THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l monday l june 22, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Germany enter knockouts, historic point for Curacao Germany become third side to officially qualify for the World Cup Round of 32 while debutants Curacao hold Ecuador to a goalless draw. A look... Germany players celebrate Deniz Undav’s (L) second goal on Saturday | ap Deniz the menace, yamal opens account A point to remember for debutants Substitute Deniz Undav was the standout as Germany beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in Toronto on Saturday. Undav scored the equaliser in the 68th-minute before going on to score a dramatic injury-time winner. On Sunday, Lamine Yamal made a goalscoring return for Spain as the European champions got their campaign back on track with a 4-0 drubbing of Saudi Arabia. ■ ■ Goalkeeper Eloy Room was the hero, keeping out a record 15 shots as Curacao secured their first ever World Cup point Lionel Messi will once again be in focus when Argentina face Austria today as he looks to become all-time leading goalscorer in WC history — he currently shares the top spot with Miroslav Klose (16 goals) | P11 Today's matches Group J: Argentina vs Austria (10:30 PM), Jordan vs Algeria (8:30 AM*). Group I: France vs Iraq (2:30 AM*), Norway vs Senegal (5:30 AM*). *IST Tuesday | Live on United8 Sports & ZEE5 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 NEET-UG retest done, Physics stumps many No slip-ups this time; questions far more difficult, say experts E x p re s s ne w s s er v i c e @ New Delhi A collective sigh of relief was evident across the country on Sunday evening after the NEET-UG retest concluded without any slip-ups. For a majority of the 20 lakh-odd medical aspirants across India who sat for the re-examination on Sunday nearly six weeks after , the original test was scrapped following a paper leak that triggered widespread protests and put the government on the defensive, the question paper appeared much tougher than the earlier one. The National Testing Agency (NTA) said candidates appeared at 5,440 centres in India and 14 abroad, with the exam conducted in 13 languages. Around seven lakh officials — including police personnel, observers and examination staff — were deployed to oversee the exercise, completed in what the agency described as a record 37 days. “This was not the NTA acting alone. It was Team Bharat — a chain of people across the country who showed up so that, for each candidate, the only thing that mattered that morning was the paper in front of them,” Director General of NTA, Abhishek Singh, said in a statement. NTA announced the results would be released earlier than expected. Security was visibly tightened at examination centres, with Aadhaar-based biometric authentication, CCTV surveillance, signal jammers and a mandatory two-layer frisking deployed. Impersonation attempts and forged admit cards were detected at a few locations, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh confirmed. “There have been a few instances of the usage of fake admit cards as well as fake Aadhaar cards by a few who tried to write the exam for others. They A candidate being frisked ahead of NEET-UG retest in Nagpur on Sunday | PTI NTA is especially grateful to the experts from academic institutions across the country who gave their personal time to help prepare multiple sets of question papers — National Testing Agency CJP protest to continue on Monday, farmers invited The Cockroach Janta Party on Sunday invited farmer groups to join its protests over alleged exam irregularities and the NEET paper leak, with founder Abhijeet Dipke saying the protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar will continue on Monday. On the second day of the protest, Dipke sought support from farmer unions and reiterated the demand for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. He also alleged that Delhi Police personnel were seeking Aadhaar details and addresses of people donating water and food to the protesters PM Modi delays travel back home in view of retest Preventing standard security-related traffic restrictions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delayed his departure from Delhi Airport by around 45 minutes on Sunday to avoid traffic disruptions for NEET-UG re-examination candidates. Arriving at Delhi’s IGI airport from Kolkata at 1.15 pm, PM Modi learned that the NEET-UG exam was slated to start at 2 pm and there were several exam centres along his route to Lok Kalyan Marg, his residence. The PM chose to hold his convoy until most students reached their centres, officials said could not succeed in their objective,” Singh said. A male candidate who attempted to hide a SIM card and an old question paper in his undergarments was caught, said a PTI report. Students though appeared flummoxed by the difficulty level of the Physics segment of the test. Students told this paper that the question paper was much tougher than the cancelled May 3 exam. Deepak Kumar, who was making his fifth attempt, said, “Biology was easy but Physics is what I would call tough.” A good number of candidates across the country missed the exam by turning up late and were denied entry after 1.30 pm for re-exam. AMMA leadership steps down E x p re s s N e w s Ser v i c e @Kochi AD hoc panel Amid mounting internal rifts and controversies, Shwetha Menon, president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), and the entire executive committee stepped down on Sunday . The resignations followed the annual general body meeting in Kochi, which witnessed dramatic moments with members reportedly engaging in heated arguments over the annual report and statement of accounts. Several senior members alleged financial discrepancies when the accounts were presented. Shwetha, the first woman president of AMMA, said the allegations, controversies, and today’s incidents were part of an agenda. “I feel efforts are going on to hand over the association to persons against whom allega- Following the resignations, AMMA general body appointed an ad hoc committee headed by Ramesh Pisharody, MLA, to manage the association’s affairs for the next four months. Shwetha Menon speaking to reporters after the AMMA general body meeting in Kochi | Express tions had been raised. I am not willing to act as a puppet for such people. There is a conspiracy behind these incidents,” Shwetha said, adding that she has also resigned as a member of the association. Following the development, the general body appointed an ad hoc committee headed by Ramesh Pisharody to manage the association’s affairs for the next four months. The association’s leadership was mired in controver- sies recently with a few mem, bers in the 17-member executive committee coming out against each other. Speaking to reporters after the general body meeting, Baburaj, a former joint secretary of the association, alleged financial irregularities in connection with `67 lakh spent for a family event organised by the association. “The numbers they provided in the report are false. According to the bylaw, the ex- Communicable diseases claimed 186 lives in state this yr, 48 in June A N N A J O S E @Kochi Raising serious public health concerns, communicable diseases have so far claimed a total of 186 lives in the state this year. Of these, 48 deaths were reported in the first 20 days of June, while 55 fatalities were reported in May . With monsoon setting in and cases of Shigella, influenza, dengue fever and other illnesses on the rise, health experts warn that the situation may worsen in the coming months, urging immediate remedial measures. Amoebic meningoencephalitis claimed 34 lives this year. It was followed by hepatitis A and leptospirosis, with 27 and 24 deaths, respectively. In 2024 and 2023, the state reported 543 and 570 deaths due to communicable diseases, respectively, with more than 220 hepatitis A deaths reported in both years. In 2026, there has been an unprecedented rise in Shigella deaths, with six casualties so far. Dr Anish T S, associate professor at the School of Public Disease Deaths due to communicable diseases (2026) March April May Until June 20 Source: DHS 14 27 55 48 cases Dengue fever 3,738 Leptospirosis 845 Hepatitis-A 3,663 Influenza 2,360 Shigella 209 Amoebic 138 meningoencephalitis Chicken pox 23,062 Acute encephalitis 70 syndrome Health, Kerala University of Health Sciences, said the state experiences a surge in communicable diseases every year during the monsoon season. “The number of cases tends to rise in July The . annual surge in infections is closely linked to rainfall patterns. If the state receives more rain in August, we may experience more cases in September too,” he said. Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, convener of the Indian Medical Association Research Cell, Kerala, said the state has historically reported more deaths in mon- Deaths 17 24 27 23 6 34 8 15 Others Fever (3)*, Malaria (3), Japanese Encephalitis (3), Typhoid (1), Acute diarrhoeal disease (7), Rabies (11), Scrub typhus (4) *Deaths in brackets soon season. “Many decades ago, several reasons, including communicable diseases, poverty and starvation tied to sea, sonal loss of wages from agricultural cycles, were attributed to this situation. With the improvement in living conditions, the social factors were alleviated. Now, infectious diseases remain one of the major reasons for deaths during the period. Monsoon, humidity, and inadequate sanitation, especially with sewage disposal, are a few reasons for surge in diseases, especially influenza, Shigella, dengue fever, and leptospirosis,” he said. ● More on P4 E X P R ESS R EA D Land acquisition delays stifle Sabari Rail progress International Yoga Day People perform yoga during a session on the occasion of International Day of Yoga at Namo Ghat in Varanasi on Sunday | pti BJP: Will replicate Bengal type poll win in Punjab IB director’s tenure likely to be extended Kochi: The Sabari Rail project had received a fresh lease of life after the Railways lifted a freeze order and the former LDF government agreed to fund 50% of the total cost, earmarking `1,900 crore to acquire land in Ernakulam, Idukki and Kottayam districts. But they appear to have done little to revive the project, with procedures linked to land acquisition making scarce progress. P5 Chandigarh: BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Sunday expressed confidence that his party will form the next government in Punjab and replicate its electoral success in other states, including West Bengal. Nabin’s three-day visit to the state is being viewed as part of the BJP’s broader strategy to expand its political footprint in Punjab. P8 New Delhi: The Centre is learnt to be considering a rare third consecutive extension in service for Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Kumar Deka. If approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Deka, a 1988batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, will continue beyond June 30, the date on which his current tenure ends. P7 self-reliance push US-Iran 3 indigenous ships join Navy in boost for India’s maritime power TALKS Negotiations begin amid Lebanon crisis The US and Iran held talks in Switzerland on Sunday after signing a preliminary agreement to end their war, with the conflict in Lebanon threatening to derail the deal. US President Donald Trump has threatened to strike Iran if it did not stop Hezbollah from “causing trouble” | P9 E x p re s s ne w s s er v i c e @ Kolkata Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday commissioned three indigenously designed and built naval vessels, INS Dunagiri, INS Sanshodhak and INS Agray, at the Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata, highlighting the country’s push for maritime strength and defence self-reliance under the Make in India initiative. “Nobody can ignore the im- portance of maritime power. No nation can become a great power without it,” Modi said, pointing to the growing strategic significance of sea routes, undersea data networks, critical minerals and emerging energy resources. Referring to INS Vikrant, India’s first domestically built aircraft carrier, he said, “When we presented INS Vikrant to the nation, we announced India’s selfsufficiency in maritime power to the world. Today, INS Duna- ecutive committee should submit the report before the general body meeting. However, they could not,” he said. Meanwhile, Shwetha alleged that the association’s treasurer was unavailable and that accounts relating to a particular period could not be produced. She had asked for 45 days’ time to prepare and present the accounts. She said the treasurer, Unni Shivapal, had absconded. “When an AMMA staffer raised a complaint, the issue was not addressed. Instead, he ran away. Thus, we could not produce the accounts for that period. The financial details we provided are correct. However, there were issues in the details provided by the previous committee,” she said. Unni went on leave last month after the executive committee approved his leave ● More on P4 application. giri, INS Sanshodhak and INS Agray add speed to that journey Modi stressed India must .” move beyond being a buyer. “India no longer wants to be a buyer. India wants to be a manufacturer. The day we become a manufacturer, we will also be the decider,” he said. INS Dunagiri is a stealth frigate, while INS Sanshodhak is a survey vessel and INS Agray is an anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft. Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives a memento from Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan during the tri-commissioning ceremony in Kolkata on Sunday | PTI NDRF personnel clearing the dormitory at the seafood export unit | Express Two dead, 62 hospitalised after ammonia gas leak in TN R a j a l a k s h m i S a m pat h @ Chennai Two women workers from Odisha died and 62 others were hospitalised after an ammonia gas leak from a seafood export unit at Kannigaipair near Periyapalayam (around 40km from Chennai) in Tiruvallur district on Sunday morning. The deceased were identified as Jumani Juang,19, and Malati, 20. The condition of seven workers is critical, sources said. Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has ordered a probe by a high-level committee and a solatium of `2 lakh each to kin of the deceased. Police registered a case and are questioning the unit’s owners. The workers, most of them young women aged 19-20 and hailing from Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam and West Bengal, were off-duty and resting in their hostel rooms about 50m from the unit’s ammonia plant when the leak occurred around 11 am. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team, roped in by the Tamil Nadu government to carry out rescue operations, said the gas had spread to the workers’ accommodation, causing them breathing difficulties and discomfort. According to Health Minister K G Arunraj, one of the workers killed died on the way to the hospital. Of the 62 hospitalised, 58 are women and four are men. An NDRF official told TNIE that the unit’s main ammonia storage was on the ground floor. The leak is suspected to have been from a nozzle on a pipeline carrying the gas to the first floor. “We suspect this caused the incident, but the exact cause will be known only after a detailed technical investigation,” he said.