AFP MADURAI  MONDAY  NOVEMBER 16, 2020  `7.00  PAGES 28  LATE CITY EDITION HAMILTON EQUALS F1 LEGEND SCHUMACHER’S WORLD MARK Briton enters league of all-time greats across sports with seventh World Championship win in Turkish Grand Prix CHILDHOOD DREAM COMES TRUE Lewis Hamilton, who had earlier this year overtaken Michael Schumacher’s world record of most individual races won, had claimed his first world title in 2008. “We dreamed of this when I was young. I remember watching Michael win those World Championships... Seven is unimaginable,” said the Mercedes driver. The 35-year-old has won 10 of 14 races this season ■ 4 INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF MILESTONE MAN ■ Hamilton also holds the world records for most wins (94), most pole positions (97) and most podium finishes (163) Hamilton came home over half-a-minute clear of Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and sealed the World Championship with three races still to be held in a season cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic THIS IS HAMILTON’S FOURTH CONSECUTIVE WORLD TITLE WIN 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 RCEP is a deal! DECODING POLITICAL KILLINGS 30% 210 cr FIFTEEN SIGNATORIES OF RCEP People covered by the deal COMMON RULES, LOWER TARIFFS The RCEP is a trade pact first proposed in 2012 and includes China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and 10 ASEAN economies - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia The agreement is expected to lower or eliminate a range of tariffs within 20 years of it taking effect It will also lead to the creation of common rules of origin. This will help companies save cost and time by allowing them to export a product anywhere within the bloc without meeting separate requirements for each country INDIAN PULL OUT Chinese Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan (R) holds up the RCEP agreement as Premier Li Keqiang (L) applauds | AFP The RCEP signatory states will commence negotiations with India at any time after the signing of RCEP agreement once India submits a request in writing Ministers’ Declaration on India’s participation in RCEP DOOR STILL OPEN FOR NEW DELHI WIN FOR CHINA India can join the RCEP anytime in future after submitting a formal request India pulled out of the RCEP talks last year over concerns that tariffs reductions will lead to dumping of Chinese goods in the domestic market. It would also worsen India’s trade deficit According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, India has trade deficits with 11 of the 15 RCEP signatories While RCEP would open up India’s market to Chinese goods, India got no assurances that its companies would get meaningful access to Chinese markets India can also participate in RCEP meetings as an observer Being China’s brainchild, RCEP is seen as its tool to draft the rules of trade in the region WHAT NEXT India can also take part in economic cooperation activities undertaken by the signatory states, on terms and conditions to be jointly decided by RCEP All signatories need to ratify the deal within two years for it to come into force Nitish to begin seventh term as Bihar CM today R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ Patna A day after being unanimously elected leader of the Bihar NDA, JD(U) president Nitish Kumar will on Monday be sworn-in as the state’s chief minister for his seventh term. The swearing-in ceremony will begin at 4.30 pm. Earlier on Sunday, Nitish staked his claim to form the new government after handing the letter of support of 126 lawmakers to Governor Phagu Chauhan. The NDA meeting was held in the presence of BJP’s central observer and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Addressing the media later, Nitish said: “I did not want to be the CM, but only after the request and instructions of the leaders of the BJP I accepted the post,” he said. , Within the BJP Katihar MLA Tar Kishor Prasad was elected , its legislature party leader, which suggested he could be made the deputy chief minister. Perhaps to acknowledge the role of women as silent voters in the NDA victory the BJP elected Bet, tiah MLA Renu Devi as deputy leader of the legislature party . Team Nitish could have 15 representatives from the BJP, 12 JD(U) and two each from the Hindustani Awam Morcha and the Vikassheel Insaan Party . THE Bharatiya Janata Party’s sustained push to make inroads ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections next year and the Trinamool Congress’s fierce efforts to thwart the attempts are turning south Bengal into killing fields. Last Wednesday Prime Min, ister Narendra Modi had alluded to it, saying those who had failed to challenge the BJP democratically have resorted to murdering its workers to achieve their goals. “Maut ka khel (killing game) cannot get you votes,” he said without naming the TMC. Police data studied by this newspaper showed that of the 47 political killings involving BJP and TMC workers since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, 38 happened in south Bengal. Twelve of the political killings took place in the last six months. A majority of those who were killed, 28, were BJP supporters, while 18 were TMC workers and one was a Socialist Unity Centre of India activist. The reason why south Bengal has turned into a bloody political battlefield is because this is where the BJP sees it can m a ke i n ro a d s i n t o T M C territory . In the political landscape of West Bengal, there are 85 minority-dominated seats. Here the TMC has built an almost impregnable base through its Muslim-friendly policies. The BJP in any case doesn’t enjoy the community’s trust. Then there are 55 seats, mostly in north Bengal, which have a substantial number of Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. In these seats the BJP has wide support. This was underlined in the parliamentary elections last year, when it won seven of the eight Lok Sabha seats. E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Madurai TWO firemen were crushed to death on Saturday early morning after the roof of a textile shop on fire on Navabathkana Street collapsed on them. The deceased were identified as 31-year-old P Krishnamoorthy, a native of Poonganagar in Sivaganga’s Thirupuvanam, attached to Meenakshi Amman Temple Fire and Rescue Service Station and 33-year-old K Sivarajan, a resident of West Velli Street in Madurai and a fireman with the Town (Periyar) Fire and Rescue Service Station. According to sources, the fire force received an alert around 2.30 am on Saturday that one Sanjay Sivarajan Textiles on Navabathkana Street caught fire. Subsequently, a team of firefighters and fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The old building, housing the shop, owned by one J Babulal of Navabathkana Cross Street, was surrou-nded by Krishnamoorthy several other shops and houses. To prevent the fire from spreading, the firemen needed to find the source of it and a smaller team of four personnel, including Krishnamoorthy and Sivarajan, entered the shop. While two firemen -- R Kalyanakumar (37) and M Chinnakaruppu (30) -- began battling the flames, Krishanamoorthy and Sivarajan went further inside to put out the fire raging there. It was then that the roof the building gave in and collapsed P3 on Krishnamoorthy and Sivarajan. CM announces `25 lakh solatium Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday announced `25 lakh solatium to the fire personnel who lost their lives in the Madurai accident. He also ordered to provide `10 lakh from Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund and `15 lakh from the government fund to each family.” Flutter over Trump tweet on Biden victory Always graceful, Feluda was an institution of Bengali cinema WITH THIS ISSUE 28 PAGES, INCLUDING 16 OF edex (TABLOID) YOUR LIFE COACH TMC 43% Assembly BJP 15% TMC 35% BJP 51% VOTE SHARE IN SOUTH BENGAL TMC 44% BJP 35% Seats dominated by communities Minorities : 85 SC & Hindu refugees : 55 Tribals : 25 That apart, there are 25 seats where tribals have a large presence. They mainly are in the Jungle Mahal region, where the BJP has managed to create North Bengal Jalpaiguri Darjeeling elections North Dinajpur Lok Sabha elections Malda TMC 45% BJP 7% E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Madurai S O U M I T R A C H AT T E R J E E ( J A N 1 9 , 1 9 3 5 - N O V 1 5 , 2 0 2 0 ) THE ESSENTIAL CAMPUS DIGEST VOTE SHARE IN NORTH BENGAL Alipurduar Cooch Behar South Bengal South Dinajpur Murshidabad Nadia East Burdwan West Burdwan Hooghly Purulia North 24 Parganas Bankura Jhargram Howrah West Midnapore Kolkata East Midnapore South 24 Parganas a base. So, with the electoral leanings in 165 (85+55+25) seats of the total 294 clear, a fierce fight has broken out between the BJP and the TMC for the re- maining 129 seats. As all of them are located in south Bengal, the region has turned into a hotbed of violence. CONTINUED ON: P7 2 firemen die after IAS officers who don’t toe the line warned roof of textile shop collapses on them EXPRESS READ Washington: US President Donald Trump, who is yet to concede his election defeat to Joe Biden, nearly admitted on Sunday that the Democrat won. “He won because the Election was Rigged,” Trump tweeted. His surprising use of the phrase “he won” left analysts wondering if the US president is ambiguously admitting his defeat. However, Trump quickly corrected himself with another tweet saying, “I concede NOTHING!” | P9 Bitter fight in south Bengal turf 2019 2016 SHARE IN GLOBAL GDP OF THE P R O N A B M O N D A L @ Kolkata 2019 2016 The world’s biggest free trade deal is finally here. Fifteen countries on Sunday signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), with China expected to be the Big Daddy. A look SHILAJIT MITRA HOW does an actor play the wind? For over half a century now, cineastes have dissected the evocative opening sequence of Satyajit Ray’s Charulata (1964). We know the rhythms, the shots, the studied minutiae of provincial Bengal as revealed over one languorous afternoon with Charulata (Madhabi Mukherjee). But what about the twist, the turn, the sudden shifting around of fate? This is Soumitra Chatterjee, the wild and irrepressible Amal of Ray’s film, arriving in a squall to stir things up. In Charulata’s life, he arrives as the unruly summer wind, ruffling floor mats and sending bits of paper in a swirl. “Hare murare...,” he announces dramatically before dropping to touch her feet. Soumitra, who was battling Covid complications, passed away in a Kolkata Hospital on Sunday He was 85. An in. stitution of Bengali cinema and culture, Soumitra had acted in over 200 feature films; his penultimate appearance was in Anik Dutta’s Borunbabur Bondhu.He was the first Indian to receive France’s highest award for artists, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and was the recipient of many honours, including the National Award for Best Actor (2006), the Padma Bhushan (2004) and the DaP7 dasaheb Phalke award (2012). THE Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, in a recent order, observed that IAS officers should be punished with imprisonment if they do not comply with court’s directions. Justice S Vaidyanathan said if any IAS officer is found to have deliberately disobeyed the court’s order, he or she should be punished with imprisonment. “Imposition of fine should only be secondary and imprisonment should be primary he added. ,” The judge was hearing a petition by one Mathavadiyan seeking direction to the officials to consider an appeal by him to make correction in the entries in his patta. Justice Vaidyanathan stated that officials should adhere to time limit while dealing with applications filed under TN Patta Passbook Act, 1983.