Axed government watchdog says Trump was right to fire him
A government watchdog fired by President Donald Trump in January has filed a legal brief arguing that Trump is well within his executive powers to fire him and the 16 other U.S. inspectors general ousted just four days into his second term. Eric Soskin, the former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation, was appointed by Trump during his first presidential term. He was then fired just four days after Trump returned to the Oval Office, Jeff Beelaert, an attorney for Givens Pursley and a former Department of Justice official, told Fox News in an interview. “Eric was one of the fired inspectors general, and disagreed with his former IG colleagues. He wanted to make that clear in filing a brief,” Beelaert said. Trump moved shortly after his inauguration to purge the government watchdogs from across 17 government agencies, prompting intense backlash, criticism and questions over the legality of the personnel decisions. LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS The move prompted a lawsuit from eight of the ousted watchdogs, who asked the presiding judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, to declare their firings illegal and to restore their agency positions. These remedies are considered a long shot, and are unlikely to succeed next week when the plaintiffs appear in D.C. court for their next hearing. Even so, Soskin disagreed so strongly with their rationale that he not only declined to join their lawsuit, but also had lawyers file an amicus brief on his behalf supporting the administration’s ability to terminate his role. Beelaert helped author that amicus brief on Soskin’s behalf, which outlined primary reasons that Trump does have the power to make these personnel decisions, under Article II of the Constitution, Supreme Court precedent, and updates to federal policy. The brief invokes the IGs “mistaken” reliance on a 1930s-era precedent, Humphrey’s Executor, which protects agency firings in certain cases, and requires a 30-day notice period for any personnel decisions. Soskin’s lawyers argue that the reliance on this case is misguided and that the precedent applies solely to members of “multi-member, expert, balanced commissions” that largely report to Congress, and are not at issue here. “Supreme Court precedent over the last five, ten years has almost all but rejected that idea that Congress can impose restrictions on the president’s removal authority,” Beelaert said. TRUMP WANTS ‘ACTIVIST’ GROUPS THAT SUE THE GOVERNMENT TO PUT UP MONEY IF THEY LOSE Other critics noted that Trump failed to give Congress a 30-day notice period before he terminated the government watchdogs – a formality but something that Trump supporters note is no longer required under the law. In 2022, Congress updated its Inspector General Act of 1978, which formerly required a president to communicate to Congress any “reasons” for terminations 30 days before any decision was made. That notice provision was amended in 2022 to require only a “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for terminations. The White House Director of Presidential Personnel has claimed that the firings are in line with that requirement, which were a reflection of “changing priorities” from within the administration. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, suggested earlier this year that Congress should be given more information as to the reasons for the firings, though more recently he has declined to elaborate on the matter. TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID Plaintiffs challenging the firings are likely to face a tough time making their case next week in federal court. U.S. District Judge Reyes, the presiding judge in the case, did not appear moved by the plaintiffs’ bid for emergency relief. She declined to grant their earlier request for a temporary restraining order – a tough legal test that requires plaintiffs to prove “irreparable” and immediate harm as a result of the actions – and told both parties during the hearing that, barring new or revelatory information, she is not inclined to rule in favor of plaintiffs at the larger preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for March 11. “At the end of the day, this drives home the idea that elections matter,” Beelaert said. “And of all the times that the president should have the removal of authority, it’s the start of the administration” that should be most important, he said, noting that this is true for both political parties. “It doesn’t matter who serves in the White House. I think that any president, whether it’s President Trump, President Biden – it doesn’t matter,” Beelaert said. “The president should be allowed to pick who is going to serve in his administration. And to me, that’s a bit lost in this debate. “
HHS expands Title IX probe in Maine to include state association governing athletics, embattled high school
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration expanded its Title IX investigation into Maine, citing violations of the president’s executive order mandating that educational and athletic institutions bar biological males from competing in women’s sports. The Maine Principals Association, the state’s primary governing body for high school athletics, and Greely High School, which has been a centerpiece in the debate over transgender sports participation in Maine, are both now being added to the list of Maine entities the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department is investigating over alleged Title IX violations, according to an HHS spokesperson. The department’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) launched an investigation into the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) last month, “based on information that Maine intends to defy” President Donald Trump’s order to keep biological males out of women’s sports. Four days later, the agency issued MDOE a “Notice of Violation.” “HHS will investigate and enforce Title IX to the full extent permitted by law to uphold fairness, safety, dignity, and biological truth in women’s and girls’ educational athletic opportunities,” Andrew Nixon, a department spokesperson, told Fox News Digital. “Men have no place in women’s sports. Maine must comply with Title IX or risk losing federal funding.” MAINE GOP URGES DEMS TO REPEAL TRANSGENDER ATHLETE POLICY FOLLOWING FEDERAL TITLE IX VIOLATION FINDING Republican state legislators in Maine called on Democratic Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday to stand down her open defiance of Trump’s Feb. 5 transgender sports executive order, which threatens hundreds of millions in federal funding to K-12 schools in the state, according to numbers obtained by the Portland Press Herald. MDOE received nearly a million dollars from HHS sub-agencies alone, Maine House Republicans said in a press release Thursday. “Enough is enough, it is time to put away radical ideology and put the future of our kids first,” said Assistant House Minority Leader Katrina Smith, R–Palermo. “The Mills administration’s policy of allowing biological boys in girls’ sports has physically and mentally mistreated our young ladies and now this same policy will harm every child and teacher with the loss of federal funds to our schools.” “If Maine Democrats continue to double down on allowing biological males to participate in girls’ sports, our students stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding. Gov. [Janet] Mills and legislative Democrats have a renewed opportunity to do the right thing, to ensure restored funding and a fair and level playing field for Maine girls,” added state Rep. Laurel Libby, R–Bangor, Thursday. Last month, Libby was censured by Democrats in the Maine state legislature after posting on social media that a Greely High School pole vaulter, who competed as recently as June of last year as a biological male, won a statewide championship meet competing as a woman. MAINE HOUSE SPEAKER DELETES X ACCOUNT AFTER CENSURING LAWMAKER OPPOSED TO TRANSGENDER ATHLETES IN GIRLS SPORTS Libby was censured specifically for posting a picture of the high school athlete from Greely competing as a male, contrasted next to an image of the athlete winning the women’s pole-vaulting competition at Maine’s Class B state indoor championship meet in February. The athlete was a minor. “State leaders have failed our female athletes and there needs to be repercussions for their neglect,” said Zoe, who competed in shot put at Maine’s Class B state indoor championship meet, told Fox News Digital. Trump began calling out Maine for defying his executive order shortly after Libby began sounding the alarm about the transgender athlete at Greely High School winning a statewide girls’ track meet. During a public spat with Mills at the White House, Trump threatened the state’s funding unless they “clean that up,” to which Mills responded that she would “see [him] in court.” HIDING KIDS ‘GENDER IDENTITY’ FROM PARENTS IS COMMON IN BLUE STATE FIGHTING TRUMP ON TRANS ISSUES: WATCHDOG Sarah Perry, a civil rights attorney with extensive experience litigating Title IX issues, said she believes Maine would be unsuccessful in court on this matter for a variety of reasons. In addition to federal law, Maine is also flouting directives from the Department of Education and previously established precedent from a slew of cases that overturned former President Joe Biden’s Title IX regulations allowing athletic eligibility to be determined by one’s preferred gender identity, according to Perry. “Maine entered into a contract with the Department of Education, promising to follow that federal civil rights law. [Mills’] reliance on contrary state law will prove fatal to any continued recalcitrance,” Perry said. Mills and the Maine Principals Association (MPA) have argued that Trump’s executive order conflicts with existing state Human Rights law. The MPA said that, as a result, it would defer to state law, which allows athletic eligibility to be determined based on a person’s stated gender identity. I’M A 3-SPORT HIGH SCHOOL FEMALE ATHLETE IN MAINE – I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO COMPETE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MALES Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey confirmed to The New York Times on Thursday that his office received a “Notice of Violation” indicating MDOE was in violation of federal Title IX law as a result of its continued decision to allow athletic eligibility to be determined by gender-identity. The letter arrived four days after HHS announced its Title IX investigation into MDOE on Feb. 21. Mills’ office told local outlet the Bangor Daily News that her staff had not been questioned by federal investigators prior to the violation notice being sent out. “No President – Republican or Democrat – can withhold federal funding authorized and appropriated by Congress and paid for by Maine taxpayers in an attempt to coerce someone into compliance with his will,” Mills said in a statement. “It is a violation of our Constitution and of our laws, which I took an oath to uphold.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Maine Principals Association and Greely High School’s principal and assistant principals for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
Venezuelan gangs are far from a ‘fake’ problem, Colorado DA says: ‘Giant issue’
A Colorado district attorney is arguing that those who are trying to dismiss the issue of Venezuelan gangs in the state have been taking an “ignorance-is-bliss approach to the law.” “There were the two extreme positions. One was, ‘Hey, they’d taken over the city’… then you’d have the people on the far left in the mainstream media saying ‘there’s no such thing as a country of Venezuela. Venezuelans don’t exist. It’s all made up. It’s a figment of your imagination,’” Colorado’s 23rd Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler told Fox News Digital. “The truth is, Venezuelan gangs did take over the running of about 2 to 3 different apartment complexes… so to suggest that this isn’t an issue is fake. It is a giant issue. It is a growing issue. And this sort of ignorance is bliss approach to the law.” The comments come as Colorado has recently entered the national spotlight as a result of the state’s sanctuary laws, which have limited local jurisdictions from being able to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. DENVER MAYOR GRILLED OVER AREA’S TREN DE ARAGUA PROBLEM AS GOP LAWMAKER SAYS POLICIES TO BLAME The issue became even more controversial in the last few months after reports of the spread of the violent Venezuelan immigrant gang Tren de Aragua, which had taken over multiple apartment complexes in the Colorado city of Aurora. The state was further highlighted in Wednesday’s House Oversight Committee hearing, when Denver Mayor Mike Johnston was grilled by lawmakers over his city’s lack of cooperation with federal authorities. “The illegal immigrant gang Tren de Aragua targeted Denver to be their American HQ because of weak immigration laws,” Republican Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans told Fox News Digital after the hearing. For his part, Brauchler argued that Johnston’s answers during the hearing were just an attempt to “deflect” the conversation from the overall issue. “My sense of those answers, though, were intended to deflect from the underlying and key question here. And that is, can a city, should a state stick itself between illegal aliens and the federal law? And the answer is a very obvious and easy no,” he told Fox News Digital. DENVER MAYOR SAYS HE’S PREPARED TO GO TO JAIL OVER OPPOSITION TO TRUMP DEPORTATIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Despite that “obvious answer,” Brauchler told Fox News Digital that Colorado’s Democratic-controlled government has doubled down on sanctuary policies. “Starting in 2018, Colorado became awash in blue, and the legislature and the governorship have been controlled by the Democrats since then, and they have done everything they can to make Colorado a sanctuary state,” he said. “One of the laws that our state legislature passed fully embraced by Denver is to make our courthouses sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. They ban the enforcement of any immigration laws inside those courthouses.” Brauchler said similar legislation is currently in the works, this time banning immigration enforcement on the way to and from the courthouse as well. “Can you imagine any city or state creating barriers that say, ‘I’m sorry, local law enforcement, you can’t communicate with the FBI about a fugitive you can’t communicate with.’ Heck, the IRS about a tax cheat…. you can’t communicate with the DEA about known drug dealers? It is only with illegal immigrants that there seems to be this sense of creating these municipal and statewide barriers to law enforcement,” he said. Nevertheless, Brauchler said he is committed to fighting back against the policies in order to make residents of the state safer. “If you’re an illegal immigrant, and you’re here in this jurisdiction, get legal. If you can’t or won’t get legal, then be on your best behavior,” he said. “Because once you violate our laws, do not expect me to come to your rescue and figure out a way to keep you at a place that says you shouldn’t be here to begin with.”
Indian Air Force’s Jaguar fighter jet crashes in Haryana, pilot ejects safely; no casualties reported
A Jaguar aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Haryana’s Ambala during a routine training sortie today, i.e., March 7, due to a system malfunctioning.
South Carolina convict inches closer to first US death by firing squad in 15 years
A South Carolina death row inmate who gruesomely killed his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat in 2001 is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on Friday – the first execution of its kind in the U.S. in 15 years. Brad Sigmon, 67, who admitted to the killings because his ex-girlfriend refused to get back to him, will be strapped to a chair at around 6 p.m. and three volunteers armed with rifles about 15 feet away will fire bullets into his heart. Each will be armed with .308-caliber, Winchester 110-grain TAP Urban ammunition often used by police marksmen. The bullet is designed to shatter on impact with something hard, like an inmate’s chest bones, sending fragments meant to destroy the heart and cause death almost immediately. TEXAS DEATH ROW INMATE MOUTHS FINAL 2-WORD MESSAGE TO VICTIMS’ FAMILIES BEFORE EXECUTION The execution will go ahead if South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson signed off on it. Sigmon’s lawyers have asked McMaster to commute his death sentence to life in prison, arguing that he is a model prisoner and works every day to atone for the killings he committed after succumbing to severe mental illness. But no South Carolina governor has granted clemency in the 49 years since the death penalty resumed. Sigmon chose the firing squad method over the electric chair which would “cook him alive,” or a lethal injection, whose details are kept secret in South Carolina, his lawyers said. South Carolina keeping information secret about how it conducts lethal injections led him to decide on the firing squad, which he acknowledges will be a violent death, his lawyer said. On Thursday, Sigmon’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court to delay his execution because the state doesn’t release enough information about the lethal injection drug. Sigmon said he carried out the brutal slayings because he was angry that the victims had been evicted from a trailer they owned. They were in separate rooms of their Greenville County home and Sigmon went back and forth attacking them until they were dead, investigators said. He then shot at his ex-girlfriend as she fled, but missed, prosecutors said. SOUTH CAROLINA SCHEDULING EXECUTIONS AGAIN AFTER A PAUSE FOR THE HOLIDAYS “My intention was to kill her and then myself,” Sigmon said in a confession typed out by a detective after his arrest. “That was my intention all along. If I couldn’t have her, I wasn’t going to let anybody else have her. And I knew it got to the point where I couldn’t have her.” Five states — Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah — authorize the use of firing squads in certain circumstances. Just three inmates — in Utah in 1977, 1996 and 2010 — have faced a firing squad in the U.S. since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Ronnie Gardner was the last prisoner to be executed by firing squad, in Utah in 2010. Executions in South Carolina resumed in September, when the state – once one of the busiest for executions – ended a 13-year pause in carrying out the death penalty. The pause was caused in part by the state having difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs after their supply expired because of pharmaceutical companies’ concerns that they would have to disclose they had sold the drugs to state officials. The state legislature then passed a shield law allowing officials to keep lethal injection drug suppliers private. Twenty-five executions were carried out in the U.S. last year. Five have already been carried out in 2025, per the Death Penalty Information Center. Fox News’ Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Obama Presidential Center: DEI-linked firm’s racial lawsuit blasted as baseless ‘smears’
An engineering firm working on the Obama Presidential Center says that claims it racially discriminated against a Black-owned subcontractor on the project are baseless and amount to smears – and that simply criticizing the subcontractors’ work does not amount to racism. Thornton Tomasetti, a New York-City-based structural engineering firm, was responding to an explosive $40.75 million lawsuit accusing it of acting with racist intent when it criticized the alleged underperformance of a Black-owned concrete subcontracting firm at the sprawling 19.3-acre site at Chicago’s Jackson Park. The lawsuit has drawn national attention to the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals underpinning the project, which has been plagued by delays and costs ballooning from an initial $350 million to $830 million. The center aims to honor the political career of former President Barack Obama and will consist of a 235-foot tower museum, a branch of the Chicago Public Library and conference facilities, among other amenities. OBAMA LIBRARY, BEGUN WITH LOFTY DEI GOALS, NOW PLAGUED BY $40M RACIALLY CHARGED SUIT, BALLOONING COSTS Thornton Tomasetti previously told the Obama Foundation, the non-profit which oversees the project, that a multitude of issues, including cracked concrete and exposed rebar by the subcontractor, led to corrective work and that the subcontracting firm was inexperienced and “questionably qualified.” The subcontracting firm, II In One Concrete, said the criticism amounted to racial bias and filed the $40.75 million lawsuit to recoup the cost of the extra work it had to carry out following requests by Thornton Tomasetti. WATCH: Drone captures Obama Presidential Center under construction in Chicago In a motion to dismiss filed on Tuesday, Thornton Tomasetti said the lawsuit smeared it as racist “without a shred of factual support” and said that II In One Concrete leaned on its minority status to make the claims. The center set out DEI goals for its construction contracts, with 35% of subcontractors required to be minority-owned. II In One was one of three firms that together made up a 51% minority-led joint-venture team. “Plaintiffs… are not immune from having their work scrutinized simply because they are minority-owned, or because the project prioritizes using the services of minority-owned businesses,” attorneys for Thornton Tomasetti wrote. “Instead, they are entitled to be treated like any other subcontractor, with all the run-of-the-mill disagreements and disputes that accompany enormous projects like this one.” “Professional criticism, without more, is not racism.” MUSK’S DOGE TERMINATES LEASE AT OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY SITE II In One Concrete’s lawsuit stems from a memorandum Thornton Tomasetti wrote to the Obama Foundation about a year ago claiming that II in One — and the contracting firms it teamed up with on the project — were responsible for numerous construction challenges during the project. In the memo, Thornton Tomasetti pinned the blame on the subcontractors and wrote that the purpose of the memo was to defend their own services. It oversees structural engineering and design services at the site. II In One Concrete’s lawsuit claims the Obama Foundation relied on the memo for not paying the subcontracting firms around $40.75 million for “additional costs incurred,” which emanated from the corrective work and put II In One Concrete on the verge of bankruptcy. II In One Concrete’s owner, Robert McGee, who is Black, argues II In One was discriminated against “on the basis of race” and that plaintiffs were “subjected to unjustified and discriminatory conduct… which directly undermined the Obama Foundation’s DEI goals and commitments.” McGee claims Thornton Tomasetti falsely accused II in One of lacking sufficient qualifications and experience to perform its work, while stating that non-minority-owned contractors were sufficiently qualified. McGee’s lawsuit points to II in One’s 40-year track record in the industry and its completion of major Chicagoland projects. McGee claims that Thornton Tomasetti changed standards and imposed new rules around rebar spacing and tolerance requirements that differed from industry standards. OBAMA CENTER SUBCONTRACTOR FILES $40M DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT AGAINST ENGINEERING FIRM FOR OVERRUNS In Tuesday’s motion to dismiss, Thornton Tomasetti argued that the rebar spacing requirements were part of the bid documents and contract specifications. Additionally, Thornton Tomasetti said that there were a wide range of other issues it had identified in the memo which the lawsuit did not address. “And while plaintiffs’ allegations fixate on the rebar splice specifications, they ignore the broader picture – TT (Thornton Tomasetti) flagged numerous other critical work deficiencies in the memo, none of which plaintiffs acknowledge, let alone refute,” Tuesday’s filing reads. “Plaintiffs cannot simply pluck one of TT’s many criticisms of their work and hoist it up as self-evident discrimination, while staying silent on the panoply of other problems TT set forth in the memo.” Thornton Tomasetti wrote that the complaint — accusing it of racial bias, libel and tortious interference with contract — is “fatally flawed” and must be dismissed. “Plaintiffs fail to allege facts that plausibly paint a picture of racism (there are no alleged racist comments, no observed racial bias, and no facts showing discriminatory treatment), but also because they concede that Thornton Tomasetti’s actions were motivated –– not by any harbored discrimination – but by a desire to professionally defend their services in the face of critiques levied against them in the first place,” the motion to dismiss reads. “The complaint should be dismissed and the door shut on plaintiffs’ outrageous proposition that minority-owned businesses are exempt from scrutiny, critique, or the need to comply with project specifications, however ‘burdensome.’” Fox News Digital reached out to the Obama Foundation and a representative for McGee for comment but did not receive a response. The Obama Foundation previously told Fox News Digital that it is not a party to the lawsuit and insisted that it would not cause any delays in the concrete work, which it says has already been largely completed. “If the Foundation believed that any vendor was acting with a racist intent, we would immediately take appropriate action,” Emily Bittner, the vice president of communications at the Obama Foundation, told Fox News Digital in a statement recently. The foundation has not responded to requests
After Atul Subhash, Manav Sharma, 41-year-old animator kills self due to alleged harassment by wife: ‘I loved you then and…’
After the tragic Atul Subhash and Manav Sharma suicide cases, a 41-year-old animator in Mumbai allegedly killed self inside a hotel room, blaming his wife and her aunt for taking the extreme step in a note that he posted on his company’s website, India Today reported.
Rep. Ralph Norman backs Trump’s plan to avoid government shutdown, pushes for Congressional term limits
As President Donald Trump advocates the idea of passing a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. — a member of the House Freedom Caucus who is pushing a Constitutional amendment to term limit federal lawmakers — told Fox News Digital during an interview on Thursday that while he’s not usually in favor of continuing resolutions, he supports passing one in this case. Norman said “what’s different now” is the DOGE effort to find waste, fraud and abuse — the congressman, who noted that Elon Musk, under Trump’s direction, has been discovering “excess spending,” indicated that it will “take time” to sort the good from the bad in the federal government. “We’ve never had that before,” he noted. TRUMP ENDORSES ‘CLEAN’ CR AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS Trump has been talking up the idea of a continuing resolution. “Government funding runs out next week, and Democrats are threatening to shut down the Government – But I am working with the GREAT House Republicans on a Continuing Resolution to fund the Government until September to give us some needed time to work on our Agenda,” the president declared in the post. “Conservatives will love this Bill, because it sets us up to cut Taxes and Spending in Reconciliation, all while effectively FREEZING Spending this year, and allowing us to continue our work to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. VERY IMPORTANT – Let’s get this Bill done!” REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP WAS PLAYING GOLF WHEN PRESIDENT-ELECT CALLED HIM TO SWITCH HOUSE SPEAKER VOTE TO JOHNSON Norman said that he thinks during the next six months the “12 appropriation bills for the ’26 budget will be passed on time.” The congressman, who has served in the House since mid-2017, is pushing a proposed Constitutional amendment that would term limit federal lawmakers, blocking them from lingering in the D.C. power bubble for decade after decade, as some politicians do now. Dozens of House Republicans, and even a few Democrats, are backing the proposal, which Norman re-introduced this year. It previously fell short of clearing the House Judiciary Committee in 2023, with several Republicans voting against advancing it. The proposal would limit politicians to three House terms and two Senate terms, though it stipulates that terms held prior to the ratification of the amendment would not be counted. GOP REBELS HEAD TO WHITE HOUSE FOR MEETING TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and more than a dozen other GOP senators are pushing the proposed Constitutional amendment in the Senate. Norman, who indicated that working as a lawmaker in D.C. is not “rocket science,” suggested that people with business experience, who have made and lost money, are equipped for the role.
India vs New Zealand – Champions Trophy final: Match-ups, stream, weather
Who: India vs New ZealandWhat: ICC Champions Trophy 2025 finalWhen: Sunday at 1pm (09:00 GMT)Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates After 14 matches and 18 days, the elite one-day international (ODI) men’s competition comprising the world’s top eight teams has whittled down to a battle between the top two contenders. India and New Zealand meet in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai on Sunday. Here’s everything you need to know about the big showdown: Why is Dubai hosting the Champions Trophy final? In the months preceding the Champions Trophy, the ICC found itself in the middle of a deadlock between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The BCCI said it wouldn’t send a team to Pakistan, and while the reasons were never publicly shared, the political tension between both countries was understood to be the cause. Meanwhile, the PCB was adamant about hosting all games in Pakistan. With less than two months to go, both sides met halfway, and it was decided that in all ICC tournaments until 2031 that were hosted by either country, the neighbouring country’s team would play its matches at a neutral venue. Advertisement Pakistan opted to host India’s matches, including the final, in Dubai. What was India’s route to the final? Six-wicket win over Bangladesh in Dubai Six-wicket win over Pakistan in Dubai 44-run win over New Zealand in Dubai Four-wicket win over Australia in Dubai What was New Zealand’s route to the final? 60-run win over Pakistan in Karachi Five-wicket win over Bangladesh in Rawalpindi 44-run loss to India in Dubai 50-run win over South Africa in Lahore 🇮🇳 🆚 🇳🇿#ChampionsTrophy 2025 Final 🤩Dubai 📍 pic.twitter.com/mD112FDOIh — ICC (@ICC) March 5, 2025 Who are the players to watch in the final? Virat Kohli (India): The Indian batting great, arguably the best in ODI history, has rediscovered his run-scoring form in the tournament. In addition to his peerless record in run chases, Kohli has a healthy average when playing against New Zealand in ODIs. His 32 matches against the Blackcaps have yielded him six centuries and nine half-centuries at an average of 57.1. Although Kohli only managed 11 runs in the Group A meeting between the two sides, the 36-year-old is known to save his best for the biggest games. Shubman Gill (India): The world’s top-rated ODI batter began the tournament with a match-winning century over Bangladesh , and although Gill only added 57 runs in the next three games, the opener will be key to India’s innings in the final. His average of 74 and two centuries in 11 games against New Zealand make him a player to watch in the final. Varun Chakravarthy (India): The leg-break bowler’s return to the Indian side has left opposition batters in a fix. Chakravarthy made his Champions Trophy debut in the group game against New Zealand, in which he took five wickets to earn the player of the match award. The spinner’s variation will suit India’s needs perfectly on a relatively slow Dubai pitch. Kane Williamson (New Zealand): Williamson is regarded as one of modern cricket’s batting greats, and his never-diminishing hunger for runs in big tournaments makes him stand out in every competition. The former Kiwi captain was his side’s top scorer in the group match against India, and his teammates will hope that on Sunday he can add to his one century and 11 fifties against India. Matt Henry (New Zealand): The pacer is the tournament’s leading wicket taker, but his participation in the final hangs in the balance after an injury he sustained while fielding in the semifinal. Henry was India’s tormentor-in-chief in the group match, and should he play in the final, he will be the Blackcaps’ main threat with the ball once again. Mitchell Santner (New Zealand): New Zealand’s captain is among the world’s top all-rounders in ODIs, and his left-arm spin will be crucial on the spin-friendly tracks in Dubai. Santner is a capable batter in the lower order and has the ability to hit big shots when the need arises. Virat Kohli is India’s leading run scorer in the Champions Trophy [File: Altaf Qadri/AP] What are the key player match-ups for the final? Advertisement Gill vs Henry: The world’s leading batter vs the tournament’s leading bowler. Henry was responsible for trapping Gill early in the group match with an in-dipping delivery and can cause further problems in the final if he dismisses Gill cheaply once again. Kohli vs Santner: Kohli has rarely thrown his wicket away after settling at the top of the order, but India’s leading century maker in ODIs can be susceptible to left-arm spin bowling. Santner’s wily bowling and Kohli’s patient batting could prove an enthralling battle in the final. Williamson vs Mohammed Shami: The Indian pacer’s return after a prolonged injury layoff has unfolded almost perfectly as he has taken eight wickets in four matches. India will rely on Shami’s experience to undo Williamson, who rarely offers any weaknesses in big games. Rachin Ravindra vs Hardik Pandya: The rising star of world cricket with Indian roots has averaged 75 in the tournament, and although he was dismissed cheaply in the group match, Ravindra continues to pose a threat, one that India will hope Pandya’s experienced pace and bounce will counter – as he did in the group match. Rachin Ravindra has a knack for scoring big runs in ICC events [File: Aamir Qureshi/AFP] What’s the weather forecast for the final in Dubai? The final will be played on a bright and sunny day with no chance of rain and a light breeze forecast in Dubai on Sunday. Temperatures will be the highest when the match gets under way at about 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 degrees Fahrenheit) and are forecast to drop to 28C (82.4F) in the evening. Advertisement How will the Dubai pitch play during the final? The hosting of all India matches in Dubai while the other teams
Nigerian Senate suspends female senator who made sexual harassment claim
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is suspended for six months after she makes an accusation against Senate President Akpabio. The Nigerian Senate has suspended a female senator after she accused its presiding officer of sexual harassment. Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was barred from office from Thursday and will have her allowances and security withdrawn for six months after she made an accusation against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who denied the claims against him. On Wednesday, the Senate ethics committee rejected Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition about the alleged harassment, citing procedural rule violations. Her subsequent suspension was justified over an earlier argument that erupted in the Senate about a change in her seating arrangement. In a TV interview on February 28, Akpoti-Uduaghan – one of only four women in the 109-seat chamber – alleged that Akpabio made unwanted sexual advances towards her in 2023. “This injustice will not be sustained,” she said on Thursday after she was prevented from speaking in the Senate and escorted out of the chamber by the sergeant-at-arms. Akpabio has publicly denied any wrongdoing. “Since the 20th of February, I have been inundated with phone calls from various Nigerians. I would like to state that at no time did I sexually harass Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan,” he said, speaking at the start of a plenary session on Wednesday. *Letter to the Nigerian Senate* The Petition of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Must Be Independently Investigated and Openly Discussed in a Public Hearing that the Accused Does Not Preside. Two Demands: 1. Swiftly Appoint an Independent Investigator on the Petition of… pic.twitter.com/rdUkDoR7uU — Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 6, 2025 Advertisement Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Nigeria’s north-central Kogi Central district, shared a statement on her Facebook page in reaction to the suspension. “Against the culture of silence, intimidation and victim-shaming; my unjust suspension from the Nigerian Senate invalidates the principles of natural justice, fairness and equity,” she said. “The illegal suspension does not withdraw my legitimacy as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I will continue to use my duly elected position to serve my constituents and country to the best of my ability till 2027 and beyond.” Ethics committee ‘not fit for purpose’? Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele said Akpoti-Uduaghan should use her suspension to “learn the rules of the Senate”. “I asked her what she will gain if she tries to pull the Senate president down,” Bamidele said during the consideration of the petition on the Senate floor. Critics like Chioma Agwuegbo, executive director of the women’s rights organisation TechHerNG, condemned the ethics committee’s handling of the case, alleging bias. “The ethics committee to which her petition was referred has shown that it is not fit for purpose,” Agwuegbo said. Many prominent Nigerian figures and groups have called for a transparent investigation. Many women also expressed their anger over the expulsion on social media with some calling it “oppression”. Two groups of protesters gathered at the National Assembly ground on Wednesday in the capital, Abuja, one in support of Akpabio and the other for Akpoti-Uduaghan, chanting ”Akpabio must go.” Advertisement Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a lawsuit against the Senate president, seeking 100 billion naira ($64,000) in damages. While rare in Nigeria’s National Assembly, this is not the first time a case involving sexual harassment or assault has emerged. Senator Dino Melaye was accused of threatening to sexually assault Senator Remi Tinubu, the country’s current first lady, but was never charged. Adblock test (Why?)