KOLLAM l sunday l october 04, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l city EDITION Neighbours’ 5th gen stealth jets a cause for concern: iaf chief IAF chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh called the arrival of fifth-generation fighters in India’s neighbourhood a ‘cause for worry’ iaf may have to look at other options Singh’s concern comes amid a backdrop of China already flying J-20 and J-35 stealth fighters and Pakistani pilots reportedly training in China ahead of their air force inducting Chinese fifth-generation jets. Singh said the the Air Force may have to look at “other fighter platforms” if the indigenous AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft) project slips ■ 29 no decision yet on importing stealth jets ■ The twin-engine AMCA, designed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Agency, is India’s only home-grown stealth fighter The IAF chief, however, made it clear that no decision had yet been taken on importing a stealth fighter as a stop-gap. “Russia has offered the Su-57, but no decision has been taken yet,” he said | P7 fighter squadrons in iaf against a sanctioned strength of 42.5 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 GOLDEN FINISH: INDIA END ON HIGH Indraneel Das Express @ asian games Nagoya Dubai Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum with Captain Smit Machchhar at a UAE hospital | PTI EXPRESS READ State plans 500-tonne waste-to-energy plant T’Puram: In an effort to become self-sufficient in waste management and reduce dependence on other states for waste disposal, Keralam is gearing up to keep most of the processing chain within the state, by setting up a centralised 500tonne -a-day waste-to-energy plant and a network of refuse derived fuel plants as part of its new five-year zero-waste campaign. P5 Tourism policy to focus on AI-driven marketing T’Puram: The state is all set to announce a new tourism policy that seeks to integrate artificial intelligence into destination marketing and tourist behaviour analysis, while granting industry status to the sector to facilitate investments and infrastructure development. P4 150 detained over protests against CEC New Delhi: activists of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) staged a protest for the second consecutive day against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with around 150 protesters detained while they were marching towards Jantar Mantar amid heavy police deployment on Saturday. WITH THIS ISSUE The Great Everest Invasion PLUS 12 P AGES UAE confirms crash axe use for Flydubai terror attack Hammam al-Hammami reportedly the co-pilot, motive not clear yet E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi The co-pilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073 attempted to carry out a “terrorist attack” with a crash axe while the aircraft was flying from Dubai to Israel, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday according to the state news agency WAM. UAE Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said an investigation had found that the co-pilot “had attempted to carry out a terrorist attack”. He said the co-pilot attacked the pilot inside the cockpit with a crash axe in a bid to take control of the aircraft. The co-pilot was identified as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national. However, Emirati authorities and Flydubai have not publicly named him. Israeli officials had said the co-pilot was an Omani national, while Oman has not commented about it yet. A crash axe is normally kept in an aircraft cockpit for emergency purposes, including situations involving a crash or forced landing When Oman of the aircraft. The UAE prosecubarred him tor general said the probe into the from flying suspect’s motives, remained ongoing and that the findings would be Al-Hammami released after the completion of was previously the “necessary procedures”. barred from The incident took place last flying in Oman Wednesday aboard the Dubai-Tel over concerns Aviv flight. Most of the passenabout his radical gers were Israeli nationals. A reideological serve Flydubai pilot who was travviews, the Wall elling as a passenger took control Street Journal of the aircraft after the cockpit reported terror attack and landed safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. The injured pilot, Indian national, Captain Smit Machchhar, is recovering well and remained under medical care, the Indian Embassy said. Dubai Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum praised Machchhar after visiting him in hospital. He said the pilot had “embodied the highest degrees of courage, responsibility and care for human , life”. “From us, and from the leadership of the nation, he has our full appreciation and praise,” Hamdan said. “We are proud that he is part of our team, and part of what the UAE stands for a nation of compassion, of peace and a nation of life,” he said. I T was like the last day of a wedding. Barring an equestrian event on Sunday morning, the festivities are over; done and dusted for the next four years. The overlays are being peeled one after the other. The temporary structures are getting dismantled and weary volunteers are slowly leaving their stations. Only the Closing Ceremony remains. After a slightly iffy start, the sun has been shining from an Indian perspective. India won as many as five gold on Saturday It began with . women’s archery and golf in the morning. The men’s cricket team kept their date with destiny before the men’s hockey team booked their LA28 spot. The highlight, though, arrived in the form of an incomparable run to gold in the women’s individual recurve archery . It was enough to propel India to fourth place in the medals tally with 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze. However, it has to be noted that Uzbekistan could take the fourth spot if they win gold in the equestrian event on Sunday. Even if Saturday saw two of India’s beloved sides winning gold, the day belonged to Kumkum Mohod, the 17-yearold archer whose unerring ac- India players celebrate after beating Malaysia in the men’s hockey final to win the gold medal on Saturday | PTI Bright future What is heartening is that almost all the medallists from India are young while some of them made their debut. A healthy sign with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics just two years away curacy with a bow and arrow dethroned the might of the South Koreans. If she was raging in faraway Okazaki sports park, wrestlers — Aman Sehrawat was the standout — scorched the mat. On top of that, there was a welcome gold in golf — Pranavi Urs became the first Indian woman to bag gold. India cricket team’s win over Pakistan was the icing on the cake. Though there were no handshakes, they had the gold medal dangling around their necks at least — unlike in the Asia Cup which is still lying in the Asian Cricket Council headquarters. India’s overall medals tally (85) and gold (21) was well below the high of Hangzhou (107 & 28). But, after a head-scratching first week, this was a fine comeback. Over to Doha.  P11 Sreelekha quits as councillor, BJP stares at crisis in Tvm E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @T’Puram In a major setback for the BJP in the state, senior leader R Sreelekha has quit as party councillor in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation, after prolonged differences with the party leadership. The BJP administration, which had scripted history by dismantling 45 years of LDF monopoly in the city corporation, has now been pushed to the brink of crisis following the sudden resignation. The former DGP had been BJP’s prize catch and was introduced into the local body elections by the party’s state and central leadership with much fanfare. Sreelekha, who has not been on good terms with the leadership after being denied the mayor’s post in the corporation, handed over her resignation as Sasthamangalam councillor to Mayor V V Rajesh, citing personal reasons. The resignation, however, is yet to become official as she still hasn’t submitted the letter to the corporation secretary While a section of political leaders . view the resignation as a part of pres- sure tactics, the BJP leadership has already started conciliatory efforts to persuade her to withdraw her resignation. It is learnt that BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar will soon reach out to Sreelekha to discuss the issue. Sreelekha had expressed disappointment over being denied the mayoral post after the BJP won 50 of the 101 wards in the 2025 local body elections. The resignation could put the BJP in a tight spot in the corporation. Currently, the party has the support of 52 councillors, including two independents. However, the ruling front is now going through another political crisis caused by the preventive detention of Vazhottukonam councillor R Sugathan under the KAAPA Act. There are 29 LDF councillors and 20 UDF members in the corporation council. On Saturday Sreelekha shared , a farewell message in her ward’s WhatsApp group mentioning her resignation. In the message, Sreelekha said she submitted her resignation to the mayor on September 30 due to personal rea● More on P4 sons.  Adoor Prakash to knock on high command door A n i l S @ T’Puram Close on the heels of making his resentment over a lack of consultations by Chief Minister V D Satheesan public, UDF convener Adoor Prakash is set to take his complaint to the Congress national leadership. Prakash will meet leaders in Delhi on Monday and hand over letters to Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, seeking the high command’s urgent intervention. Incidentally, Congress state president Sunny Joseph and Satheesan will also be in Delhi on Monday and Tuesday, thereby setting the ground for the high command to hold talks with the state leaders during the visit. While the chief minister will be in Delhi to attend the GST Council meeting on Tuesday, the KPCC president has been called to the national capital by the AICC leadership for the PCC chiefs’ meeting. Prakash will formally convey his disgruntlement over being sidelined from key decision-making within the front. After his open revolt, many Congress leaders are keeping a distance On Monday, I will formally inform the central leadership whatever I have to convey regarding the ongoing political developments in the state. Now, it is for the high command to take a call — Adoor Prakash from Prakash. Prakash told TNIE that none of the senior leaders in either the party leadership or the UDF had contacted him to discuss the matter. The UDF convener added that he would wait for the high command’s final decision. “On Monday, I will formally inform the central leadership whatever I have to convey regarding the ongoing political developments in the state. Now, it is for the high command to take a call. I will abide by any decision, even if they feel like moving me out of this role,” he said. It is learnt that Prakash will also bring to the AICC leadership’s attention the ongoing cyber attacks against him from alleged Sathee● More on P4 san loyalists.  Kerala desks to be set up in five countries In an effort to make its presence felt across the globe and attract investments, the state is setting up ‘Kerala Desks’ in Dubai, London, New York, Singapore and Tokyo | P5 frie n d l y tie Before Samba, Brazil team skips CM’s dinner s u b h e n d u m aiti @ Kolkata Brazil and India players greet each other before their international friendly in Kolkata on Saturday. Brazil won 4-0 | PTI THE much-awaited Brazil-India friendly at Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday evening was overshadowed by a last-minute snub on Friday night. The Brazilian side boycotted a dinner hosted at JW Marriott by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari after being made to wait for 10 m i nu t e s d u r i n g a p h o t o session. Senior leaders, ministers, bureaucrats and others jostled for selfies with the Samba stars, delaying the event. The visitors, clearly miffed, skipped both the dinner and the accompanying musical performance by a noted percussionist, sources present at the venue said. Vinicius Junior during the friendly with India in Kolkata on Saturday | PTI The CM, who was to attend after campaigning in Nandigram for the BJP’s Hasirani Rath, stayed away agter he learnt about the development. The episode, described by sources as a loss of face for the organisers due to mismanagement, went viral on social media. Sports minister Indranil Khan and AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey did not respond to queries from this paper. Meanwhile, security was ramped up for the high-profile fixture on Saturday, billed as one of the city’s biggest in recent years. More than 300 CCTV cameras monitored the area. Spectators were not be allowed to carry outside food or water bottles inside. The heightened focus on access control came against the backdrop of the chaos that unfolded during Argentine star Lionel Messi’s visit to the city in December. This time, officials took particular care to ensure the prescribed entry procedures were followed strictly . Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior led the visitors as the marquee name on the pitch.