tadepalligudem l tuesday l may 26, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l 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 | p7 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 CBI probe SC asks media not to record statements in Twisha case SUCHITRA KALYA N MOHA N TY Trump now ties deal with Iran to Abraham Accords Asks Arab countries, and Pakistan, to sign the Accords as part of peace pact @ 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 three- judg e 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. 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 diplomatic framework — introduced 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 pre-1967 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.” Petrol, diesel prices increased yet again E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ New Delhi `100 mark A litre of petrol now costs more than `100 across India We thought we might have some news (peace agreement) last night, maybe today... I wouldn’t read too much into it Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State Iranian team in Qatar for talks Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, and central bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati reached Qatar on Monday to discuss “the most sensitive unresolved issues” in reaching a potential deal with the US to end the three-month-old war. Reports said the delegation held talks with Qatar’s prime minister. Meanwhile, Trump said negotiations with Iran are “proceeding nicely” Think innovatively and emerge as entrepreneurs, CM exhorts youth S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said the MSME sector plays a key role in the economic development of the nation, and youth should develop innovative thinking to emerge as entrepreneurs. He set a target to promote one crore entrepreneurs under the ‘One Family - One Entrepreneur’ concept introduced by the State government. The Chief Minister inaugurated Dr BR Ambedkar Kalavedika in Vijayawada on Monday and virtually laid the , foundation stones for 38 MSME Parks. Addressing the One Family - One Entrepreneur MSME Growth Summit 2026 at the Kalavedika, Naidu said his gov- ernment gave top priority to empowerment of women and youth. “The MSME sector paves the way to fulfil the innovative ideas and dreams of youth. As part of it, the State government has released `558 crore as incentives to MSMEs so far, and the AP Cluster Development Programme will be launched with `200 crore,” he said. MSMEs alone have the poten- tial to transform a small idea into a large industry, and the sector is the second-largest employment generator in the country after agriculture. Hence, the government has made resources more accessible to MSMEs, and introduced the dedicated MSME and private industrial park policies to accelerate g rowth, he highlighted. The State will also extend incentives to private industrial parks, he said, citing Sri City as a successful industrial model. Referring to women’s economic empower ment, Naidu said women’s self-help groups currently hold a corpus of `28,000 crore, and announced plans to transform five lakh women from DWCRA groups into enP4 trepreneurs this year. Cumulative hike Petrol Diesel `7.35 `7.53 per litre per litre 4 Hikes in 11 days CHENNAI Petrol: `107.77 per litre Diesel: `99.55 per litre RAK E SH KUMAR @ 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 Telangana, a litre of petrol will now cost `118.30 while the figure is `114.90 in Kerala. Petrol in Mumbai was priced at `111.21 and diesel `97.83, while Kolkata prices rose to `113.51 and `99.82, respectively . Diesel prices also crossed the `100 mark in Telangana (`106.7) and Kerala (`104.1). Monday’s increase came even as global oil prices fell sharply amid hopes for a deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran. Brent crude fell more than 5% on Monday . According to the government, however, OMCs still lose around `600 crore per day . E x p r e s s Re a d Tirumala temple sets new darshan record with pilgrim footfall of 98K Tirumala: A record number of devotees thronged the Tirumala temple on Sunday, with 98,058 pilgrims having darshan of Lord Venkateswara. The figure is an exact head-tohead count of the Integrated Command Control Centre, which uses face identification tech | P3 Obey my orders if you want to continue in JSP: Pawan to cadre Rajamahendravaram: Jana Sena chief and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan delivered a stern message to the party rank and file on Monday, insisting on strict adherence to party discipline. He made it clear that those unwilling to abide by the party line were free to exit | P4 Ministerial sub-committee meet discusses revision of liquor prices Vijayawada: A high-level ministerial subcommittee meeting on excise policies was held in hybrid mode on Monday to deliberate on key reforms, revenue enhancement measures and long-term policy decisions related to the Prohibition and Excise Department | P4 Bhogapuram Airport joins national air traffic grid E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam From functioning as a wartime Royal Air Force airstrip during the Second World War to evolving into a strategically significant joint-use civil and naval airport, Visakhapatnam’s aviation ecosystem is now entering a major transition phase. According to recent Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) Supplements issued by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Indian Navy will completely take over as the designated “Controlling Authority” for the restructured Visakhapatnam airspace from July 9, as the upcoming Alluri Sitarama Raju Greenfield International Airport (Bhogapuram) is integrated into India’s eastern Aviation ecosystem transition phase Indian Navy will completely take over as the designated “Controlling Authority” for the restructured Visakhapatnam airspace from July 9, as the upcoming Alluri Sitarama Raju Airport (Bhogapuram) is integrated into India’s eastern Air Traffic Service network Air Traffic Service network. However, the notifications also clarify that existing civil Air Traffic Service (ATS) routes transiting through the restructured Temporary Reserved Areas (TRA) will continue to remain available for civilian flight planning, subject to operational clearances and airspace activation protocols. Following its opening for civil aviation in 1962, the Indian Navy commenced operations at the airfield in 1972. Ownership formally transferred to the Navy in 1986, leading to its commissioning as INS Dega in 1991. Despite commercial expansions, including a new runway in 2007 and a passenger terminal in 2009, mounting airspace congestion between civil and military flight profiles has necessitated this separation. According to AAI AIRAC Supplements 88-108/2026, Bhogapuram is engineered to function not merely as a civilian diversion, but as a fully scalable aviation node capable of supporting high-capacity airline traffic. The restructuring introduces the new BHZ DVOR/ DME navigational facility and establishes four tiered Bhogapuram Control Areas (CTA-1 through CTA-4). CTA-1, designated as Class D airspace with a base limit of FL155/5500 FT AMSL, will anchor the aerodrome’s immediate apP4 proach control.  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 Af- Rescue operation underway; (inset) a tourist being rescued | PTI Trapped 500 ft above Officials said since many cabins were hanging 500 ft above ground, rescue work took considerable amount of time farwat is 12,959 ft above sea 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.