Kannur l friday l June 24, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Citigroup raises global recession odds to 50% Supply shocks to add to economic woes Citigroup analysts’ warning comes in the wake of central banks around the world rushing to raise interest rates to arrest inflation Factory activity growth slows Recession is an “increasingly palpable risk” for the economy, the analysts said. “The global economy is flashing a number of yellow lights at present, which flow from the persistent supply shocks but also increasingly from central bank tightening and the effects of tighter financial conditions and higher inflation on the behaviour of consumers,” they added ■ ■ Citigroup’s bleak prognosis is shared by Deutsche Bank, which also feels the global economy may be headed for a recession Baring the cracks in the battered global economy, factory activity indices for June released on Thursday in Japan, Britain, the euro zone and US showed a sharp decline in growth 60 Central banks across the world have increased interest rates this year 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 Shinde has 37. Prove it on floor of House: Pawar Anita Alvarez was saved coach saves by her coach at the World U.S. swimmer Aquatics Championships in nick of time in Budapest on Wednesday Sena seeks disqualification of 12 MLAs to pressure them; rebel count keeps swelling S u d hir S u ryawanshi @ Mumbai With rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde showcasing the support of 37 party MLAs in a group photo-op at a Guwahati hotel on Thursday he appeared , to have the numbers to escape the anti-defection law. Also seen in the group photo were nine Independent MLAs. But NCP chief Sharad Pawar rallied around beleaguered Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray saying numerical strength , can only be proved in a trust vote on the floor of the Assembly He blamed the BJP for engi. neering it, citing Shinde’s claim that it had assured all support. With the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition making hectic efforts to draw the rebels back home, Sena leader Sanjay Raut sought to dangle a carrot by claiming the party was prepared to concede their demand to step out the alliance if all of them return within 24 hours and meet Uddhav. Parallelly the Sena was said , to have asked the Deputy Speaker to take action against those MLAs who did not attend the legislature party meeting. For their part, the rebels said, “we do not want a change in party president; we want the unatural Aghadi alliance to go and a new a government with the BJP for various reasons. (a) We want harassment by central enforcement agencies to stop. (b) NCP is our real political opponent on the ground. Whenever fresh Assembly elections are held, NCP and Congress cannot be expected to transfer votes to Shiv Sena because they have been our traditional foes. However, when BJP was the ally, the transfer of votes was smooth. (c) BJP is a big party, so keeping it in good humour is smart politics.” Unprecedented flooding in techie town of Assam P rasan ta M a z u m d ar @ Guwahati Four days ago, Amal Das called up his friend Prabal in Kolkata to inform he was standing in ankle-deep floodwaters. Amal was talking from his first floor home in Silchar town, now entirely submerged. Like him, thousands are stranded as the raging river Barak has submerged not just this entire town in southern Assam’s Cachar district but the whole river valley . Silchar is incommunicado and without transport as 5-12 feet waves lash the streets. Twists and turns  Sanjay Raut claims Sena open to considering quitting Aghadi if rebels return in 24 hours  NCP, Cong downplay Raut’s remark, vow to support Uddhav govt  Pawar blames BJP for the crisis  But Dy CM Ajit Pawar says he does not see any BJP role in the rebellion But Raut said those afraid of CBI, ED or income tax raids are not hardcore Shiv Sainiks. As for Shinde, his support group appears to be swelling. When he had initially shepharded them to Surat, his MLA count was 20. It went up to 22 by the time he flew out of Surat to Guwahati, where more joined in. On Thursday, four other Sena MLAs entered his camp, taking his score to 37. Locals say this is unprecedented. Pregnant women and children are the worst sufferers. The town is without power and water supply. Hand pumps, wells, borewells, shops and commercial establishments are all inundated. Batteries of mobile phones have drained out and there is no Internet. Silichar takes pride in producing hundreds of techies — many of them settled abroad. As it is now in the throes of an acute shortage of essentials, the state government began air-dropping food packets, bottles of Abhaya case bail to duo, sentence suspended High Court suspends life imprisonment sentence and grants bail to Fr Thomas Kottoor and Sister Sephy in Sister Abhaya murder case. Raises doubts on witness’ statements | P4 BRICS harps on sovereignty and territorial integrity E x press N ews S er v i c e @ New Delhi Respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States, supporting talks between Russia and Ukraine and warning against using Afghan territory to shelter or train terrorists were some of the highlights of the 14th BRICS Summit Declaration issued on Thursday . The two-day Summit, being hosted by China, saw Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping criticising the West for imposing unilateral sanctions on Moscow, which in turn impacted the world economy at large. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said mutual cooperation can make a useful contribution to the global post-Covid recovery . Meanwhile, in the backdrop of several Western brands shutting their outlets in Russia, Putin said Russia is in talks with India to set up stores all over the country . BRICS comprises five of the world’s largest developing countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. IUML state president Panakkad Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal presenting a memento to Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musaliyar at the communal harmony meeting in Kozhikode on Thursday. Samastha Kerala Jam-Iyyathul Ulema president Syed Muhammad Jiffiri Muthukoya Thangal is also seen | Express Tolerance, happiness ministries League’s cure for polarisation E x press N ews S er v i c e @Kozhikode The Muslim League on Thursday batted for new ministries – that of tolerance and happiness – by the state and Central governments to tackle the rising communal polarisation in the country League state presi. dent Panakkad Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal raised the demand, saying such ministries would help maintain the country’s secular tradition. “Some Gulf countries have a ministry of tolerance, while there are ministries of happiness in Scandinavian countries,” Sadiq Ali Thangal told  The US synchronised swimmer sinks to the bottom during her routine in the solo free artistic final  Coach Andrea Fuentes, sensing what has happened, swims to check After grabbing hold of Anita, her coach pulls her to the surface  Another member of Team US dives into the pool to provide support  After lifting her out of water, attempts are made to revive Anita. She has since recovered and is expected to compete on Friday despite her history of fainting at competitions | AFP reporters after the conclusion of ‘Souhrud Sadas’ (harmony meeting) in Kozhikode, which saw participation of various spiritual, political and social leaders. He said IUML MPs and MLAs will apprise the governments on the necessity of such ministries. Harmony meetings, an initiative by Sadiq Ali Thangal, were convened in various districts, starting from Kasaragod on June 2. Ponnani MP E T Muhammed Basheer said positive feedback was received from across the state and the party will incorporate the suggestions received in its future ● More on P4 plans.  The ministries will help maintain our secular tradition. Some Gulf countries have a ministry of tolerance, while there are ministries of happiness in Scandinavian countries Panakkad Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, state prez, IUML EXPRESS READ Cong to show door to non-performing leaders Protest in flight: Youth Cong workers get bail Above 25,000 active cases, experts urge people to not lower guard Seven district chiefs may be in trouble if Congress decides that non-performers won’t be allowed to continue. Heads of Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Wayanad and Malappuram units have fared poorly in performance audit. P4 The High Court has granted bail to Youth Congress workers Furseen Majeed and R K Naveen, who were arrested for protesting against CM Pinarayi Vijayan on board a flight. Third accused Sujith Narayanan was granted anticipatory bail. P4 Active Covid cases in the state crossed the 25,000mark on Thursday, indicating that the virus has returned but in a milder form. The test positivity rate inched closer to 17 per cent. It took just 10 days for active case to rise from 15,000 to 25,000. Health Minister Veena George on Thursday said that the current infection is due to sub-variants of Omicron and there is no cause for concern. P5 drinking water and other essentials. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who conducted an aerial survey of the district, of which Silchar is the headquarters, said the government would continue air-droppings for the marooned, apart regular relief. Assam’s Transport Minister Parimal Suklabaidya told this newspaper, “I am at chest-deep water now. Some 4,000 transformers in the district are under water. The flood has made life hell. The administration is providing relief.” Draft policy ready, min says never asked for it mitted that Kerala required a transport policy and that pubThe motor vehicles depart- lic transportation facility needment (MVD), after months of ed to be enhanced. research and study, submitted The draft policy submitted to , a draft transport policy to en- the transport commissioner’s hance public transport office in September 2021, facility in Kerala. Howsuggested forming an inever, it turned out to be tegrated system — like a an exercise in futility as land transport authority Transport Minister Anor road transport authortony Raju said he was not ity — for operating and aware MVD had taken monitoring KSRTC and Antony Raju up such a task. private bus services be“No such report has sides setting up a transcome to my desk. I never in- port company in the cooperastructed the MVD to prepare tive sector and including one. So, the question of consid- private stage carriage operaering or approving it does not tors as shareholders based on arise,” Raju said. value assessment, among other ● More on P4 In the same breath, Raju ad- things.  A I S H W A R YA P R A B H A K A R A N @Kochi