MVA Govt in crisis as Shinde steals 30 MLAs - Daily Pioneer

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE nNEW DELHI

The Presidential election isgoing to have a faceoff

between Yashwant Sinha, achoice for Opposition parties,and Draupadi Murmu, formerJharkhand Governor, who isNDA’s candidate.

Earlier in the day if theOpposition agreed to pitchformer BJP rebel leader, Sinha,as its candidate, late in the daynews surfaced of the BJP-ledNDA announcing Murmu asits candidate. Murmu wouldbecome the first tribalPresident of India and secondever female President if she iselected. Born on June 20, 1958,Murmu served as the Governorof Jharkhand from 2015 to2021.

Sinha, a former BJP leaderwho resigned from theTrinamool Congress onTuesday, became the commonchoice of major political par-ties, including the Congress,the NCP, and the TMC, andLeft parties.

The presidential electionwould be held on July 18 toelect a successor to incumbentRam Nath Kovind and theresult would be out on July 21.

NCP supremo SharadPawar claimed to have supportfrom the AAP, the TRS, theSamajwadi Party, the RJD, theShiv Sena, and the NationalConference. Sources said theteam Opposition will also seek

support from BJD leader andOdisha Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik in this regard.

Briefing the media afterannouncing Sinha’s candida-ture, Pawar said he has spokento a cross-section of leadersfrom various parties whichincluded Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal from the AAPand Telangana’s KChandrashekar Rao from theTRS. KCR was not present inthe meeting, though.

Pawar said he also spoke toTMC supremo and WestBengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee as well as Akhilesh

Yadav (Samajwadi Party),Tejashwi Yadav (RashtriyaJanata Dal), Farooq Abdullah(National Conference) andSanjay Raut (Shiv Sena). Theyall supported Sinha’s candida-ture, he said.

“I am grateful to Mamatafor the honour and prestige shebestowed on me in the TMC.Now the time has come whenfor a larger national cause Imust step aside from the partyto work for greater Oppositionunity. I am sure she approvesof the step,” Sinha tweeted.

The parties that attendedthe meeting included the

Congress, the NCP, the TMC,the CPI, the CPI(M), theSamajwadi Party, the NationalConference, AIMIM, RJD andAIUDF. Five regional partiesconsidered non-aligned ---TRS, BJD. AAP, SAD andYSRCP --- stayed away. Theseparties had also stayed awayfrom the June 15 meetingconvened by Mamata. “Wewill also try to convince theBJD and the YSR Congress,”Pawar said when askedwhether they are onboard.Opposition leaders, whogathered at the Parliamentannexe for the meeting con-vened by NCP chief SharadPawar to decide on a commoncandidate for the Presidentialelection, unanimously agreedon Sinha’s name. Congress’Mallikarjun Kharge, JairamRamesh and RandeepSurjewala, TMC’s AbhishekBanerjee, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva,CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury,CPI’s D Raja, RJD’s Manoj Jha,VCK’s Thol Thirumavalavan,NC’s Hasnain Masoodi, RSP’sNK Premchandran andAIMIM’s Imtiaz Jaleel wereamong those who participat-ed in the meeting.

The veteran politician willfile his nomination papers onJune 27. “We regret the ModiGovernment made no seriouseffort to have consensus on apresidential candidate,”Congress leader JairamRamesh, who read out a jointstatement after the meeting,said.

Ancient Indian practice ‘Yoga’now global festival, says Modi

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE nNEW DELHI

In an obvious effort to claimthat the protests against the

Agnipath scheme were waning,the Government on Tuesdayclaimed aspirants for a careerin the Armed forces have start-ed their physical training forthe upcoming recruitmentprocess. Massive country-wideprotests had broken out inseveral States against thescheme rolled out on June 14.

The Army and the IAFannounced the schedule forthe recruitment on Mondayand the Navy said the processwill start from Friday. TheArmed forces also clarifiedthat the procedure followedearlier for the recruitmentprocess will be followed andthere is no change.

It means like in previousyears the aspirants will haveto first clear the physical fit-

ness and medical tests beforebecoming eligible for thewritten test for the Army. Forthe Navy and the IAF, the

candidates will have to clearthe written tests online beforethe final call for medicaltest.

STAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

Two labourers werekilled after theboundary wall of a

nullah (drain) collapsed inBhopal in MadhyaPradesh, a police officialsaid on Tuesday.The inci-dent took place on Mondayafternoon in Bairagarharea, and the bodies of thelabourers, who were work-ing in the basement of anunder-construction build-ing, were taken out in theearly hours of Tuesday, hesaid."The bodies weretaken out after an 11-houreffort by teams of NDRF,SDRF as well as civic andpolice personnel. A casehas been registered andfurther probe is underway," he said.

Two killed,as drain wallcollapses

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE nMYSURU/NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday said that

yoga has become a global fes-tival as there is a widespreadacceptance of the ancientIndian practice. The PM par-ticipated in the eighthInternational Day of Yoga(IDY) celebrations inKarnataka’s Mysuru. He wasjoined by tens of thousands ofpeople, including Ministersand commoners across theworld, who performed asanasand breathing exercises to markthe Yoga Day.

Speaking before the yogademonstration which he joinedfor 45 minutes, Modi said,“The acceptance of that amritspirit of India which gave ener-gy to India’s freedom struggle.That is why mass yoga demon-strations are being organised at75 iconic locations across thecountry.”

President Ram Nath

Kovind tweeted that yoga isIndia’s gift to humanity and itis a holistic approach to healthand well-being, balancingmind, body and soul. He alsoasked everyone to make yoga

a part of their daily life andexperience its benefits.

The Prime Minister saidthe physical fitness regimewas forming a basis for coop-eration among countries, and

that it can become a problem-solver.

“Yoga brings peace to ouruniverse and gives the hope ofa healthy life to humanity.Yoga brings peace for us, the

peace from yoga is not only forindividuals, yoga brings peaceto our society, nation, theworld and the universe,” Modisaid, quoting rishis, maharshisand acharyas.

He said, “This might feellike an extreme thought tosomeone, but our sages haveanswered this in a simplemantra that this whole uni-verse starts from our ownbody and soul. The universestarts from us and yoga makesus conscious of everythingwithin us and builds a sense ofawareness.”

Stating that things startwith self-awareness and pro-ceed to awareness of the world,he said, “When we becomeaware of ourselves and ourworld, we begin to spot thethings that need to be changedboth in ourselves and in theworld.

They may be individualproblems or global problemslike climate change and inter-national conflicts.”

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, DMK leader Tiruchi Siva, NCP leader SharadPawar, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, CPI leader D Raja and SP leader RamGopal Yadav during a press conference after the opposition parties’ meeting todecide candidate for the upcoming presidential election, at Parliament Annexe, inNew Delhi on Tuesday PTI

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

The Shiv Sena-led MahaVikas Aghadi Government

in Maharashtra appeared to beon the verge of collapse onTuesday evening, hours afterinfluential senior Sena Ministerand leader Eknath Shinderebelled against the party lead-ership.

Shinde walked out with his30-odd supporting MLAs tojoin hands with the OppositionBJP which is eager to form thenext Government in the State.

A day after it suffered amassive setback in theMaharashtra LegislativeCouncil polls in which theOpposition BJP mustered atleast 26 extra votes from otherparties and Independents towin five out of ten seats, Shindedropped a bombshell on theSena by staging a rebellionalong with a band of 30-oddSena MLAs, including twoMinisters.

In a belated damage con-trol move that looked morelike locking the stable doorafter the horses bolted, Senaleadership removed Shinde as

the Sena group leader in theState Assembly and replacedhim with its senior party func-tionary Ajay Choudhury.

Notwithstanding a vehe-ment denial by the principalOpposition party in the State

that it had anything to do withthe major crisis facing theSena, 58-year-old Shinde — aclose aide of late powerfulShiv Sena leader from ThaneAnand Dighe — is understoodto have been in touch with the

State BJP leaders before he qui-etly moved out of Mumbaialong with his supportingMLAs and landed at LeMeridien Hotel at Surat, acity that comes under the BJP-ruled Gujarat.

Sena removes Shindeas LoP, but Uddhavrushes emissaries toplacate rebel leader

Prime Minister Narendra Modi performs yoga at a mass yoga session to celebrate the 8th International Day of Yoga at MysorePalace in Mysuru on Tuesday PTI

Draupadi Murmu NDA’s pick,Yashwant Opp’s for Prez poll

STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

Starting from July 1, theDelhi Government will shut

down all units dealing in sin-gle-use plastic (SUP) items.The State Government hasmade it clear that it would takepunitive action against allmanufacturers, suppliers,stockists, dealers, and sellersfound violating the order.

Before that, it has decidedto run an awareness campaignto ensure compliance with theban on 19 identified SUP items,including earbuds, plastic sticksfor balloons, flags, candy sticks,ice-cream sticks, polystyrene(thermocol), plates, cups, glass-es, forks, spoons, knives, straws,trays, wrapping or packagingfilms around sweets boxes,

invitation cards, cigarette pack-ets, plastic or PVC banners lessthan 100 microns, and stirrers.

“We have issued strictdirections to manufacturers,stockists, suppliers and dis-tributors of single-use plasticitems to ensure zero inventoriesof the 19 SUP items. Thoseunits found violating the orderwill be shut down,” a seniorGovernment official said.

Regular inspections willbe conducted to ascertain com-pliance by manufacturers,brand owners, suppliers, and

stockists registered with theDelhi Pollution ControlCommittee (DPCC), he said,adding the Government willensure strict enforcement.

Industrial areas and rede-velopment areas are beinginspected to identify and shutdown units manufacturingSUP items illegally, the officialsaid.

The DPCC has also askedthe Sriram Institute ofIndustrial Research to con-duct a survey to identify litter-ing hotspots and quantify plas-

tic waste generation in the cityas it inches close to the June 30deadline for phasing out of 19SUP items.

The survey will cover all 11districts in Delhi and will haveto be completed within fourmonths, an official said.

The Sriram Institute hasbeen tasked with surveying allrenowned, major commercialestablishments, malls, marketplaces, shopping centers, cine-ma houses, restaurants, touristlocations, places of worship,colleges, schools, office com-plexes, hospitals, and otherinstitutions, said the official.

It will have to prepare aninventory of stockists, retailers,sellers, street vendors, veg-etable and fruit markets andimporters dealing in bulk inSUP items and conduct dis-trict-wise mapping of genera-tion, collection, and processingof plastic waste, and identifyproducers engaged in theirproduction in the informalsector.

‘All shops, units must ensure zeroinventories of SUPitems from July 1’

Single-use plastic banned in Delhi

PIONEER NEWSSERVICE/AGENCIES n NEWDELHI/MALE (MALDIVES)

Ayoga event organised bythe Indian Government in

Male was disrupted on Tuesdayby protesters who claimed itwas against the Islamic tenets.Maldives President MohamedSolih said those responsible forthe disruption will be booked.

Reports said an irate groupstormed into the national foot-ball stadium in Male and dis-rupted the yoga event organ-ised by the Indian HighCommission. More than 150people, including severaldiplomats, Government offi-cials and Ministers from theMaldives Government, werealso present at the event whenthe mob barged in.

The police had to resort tofiring tear gas shells to controlthe situation. The programmelater continued.

Before the event, the pro-testers brandished placardsproclaiming yoga was against

the tenets of Islam. A reportfrom a Maldivian news agency,The Edition, mentioned that asection of Islamists believesperforming yoga is akin toworshiping the Sun, a hereticact against Islamic tradition.

The yoga and meditationhour was an initiative by theIndian Cultural Centre(ICCR) in association with theUnion Ministry of Youth,Sports, and CommunityEmpowerment on the occa-sion of the International Dayof Yoga.

The agitators carryingbanners, placards, and shout-ing slogans reportedlydemanded that the Yoga Daycelebrations be called off andthe attendees vacate the stadi-um immediately. Some atten-dees said they were threatenedby members of the mob.

Videos shared on socialmedia showed miscreantsarmed with sticks and flagscharging towards people whowere practising yoga and med-itation on their yoga mats.

Yoga against Islamictenets, say Maleevent disrupters

(L to R): Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel Air Marshal Suraj Kumar Jha, AdjutantGeneral of the Indian Army Lt General CB Ponnappa, Department of Military AffairsAdditional Secretary Lt General Anil Puri and Indian Navy’s Chief of Personnel ViceAdmiral Dinesh K Tripathi during a press conference regarding the CentralGovernment’s ‘Agnipath’ scheme, at National Media Centre in New Delhi onTuesday PTI

Policemen stand guard outside the residence of Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, amid speculation of him joining the BJP,along with other Shiv Sena MLAs, in Thane on Tuesday PTI

3 CRPF MEN KILLED IN MAOIST ATTACK Bhubaneswar: Three CRPFpersonnel were killed in aMaoist attack in Odisha’sNuapada district on Tuesday,police said. The incidenthappened in Patadhara ReserveForest in Bheden block when the CRPF personnel weregoing from one camp toanother, they said.

RUCHIRA IS PERMANENTREPRESENTATIVE TO UNNew Delhi: Senior diplomatRuchira Kamboj was onTuesday appointed India’sPermanent Representative tothe United Nations in New York.

SNAG HITS DELHI METROYELLOW LINE FOR HOURNew Delhi: Services weredelayed for an hour on a sectionof the Delhi Metro’s Yellow Linedue to a technical issue.

ILLEGAL TELEPHONEEXCHANGE IN K’TAKANew Delhi: An illegal telephoneexchange that converted foreigncalls into local ones to aidspying activities in the countryhas been busted by the militaryintelligence and police.

CAPSULE

MVA Govt in crisis asShinde steals 30 MLAs

Aspirants training for Agnipathas nationwide stir wanes: Govt

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Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan performs Yoga on the occasion of the International Day of Yoga, at hisresidence in Bhopal on Tuesday. Pioneer photo

BHOPAL | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22, 2022


On the occasion of WorldYoga Day and MusicDay on Tuesday, a one-

day function focused on"Dance, Singing and Music"was organized by theDirectorate of Culture atMadhya Pradesh State TribalMuseum.

The programme startedwith lamp lighting, duringwhich Director Culture

Aditi Kumar Tripathi,Deputy Director VandanaPandey, Director, Tribal FolkArts and LanguageDevelopment AcademyDharmendra Pare along withartist Mithali and TejasVinchurkar, Pune, Anu SinhaDelhi, Surya PrakashSrivastava, Bhopal were pre-

sent.Suryaprakash Srivastava,

performed songs on Yoga ...,Achyutam Keshavam RamNarayanam ..., ShankarMahadev Devak sings sura. ..,and other songs. Pritam Yadav,

Tanu Halede, YashwantPandey, Amit Kumar Sitha onkeyboard, Rasik ChandraDwivedi on tabla, Devraj Srivason flute, Pradeep Tamrakaraccompaniment artists accom-panied on octopad.

The second presentationwas Jugalbandi on Tabla andFlute by Mithali and TejasVinchurkar, Pune. He incar-nated with the Rupak TaalBandish in Raga Hemvati onthe flute. Then in the nextsequence, Jugalbandi was donein Raga Hansdhwani on a fastthree talas. The artists con-cluded their performance witha Pahari Dhun. During theprogramme, the artistsenthralled the audience and theaudience with ragas and ban-dishes by jugalbandi on tablaand flute.

The closing presentation ofthe function was performed byAnu Sinha and Group, Delhiwith Kathak group dance. Thepresentation started withGanesh Vandana PrathamSumiran Shri Ganesh. After

this the next performance waspure dance based on TaalDhamar. In which the presen-tation was shown very beauti-fully by the disciples of PanditRajendra Gangani.

The third performance wasbased on Shiva Stuti which wasbased on Taal Dhrupad.Brijesh Kumari, Preeti Sharma,Anu Sinha and Naveen, KaranChanchal, Gaurav showedtheir dancing skills in thispresentation. In the nextsequence, Guru Bhajan MalaTilak Manohar Bana SirChhatra Dhare, Guru Bin AiseKaun Kare..., and concludedthe presentation with the com-position Sargam, which wasbased on three talas. Thesecompositions are composedby Guru Pandit RajendraGangani.

Culture department organises daylong function focusedon ‘Dance, Singing and Music’ at State Tribal Museum


Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan announced toset up a Yoga Commission

in the state at a state level pro-gramme on the 8th InternationalDay of Yoga held under theleadership of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

Chouhan said that yogatraining would be imparted in theschools of the state to makeyoga an integral part of life forwhich Yoga teachers will also berecruited. Necessary arrange-ments will also be established sothat people can practice simpleyoga regularly at home. Thecooperation of Yoga seekers willbe taken from organizations likeInternational Yoga Institute,Patanjali Yoga Sansthan, IshaYoga Foundation and Art ofLiving. Chief Minister Chouhancalled upon all the people of thestate to practice yoga daily.

Chouhan was addressing a statelevel programme at his residenceon the 8th International Day ofYoga.

Prime Minister NarendraModi, addressed theInternational Yoga Day pro-gramme on the theme of ‘Yogafor Humanity’ from MysorePalace, Karnataka. He said thatyoga energy will give direction toworld health. Yoga, derived fromthe tradition of Indian cultureand spirituality, is today becom-ing the basis of global coopera-tion.

This will prove to be a meansof keeping the human bodyhealthy. International Yoga Dayis a symbol of human vitality afterthe whole world has faced sucha huge Corona pandemic. PrimeMinister Modi said that Yoga isa source of peace for all of us. Itis the medium of individualpeace, peace for society, peace fornations and peace for the uni-

verse. Yoga paves the way forsolution to all problems.

Modi said that the countryis celebrating the Azadi ka AmritMahotsav. Today, in the 75th yearof independence, Yoga pro-grammes which are to be orga-nized simultaneously at 75 his-torical places of the country willcreate cultural energy and con-sciousness. People from differentcountries of the world are join-ing yoga with sunrise and themovement of the Sun. A largenumber of people are practicingyoga with the first rays of the sunin different countries. In this waya ring of yoga is being formedaround the whole earth. This isthe ‘Cardinal Ring of Yoga’. Theseefforts are giving a wonderfulinspiration to the whole world tobalance health. Yoga is nowbecoming the ‘Way of Life’.

The Prime Minister said thatYoga increases our efficiency. Itis necessary that we do not take

yoga as an additional work. Wemust adopt it as an integral partof life, it will make yoga a meansto celebrate health, happinessand peace. Modi said that youthare joining with new ideas in thefield of Yoga. Prime MinisterModi also informed about theStartup Challenge, InnovativeDigital Exhibition and otherinnovations started by the UnionMinistry of AYUSH.

Chief Minister Chouhan saidthat Yoga is the most powerfulway to stay healthy. One who isnot physically fit, cannot achieveAtma-Parmatma. Yoga increasesthe ability to work and the ten-dency to work hard. PrimeMinister Modi, Baba Ramdevand Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev areliving examples. They practiceyoga daily and are constantlyactive for the welfare of mankind.Giving his own example,Chouhan said that he had suf-fered eight fractures in an acci-

dent in the year 1998. The prac-tice of yoga and pranayama gavehim health benefits and eventoday he is able to work contin-uously for 18 hours without anyproblem and fatigue. This is theresult of practicing yoga daily.

The Chief Minister said thataccording to our physical condi-tion and requirement, we mustpractice 40 to 45 minutes of yogaevery day by making a list of yogaasanas. It was only as a result ofcontinuous yoga and pranayamathat Corona could not affecthim much. He practices yoga,pranayama, meditation, feed cowwith chapati and plants threesaplings every day. This gives himthe required energy, joy andpositivity. While exhorting every-one to plant trees, Chief MinisterShri Chouhan said that only byplanting trees, we will be able tosave the earth from the risks ofclimate change and global warm-ing.

Yoga energy will give direction to world health- Narendra Modi


The National ServiceScheme Unit ofRabindranath Tagore

University, Bhopal, under thejoint aegis of Nursing andYoga Department and NCCNaval Wing, practiced yoga onthe occasion of this year'stheme "Yoga for Humanity" onInternational Yoga Day onTuesday.

In which more than 300students as well as professorsand employees participatedand explained in detail thenuances of various asanas,actions and pranayama.During this pranayama likeMakarasan, Tadasana,

Shalabhasan, Shashankasan,Bhujangasana, Anulom-Vilom,Bhramari, Kapal Bhati etc.

At the end of Pranayama,by chanting Om, SarveBhavantu Sukhinah andS a n g a c h a d b h a mSamvadabham aroused thefeeling of world auspiciousness.The yoga practice was con-ducted by the well-known per-sonality of yoga, youth coachand speaker Anju Singh.

At the end of the yogapractice, the Vice Chancellor ofthe university, Dr. BrahprakashPethia, underlining the impor-tance of yoga, said that bydoing yoga daily, we not onlyget physical but also mentaland spiritual powers. On this

occasion Pro Vice ChancellorSangeeta Johri, Dean ofMedical Faculty CP Mishra,Head of Department of YogaRatnesh Pandey, LaljitPachauri, Program Officer ofNational Service Scheme DrRekha Gupta and GabbarSingh, Officers of NCC NavalWing all. Lieutenant ManojManral was specially present.

The main role in the pro-gram was volunteer IndraDehria, Jannat Khan seniorvolunteer Shri AvinashChauhan, Shabnam Meena,Chitranshi Meena, MonaLodhi, Prince Kumar Thakur,Prashant Sah, Zikra Khan,Aman Meena, Jyoti Jatav, VivekBhaskar, Avinash etc.


Atotal of 601 warrantsincluding 282 perma-nent and 297 and 22

bailable warrants were exe-cuted during the combingpatrol on the night of June20, keeping in view the peaceand security system duringthe upcoming elections andcontrol of crimes by theUrban (district ) police,Bhopal.

Around 1200 officersand employees executed 601warrants in combing patrolin 7 hours. After the com-missionerate system, about1370 permanent and arrestwarrants have been made inthree combing patrols.

Combing patrol was con-ducted on June 21. Before thecombing patrol, AdditionalCommissioner of PoliceSachin Atulkar briefed all the

staff and gave necessaryguidelines and made 5 teamsin each police station to nabthe accused and warranties.

Combing patrolling wasstarted from around 11 pmand was done till around 5am. During the combingpatrol, a total of 601 warrants

including 282 permanentwarrants and 297 arrest war-rants and 22 bailable war-rants were served in a spanof only 7 hours, as well asmore than 265 history-sheeters were checked.Earlier, 268 permanent/arrestwarrants were served on thenight of 05 February 22 and511 permanent/ arrest war-rants were served on thenight of March 25.

During the special oper-ation conducted in theintervening night, theDeputy Commissioner ofPolice Zone 1, 2, 3, 4 andCrime along with all theAdditional DeputyCommissioners of Police,Assistant Commissionersof Police and all the stationin-charges were present inthe field during the comb-ing patrol and monitoredcontinuously.

601 warrants executed in special drive

PNS n GWALIOR

Noted social activist andsenior journalist fromGwalior, Keshav

Pandey was on Mondayhonored with the Man of theMedia Award. The award waspresented to him during the33rd annual conference of theJan Parishad, held at the StateMuseum Jan Jatiya Sangralay atBhopal.

The Chief Guest of theprogram was Justice I SSrivastava. Speaking on theoccasion Justice Srivastava saidthat there is a need to amendmany of the legal rules and actsin India and opined that socialorganizations like the Jan

Parishad should come forwardto create awareness about thisissue. Asst. Lokayukt A S KPalon and President of the JanParishad, former DGP N KTripati also spoke on theoccasion.

During the function,Justice I S Srivastava, HiteshBajpai, Sunil Tiwari from Itarsi,Dr RS Vijayavargiya, DurgaPrasad Soni, Avadesh Bhargav,Dharmendra Singh Takur,Ashok Gautam, K P Agnihotriand Sanjay Dwivedi were alsohonoured.

The meeting was alsoattended by IAS, AjatashatruSrivastava, G P Srivastava andManoj Srivastava amongothers.

Gwalior’s Keshav Pandey getsMan of the Media award


On the occasion of 8thInternational YogaDay Invertis

University organized a yogaprogram. On this Dr UmeshGautam, Chancellor, InvertisUniversity said, "Yoga is ouroldest culture. Its practice indaily life takes us away frommental and physical disorderson the path of health life.Wishing you all co-workersand students a very HappyYoga Day. I hope you willdefinitely make yoga animportant part of your life."

During the first wave ofthe Covid19 pandemic, whena complete lockdown wasimposed, Invertis Universityresorted to the virtual medi-um and organized yoga webi-nars to deal with the impactof this horrific pandemic andto protect students from theeffects of COVID-19.

Highlighting the need foryoga for the youth, theChancellor of InvertisUniversity said, “Yoga canimmensely benefit students asit will help them balancetheir academic and personallives. Yoga Guru like BKSIyengar and Baba Ramdevhave shown everyone thepath of Yogic blending in life.

At Invertis University we notonly nurture students acade-mically but also focus ontheir holistic developmentby creating a leader for indus-try and business. Yoga playsa pivotal role throughout."

Talking about the impor-tant role of Yoga in life onInternational Day of Yoga,Parampara BBA, 1st year stu-dent of Invertis Universitysaid, “Yoga is very importantin our life.” The importanceof Yoga has increased a lot inour life since the Coronaperiod. During this our uni-versity also taught yoga to allof us."

Yoga gurus have shown everyonethe path of yogic blending in life

Youth performs Yoga on the occasion of the International Day of Yoga, at the banks of Lower Lake, in Bhopal on Tuesday. Pioneer photo


International Yoga Day wascelebrated by SBI with gustoand enthusiasm. It was

Organized in the Local HeadOffice on Yoga Day with theparticipation of staff, in whichYoga expert VarshaVishwakarma gave a concise lec-ture on the topic “Yoga BhagayeRog” she did Pranayama andexercises to the staff present onthe occasion.

Addressing the staff on thisoccasion, Chief GeneralManager of SBI Binod KumarMishra said that the changinglifestyle, irregular eating habitsand increasing pollution, ourhealth is getting affected, whichhas a negative impact on ourefficiency. In this era of Covidepidemic, it has become clearthat to increase our immunity,we have to make proper diet andYOGA a part of our daily life.Mishra further said that Yoga

establishes balance betweenbody, mind and soul. Yogaalways keeps positivity in ourlife. Mishra called upon thebank staff to make yoga a partof their daily routine to maketheir life more happy and joyful.

On this InternationalYOGA Day, State Bank of IndiaLadies Club also performedYoga at 11.00 am, in whichLadies club President AshaMishra addressed and urged allthe participants to participatewith fervor and enthusiasm.Yoga specialist Smt. Varsha

Vishwakarmasaid YOGAshould not be aone-day affairbut should be anessential part ofour lifestyle.

T h i s“YOGA Day”programme wascelebrated in allthe main cities of

SBI Bhopal Circle with greatenthusiasm and fervor, special-ly at the Indore and BilaspurAdministrative Office.

Chief General ManagerBinod Kumar Mishra, GeneralManagers Sandeep KumarDutta, Geeta Tripathi, B. L.Saini, Shailndra Singh Taragiand Deputy General Managerand other senior officers andstaff were present on the occa-sion. This programme wasorganised by the PR & CSBdepartment of SBI BhopalCircle.

SBI celebrates 8th International Yoga Day


Forever living India cele-brated a unique session ofAloe Yoga. An out of the

box health and fitness practicethat allows you to have sips ofyour favourite Aloe Vera Gel andkeep losing the extra chubbinessat the same time. We, at FLP, lovepursuing new ideas and chal-lenges when it comes to exer-cising and staying healthy. AloeYoga is an idea we came up withfor the international yoga day asit seemed the most perfect com-bination of FLP's Aloe Vera Geland the goodness of practicingyoga for a healthy, refreshedmind.

A select 25 registered par-ticipants got the chance to par-ticipate in an Aloe Yoga sessionexclusively held at the MumbaiRDO. Others joined this one ofa kind session live on Facebookand followed the instructor rightat the comfort of their homes.

To perform aloe yoga allone needs is to take a sip fromthe Aloe bottle over the courseof your yoga session and per-form a variety of postures andasanas, while trying to balancethe Aloe bottle in your hands,or above your head. This actioncan be called 'Sip an Aloe, doa Pose'.

Forever Livingproducts celebratesAloe Yoga


Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan plantedsaplings in Smart City

Garden along with Member ofParliament Shri Rodmal Nagarand MLA Shishupal Yadav.Archie Agarwal, SamarthAmarnani, Sanidhya Jain, KunalChaturvedi and Sushri DiyaShrotia of Dantesh Bowl CharitySanstha also participated in theplantation. Peepal, Kadambaand Badam (almond) saplingswere planted on Tuesday.

The organisation is workingfor the care and nutrition of ani-mals after the lockdown of theCovid-19 epidemic.

The organisation conductsprogrammes to inculcate a feel-ing of love and compassion foranimals in children.

NSS unit of RNTU organises yoga training session

Around 1200officers andemployeesexecuted 601warrants incombing patrolin 7 hours. Inpast 6 months,about 1370permanent andarrest warrantshave beenmade executed

Youth performs Yoga on a Cruise Boat on the occasion of the International Day of Yoga, at Upper Lake, organised by MPTourism in Bhopal on Tuesday. Pioneer photo

CM plants Peepal,Kadamba andBadam saplings

BHOPAL | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22, 2022 nation 03

Jail and Home Minister Narottam Mishra along with officials and prisoners performed yoga at Central Jail premises in Bhopalon Monday Pioneer photo

Group yoga performed on the banks of Amrit SarovarsSTAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

This year 8thInternational Yoga Daywas celebrated with

enthusiasm in the entire stateunder the Amrit Mahotsav ofIndependence. Chief MinisterShivraj Singh Chouhan par-ticipated in the state levelprogramme in Bhopal, whileUnion Ministers and ministersof Madhya Pradesh also tookpart in the mass yoga pro-grammes organised in differ-ent districts. In districts,blocks and village panchayatsalso, MGNREGA workers,including students, villagers,women self-help groups per-formed group yoga at thework place and on the banksof Amrit Sarovars. People'srepresentatives, officials andcitizens also practised yoga onthe theme of Yoga for

Humanity at the archaeolog-ical and tourist places of thestate.

Union Minister ofAgriculture and FarmersWelfare Narendra SinghTomar participated in theyoga session at the famousarcheological site of Morenadistrict Bateshwar templegroup, Union Minister ofSocial Justice andEmpowerment VirendraKumar at Amarkantak, theorigin of Narmada river,Union Civil Aviation MinisterJyotiraditya Scindia at thearchaeological site of GwaliorFort and the Union Ministerof State for Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises BhanuPratap Singh Verma attendedthe yoga session at the worldfamous Buddhist monasteryof Sanchi.

Special sessions of yoga

were also held on the banks ofAmrit Sarovars being built inMadhya Pradesh during theAmrit Mahotsav ofIndependence on the call ofPrime Minister NarendraModi. In these, the workers,villagers and panchayat rep-resentatives engaged in theconstruction of the sarovarstogether practiced yoga.Similarly, yoga sessions wereheld in Anganwadi centres.

Yoga events started inBrahma Muhurta (earlymorning) at other touristplaces including Queen ofSatpura Pachmarhi. Tourists,citizens and school childrenalong with the DistrictCollector, Superintendent ofPolice, tourists also performedyoga with full of enthusiasm atthe picturesque site ofDhupgarh hill. Yoga was alsoorganised in Bison Lodge

complex in Pachmarhi itself,in which AYUSHDepartment, SADAPachmarhi, TourismDevelopment Corporationand local citizens and touristsof Pachmarhi performed yogain the morning. Yoga ses-sions were also held at TilakSindoor of Itarsi, Awalighat ofSeoni Malwa, the holy SethaniGhat of Narmadapuram andBandrabhan, whereyogacharyas guided citizens todo yoga exercises close tonature.

In collaboration with theSchool EducationDepartment, mass yoga wasorganised in all the schools ofthe state. Along with this,students also practised yoga incolleges. Scouts, guides, NCC,NSS youths and teachers alsoparticipated in the yoga ses-sions. Social organisations and

social workers also played anactive role in yoga pro-grammes in all the districts.The members of Jan AbhiyanParishad also conducted yogasessions at the district, blockand village panchayat level,connecting the citizens. ChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChouhan encouraged the peo-ple of the state towards yogaon International Day of Yogaand administered resolve tothem to perform yoga everyday.

The CM said that doingyoga not only keeps the mindhappy, but also fills the bodywith positive energy and theability of a person to work alsoincreases. I urge everyone tomake yoga an integral part oftheir lives. Not just onInternational Day of Yoga,take out time to do yoga everyday.

PNS n UJJAIN

Under the directives ofUjjain CollectorAshish Singh, Ujjain

Smart City CompanyLimited and under the guid-ance of CommissionerUjjain MunicipalCorporation Anshul Gupta,Smart city CEO AshishPathak and Food and DrugAdministration is also inno-vating to provide complete-ly safe food items to the peo-ple under the Eat RightSmart City Challenge cam-paign.

Under this, the cam-paign “Done Mein Do Na”was started on June 20, 2022from the ancient shopBholaguru and Sons (PudiBhandar) in the city. Under

the campaign, the healthhazards of serving fooditems in single-use plasticand newsprint were toldand motivated to stop theiruse.

A declaration was alsosigned by Smart CityCompany Limited regardingthe use of natural bio-degradable dona leaves. Themanifesto was also filled byvisiting Bafna Namkeen andSweets. Bafna Sweets alsotook a pledge to stop usingdisposable bowls and spoonsand use dona.

Smart City and FoodSecurity Administration willrun a campaign to make thebusinessmen and consumersaware of the Dona Meincampaign and use Dona inplace of disposal at more andmore establishments.

Safe food items being provided topeople under ‘Done Mein Do Na’

BJP State President VD Sharma along with others performs Yoga at Khajuraho temples on 8th International Yoga Day inKhajuraho on Tuesday. Pioneer photo

MPPSC lands into controversyfor asking question on KashmirSTAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

The MPPSC landed intoa controversy aftertheir question paper

surfaced on the internetshowing a multiple choicequestion with states, “ShouldKashmir be handed over toPakistan?” The students whoappeared for the exam foundthe options confusing andmany were not able torespond. It also received a lotof criticism from aspirantsand political leaders over thecontroversial question.

In the question paperwhich went viral on socialmedia, the MPPSC CivilServices preliminary exami-nation paper held on June 19had a question about whetherKashmir, which is involved inan international dispute,should be handed over toPakistan or not.

The two options on theMP Civil Services questionpaper read as follows;

A) Yes, as it will help theeconomic situation of India

B) No, as it will increasethe demand of the Pakistanadministration

According to sources, theanswer key of the MadhyaPradesh civil services exam2022 showed that the secondoption of the multiple-choicequestion was right.Regardless, the questionpaper sparked a row on socialmedia, with many peopleslamming MPPSC for theirchoice of question.

People who appeared forthe MPPSC preliminaryexamination were left con-fused over the Kashmir ques-tion, and said that they werenot sure about how to selectthe correct option.

Congress leader AjayYadav who took objection tothe question said, “Kashmiris India’s pride. It is highlyobjectionable to even thinkthat Kashmir can be handedover to Pakistan to savemoney. Even, the correctanswer is objectionable, itshould not be about stoppingsimilar demands of secessionthat give a better life to peo-ple of India.”

After the controversy, theMadhya Pradesh StateService Commission issued apress release saying that thesecond question paper of theState Service and State ForestService PreliminaryExamination-2021, GeneralAptitude Test, question num-ber 48 of set - "A", questionnumber 48 of set "B" - 11, theCommission does not agreewith the question materialcontained in question num-ber 36 of set "C" and questionnumber 31 of set "D".

It has been told by theController of Examinationsthat taking suo motu cog-nizance of the Commission,the said question has beendeleted from the secondpaper. Accordingly, furtherdisciplinary action regardingthe examination is beingtaken confidentially.


It has been raining heav-ily for the past threedays in several parts of

the state and will rain forthe next 3-4 days in thesame pattern. On Monday,many cities includingBhopal received the firstrain of monsoon. Heavyrains occurred in manydistricts includingChhindwara, Sagar,Hoshangabad.

Due to the increase inheat during the day, sud-denly thick clouds areformed. It rains heavily. CBclouds are the most dan-gerous in monsoon. Theseclouds produce lightning,tornadoes, dangerouswinds and large hail.Sometimes it rains up toseveral millimeters. It isformed during pre-mon-soon and monsoon.

The Northern Limit ofSouth-West Monsoon ispassing throughPorbandar, Baroda,Shivpuri, Rewa. Monsoonhas arrived in the remain-ing districts of the stateexcept some areas ofChambal division andGwalior, Datia, Neemuch,Mandsaur, Ratlam, Jhabua,Ujjain and Agar districts.During the last 24 hours, itrained at most places in the

districts of Shahdol,Jabalpur, Sagar, Gwaliorand Bhopal divisions,many areas in Chambaldivision, districts ofNarmadapuram division,districts of Indore andUjjain divisions.

Moderate to heavyrains may occur at isolatedplaces in Dindori,Chhindwara, Balaghat,Chhatarpur, Vidisha,Raisen, Sehore, Rajgarh,Narmadapuram, Betul,Neemuch, Agar, Shajapur,Guna, Shivpuri andSheopurkalan districts.

Thunderstorm and rainmay occur at isolatedplaces in the districts ofRewa, Shahdol, Sagar,Jabalpur, Bhopal,Narmadapuram, Gwalior,Chambal divisions and inBurhanpur, Khandwa,Khargone, Barwani, Dhardistricts are likely to occur.

PNS n JABALPUR

On the occasion of 75thAmrit Mahotsav ofIndependence, Yoga was

practiced all over India on theoccasion of 8th InternationalDay of Yoga. On this occasion,Prime Minister Narendra Modifrom Mysore and UnionRailway Minister AshwiniVaishnav from Konark Templein Bhubaneswar performedyoga.

Under the joint aegis ofWest Central RailwayHeadquarters and JabalpurDivision, 8th International YogaDay was organized at RailSaurabh Adhikari Club andSatpura Club.

The program of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andRailway Minister Ashwini

Vaishnav was connected with theYoga practice program of WestCentral Railway through virtualmedium and 117 in Rail SaurabhOfficers Club and 124 in SatpuraClub, Prime Minister andRailway Minister Practiced Yogaunder Common Yoga Protocolthrough virtual medium.

On this occasion, GeneralManager Sudhir Kumar Gupta

administered the oath of regu-lar yoga practice to the officersand employees and practicedyoga. Along with expressing hisvaluable thoughts, he guidedwith his invaluable thoughts onthe theme of this year's YogaDay "Yoga for Humanity" andinformed about the benefits ofdoing regular yoga that it helpsto calm the body and mind.

Similarly, InternationalYoga Day was celebrated inboth the other divisions of WestCentral Railway, Bhopal andKota and both the factories.

Passengers and employeeshave been motivated to do yogaunder Common Yoga Protocolby video clippings, audioannouncements and jingles relat-ed to International Yoga Day atmajor stations of West CentralRailway.

Yoga practised at WCR headquarters inJabalpur on International Yoga Day

General ManagerSudhir KumarGuptaadministered theoath of regularyoga practice tothe officers andemployees andpracticed yoga


Jail and Home MinisterNarottam Mishra per-formed yoga with the

prisoners at the CentralJail in Bhopal onInternational Yoga Day.He expressed his grati-tude to the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for mak-ing Yoga a part of Indianculture at the global level.Minister Mishra congrat-ulated and extended bestwishes to everyone onInternational Yoga Day.He said that yoga is the artof living a better life.

Minister Mishra per-formed Yoga with DirectorGeneral of Jail ArvindKumar, AdditionalDirector General of PoliceADG Ashok Awasthi,District and Sessions

Judge SPS Bundela, DIGJail Sanjay Pandey andMR Patel, AdditionalSuperintendent of PoliceArvind Dubey, Jail

Superintendent DineshNargave along with about150 prisoners at theSanskritik Bhavan ofBhopal Central Jail.Around 4000 prisonersperformed yoga at differ-ent places in Central JailBhopal on InternationalYoga Day. Minister Mishraalong along with all thosepresent listened on-screento Prime Minister ShriNarendra Modi's messageon International Yoga Day.

Minister Mishra saidthat on the call of PrimeMinister Modi, we have topopularise Yoga on a largescale.

He said that yoga is notjust a part of our lives buthas become a way of life.Yoga not only keeps ushealthy, but also teaches usthe art of living a betterlife.

Yoga is an art to lead a better life: Narottam MishraHome MinisterNarottam Mishraperformed Yogawith DirectorGeneral of JailArvind Kumar,Additional DirectorGeneral of PoliceADG AshokAwasthi, Districtand SessionsJudge SPSBundela, DIG JailSanjay Pandey andMR Patel

Rains continue for past three days in several parts of Madhya PradeshDue to theincrease in heatduring the day,suddenly thickclouds areformed. It rainsheavily. CBclouds are themost dangerousin monsoon

Bhopal: Chief MinisterShivraj Singh Chouhan hassaid that Madhya Pradeshhas achieved the historic tar-get in the campaign to intro-duce vaccine doses to preventinfection and epidemic inKovid 19. A total of 12 croredoses have been adminis-tered to the people of thestate. For this achievement,the citizens of the state,health workers, anganwadiworkers, administrative staffand public representativesdeserve congratulations.

Just as success wasachieved through publicparticipation in controllingcorona in Madhya Pradesh,similarly the work of mak-ing people aware about get-ting the vaccine was alsosuccessful.

CM congratulatedfor applying 12crore doses

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The CBI has arrested JointDrugs Controller S Eswara

Reddy, Associate VicePresident of Biocon BiologicsL Praveen Kumar and threeothers in a case of bribery towaive Phase 3 clinical trial of‘Insulin Aspart' injection, aproduct developed by the com-pany to manage Type 1 andType 2 diabetes.

Biocon Biologics, a sub-sidiary of Biocon, however,denied the allegations ofbribery. Biocon is led by bil-lionaire entrepreneur. KiranMazumdar Shaw.

Besides Reddy and Kumar,the CBI has also arrestedDinesh Dua, director atSynergy Network India PrivateLimited, who allegedly gaveReddy Rs 4 lakh bribe, GuljitSethi, an alleged conduit ofBiocon Biologics, as well asAssistant Drug InspectorAnimesh Kumar in the case,

officials said. Reddy, posted atthe Central Drugs StandardControl Organisation(CDSCO) here, and Dua wereapprehended on Monday dur-ing a 'trap operation' while theformer was receiving the bribeto favour Biocon Biologics towaive phase 3 clinical trial ofthe insulin injection.

They were formally arrest-ed after necessary paperworkand would be produced beforethe special court soon, theofficials said.

The CBI has booked all thefive accused under IndianPenal Code (IPC) Sections ofcriminal conspiracy, cheatingand forgery besides provisionsof Prevention of CorruptionAct. A spokesperson forBiocon Biologics refuted theallegations.

In its FIR, the CBI hasalleged that Sethi, acting as aconduit for Biocon Biologics,conspired with PraveenKumar, head of the company's

National Regulatory Affairs(NRA), and other senior exec-utives of the company to payReddy a total bribe of Rs 9lakh.

The bribe was meant forfavourably recommending thefile of 'Insulin Aspart Injection'to the Subject ExpertCommittee (SEC) meeting onMay 18, 2022 for waiving thePhase 3 clinical trial, it alleged."Phase 3 clinical trials are animportant regulatory mecha-nism to assess the safety of apharma product. Any attemptto waive it can have seriouspublic health safety repercus-sions," an official said.

Reddy had attended theSEC meeting on May 18, 2022and supported the waiver, theCBI has alleged in the FIR.

He manipulated the min-utes of the meeting of SEC heldthat day by changing some keywords in the recommenda-tions, giving “substantialwrongful gain” to the compa-

ny, the agency alleged. The CBIwas working on the sensationalcase for over a month after get-ting inputs that Reddy wasdealing with the processing offiles related to applications forapproval of drugs and vaccinesby various pharmaceuticalcompanies.

Tracking Reddy’s activi-ties, the CBI also learnt thatthree files of Biocon Biologics,including one related to thewaiver of Phase 3 clinical trialof the under developmentInsulin Aspart Injection, werereferred to him for processingand approval.

The CDSCO functionsinclude approval of new drugs,conducting clinical trials andlaying down the standards fordrugs. The CBI also receivedinformation that Sethi handledgovernment regulatory worksrelated to Biocon Biologicsand had business relationswith Dua, the CBI FIR alleged.

The agency dug into her

background to find that shehad several pharmaceuticalcompanies as her clientele.She allegedly delivered hugebribes through Dua and othersto senior officers of CDSCO ondifferent occasions for pro-cessing the files favourably onbehalf of her clients, officialssaid.

Praveen Kumar also toldSethi about the favourabledecision taken during themeeting, it said. In return,Reddy provided his residentialaddress at Chanakyapuri tomeet him personally by theend of the week, the agency hasalleged.

Praveen Kumar allegedlygave Sethi the go-ahead to paya total bribe of Rs 9 lakh toReddy.

On her instructions, Duawent to make a partial pay-ment of Rs 4 lakh to the offi-cer on June 20 at his residencefor acting in favour of BioconBiologics, officials said.

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With PILs started coming,the Centre on Tuesday

filed a caveat in the SupremeCourt and urged that it beheard before the court passesany order on petitions againstthe Agnipath scheme.

Caveat is a petition askingcourts that actions may not betaken without hearing theopposite side. Already morethan five petitioners claimedfiling PILs to stop the Agnipathscheme.

Meanwhile another PILwas also filed in the apex court

for an SIT probe on thenationwide violence againstthe scheme. This petition wasmentioned on Tuesday andthe vacation bench agreed tolist.

Already more than fivePILs are filed against Agnipathscheme, terming it as halfbaked one, seeking cancella-tion. The pleas sought to quashthe June 14 notification/pressnote claiming it to be illegal andunconstitutional.

With Centre filing caveat,Government will get amplechance to explain and oppor-tunity to prevent stay orderwithout hearing.

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Ateam of doctors from superspecialty hospital, SRM

Medical College Hospital andResearch Center (SRMMCH&RC), Kattankulathurhere has successfully performeda major surgery of the liver ata very nominal cost.

According to a statementhere, 47-year-old Lakshmi(name changed), came to thehospital with complaints ofdiscomfort in her upperabdomen. Following investi-gations, the doctors found thatthe patient had developed atumor (15x15 cm) on the leftlobe of her Liver.

After confirming that itwas the primary cancerousgrowth coming from the Liver(Hepatoma), a multi-discipli-

nary team including a generalsurgeon, surgical gastroen-terologist, and medical oncol-ogist evaluated the patient anddecided to go ahead with resec-tion (removal) of left lobe ofliver as a means of initial treat-ment for the patient.

Major surgeries like liverresection are offered only inspecialized centres and thecharges levied will be enor-mous. SRM MCH&RC, whosemission is to offer quality med-ical care at a very nominal rate,took up this challenge, said thestatement. The team led byDr.Balamurugan, Dr.Athira,Dr. Sivamareswaran,Dr.Mallikarjun, Dr. Padma,

Dr.Elakkiya, Dr.Jayadharshini,Surgical GastroEnterology headDr. A. Ratnasamy andAnaesthesiologistDr.Mirnalini,Dr.Sujina, Dr. K.Karthik oper-ated on Lakshmi, said the state-ment. After a two-hour-longsurgery, the doctors removedthe left lobe of the liver (lefthepatectomy).

The patient required onlyone unit of blood transfusionduring the surgery and was puton oral feeds the very next day.Lakshmi was later put in thepost-operative ward and laterdischarged within a week.

Dr Balamurugan said thatsuch major surgeries can bedone safely in SRM MCH&RCand entire procedure was cov-ered under CM InsuranceScheme, without much finan-cial burden to patient or herfamily.

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APIL was filed in the DelhiHigh Court on Tuesday

seeking direction to Centre toascertain feasibility of confis-cating 100 per cent black moneyand benami property andawarding life imprisonment tooffenders in offences relating todisproportionate assets, moneylaundering, tax evasion, andhuman-drug trafficking.

The plea also sought toconstitute an expert committeeor direct Law Commission toexamine stringent anti-corrup-tion laws of developed countriesrelating to bribery, black money,benami property, tax evasion,disproportionate assets, moneylaundering, profiteering, hoard-ing, adulteration, human and

drug trafficking and black mar-keting and prepare a compre-hensive report within threemonths.

Petitioner and advocateAshwini Kumar Upadhyayclaimed that the total budget ofCentre, states, and local bodiesis Rs 70 lakh crore but due tomassive corruption in everypublic department, around 20per cent of budget, that is, Rs 14lakh crore becomes blackmoney.

“The government can savethis huge money by recallingcurrency above Rs 100, restrict-ing cash transactions above Rs5000, linking assets above Rs50,000 with Aadhaar, confis-cating 100 per cent dispropor-tionate assets, black money,benami property, and awarding

life imprisonment to looters,”plea said. It said corruptionundermines democracy andrule of law which leads to vio-lation of human rights, distortsmarkets, erodes quality of life,and allows organised crime likeseparatism, terrorism, naxal-ism, radicalism, gambling,smuggling, kidnapping, moneylaundering, and extortion andother threats to human securi-ty to flourish.

“It hurts EWS (economi-cally weaker section)-BPL(below poverty line) familiesexcessively by diverting fundsintended for their development,undermines government's abil-ity to provide basic services,seeds inequality and injusticeand discourages foreign aidand investment,” it said.

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Amid instability in the rul-ing Shiv Sena-led coalition

Government in Maharashtra,the Congress on Tuesdaydeputed its senior leader andformer Madhya Pradesh chiefminister Kamal Nath as AICCobserver to the State.

The decision came soonafter reports that some ShivSena MLAs led by dissidentleader Eknath Shinde arecamping in Gujarat and couldpose a threat to the rulingMaha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)Government. "The Congresspresident has deputed Kamal

Nath as All India CongressCommittee (AICC) observer inthe wake of recent politicaldevelopments in the state, withimmediate effect," said an offi-cial communication from theCongress.

Congress shares powerwith the Nationalist CongressParty (NCP) and Shiv Sena inthe MVA government inMaharashtra.

On the sidelines of theMaharashtra crisis, theChhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel accused theCentre of trying to destabilizehis government and claimedthat "illegal phone tapping" isbeing done in the state.

Baghel alleged that thosestanding with Congress leaderRahul Gandhi are being tar-geted.

Citing the CBI raids againstRajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot's brother and"illegal phone tapping" inChhattisgarh, he alleged thatthe Centre is trying to destabi-lize state governments run bynon-BJP parties.

Baghel made the remarkswhile talking to reporters dur-ing a sit-in in front of theEnforcement Directorate (ED)office here to protest againstGandhi's questioning by thecentral agency in the NationalHerald case.

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After several rounds of con-sultations on its presiden-

tial pick, the BJP ParliamentaryBoard, the highest decision-making body of the party, meton Tuesday to finalise its nom-inee for the top constitutionalpost. Draupadi Murmu, theformer Jharkhand Governor,was picked as the NDA candi-date.

The parliamentary boardmet soon after the oppositionhad reached a consensus onformer union ministerYashwant Sinha as the jointopposition candidate for thepresidential election.

The parliamentary Boardmembers deliberated on theNDA choice for thePresidential candidate. The

long-drawn meeting discussingthe NDA candidate was attend-ed, among others, by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,Nadda, Shah, Rajnath Singh,Nitin Gadkari and MadhyaPradesh Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan in the Party’sheadquarters at Deen DayalUpadhyay Marg. Heavy policedeployment was made on allroutes leading to the partyoffice.

A number of candidates,including the names of presentand former state governors,were mulled over by the partyover the last one month withfinal approval being left to thePrime Minister, sources said.

During the day Unionministers, Amit Shah andRajnath Singh and BJP presi-dent J P Nadda met Vice

President M Venkaiah Naiduahead of a crucial party meet-ing on the presidential elec-tions, creating a buzz aboutNaidu being considered by theruling combine for the topconstitutional post. Partysources, however, said that thetop leadership had yet notzeroed in on any single candi-date. A formal announcementis likely to be made a day later.

The ruling combine hasover 48 per cent vote share inthe electoral college to pick thenew president, and its candi-date has a clear advantage overthe opposition.The voting toelect the new president in placeof Ram Nath Kovind whoseterm will come to an end onJuly 24 will take place on July18. The last date for filingnominations is June 29 and the

votes will be counted on July21. As per article 62 of theConstitution , an election to fillthe vacancy caused by theexpiration of the term of officeis required to be completedbefore the term ends.

On Sunday, BJP presidenthad held a key meet to brain-storm on the upcoming elec-tion, where members of themanagement team were pre-sent. The meeting was attend-ed by senior leaders likeGajendra Singh Shekhawat,Ashwini Vaishnaw, G KishanReddy, Arjun Ram Meghwal,Vinod Tawde, CT Ravi, SambitPatra and others.

Nadda and Rajnath Singhwere entrusted with theresponsibility of holding talkswith all political parties ,including opposition, over the

candidate for presidential polls.With the announcement of

Sinha as the opposition con-sensus candidate, a contest forthe presidential post hasbecome all evident.

The president is elected bythe members of the electoralcollege consisting of electedmembers of both houses ofParliament and elected mem-bers of the legislative assem-blies of all states includingnational capital territory ofDelhi and Union territory ofPuducherry.

“The NDA candidate hasa clear edge over the oppositionnominee and the announcedcandidate by ParliamentaryBoard would be new occupantof the’ Rashtrapati Bhawan’”,said a senior BJP leaderinvolved in deliberations.

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The Enforcement Directorate(ED) on Tuesday ques-

tioned Congress leader RahulGandhi for the fifth time inconnection with the NationalHerald money laundering case.

The former CongressPresident appeared at the EDheadquarters here at 11.15 AMand his questioning beganabout half an hour later aftercompleting formalities likemarking his attendance.

The Congress MP fromWayanad has been questionedfor nearly 50 hours spread overfive days. Gandhi sought abreak for 30 minutes andagency allowed it at around8PM on Tuesday. He did nottake a break post-noon as inearlier four sessions, officialssaid. A strong contingent of

police and paramilitary per-sonnel was deployed aroundagency's office and Section 144of Code of Criminal Procedure(CrPC) was clamped in area toprohibit people from amassingin wake of Satyagrah call byCongress. During multiple ses-sions of questioning, Gandhi’sstatements are being recordedunder the Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act.

Last week, he was ques-tioned for three consecutivedays.Gandhi left agency officeafter midnight on Monday. Theprobe relates to alleged finan-cial irregularities in Congress-promoted Young Indian PrivateLimited, which owns NationalHerald newspaper.

The ED questions revolvedaround incorporation of YoungIndian Private Limited, opera-tions of National Herald, the

loan given by party to newspa-per's publisher AssociatedJournals Limited (AJL), andtransfer of funds within thenews media establishment asalso decision-making hierarchywithin three entities, officialssaid.

Congress president SoniaGandhi has also been sum-moned by agency for ques-tioning in case on June 23. BothSonia Gandhi and RahulGandhi are major shareholdersof Young Indian.

She was discharged from aprivate hospital on Mondaywhere she was admitted forCovid-related issues and hasnow been advised rest. TheCongress has accused Centre oftargeting Opposition leadersby misusing investigative agen-cies and has termed entireaction a political vendetta.

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Defence Minister RajnathSingh and his visiting

Australian counterpart RichardMarles will explore new initia-tives to further expand bilater-al defence engagements in theirtalks on Wednesday.

The defence ministry saidthe two ministers will alsoexchange views on regionaland global issues of sharedinterest. It said the India-Australia comprehensive strate-gic partnership is based on ashared vision of "free, open,inclusive and prosperous"Indo-Pacific region.

The visit by Marles is thefirst high-level trip to Indiafrom Australia after PrimeMinister Anthony Albanese'scentre-left Labor Party came topower last month defeatingpredecessor Scott Morrison'sconservative coalition in theparliamentary elections.

Marles, who is also deputyprime minister of Australia,began his four-day visit toIndia on Monday. "The twoministers will review thedefence cooperation betweenthe two countries and explorenew initiatives to furtherstrengthen bilateral engage-ments.

They will also exchangeviews on regional and globalissues of shared interest," thedefence ministry in a state-ment. Marles visited GoaShipyard Ltd in Goa.

"India and Australia sharea comprehensive strategic part-nership since June 2020 anddefence is a key pillar of thispartnership. The partnership isbased on a shared vision of free,open, inclusive and prosperousIndo-Pacific region," thedefence ministry said.

"The two democracieshave a common interest inpeace and prosperity of theentire region," it said in a

statement.The deputy primeminister also participated in aYoga session on the occasion ofInternational Yoga Day.

"An early morning startwith some yoga, ahead of abusy couple of days here inIndia. Looking forward to apacked couple of days, meetingmy counterparts and seeingfirsthand our close partner-ship," he tweeted.

In his response on Twitter,Sing said: "Glad to see theDeputy Prime Minister and theDefence Minister of Australia,@RichardMarlesMP doingYoga on the#InternationalDayofYoga."

"His participation in theYoga Day programme makesthese celebrations remarkableand special. Looking forward tomeet him in New Delhi," Singhadded.

On Monday, Marlesdescribed India as one ofAustralia's "closest" securitypartners and said Canberra iskeen to work closely with it foran open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

The ties between India andAustralia have been on anupswing in the last few years.In April, the two countriesinked a trade pact to diversifybilateral trade.

In June 2020, India andAustralia elevated their ties toa comprehensive strategic part-nership and signed a land-mark deal for reciprocal accessto military bases for logisticssupport.

The Mutual LogisticsSupport Agreement (MLSA)allows the militaries of thetwo countries to use eachother's bases for repair andreplenishment of supplies,besides facilitating scaling up ofoverall defence cooperation.

The Australian Navy waspart of Malabar naval exercisehosted by India in November2020 as well as last year.

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Acocktail of many toxiccomponents could be

transported from the lungs tothe brain via the bloodstreamwhile breathing in pollutedair– potentially contributing tobrain disorders and neurolog-ical damage, a new study pub-lished in the Proceedings of theNational Academy of Scienceshas said.

Though it has been knownthat air pollution is significantlyassociated with an increasedrisk of hospital admissions forseveral neurological disorders,including Parkinson’s disease,Alzheimer’s disease, and otherdementias, the scientists fromthe University of Birminghamand research institutions inChina discovered a possible

direct pathway used by variousinhaled fine particles throughblood circulation with indica-tions that, once there, the par-ticles stay longer in the brainthan in other main metabolicorgans.

The study conducted atthe Emory University’s RollinsSchool of Public Health andColumbia University’sMailman School of PublicHealth is the first nationwideanalysis of the link between fineparticulate (PM2.5) pollutionand neurodegenerative dis-eases in the United States. Theresearchers leveraged an unpar-alleled amount of data com-pared to any previous study ofair pollution and neurologicaldisorders. The scientistsrevealed they had found vari-ous fine particles in humancerebrospinal fluids taken from

patients who had experiencedbrain disorders – uncovering aprocess that may result in toxicparticulate substances endingup in the brain.

Co-author Professor IseultLynch, from the University ofBirmingham, commented:“There are gaps in our knowl-edge around the harmful effectsof airborne fine particles on thecentral nervous system. Thiswork sheds new light on thelink between inhaling particlesand how they subsequentlymove around the body.

“The data suggests that upto eight times the number offine particles may reach thebrain by travelling, via thebloodstream, from the lungsthan pass directly via the nose- adding new evidence on therelationship between air pol-lution and detrimental effects

of such particles on the brain.”Air pollution is a cocktail

of many toxic components,but particulate matter (PM,especially ambient fine particlessuch as PM2.5 and PM0.1), arethe most concerning in termsof causing detrimental healtheffects. Ultrafine particles, inparticular, are able to escape thebody’s protective systems,including sentinel immunecells and biological barriers.

The team of scientists dis-covered that inhaled particlescan enter the bloodstream aftercrossing the air-blood barrier- eventually reaching the brain,and leading to damage of thebrain-blood barrier and sur-rounding tissues as they do so.Once in the brain, the particleswere hard to clear and wereretained for longer than inother organs.

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Women are "significantly"more likely to suffer

from long Covid than malesand will experience substan-tially different symptoms, findsa study, underscoring a criticalneed for sex-disaggregatedresearch.

Long Covid is a syndromein which complications persistmore than four weeks after theinitial infection of Covid-19,sometimes for many months.

Researchers from theJohnson & Johnson Office ofthe Chief Medical OfficerHealth of Women Team, who

carried out the analysis of datafrom around 1.3 millionpatients, observed females withlong Covid are presenting witha variety of symptoms includ-ing ear, nose, and throat issues;mood disorders, neurological,skin, gastrointestinal andrheumatological disorders; aswell as fatigue.

Male patients, however,were more likely to experienceendocrine disorders such asdiabetes and kidney disorders.The odds of females develop-ing long Covid syndrome is 22per cent higher than males, theresearchers noted in the studypublished in the journal

Current Medical Research andOpinion. "Knowledge aboutfundamental sex differencesunderpinning clinical mani-festations, disease progression,and health outcomes of Covid-19 is crucial for the identifica-tion and rational design ofeffective therapies and publichealth interventions that areinclusive of and sensitive to thepotential differential treatmentneeds of both sexes," theresearchers explained."Differences in immune systemfunction between females andmales could be an importantdriver of sex differences in longCovid syndrome.

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Pakistan-based two terroristoutfits Lashkar-e-Tayyeba

(LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad(JeM) have suffered the max-imum brunt of sustained anti-terrorist operations acrossKashmir valley this year. Outof 118 terrorists killed so far 77belonged to LeT and 26 werecadre of JeM.

Meanwhile, a joint team ofsecurity forces Tuesday elimi-nated four more terrorists intwo different encounters inSopore area of Baramulla andTujjan area of Pulwama.

According to SeniorSuperintendent of Police,Pulwama GH Jelani Wani,"one of the killed terrorist inPulwama encounter, identi-fied as Mazid Nazir, wasbehind the killing of police SubInspector Farooq Ahmed Mir.His associate Abid was alsokilled in the encounter, policesaid.

Two local terrorists werealso eliminated in the Tulibalarea of Sopore town in theBaramulla district.

The operation waslaunched in the area on thebasis of inputs about the pres-ence of terrorists in one of thehouses. As the security forceslaunched a cordon and searchoperation they were fired uponby the hiding terrorists leadingto an encounter in which boththe terrorists were eliminated.

So far 17 terrorists havebeev gunned down since June15 in different anti-terroristoperations in Kashmir valley.

Compared to previous yearthe security forces have elim-inated 63 more terrorists than2021.

According to IGPKashmir, Vijay Kumar, "so farsecurity forces have killed 118terrorists including 32 foreignterrorists since Jan 1, 2022.However, 55 terrorists includ-ing 2 foreign terrorists were

killed in 2021 during the sameperiod". Kumar said, Pakistanbased Lashkar-e- Tayyeba ter-rorist outfit has suffered max-imum damages. Out of 118killed terrorists, 77 were LeTcadre & 26 from Jaish-eMohammad terror outfit.

Ever since the securityforces have launched sustainedoperations against the terroroutfits and targeting foreignterrorists they are receivingpinpointed human intelligence

leading to elimination of theseterrorists hiding in their safehideouts.

In Srinagar, police attachedfive houses as per section 2(g)& 25 of UAP Act for beingused for purpose of terrorism.It was also clearly found thatsuch harbouring was wilful,repetitive & without any coer-cion. Many attacks on civilians& security forces were plannedfrom these houses, Srinagarpolice tweeted.

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Even as the ruling TrinamoolCongress leaders congratu-

lated Mamata Banerjee for tak-ing the “lead role” in unitingthe Opposition parties in thepresidential elections theBengal Chief Minister was onTuesday all praise for the TMCvice-president Yashwant Sinhawho would be the combinedOpposition face in the race forthe Raisina Hills.

Congratulating Sinha a for-mer Union Minister in the ABVajpayee Government theChief Minister wrote “I wouldlike to congratulate Shri …Yashwant Sinha on becomingthe consensus candidate, sup-ported by all progressive oppo-sition parties, for the upcom-ing Presidential Election. Aman of great honour and acu-men, who would surely upholdthe values that represent ourgreat nation.”

Her nephew and party gen-eral secretary AbhishekBanerjee who represented the

TMC in Tuesday’s all-partymeeting in Delhi also congrat-ulated Sinha saying the formerUnion Minister was the mostappropriate candidate and thathe firmly believed that “for allprogressive parties who sharethe same vision for our nation,there could not have been abetter choice!”

Sinha was the third optionput forward by the BengalChief Minister in an all partymeeting called by her earlierthis month. While NCP chiefSharad Pawar turned downthe offer to contest in the pres-idential polls as the first choiceformer Jammu and KashmirChief Minister FarooqAbdullah too opted out of therace.

In Bengal the TMC leadersinterpreted the Tuesday’sdevelopment as “Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee’s first bigsuccess in the central politics,”adding Sinha’s victory in thepresidential elections wouldpave the way for Banerjee inplaying bigger role in New

Delhi in 2024.Though all leaders would

prefer to remain anonymous asenior TMC minister said,“2022 is the beginning and2024 will be the end whenMamata Banerjee will be calledupon to play a very big role inDelhi much like Sinha ji… If he

wins it is half the work done.”On what he meant by thephrase “half the work” hewould refuse to comment fur-ther.

Bengal Opposition LeaderSuvendu Adhikari however,said Sinha’s nomination was abig mistake for the Oppositionas “he will face a humiliatingdefeat … even the TMC MLAswill vote against him … I willappeal to all concerned to cutacross the party lines to vote forthe NDA candidate against anincompetent candidate beingput up by the so-calledOpposition parties.”

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The campaigning for thebypolls to Ramnpur and

Azamgarh Lok Sabha seatsended on Tuesday evening.The polling will be held onJune 23. The Samajwadi Partyexpressed confidence that itwould retain both the seatswhile the BJP was said to bestruggling to make a dent inthe SP’s bastion.

For the SP, the battle isabout retaining the momen-tum it generated in the UPassembly elections earlier. Forthe BJP, it’s about breaking thecontrol of the Yadav and Khanfamilies in the two Lok Sabha

constituencies.The Bahujan Samaj Party

contesting only Azamgarhseat is struggling to remainrelevant in Uttar Pradesh pol-itics.

A prestige battle is on thecards for the SP on the twoseats represented by partypresident Akhilesh Yadav(Azamgarh) and its Muslimface Azam Khan (Rampur).The two leaders vacated theseseats after being elected to UPVidhan Sabha in March earli-er this year.

For the SP, it’s a do-or-diebattle as after a stellar show inthe recent UP assembly elec-tions, this party cannot afford

any setback as a loss or evena very tight result could sendwrong signals before the 2024general elections.

In 2009, 2014 and 2019Lok Sabha elections, the SPhad won both the seats twicewhile the BJP only once. Infact, in 2009, the BJP wonAzamgarh after it fielded SPex-MP Ramakant Yadav.

While the BJP has fieldedformer SP MLC GhanshyamLodhi (OBC) in Rampur, theSP has given a ticket to AzamKhan’s loyalist Asim Raza.The BSP has not fielded anycandidates.

In 2019, the SP won theseat by a margin of 1.1 lakh

votes and recorded 52.7 percent vote share while the BJP’svote share was 42.3 per cent.As the SP and BSP had con-tested together as ‘mahagath-bandhan’, the transfer of votesof Mayawati’s party helped theSP clinch the seat. Rampur inwestern UP has a high minor-ity population of 50.57 percent while the SC populationis 13.38 per cent.

In the UP assembly elec-tions earlier this year, the SPwon three while BJP two seatsacross the five assembly seg-ments of Suar, Chamraua,Bilaspur, Rampur and Milakas communal polarisationplayed a key role in Rampur.

The Prophet remark rowis likely to make an impact inthe elections and lead topolarisation. With the BSP notin the contest, oppositionvotes are not likely to be split,thus giving the SP an advan-tage. All eyes are on AzamKhan in his family stronghold.

In Azamgarh, the SP hasfielded Akhilesh Yadav’scousin Dharmendra Yadavwhile the BJP has repeated its2019 candidate and Bhojpuristar Dinesh Lal Yadav‘Nirahua’. The BSP has givena ticket to Guddu Jamali, whocontested on an AIMIM tick-et in the 2022 assembly pollsfrom Mubarakpur Vidhan

Sabha seat and bagged 36,000votes.

The SP swept all the 10assembly seats in the districtin the assembly elections ear-lier this year, riding on theconsolidation of Muslim-Yadav votes. Its alliance withcaste-based parties like SBSP,Mahan Dal and Apna Dal(K) helped it gain theOBC/MBC votes as well. Fiveof these 10 seats — Sagri,Gopalpur, Mubarakpur,Azamgarh and Mehnagar —are the assembly segments ofAzamgarh Lok Sabha seat.

In 2019, the SP won theseat by a margin of 2.6 lakhvotes with a vote share of 60.4

per cent. The BJP’s vote sharewas 35.1 per cent.

The SP and BSP separate-ly got 3.4 lakh and 2.6 lakhvotes respectively in 2014while Akhilesh bagged 6.21lakh votes in 2019.

However, an analysis ofthe numbers shows that theBSP managed to retain itsvotes in the assembly pollsearlier this year. In Azamgarh,the BSP performed well ascompared to the rest of thestate, owing to its high SCpopulation. Including GudduJamali’s votes in Mubarakpur,the BSP’s vote share on theseat was 24.3 per cent, almostdouble the state average of

12.9 per cent. It bagged 2.6lakh seats, almost similar to its2014 tally. While the SPbagged 40.5 per cent votes,BJP’s vote share was 30.7 percent. It reduced the SP’s leadfrom 2.6 lakh to 1.06 lakh.

The battle in Azamgarh isall about how many votes theBSP candidate is able to retainand to whom it inflicts moredamage. If Guddu Jamali getsthe votes of the minority com-munity, he will harm the SP.However, if he gets the SCvotes, he will harm the BJP.The BJP needs to snatch morethan 1 lakh votes from theBSP to make it an even con-test.

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NDRF was rushed to Cacharin Barak Valley of Assam

for rescue operations as theflood situation in Assamremained critical on Tuesdaywith Brahmaputra and Barakrivers along with its tributariesin spate and affecting nearly 48lakh people, officials said.

The devastating flood,trigerred by incessant rainssince last week, has inundated32 out of 36 districts of the statein its second spell and 11 per-sons were reported missingduring the last 24 hours, theofficials said.

A total 44 people have losttheir lives so far in floods andlanslides in the state since June14.

Chief Minister HimantaBiswa Sarma said that fourunits of the National DisasterResponse Force were rushedfrom Bhubaneswar to Silchar tocarry out rescue operations asthe f lood situation inKarimganj and Cachar dis-tricts worsened due to the ris-ing waters of Barak andKushiyara rivers followingheavy rains.

''Four units of NDRF fromBhubaneswar with total 105personnel have been sent toSilchar to carry out rescueoperations in Barak Valley'', hesaid and thanked Union HomeMinister Amit Shah for the''prompt action and help".

In Cachar, a population of2,07,143 in 449 villages havebeen affected, while inKarimganj 1,33,865 in 305 vil-lages were hit by the flood,according to the bulletin issuedby the Assam State DisasterManagement Authority(ASDMA).

A total crop area of113485.37 hectares and33,84,326 animals have beenaffected while 5232 animalshave been swept away in thestate, it said.

The calamity has affected125 revenue circles and 5,424villages across Assam forcing2,31,819 people to take shelterin 810 relief camps. At least11,292 people and 27,086 ani-mals have been evacuated byagencies engaged in rescueoperations in the past 24 hours.

Relief materials were dis-tributed to the affected peoplewho have not taken shelters in

relief camps through 615 tem-porary relief distribution cen-tres and points opened by thegovernment.

Among the worst affecteddistricts Barpeta with a popu-lation of 12,30,721 is reelingunder flood waters followed byDarrang where 4,69,241peoplehave been hit and Bajali where3,38515 have been affected,according to the bulletin issuedby the Assam State DisasterManagement Authority(ASDMA).

According to the bulletin ofthe Central Water Commission(CWC), Kopili river is flowingabove its high flood level atKampur in Nagaon districtand Brahmaputra atNimatighat, Tezpur, Guwahati,Kamrup, Goalpara and Dhubri.Puthimari, Pagladia, BekiBarak and Kushiara are flowingabove the danger levels.

Urban f looding wasreported from Barpeta, Cachar,Darrang, Goalpara, Kamrup(Metro) and Karimganj.Landslides occurred at Kamrupand Karimganj during the day,it said.

Two embankments werebreached, 349 roads and 16

bridges were damaged onMonday, the CWC said.

Large-scale erosion of riverbanks was reported fromBaksa, Biswanath, Bongaigaon,Chirang, Dhubri, Hailakandi,Lakhimpur, Morigaon,Nalbari, Sonitpur, SouthSalmara, Tamulpur, Tinsukiaand Udalguri districts, itadded.

In Kaziranga NationalPark 42 of the total 233 campshave been inundated by theflood water. Eight animalshave died due to drowningand vehicle hit so far, while 12,including nine hog deers andthree pythons have been res-

cued by forest officials.In Pobitora Wildlife

Sanctuary, 14 of the total 25camps have been inundatedthough there are no reports ofanimal casualty so far, officialssaid.

Northeast FrontierRailways has cancelled, shortterminated or diverted severaltrains following damages inrailway tracks due to floodinduced breaches atChaparmukh – Kampur andChaparmukh - Senchoa sec-tions of Lumding andHarisinga - Tangla section ofRangiya divisions in the stateon Tuesday, NFR official said.

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Bengal Governor JagdeepDhankhar on Tuesday

slammed the TrinamoolCongress Government for run-ning a “syndicate and mafia raj”in Bengal and attacked it fordoing nothing about the post-poll violence in the State.

The Governor after meet-ing a team of opposition lead-ers led by Suvendu Adhikarisaid that even the CalcuttaHigh Court had gone said on22nd February this year how“syndicates and mafias areoperational in every nook andcorner of this State.”

Saying that the StateGovernment had done nothingabout the post poll violence theGovernor said that suchadministrative deficiencieswere a “blot” on the State.

“As governor of the state, I

am concerned that severe cat-egory violence happened instate. Post-poll violence is a bloton this land, government of dayis not taking enough steps tocurb the violence. Mafia andSyndicate raj is there in everycorner,” Dhankar said.

His statements camemoments after the StateAssembly passed a second billreplacing him by ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee asthe Chancellor of universitiesin government technologicaluniversities. Earlier a similarbill was passed to the sameeffect for the general universi-ties. Referring to the issue hesaid, “Changes were brought toreplace the state's Governor byCM including in institutions,govt bodies & as Chancellor ofuniversities. I’ll consider allthese bills as per the constitu-tion & will examine them asper the SC decision.”

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The sugar industry of UttarPradesh wants the Union

Government to allow exportsof 80 lakh MT of sugar underopen general licence (OGL)during the next season (2022-23) beginning October 1. Theindustry represented by theIndian Sugar Mills Association(ISMA) has written to UnionMinister of Commerce andIndustry, Food and PublicDistribution Piyush Goyal inthis regard. ISMA presidentAditya Jhunjhunwala said animmediate announcement ofnext year’s sugar export poli-cy would help the sugar millsenter into future contracts atbetter prices.

Reiterating that this is theright time to review the currentsugar export policy for nextyear since as the current glob-al prices are f irm,Jhunjhunwala stated that millscan plan their production forthe next season in advance andthat this system would give afair chance and equal oppor-

tunity to all the mills to par-ticipate in exports.

According to ISMA, thearea under sugarcane cultiva-tion is expected to be 2%higher than the current season.Backed by a good monsoon, aspredicted by the IMD, sugarproduction is also likely to behigher than the current sea-son’s production of 39.4 MT.“Even after a higher diversionof sugar towards production ofethanol next year, there willstill be sufficient stock availablefor exports,” ISMA said.

ISMA has also urged theUnion government to allow thesugar industry to export anadditional 10 lakh tonne in the

ongoing 2021-22 season sothat mills can fulfil their exportcommitments in the currentseason itself and there is norepercussion in the next sea-son. According to ISMA, thesugar industry had applied for17 lakh MT of export, ofwhich orders were issued foronly 80,000 MT. “Planning forproduction of raw sugar forexport is done in advance,based on the export contracts.Almost 60,000-70,000 MT ofraw sugar is surplus and will lieidle with the mills or at ports,if not exported. The mills nowhave no option to eitherprocess or sell it in the market.Export is the only viable optionin the current situation,” ISMAsaid.

Allaying the Centre’s fearsthat a shortfall of sugar mightlead to a spike in domesticsugar prices, the ISMA presi-dent said that even after recordexports of about 86 lakh MTup to May 2022, the all-Indiaex-mill average domestic sugarprices have hovered around Rs33-35 per kg.

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The picturesque landscape ofMadras Regimental Centre,

Wellington, one of the oldestmilitary establishments in thecountry, adored with lake, val-leys and vast greenery in thebackdrop presented a sereneambience on Tuesday morningas more than 600 Army per-sonnel and civilian staff tookpart in the International YogaDay.

The elegant SrinageshBarracks which come alive ondays when young soldiers areinducted into the Indian Armyafter strenuous military train-ing for almost six months wasa different picture on Tuesdayas instructors from nearby IshaFoundation led the Yoga ses-sion. They explained in lucidstyle the significance andimpact of each asana, yogickriyas and pranayama.

Yoga’s importance in theeveryday life in the Army is

beyond words as the responsi-bilities fluctuate from protect-ing and guarding the nationfrom the prying eyes of the ene-mies and offering rescue andhelp to the civilians surround-ing the Army establishmentsduring times of natural disas-ters and pandemic, said asenior jawan who took part inthe Yoga event.

The two year long pan-demic in Tamil Nadu that wit-nessed a dance of death saw theThambis of MRC (as they are

known in Indian Army par-lance) distributing free food tothe entire population in Nilgiristhroughout the lockdown dueto Covid-19.

Brigadier S K Yadav,Commandant, MRCWellington, said that Yoga wasalready a part of the physicalfitness curriculum in the Army.“For us Yoga is of paramountimportance because it is theway to a happy, delightful andstress free life,” said theBrigadier.

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�� Sir — Alarming unemployment crisis inIndia for the last eight years forced theCentre to announce the Agnipath schemefor short-term recruitment in the armedforces. Thousands of angry unemployedyouth came out on the streets and wenton a rampage, setting trains on fire, torch-ing vehicles, damaging both private andpublic properties and even attackinghouses of leaders of the ruling party. Theprotests spread to various States within ashort span, and continue to spread. Thereality is that it is a general outburst of mil-lions of unemployed youth against theCentre.

The new India under the incumbentGovernment, ironically has the worst levelof unemployment since Independence.The Centre failed to do enough on theunemployment front despite getting aninsider’s view of the growing crisis.Unemployment rose to 6.1 per cent by thebeginning of 2018, according to theNSSO data, which was the highest in 45years. The immediate reasons for thesharp increase in unemployment wasdemonetisation in November 2016, whichled millions of enterprises to shut downand countless others to drastically scaledown their production. The Governmentmust come out with a comprehensiveemployment policy.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

��Sir — The ongoing agitations by the youthacross the country against the newAgnipath scheme of recruitment in thedefence forces have again exposed the factthat the Government had not learnt anylessons. The intensity of the protest ismore in those States from where the Armyrecruits the most soldiers. Last two yearswere wasted with no appointments madedue to Corona. The recruitment processthat had started after that was abruptlycancelled, as the recruitments of the threeservices will now be done in a fresh startprocess under the Agnipath scheme.

Evidently, behind the anger of theyouth is the worry about the future. Asper the recent data of the Centre forMonitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) datafor April 2022, the unemployment levelamong men in the age group of 15 to 19years was 50 per cent. The pivot of theseprotests is Bihar, where the unemploy-ment rate was found to be 76 for this agegroup. Recruitment in the Army has beenconsidered a surefire career guarantee forthese youth. This is why lakhs of youthof these States spend many years prepar-ing for it.

Amrapali Roy | Tatanagar

��Sir — Tuesday was the National Yoga Dayand every year it is celebrated with atheme. The theme for National Yoga Day2022 is “Yoga for humanity”. This year'stheme aims to focus discussions on theimportance of yoga in serving better men-tal health practices in our lives. But what

is yoga? Is it defined as a forenoon exer-cise which you can proudly boast abouton social media or just a tool to lookyoung and beautiful? No, beauty doesnot come from outside adornment.Instead, it should be that of your innerself, the unfading beauty of calm andquiet spirit.

Yoga helps people to feel the best theyhave felt all day. It also helps to reduceheart disease risk, stress and anxiety. Anumber of studies show that people aresuffering more from stress nowadays.Concerns about money , work and econ-omy top the list of most frequently citedsources of stress but amazingly it makessense that the second most cited reasonpeople selected as to why they do yoga wasto relieve stress. So let’s hope that thisNational Yoga Day made us unite our-selves with body, mind and soul.

Ishika Asodiya | Ujjain

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and one pistol. Coincidingwith these incidents, PunjabPolice arrested two personsand recovered anotherImprovised Explosive Deviceequipped with RDX from avillage in Tarn Taran district.

The timely action by thepolice in both the Stateshelped prevent the imminentattacks and the police claimedto have busted a Pakistan-based terror module run byHarvinder Simgh alias Rinda.The investigation revealedthat explosives were suppliedthrough drones from acrossthe border, from Pakistan.Punjab has become a breedingground of criminals and anti-social elements as 70 gangswith over 500 members arereported to be active in theState, with 300 of them lodgedin various jails from wherethey are actively leading theirgangs due to the laxity of theprison authorities. In view ofthe rampant use of socialmedia by these criminals whoglorify gun culture to lurerecruits, the law-enforcementagencies face an uphill task ofapprehending them before it’stoo late. The gangs are organ-ised and networked overseaswith terrorist intentions tothreaten and exhort moneyfrom businessmen based inPunjab.

Some experts feel thatbarring a handful of inci-dents, once in a while, there isno ‘Khalistani movement’ inIndia and abroad the way itexisted in the 1980s. But thepertinent question is: Who isresponsible for these recentattacks? Organisations like theBabbar Khalsa and Sikhs ForJustice have often owned upthe responsibility for theseattacks. Punjab had witnesseda serious phase of militancybetween the mid-1980s toearly 1990s and the demandfor Khalistan remained at theforefront. Undoubtedly, themovement has lost popularsupport but the recent spo-radic incidents should betaken seriously as an apparentattempt to revive the move-ment by the use of fringe ele-ments and vested interests.The chain of events indicatesthat ‘sleeper elements’ havealways been active. It wouldnot be correct to believe thatthe Khalistan movement isdead. There are people with-in the country and abroad whohave vested interests in fuellingthe fire of Khalistan and theyrarely miss any opportunity tofoment trouble in the borderState. With the swearing-in ofthe Bhagwant Mann-led newAam Aadmi PartyGovernment in Punjab, which

is not exposed to handling thiskind of situation, the onus lieson the Central Government toprovide all possible help, sup-port and guidance to the Stateto deal with the unravellingsituation.

In the given situation, it isimperative to build consensuson ensuring peace and stabil-ity in Punjab by rising abovepolitics and party lines andmaking a combined effort tofight the decisive forces benton creating trouble and unrestin the sensitive border State ofPunjab in particular and otheradjoining States of Haryana,Jammu & Kashmir andHimachal Pradesh in general.All these States should form aSpecial Task Force to deal withthe situation and the policeforces of all the four Statesshould work in close coordi-nation to tackle the sensitivesituation. The CentralGovernment, which is also amajor stakeholder in thecountry’s internal security,should provide these Stateplayers all possible help toensure that the “blood -soakedera” of terrorism should not berepeated in Punjab.

(The writer is a seniorjournalist and Chairman,Panwar Group of Institutions,Solan, Himachal Pradesh. Theviews expressed are personal.)

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Even as experts dismissthe revival of the‘Khalistan movement’ inthe absence of popular

public support, the recent spateof incidents of attacks and mur-ders by the hardcore criminalsand pro-militant elements spreadacross the northwestern States ofPunjab, Jammu & Kashmir,Haryana and Himachal Pradeshhas clearly indicated the presenceof ‘sleeper cells’ and the activerole of pro-Khalistani elements,obviously, with the support fromvested interests within the coun-try and those based overseas.

On April 29, a clash brokeout between different groups ofpeople in Patiala amid a con-frontation surrounding the hold-ing of a march against the back-drop of the announcement bybanned outfit, Sikhs For Justice(SFJ), to mark the foundationday of ‘Khalistan’. SFJ is a pro-scribed outfit which with itsstrong virtual influence, isknown for radicalising people,raking up bygone sentiments andreviving the movement forKhalistan. On May 8, a few‘Khalistan’ flags were foundhanging on the main gate andboundary walls of the HimachalPradesh Legislative Assemblypremises in Dharamsala. The fol-lowing day, the Babbar KhalsaInternational (BKI), a terrororganisation striving for a sep-arate Sikh state, took responsibil-ity for the act and warned theHimachal Pradesh Governmentto be ready for such incidents infuture as well.

On May 9, the headquartersof the Punjab Police Intelligencewing headquarters in Mohaliwitnessed a rocket-propelledgrenade (RPG) attack. A secu-rity alarm was sure to go off inthe wake of these events, andmore that followed. There is nodenying the fact that the nexusof gangsters, anti-social ele-ments, members of the BabbarKhalsa International andPakistan’s Inter-ServicesIntelligence is behind all theseattacks. On May 6, based on theinputs from Punjab Police,Haryana Police arrested fourpersons from Karnal and recov-ered from them three impro-vised explosive devices (IEDs)

everything. You can always try tolead them to your area of interest.

Keep a cool head. Be observantso that you don’t miss any impor-tant aspect of the question youhave been asked.

Your biodata submitted to therecruiters will be the basis of yourinterview, so be very careful whilefilling up you’re the informationabout you. Know fully well aboutyour home town, district, andstate, and also about the places youstayed for long, your hobbies,your favourite sport and author,the last book you read, and so on.

There are some additional softskills and traits you need to devel-op. Always treat others with thesame respect as you expect fromothers.

There are many who havebeen very successful and have allthe money, education, and luxuriesof life. But there are still many oth-ers who may not be so privilegedor successful; that, however, does-n’t mean that they need to be treat-ed differently.

Respect the rich and the poor,the educated and the uneducated.In fact, help all those who are notso lucky and successful; you maybe the trigger to be successful.

Be humble as you climb theladder of success and do not for-get those who in one way or theother helped you in your journeyupward because you will meetthem on your way down.

Learn to coexist: as you movealong in life, you will get variousopportunities to work with differ-ent people; never hesitate to part-ner with the underprivileged; be ateam player; take everyone withyou. As the legendary businesstycoon Rattan Tata said, if youwant to walk fast, walk alone, butif you want to walk far, walktogether.

Hard work: it is the essence oflife to survive and succeed in thecorporate world or anywhere else.You must be a willing worker andalways ready to take on addition-al work; only then can you provethat you are better than others.

This will always help you dur-ing your annual appraisal as wellas prepare you for the next high-er post. Further, you must bethorough in your work, no onelikes mistakes repeatedly; it doesnot matter how small these mis-takes are or how apologetic you arefor making them. Zero errorshould be the goal.

Humility will always pay yourich dividends, so be humble.Never try to boast that you are bet-ter than others, let your bossdecide that. Always maintain goodinterpersonal relations and beamicable. No one can take awayyour strong points and it will addvalue if you remain humble andamicable.

Always extend a helping handto your peers if they are in a dif-

ficult situation. Don’t expectrewards every time you have donesome good; rewards will find a wayto come to you when due.

Time management is anotherimportant skill you need to devel-op. Try to manage your time well;always plan your work and pro-ceed accordingly. There should besome time for unplanned workalso, because your boss may askyou for something to be donewhich you haven’t planned.

There are only 24 hours in aday and it’s the same time availablefor everyone; it depends how youplan your day and that decideshow effective you are.

Emotional stability andresilience should be your traits. Inlife, there are good days and baddays. Good days everyone likes; it’sthe bad days, and how you dealwith them, that will decide whatkind of stuff you are made of. Youhave to face such times upfront.Don’t sweep the problems underthe carpet, for the dirt will comeout, and then it will be too late toget rid of. Such times are part ofthe learning curve; they will sure-ly add to your experience.

Moreover, this experience willmake you more adaptable in thechanged environments.

Finally, remember what youwant to be and then behave likethat always, irrespective of whereyou are and what you are. Thinklike that and act like that.

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(The author is RearAdmiral (Retd), AVSM,NM, VSM, and GroupPro-Vice-Chancellor,

Amity University,Uttar Pradesh.)

Presidential elections arethe buzz of the season asIndia is poised to get its

new President next month fol-lowing the end of the incum-bent Ram Nath Kovind’s term.Since Independence, these pollshave witnessed close contests,surprises, and upsets.Generally, the ruling party getsits candidate elected, and thecontests are a mere formality.The Opposition, too, puts up acandidate as a symbolic gesture.

This time, the rulingNational Democratic Allianceand the Opposition are lookingfor a suitable candidate. Theelectoral college—consistingof 776 members of Parliament(543 from the Lok Sabha, 233from the Rajya Sabha) plus4,809 members of state legisla-tive assemblies—will elect thenext President on July 18. The

Modi government is comfort-able even as it is short of therequired majority mark (lessthan 20,000 votes). To fill thisgap, the BJP might rope in neu-tral parties like the BJD, YSRCP,and the AIADMK

In the past 75 years ofIndia's Independence, fromfirst president Rajendra Prasadto Ram Nath Kovind, NeelamSanjiva Reddy (sixth presi-dent) was the only unopposedindependent who won thepresidential race in 1977. Theelection authorities had reject-ed 36 other nominations.

Ironically, a decade earlier,in one of the most nail-bitingpresidential polls, the sameCongress Party's official candi-date, Sanjiva Reddy, had lost toindependent V.V. Giri, sup-ported by Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi. Before and after

that, the official candidatescarried the day. The Congressparty split took place afterthat.

Everyone looks to theRashtrapati Bhavan after everygeneral election if no party getsa majority, as the Presidentinvites the majority party leaderto form the government. Someof them faced tricky issuesand handled them in differentways.

Presidents like R.Venkataraman, Shankar DayalSharma, and K.R. Narayanantook sensitive and controversialdecisions during their terms.Sharma gave the BJP leaderAtal Bihari Vajpayee, the leaderof the single largest party, achance to form the 13-daygovernment in 1996. However,the government fell because itcould not mobilize support

for a majority.When Indira Gandhi was

assassinated in 1984, PresidentZail Singh installed her sonRajiv Gandhi in strange andtragic circumstances.

It would have been idealhad the relationship betweenprime ministers and presidentsbeen smooth. RajendraPrasad's letters speak of the dif-ferences between him andNehru on the Hindu CodeBills. Sanjiva Reddy and IndiraGandhi were not on the samepage. Giani Zail Singh andRajiv Gandhi did not hit it off.PV Narasimha Rao andSharma were also not on thebest of terms.

Presidential polls have wit-nessed some surprising candi-dates. In 2002, Vajpayee sprunga surprise and chose the'Missile man' APJ Abdul Kalam

as the presidential candidate.For the first time, Congress andthe BJP supported his candida-ture. In 2007, the Congressdecided to support PratibhaPatil against the NDA's BhaironSingh Shekhawat. It was a closefight, resulting in the victory ofPatil, who became the firstwoman president.

In 2012, Congress leaderPranab Mukherjee got the sup-port of the Left and otherOpposition parties to win thepolls.

Kovind was a completesurprise, and he is finishing histerm without any controversy.Prime Minister Modi mightspring another surprise thistime.

What kind of President dowe need? Most occupants ofRashtrapati Bhavan had beenmen of stature, some of whom

won the highest civilian titleBharat Ratna—SRadhakrishnan (1954), Prasad(1962), Zakir Hussain (1963),VV Girit (1975), and AbdulKalam (1997).

Secondly, most communi-ties and professions had achance to see one of their ownoccupied Rashtrapati Bhavan.Narayanan was the first Dalitpresident (1997), Abdul Kalamthe first scientist (2002), andPatil the first woman (2007).

Three Muslims—ZahkirHussian, Fakruddin AliAhmed, Abdul Kalam—andone Sikh, Zail Singh, have beenpresidents. The only twoprominent groups not repre-sented since Independencehave been OBCs and tribals. So,the ruling dispensation mightfield a candidate from eithercommunity.

Thirdly, the person shouldnot be a rubber stamp, asFakruddin Ali Ahmed wasperceived to be. Presidents likeNarayanan, Pranab Mukherjee,and Venkataraman had beenrule-book presidents andassertive.

In the next few days, we willknow the names of the candi-dates. As of now, Prime MinisterModi keeps his cards close to hischest. The Opposition is yet toarrive at a consensus candidate.

Modi is reaching out to theOpposition as he should. Itwould be ideal to have a con-sensus President. In thesepolarised times, a widely-respected person and a consen-sus candidate would be perfect.After all, as the country's high-est constitutional functionary,the President is also theguardian of the Constitution.

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(The writer is a senior journalist. The views

expressed are personal.)

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+-&."'&��:�� At this time of the year, studentshaving completed their gradua-tion and post-graduation aregetting ready for joining the cor-

porate world or getting any other job oftheir choice in accordance with their qual-ifications.

The academic part of their competen-cy is tested through examinations as partof their selection process. Those havingcrossed the laid-down threshold would begetting ready for the next stage of theselection process—group discussions,interviews, etc.—for placements to grabwhat best is available. There is still a dearthof jobs in India.

This makes proper self-groomingvery important, for youngsters have to facethe world. Life is not always a bed of roses;there are ups and downs, but once you areready to face challenges, you will do farbetter than others.

After your academic excellence, softskills are the next most important require-ment. You must be able to present your-self at all times, you can’t say that onlywhen I go for an interview that I willshave, wear a tie, or dress up smartly.

You have to remember that each day,every moment you are being observed. Itis not that you must have expensive clothesbut one must be meticulously dressed up.

Communication skills are the nexthighest priority; it is the way you commu-nicate with others. One doesn’t necessari-ly have to have very high-flown English butone must be grammatically correct. Easy-to-pronounce words will do the trick. Forthis, one has to practice and practice; ifneeded, stand in front of the mirror andspeak to yourself; you will see a markedchange in the way you communicate.

One must do a lot of reading, be itnewspapers, books or even fiction. It’s thesure way to improve communicationskills. Also try to talk to your friends anddiscuss the current national and interna-tional issues, so as to be more comfort-able when interacting with others.

Before you go for the most importantevent called an interview, you must fullyprepare yourself to face it. Sometimesthere’s only one person who interviewsyou, or two persons. There can also be aboard to consider your candidature. Youmust do adequate research and readeverything about the prospective employ-er, company or organisation, and also, ifpossible, about those likely to be there forinterviewing you. These days everythingis available on Google and you must useit to your advantage.

It goes without saying that you mustreach the interview destination well intime so that you can familiarise yourselfwith the surroundings. Ensure that thereare no delays due to a traffic jam.

During the interview, never lie or offeranswers you are not sure about. If youdon’t know something say so; you are notGoogle that you ought to know each and

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Russian attacks laid down a curtainof fire Tuesday across areas ofeastern Ukraine where pockets of

resistance are denying Moscow full mil-itary control of the region, almost fourmonths after the Kremlin unleashed aninvasion.

“Today everything that can burn ison fire,” Serhiy Haidai, the governor ofUkraine's eastern Luhansk region, toldThe Associated Press.

Russia's war has caused alarm overfood supplies from Ukraine to the restof the world and gas supplies fromRussia, as well as raising questions aboutsecurity in Western Europe.

The Russian military currentlycontrols about 95% of the Luhanskregion. But Moscow has struggled forweeks to overrun it completely, despitedeploying additional troops and pos-sessing a massive advantage in militaryassets. In the city of Sievierodonetsk, thehot spot of the fighting, Ukrainiandefenders held on to the Azot chemi-cal plant in the industrial outskirts.About 500 civilians are sheltering at theplant, and Haidai said the Russian forcesare turning the area “into ruins”.

“It is a sheer catastrophe,” Haidaitold the AP in written comments aboutthe plant. “Our positions are being firedat from howitzers, multiple rocketlaunchers, large-caliber artillery, missilestrikes.” The defence of the chemicalplant recalled the besieged Azovstal steelmill in the brutalised city of Mariupol,where Ukrainian troops were pinneddown for weeks.

The neighbouring Lysychansk, theonly city in the Luhansk region that isstill fully under Ukrainian control, is

also the target of multiple airstrikes.The Ukraine president's office said

Tuesday that at least six civilians hadbeen killed over the previous 24 hours,and 16 others were wounded.

According to its daily update,Russian forces over the day shelled thenorthern Chernihiv region, and inten-sified their shelling of Kharkiv,Ukraine's second-largest city.Explosions also occurred on Tuesdaymorning in the southern city ofMykolaiv.

Airstrikes on Sievierodonetsk andnearby Lysychansk have ruined more

than 10 residential buildings and apolice station. In the city of Avdiivka inthe Donetsk region, a school burneddown as the result of the shelling, thepresident's office said.

International support for Ukraine'splight was demonstrated once morewhen a Nobel Peace Prize medal auc-tioned off by Russian journalist DmitryMuratov sold Monday night for $103.5million, shattering the old record for aNobel. The auction aimed to raisemoney for Ukrainian child refugees.

Meanwhile, Russian authoritiesblocked the website of British newspa-

per The Telegraph over an article it pub-lished, the internet rights groupRoskomsvoboda reported Tuesday.

The group said in an online state-ment that Russia's media and internetregulator, Roskomnadzor, blockedRussian access to a story Moscowdescribed as “fake news”. The movemade the entire Telegraph websiteinaccessible for some Russians.

The Telegraph story alleged thatRussian forces had prepared a mobilecrematorium for use in its war withUkraine, possibly to hide its militarycasualties.

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NATO member Estonia saidTuesday that a Russian

border guard helicopter vio-lated the airspace of the Balticnation over the weekend, andRussia's ambassador was sum-moned and given a note overthe incident.

Estonia's military said in astatement that the Russian MI-8 helicopter entered the coun-try's airspace in southeasternEstonia in the Koidula area —not far from the Russian city ofPskov — without permissionon Saturday evening. The heli-copter was in Estonia's air-space for almost two minutes,Estonia's military said, addingthat it hadn't presented a flightplan, had its transponderswitched off and failed to main-tain radio contact with EstonianAir Navigation Services.

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The Nobel Peace Prize auctionedoff by Russian journalist Dmitry

Muratov to raise money forUkrainian child refugees soldMonday night for $103.5 million,shattering the old record for a Nobel.

A spokesperson for HeritageAuctions, which handled the sale,could not confirm the identity of thebuyer but said the winning bid wasmade by proxy. The $103.5 millionsale translates to $100 million Swissfrancs, hinting that the buyer isfrom overseas.

“I was hoping that there wasgoing to be an enormous amount ofsolidarity, but I was not expecting thisto be such a huge amount,” Muratovsaid in an interview after bidding inthe nearly 3-week auction ended onWorld Refugee Day.

Previously, the most everpaid for a Nobel Prize medal was$4.76 million in 2014, when JamesWatson, whose co-discovery of the

structure of DNA earned him aNobel Prize in 1962, sold his. Threeyears later, the family of his co-recip-ient, Francis Crick, received $2.27million in bidding also run byHeritage Auctions.

Muratov, who was awarded thegold medal in October 2021, helpedfound the independent Russian news-paper Novaya Gazeta and was thepublication's editor-in-chief when itshut down in March amid theKremlin's clampdown on journalistsand public dissent in the wake ofRussia's invasion of Ukraine.

It was Muratov's idea to auctionoff his prize, having alreadyannounced he was donating theaccompanying $500,000 cash awardto charity.

Muratov has said the proceedswill go directly to UNICEF in itsefforts to help children displaced bythe war in Ukraine. Just minutes afterbidding ended, UNICEF told the auc-tion house it had already received thefunds.

Online bids had begun June 1 tocoincide with the InternationalChildren's Day observance. Manybids came by telephone or online.The winning bid, tendered by tele-phone, catapulted the bidding fromthe low millions to astronomical lev-els.

Muratov had left Russia on

Thursday to begin his trip to NewYork City, where live bidding beganMonday evening.

Early Monday, the high bid wasonly $550,000. The purchase pricehad been expected to spiral upward— but not over $100 million.

“I can't believe it. I'm awestruck.Personally, I'm flabbergasted. I'm

stunned. I don't really know whathappened in there,” said JoshuaBenesh, the chief strategy officer forHeritage Auctions.

“We knew that there was atremendous groundswell of interestin the last couple of days by peoplewho were moved by Dimitry's story,by Dimitry's act of generosity, that theglobal audience was listening tonight,”he said.

Muratov and Heritage officialssaid even those out of the bidding canstill help by donating directly toUNICEF.

Muratov shared the Nobel PeacePrize last year with journalist MariaRessa of the Philippines.

The two journalists, who eachreceived their own medals, werehonored for their battles to preservefree speech in their respective coun-tries, despite coming under attack byharassment, their governments andeven death threats.

Melted down, the 175 grams of23-karat gold contained in Muratov's

medal would be worth about $10,000.Muratov has been highly critical

of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimeaand the war launched in Februarythat has caused nearly 5 millionUkrainians to flee to other countriesfor safety, creating the largest human-itarian crisis in Europe since WorldWar II.

Independent journalists in Russiahave come under scrutiny by theKremlin, if not outright targets of thegovernment. Since Putin came intopower more than two decades ago,nearly two dozen journalists havebeen killed, including at least fourwho had worked for Muratov's news-paper.

In April, Muratov said he wasattacked with red paint while aboarda Russian train.

Since its inception in 1901, therehave been nearly 1,000 recipients ofthe Nobel Prizes honoring achieve-ments in physics, chemistry, physi-ology or medicine, literature and theadvancement of peace.

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“Africa is actually taken hostage”in Russia's invasion of Ukraineamid catastrophically risingfood prices, Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy told theAfrican Union continental body

during a closed-door address onMonday.

It took weeks of requests forZelenskyy to address Africannations, many of whom retainclose ties to Russia and failed tosupport a U.N. GeneralAssembly resolution con-

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The headlines on the newsstands in Seoulblared fresh warnings of a possible nuclear

test by North Korea. Out on the sidewalks, 28-year-old office worker Lee Jae Sang already hadan opinion about how to respond to NorthKorea's fast-growing capacity to lob nuclearbombs across borders and oceans.

“Our country should also develop a nuclearprogramme. And prepare for a possible nuclearwar," said Lee, voicing a desire that a Februarypoll showed was shared by 3 out of 4 SouthKoreans.

It's a point that people and politicians ofnon-nuclear powers globally are raising moreoften, at what has become a destabilisingmoment in more than a half-century of globalnuclear nonproliferation efforts, one aggravat-ed by the daily example of nuclear Russia tear-ing apart non-nuclear Ukraine.

That reconsideration by non-nuclear statesis playing out in Asia. The region is home to anever-more assertive North Korea, China, Russiaand Iran — three nuclear powers and one near-nuclear power — but is unprotected by the kindof nuclear umbrella and broad defense alliancethat for decades has shielded NATO countries.

Vulnerable countries will look to the lessonsfrom Ukraine — especially whether Russia suc-ceeds in swallowing big pieces of Ukraine whilebrandishing its nuclear arsenal to hold othernations at bay — as they consider keeping orpursuing nuclear weapons, security experts say.

As important, they say, is how well the USand its allies are persuading other partners inEurope, the Persian Gulf and Asia to trust in theshield of US-led nuclear and conventionalarsenals and not pursue their own nuclearbombs.

For leaders worried about unfriendly,nuclear-armed neighbours, “they will say to theirdomestic audiences, Please support our nucleararmament because look what happened toUkraine,' right?” said Mariana Budjeryn, aresearcher with the Project on Managing theAtom at Harvard's Kennedy School ofGovernment.

As a schoolgirl in 1980s Soviet-era Ukraine,

Budjeryn drilled on how to dress radiation burnsand other potential injuries of nuclear war, at atime that country housed some 5,000 of theSoviet Union's nuclear weapons. Her countryrenounced nuclear weapons development afterthe Soviet Union shattered, opting for economicassistance and integration with the West andsecurity assurances.

“Ultimately, I think a lot is riding on the out-come of this war in terms of how we understandthe value of nuclear weapons," Budjeryn said.

Around the world, the U.S. Military is reas-suring strategic partners who are facing nuclear-backed rivals.

Near the North Korea border this month,white-hot ballistic missiles arched through thenight sky as the U.S. Joined South Korea in theirfirst joint ballistic test launches in five years. Itwas a pointed response to North Korea's launchof at least 18 ballistic missiles this year.

In Europe and in the Persian Gulf, PresidentJoe Biden and U.S. Generals, diplomats andtroops are shuttling to countries neighbouringRussia and to oil-producing countries neigh-bouring Iran. Biden and his top lieutenantspledge the U.S. Is committed to blockingnuclear threats from Iran, North Korea and oth-ers. In China, President Xi Jinping is matchingan aggressive foreign policy with one of his coun-try's biggest pushes on nuclear arms.

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The European Union's topdiplomat said on Monday

he has written to all Africanforeign ministers to explainthat the bloc's sanctions onRussia are not responsible forthe looming global food crisis,and pledged to work out waysfor exports of food and fer-tilisers to reach their continent.

The EU has not bannedexports of Russian food orfertilizers to non-EU nations aspart of its sanctions package.

Earlier this month, thechairman of the African Union,Senegal's President Macky Sall,told Russian PresidentVladimir Putin that the fight-ing in Ukraine and Westernsanctions had worsened foodshortages, and appealed toother countries to ensure grainand fertilizer exports fromRussia and Ukraine aren'tblocked.

“Russia is blockadingUkrainian exports," JosepBorrell said after a meeting ofEU Foreign Affairs ministers.“Not us. Russia is destroyingports, and destroying foodstocks, destroying transportinfrastructure."

Russia's war againstUkraine has been preventingsome 20 million tons ofUkrainian grain from getting to

the Middle East, North Africaand parts of Asia.

Borrell said it is “a delib-erate attempt (by Russia) to cre-ate hunger in the world,"adding that the Kremlin'sattempt to blame Western sanc-tions for the crisis was just“propaganda."

Sall also complained thatthe collateral effects of the EUdecision to expel many Russianbanks from the SWIFT finan-cial messaging system will hurtAfrican countries' ability tomake payments for foodimports.

Borrell said he understandsthe concerns of African lead-ers about the consequences ofEU sanctions.

“If there is a problem, wewill solve it," he said. “But I

have to know the problem. Notthe whole financial system ofRussia is de-Swifted."

Meanwhile, Borrell saidthe bloc is ready to look intowhether sanctions imposed onBelarus before the war target-ing exports of potash — acommon fertilizer ingredient— can affect its distributionacross the world.

In addition, Borrell said theEuropean Commission, theEU's executive arm, will sendletters to all financial and eco-nomic actors to explain whatthey can do under the sanc-tions regime.

“Because our sanctionsdon't forbid them to participateon the trade on food, fertiliz-ers with Russia and third coun-tries," he said.

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As was his habit before eachflight, the veteran

Ukrainian army pilot ran ahand along the fuselage of hisMi-8 helicopter, caressing theheavy transporter's metal skinto bring luck to him and hiscrew.

They would need it. Theirdestination — a besieged steelmill in the brutalized city ofMariupol — was a death trap.

Some other crews didn'tmake it back alive.

Still, the mission was vital,even desperate. Ukrainiantroops were pinned down, theirsupplies running low, theirdead and injured stacking up.Their last-ditch stand at theAzovstal mill was a growingsymbol of Ukraine's defiance inthe war against Russia. Theycould not be allowed to perish.

The 51-year-old pilot —identified only by his firstname, Oleksandr — flew justthe one mission to Mariupol,and he considered it the mostdifficult flight of his 30-year-career. He took the risk, he said,because he didn't want theAzovstal fighters to feel for-gotten.

In the charred hell-scape ofthat plant, in an undergroundbunker-turned-medical stationthat provided shelter fromdeath and destruction above,word started reaching thewounded that a miracle mightbe coming.

Among those told that he

was on the list for evacuationwas a junior sergeant who'dbeen shredded by mortarrounds, butchering his left legand forcing its amputationabove the knee.

“Buffalo” was his nom deguerre. He had been through somuch, but one more deadlychallenge loomed: escape fromAzovstal.

A series of clandestine,against-the-odds, terrain-hug-ging, high-speed helicoptermissions to reach the Azovstaldefenders in March, April andMay are being celebrated inUkraine as among the mostheroic feats of military derring-do of the four-month war.Some ended in catastrophe;each grew progressively riski-er as Russian air defense bat-teries caught on.

The full story of the sevenresupply and rescue missionshas yet to be told. But fromexclusive interviews with twowounded survivors; a militaryintelligence officer who flew onthe first mission; and pilotinterviews provided by theUkrainian army, TheAssociated Press has piecedtogether the account of one ofthe last flights, from the per-spective of both the rescuersand the rescued.

Only after more than 2,500defenders who remained in theAzovstal ruins had started sur-rendering did Ukraine'sPresident VolodymyrZelenskyy first give wind of themissions and their deadly cost.

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demning the invasion earli-er this year.

Ukraine and the Westhope to weaken those ties byemphasizing that Russia'sactions are to blame for dra-matic shortages of wheat andedible oils and skyrocketingfood and fuel prices acrossthe African continent of 1.3billion people. Russia's block-ade of Ukrainian exports is a“war crime,” the EuropeanUnion's top diplomat, JosepBorrell, said on Monday.

They appealed to othercountries to ensure grain andfertilizer exports from Russiaand Ukraine aren't blocked.Millions of people in theHorn of Africa, includingEthiopia and Somalia, arenow struggling to find foodor even humanitarian foodaid amid a historic drought.The Associated Press wasthe first to report hundreds ofdeaths this year in Somaliaalone.

“We know for a fact therewill be increased deaths ...Well into 2023,” USAIDEthiopia mission directorSean Jones told the AP lastweek.Official reaction toZelenskyy's speech wasmuted. African UnionCommission chair MoussaFaki Mahamat, one of thosewho met with Putin, tweetedthat African nations “reiter-ated the AU position of theurgent need for dialogue toend the conflict.”

Current AU chair andSenegalese President MackySall tweeted that Africarespects “the peaceful reso-lution of conflicts and thefreedom of commerce.”

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Poland's foreign ministersaid Tuesday the current

security crisis on the continentshows that Europe can'tdefend itself without theUnited States, but that NATOmembers in the region shouldtake more responsibility fortheir own protection.

“Poland perceives theengagement of the UnitedStates in European security asa fundamental condition ofpeace in Europe,” ForeignMinister Zbigniew Rau told agathering of Polish ambas-sadors, in comments carriedby the state news agency PAP.

He credited US leader-ship in NATO as being key toa decision for a “rapid andeffective adaptation to theRussian threat in 2016”.

It was then that NATOincreased its presence on theeastern flank of NATO fol-lowing Russia's seizure ofUkraine's Crimea Peninsula in2014 and its support for pro-Moscow insurgents inUkraine's eastern Donbasregion.

After Russia's invasion ofUkraine, the US this yeardeployed more soldiers toPoland and is using the coun-try as a hub for weapons goingto help the Ukrainians.

“The current crisis clear-ly shows that without theUnited States, Europe cannotdefend itself,” Rau said.

He expressed gratitude toWashington, but said itshouldn't have to take “all theresponsibility,” which also“rests on the shoulders” ofEuropean allies.

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French President EmmanuelMacron was holding talks

Tuesday with France's mainparty leaders after his centristalliance failed to win anabsolute majority in parlia-mentary elections.

The meetings at the Elyseepresidential palace come afterPrime Minister ElisabethBorne formally offered herresignation Tuesday, in linewith the tradition after parlia-mentary elections. Macronimmediately rejected the offerand maintained the currentgovernment.

Macron's Together!alliance won 245 seats inSunday's parliamentary elec-tions — but fell 44 seats shortof a majority in the NationalAssembly, France's most pow-erful house of parliament.

The leftist Nupes coalition

won 131 seats to become themain opposition force. The far-right National Rally got 89seats in the 577-memberchamber, up from its previouseight.

Macron was to hold suc-cessive meetings with opposi-tion members, including thepresident of The Republicans,

Christian Jacob, the head of theSocialist Party, Olivier Faure,and far-right leader Marine LePen. Other meetings werescheduled Wednesday.

Macron was also to meetwith representatives of hisown party and allied move-ments.

Talks were aiming at find-ing “potential constructivesolutions” to the situation,according to Macron's office.

Macron has not publiclycommented on the elections'results yet.

With the most seats at theNational Assembly, his gov-ernment still has the ability torule, but only by bargainingwith legislators. To preventpotential deadlock, Macron'sparty and allies may try tonegotiate on a case-by-casebasis with lawmakers fromthe center-left and from theconservative party.

��■ ��z�

AUS Navy warship fired a warn-ing flare to wave off an IranianRevolutionary Guard speedboat

coming straight at it during a tenseencounter in the strategic Strait ofHormuz, officials said Tuesday.

The incident on Monday involvingthe Guard and the Navy comes as ten-sions remain high over stalled negoti-ations over Iran's tattered nuclear dealwith world powers and as Tehranenriches uranium closer than ever toweapons-grade levels under decreasinginternational oversight.

Meanwhile, the United Nations'nuclear watchdog said Iran now plansto enrich uranium through a second setof advanced centrifuges at its under-ground Fordo facility amid the stand-off.

The Cyclone-class patrol ship USSSirocco and Spearhead-class expedi-tionary fast transport USNS ChoctawCounty found themselves in the closeencounter with three Iranian fast boatswhile coming through the Strait ofHormuz to enter the Persian Gulf, theNavy said.

In a video released by the Navy'sBahrain-based 5th Fleet, a high-speedGuard Boghammar is seen turninghead-on toward the Sirocco. TheSirocco repeatedly blows its horn at theBoghammar, which turns away as itcloses in. The flare shot can be heard,but not seen, as the Boghammar pass-es the Sirocco with the Iranian flag fly-ing above it.

The Navy said the Boghammarcame within 50 yards (45 metres) of theSirocco, raising the risk of the vesselsrunning into each other. The overallencounter lasted about an hour, theNavy said.

The Guard's "actions did not meetinternational standards of profession-al or safe maritime behaviour, increas-

ing the risk of miscalculation and col-lision," the Navy said.

Iran did not immediately acknowl-edge the incident in the strategic water-way - a fifth of all traded oil passesthrough the strait.

The Navy separately told TheAssociated Press that this marked thesecond so-called “unsafe and unpro-fessional” incident it had with Iran inrecent months.

On March 4, three Guard ships hada tense encounter for over two hourswith Navy and US Coast Guard vesselsas they travelled out of the Persian Gulfthrough the strait, the Navy said. In thatincident, the Guard's catamaran ShahidNazeri came within 25 yards (22 metres)of the USCGC Robert Goldman, theNavy said.

“The two US Coast Guard cuttersissued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and deployed warningflares,” the Navy said.

The Navy did not elaborate on why

it did not announce the previous inci-dent, particularly since a larger vesselcame even closer to an American war-ship. However, that was just as a deal inVienna between Iran and world pow-ers on restoring the nuclear deal lookedpossible, before the talks broke down.

Iran and world powers agreed in2015 to the nuclear deal, which sawTehran drastically limit its enrichmentof uranium in exchange for the liftingof economic sanctions. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterallywithdrew America from the accord,raising tensions across the wider MiddleEast and sparking a series of attacks andincidents.

Talks in Vienna about reviving thedeal have been on a “pause” sinceMarch. Since the deal's collapse, Iran hasbeen running advanced centrifugesand rapidly growing stockpile ofenriched uranium. Earlier this monthas well, Iran removed 27 surveillancecameras of the UN's International

Atomic Energy Agency. The agency'shead warned it could deal a “fatal blow”to the nuclear deal.

On Tuesday, the IAEA said itsinspectors verified Iran was preparingto enrich uranium through a new cas-cade of 166 advanced IR-6 centrifugesat its underground Fordo facility.Already, Iran has one cascade of IR-6soperating at Fordo, near the holy Shiitecity of Qom, some 90 km (55 miles)southwest of Tehran. They enrich up to20% purity.

The IAEA said Iran has not told ityet the level at which the second cas-cade will be enriching. Iran has yet topublicly acknowledge the new cas-cade.

The 2015 nuclear deal prohibited allenrichment at Fordo. Shielded bymountains, the facility is ringed by anti-aircraft guns and other fortifications. Itis about the size of a football field, largeenough to house 3,000 centrifuges, butsmall and hardened enough to lead USofficials to suspect it had a military pur-pose when they exposed the site pub-licly in 2009.

Amid the tensions, Israel is sus-pected of carrying out a series ofattacks in and outside of Iran targetingthe country, including the killing of thearchitect of its one-time military nuclearprogram with a remote-controlledmachine gun.

On Tuesday, the state-run IRNAnews agency quoted the prosecutor ofIran's southeastern Sistan andBaluchistan province as alleging threepeople arrested in April there on sus-picion of working with Israel's Mossadintelligence agency wanted to killIranian nuclear scientists.

It's unclear why the three wouldhave been in Sistan and Baluchistan,which has no nuclear sites. The restiveprovince that borders Afghanistan andPakistan faces sporadic attacks fromarmed insurgent groups.

��■ ��<��

ANative American has beennominated to be US trea-

surer, a historic first.President Joe Biden's nom-

ination Tuesday of Marilynn“Lynn” Malerba comes as hisadministration establishes anOffice of Tribal and NativeAffairs at the TreasuryDepartment, which will beoverseen by the US treasurer.

The treasurer's dutiesinclude oversight of the U.S.Mint, serving as a liaison withthe Federal Reserve and over-seeing Treasury's Office ofConsumer Policy. The trea-surer's signature appears onU.S. Currency.

Malerba, who is the life-time chief of the MoheganIndian Tribe, previouslyworked as a registered nurse,according to the tribe's website,and has served in various trib-

al government roles. The tribe'sreservation is located on theThames River in Uncasville,Connecticut.

“For the first time in his-tory, a Tribal leader and Nativewoman's name will be the sig-nature on our currency,”Treasury Secretary Janet Yellensaid in remarks prepared aheadof the announcement.

“Chief Malerba willexpand our unique relationshipwith Tribal nations, continuingour joint efforts to support thedevelopment of Tribaleconomies and economicopportunities for Tribal citi-zens,” Yellen said.

Yellen was set to visit theRosebud Indian Reservation inSouth Dakota on Tuesday, thefirst time a Treasury secretaryhas visited a tribal nation. Sheis expected to focus on how theAmerican Rescue Plan hasaffected tribal communities.

��■ ��=��

Israel's outgoing coalitiongovernment will fast-track a

bill this week to dissolve par-liament, setting up the coun-try for its fifth elections inthree years, a Cabinet minis-ter said Tuesday.

The development comesafter Prime Minister NaftaliBennett announced onMonday that he would dis-band his alliance of eight ide-ologically diverse parties, ayear after taking office, andsend the country to the polls.

A series of defections from

his Yemina party had strippedthe coalition of its majority inparliament.

Bennett cited the coali-tion's failure earlier this monthto extend a law that grantsWest Bank settlers speciallegal status as a main impetusfor new elections.

His key ally, ForeignMinister Yair Lapid, willbecome the caretaker primeminister until a new govern-ment is formed in the after-math of elections, which areexpected to be held inOctober.

Welfare Minister MeirCohen, a member of Lapid's

Yesh Atid party, told Israelipublic broadcaster Kan thatthe coalition would bring thebill to a preliminary vote onWednesday.

“We hope that within aweek we will complete theprocess," Cohen said.

"The intention is to finishit as soon as possible and to goto elections."

New elections raise thepossibility that longtime leaderBenjamin Netanyahu, nowopposition leader, will be ableto stage a comeback.

Netanyahu was ousted bythe eight-party alliance afterfour inconclusive elections

that were largely seen as ref-erendums on the his fitness torule. The alliance's factionsrange from dovish liberalsopposed to Israeli settlementsto hawkish ultranationalistswho reject Palestinian state-hood and were united solely intheir opposition to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu is currently ontrial for corruption, but hasdenied any wrongdoing andhas repeatedly dismissed thecharges as part of a witch huntto drive him from office.

Israeli law does not explic-itly state that a politician underindictment may not becomeprime minister.

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Sri Lanka's Parliament sessions will berestricted to two days this week instead of

four days amid the current fuel supply crisisin the country, the leader of the House DineshGunawardena said on Tuesday.

The island nation, home to around 22million people, is currently facing its worsteconomic crisis in more than 70 years. SriLanka's economy is experiencing extreme fuelshortages, soaring food prices and a lack ofmedicines.

“In view of the current fuel supplies cri-sis we have decided to limit the parliamen-tary sessions for today andtomorrow," Gunawardenaannounced.

When Parliament metthis morning, the mainOpposition Samagi JanaBalawegaya party and theMarxist National People'sPower party said they wereboycotting the sessions toprotest the government'sinaction to tackle the currenteconomic crisis.

SJB leader SajithPremadasa said since thegovernment lacked a strate-gy to tackle the crisis therewas little use in spending time in Parliament.

“We see no plan on the part of the gov-ernment to solve the current economic andfuel shortages issue," Anura KumaraDissanayake the NPP leader said.

He said the fuel queues have lengthenedsince the new prime minister RanilWickremesinghe was appointed in mid-May.

At the start of today's session SpeakerMahinda Yapa Abeywardene said the mainopposition's proposal on the 21st Amendmentto the Constitution has been deemed torequire a national referendum for most of itsprovisions which are inconsistent with theConstitution.

The Speaker was reading the determina-tion he received from the Supreme Court.

Sri Lankan Cabinet on Monday approvedthe 21st Amendment to the Constitutionaimed at empowering Parliament over theexecutive president. The 21st Amendment isexpected to annul the 20A to the Constitution,which gives unfettered powers to PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa after abolishing the19th Amendment that strengthenedParliament. Sri Lanka is in talks with theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) for aneconomic programme that could be sup-ported by the global lender's lending arrange-ment for the country which is seeking to find

USD 6 billion to keep it afloat for the next sixmonths.

The IMF, however, has placed a numberof conditions in order to agree to a bailoutpackage.

The nearly bankrupt country, with anacute foreign currency crisis that resulted inforeign debt default, announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion for-eign debt repayment due for this year out ofabout USD 25 billion due through 2026. SriLanka's total foreign debt stands at USD 51billion.

The crisis has forced Sri Lankans to waitin lines lasting hours outside stores to buy fueland cooking gas.

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The Islamic State group hasclaimed responsibility for

Monday's attack on a civilianbus in northern Syria thatkilled 13 people and wound-ed three.

The extremist group saidin a statement late Mondaythat its gunmen attacked thebus with automatic rifles. Italso posted photos of theattack. The Syrian army said11 of those killed were sol-diers. Three soldiers werealso wounded, the militarysaid.

The bus was attackedwhile on the road in thenorthern province of Raqqa,heading to the central city ofHoms.

IS militants proclaimedtheir so-called “caliphate” in athird of both Iraq and Syria in2014 and the city of Raqqawas their de-facto capital.They were defeated in 2019but IS sleeper cells still carryout deadly attacks. The cellshave been active in eastern,northern and central Syria.

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Standing in the swelteringsummer heat on the steps of

the Alabama Capitol earlierthis month, Republican Senatecandidate Mo Brooks washailed by organizers of the Jan.6, 2021, rally in Washington forhis efforts to overturn theresults of the 2020 election andkeep former President DonaldTrump in power.

“I was proud to stand withMo Brooks on that stage thatday,” said Amy Kremer, chairof Women for America First."Mo has the truth on his side.”

Less than 10 hours later,

Trump returned the favor bysnubbing the congressman —for a second time — andinstead endorsing rival KatieBritt in Tuesday's Republicanrunoff election for the U.S.Senate seat being vacated byBritt's former boss, retiringGOP Sen. Richard Shelby.

Alabama is one of a hand-ful of states holding contestsTuesday at the midpoint of aprimary season that has beenshaped by Trump's effort toinfluence the GOP. In Virginia,Republicans are choosingbetween Trump-aligned con-gressional candidates to takeon some of the most vulnera-

ble Democrats in the fall. Andin Georgia, Democrats will set-

tle several close races, includ-ing deciding which Democratwill challenge BradRaffensperger, the Republicansecretary of state who over-came a Trump-backed chal-lenge last month.

In Washington, D.C.,meanwhile, Democratic MayorMuriel Bowser is seekingreelection amid concerns overhomelessness and rising crime.

But the Alabama Senaterunoff has drawn particularattention both because of thedrama surrounding Trump'sendorsement and the fact thatthe winner will likely prevail inNovember in a state Trump

won twice by more than 25percentage points.

Trump initially endorsedBrooks in the spring of 2021,rewarding an ardent champi-on of his baseless claims of astolen election. Brooks hadvoted against certifyingPresident Joe Biden's victoryand delivered a fiery speech atthe rally that proceeded theU.S. Capitol insurrection,telling the crowd, “Today is theday that American patriotsstart taking down names andkicking ass."

But nearly a year later,Trump rescinded his supportafter the pair's relationship

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Congress, had gone “woke.” But the move was widely

seen as an effort by Trump tosave face amid other losses,and Brooks alleged that itcame after he informed Trumpthat there was no way to“rescind" the 2020 election,remove Biden from power, orhold a new special election forthe presidency.

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New Delhi: The 5G subscrip-tions in India will touch 500million by 2027-end, account-ing for 39 per cent of mobilesubscribers, according to areport by Swedish telecom gearmaker Ericsson.

The commercial launchesof 5G networks are planned forthe second half of 2022 inIndia, with enhanced mobilebroadband expected to be theinitial main use case, theEricsson Mobility Report said.

5G will represent around39 per cent of mobile sub-scriptions in the region at theend of 2027, with about 500million subscriptions, it pre-dicted.

“Total mobile data trafficin the India region is estimat-ed to grow by a factor of fourbetween 2021 and 2027. This isdriven by high growth in thenumber of smartphone usersand an increase in average

usage per smartphone,” ThiawSeng Ng, Head of NetworkEvolution, SEA, Oceania andIndia at Ericsson said.

The average data trafficper smartphone in the Indiaregion is the second highestglobally. Further, it is project-ed to rise from 20 GB permonth in 2021 to around 50GB per month in 2027, grow-ing at 16 per cent CAGR.

In India, where 5G deploy-ments have yet to begin, 5G is

expected to account for near-ly 40 percent of all subscrip-tions by 2027. In global terms,5G is forecast to account foralmost half of all subscrip-tions by 2027, topping 4.4 bil-lion subscriptions.

North America is expect-ed to lead the world in 5G sub-scription penetration in thenext five years with nine-of-every-ten subscriptions in theregion expected to be 5G, by2027. PTI

New Delhi: CK Birla Groupfirm, Hindustan Motors Ltd onTuesday said it has agreed tosell its ‘Contessa’ brand to SGCorporate Mobility Pvt Ltdfor an undisclosed sum.

The company has execut-ed a brand transfer agreementwith SG Corporate MobilityPvt Ltd on June 16, 2022 for thetransfer of the Contessa brand,including the trademarks hav-ing application number andcertain related rights of thebrand, Hindustan Motors saidin a regulatory filing.

The transfer of the brandshall be effective upon fulfil-ment of the terms and condi-tions as prescribed in the agree-ment, it added.

Contessa was a premiumsedan sold in India byHindustan Motors during the

1980s to early 2000s. It waspositioned above the company’sthen popular modelAmbassador.

While it succeeded in cre-ating a mark for itself in themarket, the entry of players likeMaruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Fordand others in the Indian mar-ket posed a stiff challenge to thebrand, which it could not with-stand and led to its phasing out.

The competition fromglobal players also hitHindustan Motors badly, whichhas shut its manufacturing unitat Uttarpara in West Bengalsince 2014 and stopped pro-duction of the Ambassadorcar as well. The Ambassadorbrand was then acquired byFrench automaker PSA Groupe(now part of Stellantis) for �80crore in February 2017. PTI

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Ahead of the several protestsregarding the “Agnipath”

Scheme introduced by the cen-tre, the GMR InfrastructureLimited (GIL) on Tuesdayannounced that it would givepriority in jobs to Agniveers inits subsidiary RAXA SecuritySolutions Limited.

As per the statementreleased by the GIL, RaxaSecurity Solutions Ltd is a pre-mier security company of theGMR Group and providesman-guarding services, technosecurity solutions, fire services,and cyber security services.With an eye for detail and qual-ity, RAXA is now one of thefinest security solutions com-panies in India.

“The Government of India

has recently introduced theinnovative “Agnipath” Schemefor youth willing to join theArmed forces and serve thenation. This scheme wouldproduce trained soldiers, manyof whom would be available forjobs beyond the defense ser-vices after the completion ofthe four-year period. Inspiredby the scheme, GIL decided togive priority to Agniveers whoare willing to pursue a newcareer in the private securitydomain and offer thememployment in RAXA SecuritySolutions,” it stated.

According to the CEO ofGMR Services Business,Ashwani Lohani, corporateworld would offer a vast hori-zon to these Agniveers afterthey retire from active duty ofthe armed forces.

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Mumbai: The rupee declined12 paise to close at 78.10 (pro-visional) against the US dollaron Tuesday, as persistent for-eign fund outflows and a jumpin crude oil prices weighed oninvestor sentiment.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the localcurrency opened at 78.00 andfinally ended at 78.10, down 12paise over its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee hadappreciated 7 paise to settle at77.98.

“This was another quietday for the rupee even afterstrong intermarket cues. Globalequities are up while the dol-lar is down against major trad-ing currencies,” said DilipParmar, Research Analyst,

HDFC Securities.Parmar further said high-

er crude oil prices and yieldsrestricted gains in the rupee.

“The USD-INR has beenin the range of 77.95 to 78.10after touching an all-time highof 78.28 on June 13.

“Near-term bias for USD-INR remains range-boundwithin 77.70 to 78.30. Swingtraders can use a lower rangefor long and cover at the upper

range,” Parmar said.The dollar index, which

gauges the greenback’s strengthagainst a basket of six curren-cies, fell 0.68 per cent to 103.99.

Brent crude futures, theglobal oil benchmark,advanced 1.68 per cent to USD116.05 per barrel.

On the domestic equitymarket front, the BSE Sensexended 934.23 points or 1.81 percent up at 52,532.07, while thebroader NSE Nifty jumped288.65 points or 1.88 per centto 15,638.80.

Foreign institutionalinvestors remained net sellersin the capital market onMonday as they offloadedshares worth Rs 1,217.12 crore,as per stock exchange data. PTI

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Mumbai: India has emerged asthe fourth largest recycler in theworld and the country hasrecycled 75 tonnes in 2021,according to a World GoldCouncil (WGC) report.

According to the WGCreport titled ‘Gold refining andrecycling’, China topped theglobal gold recycling chart as itrecycled 168 tonnes of the yel-low metal, followed by Italy inthe second position with 80tonnes and the US at the thirdrank with 78 tonnes in 2021.

India was ranked fourth inthe list as the country recycled75 tonnes in 2021.

According to the WGCreport titled ‘Gold refining andrecycling’ from 300 tonnes in2013, India’s gold refiningcapacity increased by 1,500tonnes (500 per cent) in 2021.

The report further notedthat the gold refining landscapein the country has changedover the last decade, with thenumber of formal operationsincreasing from less than fivein 2013 to 33 in 2021.

While the informal sectoraccounts for as much as anadditional 300-500 tonnes, it isworth noting that the scale ofunorganised refining has fall-en, largely due to the govern-ment’s tightening of pollutionregulations.

On the other hand, taxadvantages have underpinnedthe growth of India’s gold refin-ing industry like the importduty differential on dore overrefined bullion has spurredthe growth of organised refin-ing in India. As a result, golddore’s share of overall importshas risen from just 7 per cent in2013 to around 22 per cent in2021, it noted. “India has poten-tial to emerge as a competitiverefining hub if the next phaseof bullion market reforms pro-motes responsible sourcing,exports of bars and consistentsupply of dore or scrap.

“Domestic recycling mar-ket, driven by local rupee pricesand economic cycle, is relativelyless organised but should gainsupport from initiatives such asrevamped GMS (GoldMonetisation Scheme) as var-ious policy measures sync tomake it attractive to bring sur-plus gold mainstream and liq-uidity is enhanced via bullionexchanges,” WGC RegionalCEO, India, SomasundaramPR commented.

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New Delhi: Free trade agreements (FTAs) signed by India withthe UAE and Australia will boost product and market diversi-fication of the apparel sector’s existing basket, AEPC said onTuesday.

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman NarenGoenka said the global apparel market, which was just under USD1.5 trillion in 2013, is expected to generate revenues to the tuneof USD 1.8 trillion in 2022 and USD 1.9 trillion in 2025.

He said India offers the world a complete value chain solu-tion from farm to fashion.

Talking about the ongoing 67th India International GarmentFair (IIGF) at Greater Noida, he said it provides a direct mar-keting platform to MSME exporters from across the country, asit has brought together almost 500 exhibitors and more than 2,000overseas buyers and buying agents.

The buyers are visiting from countries like the US, Brazil,Japan, UK, Spain, Australia, Poland, Colombia, Greece, Italy, andEgypt.”The council is taking efforts towards promoting BrandIndia at various global platforms, showcasing its strength on sus-tainability, circularity, ethical sourcing and manufacturing, labourstandards, women employment with no child labour,” Goenkaadded. The fair was inaugurated by Textiles Minister Piyush Goyalon June 20. “I have set a modest target for the apparel sector, whichis to double the production and triple the exports. So, this 15per cent growth is achievable,” Goyal has said. PTI

New Delhi: Gold prices in thenational capital on Tuesdaydipped marginally by �24 to�50,686 per 10 grams, accord-ing to HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, theprecious metal settled at�50,710 per 10 grams.

Silver, however, gained�13 to �60,609 per kg from�60,596 per kg in the previoustrade.

In the international mar-ket, both gold and silver weretrading flat at USD 1,837 perounce and USD 21.66 perounce, respectively.

“Gold prices traded weakwith spot gold prices atCOMEX trading at USD 1,837per ounce on Tuesday.

Gold prices have kept asteady in trading range onmixed global cues over USFederal Reserve rate hike anddollar movement,” said TapanPatel, Senior Analyst(Commodities) at HDFCSecurities. PTI

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New Delhi: State-owned Oiland Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC) is seeking a minimumUSD 17 price for the gas itplans to produce from coalseams in its Bokaro CBM blockin Jharkhand.ONGC invited bids for the saleof 0.20 million standard cubicmetres per day of gas it plansto produce from the BokaroCBM block by the year-end,according to a tender docu-ment.

It sought bids on a formu-la indexed to the prevailingBrent crude oil price.

The reserve or floor priceof gas will be 14 per cent of theDated Brent crude oil Priceplus USD 1 per million Britishthermal unit, ONGC said in thetender.

Bidders will have to quotea premium they are willing tooffer over this reserve price.

The floor price will be thegovernment-mandated pricefor domestic natural gas plus aUSD 1 per mmBtu mark-up.

The “Contract Gas priceshall be the higher of the 14 percent of Dated Brent Price plusUSD 1 per mmBtu plus ‘P’ (thebiddable parameter); or thefloor price,” it said.

At the current Brent crudeoil price of USD 115 per bar-rel, the reserve gas price comes

to USD 17 per mmBtu.The government-mandat-

ed price of domestic gas is cur-rently USD 6.1 per mmBtu.

The price sought byONGC is in line with recentindustry trends.

In March, RelianceIndustries Ltd sold coal-bedmethane (CBM) gas from aMadhya Pradesh block for overUSD 23 per mmBtu to firms,including GAIL, GSPC andShell.

Reliance sold 0.65mmscmd of gas from its coal-bed methane (CBM) block SP-(West)-CBM-2001/1 at a USD8.28 premium over prevailing

Brent crude oil prices. Thefirm had sought bids at a pre-mium over the base of 13.2 percent of Brent crude oil prices.

At the current Brent crudeoil price of USD 115 per bar-rel, the base comes to USD15.18 per mmBtu and addingUSD 8.28 premium bid bystate-owned gas utility GAILand other firms, the final pricecomes to USD 23.46 permmBtu. While the govern-ment every six months fixes theprice of natural gas producedfrom conventional fields, thepricing of gas from coal seams,called CBM, is free or market-determined. PTI

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New Delhi: The domesticmetro rail projects will providebusiness opportunities worth�80,000 crore for constructioncompanies over the next fiveyears, according to ICRA.

In India, 15 cities haveoperational metro networks ofabout 746 km (many of whichare undertaking expansion),the agency said adding anoth-er seven cities have under-implementation metro pro-jects of about 640 km.

This is apart from 1,400km of metro rail projects worth�2 trillion in the approval/pro-posal stages, of which a 352-kmof new metro network hasbeen approved, with the bal-ance being in the proposalstage.

Metro rail projects offer�80,000 crore business oppor-tunities to construction firmsover the next five years, it said.

“Given the government’sthrust for infrastructure devel-

opment, the metro rail networkis likely to witness 2.7 timesexpansion in the next fiveyears.

“Typically, the metro raildevelopment cost rangesbetween �280-320 crore/kmfor elevated metro and thecost could be much higher inthe case of an undergroundmetro network,” AbhishekGupta, Sector Head & AssistantVice President, CorporateRatings, ICRA, said.

He said civil constructionforms 35-45 per cent of theoverall cost. Given the large sizeof the metro projects, this islikely to offer sizeable oppor-tunities for construction com-panies over the next five years. PTI

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Mumbai: Benchmark indicesadvanced for the secondstraight session on Tuesday,with the Sensex and Niftyjumping nearly 2 per cent each,mirroring a rally in globalequity markets.

Buying in index majorsReliance Industries and ITstocks buoyed the benchmarks.

The BSE Sensex zoomed934.23 points or 1.81 per centto settle at 52,532.07. Duringthe day, it rallied 1,201.56points or 2.32 per cent to52,799.40.

The NSE Nifty climbed288.65 points or 1.88 per centto finish at 15,638.80.

From the Sensex pack,Titan, SBI, TCS, HCLTechnologies, Dr Reddy’s, TataSteel, Wipro, Infosys, ITC andTech Mahindra were the majorgainers. Only Nestle Indiaended marginally lower.

Elsewhere in Asia, marketsin Hong Kong, Tokyo andSeoul ended with smart gains,while Shanghai settled in thered.

European markets weretrading in the green in mid-ses-sion deals.

The US markets wereclosed on Monday for a holi-day.

“Absence of fresh sellingtriggers in the domestic andglobal economy along withfalling commodity pricesrelieved the heavily discount-ed equity market to showcaserecovery. The recovery indi-cates that the current uncer-tainties of inflation and mon-etary policy tightening havebeen factored in,” said VinodNair, Head of Research atGeojit Financial Services.

However, with the highly

sensitive nature of the currentequity market, even the slight-est inconvenience can triggervolatility, he added.

Meanwhile, internationaloil benchmark Brent crudejumped 1.57 per cent to USD115.9 per barrel.

Foreign institutionalinvestors (FIIs) remained netsellers in the capital market, asthey sold shares worth�1,217.12 crore on Monday, asper exchange data. PTI

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New Delhi: MG Motor Indiaon Tuesday said it has part-nered with Siemens to leveragecutting-edge digital technolo-gies to increase productivity,save energy and cost andreduce emissions in its opera-tions.

Under the partnership, thetwo firms will collaborate todevelop innovative digital solu-tions to conserve energy andbuild a sustainable future, MGMotor India said in a statement.

“Our partnership withSiemens is focused on indus-trial digitalisation and intelli-gent manufacturing. It willstrengthen our commitment tolowering carbon footprints,increasing production effi-ciency, and providing signifi-cant energy and cost-saving

solutions,” MG Motor India,Director - Manufacturing, RaviMittal said.

MG will use Siemens’MindSphere and PlantSimulation software as aclosed-loop digital twin. Thesecan connect plant assets andprocesses and provide insightsinto more streamlined paint

processes, resulting in a 15 percent increase in the future pre-treatment and electro-coatingpaint process, the statementsaid.

“What we have createdwith MG Motor is the digitaltwin of production. It allowsMG to connect the plantthrough automation and mon-itor real-time operational per-formance,” Siemens Ltd Headof Digital Industries SuprakashChaudhuri said.

This generates valuableinsights by applying advancedanalytics to real-time data in aclosed-loop simulation envi-ronment, he said, adding theseamless combination of thereal and the digital world setsthe basis for continuousimprovement. PTI

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New Delhi: Capital marketsregulator Sebi has permittedmutual funds to again invest inforeign stocks within the aggre-gate mandated limit of USD 7billion for the industry.

This came in the wake of amajor correction in global mar-kets that brought down the val-uation of international stocks.

In January, Sebi had askedmutual fund houses to stop tak-ing fresh subscriptions inschemes investing in overseasstocks. The directive to stopsubscription was mainly onaccount of the mutual fundindustry crossing the mandat-ed limit of USD 7 billion foroverseas investments.

The recent meltdown in

global stocks reduced thecumulative value of invest-ments made by all the mutualfund houses together.

“Mutual fund schemes mayresume subscriptions and makeinvestments in overseasfunds/securities up to the head-room available without breach-ing the overseas investmentlimits as of end-of-day ofFebruary 1, 2022, at the mutu-al fund level,” Sebi said in acommunication sent to Amfion Friday. Also, the regulatorhas asked Association ofMutual Funds in India (Amfi)to ensure that the total utilisa-tion of the overseas limit byeach AMC remains capped atthe February level. PTI

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New Delhi: GE Steam Poweron Tuesday said that it hasinked a USD 165 million pactwith state-run engineering firmBHEL to supply three nuclearsteam turbines.

GE Steam Power hassigned a USD 165 million con-tract with BHEL for the supplyof three nuclear steam turbinesout of six units for NPCIL’sdomestic nuclear program-phase 1 being developed atGorakhpur, Haryana (units - 1to 4 (GHAVP)) and Kaiga(Kaiga-5&6) Karnataka, a com-pany statement said.

This domestic programincludes 12 units of 700 MWebeing developed by NPCILwith their own nuclear reactortechnology i.E., PressurizedHeavy Water Reactors(PHWR). In total, it will rep-resent 8.4GW of CO2-free

electricity for the country,enough to power more than 14million homes, it stated.

In 2018, GE and BHELhad signed a business cooper-ation agreement and a Licenseand Technology TransferAgreement to enable them tomanufacture nuclear steamturbines of 700 MW.

The two companies arewell positioned to respond tothe country’s needs for a lowercarbon source of energy.Supporting the AatmanirbharBharat initiative launched by thegovernment of India, GE willmanufacture the nuclear steamturbines at its facility in Sanand,Gujarat. These turbines arebeing engineered and manu-factured with an improveddesign for enhanced outputthat will meet the requirementsof the customer. PTI

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New Delhi: New equatedmonthly instalment schemeintroduced by power ministrycan help electricity distributioncompanies (discoms) save aquarter of their additional pay-outs and clear around �20,000crore payments to generationfirms (gencos) this fiscal,according to Crisil Ratings.

“Electricity distributioncompanies (discoms) couldpotentially save a quarter oftheir additional payouts, andeffectively pay �20,000 crore togeneration companies (gen-cos) this fiscal — in addition totheir annual cost of powerpurchase — if they subscribe tothe ministry of power’s newscheme,” Crisil said in a state-ment.

Under this scheme, over-dues, including past Late

Payment Surcharge (LPS) as onthe cut-off date of June 3,2022, will be converted intoEquated Monthly Instalments(EMIs) that discoms have topay over 12 to 48 months,based on different slabs.

If discoms clear the freshdues and EMIs on time, goingforward, they won’t be billed forLPS by gencos, it stated.

Success of the schemewill depend on two factors,firstly, how discoms are able toenhance their revenues, andsecondly, an enforcementmechanism that ensures time-ly payment to gencos.

In fiscal 2021, the centralgovernment unveiled theAatmanirbhar Bharat packageworth �1.35 lakh crore to cleardiscom dues. PTI

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Andy Murray faces a race againsttime to be fit for Wimbledonnext week, but believes he is in

a better position than he was ahead ofthe championships last year.

The three-time Grand Slam cham-pion was forced to pull out of last week'stournament at Queen's due to anabdominal injury suffered in losing thefinal of the Stuttgart ATP event toMatteo Berrettini.

"The positives are I've been able topractise but there are certain shots I'venot been able to practise, so that hasobviously disrupted my preparations.The injury is healing but still not per-fect," said the two-time Wimbledonwinner.

"I've been practising for the pastthree or four days and have been prac-tising well. But unfortunately in match-es you can't just not hit certain shots.In the next couple of days hopefully I'llget the chance to test that and hopeful-ly it will be fine."

Murray made it through to the

third round at Wimbledon last yeardespite an injury-disrupted preparation.

His form on the grass at Surbiton,where he reached the semi-finals, andStuttgart has edged the 35-year-old backup to 51 in the world.

And he is confident of performingwell at the All England Club, as long ashe is not hampered by injury.

"Going into Wimbledon last yearI'd gone in with hardly any proper prac-tice at all, hadn't really played much inthe build-up to it and the fact I gotthrough a few matches was a great effortconsidering what I was able to do in thebuild-up," added Murray.

"I was in a good position againstBerrettini as well before the issues sothat for me is the biggest thing.

"I practised really well the last fewmonths and worked on a lot of thingswith my team. I'm in a good place ten-nis wise. Physically I do feel good over-all, I just unfortunately got this slightinjury, which is frustrating."

Wimbledon begins on June 27.

��@��Eastbourne: Garbine Muguruza kick-started a difficult season as the formerWimbledon champion beat Poland'sMagdalena Frech 6-1, 7-6 (9/7) to reachthe last 16 of the EastbourneInternational on Monday.

The number five seed earned justher third win on the WTA Tour sinceFebruary.

"The conditions were hard today.I feel like I fought hard against the wind,and I haven't played many matches ongrass either," said Muguruza.

"I could see today that if I didn'tfight as hard as I can, I wasn't going towin."

Muguruza next faces the winner ofthe second round match between 12thseed Camila Giorgi and Canadianlucky loser Rebecca Marino, who gotthe better of Britain's Heather Watson7-6 (7/1), 6-4.

Magda Linette produced an upsetto beat 17th seed Alison Riske in amarathon encounter lasting over threehours.

World number 66 Linette camefrom a set down to outlast Riske 6-7(3/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

In the men's event, Australia'sAlex de Minaur began the defence ofhis title with a 6-3, 6-3 win overChilean Cristian Garin.

��■ ��

World Athletics presi-dent Sebastian Coe

has hinted track and fieldcould follow swimming inbringing in a tougher policyon transgender athletes com-peting in women's events.

Swimming's governingbody FINA announced onSunday it intends to set up an"open category" to allowtransgender athletes to com-pete in a separate class.

According to FINA'snew policy, transgender ath-letes will not be allowed tocompete in female eventsunless they can "prove they

have not experienced anyelement of male puberty."

That ruling came inresponse to American swim-mer Lia Thomas becomingthe first known transgenderathlete to win an elite US col-legiate title in March.

Thomas, a freestyle spe-cialist, competed for theUniversity of Pennsylvaniamen's team from 2017-19.

Cycling's governingbody, the UCI, has alsotoughened its rules on trans-gender eligibility by doublingthe time period before arider transitioning frommale to female can compete.

"My responsibility is to

protect the integrity ofwomen's sport and we takethat very seriously, and if itmeans that we have to makeadjustments to protocolsgoing forward, we will," saidCoe, who was present inBudapest for FINA's swim-ming world championshipson Sunday.

"I've always made itclear: if we ever get pushedinto a corner to that pointwhere we're making a judge-ment about fairness or inclu-sion, I will always fall downon the side of fairness.

"We see an internation-al federation asserting its pri-macy in setting rules, regu-lations and policies that arein the best interest of itssport.

"This is as it should be.We have always believed,and repeated constantly, thatbiology trumps gender andwe will continue to reviewour regulations in line withthis."

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World Cup winner with Germany in2014, Mario Götze has completed a

return to the Bundesliga, joining EintrachtFrankfurt after two seasons with PSVEindhoven.

The 30-year-old has signed a three-yeardeal with the Europa League winners.

Frankfurt will reportedly pay �4m forthe attacking midfielder after activating arelease clause in his PSV contract.

Götze won two Bundesliga titles withBorussia Dortmund before moving toBayern Munich in 2013.

The Germany international went on towin three more league titles in as many sea-sons and scored the only goal in the 2014World Cup final before he returned to

Dortmund in 2016.A second stint with Dortmund lasted

four years before Götze moved to theNetherlands, where he scored 11 goals andprovided 13 assists in the Eredivisie andEuropa League over the course of the lasttwo seasons.

Götze sat out the start of pre-seasontraining with Eindhoven on Monday as theclub said the attacking midfielder was busy"finalising a transfer".

Goetze burst onto the scene in the2010/11 season as a fresh-faced teenagerwhose goals helped Dortmund win the firstof back-to-back Bundesliga titles.

Götze's arrival would boost the attack ofFrankfurt, who beat Rangers in the EuropaLeague final last month and finished 11thin Germany's top flight.

��■ ��

This time, Novak Djokovic andRafael Nadal will be on oppo-

site sides of the draw.The seedings for Wimbledon

were announced on Tuesday, withDjokovic and Nadal being Nos. 1and 2, respectively, in the men'sdraw because of the absence ofDaniil Medvedev and AlexanderZverev.

The top-ranked Medvedev can-not take part as a result of the AllEngland Club's decision to notallow players from Russia or Belarusto enter the event in 2022 over theinvasion of Ukraine. Medvedev isRussian. The No 2-ranked Zverev isout because of an ankle injury.

That means Djokovic andNadal have been bumped up tobeing the top two seeded playersand cannot now meet until the final.

That wasn't the case at the FrenchOpen last month, when Nadal beatDjokovic in the quarterfinals en

route to winning a men's-record22nd Grand Slam title.

There will be a 23-time GrandSlam winner in the women's drawin Serena Williams, but she will notbe seeded.

The draw is Friday and thetournament begins Monday.

Since 2021, the seedings forboth the men's and women's singleshave been based on the worldrankings.

Williams hasn't played compet-itively since retiring from her first-round match at last year 'sWimbledon. She has been awardeda wild-card entry for the singlestournament at the All EnglandClub starting next week and couldtherefore be drawn to play anyonein the first round.

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek ofPoland will be the top-seeded play-er at Wimbledon.

� ��■ ��

Indian women's foot-ball team will begin its

preparation for theupcoming FIFA U-17World Cup by taking onItaly in a four-nationtournament at theGradisca d'lsonzoStadium near here onWednesday.

The ThomasDennerby-coached side,who had a preparatorycamp in Jamshedpurbefore coming here, willcompete in two tourna-ments during its exposuretour ahead of the U-17women's World Cup inIndia during October-November.

Italy and Mexico arethe two other teams com-

peting in the 6th TorneoFemale FootballTournament in Italy fromJune 22-26.

Coach Dennerby saidItaly would be a toughnut to crack but his pri-ority is not the result butthe overall progress of theteam.

"We are playing Italy,

and it is bound to be atough game. The onlyexpectation is to have agood performance. I amnot thinking about theresult, I want to see howthe team develops," theSwede said ahead of theiropening match.

"The players areadapting with each day,

and they understand howwe need to play in, andagainst different styles.This is the first real gamethe girls will play.Hopefully, we will have agood game.

"I have respect forthe opponents, and this isa really good start for theteam. It will show us the

work we need to build onuntil the World Cupstarts in October," the62-year-old added.

After their stint inItaly, the Young Tigresseswill move to Norway forthe Open NordicTournament WU16 fromJuly 1-7.

This will be the first

time the team will beparticipating in theNordic tournamentwhere eight teams willcompete against eachother -- Netherlands,India, Norway, Iceland,Denmark, Faroe Islands,Finland and Sweden.

"The preparation hasbeen good. We haveworked a lot on thestrength and condition-ing, as well as the techni-cal part. It is a step-by-step process, which isgetting better," he said.

"I have been with theteam for a while, and wehave been training at agood pace. I hope wefind a good way to han-dle every situation as ateam, rather than an indi-vidual." ss

� ��■ ��

India's singles players yetagain failed to cross the

qualifying hurdle at the GrandSlam stage as both RamkumarRamanathan and YukiBhambri exited theWimbledon championshipswith first round defeats.

Bhambri lost to top seedfrom Spain Bernabe ZapataMiralles 5-7, 1-6 whileRamkumar fell 5-7, 4-6 toCzech Republic's Vit Koprivaon Monday night.

The 29-year-old Bhambrigot off a flying start as he gotan early break in the openingset and, at one point, was lead-ing 5-3.

However, despite Bhambribeing in an advantageousposition, squandered two setpoints and it was Miralleswho took the lead.

The second set, however,was a drab affair and Bhambriwas eliminated from the grasscourt event.

Ramanathan, on the otherhand, India's no.1 ranked ten-nis player, took on the 19thseed Kopriva, and the script

turned out to be somethingsimilar.

The 27-year-oldRamanathan, thanks to hisaces and winners, looked com-fortable but lost steam soonafter to lose the opening set.

He made a desperateattempt to bring things atlevel and even led 3-1 lead inthe second but Kopriva baggedfour games on the trot toregain control over the pro-ceedings.

With both Bhambri andRamanathan bowing out,Sania Mirza, who is in her lastyear on tour, remains the onlyIndian confirmed to play atSW19 this year.

The 35-year-old formerdouble's world number onewill is all set to feature in thewomen's doube draw along-side her partner LucieHradecka of Czech Republic.

Rohan Bopanna hasdecided not to play this eventsince ATP is not offeringpoints this year as Russian andBelarusian players have beenbanned from competing bythe organisers in the wake ofRussia's invasion of Ukraine.

��■ ��

Sadio Mane arrived in Germany on a pri-vate jet on Tuesday in order undergo a

medical with the Liverpool forward report-edly on the verge of signing for Bundesligachampions Bayern Munich.

Broadcaster Sky showed footage of the 30-year-old touching down at Munich airportbefore being taken to a hospital in the city cen-tre for a medical exam by Bayern's team doc-tor.

According to media reports, Mane'stransfer will cost Bayern around 41 millioneuros (£35 million, $43 million).

"I am happy he (Mane) has landed,"Thomas Mueller said while attending a golftournament in Munich on Tuesday.

Bayern's Germany forward, a golf fan,joked that he soon hopes to see Mane hit "lotsof birdies" on the city's courses.

The Senegal forward is expected to signa three-year contract and is set to hold his firstBayern press conference Wednesday.

Mane would be a replacement for want-away Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski,who has been linked to a Barcelona transfer.

Ramanathan, Yuki out in 1stround qualifying matches

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Ryan Giggs resigned fromhis role as manager of

Wales on Monday as the for-mer Manchester United greatawaits trial on an accusation ofdomestic violence.

Giggs has been on leavesince November 2020 when hewas arrested.

The 48-year-old is accusedof controlling and coercivebehaviour against his formergirlfriend Kate Grevillebetween August 2017 andNovember 2020.

Giggs is also accused ofassaulting Greville, causingher actual bodily harm, andcommon assault of heryounger sister, Emma Greville,at his home in the Manchesterarea in November 2020.

He has denied the allega-tions and pleaded not guilty toall charges.

His trial has was delayeduntil August in January to acourts backlog.

Since then, his formerassistant Rob Page, has ledWales to their first WorldCup since 1958.

Giggs' decision to stepaside means Page will takecharge of games against theUSA, Iran and England inQatar in November.

"After much considera-tion, I am standing downfrom my position as manag-er of the Wales men's nation-al team with immediateeffect," Giggs said in a state-ment.

"It has been an honourand a privilege to manage my

country, but it is only rightthat the Wales FA, the coach-ing staff and the players pre-pare for the tournament withcertainty, clarification andwithout speculation aroundthe position of their headcoach."

Giggs won 13 PremierLeague titles and twoChampions Leagues among25 major honours during a24-year career with United atclub level.

He began his coachingcareer at Old Trafford, takingtemporary charge at the endof the 2013/14 season afterDavid Moyes was sackedbefore working as an assistantto Louis van Gaal for twoyears.

Giggs was appointedWales boss in January 2018and helped them secure qual-ification for Euro 2020.

And he said he hopes toreturn to management in the

future."I do not want the coun-

try's preparations for theWorld Cup to be affected,destabilised or jeopardised inany way by the continuedinterest around this case," headded.

"It is my intention toresume my managerial careerat a later date and I look for-ward to watching our nation-al team alongside you in thestands."

In a statement, theFootball Association of Wales(FAW) said: "The FAW placeson record its gratitude to RyanGiggs for his tenure as manag-er of the Cymru Men'sNational Team and appreciatesthe decision he has taken,which is in the best interests ofWelsh football.

"The full focus of the FAWand the Cymru Men's NationalTeam is on the FIFA WorldCup in Qatar later this year."

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The German Football Association(DFB) announced on Tuesday they

are backing Aleksander Ceferin in his bidto be re-elected president of Europeanfootball's governing body UEFA.

The senior board of the DFB votedunanimously to support the candidacy ofCeferin, who hopes to be re-elected at theUEFA Congress next April in Lisbon.

The 54-year-old Slovenian has ledUEFA since 2016.

"Aleksander Ceferin has made aname for himself in this role and has safe-

ly led European football through challeng-ing crises such as the Covid pandemic,"DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said ina statement.

Neuendorf praised Ceferin for hisstrong stance and "rejection" of lastyear's short-lived bid by Europe's top clubsto form a breakaway Super League to rivalUEFA's Champions League.

"The DFB has full confidence in hisactions and in him as a person,"Neuendorf added.

The DFB is one of UEFA's strongestmember associations and its backing willboost Ceferin's re-election bid.

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Senior off-spinnerRavichandran Ashwin

has not travelled to theUnited Kingdom along withhis India team-mates for theone-off 'fifth Test' after test-ing positive for COVID-19,a BCCI source said.

Ashwin is currently inquarantine and will onlyjoin the squad after meetingall protocols requirements.

The Indian team had leftfor UK on June 16.

"Ashwin hasn't travelledwith the squad to UK as hehas tested positive forCOVID-19 before depar-ture. But we are hopefulthat he will recover well in time before the Test match starts onJuly 1," the BCCI source said.

"However, he might miss the practice game againstLeicestershire," the source added.

After the IPL, Ashwin had played a Tamil Nadu CricketAssociation (TNCA) League red-ball match where he had bowled20 overs to get some long form game time.

On Tuesday in a later update via IANS, it is reported thatAshwin will reach England in the next couple of days. He isexpected to join the squad in Leicester before the four-day warm-up game against the county which begins on June 24.

It has been learnt that new travel arrangements are beingmade for the veteran cricketer and he should be with the rest ofhis teammates soon, a Cricbuzz report said.

Jayant Yadav was kept as a standby should Ashwin fail torecover in time. The Haryana spinner was called to the NCA inBangalore. However, that option has been ruled out as Ashwinhas recovered fully and is expected to fly out in the next 24 hours,most probably on Wednesday.

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There's a common adage in sport."You never win a silver. Youalways lose a gold."

Mumbai cricket has followed thisold concrete jungle saying to the 'T' asits team now chases an unprecedented42nd Ranji Trophy title. It now finds abunch of bravehearts from MadhyaPradesh standing in its way with tricksof trade learnt from a Mumbaikar.

MP head coach Chandrakant Panditwon't let his team settle for anything lessthan a championship but AmolMuzumdar's men have dominated theproceedings since the start of the busi-ness end of the season.

On paper, the Mumbai team is over-whelming favourite in the final matchstarting on Wednesday with the bestGen-Next talent in its repertoire.

Sarfaraz Khan, after a few indiffer-ent seasons, has raised his game to analtogether different level with 800-plusruns in just five games.

Yashasvi Jaiswal is one youngsterwho is as passionate about his red ballperformance as he is about donning thegarish pink jersey of Rajasthan Royals.Three hundreds in four innings ofquarterfinal and semi-final showed hisvoracious appetite for runs.

Prithvi Shaw isn't the typicalMumbai khadoos (stubborn) batter butmore of Virender Sehwag mould withpenchant for butchering any attack.

Arman Jaffer is a chip of old blockand it will be good for him if he couldachieve even 50 per cent of what hisillustrious uncle Wasim did.

Add to it the likes of Suved Parkaror Hardik Tamore, who knew theopportunity of wearing the Lion's crest

on the white flannels come at a premi-um.

Mumbai have always had formida-ble batting line-ups that can scare theopposition team but this time the twounder-rated performers have been left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (37 wicketsand 292 runs) and off-spinner TanushKotian (18 wickets and 236 runs).Mulani or Kotian are by farthest stretchof imagination not India prospects oreven India 'A' contenders but they area rare breed of domestic performers whoknow how to win crunch games as theydid against Goa in a do-or-die situation.

However, MP is one of the mostimproved teams in recent times andunder Pandit inculcated the disciplinethat's needed to reach the summit clashin a tournament like Ranji Trophy.

Missing Venkatesh Iyer in battingand pace spearhead Avesh Khan in

bowling didn't do them any good butunheralded Kumar Kartikeya, with hisstamina to bowl for hours, has done thejob for his team.

The Himanshu Mantris and AkshatRaghuvanshis have all executed theirassigned roles to perfection.

In this team, there is only one play-er who is true blue talent and that's RajatPatidar.

For Mumbai, it will be imperative toensure that Patidar doesn't walk awaywith the game in one session with hiswide array of strokes.

MP, with its two spinners inKartikeya and Saransh Jain, will like toplay the waiting game, something thatPandit as a coach has injected in hiswards across the states.

It would be a game of chess playedon 22 yards but enticing enough for allthose who get to watch it.

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Only three half-centuries in five RanjiTrophy games doesn't match the lofty stan-

dards that he has set for himself but a pragmat-ic Mumbai captain Prithvi Shaw also knowsthat cricket is mirror image of life where thechange in graph is the only constant thing.

Leading domestic powerhouse Mumbai inthe Ranji Trophy final against a gutsy MadhyaPradesh team is Shaw's current assignment andhe doesn't want his tunnel vision to waverthinking about not being in England or noteven finding his name inthe Ireland-bound T20Iteam.

"I have scored a couple(three) of fifties but that'snot enough for me for sureand no one even congrat-ulated me after scoring afifty and you feel bad aswell (jokingly)," theMumbai skipper said onthe eve of the big final.

"It happens sometimesbut I am glad that my teamis doing well. As a captain,I have to think of all 21players I have got here andnot just about me," headded.

And then the flam-boyant stroke-makerturned a tad philosophical.

"In cricket and in life,the graph always goes upand down and it's nevergoing to always go up. Soit's a just a matter of timethat I middle those ballsand get those big runsagain. But right now, Iwant to ensure that myteam is doing fine and isenjoying its game," theskipper said.

So doesn't nationalcomeback bother him atall?

"It's nowhere near mymind you know — come-back to the Indian team.Getting the Cup is mymain motive and not

thinking anything other than winning this one,"the skipper made his priorities clear.

"The preparation what we have done forthe Ranji Trophy and not focusing on what'shappening on the outside. It's about winningthe Ranji Trophy and getting those happymoments back."

�� +��Shaw and the two pillars of this Mumbai

team, Arman Jaffer and this season's top-scor-er Sarfaraz Khan have one thing in common— they have all been students of the same

school Rizvi Springfields,known for its formidablecricket team that domi-nates Harris and GilesShield (iconic Mumbaischool tournaments)events.

"Myself, Sarfaraz andArman went to the sameschool (Rizvi Springfield)at the age of 9-10. Wecame up together and allthree of us are doing pret-ty good so far for Mumbaicricket," one could sensehis pride.

While it is Prithvi'ssecond Ranji Trophy final(he played one in 2017 vsGujarat), Arman andSarfaraz will be playingtheir first summit clash.

"It's about how welook at this game and it'sgoing to be a differentpressure for a lot of peo-ple," he said.

"And we have got ayoung side and not manyof them have played thesekind of finals and are notexperienced that much.

"But they are readyfor it and what they aredoing since the leaguegames is what I am watch-ing. We have got a skillful,talented side and whatthey have achieved tillnow, they just have tocarry on for one moregame."

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England captain Ben Stokesmissed training after feel-

ing unwell on Tuesday as hisside started their prepara-tions for the Headingley Test.

Stokes was absent whilethe rest of the squad trainedahead of Thursday's first dayof the final Test in the three-match series.

An England and WalesCricket Board spokesperson

indicated that Stokes had test-ed negative for Covid-19 onTuesday morning.

Stokes is being kept awayfrom the group as a precau-tionary measure.

The 31-year-old, in hisfirst Test series as skipper, willbe assessed again ahead ofWednesday's net session.

Stokes hit 75 from 70 ballsin the second innings ofEngland's second Test victoryover New Zealand at TrentBridge.

That was England's sec-ond successive win against theTest world champions, clinch-ing their first Test series tri-umph since January 2021.

New Zealand have hadseveral positive Covid cases intheir squad over the last cou-ple of weeks.

Black Caps skipper KaneWilliamson was forced to missthe second Test after testingpositive on the eve of thematch in Nottingham.

As well as Williamson,the tourists have seen HenryNicholls, Devon Conway,Michael Bracewell and twomembers of their backroomteam return positive resultssince arriving in England.

All four players are fitand available to play in Leedsthis week.

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India's T20 specialist Deepak Chahar willtake four to five more weeks to complete-

ly recover from the hamstring injury, whichhad kept him out of Indian Premier League(IPL).

Pacer Chahar and another centrally-contracted cricketer Washington Sundar,recovering from a hand injury, are current-ly doing their rehabilitation at NCA alongwith the likes of T Natarajan.

In another significant development, spinall-rounder Washington is set to fly toEngland to play for leading county sideLancashire.

"Washington is nearing full fitness andhe needs a lot of game time, which he willget only in red ball cricket. He is going to

play for Lancashire and this exposure willdo him a world of good," a BCCI source said.

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Chahar, who sustained injury duringhome series against West Indies in Kolkata,looked in good shape during his morningsession at the NCA.

"I am bowling four to five overs at onego as per my rehab programme right now.My recovery is going pretty well and I thinkit will take another four to five weeks for meto get match fit," Chahar told PTI after hisrehab session.

The Rajasthan seamer admitted that itwill not be possible for him to get fit by the

time India play T20 series against Englandin the second week of July.

"It's a step by step process as far as recov-ery is concerned. I don't think I will be fitfor England T20s. Once I am match fit, I willneed to play some club level games to checkmy fitness," Chahar said

He looked very comfortable when hebatted for a considerable amount of time.

So, can one expect that he will be fit fortour of West Indies?

"I can't say that but I will definitely tryand get fit by then. Let's see," the swingbowler said.

India are scheduled to play three ODIsand five T20Is between July 22 and August7 in West Indies.

��Z India head coach RahulDravid on Tuesday joined India's Testteam in Leicestershire ahead of themuch-anticipated rescheduled 5th Testagainst England, scheduled to be heldin Birmingham from July 1 to 5.

In the pictures, shared by BCCI'sofficial Twitter handle, the head coachcan be seen interacting with the play-ers, who had their training session inLeicestershire County Ground.

IANS

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The Indian women's hockeyteam will participate in

next month's FIH Women'sWorld Cup 2022 without talis-manic striker Rani Rampal asthe former skipper is stillundergoing rehabilitation for ahamstring injury.

There were reports recent-ly that Rani has recoveredfrom her injury and had trav-elled with the squad toRotterdam for the last round ofFIH Pro League matches.However, on Tuesday chiefcoach Janneke Schopman saidshe is still undergoing rehabil-itation for the injury.

In her absence, goalkeeperSavita will continue to lead the18-member squad with defend-er Deep Grace Ekka as herdeputy. Savita led the Indianteam in the FIH Pro Leaguematches this year and the teamhad done well, presently in thethird position in the event.

Hockey India on Tuesdaynamed the 18-member Indianwomen's hockey team for the

FIH Women's Hockey WorldCup to be held in Netherlandsand Spain from July 1-17,retaining the majority of play-ers that had figured in lastyear's Tokyo Olympic Games inwhich the Indian team narrow-ly missed a Bronze medal.

India placed in Pool Balong with England, NewZealand and China will begintheir campaign on July 3against old nemesis England, towhom they lost the bronzemedal match in Tokyo.

The 20-member squad,including two replacementplayers as per Covid protocols,also includes defenders GurjitKaur, Nikki Pradhan, Uditaand midfielders Nisha, SushilaChanu, Monika, Neha, NavjotKaur, who all were part of theOlympics squad.

The forward line featuresthe very experienced VandanaKatariya, Lalremsiami, NavneetKaur, and Sharmila Devi. Theselectors have picked talentedyoung stars Akshata Dhekaleand Sangita Kumari as replace-ment players.

In the previous edition ofthe prestigious quadrennialevent held in London, theIndian team reached the quar-terfinals but lost to Ireland ina shootout after a 0-0 stalematein regulation time.

Speaking about the team

selection, chief coach JannekeSchopman said, "We have cho-sen the best squad for the WorldCup. It is a mix of experienceand young talent who haveshown great promise when theywere given a chance against topteams in the FIH Pro League."

"Except Rani, who is stillnot fully recovered from injuryrehabilitation, the team has allthe players who were part of theOlympic campaign with inclu-sions like Jyoti and Sonikawho have done well in theirroles when given a chance. Wewill also have Sangita andAkshata who will travel withthe team as replacement play-ers," Jenneke was quoted as say-ing in a release by HockeyIndia.

"The team is absolutelyexcited and eager to begin itsWorld Cup campaign and wewill utilize the next ten days tofinetune our game basis analy-sis from Pro League perfor-mances," she added.

The Indian team will play its group-stage matches in Amstelveen, Netherlandsand if they top the group, they will play the quarter-finaltoo in Amstelveen. The semifinals and final will be played in Terrassa, Spain. The crossover matchesfor pool B will be played inSpain.

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Charith Asalanka crackedhis maiden ODI hundred

as Sri Lanka finished with acompetitive score of 258against Australia in the fourthODI in Colombo. Dhananjayade Silva gave the middle orderbatter valuable support andended up with 60.

The hosts, who were

inserted into bat, found themselves in early trouble as Niroshan Dickwella, KusalMendis and Pathum Nissankawere dismissed within the first 10 overs. With Sri Lanka in a precarious posi-tion, Dhananjaya andAsalanka joined forces to propup the innings with a stand of 101.

Despite losing his batting

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Head coach Dravid joins India's Test team

partner, Asalanka continued toplay with a calm head on hisshoulders and found an able allyin Dunith Wellalage. MatthewKuhnemann broke the promis-ing stand by removing Wellalageand followed it up by sendingChamika Karunaratne back to the hut. At that stage, WaninduHasaranga collected a couple ofboundaries off Kuhnemann inthe 45th over to keep the score-card moving. In the same over,Aslanka completed his first ODIcentury with a single.

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