Patna: Reigning champion Mohsin Ahmed of Bengaluru has established lead at the end of the first scoring round of the eighth edition of the annual global contest Indian Crossword League, popularly called IXL.

Ahmed is followed by Chennai's Ramki Krishnan at the second position. Ramki has won the contest four times in the last seven editions, an IXL release said on Sunday.

Three overseas players Sowmya Ramkumar (3rd), Philip Coote (6th) and Koh Ting Sween Kenny (7th) have also made it to the top 10. The contest, which was open to Indians across the world earlier, has been thrown open to foreigners from this edition, the release said.

There will be eight more weekly online rounds before the offline 'Grand Finale' to be held in Bengaluru, the date for which will be decided later.

The top 30 participants on the cumulative leader board will take part in the final. Started in 2013, IXL has been acknowledged as one of its kind by the Limca Book of Records, the release said.

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Tehran: A senior member of the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is being quoted by Iranian media amid conflicting reports about his status in the ongoing conflict with Israel and the United States.

According to Iranian media reports, the official said, “Ayatollah Khamenei is steadfast and resolute, and is actively commanding the field.” The remarks were made in response to widespread unverified reports circulated in some foreign media that claimed the supreme leader had been killed in recent US–Israeli strikes on Iran.

The statement counters reports suggesting a change in Iran’s leadership after the military escalation. There has been no independent confirmation of Khamenei’s status.