SAMBALPUR l friday l september 25, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION India’s Russian oil imports hold at 1.8 million barrels per day India’s Russian crude imports held at 1.8 mn bpd in September as stronger Chinese buying curbed flows, but West Asian suppliers filled the gap lost volumes replenished by gulf nations giving up russian crude will be pricey India imported 2.82 mn bpd of Russian crude in July, which slipped to 2.08 mn bpd in August, according to global commodities data and analytics firm Kpler. Iraq and Saudi made up for the drop in Russian volumes. Iraq supplied 505,000 bpd of crude this month, up from 163,000 bpd in Aug. Saudi volumes rose to 576,000 bpd in Sept from 347,000 bpd last month ■ ■ The outlook for Russian supplies could become more complicated if the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 results in tougher restrictions on countries continuing to buy Russian oil Nikhil Dubey, lead analyst at Kpler, said India can technically replace Russian crude, although the shift would come at a higher cost 2022 is when India became an important buyer of Russian crude 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 Demand to sack South Odisha battered by deep depression CEC snowballs, Rahul urges him to turn approver E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Assam rules for compulsory regn of Muslim marriages P r a s a n ta m a z u m d a r @ Guwahati THE assam government on Thursday approved rules for compulsory registration of Muslim marriages and divorces in the state. The rules prohibit registrations that contravene the legal age of marriage—18 years for females and 21 years for males. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the government had earlier taken a decision that kazis would not register Muslim marriages. “Today, the Cabinet approved the Assam Muslim Marriage Registration (Compulsory) Rules, 2026. Muslim couples will now be able to register their marriages with the registrars of marriages,” Sharma said. He said the government will allow panchayat officials to register marriages if there are a large number of applications. Express Read Woman molested in another shocker from Bihar, four arrested Patna: Within a week of the molestation and assault case in Bihar’s Jamui district, another case of misbehaviour with a young woman has emerged in Samastipur, with police arresting four accused on Thursday | P8 With the deep depression pouring heavy rains on south and south coastal districts along its path, the state government on Thursday said it was taking all measures to deal with any emergent situation. Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari told the Assembly that the depression carrying heavy rains and gale winds has affected six districts of Koraput, Gajapati, Malkangiri, Ganjam, Rayagada and Nabarangpur. Pa r v e z S u lta n @ New Delhi The demand to sack Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar gained more momentum on Thursday with Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi suggesting he turn approver as an act of nationalism. The Congress also reached out to the Opposition parties to step on the gas amid the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) issuing a 48-hour ultimatum for Kumar to resign so as to seize the political initiative. Pressure on Kumar built up after a media report revealed that fellow election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected to decisions pertaining to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on multiple occasions but the CEC had brushed them aside. Congress sources said the INDIA bloc is set to file a notice in two weeks in both Houses of Parliament seeking removal of the CEC. This will be the Opposition’s third bid to impeach Kumar. In April, 73 Opposition MPs moved an impeachment notice in the Rajya Sabha, accusing the CEC of acting in a partisan manner. The notice is still pending. Meanwhile, the Congress directed its state units to organise protest marches to their respective State Election Commission offices on Friday demanding the immediate arrest and , removal of Kumar and a review of decisions and electoral roll changes made under him. Addressing reporters here, Rahul accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Minister Amit Shah of conspiring in ‘vote chori’ (vote theft) that benefitted the BJP in elections. Rahul claimed Modi and Shah would be investigated in due course of time for what they had done to the Indian electoral system, which he termed “anti-national” and an “attack on the idea of India”. “Kumar must resign immediately…This is not just some small rigging of an election. This is an attack on the constitution of India. …And the people who are responsible for this are going to get punished,” he said, warning the CEC to seriously consider the position he’s in. “He should turn approver.” he added. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also demanded Kumar resign within 48 hours or the outfit would launch another nationwide agitation on the lines of its Jantar Mantar protest in P7 June this year.  We are going to cooperate with the Opposition parties. It is our sacred duty to protect the Constitution and vote Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader ECI refutes charges The ECI on Thursday claimed changes to Form 6 and functioning of its digital platform, ECINET were both in accordance with the law CJP’s 48-hr deadline CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke demanded CEC Gyanesh Kumar resign in 48 hours to ensure free and fair polls. If not, CJP would launch a nationwide agitation 3pm 4pm Closing 73,580.54 Change 1247.71 (-1.67%) sensex 1pm 73,000.00 In the red 11am 74,000.00 9am Stock markets tumbled on Thursday with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tanking over 1.6%—the steepest singleday decline in three months— as geopolitical tensions jacked up Brent crude oil prices and US bond yields hit a 19-year high, triggering an across-theboard selling pressure. Nifty 50 fell 1.64% to close at 23,063 while the Sensex slipped 1.67% to 73,580 on Thursday . Global sentiments, too, re- 75,000.00 main muted as US equities fell sharply amid signs of further monetary tightening. Brent crude oil prices rose 2% to $106/bbl, amid growing uncertainty over US-Iran ties. The US 10-year Treasury yield surged to around 5.11%, its highest level since 2007. Elevated US bond yields mean more risk-free returns for foreign institutional investors, who tend to divert liquidity away from emerging markets. Experts say Indian equities are likely to remain weak in the near term as investor sentiment has turned risk-averse amid lingering uncertainties around inflation and economic growth. In the absence of positive triggers, the sentiment will remain cautious, they add. US President Donald Trump welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday | PTI Hope Chinese cos are treated fairly, Xi tells Trump a g en c i e s @ Washington PRESIDENT Donald Trump opened Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s state visit on Thursday by celebrating their ‘truly great friendship’ even as the two confront a crowded list of disputes between the world’s biggest economies. Xi, on his first visit to Washington in a decade, called for the US and China to manage their superpower rivalry and keep artificial intelligence under human control, apart from making a case of ease of access for Chinese companies in the US. “I hope Chinese firms are treated fairly here,” he said. Xi said achieving the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand.” He also announced Red carpet an invitation for 1 lakh welcome young Americans to visit Senate Majority China for study exchange Leader Chuck programmes over the next Schumer five years. “Let us meet the accused Trump people’s expectations and of being in show our historical initia- thrall to tive, let us keep advancing authoritarian the cause of friendship be- leaders, tween our two peoples and attacking the work together to build a red-carpet better world,” he said. welcome for In his opening remarks, Xi Jinping | P9 Trump said, “Working together, President Xi and I have made tremendous strides on the issues facing our two countries... During this visit, we will also discuss pressing issues concerning security technology and super intelligence.” , , While Trump has dismissed fears that AI could pose a threat to humanity, Xi took a measured tone. “We both have the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good and ensure AI is always under human control,” he said. China and the US also agreed to extend a trade truce, due to lapse on November 10, by P9 two months.  Iran’s rower trained through war, bombings to win gold I Express @ asian games Nagoya magine training to compete at the Asian Games, in double sculls rowing. An event where your endurance and the precise coordination you have with your teammate, developed through hours and hours spent together in the water, mean everything. Now, imagine doing that, except there is no water and no teammate. All you have is an ergometer. That, and the sound of mis- Kimia Zarei siles dropping outside her home in the Iranian city of Hamadan, was all that Kimia Zarei had to get in shape for the Games in Nagoya. Yet on Tuesday, she and her partner Zeinab Norouzi won gold in the women’s lightweight double sculls. Iran’s rowers are among the strongest at the Games. The war back home could not break their spirit or resolve as Iran won two gold, as many silver and a bronze. “We were bombed everyday,” Zarei remembers her preparation. “When I was training at home, I would hear the sound of bomb explosion. It was close to our home and when you go to the window, you can see everything.” Zarei and her fellow athletes had their practice at Urmia cut short. On the first day of the war, the federation sent athletes back home. Each of them were given an ergometer to train. see arrangements. The government has also rushed four senior officials to the affected areas to take charge of relief and res- R a j k u m a r M o h a n t y @ Puri Asian games Indraneel Das A portion of road damaged due to landslide in Kalinga ghat | express toration works. Meanwhile, official reports said landslides have been reported from Kalinga Ghati in Kandhamal district following which vehicular movement has been halted on the route for an indefinite period. Four to five feet rainwater was flowing over four low-level bridges at Poteru, Kangurukonda, Kanyashram and MV-90 on National Highway 326 in Malkangiri district. As a result, vehicular movement on the Malkangiri-Motu National Highway had been completely Continued on P5 stopped.  Mysore tourist couple alleges assault in Puri hotel, pregnant woman injured Gyanesh Kumar, CEC Sensex, Nifty tumble to 3-month low ARSHAD KHA N @ New Delhi “Reports of uprooted trees, landslides, waterlogging, road blockades and rainwater overflowing on to roads have been received from the affected districts. However, there are no reports of any casualty The ad. ministrations have shifted over 8,000 people from vulnerable pockets to safer places,” he said. Pujari said four senior ministers Rabi Narayan Naik, Gokulananda Mallick, Bibhuti Bhusan Jena and Nityananda Gond have been deputed to Koraput, Gajapati, Ganjam and Nabarangpur districts to over- Hat-trick of Asian Games medals for Roshibina India’s wushu athlete Naorem Roshibina Devi made the most of a second chance at the Games on Thursday. After initially failing to qualify in the selection trials, she bounced back to win a silver medal in the women’s 60kg sanda event on Thursday. In the process, she completed a hat-trick of medals at the Games (2018, 2023 & 2026) A tourist couple from Mysore in Karnataka was allegedly manhandled by employees of a hotel in Puri on Wednesday night. The woman, who is seven months pregnant, claimed she was injured after being pushed against a table. The hotel management, on the other hand, claimed that its staff members were assaulted by the tourists. According to reports, a group of 13 tourists from Mysore had come to Puri. On Wednesday evening, Bharat and Susmita, along with the group, went to the hotel, ‘The Taste of Bengal’, for dinner. The couple said they found a strand of human hair in the food and asked the restaurant staff to replace the dish. Police sources said the hotel staff claimed the tourists refused to pay for the entire group, while the couple asserted that the restaurant operator demanded payment for a fresh dish. An argument broke out between the tourists and the manager, which escalated into a fight inside the restaurant, prompting other customers to leave. Susmita alleged that the hotel staff pulled down the shutter and assaulted Continued on P5 them.