visakhapatnam l monday l april 13, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Chouhan to oversee key meeting to pick new Bihar chief minister The BJP on Sunday appointed Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the central observer for the election of its legislative party leader in Bihar Shivraj Singh Chouhan Nitish Kumar Process on to form new state government Nitish kumar likely to resign on Tuesday A statement from the BJP headquarters said the parliamentary board has appointed Chouhan as “central observer for electing the leader of legislature party in Bihar”. Chouhan’s appointment sets in motion the process of the formation of a new government in Bihar after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha on Friday ■ ■ Nitish has convened a meeting of his cabinet on April 14, following which the JD(U) president is expected to relinquish the CM’s post Senior JD(U) leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said, “the new chief minister will be elected by the NDA, upon the recommendation of the BJP, which has a big role to play” | P8 11 am when the cabinet meeting will begin on tuesday 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 Trump threatens to block Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran peace talks fail Says US Navy will “blockade any and all ships” trying to enter or leave the shipping route a g en c i e s @ Islamabad / Washington Asha Bhosle: September 8, 1933-April 12, 2026 Forever young, always distinct N A M R ATA J OS H I A ge is just a number” is an adage Asha Bhosle believed in and lived by Among the many facets of . her long, abundant, and well-spent inning—professional as well as personal—the most distinct was the versatile voice: hearty playful, coquettish, , saucy, sensuous, spiritual, soulful and energetic by turns and the one that stayed forever youthful and timeless, just like Asha ‘Tai’ herself. The fact that the sound of Asha remained robust was the reason why in her over eight-decade long career in a notori, ously ageist industry she didn’t just sing for multiple films , but became the voice of several generations of actresses— from Meena Kumari to Zeenat Aman to Rekha, from her contemporary Shakila in the sad version of Leke pehla pehla pyaar in CID (1956) to someone who could well be her daughter’s age, like Urmila Matondkar in Tanha tanha yahan pe jeena in Rangeela (1995). She worked with possibly every major music director down the years: O P Nay- Her life was yar, Shankar Jaikishan, Jaidev, Madan adventurous. Mohan, Khayyam, the Burmans, A R Rah- At 16, she man and Sandeep Chowta. She sang duets eloped with with male singers across all ages, from Ganpatrao Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, and Mahendra Kapoor to Sonu Nigam. Winner of Bhosle and several awards, including two National married him. Awards, Asha received the Dadasaheb Years later, Phalke Award in 2000 and the Padma Vib- she married hushan in 2008. R D Burman. However, these markers aside, Asha beShe made her came a legend of playback singing because of the extraordinary ability to imbibe the acting debut personality of the actor, get into the mood in 2013 at 79 of the moment, respond to the space and setting of the sequence and catch the emotive soul of a song with the amazing texture and timbre of her voice. She could become the innocent and impoverished street kids in Boot Polish (1954) in songs like Nanhe munne bachche teri mutthi mein kya hai, Thehar zara o janewale, Chali kaunse desh just as effortlessly as she’d be the sexy Helen in a cabaret club in Piya tu ab to aaja in Caravan (1971) or Yeh mera dil in Don (1978). Asha’s father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar, was an eminent musician himself, and so were the siblings—Lata Mangeshkar, Meena Khadikar, Usha Mangeshkar, and Hridaynath Mangeshkar. There had been tales of sibling rivalry between her and the legendary elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, but both eventually carved enviable and influential niches for themselves and ruled the male-dominated industry with confidence and conviction. infrastructure boost Phase I of Godavari Pushkaram works launched with `9.5 cr E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Rajamahendravaram Preparations for the Godavari Pushkarams 2027 have formally begun in East Godavari district with the launch of Phase I development works worth `9.55 crore.  Endowments Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy laid the foundation stone for the development works in Rajamahendravaram on Sunday, joined by MP Daggubati Purandeswari, MLA `51.79 cr for Adireddy Srinivas and MLC Somu 43 temples Veerraju. The foundation laying ceremony A sum of `51.79 was held under the aegis of the Endowcrore has been ments Department, with Vedic scholsanctioned for ars and students welcoming the dignithe development taries in traditional manner. of 43 temples in Speaking on the occasion, Ramthe erstwhile anarayana Reddy said temple renovaundivided twin tion and infrastructure upgrade are Godavari districts. being taken up as part of arrangeTenders for the ments for the Pushkarams. works have Three State-level review meetings on already been Pushkaram arrangements have alinvited, the ready been held, including one chaired Endowments by the Chief Secretary, another by a Minister said Cabinet Sub-committee of 12 Ministers, and the third under the chairmanship of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.  P4 US President Donald Trump on Sunday claimed the US Navy would immediately begin a “blockade” to stop ships from entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, after US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan ended with no agreement in sight. Iran has demanded the right to collect tolls from vessels traveling through the strait, but Trump said no one who pays Tehran will “have safe passage on the high seas.” He also threatened, yet again, to destroy Iranian energy infrastructure, telling Fox News: “I can take out Iran in one day .” Earlier in the day the US and , Iran ended 21 hours of face-toface talks in Islamabad in a stalemate, leaving the fate of the tenuous two-week ceasefire unclear. The war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets has entered its seventh week. The US delegation led by Vice President J D Vance and the US Vice President J D Vance talks to Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshall Asim Munir before flying out of Islamabad on Sunday | AP day 44 Iranian delegation led by parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf had discussed how to advance a ceasefire already threatened by disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon. Vance, while leaving Pakistan after the talks, said the US had made its “final and best offer” for a deal, adding: “We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.” Ghalibaf said on X that Washington was “unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations”. Iranian and US media said the main sticking points in the talks were the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s insistence on a right to enrich uranium for civilian use. Later, in a Fox News interview, Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on Chinese imports if Beijing tries to help the Iranian military. Trump did not name the other countries he expects to join the US Navy cordon and, before his post, many international capitals had called for the temporary truce in the Gulf to be preserved. “We’re not going to let Iran make money on selling oil to people that they like... It’s going to be all or none,” he said. The failure of the talks will raise concerns that a return to fighting could drive world energy prices higher and further damage shipping and oil and gas facilities in the Gulf. An EU spokesman said diplomacy would be “essential” to securing peace and hailed Pakistan’s mediation efforts, while the UK and Oman agreed it “was vital there was a continuation of the ceasefire.” Most-wanted serial killer arrested E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Tirupati Tirupati police have achieved a major breakthrough in solving a series of sensational ‘murder for gain’ cases that terrorised women living alone. The arrest of P Viswanath alias Prashanth, later identified as AM Ajij alias Abdul Ajij alias Kar nataka Ajij, has brought closure to multiple unsolved crimes and exposed the operations of one of South India’s most wanted fugitives. District Superintendent of Police L Subbarayudu disclosed the details at a press briefing on Sunday, noting that the accused had been absconding since 2018 after escaping from Kerala police custody during a robbery-cum-murder probe. At that time, Kerala police had announced a reward of `2 lakh for information on his whereabouts. Concealing his identity Ajij settled in Tirupati , under the false name “Viswanath,” using an Aadhaar card P from Gulbarga, Karnataka.  4 Modi to address women’s meet ahead of Parl session RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi Ahead of an extended threeday special session of Parliament from April 16 to 18 to discuss amendments to Women’s Reservation Act 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address a first-of-its-kind ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Sammelan’ in Delhi on Monday . As per sources, the confer- ence is aimed at generating widespread support for amendment to the Women’s Reservation Act 2023. It forms a part of the BJP’s broader electoral strategy, bringing together eminent personalities and accomplished women from diverse fields to deliberate on the necessity of reserving seats for women in legislative bodies. According to a statement issued by the PMO, the conference is being organised “to reinforce the gover nment’s commitment to increasing women’s participation in shaping India’s development trajectory”. “It will also highlight the increasing role of women in governance and leadership across all levels, from Panchayats to Parliament.  Express read Mobile phone in RR dugout: ACSU investigation on Screengrab of Rajasthan Royals team manager Romi Bhinder using a phone in the dugout Chennai: A day after Rajasthan Royals team manager Romi Bhinder was seen using a mobile phone while sitting in the dugout — which could be in violation of Players and Match Officials Area protocol — during an Indian Premier League match, BCCI has said its Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) will probe the matter and submit a report. The programme will underscore the importance of enhanced representation of women in decision-making processes,” the PMO said. In addition, the event will spotlight the role of women in India’s journey towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. “It will reflect the government’s continued commitment towards women-led development as a central pillar of the vision for Viksit Bharat 2047”, it said. In September 2023, Parliament passed the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, which provided for the reservation of one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. The provision to provide 33% reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023.