day 68 tadepalligudem l thursday l may 07, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Operation Epic Fury, which began on Feb 28 against Iran, has ended. He claimed the mission has achieved its objectives | p9 Iran operation over: Rubio “The operation is over, as the president notified Congress. We’re done with that stage of it,” Rubio told reporters at the White House According to CNN, US and Iran are moving closer to an agreement on a one-page memo to end the war and begin nuclear negotiations Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he is pausing Project Freedom, the military operation to escort stranded ships out of Hormuz In his typical style, Trump also issued a fresh warning to Iran, saying the “bombing starts” again if a deal is not reached 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 New sports policy on Pak: No bilateral but multilateral OK E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai In a major development, India put out a formal sports policy regarding India’s participation or hosting of international events. Though certain provisions were part of an unsigned document on the sports ministry website in August last year, this time the signed policy outlined India’s approach involving Pakistan. India and Pakistan will not play in bilateral series but when it comes to international events involving multiple nations, they are free to compete in India or abroad. The circular dated May 5, 2026, has said that India’s policy of not playing Pakistan in bilateral events will continue. “India’s approach to sports events involving Pakistan reflects its overall policy in deal- ing with that country,” said the office memorandum. The memorandum states that when it comes to bilateral competitions India will not participate in Pakistan nor will they allow Pakistan to compete here in India. In short, there will be no cricket or hockey involving the two neighbours in near future. It is understood that this was necessitated after the Intern at i o n a l O ly m p i c Committee also had reservations over such incidents. With India hosting the CWG and the two bids — Asian and Olympics — the country would simplify the visa process for IF officials. “To facilitate smooth travel India has decided to the visa process for sportspersons, team officials, technical personnel, and office-bearers... shall be simplified.”  P11 express read SIPB clears 25 major projects worth `2L cr Vijayawada: At the 17th State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) meeting, chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, approvals were granted for 25 projects spanning IT, renewable energy, food processing, and manufacturing. These projects worth `2 lakh crore are expected to generate 39,067 jobs | P4 Alliance rumours may rain on Vijay’s parade Swearing-in may be put off as guv yet to invite TVK to form govt; buzz emerges of Dravidian majors mulling a team-up Cong severs decade-long ties with DMK T M u r u g a n a n d h a m @ Chennai The swearing in ceremony of TVK chief Vijay initially sched, uled for Thursday, may be delayed even as strong rumours gathered speed of arch-rivals DMK and AIADMK discussing a partnership along with their allies to form a government. According to sources, in such a scenario, party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami may assume the chief ministerial post with DMK’s support, as part of a larger plan that may extend up to the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. It is unclear how such an alliance would work with the AIADMK’s ally PMK and its rival VCK, allied to DMK, in the mix. Party leaders from both Dravidian majors have officially denied such a development, with multiple DMK leaders dismissing the possibility to this newspaper. The rumour mill started churning late on Wednesday, after Assembly elections the Congress formally announced its support to the TVK to form a gover nment, stating that the alliance will continue till the 2029 polls. Vijay subsequently met Governor Rajendra Arlekar and staked his claim to form a government as the legislative party leader of the single largest party in the House. It is custom for Lok Bhavan to issue an invitation within an hour of the leader staking his claim to form a government TVK president Vijay with TN Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Lok Bhavan in Chennai on Wednesday | PTI and prove his majority on the floor of the state Assembly within a specified time frame. However, as of going to press on Wednesday night, the governor had yet to issue such an invitation. Sources suggested that Arlekar had sought the full list of 118 MLAs supporting the TVK, and only then would invite Vijay to form the government. This newspaper was unable to reach the governor’s secretary for confirmation. Meanwhile, arrangements proceeded at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai for the swearing-in of the council of ministers headed by Vijay amid doubts regarding whether the ceremony would take place as scheduled on Thursday . Meanwhile, TVK chief Vijay has formally sought support of the Left parties and the VCK to form the government. Chennai: The Congress, in a statement issued by AICC Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar on Wednesday, formally severed its decade-long alliance with the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance and extended its full support to Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to form the government in the state EPS as CM in DMK-AIADMK combine? According to AIADMK sources, in case of a DMKAIADMK tie-up, party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami may assume the chief ministerial post with DMK’s support, as part of a larger plan that may extend up to the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. It is unclear how this would work with both the PMK and VCK in the mix CM race heats up, Chennithala meets Cong brass Suvendu’s PA shot dead in West Bengal P r eet h a N a i r @ New Delhi Amid continuing post-poll violence in West Bengal, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s personal assistant was on Wednesday shot dead from close range in Madhyamgram on the outskirts of Kolkata. Adhikari was reportedly not in the area when the incident occurred. Earlier in the day Chief Elec, tion Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar ordered the arrest of all those involved the post-poll violence. The order came hours after two paramilitary personnel and an equal number of policemen, including the officer incharge of Nazat police station, Bharat Prasun Purkayastha, and a woman constable, were shot at during a clash in the Sandeshkhali area of North 24 Parganas. The condition of Purkayastha is serious. A group of criminals allegedly fired at the security personnel when they arrived at the spot to defuse the situation. The incident triggered tension in the village. A huge contingent of central forces and police were deployed to bring the situation under control. On Tuesday, two persons were killed and scores of party offices were ransacked in Kolkata and elsewhere. As the race for the Kerala CM post intensifies, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala met Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi on Wednesday to present his case for the position, sources said. Following the Congress-led UDF’s victory in the assembly elections, the contest for the CM post has narrowed to three leaders: V D Satheesan, K C Venugopal, and Chennithala. AICC observers Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken are expected to meet the newly elected MLAs individually on Thursday . According to sources, Chennithala informed the leadership that he was overlooked for the post of Leader of the Opposition in 2021, despite the backing of a majority of Congress MLAs. He also projected his seniority and vast administrative experience. The meeting was also attended by K C Venugopal, said sources. The high command is expected to make a final call once the observers submit their final report. However, sources indicated Venugopal has emerged as the frontrunner for the CM post, while V D Satheesan has been projected as the people’s choice. Sources said Venugopal told the leadership voters did not back the the UDF on the basis of projecting any one individual as CM. He reportedly argued that each elected representative was chosen based on individual influence, positions, and other factors. SU B H E NDU M AI T I @ Kolkata