Sanju Samson thanks the heavens after helping India win on Sunday | Debadatta Mallick bhubaneswar l monday l march 02, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late CITY EDITION surya & CO seal semifinal berth, face England in Mumbai on mar 5 The defending champions defeat West Indies in Kolkata in the virtual quarterfinal of the T20 World Cup on Sunday. A look... clinical India cruise past west indies samson seizes the moment at big stage It was an evening where a lot of things fell in place for India. First, they won the toss and opted to field. Then, Jasprit Bumrah put brakes on WI with a two-wicket over as they finished with 195/4 thanks to Jason Holder (34 n.o) & Rovman Powell (37 n.o). When India lost Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma early, Sanju Samson stood tall to see through the chase. ■ ■ Brought in to support Abhishek’s poor run in Chennai, Samson saved his best for the must-win clash against West Indies Samson set the tone up front, and continued to pile on while wickets fell around him. The Kerala batter smashed an unbeaten 97 from just 50 balls to make a statement when India needed him the most | P11 97 n.o Sanju Samson sealed the sF spot with a 97 n.o from 50 balls 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 War escalates after US-Israeli airstrikes kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei; Tehran goes on the offensive, hits US allies in Gulf; leaders urge restraint As crisis deepens, India braces for economic impact DIPA K MONDAL @ New Delhi This videograb combo shows the sequence of large-scale strikes on “the headquarters of the Iranian terror regime” in Tehran on March 1 | PTI Dangerous escalation a g e n c i es @ Tehran/Tel Aviv IRANIAN Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated by Israel and the United States in a major attack on Iran, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of protracted regional instability . News agency IRNA announced the 86-year-old’s death on Sunday after a joint US- Israeli aerial bombardment targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. US President Donald Trump threatened that the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week. The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Major General Mohammad Pakpour, was also declared dead in airstrikes. Also killed was Ali Shamkhani, long a figurehead within Iran’s security establishment, IRNA said. Among the other top officials who died in the strikes were Iran police int e l l i g e n c e ch i e f Gholamreza Rezaian and the chief of armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi. The Israeli army announced “largescale” strikes targeting the “heart of Tehran” for the second day running. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said Khamenei’s killing was a “turning point”. Iran formed an interim leader- Smoke billows in Dubai after an Iranian strike. Hundreds of drones and missiles targeted UAE and other Gulf allies of the US after Khamenei’s death | AFP ship council to take over. Sources said Ayatollah Alireza Arafi was part of it, alongside President Masoud Pezeshk i a n a n d C h i e f Ju s t i c e Mohseni-Eje’i. The body will rule until a new leader is selected. In retaliation, Iran fired missiles across the Middle East and Israel, while Israel conducted fresh strikes on Tehran. In Israel, at least nine people were killed as Iranian missiles hit a syna go gue in Beit Shemesh. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the killing of Khamenei was a “declaration of war against Muslims”, vowing vengeance. Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani vowed to hit the US and Israel with “a force never seen before.” In the UAE, three people had died and 58 wounded, forcing it to shutter its embassy in Iran and recalling its ambassador. In Kuwait, one person was killed and 32 were reportedly wounded. The US military said three service members were killed in the Iran operation. Meanwhile, Trump said he would “be talking” to Iranian leaders. “They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk.” Iranian Red Crescent revised the death toll from an Israeli strike on a school in Minab on Saturday to 108. Modi chairs CCS meet to review situation R a j es h K u m a r T h a k u r @ New Delhi AS the war between Iran and US-Israel escalates, India is bracing for a range of macroeconomic adversity Crude oil prices, which had already been firm. ing up amid rising tension, shot up from around $65 per barrel to $72-73 per barrel over the past few days. Going forward, the volatility in oil, currency and eq, uity markets is expected to remain high. At the heart of the economic concern is the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20% of global petroleum liquids and a fifth of global LNG shipments transit. India, which consumes 5.5 million barrels of crude oil per day and imports more than 80% of its requirement, is parFor every $1/barrel ticularly exposed. Around 1.5-2 rise in Brent price, million barrels per day of India’s there would be an crude imports pass through this impact of `0.52/ narrow corridor. In FY25, nearly litre on diesel and `0.55/litre on 50% of India’s crude oil imports petrol retail prices and 54% of LNG imports were routed via Hormuz. Any disrupMadhavi Arora, tion — or even the perception of Economist, risk — can inject a geopolitical Emkay Global premium into oil prices. India sources a substantial portion of its crude from West Asia. While refiners can diversify supplies to the US, Africa or South America, global oil benchmarks determine pricing. Elevated crude prices would still translate into a higher import bill. Experts warn that the macroeconomic transmission to India is imminent; higher crude prices raise fuel and transportation costs, feeding into broader inflation. Manoranjan Sharma, chief economist at Informerics Ratings, said the immediate consequence would be rising inflationary pressure triggered by higher energy prices. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Sunday night to review the rapidly escalating situation in West Asia following the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel and the killing of Iranian Sup r e m e L e a d e r Ay a t o l l a h A l i Khamenei. Modi landed in the national capital around 9.30 pm after wrapping up a two-day tour of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. The CCS, headed by the Prime Minister, includes Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as other members. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, principal secretaries to the prime minister, P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also attended. Sources said the discussions focused on the safety of Indian nationals in the region. Nearly 10,000 Indians are in Iran, over 40,000 in Israel, and about nine million across West Asia and the Gulf. With flight services disrupted due to the military escalation in West Asia, hundreds of Indians are stranded in Dubai and other key hub airports. 350 flights of Indian carriers cancelled 22 killed in Pak, protests in Kashmir, MP 15 Indians evacuated from oil tanker Israel calls up reservists New Delhi: Airlines from India announced cancellation of all flights to the region. The Civil Aviation Ministry said 350 flights operated by Indian carriers stood cancelled on Sunday. Airlines have announced full refund or rescheduling of all tickets booked until March 5 or 7, a source with DGCA said | P7 Islamabad/Srinagar: Following Khamenei’s killing, protests erupted across the world. In Pakistan, 10 people were killed as hundreds of protesters tried to storm the US consulate in Karachi, while 12 were killed elsewhere.Shia Muslims joined demonstrations in Kashmir and Bhopal too, many chanting anti-Israel and anti-US slogans | P9 New Delhi: An oil tanker carrying 20 crew members, including 15 Indians and five Iranians, and an Omani port near the strategic Strait of Hormuz were targeted in strikes on Sunday, marking the first reported attacks on Oman since Tehran launched retaliatory operations Tel Aviv: The Israeli military said it was calling up almost 100,000 reservists as part of its ongoing campaign of strikes against arch-foe Iran named Roaring Lion, the IDF said CM held talks with Centre to evacuate Odias: Min E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has discussed with the Centre about safe return of people of Odisha residing in or stranded in the war-torn Middle East, Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said here on Sunday . Talking to mediapersons, Harichandan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have started the process to evacuate Indians from the conflict zone. Since the Chief Minister has already taken up the matter with the Centre, people of the state too will retur n home safe. Harichandan said, in the past, the Centre evacuated people from countries where Indians were stranded for different reasons like war or natural disasters. This time too, the Centre as well as the Odisha government is taking all steps for safe return of the people. Hundreds of flights have been disrupted across Middle East and other countries including India following a major joint attack by the United States and Israel In the past, the Centre evacuated people from countries where Indians were stranded for different reasons. This time too, the Centre and Odisha government are taking all steps for safe return of the people Prithiviraj Harichandan, Law minister BJP keeps it under wraps as fourth RS seat race gets tight B i j o y P r a d h a n @ Bhubaneswar With just three days left for filing of nominations for the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha, political manoeuvring has intensified in Odisha, where the contest for a possible fourth seat has added intrigue to an otherwise straightforward numbers game. The BJP’s core committee, which met on February 22, is learnt to have forwarded a long list of names to the party’s parliamentary board for final selection out of which six names carry weight. State unit president Manmohan Samal and former state president Samir Mohanty are said to be the front-runners while sitting MPs Sujit Kumar and Mamata Mahanta are also in the reckoning. For mer Union minister Dilip Ray is learnt to be in the race too, while senior leader As the full core committee met after a long time, the Central leadership wanted to give the impression that the selection of candidates is done in a democratic manner BJP sources Golak Mohapatra and former state treasurer Sudarshan Goel have a sizeable backing within the core committee. Sources indicate that some members are opposed to nominating leaders who already hold organisational posts, citing the party’s ‘one man, one post’ norm. Another influential faction is said to be pushing for the candidature of a prominent mines operator for the fourth seat, fuelling speculation of possible crossvoting. “The core committee send- ing names for consideration of the party’s parliamentary board is a mere formality As . the full core committee met after a long time, the Central leadership wanted to give the impression that the selection of candidates is done in a democratic manner,” a senior party leader said. The Opposition BJD has already announced two candidates despite having the numerical strength to comfortably secure only one seat. In the 147-member Assembly, a candidate requires 30 firstpreference votes to be elected to the Rajya Sabha. With 48 MLAs, the BJD can ensure the victory of one nominee, but its decision to field a second candidate has raised eyebrows, as it would require at least 12 additional first-preference Continued on P5 votes.  and retaliation by Iran. Officials at the Chief Resident Commissioner’s office in New Delhi said their helpline has been activated and if any call is received from people in affected countries, they will coordinate with the Indian Embassy for their safe evacuation. Currently social media is flood, ed with stories of Odias living in the tense Middle East region. Though no call for evacuation has been received yet, frequent att a c k s h av e l e f t f a m i l i e s panic-struck. maha tragedy Blast at explosives plant kills at least 17 S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai At least 17 people were killed and 18 others critically injured in a major explosion at an ammunition manufacturing company near Nagpur on Sunday morning. A powerful blast occurred at 7.00 am, triggering massive flames in the Nonal crimping plant area, which spread to adjoining sections of the facility located in Raulgaon village, approximately 25 km from Nagpur city . Sources said 35 workers and two supervisors were present at the time of the incident. A new shift had begun at 6 am. The bodies were charred beyond recognition. Samples of the family members were being taken for DNA testing, the police said. The factory belonged to a major manufacturer of industrial explosives, including materials used for mining and infrastructure projects, such as detonators and explosive cartridges. The incident comes a day after a blast at a cracker unit in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada district claimed 21 lives. express read Army constable, two nephews arrested for YouTuber’s murder 7-year-old girl drugged and raped for over three days Bhubaneswar: A day after an YouTuber was allegedly murdered for opposing alcohol consumption in a public place, police on Sunday arrested an Army constable and his two nephews in this connection. The accused have been identified as army constable Sangram Keshari Behera and his two nephews Samerendra Behera and Sangram Behera | P2 Paradip: In a shocking incident, a sevenyear-old tribal girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by a butcher for three days inside his chicken meat store in Paradip. The accused, Raja Khan (24) of Ram Nagar in Kendrapara, worked as a butcher and lived in the same slum as the survivor in Paradip. He was arrested by the police on Sunday and sent for medical examination | P4