KALABURAGI  TUESDAY  MARCH 16, 2021  `7.00  PAGES 12  CITY EDITION BEYONCE BREAKS RECORDS AS WOMEN RULE GRAMMYS 2021 Women artistes emerged big winners in the usually male dominated top categories at the 63rd Grammy Awards R&B SINGER H.E.R. MOST AWARDED FEMALE ARTISTE IN HISTORY With 28 Grammy wins in all, Beyonce broke the record of veteran singer Alison Krauss. She trails only classical conductor Sir George Solti, who still holds 31 Grammys. She was nominated in nine categories and won in four, including best rap song with Megan Thee Stallion for Savage remix, Best R&B performance for Black Parade and best music video for Brown Skin Girl ■ BTS ‘I CAN’T BREATHE’ IS SONG OF THE YEAR ■ R&B singer H.E.R. won song of the year for I Can’t Breathe, which quotes the last words of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died while being arrested by police in Minneapolis last year Canadian YouTuber Lilly Singh turned up on the red carpet wearing a mask displaying “I stand with Farmers” (pic far left) THE POPULAR KOREAN BOY BAND LOST TO LADY GAGA AND ARIANA GRANDE | P9 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 Says decision on any change after video-meet with PM on March 17 A N U S H A R AV I @ Bengaluru FOUR DECADES LATER A few days ago, the near-threatened Indian skimmer was spotted on the banks of River Tungabhadra in Vijayanagara district. The graceful bird was last sighted about 40 years ago in Karnataka | VIJAY ITTIGI COUNTERPUNCH RS flags British racism, govt says it will take it up when required EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi DAYS after a tell-all interview of Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle and the controversy over Indian-origin Rashmi Samant, who was forced to resign as president of the Oxford University Students Union, the issue of racism in the UK figured in the Rajya Sabha on Monday . Just last week, the UK Parliament had debated the ongoing agitation against the new farm laws in India and criticised the alleged violation of human rights of protesters. The Centre hit back sharply, calling it an “unwarranted and tendentious” debate. The matter of racism was raised by BJP member Ashwini Vaishnav. “She (Samant) was STIR ENDS CM promises decision on Panchamasalis cyberbullied to the point that she had to resign and even the Hindu religious beliefs of her parents were publicly attacked by a faculty member,” Vaishnav said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India would take it up with Britain. As a friend, India also has concerns about UK’s reputational impacts, he added. “We have strong ties with the UK, we will take up such matter with great candour when required. We will monitor such development very very closely , , we will raise it when required.... As the land of Mahatma Gandhi, we can never turn our eyes away from racism wherever it is, particularly so in a country where we have such a large diaspora,” he said. FULL REPORT: P4 Ariz Khan Fits rarest of rare yardstick The court put the case in the “rarest of rare” category while agreeing with Additional Prosecutor A T Ansari that this was not just any killing but a murder of a law enforcement officer who was a defender of justice Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Deputy CM C N Ashwath Narayan and Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar at the Covid review meeting, in Bengaluru on Monday VAX DRIVE MUST BE STEPPED UP: PANEL Even as Covid cases gradually see a rise in the state, and the government yet to decide on a lockdown or night curfew, it has been decided that vaccinations be carried out to contain the spread. In a meeting chaired by CM BS Yediyurappa, the Technical Advisory Committee suggested enhancing vaccination on a war-footing. “Health workers have responded well to the vaccination drive, but only about 50 per cent frontline workers have taken the shot so far,” the CM said. The TAC has asked for inoculation to be carried out more effectively in seven districts, including Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural. ping fines on people for not wearing masks. For now, there will be no lockdown or night curfew or restriction of any kind, but people have to cooperate with the government,” Yediyurappa said, adding that his government will study the situation for another week and then take a decision on re- Polls to RSS body in Bengaluru BENGALURU: Election to the Akhila Bharatiya Prathinidi Sabha (ABPS), the highest decision-making body of the RSS, will for the first time be held outside of Nagpur, breaking a nine-decade-old tradition. For the first time, the ABPS election is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru, owing to the increase in Covid-19 cases and lockdown in Maharashtra. The election is otherwise mandatorily held every three years in Nagpur, the headquarters of RSS. The election of the generalsecretary or Sarkaryavah is also slated to come up this year, and it is to be seen if Bhaiyaji Suresh Joshi will make it to the post once again. P4 Buzz is... Bees used to tackle jumbo menace IT may seem incredulous, but this research project in Kodagu district looks at the possibility of controlling mighty wild elephants with tiny bees. At a time when there has been an increase in human-elephant conflicts in the state, the project, RE-HAB -- Reducing Elephant Human Attack by using Bees, aims to tackle the menace ecologically . Sponsored by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), the project was launched at the Ponnampet Forestry College in Kodagu on Monday . Three major elephant con- POS Test Positive EXPRESS READ flict spots have been chosen in the district, including two at Nagarahole Wildlife Reserve and one at Thora village in Virajpet, where ten beehive boxes have been placed on the fringes of the forest. Boxes have been kept at 8 feet distance and tied using a fence rope. KVIC Chairman Vinay Kumar Saxena said, “States with high elephant populations are spending crores of rupees to tackle the human-elephant conP5 flict.” 9,61,204 Total Discharges 12,397 Total Active Cases 8,860 932 429 ARIZ Khan, convicted in the killing of a police officer in the 2008 Batla House encounter in Delhi, was sentenced to death on Monday by a Delhi court, which said it is the most appropriate punishment for ‘dreaded terrorists’ like him. “Nature of offence and manner of committing the crime caused extreme indignation to the society in this case,” Additional Sessions Judge Sandeev Yadav said, declaring that there was no doubt that Ariz and his accomplices fired at police officials “without any provocation”. The encounter between the Delhi Police and a bunch of Indian Mujahideen members holed up in a flat in South Delhi had led to the death of Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma while two others sustained injuries. The court also imposed a total fine of `11 lakh on Ariz, of which `10 lakh was ordered to be given to the family of Sharma, who was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra and many gallantry awards. Judge Yadav also sought to put an end to the allegations of the September 2008 police operation being a fake encounter. He held that police officials had no intention to kill the occupants of the flat, stating that some members of the raiding team were not even carrying arms. “It is obvious that convict Ariz Khan along with his accomplices fired at police officials without being challenged, instinctively the judge said, in the 22-page ...” verdict. Ariz’s lawyer M S Khan had opposed capital punishment saying the incident was not premeditated. The judge cited the weapons recovered from the flat to conclude Ariz and his accomplices were terrorists. P R A J N A G R @ Madikeri Total Deaths E ITIV CA ON MONDAY S A N A S H A K I L @ New Delhi @ Bengaluru COVID BATTLE 9,39,928 Death penalty in Batla House encounter case EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE PANCHAMASALI-Lingayat seers, who had intensified their stir demanding inclusion of the community under 2A reservation category over two months ago, called off the agitation on Monday after Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa assured them of appropriate action after getting reports from the Backward Classes Commission and the three-member committee constituted by the State Government. “We will try to get the reports within 6-7 months and appropriate action will be taken after getting the reports,” the CM said in the Assembly while appealing to the seers to call off their agitation and cooperate with the government. CHIEF Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday laid all speculation over another lockdown or night curfews in Karnataka to rest, insisting that no decision has been taken. He said that the status quo will continue in Karnataka for another week and any decision will be arrived at only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video-conference with Chief Ministers on March 17. With cases on the rise in Karnataka, the technical advisory committee on Covid-19 at a meeting on Monday informed the chief minister that the surge could be a precursor to the second wave of infections in the State and measures needed to be taken immediately to control its spread. “The technical committee emphasised that Covid preventive measures and safety protocols need to be followed. Masks and social distancing are mandatory. Awareness among people has worn off and if this continues, we will be compelled to take action. We will have to restart slap- KARNATAKA SES No lockdown or curfew, no change in status quo: BSY RE-HAB will be monitored regularly and if found successful, will be implemented across the country Vinay Kumar Saxena, Chairman, Khadi and Village Industries Commission viewing the interstate travel regulation. He said that along with the vaccination drive, tracing and tracking mechanisms will also be revived and shopkeepers, bus drivers and conductors etc with symptoms will be tested on priority . CONTINUED ON: P3 Discharged As Covid fears loom, film fest postponed The State Government on Monday issued a circular announcing that the 13th edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival will be postponed indefinitely, in light of the increase in Covid cases. The event was scheduled to be held from March 24-31. A core committee meeting was held, headed by Chief Secretary and Department of Information and Public Relations, where it was stated that with over 7,000 delegates joining in from other countries, it would be tough to follow Covid safety guidelines. Wholesale inflation soars in Feb, dims rate cut hopes EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi A sharp increase in fuel and food prices pushed the wholesale price index-based inflation to a 27-month high of 4.17% in February according commerce , ministry data released on Monday. The WPI inflation was 2.03% in January and 2.26% in February last year. The latest numbers, coming a week after another set of data showed February retail inflation shot up to 5.03%, may force the Reserve Bank of India to opt for a pause in policy rate in the next monetary policy review. Experts say the upward trend in inflation will continue for the next three months. “Inflation dynamics will rule out any further rate cuts, with a status quo expected through 2021,” said Aditi Nayar, principal economist, ICRA Ratings. According to government data, food index in February 2021 rose to 3.31%, compared to a 0.26% contraction seen in the previous month. Petroleum product prices have reached historic highs as international crude prices have surged in recent months and due to high indirect taxes.