AI generated hyderabad l saturday l june 20, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late cITY EDITION Gabbard outs Fauci’s funding of Wuhan lab, Covid-19 footprint The then US health czar funded research on bat coronaviruses at Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, from where Covid-19 virus possibly leaked suppressed lab-leak origin theory, lied pushed lies, disinformation, censorship Dr Anthony Fauci, who served as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022, worked with the intel community to suppress the lab-leak origin theory of Covid-19, and lied to Congress under oath, said Tulsi Gabbard on her last day as US Director of National Intelligence, while releasing documents on Wuhan lab funding ■ ■ Fauci funded risky corona research linked to big pharma in the pursuit of universal vaccines worth trillions of dollars; became pandemic pundit and pushed lies, disinformation, and censorship, she alleged He and his hand-picked experts pushed intel community to endorse a natural, animal origin to hide his dangerous research, Gabbard added 71L+ Covid-19 induced deaths reported worldwide so far | 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 Footpath walk a fundamental right, rules SC SUCHITRA K A LYA N M OHA N TY @ New Delhi In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court on Friday said the right to walk on a demarcated footpath is a fundamental right, and must take precedence over the movement of motorised vehicles. The right to walk is part of the right to movement guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (d) and other fundamental rights including Article 21 (Right to life and liberty) of the Constitution, said a bench of justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar. The fundamental right to walk will take within its sweep the right to demarcated footpaths, it added. The court was deciding an appeal in a motor accident claim, where a tanker mowed down a 5-year-old who was on his way to school along with his dad. While the father filed a compensation claim for `25 lakh, the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal awarded `7.82 lakh with 6% interest; a high court cut the compensation to `4.7 lakh; and the SC raised the payout to `11.4 lakh. Stressing the need to establish a regulatory body the court said the regulator will , retain institutional memory so as to act on the basis of the information it has gathered. “The regulator will maintain institutional integrity by taking independent and objective decisions without governmental or industrial control,” the court added. Today's matches Group F: Netherlands vs Sweden (10:30 pm); Tunisia vs Japan (9:30 AM*). Group E: Germany vs Ivory Coast (1:30 AM*); Ecuador vs Curacao (5:30 AM*). *IST Sunday State may rethink financial ties with SBI M a n d a R a v i n d e r Re d d y @ Hyderabad Apparently upset with the State Bank of India’s (SBI) decision to move the Telangana High Court over the auction of a prime land parcel in Raidurg despite discussions over an alternative arrangement, the Telangana government is understood to be considering a review of its relationship with the public sector lender. The issue has assumed political overtones within the government, with official sources claiming that the decision to challenge the auction has raised questions at the highest levels. Sources said the government suspects that forces opposed to the state’s asset monetisation programme may have influenced SBI’s approach to the dispute.  continued on p6 Jio enters satellite Temporary Telegram race, to launch LEO ban legit: Delhi HC network for India Proportionality test satisfied India’s largest telecom operator plans to set up sovereign constellation, take on Musk’s Starlink R a ke s h K u m a r @ New Delhi IN a move that could put it in direct competition with Elon Musk-led Starlink and other global satellite internet providers, Reliance Jio on Friday announced plans to enter the satellite communications sector by developing a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation for India. Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm and managing director of Jio Platforms, said the company is looking at developing its own LEO satellite constellation and may also partner with global satellite operators. The announcement is significant as Jio is India’s largest telecom operator and one of the world’s largest mobile service providers by subscriber base. “Jio connected India on the ground. Now, we must connect India from the skies. There are still remotest villages, island communities, and border outposts where the Jio network cannot reach. For them, satellite connectivity will be the bridge to the rest of India,” said Akash Ambani while speaking at Reliance Industries’ 49th annual general meeting on Friday . The company is also setting up its own ground stations in India, which will act as links between satellites in space and users on the ground. These stations will support both satellite networks operated by Jio’s global partners and any future satellites launched by Jio itself. LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites operate much closer to the Earth, usually between 160 km and 2,000 km above the surface. Because they are closer, they can provide faster internet speeds and lower delays than traditional communication satellites, making them ideal for broadband services. Reports said the firm has submitted plans to the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre to set up 1,650 satellites. Starlink currently leads the global satellite broadband market with 10,634 active satellites serving 12 million customers. Amazon’s Project Kuiper has 367 satellites in orbit, while Bharti Enterprises-backed Eutelsat OneWeb operates 654 satellites. Jio has already partnered with Luxembourgbased SES to offer satellite broadband services in India. However, SES mainly operates geostationary and Medium Earth Orbit satellites and does not have a LEO satellite network.  P12 There are still remotest villages... where Jio network can’t reach. For them, satellite connectivity will be the bridge to the rest of India Akash Ambani, MD, Jio Platforms Biggest ever IPO Jio Platforms Ltd, the digital services arm of Reliance Industries, on Friday filed draft papers for what could become India’s largest-ever IPO, seeking to raise `37,700 cr, valuing the firm at roughly `13 lakh crore No Iran-U.S. talks Israel FOR truce after pounding Lebanon Israel and Hezbollah reportedly agreed on a ceasefire hours after talks between the US and Iran were called off on Friday over renewed Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon | P11 Govt focus is fitness and education: Revanth E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad At a function to distribute educational kits to students, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday asserted that his government would transform Telangana into the education and sports hub of the country. He also launched a dedicated WhatsApp service to communicate with over 18 lakh students and their parents during the function at LB Stadium. Starting Friday students and , parents across the state will receive critical information regarding School Education department services and activities directly on WhatsApp. These updates will cover academic progress, the distribution of educational materials, scholarships, examinations, and wellness programmes. The digital services were developed by the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) — MeeSeva Division of the IT department. At the function, the chief minister, alongside Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, launched the distribution of Young India student kits to 27.5 lakh students and virtually laid foundation stones for sports complexes in various districts. The Governor and the chief minister also administered an anti-drug pledge to the students. continued on p7 Students take an antidrug pledge (above); The Governor and CM distribute Young India Kits to students at LB Stadium on Friday | Sri Loganathan Velmurugan Message editing feature Telegram’s messageediting feature could be misused to falsely suggest that exam papers had been leaked before the exam, Delhi High Court judge Tejas Karia said E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ New Delhi The Delhi High Court on Friday upheld the ban on Telegram messaging app ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG reexam, observing that the order was not disproportionate in an emergency situation. A vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia said the Centre’s order was the “least restrictive” option on the table. The platform’s architecture is conducive to amplification and mass dissemination of content. “Any unlawful con- tent, if circulated on Telegram, is capable of being amplified rapidly and likely to give rise to a public order situation,” the judge noted. Telegram also hosts an extensive bot ecosystem for automated dissemination of content. “As a result, illicit activity may resume within a short period notwithstanding takedown action against the original channel,” he added. Besides, the app permits messages and files to be edited at a later point in time, which could be exploited to mislead the public, he observed. Stampede case: Court summons Allu Arjun on June 22 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad A court in Nampally has summoned actor Allu Arjun and the other accused to appear before it on June 22, in connection with the stampede at Sandhya Theatre during the benefit show of Pushpa 2 on December 4, 2024. A total of 23 persons have been named as accused in the case, with Allu Arjun listed as accused No. 11. Court proceedings will commence after the accused appear before the court. The stampede occurred on the night of December 4 when the actor visited Sandhya theatre, triggering a rush among moviegoers eager to catch a glimpse of him.