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A fter 34 rebel MLAs sub- mitted a signed letter to the Governor “re-affirming” that their leader Eknath Shinde “is and continues” to be leader of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said here on Wednesday that he was pre- pared to quit both his posts as the CM and the party chief if the rebels were to meet him and express their lack of con- fidence in his leadership. Within hours after the rebel Sena MLAs, led by their leader Minister Eknath Shinde, flew from Surat to Guwahati by a special charted aircraft, a let- ter was submitted on their behalf to the office of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Deputy Speaker and Secretary of the State Assembly, declaring that Shinde continues to be the leader of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party (SSLP). The resolution that the rebel MLAs submitted to the Governor in the form of a letter carried the signatures of 34 rebel MLAs. On part, Sena president and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray played an emotion- al card as he went live on Facebook and spoke to the peo- ple of Maharashtra, wherein he made it clear: “I have no greed for power. Nor would I remain stuck to the chair. Let the rebel MLAs come and tell me that I am not good enough to hold this position. I will quit as both the Chief Minister and the party chief. You all know that despite my lack of administra- tive experience, my govern- ment performed extremely well during the Covid-19 period”. In his first reaction on the rebellion that his rocked the Shiv Sena after his number-two minister and senior party Eknath Shinde took away a group of 30-odd party MLAs, including three ministers, to a hotel at Surat in Gujarat, Uddhav said: “But why go to Surat or some other places to say this… He (Shinde) could have just come to me and talked to me as what he had in his mind. I would have quit my post immediately”. Uddhav said that both the NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had supported right through and continued to sup- port him. “But, what can I do if my own people do not want me to continue as the CM. I am ready to resign as the CM. Let the rebel MLAs come and tell me that they do not want me. A powerful earthquake struck a rugged, moun- tainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in the country’s deadliest quake in two decades, the state-run news agency reported. Officials warned that the already grim toll may still rise. In the remote area near the Pakistani border, residents searched for survivors and the dead by digging with their bare hands through the rubble of collapsed stone and mud- brick houses, according to footage shown by news agency Bakhtar. It was not immediately clear if major rescue equipment was being sent — or even if it could reach the area. The extent of the destruc- tion among the villages tucked among the mountains was still not known. Rutted roads — difficult to pass in the best of times — may have sustained significant damage, and a UNICEF official said land- slides from recent rains have made access even more diffi- cult. At least 2,000 homes were destroyed in the region, where on average every home has seven or eight people living in it, the UN Deputy Special Representative to Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov told reporters. The disaster posed a major test for Afghanistan’s Taliban government, which seized power nearly 10 months ago as the US and its NATO allies were carrying out their with- drawal from the country and has been largely shunned by the world community since. Related reports on P9 I n a drama that unfolded after senior leader Eknath Shinde staged a massive rebel- lion and virtually spirited away 30-odd party MLAs to Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat, two Shiv Sena MLAs — who had been allegedly “kidnapped” by the rebel camp — returned to Maharashtra on Wednesday, less than 36 hours after they were taken away by the rebel camp members. On their return, the two Sena MLAs — Nitin Deshmukh from Akola and Kailas Patil from Osmanabad — said they were “misled and taken to Surat against their wishes” by the rebels group late on Monday, but they suc- ceeded in escaping from the watchful eyes of those man- aging the rebel Shinde camp. Both Patil and Deshmukh said that they were much with Chief Minister and Sena pres- ident Uddhav Thackeray and that there was no question of their indulging in rebellion or joining the rebel faction led by Eknath Shinde. Recounting the ordeal he faced and sensational escape that he made from the rebel Shinde camp, Deshmukh claimed he was “kidnapped” from Mumbai and then taken to Surat along with other rebel Sena MLAs who landed at Le Meridien Hotel at Surat on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. Talking to the media in Nagpur where he landed after his dramatic escape from the Shinde-led Sena rebel camp, Deshmukh recalled: “Around 3 am on Tuesday, I managed to escape from the hotel. I went out of the hotel to hitch a ride from some passing vehicles. I was pursued by 100-odd Gujarat policemen who prevented me from sit- ting in any vehicle and they forcibly took me to some hos- pital”. “At the hospital, the doc- tors performed some medical procedure on my body, tried to prove that I had ‘suffered a heart attack’ and gave him some injection, though I was perfectly healthy,” he said. “They treated me like some terrorist… Somehow I managed to flee from the hospital and here I am — absolutely fit and fine. I have no heart issues as the police contended,” Deshmukh said. Earlier, Deshmukh’s wife had lodged a missing com- plaint with the police that she suspected threats to his life as he was not available on phone after 7 pm on Monday. R ebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra was an “unnat- ural alliance” and it was imper- ative for his party to walk out of the coalition with the NCP and the Congress for its own sake and that of party workers. Shinde’s reaction came hours after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reached out to the rebels, saying he would quit his post if even one Sena MLA comes and tells him on his face that he was incompetent. The Sena strongman, a Cabinet minister, said the MVA, formed in November 2019, was beneficial only to alliance partners the Congress and the NCP, while ordinary Shiv Sainiks have suf- fered the most in the last two- and-a-half years of the coali- tion’s existence. “It is necessary to quit the unnatural alliance for the sake of Shiv Sainiks and the Shiv Sena. It is important to take a decision in the interest of the state,” said Shinde. I n the biggest-ever bank fraud case registered by the CBI, the agency has booked DHFL and its promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan in a fresh bank fraud case worth 34,615-crore. The CBI also conducted searches at a dozen locations in Mumbai. The CBI registered a case on complaint from Union Bank of India, Industrial Finance Branch, Mumbai, against pri- vate (borrower) company Deewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL), Bandra (East), Mumbai, its promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan and others for allegedly cheating a consortium of 17 banks led by Union Bank of India to the tune of over 34,615 crore. The individuals and entities are accused of siphoning off loans availed from these banks and falsifying the books of DHFL besides creating shell companies/false entities, which subsequently came to be known as “Bandra Book Entities”. “It was alleged that the said private company (DHFL) and its promoters had created a number of shell companies and fictitious entities (the Bandra Book Entities) and siphoned off huge funds by dis- bursing funds to such fictitious entities,” the CBI said in a statement. It was further alleged that separate audits conducted by other private audit accounting organisations had identified multiple instances of diversion of funds by the accused for per- sonal benefits and falsification of books of accounts to cam- ouflage and conceal dubious transactions, it further said. The audits also identified several instances where large value loans were provided to such fictitious entities without due diligence and without secu- rities. Instances of sanction and disbursement of loans, merely by e-mail communica- tions were allegedly found for which no loan files were main- tained in the DHFL. Searches conducted at 12 locations in Mumbai on the premises of the accused which led to recovery of incriminat- ing documents and further investigation is continuing, it added. A day after the BJP named tribal leader and former Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu as its Presidential can- didate, the Janata Dal(U) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) extended her their support, giving her more than a clear edge against Opposition can- didate Yashwant Sinha. Murmu is expected to file her nomination on June 24, accompanied by the BJP’s top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced his party JD(U)’s backing to Murmu, who could be the first tribal and the second woman to occupy the top Constitutional post. Nitish’s support to Murmu is crucial since both the JD(U) and the BJP are engaged in a bitter tussle in Bihar. Nitish, who took diverse positions in the Presidential election in the past, has expressed “delight” over the announcement of Murmu as the NDA’s presidential poll candidate. In a statement, Nitish said he received the news over the telephone from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night, whom he thanked for choosing a “trib- al woman” for the country’s highest Constitutional office. “Many thanks to the Prime Minister for choosing a tribal woman who has proven her mettle as a Minister in Odisha and during her guber- natorial stint in Jharkhand,” said Nitish. P rime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the G-7 summit in Germany on June 26 and 27 where issues like the ongoing Ukraine conflict and the situation in the strategi- cally important Indo-Pacific are likely to figure promi- nently. After he visits Germany, Modi will travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to pay his condolences on the passing away of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the former President of the Gulf nation. His visit to Germany comes against the backdrop of the majority of the members of the G-7 group criticising Russia for its military action in Ukraine. So far, India has abstained from voting against Russia in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). India has also all along favoured dialogue and diplo- macy to end the conflict. Giving details of the Prime Minister’s schedule, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday said Modi will visit the Alpine cas- tle of Schloss Elmau in south- ern Germany on June 26 and 27 to attend the annual sum- mit of G7. He had last visited Germany on May 2 to attend the meeting of the sixth edition of the India-Germany Inter- Governmental Consultations. Modi is attending the G-7 summit following an invitation by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Germany is the current chair of G7, a grouping of the world’s seven richest nations. It comprises the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Schloss Elmau, Germany, at the invi- tation of Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, for the G7 Summit under the German Presidency on June 26 to 27,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are among the top leaders attending the sum- mit. F ive Delhi Police personnel and one home guard were stabbed by a man in Shahdara Cyber Cell police station on Wednesday afternoon. Police said that they have arrested the accused who has been identified as 28-year-old Bharat Kumati. According to police, the man entered the police station and started recording a video. When he was obstructed by one of the policemen and asked the reason behind recording the video, the man suddenly took out a knife and stabbed him and other policemen. According to R Sathyasundaram, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Shahdara district, around 12.45 pm on Wednesday, Bharat came to the police station’s reception and started arguing with the policemen. “He started to shoot video and police officers there asked him to not shoot a video but Bharat took out a knife and started attacking police per- sonnel,” said the DCP, adding that one home guard, who also tried to stop him, got knife injury on his cheek. “Police personnel imme- diately closed the main gate of the police station and the accused was overpowered while he was trying to escape. The five police personnel and one home guard injured were rushed to hospital,” said the DCP. M aharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday night moved from his official residence in south Mumbai to family home in suburban Bandra, hours after offering to quit the top post amid rebellion by Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde. The CM moved out of “Varsha”, his official resi- dence, for Matoshree, the pri- vate bungalow of the Thackeray family, amid high drama as the political crisis that has rocked his Government after Shinde’s revolt two days ago, showed no signs of ebbing. Earlier, bags containing his personal belongings were seen being loaded in cars.

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Page 1: FUUYRg `WWVcd e` bfZe Rd >RYR 4> DV_R TYZVW

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After 34 rebel MLAs sub-mitted a signed letter to the

Governor “re-affirming” thattheir leader Eknath Shinde “isand continues” to be leader ofthe Shiv Sena Legislature Party,Maharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray said here onWednesday that he was pre-pared to quit both his posts asthe CM and the party chief ifthe rebels were to meet himand express their lack of con-fidence in his leadership.

Within hours after therebel Sena MLAs, led by theirleader Minister Eknath Shinde,flew from Surat to Guwahati bya special charted aircraft, a let-ter was submitted on theirbehalf to the office ofMaharashtra Governor BhagatSingh Koshyari, DeputySpeaker and Secretary of theState Assembly, declaring thatShinde continues to be theleader of the Shiv SenaLegislature Party (SSLP). Theresolution that the rebel MLAssubmitted to the Governor inthe form of a letter carried thesignatures of 34 rebel MLAs.

On part, Sena presidentand Chief Minister UddhavThackeray played an emotion-al card as he went live onFacebook and spoke to the peo-ple of Maharashtra, wherein hemade it clear: “I have no greedfor power. Nor would I remainstuck to the chair. Let the rebelMLAs come and tell me that Iam not good enough to holdthis position. I will quit as both

the Chief Minister and theparty chief. You all know thatdespite my lack of administra-tive experience, my govern-ment performed extremely wellduring the Covid-19 period”.

In his first reaction on therebellion that his rocked theShiv Sena after his number-twominister and senior partyEknath Shinde took away agroup of 30-odd party MLAs,including three ministers, to ahotel at Surat in Gujarat,Uddhav said: “But why go toSurat or some other places tosay this… He (Shinde) couldhave just come to me andtalked to me as what he had inhis mind. I would have quit mypost immediately”.

Uddhav said that both theNCP chief Sharad Pawar andCongress president SoniaGandhi had supported rightthrough and continued to sup-port him. “But, what can I doif my own people do not wantme to continue as the CM. Iam ready to resign as the CM.Let the rebel MLAs come andtell me that they do not wantme.

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Apowerful earthquakestruck a rugged, moun-

tainous region of easternAfghanistan early Wednesday,killing at least 1,000 people andinjuring 1,500 more in thecountry’s deadliest quake intwo decades, the state-runnews agency reported. Officialswarned that the already grimtoll may still rise.

In the remote area near thePakistani border, residentssearched for survivors and thedead by digging with theirbare hands through the rubble

of collapsed stone and mud-brick houses, according tofootage shown by news agencyBakhtar. It was not immediatelyclear if major rescue equipmentwas being sent — or even if itcould reach the area.

The extent of the destruc-tion among the villages tuckedamong the mountains was stillnot known. Rutted roads —difficult to pass in the best oftimes — may have sustainedsignificant damage, and aUNICEF official said land-slides from recent rains havemade access even more diffi-cult.

At least 2,000 homes weredestroyed in the region, whereon average every home hasseven or eight people living init, the UN Deputy SpecialRepresentative to AfghanistanRamiz Alakbarov toldreporters.

The disaster posed a majortest for Afghanistan’s Talibangovernment, which seizedpower nearly 10 months ago asthe US and its NATO allieswere carrying out their with-drawal from the country andhas been largely shunned by theworld community since.

Related reports on P9

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In a drama that unfoldedafter senior leader Eknath

Shinde staged a massive rebel-lion and virtually spirited away30-odd party MLAs to Surat inBJP-ruled Gujarat, two ShivSena MLAs — who had beenallegedly “kidnapped” by therebel camp — returned toMaharashtra on Wednesday,less than 36 hours after theywere taken away by the rebelcamp members.

On their return, the twoSena MLAs — NitinDeshmukh from Akola andKailas Patil from Osmanabad— said they were “misled andtaken to Surat against theirwishes” by the rebels grouplate on Monday, but they suc-ceeded in escaping from thewatchful eyes of those man-aging the rebel Shinde camp.

Both Patil and Deshmukhsaid that they were much withChief Minister and Sena pres-ident Uddhav Thackeray andthat there was no question oftheir indulging in rebellion orjoining the rebel faction led byEknath Shinde.

Recounting the ordeal hefaced and sensational escapethat he made from the rebelShinde camp, Deshmukhclaimed he was “kidnapped”from Mumbai and then taken

to Surat along with otherrebel Sena MLAs who landedat Le Meridien Hotel at Suraton the intervening night ofMonday and Tuesday.

Talking to the media inNagpur where he landed afterhis dramatic escape from theShinde-led Sena rebel camp,Deshmukh recalled: “Around3 am on Tuesday, I managedto escape from the hotel. Iwent out of the hotel to hitcha ride from some passingvehicles. I was pursued by100-odd Gujarat policemenwho prevented me from sit-ting in any vehicle and theyforcibly took me to some hos-pital”.

“At the hospital, the doc-tors performed some medicalprocedure on my body, triedto prove that I had ‘suffered aheart attack’ and gave himsome injection, though I wasperfectly healthy,” he said.

“They treated me likesome terrorist… Somehow Imanaged to flee from thehospital and here I am —absolutely fit and fine. I haveno heart issues as the policecontended,” Deshmukh said.

Earlier, Deshmukh’s wifehad lodged a missing com-plaint with the police that shesuspected threats to his life ashe was not available on phoneafter 7 pm on Monday.

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Rebel Shiv Sena leaderEknath Shinde on

Wednesday said the rulingMaha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) inMaharashtra was an “unnat-ural alliance” and it was imper-ative for his party to walk outof the coalition with the NCPand the Congress for its ownsake and that of party workers.

Shinde’s reaction camehours after Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray reachedout to the rebels, saying hewould quit his post if even oneSena MLA comes and tellshim on his face that he wasincompetent. The Senastrongman, a Cabinet minister,said the MVA, formed in

November 2019, was beneficialonly to alliance partners theCongress and the NCP, whileordinary Shiv Sainiks have suf-fered the most in the last two-and-a-half years of the coali-

tion’s existence. “It is necessaryto quit the unnatural alliancefor the sake of Shiv Sainiks andthe Shiv Sena. It is important totake a decision in the interestof the state,” said Shinde.

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In the biggest-ever bank fraudcase registered by the CBI, the

agency has booked DHFL andits promoters Kapil Wadhawanand Dheeraj Wadhawan in afresh bank fraud case worth�34,615-crore. The CBI alsoconducted searches at a dozenlocations in Mumbai.

The CBI registered a caseon complaint from Union Bankof India, Industrial FinanceBranch, Mumbai, against pri-vate (borrower) companyDeewan Housing FinanceCorporation Limited (DHFL),Bandra (East), Mumbai, itspromoters Kapil and DheerajWadhawan and others forallegedly cheating a consortiumof 17 banks led by Union Bank

of India to the tune of over�34,615 crore.

The individuals and entitiesare accused of siphoning offloans availed from these banksand falsifying the books ofDHFL besides creating shellcompanies/false entities, whichsubsequently came to be knownas “Bandra Book Entities”.

“It was alleged that thesaid private company (DHFL)and its promoters had createda number of shell companiesand fictitious entities (theBandra Book Entities) andsiphoned off huge funds by dis-bursing funds to such fictitiousentities,” the CBI said in astatement.

It was further alleged thatseparate audits conducted byother private audit accountingorganisations had identified

multiple instances of diversionof funds by the accused for per-sonal benefits and falsificationof books of accounts to cam-ouflage and conceal dubioustransactions, it further said.

The audits also identifiedseveral instances where largevalue loans were provided tosuch fictitious entities withoutdue diligence and without secu-rities. Instances of sanctionand disbursement of loans,merely by e-mail communica-tions were allegedly found forwhich no loan files were main-tained in the DHFL.

Searches conducted at 12locations in Mumbai on thepremises of the accused whichled to recovery of incriminat-ing documents and furtherinvestigation is continuing, itadded.

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Aday after the BJP namedtribal leader and former

Jharkhand Governor DraupadiMurmu as its Presidential can-didate, the Janata Dal(U) andthe Biju Janata Dal (BJD)extended her their support,giving her more than a clearedge against Opposition can-didate Yashwant Sinha.

Murmu is expected to fileher nomination on June 24,accompanied by the BJP’s topleaders, including PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

Bihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar announced hisparty JD(U)’s backing toMurmu, who could be thefirst tribal and the secondwoman to occupy the topConstitutional post.

Nitish’s support to Murmu

is crucial since both the JD(U)and the BJP are engaged in abitter tussle in Bihar.

Nitish, who took diversepositions in the Presidentialelection in the past, hasexpressed “delight” over theannouncement of Murmu asthe NDA’s presidential pollcandidate.

In a statement, Nitishsaid he received the news overthe telephone from PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onTuesday night, whom hethanked for choosing a “trib-al woman” for the country’shighest Constitutional office.

“Many thanks to thePrime Minister for choosing atribal woman who has provenher mettle as a Minister inOdisha and during her guber-natorial stint in Jharkhand,”said Nitish.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi will attend the G-7

summit in Germany on June 26and 27 where issues like theongoing Ukraine conflict andthe situation in the strategi-cally important Indo-Pacificare likely to figure promi-nently.

After he visits Germany,Modi will travel to the UnitedArab Emirates (UAE) to payhis condolences on the passingaway of Sheikh Khalifa binZayed Al Nahyan, the formerPresident of the Gulf nation.

His visit to Germanycomes against the backdrop ofthe majority of the members ofthe G-7 group criticisingRussia for its military action in

Ukraine. So far, India hasabstained from voting againstRussia in the United NationsGeneral Assembly (UNGA)and the United NationsSecurity Council (UNSC).India has also all alongfavoured dialogue and diplo-macy to end the conflict.

Giving details of the PrimeMinister’s schedule, theMinistry of External Affairs(MEA) on Wednesday saidModi will visit the Alpine cas-tle of Schloss Elmau in south-ern Germany on June 26 and27 to attend the annual sum-mit of G7. He had last visitedGermany on May 2 to attendthe meeting of the sixth editionof the India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations.

Modi is attending the G-7summit following an invitation

by German Chancellor OlafScholz. Germany is the currentchair of G7, a grouping of theworld’s seven richest nations. Itcomprises the UK, Canada,France, Germany, Italy, Japan,and the US.

“Prime Minister NarendraModi will be visiting SchlossElmau, Germany, at the invi-tation of Chancellor ofGermany, Olaf Scholz, for theG7 Summit under the GermanPresidency on June 26 to 27,”the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) said in a statement.

US President Joe Biden,British Prime Minister BorisJohnson, French PresidentEmmanuel Macron, andCanadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau are among thetop leaders attending the sum-mit.

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Five Delhi Police personneland one home guard were

stabbed by a man in ShahdaraCyber Cell police station onWednesday afternoon.

Police said that they havearrested the accused who hasbeen identified as 28-year-oldBharat Kumati.

According to police, theman entered the police stationand started recording a video.When he was obstructed byone of the policemen and askedthe reason behind recordingthe video, the man suddenlytook out a knife and stabbedhim and other policemen.

According to RSathyasundaram, the DeputyCommissioner of Police,

Shahdara district, around 12.45pm on Wednesday, Bharatcame to the police station’sreception and started arguingwith the policemen.

“He started to shoot videoand police officers there askedhim to not shoot a video butBharat took out a knife andstarted attacking police per-sonnel,” said the DCP, addingthat one home guard, who alsotried to stop him, got knifeinjury on his cheek.

“Police personnel imme-diately closed the main gate ofthe police station and theaccused was overpoweredwhile he was trying to escape.The five police personnel andone home guard injured wererushed to hospital,” said theDCP.

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Maharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray on

Wednesday night moved fromhis official residence in southMumbai to family home insuburban Bandra, hours afteroffering to quit the top postamid rebellion by Shiv Senaleader Eknath Shinde.

The CM moved out of“Varsha”, his official resi-dence, for Matoshree, the pri-vate bungalow of theThackeray family, amid highdrama as the political crisisthat has rocked hisGovernment after Shinde’srevolt two days ago, showedno signs of ebbing.

Earlier, bags containing hispersonal belongings were seenbeing loaded in cars.

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PNS JAMSHEDPUR

PANKAJ KUMAR DHANBAD

PNS RANCHI

PNS JAMSHEDPUR

Tata Steel Foundation (TSF)has introduced the Rural Immer-sion Module for students ofrenowned management cradleXLRI at Jamshedpur.

The module is expected tochannelize the ‘Emotional Intelli-gence’ in future managers andemployees which will ultimatelyhelp them in imbibing ‘Transfor-mational Leadership’. The wholeprocess comprises orientation,visit to rural areas, debriefingamong the groups and presenta-tion.

Present during the introducto-ry session of the programmewere Professor Raghuram Tata,XLRI, Sourav Roy, CEO, TSFand Jiren Topno, Head, TribalServices, TSF among others.

Rural Immersion Module is aunique component of all the full-time, residential programmes(BM, HRM, FPM and Ex-PGDM)of XLRI Jamshedpur. It has beendesigned to provide an exposureto students to life in rural or urbanareas, including sensitizationwith, and understanding of theseveral economic, social, andenvironmental issues faced by

the people, mostly those from thedisadvantaged social strata. Themodule is further meant to helpstudents ideate on how appropri-ate interventions like moderntechnology, management con-cepts and policy instruments canimprove the overall wellbeing ofthe disadvantaged social strata.

The rural immersion module isalso in consonance with XLRI’svision to nurture responsibleglobal leaders for the greatercommon good and a sustainablefuture, and XLRI’s mission tonurture responsive ethical lead-ers sensitive to environment and

society.The objectives of the immer-

sion module are mainly to pro-vide students with an opportunityto understand the multi-dimen-sional inequities that exist in thesociety and relate them with rel-evant United Nations Sustain-able Development Goals (SDGs)and relevant government policies

and programmes.The management students

will also have the opportunity tolearn various facets of ruraleconomy and social factors in-cluding agriculture, animal hus-bandry, handicrafts, dependenceon Non Timber Forest Produce,gender issues, micro-finance, ru-ral tourism among others.

PNS RANCHI

The spectacular celebrationsof International Day of Yoga(IDY) 2022 concluded at Sydney.The grand IDY celebration wasorganised by Swami Vivekanan-da Cultural Centre, (SVCC),Consulate General of India(CGI), Sydney in associationwith Shrimad Rajchandra Mis-sion Dharampur (SRMD) at theiconic Centennial Hall, SydneyTown Hall, NSW. Records turnout over 400 yoga enthusiasts,community members across thenationalities participated in thisIDY celebrations. As a specialgesture of Amrit Mahotsav, theheritage music organ of the Cen-tennial Hall was lit in Indian tri-colour.

The event was inauguratedwith traditional lamp lighting cer-emony (deep prajwalan) by Con-sul General of India, SydneyManish Gupta, Former Leader ofthe Opposition, NSW Jodi McK-ay, Deputy Mayor Gordon NSWBarbara Ward, Representative,Lord Mayor Clr. Clover More,Mayor, Sydney City Council-Councillor HY William Chan, Di-rector SVCC, Sydney Ra-manand Garge, PresidentSRMD Dr. Dhaval Ghelani, ChiefExecutive, Bank of Baroda, Syd-ney Raveesh Kumar.

The program began on aserene note of chanting ShantiPath from Yajur Veda by multi-cultural students of John ColetSchool, Belrose West NSW. TheJohn Colet School is proud to ex-ecute Sanskrit as one of its

prominent curriculum subjectsover three decades.

To compliment the occasion,renowned Yoga Acharya of Syd-ney Dr. Amit Sharma along withhis disciples and little yogis ofDhamma Yoga Sydney en-thralled the audience with the se-ries of complex yoga posture &poses reflecting the balanced &dedication of yogis. After such awonderful beginning the audi-ence were mesmerized by thesoul soothing performance ofSydney based artist Vikas Pawar(Flute) & supported by Aman Pal(Tabla). The duo presented aplacid composition Raag Yaman.In the balanced & tranquil back-drop began the yoga proceed-ings comprising various yogaposters (Asana) breathing exer-cises, and peaceful meditationby Dr. Bijal Ghelani & volunteersof SRMD Australia. Dr. Bijal Ghe-lani along with the volunteers ofSRMD conducted the proceed-

ings with so much of ease thatattendees across all age groups& physical ability performed &participated in the proceedingswith ease & a smile on their face.The program concluded with avote of thanks by Dr. DhavalGhelani, President of SRMDAustralia. During the celebra-tions, the winners of exclusiveyoga posture photo and videocontests (Adult & Kids) were re-warded & felicitated by digni-taries. The guests highlighted thesignificance of yoga in daily lifefor enhancing quality of life andmaintaining a balanced lifestyle.The National Centre for Naturo-pathic Medicine, Southern CrossUniversity Lismore, Australiawhere health professionals, Uni-versity staff members & commu-nity joined the program withgreat enthusiasm. On this occa-sion, IDY event was organisedby Ryde Secondary CollegeRyde NSW.

jharkhand 02RANCHI | THURSDAY | JUNE 23, 2022

PNS JAMSHEDPUR

City-based Jalpa Parikh wasdeclared the best president fe-male Rotary Awards functionShukriya-Dil Se organised atGiridih. She was also recognisedwith ‘Heart of Gold’.

At the function the followingwere awarded: outstanding sec-retary - Jasreen Kaur, Lady Ro-tarian of the Year for Service Pro-jects - Shivani Goel, RotarianSpouse of the Year - RakshaMakati, Exemplary Leadership -Smita Parikh, Support to District

Awards Committee - AlpaParikh, Most valuable Rotarianof the District - Deepak Dokania,Conduction of conference Jam-boree as chairman - DeepakDokania, Star Rotarian of theyear - Kamal Makati, Support toDist Foundation Seminar Anjaliand Support and contribution inorganising district foundation

seminar Anjali. “Our projects onstray dog vaccination, employ-ment of transgenders, and inclu-sion of the LGBTQ communitywon Innovative Project awardswhile we were recognized for ourmeticulous reporting of projects,monthly bulletins, public imageand our contributions to the vari-ous District Seminars. Otherthan our projects, our Rotarymembers were recognized fortheir individual contributions. Atotal of 30 trophies and 5 certifi-cates adorn our shelves,” said anofficial of Rotary Club.

PNS BOKARO

PNS DHANBAD

RAHUL SHARMA BOKARO

M FAIYAZ AHMAD DALTONGANJ

PNS BOKARO

AVINASH ANJAN HAZARIBAG

On the occasion of Interna-tional Yoga Day, a yoga programwas organized in the local Jheelcampus under the banner of NSSunit of AISECT University, Haz-aribag on Tuesday. Under theleadership of Yogacharya anduniversity professor Manish Ku-mar, Yoga was done from 5:00am to 7:00 am. Vrikshasana,Padmasana, Tadasana,Mayurasan, Vakrasana,Vrischikasana, Rajakapotasana,Suryanamaskar, Pranayama andother yoga were done, in whichthe professors of the university,along with the faculty and staff, alarge number of students and lo-cal people participated.

On this occasion, YogacharyaManish Kumar mentioned theimportance of yoga for betterhealth and said that yoga is notonly necessary for wellness, butit is also necessary for mentalbalance. He said that accordingto an estimate about 90 percentof the countrymen are suffering

from stress due to their changinglifestyle and there is a need forholistic treatment to prevent it, inwhich yoga can prove to bemuch better.

On the other hand Dr. MunishGovind, Registrar of the Univer-sity said that Yoga is the basis ofhealthy life. He said that with thehelp of yoga, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's dream of self-reliant India can be of great helpin realizing it. Dr. Govind saidthat in present times, yoga hasalso become a better means ofgrooming the career of youth.

Referring to the PG Diplomain Yoga and MA in Yoga beingrun in AISECT University, he saidthat through these courses, stu-dents will not only learn the art ofbeing healthy, but the way forsuch students to get employmentwill also open the way. He alsomentioned that after studyingyoga from the university, manystudents are working abroad asyoga instructors and are bringinglaurels to themselves as well asthe country.

Tata Steel signs MoU to set upInnovation Centre for Graphene

International Day of Yoga celebrations conclude in Sydney AISECT University celebrates Yoga Day

Executive directors take over charge in BSL

Rotary Club: Jalpa Parikh wins Best President Female Award

IIT-ISM research reveals enhanced oil recovery from reservoirs through use of Nanoparticles

Rural Immersion Module for XLRI students

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CM hands over appointment

letters among 93 officers

PNS RANCHI

jharkhand 03RANCHI | THURSDAY | JUNE 23, 2022

PNS RANCHI

PNS RANCHI

ED (SSO) assumed charge

BOI Celebrates Yoga Day

XISS appoints four new HoPs

MRITUANJAY KUMAR RANCHI

PNS RANCHI

Recruitments for 52Kposts soon in State: CM

Chief Minister Hemant Soren gives appointment letter to a newly ap-pointed Senior Scientific Officer at Project building in Ranchi on Wednes-day. Pix by Ratan Lal

Polling officers leave for poll duty on the eve of Mandar Assem-bly constituency by-poll at Morhabadi Ground in Ranchi onWednesday. Pix by Vinay Murmu

PNS RANCHI

Former Governor hadnon-controversial

tenure

ROSHAN KUMAR RANCHI

Presidential nominee Droupa-di Murmu. (File)

Jharkhand's local mangoes showcased in an international man-go fest in Bahrain on June 13. PNS

Vehicles wade through a waterlogged streetduring monsoon rains in Ranchi on Wednes-day. Pix by Vinay Murmu

NEWS IN PIX

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Prime Minister Narendra Modion Wednesday said the Indian

economy is likely to grow by 7.5 percent this year "making us thefastest-growing major economy."He also said the value of the Indiandigital economy would touch the$1 trillion mark by 2025.

Making this assertion in a vir-tual address at the Brazil, Russia,India, China and South Africa(BRICS) Business Forum, he alsosaid the kind of digital transfor-mation taking place in India wasnever seen anywhere in the worldearlier. Highlighting the growth tra-jectory, Modi said there is anopportunity to invest $1.5 trillionunder the national infrastructurepipeline.

The BRICS grouping bringstogether five of the largest devel-oping countries of the world, rep-resenting 41 per cent of the glob-al population, 24 per cent of theglobal GDP and 16 per cent of theglobal trade.

"We are expecting a 7.5 percent growth rate this year that willmake us the fastest-growing majoreconomy," Modi said. In a 'NewIndia' transformative changes aretaking place in every sector, he said,adding that a key pillar of the coun-try's economic recovery is tech-nology-led growth. He also said,"We are supporting innovation inevery sector."

The BRICS Business Forumtook place a day ahead of a virtu-al summit of the five-nation bloc.Modi will take part in the 14thBRICS Summit on June 23 and 24at the invitation of ChinesePresident Xi Jinping. The summithosted by China will be held in thevirtual mode. The conclaveincludes a High Level Dialogue onGlobal Development.

The upcoming summit takesplace in the backdrop of the ongo-ing Ukraine conflict and stand-offbetween the armies of India andChina in Eastern Ladakh for thelast two years. The 13th BRICSsummit was held in India inSeptember 2021.

The BRICS has become a plat-form for discussion and delibera-

tion on issues of common concernfor all developing countries. BRICScountries have regularly called forreform of the multilateral system inorder to make it more representa-tive and inclusive.

Discussions during the 14thBRICS Summit are expected tocover intra-BRICS cooperation inareas such as counter-terrorism,trade, health, traditional medi-cine, environment, science andtechnology and innovation, agri-culture, technical and vocationaleducation and training, andMSMEs.

Discussions are also likely onissues like reform of the multilat-eral system, combating the Covid-19 pandemic and global econom-ic recovery, among others.

���� 01��21�3��

The Uttar Pradesh Government has told theSupreme Court that demolitions of illegal struc-

tures were carried out by its Kanpur and Prayagrajmunicipal bodies as per law and were not related topunishing the accused involved in violent protestsfollowing remarks by two BJP leaders on ProphetMohammed. In an affidavit filed on Wednesday pur-suant to pleas filed by a Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, the UP Government said, “The said demo-litions referred to in the interlocutory applicationshave been carried out by the local developmentauthority, which are statutory autonomous bodies,independent of the State administration, as per lawas part of their routine effort against unautho-rised/illegal constructions and encroachments, inaccordance with the UP Urban Planning andDevelopment Act, 1972”.

It said that none of the actual affected parties,if any, have approached this court concerning thelawful demolition action. "It is humbly submitted thatin so far as taking action against the persons accusedin rioting, the State Government is taking stringentsteps against them in accordance with a complete-ly different set of statutes namely — CrPC, UP gang-ster, and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986and Rules, 2021, Prevention of Public PropertyDamages Act and Uttar Pradesh Recovery ofDamages to Public and Private Property Act, 2020and Rules, 2021”, said UP Government in the affi-davit.

The affidavit pointed out that the factum of con-struction being illegal has also been admitted by thetwo builders in Kanpur. It pointed out that the topcourt in a recent writ petition filed by a political partyconcerning the alleged demolitions in Shaheen Baghhere, noted that only the affected party and not polit-ical parties should come forward and allowed with-drawal of the petition with liberty to approach theHigh Court.

“Furthermore, it is submitted that even if anysuch alleged demolition action is to be challenged,

the same is to be done by the affected party beforethe High Court, and not this court”, the StateGovernment said, adding that it is taking strongexception to the attempt by the petitioners to namethe highest constitutional functionaries of the Stateand falsely colour the local development authority'slawful actions as “extra-legal punitive measures”against accused persons, targeting any particular reli-gious community.

It said that all such allegations are absolutely falseand are vehemently denied and urged the court tohold the petitioner to terms for the said false alle-gations without basis before this court. The UPGovernment further said that the petitioner has cher-ry-picked two demolition actions of illegal con-structions in the properties of one Ishtiaq Ahmadand one Riyaz Ahmed that took place in Kanpur onJune 11, 2022, in an attempt to falsely link the sameto the rioting; however, it has failed to note that inboth cases, certain portions of the two illegal/non-compliant structures in question took place; that bothbuildings were under construction and not in con-formity with the permission granted.

It said that most importantly, proceedingsunder the Urban Planning Act against the two build-ings had been initiated by the Kanpur developmentauthority long before the incidents of rioting thattook place in June 2022 - in one case way back inAugust 2020 itself, while in the other, in February2022.

���� 01��21�3�

Congress president SoniaGandhi on Wednesday

wrote to the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) seeking post-ponement of her appearance inthe National Herald case by afew weeks till she recoverscompletely. Sonia, who wasdischarged from hospital onJune 20 after treatment ofCovid complications, had beensummoned by the agency forquestioning on June 23 in themoney laundering case. Soniahad earlier been scheduled toappear before the ED on June8 but had sought more timefrom the probe agency in viewof her Covid-19 infection. Theagency had then issued a freshsummons.

"Since she has been strict-ly advised to rest at home fol-lowing her hospitalisation onaccount of Covid and lunginfection, Congress presidentSmt. Sonia Gandhi has writtento ED seeking the postpone-ment of her appearance thereby a few weeks till she hasrecovered completely,"Congress general secretaryJairam Ramesh said on Twitter.

���� 01��21�3�

After After five days of con-tinuous grilling by the

Enforcement Directorate (ED),former Congress presidentRahul Gandhi on Wednesdaytook on the Narendra ModiGovernment and said he willhave to withdraw the contro-versial military recruitmentinitiative just like he had to rollback the farm laws after ten-dering an apology. Rahulalleged that the BJPGovernment "which calls itselfnationalist" was "weakening"the armed forces through the'Agnipath' scheme.

Taking a dig at the Centreover the 'Agnipath' scheme,Rahul also said those whotalked about 'one rank, onepension' were bringing in 'norank, no pension'.

Addressing Congress par-liamentarians and legislatorsfrom across the country whogathered at the party AICCheadquarters to express soli-darity with him after he wasquestioned by the ED, Rahulsaid his questioning was an"unimportant" matter and themost important issue in thecountry was of jobs.

Rahul and his sister, party

general secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra were welcomedwith slogans when theyreached the AICC headquar-ters. Among those present wereChhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel and hisRajasthan counterpart AshokGehlot. "MLAs and MPs havecome to express their solidar-ity with Rahul Gandhi," Gehlottold reporters.

"Our MPs and MLAs areraising their voice against thisconspiracy. All institutions ofthe Government are busy inthis endeavour," his colleagueJairam Ramesh added. He saidsome MLAs and MPs hadbeen stopped from cominghere and the party would goahead with the planning of its"Bharat Jodo yatra" fromKanyakumari to Kashmir start-ing October 2.

"The spine of the country— MSMEs— has been brokenby the Modi Government. I sayto all those who train in themorning to get into the Army,Navy and Air Force that thePrime Minister has broken thespine of the country and thiscountry will not be able to givejobs to its youth," Rahul said.

"No matter what theGovernment does, it will not be

able to give jobs as PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hashanded the country to two orthree industrialists who cannotensure jobs to the youth," hesaid. Now, they have "closed"even the last resort for theyouth -- to get into the armedforces, he said.

"Now, train in the morn-ing, get into the forces and thengo home. I guarantee that afteryour stint in the military, youwill not get any job," RahulGandhi said. "The ChineseArmy is sitting on our land. Ithas snatched away over 1,000square kilometre of our land.This truth has been accepted bythe Government," he asserted.

He asserted that the Armyshould be strengthened butthis Government is "weakeningit". "When there is a war, resultsof this will be evident...They areweakening the Army, it willharm the country, and they callthemselves nationalists," Rahulsaid, attacking theGovernment. "I had said aboutfarm laws that Modi will haveto take them back and he did.Now, the Congress is sayingModi will have to withdrawAgnipath scheme and theyouth are standing with us onthis," he said.

���� 01��21�3�

Tourists thronging scenic localesin remote areas of the country

can now savour hot tea or coffee andlocal cuisine at roadside cafes. Theycan also park their cars or two-wheelers there and avail of first aidif need be.

Realising the huge potential ofboosting tourism and providingemployment to the local populaceas tourists are now venturing out tothe inaccessible areas due to betterroad connectivity, the DefenceMinistry has approved setting up of

“BRO Cafes’ across the country,especially in border areas stretchingfrom Ladakh in the west toArunachal Pradesh in the east.

In a novel initiative to providebasic wayside amenities like first aidand comfort to tourists travelling inremote areas, the Ministry hasgiven the go-ahead for cafes at 75locations in 12 States and UnionTerritories. They will be known as‘BRO cafes’ as most of them willcome up on roads constructed bythe Border Roads Organisation(BRO).

These cafes, besides providing

food and other amenities to touristswill also boost economic activitiesin border areas and generateemployment for the local populace,the Defence Ministry said here onWednesday. Giving details of the

scheme, officials said these ameni-ties will be located on different sec-tions of roads with the BRO. It hasits reach in the remotest borderareas and besides addressing strate-gic needs, it has been instrumentalin socio-economic uplift of theNorthern and Eastern borders.

This has resulted in increasedtourist influx in these scenic loca-tions, hitherto inaccessible. In orderto provide conducive and comfort-able transit of tourists on these roadslocated at harsh climatic and geo-graphical conditions, the need toestablish multi-utility wayside

amenities along the major touristcircuits in these regions was recog-nised. Since the inaccessibility andremoteness of these roads precludewidespread commercial deploy-ments, the BRO, by virtue of its pres-ence, took it upon itself to open suchfacilities at remote places.

The scheme provides for devel-opment and operation of waysideamenities in public private part-nership mode with agencies, onlicense basis, which will design,build and operate the facility as perguidelines of the BRO.

Amenities like parking for two

and four wheelers, food plaza orrestaurant, separate restrooms formen, women and differently abledand first aid facilities are proposedto be provided. Selection of licenceeswill be done through a competitiveprocess. The terms of the agreementwill be for 15 years which may befurther extended for a period up tofive years. The 75 ‘BRO Cafes’ willbe located in Arunachal Pradesh,Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammuand Kashmir, Ladakh, Manipur,Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan,Sikkim, Uttarakhand and WestBengal.

���� 01��21�3�

With China adoptingan aggressive stance in

the Indo-Pacific, India andAustralia on Wednesdayreaffirmed their sharedobjective of an open, free,inclusive, prosperous andrules based region.

The two sides alsoreviewed their Defence andstrategic ties and securitychallenges during talks herebetween Defence MinisterRajnath Singh and visitingAustralian Deputy PrimeMinister and DefenceMinister Richard Marles.

The two Ministers alsoexplored industrial cooper-ation in the Defence manu-facturing sector as well asways to enhance capabilities

of their militaries. Marles ison a four-day visit to Indiafrom Monday amid geo-political upheavals triggeredby the Russian invasion ofUkraine. The Ukraine crisisis understood to have fig-ured in the talks. Australia isa key partner of India andthe strategic cooperationbetween the two sides hasbeen on an upswing, bothbilaterally as well as underthe framework of the Quador Quadrilateral coalition.

A joint statement issuedafter the parleys said the twoMinisters reviewed the exist-ing defence cooperationactivities which have beenincreasing despite challengesof COVID-19 pandemicand discussed ways toenhance further coopera-

tion. The Ministers reviewedthe defence and securitypillars of the India-AustraliaComprehensive StrategicPartnership. They reaf-firmed their commitmenttowards implementation ofthe Comprehensive StrategicPartnership based on mutu-al trust and understanding,common interests andshared values, of democra-cy and rule of law.

They welcomed thegrowing diversity and fre-quency of defence exercisesand exchanges between thetwo countries and under-took to build upon opera-tional engagements throughthe India-Australia MutualLogistics SupportArrangement.

Both Ministers com-

mitted to give fillip to theIndia-Australia JointWorking Group (JWG) onDefence Research andMateriel Cooperation,which will meet in Australialater this year.

This JWG is a crucialmechanism for boosting tiesbetween defence industries.The Ministers discussed fur-ther opportunities for indus-trial cooperation betweenIndia and Australia toincrease the resilience ofsupply chains and delivercapabilities to their respec-tive defence forces. Rajnathand Marles also welcomedthe plan to commence thelandmark General BipinRawat Young OfficerExchange Programme inthe latter half of 2022.

���� 01��21�3�

Health trackers strapped tothe wrist for monitoring

changes in skin temperature,heart and breathing rates canhelp detect Covid-19 daysbefore the first tell-tale signs ofthe viral disease appear, accord-ing to a study published in thejournal BMJ open.

The study shows that thisdata could be combined withArtificial Intelligence (AI) todiagnose Covid-19 even beforeany symptoms appear.

“While a PCR swab testremains the gold standard forconfirming Covid-19, our find-ings suggest that a wearable-informed machine learning

algorithm may serve as apromising tool for presympto-matic or asymptomatic detec-tion of Covid-19,” theresearchers said.

The researchers, includingthose from Risch MedicalLaboratory, Liechtenstein basetheir findings on wearers of theAVA bracelet. The regulatedand commercially available fer-tility tracker monitors breathingrate, heart rate, heart rate vari-ability, wrist skin temperatureand blood flow, as well as sleepquantity and quality.

Typical Covid-19 symp-toms may take several daysafter infection before theyappear during which time aninfected person can unwitting-

ly spread the virus.The researchers wanted to

see if physiological changes,monitored by an activity track-er, could be used to develop amachine learning algorithm todetect Covid-19 infectionbefore the start of symptoms.

As many as 1,163 partici-pants under the age of 51 weredrawn from the GAPP studybetween March 2020 and April2021. Participants wore theAVA bracelet at night. Thedevice saves data every 10 sec-onds and requires at least fourhours of relatively uninterrupt-ed sleep. The bracelets weresynchronised with a comple-mentary smartphone app onwaking.

���� 01��21�3�

Union Health Minister MansukhMandaviya has decided to hold a

high-level review meeting on Fridaywith the core team of experts overincreasing Covid-19 infections in thecountry.

As on date, 10 States —Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi, Karnataka,Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,Telangana, West Bengal and Gujarat —have over 1,000 active cases.

The core team of experts willinclude AIIMS director Dr RandipGuleria, ICMR Director General DrBalram Bhargava and NCDC directorSujeet Singh.

Union Health Secretary RajeshBhushan, Secretary of Department ofBiotechnology Rajesh S Gokhale,Secretary in the Department ofPharmaceuticals S Aparna, among oth-ers, will also attend the meeting.

In a review meeting of INSACOGheld last week, states/UTs were asked tosubmit a "larger number" of samples forwhole genome sequencing from districtsand areas which had seen a surge inCOVID-19 cases over a period of sevendays.

In the meantime, Dr RajeshKaryekarte of B J Medical College in hisstudy conducted on 116 patients whowere infected with BA.2.38, an offspringof Omicron's sub-variant BA.2, saidthat, “We have done the genomesequencing of some samples from Aprilto June and sent the report to theGovernment. During the analysis, wefound that BA.2 is common, but its off-spring BA.2.38 is also prevalent and isneck to neck with BA.2.”

���� 01��21�3�

The CBI on Wednesday said it hasarrested Delhi-based broker and

Managing Director of OPG SecuritiesSanjay Gupta in the NSE scam, four yearsafter the agency registered an FIRagainst him for alleged preferentialaccess of the market through multipleIDs and secondary servers called co-location facility.

The CBI has alleged that it receivedinformation that Gupta along withsome people attempted to destroy someevidence and also tried to influence SEBIofficials which were probing the NSE co-location scam case.

The agency had summoned Guptato its headquarters and during the ques-tioning, Gupta was "evasive" and triedto "mislead the investigation" resultingin his arrest on Tuesday night, they said.

Gupta had allegedly approachedmembers of a syndicate to bribe SEBIofficials on his behalf and influence theinvestigation, they alleged.

The CBI is probing whether thebribes paid to the syndicate membersreached SEBI officials or not, they said.

Four years after registering the FIR,the agency began taking action follow-ing a damning SEBI report in Februarythis year in which strictures were passedagainst the then NSE CEO andManaging Director Chitra Ramkrishnaand Group Operating Officer AnandSubramanian. It is alleged that OPGSecurities consistently logged in first onselected Tick-by-Tick servers of the NSEfor four years on most of the trading daysbetween 2010 and 2014 and also hadaccess to servers that had better hard-ware.

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The Opposition candidatefor the presidential polls,

Yashwant Sinha, initiated hiscampaign strategy meeting onWednesday at the NationalistCongress Party (NCP) office inthe national Capital and said a"rubber-stamp President" willnot work in the country. Sinhasaid the presidential election isnot an individual battle but afight for the issues facing thecountry.

"I am thankful to all thepolitical parties that have givenme the opportunity in thepresidential polls. I am gladthat these parties have givenme that credibility. I wish to saythat this election is not an indi-vidual fight for me. There areissues that the country is fac-ing on which the ElectoralCollege has to make a deci-sion," Sinha said talking to themedia after the meeting.

The former UnionMinister said the BJP-ledCentre is moving on a roadthat is not good for the coun-try, as youngsters are sufferingand now, the "joke" that theGovernment has played onunemployment with the"Agniveer" scheme for militaryrecruitment, the entire coun-try is up in arms, he said.

"The President's post is

extremely sensitive and I willnot be under pressure from theGovernment," he said. Sinhawill file his nomination for thepresidential polls on June 27and is most likely to begincampaigning from Jharkhandand Bihar.

"We will be going to vari-ous places in the country tocampaign.... We are formulat-ing a strategy on that. I con-gratulate Droupadi Murmu,but this is not me against her-- this is an ideological contest.We should not have a rubber-stamp President in the coun-try," he said.

The BJP-led NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA)has named Murmu, a triballeader from Odisha, as its can-didate in the presidential polls.

Leaders like KK Sharma(NCP), Jairam Ramesh(Congress), Yogendra Shastri

(Congress) and SudheendraKulkarni were present at themeeting on Wednesday.

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Members of Parliament(MPs) who would not

be present in the Capital onJuly 18 to cast their vote inParliament House for thepresidential election can doso from State Assemblies,provided they inform theElection Commission (EC) inadvance. In a letter addressedto all members of the LokSabha and Rajya Sabha, thepoll panel has reminded themthat they can cast ballots atRoom No. 63 in ParliamentHouse.

"However, on account ofunavoidable reasons and exi-gencies of circumstances, ifyou cannot be present inNew Delhi on the date of poll,you can opt to exercise yourright to vote at the presiden-tial election at any of thepolling places situated in theState or UT of Puducherryand NCT of Delhi," the June16 letter said.

The MPs who intend tovote from one of the StateLegislative Assemblies have tosend a "formal request" to theEC by filling up a form. Therequest should reach the pollpanel "not later than ten daysbefore the date of poll" so thatnecessary arrangements canbe made. "It may kindly benoted that the request oncemade and accepted by theCommission to vote at anyState Legislative Assemblywill be final and no furtherchanges will be entertained inthis regard," the poll panel hascautioned.

While normally MPs votein New Delhi and MLAs atthe premises of the LegislativeAssembly of each State, facil-ities are provided by the ECfor any MP to vote in theAssembly of a State.

Similarly, an MLA canvote at the polling booth setup in Parliament House, ifs/he is in Delhi on the date ofpoll.

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Incessant rainfall across dif-ferent parts of Jammu and

Kashmir Wednesday created aflood like situation promptingthe authorities to evacuatepeople from some of the lowlying areas after the water lev-els touched the danger mark.Higher reaches across Kashmirvalley including Amarnathcave shrine area also witnessedfresh spell of snowfall. Themercury levels in several partsof Kashmir valley reportedlydropped up to 15 degrees,lowest in the last 50 years inSrinagar.

The situation turned grimin Kashmir valley as severalwater bodies including riverJhelum crossed the flood alarmmark. Control rooms havebeen activated across affecteddistricts to remain in touchwith the local population whilespecial teams have been con-stituted at the district level toclosely monitor the situation.

The weathermen, howev-er, advised people not to presspanic buttons as the weatherstarted showing signs ofimprovement in the secondhalf of the day.

Due to continuous rainfallfor the last four days, severalareas across South Kashmirdistricts remained inundateddisrupting the smooth move-

ment of traffic in the interiorareas. Livestock was affectedbadly in several parts ofKashmir. After assessing thesituation on ground zero theUnion Territory administra-tion decided to shut downschools and other educationalinstitutions.

On the other hand theNational Highway linking thetwin capital cities of Jammuand Srinagar also remainedblocked since late Tuesdayevening as massive land-slides/mudslides and shootstones disrupted the smoothflow of traffic.

On Wednesday the high-way was blocked near Samroli,13 kms ahead of Udhampurfollowing freshlandslides.Shuttering of anunder construction bridge nearPeerah in Ramban was washedaway. Road stretches betweenNashri and Banihal remainedblocked at around 30 locations.The frontier districts of Rajouriand Poonch also witnessedflash floods while the erstwhileDoda district remained onhigh alert following heavydownpour in the region.Unconfirmed reports claimedseveral nomads, venturing inhigher reaches, have gonemissing. Moving swiftly, localteams consisting of Indianarmy/police/ district officerswere rushed to trace them and

extend all possible help. "Noloss of lives has been reportedin the higher reaches ofRajouri.The army/Police & theadm are in constant touch, therescue operation will start assoon as the weather becomesconducive;contact withnomads at Shopian & Kulgamalso established" tweeted officeof Deputy CommissionerRajouri Vikas Kundal.

An advisory was issued bythe Chief Engineer Bagliharpower project, to avoid goingnear Chenab riverbanks inview of rise in water level in theBaglihar reservoir due to inces-sant rains. In Ramban, DeputyCommissioner RambanMussarat Zia late evening vis-ited the affected stretch on theNational Highway near Meharto take stock of the road clear-

ing operations. By late eveningover 25 blocked locationswere restored and work wasgoing on to clear the otherpoints. The movement ofstranded vehicles goingtowards Kashmir valley wasfacilitated while a massivelandslide at Samroli was beingcleared till the time of filing thereport.The district adminis-tration in Ramban had earliermade elaborate arrangementsfor stranded passengers andaccommodated them at allo-cated shelter points and fedthem fresh food and snacks tokeep them warm. Twocolumns of the Indian armyalso remained deployed alongthe National Highway toextend immediate help to thestranded passengers in dis-tress.

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The flood situation in Assamcontinued to remain grim

with rising water levels of theBrahmaputra and Barak riversinundating fresh areas in theSate and impacting over 55lakh people across 32 districts,officials said on Wednesday.

Eighty-nine people havelost their lives since mid-Maydue to deluge, including 12who died on Wednesday.

Chief Minister HimantaBiswa Sarma travelled toNagaon by train to review thesituation in flood-hit areas inthe district, the officials said,adding that he was also sched-uled to visit a few relief campsthere.

Nagaon was severely affect-ed by the current wave offloods with over 4,57,381 peo-ple coming under the impact ofthe deluge and 15,188 inmateshave taken shelter in 147 reliefcamps.

"Undertook a train journeyfrom Guwahati to flood-affect-ed areas in Chaparmukh andKampur. The journey enabledme to take a closer look at theareas ravaged by flood alongthe railway tracks, which willhelp us in taking informeddecisions and intervene accord-ingly," Sarma said on Twitter.

As the floodwaters ofKopili have inundated largeareas in Nagaon district, nec-essary steps will be taken to

prevent the recurrence of suchcalamity in the future, he said.

Sarma visited Chaparmukhrailway station to interact withflood-affected people takingshelter there and took stock ofrelief materials provided tothem.

"Assuring them all possiblehelp, I asked district adminis-tration to ensure adequate reliefto the affected people & be onstand-by," he said.

The flood situation in threedistricts of the Barak Valley -Cachar, Karimganj andHailakandi - remained criticalwith rising water levels of theBarak and Kushiara riversinundating vast tracts of landin the valley, the officials said.

National Disaster ResponseForce personnel have beenengaged in Cachar districts toevacuate people to safe places,while representatives of StateDisaster Response Force andother agencies were deployedin the two remaining districts.

Altogether 2,16,851 peoplehave been hit by the flood in506 villages in Cachar district,1,47,649 in Karimganj andnearly one lakh in Hailakandi.

The chief minister isscheduled to visit Silchar toreview the prevailing flood sit-uation. Transport MinisterParimal Suklabaidya has beencamping at Silchar in Cacharand monitoring the flood sit-uation in the Barak valley withthe local MLAs, deputy com-

missioners and senior officialsof the three districts.

Meanwhile, Ambassadorof Japan to India Satoshi Suzukiexpressed sympathy to thefamilies who lost their "belovedones and are affected by therecent floods and landslidesoccurring in Assam andMeghalaya".

"Japan always stands withthe people in such difficulttimes," Satoshi said on Twitter.

The CM thanked him forexpressing his concern for thestate and people affected by thecurrent wave of floods.

"We sincerely acknowledgethe support and cooperation ofJapan and its beautiful peopletowards the development ofour state," Sarma said on themicroblogging site.

Oil India Ltd has con-tributed Rs 5 crore to the ChiefMinister's Relief Fund.

Sarma thanked Union

Minister of State for Petroleumand Natural Gas RameswarTeli and the company's chair-man and managing directorSushil Kumar Mishra for thecontribution and said this will"significantly aid our ongoingflood-relief work".

Altogether 55, 42,053 peo-ple have been affected by theongoing floods in 32 of the 36districts of the state.

Seven more people dieddue to the floods during the last24 hours, taking the death tollto 89 and one was reportedmissing from Kamrup, accord-ing to a bulletin of the AssamState Disaster ManagementAuthority.

Among the worst-affecteddistricts are Barpeta with12,51,359 people reeling underthe floodwaters, Dhubri with5,94,708 and Darrang with5,47,421, according to the bul-letin.

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Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, thewife of Assam Chief

Minister Himanta BiswaSarma, has filed a �100 croredefamation suit against DelhiDeputy Chief Minister ManishSisodia, who had alleged mal-practice in giving contracts forPPE at above market rates.

Bhuyan Sarma filed thesuit at the court of Civil JudgeNo 1 of Kamrup Metropolitandistrict on Tuesday and it islikely to come up for hearingon Wednesday, her counselPadmadhar Nayak said.

Another advocate KishorKumar Dutta told PTI thatSisodia while addressing apress meet on June 4 in NewDelhi had made "some allega-tions that damaged the repu-tation and position" of RinikiBhuyan Sarma.

"Sisodia unnecessarilydragged the name of ChiefMinister Himanta Biswa Sarmaalso into the controversy. Thatis why we have claimed thatdamage," he added.

Sisodia, referring to mediareports had told newsmen that

while the Assam governmentprocured personal protectiveequipment kits for Rs 600 eachfrom other companies, Sarmagave urgent supply orders tothe firms of his wife and son'sbusiness partners for Rs 990apiece.

The opposition Congress,CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML)-Liberation, RCPI, TMC, RaijorDal, Assam Jatiya Parishadand Anchalik Gana Morchahave demanded a CBI probeinto the alleged corruption.

On June 1 digital mediaorganisations - New Delhi-based 'The Wire' andGuwahati-based 'TheCrosscurrent' had in a joint

investigative report claimedthat the Assam governmenthad placed four COVID-19related emergency medical sup-ply orders, most likely withoutfollowing proper process.

Citing a series of Right toInformation replies, the medi-al portals claimed that all thefour orders, placed betweenMarch 18 and March 23 of2020, were bagged by threefirms owned by Riniki BhuyanSarma and the family's businessassociate GhanshyamDhanuka.

In a tweet she had refutedany wrongdoing in the supplyof PPE kits to National HealthMission and said she did nottake a "single penny" for them.

The present Assam gov-ernment and Sarma have sep-arately denied all charges thatthe chief minister's family wasinvolved in the alleged mal-practices and termed the alle-gations by the two digital mediaas "false, imaginary, maliciousand of vested interests".

Sarma was the health andfamily welfare minister in 2020during the first BJP-led stategovernment.

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Polling for the by-elections toRampur and Azamgarh

parliamentary seats will takeplace on Thursday.

Over 35 lakh voters are eli-gible to cast their votes inthese two bypolls in which 19candidates are in the fray fromthe two constituencies con-sidered to be the strongholds ofSamajwadi Party.

The polling will take placebetween 7 am and 6 pm onThursday, according to UttarPradesh Chief Electoral OfficerAjay Kumar Shukla.

The bypoll to theAzamgarh Lok Sabha seat wasnecessitated due to resignationfrom Lok Sabha by SP chiefAkhilesh Yadav following hiselection to UP assembly inMarch this year while the

Rampur parliamentary seatwas vacated by MohammadAzam Khan for the same rea-son.

According to the chief elec-toral officer, 13 candidates arein the fray from Azamgarh,where 18.38 lakh voters are eli-gible to exercise their franchise,while Rampur has six candi-dates and 17.06 lakh eligiblevoters. Campaigning for thebypolls ended on Tuesdayevening.

From Rampur, theBharatiya Janata Party has field-ed former SP legislatorGhanshyam Singh Lodhi whorecently joined the ruling party,while the SP has nominatedAsim Raja, handpicked byAzam Khan. The BahujanSamaj Party is not contestingfrom Rampur.

The Azamgarh con-

stituency is witnessing a trian-gular contest between BJP’sDinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirahua’, afamous Bhojpuri actor-singer,SP’s Dharmendra Yadav andShah Alam alias Guddu Jamaliof the BSP.

The BJP is eyeing to bolsterits strength in the Lok Sabhafurther through these bypolls,while the SP faces the challengeof retaining both the seats. InAzamgarh, there are 18.38 lakhvoters -- 9,70,249 males,8,67,942 females and 36 thirdgender electors.

According to officials,2,176 booths have been set upat 1,149 polling stations of theconstituency where an esti-mated 15 per cent of the resi-dents are Muslims. All the fiveassembly segments of the par-liamentary constituency —Azamgarh, Mubarakpur, Sagdi,

Gopalpur and Mehnagar —were won by the SP in therecent assembly election.

During the 2019 Lok Sabhaelection, there was an alliancebetween SP and BSP, andAkhilesh Yadav had won easi-ly from Azamgarh, securing6.21 lakh votes against BJP’sDinesh Lal Yadav who polled3.61 lakh votes.

For the BJP, Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath spearheadedthe election campaign andsought votes for the BJP can-didates on the two seats.However, Akhilesh Yadav andhis wife Dimple did not cam-paign in the bypolls. “We arewinning both the Azamgarhand Rampur seats,” SPspokesman RajendraChaudhary said.

The Rampur parliamen-tary constituency, which has

almost an equal population ofHindus and Muslims, is con-sidered a bastion of SP’s promi-nent Muslim face, Azam Khan.Yadavs, Sikhs and Dalit votersare also in a position to influ-ence the outcome of the bypollto the Lok Sabha seat.

In the 2019 Lok Sabahaelection, Azam Khan hadpolled 5, 59,177 votes to defeatBJP candidate Jaya Prada whosecured 4, 49,180 votes.Congress candidate SanjayKapoor had lost his deposit.

The Rampur Lok Sabhaconstituency comprises fiveassembly segments -- Rampur,Suar, Chamraua, Bilaspur, andMilak. In the 2022 assemblyelections, the SP won fromRampur, Suar and Chamrauaassembly constituencies whilethe BJP bagged the Bilaspurand Milak seats.

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The Samajwadi Party haspetitioned the Election

Commission of India that vot-ers are terrorised and intimi-dated in Azamgarh andRampur Lok Sabha seats whichgo to polls on Thursday.

In a complaint filed to theECI, the SP has demanded adirection to the district officialsfor conducting polling in a free,fair and transparent manner.

Former chief minister ofUP and SP president AkhileshYadav said here on Wednesdaythat the Bharatiya Janata Partyknew that it could never winthe Azamgarh Lok Sabha seatand was therefore misusingthe official machinery andSamajwadi Party leaders andworkers were being framed infalse cases. He alleged that inRampur, many SP workers hadbeen detained in police stationswithout any charges againstthem.

The SP alleged in its com-plaint that party cadre and vil-lage pradhans were beingintimidated in Sagdi, Gopalpurand Mehnagar assembly seatsfalling in Azamgarh Lok Sabha

constituency.The SP also alleged that the

BJP leaders had given a list ofthe SP supporters and voters tothe local police station officersto prevent them from castingtheir votes on Thursday. The SPalleged that in both the LokSabha constituencies, ministersof the BJP government haddirected the lekhpals and pan-chayat secretaries to ensurethat the votes from their vil-lages were cast in favour of theBJP candidate.

Meanwhile, AkhileshYadav appealed to the voters toensure the victory of SP can-didate Dharmendra Yadavfrom Azamgarh. He asked thevoters to be vigilant against thedisinformation campaign bythe BJP through various means,including social media.

“I and my father MulayamSingh Yadav are no strangers tovoters of Azamgarh and both ofus are members of the largerAzamgarh family," AkhileshYadav said.

The SP chief issued a sim-ilar appeal to the voters ofRampur, urging them to ensurethe success of the party candi-date Asim Raza from Rampur.

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Predicting the victory of herparty candidate, Bahujan

Samaj Party presidentMayawati, on the eve of bypolls,appealed to the voters to votein favor of the BSP candidatefor the Azamgarh Lok Sabhaseat.

Mayawati expressed herhope in a tweet in which shesaid that she was convinced bythe public support that the vic-tory of party candidate ShahAlam alias Guddu Jamali wascertain in Azamgarh.

Mayawati tweeted onWednesday that the way theBSP was getting support frompeople of all sections in theelections to be held onThursday for Azamgarh LokSabha seat, was very encour-aging. “By staying away fromthe gimmicks of the oppo-nents, this public support willdefinitely convert into votes,such is the full belief of BSPcandidate Shah Alam aliasGuddu Jamali,” she said.

Due to Jamali always beinghelpful to the people rising

above the local and party pol-itics, his credibility and popu-larity is more than that of theopponents, which is likely tohave a good effect on the elec-tion result, she added.

Even a day earlier,Mayawati, while creating anatmosphere in favour of BSPcandidate Guddu Jamali in theAzamgarh Lok Sabha by-elec-tion from Lucknow, had givenhim the title of a very civilisedperson along with describing

him as a local resident.Regarding Shah Alam alias

Guddu Jamali, who was MLAfrom Mubarakpur assemblyconstituency of Azamgarh,Mayawati had said that byensuring the victory of GudduJamali in Azamgarh, peoplecould kill two birds with onearrow. The BSP supremo hadsaid that this was the first timethat the BSP was contesting aby-election in Azamgarh andthis bypoll was important forthe people in the sense thatthey could defeat the BharatiyaJanata Party to teach it a lessonfor its anti-people policies likeAgnipath. She said along withthis, SP could also be punishedfor its “internal complicity”with the BJP as both were twofaces of the same coin.

She also made a strongappeal to the voters to partic-ipate enthusiastically in thevoting.

Bahujan Samaj Party hasfielded Guddu Jamali fromAzamgarh Lok Sabha seat,while the party has not fieldedits candidate for Rampur LokSabha seat.

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Continuing the crackdownon mafias and their fami-

ly members, the Mau admin-istration has now ordered toconfiscate property worth overRs 3 crore acquired illegally byAfshan Ansari, wife of gang-s t e r - t u r n e d - p o l i t i c i a nMukhtar Ansari.

The action is being takento confiscate these illegally

acquired properties on behalfof Mukhtar's family members,who are facing charges underthe Gangsters Act.

According to the districtmagistrate of Mau, a campaignis underway to attach illegalproperties in the district.Taking action under theGangsters Act, DistrictMagistrate Arun Kumar hasissued an order to attach prop-erty worth Rs 3.76 crore ille-

gally acquired by AfshanAnsari wife of MukhtarAnsari, resident of Yusufpurunder Muhammadabad policestation of Ghazipur district.

The huge property is situ-ated in Sheikhpur Pargana ofSadar tehsil in Ghazipur dis-trict.

The market value of thisland is around Rs3 .76 crore,the officials claim. A case hasbeen registered against Afshan

Ansari in various police sta-tions of Ghazipur district,besides in Mau police station,Sarayalkhansi police stationand South Tola police sta-tion.

The land to be attachedwas purchased by AfshanAnsari with illegally earnedmoney. The district magistratesaid that as per the directionof the government, action wasbeing taken against the mov-

able and immovable propertiesacquired using the ill-gottenmoney in the district.

The district administra-tion is identifying all peopleinvolved in illegal activities.There are sufficient grounds totake action against those whohave created a large number ofmovable and immovable prop-erties from illegally acquiredmoney, under the GangstersAct, he claimed.

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������������������� �����Sir — While working out the financial ben-efits of the Agnipath scheme, national secu-rity concerns and administrative feasibil-ity cannot be brushed aside. The mootquestion is whether after completing fouryears in uniform, they will be able to with-stand the pressures of unemployment.These well-trained youths can easily belured, recruited and exploited by anti-socialelements, creating newer challenges aftercompleting their tenure. There is no gainsaying that the new recruitment scheme forjawans is being pushed in a hurry tocounter the rising discontentment amongthe unemployed youth and ever-growingresentment against the Government.

Another rational way of revisiting theAgnipath scheme is to downsize theArmy, as China did in 2015 by giving 2.3lakh soldiers VRS as part of its moderni-sation drive. The poor execution ofSPARSH is a case in point. The new pen-sion system for the armed forces veterans,which was launched with much fanfare in2021 for post-2015 retirees, also ended ina fiasco as on May 1, almost 60,000 ex-ser-vicemen were kept deprived of their pen-sion. Taking lessons from its poor execu-tion, it is essential to run Agnipath on atrial basis first.

Vijay Singh Adhikari | Nainital

����� �������������������� ������Sir — This refers to ‘Some reforms may lookunfair at first, but help nation in long run:Modi’ (June 21). The PM’s statement is rel-evant because it comes against the back-drop of widespread protests against theAgnipath scheme. Irrespective of the mer-its and demerits of the scheme, it hasturned into a burning issue. Also, it is dif-ficult to ignore the fact that this is the thirdbig reform by the Modi-led Governmentto face such serious opposition. The landreform Bill in its first term and the farmreforms Bill in its second term were with-drawn to avert likely electoral lossesdespite there being enough reasons to per-sist with these.

The issues that these two abortedreforms set out to address remain, and arelikely to have a detrimental impact on theIndian economy. While it is possible theopposition to such reforms was inevitable,it is also possible that their intensitymight have been diminished through aconsultative process involving all stake-holders, an elaborate detailing of the con-tours of the reforms. However, when itcomes to the adoption of radical reforms,good intentions and a majority inParliament may not necessarily translateinto instant and universal acceptance.

N Sadhasiva Reddy | Bengaluru

�������������������������Sir — With great admiration and belief inthe columns of your newspaper, I seek tobring to your attention the fast-growingmenace of tech addiction and the resultanthealth scares among the youth of our coun-try. Today, we are able to enjoy some of themost convenient gadgets to have ever exist-ed, which offer far more information and

sources of entertainment than any other.As a result, the upcoming generation hasbeen becoming increasingly information-heavy. The number of hours an averageperson spends in gaining information,whether wanted or unwanted, is fastincreasing, with a screen in front of oureyes showing us new wonders everyminute.

And on top of that, the wonders are asper choice and preferences. All this temp-tation often leads young children to spendmuch more time on these gadgets thanwhat’s healthy. And even though we maynot realise it instantly, it levies a hugeload of tiredness on our brains and eyes,often leading to inexplicable stress andirritability. Hence, through the pages ofyour esteemed newspaper, I would liketo appeal to the youth worldwide tomaintain a balance of all spheres of lifeto fully enjoy it.

Divyansha Sharma | Ujjain

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prohibit the construction ofnon-Muslim places of wor-ship; in other Gulf countries,non-Muslims have to seekGovernment permission.These countries do not evenafford non-Muslims the basiccourtesy of dignity in death.Kuwait and Qatar do notallow cremations forcing non-Muslims to fly dead bodiesout of the country to theirnative places. And let us notforget that Qatar is the coun-try that indirectly endorsedMF Hussain’s blasphemyagainst Hindu gods by hon-ouring him with a citizenship.

In contrast, despite allthe criticism that the ModiGovernment has been sub-ject to, both at home andabroad, and despite all thetalk of Hindu hyper-nation-alism, we still remain a lib-eral democratic country parexcellence that treats all itscitizens equally. Muslimshave the same rights as anyHindu. They have access tothe same educational institu-tions, same job opportuni-ties, the same health facilitiesand are beneficiaries of thesame ration cards. They canbuild their own mosquesand pray unhindered inthese. We cannot be shamedby countries whose recordon religious freedom is ques-

tionable. We need to be con-fident in our own skin andanswerable to ourselves aloneas the bearers of an ancientmoral civilisation.

Coming to the question oftrade, the Gulf CooperationCouncil (consisting of SaudiArabia, Bahrain, Kuwait,Oman, Qatar and the UnitedArab Emirates) is a majortrading partner with exportsof $44 billion and importsworth $110 billion (2021-22). About a third of India’scrude oil needs (Saudi Arabia18 per cent; UAE nine percent and Kuwait five per cent)are supplied by the Gulf coun-tries. However, since theRussia-Ukraine crisis, theequation is fast changing.Crude oil supplies fromRussia have dramatically shotup reaching 3.36 million met-ric tonnes in May 2022 — anine-fold monthly increasecompared to 2021. India’sdependence on oil from Gulfcountries is significant but canbe balanced by increasingsupplies from Russia.

On the flip side, the Gulfcountries are overwhelm-ingly dependent on Indiafor their food needs.Specifically, India accountsfor 84 per cent, 91 per centand 80 per cent of Qatar’s,Kuwait’s and Iran’s rice

requirements. So, vulnerabil-ity due to trade disruptionextends to both sides.

What is most concerningis that this outrage hasemboldened terrorists tothreaten India with attacksand encouraged anti-socialelements amongst India’sMuslims? It has led to calls forbeheading on national televi-sion, rioting through thestreets and obscene calls forHindu genocide from mosquetops. The Government ofIndia has done the right thingto defuse the crisis by reiter-ating its respect for all reli-gions and by suspending theerrant office bearers.

The Gulf countries toomust step up to the plate.After having vented their dis-approval publicly, they mustnow show maturity if they donot want the narrative to behijacked by radical funda-mentalists. To put an end tothe matter, they need torelease another statement thatwelcomes the IndianGovernment’s actions andacknowledges India as a gen-uinely secular nation.

(The author, a US-basedacademic and political

commentator, frequentlywrites on current affairs inIndia. The views expressed

are personal.)

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The démarche issued by ahost of Islamic nationswith regard to the unfor-

tunate Nupur Sharma incidenthad stirred up a hornet’s nest inIndia and unleashed a welter ofemotions. An ugly cocktail ofshame, embarrassment, angerand frustration swirled and viti-ated the air. There have beenconcerns about India’s interna-tional image; some have ruedover its impact on trade with theArab world.

A former BJP leader sancti-moniously claimed that India’s“image has now come crashingdown”. He further averred that“…(It) caused grievous damageto our image as a liberal, secu-lar democracy…”. But is thisreally so? Do we need to feelashamed? And did this contro-versy erode our credibility as aliberal secular democracy?

We, us Indians, suffer froma deep-set flaw in our psyche; aprofound lack of self-esteemand self-confidence that stemsfrom not knowing who we are!So much so that even when two-bit nations with a combinedmoral quotient of zero passadverse remarks about us, we gointo a tizzy and subject ourselvesto an endless bout of self-loathing. Nothing illustrates thisphenomenon better than ourcurrent response.

First, one person’s aberration,even if the individual belongs tothe ruling party, cannot indict anentire nation, its people and itsGovernment. Second, theGovernment did act to rectifythe indecorum by asserting itsrespect for all religions and bysuspending the errant officebearer. Nupur Sharma has sinceapologised for her remarks.

Next, let us take a closer lookat those Muslim countries thatare hectoring India on morality.These include Kuwait, Qatar,Iran, Saudi Arabia, United ArabEmirates, Indonesia, Pakistan,Afghanistan, Jordan, Bahrain,Maldives, Malaysia, Oman, Iraqand Libya. The majority of themare autocracies which designateIslam as the official religion; acaveat that automatically rele-gates all other religions to sec-ond-class status.

Countries like Saudi Arabia

Page 7: FUUYRg `WWVcd e` bfZe Rd >RYR 4> DV_R TYZVW

motion by former PM Atal BihariVajpayee. The Jaswant Singh-StrobeTalbott dialogue, which went on forseveral years, had laid the founda-tion for the Indian pivot in Asia forthe US, which also augmented theglobal outreach of India.

Notably, former BJP chief anddeputy PM LK Advani had set inmotion the party’s foreign out-reach by creating a foreign celland the overseas friends of theBJP, which are playing importantroles in the outreach, who in turnhave become vocal advocates ofIndian national interest.Deployment of technology for out-reach by the BJP in the last onedecade by tapping the full potentialof social media platforms has givena boost unseen in the past.

Vajpayee, being a true democ-rat, had the idea to connect with theIndian diaspora to tap their grow-ing influence to work for the Indiannational interest. Needless to say,increase in the Indian outreach withforeign capitals corresponds withthe rise in the politico-economicclout of the Indian diaspora.

In PM Modi, the Indian diaspo-ra got the perfect voice for Indiannational interest. Predictably, theinteractions with the diaspora are aregular feature during his foreignvisits. So, while Vajpayee laid thefoundation for the connect with theworld, Modi has upgraded it bybuilding a grand edifice of an Indiathat’s connected with every cornerof the world—from developedcountries to island nations, from theAfrican continent to the developingnations and the immediate neigh-bourhood. He has deployed fullresources to build relationships of

a reliable and dependable friend.For many, the BJP is a relative-

ly new political party, for they havebeen used to seeing Congress inpower for decades. The BJP gainedfull majority in the Lok Sabha onlyin 2014 under the leadership ofModi. This happened again in the2019 general election. WhileVajpayee led the government with-in the coalition limitations, PMModi has the unprecedented pop-ular mandate to unlock India’sfullest potential. The Modi-ledgovernment at the Centre has car-ried out a legislative agenda whichwas earlier seen as impossible.

Revocation of Article 370 of theConstitution, which gave a specialstatus to Jammu and Kashmir.Then the archaic practice of tripletalaq among the Muslims was dis-carded; this caught the attention ofmany in the world. Such politicalwill to carry out hard reforms istough to find even among manyworld leaders. This fuels curiosity offoreign commentators in the BJPand its leadership; this has necessi-tated a creative outreach strategy, sothat we could keep pace with thefast-changing global narrative.

The outbreak of Covid-19 test-ed the characters of national lead-ers of several countries. India withover one billion population was seenby many as too vulnerable to thedeadly pandemic. But the incum-bent Indian leadership provedequal to the task; in fact, it excelledin its response with two made inIndia vaccines that shielded notjust Indians but millions in sever-al countries. The neighbouringcountries remained solely depen-dent on India.

PM led the outreach at the pol-icy front, holding consultationswith the scientific community tofind answers to the looming chal-lenges in the form of Covid-19.India showcased why the country isthe pharma capital of the world,with the Brazilian President JairBolsonaro expressing gratitude forthe medicines and vaccines byequating the efforts with Hanumancarrying the ‘Sanjeevani Booti’ forinjured Lakshman.

The BJP’s outreach with thepoor during such trying timesshaped the party’s deep social drivein the form of distribution of dryration kits to millions of people dur-ing lockdowns and thereafter. BJPworkers ran community kitchensacross the country. Blending of thesocial and political work furtherhelped the endeavour.

Dialogue and disseminationare in the DNA of the BJP and itsparent organization, the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh. Foreigncommentators have their misgiv-ings about the RSS and the BJPbecause of the long-term narra-tives fed to them by the politicalrivals and the well-entrenched‘Left-liberal ecosystem.’

RSS Sarsanghchalak MohanBhagwat held extensive interac-tions with the representatives of theforeign media at Vigyan Bhavan afew years ago where he respondedto all the questions. He explained tothem the worldview and function-ing of the organisation.

The BJP leaders have their earsto the ground; outreach helps themknow the pulse of the people. Theyare not the prisoners of history; theyare willing to walk the tough road.

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(The author is Director,the Public Policy

Research Centre, theBJP’s principal think

tank; twitter at@sumeetbhasin)

Once upon a time (aboutfour years ago) CyrilRamaphosa was seen as

South Africa’s last, best hope.Since the end of Apartheid in1994, the leadership of the coun-try’s ruling African NationalCongress (ANC) had passedfrom the wise and heroic NelsonMandela to the intellectual butineffectual Thabo Mbeki andthen to the corrupt and ignorantJacob Zuma.

But in 2018 the fracturedand demoralised ANC pulleditself together, remembered itspurpose, and replaced Zuma aspresident with Cyril Ramaphosa.Hope soared: Ramaphosa had along record of activism in thestruggle against Apartheid; hewas a former trade union leader;and he was so rich that he did-n’t need to be corrupt. He wasthe ideal candidate.

For a while it went well.The economy didn’t growmuch and unemploymentstayed very high, but Zuma’schief cronies fled abroad, oth-ers were charged with variouscrimes, and even Zuma woundup in jail. Ramaphosa was atleast trying to clean up themess—but then, two years ago,there was a burglary at hiswildlife game farm in Limpopoprovince.

Nobody heard about it atthe time, because Ramaphosadidn’t mention it publicly.That’s understandable, becausethe burglars allegedly found $4million in cash hidden in cush-ions on his sofa. That’s not agood look for a presidentwhose USP is fighting corrup-tion, so no report was made tothe police. Ramaphosa justswallowed the loss.

That’s not as crazy as itsounds: Ramaphosa is one ofthe richest men in SouthAfrica, and $4 million is lessthan one per cent of his wealth.He could just be trying not todraw attention to it. But then,early this month, Arthur Fraser,former head of South Africa’sintelligence agency, lodged acriminal complaint with thepolice about the affair.

Fraser said thatRamaphosa’s ‘presidential pro-tection unit’ (bodyguards) hadtracked down the burglars,kidnapped, and interrogatedthem, and then bribed them tokeep quiet about the cash.Maybe Ramaphosa was justtrying to protect his reputationas a man of the people, buteven so he would have beenbreaking the law. And thenFraser outed him.

The news is now out allover town, and by this weekRamaphosa was under attackfrom all sides. “Criminals donot report crimes when theproceeds of their crimes arestolen,” as Julius Malema, leaderof the opposition EconomicFreedom Fighters party, put it,and a great many other peoplein Parliament and in the street

took the same view.This comes at just the

wrong time for Ramaphosa,who faces a leadership chal-lenge in the ANC in December.His anti-corruption campaignwithin the party has not pros-pered, and Zuma’s supportersstaged riots that killed hun-dreds when he was jailed. NowZuma’s out of jail, andRamaphosa is tarred with thesame corruption brush himself.

There’s a lot that’s wrongwith this story. Arthur Fraser,the former spy chief whobrought the complaint againstRamaphosa, is a close ally ofZuma’s. The South AfricanPresident does hold regularcash auctions of his prizeAnkole cattle and various gameanimals at his farm, but whywould he hide the cash in pil-lows? Tax avoidance?

This is a man who has saton literally dozens of boardsand is allegedly worth $450million. If he wants to avoidtaxes, he has lawyers aplenty; hedoesn’t need sofa cushions.The whole ‘burglary’ operation,and especially the source andthe timing of the ‘complaint’,smells like a political sting.Nevertheless, Ramaphosa is indeep trouble.

The real object of the stingwould have been to highlightRamaphosa’s great and unex-plained wealth. He probablydidn’t break the law to get it,like Zuma did, but he didn’tinherit it and he didn’t earn itby hard work. He just got paidhuge sums to sit on boards, andinvested the proceeds wisely.

Ramaphosa got on thoseboards as part of the ANC-sponsored ‘Black Economic

Empowerment’ programme,one of whose purposes was toprovide a reliable, low-profileincome stream for its politicalwork. Most of its supporterswere very poor, but the chosen‘BEE’ appointees were expect-ed to donate much of theirlarge incomes to the ANC.

It’s less lurid than Zuma’sroute to great wealth via part-nership with Indian ‘entrepre-neurs’ in a project of ‘state cap-ture’, but both men’s richescome from their ties to theANC. To the average voter inAlexandra township, the twomen will look exactly the same.

That is why the ANC willprobably lose its majority inParliament in the 2024 election,after 30 years in power. Hightime, really, even thoughnobody knows what’s comingout of the box next.

� ������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������* ��0�������)�����6$�����!��"�������������0��$��

(The author’s newbook is The Shortest

History of War)

5������.1�#

��6��������� ������+� India is the world’s largest democracyand the Bharatiya Janata Party is theworld’s largest political party. Despitemany challenges it faces, Indian

democracy remains vibrant and inclusive.The BJP being one of the representatives

of democratic ideals of India, outreach withforeign and domestic constituents has beena constant for the party over severaldecades. Technology has recently emergedas a force multiplier. The world has for longbeen watching democratic evolution inIndia. Foreign commentators have interpret-ed the noise of democracy in India in dif-ferent ways. Some sections have even fall-en prey to the biases which coloured theirwriting on India. Some, however, have beengenuinely unaware of the various facets ofIndian democracy for many reasons, includ-ing distance and lack of communication.

Biases, prejudices, and preconceivednotions are the key challenges that the BJPhas sought to address in its outreach todiverse audiences. ‘Know BJP’ is an initia-tive of the ruling party to give insights intoparty’s functioning to foreign diplomats.

BJP president Jagat Pratap Nadda andsenior party functionaries have held threeinteractions with foreign diplomats.Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar hasalso been present in such interactions.

In the third meeting, the BJP presidentgave a detailed view of BJP’s policies andprogrammes to the envoys of six countries,including those from Russia, Tajikistan,Uzbekistan, Turkey, and Laos. The secondpart of ‘Know BJP’ exercise took place closeon the heels of Raisina Dialogue, which wasattended by foreign ministers of 14 coun-tries, diplomats, foreign affairs commenta-tors and other stakeholders, includingthose from the US, Australia and Israel.

The two events were independent ofeach other but complemented each otherin furthering the national interest.

The latest phase of direct communica-tion was held with the diplomatic commu-nity from the Central Asian countries withwhom India has age-old ties, dating backto the first global outreach by the emper-or Ashoka, whose pillars were installed inthese countries. The Raisina Dialogue sawJaishankar in his element while reiteratingIndia’s worldview and confronting thenarrow perspectives of some of the key for-eign commentators to the immediate flash-point in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Indian perseverance to make the worldtake note of the wrongs perpetrated on theSouth Asian subcontinent has begun bear-ing fruit with the emergence of greaterunderstanding about the pitfalls of anexpansionist China. For decades, it has beencausing problems on the Line of ActualControl on the eastern front of India, whilePakistan exports terrorism as its state pol-icy on the western front.

This global understanding has come onthe back of discreet but uninterrupted dia-logue by the leaders of India with their for-eign interlocutors. This was first set in

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AUkrainian photojournal-ist and a soldier who wasaccompanying him when

they were killed in the first weeksof Russia's invasion appear to havebeen "coldly executed" as theywere searching Russian-occupiedwoodlands for the photographer'smissing image-taking drone,Reporters Without Borders saidWednesday, citing its findingsfrom an investigation into theirdeaths.

The press freedom groupsaid it went back to the spot wherethe bodies of Maks Levin and ser-viceman Oleksiy Chernyshovwere found April 1 in woodsnorth of the capital, Kyiv.

The group said it counted 14bullet holes in the burned hulk oftheir car still at the scene.

The group said disusedRussian positions, one of themstill booby-trapped, were foundclose by. Also found were theremains of food rations, cigarettepackets and other litter seeming-ly left by Russian soldiers.

Some of Levin andChernyshov's belongings, includ-ing the soldier's ID papers and

parts of his bulletproof vest andthe photographer's helmet, werealso recovered, it said.

A Ukrainian team with metaldetectors also uncovered a bulletburied in the soil where Levin'sbody had lain, it said.

The group said that findingsuggests "he was probably killedwith one, perhaps two bulletsfired at close range when he wasalready on the ground."

A jerrycan for gasoline wasalso found close to whereChernyshov's burned body hadbeen recovered, it added.

Reporters Without Borderssaid its findings "show that thetwo men were doubtless coldlyexecuted."

Levin and Chernyshov werelast heard from on March 13. AGPS tracker in their vehicle gavetheir last position, in woods northof Kyiv, the group said.

It said Levin had lost hisdrone in the area on March 10and hadn't been able to recover itbecause he'd come under Russianfire. Drones have become a com-mon tool for photojournalists toget aerial photos and video.

Reporters Without Borderssaid Levin had on occasion sharedinformation gleaned from hisdrone, including about Russianpositions, with Ukrainian forces.

"But the use of his drone was

first and foremost a journalisticendeavour, confirmed by hisentourage and shown by theimages sold to the media since thestart of the Russian invasion," itsaid.

��� �*6*�

Adrone strike caused a fire at a refin-ery in southwestern Russia near the

border with Ukraine on Wednesday, butno one was hurt and the blaze was con-tained quickly, officials said.

The fire engulfed industrial equip-ment at the Novoshakhtinsk oil process-ing plant in the Rostov-on-Don region.The authorities said that dozens of fire-fighters extinguished the flames in a half-hour and no one was hurt.

The refinery said in a statement thatthe fire was caused by a strike carried outby two drones, describing it as a "terror-ist" act.

It didn't give further details, but thestate news agency Tass said that twoUkrainian drones flew over the plant andone of them slammed into a heatexchanger, triggering the fire.

Ukrainian officials haven't claimedresponsibility for the drone strike.

A video posted on a messaging appchannel showed a drone flying by and hit-ting what was purported to be the refin-ery, a giant plume of smoke rising intothe sky.

The authenticity of the video could-n't be independently verified.

The Rostov regional governor, VasilyGolubev, said that fragments of twodrones were found on the territory of theplant. The refinery said it temporarilysuspended the operations to assess thedamage.

Wednesday's attack on the refineryfollows a series of explosions and fires inwestern Russia amid Moscow's fightingin Ukraine in an operation that begannearly four months ago.

In April, two Ukrainian helicoptergunships struck an oil depot in Belgorod,according to Russian officials, causing amassive fire. Several other explosions andfires hit refineries, oil depots, and anammunition storage facility.

������ �*02*0

Europe needs to prepare"immediately" for Russia to

turn off all gas exports to theregion this winter, according tothe head of the InternationalEnergy Agency, who has calledon governments to work onreducing demand and keepingnuclear power plants open.

Fatih Birol said that thereductions in supplies in recentweeks the Kremlin has attrib-uted to maintenance workcould, in fact, be the beginningof wider cuts designed to pre-vent the filling of storage facil-ities in preparation for winter,as Russia seeks to gain leverageover the region, The Guardianreported.

"Europe should be ready incase Russian gas is completelycut off," he said in an interviewwith the Financial Times. "Thenearer we are coming to win-

ter, the more we understandRussia's intentions." "I believethe cuts are geared towardsavoiding Europe filling storage,and increasing Russia's leveragein the winter months."

EU countries are racing torefill storage sites, with Germanyhoping to reach 90 per cent ofcapacity by November. Its storesare only half full, The Guardianreported.

Member states have also

been working to reduce theirreliance on Russian fossil fuels,by sourcing gas from othercountries, including the US,and by speeding up the switchto renewable energy, althoughofficials have conceded that therace to phase out Russian oiland gas would mean burningmore coal and keeping nuclearplants going.

Birol said emergency mea-sures taken by European gov-

ernments to reduce energydemand had probably notgone far enough, and urgedcountries to work on pre-serving energy supplies.

"I believe there will bemore and deeper demandmeasures as winterapproaches," Birol said. Headded that gas supplies mayneed to be rationed, if Russiawere to further reduce gasexports.

Moscow has reduced oreven cut off gas deliveries toseveral EU countries inrecent weeks, in response totheir decision to imposesanctions on the Kremlinover its invasion of Ukraine.

Russian gas supplies toEurope received through theNord Stream 1 pipeline -which runs under the BalticSea to Germany - have beenfa l l ing , The Guardian reported.

���� �1�?�0<

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday hit outat the US and EU for imposing sanctions against

Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, saying the act ofwilfully imposing curbs will harm people around theworld.

History has shown that hegemony, group poli-tics and bloc confrontations bring neither peace norstability, but rather war and conflict, President Xi saidin a keynote speech delivered in a virtual format atthe opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum.

The Ukraine crisis has again sounded the alarmfor humanity: Countries will surely end up in secu-rity hardships if they place blind faith in their posi-tions of strength, expand military alliances, and seektheir own safety at the expense of others, Xi was quot-ed as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

In his speech at the Business Forum, Xi hit outat the US and EU for imposing sanctions againstRussia for its invasion of Ukraine, saying the act ofwilfully imposing sanctions will bring disasters to peo-ple around the world.

Describing sanctions as boomerangs and double-edged swords, Xi said those who politicise, leverageand weaponise global economy and wilfully imposesanctions by taking advantage of dominance in inter-national financial and monetary systems will even-tually harm others and themselves and bring disas-ters to people around the world.

The BRICS Business Forum meeting was heldahead of Thursday's 14th summit of BRICS nations- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, whichwill be held in Beijing via video link followed by high-level dialogue on global development the next day.

China is this year's chair of the BRICS.Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian PresidentJair Bolsonaro and South African President CyrilRamaphosa are expected to take part in the summithosted by President Xi.

The Summit will be held in virtual format underthe theme of Foster High-quality BRICS Partnership,Usher in a New Era for Global Development,Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying saidin a statement.

Noting that safeguarding peace is the commoncause of all humanity, Xi said that only if everyonecherishes and upholds peace, and remembers andlearns from the bitter lessons of war, can there be thehope of peace.

"Facing the turmoil and instability in the world,we should keep firmly in mind the original aspira-tion of the UN Charter, as well as our mission to pro-mote peace," Xi said.

Urging the international community to abandonzero-sum game and jointly oppose hegemony andpower politics, Xi called for the building of a new typeof international relations featuring mutual respect,equity and justice, and mutually beneficial cooper-ation.

��� 01��=*��

The reflections of a 12-year-oldrefugee from the Russian inva-

sion of Ukraine will be published thisfall. Yeva Skalietska's book is called"You Don't Know What War Is: TheDiary of a Young Girl from Ukraine."

Union Square &amp; Co. Willrelease her account Oct. 25.

"Everyone knows what the wordwar' means, but practically no oneknows what this word really repre-sents," Skalietska said in a statementreleased Wednesday. "I want theworld to know what we have expe-rienced."

Skalietska's book begins with her12th birthday, shortly before theRussians attacked on Feb. 24. She hadbeen living in Kharkiv with hergrandmother when the bombingbegan. (Yeva's parents separatedwhen she was a baby, and her grand-mother has raised her).

"She describes the bombingsthey endured while sheltering under-ground, and their desperate journeyto West Ukraine. She shares her con-fusion about why the Russians would

attack them, since she speaks Russianand follows many of their customs,"according to Union Square'sannouncement.

"After many endless train ridesand a prolonged stay in an over-crowded refugee center in Hungary- because several countries in Europerefused them entry - Yeva and herbeloved grandmother eventuallyfind refuge in Dublin, where shebravely begins to forge a new life,hoping she'll be able to return homeone day," the publisher said.

Union Square will donate a por-tion of the proceeds to Ukrainerefugee organizations.

������ ?����+�

Indonesian President Joko Widodowill visit Moscow and Kiev by the

end of June and meet with RussianPresident Vladimir Putin andUkrainian President VolodymyrZelensky respectively, IndonesianForeign Minister Retno Marsuditold a press briefing on Wednesday.

Retno said that during the vis-its, Widodo will discuss the food cri-sis caused by the Russia-Ukraineconflict, Xinhua news agency report-ed.

The "special visits" would showthat Indonesia, as the host countryof Group of 20 (G20) Summit inNovember, was "actively responding"to the ongoing geopolitical issue.

Indonesia has fully expectedthat Russia, one of G20 members,will attend the summit, whileUkraine was also invited for the

meeting as a guest country."We fully understand that the sit-

uation now is very complicated,and all of the countries in the worldknow that. Thus, through the visits,the president wants to contribute toovercoming the food crisis that hasbeen caused by the war and hasimpacted the poor countries. ThePresident wants to push for the spir-it of peace," Retno said.

She pointed out that PresidentWidodo would be the first presidentfrom the Southeast Asia region tovisit both countries since the conflictbroke out in February.

The conflict between Russia andUkraine has been going on sincethen, which has been widely report-ed to trigger a rise in global food andenergy prices.

Before travelling to Moscowand Kiev, Widodo will first attend theG7 Summit in Germany.

��� +����00

French armed forces conduct-ed a surprise military exercise

in Estonia, deploying more than100 paratroopers in the Balticcountry that neighbours Russia,the French defense ministrysaid Wednesday.

The airborne operation con-ducted on Tuesday night anddubbed Thunder Lynx "enabled,at very short notice, the droppingof about 100 paratroopers" fromFrance's 11th Airborne Brigade"over an area secured byEstonian soldiers," the state-ment said.

The hastily organised exer-cise in Estonia, a NATO ally, wasexecuted as an act of "strategicsolidarity" amid Russia's war inUkraine.

"The airborne operation

illustrates the ability of theFrench armed forces to inter-vene, in emergency, and supportan allied country," a Frenchdefense ministry statement said.

France was one of the firstcountries to send its troops toEurope's eastern flank followingRussia's invasion of Ukraine onFeb. 24.

France has around 500 sol-

diers deployed to Romania aspart of NATO's Rapid ReactionForce and has been a key play-er in NATO's bolstering of forceson the alliance's eastern flanksince the war started.

In May, France deployed anair defense system to Romaniathat NATO said "can ensureprotection to the forces operat-ing within the area."

������ ��1>

Chief Executive Officer ofUkraine-based Blitz-Inform

Publishing House VolodymyrChepovyi has been "killed inaction" when defending Ukraineagainst Russian forces.

The statement was made onTelegram by the National Unionring to spokesperson of theDeputy Head of Kiev City StateAdministration LiudmylaShykota, a Ukrinform newsagency reported.

"Today it has been con-firmed that Blitz-InformPublishing House CEO,Business publication Editor-in-

Chief, Business 100 project ini-tiator Volodymyr Chepovyi waskilled in action. Enthusiastic,cheerful, active," Shykota wrote.

Chepovyi's death was alsoconfirmed by political expertVitalii Kulyk.

"Volodymyr Chepovyi wentto war as a volunteer fighter ofthe Territorial Defense Forcesand was killed in the earlyweeks of June. His body wasidentified just yesterday," Kulyknoted.

Volodymyr Chepovyibecame the 34th media profes-sional to have been killed sincethe Russia-Ukraine war started.

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German Chancellor OlafScholz said Wednesday that

he wants to discuss the outlinesof a "Marshall plan for Ukraine"with the leaders of the Group ofSeven countries at their upcom-ing summit in Germany. Scholzhopes for a united front onlong-term support for Ukrainewhen he hosts the annual G-7summit in Bavaria next week.

The group of the world's

leading economic powers ismade up of the US, France,Germany, Italy, the UK, Canadaand Japan. The chancellor toldGermany's parliament that"rebuilding Ukraine will be a taskfor generations."

Recalling his visit last weekto Irpin, a Kyiv suburb that sawintense fighting, he said that"some things there remind notjust me of the pictures ofGerman cities after World WarII."

���� �*6*�

Russian President VladimirPutin on Wednesday said the

"politically motivated" Westernsanctions on his country havecaused global economic chal-lenges like decrease in businessactivity, a spike in unemploy-ment, a shortage of raw materi-als and difficulties in ensuringglobal food security.

In his address to a businessconference of the BRICS hostedby Chinese President Xi Jinping,Putin also said that Russia was inthe process of rerouting its tradeand oil exports towards countriesfrom the grouping which com-prises Brazil, Russia, India, Chinaand South Africa.

"New politically motivatedsanctions are imposed again andagain, the mechanisms of putting

pressure on competition arebeing reinforced," he was quot-ed as saying by the state-runTASS news agency.

"A deliberate breakdown ofcooperation ties is taking place,transport and logistics chains arecollapsing," he said.

"All this is contrary to com-mon sense and elementary eco-nomic logic, is to the detrimentof the interests of business on aglobal scale, and negativelyaffects the well-being of thepopulation, essentially, of allcountries."

"As a result, problems in theglobal economy are becomingchronic," he said.

"There is a decrease in busi-ness activity, an increase inunemployment, a shortage ofraw materials and components,difficulties in ensuring global

food security are being exacer-bated, prices for grain cropsand other basic agriculturalproducts are driven up," Putinsaid without referring to Russia'sinvasion of Ukraine.

Putin ordered a "special mil-itary operation" against Ukraineon February 24. The US-ledWestern nations have imposedcrippling sanctions on Russia forits invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine is one of the world'stop grain producers along withRussia, but has been unable toexport to global markets becauseof a blockade of its Black Seaports. The BRICS countries,Putin said, are developing busi-ness in difficult conditions.

"Entrepreneurs in our coun-tries are having to build theirbusiness in difficult conditionswhen Western partners neglect

the basic principles of a marketeconomy, free trade, the invio-lability of private property, pur-sue an essentially irresponsiblemacroeconomic course, includ-ing the launch of a printing press,uncontrolled emission and theaccumulation of unsecureddebts," he said.

Noting that despite all prob-lems and difficulties, BRICSbusinesses have been "consis-tently enhancing mutually ben-eficial ties in the areas of trade,finance, and investment", Putinsaid that in the first three monthsof 2022, trade between Russiaand the BRICS countriesincreased by 38 per cent - andreached USD 45 billion.

"Contacts between Russianbusiness circles and the businesscommunity of the BRICS coun-tries have intensified.

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Apowerful earthquake struck arural, mountainous region ofeastern Afghanistan early

Wednesday, killing 1,000 people andinjuring 1,500 more in one of thedeadliest quakes in decades, the state-run news agency reported. Officialswarned that the already grim toll maystill rise.

Information remained scarce onthe magnitude 6.1 temblor near thePakistani border, but quakes of thatstrength can cause serious damage inan area where homes and other build-ings are poorly constructed and land-slides are common.

Experts put the depth at just 10kilometers - another factor that couldlead to severe destruction.

The disaster posed a major test forthe Taliban-led government, whichseized power last year as the U.S.Planned to pull out from the countryand end its longest war, two decadesafter toppling the same insurgents inthe wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Rescuers rushed to the area byhelicopter Wednesday, but theresponse is likely to be complicatedsince many international aid agencies

left Afghanistan after the Talibantakeover.

Reaching rural areas even in thebest circumstances remains difficultin Afghanistan, a landlocked nationjust smaller than Texas with ruttedmountain roadways that may nowhave sustained significant damage.

In light of those difficulties, aTaliban official asked for internationalhelp. "When such a big incident hap-pens in any country, there is a need

for help from other countries," saidSharafuddin Muslim.

"It is very difficult for us to be ableto respond to this huge incident."

Neighbouring Pakistan'sMeteorological Department said thequake's epicentre was in Afghanistan'sPaktika province, some 50 kilometerssouthwest of the city of Khost.

Buildings were also damaged inKhost province, and tremors were feltsome 375 kilometers away in the

Pakistani capital of Islamabad.Footage from Paktika showed

men carrying people in blankets towaiting helicopters. Others were treat-ed on the ground. One resident couldbe seen receiving IV fluids while sit-ting in a plastic chair outside the rub-ble of his home and still more weresprawled on gurneys.

Some images showed residentspicking through clay bricks and otherrubble from destroyed stone houses,some of whose roofs or walls hadcaved in.The death toll given by theBakhtar News Agency was equal tothat of a quake in 2002 in northernAfghanistan. Those are the deadliestsince 1998, when a 6.1 magnitudeearthquake and subsequent tremors inAfghanistan's remote northeast killedat least 4,500 people.

In most places in the world, anearthquake of that magnitude would-n't inflict such extensive devastation,said Robert Sanders, a seismologistwith the U.S. Geological Survey.

But a quake's death toll more oftencomes down to geography, buildingquality and population density.

"Because of the mountainousarea, there are rockslides and land-slides that we won't know about until

later reporting. Older buildings arelikely to crumble and fail," he said.

"Due to how condensed the areais in that part of the world, we've seenin the past similar earthquakes dealsignificant damage."

The Taliban are still trying toreconstitute government ministriesabandoned by staff loyal to its previ-ous Western-backed government, andit was not clear how officials arrivedat the casualty tolls reported byBakhtar.

In Kabul, Prime MinisterMohammad Hassan Akhund con-vened an emergency meeting at thepresidential palace to coordinate therelief effort, and Bilal Karimi, a deputyspokesman for the Taliban govern-ment, wrote on Twitter to urge aidagencies to send teams to the area.

The "response is on its way," theU.N. Resident coordinator inAfghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, wroteon Twitter. That may prove difficultgiven the situation Afghanistan findsitself in today.

After the Taliban swept across thecountry in 2021, the U.S. Military andits allies fell back to Kabul's HamidKarzai International Airport and laterwithdrew completely.

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Senate bargainers reachedagreement Tuesday on a

bipartisan gun violence bill,potentially teeing up final pas-sage by week's end on an incre-mental but landmark packagethat would stand as Congress'response to mass shootings inTexas and New York that shookthe nation.

Lawmakers released the80-page bill nine days afteragreeing to a framework for theplan and 29 years afterCongress last enacted majorfirearms curbs. It cleared an ini-tial procedural hurdle by 64-34,with 14 Republicans joining all48 Democrats and two alliedindependents in voting yes.That strongly supported a pre-diction by Senate MajorityLeader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of approval later thisweek. Passage by theDemocratic-led House couldfollow quickly.

Though Republicansblocked tougher restrictionssought by Democrats, theaccord marks an election-yearbreakthrough on an issue thatpits the GOP's staunch gun-owning and rural voters againstDemocrats' urban-centeredbackers of firearms curbs. Thatmakes it one of the most incen-diary culture war battlefields inpolitics and a sensitive vote forsome lawmakers, particularlyRepublicans who might alienateSecond Amendment stalwarts.

The legislation wouldtoughen background checksfor the youngest firearms buy-ers, require more sellers toconduct background checksand beef up penalties on guntraffickers. It also would dis-burse money to states andcommunities to improve schoolsafety and mental health ini-tiatives.

Aides estimated the mea-sure would cost around $15 bil-lion, which Sen. Chris Murphyof Connecticut, the lead

Democratic bargainer, saidwould be fully paid for.

Resolving one final hurdlethat delayed the accord, the billwould prohibit romantic part-ners convicted of domesticviolence and not married totheir victims from gettingfirearms. Convicted abuserswho are married to, live with orhad children with their victimsare already barred from havingguns.

The compromise prohibitsguns for a person who has "acurrent or recent former datingrelationship with the victim.''That is defined in part as onebetween people "who have orhave recently had a continuingserious relationship of a roman-tic or intimate nature." Anoffender's ability to own a guncould be restored after fiveyears if they've not committedanother serious crime.

On another late dispute,the bill would provide $750million to the 19 states and theDistrict of Columbia that have"red flag" laws making it easi-er to temporarily take firearmsfrom people adjudged danger-ous, and to other states withviolence prevention programs.States with "red flag" laws thatreceive the funds would have tohave legal processes for the gunowner to fight the firearm'sremoval.

Momentum in Congressfor gun legislation has a histo-ry of waning quickly after massshootings. Lawmakers arescheduled to begin a two-weekJuly 4th recess by this weekend.

The legislation lacks farmore potent proposals thatPresident Joe Biden supportsand Democrats have pushedunsuccessfully for years,derailed by GOP opposition.These include banning assault-type weapons or raising theminimum age for buying them,prohibiting high-capacity mag-azines and requiring back-ground checks for virtually allgun sales.

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Authorities declared thefinal seats on

Wednesday in a greener,more fragmented AustralianParliament following May21 elections.

The election broughtPrime Minister AnthonyAlbanese's center-left LaborParty to power for the firsttime in nine years.

The Australian ElectoralCommission on Wednesdaydeclared the Victoria stateseat of Cooper was the 77thwon by Labor in the 151-seatHouse of Representativeswhere parties need to controla majority to form govern-ment.

The opposition conserv-ative Liberal Party was laterdeclared the winner of theWestern Australia state seatof O'Connor.

Labor's narrow majoritymeans that the governmentwill not have to negotiatewith the opposition orunaligned lawmakers to getlegislation through the lowerchamber.

But that is not the case in

the Senate, where Laborholds only 26 of the 76 seats.

If Labor got all 12 sena-tors from the minor Greensparty to support legislation,the government would onlyneed to persuade one of thesix remaining independentor unaligned legislators toreach a majority. The envi-ronmentally focused Greensheld only nine seats in the

previous Senate.An early test will be

when the governmentattempts to enshrine in leg-islation a new greenhousegas reduction target on July26 when the Parliament sitsfor the first time since theelection.

Labor was elected on apledge to reduce Australia'semissions by 43% below

2005 levels by 2030. Thegovernment last week for-mally adopted the target,but enshrining it in lawwould make the task ofchanging the target moredifficult for a future admin-istration to achieve.

The conservative coali-tion went to the electionlast month with a less ambi-tious target of a reduction of26% to 28% by the end of thedecade. Opposition leaderPeter Dutton has ruled outthe 32 opposition senatorssupporting Labor's 43% tar-get.

Greens leader AdamBandt has said he will pushthe government to ban newcoal mines and gas projectswhen that target legislation isnegotiated. The Greens wantAustralian emissionsreduced by 75% by 2030.

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The British government onWednesday unveiled plans for

a Bill of Rights it says will strength-en free speech and the power ofParliament - but that critics arguewill rip up human rights protec-tions for ordinary people.

The government publishedthe bill days after courts in the UKand Europe, on human rightsgrounds, stopped Prime MinisterBoris Johnson's Conservativeadministration deporting peopleseeking asylum in Britain toRwanda.If approved by Parliament- where it faces a battle - the leg-islation will raise the bar for bring-ing human rights legal claims. Itwill reduce the ability of foreignnationals convicted of a crime inBritain to challenge deportation onthe basis of their human rights.

The government says the goalis to reduce "trivial" and "frivolous"claims.

The law will also give Britishcourts the power to ignore rulingsby the European Court of Human

Rights, currently the ultimatearbiter of rights law for dozens ofcountries, including the U.K. It wasan ECHR judge who ruled lastweek that an Iraqi man should notbe sent to Rwanda under the gov-ernment's controversial deporta-tion plan, a judgment that led tothe flight being grounded.

Justice Secretary DominicRaab said the bill, which wouldreplace the U.K.'s Human RightsAct, would "curb abuses of the sys-tem and inject a bit more commonsense" into human rights law.

Raab said Britain would retainits "fundamental commitment" tothe European Convention onHuman Rights, but its move couldset it on a collision course with theCouncil of Europe, which overseesthe Strasbourg-based rights court.

The Govt depicted the Bill ofRights as an assertion of Britishsovereignty in the wake of thecountry's departure from the EU.However, the European Court ofHuman Rights is unconnected tothe EU; it is an international tri-bunal supported by 46 countries.

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President Xi Jinping on Wednesdayannounced that the 20th

Congress of the ruling CommunistParty of China (CPC) will be held inthe 2nd half of this year --- a high-profile party event during which heis widely expected to be conferred anunprecedented third term.

The 20th National Congress ofthe CPC will be held in the secondhalf of this year to draw China'sdevelopment blueprint in the nextstage, Xi said, while addressing theBRICS Business Forum via videolink, state-run Xinhua news agencyreported.

Xi who turned 69 on June 15, is

widely expected to continue in powerfor the rare third term, perhaps forlife, defying the 68-year retirementage rule followed by his predecessors.

The official retirement age forChinese leaders is 68 or two five-yeartenures at the helm.

His number two leader, PremierLi Keqiang, who will turn 67 on July1, has already announced retirementafter completing his 10-year tenurethis year.

Described as the "core" leader ofthe party like the party founded byMao Zedong, Xi, heading the CPC,the powerful military and thePresidency is widely expected to getendorsed by the key once-in-a-five-year-Congress.

The CPC Party Congress wasdue to be held in October, but basedon Xi's announcement onWednesday, it is expected to takeplace any time soon.

Xi's third term was regarded asa foregone conclusion after China'snational legislature, the NationalPeople's Congress (NPC) removedthe two-term limit for Presidentthrough a key constitutional amend-ment in 2018.

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Israeli lawmakers voted infavour of dissolving parlia-

ment in a preliminary vote onWednesday, setting the wheelsin motion to send the countryto its fifth national election injust over three years.

The motion was the firststep in a series of votes beforethe formal disbanding of thegovernment.

It came two days afterPrime Minister Naftali Bennettannounced he was disbandinghis unravelling governingcoalition of eight ideological-ly diverse parties just over ayear after he took office.

The historic coalition,which unseated longtimeleader Benjamin Netanyahu,was wracked by infighting and

defections in recent months. It included dovish parties

committed to a two-state solu-tion with the Palestinians,hawkish ultranationalists whooppose a Palestinian state, anda small Islamist faction, thefirst Arab party to join a gov-ernment.

A series of proposals fordissolving parliament werepassed by a vast majority of the120 members of Knesset, theIsraeli parliament.

But a final vote on at leastone of the motions is stillrequired in order to dissolve

parliament, and that is expected to beheld next week.

Once it passes, Bennett will stepdown as prime minister and hand overthe reins to his ally, Foreign Minister YairLapid. New elections are expected to beheld in October.

Bennett and Lapid formed theircoalition of parties united solely in their

opposition to Netanyahu last year afterfour inconclusive elections in 2019,2020 and 2021.

Parliament was deadlocked betweenthose who supported a Netanyahu-ledgovernment and those who refused tojoin forces with him while he wasunder indictment for corruption.

Netanyahu is on trial and facescharges of fraud, breach of trust, andaccepting bribes in three high profilecases.

He has denied any wrongdoingand has repeatedly dismissed the accu-sations as part of a witch-hunt to ousthim from office.

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Deposed Pakistan prime ministerNawaz Sharif can be arrested if the

PML-N supremo does not secure tran-sit bail while returning to the countryfrom the UK, the country's law minis-ter has said.

Sharif - against whom several cor-ruption cases were launched by the gov-ernment of former prime ministerImran Khan - had left for London inNovember 2019 after the Lahore HighCourt granted him four-week permis-sion allowing him to go abroad for histreatment.

Federal Minister for Law AzamNazeer Tarar said Tuesday that if formerprime minister Nawaz Sharif does notsecure transit bail while coming back toPakistan, he can be arrested, Geo Newsreported.

The 72-year-old supremo of thePakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is the elder brother of the currentPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

In 2020, Islamabad High Court'sJustice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani issuednon-bailable arrest warrants for thePML-N supremo after he failed toreturn to Pakistan following the expiryof his bail.

Time and again, there have beenrumours of the former prime minister'sreturn to Pakistan, but the speculationgained momentum after the formationof the coalition government in April -as the PML-N is the major player in thecoalition.

The three-time prime minister hadgiven an undertaking to the Lahore HighCourt to return to Pakistan, citing hisrecord to face the process of law and jus-tice within four weeks or as soon as heis declared healthy and fit to travel bydoctors.

He was also given bail in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case in which hewas serving seven-year imprisonment inLahore's high-security Kot Lakhpat jail.

In his press conference on Tuesday,Tarar - a senior PML-N member saidthat if Nawaz Sharif receives transit bail,then he cannot be arrested upon arrivalin Pakistan, the report added.

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Saudi Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman is

scheduled to arrive in Ankaraon Wednesday, making hisfirst visit to Turkey followingthe slaying of Saudi colum-nist Jamal Khashoggi inIstanbul.

As Saudi Arabia andTurkey press ahead withefforts to repair ties thatwere strained by Khashoggi'skilling, the crown prince willmeet President Recep TayyipErdogan on the last leg of aMiddle East tour that alsotook him to Egypt andJordan. Erdogan said talkswith Prince Mohammed,who is commonly referred toby his initials MBS, wouldfocus on advancing Turkish-Saudi relations to a "muchhigher degree."

Erdogan visited SaudiArabia in April, paying hisfirst visit to the kingdomsince 2017, a year before thegruesome Khashoggi killing.

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New Delhi: Shares of JainIrrigation Systems Ltd onWednesday jumped over 10 percent after the company said itsglobal irrigation business willbe merged with Temasek-owned Rivulis in a cash-and-stock deal, a move that will helpthe firm to reduce its consoli-dated debt.

The stock jumped 17 percent to �43.90 during the dayon the BSE. It ended at �41.35,a gain of 10.27 per cent.

At the NSE, it rallied 9.86per cent to settle at �41.20apiece. In volume terms, 48.32lakh shares were traded at theBSE and over 4.25 crore sharesat the NSE during the day.

Jain Irrigation Systems onTuesday said its global irriga-tion business will be mergedwith Rivulis in a cash-and-stock deal, a move that will help

the company to reduce its con-solidated debt by �2,700 croreor around 45 per cent.

Jain Irrigation’s global irri-gation business has been valuedat �4,200 crore, of which �2,700crore will be used to repay itsall overseas debt and �200crore will come to the parentcompany, its ManagingDirector Anil Jain toldreporters.

In the merged entity, it willhave a 22 per cent equity stake,while Rivulis will hold 78 percent. The deal is likely to beconcluded in the next sixmonths, he said, adding thatthe combined entity will havea revenue of USD 750 million.At present, Rivulis has an annu-al revenue of USD 400 million,while that of Jain Irrigation’sglobal irrigation business isUSD 350 million. PTI

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New Delhi: UnionCooperation Minister AmitShah is scheduled to address anational conclave that willdeliberate on the future role ofthe urban cooperative creditsector in the country.

The conclave will discussvarious issues related toScheduled and Multi-StateUrban Co-operative Banks andCredit Societies and will alsofelicitate Urban CooperativeBanks that have completed100 years of service to society,an official statement said.

The Minister of State forCooperation B L Verma,Chairman Emeritus of theNational Federation of UrbanCooperative Banks and CreditSocieties (NAFCUB) H K Patiland senior ministry officialswill be present at the event.

Among other issues, theConclave will discuss recom-mendations of the Reserve

Bank of India’s expert com-mittee, the Banking Regulation(Amendment) Act, 2020, andits impact and developments,the role of credit societies in thefinancial sector scenario withspecial reference to multi-statesocieties and the issue of reg-ulation and taxation of coop-erative credit societies.

The Conclave will alsofelicitate Urban CooperativeBanks that have completed100 years of service to society.There are 197 such banks in thecountry.

Urban Cooperative Banksare among the oldest bankinginstitutions in the country.They are banks organised andmanaged by a cross section ofpeople from society that couldinclude teachers, lawyers,traders, doctors, engineers,social workers and others forproviding banking services totheir members. PTI

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New Delhi: Capital marketsregulator Sebi on Wednesdaysent a notice to FutureEnterprises asking it to pay overRs 5 lakh in a matter pertain-ing to disclosure lapses aboutinitiation of arbitration pro-ceedings against Future Groupby Amazon.

The regulator also warnedthe company of attachment ofassets and bank accounts if itfails to make the paymentwithin 15 days.

The notice came after thecompany failed to pay the fineimposed on it by the Securitiesand Exchange Board of India(Sebi). In an order passed inMarch, the capital markets reg-ulator had slapped a fine of Rs5 lakh on Future Enterprises fordisclosure lapses in the caserelated to arbitration proceed-ings against Future Group byAmazon.Com NV InvestmentsHoldings LLC.

Future Enterprises failed to

disclose to the exchanges theinformation regarding the ini-tiation of arbitration proceed-ings and also the passing of anorder dated October 25, 2020in favour of Amazon.

In its notice, Sebi directedFuture Enterprises to pay Rs5.21 lakh, which includespenalty, interest and recovery

cost, within 15 days.In the event of non-pay-

ment of dues, the markets reg-ulator will recover the amountby attaching and selling thecompany’s moveable andimmoveable properties.Besides, the firm faces attach-ment of its bank accounts. PTI

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Mumbai: The rupee declinedby 27 paise to a record low of78.40 (provisional) against theUS dollar on Wednesday due tounabated foreign fund out-flows and losses in the domes-tic equities.

A stronger greenback over-seas also weighed on the rupeesentiment, forex traders said.However, receding crude pricesin the international marketrestricted the rupee’s loss, theyadded.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the localcurrency opened flat at 78.13against the greenback and wit-nessed an intra-day high of78.13 and a low of 78.40.

The domestic unit finallyended at a record low of 78.40,down 27 paise over its previousclose. In the previous session,the rupee had settled at 78.13against the US dollar.

The dollar index, whichgauges the greenback’s strengthagainst a basket of six curren-cies, strengthened by 0.05 percent to 104.48.

Brent crude futures, theglobal oil benchmark, dropped4.46 per cent to USD 109.54per barrel.

On the domestic equitymarket front, the BSE Sensexended 709.54 points or 1.35 percent lower at 51,822.53, whilethe broader NSE Nifty fell225.50 points or 1.44 per centto 15,413.30. PTI

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Mumbai: Equity indicesslipped in the negative territo-ry on Wednesday after a two-day breather, with the BSESensex tumbling 709.54 pointsfollowing weak trends in glob-al markets.

Unabated foreign fund out-flows also played spoilsport forthe bourses.

The 30-share BSE Sensextanked 709.54 points or 1.35per cent to settle at 51,822.53.During the day, it declined792.09 points or 1.50 per centto 51,739.98.

The NSE Nifty fell 225.50points or 1.44 per cent to endat 15,413.30.

From the Sensex pack,Tata Steel, Wipro, RelianceIndustries, IndusInd Bank,HCL Technologies, BajajFinserv, Titan and BajajFinance were the major lag-gards.

On the other hand, TCS,HUL, PowerGrid and MarutiSuzuki India were the gainers.

Elsewhere in Asia, marketsin Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghaiand Tokyo ended lower.

European markets werealso trading in the red in mid-

session deals.The US markets recorded

smart gains on Tuesday."Pull back rallies can be

sharp and it was sharp yester-day. The important question is-- will this continue? There isno economic news, except thesoftness in crude, to sustain therally.

"There is no reason for FIIsto change their selling strategysince the dollar continues to bestrong and US bond yields areattractive and expected to risefurther," said V K Vijayakumar,Chief Investment Strategist atGeojit Financial Services.

The BSE Sensex hadzoomed 934.23 points or 1.81per cent, while the NSE Niftyclimbed 288.65 points or 1.88per cent on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, internationaloil benchmark Brent crudedropped 4.19 per cent to USD109.8 per barrel.

Foreign institutionalinvestors (FIIs) remained netsellers in the capital market, asthey sold shares worth Rs2,701.21 crore on Tuesday, asper exchange data. PTI

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Mumbai: With the Covid-19pandemic disrupting the salesprocess, around 73 per cent ofsellers surveyed are using tech-nology at least once a week toget access to real-time data todrive sales, says a report.

Companies are increasingtheir appetite for data-basedinsights to better gauge buyerintent and drive greater sales,the LinkedIn sixth edition ofthe ‘APAC State of Sales 2022’report stated.

In fact, more than eight in10 (84 per cent) sales profes-sionals in India have lost at leastone deal to an important deci-sion maker changing roles inthe past year alone.

Therefore, access to theright intel has become mission-

critical for sales functionsacross the board, the reportopined.

To avoid these repercus-sions, three in four (73 percent) sellers in India are nowusing sales tech at least once aweek to get access to accuratereal-time data, indicating thegrowing preference for CRMsystems and sales intelligencetools in the industry, it said.

Findings also suggest thatyounger (under 35 years) pro-fessionals are leading this tech-savvy shift, given that they are1.2 times more likely to useCRM tools for over 3 hours ina week as compared to theirolder (over 35 years) counter-parts.

But as more businessesturn to tech, sales managersmust seek ways to deal with theimpending challenge of ‘dirtydata’, with 2 in 5 sellers (46 percent) and CRM users (38 percent) identifying incompleteinaccurate data as their largestchallenge, it suggested.

"Over the past two years,the rise of remote work hasaccelerated the use of technol-ogy across industries.

Our data shows that three-quarters (73 per cent) of sell-ers in India today are relying onsales technology at least once aweek, which clearly means thatdata is driving the

future of sales," LinkedInSales Solutions for India HeadAbhai Singh said. PTI

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New Delhi: Gold price in thenational capital on Wednesdayfell by �205 to �50,487 per 10gram in line with a decline ininternational rates of the pre-cious metal, according toHDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, theyellow metal settled at �50,692per 10 gram.

Silver also tumbled by�926 to �59,959 per kg from�60,885 per kg in the previoustrade. In the international mar-ket, gold was quoting lower atUSD 1,825 per ounce while sil-ver was trading flat at USD21.28 per ounce.

"Gold prices traded weakwith spot gold prices atCOMEX trading 0.41 per centdown at USD 1,825 per ounceon Wednesday. Gold pricesare struggling on a strongerdollar and weaker bond yields,"said Tapan Patel, SeniorAnalyst (Commodities) atHDFC Securities. PTI

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New Delhi: Tata Steel has notmade any purchase of PCIcoal from Russia post its Aprilannouncement of severingbusiness ties with Russia amidthe ongoing conflict withUkraine, a company spokesper-son said on Wednesday.

On April 20, Tata Steelhad said it would stop doingbusiness with Russia. To ensurebusiness continuity, all its steelmanufacturing sites in India,the UK and the Netherlandshave sourced alternative sup-plies of raw materials to end itsdependence on Russia.

"Tata Steel would like toissue a clarification in view ofthe incorrect information float-ing around in some sections ofthe media with respect to thebuying/ importing of coal fromRussia," the spokesperson said.

A deal for supply of 75,000tonne of PCI coal was finalisedin March 2022 and the contractbecame effective weeks beforeTata Steel’s April announce-ment.

The shipment was receivedin May 2022 to honour thebusiness commitment madebefore the announcement.

"Post the announcement,Tata Steel has not made anyfresh purchase of PCI coalfrom Russia. As a responsiblecorporate, we have and willcontinue to remain committedto our stated stance and result-ing obligations," the spokesper-son said.

The pulverised coal isused by steelmakers in theblast furnace(BF) as an auxil-iary fuel. Pulverised CoalInjection (PCI) is a process thatinvolves injecting large vol-umes of fine coal particles intothe raceway of the BF. PTI

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Mumbai: maker EVTRICMotors on Wednesday said ithas rolled out its first motor-cycle priced at �1.60 lakh (ex-showroom).

It also announced com-mencement of bookings for thee-bike -- EVTRIC Rise -- withan initial payment of �5,000from June 22.

The motorcycle, launchedduring the company’s dealers’meeting in Rajasthan recently,has a top speed of 70 km/hourand can run over 110 km on asingle charge.

EVTRIC Motors is a partof Pune-based automationcompany PAPL.

PAPL ventured into elec-tric vehicle space last July withplans to invest �100 crore in thebusiness in a phased mannerand roll out electric scooters,

bicycles, bikes and three-wheelers.

EVTRIC already has threeelectric scooters -- AXIS, RIDEand MIGHTY -- in its productportfolio. These vehicles arebeing sold through a networkof 125 touchpoints across 22states.

Powered by a 2000 wattBLDC motor paired with a70v/40ah lithium-ion battery,the e-bike gets fully chargedwithin four hours with theaccompanying 10amp microcharger which comes with theauto cut feature, the companysaid. PTI

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New Delhi: Shares of JainIrrigation Systems Ltd onWednesday rose 17 per centafter the company said its glob-al irrigation business will bemerged with Temasek-ownedRivulis in a cash-and-stockdeal, a move that will help thefirm to reduce its consolidateddebt.

The stock jumped 17 percent to �43.90 on the BSE.

At the NSE, it rallied 16.8per cent to �43.80.

Jain Irrigation Systems onTuesday said its global irriga-tion business will be mergedwith Rivulis in a cash-and-stock deal, a move that will helpthe company to reduce its con-solidated debt by �2,700 croreor around 45 per cent.

Jain Irrigation’s global irri-gation business has been valuedat �4,200 crore, of which �2,700crore will be used to repay its

all overseas debt and �200crore will come to the parentcompany, its ManagingDirector Anil Jain toldreporters.

In the merged entity, it willhave a 22 per cent equity stake,while Rivulis will hold 78 percent.

The deal is likely to be con-cluded in the next six months,he said, adding that the com-bined entity will have a revenueof USD 750 million.

At present, Rivulis has anannual revenue of USD 400million, while that of JainIrrigation’s global irrigationbusiness is USD 350 million.

Jain Irrigation SystemsLtd’s wholly-owned subsidiaryJain International Trading andRivulis have entered into defin-itive transaction agreements. PTI

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Kolkata: Emami Realty hasprojected that real estatedemand will remain robustdespite economic headwinds,and is aiming at a 50 per centjump in sales to �750 crore inthe current fiscal, a top com-pany official said onWednesday.

The real estate arm of thediversified Emami Group hastargeted retiring its long-termdebt by 2023-24, which is nowpegged at �118 crore, he said.

The developer, which has aland bank of around 2,500acres in 7-8 cities in the coun-try, will leverage the resourcefor new projects and exploremonetisation of a part of it inthe next few years.

"Economic headwinds,high commodity prices andother associated costs affectedus by around 20 per cent.

Despite all these, robustdemand will continue and helpovercome the challenges.

“We are expecting a toplineof �750 crore in the current fis-cal from the standalone oper-ations as against nearly �500crore sales achieved in FY’22,"Emami Realty MD and CEONitesh Kumar told PTI in atelephonic interview.

The total revenue fromprojects, including joint ventureones, is pegged at �1,180 croreduring the fiscal.

The combined revenue inFY22 was �950 crore, register-ing an 85 per cent year-on-yeargrowth.

After the introduction ofreal estate regulations, homebuyers have been switching toorganised real estate compa-nies, he said, adding that sucha trend helps these firms main-tain strong sales. PTI

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Delhi Airport onWednesday stated that it

has becomes the India’s first air-port to switch to renewablesources for its energy needs andis running entirely on hydroand solar power from June 1.

As per the statementreleased by the DelhiInternational Airport Limited(DIAL), this is a major step bythe airport toward achievingthe ambitious goal of becom-ing a net zero carbon emissionairport by 2030.

“Approximately 6 per centof the airport’s electricityrequirement is met from theonsite solar power plants. Theseplants are on the airside and onthe roofs of the Cargo terminals

of the Indira GandhiInternational (IGI) Airport,” itsaid.

“Starting June 1, 2022,Delhi Airport has adoptedrenewable energy use from thehydropower plant for itsdemand of the remaining 94per cent, thus ending its depen-dency on non-renewablepower. This move will helpDelhi Airport in the reductionof indirect energy emissionswhopping 200,000 tonnes ofCO2 every year,” it read.

“DIAL has a 7.84 MWsolar power plant on the air-side, whereas as part of stake-holder collaboration, opera-tors of the Cargo terminals atDelhi Airport have addedanother 5.3 MW rooftop solarpower plant,” DIAL said.

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Mumbai: Indian equities willbottom-out only in August orSeptember and the 50-sharebenchmark Nifty will fall byanother 6 per cent to 14,500points by the end of this year,an American brokerage said onWednesday.

A cut in companies' earn-ings as the advantage fromcheaper inventory buffer wearsoff, continuing headwinds oncrude oil prices and "vulnera-ble" valuations of Nifty stockseven after the recent correctionwere cited by BofA Securitiesas the factors which will dragdown the markets. The bro-kerage had initially estimatedthe Nifty will rise to 19,100 bythe end of the year and revisedthe target down to 17,000 afterthe sell-off.

The benchmark, whichclosed 1.44 per cent down at15,413.30 points onWednesday, has been losingground over the past fewweeks, driven by factors likemonetary policy tighteningglobally and higher commod-ity prices following the Russianinvasion of Ukraine.

"We are cautious on mar-kets despite the recent marketcorrection. In addition to glob-

ally tightening monetary con-ditions and a slowing eco-nomic outlook, including fearsof a recession in the US, we seeother risks," analysts at the bro-kerage said.

Other factors driving the bro-kerage to be cautious includeearning cuts of up to 4 per centwith the risk of more down-grades and crude prices, whichit said can spike to USD 150 perbarrel.Meanwhile, the broker-age said the rupee will depre-ciate beyond its own expecta-tions to Rs 81 against the US

dollar by the end of 2022.The rupee slumped 21 paise

to a record low of 78.35 againstthe greenback on Wednesday.

"We believe the risks are stillskewed towards more depreci-ation for the rupee as the fun-damental outlook has deterio-rated further primarily due tohigher oil and other com-modities," it said.

However, the analysts werequick to add that the RBI'sreserves of nearly USD 600 bil-lion will be a mitigating factoragainst the risks. PTI

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In my column 'Champion born thismonth', today I have the pleasure

of presenting a beautiful game by achampion who can be called WilliamShakespeare of Chess. Let us see whatsome 'all time greats' have said abouthim. — "He was the most accurateChess Player" and "He was probablythe greatest genius in Chess" —Bobby Fischer. Or "He mostly playedwith zero inaccuracy" and "He is theonly player who never made a blun-der" — Garry Kasparov. Or "FinestChess player ever existed" — AdolfAnderssen.

Though nothing much has beensaid about Morphy by the Soviets,most of the Soviet Chess Trainers givea lot of emphasis on teaching his wayof play. In the famous book'Miniatures by World Champions',Anatoly Karpov has dedicated morethan one third of the book to thegames of this all time great player.

Yes, I am talking of the undisput-ed Champion, Paul Morphy!

Paul Charles Morphy (22nd June1837 — 10th July 1884) was born atNew Orleans in a wealthy distin-guished family. According to hisuncle Ernest Morphy (a strong andimaginative player himself), no oneformally taught Chess to Paul.However, at the age of 13, Paulbecame famous as the best player in

United States. In 1850s Paul Morphyvisited Europe and defeated thestrongest players in the world withsuch an ease that he was acknowl-edged as the Best Chess Player in theWorld. (The official World Championtitles, however, started much later, in1886). Morphy's victory over CountCarl Isouard and Duke of Brunswickof France is probably the mostfamous Chess game. His stunningRook and Queen sacrifice against thethen British Champion Henry Birdfinds place in every book on Chesscombinations.

Morphy didn't talk or writemuch about Chess but his simplequote "Help your pieces so they canhelp you" is the best advice a ChessTrainers could give to their pupils.Paul Morphy demonstrated that thesafety of King and activity of piecesinvariably decided outcome of aChess game. Even today, the times ofPaul Morphy are known as "TheGolden Era of Chess".

Today we will see a comparative-ly unknown but extremely creativegame by Morphy. I was lucky to seeit as a child, that too, annotated bymaster of King side attack,Grandmaster Leonid Shamkovic. Iwas indeed greatly impressed by the

originality of Morphy's play then butI must confess that today I stand evenmore impressed by the game, theplanning as well as the execution.

1. e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf64.Ng5

This double attack on Black's f-pawn is a standard procedure ofattacking 'f7'. 4...d5 5.exd5 Na5!

The classical system of counter-attack for Black. Instead of recaptur-ing the pawn at d5, Black goes afterthe enemy bishop.

6.d3?!This move allows Black to take

the initiative but it was a popularchoice at that time.

Better is 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc68.Be2 h6 9.Nf3 e4 10.Ne5 Bd6 thoughBlack's lead in development compen-sates for the sacrificed Pawn.

6...h6Black drives back the White

knight. 8.Nd4 ...Bc5! 9.Nb3? allowsBg4! with a powerful initiative toBlack.

8.Nfd2 is bad due to 8...Bg4!8...Nxc4 9.dxc4 Bc5! 10.h3! 10...0-

0 11.Nh2 Nh7?!Black shows a very deep under-

standing of the position since he real-izes that piece play alone will notbreak through White's position. He

prepares a 'Pawn Storm' by pushingthe f-pawn till it is stopped by Whitepieces. However, more accuratewould have been 11...e3! 12.Bxe3Bxe3 13.fxe3 Ne4 14.Nf1 Qh4+ 15.g3Qf6! 16.c3 Bf5! 17.Nbd2 Nc5!;

11...c6! was a strong alternativeas well. 12.Be3! was called for.

12...f5 13.Nb3 Bd6! 14.0-0Trying to castle on the Queen

side would have led to catastrophe.For example, 14.Bd2? e3!! 15.fxe3Bg3+ 16.Kd1 Nf6! 17.Be1 Bxh2!18.Rxh2 b5! 19.Nd4 bxc4 20.Qxc4Nxd5 21.Nc6 Ba6 22.Nxd8 Bxc423.Nc6 Nxe3+ 24.Kc1 Rae8! 25.Bb4Rf6 26.Na5 Bd5 27.g3 Nf1 etc.

14...Bxh2+! 15.Kxh2 f4!Black has the advantage due to

his active pieces and White's vulner-able king.

The knight enters the game witha gain of tempo on the White queen.

17.Qg6!? was an interestingoption. For example, 17...Bf5 18.Qh5Bxc2 19.Nd4 Bd3 etc.

17.Qd3! would have led to a com-plex and unclear position.

The move played -- 17.Qd4? --,allows a stunning combination fol-lowed by an unexpected finale.

Morphy clinched the issue with17...Nf3+!!

A beautiful sacrifice which cre-ates decisive light square weakness onWhite's King side.

17...Bxh3? allows White to

defend with 18.Bxf4! Bd7 19.Kg1 etc.18.gxf3 Qh4 19.Rh1!White seems to have guarded his

King side well. The obvious capture19....Qxh3 check gives White a clearupper hand after 20. Kg1 whereas anattempt to bring the King Rook inplay with 19....Rf6 allows White tomove the King to safety after 20.Kg2!

However, Morphy had alreadyplanned his final assault after theRook move as well.

The point! Now the White Kinghas been caught in a cage with nopossible escape.

20.Nc5 leaves the White Queenunguarded and is punished with20...Rf6! 21.Bxf4 Bf5+! 22.Kg1 Rg6+

23.Bg3 Qxd4 etc.20.Bxf4 Rxf4 21.Qxf4 Qxf4+

22.Kxh3 Qxf3+ 23.Kh2 Qxf2+24.Kh3 Rf8 is hopeless.

20.Rg1? allows 20....Bf1 check-mate! 20. Kg1 allows 20....Qg5 ch, 21.Kh2, Qg2 Checkmate.

20...Rf6 21.Qxf621.Raf1 leads to an immediate

mate after 21...Bf5+ 22.Kg2 Rg6.21.Nc5 trying to bring the Knight

for defence is too slow. Black plays21....Rg6! followed by a deadly

discovered check by the Queen.21.Qd3 (to stop ....Rg6) allows a

similar finish as in the game.21...Qxf2+! 22.Kxh3 Qg3#

21...Qxf2+! 22.Kxh3 Qg3Checkmate!

��� �*02*0

Todd Boehly on Wednesday was named asChelsea's new chairman to replace Bruce

Buck and will act as interim sporting directorafter the club confirmed the departure ofMarina Granovskaia.

Granovskaia is stepping down from her roleas director as part of a shake-up at StamfordBridge, leaving co-controlling owner Boehly tospearhead Chelsea's negotiations in the trans-fer window.

All the top Boehly-Clearlake Capital con-sortium figureheads have been added toChelsea's new board following the purchase ofthe club from Roman Abramovich.

"As custodians of Chelsea FC, we now beginexecuting our long-term vision and plan for theclub, creating an outstanding experience for itspassionate, loyal fans, and continuing to chal-lenge for top honours in line with Chelsea FC'sdedicated history," said Boehly.

"Working together, side by side, we are firm-ly committed to winning, both on and off thepitch. For us, that effort has begun."

Clearlake chiefs and Chelsea co-controllingowners Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano havealso been added to the Blues' new board.

Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter,Swiss magnate Hansjoerg Wyss and Britishtycoon Jonathan Goldstein have all been offi-cially named on the Chelsea board.

Chelsea will now start the search for a per-manent sporting director, with Granovskaia leav-ing the club after almost 20 years at StamfordBridge.

Granovskaia rose to prominence as one ofthe toughest negotiators in football inAbramovich's Chelsea reign.

"Boehly will operate as interim sportingdirector until the club names a full-timereplacement, continuing the club's work towardsits targets during the current transfer window,"

said Chelsea's statement.Granovskaia will remain available during the

current transfer window to help the club's tran-sition.

Chelsea face a hectic summer transfermarket of transfer dealings.

The club, who finished third in the PremierLeague last season, have been linked withSevilla's Jules Kounde, Manchester City'sRaheem Sterling and Barcelona forwardOusmane Dembele.

��� ����

Paris Saint-Germain presi-dent Nasser Al-Khelaifi

insisted he "never spoke" withZinedine Zidane about becom-ing coach in an interview pub-lished by French daily LeParisien on Tuesday, sayingthe club had "chosen anotheroption".

"We never spoke with him,neither directly, nor indirectly,"said Al-Khelaifi, without rulingout that others in Qatar hadapproached the former Francestar.

"When I say 'we', it's PSG.Me, I am the president of PSGand I never spoke with him."

The Qatari official said theclub was keen to head in a dif-ferent direction.

"We chose a coach who will

be the best for what we want toput in place," said Al-Khelaifias he confirmed talks withNice boss Christophe Galtier.

"I hope we'll quickly findan agreement but I respectNice and the president (Jean-Pierre) Rivere, everyone standsup for their own interests."

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Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said on Tuesdaya deal had been struck for USbusinessman John Textor tocomplete a takeover of theseven-time French champions.

Eagle Football Holdings, asports investment vehicle con-trolled by Crystal Palace share-holder Textor, is set to acquirea majority stake in the Ligue 1club.

��� +*�=*

The final price tag for last year'sTokyo Olympics was morethan double the city's original2013 estimate after a one-yearcoronavirus postponementadded to the already hefty bill.

The organising committeesaid Tuesday the Games hadcost 1.42 trillion yen, the equiv-alent of $13 billion at the time.At today's rates, with the yen ata 24-year low against the dol-lar, the figure would be $10.4billion.

Tokyo 2020 was held ayear later than planned becauseof the pandemic — the firstOlympics postponed in peace-time — and spectators werebanned from nearly all events,which were held under strict

Covid-19 countermeasures.The Games cost twice the

734 billion yen that the TokyoGames organisers had predict-ed in their bid to theInternational OlympicCommittee in 2013, but lessthan the final pre-Games bud-get unveiled in December 2020.

Despite losing out on tick-et sales, organisers saved somecash by simplifying events andavoiding the cost of hostingmillions of fans.

The organising committee,which disbands at the end ofJune, said the event's final costwas 200 billion yen less thanprojected in its pre-Gamesbudget in 2020 and 29 billionyen less than the final slimmed-down costs prediction inDecember 2021.

"It's up to everyoneinvolved in this event to pass onthe legacy of the TokyoOlympics to the next genera-tion," said Tokyo 2020 chiefSeiko Hashimoto.

Tokyo experienced aCovid-19 surge last year as theOlympics approached, fuellingfears the event could worsenoutbreaks in Japan and possi-bly the world.

The northern Japanese cityof Sapporo is bidding to hostthe Winter Olympics in 2030.

A March survey of Sapporoand the surrounding regionshowed that a majority of thepublic are in favour of holdingthe event.

Officials have ruled outholding a public referendum onthe 2030 bid.

��� 1�+�*��01

Serena Williams made a winningcomeback after a year on the sidelines as the American legend

teamed with Ons Jabeur to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo and MarieBouzkova 2-6, 6-3, 13-11 in theEastbourne International doubles onTuesday.

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slamsingles champion, was back in actionfor the first time since she made a tear-ful exit from Wimbledon last year.

The 40-year-old suffered a leginjury during her Wimbledon firstround match against AliaksandraSasnovich and had not been seen oncourt since.

Before Williams made the surpriseannouncement of her return last week,rumours of retirement had swirledaround her for several months.

But, with Wimbledon starting onJune 27, Williams finally resumed hercareer, playing with Jabeur at theWimbledon warm-up event by theSussex seaside.

Williams and Tunisia's Jabeur,who is third in the WTA singles rank-ings, saw off Spain's Sorribes Tormoand Bouzkova of the Czech Republicin the last-16 tie.

Although Williams was far from her vintage best, she will beencouraged by her first outing for 12months.

She and Jabeur will face Japan'sShuko Aoyama and Taiwan's ChanHao-ching in the quarter-finals.

"It was so fun to play with Ons. Wehad a lot of fun and our opponentsplayed amazing. We were happy to stayin there," Williams said.

"I called Ons, she has been play-ing so well and I knew I needed to playsome matches and she has always beenso nice to me on tour.

"Yeah, I caught some fire behindme, it was good."

Serena has been given a wildcardto play in the singles at Wimbledon as

she restarts her history bid.Williams is one Grand Slam crown

away from equalling AustralianMargaret Court's record of 24 singlestitles at the majors.

The last of Williams' 23 Grand

Slam singles titles came at theAustralian Open in 2017.

Since then she has lost four GrandSlam finals, including at Wimbledonin 2018 and 2019.

Williams won the seventh and

most recent of her seven Wimbledonsingles titles in 2016.

Serena, who became a mother in2017, has plummeted to 1,204th in theWTA rankings due to her period outof action.

��������������Wimbledon is widely considered

Williams' best chance of winninganother Grand Slam and this was herfirst step towards that goal.

After so long away, Serena soakedup the applause during a raucousreception from the crowd when shewalked onto court in the early eveningsunshine.

Williams' husband Alexis Ohanianwas watching from the stands as hiswife made an understandably rustystart.

With Williams' groundstrokes ini-tially lacking their usual precision, thefirst set quickly slipped away.

Serena was appearing in doublescompetition on grass for the first timesince 2016, when she won Wimbledonwith her sister Venus.

The 14-time Grand Slam doubleschampion was well short of peak formand Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormotwice led by a break at the start of thesecond set.

But Williams showed the tenaciousspirit that has defined her career,striking the ball cleaner and crisper asshe and Jabeur hit back to level thematch at one-set all.

In the match-deciding tie-break,Serena squandered a match point onher serve with a wayward forehand at9-8 and Jabeur wasted another at 10-9.

But the pair saved a match pointfrom Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo at10-11, reeling off the last three pointsto clinch a dramatic victory in the dusk.

In the Eastbourne women's singles,last year's Wimbledon runner-upKarolina Pliskova lost 6-1, 4-6, 4-6against Britain's Katie Boulter.

Spanish top seed Paula Badosa wasbeaten 6-4, 6-3 by British wildcardJodie Burrage.

In the men's singles, Ryan Penistonalso enjoyed an impressive victory onhome turf, beating French Open quar-ter-finalist Holger Rune 4-6, 7-6, (7/5),6-1.

��� ��0�63

Bayern Munich confirmedthe signing of Sadio Mane

from Liverpool on Wednesday,as the Senegal forward signeda three-year deal with theBundesliga champions.

Bayern have reportedlypaid a fee which could rise to41 million euros ($43 million)for Mane.

The 30-year-old won theChampions League, PremierLeague, FA Cup, League Cupand Club World Cup titlesduring six years on Merseyside.

"My agent told me thatthere were also enquiries fromother clubs, but for me, the feel-ing was right from the startwhen Bayern presented theirplan with me," Mane toldGerman daily Bild.

"It was the right club at theright time.

"It is one of the biggestclubs in the world and the teamare always fighting for all thetitles."

Mane added he wants to

"do everything to make sure Iwin titles with my teammates".

Bayern won a 10th straightBundesliga title last season.

Mane, voted African foot-baller of the year in 2019, is aversatile attacker who has spentthe majority of his career on thewing but can also play throughthe middle.

His arrival will ease thepain for Bayern if wantawaystriker Robert Lewandowskileaves the club, while SergeGnabry is also stalling over acontract extension.

"Sadio Mane is a global star,who underlines the appeal ofBayern and will increase theattractiveness of the Bundesligaas a whole," said Bayern pres-ident Herbert Hainer.

"Fans come to the stadiumsto see unique players like this."

The signing of Mane takessome pressure off Bayern sport-ing director HasanSalihamidzic after Lewan-dowski made it clear he wouldnot extend his contract whichexpires next year.

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The Indian women's cricketteam will be eyeing a freshstart under new all-format

skipper Harmanpreet Kaur againstSri Lanka in the f irst T20International of the three-matchseries, starting here on Thursday.

With the T20s all set to featurein the upcoming CommonwealthGames in Birmingham and also atthe ICC Women's T20 World Cupeight months away, India will lookto begin their campaign on a high.

This will be the first interna-tional assignment for the Indianwomen since the disappointment atthe 2022 Women's World Cup.

Notably, the Indian team, forthe first time, will be without thelegendary Mithali Raj, who hungup her boots earlier this monthafter an illustrious 23-year-oldcareer.

On the personal front, skipperHarmanpreet will be eyeing a mile-stone.

The 33-year-old batter, who hasamassed 2319 runs from 121matches, needs another 46 runs toeclipse Mithali in the shortest for-mat.

The spotlight will also be onvice-captain Smriti Mandhana,Harmanpreet and coach RameshPowar, who recorded a seven-match winning streak in the lastT20 World Cup before India wereknocked out in the semifinals bySouth Africa.

Hosts Sri Lanka, on the otherhand, will start the series on theback foot as they were recentlywhitewashed 0-3 by Pakistan in aT20 series.

However, the Indians will haveto remain vigilant against the likesof Sri Lankan veterans OshadiRanasinghe and Chamari

Athapaththu.The Indians last played a one-

off game against New Zealand inthe shortest format in February thisyear, which they lost by 18 runs.

Going into the series, the likesof Mandhana, Shefali Verma,Deepti Sharma and pacer PoojaVastrakar will inject enough con-

fidence owing to their currentform.

Going by current form andworld rankings, India will definite-ly start as favourites against theIsland nation and the hosts willneed to raise their game by leapsand bounds to upset the Indians.

India skipper Harmanpreet

said fielding is one area they aregiving more emphasis on in theseries against Sri Lanka.

"As a team, there are quite a fewareas we are currently working on toimprove keeping in mind this partic-ular series against Sri Lanka. Whileour core strength lies in our batting,we are giving extra efforts to improveour fielding skills," she said.

"All our top batters and bowlersare fit for this series and we allexpect to give our very best in thisseries," said Harmanpreet in thepre-match press conference.

The three-game T20 series willbe followed by as many ODIs,scheduled to be played at Pallekeleon July 1, 4 and 7.

�@���India: Harmanpreet Kaur (C),Smriti Mandhana (VC), SimranBahadur, Yastika Bhatia, RajeshwariGayakwad, Richa Ghosh (WK),Sabbhineni Meghana, MeghnaSingh, Poonam Yadav, RenukaSingh, Jemimah Rodrigues, ShafaliVerma, Deepti Sharma, PoojaVastrakar, Radha Yadav.Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu(C), Nilakshi de Silva, KavishaDilhari, Vishmi Gunaratne, AmaKanchana, Hansima Karunaratne,Achini Kulasuriya, SugandikaKumari, Harshitha Madavi, HasiniPerera, Udeshika Prabodhani,Oshadi Ranasinghe, InokaRanaweera, Sathya Sandeepani,Anushka Sanjeewani, MalshaShehani, Tharika Sewwandi.

���� 2�������

The Indian team is packedwith a number of top-order

batters and the new all-formatcaptain Harmanpreet Kaur saysall will get a chance to showtheir worth in the T20 seriesagainst Sri Lanka, startingThursday.

Elegant left-hander SmritiMandhana, explosive ShafaliVerma, Sabbhineni Meghanaand Yastika Bhatia are all top-order batters in India's 15-play-er squad.

In the absence of Smriti, itwas Shafali and Yastika, whoopened the batting against NewZealand in February.

"We do have many toporder batters, including three tofour of them, who can play asopeners. But, when it comes tothis team, everyone will haveopportunity to showcase theirskills," Harmanpreet said on theeve of the series-opener.

"We all are representingour country and whateveropportunity might come atsome point, we must make thebest use of it. We have many bat-ters who can play at any posi-tion. We will try to give every-one the space to bat wherethey feel comfortable," sheadded.

Harmanpreet also backedtalented all-rounder Jemimah

Rodrigues, who was not includ-ed in the last ODI World Cupsquad, but has now made areturn to the side for the seriesagainst Sri Lanka.

"Jemimah is truly an expe-rienced player. She will definite-ly play a crucial role in the T20series," Harmanpreet said.

The skipper admitted thatwhile it is not possible to giveeveryone an equal opportunityall the time, but, it is her respon-sibility to talk to everyone tofind out the perfect team com-bination for big tournaments.

"I will ensure that everyonehas enough chances to pre-pare. If you look at Jemimah'scase, she always grabs whatev-er opportunities come her way.Similarly, it's very important tokeep talking to other players andfind out the right combinationfor big-ticket events like theCommonwealth Games," sheremarked.

���� �10<�����

An unheralded bunch ofMadhya Pradesh bowlers

stuck to its plans as a star-stud-ded Mumbai side toiled its wayto 248 for five on the first day ofthe Ranji Trophy final here.

Despite an opening stand of87 between Prithvi Shaw (47, 79balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (78,163 balls), Mumbai failed todrive home the advantage on apitch that wasn't conducive forstrokeplay.

A 400-plus first-inningstotal will now depend on theseason's highest run-getterSarfaraz Khan (40 batting, 125balls), who is looking good foranother big knock with thedependable Shams Mulani (12batting, 43 balls) giving himcompany.

While left-arm spinnerKumar Kartikeya was the tireless

operator from one end, havingsent down 31 overs for figures of1 for 91, seamer Gaurav Yadav(23-5-68-0) was distinctlyunlucky and the wickets columndon't reflect the relentless pres-sure that he put on Mumbai bat-ters, especially skipper Shaw.

In fact, it was the pressureapplied by Yadav which helpednippy seamer Anubhav Agarwal(19-3-56-2) and tall off-spinnerSaransh Jain (17-2-31-2) toshare the bulk of the spoils, withsome intelligent execution ofplans.

Mumbai did enjoy theadvantage during the first hourafter Shaw opted to bat and,along with Jaiswal, took on theMP attack.

The strategy to start withKartikeya's slow left-arm ortho-dox seemed to have backfiredwhen Jaiswal took him on andlofted him over long-on for a six.

Shaw followed suit and hitKartikeya over long-off for a sixas they added 87 for the firstwicket.

But while Jaiswal, with hisdrives and upper cuts, looked tocontinue from where he left inthe semi-final, Shaw, despite hisseven fours (at least three of thembehind square) looked edgy.

The first breakthroughcame minutes before lunchbreak when Anubhav, who wasbowling closer to the stumps,decided to move slightly wideand fired in a couple of deliver-ies with the angle.

While Shaw managed todefend one, the second deliverysaw him play across the line andthe stumps rattled.

Arman Jaffer (26 off 56balls) looked solid till he tried aforward-defensive jab offKartikeya, without factoring inthe extra bounce, and the ball

took an inside edge off his batand Yash Dubey, at short mid-wicket, completed a diving catch.

The pitch in the second ses-sion slowed down consider-ably and Suved Parkar (18)paid the price when a deliveryfrom Saransh stopped on himand the leading edge off closedbat face just lobbed up for theeasiest of catches for rival cap-tain Aditya Shrivastava. The dis-missal that was most well-planned was that of Jaiswal, whowas closing in on a fourth hun-dred of the season.

Anubhav, who had startedoperating wide of the crease,started cramping the left-han-der for room. As he was find-ing it difficult to get the bound-aries, Jaiswal, without muchroom, tried the square cut butfailed to keep it down andDubey at gully took a sharp lowcatch.

��� ����63�

Pakistan selectorsWednesday recalled fit-

again Yasir Shah for the twoTest match series against SriLanka next month, after theleg-spinner's career was put onhold by nagging injuries lastyear.

The 36-year-old played thelast of his 46 Tests 11 monthsago in the West Indies but hasnot been selected since overlack of fitness, missing a seriesin Bangladesh and another athome against Australia.

Yasir started his career in2014, becoming the quickest to200 Test wickets after 33matches four years later, whileanchoring Pakistan's spinattack.

He now has 235 wickets in46 Tests.

Chief selector MohammadWasim said Yasir's inclusionwould improve the team's spinattack.

"Our spin department isboosted with the return ofYasir, who proved himself as amatch-winner," said Wasim.

Yasir took 24 wickets inPakistan's 2-1 win during theirlast Sri Lanka tour in 2015.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) onWednesday announced theschedule of Pakistan's tour

next month."Pakistan will play a three-

day warm-up match between11-13 July in Colombo whilethe first Test will be played atGalle from 16-20 July," SLCsaid.

The second Test will bestaged in Colombo from 24-28July.

Left-arm slow bowlerNauman Ali is the other front-line spinner in the 18-mansquad, which will be led byBabar Azam.

Uncapped middle-orderbatsman Salman Ali Agha andformer skipper Sarfaraz Ahmedare also part of the squad, butopener Abid Ali was not select-ed despite recovering from aheart problem.

Spinning allrounderMohammad Nawaz has alsobeen recalled. He was named inthe squad for Australia Testsbut was withdrawn due toinjury.

Squad: Babar Azam (cap-tain), Mohammad Rizwan,Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali,Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam,Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz,Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali,Salman Ali Agha, SarfarazAhmed, Saud Shakeel, ShaheenShah Afridi, Shan Masood,Yasir Shah.

��� �112

Jamie Overton will make his debut forEngland in the third and final crick-

et Test against New Zealand startingThursday after fellow fast bowlerJimmy Anderson was ruled outbecause of an ankle injury.

Overton's twin brother, Craig, wasalso in the squad and an option toreplace Anderson but England wentwith the more inexperienced of the sib-lings in the only change to the team atHeadingley.

England holds an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

England captain Ben Stokes saidAnderson had a "puffy ankle," and was-n't sure if he'd be healthy enough toplay in next month's Test againstIndia.

"Unfortunately Jimmy's not pulledup as well as we would have liked himto, so Jamie Overton's going to makehis debut this week," Stokes said.

"It's unfortunate for Jimmy, butwe've got a massive Test against Indiacoming up as well. I'm not too surehow serious it is, to be honest."

Stokes said Jamie Overton offereda "point of difference" because of hisextra pace.

"He fills a different role fromJimmy," Stokes said, "but to havesomeone in your back pocket who canbowl 90 mph is big for us.

"That's the only change this week.As tempting as it was to get both twinsout there playing for England, Jamie'sthe only change."

Craig and Jamie Overton werelooking to become the first set of twinsto play for England.

New Zealand hasn't named itsteam for the match.England: Alex Lees, Zak Crawley,Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow,Ben Stokes (captain), Ben Foakes,Matthew Potts, Jamie Overton, StuartBroad, Jack Leach.

����������

Former India women's teamcaptain Rumeli Dhar on

Wednesday announced herretirement from all forms of thegame.

The right-handed batterand medium pacer announcedher decision through anInstagram post.

"23 years of my cricket thatstarted from Shyamnagar inWest Bengal has finally come toan end as I announce my retire-ment from all formats of crick-et," Dhar said in her post.

The 38-year-old played fourwomen's Tests, in which shescored 236 runs with one half-century. She has picked up eightTest wickets since making herdebut against England in 2005at Delhi. She played her last Testagainst the same opponent in2006 at Taunton.

She also played 78 WODIs,scoring 961 runs and taking 63wickets, with six half-centuriessince her debut against Englandin 2003 at Lincoln. She playedher last ODI in 2012.

Dhar, who played for Bengalamong other domestic sides,also featured in 18 T20s, inwhich she scored 131 runs andtook 13 wickets after making herdebut against England Womenin 2006.

At 34, she made an unex-pected comeback to the IndiaT20 team in 2018 against SouthAfrica, and played her last gamein the format against AustraliaWomen at the BrabourneStadium the same year.

���� 2����

On the back of his recentexploits, veteran Dinesh

Karthik jumped a massive 108spots to 87th on the latest ICCT20 rankings for batters, evenas young opener Ishan Kishanbroke into the top 10.

Kishan finished the serieswith two half centuries againstSouth Africa and was the lead-ing run scorer with 206 runs atan average of 41. That form cat-apulted the left-hander up onespot to sixth on the latest T20rankings for batters.

Karthik has been in excel-lent form since the IPL-15 andhad a few blazing knocks in theT20 series against South Africa.

Pakistan skipper BabarAzam still holds the top spot onthe T20 batting rankings andKishan is the only Indian play-er rated inside the top 10.

Yuzvendra Chahal was thebiggest mover on the T20 rank-

ings for bowlers with the Indiaspinner jumping three places to23rd following his six wicketsduring the South Africa series.

��������0631+1�

County side Lancashire onWednesday announced that

they have signed up India all-rounder Washington Sundar astheir overseas player.Washington, who has beenmissing in action due to handinjury sustained while playingfor Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL2022, is set to join the team afterhis rehab at National CricketAcademy (NCA) gets over.

This will be his first stint inEngland's domestic cricket andwould be the second Indian afterCheteshwar Pujara to play coun-ty cricket.

"Washington, who is cur-rently following a period ofrehabilitation with the BCCIafter a recent injury, will be avail-able for the whole Royal LondonOne-Day Cup competition, andfitness depending, a number ofLV=County Championshipgames in July," said an officialstatement by Lancashire.

"I am extremely excited toplay county cricket for the first

time with Lancashire Cricket. Toplay in English conditions willbe a great experience for me andI can't wait to play at EmiratesOld Trafford. I would like tothank both Lancashire Cricketand the BCCI for allowing thisopportunity happen and I'mlooking forward to joining up

with the squad next month," saidWashington after his Lancashiresigning.

Mark Chilton, Lancashire'sDirector of Cricket Performance,expressed excitement overWashington joining the countyside in the current Englishdomestic season.

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