hyderabad l monday l june 15, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Selecao survive scare, Socceroos stun Turkiye Brazil come from behind to draw 1-1 against Morocco while Australia record 2-0 victory. A look... Brazil’s Vinicius Junior (7) celebrates a goal against Morocco on Saturday | AP Vinicius rallies to help brazil draw 1-1 dream start for australia and scotland Facing pressure to win their first World Cup title since 2002, five-time champions Brazil were outplayed early and needed Vinicius Junior’s 32ndminute goal to gain a 1-1 draw against Morocco in a pulsating, high-profile group match. Earlier in the day, 2022 hosts Qatar played out a 1-1 draw against Switzerland. | P11 ■ ■ Australia spoiled Turkiye’s return to the WC after 24 years with a 2-0 victory. Meanwhile, Scotland marked their return to the tournament after a 28-year absence with a nervy 1-0 victory over Haiti On Sunday, four-time winners Germany spoilt Curacao’s dream debut with a thumping 7-1 victory at Houston Today's matches (IST) Group H: Spain vs Cabo Verde (9:30 PM); Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay (3:30 AM*). Group G: Belgium vs Egypt (12:30 AM*); Iran vs NZ (6:30 AM*) (*Tuesday) CBC 44101/13/0003/2627 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 Let’s not blow India and France deepen strategic it, Trump tells relations with focus on AI, innovation Israel and Iran High-level mechanism to double trade volume J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Top quality uniforms for govt students E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad In a first for Telangana, uniform fabric for government school students is being sourced from reputed manufacturers, including Mafatlal, to ensure quality and durability comparable to that of private and corporate schools. As part of a major student welfare initiative, the state government will provide uniforms, shoes, bags and other essential items to students studying in government schools, KGBVs and BC, SC, ST and Minority Gurukul institutions across the state. According to sources, the Congress government is introducing a series of reforms in the education sector for the 2026-27 academic year, with a focus on quality transparen, cy and student welfare. Acting on the directions of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, the government has prioritised quality at every stage of procurement. Each student will receive two sets of uniforms.  Continued on p2 Rebel TMC MPs ‘merge’ with regional party | p7 Raps Israel for striking Beirut and hindering peace efforts, claims a deal is ‘very close’ a gen c i e s @ Dubai US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged no further attacks by anyone after Israel’s military said it launched strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut, potentially complicating efforts to finalise a deal to end the US-Iran war. Smoke rose over Dahiyeh in Lebanese capital Beirut, where at least three persons were killed and 16 others wounded. Iran threatened a military response. Trump reacted on social media: “We are very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon” and “Let’s not blow it!” Trump insisted that despite the attack on Lebanon, the deal was on track to be signed on Sunday The deal in its current form is a deep . disappointment to Israel’s government, which has been sidelined in negotiations led by Pakistan and others. The last time Israel struck the Beirut suburbs a week ago, it set off the most serious escalation of fighting since the tenuous ceasefire took hold April 7. Trump has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop hitting Lebanon hard while a deal is near, but the prime minister has defied him. Netanyahu’s office said the strikes were in response to Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. Israel’s military said Hezbollah launched three projectiles, releasing footage where an audible boom was followed by rising smoke. There was no comment from the Iranianbacked Hezbollah. Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a lead negotiator for Tehran, warned the US on X after Israel’s strikes that “if you lack the will and ability to fulfil your commitments, speaking of continuing the path is not possible.” The deal is expected to be signed electronically Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud . Pezeshkian said the country’s highest security authority supports the “path of dialogue”, after hardliners criticised Tehran’s negotiating team in talks with the United States. | P9 We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down... Let’s not blow it! Donald Trump, US President Iran warns of attacks Brig General Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s military command warned that Israel’s strike would not go “unanswered” Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday elevated the momentum in IndiaFrance ties with a strong push for innovation-led growth, positioning India and France as key partners in emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, defence manufacturing, space exploration, and resilient supply chains. Earlier in the day addressing , innovators, investors and entrepreneurs at Bharat Innovates, Modi projected India as a rising innovation powerhouse and called for technology that serves humanity rather than markets alone. “An India that is emerging not merely as a consumer of solutions, but as a contributor of solutions. Here, some are working to transform rural life through AI, while others are using satellite technology to support farmers. Some young innovators are shaping the future through smart cities, advanced manufacturing, and new materials. At the same time, several start-ups are developing new technologies in the fields of defence and security,” Modi said. After legal battles, alleged harassment and financial distress, a 71-year-old man and his 66-year-old wife have finally regained possession of their home in Miryalaguda after Nalgonda collector B Chan drasekhar invoked the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, and ordered the eviction of their younger son. Enzam Ramana Reddy and Chandrakala, residents of Housing Board Colony in Miryalaguda, alleged that their younger son, Dayakar Reddy, subjected them to years of harassment, including filing 22 cases against them, forging property documents and attempting to take control of their assets. In February a case , was also registered against Dayakar under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007. The couple has two sons and a daughter. While the elder son is settled in the US and their After their son was evicted on the order of the district collector, Enzam Ramana Reddy and Chandrakala open the front door of their residence at Housing Board in Miryalaguda, Nalgonda district, on Sunday daughter is married, they said they had transferred nearly four acres of land to Dayakar as he was unemployed. They also supported his wife and daughters by allowing them to stay in their house at Enjamvarigudem village in Neredcherla mandal and sustain themselves through lease in- come, Rythu Bandhu benefits and milk sales. Using their savings, Ramana and Chandrakala later built a house in Miryalaguda Housing Board Colony and purchased an adjoining three-guntas plot. According to the couple, Dayakar moved into the new house with his family on the pretext Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron during ‘Bharat Innovates’ event in France on Sunday | PTI The India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030 seeks to deepen cooperation in critical and emerging technologies as well as startup and incubator ecosystems besides promoting academic mobility and industryacademia linkages, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said He urged startups to build technologies that are “trusted, inclusive and human-centric”, arguing that companies should be judged not only by their valuation but by their contribution to society . The Bharat Innovates conclave, launched during Modi’s France visit, brought together was reinforced during Modi’s bilateral meeting with Macron at Villa Kerylos in Nice. Following extensive discussions covering defence, technology, space, trade, mobility and global affairs, the two sides announced 13 agreements and initiatives aimed at strengthening long-term cooperation. startups, venture capital funds, researchers and innovators from India, France and other countries. Modi interacted with entrepreneurs working in frontier sectors, including quantum computing, semiconductors, biotechnology, defence, space, healthcare, med-tech and clean energy. The innovation push Opener Smriti Mandhana fifty followed by Deepti Sharma’s fifer helped Women in Blue cruise past Pakistan in their opening game of the T20 WC. A look... Mandhana to the fore PIC: ICC Spinners take charge When Pakistan took two early wickets, it seemed like India were in trouble. But the ever-soconsistent Mandhana, along with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (36), rose to the occasion. Her 44-ball 68 took the team from 18/2 to 109/3 in 63 balls. Richa Ghosh’s (17-ball 34) explosive cameo in the death overs gave the final push to help India finish with 170/6 One of the intriguing things about this WC is the number of used surfaces on offer and how much spinners could control proceedings. India are aware of it as well, fielding three tweakers on Sunday. And it came in handy with Deepti Sharma (5/10), NR Sree Charani (3/21) and Shafali Verma (1/22) taking all nine wickets (one was a run out) as India beat Pakistan by 64 runs. They play Netherlands next on Wednesday Today’s matches (Southampton): NZ vs SL, 7 pm; England vs Ireland, 11 pm; Live on Star Sports and JioHotstar Man files 22 false cases against parents, evicted A Se s h a c h a r y u l u @ Nalgonda Innovation Roadmap 2030 launched India Pak a punch in WC opener Putin calls up Trump Russian President Vladimir Putin called US counterpart Donald Trump on Sunday and discussed the wars in Iran and Ukraine, the Kremlin said India and France also announced creation of a high-level mechanism for realising the goal of doubling bilateral trade in the next five years. The current bilateral trade volume is $16 billion. The two sides also decided to expand the use of UPI at Paris and Nice airports of educating his children. They alleged that in October 2022, Dayakar created forged registration documents claiming that the house had been sold to his wife. When the elderly couple later sought to move into the Miryalaguda house due to failing health, they were allegedly forced out. Fearing legal repercussions, local residents avoided intervening, they said. With no place to stay the couple , returned to their village home in Enjamvarigudem. Speaking to TNIE, Chandrakala alleged that her son subsequently blocked their Rythu Bandhu benefits and intimidated villagers against taking their land on lease, pushing them into financial hardship. She further claimed that he filed 22 cases in various courts against them using fabricated allegations related to dowry harassment and land disputes, forcing them to make repeated court appearances. The prolonged stress took a toll on the family she said. , continued on p3 CJP seeks Pradhan resignation At a protest in Hyderabad, students and activists called for accountability from the Centre over the NEET paper leak and CBSE marking irregularities page 4 punching for profit Organisers forget the first rule of ‘Fight Club’, land in police net c h i t h a l u r i r e v a n t h @ Hyderabad “The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club.” The organisers of a Hyderabad-based ‘fight club’ appear to have missed that memo. Promoted on social media under the tagline “No Rules – Just Fists”, the event charged `199 for spectators and `349 for participants before attracting the attention of the Malkajgiri cyber crime police, who have now registered a case against the organisers. Police said the organisers were allegedly promoting and conducting a ‘brutal fight club’ in which participants engaged in physical combat using their fists. According to Saroornagar police, the organisers had conducted similar events in the past and a case had earlier been registered against them for a programme which nearly 300 people had attended. They had also sought permission from the Saroornagar police to conduct another event on Sunday . However, the application was rejected, and the proposed eve n t w a s s u b s e q u e n t l y cancelled. The cybercrime case was registered on Saturday based on a com, plaint lodged by M Narender, a constable attached to the Social Media Unit of the IT Cell. In his complaint, Narender stated that while monitoring social media content, including reels, shorts and online links that could affect public safety and societal interests, he came across an Instagram account allegedly operated by one Purvik Munugapati. Upon examination, he found reels depicting unregulated and potentially dangerous physical fights between individuals. Police said the videos appeared to promote violence and posed a serious risk to participants. The complainant further stated that a linked website was advertising “Season One – Series Two” of the event under the tagline “No Rules – Just Fists” and promoting a fight event scheduled for June 14 at Saroornagar. The organisers were charging `199 for watching the bouts and `349 as fight-entry or boxing-registration fees. Promotion was also reportedly being carried out through WhatsApp broadcast groups. Sources said over 300 people, including spectators and fighters, had signed up for the Sunday event. continued on p3