twitter THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l thursday l may 26, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION ‘Advanced economies to be back on track by 2024’ However, developing economies will be 5% below where they would have been otherwise, according to IMF’s Gita Gopinath There have been Divergent recoveries ‘We have a Cost of living crisis’ Speaking at a special session on ‘What next for global growth?’ during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022 on Wednesday, Gopinath said there have been very divergent recoveries around the world. The First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund also noted that the war in Ukraine has been a major setback to the global recovery ■ “We had a serious downgrade to the global growth rate and the world continues to face headwinds because we have a cost of living crisis. Prices of commodities including fuel and food are going up around the world,” she said, adding that central banks are trying to tackle such high inflation by raising interest rates 2026-27 By WHEN India WILL Become A $5-TrillioN ECONOMY, ACCORDING TO IMF’s REVISED DATA 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 It is among the gravest of offences, says NIA court, wants verdict to serve as deterrent to those drawn to violence Malik gets life term for J&K terror funding A nk i ta U pa d h yay @ New Delhi Jailed Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik being escorted by police officers to a special court in New Delhi for sentencing on Wednesday | Parveen Negi hate speech P C George arrested amid high drama E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi Former MLA P C George was arrested on Wednesday after a court cancelled the bail he was granted earlier in the Thiruvananthapuram hate speech case, ending several days of drama that saw the senior politician remaining untraceable since Saturday George was tak. en into custody when he arrived at the Palarivattom police station here in the afternoon to give a statement in the Vennala hate speech case. In the evening, officers from the Fort police station reached Kochi and recorded his arrest, and later took him to the state capital. Before that, the for mer Poonjar MLA was shifted to the Ernakulam General Hospital around 8pm after he complained of high blood pressure. After keeping him under observation for an hour from 8.15pm, he was discharged from the hospital, allowing the Fort police to take him to Thiruvananthapuram. The Janapaksham leader’s arrest came after the Thiruvananthapuram First Class Magistrate Court rejected the bail he was granted for the hate speech against the Muslim community while addressing a programme organised as part of the Ananthapuri Hindu Maha Sammelan ● More on P4 last month. SCHOOLS in state TO REOPEN ON JUNE 1 General Education Minister V Sivankutty said a total of 42.9 lakh students, 1.8 lakh teachers and close to 25,000 nonteaching staff are expected to reach schools on the reopening day. P4 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express Observing that funding is the backbone of any operation, including terror, and is among the gravest of offences, a special National Investigation Agency court on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to separatist leader Yasin Malik in a 2017 case related to terror funding and secessionist activities in the Kashmir Valley . The sentence also aimed to “serve as deterrence for those who seek to follow a similar path,” special NIA judg e Parveen Singh warned. In Srinagar, there was stray violence after the verdict. Malik’s family members and neighbours staged a protest in at Maisuma, which is where he hails from. The youth of the area, too, resorted to sloganeering and pelted stones on the security personnel, who fired tear gas shells to disperse them. All shops in Lal Chowk, Maisuma and downtown Srinagar remained shut with security forces stepping up vigil. Also, mobile internet was suspended in Kashmir as a precautionary measure. In his verdict, the judge said the prosecution had shown how funds were received from Pakistani establishments, Lashkare-Toiba founder Hafeez Saeed and through other hawala operations. “It is these funds that were used to create unrest where under the guise of public protests, paid terror activities of stone pelting and arson at mass scale were committed,” the verdict said. Malik had earlier pleaded guilty of all charges, including those under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, in the terror funding case. “In my considered opinion, it is high time that it is recognised that terror funding is one of the No reform, says judge “When he claimed to have given up the path of violence after the year 1994, the government...gave him an opportunity to reform, and in good faith, tried to engage in a meaningful dialogue with him, and as admitted by him, gave him every platform to express his opinion,” Special Judge Praveen Singh said. gravest offences and has to be punished more severely,” the judge said. Malik was produced before the court amid high security, and awarded the life sentence, apart from a fine of `10 lakh. While the NIA sought capital punishment, the amicus curiae (friend of court) sought life imprisonment, the minimum punishment in the matter. On May 10, Yasin had said he would not contest charges levelled against him — Section 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy to commit terrorist act) and 20 (member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the UAPA and sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 124-A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code. The court rubbished Malik’s contention that he was following Gandhian principles of nonviolence, saying despite largescale of violence in the Valley, he never condemned it. Survivor’s volte-face: Never blamed govt A N U K U R U VI L L A @Kochi In a U-turn, the survivor in the actor abduction and sexual assault case claimed on Wednesday that she had never said that the state government did not support her in her fight for justice. The turnaround came a day ahead of her scheduled meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. “In the petition, I never said the government is not supporting me. The only concerns that I raised in my petition were regarding the fate of the investigation because all reports coming in the media said that the investigation has come to a standstill. That was the trigger for my worry and my petition SURVIVOR to meet CM at secretariat today The survivor will meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the secretariat this morning 1 It’s everybody’s case that she should be rendered justice. There is no quarrel with that. The survivor has all along been taken into confidence T A Shaji, Director-General of Prosecution before the High Court,” the survivor told TNIE. However, this contradicts her statement in the petition, which came up for hearing on Monday that said “the government , of Kerala which gave support to the cause of the petitioner/ The state government on Wednesday told the High Court that it has been providing all support to the survivor 2 victim at the initial stages, and allowed a fair investigation in the case by police officers of high integrity and took credit of the investigation politically has backtracked from its constitutional legal commitment of conducting a free, fair and complete investigation in the case.” The survivor is meeting the CM at the state secretariat on Thursday mor ning. Even though she refused to divulge the points she would discuss with Pinarayi, the survivor said “I’ll be raising my concerns on the path that the investigation is taking.” She said, “In the petition, I had sought further support from the government in completing the investigation. The present scenario is such that nothing is happening on the investigation side of the case. It has been said that the investigation has to be completed by May 31. But I am worried that it has come to a standstill.” Kerala tourism bounces back, domestic footfall close to pre-Covid days amthitta and Wayanad--- registered their all-time highest HAVING lain low for more than footfall in the January-March two years due to Covid, tourism period. has bounced back in the state. Tourism Minister P A MoThe sector attracted 38 lakh do- hamed Riyas told mediapermestic visitors in the first quar- sons that the latest figures inditer of 2022, which is just 9.44% cate that the state is set to short of the preattract a record DOMESTIC ARRIVAL pandemic figures. number of tourists Jan-March period Only 22 lakh dothis year. Globally mestic tourists had acclaimed assets, 2022 37.9 lakh visited the state new products and 2021 22 lakh during the correinitiatives like car% variation over 2021 sponding period in av a n t o u r i s m 2021, primarily owwould be added at72.48 ing to the tractions, he added. 2019 41.9 lakh pandemic. Tourism Secretary The sector has % variation over 2019 K S Srinivas and achieved the firstTourism Director -9.44 quarter growth of V R Krishna Teja 72.48% despite the were also present spread of the Omicron variant at the press meet. in January. During the first On the ambitious project to three months of 2019, when promote unexplored destinaCovid was unheard of, 41.9 lakh tions, Riyas said the governdomestic tourists had arrived ment will soon announce a in the state. ‘Destination Challenge’ initiaErnakulam district regis- tive in association with the lotered the highest domestic tour- cal self-government (LSG) deist footfall (8.11 lakh), followed partment to identify at least by Thiruvananthapuram (6 one destination under each civlakh) and Idukki (5.11 lakh). ic body. The LSGs will be the Five districts --- Idukki, Malap- main beneficiary of this ● More on P4 puram, Kasaragod, Pathan- project. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram WELCOME PRESIDENT Governor Arif Mohammed Khan receives President Ram Nath Kovind, who reached the state on a two-day visit, at the Thiruvananthapuram airport on Wednesday. Transport Minister Antony Raju is also seen | Express No additional borrowing in FY23: Govt sources rowing accounting for a 6.4% fiscal deficit in 2022-23. THE Centre may not need adThe source added that the ditional borrowing in the cur- much-awaited GST rates rarent financial year (FY23) even tionalisation exercise will get after taking a huge financial delayed owing to the inflationhit from the excise duty cut on ary pressures. The GST Counpetrol and diesel and the new- cil’s 47th meeting will be held ly announced cooking gas sub- in the second half of June. sidy for the poor. However, despite According to sourc- Coal-centric inflation continuouses, the Centre will energy policy ly remaining above stick to the borrowthe RBI’s upper tolerCoal will ing calendar set for ance limit of 6%, continue meet FY23. The reduction there are no plans to bulk of the in excise duties will power needs as it revise the mediumcause an annual loss term inflation target is difficult to of `1 lakh crore to the make a transition (4% plus-minus 2). government, while to clean energy The source clarithe subsidy on cookfied that the rupeedue to supply ing gas will put an ad- constraints amid rouble trade mechaditional burden of nism is very much on geopolitical `61,000 crore a year. the table. “The Indian tensions, “At the moment, it government will congovernment doesn’t seem we need tinue to buy cheaper sources said extra capital. So, we oil from Russia. Talks will be sticking to the borrow- on rupee-rouble trade are still ing calendar fixed for FY23. If going on with Russia. The there will be a shortfall in the Centre has not yet finalised capex, then we will withdraw the discount.” the funds from the ConsolidatAlso, privatisation of two ed Funds of India,” a govern- public-sector banks will be ment source said. completed in the current year The government has budg- as part of disinvestment eted for `16.6 lakh crore bor- plans. M o n i ka Ya dav @ New Delhi express read 3rd money laundering case against Karti New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money laundering case against Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and others in connection with the alleged irregularities in the issuance of visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the Union home minister. Officials said the ED will probe the possible ‘proceeds of crime’. Sibal quits Cong, gets SP support for RS bid Lucknow/New Delhi: Veteran Congress leader Kapil Sibal said on Wednesday that he has resigned from the party as he filed his nomination as a Samajwadi Party-backed Independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls from Uttar Pradesh. A former union minister, Sibal, who is part of the G23, said he had resigned from the Congress party on May 16 | P7 Texas teen guns down 19 children in school E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e In one of the worst mass murders in a school in America, an 18-year-old in body armour gunned down 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas state on Wednesday. The dead students of the Robb Elementary School were aged between 7 years and 10 years, the police said. The massacre in the heavily Latino town of Uvalde in Texas, was the deadliest shooting at a US school since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, almost a decade ago. The teen opened fire around 11.30 am local time before he was killed by law enforcement officers. The assailant had turned 18 this month. Soon after, he bought his guns legally — A woman cries as she leaves the Uvalde Civic Center on Wednesday | AP one AR-style rifle from a licensed gun dealer in Uvalde on May 17; 375 rounds of ammunition the next day; and a second rifle on May 20, officials said. The needless blood-letting brought the easy access to firearms in the US market to the front burner, since the powerful gun lobby has blocked all attempts check its proliferation. “Where in God’s name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with and stand up to the lobbies?’ President Joe Biden wondered. G ES T U RE T O W ARDS A I L I N G S O N Govt okays regn of late duo’s 53-yr-old wedding E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram ONLY when those in power address a deserving person’s grievance individually does democracy become more meaningful. The local-self government department came up with one such rare gesture when it decided to register a marriage that took place 53 years ago. Both the husband and the wife had passed away and the legal , registration is being done to help their mentally-challenged son apply and avail of the family pension of the father, who had been a soldier. “The decision was based on the request by his only son. Sanction has been given to register the marriage,” Local SelfGovernment Minister M V Govindan said on Wednesday . The couple hailing from Sekhareepuram in Palakkad had tied the knot on June 4, 1969 at a local temple. Marriage registration was not mandatory back then. The wife died in 1998 and husband in 2015. The son’s request for a family pension was rejected as the military records did not have details of the kin of the deceased. The Kerala Registration of Marriages (Common) Rules, 2008, provides for registering a marriage even if one of the partners is dead. The law does not mention registering a marriage in which both the partners are dead. The minister had sought advice from the law department on the matter. The legal advice was in favour of ● More on P4 the applicant.