belagavi l tuesday l may 26, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION SC pulls up NTA over neet leak, says it has not learnt lessons The court on Monday sought the response of the Centre, NTA and CBI on pleas to replace the National Testing Agency with an autonomous one NTA asked to detail steps taken since 2024 Pointing to the 2024 leak of the NEET paper, the Supreme Court asked the testing agency what steps it has taken since. “It’s sad they have not learnt their lessons. The matter travelled to this court earlier also. There was a committee which made some recommendations and they were accepted. We want the NTA to file an affidavit on the steps taken,” the court said | p9 Pleas seek new body to conduct exam The court issued the notices while hearing a batch of pleas, including one by the Federation of All India Medical Association ■ The medical body has urged the court to issue a direction to restructure or replace NTA with a robust and autonomous system ■ The concerned parties have three days to submit their responses ■ Friday when the court will hear the matter again 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 now ties deal with Iran to Abraham Accords Asks Arab countries, and Pakistan, to sign the Accords as part of peace pact EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump tied the future of any Iran agreement to a dramatic expansion of the Abraham Accords, signalling a broader geopolitical push to reshape alliances across West Asia. The move came alongside Trump sharply recalibrating expectations around ongoing negotiations with Tehran, warning that any agreement with Iran would either be “meaningful” or there would be “no deal at all.” “The deal with Iran will either be a great and meaningful one, or there will be no deal,” Trump said. Earlier in Tehran, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei acknowledged progress in negotiations but cautioned against expectations of an imminent breakthrough. In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump said he was “mandatorily requesting that all countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords” ­ a dip— lomatic framework introduced CBI probe SC asks media not to record statements in Twisha case S U C H I T R A K A LYAN M O H AN T Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Madhya Pradesh government to ensure that the alleged dowry death case of former Miss Pune winner, Twisha Sharma, is handed over to the CBI. Hours later, the CBI formally took over the probe. The court also urged the media not to record the statements of witnesses or any potential accused, saying it could prejudice the probe. During the hearing, a threejudge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant said the court was pained by the narrative that the judiciary was shielding the accused. The remark came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the CBI will take over the probe. Mehta said, “For parents, it is better to have a divorced daughter than to have a dead one.” The court asked the victim’s family and potential witnesses to record statements before the probe agency not through media bytes. , Later in the day the MP High , Court adjourned to May 27 the hearing on pleas challenging the anticipatory bail granted to ex-judge Giribala Singh, booked for alleged dowry harassment of her daughter-in-law Twisha. E x p r e s s Re a d Privatisation of power supply in state on cards Bengaluru: the state energy sector has opened its doors for privatisation. Tata Power has applied before the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission for a distribution licence to supply electricity in select jurisdictions of BESCOM (Bengaluru), HESCOM (HubliDharwad), CESC (Mysuru) and MESCOM (Mangaluru) | P7 during his first term to normalise ties between Israel and Arab states. The countries he referenced included Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan besides the UAE and Bahrain, both already signatories to the accords. The statement marked a shift in tone after Trump had earlier suggested that an agreement to end the nearly three-month conflict with Iran was “largely negotiated”. Besides, the inclusion of Pakistan in Trump’s list adds another layer of complexity. Islamabad has historically refused to recognise Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state based on pre1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to temper speculation surrounding a breakthrough during his visit to India. He added that the US would either secure a “strong agreement” with Iran or confront the country “another way,” while insisting diplomacy would still be given “every chance to succeed.” `100 mark A litre of petrol now costs more Petrol Diesel `7.35 `7.53 per litre per litre Is this it? CM, DCM in Delhi for crucial meet with top brass D ev a r a j B H i reh a ll i @Bengaluru than `100 across India Cumulative hike LEADERSHIP row 4 Hikes in 11 days BENGALURU Petrol: `110.93 per litre Diesel: `98.8 per litre Petrol, diesel prices increased yet again R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi Government-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Monday increased petrol and diesel prices for the fourth time in 11 days by `2.61 and `2.71 per litre, respectively, taking the cumulative increase to `7.35 per litre for petrol and `7.53 for diesel. With the latest hike, petrol prices have crossed the `100-per-litre mark across the country with Delhi recording `102.12. The prices vary in states due to local taxation. In Bengaluru, a litre of petrol will now cost `110.93 while the figure is `114.90 in Kerala. Diesel prices also crossed the `100 mark in Kerala (`104.1), but it’s `98.8 in Bengaluru. The Congress high command will most likely put an end to the power tussle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, as both leaders have been summoned to Delhi for a high-voltage meeting scheduled to be held at AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence at 11 am on Tuesday . Depending on the situation, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi could take part in the meeting, which will be attended by AICC General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal too. “I cannot comment on this. Rahulji will speak,” was Kharge’s cryptic reply while talking to a news agency in Delhi on Monday . Rahul’s message for the meeting was conveyed by Venugopal, first to Siddaramaiah on Sunday and Shivakumar on Monday, indicating that a decision on either a change in leadership or cabinet reshuffle would be taken in the presence of both leaders. The much-anticipated meeting will be decisive if Rahul too takes part in it. The power tussle between the two leaders has been lingering since November 2025, and Shivakumar has been insisting that the high command should take a decision based on the agreement, which was struck between him and Siddaramaiah in 2023 when the party won the Assembly elections, to share power for two-anda-half years each. Tuesday’s meeting is a clear indication that Shivakumar has got an opportunity to make his strongest-ever bid to stake claim to the chief minister’s seat.  Not aware of agenda, says CM: P4 320 stranded mid-air for hrs in Gulmarg cable car F aya z w a n i @ Srinagar About 320 tourists were stranded mid-air for several hours after a technical glitch halted the gondola cable car system at the ski resort of Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday afternoon. The panic-stricken tourists were rescued after an eighthour-long operation involving personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the Army and the local police. , Their work was hampered by heavy rains in the area. Rescue personnel reached people trapped inside 63 cabins of the gondola with the help of ladders. They were brought to the ground safely using ropes. Many cabins were hanging at a height of about 500 ft. Director General of Police (DGP), Nalin Bhagat, said the operation was completed in the evening, and all the tourists were rescued. There were no reports of any injury Officials . said an investigation will be launched to determine what caused the technical snag. The Gulmarg Gondola, one of the world’s highest cable car projects, operates in two phases. Phase 1 at Kongdori stands at 10,006 ft, and Phase 2 at Affarwat is 12,959 ft above sea Rescue operation underway; (inset) a tourist being rescued | PTI level. The base station at Gulmarg is located at an altitude of 8,694 ft. Operations for both phases were immediately suspended. Union Home Minister Amit Shah praised the rescue forces. “The nation salutes the forces for their valour and skill,” Shah said in a post on X.