Veteran sports journalist Harpal Singh Bedi passes away
New Delhi (PTI): Veteran sports journalist Harpal Singh Bedi, who covered several highs and lows of Indian sports in a career spanning over four decades, served as the national Olympic contingent's press attache in 2012 and charmed the media box with his inimitable wit and warmth, died after prolonged illness here on Saturday.
He was 72 and is survived by his wife Revathi and daughter Pallavi.
The former sports editor of the United News of India (UNI) was among the tallest figures in Indian sports journalism and was working as a consulting editor of the Statesman newspaper for the last couple of years.
His awe-inspiring work experience included on-ground coverage of eight Olympic Games, "hard to count" Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, World Cups of cricket and hockey, and world and national championships of athletics and other major Olympic sports.
Not to be forgotten was his ability to be a mentor to young journalists in the press box. He could make nervous newbies comfortable with his trademark humour.
"Harpal Singh Bedi was a quintessential newsman, loved and respected...," said veteran journalist and sports administrator G Rajaraman as he paid tributes to his former colleague.
"His finger was on the pulse of Indian sport and sports administration," Rajaraman, who will be India's press attache at the upcoming Paris Olympics, told PTI.
A close friend of Bishan Singh Bedi, he was also often mistaken for the late Indian spin great.
"We are close friends you know, I am BSB, he is HSB. We go back a long way," the former India captain, who passed away in 2023 after battling multiple health problems, had told this correspondent once.
An alumnus of the prestigious Jawahar Lal Nehru University, where he did his Masters and M. Phil from the School of International Studies, Bedi was considered a father figure in sports journalism by his colleagues.
He was witness to the change and growth in the country's sporting landscape from the time P T Usha attained worldwide fame with her fourth place finish in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics to the epoch-making gold medal that Abhinav Bindra won in the 2008 Beijing Games.
Bedi's fame also transcended borders and he became a popular figure with Pakistani journalists when he toured the country with the Indian cricket teams in 2004 and 2005. He quite literally became a story for the local journalists for his jovial personality.
"His understanding of the Indo-Pak relationship was at par with the best foreign affairs experts," Rajaram recalled.
Senior Pakistani sports journalist Rasheed Shakoor was among those who befriended Bedi during these tours.
"Unke paas khabron ke saath saath lateefon ka bhi khazana hota tha (He was a treasure trove of both news and jokes)," Shakoor told PTI.
"His was such a jolly personality. It was so easy to become his friend. I once wrote a piece about how he was mistaken for Bishan Singh Bedi and was interviewed by a TV channel.
"I called him for a comment and I remember he laughed so much and made fun of me for writing about it. Bohot hi pyaare insaan, jo respect dete the, aur badle mein unhe bohot respect milti thi (He was a lovely human being. He gave respect to others and also earned a lot of respect)."
The only recorded instances of Bedi not being his jovial self in the press box were the times when the Indian hockey team performed poorly.
A passionate follower of the sport, Bedi could be seen muttering under his breath in frustration while furiously typing his reports much to the amusement of his colleagues.
"The only journalist I knew who could laugh at himself. The press box will not be the same without him," said Vijay Lokapally, the former senior editor of 'The Hindu'.
However, Bedi's health had deteriorated in the past one year and he mostly kept to himself.
"Harpal Singh Bedi ji, the most cheerful among sports journalists, is no longer among us. Rest in peace," 2008 Olympic bronze-winning boxer Vijender Singh posted on his social media page, offering his tributes.
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Pope urges 'all people of all nations' to silence arms and overcome divisions in Christmas address
Vatican City, Dec 25: Pope Francis in his traditional Christmas message Wednesday urged “all people of all nations” to find courage during this Holy Year “to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions” plaguing the world, from the Middle East to Ukraine, Africa to Asia.
The pontiff's “Urbi et Orbi” — “To the City and the World” — address serves as a summary of the woes facing the world this year. As Christmas coincided with the start of the 2025 Holy Year celebration that he dedicated to hope, Francis called for broad reconciliation, “even (with) our enemies.”
"I invite every individual, and all people of all nations ... to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions,'' the pope said from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to throngs of people below.
The pope invoked the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, which he opened on Christmas Eve to launch the 2025 Jubilee, as representing God's mercy, which “unties every knot; it tears down every wall of division; it dispels hatred and the spirit of revenge.”
He called for arms to be silenced in war-torn Ukraine and in the Middle East, singling out Christian communities in Israel and the Palestinian territories, “particularly in Gaza where the humanitarian situation is extremely grave,” as well as Lebanon and Syria “at this most delicate time.”
Francis repeated his calls for the release of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
He cited a deadly outbreak of measles in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the suffering of the people of Myanmar, forced to flee their homes by “the ongoing clash of arms.” The pope likewise remembered children suffering from war and hunger, the elderly living in solitude, those fleeing their homelands, who have lost their jobs, and are persecuted for their faith.
Pilgrims were lined up on Christmas Day to walk through the great Holy Door at the entrance of St. Peter's Basilica, as the Jubilee is expected to bring some 32 million Catholic faithful to Rome.
Traversing the Holy Door is one way that the faithful can obtain indulgences, or forgiveness for sins during a Jubilee, a once-every-quarter-century tradition that dates from 1300.
Pilgrims submitted to security controls before entering the Holy Door, amid new security fears following a deadly Christmas market attack in Germany. Many paused to touch the door as they passed and made the sign of the cross upon entering the basilica dedicated to St. Peter, the founder of the Roman Catholic Church.
“You feel so humble when you go through the door that once you go through is almost like a release, a release of emotions,'' said Blanca Martin, a pilgrim from San Diego. "... It's almost like a release of emotions, you feel like now you are able to let go and put everything in the hands of God. See I am getting emotional. It's just a beautiful experience.”
A Chrismukkah miracle as Hanukkah and Christmas coincide
Hanukkah, Judaism's eight-day Festival of Lights, begins this year on Christmas Day, which has only happened four times since 1900.
The calendar confluence has inspired some religious leaders to host interfaith gatherings, such as a Hanukkah party hosted last week by several Jewish organizations in Houston, Texas, bringing together members of the city's Latino and Jewish communities for latkes, the traditional potato pancake eaten on Hanukkah, topped with guacamole and salsa.
While Hanukkah is intended as an upbeat, celebratory holiday, rabbis note that it's taking place this year as wars rage in the Middle East and fears rise over widespread incidents of antisemitism. The holidays overlap infrequently because the Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles and is not in sync with the Gregorian calendar, which sets Christmas on Dec. 25. The last time Hanukkah began on Christmas Day was in 2005.
Iraqi Christians persist in their faith
Christians in Nineveh Plains attended Christmas Mass on Tuesday at the Mar Georgis church in the center of Telaskaf, Iraq, with security concerns about the future. “We feel that they will pull the rug out from under our feet at any time. Our fate is unknown here,” said Bayda Nadhim, a resident of Telaskaf.
Iraq's Christians, whose presence there goes back nearly to the time of Christ, belong to a number of rites and denominations. They once constituted a sizeable minority in Iraq, estimated at around 1.4 million.
But the community has steadily dwindled since the 2003 US-led invasion and further in 2014 when the Islamic State group swept through the area. The exact number of Christians left in Iraq is unclear, but they are thought to number several hundred thousand.
German celebrations muted by market attack
German celebrations were darkened by a car attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday that left five people dead, including a 9-year-old boy, and 200 people injured. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier rewrote his recorded Christmas Day speech to address the attack, saying that “there is grief, pain, horror and incomprehension over what took place in Magdeburg.” He urged Germans to “stand together” and that “hate and violence must not have the last word.”
A 50-year-old Saudi doctor who had practiced medicine in Germany since 2006 was arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and bodily harm. The suspect's X account describes him as a former Muslim and is filled with anti-Islamic themes. He criticized authorities for failing to combat “the Islamification of Germany” and voiced support for the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
