THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l sunday l april 12, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION India, US step up energy tie-up with focus on coal gasification Both sides agreed to expand collaboration in emerging areas of energy sector, including coal gasification and liquefied petroleum gas exports amid energy crisis, India’s strategic lever identifying new avenues remains key The focus emerged during talks between Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Coal gasification is being positioned as a transformative pathway that converts coal into syngas, which can then be used to produce cleaner fuels, fertilizers, chemicals, and hydrogen. Officials see this as a strategic lever ■ ■ Misri’s discussion with Wright focused on advancing energy security, deepening bilateral energy trade, and identifying new avenues to strengthen the India-US Energy Partnership India currently imports 83 per cent of its crude, 50 per cent of its natural gas, and over 90 per cent of methanol and fertilizers A64K cr in investment has been earmarked for coal gasification by india 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 World waits and watches as direct US-Iran talks get underway in Pak Drafts exchanged at the delegate level; Iranian delegation to stay overnight at the meeting venue U.S. says 2 destroyers transited Hormuz, Iran denies claim a g e n c i e s @ Islamabad Mercury soars in state, IMD advises caution for two weeks S h a i n u M o h a n @ T’Puram It is midway into the summer and Kerala is reeling under extremely high temperatures. On Friday, the state recorded its highest temperature of the year, with Palakkad touching 40.1 degrees Celsius — 3.4°C above normal — followed closely by Punalur at 39.8°C, a spike of 4.5°C. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Kerala needs to be extremely cautious in the next 10 to 15 days due to the absence of significant weather systems during the period. However, despite the rise in temperature, most local bodies remain unprepared with no local heat action plans to tackle the intensifying summer. IMD Director Neetha K Gopal told TNIE that temperatures are expected to remain above normal over the next 10 to 15 days as there is no indication of widespread rain. She said hot and humid conditions will prevail across most regions. “There are no significant weather systems or persistent cloud cover in the coming two weeks. This is the period of highest insolation in the state, when solar radiation is most intense due to near-perpendicular sun rays, including zero shadow days. As a result, people are exposed to stronger solar radiation, which can significantly increase heat stress,” ● More on P5 said Neetha.  APRIL 10 Palakkad Punalur Kannur airport Kottayam 40.1°C (36.7) 39.8°C (35.3) 38.1°C 37.6°C (34) APRIL 11 MAX TEMPERATURE Palakkad Kottayam Punalur Kozhikode 37.5°C (36.7) 37.0°C (34) 36.6°C (35.3) 36.4°C (34.3) (Normal temperature in brackets) WITH THIS ISSUE Ballads and Bullets PLUS 12 P AGES AMERICAN and Iranian officials held first face-to-face talks in Pakistan on Saturday the most sig, nificant since the 1979 Islamic revolution as the foes try to end a war that plunged West Asia into violence and severely damaged the global economy . The trilateral direct negotiations took place with host Pakistan in capital Islamabad, a senior White House official said. The US delegation comprises Vice President J D Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the official said, making it the highest level of American contact since the Islamic republic was established. The Iranian delegation, composed of more than 70 members, was being led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, joined by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The talks went on late into the night, with the Iranian delegation deciding to stay overnight at the venue, Serana Hotel. Exchange of drafts at the delegate level indicated there was some progress on a basic framework, WASHINGTON: The US military said two destroyers transited the Irangripped Strait of Hormuz ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. Iran said it forced a US ship to turn around. “The claim by the CENTCOM commander regarding the approach and entry of American vessels into the Strait of Hormuz is strongly denied... The initiative for the movement of any vessel is in the hands of the Armed Forces of Iran,” said the spokesperson of the Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters US Vice President JD Vance (C) arrives for a meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif prior to the US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad on Saturday | AFP but what those points of agreement were remained unclear, AlJazeera said. However, sources close to the Iranian delegation said the US demands on the Strait of Hormuz were “too ambitious”. Tehran wants control of the Strait of Hormuz and transit fees from vessels that use the waterway As for the US, it said it wants . free passage for global shipping through the strait. day 43 Iran’s 10-point proposal also called for a guaranteed end to the war. It included ending fighting against Iran’s “regional allies,” explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah apart from unfreezing of sanctioned Iranian assets. The US’ 15-point proposal includes restricting Iran’s nuclear program. Iran doubled down on parts of its earlier proposal, telling Irani- an state television it had presented some ideas as “red lines” in meetings with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. They included reparation for US-Israeli strikes and releasing Iran’s frozen assets. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Saturday began his official visit to the UAE, with a focus on the conflict. ”Started my visit to the UAE interacting with the members of the Indian Community. Spoke about GOI’s efforts,” he posted on X. AP/AFP express read Jumbo dies after biting cracker-stuffed jackfruit Kochi: In a shocking incident, a wild elephant died after biting a cracker stuffed in a jackfruit in Kuttampuzha forest area. The carcass of the elephant was found on a farmland at Vellaramkuthu settlement in Kuttampuzha forest area on Friday. The postmortem examination of the carcass was conducted on Saturday, and the primary report confirmed that the cause of death was cracker burst. P5 Final voter list rings alarm bell for BJP in UP Lucknow: The final voter list of Uttar Pradesh, released by the EC on Friday, has left the ruling BJP camp worried as the statistical account indicates that the number of deleted voters on the seats of 40 ministers is 2 to 10 times higher than their victory margin in the 2022 assembly polls. While Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak got the shock as some 1.25 lakh voters were removed from his Lucknow Cantonment constituency which he had won by a margin of about 39,000 votes. P8 U-turn on same Initial assessments stipend for all point to a possible med undergrads UDF comeback K a v i ta B a j e l i - D at t @ New Delhi A n i l S @ T’Puram Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, J P Nadda and Speaker Om Birla in Delhi on Saturday | PTI Rare bonhomie as PM Modi asks Rahul about his mother’s health rajesh kumar thakur @ New Delhi Political civility between netas of opposite camps in the Parliament complex isn’t as visible as it was in the past. But on Saturday on the sidelines of , a function at Prerna Sthal within the Parliament premises to mark Mahatma Jyotiba Phule’s 200th birth anniversary, there was a rare and interesting exchange. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had come to pay his respects at the event. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Minister J P Nadda, and several others were already present. So was Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. When the prime minister arrived and spotted Rahul in the gathering, he did not simply nod and move on. He walked over, greeted him, and asked about the health of his mother. “How is Sonia ji?” the prime minister was heard asking. Those standing nearby caught the exchange. Rahul apparently hadn’t expected the query There was a brief mo. ment of surprise. But he responded quickly apprising the , PM about his mother’s health, her recent hospitalisation in Delhi, and how she was subsequent convalescence. Sonia was recently admitted at a Delhi hospital and recently discharged. Even though Modi and Rahul spoke for a few minutes, the conversation was unhurried, the kind you might exchange with someone you have known for years under different circumstances. Ministers and officials, including Nadda and Birla, looked on with interest, and perhaps surprise, at such an unusual moment between the country’s two major leaders. For a brief while, they seemed removed from the sharp edges of political rivalry and one-upmanship, especially during poll time. Even as the three major political fronts have begun reviewing their poll prospects in the just-concluded assembly elections, initial assessments in the Left camp indicate a possible UDF comeback. While the UDF camp calculates 80-85 seats in their favour, the BJP estimates wins in 5-7 seats. CPM sources said, according to reports from districts, the LDF may suffer major setbacks in three districts — Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kozhikode — while it can make major gains in Palakkad and Kannur. Going by internal assessment, a portion of Left votes have gone to the BJP too. A clearer picture will emerge only after Sunday’s party state secretariat meet, which will review reports from district units. There are indications that the Left could lose many of its sitting seats. Of these, the biggest setback could be in the capital district, where it won 13 out of 14 seats last time. The Left camp feels that the tally could drop to 6-7 seats this time around. “It won’t be surprising if we lose some sitting seats like Nemom, Vamanapuram, Neyyattinkara, Kattakkada and Aruvikkara. Of these, Nemom is likely to go to BJP, while we would be able to retain Parassala, Kazhakoottam, Attingal, Vattiyoorkkavu and Varkala. As far as the CPI seats are concerned, the LDF would win Nedumangad, but we are not sure about Chirayinkeezh. It seems the BJP, too, has got a share of Left votes,” said a district leader. In the other two seats, Kovalam and Thiruvananthapuram, too, the CPM doesn’t see winning chances. In Kollam district, the LDF is facing a tough fight in at least 11 constituencies, including in the sitting seats of Kollam, Chavara, Kunnathur and Chathanoor. The party is not very confident of capturing UDF’s sitting seats of Kundara and Karunagappally. In Kozhikode district — where the LDF has 11 out of 13 seats — the ruling front may lose sitting seats like Perambra, Balussery and Nadapuram, according to initial assess● More on P4 ment.  The Centre appears to be backtracking on bringing pay parity for all undergraduate medical interns — in government and private medical colleges. Earlier, the Union health ministry had twice written to the National Medical Commission (NMC) on “examining” the issue of pay parity. And NMC had accepted that there is no stipend parity . The next step was for the NMC to amend provision of the Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) Regulations, 2021, which states that “all interns shall be paid stipend as fixed by the appropriate authority applicable to the institution/ University or State.” As for the Post-Graduate Medical Education (PGME) Regulation-2023, there is no distinction between interns working in government or private medical colleges. A recent RTI reply by the Medical Education Policy Section (MEP) under the health ministry said, “All matters relating to framing, amendment, and implementation of medical education regulations fall within the domain of NMC....Therefore, in view of the above, no further action is required to be taken by the MEP Section in the matter, as the subject falls within the domain of NMC.” asian championships Parents don’t watch him live as Ayush creates history A n m o l G u r u n g @ Chennai As shuttler Ayush Shetty was making history in China on Saturday, his parents were staying away from live action. It was a conscious choice. Call it superstition or belief this ritual has become a norm for the family ever since he started playing international events. Instead, they were just doing their prayers and hoping for the best. His mother Shalmili has been part of every victory and loss during his early days. She has been his constant company while travelling across the Young Ayush Shetty with parents and sister Aadhya | special arrangement country trying to make a mark. Yet, when Ayush graduated to international arena, his parents are yet to watch him live. “We don’t watch his live matches. Whatever matches are on, we just pray to God and sit. We never watch live matches. We watch the highlights later. This mostly started after he started playing international matches. We didn’t watch his world junior win too, only highlights,” Shalmili told this daily . “The academy (Centre of Excellence, where Ayush trains) also always asks us ‘you want to watch, you want to travel with him’,” she said. Shalmili’s prayers were answered on Saturday Ayush dis. covered water in the desert at the ongoing Asian Championships in Ningbo. Most of his smashes were on points. By the time the semifinal contest reached the business end, the usually-assured World No 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn could be seen scrambling to stay alive. After a captivating 75-minute contest, Ayush won 10-21, 21-19, 21-17. He is now the first from the country to reach the final (men’s singles) since 1965.  She recalled all those days when she had to shift to Bengaluru and raise Ayush and sister alone. “We had to adjust and it was not easy she said.  P11 ,” Historic moment Artemis II astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch pose after splashdown and recovery operations in the Pacific Ocean after their moon orbit, the first by humans in more than 50 years, in San Diego, California, USA | NASA/PTI | P9