mangaluru l saturday l november 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION don vows to freeze migration from third world countries US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to suspend migration a day after an Afghan shot two National Guard soldiers new escalation in anti-migration stance Trump’s social media post, which also threatened to reverse “millions” of admissions granted under his predecessor Joe Biden, marks a new escalation in the anti-migration stance. Trump said earlier that Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old West Virginia National Guard member deployed in Washington as part of his crackdown on crimes, had died from wounds ■ 1,16,000 19 nations already face restrictions ■ The shooting on Wednesday has brought together three politically explosive issues: Trump’s controversial use of the military at home, immigration, and the legacy of the US war in Afghanistan As per USCIS, 19 countries — including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran and Myanmar — already face US travel curbs under an order | P11 green card holders from afghanistan in the u.s. 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 Gathering momentum 9.7 10 8 6 9.3 9.5 6.9 6 4.8 Y-o-Y growth rates (%) 8.4 8.2 7.4 7.8 6.5 6.4 5.6 4 2 Q2 Q3 2022-23 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 2023-24 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 2024-25 Q4 Q1 Q2 2025-26 At 8.2%, GDP grows at fastest pace in six qtrs year and 7% in Q1. Gross fixed capital formation — an indicaINDIA’s economy grew at 8.2% tor of infrastructure and asset in the second quarter of FY26, creation — maintained its rise beating all estimates and mark- at 7.3% versus 6.7% a year ago, ing the fastest pace in six quar- although slightly lower than the ters. This is a big jump from the 7.8% in Q1. 5.6% growth in the same “The confluence of period last fiscal. Most stable inflation, susanalysts had expected tained public capex, and the Q2 growth to be in reform momentum pothe range of 7–7.5%. sitions the economy to The strong performnavigate risks, as reance is attributed to a flected in upward reviboost in manufactursions to FY26 GDP ing, rising rural degrowth projections by mand, and sustained various agencies,” said growth of the services Chief Economic AdviThe 8.2% GDP sector. Manufacturing sor V Anantha Naggrowth is very grew at a robust 9.1% eswaran. He added that encouraging. It reflects the — more than four times India becoming a $4 impact of our the 2.2% recorded a trillion economy “as pro-growth year ago. Economists early as next year” is policies and attribute this partly to not unrealistic. reforms. It also frontloading of exports reflects the hard The government has to the US ahead of the highlighted the role rework and 50% tariff increase. ductions in GST rates enterprise of our people Construction also played in lowering the saw healthy expansion, Narendra Modi, PM cost of goods and servgrowing at 7.2%. The ices, supporting conservices sector continsumption and expandued its positive momentum, ing the tax base. clocking 9.2% growth in Q2 H o w e v e r, e c o n o m i s t s compared to 7.2% a year cautioned that slower nominal earlier. g rowth could pose risks. Private consumption re- Nominal GDP grew 8.7% in Q2, mained strong with 7.9% reaching an estimated `85.25 growth, compared to 6.4% last lakh crore. P12 Putin visit to boost defence ties M AYA N K SI N G H @ New Delhi DEFENCE negotiations will be the key agenda of Russian President Vladmir Putin’s visit to India from December 4 to 5, which is expected to take the strategic bilateral ties to the next level. Announcing the two-day visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday that Putin is coming to hold the annual India-Russia summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The visit will give an opportunity for the two leaders to review the progress in bilateral relations, set the vision to strengthen the ‘special and privileged strategic partnership’ and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, the MEA said. Terming it a “visit of great importance”, the Kremlin said the current geopolitical issues will also come up in talks. The focus of the summit will be “broader elements of cooperation on defence”, said Defence Secretary R K Singh said while speaking at an event in Delhi on Friday. He said the strategic S-400 air defence systems may be on the table though no announcements are likely. “This meeting will focus on the larger defence partnership and resolving delivery delays,” he said. The S-400 played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor as it successfully targeted multiple Pakistani fighters and aircraft deep inside Pakistan. India has already signed contracts for the S-400 systems with Russia, but deliveries have faced delays. Singh confirmed that Russia has promised to deliver the remaining equipment in the financial year 2026-27. Cyclone located 320 km south of Karaikal red alert for coastal tn high wind warning PUSHPITA D E Y @ New Delhi A man wades through floodwater outside his house following heavy rainfall in Kaduwela on the outskirts of Colombo on Friday | afp puducherry A coastal road chipped away by crashing waves in Rameswaram | express Puducherry beach saw rough tides on Friday. Red alert has been issued for Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Villupuram, Chengalpattu and Puducherry for Saturday | sriram r By Friday evening, Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said the cyclone had affected 43,991 people. Many regions of the country remain submerged and inaccessible, with officials warning that rising water levels in the Kelani and Attanagalu rivers pose a grave threat to Colombo and the pop- ulous Gampaha district. Outages have hit nearly a third of the region, and two major hydropower plants have been shut down. Responding to the escalating crisis, India has so far dispatched 4.5 tonnes of dry rations and 2 tonnes of fresh rations, including staple foods, ready-to-eat meals, dairy products, bakery items and other 61 dead as Cyclone Ditwah ravages lanka J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi AT least 61 people have died and more than 25 remain missing till Friday evening in Sri Lanka, which is bearing the brunt of massive destruction caused by Cyclone Ditwah. With torrential rains, landslides and floods displacing thousands in the island nation, India has launched a swift hu- manitarian response for the island nation. New Delhi has rushed emergency relief under Operation Sagar Bandhu, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveying condolences and stressing India’s commitment to stand by its closest maritime neighbour. essential provisions. Additional survival supplies have also been handed over. The relief consignments were delivered by INS Vikrant and INS Udayagiri, both docked in Sri Lanka, an official release said. Ditwah is likely to reach southwest Bay of Bengal near north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh by November 30, IMD said. P7 Siddu, DKS to talk over breakfast today, Adopt 9 resolutions for outcome will decide their Delhi visit better life: PM in Udupi B’luru shivers at 16°-26°C, AQI levels rise D e v a r a j B H i r e h a l l i @ Bengaluru E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Bengaluru As the city braces for winter, temperature below normal was recorded on Friday, with the minimum temperature being recorded at 16.1°C and the maximum at 25.2°C, that is 1.1°C and 2.2°C below normal, according to readings from Indian Metrology Department (IMD).’ The maximum and minimum temperatures are very likely to be around 25°C and 16°C respectively until Saturday and cloudy sky in the city. The dip in the temperature comes as a cyclonic storm Ditwah developed over the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining the Sri Lanka coast, as per the IMD forecast. Additionally, the maximum temperature according to IMD stood at 25.3°C against the normal maximum temperature of 27.4°C on Friday in the city . The forecast also notes that the movement of the cyclonic storm is also expected to likely bring light to moderate rain or thundershowers at a few places over Bengaluru (Rural), Bengaluru (Urban), Chamarajanagara, Chikkaballapura and other districts of south interior Karnataka over the next week. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in various parts of the city has seen a downward trend due to the cloudy weather prevailing in the city; as the AQI recorded at the Central Silk Board station was at 156 on Friday as compared to the AQI 134 on Thursday as per KSPCB data. , Tamil Nadu Sri lanka brace! Rosan Kujur (R) scored twice as India defeated Chile 7-0 in the Junior Hockey World Cup on Friday | ashwin prasath | P13 After a bitter play of words which only cleaved the rift wider on Thursday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar are sitting down to breakfast on Saturday morning. The twist to the leadership c r i s i s c a m e l a t e F r i d ay evening, when the Congress high command advised the two leaders to hold discussions at their level. AICC general secretary (org anisation) KC Venugopal called them and conveyed the message. “The high command called me and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and told us to meet, so I have called the DCM for breakfast. Shivakumar has also been saying he will agree to whatever the high command says,” Siddaramaiah told re- Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar porters at Vidhana Soudha on Friday evening, adding that he will go to Delhi if invited. “There is no change in my stand. I have already said I will follow what the party high command tells me. I will say the same now and tomorrow,” he reiterated. They are scheduled to meet around 9.30am for breakfast at the CM’s official residence Cauvery, according to sources. If they are able to resolve the issue at their level, the high command will put on hold the meeting scheduled at 7pm Sunday in New Delhi, for some time, sources added. It was said that senior leader Sonia Gandhi would chair the meeting to resolve the leadership ‘crisis’ that has been haunting the Congress in Karnataka. Earlier in the day RDPR and , I T / B T M i n i s t e r P r i ya n k Kharge, son of AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge, had told reporters there was no official information on the Delhi meeting. “If Kharge saheb says so, the meeting will be held. If the AICC president calls, everyone will go. The high command leaders have a sense of timing. This has been happening in the 130-year-old party he said. ,” Priyank on Friday met Shivakumar and held deliberations for over half-an-hour before leaving for Delhi. P4 SC frees woman jailed for changing six lawyers u d aya n k i s h o r e @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court has ordered the release of a woman jailed by a lower court for changing her lawyers six times during an appeal in a cheque bounce case, describing the order as “appalling and shocking.” The case involves two dishonoured cheques issued by the woman’s mother, worth `7 lakh and `5.02 lakh respectively The trial court convicted . and sentenced both the mother and daughter. The woman subsequently filed an appeal before the sessions court in Faridabad, which has been pending for eight years, the bench noted. Meanwhile, the sessions court cancelled their bail and ordered their custody. The mother and daughter challenged this decision in the high court and later the Supreme Court. A bench comprising Justices Arvind Kumar and N V Anjaria, in an order dated November 27, noted that the mother had passed away, but the appellate court had not accepted her death certificate. The sessions court directed the concerned Station House Officer to verify the legitimacy of the certifi- cate. The bench observed that if the lawyer was not assisting the court, the proper action would have been to appoint an amicus curiae or allow the accused time to arrange alternate counsel — not to jail her. The court ordered the woman’s release on a personal bond of `1 lakh.“It is appalling and shocking that the appellate court insisted on the appellant’s presence on every hearing date, particularly after suspending the sentence already passed,” the bench said. E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Udupi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Bhagavad Gita makes everyone aware of their duties and life commitments. Stating that he is inspired by Bhagavad Gita’s message, he urged people to adopt certain resolutions. There are nine resolutions which are very essential for the present and future, he said, while addressing a gathering of devotees during the mega mass recitation of the Bhagavad Gita in Udupi on Friday . The event, titled ‘Lakshakantha Gita Parayana’, was held as part of the Koti Gita Lekhana Yajna Abhiyan run by Udupi Paryaya Sri Puthige Mutt. The Prime Minister had earlier recited the 15th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita with the assembled devotees. Modi stressed on the nine resolutions for a better life, as drawn from the teachings of the Gita. He urged people to save water, protect rivers, and plant a tree in the name of their mothers as a personal commitment to environmental conservation. CONTINUED ON: P4 Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Udupi Krishna Mutt for the mass recitation of Bhagavad Gita on Friday ‘Bharata Bhagya Vidhata’ Sri Sugunendra Theertha Swamiji of Paryaya Sri Puthige Matha conferred the title ‘Bharata Bhagya Vidhata’ on PM Narendra Modi in Udupi on Friday. The seer urged the PM to take steps to develop the temple town as a major pilgrimage centre by implementing a corridor plan | P4 express read 4 cops accused of killing youth in B’luru rehab Al Falah boss used forged papers to acquire land Bengaluru: Four policemen, including an inspector, have been booked for murder after a 22-year-old youth, whom they allegedly illegally detained, was found dead in a private rehab in mysterious circumstances in Bengaluru on Wednesday | P7 New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate probe has revealed that Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, founder of Al Falah University, acquired land in south-east Delhi through forged documents executed in the names of at least five deceased landowners.