumps were fouls. She regrouped, hoping to better Askag in the final round. She clasped her hands in prayer as she completed the jump, but bend down and hit the track repeatedly with her palm in disappointment when the 6.37m was displayed on the electronic board. Shaili's eyes filled with tears before she regained her composure, and held the tricolor over her shoulders to cap a successful evening in her first international competition in the Kenyan capital at 1,795 meters above sea level.The journey she made from Jhansi to Nairobi in her fledgling and promising career was full of metaphorical uphill climbs. As a child, she ran without shoes, but had a brave blister to compete in school competitions. Her family found it difficult to put three full meals on the table. Mother Vinita is an ardent fan, and the first person she calls to update on results. My mother told me before the final not to worry. She expected me to win the gold medal. Next time I will win the gold medal. I wanted to hear the national anthem playing in the stadium. As she is a single mother, it was difficult for her but my mother looked after me, my sister, and my brother,” Shaili said.

Also Read- Neeraj Chopra rises to second spot in world rankings after Olympic gold

Anju, the national record holder and the world's greatest bronze medalist, hopes that Shaili will reach even greater heights and win an Olympic medal for the country. "She can improve the national record (6.83 meters). Our main goal for Shalie is to help her finish the podium at the Olympic Games, which is the most valuable thing. If our traienee can win a medal, I will consider it as my own". Anju said Before the U-20 World Championship, Coach Robert set a goal for Shaili of 6.60 meters knowing that his explosive speed on the track would be difficult to counter. "She usually meets my goals. But I know she capable of bigger things. She is a teenage athlete but has the spirit of an adult. I can promise you that she will rule the track and field circuit for the next 10 years. It was her first international competition and she won. silver at the world championships and I'm happy.” said Robert Shaili is the first in her family to play sports. She has her mother to thank for encouraging her to pursue track and field, even though the family was not well off. It was Vinita who alerted Shaili about the selection trials after seeing an advertisement in a newspaper. Shaili entered the Lucknow Sports Hostel, but her big break came after she caught the eye of Robert, even though she ended up with no medals and was not in the right style at the National Junior Athletics Championships in Vijayawada in 2017. A week later, Anju saw her at a Inter district junior champion, and the couple agreed they had found an athlete with the potential to become the next big star. "She was a rough diamond. Being able to find an athlete like this is a precious thing. We knew that if we guided her, we would make it great," says Anju.

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Odisha FC sign Malaysian international Liridon Krasniqi on loan

Odisha FC is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with Malaysian football club Johor Dar Al-Tazim on a loan contract for midfielder Liridon Krasniqi, who will now represent Bhubaneswar in the upcoming 8th edition of the Indian Super Cup. League (Hero ISL). The 29-year-old attacking midfielder started his career in European and made his professional debut for FK Mladá Boleslav in the Czech Republic in 2011 before joining Turkish club Ankaraspor. He was loaned out to another club in Turkey: Fethiyespor. Liridon moved to Malaysia in 2015 and played for Kedah Darul Aman Football Club. He also won the 2016 Malaysian Cup and the 2017 Malaysian Cup for Kedah before signing with Málaga United in 2019. In the previous season, Laridon had a contract with reigning Malaysian Premier League champion Johor Darul Ta'zim, and later represented the Newcastle Jets of Australia in the A-League on loan in early 2021. Liridon had the unique feat of representing three national teams. Having played for the Albanian Under-21 side and the Kosovo senior team, he made his debut for the Malaysian senior national team earlier this year.

After joining the club, he said: "I am very happy to join Odisha FC and I am looking forward to starting a great journey in India. I hope to have a great season in the future with coach Kiko Ramirez. I can't wait for it to start and meet my teammates at OFC. We will try to bring Joy to all Odisha fans in the next [Hero] ISL." OFC coach Kiko Ramírez explained: "Liridon will give us character, attitude and strength. He is a player with great physical ability and good technique. He is a midfielder who can help us in attack and in defense and will give us energy that the team needs to fight for the full 90 minutes. " Odisha Club President Mr. Raj Athwal said: "We are delighted to welcome Malaysia international Liridon Krasniqi to Odisha Football Club. He is an accomplished midfielder in defense, adding more depth and quality to the team."

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Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Bajrang Punia to skip wrestling world championships in October

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US Open 2021: Naomi Osaka kicks off title defence with straight sets win over Marie Bouzkova

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Pro Kabaddi League: Pardeep Narwal goes to UP Yoddha for Rs 1.65 crore to become highest-ever buy at auction