Gabriel attal to be France’s youngest, first openly gay PM THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l wednesday l January 10, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION French president Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday named the 34-year-old Attal to replace Elizabeth Borne who stepped down on Monday By picking Attal, who has been popular as the country’s education minister, Macron is hoping to breathe new momentum into his presidency, battered by protests over pension reforms. Attal’s appointment and a looming cabinet reshuffle are meant to boost the popularity of Macron’s centrist party, which is facing a tough challenge from the far-right, ahead of the June EU elections CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Modi, Macron pact on N-power plants lined up for R-Day S H A H I D F A R I D I @ New Delhi India and France are likely to sign an agreement to set up two new nuclear power plants in the country. The accord may be signed during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Delhi as the chief guest at the Republic Day parade this year. Sources said the two sides have reached an agreement to expand their civil nuclear cooperation under which France is already committed to constructing six 1,650 MW units at Jaitapur in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar last month signed an agreement with Russia to set up more units at the existing Kudankulam nuclear power sta- tion in Tamil Nadu. India has been taking giant strides in cutting carbon emission and the current push for nuclear power is aimed at achieving the enhanced target of Nationally Determined Contribution of reducing the emission intensity of its GDP to 45% by 2030 from the 2005 level. Sources said the new Indo-French agreement may not be an expansion of the existing facility at Jaitapur in Maharashtra. It may be a greenfield plant in a state that does not already have a nuclear power unit. The Union government has already announced that it is looking at setting up new nuclear power plants in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana and Rajasthan. Modi, UAE Prez hold roadshow ahead of Vibrant Gujarat meet D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad prime Minister Narendra Modi held a 3-km-long roadshow with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The Emirates president is the chief guest of the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, to be inaugurated by Modi on Wednesday . Before the roadshow, Modi welcomed the UAE president at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. After receiving the UAE president, Modi posted on X: “Welcome to India my brother, HH @MohamedBinZayed . It’s PM Narendra Modi welcomes UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan upon his arrival in Ahmedabad | PTI an honour to have you visit us.” The roadshow began from the airport and lasted 15 minutes, till the two leaders reached Indira Bridge in Ahmedabad City in a car, covering a distance of 3 km. A large number of people had gathered on both sides of the road to greet them, and the two leaders waved at them from the car. All through the route, banners were erected to welcome the UAE president. After the roadshow, a bilateral meeting was held between Modi and the UAE president, during which four MoUs were signed on renewable energy, healthcare, food processing, and ports. Earlier in the day, Modi held bilateral meetings with the President of Timor-Leste Jose RamosHorta and Mozambique President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi. Arrested KMRL plans underground station at Kochi airport Rahul Mamkootathil sent to 14-day custody Cong stages statewide protests after the police arrest the YC state president in connection with the violence during the secretariat march on Dec 20| P4 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express E x press N e w s S er v i c e @ Kochi T’Puram metro Giving a clear indication that the stretch to the Kochi airport is on, the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) on Tuesday said it is considering an underground station at the airport in the phase-3 corridor between Aluva and Angamaly. The new comprehensive mobility plan has suggested a conventional metro for Thiruvananthapuram, instead of the light metro as proposed earlier. The comprehensive mobility plan (CMP), prepared by the Urban Mass Transit Company, has recommended extending phase-3 from the Kochi airport to Angamaly The CMP pointed . out that the Aluva-Angamaly metro corridor with an airport link will provide direct connectivity from major nodes such as Tripunithura, Kakkanad and Angamaly to the airport. “Though most portions of the Aluva-Angamaly corridor are planned as elevated lines, we are exploring the possibility of having an underground station at the airport to facilitate easy commute for passengers. This will also avoid land acquisition in the area,” said KMRL MD Loknath Be● More on P4 hera.