Trump begins 3-day state visit to China US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to discuss US-China trade tensions and the war with Iran Will hold talks with xi jinping today KOZHIKODE l thursday l may 14, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Loading: Next CM Cong to announce decision today; cabinet swearing-in likely on Wednesday P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Ending days of intense political manoeuvring and uncertainty, the Congress is set to announce Kerala’s chief minister pick at its Legislature Party meeting in Thiruvanathapuram on Thursday The meeting, . scheduled at 1 pm, will be attended by AICC state in-charge Deepa Das Munshi and others. Party sources said the new Cabinet is likely to be sworn in next Wednesday In view of the political . damage caused by the delay in announcing the chief minister, the UDF is considering swearing in the entire cabinet on the same day devi, ating from the earlier plan of having only the chief minister and one minister each from the allies take oath initially . The day saw dramatic twists as the announcement of the new chief minister was widely expected after a crucial meeting between Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at the latter’s residence on Wednesday However, after . the 40-minute meeting, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh told the media that the decision would be announced on Thursday . “As authorised by the members of the CLP in Kerala, the Congress high command has completed all discussions, and the decision on the next chief minister of Kerala will be announced tomorrow,” Ramesh said. The decision follows a nine-day EXPRESS READ T’Puram region tops CBSE Class XII exam T’Puram: Thiruvananthapraum region, comprising schools in Kerala and Lakshadweep, regained top position in the country in the CBSE Class XII exam, the results of which were announced on Wednesday. The region posted a success rate of 95.62%. The all-India pass percentage stood at 85.20. Of the 43,852 students who appeared for the exam in Thiruvananthapuram region, 40,973 passed. P7 3 Kuki church leaders killed in Manipur Guwahati: Three Kuki Baptist church leaders were killed and four others injured in an ambush by suspected militants in Manipur’s Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi on Wednesday. Members of Thadou Baptist Association India and United Baptist Council were travelling from Churachandpur to Kangpokpi for an inter-association ecclesiastical meeting when they came under attack. Supporters of senior Congress leader V D Satheesan raisE slogans in front of his house in Aluva on Wednesday | T P Sooraj As authorised by the members of the CLP in Kerala, the high command of the Congress has completed all discussions, and the decision on who the next CM of Kerala will be will be announced tomorrow (Thursday) — Jairam Ramesh, senior Congress leader deadlock marked by an intense threeway contest among senior leaders Ramesh Chennithala, V D Satheesan and AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal. Although Venugopal, a close confidant of Rahul Gandhi, enjoyed the backing of a majority of the newly elected Congress MLAs and appeared to be the front-runner, the Satheesan camp gained the upper hand during the leadership’s final round of consultations. Along with key UDF ally IUML, senior Congress leaders A K Antony V M Sudheeran , and K Muraleedharan reportedly urged the leadership to factor in public sentiment, which favoured Satheesan. However, the Congress high command is maintaining strict secrecy over its decision. “The suspense will continue until the high command makes an official announcement,” said a senior leader. On Wednesday Rahul Gandhi held , another round of phone calls with Congress MPs to gauge their views ● More on P4 on the situation.  UAE pacts on strategic oil reserve, LNG likely J ayanth J a c o b @ New Delhi Energy security will emerge as the centrepiece of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-stakes stopover in Abu Dhabi on May 15 for talks with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, amid escalating tensions in West Asia and shifting global oil equations. During the three-hour visit to the UAE, en route to his four-nation Europe tour covering the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy, India and the UAE are expected to sign two key memoranda of understanding on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supplies and strategic petroleum reserves, further deepening a partnership critical to India’s energy needs, sources familiar with the development said. The visit comes at a time of heightened volatility in global energy markets and renewed focus on supply diversification. Sources said the proposed agreements are aimed at strengthening long-term energy stability for India while expanding the UAE’s role as one of New Delhi’s most trusted energy partners. The UAE currently meets nearly 40% of India’s LPG requirements, making it the country’s largest supplier. It was also India’s fourth-largest source of crude oil last year, accounting for nearly 11% of total imports, while ranking as the third-largest supplier of LNG. Indian companies and ADNOC Gas have signed long-term agreements for cumulative LNG supplies of 4.5 MMTPA, making India the largest buyer of UAE-origin LNG. The two sides are also expected to review cooperation on India’s strategic petroleum reserves. 12.88% 15% 15% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 10.75% Gold import duty over the years 6% JAN MAR JAN JUNE AUG JULY FEB JULY JULY MAY 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013 2019 2021 2022 2024 2026 Gold, silver import duty hiked to 15% P u s hpita D e y @ New Delhi Two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to reduce the purchase of gold, the government on Wednesday increased the import duty on gold and silver from 6% to 15% to curb demand and ease foreign exchange pressures. Likewise, the import duty on platinum has been increased from 6.4% to 15.4%. TNIE had previously reported that the government was considering various measures, including import restrictions on precious metals. As a large importer of crude oil, India remains vulnerable to elevated energy prices and supply-side disruptions. This could increase the import bill and exert pressure on inflation and the current account deficit. “The increase in customs duty on precious metals is intended to moderate avoidable import demand and ease pressure on external account,” said a source in finance ministry . BJP leader among 5 held in NEET paper leak raje s h a s nani & s u dhir s u r ya w an s hi @ Jaipur/Mumbai THE CBI on Wednesday arrested five persons and conducted searches at multiple locations across the country in the NEET UG paper leak case as protests over the cancellation of the examination intensified amid demands for Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. An active BJP leader in Rajasthan was arrested in connection with the NEET paper leak. Investigators said BJP leader Dinesh Binwal and his brother Mangilal, residents of Jamwa Ramgarh in Jaipur, purchased the paper between April 26 Vested interests must be reined in, says NTA The Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA) Abhishek Singh, said there are vested interests who are trying to sabotage the system in place for the NEET-Under Graduate exams and they must be thwarted. and 27 for nearly `30 lakh. Investigators claimed that Dinesh provided the paper to his son, who was preparing for NEET in Sikar, before distributing it to several candidates on April 29. Both Binwal and his brother had travelled to Sikar for the operation, police believe. Dinesh allegedly sold the leaked paper to several individuals in Sikar, including hostel operators and consultancy firms. Police also arrested one Rakesh Mandavriya, who ran a consultancy office opposite a coaching centre in Sikar. He had received the guess paper several days before the examination through Dinesh Binwal, and had circulated it. The CBI arrested Dinesh Binwal, Mangilal Binwal and Vikas Binwal from Jaipur, Yash Yadav from Gurugram and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik on Wednesday . In Pune, police arrested a beauty parlour owner, Manish Waghmare, who is alleged to have helped students get the NEET-UG exam papers ahead of the final exam. The trade war between the two countries will be on top of the agenda. Trump will have a bilateral meeting with Xi on Thursday. The two will meet again on Friday for a bilateral tea and working lunch. They are set to discuss extending the oneyear tariff truce that they agreed in October | P11 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 ■ ■ Musk, Cook among U.S. CEOs on the trip Trump is accompanied by several top US CEOs including Tesla chief Elon Musk, Apple CEO T im Cook and Nvidia boss Jensen Huang