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 ■ ■ DHARMAPURI l friday l june 12, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION All 3 missing seafarers dead Two bodies recovered; another vessel with 20 Indian crew members comes under attack J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi All three Indian seafarers who had been reported missing after the US attack on the Palau-flagged tanker MT Settebello off the coast of Oman have been confirmed dead, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said on Thursday . The tanker, carrying 24 Indian crew members, was struck by the US military earlier this week, triggering a search-andrescue operation involving Indian and Omani authorities. In a post on X, Sonowal described the development as “deeply unfortunate”, confirming that the three crew members initially reported missing had lost their lives. “Sadly, three Indian seafarers initially reported missing are now confirmed dead after two bodies were recovered,” the minister said. Calling the deaths a “profound loss to our maritime family”, Sonowal said the government stood firmly with the bereaved families and would give all necessary assistance. Will take total control of Iran’s oil: Trump US President Donald Trump threatened to launch major strikes on Iran and seize control of its oil industry. Trump said in a social media post that the US would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and would “assume total control” of Iran’s oil and gas industries, including the vital Kharg Island oil terminal | P11 The minister added that officials had been instructed to facilitate the immediate repatriation of the 21 rescued crew members and ensure the swift return of the deceased sailors’ mortal remains. On Wednesday India strong, ly condemned the attack on the commercial vessel and formally lodged a protest with the US by summoning Jason Meeks, the US Chargé d’Affaires in New Delhi. Meanwhile, crew members of a Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel identified as MT Jalveer, carrying 20 Indians, were evacuated on Thursday after the vessel came under attack off an Oman port. This is the third instance of a ship with Indians coming under attack from the US military in the recent past. Court poser on legality of expelled TMC MLA’s recognition as LoP s u b h e n d u m a i t i @ New Delhi E x p r e s s Re a d Three students run over by car in Tiruvarur Tiruvarur: Three 12-year-old students, who were walking back home from school, were killed after being hit by a car allegedly driven by a drunk man in Tiruvarur on Thursday | P7 Third TMC MP quits THE Calcutta High Court on Thursday questioned the legality of West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindranath Bose’s decision to recognise expelled Trinamool MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the Opposition (LoP) without the consent of the political party . Justice Krishna Rao raised the question while hearing a plea against the Speaker’s decision to recognise Banerjee as LoP and Akhruzzman, another rebel MLA, the Chief Whip at a time when the party leadership had already The crisis in the Trinamool Congress deepened on Thursday as Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik resigned from both the Upper House and the party, becoming the third TMC parliamentarian to quit this week after Sukhendu S Ray and Sushmita Dev. expelled the former. The Trinamool leadership led by Mamata Banerjee had expelled Banerjee, MLA from Uluberia Purba, and Sandipan Saha, another legislator from Entally for anti-party ac, tivities. Veteran MLA Sob- handeb Chattopadhyay from Ballygunj in Kolkata, who was selected by the party leadership as the LoP in the House, moved the High Court on 8 June challenging the Speaker’s decision to recognise Banerjee as LoP . Trinamool MP and senior lawyer Kalyan Bandyopadhyay , appearing for petitioner, submitted that the Speaker’s decision hits the basic structure of the Constitution. However, Ritabrata dismissed the allegations and said “all norms have been followed.” The court adjourned the matter to June 16, two days before the Assembly is slated to convene. Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay | PTI Tap youth power for growth: PM P USH P ITA DE Y @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asked states to tap into India’s 70-crore youth population and convert this unique demographic dividend into a development dividend for the country’s progress. “Creating the right ecosystem for our youth through quality education, demanddriven skilling and employment opportunities must remain a priority. Empowered youth will be the driving force behind our journey towards,” he said while chairing the 11th Governing Council Meeting of Niti Aayog, attended by chief ministers, Lt governors and administrators representing 28 States and five UTs. This was the first time chief ministers of all 28 states participated in the governing council meeting of NITI Aayog. The meeting primarily focused on human development index and creating alternative energy sources In India. Governing council members debated pushing rooftop solar energy on residential buildings, schools, hospitals, and government properties to reduce household dependence on grid electricity . As new technology comes, we have to adapt. We cannot get stuck in 1990s or 2000 technology Ashok Lahiri, VC, Niti Aayog Go for FDI, PM tells states The PM asked states to aggressively court foreign investments from nations with which India has signed FTAs CM’s Niti push: SSA dues and youth skill plan E x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai Committing to work constructively with the centre while firmly safeguarding the interests of Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay in his first speech at the Niti Aayog meeting on Thursday urged the centre to release `3,284-crore Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) funds without linking them to the implementation of National Education Policy or three-language system. Speaking at the meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi, the CM demanded centre’s support for a Youth Skill and Employment Mission to offer stipend-supported internships and industry-linked training to five lakh youth every year. He also pressed for technology skill centres in every district to train youth in AI, deep tech, cybersecurity cloud , computing, EV tech, and semiconductor sectors.  P7 Canada and U.S. begin campaign On the second day of the tournament, the other two hosts begin their campaigns. Canada taking on Bosnia & Herzegovina in Toronto. Meanwhile United States of America face Paraguay in their first game of the tournament in Los Angeles. The two co-hosts will look to leave a mark. Brazil's Vinicius Junior trains at Morristown Columbia Park Training Facility, New Jersey on Thursday. Brazil play Morocco on June 14 (June 15, 3.30 am IST) | AFP Today's matches (IST) (Jun 13) Group D: Paraguay vs USA (6.30AM) Group B: Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina (12.30AM)