Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has been elected chairman of the African Union at the continental body's summit in Ethiopia.

The rights group Amnesty International warned that el-Sisi's chairmanship might undermine the African Union's human rights mechanisms.

The rights group said Egypt since 2015 has orchestrated a sustained political attack against the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the body that aims to monitor African states' human rights records. 

"Dozens of cases alleging serious human rights violations have been lodged against Egypt at the ACHPR," it said.

Three-time World Cup-winning former Australian captain Ricky Ponting will be part of Australia’s coaching staff for the 2019 ICC World Cup. 44-year-old Ponting, who has earlier worked as assistant for Australia’s t20 side in 2017 and 2018, was confirmed by Cricket Australian as assistant coach to Justin Langer for the tournament.

The news comes a day after David Saker resigned as Australia’s fast-bowling coach, effective immediately. Cricket Australia also stated that the appointment will help batting coach Graeme Hicks focus on the preparation for the Ashes which will be held in England after the World Cup.

“This appointment also provides an opportunity for Graeme Hick to focus on preparation for the Ashes,” said interim Team Performance Executive General Manager Belinda Clark. “With two major events back to back we believe it is important to focus a number of staff specifically on one event. The appointment of Ricky is a part of this overall strategy.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said there is a need to move towards responsible pricing of Oil and Gas to balance the interests of both the producer and the consumer. He was inaugurating the 13th International Oil and Gas Conference - PETROTECH-2019 in Greater Noida. 

The three-day biennial event began at India Expo Mart yesterday. The Prime Minister stressed on the need to move towards transparent and flexible markets for oil and gas to serve energy needs in an optimal manner. 

The Prime Minister said, winds of change are evident in the global energy arena. He said supply, sources and consumption of energy patterns are changing. Mr Modi said, there is a shift in energy consumption from West to East.

He said, there are signs of convergence between cheaper renewable energy, technologies and digital applications. He said, it may expedite the achievement of sustainable development goals. Prime Minister expressed happiness that  nations are coming together to tackle climate change. 

He said, the petrotech has served as a platform to discuss the challenges the world  is facing in the energy sector. Prime Minister said, energy is a key driver of socio-economic growth and energy justice is a top priority for India. 

He said, a Blue Flame Revolution is under-way in the country and LPG connections have been given to over 64 million house-holds in just three years under Ujjwala Scheme. 

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said, India has made tremendous strides in providing energy justice. He said, UJJWALA scheme and expansion of City Gas Distribution Network have provided clean cooking gas to people. 

In Table Tennis, India's young paddlers clinching four medals, including a gold, at the Bahrain Junior and Cadet Open tournament in Manama. 

Besides the gold, India won two silver and a bronze. India fielded three teams in the cadet girls' team event and swept all the three medals on offer.
 
India-A team won the gold, India-B - Silver and India-C - Bronze.
   
The India-B team of Yashaswini Ghorpade and Kavya Sree Baskar beat Egypt in the first semifinal, while India-A defeated India-C in the other semifinal.
 
 In the final, the India-A team of Suhana Saini and Anargya Manjunath proved too strong for India-B and clinched the Gold.
 
In the Junior girls' competition, the Indian team of Manushree Patil and Swastika Ghosh beat three teams before losing to eventual champions Russia to settle for a Silver.

Union Environment minister Harsh Vardhan Sunday said the entire world is concerned about the dangers posed by global warming and climate change, and urged people to undertake “green good deeds” to protect the environment.

Launched by the Environment Ministry last year, the ‘Green Good Deeds’ campaign — aimed at protecting the environment and promoting healthy living — mentions a list of 500 activities for protecting the environment.

Addressing a global summit on ‘Science, Spirituality, Education and Environment’ organised by the Brahma Kumaris at Talkatora Stadium here, Harsh Vardhan, who also holds the science and technology and earth sciences portfolio said the global community has started believing that India can provide the right leadership and direction to deal with the challenges of pollution and global warming.

“Small behavioural changes and nature-friendly activities can be a great step towards saving the environment. India has made great progress in all spheres of science and technology.

“To develop environmental-friendly values, both science and spirituality work together. We must do small greed good deeds, and adopt green good behavior and green good social practices, ” he said.

Prayagraj is all set to host the third ''shaahi snaan'' of the ongoing Kumbh on Basant Panchami during which more than two crore devotees are expected to take a holy dip.

All the roads from the neighbouring districts led to Sangam city as devotees from different parts of the state and country arrived here to participate in the bath.

Kumbh Mela Adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand told PTI Saturday that more than two crore people from different walks of life are likely to arrive here to take a dip on the occasion of Basant Panchami on Sunday.

Security personnel, including Uttar Pradesh Police and central paramilitary forces, were deployed at different crossings and parts of the city.

Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) president Narendra Giri said, "There are three shahi snaans (royal baths) and three ''parv snaans'' during the Kumbh Mela."

The Mela commenced on January 15 on Makar Sankranti, the first bathing day, and the Mahashivratri on March 4 will mark its last bathing day.

''Shahi snan'' is the central highlight of the Kumbh Mela and the most important part of the celebration. It is only after the completion of ''shahi snaan'' that people are allowed to take the holy dip, he said.

India on Sunday received the first four of 15 Boeing Co.’s Chinook helicopters that are expected to bolster the heavy-lift capabilities of its air force and further strengthen the fast-expanding defence ties with the US.

The acquisition, which was in the works for several years, is also expected to give a significant boost to infrastructure development along India’s borders given the Chinook has the capability to ferry heavy cargo like road construction equipment over difficult terrain.

The four helicopters arrived by sea and were handed over to Indian authorities at the Mundra port in Gujarat, Boeing India said in a statement.

India had in 2018 signed a $3 billion contract for the purchase of 15 Chinook and 22 Apache attack helicopters, three years after first deciding to buy the equipment.

The Boeing platforms would replace the Russia-made Mi-17 medium-lift helicopters, the Mi-26 helicopters and Mi-35 attack helicopters.

India has rapidly scaled up purchases of defence equipment from the US as it sought to diversify from its biggest supplier, Russia, and to keep pace with the military modernization plans of China and Pakistan. In the past, India has ordered military hardware worth billions of dollars from the US including anti-submarine warfare planes, aircraft and missiles.

In Women's Football, India will look to seal a place in the Final of the Gold Cup International tournament when they face Nepal in their second round-robin match at Bhubaneswar today. 

India began their campaign with a 1-0 win over Iran on Saturday. The win was India's fifth on the trot after back-to-back victories against both Indonesia and Hong Kong in matches prior to the tournament.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally inaugurate the 13th International Oil and Gas Conference - PETROTECH-2019 in Greater Noida today. Three-day biennial event began at India Expo Mart yesterday. 

Welcoming the delegates, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, India is the third largest consumer of crude oil and petroleum products and government has taken several measures to provide energy for all. 

World champion Indian weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu Thursday notched up a gold medal at the EGAT Cup in Thailand, making a strong comeback from the lower back injury that kept her out of action for more than half of 2018.

According to information received, Chanu won the 48kg category gold with a effort of 192 kg in the silver level Olympic qualifying event, the points from which will come in handy when the final rankings for Tokyo 2020 cut are done.

The 24-year-old Manipuri lifted 82kg in snatch and 110kg in clean and jerk to finish on top of the podium after recovering from the injury, which required extensive physiotherapy.

Chanu had missed the world championships last year, a gold level Olympic qualifier, owing to the injury which had also forced her out of the Asian Games in Jakarta. Chanu last took part at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast where she won gold with an effort of 196kg.