TIRUNELVELI  TUESDAY  NOVEMBER 03, 2020  `7.00  PAGES 12  CITY EDITION NZ PM INDUCTS FIRST-EVER INDIAN-ORIGIN MINISTER BORN IN CHENNAI TO MALAYALI PARENTS A second-time MP from the Labour Party, Priyanca is one of the five new faces in PM Adern’s ministry. She’s been given charge of three portfolios— community and voluntary sector; diversity, inclusion and ethnic communities; and youth development. Her parents, originally from Kerala’s Ernakulam district, moved to Chennai where Priyanca was born Priyanca Radhakrishnan, who has roots in Ernakulam, bags three key portfolios in PM Jacinda Ardern’s new ministry A FIGHTER FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIMS ■ ■ ■ In August, Priyanca was noticed in Kerala, when she appeared alongside PM Adern in a live video to extend Onam greetings Prior to becoming an MP in 2017, she had been a social worker, who fought to advance the rights of domestic abuse victims Her great-grandfather was associated with Left politics in Kerala 41-yr-old HAS BEEN A MEMEBER OF THE LABOUR PARTY FOR 14 YEARS CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI At least 22 dead in Kabul univ campus massacre EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Afghan security forces prepare to go into Kabul University on Monday | AP RISE IN VIOLENCE AS PEACE PROCESS UNDERWAY Kabul: Monday’s attack on Kabul University comes amid a relentless rise in violence across Afghanistan as the Taliban and the Afghan government are negotiating a peace agreement. Their talks in Qatar have made little progress. President Ashraf Ghani vowed to take revenge. “This attack will not remain without response,” he said TRUMP OR BIDEN? VOTERS TO DECIDE TODAY 239 million People eligible to vote this year 94 million Ballots already cast because of the Covid situation. It’s is about two-thirds of the overall 2016 vote count of 138.8 million 34.6 60.4 mn million Mail-in ballots, of them are could take days or in-person weeks to be counted votes. Both in some states, so the winner might Trump and not be declared Biden have hours after polls already cast close on Tuesday their ballot Trump set to spend election night at White House Twitter to lean on seven outlets to help determine whether a race is officially called - ABC News, AP, CNN, CBS News, Decision Desk HQ, Fox News and NBC News BRACING FOR BIDEN High-net-worth Americans are busy setting up trust funds, giving large gifts to heirs and philanthropies, and even selling family businesses as they brace for the tax hikes a Biden presidency might bring, Axios reports | P9,12 GUNMEN stormed Kabul University in Afghanistan’s capital on Monday, killing at least 22 students, including 10 women, and leaving around 22 others wounded. The attack happened minutes before Iran’s ambassador to the country was to arrive for the opening of a book fair. It all began around 11 am local time when a suicide bomber blew up himself inside the campus. Two gunmen then opened fire indiscriminately and and took dozens hostage while hundreds of other stu- dents fled with many scaling the campus’ perimeter walls. Images posted on social media showed what appeared to be the bodies of students lying in pools of blood in classrooms. “They opened fire ... all my classmates were lying in blood, either dead or wounded,” a student said. After six hours of fierce fighting, the two assailants were killed by the Afghan security forces with US support. The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the massacre. Joined the global outrage , Prime Minister Narendra Modi Hamid Karzai Airport AFGHANISTAN University of Afghan Kabul University KABUL said: “I strongly condemn the cowardly terrorist attack... Our prayers are with the families of the victims and the injured.” Pakistan, too, called it an “act of terrorism”. “I can’t even name a place A handout picture by the Istanbul fire department shows Elif Perincek, a threeyear-old survivor, holding the thumb of a rescue worker as she is carried out of a collapsed building three days after an earthquake in the Aegean port city of Izmir. The rescue worker found her lying motionless and asked for a body bag when she suddenly opened her eyes and grabbed his thumb | AP Experts say the numbers need to be read with caution as festive cheer may fade EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi SHOCK & AWE Meet the three-year-old Thumbelina of Turkey W HEN firefighter Muammer Celik reached a t h re e - ye a r- o l d g i rl trapped for three days under the rubble of a deadly earthquake in a Turkish coastal city his heart sank. She was , lying motionless, covered in dust, and he asked a colleague for a body bag. But as Celik extended his arm to wipe her face, the child opened her eyes and grabbed hold of his thumb. “That’s where we saw a miracle,” Celik of the Istanbul fire department’s search-and-rescue team told The Associated Press, recounting Monday’s operation 65 hours after the quake hit, killing at least 93 people in Turkey and Greece. It was the second dramatic rescue on Monday after 14-yearold Idil Sirin was also pulled out alive. Onlookers applauded with joy and wept with relief at both scenes in the Turkish city of Izmir, where the vast majority of the deaths and nearly 1,000 injuries have occurred. The US Geological Survey rated the quake 7.0, though other agencies recorded it as less severe. Many buildings were completely reduced to rubble N A V E I N D A R S H A N @ Chennai or saw several floors pancake in on themselves in Turkey, which has a mix of older buildings and cheap or illegal construction that do not withstand earthquakes well. Celik, whose team was among several who traveled to Izmir, said he found Elif Perincek lying on her back between her bed and a closet in a space that was just big enough for her. “At first I was very upset,” he said. “Then I stretched out my hand to clean her face and she grabbed my thumb. ... I froze because right before that mo- CHOKE ALERT AHEAD OF COVID-YEAR DEEPAVALI S V K R I S H N A C H A I TA N YA @ Chennai WITH the coronavirus in the air already disrupting normal life, bursting of crackers for Deepavali will only make matters worse for Chennaites. The city’s air quality is already on the edge. The air quality in general deteriorates in the Winter months of November, December and January during Deepavali and Pongal festivals. The city’s air quality index (AQI) is inching closer to 100, which by itself causes minor breathing discomfort for sensitive people. With Deepavali just two weeks away and active monsoon days ahead, the air pollution is only going to get worse. Director of Public Health tively around Friday if the pro, ducers get back to us.” Ruban Mathivanan, managing partner, GK Cinemas, Chennai, said, “Payment of the VPF is between the content provider and service provider. Theatre owners do not have a say in the content. Both producers and service providers must come to a consensus.” Suggesting another alternative, Naveen Sriram, an assistant cinematographer, said the producers could share VPF. “Maybe, producers and theatre owners can work out an agreement and share the costs.” The State recently allowed to reopen theatres on November 10 after it had ordered their shutdown on March 16. COVID COUNT FRESH CASES faculties teach. It is not clear how many students were at the university at the time of the attack. By one account there were at least 800 students in the social studies wing alone. Most students were in their respective classrooms when the attack began. They were besieged for hours before being rescued. The attack on Afghanistan’s oldest university with nearly 17,000 students comes a week after 24 students were killed in an attack on a school in Kabul, which was also claimed by the IS group. Green shoots? Factory output hits decade high DRAMATIC PIC OF THE THUMB GRAB ment, I had asked my team for a blanket and a body bag.” His voice breaking with emotion, he added: “This is a firefighter’s joy .” The child spent nearly three full days in the wreckage of her apartment and became the 106th person to be pulled alive from the rubble. Her mother and two sisters — 10-year-old twins — were rescued two days earlier. However, her six-yearold brother did not survive. Both Elif and Idil are doing well. The girls who lived have reenergised the rescue teams to look for more survivors. Will theatres in TN reopen on Nov 10? FILMMAKER Bharathiraja, who heads the Tamil Film Active Producers Association (TFAPA), announced on Monday that there will be no new Tamil releases until the Virtual Print Fee (VPF) charges demanded by digital service providers like Qube are taken care of by the theatre owners. In a press release, Bharathiraja mentioned that all the producers are unanimous in this decision as the service providers have not paid heed to the five demands raised by the TFAPA. He also clarified that the producers are willing to pay only the one-time charge, which would include the price of mastering, cloning and delivering. Reacting to Bharathiraja’s request, Tirupur Subramaniam, the president of the Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association, told Express, “We have no other option but to keep the theatres shut if producers are going to be at loggerheads with us.” He said theatre owners are willing to have a discussion with producers only after six months. “Until then, the producers must stick to the status quo in order for theatres to function. We have formally communicated this to them. But they haven’t acknowledged it yet. People will get a clarity on the status of new releases and reopening of theatres posi- that wasn’t attacked. The new frontline is everywhere. Those killed and wounded wanted to be doctors, engineers for tomorrow’s Afghanistan,” tweeted noted Afghan-based journalist Bilal Sarwary . “We were very scared and we thought it could be the last day of our lives... boys and girls were shouting, praying and crying for help,” Ahmadi Samim, a student said. He reported seeing gunmen, armed with pistols and Kalashnikov assault rifles, firing at students in the university’s eastern side, where its law and journalism The State tested 70,297 samples and 68,984 people on Monday. Among the deceased three didn’t have comorbid conditions DEATHS ACTIVE CASES 2,481 31 19,504 TS Selvavinayagam unequivocally told Express that all respiratory tract infections, including Covid-19, will increase when there is a bad air quality. “We have to keep the air pollution under control even during the festival days. We are increasing the monitoring for Covid control. District teams have been alerted to prevent overcrowding, ensure wearing of masks etc. The high risk population with underlying conditions like heart diseases should stay indoors when smoke engulfs the air.” Last Deepavali, Velachery recorded a poor AQI of about 250. During peak hours of crackers bursting, it even shot up to 436. In Alandur, it was much worse. The AQI was as high as 500. The same was the case with Manali station. According to the media bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health, 3,940 people were discharged after treatment Among western districts Coimbatore, Salem and Tirupur continued to report over 100 cases. It was in double digits in other districts BONUS FOR TAMIL NADU PSU STAFF FOR DEEPAVALI TN govt on Monday announced a Deepavali bonus of `210.48 crore to 2,91,975 employees of State Public Sector Undertakings P4 A day after the GST collection figures for October showed a robust uptick, rising past the `1 lakh crore mark, results of a monthly survey on factory output on Monday brought more cheer to the economy . As sales continue to surge in the ongoing festive season, India’s manufacturing sector activity improved for the third straight month in October, a monthly survey among purchasing managers of 400 manufacturers said on Monday . The IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 58.9 in October — the highest since mid-2008. In PMI parlance, an index reading above 50 indicates growth. “New orders and output at Indian manufacturers continued to recover from Covid-19induced contractions seen earlier, with PMI results for October highlighting historically sharp monthly rates of expansion,” said Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director, IHS Markit. While the latest PMI data along with the impressive GST numbers released on Sunday may give the impression the economy is recovering, experts advise caution. According to them, festive season can spur the economic activities but one needs to watch if the trend continues beyond the festive season. “One needs to be cautious while reading this number. This is festive season and we are coming from a severe lockdown, which needs to be taken into account. One should watch post December trends, after the festive season,” said Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, CARE Ratings. Another growing concern was that despite increase in demand, manufacturers recorded a further reduction in employment. Job cuts continue for 7th month in a row The survey said companies cut staff for the seventh month in a row, a streak not witnessed since the survey began in 2005. It, however, did not indicate the quantum of job loss “There was disappointing news on the employment front though, with October seeing another reduction in payroll numbers. Survey participants that noted job shedding mentioned having observed containment measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019,” the survey said. This indicates employers are cautious, despite their optimism that things will improve in the coming months. A-G declines consent for contempt proceedings against Andhra CM EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi ATTORNEY General K K Venugopal on Monday refused to grant consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy for casting aspersions on judiciary The A-G, however, termed . the Andhra CM’s letter to Chief Justice of India S A Bobde levelling serious allegations against senior SC judge N V Ramana and releasing the content of the letter to media “prima facie contumacious”. In his letter to the CJI, Jagan had also claimed Justice Ramana was acting on behalf of Andhra Pradesh opposition leader Chandrababu Naidu. Elaborating why he would not initiate contempt of court proceedings, Venugopal said, “Since the letter was addressed directly to the Chief Justice of India, the CJI is seized of the case and it would not be appropriate for me to deal with it.” The AG’s opinion came on a permission plea filed by advocate Ashwini Ku- mar Upadhyay who had sought permission to begin contempt of court proceedings against the Andhra Pradesh CM over his October 6 letter alleging Ramana was influencing the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Upadhyay is one of petitioners whose plea led a bench headed by Justice Ramana to direct high courts to expedite cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs. He had written to the Attorney General pointing out that 31 criminal cases were pending against Jagan.