vijayawada l friday l february 20, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION uk Police arrest King Charles’s brother in ‘misconduct’ probe Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested by UK police on Thursday for misconduct in public office following revelations from Epstein files accused of forwarding govt reports no one is above the law, says British PM According to the Epstein emails release, Andrew was accused of forwarding government reports from official visits to the American sex offender and financier, who died in a New York prison in August 2019. As Duke of York, Andrew, 66, had served as UK’s trade envoy between 2001 and 2011, travelling globally and having privileged access to government ■ ■ British Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a statement after Andrew’s arrest stating that there is no individual who is placed above the law Once a high-flyer, Andrew had been stripped of all his royal titles of Prince and Duke of York by the King last year. In several news bytes to press, he has consistently denied any wrongdoing | P9 2011 when Andrew was jailed for 11 months over epstein links 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 SC slams states over freebies ahead of polls s uc h i t r a k a lya n mo h a nty @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the freebies and subsidies culture ahead of elections and said it was “high time” to revisit such policies that hamper the country’s economic development. Observing that the ultimate financial burden of such populist measures falls on taxpayers, a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said, “But this money which the State says it will pay now... Who will pay for it? This is taxpayers’ money .” The observations were made during the hearing of a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited which proposed to give free electricity to all consumers irrespective of paying capacity . “It is understandable when some people cannot afford, you have to provide. But the persons who ... are affluent ... is it not high time to revisit these policy frameworks?” the CJI asked. The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, said state governments should generate employment, make roads and hospitals instead of freebies. Need democratised and human-centric AI: Modi PM says India does not fear AI but sees future and fortune in it RA K ESH K U M AR @ New Delhi Artificial intelligence (AI) must be democratised and should serve as a medium of inclusion and empowerment, especially in the Global South, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday . Speaking at the for mal opening ceremony of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 here, Modi said some countries think AI should be developed in a confidential manner but India believes the codes should be shared for the common good. As for the potential job disruptions, Modi said AI will also create new employment avenues, though it is difficult to predict what kinds of jobs will emerge. He observed that there are two kinds of people—those who fear AI and those who see future in it. Stressing that India does not fear AI, Modi unveiled the MANAV vision for AI, where M stands for moral and ethical systems, A for accountable governance, N for national sovereignty A for accessible , and inclusive, and V for valid RIL to invest `10L cr in AI over seven yrs Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani announced a `10 lakh crore investment in AI over the next seven years to connect every Indian citizen, business, and government service to AI and legitimate. He further said that AI will open higher-value, creative, and meaningful roles for more people, creating opportunities for innovation, entrepreneurship, and new industries. “AI will make work Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and others during the India AI Impact Summit 2026 | pti smarter, more efficient, and more impactful, enabling better design, faster building, and improved decision-making,” said Modi. The event was attended by AI leaders including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Microsoft’s Brad Smith, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, and Meta’s Alexandr Wang, among others.  P7 India set to join Pax Silica today J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi INDIA is set to join US-led strategic alliance Pax Silica on Friday marking a major step , in New Delhi’s evolving technology and economic par tnership with Washington. Sources said India’s entry into the initiative, which is aimed at building resilient supply chains for critical minerals and AI, is expected to be formalised at the India AI Impact Summit. Launched in December 2025, Pax Silica seeks to establish a secure, innovation-driven ecosystem from raw materials and critical minerals to semiconductors and AI infrastructure. US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg is currently in India and is expected to attend the formalisation event on Friday alongside senior Indian officials and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor. Global navies must unite to face new threats: Rajnath U s h a P e r i @ Visakhapatnam From its modest beginnings in 1995 with the participation of four foreign navies to its largest-ever edition involving 74 nations, Exercise MILAN2026 commenced in Vizag on Thursday, marking a major multilateral naval engagement hosted by the Indian Navy . Inaugurating the exercise, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called upon the global maritime community to work collectively to address evolving challenges at sea. Addressing Navy Chiefs and Heads of Delegations, he said the international community must act in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation to ensure maritime stability . “The role of Navies in international peacemaking has only increased over time. There has been an exponential economic growth during last few decades leading to massive increase in trade and transport. There has also been a rise in contests for ownership of channels, sometimes causing threats of flare up. Increasing global attention to underwater resources, particularly rare-earth minerals are adding a new dimension to P4 this tension,” he said.  As a member of the BRICS grouping, India’s decision to align with a US-led economic security framework is strategically significant. Current members of Pax Silica include Australia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, UAE, and UK. India’s entry into Pax Silica signals a sharpening focus on technology-led economic security and a recalibration of its strategic alignments amid intensifying global competition over AI and critical resources. E x p r e s s Re a d Teen sexually assaults 3-year-old girl, held Visakhapatnam: A 17-year-old boy allegedly sexually assaulted a 3-year-old girl under the New Port police station limits in Vizag on Thursday. Neighbours who noticed the atrocity, raised an alarm. The girl was sent to the KGH. The police arrested the accused | P3 Today’s Match 7pm: Australia vs Oman (Pallekele)