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As conflict rages in Ukraine,Prime Minister Narendra

Modi on Tuesday called for dia-logue and diplomacy to end thewar while Denmark PrimeMinister Mette Frederiksenurged India to talk to Russia foran immediate ceasefire.

This was the main outcomeof bilateral talks between Modiand Frederiksen inCopenhagen with both theleaders also reviewing the sit-uation in the strategicallyimportant Indo-Pacific regionand India-European Unionrelations.

Incidentally, Modi in histalks with German ChancellorOlaf Scholz in Berlin onMonday had said “no one willbe the victorious party” in thiswar. His visit to three nationsin the region comes at a timewhen many European nationsare against Russian militaryaction, while India, so far, hasrefrained from criticisingRussia. Modi is on a visit toGermany, Denmark andFrance from Monday.

During his talks with hisDanish counterpart, Modi said,“We made an appeal to take thepath of dialogues and strategyfor an immediate ceasefire andsolution to the problem inUkraine.”

In her remarks after thetalks, the Danish PrimeMinister said, “Denmark and

the entire European Unionstrongly condemn Russia’sunlawful and unprovoked inva-sion of Ukraine. My message isvery clear — Putin has to stopthis war and end the killings. Ihope that India will influenceRussia also in this discussion.”

Giving details of the talks,she said the two sides discussed

consequences of “horriblecrimes committed againstcivilians and serious humani-tarian crisis in Ukraine. Thereports on killings of civiliansin Bucha are deeply shocking.We have condemned thesekillings and we stress the needfor an independent investiga-tion.”

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French submarine manufac-turing company Naval

Group has pulled out of therace for the �45,000 crore pro-ject for six conventional sub-marines for India. The com-pany said it is unable to meetthe terms and conditions relat-ed to the air-independentpropulsion (AIP) system. Thedevelopment came ahead ofPrime Minister NarendraModi’s meeting with FrenchPresident Emmanuel Macronin Paris on Wednesday.

India had floated a globaltender or Request for Proposal(RFP) for the manufacturing ofsix submarines in the countryin collaboration with Indiancompanies. The project called

P-75 I is part of the StrategicPartnership programme.

The Defence Ministry inJune last year selected Larsenand Toubro and state-runMazagaon Docks Limited,Mumbai as the Indian part-ners. They have to tie up withone of the five shortlisted for-eign companies, includingThyssenKrupp MarineSystems (Germany), Navantia(Spain), Naval Group(France), Daewoo (SouthKorea) and Rosoboronexport(Russia).

The French company onTuesday said it is unable toparticipate in Centre’s P-75Iproject due to conditions men-tioned in the request for pro-posal (RFP) or tender relatedto air-independent propulsion(AIP) system.

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Communal tensions grippedRajasthan Chief Minister

Ashok Gehlot’s hometownJodhpur hours before Eid onTuesday, prompting the author-ities to suspend mobile inter-net services and impose a cur-few in 10 police stations areasof the city.

The CM has appealed topeople to maintain peace andharmony.

The Jodhpur deputy com-missioner of police issuedorders imposing a curfew tillMay 4 midnight besides sus-

pending mobile internet ser-vices to check the spread ofrumours. Tensions broke outpast midnight over putting upof Islamic flags on the Jalorigate circle, which led to stonepelting in which five policemenwere injured.

The situation was broughtunder control in the earlyhours on Tuesday with heavydeployment of police but ten-sions escalated again in themorning after prayers at anEidgah. Shops, vehicles andhouses were pelted withstones near the Jalori gatearea.

Members of the minoritycommunity were installingEid flags and they put up aflag on a roundabout along-side the statue of freedomfighter Balmukund Bissa.

This led to a confronta-tion as members of the othercommunity alleged that a saf-fron flag, which they had putup there ahead of ParshuramJayanti, had gone missing.

The issue snowballed intostone-pelting and clashes,officials said.

Police rushed to the spotto control the situation dur-ing which five policemen

were injured, the police con-trol room said.

Police had to lob tear gasshells to disperse the mob.Mobile internet services weresuspended in the area tocheck the spread of rumours,the officials said.

Gehlot in a tweet urgedpeople to maintain peace andcalled the incident unfortu-nate. "While respecting thetradition of love and broth-erhood of Jodhpur, Marwar, Imake a touching appeal to allparties to maintain peace andcooperate in restoring law andorder," he said.

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Aviral video of formerCongress president Rahul

Gandhi “partying” at a night-club in neighbouring Nepal hastriggered a war of wordsbetween the leaders ofCongress and the BJP.

It got murkier during theday with the Congress postingphotographs of senior leaders,including late Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee andincumbent Narendra Modi,portraying them in a bad light.

While the Congressdefended Rahul saying he wasin Kathmandu to attend a wed-ding of a friend, the BJP saidRahul was a non-serious politi-cian who loved to enjoy party.

Union Minister Mukhtar

Abbas Naqvi called him a “full-time tourist and a part-timepolitician, who is filled withhypocrisy”.

Congress IT hit back byposting images of Vajpayeesharing a toast, former UnionMinister Prakash Javadekarcelebrating with champagne,and several other BJP digni-taries partying.

BJP IT Cell head AmitMalviya who posted the videothat went viral wrote: “RahulGandhi was at a nightclubwhen Mumbai was underseize. He is at a nightclub at atime when his party is explod-ing. He is consistent.Interestingly, soon after theCongress refused to outsourcetheir presidency, hit jobs havebegun on their PrimeMinisterial candidate...”.

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Moscow: Russian PresidentVladimir Putin might undergocancer surgery while tem-porarily handing over power tothe secretary of the country'sSecurity Council NikolaiPatrushev, an unverified reportby the New York Post hasclaimed.

Putin has reportedly beentold by doctors that he mustundergo an operation, the NewYork Post reported citing aTelegram channel purportedlyrun by a former RussianForeign Intelligence Servicelieutenant general, reportednews agency ANI.

The anticipated surgeryand recovery are expected toincapacitate Putin for “ashort time,” the report said.

Referring to Putin’s sup-posedly “sickly appearanceand uncharacteristically fid-gety behaviour in public” inrecent times, the report saidPutin has been rumoured tosuffer from cancer and ahost of other serious mal-adies, including Parkinson’sdisease.

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Comparing India with theUS and Israel on securing

border by hitting back at per-petrators, Union HomeMinister Amit Shah onTuesday pointed out at thesurgical strikes carried out inthe wake of the terrorist attackin Pulwama.

Shah criticised the previousCongress Governments for itslax security measures. He saidIndia used to issue statementswhenever terror attacks werecarried out by the Pakistan-backed extremists but thingshave improved after NarendraModi became the PrimeMinister.

“Earlier only two nations,the US and Israel, used toretaliate whenever someonemeddled with their borders andmilitary. Now due to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, ourgreat nation India has joinedthat group,” Shah said after

inaugurating various projects,including the NrupathungaUniversity, its academic blockand various other projects.

After Narendra Modibecame the Prime Minister, ter-rorist attacks took place in Uriin 2016 and Pulwama in 2019,we carried out surgical strikesand air strikes within 10days inside Pakistan, Shahtold the crowd.

“Some people questionhow it (surgical strike andair strike) had any effect. Itell them that it (counterattack) has a huge impact.Now the entire world knowsthat no one can meddle withIndian border, otherwisebefitting reply will be given,”he said.

He said there were manyissues such as abrogation ofArticle 370, 35-A, whichgave special powers to J&Kand the implementation of theCitizenship Amendment Actwere sorted out in no time.

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TRIBUTES PAID TO POET JAYADEVBhubaneswar: Representa-tives of variousorganisations on Tuesdaypaid homage to poet Jayadevon his birth anniversary bygarlanding his statue atJayadev Vihar Square here.A joint meeting was held atthe venue organised by the Utkal Sammilani Mancheswarbranch, State Culture Department and Jayadev Vihar AutoAssociation in memory of the author of Geeta Govinda. Themeeting, coordinated by branch president Dillip Dashsharma,was attended by Corporator Subhanshu Patnaik, Culture De-partment Deputy Secretary Lakhmidhar Benera, members ofvarious organisations like Kabi Chnadra Pashchima Ray, BasantiTripathy and Ashirvad Nayak.

SATAPATHY GETS SIKSHA SAMMANBhubaneswar: Regional Of-ficer of DAV Institutions,Odisha, Dr KC Satapathyhas been conferred with theSiksha Samman for his out-standing contributions to academics at the golden jubilee cel-ebrations of the Nehru Yuva Pratisthan, Bhubaneswar.

DRUNKEN MAN KILLS WIFE IN SOROBaleswar: The Simulia police arrested a man who allegedly inan inebriated state beat his wife to death following a heatedargument in the Soro locality. The deceased was identified asDeula Murmu. The incident took place in Kainsi village underthe Simulia police limits. Rama Murmu returned home drunk.Following a verbal spat between him and Deula over someissues, Rama with a heavy wooden plank attacked his wife, whodied on the spot. Police reached the spot and sent the body forpostmortem. Police also apprehended the accused.

LABOUR DAY HELD IN JAGATSINGHPURJagatsinghpur: The Interna-tional Labour Day was cel-ebrated here on Sunday. Dis-trict Collector Parul Patwarichaired the meeting, whereMLA Prashant Muduli waschief guest. ZP PresidentManoj Bhoi, District Labour Officer Baba Ananda Ranjan Dash,ALO Ranjeeta Dalei, leaders from different trade unions andlabourers joined. The meeting discussed the OdishaGovernment's labour welfare schemes and greeted Chief Min-ister Naveen Patnaik who hiked the labour class remunerationon the eve of the Labour Day. As many as 170 constructionlabourers were given Rs 50,000 each for their daughters' mar-riage and Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia to 24 deceased labourers' kin.

LABOUR DAY OBSERVED AT BARIPADABaripada: The InternationalLabour Day was observedhere with the NESCO PowerEmployees' Union holdinga meeting in the Sahid Smruti Bhavan. The meeting was pre-sided over by union district president Subramaniam Mohanty.Revenue Minister Sudam Marandi was chief guest, formerAssembly Deputy Speaker Sanand Marandi special guest andthe all India union leader Prasant Nandi Chowdhry chiefspeaker. Morada MLA Rajkishore Das, Baripada MunicipalityChairman Krushnanand Mohanty and tribal leader DrDevashish Marandi were guests of honour.

GAYATRI PARIVAR HOLDS BLOOD DONATION CAMPBaripada: The GayatriParivar's local unit and theMayurbhanj unit of DivyaBharat Yuva Sangathanjointly organised a blooddonation camp here onSunday where 32 units ofblood were collected.Msyurbhanj ADM SujayKumar Pati, Blood BankOfficer Soumya RanjanNayak and PRM Medical College senior surgeon ShivanandMohanty attended the camp as guests while Gayatri Parivarchief trustee Niroj Panda, advocate Ashok Mohapatra,organisation's district in-charge Divakar Pradhan and youthactivists Bankabihari Singh, Devabrat Dey and DevashishPaikray conducted the programme in a smooth manner.

LABOUR DAY CELEBRATED BY UDAYABATAJajpur Road: The Interna-tional Labour Day was cel-ebrated by Udayabata andKalinga Bikash NirmanSramik Sangha here underthe chairmanship of TUleader Dusmanta Rout. Ex Chairman, VN Municipality,Rasananda Mohanty, TU leader Chandramani Samal, DrAkshaya Ku Panda, Aswini Das, Notary Loknath Rout, DipakPanigrahi, Rama Chandra Barik attended as guests and dis-cussed about various problems faced by labourers. Other at-tendees were Subal Senapati, Bidyutprava Ray, Biswa RPattanayak, Gayadhar Bhadra, Asit Das, Sanatan Mallick, GouriS Pati, Prafulla Barik. Scribe Jangyadutta Tripathy, TU leaderArun Das, labourer Ramesh Mallick were felicitated. BasantPatra gave a vote of thanks.

POPULAR BARGARH PAEDIATRICIAN DIESBargarh: The sudden demise of notedpaediatrician Dr Madhusudan Das on Mon-day sent shockwaves here. He breathed hislast while undergoing treatment in a pri-vate hospital here. Das, a well-known and apopular doctor, was loved by all. His deathhas left a void in Bargarh. People from crosssection of society mourned his untimelydeath.

DANCER OF THE MONTH: ARSHIYA FIRST WINNERSunabeda : The Sanjeevanidancer of the month awardwas given to ArshiyaMahapatro on Sunday. Join-ing as guest, Sibani Lenkafelicitated Mahapatra in asimple ceremony. The com-petition would run for nexteight months as both Sanjeevani and Bani Abacus Academyhave come together to host the programme. Parents here haveappreciated the initiative of the organisers.

INBRIEF

No cold water, rest shed

Resentment brews among Talcher mine workers

SGST collection records 52% growth

In Subarnapur

Rich persons taking Jaga Mission benefits

Newspaper hawkers promised all support

Ex-Sarpanch hacked todeath in Angul

In Keonjhar

3 die, 1 hurt as bikescollide head onPNS �� BHUBANESWAR

Vedanta's efforts to get alu-mina from Nalco have becomesuccessful as the SupremeCourt recently directed Nalcoto allocate 90,000 MT of alu-mina to the Vedanta ResourceLimited, UK (VRL-UK).Vedanta, a serious competitorof Nalco in aluminium busi-ness, will be greatly benefitedby this.

While directing Nalco to al-locate alumina for a period com-mencing from May 1, 2022 toJuly 31, 2022, the court's Benchof Justices DY Chandrachud, ASBopanna and VRamasubramanian said the price

which shall be payable by VRLUK to Nalco would be ofweighted average of the six bidsof VRL UK where it was thehighest bidder.

The Bench issued the direc-tion while hearing a contemptpetition by Vedanta Ltd againstNalco over non-compliance ofthe court's order on January 14,2020 by which the court hadallowed Vedanta to bid forNalco's alumina tenders meantfor exports.

The Vedanta Resource Lim-ited, which had emerged as suc-cessful bidder for the Nalco ten-der, was refused to take the con-signment to its SEZ unit andinsisted on terminating the

transaction at theVisakhapatnam Port. The pro-ducer also asked VRL to obtainLet Export Order (LET), a man-datory requirement for the pur-pose of completion of the trans-action, from the Customs au-thorities at the VisakhapatnamPort. This had resulted in Vedantapreferring a contempt petitionalleging "wilful disobedience" ofthe January 14, 2020 order.Vedanta had alleged that Nalcowas not making delivery at theport on FOB basis.

In the first contempt pre-ferred, the SC on August 19, 2020had directed Nalco to ensure de-livery of calcined alumina toVedanta at Visakhapatnam on

FOB basis to be used inVedanta's SEZ unit atJharsuguda. The counsel forNalco had agreed in effectingdelivery if it was meant to beused in Vedanta Limited SEZ atJharsuguda and even Vedantahad agreed to provide the bill ofexport and necessary certifica-tion under Rule 30 of the SEZRules. Vedanta is getting asmuch as 90,000 MT of aluminafrom Nalco at a time when alu-minium price has been rallyingfor weeks to record high LMEprices due to the Russia-Ukrainewar and the global aluminiummarket is facing a deficit due toproduction cuts in Europe amidhigh energy prices.

Vedanta to get 90K MT alumina from competitor NalcoPNS �� KEONJHAR

A head-on collision be-tween two motorcycles killedthree persons and left anothercritically injured at DianaliChhak under the Patana po-lice station in Keonjhar districton Monday night.

The deceased were identifiedas Trilochan Mohanta ofAmbuapada village,Ramakant Nayak of Sorasakelavillage and Sunil Dash ofRudhiapada village.

One KamalakantaMohanta of Padiapasi villagewas grievously injured in the

accident and shifted to theSCB Medical College Hospi-tal in Cuttack.

The mishap occurred whenSunil and Ramakant who weretravelling by a motorcyclewere hit from the front byanother motorcycle in whichTrilochan and Ramakant wereriding. On being informed, FireServices personnel rushed to thespot, rescued the victims andadmitted them to the PatanaCommunity Health Centre.While two of them succumbedto injuries at the CHC, anotherdied while being shifted to theSCB Hospital.

Signals consistentrecovery in eco-nomic activitiespost CovidPNS �� BHUBANESWAR

Odisha has recorded thehighest ever SGST collectionof Rs 1,714.78 crore duringApril 2022 against Rs 1,126.67crore during April, 2021 witha growth of 52.20%.

It also surpassed the previ-ous highest recorded in themonth of March 2022 by a bigmargin of Rs 363.53 crore.

This was informed byCommissioner of CT and

GST, Sushil Kumar Lohani hereon Monday.

Odisha has also maintainedthe highest growth rate ofgross GST amongst the ma-jor States with a collection ofRs 4,910.23 crore during April2022 as against Rs 3,849.48crore collected during April2021, registering a growth of28%, he said.

The gross GST collectionduring April 2022 is also thehighest in a month since in-ception of GST.

There is a collection of Rs1,381.00 crore in CGST withgrowth of 45% and Rs 722.40crore in Cess with growth of

18% during the last month.However, IGST monthlysettlement has shown a nega-tive growth of 89% owing tosubstantial increase in inter-State sales during the month.

The total collection of VAT(petrol and liquor) is Rs 232.88crore during April 2022 asagainst Rs 224.25 crore col-lected during April 2021 witha marginal growth rate of3.85%.

Collection from petro-leum products is Rs 176.52crore in the last monthagainst Rs 172.70 crore col-lected during April 2021 witha growth of 2.21%.

Similarly, the collectionfrom liquor is Rs 56.36 croreduring April 2022 while Rs51.55 crore was collected fromthe commodity during April2021, thereby recording agrowth rate of 9.33%.

There is a growth of 19.43%in Professional Tax with a col-lection of Rs 27.17 crore inthe last month against collec-tion of Rs 22.75 crore duringApril last year. All GST regis-tered taxpayers as well as otherprofessionals are also advisedto pay their annual Profes-sional Tax in the first quarterof 2022-23, Lohani said.

The high growth in gross

GST has been led by miningand manufacturing sectorswith growth of 179% in min-ing sector, 270% in manufac-turing sector and 105% intrading sector.

In addition, regular sur-veillance and intelligence-based action against the taxevaders have contributed sig-nificantly in improving com-pliance by the taxpayers, headded.

The Commissioner has in-structed the field officers toensure at least 90% return fil-ing, return scrutiny of all sus-pected/ big taxpayers as wellas prompt demand and re-

covery in case of detection ofirregularities.

He has further advised todevise sector specific strate-gies for detection of tax evad-ers and to also focus on realestate, minor mineral andtrading sector etc.

During April 2022, 3,145new taxpayers were boughtunder the GST fold. Further,the total e-waybill generatedduring April 2022 was 17.57lakh against 15.28 lakh gener-ated during April 2021 wit-nessing a growth of 14.98%.This reflects consistent recov-ery in economic activities andgrowth post Covid-19.

SRIKANTA TRIPATHY

�� TALCHER

In the ongoing heat waveconditions, the MCL manage-ment has not taken adequatemeasures ensuring the safety ofthe employees and workers.This has stoked resentments inTalcher. Sources said That inDeulabeda, Balungaon andNTPC railway sidings, besidesin home workshop and minearea, under the Lingaraj Minesthere is no safe and cold drink-ing water facility. Hundreds ofworkers, drivers, daily labourers

and employees are working inthese areas under the swelter-ing heat when at times tem-perature goes as high as 40-45degree C.

A workers union has allegedthat despite repeated com-plaints in this regard with theauthorities and proposals fortaking adequate safety mea-sures at the Safety Commit-tee, the Lingaraj Project Of-ficer and Civil Departmentwere not any paying anyheed.

There was a proposal in thePAC meet for a budget of Rs

1.89 lakh to buy safe cold wa-ter daily for these units forthree months during summerbut the management ignoredit, alleged the union.

Instead the managementwas forcing the workers andemployees to use water fromsome old and defunct waterfilters. The union alleged thatthe water from the water fil-ters was not safe and itssample be tested at the ap-propriate labs.

It further alleged that thereare no rescue centres in theseunits for addressing the heat

related health issues. Simi-larly there are no fibre restshelters for the workers in themine. That apart, ORS pow-der and towels are not pro-vided.

The union said when theMCL was providing revenuesworth crores of rupees to theState and Central Govern-ments, ignoring the demandsfor basic amenities and healthmeasures during heatwaveconditions was unjustified. Itwarned to stall the miningoperation if the managementremained callous.

Many landsgrabbed in distheadquarters townSRIKUMAR MAHANTA ��

SONEPUR

The Odisha Liveable Habi-tat Mission, also known as JagaMission, has led to encroach-ment of land in increasingnumber in Subarnapur district.

A burning example is thedistrict headquarters town ofSonepur where Governmentlands under encroachment bymany people. Even some of thebeneficiaries have receivedpattas (Records of Rights).

The local civic body is clear-

ing the encroachmentsthrough eviction drives but thesuccess rate is very minimal inthe town. Moreover, influen-tial affluent people are grabbingGovernment land taking ad-vantage of the existing loop-holes in the law.

These affluent persons areacquiring the Governmentlands despite having their ownhouses and lands in their vil-lages. This has happened due toexisting vote bank politics inthe area which is favouring theencroachers in grabbing lands.

On the other hand, local resi-dents in the town despite pay-ing their taxes in time havebeen deprived of receiving the

minimum benefits. Howeverthe encroachers after receivingthe pattas are allegedly beingprovided with all the benefits.

Some taxpayers have allegedthat they have no objection inproviding Government ben-efits to the poor and the land-less after providing them withland Pattas, but objected to theaffluent persons grabbingGovernment benefits on thepretext of being poor and land-less.

Reports said the intensity ofencroachments can be gaugedfrom the fact that houses havebeen built on different areas ofthe town in Government landand forested areas in Sonepur

town.The costly and high value

lands are being encroached.This apart, Government landsare being sold at prices betweenRs 40,000 and Rs 4 lakh pergunth.

When contacted, ExecutiveOfficer of Sonepur Municipal-ity Suryansu Root said aroundmore than 300 beneficiarieswere provided with land cer-tificates under the Jaga MissionScheme.

Among them, some benefi-ciaries have been sanctionedhouses under the PradhanMantri Awas Yojana whilesome have received work or-ders for house construction.

Political rivalrysuspectedPNS �� ANGUL

A former Sarpanch washacked to death by unidenti-fied miscreants atBalramprasad village under theNalco Nagar police station inAngul district on Tuesday.Thedeceased was identified asShibaram Sahu. He was aformer Sarpanch ofBalramprasad gram panchayat.Though the motive behind themurder was yet to be ascer-

tained, some locals are sus-pecting that Sahu was killedover political rivalry.

As per reports, when Sahuwas on his way to the villagetemple, some miscreants at-tacked him with sharp weap-ons near his house. He sus-tained severe injuries on hisneck and died at the spot.Getting information, thgeNalco Nagar police rushed tothe spot and launched an in-vestigation into the case.

Notably, Sahu has unsuc-cessfully contested in the re-cent Panchayat elections.

In annual fest ofPNDAPNS �� PARADIP

The 8th foundation day andannual function of the ParadipNewspaper Distributors' Asso-ciation (PNDA) was celebratedin Paradip on Sunday.

Paradip Municipality Chair-man Basant Biswal, who wasthe chief guest, lauded the roleof hawkers in disseminatingnews to public and promisedto extend help to the associa-tion.

Delivering the key note ad-dress, he said that newspaperdistributors of the State ren-dered their selfless services tothe people during Covid-19pandemic without any fearand thanked the distributors

for their invaluable service.Among others senior jour-

nalist Sukadev Jena andRatnakar Jena joined ashonourable guests and urgedthe chief guest to provide aland for setting up office ofthe association in Paradipmunicipality area.

The meeting was presided

over by journalist SanjayKumar Mishra and assisted byPNDA president NimainMohapatra.

In the end, association sec-retary Balakrushna Sutar of-fered the vote of thanks.

The programme was coor-dinated by working presidentPradip Jena.

2 get lifer for S'garhyouth murderPNS �� SUNDARGARH

The District and SessionsJudge, Sundargarh, sentencedtwo persons to life imprison-ment and imposed a fine ofRs 2,000 on each of them forkilling a youth three years ago.

On April 22, 2019,Kinjrikela police of Sundargahdistrict had recovered a bodyof a youth from Dandapaniroad. The body was identifiedas Tekchand Badaik (28), a resi-dent of Halma village. Therewere no injury marks on thebody and only police foundbleeding from the nose.

The police had registered an

unnatural death case and hadstarted investigating the case.However, the post mortem re-port on May 10, 2019 con-firmed it to be a murder case.

Police on May 11, 2019 hadarrested Subash Amat(28) andRadha Madhav Bhitria (30),residents of Halma village inthe case. Pronouncing thejudgment, Judge PriyadarshiPatnaik on Saturday exam-ined as many as 15 witnessesand held Subash and RadhaMadhav guilty under section302 IPC for killing Tekchand.Public Prosecutor AbdulSamim Akthar was presentduring the hearing of the case.

Eid prayers held for world peace in K padaPNS �� KENDRAPADA

The minority communitymembers, on Tuesday, ob-served the Eid-ul- fitr withmuch pomp and gaiety amidtight police security.

The Muslim of Kendrapadatownship performed their spe-cial prayers (namaj) in threemosques and two Eidgahs.Later, they paid a visit to aburial ground to offer prayerfor their near and dear ones.Hundreds of women membersof the community went toUrdu Bazaar based-Ahele-Hadismosque for performing a spe-cial prayer on the occasion.

Abu Obeda, a Muslim intel-lectual, said the membersorganised special prayer for

peace and brotherhood in theworld. They organized duhasbefore the almighty for a haltto the ongoing Russia-Ukrainewar, he added.

Political leaders were seenpaying visit to the Muslimdominated villages and

muhallas. Security was beefedup in the district in order toavert any untoward incidentduring the celebration of Eid.Several Hindus also visited thehouses of the Muslim to cementbond of brotherhood on thespecial occasion.

RANCHI | WEDNESDAY | MAY 04, 2022 jharkhand 03

PNS � Ranchi

The CBI, after undertak-ing investigation of the

34th National Games scamin Jharkhand, has asked theJharkhand government toprovide all documents per-taining to preparations,management and procure-ment for the games.The CBI has submitted alist of the official papers tothe government it requiresfor investigation. Thesedocuments are related tothe department of Sportsand Youth affairs. Amongthe documents it has soughtis the list of ministers andofficials of the departmentof the corresponding pe-riod. It has demanded thedocuments related to vari-ous sports and tender com-mittees. Notably it has alsosought details of construc-tion rights granted to Na-garjuna Construction,which constructed sports

infrastructure. The CBI asked the Jhark-hand government to ap-point someone as nodalofficer who could be con-tacted for the purpose ofprocuring documents. TheJharkhand High Court hasalready directed the gov-ernment to ensure that theCBI is given necessarydocuments of the cases Two FIRs were lodged bythe CBI at the Anti-Corrup-tion Unit of the CBI inRanchi related to the 34thscam.In the first caseRC0242022A0001, the FIRhas been lodged against un-known public servants andprivate persons. The FIRhas been lodged under sec-tions 120 (B), 420 of IPC,and sections 13 (2) and 13(1) (D) of the Prevention ofCorruption Act. The inves-tigation has been assignedto Surendra Depawat whois posted as DSP at the anti-

corruption branch of theCBI at Patna in Bihar.Sources in the CBI said thatthis FIR is related to a scamin the construction of thesports infrastructure duringthe national game.The second FIRRC0242022A0002 hasbeen lodged against R. K.Anand who was (WorkingChairman of 34" NationalGames Organising Com-mittee cum-President,Jharkhand Olympic Associ-ation, S.M. Hashmi, Organ-ising Secretary, 34thNational Games Organis-ing Committee-cum-Secre-tary General, JharkhandOlympic Association andMadhukant Pathak, treas-urer, 34th National GamesOrganising Committeecum-Treasurer, JharkhandOlympic Association. In-vestigation of this case hasbeen assigned to ShriNarayan, inspector of CBIposted at the anti-corrup-

tion branch in Patna.This FIR was originallylodged by BholanathSingh, General Secretary ofthe Jharkhand WrestlersAssociation at JharkhandVigilance.“FIRs have been lodged atthe Anti-corruption unit ofthe CBI in Ranchi but theinvestigation will be doneby officials from the Patnaunit. CBI has taken up theinvestigation from the Anti-Corruption Bureau ofJharkhand as per the in-struction of the JharkhandHigh Court,” said an offi-cial of the CBI.On April 11, The JharkhandHigh Court directed theCBI to investigate the na-tional games scam. It alsoasked the CBI to investi-gate the role of police offi-cials and bureaucrats.The double bench of ChiefJustice Dr. Ravi Ranjan andJustice Sujit NarayanPrasad ordered this after

hearing a PIL filed bySushil Kumar SinghMantu, Surya Singh Besraof Jharkhand Against Cor-ruption, and Pankaj Yadav.The court said that theAnti-Corruption Bureau ofJharkhand was not in a po-sition to investigate thiscase as high-profile personsare involved. The 34thNational Games was heldfrom 12 February to 26February in 2011. But itwas originally scheduledfor 2007.Bholanath Singh allegedthat a wide level of corrup-tion was done in organiz-ing the games. TheVigilance Bureau lodgedan FIR 49/2010 and filedtwo charge sheets. Itclaimed that Rs 28.38crore were embezzled.Notably, a few days backCBI officials gathereddocuments and case filefrom the Jharkhand Anti-Corruption Bureau.

CBI seeks documents of National Games scam from State GovtPNS � Ranchi

The State Health depart-ment has lodged a case

against independent MLASaryu Roy under various sec-tions of Indian Penal Code(IPC) and Official Secrets Actat Doranda police station forallegedly leaking official doc-uments.The Health department isheaded by Banna Gupta, whois under fire from Roy for al-legedly misusing his officeand disbursing Covid incen-tives equivalent to onemonth’s basic salary to 60employees (including him) il-legally and unethically.The case has been filled byHealth department undersec-retary Vijay Verma and he hasbeen booked under varioussections of Official Secret Act1923 besides 409 (criminalbreach of trust by public ser-

vant), 420 (cheating andthereby dishonestly inducingdelivery of property), 379(theft), 120( conspiracy)among others of IPC. It has been alleged that Roystole secret documents fromthe health department andmade it public.Confirming the development,City SP Anhsuman Kumarsaid, “Yes an FIR has beenlodged against Roy.” But, herefused to divulge more de-tails.

Meanwhile, Roy termed theGovernment act as ‘foolish’and ‘novice’. He said thatdocuments which he hadmade public can be obtainedthrough the Right to Informa-tion Act. He further said,“Government can lodge anFIR and can even arrest me,but I am not scared of suchacts of government. I havebeen fighting against corrup-tion since 1982 and will do soin future too.”Sources said that this is notfor the first time that any min-ister is under fire from Roy.Saryu Roy was one of the keywhistleblowers in the Rs 900crore fodder scam. He alongwith others including Shiv-anand Tiwari, who ispresently with RJD hadbrought charges of corruptionagainst Lalu Prasad in Rs 900crore fodder scam in earlynineties.

FIR against Saryu Roy for‘leaking’ official documents

Jamshedpur East MLASaryu Roy.

PNS �Ranchi/Bokaro

Eid-ul-Fitr was cele-brated with joy and

jubilation across the Stateincluding coal and steelbelt on Tuesday, amidstrict security measures.The festivities went offpeacefully without ahitch across the State.Families gathered toshare food and drink, es-pecially the vermicellidish 'sewayian,' and vari-ous types of biryani andkebab meals.

In the State Capital thefestival was celebratedwith fervour as devoteesoffered prayers inmosques across the city.People wished each otheron the occasion andspread the message ofbrotherhood and love.With the spirit of thanks-giving and jubilation onthe first day of the 10thmonth of theMuslim lunar calendar‘Eid’ marks the comple-tion of an act of duty anddevotion, said Murshid

Alam, the owner ofBharat Refrigeration atCity Centre Sector- 4 inBokaro Steel City. “Eidteaches the lesson thatreal happiness arisesfrom performing one’sduty and making sacri-fices for a noble objec-tive,” he added. All festivals teach us tofeel our oneness with allcreation and we shouldfollow the path of love,purity and forgiveness;no matter that we are thefollowers of different re-

ligions, said Shankar aresident of LH Colony.“We all are the sons ofone almighty, thus we arebrothers,” he added.The Muslim religions fol-lowers celebrated ‘Eid’which signifies the suc-cessful completion of thesacred month of Ra-madan (Ramzan).Dressed in their best,thousands of devotees as-semble at the mosquesand prayer grounds in thecoal and steel belt to offerthe special prayers whichare performed in unison;later they exchange goodwishes. Elders gave‘Eidee’ to the children.The practice of fastingduring the month of Ra-madan is to sublimate theinner self of man and in-culcates discernment ofthe pangs and hardshipswhich the poor and needyface. “This feeling isawakened in all those,whether rich or poor,young or old, who ob-serve fasting,” he added.There are multiple resultsof fasting in the shape ofvigorous duties, moraland spiritual self-disci-pline and austerity. Thisreward equips man toswim in the roughest seasof life, said Samsher.

Eid celebrated with fervour across the State

Muslim devotees offer prayers at Harmu Idgah on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr in Ranchi on Tuesday. Pix by Vinay Murmu

PNS � Ranchi

BJP national generalsecretary (Sched-

uled Caste) morcha,Sanjay Nirmal onTuesday heaped praiseon Prime MinisterNarendra Modi gov-ernment particularlyfor development anduplift of scheduledcaste members. Nirmalwas in the Capitaltoday to attend the SCmorcha executivemeet.He said that for the pasteight years, the govern-ment running under theleadership of PrimeMinister NarendraModi has been run-ning several welfareschemes for the sched-uled caste society,whose benefits are beinggiven to the society. Thisgovernment is dedicated tothe welfare of the downtrod-den society. All the schemes

are being implemented withAntyodaya as the centerpoint.It is to be known that thethree-day stay of Sanjay Nir-mal is fixed in Jharkhand.

During his stay, Nirmal willattend many important meet-ings.National General SecretarySanjay Nirmal while ad-dressing the office bearers of

BJP SC Morcha saidthat Bharatiya JanataParty is the largest partyin the world followingits policy and principles.We are proud to be theworkers of such a party.He said that whateverresponsibility the partyhas given us, it is ourduty to discharge thatresponsibility honestly.He said that at presentthe Jharkhand govern-ment is trying to snatchthe rights of youth,women, farmers. Thenon-implementation ofthe scholarship schemefor the better educationof the youth of thescheduled caste societyshows the mindset of thegovernment of StateGovernment.He said that the Central

government has reduced theVAT of petrol and dieselbut no initiative has beentaken by the state govern-ment so far.

BJP working for SC members uplift: Nirmal

National General Secretary Bharatiya Janata Party Scheduled CasteMorcha Sanjay Nirmal alongwith MLA Amar Kumar Bauri during ameeting at party office in Ranchi on Tuesday. Pix by Vinay Murmu

PNS � Ranchi

Equivalent to the Shiv-linga in Karnataka, the

Country's second highestShivlinga was established inSureshwardham in Chutia inthe State Capital. Thousandsof women started the Yatrawith a Kalash on their fore-head.The 5-day Pran Pratishtharitual programme startedwith a grand Kalash Yatrathis morning. The KalashYatra started from theSwarnrekha Dham Chutiatemple complex at 6 in themorning. After filling thewater in Banash TalabBahubazar, all the womenreturned to the temple prem-ises from the pond after thatthe program of PranPratishtha was started.Apart from Kalash Yatra,Panchang Poojan and Man-dal Pravesh program arebeing organized on AkshayaTritiya. The height of Shiv-ling in Kautilya Lingeshwartemple of Karnataka is 108feet, on the same lines; agrand Shivling has been es-tablished in Ranchi on theadvice of engineers. It took10 years to build this temple.After the conch shell, itssound will resonate insidethe temple for about aminute.

Residents of Chutia areatook part enthusiastically inthe construction work whichlasted for about ten yearsand on Tuesday with theconsecration of life, 50 peo-ple will be able to performJalabhishek on Baba Bhole-nath at a time in the temple.Under the leadership of theChairman of the temple con-struction committee, SureshSahu a grand Kalash pro-cession was taken out inwhich Padma Shri recipientMukund Nayak, SantoshSingh, Dr Rajesh Gupta,

Alok Kumar Dubey, AlokSahu Bunty, Sanjay Kumar,Chhatradhari Mahato, AmitKumar, Kishore Nayak,Rohit Singh, SantoshKumar, Ajit Kumar, BalamSahu, Prakash Burma wereprominently involved.Such a historic gathering ofwomen devotees up to 5kms was never seen inJharkhand. Priests have beencalled from Banaras to con-secrate the temple.Chairman of the committeeSahu said that on May 4,Akhand Ramayana will be

recited from 7 am onwardsand the establishment ofidols, establishment of bedsand setting up of fire will bedone.The Shivlinga of Suresh-vardham temple can be seeneven from a long distance.The perimeter of the templeis 625 square feet. For thistemple situated on the banksof Swarnarekha river, waterwill be available for devo-tees to perform Jalabhishekfrom nearby areas. Themorning and evening Aartiwill be a delight here.

Country’s second highest Shivlinga established in city

Women take part in a ‘Kalash Yatra’ during unveiling of a 108 ft Shivlinga at Chutiain Ranchi on Tuesday. Pix by Ratan Lal

Students of Gurukul shine in JPSC Students of Gurukul CoachingCenter have achieved successby performing brilliantly in theJPSC Main Examination. All thesuccessful students have giventhe credit of their success to theexcellent guidance of the insti-tute, the art of writing and the artof remembering the continuoustest series in the classes itself.Rural talents have proved their mettle and many studentshave achieved great success in the first attempt and havebecome a source of inspiration for other students. Suc-cessful students include Robin Kumar, Savita Singh,Sankalp Jain, Satish Kumar, Pooja Kumari, Suman Upad-hyay, Saroj Kumar, Manoj Mehta, Shankar Kumar, Shah-nawaz Hussain, Pinky Kumari Sandhya Kumari.

Blast furnace made record production Under the leadership of Director-in-charge of Bokaro SteelPlant, (DIC) Amarendu Prakash and under the guidanceof CGM (Blast Furnace) MP Singh, the team of Blast Fur-naces achieved the best ever production output in the firstmonth of April in the new financial year with the operationof four Blast Furnaces and has created a new record byproducing 367075 tonnes of hot metal. Earlier in themonth of April 2014, 364365 tonnes of hot metal was pro-duced from the operation of four blast furnaces. In themonth of April of the financial year 22-23 itself, the bestproductivity of Blast Furnace-1 so far was 1.99 tonnes /cubic meter / day, which is a new record. The previousrecord of Blast Furnace-1 was 1.94 tonnes / cubic meter/ day in April - 21.

Saplings distributed on occasion of EidSaplings were distributed among people after Eid prayersat Jharia to make people aware of rising pollution and wayto check it. The programme was organised by NGO Youthconcept .Organiser Akhlak Ahmed said that saplings weregiven to every one as Eidi that is given on occasion ofEid so that they may plant those and ensure that savethem too. Dr Manoj Singh another member of the organi-sation gave details of rising pollution in Jhatka coalfieldsand peoples’ cooperation to check it.

Free mock interview at Chanakya IAS

Free mock interview is beingstarted in Chanakya IAS Acad-emy from 5th May, informed wasgiven by AK Mishra, FounderChairman and Success Guru ofChanakya IAS Academy. He saidthat since the beginning,Chanakya IAS Academy hasbeen organizing free mock inter-views for the successful candidates in the mains keepingin view the interest of the students. He said that quality isthe secret of success and to maintain this quality in thestudents, the help of expert teachers is provided by theinstitute. He also said that during the mock interview, thedress code, pattern of questions and other details are spe-cially told to the candidates so that they can get successin the interview. Vinay Mishra, Vice President of ChanakyaIAS Academy informed that free mock interviews havebeen arranged in Ranchi branch and Hazaribagh branchof Chanakya IAS Academy in Jharkhand.

Binay Kumar appointed to theCentre’s Advisory panel

Binay Kumar, a senior journalist from Bihar and Jharkhandand a Ranchi-based national news agency, has been ap-pointed to the Union Ministry of Rural Development'sHindi Advisory Committee. Kumar, who has worked as anews bureau head and special correspondent, has alsoserved as a member of several committees of variousCentral government ministries. The Union Minister forRural Development serves as the Committee's Chairman.The Hindi Advisory Committee of the Ministry has beenreconstituted, according to a resolution issued by the Min-istry's Joint Secretary, Karma Zimpa Bhutia. Union RuralDevelopment Minister Giriraj Singh serves as ex-officioChairman of the Committee, while both Union Ministersof State for Rural Development serve as Vice-Chairmen.

4 killed 3 injured in four incidents

Four people died and three people injured in four differentcases of Giridih, in which the first case is of Sariya policestation area. In the early morning around 5:30, the localpeople came to know that the body of a youth was lyingon the side of the railway track, identified as Guddu Singh,a resident of Sariya. The second incident is being told ofDeori police station area, where a 54-year-old MangrooMurmu had gone to the forest to fetch wood on Monday,where a wild boar attacked him, after which the family senthim to Dhanbad for better treatment, where he died duringtreatment.

PNS � Ranchi

In a bid to strengthen theparty’s hold at grassroot

level, Jharkhand PradeshCongress Committee(JPCC) In-Charge and AllIndia Congress Committee(AICC), General Secretary,Avinash Pandey is comingto Jharkhand on Wednesdayon a two-day visit for a re-view meeting of the organi-zation empowermentcampaign.Senior Congress Leader andconvener of the organizationempowerment campaign,Alok Kumar Dubey in-formed that Pandey will visitthe State on Wednesday onhis two day programme. Hesaid that on April 5, theworkshop of the convenorsof 24 districts was held inNew Delhi, in which amonth's program and agendawere handed over for organ-ization empowerment, inwhich District level dialogueconference on April 18 andblock level dialogue confer-ence on May 24 and otherimportant works were given,which were edited and di-rected to prepare a detailedreport after one month.‘In the workshop, organiza-tion In-Charge KC Venu-gopal, National General

Secretary Mukul Wasnik, KRaju were guided by manybig leaders. After a month,on May 4h and May 5, twodays different districts coor-dinator, District CongressPresident, District Coordina-tor, Co-Coordinator alongwith Pandey will review themembership campaign andthe party In-Charge will alsohold important discussionswith the members of the Co-ordination Committee of theparty State committees” saidDubey.The party leader also said

that the efforts of State Con-gress In-Charge regardingorganization empowermentcampaign would prove to bea milestone. The dialogueprogram has given a new di-rection to the Congress per-sons across the State, headded.

JPCC In-Charge, AvinashPandey to visit Jharkhand today

Chief Minister Hemant Soren reached HCAH suvitas Rehabilita-tion Center in Hyderabad on Tuesday, and inquired about thehealth of Sindri MLA Inderjit Mahato. The Chief Minister also metTara Devi, wife of MLA Inderjit Mahto and other relatives at thehospital. He assured the wife of the MLA of all possible help fromthe State government for better treatment. It may be mentionedthat since last one year, Sindri MLA Inderjit Mahato is going un-well and his treatment is going on under the continuous supervi-sion of specialist doctors at HCAH suvitas Rehabilitation Center,in Hyderabad. PNS

PNS � Bokaro

On the occasion of MayDay, Wellmark Hospital

and Niroggyan NGO in asso-ciation with experienced doc-tors of Bokaro haveorganized a health check-upawareness week camp andthis camp will last all week.Dr. AK Singh, former direc-tor BGH Bokaro Steel andDr. Anupam Kumar Singh, afamous cardiologist fromRanchi, jointly inauguratedthis camp by lighting thelamp. Dr. Satish Kumar, awell-known doctor andChairman of Wellmark Hos-pital, discussed in detail aboutthe health checkup weekbasic testing purely on a freeof cost basis. He further saidWellmark Hospital, con-stantly strengthened by newmodern medical equipmentand efficient medical man-agement and expressed itscommitment to provide qual-ity medical treatment to thecitizens of Bokaro and re-mote areas after all a well-de-signed hospital environment

maximizes the effectivenessof clinical care delivery andenhances the well-being ofpatients and hospital staff. It is noteworthy that citizensenthusiastically participatedin the health awareness work-shop camp and shared theirsuggestions and experiences.Dr TM Singh, President,Niroggyan reiterated theNGO's commitment towardsawareness and testing felici-tation during the camp. Alsoimportant information wasjointly issued by SureshKumar, Manager of Well-mark Hospital, General Sec-retary of the retiredemployees union Ram AgarSingh and Mohan Kumar re-garding the SAIL employee’scashless facility throughMediclaim in Wellmark Hos-pital, seeking successful tie upwith MD India and others.Also Dr Satish informed thatWellmark Hospital is trying toacquire prestigious NABHaccreditation which if ap-proved Wellmark Hospitalwould be first NABH accred-ited Hospital in Bokaro.

Health Checkup AwarenessWeek at Wellmark Hospital

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The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) has

attributed the frequent andprolonged spell of heatwave inApril to absence of active west-ern disturbances (WD) duringthe month.

According to the IMD, theabsence of active WDs in Aprilover north India caused high-ly subdued rain and very lessthunderstorm activities overnorthwest and central parts,leading to frequent and pro-longed spell of heat wave tosevere heat wave days andhigher-than-normal tempera-ture over these areas on mostdays.

West Rajasthan, HimachalPradesh, south Haryana-Delhi,west Madhya Pradesh andwestern parts of Uttar Pradeshexperienced higher number ofheat wave days and east UttarPradesh, east-central Indiareported lower number of heatwave days.

Overall, the month record-ed six WDs (April 1-4, 7-9, 13-15, 20-22, 23-25 and 28-29).However, most of themwere feeble and dry and movedacross higher ridges ofHimalayas. Only last three sys-tems caused gusty winds anddust-raising winds and dry

thunderstorms in some placesin northwest, it said. OverNorthwest India during April,the average maximum tem-perature was highest ever with36.32 degrees Celsius in last122 years against earlier recordof 35.4 degrees Celsius in 2010.

The average mean tem-perature was highest ever in2022 with 28.18 degrees Celsiusagainst earlier record of 27.79degrees Celsius in 2010. Theminimum temperature wassecond highest with 20.04degrees Celsius after the year2010 (20.18 degrees Celsius).

Over Central India duringApril, the average maximumtemperature was highest with38.04 degrees Celsius in the last122 years for period 1901-2022 against earliest record of37.75 degrees Celsius in 1973.

Similarly, the average meantemperature was in April 2022highest with 31.35 degreesCelsius for period 1901-2022and it broke earlier highestrecord of 31.10 degrees Celsiusin 2010. The average minimumtemperature was highest inApril 2022 with 24.66 degreesCelsius and it broke the earli-

er record of 24.52 degreesCelsius in 2010. The monthlyaverage minimum tempera-ture over East & NortheastIndia for month of April overEast & Northeast India wasthird highest with 21.94degrees Celsius since 1901.

West Rajasthan, HimachalPradesh, south Haryana-Delhi,west Madhya Pradesh, andwestern parts of Uttar Pradeshexperienced higher number ofheat wave days and East UttarPradesh, east-central Indiareported lower number of heatwave days.

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The Indian SARS-CoV2Genomics Sequencing

Consortium (INSACOG) hassaid that one confirmed case ofthe XE Covid variant has beendetected in India.

However, the location ofthis variant was not identifiedin the bulletin for April 25

released a day ago. TheINSACOG also said that thereis no cause of panic as no clus-ter of XE variants has beenfound so far.

“As compared to the pre-vious week, 12 States haveshown an increase in cases,while 19 States have shown adecline,” the bulletin fromINSACOG said. The

INSACOG in the bullein addedthat the suspected recombinantsequences are under furtheranalysis. “BA.2.10 and BA.2.12are BA.2 sub-lineages that havebeen detected and many oldBA.2 sequences have beenreclassified into these new sub-lineages.

So far these sub-lineagesare not reported to be associ-ated with increased severity ofdisease,” the bulletin said,adding that so far there are noreports of XE clusters acrossIndia.

The INSACOG had also inits April 18 bulletin mentionedone XE variant case in thecountry.

The INSACOG reportsgenomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 across the countrythrough sequencing of samplesfrom Sentinel sites andInternational passengers arriv-ing in India.

As per the latest bulletin,INSACOG has sequenced total2,43,957 samples The XE vari-ant of coronavirus is a sub-vari-ant of Omicron, which causedthe third wave of Covid-19 inIndia in January 2022. Covid'sXE variant is a cross betweentwo strains of the Omicronvariant, namely BA.1, which isthe original strain, and BA.2,which is the more infectiousstrain.

As of April 12, 2022, casesof Covid's XE variant havebeen detected in India's Gujaratand Maharashtra. Apart fromIndia and the UK, Japan hasalso reported cases of the XEvariant.

According to the WorldHealth Organization, the XEvariant was first detected onJanuary 19, 2022, in the UK,and till March-end, more than600 cases of the variant werereported and confirmed.

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Everyone knows smoking isbad for the heart and lungs.

But now a study has said that itdamages the brain also. Overall,current smokers are 30 percent more likely to developdementia and 40 per cent morelikely to develop Alzheimer'sdisease, according to a 2015analysis of 37 different studiespublished in the journal PLOSONE.

"We know that smokingharms every organ of thehuman body," said AdrienneJohnson, an assistant scientist atthe University of WisconsinCenter for Tobacco Researchand Intervention in Madison."The brain is no exception."

Smokers are at significant-ly higher risk for dementia anddementia-related death. TheWorld Health Organization esti-mated in 2014 that 14 per centof dementia cases worldwidemay be caused by smoking.Overall, current smokers are 30per cent more likely to developdementia and 40 per cent morelikely to develop Alzheimer's

disease, according to a 2015analysis of 37 different studiespublished in the journal PLOSONE. And the more a personsmokes, the higher the risk: Forevery 20 cigarettes per day, theanalysis showed dementia riskclimbs 34 per cent.

Smoking also increases therisk for stroke. Black people,who have a higher stroke riskthan white people, face doublethe stroke risk if they smoke.

On the flip side, studiesshow quitting smoking can helperase the higher risk for brainharm. Quitting at any timehelps. But the earlier you quit,the better, said Jennifer Deal, anassistant professor of epidemi-ology at Johns HopkinsUniversity's Bloomberg Schoolof Public Health in Baltimore.

Deal led a study that foundsmokers' increased risk fordementia decreased over timewhen they quit, eventuallyreaching a point after nineyears when it was no higherthan those who never smoked.

"The message coming out ofour research is that earlier is bet-ter," Deal said. "Quitting inmidlife is better than later in life.But quitting at any time is ben-eficial."

Unfortunately, people areless likely to quit the older theyget, said Johnson, whoseresearch focuses on finding themost effective ways to helpadults 50 and older stop smok-ing. Roughly 17% of 45- to 65-year-olds smoke, according tothe Centers for Disease Controland Prevention, which is high-er than the national average of14% for all adults 18 and older.

And older smokers aremore likely to smoke daily andless likely to try to quit thanyounger smokers. "Doctors areless likely to advise them to quitsmoking," Johnson said. Whenthey do, they are less likely tooffer them evidence-based ces-

sation options, such as nicotinepatches, medications and otherproducts shown to double ortriple a person's chances for suc-cessfully quitting. People withmental illness also are more like-ly to smoke and to have atougher time quitting withoutassistance, Johnson said.

Smoking rates among peo-ple with mood, anxiety andattention-deficit/hyperactivityand other disorders are two tofive times higher than that of thegeneral population, andresearch suggests smoking mayeven impact the course of theseillnesses.

Roughly 1 in 4 adults in theU.S. has some kind of behavioralhealth condition. Collectively,this group smokes nearly 40%of all cigarettes consumed byadults in this country, accord-ing to CDC.

"People with mental ill-nesses, such as depression orbipolar disorder, are more proneto have cravings when quitting,"Johnson said, "so they needmedications to minimize crav-ings and counseling to helpthem cope with them."

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Ahead of the mega LIC IPO,the Congress on Tuesday

questioned the pricing ofshares, alleging they are under-valued and being offered atthrowaway prices at the cost ofthe trust of 30 crore policy-holders.

Congress' chief spokesper-son Randeep Surjewala askedwhy did the Governmentreduce LIC valuation from�12-14 lakh crore in Februaryto �6 lakh crore in just twomonths. He said the

Government had in Februarythis year targeted to get �70,000crore by selling five per centstake in the public sectorundertaking, but it has nowbeen reduced to �21,000 croreand 3.5 per cent stake sale.

"Why is the Governmenttrying to sell LIC when domes-tic and global financial marketsare in turmoil on account of theRussia-Ukraine war and a hostof factors leading to econom-ic downturn," he asked.

"The Secretary in charge ofpublic sector divestment hassaid that the government will

not sell its stake in PSUs if mar-ket conditions are notfavourable. Why is LIC's IPOan exception to this policy?India seeks answers," he said.

Surjewala said that whilefiling the prospectus inFebruary 2022 for this megaIPO, the LIC disinvestmentwas aimed at 2.5 times theembedded value (EV), but nowthe valuation of the IPO isabout 1.1 times the embeddedvalue.

Comparably, HDFC LifeInsurance is trading at 3.9times EV, and SBI Life & ICICIPrudential Life trade at 3.2times and 2.5 times theirembedded value respectively,he said.

He also claimed that sinceJanuary-February 2022, theshare price band of LIC hasbeen paired down by the Modigovernment from �1100 pershare to the current price bandof �902-949 per share andsome experts feel that the stateexchequer will lose �30,000crore by this reduction inembedded value and the pair-ing down the price band.

"Why did the ModiGovernment suddenly reducethe valuation of LIC and theissue size after roadshows inIndia and abroad," he asked,claiming that in February 2022,the government conductedformal roadshows for big tick-

et investors, Pension Funds,Mutual Funds, InvestmentCorporations with a target toget �70,000 crore by selling offive percent stake.

He sought answers fromthe government for the reasonfor a "change of heart" afterroadshows abroad to revisethe valuation and also reducethe stake sale from five per centto 3.5% "which remains unex-plained".

The reason for the gov-ernment undermining thesekey determinants is unknownto every market watcher orfinancial expert, he said.

The Congress leaderclaimed that the LIC has 30crore policyholders and itstotal assets are to the tune of�39,60,000 crores (USD 526Billion) as of September 2021and a stock portfolio of �52,000crore.

The company has incomefrom its investments to the tune�3.35 lakh crore in the April-September 2021 period anddirectly employs 13.94 lakhfamilies (12.80 Lakh agentsplus 1.14 lakh employees)through its 3,542 offices acrossthe country.

He said the company issuesthree crore policies per year,which amounts to about onelakh policies per day and isdeclared as the world's 10thlargest insurance brand.

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Navy Chief Admiral R HariKumar will on Wednesday

give away gallantry and distin-guished service awards at thisyear's Naval InvestitureCeremony at Kerala's Kochi.

In an official statementissued on Tuesday, the forcesaid 31 awards including sixNao Sena Medals (gallantry),

eight Nao Sena Medals(Devotion to Duty), 17 VishishtSeva Medals will be presentedto awardees. "In addition,Sarvottam Jeevan RakshaPadak, Lt VK Jain MemorialGold Medal, Capt Ravi DhirMemorial Gold Medal, CNSTrophy for best Green Practiceand Unit Citations will also bepresented," it noted.

The ceremony will be wit-nessed by the spouses andfamilies of awardees as well asby senior dignitaries of theIndian Navy, it said.

"The Naval InvestitureCeremony - 2022 to felicitateNaval personnel who havedemonstrated gallant acts, lead-ership, professional achieve-ments and distinguished ser-vice of high order will be heldat Naval Base, Kochi on May 4,"it stated.

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The Supreme Court hassought response from the

Centre and others on a pleaseeking directions to providesign language interpreters dur-ing official press briefings con-ducted by the Prime Minister,Union Ministers, and others.

A Bench of Justices S ANazeer and Vikram Nathissued notices to Centre andothers. The top court was hear-ing a plea filed by advocate MKarpagam that disabled peoplehave an equal right to infor-mation and communication.

Karpagam has also soughtdirections to have an in-framesign language interpreter in allofficial press briefings con-ducted by prime minister, otherministers of UnionGovernment, chief ministers,and ministers in state govern-ments, in accordancewithRights of Persons withDisabilities Act 2016. The pleasaid Act prohibits discrimina-tion against individuals withdisabilities that includes pro-

viding meaningful access topublic benefits, programmes,or services. For persons with

hearing impairment, access tosign language is key to break-ing down communication bar-

riers and participating in soci-ety just like anyone else, theplea said.

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Aplea has been filed in theSupreme Court seeking

to declare 'Talaq-e-Hasan' andall other forms of "unilateralextra-judicial talaq” as voidand unconstitutional, claimingthey were arbitrary, irrational,and violated fundamentalrights.

The petition, filed byGhaziabad resident BenazeerHeena, who claimed to be avictim of “unilateral extra-judicial Talaq-E-Hasan, alsosought a direction to theCentre to frame guidelinesfor neutral and uniformgrounds of divorce and pro-cedure for all citizens. InTalaq-e-Hasan, talaq is pro-

nounced once a month, over aperiod of three months. Ifcohabitation is not resumedduring this period, divorcegets formalised after the thirdutterance in the third month.However, if cohabitationresumes after the first or sec-ond utterance of talaq, the par-ties are assumed to have rec-onciled.

The first/second utter-ances of talaq are deemedinvalid. The petitioner, whoclaimed to have been givensuch a divorce, contended thatthe police and authorities toldher that Talaq-e-Hasan is per-mitted under Sharia.

“The Muslim PersonalLaw (Shariat) Application Act,1937, conveys a wrong impres-

sion that the law sanctionsTalaq-E-Hasan and all otherforms of unilateral extra-judi-cial talaq, which is grosslyinjurious to the fundamentalrights of married Muslimwomen and offends Articles14, 15, 21 and 25 of theConstitution of India and theinternational conventions oncivil and human rights,” thepetition, filed by advocateAshwani Kumar Dubey, sub-mitted.

The petitioner said thatmany Islamic nations haverestricted such a practice. AfterSupreme Court has bannedInstant Tripple Talaq, manyMuslim women hadapproached the apex courtfor banning ‘Nikah Halala too.

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The Central SecretariatService officers' associa-

tion has threatened a “non-cooperation movement” fromWednesday over delay in theirpromotion, claiming it wascausing irreparable financialloss to them.

The CSS Forum, an asso-ciation of CSS officers, haswritten a letter to Secretary,Department of Personnel andTraining (DoPT) informingabout their proposed move-ment and demanding promo-tion orders in respect of eligi-ble employees before May 15,2022.

It has been unanimouslydecided in a meeting held onApril 30 that “all CentralSecretariat Service (CSS) offi-cers are now left with only one

resort i.E. Non-cooperationmovement, which is going to bestarted from 4th May, 2022”, theletter said. “CSS officers willnow follow the slow and lack-luster attitude of our CCA i.E.CS-I Division DoP&T & willobserve the old, customary,slow, procedural working pat-tern of nodal department, how-ever, same may be against thedynamic working principleslaid down by present

dispensation underHon'ble MoS & Hon'ble PrimeMinister who always inspires usto have out-of-box thinkingand innovative ideas toimprove the administrative sys-tem,” it said. CSS officers whogenerally do late sitting ondaily basis for bettermentofour country, will not workafter normal office hours, thatis,after 5:30 pm, the letter said.

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The Central paramilitary forcesCRPF, BSF, ITBP have decid-

ed to conduct LimitedDepartmental CompetitiveExamination (LDCE) for vacan-cy years 2018-2022 in a single testfor promotion of serving otherranks to the post of AssistantCommandant.

About 200 Forces officialswill be promoted to the rank ofAssistant Commandants through

the LDCE that is being conduct-ed after a gap of six years.Applications are being acceptedfrom eligible and willing candi-dates from these Forces fromApril 29 to May 30. The applica-tion eligibility requirementsinclude service certificate/vigi-lance clearance, latest Shape-1medical category certificate,domicile certificate for thoseseeking relaxations and annualconfidential report(ACR)/Annual PerformanceAssessment Report (APAR) forthe preceding five years amongothers, according to an officialorder.

The vacancyposition for2018 in the Sashastra Seema Bal(SSB) is four, followed by 25 inCentral Reserve Police Force

(CRPF) and one in Indo-TibetanBorder Police (ITBP).

For 2019, the total vacancy is24, including 22 in SSB and twoin CRPF. Likewise, for 2020, thevacancy is to the tune of 40 postsincluding 11 in SSB, one each inCRPF and ITBP besides 27 inBorder Security Force (BSF).Similarly, there are 17 vacanciesfor 2021 which includes onepost each in SSB and CRPF, threein ITBP and 17 in BSF.

For the ongoing 2022 vacan-cy year, as many as 65 posts ofAssistant Commandants will befilled including 23 from SSB, 20from ITBP and 22 from BSF.

The selection of candidatesfrom ITBP for vacancy year 2022is subject to the outcome of apending writ petition before the

Delhi High Court.The upper agelimit for promotion to theAssistant Commandant from theranks has been set at 35 years ason August 1 of the vacancy yearwhich means August 1, 2018 forthat year and in a similar man-ner for every vacancy year,August 1 has been set has the cut-off date for deciding the age cri-teria of the candidates.

The candidates will also berequired to have graduation aseducational qualification which isthe requisite norm for selectionof Assistant Commandantsrecruited by the Union PublicService Commission (UPSC)through direct entry.

The recruitment is expectedto be a morale booster for sub-ordinate officers.

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The law began to catch upwith MNS chief Raj

Thackeray over his inflamma-tory speeches and the recentcall for removal of loudspeak-ers from mosques on Tuesday,as the Aurangabad police reg-istered a case against him andothers for his utterances at apublic rally on May 1 and acourt in Sangli district of west-ern Maharashtra issued a NonBailable Warrant (NBW)against him in a 2008 inflam-matory speech case.

A day ahead of the expiryof an extended deadline forremoval of loudspeakers frommosques, the MNS chief faceda triple whammy of sorts, theAurangabad and Mumbaiappeared to be tightening theirscrews on the MNS chief inconnection with the 2008inflammatory speech case, hisobjectionable utterances at hispublic rally at Aurangabad onMay 1 and the issuance ofnotices to more than 100 MNSactivists, including their lead-ers Nitin Sardesai and BalaNandgaonkar.

On a day when State Home

Minister Dilip Walse-Patil held meetingswith Director-General of PoliceRajnish Seth,Mumbkrai PoliceCommissioner SanjayPande and followed itup meeting with con-fabulations with ChiefMinister UddhavThackeray, Walse-Patil, the Maharashtrapolice top brass indi-cated that it was pre-pared to take theMNS chief head onhis threat to organiserecitation of “HanumanChalisa” in front of mosqueswhere loudspeakers continue toplay aazan after his extendeddeadline of May 4.

The MNS chief ’s arrestappeared to be in the realm ofpossibility in connection withthe NBW issued against him bya Magistrate’s court at Shiralain Sangli district in connectionwith offences registered himunder sections 109 and 117(abetment of offence) of theIPC for allegedly makinginflammatory speeches.Though Shirla court had on

April 6 directed the Mumbaipolice Commissioner and theKhrewadi police station toarrest Raj and produce himbefore it, the Mumbai policeofficials have not yet executedthe NBW.

However, in the current sit-uation where Raj is apparent-ly trying to precipitate the sit-uation over the mosque loud-speaker issue, the Mumbaipolice may use the NBW toarrest and try to take wind outof his sails in his impendingplans to organise organiserecitation of “Hanuman

Chalisa” in front of mosqueswhere loudspeakers continue toplay aazan after his extendeddeadline of May 4.

Similarly, in the May 1public rally speech case, theAurangabad police havebooked Raj under section 153(wantonly giving provationwith intent to cuase riot), 116(abetment of offense punish-able with imprisonment ifoffence be not committed and117 (abetting commission ofoffence by the public or bymore than 10 persons andunder the provisions of the

Maharashtra Police Act overhis call to Hindus to play“Hanuman Chalisa” in frontloudspeakers were not removedthere.

Talking to media personsin Mumbai, State Director-General of Police (DGP)Rajnish Seth said the policewere prepared to deal with anylaw and order situation arisingdue to the loudspeaker row.

“We are capable of tacklingany law and order problem andwe are well prepared for han-dling any situation. All leavesof police personnel have beencancelled. We have taken pre-ventive action against 15,000anti-social elements to ensurethey do not create any law andorder situation. We have servednotices to 13,000 other people,”Seth said.

Meanwhile, as many as 87companies of the State ReservePolice Force (SRPF) have beenmobilised while more than30,000 home guards have beendeployed across the State todeal with any eventuality aris-ing out of the MNS chief ’sthreat to embark upon the“Hanuman Chalisa” recitationcampaign.

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Taking an aggressive but acalibrated stand on the

contentious issue of removal ofloudspeakers from mosques,MNS chief Thackeray onTuesday appealed to theHindus to make Muslims hear“Hanmuan Chalisa” and askedthem undertake signaturecampaign against playing ofloudspeakers at mosques andlodge complaints with thepolice on the issue every day.

Less than 24 hours to gofor the expiry of his call to theMuslims and the StateGovernment to remove loud-speakers from mosques, theMNS chief remindedMaharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray that lateShiv Sena chief Bal Thackerayhad stated that “all loud-speakers need to be silenced”.“Are you going to listen to this( late Balsaheb’s words)? Or areyou going to follow the non-

religious Sharad Pawar who isresponsible to keep you inpower?. Let the people ofMaharashtra witness what isgoing to follow," he asked hiscousin and Shiv Sena president UddhavThackeray.

“Our country does nothave so many jails that canarrest the Hindus of our coun-try. This very fact should berecognised by all the govern-ment. My dear Hindu broth-ers, sisters and mothers cometogether, be one in bringingdown loudspeakers,” the MNSchief said.

In his slightly reworkedstand, the MNS chief appealedto all the Hindus: “Tomorrow,the 4th of May, if you hearloudspeakers blaring Azan, inthose very places, play theHanuman Chalisa on theloudspeakers! That’s whenthey will realise the hindranceof these loudspeakers''.

Raj also appealed to thepolice force to show that this

is governed by law and order.They should maintain andfollow the law. The unautho-rised masjids, loudspeakersand the prayers being held inthe middle of roads, need to beaddressed duly by law”.

“The Hindu festivals arerestricted by silent zonesunder the facade of schoolsand hospitals being around.However, masjids are exemptfrom such restrictions. Whichpart of the Constitution statesthis?,” he asked.

The MNS chief went ontoappeal to all the Hindus tomake Muslims hear“Hanmuan Chalisa” and askedthem to undertake signatureundertake campaign againstplaying of loudspeakers atmosques and lodge complaintswith the police on the issueevery day.

He welcomed thosemosques who had alreadyused loudspeakers and askedthe “Hindu brothers” not todisturb them.

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In an apparent attack direct-ed at the BJP, Bengal Chief

Minister Mamata Banerjee onTuesday said that India wasexperiencing a “Jhuthe Acchhedin (fake good days)” a promisethat was made by the saffronoutfit and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi before comingto power for the first time in2014. Delivering a short speechduring the prayer of Eid at theiconic Red Road in KolkataBanerjee said that “the situationis not right in India” which wasbeing ruled by politics of “divideand rule” and promised shewould continue to fight suchpolitical ills till she was around.

“What we are seeing is notgood, what is happening is notgood, a policy of divide andrule is being practiced which isnot right for our country … thepolitics of isolation that is tak-ing place is not desirable and

we should all stand for unityand not division … because wehave a right to live together …we have a right to peace,” theChief Minister said stoppingshort of naming the BJP thatthe promise of Acchhe dinwas in fact a fake promise.

There was a promise of“Acchhe din (good days) … butthis is a jhutha (fake) acchhedin … because acchhe dinshould come with sacchhe din(truthful days) that shouldinclude all and not some,”Banerjee said promising a fightfor unity in the coming days.

The Chief Minister wholater in the day visited thehouse of Rizwanur Rehman —a youth out of whose mysteri-ous death in 2007 Banerjee hadmade a big political issue to winthe sympathy of the minorities— along with her nephew andMP Abhishek Banerjee calledupon the people to put up aunited fight against the divisive

forces.“In the days to come we

will have to stand togetherand fight these forces which aretrying to divide India … we aresure we will uproot them,”Banerjee said adding those(read BJP) who were disturb-ing Bengal were jealous of itspeaceful atmosphere and unity.“Our unity is unparalleled inIndia. The unity we have inBengal makes many jealous …so they are trying to disturb usand abuse me … But I am notafraid of their attacks and Iknow how to fight this out withyour help,” the Chief Ministersaid adding she would fight forevery person “be it a Hindu,Muslim, Sikh or Christian.”

Iterating that she had ded-icated her life to the cause ofunity, humanity, peace andjustice she said that she was“ready to sacrifice my life forthat cause instead of bowingdown” to the divisive forces.

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In a sudden development thatthe Opposition parties called

a ploy to divert the people’sattention from deterioratinglaw and order situation andfrequent High Court ordersdirecting CBI investigation intorecruitment scams theTrinamool Congress has float-ed the name of party generalsecretary and MP AbhishekBanerjee as the successor ofChief Minister MamataBanerjee.

Celebrating the anniver-sary of the party’s third con-secutive win in the last year’sAssembly elections TMCspokesperson Kunal Ghoshsaid that Abhishek who is alsothe nephew of the ChiefMinister would succeed her inthe year 2036.

Speaking about the 35-year-old junior Banerjee Ghoshwrote in a media post, “being

a Trinamool Congress soldier,I can say that Mamata Banerjeewill be the Chief Minister ofBengal till 2036. And in 2036,Abhishek Banerjee will becomethe Chief Minister in a pro-gramme where she will remainpresent as his guardian.”

He also said that “MamataBanerjee will set a precedent inIndia by breaking Jyoti Basu'srecord as Chief Minister,”adding however that Abhishek’scoronation could be broughtforward “should MamataBanerjee has to leave to dis-charge bigger responsibilities.”

While Ghosh said this onMonday, his party colleagueand MP Aparupa Poddar saidthat Abhishek Banerjee couldbecome the Chief Minister asearly as in 2024 “when MamataBanerjee is selected to becomethe Prime Minister of the coun-try with the ouster of the BJPfrom power.”

She said “why to wait for so

long for Abhishek da tobecome the Chief Minister …why cannot he become theChief Minister as early as whenMamata didi becomes thePrime Minister.”

Even as the OppositionBJP saw in the tweets a designto divert the attention of the

State from deteriorating lawand order situation and CBIinvestigations into recruitmentscams ahead of the next year’spanchayat elections, Left lead-ership said that the statementsproved diminishing power ofthe old guards in the rulingTMC.

“It proves that AbhishekBanerjee lobby cannot wait forlong … they are trying toshove the Chief Minister andher old guards out soon … weare waiting to see a circus,” saidCPI(M)’s Sujan Chakrabarty.

BJP State presidentSukanto Majumdar howeversaid that junior Banerjee couldwell become the Chief Ministerif his party wins and “if hecomes out scot free from thecattle and coal smugglingcharges.”

The Congress on the otherhand said that the TMC state-ment was a device to convincethe minorities that MamataBanerjee indeed had a hope inDelhi and that they should votefor her in 2024. This, at a timewhen the TMC was expectingerosion in its minority votebank which might movetowards the Left and theCongress in the years to come.

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Mahamandaleshwar YatiN a r a s i m h a n a n d

Saraswati, the national con-vener of Akhil Bharatiya SantParishad and associated withJuna Akhada, said that Hindusshould produce more childrento prevent the country frombecoming Hindu devoid and toprotect Sanatan Dharma. Hesaid that his mathematical cal-culations show that after 2029,there will be a non-HinduChief Minister in the state anda non-Hindu Prime Minister inthe country.

He said that not onlyHindus but entire humanityhas come under threat due toterrorist jihadis. In India, thepopulation of a particular classis being increased in a plannedmanner. This is a big threat tothe democracy of the country.He was speaking at the SanatanSant Sammelan organizedunder the banner of SanatanHindu Seva Sansthan atRamlila ground, Achal Tal,Aligarh UP. Here the speakerscalled for building a VedicHindu nation and appealed tothe Hindus to unite.

In the program, Yati

Narasimhanand gave a state-ment that we are losing every-thing without fighting. Hindusneed to unite to save their exis-tence and protect sister anddaughters. He said that if we donot warn in time, then evenYogi-Modi, who became theface of Hindutva, cannot doanything. They are targets offundamentalists. He said thatbeing weak in religion is con-sidered a sin.

If you want to live with dig-nity, then produce more chil-dren and if you do not want tolive, then it is your choice. Hesaid that Sanatan Dharma istowards complete destruction.To avoid this devastatingcalamity, today some peoplewill have to stand open infront of the bullets of jihadis, sothat the world can know theirreality and be ready to fightthem. If by his sacrifice the fol-lowers of Sanatan Dharmawake up and stand up to erad-icate Jihad, then it will be amatter of good fortune.

National President ofRashtriya Hindu Mahasabha,Munna Lal Sharma said thatMuslim rulers and Britishershave ruled the country. Theyhave done the work of forcibly

converting people on thestrength of power. He allegedthat saints are being implicat-ed in false cases.Mahamandaleshwar Dr.Annupurna Bharti (Dr. PoojaShakun Pandey) said that hercampaign to save Hinduismwould continue till her lastbreath. Amritananda,Gyanananda, Satyadeva Nand,Ashutoshanand etc. presidingalso expressed their views.Geeta and sword were pre-sented to the saints and guestsin the conference. City MLAMukta Raja, former MLASanjeev Raja were also presentin the conference. The opera-tion was conducted by theNational Secretary of HinduMahasabha, Dr. Ashok Pandey.

Country needs to becomea Hindu nation: KalicharanMaharaj

Kalicharan Maharaj, whocame into the limelight bymaking controversial remarkson Mahatma Gandhi, said thatSanatan Dharma is immortal,it has no end. There is onlySanatan Dharma in India, thereis no religion other than this,people belonging to other reli-gions claim themselves to be

associated with their religion.He said that in the Middle Agesfive lakh temples weredestroyed in the country. If itdoesn't work out now, it willhappen again. For this it is veryimportant for the country tobecome a Hindu Rashtra. Hewas addressing the people inthe Sanatan Sant Sammelanorganized at Ramlila ground.

He said that countries likePakistan, Bangladesh,Indonesia, Nepal, Bhutan, SriLanka, Tibet were separatedfrom Hindu nation India. Thescope of Mother India isdecreasing. He said that somepeople are doing the work oftreason by staying in the coun-try. Fireworks are used in sup-port of Pakistan on India'sdefeat in cricket match.

We should take a lesson bywatching The Kashmir Filesmovie. He said that if a Hindumakes any statement, thenaction is taken against him bycalling it hate statement. Hesaid that apart from religion,caste and provincialism, wehave to unite and support Yogi,Modi for Hindu Rashtra. Hedemanded that the cow prog-eny law should be passed in thecountry.

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The Congress in Keralasprang a surprise on

Tuesday by announcing thatUma Thomas, the widow of PT Thomas who had represent-ed the Thrikkakkara assemblyconstituency would be theparty’s candidate for the May 31bye-election. The ElectionCommission of India hadannounced last Friday that thebye-poll necessitated by thedemise of P T Thomas wouldbe held on May 31 and theresult would be announced onJune 3.

The Kerala PradeshCongress Committee whichmet at Thiruvananthapuramon Tuesday unanimously

decided to field Uma Thomasas the candidate for the elec-tion. "There was only one namein the panel and that was ofUma Thomas. The leadershipunanimously decided to for-ward the name to the CongressHigh Command," said KSudhakaran, MP and KPCCchief.

V D Satheeshan, Leader ofthe Opposition, said that theCongress would romp homeeasily because of a number ofreasons. "Uma Thomas belongsto this constituency and she isknown by all the votres here. PT Thomas was held in highrespect by the electoratebecause of his accessibility andsimplicity. The voters see inUma the same qualities thathad made Thomas dear tothem," said Satheesh.

Thrikkakkara constituencywhich was formed in 2011 hasbeen a stronghold of theCongress. The 2011 assemblyelection saw Benny Behannanwinning the seat easily. Thomaswon the seat in 2016 and 2021

with a good majority.Mohammed Shiyaz, the

DCC chief, told The Pioneerthat this was the first time theCongress declared the name ofa party candidate earlier thanother parties. "There is nodoubt about the victory ofUma Thomas, herself a KSUand Congress activist from herstudent days," said Shiyaz.

The ruling CPI(M) is leav-ing no stones unturned to wrestthe seat from the Congress.Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayanand CPI(M) state chief KodiyeriBalakrishnan, both undergoingmedical treatment in UnitedStates of America, issued adirective to party leaders toensure the victory of the partyin the bye-election so that theLeft Democratic Front wouldtouch the three-figure mark of100. The LDF has a totalstrength of 99 in the House. Bywresting the Thrikkakkara seat,the Front would reach themagic figure of 100 in theHouse which has an effectivestrength of 140," said P Rajeev,

minister for Industries andLaw.

E P Jayarajan, the con-venor of the LDF has beenappointed as the coordinator forthe Thrikkakkara bye-poll. "Weare inviting the people of theconstituency to join as in thismarch to development andprogress," said Jayarajan. Hepointed out that Thrikkakkarais one of the 11 stations in theproposed K-Rail (Silver LineSemi high Speed Rail) con-necting Thiruvananthapuramand Kasaragod.

The CPI(M) is likely toannounce the name of theparty candidate in the nextcouple of days. Sabu Thomas,founder of the 20-Twenty partysaid that his outfit would forgean alliance with AAP and fielda joint candidate. The BJP,though not a relevant force inthe constituency too, wouldhave its candidate, said A NRadhakrishnan, a state levelleader of the party who hasexpressed his desire to enter thearena.

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Unearthing the dubious net-work of students visiting

Pakistan for coordinating terror-ist and secessionist activitiesagainst India, the StateInvestigation Agency (SIA) hasfiled chargesheet against threeHizb-Ul-Mujahideen terroristsbefore the TADA/POTA/NIASpecial Court in Jammu onMonday. The Hizbul terroristsincluded father son duo AsifShabir Naik, a resident ofKashtigarh in Doda, his fatherShabir Hussain Naik @ KhalidShabir son of Gh. Mohd Naik cur-rently operating from Pakistanand Safdar Hussain @ Ehsan ofvillage Marmat of Doda who toois based in Pakistan. According toa spokesman of the SIA, "Theinvestigation started on 7November 2021 and conductedover last about six monthsassumes importance in the con-text of the government’s strategy

to identify J & K residents who arehiding in Pakistan and coordi-nating terrorist and secessionistactivities behind the scene fromacross the border".

Asif Shabir Naik was inter-cepted in Srinagar airport whiletrying to escape back to Pakistanon the basis of intelligence inputsthat he had been visiting Pakistanposing that he’s a student study-ing there. But he has actually beenvisiting terrorist and separatisttraining facilities, suggested theintelligence input.

Investigations revealed, "theterrorist outfit HM with the bless-ings of Pakistani agencies gave thecover of studentship to Asif butused his stay in Pakistan to meethis father a senior HM figure andalso undergo training in sabotageand subversion".

According to a spokesman ofthe SIA, "The forensics of thephone devices of Asif showed thathe had videographed army instal-lations along the Baramulla

Srinagar road. He had also pho-tographed the access road to theairport and security features adja-cent to it".

It further said, "While the visaon Asif’s passport showed that he’sa visitor, immigration recordsindicated he was a student.Interrogation of Asif in the con-text of digital evidence revealedthat Pakistan had arranged hisadmission in International Islamicuniversity in Islamabad in a masscommunication programme ascover and simultaneously facili-tated his internship in the mediacell of HM run by his father".

Investigation also revealedthat Asif had completely concealedthat his father was in Pakistan anda senior figure in HM and closeto the leader Syed Sallauddin. Hehad falsely mentioned that he wasvisiting Pakistan to meet a relative.

While Asif Shabir Naik arrest-ed in the instant case is in Judicialcustody, the other two accusedespecially the mastermind Shabir

Hussain Naik and his associateSafdar Hussain hiding in Pakistanhave been Challaned U/S 299CrPC as Absconders.

The SIA spokesman in astatement said , "investigationconducted in one such case hasresulted in unearthing of a storyof a father who escaped toPakistan illegally and climbedthe ladder of seniority in theHizbul Mujahideen led by SyedSallauddin and came to be themedia advisor looking after thepropaganda cell of the terror out-fit". Registered at Police Station JICJammu, the investigation revealedhow Pakistani agencies have beenbrazenly and egregiously misus-ing not only the travel between thetwo countries on the basis of validtravel documents but also theIndian students going to Pakistanfor higher studies. The objectiveof Asif ’s admission, as a student ina mass media course in Pakistanis suspected and he was to returnto India as a respected journalist

and clandestinely get embedded inthe system and receive instructionsfrom across in planning, coordi-nating and executing not only pro-paganda operations but separatistand even violent terrorist actions.But for the videos in his cell phonethe latter part of the adversaryagenda would not have surfaced.

The SIA spokesman alsoclaimed, "The accused Asif ShabirNaik stayed in Pakistan for almost3 years along with Shabir HussianNaik and Safdar Hussain in HMcamps".

“Moreover, the major part ofthe investigation pertains toPakistan. Even when its is com-prehended that Pakistan author-ities would not cooperate in assist-ing this legally mandated investi-gation, it was thought prudent andlegally warranted to use the toolof LETTER ROGATORY andrequest the Pakistani court of lawseeking information of the activ-ities of the accused Asif ShabirNaik while in Pakistan,” he said.

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appointing a retired serviceChief and the name of formerCNS Adm Karambir Singh isdoing the rounds. It’s a sounddecision to remuster a formerChief and redeploy him. ACDS other than from theArmy will be reassuring for theother two services who feeloverwhelmed by the opera-tional and numerical domi-nant Army. Also, it will takethe sting out of some of Rawat’sill-considered remarks like ‘AirForce, like artillery, is a sup-porting arm’. The question inthis ‘resurrection of the retired’for CDS is why did the govern-ment have to wait for sixmonths to do so?

Instead of appointing GenNaravane as officiating CDS,the second option could havebeen implemented. Barringthe name of the Admiral,which has appeared in a per-sonal blog, no name has beenfloated in the mainstreammedia.

There is a third option:kick upstairs one of the threeserving chiefs. Conventionalwisdom would suggest that thesenior-most, Air ChiefMarshal Vivek Chaudhari bemade CDS and PermanentChairman Chief of Staff. Thegovernment may have consid-ered other options too. Anoption the government elim-inated quickly was appointing

Gen Naravane as CDS soonafter Rawat or now anotherofficiating as it did earlier. Thefirst would have entailed locat-ing a COAS from its sevenArmy Commanders club(including Army TrainingCommand) to replaceNaravane. But as I have writ-ten earlier on this page, thatwould have upset the line ofsuccession - applecart accord-ing to which Gen Pande wouldsucceed Gen Naravane after 30April. Clearly, the governmenthad its eye on Gen Pande asCOAS and did not wish to cre-ate another supersession con-troversy as it had when GenRawat superseded two seniorGenerals to become COAS.

In order to have a COASof its choice and not disturbthe chain of seniority, the gov-ernment let a Vice Chief ofArmy Staff and an ArmyCommander retire by 31January and another ArmyCommander (all senior toGen Pande) superannuate onMarch 31. In mid-April, withthe grass mowed, Gen Pande’sappointment as COAS wasannounced. Normally theCOAS appointment is madepublic three to four monthsbefore he is to assume com-mand. That obviously couldnot happen as three Generalssenior to Gen Pande were inthe way of his promotion.

Much has been writtenabout Gen Pande’s combatengineer background and thathe is the first Engineer officerto breach the red line as COAS.The balance will come fromInfantry Lt Gen, BS Raju asVCOAS. He is professionallyhighly rated: served as a mili-tary advisor in Bhutan, com-manded the Srinagar ValleyCorp, and was Director-General of Military Operations.He is a graduate of RoyalCollege of Defence StudiesLondon and will make a greatteam-mate for Gen Pande.

By delaying the appoint-ment of a permanent CDS, thegovernment may be havingsecond thoughts on the trans-formative reform of creatingthe Department of MilitaryAffairs leaving the defencesecretary with just policy anda peripheral charter. The push-back from Defence Secretaryto reclaim lost turf is palpable.The five-month and countingCDS void created opportuni-ties for civilian bureaucracy torestore its ‘control’ over themilitary. Still a CDS is urgent-ly needed.

(The writer, a retired LtGen, was Commander, IPKFSouth, Sri Lanka, and foundermember of the DefencePlanning Staff, currently theIntegrated Defence Staff. Theviews expressed are personal.)

��Sir — Media reports say that edible oilprices in India will rise steeply follow-ing a ban on export announced byIndonesia last week amid severe short-ages and high prices in the south-east-ern region. The Union government saysthat it has been keeping a close watchon the prices of edible oil, but the antic-ipated price rise may impact its supplyseverely.

Edible oil is an indispensable com-modity in the Indian kitchen. India hasa huge potential to increase its domes-tic production of edible oil, which canconsiderably reduce its import depen-dence of the same. In August last year,the Union Government reportedly setaside a financial outlay of �11,040crores to promote indigenous cultiva-tion of palm oil. But this will only addto the already existing problem ofwater scarcity and will trigger conver-sion of forest areas into palm oil plan-tations. For a country like India, agri-culture is the backbone of its econom-ic system, with two-thirds of the pop-ulation engaged in farming. Hence,large-scale adoption of palm oil culti-vation, which has a long gestation peri-od, will have a major impact on the eco-nomic security of our farmers. As ashort-term goal, therefore, traditionaloilseed crops can be grown in less than100 days as it gives immediate produc-tivity of other edible oils that can beexpanded throughout the country to attain self-sufficiency, thereby avoid-ing imports to the maximum extentpossible.

Ranganathan Sivakumar | Chennai

�� Sir — A severe accident took place onMay 1 at Vikas Marg of East Delhi'sShakarpur area where three personsdied and two people got majorlyinjured. A car and a motorcycle wereinvolved in the accident. Both the vehi-cles got severely damaged. In manycases, people don't follow traffic rulesas a habit, but sometimes they break

rules under pressure. The motorcyclistwas a staff member of Zomato. As adelivery agent, he has to deliver theorder within a time limit otherwise hissalary will be cut. I am of the view thatthe delivery agents should be givenmore time for the delivery and peopleshould understand this situation.

Ishika Sahu | Ujjain

�� Sir —The possibility of renownedpolitical strategist Prasanth Kishorfloating a new political party is inter-esting. He had a short stint in activepolitics when he joined the Janata

Dal(U) as General secretary in 2018.His aspirations to take a key positionin the Congress party have not fructified recently.

Now he made open his interest togo to people directly and discuss goodgovernance. It's too early to gauge theimpact of his likely moves. The role ofa marketing specialist is different fromthe role of a mass leader. Can he wearboth hats deftly? One should keep fingers crossed.

Dr D VG Sankararao | Vizianagaram

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For five months, India didnot have a Chief ofDefence Staff (CDS) afterthe tragic death of Gen

Bipin Rawat on December 9 lastyear. COAS Gen MM Naravane,who was given ‘additional charge’and appointed ‘officiating’ CDS asa stopgap measure, retired onApril 30. Gen Manoj Pande tookover as COAS the next day so thatthere was no void in the Armychain of command. But the CDSpost fell vacant as no one has beenappointed permanently or in anofficiating capacity after April 30.This deficiency may continue asPrime Minister Narendra Modiis traveling abroad and nothingas significant as appointing a newCDS, a personal passion for him,can materialize till he returnstomorrow. As Modi runs a tightship, decision-making rests withPMO. Hence delays in appoint-ments like CDS and ambas-sadors. Nepal, a high brandstrategic country in India’s neigh-borhoods First policy is withoutan ambassador.

NSA Ajit Doval who accom-panies Modi during his foreigntravels and whose sterling hall-mark enhances with seasons hasadded to his titles of ‘spymaster’and James Bond, the label of‘grandmaster of geopolitics con-ferred on him by formerMaldivian President Nasheed.In short, Doval not DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh will helpModi in selecting the CDS. Justtwo persons constitute theAppointments committee.

For BJP, CDS was so vital fornational security that it wasincluded in its election manifesto.And therefore the fanfare thataccompanied Rawat’s appoint-ment as the first incumbent.The Government has not shownsimilar urgency in appointingCDS after Rawat’s demise. Thewidely expected elevation of GenNaravane to CDS did not happen.Let us study the options the gov-ernment might be considering.

The Naravane option may beruled out as he has bid adieu toSupreme Commander of theArmed Forces, President Kovind.In the past, the President wouldhost a dinner for the retiringCOAS. This time it was merely acall-on. The second option is

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communication, we have forgottenthe power of shared words. Thestories of these temples haveremarkably survived over severalcenturies and several generations.Yet more remarkable is that thesestories are similar across geogra-phies, with minor variations. Theability to hold the baton of knowl-edge and information which ourancestors had, is something mostof us seem to little appreciate. Atanother level, we have also forgot-ten the power of human memory.As Lesley Hazelton put it succinct-ly “it seems ironic that the more lit-erate we become, the more mem-ory fades”. Writing has not comple-mented memory; it has replaced it.That is when we seem to have lostthe treasure of our spiritual her-itage. Stories and legends whichwere passed down from one gen-eration to the next, suddenly seemto have lost their relevance. Theyare consigned to fantasy and booksfor children.

When we go back to the earli-er times, this was their world.Imagine yourself in village in anypart of India. It is late evening andthe children are huddled aroundthe lamp (for warmth and light).There is no other distraction - nobooks to read, you don’t playgames in the night and of coursenone of what we think are neces-sities today. The elders narrate sto-ries from the Puranas - aboutLord Rama, Lord Krishna, LordShiva and the Goddess. The chil-

dren absorb these stories with raptattention. This is their world toexplore and experience. Those ofus who have heard stories in ourchildhood vividly remember thestory teller not the story writer.That is the power of narration. Andthis narration of the stories of eachof our temples come from collec-tive memory. These stories contin-ue to live in the heart and mouthof each listener. And they pass onto the next, binding us together asa collective organism seeking themeaning of life.

The legends and myths of ourtemples open a fascinating world.When I started to research and col-lect these legends, a fascinating newworld opened before me. Storiesstarted popping out from everycorner. Puranas, epics, local folk-lore, customs and traditions, stha-la puranas - all of them mentionabout several temples and theirimportance in the enriching theHindu way of life. It is a very hum-ble beginning to the stupendousamount of work waiting to be donein the field.

Some people may brush awaythe subject of legend and myth stat-ing that they are in any case nottrue. Legend is a story yes, but it isnot just a story. It is a powerful nar-rative describing the place. It isimmaterial whether a particularincident happened there or not.Rather it is the belief that some-thing like that happened, whichmakes the place special. World

over, across centuries, this is howpilgrims went to holy places. Thisis communion with the Divine.

When one looks at these leg-ends and stories, one feature isstriking. These stories both human-ize the divine and divinize thehuman. For example, Lord Shiva isprone to anger and Andal is elevat-ed to the status of deity in her ownright. This is extraordinary; itdemonstrates that ‘divinity’ is abouta person’s character and behavior.At one level, it shows that no onein the universe is infallible. Atanother level, by implication, it alsoshows that each of us can beDivine. This, to me, has been themost important learning fromthese stories. The multiplicity ofdeities is a manifestation of theSingularity of the Divine, who iswithin each one of us. I look at aweat how comprehensive our storiesand beliefs are, when I try tocomprehend how seamless is theintegration of the One and the plu-rality of deities.

Last but not the least is the les-son of Hope which are there inthese stories and legends. That atthe end of every trial and tribula-tion, there is a positive outcomeawaiting us. Every story and everylegend stands testimony to this les-son of hope. As humans we needto have faith. And that is what sus-tains us and holds us together.Without these legends and storiesof hope and miracles, many of uswould find ourselves floundering.

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(The writer is DirectorGeneral, Archaeological

Survey of India. The views expressed

are personal.)

Once again, the role of theGovernors has come tothe fore after the Tamil

Nadu state Assembly last weekpassed two bills clipping thepowers of the Governor in theappointment of vice-chancel-lors. The harmony between thechief ministers and governors ofnon-BJP ruled states has beendisturbed for some time now,raising questions about gover-nors’ relevance and role in ademocracy.

The bitterness has beenusually about the invitation ofthe single largest party to formthe Government, fixing dead-lines for proving the majority inthe House, delaying or stoppingthe bills, and public criticism ofthe chief ministers, and so on.Tamil Nadu chief minister lateJ. Jayalalithaa was not on talk-ing terms with the then Tamil

Nadu Governor, Dr. M. ChennaReddy.

The Stalin-led DMK Government is closely followingthe developments in WestBengal and Kerala (where,again, the role of the governorshas come under question). It isalso mobilising national atten-tion towards the debate on therole and relevance of the officeof Governor in state politics. Itwould like to discuss the issuein the forthcoming non-BJPchief ministers’ conclave inMumbai.

Speaking in Assembly,Chief Minister M K Stalinrecalled that the PunchhiCommission on Centre-Staterelations dealt with V.C.appointments. He noted that theCommission said “there wouldbe a clash of functions and pow-ers” if the choice were authori-

ty to choose the top academi-cian was to choose wrestedwith the Governor.”

Stalin and Governor R NRavi have an increasing con-frontation. Earlier, while appeal-ing for the House’s support forthe government’s initiative,Stalin said Gujarat was the firstState to clip its Governor’s wingsin 2011. Other states likeTelangana, Karnataka, andAndhra Pradesh had also cut

the powers of the governors.Last year in December, theMaharashtra government hadalso initiated a similar move.Rajasthan has undertaken asimilar process by forming ahigh-level committee of experts.

There is friction betweengovernors and chief ministers inWest Bengal, Telangana,Maharashtra, Kerala and evenDelhi.

The Pinarayi Vijayan gov-ernment in Kerala has demand-ed that the Centre empowerstate legislatures to removeGovernors from their posts ifthey fail to uphold constitution-al values and thwart criminalprosecution measures.

But this kind of conflict isnot new. The role of Governorsin toppling one governmentand installing another is notnew either: There have been

some bizarre incidents. Thefirst was in 1959 when theNehru Government at theCentre dismissed theNamboodripad governmentcoming under pressure fromIndira Gandhi. Since then,there have been other instancesof the Centre dismissing variousgovernments using theGovernors. In 1967, WestBengal Governor Dharma Viradismissed the Ajoy Mukherjeegovernment and installed aCongress-supported the P CGhosh government. Ramlal dis-missing N.T.Rama Rao’s govern-ment in the united AndhraPradesh was a classic case ofhow politics played. In 1989, PVenkatasubbaiah’s dismissal ofS. R Bommai’s government trig-gered a legal battle, and the1994 verdict of the SupremeCourt is a landmark ruling.

In April 1994, GovernorBhanu Pratap Singh summari-ly dismissed D’Souza withoutconsulting the Centre and wenton to install the controversialformer chief minister, RaviNaik, in his place.

As for the role of governors,the Constituent Assembly wassharply divided. Ambedkardescribed one role that he hadto retain the Ministry in office.“The second duty which theGovernor has, and must have,is to advise the Ministry, warnthe Ministry, suggest an alterna-tive, and ask for a reconsidera-tion.” The most considerablediscomfort of the state govern-ments is that a Governor is notelected but an ‘integral’ part ofthe State.

Both President of India andGovernors are not answerable tothe courts for any commission

or omissions while dischargingtheir official duties. They arealso not responsible to the peo-ple’s court. Suppose they choosean unfit person as varsity head;they can’t even be held account-able. Elected chief ministersdemand that a uniform policybe adopted to do away with thepower of governors to appointvice-chancellors.

Sarkaria Commission hadrecommended consultationwith chief ministers of therespective states. It is not donemore often.

In any case, public criticismof each other holding top posi-tions in the states is not desir-able. The same goes for non-BJPchief ministers criticising PrimeMinister who is democratical-ly elected. It is time that thereshould be a stop to this kind ofpublic spat.

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(The writer is a senior journalist. The views

expressed are personal.)

-��1��34�,

�.2��1�34�� India is a land of temples. Every vil-lage, every town, every habitation hasa temple dedicated to one deity or theother. Going to a temple is not just a

ritual for an average Indian; it is a basicnecessity.

Temples in India have never been justthat. Even from ancient times, they havebeen centres of commerce, art, culture,education and pivot of social life.Everything in the community revolvedaround the local temple. This is whereprayers were made to Gods and Goddessesfor health, for wealth, for progeny or fora specific obstacle to be removed or evenfor acquiring something valuable. This iswhere people met each other, exchangednews, exchanged views, exchanged gossip,shared their stories, their difficulties,solicited each other’s advice and plannedtheir daily lives.

In the modern era, much of how welive has changed. But our attachment tothe temples has not changed as much. Westill go to temples; we still believe in thepower of the deity there; we still solicit thepeace and comfort we get from going toa temple. Atleast most of us. Why do wego to a temple? What is so special abouta temple? Is it the deity there? Or is it themiracles which the deity is supposed tohave performed? Or is it that there issomething more there? Some unsaid,untold, inexplicable feeling which perme-ates the place making it sacred?

All religions and faiths have pilgrim-age as one of the most defining elements.Think about it; travelling to Jerusalem towalk the earth which the Lord walked, issomething any good Christian would livefor. Going to Mecca and completing theHajj is something which every practicingMuslim aspires to, once in his/her life time.Buddhist and Jain monks come from allover the world to visit the places whereLord Mahavira and Gautama Buddhalived and preached. While in exile andbefore formation of Israel, Jews from allover the world would live on the slenderhope of going back to their Blessed Land.

What does all this mean? Humansfrom times immemorial seek to getmeaning for their existence. Visiting atemple or a church or a monastery bringsthe human close to the divine. That expe-rience is of the heart. Of the mind. Ofhuman existence.

Every year, thousands of Indians tra-verse the length and breadth of the coun-try in their journey to visit a temple ormore. Something in that temple draws thedevotee in as much as something drawsthe tourist in. There are traditions, legendsand myths behind these temples. Thesestories make them what they are. It is whatmakes them special and sacred. Withoutthat legend or myth, that temple is justanother building with four walls. Themyth and the story is what gives the tem-ple its soul.

It is a truly humbling experience tounderstand the power of these stories. Inthe modern world of writing and visual

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British Prime Minister BorisJohnson on Tuesday

became the first world leader toaddress the UkrainianParliament, the VerkhovnaRada, when he hailed the coun-try's "finest hour" in the conflictwith Russia.

Setting out details of GBP300 million in extra militarysupport, Johnson invoked thespirit of Britain's war-timePrime Minister, WinstonChurchill, in his address viavideo-link.

The additional militarysupport will cover radars topinpoint the artillery, heavy liftdrones to carry crucial suppliesto isolated forces and thou-sands of night vision devices asthe UK leader pledged to con-tinue to support Ukraine with"weapons, funding and human-itarian aid".

"This is Ukraine's finesthour, that will be rememberedand recounted for generationsto come," said Johnson."Yourchildren and grandchildrenwill say that Ukrainians taughtthe world that the brute forceof an aggressor counts fornothing against the moral forceof a people determined to befree," he said.

"In the coming weeks, wein the UK will send youBrimstone anti-ship missilesand Stormer anti-aircraft sys-tems. We are providing

armoured vehicles to evacuatecivilians from areas underattack and protect officials -what Volodymyr mentionedto me in our most recent call -while they maintain criticalinfrastructure," he added.

The address follows a sim-ilar virtual address by UkrainePresident Volodymyr Zelenskyto the Parliament in March,during which the Ukrainianleader had also invoked aChurchillian spirit. Johnsontold parliamentarians that theUK Parliament met throughoutWorld War II, just as Ukraine's

Verkhovna Rada has donethrough the conflict withRussia.

He concluded: "It is aboutUkrainian democracy againstPutin's tyranny. It is aboutfreedom versus oppression. Itis about right versus wrong. Itis about good versus evil.

"And that is why Ukrainemust win; and when we look atthe heroism of the Ukrainianpeople and the bravery of your

leader Volodomyr Zelenskyy -we know that Ukraine willwin. And we in the UK will doeverything we can to restore afree sovereign and independentUkraine."

Downing Street said theUK would send 13 specialisedToyota Land Cruisers to protectcivilians officials at commandposts and help security author-ities rebuild railways in easternUkraine, where Russian forcesare now concentrated.

UK Foreign secretary LizTruss said the steel-plated vehi-cles, which were requested bythe Ukrainian government,would also help evacuate civil-ians fleeing Russian shelling onthe frontline.

"They will arrive there inthe coming days," said Truss.

Meanwhile, official dataclaims a total of 86,000 UKvisas have been issued toUkrainians fleeing the warzone and around 27,000refugees have arrived in theUK.

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Asenior US official warnedthat Russia plans to annex

large portions of easternUkraine later this month, andthe Mariupol steel mill that hasbecome the city's last strong-hold of resistance came underrenewed assault a day after thefirst evacuation of civiliansfrom the plant.

Michael Carpenter, USambassador to theOrganisation for Security andCooperation in Europe, saidMonday that the US believesthe Kremlin also plans torecognise the southern city ofKherson as an independentrepublic. Neither move wouldbe recognised by the UnitedStates or its allies, he said.

Carpenter cited informa-tion that Russia is planning tohold sham referendums in theso-called Donetsk and Luhanskpeople's republics that would"try to add a veneer of demo-cratic or electoral legitimacy"and attach the entities toRussia. He also said there weresigns that Russia would engi-neer an independence vote inKherson.

He noted that mayors andlocal legislators there have beenabducted, that internet andcellphone service has been sev-ered and that a Russian schoolcurriculum is soon to beimposed. Ukraine's govern-ment has said Russia also hasintroduced the ruble as cur-rency there.

In bombed-out Mariupol,

more than 100 people - includ-ing elderly women and moth-ers with small children - left therubble-strewn Azovstal steel-works on Sunday and set out inbuses and ambulances for theUkrainian-controlled city ofZaporizhzhia, about 140 miles(230 kilometers) to the north-west, according to authoritiesand video released by the twosides.

Mariupol Deputy MayorSergei Orlov told the BBC thatthe evacuees were making slowprogress. Authorities gave noexplanation for the delay.

At least some of the civil-ians were apparently taken toa village controlled by Russia-backed separatists. The Russianmilitary said some chose to stayin separatist areas, while dozensleft for Ukrainian-held territo-ry.

In the past, Ukraine hasaccused Moscow's troops oftaking civilians against theirwill to Russia or Russian-con-trolled areas. The Kremlin hasdenied it.

The Russian bombardment

of the sprawling plant by air,tank and ship picked up againafter the partial evacuation,Ukraine's Azov Battalion,which is helping to defend themill, said on the Telegrammessaging app.

Orlov said high-level nego-tiations were underway amongUkraine, Russia and interna-tional organizations on evacu-ating more people.

The steel-plant evacuation,if successful, would representrare progress in easing thehuman cost of the almost 10-week war, which has causedparticular suffering inMariupol. Previous attempts toopen safe corridors out of thesouthern port city and otherplaces have broken down, withUkrainian officials accusingRussian forces of shooting andshelling along agreed-on evac-uation routes.

Before the weekend evac-uation, overseen by the UnitedNations and the Red Cross,about 1,000 civilians werebelieved to be in the plant alongwith an estimated 2,000

Ukrainian defenders. Russiahas demanded that the fighterssurrender; they have refused.

As many as 100,000 peopleoverall may still be in Mariupol,which had a prewar populationof more than 400,000. Russianforces have pounded much ofthe city into rubble, trappingcivilians with little food, water,heat or medicine.

Some Mariupol residentsgot out of the city on their own,often in damaged private cars.

As sunset approached,Mariupol resident YaroslavDmytryshyn rattled up to areception center inZaporizhzhia in a car with aback seat full of youngsters andtwo signs taped to the backwindow: "Children" and "Littleones."

"I can't believe we sur-vived," he said, looking wornbut in good spirits after twodays on the road.

"There is no Mariupolwhatsoever,'' he said. "Someoneneeds to rebuild it, and it willtake millions of tons of gold."He said they lived just acrossthe railroad tracks from thesteel plant. "Ruined," he said."The factory is gone complete-ly."

Anastasiia Dembytska,who took advantage of thecease-fire to leave with herdaughter, nephew and dog,said she could see the steel-works from her window, whenshe dared to look out.

"We could see the rocketsflying" and clouds of smokeover the plant, she said.

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Pope Francis has told anItalian newspaper that he

has offered to travel toMoscow to meet withPresident Vladimir Putin totry to end Russia's war inUkraine, but that he hasn't yetheard back.Francis said hemade the offer about threeweeks into Russia's invasion,via the Vatican secretary ofstate, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Popes for decades havesought to visit Moscow as partof the longstanding effort toheal relat ions with theRussian Orthodox Church,which split with Rome morethan 1,000 years ago.

But an invitation hasnever been forthcoming.

"Of course, it would benecessary for the leader of theKremlin to make availablesome window of opportunity.But we still have not had aresponse and we are stillpushing, even if I fear thatPutin cannot and does notwant to have this meeting atthis moment," Francis wasquoted as saying by theCorriere della Sera newspa-per. Francis recalled that hespoke in March with the headof the Russian OrthodoxChurch, Patriarch Kirill, for40 minutes by videoconfer-ence and for the first half"with paper in hand, he readall of the justifications for thewar.

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Russia resumed pulverizingthe Mariupol steel mill that

has become the last strongholdof resistance in the bombed-outcity, Ukrainian fighters saidMonday, after a brief cease-fireover the weekend allowed thefirst evacuation of civiliansfrom the plant.

Meanwhile, a senior U.S.Official warned that Russia isplanning to annex large por-

tions of eastern Ukraine thismonth and recognize thesouthern city of Kherson as anindependent republic.

Michael Carpenter, U.S.Ambassador to theOrganization for Security andCooperation in Europe, saidthat those suspected actions are"straight out of the Kremlin'splaybook" and will not be rec-ognized by the United States orits allies.

In Mariupol, more than

100 people - including elderlywomen and mothers with smallchildren - left the rubble-strewn Azovstal steelworks onSunday and set out in busesand ambulances for theUkrainian-controlled city ofZaporizhzhia, about 140 miles(230 kilometers) to the north-west, according to authoritiesand video released by the twosides.

Mariupol Deputy MayorSergei Orlov told the BBC thatthe evacuees were making slowprogress and would probablynot arrive in Zaporizhzhia onMonday as hoped. Authoritiesgave no explanation for thedelay.

At least some of the civil-ians were apparently taken toa village controlled by Russia-backed separatists. The Russianmilitary said some chose to stayin separatist areas, while dozensleft for Ukrainian-held territo-ry.

In the past, Ukraine hasaccused Moscow's troops oftaking civilians against their

will to Russia or Russian-con-trolled areas. The Kremlin hasdenied it.

The Russian bombardmentof the sprawling plant by air,tank and ship picked up againafter the partial evacuation,Ukraine's Azov Battalion,which is helping to defend themill, said on the Telegrammessaging app.

Orlov said high-level nego-tiations were underway amongUkraine, Russia and interna-tional organizations on evacu-ating more people.

The steel-plant evacuation,if successful, would representrare progress in easing thehuman cost of the almost 10-week war, which has causedparticular suffering inMariupol. Previous attempts toopen safe corridors out of thesouthern port city and otherplaces have broken down, withUkrainian officials accusingRussian forces of shooting andshelling along agreed-on evac-uation routes.

Before the weekend evac-

uation, overseen by the UnitedNations and the Red Cross,about 1,000 civilians werebelieved to be in the plant alongwith an estimated 2,000Ukrainian defenders. Russiahas demanded that the fighterssurrender; they have refused.

As many as 100,000 peopleoverall may still be in Mariupol,which had a prewar populationof more than 400,000. Russianforces have pounded much ofthe city into rubble, trappingcivilians with little food, water,heat or medicine.

Some Mariupol residentsgot out of the city on their own,often in damaged private cars.

As sunset approached,Mariupol resident YaroslavDmytryshyn rattled up to areception center inZaporizhzhia in a car with aback seat full of youngsters andtwo signs taped to the backwindow: "Children" and "Littleones.""I can't believe we sur-vived," he said, looking wornbut in good spirits after twodays on the road.

"There is no Mariupolwhatsoever,'' he said. "Someoneneeds to rebuild it, and it willtake millions of tons of gold."He said they lived just acrossthe railroad tracks from thesteel plant. "Ruined," he said."The factory is gone complete-ly."

Anastasiia Dembytska,who took advantage of thecease-fire to leave with herdaughter, nephew and dog,said she could see the steel-works from her window, whenshe dared to look out."Wecould see the rockets flying"and clouds of smoke over theplant, she said.With most ofMariupol in ruins, a majority ofthe dozen Russian battaliontactical groups that had beenaround the city have movednorth to other battlefronts ineastern Ukraine, according toa senior U.S. Defense officialwho spoke on condition ofanonymity to describe

the Pentagon's assessment.Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said

he hoped more people wouldbe able to leave Mariupol in anorganized evacuation onMonday. The city council toldresidents wanting to leave togather at a shopping mall towait for buses.

Zelenskyy told Greek statetelevision that remaining civil-ians in the steel plant wereafraid to board buses becausethey feared they would betaken to Russia. He said he hadbeen assured by the U.N. Thatthey would be allowed to go toareas his government controls.

Also Monday, Zelenskyysaid that at least 220 Ukrainianchildren have been killed by theRussian army since the warbegan, and 1,570 educationalinstitutions have beendestroyed or damaged.

In other developments,European Union energy min-isters met Monday to discussnew sanctions against theKremlin, which could includerestrictions on Russian oil.Some Russia-dependent mem-bers of the 27-nation bloc,

including Hungary andSlovakia, are wary of takingtough action.

Thwarted in his bid toseize Kyiv, the capital, RussianPresident Vladimir Putin hasshifted his focus to the Donbas,Ukraine's eastern industrialheartland, where Moscow-backed separatists have beenbattling Ukrainian forces since2014.Carpenter, the U.S.Ambassador to the OSCE, citedinformation that Russia is plan-ning "sham referenda" in theso-called Donetsk and Luhansk"people's republics" that wouldattach the entities to Russia. Healso said there were signs thatRussia would engineer an inde-pendence vote in Kherson.

He noted that local mayorsand legislators there have beenabducted, that internet andcellphone service had beensevered and that a Russianschool curriculum is soon to beimposed. Ukraine's govern-ment has said Russia also hasintroduced the ruble as cur-rency there.

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Aid workers prepared hotfood, wheelchairs and toys

Tuesday for civilians slowlymaking their way to relativesafety from the pulverizedremnants of a steel plant in thecity of Mariupol, besieged formonths by Russian forces.

The plant is the last hold-out of Ukrainian resistance ina city that is otherwise con-trolled by Moscow's forces andkey to their campaign inUkraine's east. A senior U.S.Official warned that Russia isplanning to annex much of thecountry's east later this month.

At a reception center,stretchers and wheelchairswere lined up, tiny children'sshoes dangled from a shoppingcart and a pile of toys waited

for the first convoy of civilianswhose evacuation is beingoverseen by the United Nationsand Red Cross.

Their arrival would repre-sent a rare glimmer of goodnews in the nearly 10-week warsparked by Russia's invasion ofUkraine that has killed thou-sands, forced millions to fleethe country, laid waste totowns and cities, and shiftedthe post-Cold War balance ofpower in eastern Europe.

More than 100 people -including elderly women andmothers with small children -left Mariupol's rubble-strewnAzovstal steelworks over theweekend and set out in busesand ambulances.

At least some were appar-ently taken to a village con-trolled by Russia-backed sep-

aratists. The Russian militarysaid some chose to stay in sep-aratist areas. In the past,Ukraine has accused Moscow'stroops of taking civiliansagainst their will to Russia orRussian-controlled areas -something the Kremlin hasdenied.

Others left for theUkrainian-controlled city ofZaporizhzhia, some 140 miles(230 kilometers) northwest ofMariupol. It was not clear whythe evacuees' journey was tak-ing so long, but the convoylikely had to pass throughheavily contested areas andmany checkpoints.

Mariupol has come tosymbolize the human miseryinflicted by the war. A Russiansiege has trapped civilians withlittle access to food, water and

electricity, as Moscow's forcespounded the city to rubble.The plant - where about 1,000civilians sought shelter alongwith some 2,000 fighters whohave refused to surrender - hasparticularly transfixed the out-side world.

Mariupol Deputy MayorSergei Orlov told the BBCthat high-level negotiationswere underway amongUkraine, Russia and interna-tional organizations on evacu-ating more people. But Russiaresumed its bombardment ofthe sprawling plant by air,tank and ship after the partialevacuation, Ukraine's AzovBattalion, whose fighters areholed up in the mill, saidMonday on the Telegram mes-saging app.

After failing to take Kyiv in

the early weeks of the war,Russia withdrew some of itsforces and switched its focus toUkraine's eastern industrialheartland of the Donbas.Mariupol lies in the region, andits capture would depriveUkraine of a vital port, allowRussia to establish a land cor-ridor to the CrimeanPeninsula, which it seized fromUkraine in 2014, and free uptroops for fighting elsewhere inthe Donbas.

Michael Carpenter, U.S.Ambassador to theOrganization for Security andCooperation in Europe, saidMonday that the U.S. Believesthe Kremlin plans to annexmuch of eastern Ukraine andrecognize the southern city ofKherson as an independentrepublic.

Neither move would berecognized by the United Statesor its allies, he said.

Russia is planning to holdsham referendums in theDonetsk and Luhansk regionsin the Donbas that would "tryto add a veneer of democraticor electoral legitimacy" andattach the entities to Russia,Carpenter said.

He also said there weresigns that Russia would engi-neer an independence vote inKherson.

Mayors and local legisla-tors there have been abducted,internet and cellphone servicehas been severed and a Russianschool curriculum will soon beimposed, Carpenter said.Ukraine's government saysRussia has introduced its rubleas currency there.

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Germany's conservative oppo-sition leader was expected to

arrive in Kyiv on Tuesday formeetings with Ukrainian offi-cials, as Chancellor Olaf Scholzmade clear he would not be vis-iting Ukraine any time soon.

Scholz has traded barbs withUkrainian officials in recentweeks because of Kyiv's refusalto invite Germany's head ofstate, President Frank-WalterSteinmeier, whom Ukraineaccuses of cozying up to Russia

during his time as foreignminister.

"It can't work that a countrythat provides so much militaryaid, so much financial aid ... Youthen say that the president can't

come," Scholz told public broad-caster ZDF late Monday.

Ukraine's ambassador inBerlin, Andrij Melnyk, respond-ed Tuesday by calling Scholz'srefusal to visit "not very states-manlike.""This is about the mostbrutal war of exterminationsince the Nazi invasion ofUkraine, it's not kindergarten,"he said. Opposition leaderFriedrich Merz, who heads for-mer Chancellor Angela Merkel'scenter-right Union bloc, wasexpected to meet UkrainianPrime Minister Denys Shmyhal,the chairman of Ukraine's uni-cameral parliament, RuslanStefanchuk, and other seniorpoliticians in Kyiv. A meetingwith President VolodymyrZelenskyy was not expected.

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The British military says itbelieves the Russian mili-

tary is now "significantly weak-er" after suffering losses in itswar on Ukraine.

The British DefenceMinistry made the commentTuesday in its daily statementon Twitter regarding the war.

It said: "Russia's military isnow significantly weaker, bothmaterially and conceptually,as a result of its invasion ofUkraine. Recovery from this

will be exacerbated by sanc-tions. This will have a lastingimpact on Russia's ability todeploy conventional militaryforce."The ministry addedwhile Russia's defense budgethas doubled from 2005 to 2018,the modernization program itundertook "has not enabledRussia to dominate Ukraine."

"Failures both in strategicplanning and operational exe-cution have left it unable totranslate numerical strengthinto decisive advantage," theministry said.

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On a dusty field on the eastside of Mexico's sprawling

capital, some 500 Ukrainianrefugees are waiting in largetents under a searing sun for theUnited States government to tellthem they can come.

The camp has only beenopen a week and 50 to 100 peo-ple are arriving every day. Somehave already been to the U.S.Border in Tijuana where theywere told they would no longerbe admitted. Others arrived atairports in Mexico City orCancun, anywhere they couldfind a ticket from Europe.

"We are asking the U.S.Government to process faster,"said Anastasiya Polo, co-founder of United with Ukraine,a nongovernmental organiza-tion, that collaborated with theMexican government to estab-lish the camp.

She said that after a week'stime none of the refugees there"are even close to the end of theprogram."

The program, Uniting forUkraine, was announced bythe U.S. Government April 21.Four days later, Ukrainiansshowing up at the U.S.-Mexicoborder were no longer exempt-ed from a pandemic-related

rule that has been used toquickly expel migrants withoutan opportunity to seek asylumfor the past two years.

Instead, they would have toapply from Europe or othercountries such as Mexico. Toqualify people must have beenin Ukraine as of Feb. 11; have asponsor, which could be fami-ly or an organization; meetvaccination and other publichealth requirements; and passbackground checks.

Polo said U.S. Governmentofficials had told her it shouldtake a week to process people,but it appeared like it was justbeginning. Some of the first

arrivals had received emailsfrom the U.S. Governmentacknowledging they receivedtheir documents and the docu-ments of their sponsors, but shehad heard of no sponsors beingapproved yet.

"These people cannot stayin this camp, because it is tem-porary," Polo said. More than100 of the camp's residents arechildren.

Nearly 5.5 millionUkrainians, mostly women andchildren, have fled Ukrainesince Russia invaded its small-er neighbour on Feb. 24, accord-ing to the U.N. HighCommissioner for Refugees.

Giorgi Mikaberidze, 19, isamong the waiting. He arrivedin Tijuana April 25 and foundthe U.S. Border closed. He com-plained that the U.S.Government had given so littlenotice, because many peoplelike himself were already intransit. He went from being justyards from the United States tosome 600 miles (966 kilometers)now.When the U.S.Government announced in lateMarch that it would accept upto 100,000 Ukrainian refugees,hundreds entered Mexico dailyas tourists in Mexico City orCancun and flew to Tijuana towait for a few days - eventually

only a few hours - to be admit-ted to the U.S. At a San Diegoborder crossing on humanitar-ian parole.

Appointments at U.S.Consulates in Europe werescarce, and refugee resettle-ment takes time, makingMexico the best option.

Traveling through Mexicowas circuitous, but a loose-knitgroup of volunteers, largelyfrom Slavic churches in thewestern United States, greetedrefugees at the Tijuana airportand shuttled them to a recre-ation center that the city ofTijuana made available for sev-eral thousand to wait.

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The District of Columbiaattorney general said

Tuesday that his office hadreached a USD750,000 settle-ment to resolve a lawsuit thatalleged former PresidentDonald Trump's inauguralcommittee overpaid for eventsat the Trump InternationalHotel to enrich the formerpresident's family in theprocess.

Attorney General KarlRacine announced the settle-ment agreement in the caseagainst the PresidentialInaugural Committee, theTrump Organization and theTrump International Hotel inWashington in a tweet onTuesday. The document hadnot yet been signed by a judge.

The agreement says thecase is being resolved “to avoidthe cost, burden, and risks offurther litigation” and that theorganizations “dispute these

allegations on numerousgrounds and deny havingengaged in any wrongdoing orunlawful conduct.”

As part of the agreement,the defendants will pay theDistrict of Columbia a total ofUSD750,000, which will beused to benefit three nonprof-it organizations, the settlementpaperwork says.

“We're resolving our law-suit and sending the messagethat if you violate DC nonprofitlaw—no matter how powerfulyou are—you'll pay,” Racinesaid in a tweet.

Racine has said the com-mittee misused nonprofit fundsand coordinated with thehotel's management and mem-bers of the Trump family toarrange the events. He said oneof the event's planners raisedconcerns about pricing withTrump, the president's daugh-ter Ivanka Trump and RickGates, a top campaign officialat the time.

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The fire burning pine forestsabout 10 miles (16 kilome-

ters) away from PriscillaCrespin's home is the largestwildfire in the U.S. And the firstto force the 81-year-old toleave the small northeasternNew Mexico community whereshe has spent nearly all her life.

Crespin left her home in LasVegas, New Mexico in thefoothills of the Rocky Mountainson Monday because smoke fromthe fire wasn't good for herasthma, her children were grow-ing concerned and other fami-ly members who live nearbywere making plans to leave.

On Tuesday, wind gusts ofup to 50 mph (80 kph) werepredicted to fan the blaze,making for extremely danger-ous conditions and tough workfor firefighters that is expectedto last through the weekend.

“We are very concernedabout very significant firegrowth today,” said David Craft,

a National Weather Servicefire meteorologist inAlbuquerque.

When Crespin's daughtershowed up to take her toAlbuquerque, fire crews wereconducting fire preventionmeasures to try to makeCrespin's home safer if flamesapproach it — cutting downtrees, raking pine needles andspraying water on properties inthe area near her home. Shegrabbed clothes, photos andessential documents.

“It's awful. It scares you,”Crespin said as she was drivenaway from her hometown.“You don't know when it'sgoing to get to the houses.”

Even though no evacua-tions were ordered for thetown of 13,000 people, theblaze that has charred 228square miles (590 square kilo-meters) in New Mexico's pine-covered mountainsides andburned at least 172 homes hasprompted some residents toflee.

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Sri Lanka's main Oppositionparty SJB on Tuesday hand-

ed over to the parliamentarySpeaker motions of no-confi-dence against the SLPP coali-tion government and embattledPresident Gotabaya Rajapaksa,even as the governmentannounced the appointment ofa Cabinet sub-committee tolook into the proposal for a newConstitution.

“We met the Speaker at hisresidence and handed overtwo no-trust motions, the firstone against the President underArticle 42 of the Constitutionand the other against the gov-ernment," Samagi JanaBalawegaya (SJB) GeneralSecretary Ranjith MaddumaBandara said.

Article 42 stipulates thatthe President is responsible toParliament for the exercise,performance and discharge ofhis functions.

Madduma Bandara saidthe party wants the motion tobe taken quickly. TheParliament meets tomorrowfor the first of eight sittings this

month.The SJB said they would

field a candidate for the post ofDeputy Speaker of Parliament.The position has fallen vacantwith the resignation of theincumbent RanjithS i y a m a b a l a p i t i y a .Siyamabalapitiya is part of theSLFP of the former PresidentMaithripala Sirisena which hadsplit from the SLPP coalition.

The main Tamil partyalong with the former primeminister RanilWickremesinghe's UnitedNational Party's (UNP) are tojointly move a no trust motionagainst the president, whichwould imply that the Househad lost confidence in thePresident.

Experts said if the govern-ment would be defeated in theSJB motion, Prime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa and theCabinet would have to resign.The TNA/UNP motion hasno legal binding for thePresident to resign.

The TNA/UNP motionagainst the President has nolegal binding on him to resign.“This problem can only be

solved if either the President orthe Prime Minister resigned. Itis up to them to make a deci-sion," former prime ministerWickremesinghe said.

Under the Article 38 of theConstitution, a president can beremoved only if he/she volun-teered to resign or through thelong process of impeachment.

Over the weekend a flurryof political meetings took placeas Mahinda Rajapaksa declinedto resign in order to make wayfor a unity government for aninterim period. The powerfulBuddhist clergy also demand-ed Rajapaksa's resignation tomake way for an interim gov-ernment.

On Tuesday, the govern-ment announced the appoint-ment of a Cabinet sub-com-mittee to look at the proposalfor a brand new Constitution.

Prime Minister MahindaRajapaksa had proposed toamend the Constitution to cre-ate an accountable adminis-tration that met the people'saspirations, amid large scaleprotests against the govern-ment over its handling of theeconomy.

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Somalia's al-S h a b a b

Islamic extrem-ist rebels haveattacked a mil-itary base of theAfrican UnionT r a n s i t i o nMission inSomalia, witnesses told TheAssociated Press.

The attack started earlyTuesday when a vehiclerammed into the fence sur-rounding the base and explod-ed in El-Baraf, a strategic town150 km (93 miles) northeast ofthe capital Mogadishu in theMiddle Shabelle region, resi-dents said.

Residents said they heardmassive explosions at the basefollowed by gunfire.

“While we were preparingto perform the dawn prayer, weheard two loud explosions thathit the base...Followed by aheavy exchange of gunfirebetween the militants andBurundi troops that lasted for

almost an hour,” Abshir Ali, aresident of El-Baraf said byphone.

Somalia's state media con-firmed the attack and said theBurundi soldiers at the baserepulsed it. Officials have notgiven an estimate of the num-bers killed in the battle.

Plumes of smoke rose fromthe camp during the fiercegun battle that forced some res-idents to flee the town, said res-idents. Helicopters from theAfrican Union force were usedto help the Burundi soldiersmaintain control of the camp,they said.

Somalia's al-Shabab Islamicextremist rebels claimedresponsibility for the attack.

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The leaders of Finland andSweden have indicated that

their governments haven't yetdecided whether to join NATO,but stressed close securitycooperation with otherEuropean countries in the faceof Russia's aggression againstUkraine.

Speaking Tuesday after ameeting with GermanChancellor Olaf Scholz nearBerlin, Finland's PrimeMinister Sanna Marin said“Russia's attack on Ukrainehas changed our security envi-ronment completely” and therewas “no going back.”

“We have to decide onwhether to apply for NATOmembership or continue onour current path,” she said.“That is the discussion we arehaving now in our nationalparliament.”

Her Swedish counterpart,Magdalena Andersson, saidthe Nordic nation's parliamentis conducting a security reviewthat will be presented on May13.

“The analysis includesfuture international defensepartnerships for Sweden,

including a discussion onNATO, and all options are onthe table,” she said.

“While our respective secu-rity arrangements are of coursedecided nationally, we coordi-nate very closely with Finland,”Andersson added.

NATO chief JensStoltenberg has said both coun-tries would be welcomed if theydecide to join the 30-nationmilitary organization and couldbecome members quite quick-ly.

The foreign ministers ofNATO's member countries arescheduled to meet in Berlin onMay 14-15.

___KEY DEVELOPMENTS

IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINEWAR:

— US official says Russiaplans to annex parts of easternUkraine

— Civilians rescued fromMariupol steel plant head forsafety

— Push to arm Ukraineputting strain on US weaponsstockpile

— UEFA removes moreRussian soccer teams from itscompetitions

Follow all AP stories on

Russia's war on Ukraine athttps://apnews.Com/hub/rus-sia-ukraine

OTHER DEVELOP-MENTS:

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia —A group of 20 children from anorphanage in Luhansk, easternUkraine has arrived in Sloveniawhere they will stay until theend of the war.

Officials said Wednesdaythat the children are mostlytoddlers who travelled togeth-er with orphanage staff, doc-tors, nurses and their families.

The group will be stayingnear the western town ofPostojna and will be grantedtemporary protection status inthe small European Unioncountry. Local civil protectioncommander Sandi Curk says“the arrival was quite emotion-al.” Curk says there have been noproblems along the route andthat the trip lasted for 24 hours.

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia —Slovakia's energy minister saysthe country is not ready to joina European Union embargo onimports of Russian oil as partof a new package of sanctionsto be imposed on Russia for itsinvasion of Ukraine.

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The British Army is investi-gating a security breach by

an intruder posing as a priestat the barracks for guards whoare stationed to protect theQueen at Windsor Castle insouth-east England.

Reports of the breach lastweek emerged in ‘The Sun' onTuesday, which said the policewere alerted last Wednesdaymorning after an unknownman spent time at VictoriaBarracks in Sheet Street,Windsor, while QueenElizabeth II was atSandringham Estate for her96th birthday break.

The barracks are home to“The Coldstream Guards”,

recognised by their red jacketsand black bearskin hats andwho have a ceremonial role asprotectors of Windsor Castleand Buckingham Palace.

The man allegedly spentthe previous night eating anddrinking with senior officersbefore being offered a bed forthe night, despite showing noidentification or credentials.

"This is just an extraordi-nary breach of security,” thenewspaper quoted a source assaying.

“The guy turned up at thegate in the evening and said hisname was Father Cruise andclaimed to be a friend of thebattalion's Padre Rev MattColes. He was invited in and

offered something to eat in theOfficer's Mess,” the source said.

"Within a couple of hours,he was drinking with the offi-cers in the bar and tellingthem stories of how he hadserved in Iraq.

He was telling lots of tallstories and the lads were enjoy-ing his banter and having a fewdrinks," the source added. Aspokesperson for the BritishArmy said a thorough investi-gation has been launched intothe incident.

"The Army takes thisbreach of security extremelyseriously and it will be thor-oughly investigated as a matterof priority," the spokespersonsaid.

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Pakistan's former interiorminister Sheikh Rashid

Ahmed has claimed that oust-ed premier Imran Khan isready to discuss the holding ofearly elections with PrimeMinister Shehbaz Sharif, as hemade a strong case for clearing"misunderstandings" betweenthe ruling and opposition par-ties. Rashid, who heads theAwami National League-Pakistan, is a key alliance part-ner of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

PTI activists are set tolaunch a mega-march to thefederal capital, here, from allcorners of the country at theend of the month, demandingdates of early elections, DawnNews reported. Rashid saidthe demonstrations should belimited to convincing theElection Commission ofPakistan to hold early polls andno other state institutionshould be attacked.

"I have started efforts yes-

terday to remove misunder-standing between them (PTIand the ruling Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz),” Rashid wasquoted in an article publishedin VOA News on Monday.

“I am in favour of peacewith the Army, but in case of‘war' I will stand by ImranKhan,” Rashid said.

He said Khan was ready tohold talks with the Sharif gov-ernment for early general elec-tions, but it required the guar-antee of “powerful quarters'', anindirect reference to the pow-erful military establishment.

Imran Khan, 69, the coun-try's 22nd prime minister, wasunceremoniously removedfrom office through a no-con-fidence vote in early April,becoming the first premier inPakistan's history to be oustedthrough a no-trust motion.

PML-N leader ShehbazSharif, 70, assumed the officeof the prime minister on April11. The term of the currentHouse ends in August, 2023.

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Stars impersonating stars,New York City architecture

and names of historic womenembroidered on designergowns... This year's Met Galawas all about that and more.

The theme of the Met Gala2022 was 'In America: AnAnthology of Fashion', the sec-ond part of the CostumeInstitute's exhibition, whichopened on September 18.

The first part of the exhi-bition was reflected in lastyear's theme, 'In America: ALexicon of Fashion', which wasin celebration of all thingsAmerican Fashion.

The colour palette was ruledby dresses and suits in classicblack and white, with a fewsprinkles of red, pink, blue, andmetallic gold and silver. KimKardashian attended the MetGala in one of Marilyn Monroe'smost iconic dresses as the real-ity TV personality appeared onthe red carpet with actor-comicboyfriend Pete Davidson.

Kardashian was dressed inMonroe's nude gold-beadedbody hugger, designed by JeanLouis, that the late cinemaicon wore when she sang happybirthday to President John FKennedy 60 years ago.Channelling her inner Marilyn,"The Kardashians" star alsodyed her hair blonde.

Actor Blake Lively posed forthe shutterbugs in an AtelierVersace gown, with actor-hus-band Ryan Reynolds who wasdressed in a brown velvet suitfrom Ralph Lauren. For her look,Lively drew inspiration from theStatue of Liberty, the EmpireState Building and the blue ceil-ing of Grand Central Station.

Decked up in a black RalphLauren design, singer-song-writer Alicia Keys paid homageto her native New York Citywith a cape etched with smallhand-placed crystals showcas-ing the city's skyline. She wasaccompanied by her husband,record producer Swizz Beatz,also a fellow New Yorker, whowore a New York sports jacket.

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Veteran actor Jeff Daniels isset to play the lead role in

Netflix's upcoming series "AMan in Full", to be directed byRegina King.

According to Variety, thedrama is based on the TomWolfe novel of the same name.

In the series, when Atlantareal estate mogul CharlieCroker faces sudden bank-ruptcy, political and businessinterests collide as he defendshis empire from those attempt-ing to capitalise on his fall fromgrace.

The show, written by DavidE Kelly, had received a straight-to-series order at the streamerin November last year.

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Around the world, Muslimsare being targeted with

violence, US President JoeBiden said on Monday assert-ing that Muslims makeAmerica stronger every singleday even as they still face realchallenges and threats in thesociety that they live in.

At a White House receptionto celebrate Eid al-Fitr, Bidensaid he has appointed the firstMuslim to serve as Ambassador-at-Large for InternationalReligious Freedom.

“It's especially importantbecause today, around theworld, we're seeing so manyMuslims being targeted withviolence. No one, no oneshould discriminate againstoppressed or be oppressed fortheir religious beliefs,” he said

to applause from the selectgathering at the White House.

Arooj Aftab, a Pakistanivocalist and composer, wasone of the speakers at theevent along with First Lady JillBiden and Dr. Talib M. Shareef,Imam of Masjid Muhammad,known as ‘The Nation'sMosque' in Washington, DC.

“Today, we also rememberall those who are not able tocelebrate this holy day, includ-ing Uyghurs and Rohingyasand all those who are facingfamine, violence, conflict, anddisease,” Biden said.

“And honour the signs ofhope and progress toward theworld we want to see, includ-ing the ceasefire, which allowedthe people in Yemen to honourRamadan and celebrate Eid inpeace for the first time in sixyears,” he added.

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The lasting impact of asevere COVID-19 infec-

tion on the brain in areas suchas memory, attention, or prob-lem solving may be equivalentto 20 years of ageing, a UKstudy reports on Tuesday.

The new research, led by ateam of scientists from theUniversity of Cambridge andImperial College London, sug-gests that cognitive impair-ment as a result of severeCOVID-19 is similar to thatsustained between 50 and 70years of age and is the equiva-lent to losing 10 IQ points.

“Cognitive impairment iscommon to a wide range ofneurological disorders, includ-ing dementia, and even routineageing, but the patterns we saw– the cognitive 'fingerprint' ofCOVID-19 – was distinct from

all of these,” said ProfessorDavid Menon, from theDivision of Anaesthesia at theUniversity of Cambridge, thestudy's senior author.

The research, published inthe journal ‘eClinicalMedicine',indicates the effects are stilldetectable more than six monthsafter acute illness and that anyrecovery is very gradual.

“Tens of thousands of peo-ple have been through intensivecare with COVID-19 inEngland alone and many morewill have been very sick, but notadmitted to hospital,” saidProfessor Adam Hampshire,from the Department of BrainSciences at Imperial CollegeLondon.

“This means there are alarge number of people outthere still experiencing prob-lems with cognition manymonths later. We urgently need

to look at what can be done tohelp these people,” he said.

According to theresearchers, this is the first timethat such rigorous assessmentand comparison has been carriedout in relation to the after-effects of severe COVID-19.There have been growing reportsthat COVID-19 can cause last-ing cognitive and mental healthproblems, with recoveredpatients reporting symptomsincluding fatigue, “brain fog”,problems recalling words, sleepdisturbances, anxiety and evenpost-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) months after infection.

The researchers behind thelatest study analysed data from46 people who received in-hos-pital care, on the ward orintensive care unit, for COVID-19, 16 of whom were put onmechanical ventilation duringtheir stay in hospital.

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China's Liaoning aircraftcarrier group has

embarked on a “realistic com-bat” training mission in theWestern Pacific, the Chinesenavy said Tuesday.

In a posting on its socialmedia site, the navy said themission is routine, adhers to allinternational laws and practicesand is “not directed at any thirdparties." However, the missionunderscores the growing role ofChina's naval forces as Beijingseeks to supplant the U.S. Asthe preeminent military powerin Asia.

China operates the world'slargest navy by number ofships, while the U.S. Maintains

an edge in aircraft carriers andnuclear submarines as well asin numbers of bases and alliesin the region, where the com-petition is focused on thestrategically vital South ChinaSea. The Liaoning was origi-nally purchased as a hulk fromUkraine and entirely refur-bished.

China has since added asecond entirely home-built car-rier, the Shandong, and isbelieved to be at work on atleast two more.

Exercising under realisticwartime conditions hasbecome a focus of China's mil-itary in recent years, in appar-ent recognition of its lack ofcombat experience going backfour decades.

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President Joe Biden onTuesday blasted what he

called a “radical” leaked draftopinion suggesting the SupremeCourt is poised to overturn thelandmark 1973 Roe v Wadecase that legalised abortionnationwide, warning that a“whole range of rights” are injeopardy if it holds. Speaking toreporters before boarding AirForce One, Biden said he hopedthe draft wouldn't be finalisedby justices, contending itreflects a “fundamental shift inAmerican jurisprudence" thatthreatens “other basic rights”like privacy and marriage.

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Exports rose by 24.22 per centto a monthly record high of

USD 38.19 billion in April onaccount of healthy performanceby sectors like petroleum prod-ucts, electronic goods andchemicals, even as trade deficitwidened to USD 20 billionduring the month, the com-merce ministry said on Tuesday.

Imports during the monthunder review grew by 26.55 percent to USD 58.26 billion. Thetrade deficit in April 2021 wasat USD 15.29 billion.

Oil imports during themonth rose by 81.21 per cent toUSD 19.5 billion. Coal, Cokeand Briquettes imports jumpedto USD 4.8 billion as againstUSD 2 billion in April 2021.

Gold imports, however,dipped to USD 1.68 billionduring the month under reviewfrom USD 6.23 billion in April2021.

Engineering goods exportsincreased by 15.38 per cent toUSD 9.2 billion while petrole-um products exports soared113.21 per cent to USD 7.73 bil-lion.

However, gems and jew-ellery exports dipped by 2.11per cent to USD 3.3 billion.

Commenting on exports,FIEO President A Sakthivelsaid that the "highest-everexports" of over USD 38 billion,during the first month of thefiscal, shows the continuousimpressive performance of theexports sector.

"The benefits of the newlysigned FTAs and the PLIScheme will further help us inbuilding on the milestonesachieved during the previousfiscal," he said.

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Economists on Tuesday arenot convinced about the lat-

est monthly unemploymentdata released by the Centre forMonitoring India Economy(CMIE), particularly about thestatistics of the rural areas.

They asserted that it is dif-ficult to get the real picture ofunemployment from themethodology used by theCMIE to get the data.

The overall unemploymentrate in India has increased to7.83 per cent in April 2022 ascompared to 7.60 per cent inthe previous month, CMIEsaid in its report.

The unemployment ratein urban areas was higher at9.22 per cent compared to 8.28per cent in March. In rural

areas, the unemployment ratewas at 7.18 per cent in Aprilcompared to 7.29

per cent in the previousmonth, the data released onMonday showed.

Economist AjitavaRoychowdhury said that CMIEconducts monthly surveys ofmore than 44,000 householdsin urban and rural India.

"If someone says on the dayof the survey that he is doingsomething, for example, mobilehawking or rag picking, thisperson is considered asemployed," he said.

But, the professor of eco-nomics at Jadavpur Universitysaid, the International LabourOrganisation (ILO) has saidthat only those who are doing"decent" jobs should be markedas employed.

According to the ILO,decent work sums up the aspi-rations of people in their work-ing lives.

It involves, among otherthings, opportunities for workthat is productive and deliversa fair income, security in theworkplace and social protectionfor families, and betterprospects for personal devel-opment and social integration.

"The CMIE does not dif-ferentiate between those whoare in decent jobs and thosewho are not. If the ILO crite-ria of decent jobs are applied,the unemployment rate will bemuch higher," Roychowdhurysaid.

It is difficult to get the truepicture from the CMIE data, hesaid.

A source in the CMIE,

however, said that the method-ology followed by the agency isvery stringent and surveys areconducted daily from earlymorning to evening.

Those who are not sure ofgetting an occupation duringthe day are asked whether theyhad got one the previous day.If the answer is no, they are cat-egorised as unemployed, thesource said.

Commenting on the CMIEdata, economist AbhirupSarkar said these fluctuationsshow that there is still uncer-tainty in the economy.

"These fluctuations arenormal in a matured economy.There is also an element of sta-tistical error. So, it is very dif-ficult to come to a conclusionon the real picture of the econ-omy," Sarkar said.

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The auspicious day ofAkshaya Tritiya has begun

on a strong note as jewellers arewitnessing good footfalls andbeing a public holiday onTuesday, consumers are flock-ing to the stores early before thetemperature soars.

"Jewellers across the coun-try have opened their storesearly across the country andthere is a strong momentum infootfalls since morning. Therehas been positive sentiment inthe market since the last 10-15days and we expect it to con-tinue on the day of AkshayaTritiya. We expect to do 25-30tonne business on this auspi-cious day," All India Gem andJewellery Domestic CouncilVice Chairman Shyam Mehratold PTI.

Asked if the high priceswill become a hurdle on saleson this Akshaya Tritiya, he said,gold prices have come down toaround Rs 50,500 per 10 gramfrom Rs 55,000-58,000 per 10gram, giving boost to con-sumer sentiment.

"It usually takes around 10-15 days for people to acceptprice movement. And since the

prices have come down, thereis generally a positive sentimentin the market, which is expect-ing gold prices

to rise going forward. Thiswill also help boost sales," headded.

Echoing similar views,PNG Jewellers managing direc-tor and CEO Saurabh Gadgilsaid footfalls are strong and areexpected to grow as the dayprogresses for the next 1-2hours.

"We are expecting a goodnumber of people before itbecomes too hot in the after-noon. This will again pick upin the evening as the temper-ature cools down. Being a bankholiday, footfalls are notrestricted to office hours andpeople are coming to the storesat their ease," he added.

Kalyan Jewellers ExecutiveDirector RameshKalyanaraman said gold-buy-ing as a tradition has been anintegral part of Akshaya Tritiyaand this coupled with the ongo-ing wedding season, has creat-ed a positive market senti-ment."Though earlier AkshayaTritiya was more of a South andEast centric occasion, we arenow seeing it being celebrated

at a pan-India level. After twoyears of lockdown or partiallockdown, this year 100 percent of our showrooms areoperational. Offline purchasesstill account for a significantmajority of sales for the jew-ellery industry, and we areexpecting robust customerfootfalls across our show-rooms," he added.

This Akshaya Tritiya willbe fruitful for the industry, set-ting new milestones withrespect to demand for gold jew-ellery, he added.

CaratLane COO and co-founder Avnish Anand, on theoccasion of Akshaya Tritiya,said with the consumer senti-ment improving with eachpassing day, the purchasing

capacity of the Indian markethas increased this year due tothe pent-up demand for theseason.

CaratLane is definitelyexpecting a significant growthin terms of traffic, footfalls andconversions this AkshayaTritiya owing

to not just the pent-updemand but also due to its dig-ital first omni channel strategy,which increases the efficiencyof the consumers both onlineand offline, he said.

"Additionally, the traffic isexpected to grow by 11 per centand average selling price (ASP)has grown by 23 per cent sinceFebruary 2022, which wasanother good season for us," headded.

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Insurance behemoth LIC onTuesday said it has gar-

nered a little over Rs 5,627crore from anchor investors

led primarily by domesticinstitutions ahead of its megainitial public offering (IPO).

Anchor Investors' (AIs)portion (5,92,96,853 equityshares) was subscribed at Rs949 per equity share, theinsurer said in an early morn-ing filing to exchanges.

Out of the allocation ofabout 5.9 crore shares to AIs,4.2 crore shares (71.12 percent) were allocated to 15domestic mutual fundsthrough 99 schemes, the fil-ing said.

Besides, investment wasmade by some domesticinsurance companies andpension funds. Some of theprominent names in this cat-egor y included ICICIPrudential Life Insurance,SBI Life Insurance, KotakMahindra Life Insurance,PNB Metlife Insurance, SBIPension Fund and UTI

Retirement Solutions PensionFund Scheme.

Foreign participationincluded Government ofSingapore, Monetar yAuthority of Singapore,Government Pension FundGlobal and BNP InvestmentLLP.

As per the prospectus,out of the 22.13 crore sharesoffered for sale, 5.93 croreshares were reserved foranchor investors.

The government by dilut-ing 3.5 per cent stake in LICwould raise Rs 21,000 crore,the biggest ever IPO in theIndian market. The previoussuch high fundraising wasseen in the IPO of Paytm in2021 at Rs 18,300 crore andCoal India in 2010 at Rs15,200 crore.

The price band for LIC

IPO is Rs 902-949 per equityshare.

Policyholders will get adiscount of Rs 60 per equityshare, while retail investorsand employees will get a dis-count of Rs 45 on each share.

Of the total shares onoffer, over 9.88 crore sharesare reserved for qualifiedinstitutional buyers and over2.96 crore shares for

non-institutional buyers.Up to 15,81,249 shares and2,21,37,492 shares arereserved for employees andpolicyholders.

LIC would get listed andstart trading on the stockexchanges on May 17.

LIC's embedded value,which is a measure of the con-solidated shareholders' valuein an insurance company, waspegged at about Rs 5.4 lakh

crore as of September 30,2021, by international actu-arial firm Milliman Advisors.

Based on investor feed-back, the market value ofgovernment-owned LIC hasbeen pegged at 1.1 times itsembedded value or Rs 6 lakhcrore.

LIC was formed by merg-ing and nationalizing as manyas 245 private life insurancecompanies on September 1,1956, with an initial capital ofRs 5 crore.Its product portfo-lio comprises 32 individualproducts (16 participatingproducts and 16 non-partic-ipating products) and sevenindividual optional rider ben-efits. The insurer's groupproduct portfolio comprises11 group products.

As of December 2021,LIC had a market share of61.6 per cent in terms of pre-miums or GWP, 61.4 per centin terms of new business pre-mium, 71.8 per cent in termsof the number of individualpolicies issued, and 88.8 percent in terms of the numberof group policies issued.

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Driven by the early arrival ofsummer and intense heat

wave, residential air condi-tioner makers are looking for-ward to a record sales of around90 lakh units this year, saidConsumer Electronics andAppliances ManufacturersAssociation on Tuesday.

Already, in April the indus-try has clocked the sale ofaround 17.5 lakh units, whichis also an all-time high for themonth.

However, the availability ofcertain products could be anissue in the next couple ofmonths as manufacturers maynot be in a position to supplytheir entire range of models tomeet market demand, espe-cially the energy-efficient 5-starrange, due to high demand andsupply constraints of compo-nents such as controllers andcompressors, said EricBraganza, president of CEAMA(Consumer Electronics andAppliances Manufacturers

Association)."At an industry level, the

estimated sales of residentialACs (Air Conditioners) in themonth of April 2022 is around1.75 million units. The sales aredouble compared to April 2021and 30-35 per cent over April2019 figures," Braganza toldPTI.

This displays a "staggeringgrowth" as compared to thepre-pandemic levels, he added.

"The growth can be attrib-uted to the opening up of mar-kets along with the swelteringheat wave across the country,and going by the trend, thedemand for air conditionerswill be good even in May andJune as well," Braganza added.

About expectations for2022, he said, "Based on thesevere summer and the salestrends in the first four months,the AC market this year isexpected to be between 8.5 mil-lion and 9 million units. It willbe the highest ever."

Braganza, however, cau-tioned that the availability of

certain products could be anissue in the next couple ofmonths and the industry couldexperience shortages, as thereare supply issues of controllersand compressors especiallyfrom China, while the demandfor more energy-efficient ACsare very high.

"... Manufacturers may notbe in a position to supply theirentire range of models to meetmarket demand, especially theenergy-efficient 5-star range,"he said.

Besides, the CEAMA pres-ident also said there could bea price hike of around 4-5 percent to protect margins asinput costs have increased sub-stantially."In the last 18-20months, the consumer appli-ance/durable goods industryhas seen a price increase of upto 15 per cent. With the con-tinued rise in raw material,crude oil and global freightrates, many manufacturers willincrease their pricing in therange of 2-4 per cent in thecoming months," he said.

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Ajump in advertising couldlead to an increase of up to

25 per cent in print media rev-enues in FY23, but pressurefrom higher newsprint costsbecause of Russia's Ukraineinvasion will dent profitability,a report said on Tuesday.

The operating profit mar-gins for print media players cannarrow by up to 3 percentagepoints in FY23, the report byIndia Ratings and Researchsaid.

The agency said about 60per cent of the newsprint usedin FY21 was imported andadded that since the invasionbegan in late February, import-ed newsprint prices havejumped by up to 80 per cent,and could soar further in thenext six months due to theabsence of imports.

A gradual increase in thesupply from domestic sources,in an extended period ofabsence of imports, shouldkeep the prices under check, it

said, adding that in the first tenmonths of FY22, prior to thewar, imports accounted forabout 52 per cent of the over-all newsprint consumed, whichwas lowest in a decade.

In FY21, Russia accountedfor the highest share of this at38 per cent, followed by 26 percent from Canada.

During FY21, newsprintrequirement nearly halved toabout 1.1 million tonnes, fol-lowing the decline in the cir-culation volumes and low pag-ination post the COVID-19outbreak, the agency said, esti-mating that the same hasincreased marginally in FY22.

"While a recovery of cir-culation volumes and higheradvertisement volumes shalllead to an increase in thenewsprint consumption duringFY23, it is unlikely to revert tothe levels of about 2.1 milliontonnes (FY20), given the sub-stantial drop in the circulationvolumes during FY21 andslower recovery in FY22," itadded.

However, on the positiveside, there are factors whichwill be helping narrow theimpact on profit margins aswell, the agency said, pointingto increase in advertisementrevenue, stock-up of importednewsprint at a lower cost in therecent past and cost optimisa-tions.

It said print media playersderive about two-thirds of theiroverall revenue from adver-tisement income, while circu-lation revenue and other oper-ating income account for thebalance one-third. Hence,

advertisement revenue isdirectly linked to economicactivities and growth.

On the back of overallgrowth in economic activitiesand an increase in the adspends from key sectors, adver-tisement revenue is estimatedto increase 25-30 per cent inFY23, while circulation revenuewill grow by up to 12 per cent,it said, adding that this willtranslate into an overall revenuegrowth of 20-25 per cent.

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Adani Green Energy Ltd(AGEL) has received the

approval of shareholders for theissuance of over two croreshares worth around Rs 3,850crore on a preferential basis toGreen Energy InvestmentHolding RSC Ltd.

The current principalshareholder of Green EnergyInvestment Holding RSC Ltd isIHC Capital Holding LLC.

At the Extra-OrdinaryGeneral Meeting (EGM) con-vened on Tuesday, sharehold-ers approved the issuance ofequity shares on preferentialbasis to Green EnergyInvestment Holding RSC Ltd,according to a regulatory filing.

In a separate filing, thecompany said it has executed aShare Subscription Agreement(SSA) on Monday with GreenEnergy Investment HoldingRSC Ltd for the issuance andallotment of 2,00,18,198 equi-ty shares of face value of Rs 10each of the company to theinvestor on preferential basis.

The 2,00,18,198 equityshares will be issued at a priceof Rs 1,923.25 each (at a pre-mium of Rs 1,913.25 per equi-ty share), the filing said.

The total issue size worksout to be around Rs 3,850crore.

The deal is a part of the 7.3billion dirhams (USD 2 billion)investment to be made by theUAE's International HoldingCompany (IHC) in three AdaniGroup companies.

IHC will invest Rs 3,850crore in AGEL, Rs 3,850 crorein Adani Transmission Ltd(ATL), and Rs 7,700 crore inAdani Enterprises Ltd (AEL).

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Tata group firm TitanCompany Ltd on Tuesday

reported a 7.21 per centdecline in its consolidated netprofit at Rs 527 crore in thefourth quarter ended March2022.

It had posted a net prof-it of Rs 568 crore in theJanuary-March quarter ofFY21, Titan Company said ina regulatory filing.

Its total income was up4.25 per cent to Rs 7,872crore during the period underreview as against Rs 7,551crore in the correspondingperiod of the preceding fiscal.

The company's revenuefrom sales of products wasdown 1.14 per cent to Rs7,267 crore in the fourth quar-

ter of FY22 as against Rs 7,351 crore a year ago.Titan's total expenses were

at Rs 7,165 crore in Q4 ofFY22, up 5.04 per cent fromRs 6,821 crore a year ago.

"Q4 FY22 ended with asatisfactory performancedespite partial lockdowns,volatility in gold prices anduncertainty in a fragile geo-political situation," said Titan,adding, "Excluding bullionsale, revenue declined by 2 percent compared to Q4 FY21."

Titan's revenue from jew-ellery segment stood at Rs6,843 crore in the January-March quarter of FY22, up2.47 per cent against Rs

6,678 crore in the corre-sponding quarter a year ago.

Revenue from watchesand wearables also increased

11.8 per cent to Rs 625 croreagainst Rs 559 crore in thesame period of previous fiscal.

Eyecare revenue was at Rs134 crore, up 5.51 per centagainst Rs 127 crore in Q4FY21.

The company also report-ed a 63.57 per cent increase inits revenue from others seg-ment in the January-Marchquarter at Rs 229 crore asagainst Rs 140 crore a yearago.

For the entire fiscal yearended March 2022, Titan'sconsolidated net profit stoodat Rs 2,198 crore. This was upover two-fold from

Rs 974 crore, the report-ed net profit of financial year2020-21.

The company's totalincome was at Rs 29,033 crore

in 2021-22. This was 32.99 percent higher than Rs 21,830crore in the year-ago period.

Titan managing directorC K Venkataraman said:"Despite frequent disruptionsin the quarter owing to Covidwave 3 and other geo-politi-cal factors, the quarter hasbeen satisfactory in terms ofgrowth and profitability."

The company is well pre-pared and looking forward toan exciting Q1 with all itsstores ramped up for a much-awaited Akshaya Tritiya

festival this year."With the international

expansion in GCC marketsand the first Tanishq storecoming up in the US, we aregearing up to touch new

horizons in FY23," headded.

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Tata Steel on Tuesday post-ed a 37 per cent jump in

consolidated net profit at Rs9,835.12 crore for the quarterended March 2022, mainly onaccount of higher income.

The steel major hadreported a net profit of Rs7,161.91 crore in the year-agoquarter, it said in a BSE filing.

During January-March2022, Tata Steel's total incomejumped to Rs 69,615.70 crorefrom Rs 50,300.55 crore ear-lier.

Total expenses rose to Rs57,635.79 crore from Rs40,102.97 crore in theJanuary-March period of2020-21.

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The world needs more art &more artists. If numbers are

anything to go by then Indiawill soon turn into a perform-ing arts powerhouse as indi-cated by a study by KafqaAcademy.

The study found thatIndia's performing arts marketis worth as much as $3.8bn andhas an addressable market sizeof 26 million users in the 8-25age range alone, a 7 per centpenetration of the populationwith significant scope forgrowth. Comparatively, in theUS, penetration of dance learn-ing alone stands at 7.4 per cent.The market is also expected togrow to $7 billion by 2027.

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Affordable housing financecompanies' (AHFCs) loan

book is likely to expand by 17-20 per cent in the current finan-cial year, supported by the gov-ernment's higher focus on hous-ing and a favourable tax regime,says a report.As on December 31,2021, the total loan book ofAHFCs stood at Rs 66,221 croreand constituted about 6 per centof the overall housing financecompanies (HFCs) loan book.

"We expect the loan booksfor affordable housing financecompanies (AHFC)s to grow by17-20 per cent in FY2023, drivenby factors like largely under-pen-etrated market, favourabledemographic profile, govern-ment trust on housing and afavourable regulatory/tax regimethat support the growth outlook,"

rating agency Icra Ratings said ina recent report. Its Vice President(Financial Sector Ratings)Manushree Saggar said afterwitnessing a moderation in theloan book growth in Q1 ofFY2022, the growth for AHFCspicked up again in Q2 and Q3FY2022, with their disburse-ments reaching 85-90 per cent ofthe peak levels seen in the fourthquarter of FY2021."As a result,the AHFCs reported a 14 percent (year-on-year) growth as onDecember 31, 2021. Overall,while the growth has moderat-ed over the long-term average, itcontinues to remain higher thanthe overall housing financeindustry average," she said.

The agency said the secondwave of the Covid-19 pandem-ic exerted pressure on the assetquality indicators of AHFCsand delinquencies, especially in

the softer buckets (0-30, 30-60and 60-90 days past due, i.E.Dpd) shot up significantly.

However, with improvementin collection efficiency in Q2 andQ3 FY2022, the delinquencies inthe softer buckets moderated, itsaid. At the same time, thereported gross NPAs/stage 3percentage increased as entitiesaligned their reporting with theclarification issued by the RBI onIncome Recognition, AssetClassification and Provisioning(IRACP) norms. The 30 dayspast due for some AHFCsdeclined from 9 per cent as onJune 30, 2021 to 6.8 per cent ason December 31, 2021 while thereported GNPA/Stage 3 per-centage marginally increasedfrom 4.2 per cent as on June 30,2021 to 4.3 per cent as onDecember 31, 2021, the reportsaid.

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Carlo Ancelotti admitted onTuesday that Real Madridwill have to gamble if theyare to come from behind to

beat Manchester City in the semi-final of the Champions League.

Madrid trail 4-3 after a thrillingfirst leg in Manchester last week asthey look to pull off another come-back and reach the club's firstChampions League final since 2018.

"If we sit deep, we won't concede99 shots and if we get into their boxthey are going have a go at us but

sometimes you have to take risks,"Ancelotti said in a press conferenceahead of the second leg onWednesday.

"In these games we have scoreda lot — four against PSG, fiveagainst Chelsea, three against City— so we have the quality to takerisks."

Real Madrid showed resilienceand fight to come from behindagainst both Paris Saint-Germain inthe last 16 and Chelsea in the quar-ter-finals, but Ancelotti said they willneed more than just character todefeat City.

"You don't get to a final onlywith your heart," Ancelotti said."Personality is an important part butyou need individual quality, collec-tive commitment — you need allthis to reach a final, one of thesethings won't be enough to get to thefinal."

Luka Modric said the players areconvinced they can go through asReal Madrid chase a 14th EuropeanCup.

"We are very confident that wecan come back, because we knowthat in the first match we did notplay our best game and we still

scored three goals," Modric said."We have the quality and char-

acter and the history of this club,having the most Champions Leaguetitles, also makes a big difference."

Real Madrid celebrated winningtheir 35th La Liga title on Saturday,as the players rode an open-top busto meet thousands of fans at the city'sPlaza Cibeles, despite the second legagainst City being just four daysaway.

"We really wanted to go toCibeles because it had been a longtime since we could celebrate a titlewith our fans," Modric said. "We

enjoyed it but as soon as it ended, wewere focused on tomorrow's game.

"It was a beautiful day and that'sit, the season is not over."

Ancelotti confirmed that RealMadrid defender David Alaba willmiss the game through injury andwill be replaced by NachoFernandez. But Casemiro is fit again,handing Madrid a significant boostin midfield.

"Casemiro will help us,"Ancelotti said. "His return reinforcesus defensively. I think we are goingto see an improvement from the firstleg."

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Thomas Müller has extended his contract withBayern Munich until 2024, it was announced

on Tuesday, with the Germany international setto spend his entire professional career at theBundesliga champions, who he joined as a 10-year-old.

"The journey we have taken together sinceI joined the youth team in 2000 has been a fan-tastic success story so far," said Müller, 32, whowon a record 11th league title with the Bavariansthis season.

"So let's continue it together," added the 2014World Cup winner, who has made 112 appear-ances for Germany since his internationaldebut in 2010.

Müller as well as top-scorer RobertLewandowski, Bayern captain Manuel Neuerand winger Serge Gnabry, were due to be outof contract in 2023.

He is the first of the quartet to extend theirdeals amid speculation Lewandowski could leaveat the end of the season with Barcelona report-edly a possible destination.

Since turning pro with Bayern in 2008,

Müller has made 624 appearances, scoring 226goals and creating 242 more.

He was also part of Bayern squads whichwon the Champions League title in both 2013and 2020.

��B �+0�

Real Madrid coach CarloAncelotti has said that he will

"probably" retire when he leaves theLa Liga champions, but is preparedto stay at the Santiago Bernabeu forseveral years.

The 62-year-old Italian becameon Saturday the first coach in his-tory to win all five of Europe's topleagues this season with Real, whoalso face Manchester City onWednesday in their ChampionsLeague semi-final second leg.

"After Real, yes, I probablystop," Ancelotti told Prime Video inan interview partially broadcast onTuesday.

"But if Real keep me here for 10years, I'll coach here for 10 years."

The Italian is under contractwith the Spanish giants until 2024,after rejoining the club for a second

spell in charge last year fromEverton. Ancelotti said that hewants to spend more time with hisfamily and travel, but did not ruleout potentially leading a nationalteam at the 2026 World Cup in theUnited States, Mexico and Canada.

"I would like to spend time withmy grandchildren, go on holidaywith my wife," he added. "There areso many things that I have neglect-ed and that I would like to do...

"Yes, there could be a nationalteam but that's premature for themoment."

Ancelotti was the Italy assistantcoach during their run to the 1994World Cup final in the USA, wherethey lost to Brazil on penalties.

He is bidding for a fourthChampions League title this season,after two triumphs with AC Milanin 2003 and 2007 and success dur-ing his first stint in Madrid in 2014.

�� B -�/.$�.+

Manchester United tookthe sting out of their fans'

latest protest against the Glazerfamily as they eased to a 3-0win against Brentford onMonday.

Ahead of a summer ofchange for troubled United,Ralf Rangnick's side won forjust the second time in sevengames to keep the atmospherefrom turning toxic at OldTrafford.

Bruno Fernandes struckearly in the first half andCristiano Ronaldo converted asecond half penalty beforeFrance defender RaphaelVarane bagged his first goal forUnited.

Despite winning their lasthome game of the season,United remain in sixth place inthe Premier League with twogames left.

They sit five points adrift ofthe top four with no realistichope of qualifying for next sea-son's Champions League.

"In possession that wasone of our best performances

this year. It was the type of per-formance we wanted to show toour supporters," Rangnick said.

Rangnick was in charge ofhis last home game as Unitedinterim manager before therecently-hired Erik ten Hagarrives from Ajax to start his

rebuilding job next season.After such a wretched run,

United needed a fast start to liftthe gloom a little and they tookjust nine minutes to go infront.

Anthony Elanga beatBrentford's offside trap as he

raced onto Diogo Dalot's pass.He reached the ball just

before it went out for a goal-kick and whipped a superbcross towards Fernandes, whovolleyed home from six yardsfor his first league goal sinceFebruary.

After several listless dis-plays, this was a more energeticeffort from United and JuanMata fired narrowly wide fromRonaldo's flamboyant pass.

Ronaldo won a penalty inthe 60th minute as he poweredpast Rico Henry and wascrudely barged to the turf bythe Brentford defender.

Picking himself up,Ronaldo sent David Raya thewrong way from the spot.

The Portugal striker hasscored nine of United's last 11league goals, taking his tally forthe season to 24 in all compe-titions.

With the United fans'much-hyped walk-out just sec-onds away, Varane volleyedthe third goal from a corner inthe 72nd minute.

That appeared to take thesting out of the revolt, withMata and Nemanja Matic --both likely to leave in theclose-season -- departing tostanding ovations when theywere substituted.

It was a rare feelgoodmoment in a season of strife atOld Trafford.

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Record-breaking AleksandarMitrovic reached 43 goals in

a season by scoring twice asFulham clinched English foot-ball's second-tier Championshiptitle with a 7-0 thrashing ofLuton on Monday.

London club Fulham werealready assured of promotion tothe Premier League after last sea-son's relegation even before theykicked off in their final home

game of the current campaign.And they gave fans at

Craven Cottage even more tocelebrate against the outclassedHatters.

Fulham captain TomCairney opened the scoringwith a powerful strike in the29th minute before Kenny Tetedoubled the lead from longrange 10 minutes later.

Any hopes promotion-chas-ing Luton had of making acomeback then evaporated dur-

ing a cascade of Fulham goals inthe second half.

Fabio Carvalho made it 3-0 before Mitrovic scored his42nd league goal of the cam-paign to equal Portsmouth heroGuy Whittingham's record ofmost goals in a second-tiercampaign, set in the 1992-93season.

Bobby Decordova-Reid andJean-Michael Seri fired Fulhamfurther ahead before Mitrovictapped in his second goal of thegame. Luton's heaviest defeat ofthe season dropped them downto sixth position, the last of theplay-off places. The top two areguaranteed automatic promo-tion, with the other PremierLeague place decided by play-offs involving the teams finish-ing third to sixth.

Victory over Reading intheir final game of the seasonwill see Luton into the play-offsbut anything less and they couldbe overhauled byMiddlesbrough.

�� (.+* B&

Salernitana maintained theirbold bid for Serie A survival

on Monday with a 1-1 draw atAtalanta which pulled themcloser to safety.

Mario Pasalic's 88th-minute leveller deniedSalernitana a fourth straightwin after Ederson had pokedthem ahead just before the halfhour but the draw moved themto within two points of Cagliari,who sit just outside the relega-tion zone.

Davide Nicola's team hostCagliari this coming Sundayafter playing their game inhand with Venezia onThursday.

Fans packed into the awayend applauded their team offthe pitch after their long trip tothe far north of Italy wasrewarded with a spirited perfor-mance.

Atalanta keeper JunaMusso did well to keep outefforts from Emil Bohinen andLassana Coulibaly early in thesecond half but the away sidetired and had to hang in the face

of persistent Atalanta attacks.Gian Piero Gasperini's side

showed why they have onlywon four times at home all sea-son and were saved from anembarrassing defeat by CroatPasalic's low drive.

They sit eighth and arestruggling for a place in Europenext season after looking liketitle challengers before the turnof the year.

Before their recent unbeat-en run Salernitana had beenrooted to the bottom of Serie Afor almost the entire season,and should Salernitana stay upit would be the second miracleescape act of coach Nicola'scareer after he saved Crotonefive years ago.

Under his charge Crotonewon six of their last nine match-es of the 2016/17 season, losingjust one, and climbed out of thedrop zone on the final day ofthe campaign.

Now the 49-year-old has areal chance of saving a teamwhich in December looked likeit might be kicked out of theleague as the club struggled tofind a new owner.

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Ashleigh Barty's retirement in Marchwhen she was women's tennis num-

ber one and just 25 years old is a "weirdone to explain", South African cricket leg-

end AB de Villiers said before they teamup for a golf event.

Three-time Grand Slam winner Bartyhas already taken one break from tennis,playing cricket instead for Brisbane Heatduring the 2015-16 Women's Big Bash.

But this time around, the exit appearsto be final.

"It is a weird one to explain," deVilliers said. "I think the best answer isthat every person has their own way ofmanoeuvring through their career, someas long as possible.

"The whole world respects her deci-sion. I would like to think stepping awaycan be a relief but it is an incredible ageto retire at."

De Villiers says he has not had sec-ond thoughts since bringing down thecurtain on his stellar career which sawhim captain South Africa in all three for-mats.

"I feel relief sitting here," he said."I am feeling quite happy I made the

right decision even if I miss the game andwill be forever grateful to the sport.

"But similar to Ash there is a peaceof mind where I am at.

"I am really happy to look back on mycareer with fond memories.

"There are no regrets. Yes, I mademistakes but no regrets."

�� -.#��.%/0

Indian paddlers, including starplayer Manika Batra, on

Tuesday made massive gains inthe ITTF world rankings afterthe sport's governing bodyapproved changes to the pointssystem.

Manika attained a career-high singles ranking of 38 witha jump of 10 spots while GSathiyan was the best placedIndian male at 34 in the latestITTF rankings.

Veteran Sharath Kamal,who last week won his 10thnational title, also gained a placeto be world No 37 while SreejaAkula, who won her maidennational title in Shillong, gainedas many as 39 places to beranked 68th.

At No 66 is ArchanaKamath, who has made a bigleap from 92nd position.

While Sharath and Sathiyanare the only two Indian maleplayers in the top-100, there arefour Indians in the women'sstandings. The jump in theirrankings come after the ITTFdecided to remove "initialpoints", which were introducedin 2020, to determine the rank-ings.

In the men's doubles, GSathiyan and Harmeet Desai are

ranked 28th in the while the pairof Sathiyan-Sharath is placed in35th position.

Manika and Archana areranked fourth in the women'sdoubles section while SutirthaMukherjee and AyhikaMukherjee are in 29th spot.

In the mixed doubles,Manika and Sathiyan are rankedsixth while Manav Thakkar andArchana Kamath are 22nd.

�� -.#��.%/0

Gyaneshwari Yadav clinchedthe Silver medal while com-

patriot V Rithika finished thirdto give India a double podiumfinish in the women's 49kg cat-egory at the IWF Junior WorldWeightlifting Championshipsin Heraklion, Greece.

Chattisgarh lifterGyaneshwari produced a totaleffort of 156kg (73kg+83kg) totake home the Silver metal onMonday night.

The 18-year-old Rithika, onthe other hand, heaved 6 kgs lessthan her compatriot — 150kg(69kg+81kg) to bag the Bronzemedal in a depleted 10-lifter

field.Tokyo Olympics Bronze

medallist and strong favouriteWindy Cantika Aisah ofIndonesia was crowned thechampion in the category thanksto her total effort of 185kg(83kg+102kg).

The gulf between theIndonesian lifter, who won theAsian and world junior titles lastyear, and the 19-year-oldGyaneshwari was a whopping29kg with Aisah even declinedto take her final attempt.

It is the same weight divi-sion in which Mirabai Chanuwon a Silver at the TokyoOlympics, with an effort off202kg (87kg+115kg).

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grass is greener forgolf team-mate Barty

ABD hopesgrass is greener forgolf team-mate Barty

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Chennai Super Kings' frag-ile bowling vis-a-vis

Royal ChallengersBengaluru's struggling batting line-up put thesides on an even keel as the two heavyweightsface-off in an important mid-table clash of theIPL here on Wednesday.

In cricket, when two strong and equallyperforming teams have a match-up, it promis-es a great contest but when two sides with spe-cific weak-links are pitted against each otherit makes the contest all the more exhilarating.

Sample this. In 10 games that RCB hasplayed so far, only six half-centuries have beenrecorded and out of them two belongs to skip-per Faf du Plessis, which is a testimony tobelow-par batting show in the tourney.

In nine games that CSK have played so far,there hasn't been a single bowler (pacersand spinners), who has bowled at aneconomy rate of less than 7.50 runsan over. The best economy rate isof Mahesh Theeksana (7.54) whileDwayne Bravo (14 wickets) andMukesh Choudhary (11 wickets)have had poor economy rates of8.73 and 9.82 runs per over.

The match also becomes anenticing one as Virat Kohlihas finally found someform going his way andMahendra SinghDhoni isback in thesaddle andwould do every-thing under his control to plot thedownfall of India's best batter. Dhoni'sreturn as CSK skipper replacing an out-of-sorts and more so bereft of ideasRavindra Jadeja, proved beneficial as theyoutscored a formidable SunrisersHyderabad, keeping their campaignalive with six points from nine games.

While RCB are still on fifthplace with 10 points from as

many games, they seemed tohave lost a bit of momentumwith three back-to-back defeatsprimarily due to shoddy battingshows.

They have been all-out for season's low-est score --68 -- and have also failed to chasea modest target of 145 in another game.

Even in their last game versus GujaratTitans, Kohli's 58 off 53 balls was one of thereasons that RCB failed to score more than 170,which was below-par on a good batting track.

In Kohli (186 runs in 10 games) and skip-per Du Plessis (278 from 9 games), RCB haveone of the scariest of opening pairs but it has-n't really translated into big performances.

Young Rajat Patidar, after a below-par lastseason, has shown some spark but the likes ofDinesh Karthik (218 from 10 games) andGlenn Maxwell (157 from 7 games) perhaps

will need to do more than what they are cur-rently contributing.

On Wednesday, RCB will face abowling line-

up whichisn't anintimidat-

ing one withrookie Choudhary

or Simarjeet Singh, stilltrying to find feet in anelite league and themost experiencedspinner RavindraJadeja having com-pletely lost form dueto leadership burden,which he was forced torelinquish.

In such a backdrop,whoever wins will onlyadd to the 'mid-tablemuddle' as most teamsbetween six to 10 poit-nts are clubbed togeth-

er making it an inter-esting next fourweeks.

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CPacer Kagiso Rabada snaredfour wickets as Punjab Kings restrict-ed formidable Gujarat Titans to abelow-par 143 for eight in the IPL hereon Tuesday.

For Gujarat, only Sai Sudharsan'sunbeaten 65 off 50 balls was the sav-ing grace as Punjab bowlers conced-ed only 11 fours and two sixes.

Sudarsan managed to hit five

boundaries and a six but ran out ofpartners as Gujarat skipper HardikPandya's decision to elect to bat back-fired.

They lost openers Shubman Gill(9) and Wriddhiman Saha (21) cheap-ly. Gill, who had struck two bound-aries, was dismissed courtesy a directhit from Rishi Dhawan from cover, inthe third over.

In the next over Saha, who start-ed aggressively, gave a sitter to rival

captain Mayank Agawral at mid-off,giving Rabada (4/33) his first wicket.Saha, who had hit three boundariesand a six, was undone by the extrabounce, as he tried to play a lofted shot,but mistimed it and paid the price.

Gujarat further slipped to 44/3 aspacer Rishi Dhawan (1/26) removedHardik (1) early. Hardik tried to drivean outside the off length ball, butended it nicking to wicket-keeperJitesh Sharma leaving his team was in

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Ben Stokes says he wants to lead a team of"selfless" cricketers as he plots England's

revival after being named as the new Test cap-tain.

The 30-year-old all-rounder wasappointed to the role last week afterJoe Root stood down following a five-year reign that culminated in astring of painful defeats.

Stokes, who was vice-captain toclose friend Root, takes over withEngland having won just one of theirpast 17 Tests and the team bottom of theWorld Test Championship table.Stokes's first match in charge isagainst reigning world Testchampions New Zealand, theland of his birth, at the startof a three-Test series atLord's on June 2. Heaccepts turning England'sfortunes around will betough.

"It is a challenge,especially after the lastfew years," the Durhamstar told Sky Sports at thenortheast county'sRiverside headquarters onTuesday. "There's a lot thatneeds to change, not only onthe field, and those discussions

will be had." Stokes is an aggressive, all-actionpace-bowling all-rounder, renowned for hisfierce commitment to the team and he appearskeen to mould a side in his own image. "I wantto have selfless cricketers who make decisionsbased on what they can do to win a game in thatgiven time," he said. "You're always judged on

winning games, and the decisions I make arebased around the best thing to do to

give us that chance. "I want to have10 other guys with me who are inthat same mindset."

Stokes, for all his on-fieldsuccess, has known turbulenttimes in his career as well.

He was arrested after a late-night incident in Bristol inSeptember 2017 and thenmissed a tour of Australia beforebeing cleared of a charge ofaffray.

"There's a lot of things thatI've gone through since I becamea professional cricketer, and

those experiences I feel arepositive in this new rolethat I've got," Stokes told theBBC in a separate interview.

"I've been through a lotof goods and have beenthrough a lot of bads and I

feel like I can relate to bothsides of what this sporting

life can throw at you."

�� B2B( 0

Former New Zealand captain DanielVettori and South African spinner

Imran Tahir reckon that wides andheight no-balls should also come underthe DRS scanner as umpires' call sparkedfresh debate during Rajasthan Royals' IPLmatch against Kolkata Knight Ridershere.

Defending 18 runs from the last twoovers, Royals skipper Sanju Samson wasvisibly upset by umpire Nitin Pandit'sthree wide calls despite considerablemovement from the batters — RinkuSingh and Nitish Rana — on a couple ofoccasions in the penultimate over onMonday.

Samson then went on to ask for areview when the ball was miles awayfrom the bat in his sarcastic way ofprotest.

It sparked a fresh debate for call ofwides and waist height no-balls forreview with the Kiwi former all-rounderspeaking up on the issue once again.

"I don't think there was any thoughtof it actually being out... Absolutely (play-ers should be allowed to review wides).The players should be able to decide insuch crucial matters," Vettori, a formerRoyal Challengers Bangalore coach,told ESPNCricinfo.Com.

"Today it is a little bit different whereit always looked like KKR are going towin. But we have sat here so many timesand seen decisions go against bowlers

that are so close and the umpire has gotit wrong. "So therefore the playersshould have some avenues towards rec-tifying those mistakes. That's why DRSwas brought in: to rectify mistakes. Iwould like to see that happen. And play-ers are very good judges of that. They get

it right more often than not."According to the ICC rule 22.4.1 on

wides, "The umpire shall not adjudge adelivery as being a Wide, if the striker,by moving, either causes the ball to passwide of him/her, or brings the ball suf-ficiently within reach to be able to hit it

by means of a normal cricket stroke."Rajasthan Royals were involved in

yet another controversy -- this timeinvolving a no-ball in their matchagainst Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals.

Chasing a mammoth 223, Delhineeded 36 from the final over andRovman Powell upped the ante, smash-ing three sixes in a row.

The third six came off a waist-highfull toss but the on-field umpires did notcall it a no-ball, nor did they choose torefer it.

It led to unprecedented scenes in theDelhi dugout as Pant started calling backthe players and their assistant coachPravin Amre stepped on the pitch in ablatant violation of the Code of Conduct.

Echoing similar sentiments, formerChennai Super Kings all-rounder Tahirsaid: "Yeah why not (review)... There isnot much for bowlers in the game. Whenbatters are hitting you all over, you don'thave much choice than bowling wideyorkers or bowling wide leg breaks. Ifthat becomes a wide, you are in trouble."

"But look, it was a close call. Samsonwas a little bit frustrated. It was a 50-50thing. I don't think it should be a bigissue. Kolkata played well, and they weregoing to win it. But yeah there should bea review that a player can go for," headded.

The KKR duo of Rana and Singhscored 17 runs in the penultimate overto seal a seven-wicket win with five ballsto spare.

�� B2B( 0

Kolkata Knight Riders batterNitish Rana said having

plied his trade in the IPL forconsiderable number of years,he is now trying to adapt to therole of an anchor, which was onfull display against RajasthanRoyals here.

Rana, who hit an unbeaten48, anchored the 153-run chaseon a slow-paced Wankhedewicket to help KKR beat RR byseven wickets on Monday andsnap their five-match losingstreak.

"A lot of things depend onfactors like opponent team andwhat total we are chasing andwhat number I am batting. Ihave been playing IPL for seven-eight years now and trying toperform the anchor or mainplayer.

"I have been successful tilldate and hope that in the com-ing matches, I play such inningsfor the team," Rana said at the

virtual post-match press confer-ence.

"...The role which the teamis giving me according to matchsituation, I am trying to bat likethat. Today, I had to play the

anchor's role. "I knew that if I was there

at one end, then things wouldbecome easy for us with playerslike Rinku, Andre Russell, andAnukul (Roy) waiting in the

wings. So we had depth in bat-ting but my role was to playfrom one end so that we couldeasily chase the target," headded.

Rana also heaped praiseon young Rinku Singh, whoplayed an unbeaten 42-runcameo of 23 balls.

He said his efforts to calmdown a "hyper" Rinku yieldedrich dividend for KKR.

"I am very happy for theway he (Rinku) batted as Iknow him for 5-6 years and hehas worked a lot, scored in everydomestic season. The way hewas batting, I knew he would dosomething big for our teamonce he gets the chance," saidRana.

"When he walked in to bat,I tried to calm him as I know heis a little-hyper and told him (if)we bat, we can finish the gamein any over. I am very happy forhim and hopefully he will con-tinue batting the same way forKKR and himself," he added.

�� -.#��.%/0

The IPL final will be played inAhmedabad on May 29

while the Women's T20Challenge exhibition event willbe held in Pune from May 23-May 28, the BCCI confirmed onTuesday.

As PTI reported last month,the IPL Qualifier 1 and

Eliminator will be held inKolkata on May 24 and 25respectively while Qualifier 2and final will be played inAhmedabad on May 27 andMay 29 in front of capacitycrowd.

"Qualifier 1 will be held inEden Gardens, Kolkata on 24thMay followed by the Eliminatoron 25th May. The NarendraModi Stadium in Ahmedabadwill host Qualifier 2 and theTATA IPL final on 27th and29th May respectively," said theBCCI in a statement.

After the BCCI ApexCouncil meeting last month,president Sourav Ganguly hadsaid that the Women's T20Challenge will be held inLucknow but it has been movedto Pune. Three matches will beplayed before the final on May28. The three-team event did nottake place last year. The BCCI isplanning a five or six teamWomen's IPL from 2023.

�� -.#��.%/0

Nicholas Pooran has beennamed as the replacement

of Kieron Pollard, who retiredrecently, as the new captain ofWest Indies' ODI and T20Iteams. Pooran had alreadyserved as Pollard's deputy overthe last year and has also beena stand-in captain leading WestIndies against Australia in a

T20I series in 2021."Shai Hope has been rec-

ommended to stand as vice-captain of the ODI team," saida statement from Cricket WestIndies (CWI).

Commenting on theappointment, Pooran was quot-ed as saying, "I am truly hon-oured to be appointed captainof the West Indies team. I amfollowing the footsteps of sev-eral giants of the game whohave created an amazing lega-cy for West Indies cricket. Thisis indeed a prestigious role, apivotal position in the WestIndian society, as cricket is theforce that brings us all WestIndians together. To be namedcaptain is indeed the highlightof my career so far and I wantto drive the team forward toaccomplish great things on thefield for our fans and loyal sup-porters."

Pooran will take over full-time captaincy from WestIndies' tour of Netherlandslater this month.

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all sorts of trouble.Then Sudharsan and David Miller (11)

tried to rally the innings but managed toadd only 23 runs in 30 balls.

It became 67/4 after Liam Livingstone(1/15) dismissed Miller, who miscued alofted drive only to be caught by Rabadaat long-off.

Sudharshan tried to change gearsfrom the 11th over, when he pulledLivingstone for his first boundary, but wasunable to free his arms frequently.

Rabada further pegged back Gujaratby removing Rahul Tewatia (11) andRashid Khan (0) in successive deliveriesin the 17th over with Gujarat reeling at112/6.

Rabada capped off a memorable spellby dismissing Lockie Ferguson (5).

For Punjab, Sandeep Sharma (0/17),Arshdeep Singh (1/35), Rahul Chahar(0/11) and Livingstone also played theirparts to perfection.

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