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Prosecutors in the trial of the man accused of attacking Salman Rushdie told jurors Monday that the author came “dangerously close” to dying in a frenzied assault that left him blind in one eye.Hadi Matar, a 27-year-old Lebanese-American who said “free Palestine” as he entered court, is charged with attempted murder and assault over the August 12, 2022 attack at an arts event in western New York state.Matar is accused of stabbing Rushdie about 10 times with a knife, leaving him in grave condition and without sight in his right eye, and also slashing another speaker at the gathering.Prosecutor District Attorney Jason Schmidt told how Rushdie, who has faced death threats since the release of his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses,” had just taken his seat in the amphitheater in front of about 1,000 people.”A young medium-build man wearing a dark colored facemask… appeared from the rear of the theater,” Schmidt said. “Once on the stage, he rapidly accelerated into a full-out run.””(Matar) forcefully and efficiently and with speed plunged the knife into Mr Rushdie over and over and over again… swinging, slashing into Mr Rushdie’s head, neck, abdomen, upper thigh.”Schmidt said Rushdie, an Indian-born British and American citizen, raised his hands to defend himself but remained seated after several blows landed.- Blood, screaming -“The Satanic Verses” was declared blasphemous by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who issued a fatwa, or religious edict, in 1989 calling on Muslims anywhere in the world to kill Rushdie.Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant organization Hezbollah endorsed the fatwa, the FBI has said, and Matar faces a separate prosecution in federal court on terrorism charges.Matar, who wore a blue shirt and frequently conferred with his five-strong legal team in the ornate courtroom Monday, previously told the New York Post that he had only read two pages of Rushdie’s novel but believed the author had “attacked Islam.”New York-based Rushdie, now 77, suffered multiple stab wounds before bystanders subdued the attacker, later identified by police as Matar.Venue employee Deborah Moore Kushmaul said she picked up the discarded knife, which she indicated had a six-inch blade, and gave it to police.”I could see blood, I could see (bystanders) piling on. Our audience, many of whom were elderly, were screaming,” she said.  “My main concern was seeing all the bags that there might be a bomb, that there might be another attacker.” Matar came “dangerously close” to killing Rushdie, Schmidt said, reporting that the author was stabbed through the right eye with such ferocity that it severed the optical nerve.Rushdie’s Adam’s apple was also partially lacerated, and his liver and small bowel penetrated.”His blood pressure was low — he lost so much blood,” said the prosecutor.Rushdie was not in court Monday but is expected to testify at the trial.- Life under fatwa -One of Matar’s lawyers, Lynn Schaffer, said in an opening argument punctuated with Super Bowl references and bouts of coughing that prosecutors would seek to present the case as “straightforward — open and shut.””Pay attention to the assumptions that the police witnesses make… how does that color the way they investigate this case?” she said. “They assume things about Mr Matar that affect the way they investigate.”A large media presence has gathered in the small lakefront resort town of Mayville near the Canadian border to follow the trial.Matar’s defense team sought a delay in the case as his primary lawyer has been hospitalized, but judge David Foley denied the request.Matar’s side also sought to have the trial moved from Mayville, near where Rushdie was attacked, arguing a fair trial with local jurors was impossible.Rushdie lived in seclusion in London for a decade after the fatwa, but for the past 20 years — until the attack — he lived relatively normally in New York.Last year, he published a memoir called “Knife” in which he recounted the near-death experience.”Why didn’t I fight? Why didn’t I run? I just stood there,” Rushdie wrote.Iran has denied any link to the attacker — but said only Rushdie was to blame for the incident.The case continues Tuesday.

Prosecutors in the trial of the man accused of attacking Salman Rushdie described to jurors Monday how the “Satanic Verses” author was stabbed repeatedly in a frenzied assault that left him blind in one eye.Hadi Matar, a 27-year-old Lebanese-American who said “free Palestine” as he was led into court, is charged with attempted murder and assault over the August 12, 2022 attack at an arts event in the west of New York state.Matar is accused of stabbing Rushdie about 10 times, leaving him in grave condition and without sight in his right eye.Prosecutor District Attorney Jason Schmidt told how Rushdie had just taken his seat in the amphitheater in front of about 1,000 people.”A young medium build man wearing dark colored facemask… appeared from the rear of the theater,” Schmidt said. “Once on the stage he rapidly, accelerated into a full-out run.”(Matar) forcefully and efficiently and with speed plunged the knife into Mr Rushdie over and over and over again… swinging, slashing into Mr Rushdie’s head, neck, abdomen, upper thigh.”Schmidt said Rushdie raised his hands to defend himself but remained seated after several blows had been landed.The celebrated Indian-born writer, a naturalized American based in New York, has faced death threats since his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses” was declared blasphemous by Iran’s supreme leader.Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or religious edict, in 1989 calling on Muslims anywhere in the world to kill Rushdie.Hezbollah endorsed the fatwa, the FBI has said, and Matar faces a separate prosecution in federal court on terrorism charges.Matar, who wore a blue shirt and frequently conferred with his five-strong legal team in the ornate courtroom, previously told the New York Post that he had only read two pages of Rushdie’s novel but believed the author had “attacked Islam.”Rushdie, now 77, suffered multiple stab wounds before attendees and guards could subdue the attacker, later identified by police as Matar.- Life under fatwa -A large media presence has gathered in the small lakefront resort town of Mayville near the Canadian border to follow the trial.Matar’s defense team sought a delay in the case as his primary lawyer has been hospitalized, but judge David Foley denied that.Matar’s side had previously sought to have the trial moved from Mayville, near where Rushdie was attacked, arguing a fair trial from the 12 jurors and four alternates recruited from the local area was impossible.Rushdie lived in seclusion in London for the first decade after the fatwa was issued, but for the past 20 years — until the attack — he lived a relatively normal life in New York.He was not in court Monday.Last year, he published a memoir called “Knife” in which he recounted the near-death experience.”Why didn’t I fight? Why didn’t I run? I just stood there like a pinata and let him smash me,” Rushdie wrote. “It didn’t feel dramatic, or particularly awful. It just felt probable… matter-of-fact.”Iran has denied any link to the attacker — but said only Rushdie was to blame for the incident.Rushdie explained in “Knife” that the attack has not changed his view on his most famous work. “I am proud of the work I’ve done, and that very much includes ‘The Satanic Verses.’ If anyone’s looking for remorse, you can stop reading right here,” he said.Rushdie has said that he did not want to attend the fateful talk, and two days before the incident he had a dream of being attacked by a gladiator with a spear in a Roman amphitheater.”And then I thought, ‘Don’t be silly. It’s a dream,'” he told CBS.

Pop megastar Ed Sheeran has denied that he unlawfully serenaded the Indian public after police said he lacked the necessary permission to play and abruptly terminated a street performance.The British singer-songwriter and four-time Grammy winner is touring the world’s most populous country but took time out between concerts to busk to a surprised crowd in tech hub Bengaluru on Sunday. Videos shared on social media show a police officer disconnecting his microphone midway through a rendition of his hit “Shape of You” on Church Street, a bustling retail hub.Local authorities said that while Sheeran had a permit to play at concerts, that did not extend to impromptu outdoor performances.”He is a very famous singer and naturally there will be chaos. To prevent that, police had not given him permission,” Karnataka’s home minister G. Parameshwara said on Monday. “In spite of that, he has come and tried to perform, so police prevented him. Nothing beyond that.” Sheeran denied he had broken the law, saying he had been granted permission to busk “in that exact spot”. “It wasn’t just us randomly turning up,” he wrote on Instagram shortly after the incident, adding magnanimously that it was “all good though”.Local lawmaker PC Mohan said on Sunday that “even global stars must follow local rules — no permit, no performance!”Social media users were critical of the police yanking out Sheeran’s microphone cables, with one calling it “abysmal and embarrassing.”Another criticised Indian police for failing to effectively prosecute crimes against women, but Sheeran “singing on the street is where they draw the line”.Sheeran is currently on a six-city tour of India and also had a sold-out performance in Mumbai last year.Booming demand from young affluent Indians looking to splurge on new entertainment experiences are drawing international acts to play in the country.British rock band Coldplay performed what it called its “biggest-ever show” at a massive cricket stadium in the western city of Ahmedabad in January.

India on Monday celebrated captain Rohit Sharma’s return to form after a match-winning ODI century against England on the eve of the Champions Trophy.Rohit slammed his 32nd one-day ton to lead India to a series-clinching victory in the second match against the visitors on Sunday following months of speculation over his future.”The Hitman Returns,” the Times of India newspaper triumphantly declared.The 37-year-old opener struggled in the 3-1 Test loss in Australia last month and was not involved in the final match because of poor form.He got out for two in the ODI opener but regained his mojo in Cuttack to hit 119 off 90 balls in a knock of 12 fours and seven sixes.”The good thing is that before an important tournament like the Champions Trophy, scoring a hundred is a huge boost,” spinner Ravindra Jadeja said after the four-wicket win over England.”It’s great for the team, and obviously, he himself knows his game well.”India will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 before a blockbuster clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai three days later.The captain displayed an array of strokes with flicks, drives and his trademark pull to steer India’s chase of 305, won with 33 balls to spare.Rohit scored just 31 runs in three Tests against Australia and averaged 10.37 across formats in his previous 16 innings before the current series.He quit T20 internationals after leading India to World Cup glory last year but the lean patch raised doubts over his future in ODIs and Tests. “Every time I walk on the pitch I want to try and do well,” Rohit said in a video posted on the Indian cricket board’s website.”Sometimes it happens, sometimes it may not happen.”He added: “That mindset of how to get runs, how to score runs sounds very simple, but it is quite difficult.”Rohit is 13 short of 11,000 ODI runs ahead of Wednesday’s final match against England in Ahmedabad.Star batsman Virat Kohli has also been under fire for underperforming and after missing the series opener due to a sore right knee, got out for five on Sunday.

Skipper Rohit Sharma defied a floodlight failure to return to form with a cracking 119 as India swept to a four-wicket, series-clinching win over England in the second one-day international on Sunday.Chasing 305 for victory, Rohit’s 90-ball knock, laced with 12 fours and seven sixes, set up the chase as India achieved victory with 33 balls to spare in Cuttack.The hosts took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, which comes ahead of the 50-over Champions Trophy starting February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai.Rohit, 37, reigned supreme with his 32nd ODI ton in 76 balls with a six off leg-spinner Adil Rashid after he put on 136 runs with opening partner Shubman Gill.”It was good, really enjoyed being out there, scoring some runs for the team,” Rohit said after being named player of the match in his 50th ODI as captain of India.On his batting plans, Rohit said, “I broke it into pieces how I wanted to bat. It’s a format that is longer than T20 cricket and a lot shorter than Tests. Still, you need to assess and bat according to the situation.”Rohit, who scored two in the opening match, took on the bowlers with a flurry of boundaries.A 20-minute break due to a floodlight failure at the ground did not stop Rohit, who reached his fifty to overcome a lean patch in India’s recent Test series defeat in Australia.He averaged just 10.37 in his previous 16 innings before the ODI series across all formats in the 2024-25 season.Rohit, who displayed an array of strokes including his trademark pull, finally fell to Liam Livingstone’s leg-spin and walked off to a standing ovation.Vice-captain Gill, who made 60, struck his second successive half-century in 45 balls after he made 87 in the opening win.- Kohli flops -Jamie Overton took down Gill and India lost Virat Kohli, who missed the opener due to a sore right knee, caught behind for five off Rashid.India stuttered in the middle but Shreyas Iyer’s 44 and an unbeaten 41 by Axar Patel steered the team home.Earlier Ben Duckett and Joe Root stood out for England with scores of 65 and 69 to help their team to 304 all out in 49.5 overs.Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja returned figures of 3-35.The left-handed Duckett came out firing and put on 81 with opening partner Phil Salt, who made 26.Duckett reached his 50 off 36 balls before Salt became debutant spinner Varun Chakravarthy’s first ODI wicket.Duckett was dismissed by by left-arm spinner Jadeja, dropping to his knees in disappointment.Harry Brook joined Root, who played his second ODI since his return to the format after the 2023 World Cup, and the two rebuilt the innings in a 66-run third-wicket stand.Fast bowler Harshit Rana sent Brook back for 31, with Gill taking a stunning catch running backwards from mid-on.Root stood firm and put on 51 with skipper Jos Buttler before England lost three quick wickets, but Livingstone’s 41 boosted the total.”We played the powerplay brilliant, we needed someone to kick on and a score around 330-350 would have been defendable,” said Buttler.On the final match in Ahmedabad on Wednesday and the following Champions Trophy plans, Buttler said, “Just keep making steps in the right direction, the results are not there but we need to keep going and be positive.”Brief scores:England 304 all out in 49.5 overs (J. Root 69, B. Duckett 65, L. Livingstone 41; R. Jadeja 3-35) v India 308-6 in 44.3 overs (R. Sharma 119, S. Gill 60, S. Iyer 44, A. Patel 41 not out; J. Overton 2-27)Result: India won by four wicketsToss: EnglandSeries: India lead the three-match series 2-0

Opener Ben Duckett and Joe Root hit half-centuries to help England reach 304 all out in the second one-day international against India on Sunday as they look to keep the series alive.England opted to bat first at Cuttack in a match where star India batsman Virat Kohli returned to the team after he missed the opener won by the hosts.The three-match ODI series comes ahead of the 50-over Champions Trophy tournament starting in Pakistan and Dubai on February 19.Duckett smashed 65 off 56 balls, and Root hit 69, before Liam Livingstone’s 41 took the total past 300. However, three run outs in the final two overs saw England bowled out in 49.5 overs.Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja returned figures of 3-35 from his 10 overs.The left-handed Duckett came out firing and put on 81 runs with opening partner Phil Salt, who made 26.Salt survived a reprieve on six, when Axar Patel dropped a simple catch at deep backward point off fast bowler Hardik Pandya.Duckett reached his 50 off 36 balls before Salt became debutant spinner Varun Chakravarthy’s first ODI wicket.Duckett looked solid but went for an ambitious heave off left-arm spinner Jadeja and was caught at long-on, dropping to his knees in disappointment.Harry Brook joined Root, who is playing his second ODI since his return to the format after the 2023 World Cup, and the two rebuilt the innings in a 66-run third-wicket stand.Fast bowler Harshit Rana sent Brook back on 31, with vice-captain Shubman Gill taking a stunning catch running backwards from mid-on.Root stood firm and put on 51 runs with skipper Jos Buttler before England lost three quick wickets.Pandya removed Buttler for 34 and then Root and Jamie Overton both fell to Jadeja as England slipped to 258-6.Batting all-rounder Livingstone hit two fours and two sixes in his 32-ball knock and put on a key stand with number nine Adil Rashid, who hit 14 off five balls.India need 305 to clinch the series.Brief scores:England 304 all out in 49.5 overs (B. Duckett 65, J. Root 69, L. Livingstone 41; R. Jadeja 3-35) v IndiaToss: England

The Dalai Lama led prayers in India on Sunday mourning the loss of his elder brother, a veteran leader of the exiled Tibetan people, who has died aged 97.Gyalo Thondup was born in 1928, more than three decades before the 1959 revolt in Lhasa against Chinese forces, whose crushing forced the Dalai Lama across snowy Himalayan passes into India.He later led the Tibetan government in exile as chairman of its “Kashag” or cabinet in the early 1990s, and was the personal emissary of the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama, speaking Sunday in prayers at the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in southern India, said elder brother “did his best, and was very dedicated and brave”.The spiritual leader offered prayers “for the fulfilment of the deceased’s wish to be able to work closely with the Dalai Lama for the Tibetan cause in all his future lives”.Thondup died in India on Saturday evening.The fading generation of Tibet leaders — especially those who can remember what their homeland was like before the 1959 uprising — raises worries amongst many in the diaspora for the future. The 89-year-old Dalai Lama says he has decades yet to live, but Tibetans who have followed him abroad are bracing for an inevitable time without him.China says Tibet is an integral part of the country, and many exiled Tibetans fear Beijing will name a rival successor to the Dalai Lama, bolstering control over a land it poured troops into in 1950.- ‘The world is changing’ -Tibet has alternated over the centuries between independence and control by China, which says it “peacefully liberated” the rugged plateau and brought infrastructure and education.The International Campaign for Tibet group said Thondup was the “point person to take up the Tibetan issue internationally” after the Lhasa uprising.He was also key among those who reached out to the CIA for supplies to a 2,000-strong force to launch guerrilla attacks against Chinese forces as a Cold War proxy.During the 1960s they snuck into Tibet from Nepal’s mountainous kingdom of Mustang to lay ambushes, including blowing up Chinese army trucks.But after the CIA cut funding, and the Dalai Lama in 1974 urged fighters to lay down arms, the fighters and Thondup followed his call for a peaceful solution.Thondup, speaking in 2008, is quoted as saying that he hoped China would take a more “reasonable approach and treat us equally”.Despite little sign of policy shifts from Beijing, including rounds of negotiations in which he had a major role, he said he had not lost hope for a peaceful resolution.”Have you ever dreamed? China is changing, the world is changing,” he said. “I’m quite optimistic”.

Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne said Sunday it had been “a very emotional day” after his 100th and final Test ended with a defeat to Australia.The veteran opening batsman Karunaratne was given the honour of bowling the final few balls as Australia wrapped up a nine-wicket win and series sweep before lunch on the fourth day in Galle.”It has been a long career — after my family and friends, I was spending most time with my teammates,” he said.”I am leaving them, but this team will be always in my heart.”The 36-year-old former skipper was a rock at the top of the Sri Lankan order for more than a decade, but had gone 25 innings without a century.He had announced before the second Test in Galle that it would be his farewell to the five-day game.”When I started my cricket, I just wanted to play one Test match,” he said. “To go on to play 100 Tests was amazing. Playing cricket for so long has been a privilege”.Renowned for his cool head and affable nature, Karunaratne also proved a shrewd leader.Taking over the captaincy at a turbulent time in 2019, he led Sri Lanka to a historic series win in South Africa. To this day, Sri Lanka remain the only Asian team to conquer the Proteas in their own backyard.Karunaratne relinquished the captaincy in 2023, saying it was time for younger cricketers to lead.He said that after a playing career with “lots of happy memories” he now wanted to spend time with his family, and move into coaching.”I intend to take up coaching,” he said Sunday. “I want to get qualified … I will start coaching either here or overseas.

Australia wrapped up a dominant 2-0 sweep of the Test series against Sri Lanka at Galle on Sunday, romping to a nine-wicket victory before lunch on day four.Set a modest target of 75 to win, Australia lost only Travis Head as they stormed to a commanding victory in a ruthless display from the world’s top-ranked Test side.Head and Usman Khawaja put on 38 for the first wicket, looking at ease on a turning wicket.Prabath Jayasuriya removed Head, caught behind but Marnus Labuschagne with 26 and Khawaja, 27, knocked off the runs.With three runs required for the win, Dimuth Karunaratne, playing his 100th and final Test match, was called up to bowl.Labuschagne flicked his third delivery to midwicket to level the scores, and with another flick on the next ball, sealed the win 16 minutes before lunch.- ‘It’s been a privilege’ -“When I started my cricket, I just wanted to play one Test match,” said Karunaratne. “To go on to play 100 Tests was amazing. Playing cricket for so long has been a privilege”.Australia had inflicted an innings and 242-run defeat on Sri Lanka in the first Test, the host’s worst ever defeat.The second Test victory triggered jubilant celebrations among the Australian fans, who far outnumbered the home contingent in the stands.Many were perched on top of the centuries-old Galle Fort. One banner declared “South Africa, you’re next!” in reference to the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June.Australia had been aware of the dangers of Galle’s turning pitches and had prepared with a week-long training camp in Dubai on similar tracks.The Australian batting unit delivered a masterclass, with a double hundred and four centuries in the two matches. No Sri Lanka batsman managed a century, with Kusal Mendis’s unbeaten 85 the highest individual score.Steve Smith’s men began Sunday’s fourth day by bundling Sri Lanka out for 231 from 211-8 overnight.Sri Lanka’s resistance lasted just 26 minutes, losing Kusal Mendis for 50 and Lahiru Kumara for nine. Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon shared the spoils with four wickets apiece in the innings. But left-arm spinner Kuhnemann, playing just his fifth Test, upstaged the seasoned Lyon in the series to finish as the leading wicket-taker with 16.Lyon did go past 550 Test wickets in the match, becoming only the third Australian after Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath to reach the milestone.Sri Lanka’s fragile batting meant their fortunes rested heavily on Kusal Mendis, who had already played a fine hand in the first innings with an unbeaten 85.In the second innings, he carried on the fight, bringing up his half-century with a crisp punch through covers off Lyon.Off the next ball, Mendis was done in by extra bounce, top-edging an attempted flick straight into the hands of Steve Smith for his 200th Test catch.The Australian skipper became only the fifth player in Test history to complete 200 catches –- alongside Rahul Dravid, Joe Root, Mahela Jayawardene and Jacques Kallis.Winning skipper Smith praised his side. “The way the guys have played is exceptional,” he said.