Sanju Samson thanks the heavens after helping India win on Sunday | Debadatta Mallick visakhapatnam 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 M O N DAL @ 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 en c i e s @ 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 e s 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 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 Mediation in DNA of Indians, says CJI maha tragedy Blast at explosives plant kills at least 17 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Stating that Indians possess an inherited DNA of mediation, citing Lord Sri Krishna as codified mediator who tried to resolve war between Pandavas and Kauravas, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant emphasised the importance and value of mediation as a very effective judicial method for the resolution of disputes. The CJI attended as a chief guest the State Level Symposium on Mediation ‘Dialogue as Cornerstone of Justice’ organised by the Andhra Pradesh State Legal Services Authority in Vijayawada on Sunday . Addressing the gathering of Supreme Court and High Court judges and advocates, the CJI 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. @ Vijayawada Chief Justice of India Surya Kant attends the State Level Symposium on Mediation in Vijayawada | Express recalled his earlier efforts of bringing popularity to mediation services in the judiciary during the first international mediation conference held in Delhi, and asserted that mediation is an ideal medium to resolve disputes with a win-win P4 situation. Self-reliance in focus at ThinkEdu 2026 be anchored in the theme of ‘Education for Atmanirbhar Bharat 2047’. The two-day event The ThinkEdu Conclave re- seeks to ignite conversations turns to Chennai for on AI, policy, culture its 14th edition, bringand the churn redeing together over 45 fining India’s most vivoices from diverse tal pillar of growth. fields to examine the Presented by Tata forces transforming Group and Tata ConI n d i a ’s e d u c at i o n sultancy Services, landscape. As India with Rajalakshmi charts its course toGroup of Institutions THINKEDU wards 2047, the centeas title sponsor, the CONCLAVE nary of Independence, conclave will be inauthe classroom has gurated by TN Goveremerged as the crucible where nor R N Ravi on Monday setting , the idea of a self-reliant India the tone for discussions spanwill be realised. Against this ning defence strategy emerging , backdrop, ThinkEdu 2026 will technologies and the role of E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai Presents youth in nation building. While West Bengal Governor Dr C V Ananda Bose, senior BJP leader K Annamalai and former civil servant Dr Irai Anbu will discuss the realm of public service in their sessions, Bihar Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Shuddhidananda, president of Advaita Ashrama, will address the need for spirituality . Parliamentarians and public figures including Shashi Tharoor, Smriti Zubin Irani, Sachin Pilot, Maithili Thakur and John Brittas will converse on youth politics and ideological debates shaping campuses on first day of the conclave. So far 500 speakers With over 500 speakers and 280 sessions over 14 editions, the ThinkEdu Conclave promises to bring policymakers, educators, technologists, and students under one roof to redefine education’s role in a rapidly changing world