HYDERABAD l sunday l june 28, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l LATE CITY EDITION cape Verde celebrate their greatest sporting night A small group of islands off Africa’s west coast continue World Cup fairytale; advance into knockout stage after 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia Cape Verde players rejoice after the match against Saudi Arabia on Friday | AP Meeting with Argentina awaits newbies Knockout rounds from today Nobody gave them a prayer when they qualified for the World Cup but the debutants, paired with former champions Spain and Uruguay as well as Saudi in Group H, equipped themselves well over their three group games. Players and support staff became heroes. A reward for finishing second in the group is a meeting in the first knockout tie against holders Argentina ■ ■ The first of the knockout ties will be held on Sunday night (IST) when hosts Canada face South Africa in Los Angeles Two-time champions Uruguay, meanwhile, lost to Spain and bowed out of the tournament at the first of asking. Belgium advanced after big win over New Zealand while Iran await fate | P11 1974 France first team to have 2 players on 4 or more goals in group stages since 1974 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 It’s official, Ram temple Trust gen secy & VHP V-P Champat Rai quits Pressure built up after RSS gen secy Hosabale questioned Rai over the alleged donation swindle Trust to meet on July 7 n a m i ta b a j pa i @Lucknow Teachers’ test now put off after Maha paper leak S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Weeks after the leak of NEE T- U G e x a m p a p e r kicked up a political firestor m, the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), scheduled for Sunday , was abruptly postponed after the police found leaked question papers during a raid at a hotel in Thane district on Saturday . The Maharashtra State Examination Council said the TET 2026 exam, scheduled for June 28 at 1,028 centres across the state, has been postponed to maintain the transparency and integrity of the examination process. Acting on a tip-off, the police conducted a raid at the Diamond Hotel in Bhiwandi, where they found certain individuals in possession of TET question papers. Three persons have been arrested. The Maharashtra State Examination Council officials were called to verify the material. After a close inspection, it was confirmed that several questions in the leaked paper matched those in the actual question paper. WITH THIS ISSUE Teaching No Lesson n India reat he G Education t Crisis PLUS 12 P AGES THE Shree Ram Janmabhumi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Saturday confirmed the resignations of general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Dr Anil Mishra following allegations of embezzlement of temple donation funds and valuables. In a letter released to the media, Trust treasurer Mahant Govind Giri said both leaders had submitted their resignations, which would be formally taken up at the next meeting of the Trust. Expressing shock and hurt over the allegations, Govind Giri emphasized the Trust’s commitment to a fair and transparent probe. “The temple trust assures devotees who have donated sil- Champat Rai ver bricks, ornaments and other valuables in the service of Lord Ram that their offerings are safe,” he stated. The resignations came on the heels of a Special Investigation Team unravelling mismanagement in donation collection in its preliminary report to the UP government. Based on its findings, the police filed an FIR and T r a n spa r e n c y push Needless secrecy over failures of PSLV: Scientists B o s k y k h a nn a @ Bengaluru THE Ministry of Science and Technology’s refusal to publicly share the Failure Analysis Committee (FAC) report on the back-to-back PSLV-C61 and C62 mission failures has sparked concern among space scientists and private industry players. Union Minister Jitendra Singh recently said the report was out and anomalies were detected, but that they cannot share it on a public platform. Singh also acknowledged that experts were working on resolving it. But scientists said such secrecy is counterproductive at a time when the government is actively seeking private sector participation in India’s space programme. Sources in Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) said the policy push includes Expression of Interest for transferring Launch Vehicle Mark-3 ( LVM-3) technology to private hands, following similar moves for PSLV and SSLV . A senior space scientist, speaking anonymously said the industry was invited because , ISRO demonstrated its strength and was prepping to focus on advanced projects. “But when basics go wrong and information is withheld, why would companies invest?” he asked. The PSLV-C61 mission on May 18, 2025 failed due to a pressure drop in the third-stage motor chamber, preventing the EOS-09 satellite from reaching its intended 534 km Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit. “The C-61 mission was not successful because of nozzle throat failure. The material was not right. Graphite was imported for the nozzle throat. This was changed to a carboncomposite component for C-62, which also did not succeed. The question which arose was whether it was fully ready for industrial use or not,” the space scientist said. VHP chief Alok Kumar said on Saturday that the Ram Temple Trust will meet in Ayodhya on July 7 to decide on the next course of action following the resignation of the two senior Trust functionaries. He said he hopes that a chief executive officer is appointed to manage the affairs of the temple. arrested eight persons. Though neither Rai nor Mishra was named in the FIR, their role in not reporting the matter on time came under scrutiny The eight arrested include . Rai’s former driver, who allegedly held the keys to the ‘hundi’ without authority. Rai is also VHP’s vice president. Highly-placed sources said the twin resignations followed intense pressure after a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) meeting in Haridwar on June 18-19. RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale reportedly questioned Champat Rai and others over alleged irregularities. Even during Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s visit to Ayodhya on June 19, Champat Rai was kept away from official programmes. On Thursday night, he received calls from RSS and VHP leaders advising resignation to contain the controversy . On Friday morning, both Rai and Mishra submitted their resignations to Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das at Mani Ramdas Ji’s camp. The Trust and VHP maintained silence through Friday evening. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Bangladesh’s decision to hand over the development of an economic zone at Mongla Port to a Chinese state-owned company marks a significant shift in Dhaka’s strategic and economic engagement with China in the wake of the just-concluded visit by Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to Beijing. The project will be developed on around 110 acres of land adjacent the Mongla Port in Bagerhat, land that was originally earmarked for an Indian eco- nomic zone but was later delisted under the Muhammad Yunus-led administration as India-Bangladesh ties deteriorated. Mongla, Bangladesh’s second-largest and second-busiest port after Chittagong, lies about 188 km from Kolkata and close to the Sundarbans, giving it considerable strategic heft. Sources familiar with the development said plans include setting up manufacturing industries, warehouses and storage facilities in the economic zone. The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Civil Engineer- US President Donald Trump has thanked India after a road in Hyderabad was named after him. On Saturday Trump , shared a post on the social media platform Truth Social featuring photographs from the inauguration of Donald Trump Avenue in Hyderabad’s Financial District. The photographs show Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor unveiling the ceremonial plaque. Sharing the photographs, Trump wrote: “The new Donald Trump Avenue in Hyderabad, India — The first US President to ever be honoured in this way . Thank You!” Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had earlier announced that key roads in the city would be named after globally recognised companies and prominent personalities. Following this, the Telangana government named the road adjoining the US Consulate in Hyderabad as Donald Trump Avenue. Vikramarka unveiled the plaque on June 24, coinciding with 250th anniversary of US Independence. Defending the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as a constitutional and necessary exercise to ensure credible voter lists, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Saturday accused the Revanth Reddy government of creating fear among people by spreading misinfor mation about the process. The Union minister alleged that the state government was falsely linking the SIR to religion and misleading people into believing that shifting ing Construction Corporation. Beijing sought to downplay any geopolitical implications of its growing partnership with Dhaka. Responding to questions over India’s concerns, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “ChinaBangladesh cooperation does not target any third party and @ Hyderabad miracle baby Videograb shows a newborn pulled out from under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Venezuela’s La Guaira after an emotional rescue on Friday night | X US Prez thanks India for road SIR not linked to sops, religion: Kishan name in Hyd, says ‘honoured’ E N S @ Hyderabad The Bangladesh-China deal on Mongla Port economic zone is widely seen as a major policy shift in a region New Delhi has traditionally regarded as its immediate neighbourhood should be free from third-party influence.” The joint statement issued after the talks said both sides agreed to “jointly advance the Mongla Port Facilities Modernization and Expansion Project” and the development of the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone in Chattogram. It added that the Chinese side would “provide support and help within its capacity to the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project”. The Teesta project has drawn close attention in India because the river flows close to the India-Bangladesh border and has implications for India’s northeastern region. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Lack of clarity @ Hyderabad Policy shift in Dhaka Telangana to reach out to non-BJP ruled states on GRAM G ISRO scientist E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Iran unleashed a drone assault on Bahrain and a ship was attacked in Hormuz on Saturday, hours after the US struck Iran over ‘truce violation’ | p9 India out, B’desh hands Mongla project to China When the basics are not right, why will some other company invest? Just as accuracy, quick technological advances and safety, transparency is also important Another senior ISRO scientist, refusing to be identified, said the PSLV twin failures raised questions if diagnosis done during C-61 mission was right and if the solutions listed were addressed in C-62. Fresh strikes by Iran, US amid Hormuz row voter registration to Hyderabad would result in the loss of pensions, ration cards, welfare benefits or land rights in their native villages. “This is completely false and misleading propaganda,” he said, adding that the exercise had no connection with religion, citizenship or welfare schemes. Addressing a press conference at the BJP state office, Kishan said the SIR was neither new nor linked to any government or political party but was , a constitutional exercise undertaken independently by the Election Commission. He said the exercise would remove duplicate, deceased and invalid entries while enabling eligible citizens to secure voting rights. He added that the Supreme Court had also issued guidelines stressing the need for accurate electoral rolls. Criticising the Congress and BRS for raising what he termed “unnecessary apprehensions”, Kishan urged people to participate in the revision process. He appealed to citizens, particularly those above 18 years of age, to register as voters, verify their details and rectify errors relating to names, age, addresses and family particulars. The Union minister pointed out that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were conducting doorto-door verification as part of the exercise.  Continued on P4 Even as civil society organisations urged the state government to enact its own employment guarantee law instead of adopting the Union government’s proposed framework, the Cabinet sub-committee set up by the state to examine the VB GRAM G Act has decided to reach out to non-BJP-ruled states to explore coordinated legal and political action. The state Cabinet is expected to take a decision on July 2 on whether Telangana should adopt the Centre’s framework, enact its own legislation, move the Supreme Court, or pursue a combination of legal and administrative measures. The sub-committee, headed by Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy proposed , consultations with the chief ministers of Karnataka and Kerala to assess whether the two states would be willing to pursue a common legal strategy or other coordinated measures to protect the powers and financial interests of states. The meeting was attended in person by Panchayati Raj Mini s t e r D a n a s a r i A n a s u ya (Seethakka), while Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao and Labour Minister G Vivek Venkataswamy participated virtually . During the meeting, members of the sub-committee maintained that the proposed Civil rights n society groups urge TG Civil to frame a separate employment guarantee law n They say proposed framework could cost Telangana nearly `2,500 cr n Opposed to the 60-day cap; seek a guarantee of at least 200 days of work law infringes upon the constitutional powers of states and contains several provisions that may not withstand judicial scrutiny. Legal experts informed the panel that they had identified multiple constitutional issues that could form the basis of a challenge before the Supreme Court. The committee also discussed whether Telangana should challenge the legislation in the Supreme Court instead of implementing it in line with the Union government’s guidelines. Representatives of nearly 20 civil society organisations who attended the meeting criticised the Union government for introducing sweeping changes without consulting state governments.  Continued on P4 SBI gives up claim on Raidurg land | p4