81% Slovakia EUROPE’S HEAVY DEPENDENCE 64.4% | Hungary 38.7% | Turkey 38% | Poland What % of their oil imports come from Russia 35.1% | Estonia 23% Germany 22.1% | Italy 17.3% | Belgium 17.1% | Netherlands thrissur l Sunday l december 04, 2022 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l city edition SOURCE: International Energy Agency/BBC Russia rejects oil price cap The $60/barrel price cap proposed by G7 and backed by the European Union is set to come into effect on Monday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will not accept any price ceiling on its oil. A senior Russian official said Moscow will not supply oil to countries that implement the cap. 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 Congress edgy as Tharoor kicks off his second round MP gets rousing reception at Youth Congress event in Erattupetta, meets Catholic bishops A b h i l as h C h a n d r a n @ Kottayam Umar Khalid freed in one Delhi riot case E x p r e ss n e ws s e r v i c e After his successful Malabar tour, which ruffled quite a few feathers in the state Congress, Shashi Tharoor began his next leg of the ‘public outreach’ programme in Central Travancore, attending various events in Kottayam district and meeting catholic bishops. The Thiruvananthapuram MP , who arrived in the district to inaugurate a mega meet of Indian Youth Congress (YC), was given a rousing reception in Erattupetta town. Endorsing his acceptance among the youth, hundreds of people participated in the procession held in the night in the town. However, Tharoor’s participation in the YC event has not gone down well with the party district leadership. While Kottayam DCC president Nattakom Suresh hit out at Tharoor, alleging that he was not informed about the MP’s visit to the district, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, MLA, skipped the Youth Congress programme. Thiruvanchoor cited the reason that being the chairman of the party disciplinary committee, his participation in the event may be interpreted in a wrong way However, Tharoor, . who is well aware that the sword Fresh overtures to resolve Vizhinjam port deadlock K S S r e e j i t h @ T’Puram Close on the heels of the government informing the High Court that central forces can be deployed at Vizhinjam port site to maintain law and order, the Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC) made it clear that the Church will reconsider its political policy of ‘equi-distance’ towards all fronts. Meanwhile, new efforts were made to find an amicable solution to the 135-day-old protest against the port as Major Archbishop Baselios Cleemis of Syro-Malankara Catholic Church held talks with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan dutch of class in u.s. win Shashi Tharoor being accorded a warm reception by Youth Congress activists at Erattupetta on Saturday | Express Netherlands became the first team to advance to the last eight of the World Cup. A look at the match... Action against Tharoor loyalist in Malappuram T’Puram: The state Congress leadership has decided to freeze the inclusion of Shaji Kaliyath from Malappuram as a KPCC member. The reason cited is that he had allegedly signed Shashi Tharoor’s nomination paper for the Congress president post. of party discipline hangs over him, tactfully dismissed all the ‘concerns’ of the party’s district leadership. “I have been an MP for 14 years and it is a routine practice to intimate the DCC concerned during my visit there. There is no lapse on my part or that of my office regarding the Youth Congress programme in Erattupet● More on P5 ta,” said Tharoor.  clinical finish The pattern of the match progressed on expected lines with US showing plenty of energy but they left big gaps behind that the Netherlands exploited. Before half-time they raced into a twogoal lead with both first half shots on target resulting in goals. US got one back but Netherlands were always in command @ New Delhi E X P R E S S R EAD A Delhi court on Saturday discharged student activist Umar Khalid and United Against Hate member Khalid Saifi in a case related to arson, vandalism and stone pelting in the 2020 riots in north-east Delhi. However, the former JNU students will remain in judicial custody in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act case slapped against them over larger conspiracy behind the riots. Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala issued the order in the First Information Report registered at a police station on the basis of the statement of constable Sangram Singh, who said a mob had pelted stones and set several vehicles on fire. The court also acquitted three others — Mohammed Illiyas, Jagar Khan and Tariq Moin Rizvi — charged over riots on furnishing a bond of `10,000 with one surety in the like amount. The e-Social Network WITH THIS ISSUE PLUS 12 PAGES Kochu Preman passes away T’Puram: Actor K S Premkumar aka Kochu Preman, 68, passed away on Saturday. He breathed his last at a hospital in the city, where he was admitted following respiratory ailments. Kochu Preman, who made his film debut through Jeassy’s ‘Ezhu Nirangal’ in 1979, has acted in over 200 films | P2 Fr Abraham Adapoor no more setting the bar high Sivadev Rajeev, of Mar Basil HSS, Kothamangalam, in action during the pole vault competition in the junior boys category at the Kerala School Athletics Meet in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. Sivadev set a new meet record of 4.7 metres | Vincent Pulickal Kozhikode: Fr Abraham Adapoor, 98, writer, thinker and Jesuit priest, passed away in Kozhikode on Saturday. Fr Abraham has to his credit 15 books on various subjects, including spirituality and culture. He has received many awards, including the All Kerala Catholic Congress Award for Literature | P2 u n h e a l t h y tr e n d Lights, camera, but no ‘action’, say cops looking to end ‘thallumaala’ in state K r i s h n ac h a n d K @T’Puram Group clashes in public or at weddings over silly reasons – like not getting a pappadam – seem to have become the latest trend in Kerala. Visuals of such fights have also been going viral on social media. Even the movie Thallumaala, Malayalam for chain of fights, had characters using their fists to settle disputes, which would seem trivial to many . However, the police of Kerala are not amused. Taking note of the unhealthy trend, they have decided to take preventive steps, which include taking legal action against movies on Saturday. Cleemis along with Archbishop Thomas J Netto of Latin Archdiocese held talks with chief secretary V P Joy too. , The KRLCC, a body of Church factions to take a call on policy matters, is set to hold its meeting on January 14 and 15 in Kottayam to decide its new political policy . “The Latin Catholics have so far taken an equi-distance political policy and equal consideration towards all fronts. We have decided to reconsider our political approach in the wake of the government declaring a war on the coastal community,” said the political affairs ● More on P5 committee.  that glorify any criminal behaviour or law and order issue. For this, they plan to hold talks with the Kerala Film Chamber and other organisations. Awareness sessions are also planned. “The police will soon conduct awareness sessions in schools and colleges to educate children to stay away from such fights and not get influenced by movies,” ADGP (Law and Order) M R Ajith Kumar told TNIE. He said the police are taking the matter seriously “It is also becoming . a law and order issue. The clashes may lead to murders. It is true movies influence people. I too was recently informed that this particular movie (Thallumaala) influenced youth to get involved in group fights,” he said. “So, police will mainly start awareness sessions to discourage school and college students from getting involved in such incidents. Secondly, we will initiate prompt action against those involved in such fights. We will also consult with the film fraternity to ensure movies do not promote criminal or law and order issues,” Ajith Kumar said. Recently two clashes were reported , at wedding halls, one in Alappuzha over not getting ‘pappadam’ and the other at Balaramapuram over not inviting neighbours. Frequent clashes have been taking place between groups of students at bus stations ● More on P5 and bus stops.  Red after goal high! Vincent Aboubakar headed in a stoppage-time winner and was then sent off as Cameroon claimed a memorable 1-0 win over Brazil on Friday. Aboubakar broke the deadlock in the 92nd minute. He was booked for removing his shirt in the wild celebrations that followed and, having already been cautioned, had to leave | P11 fighting contest Denzel Dumfries celebrates his goal against USA with teammates in Doha on Saturday | AP Today’s matches (Rd of 16): France vs Poland | 8:30 PM, England vs Senegal | 12:30 AM In a feisty contest that saw tempers flare, Switzerland became the final team to book last 16 berth with 3-2 a win over Serbia. The close game witnessed as many as 11 yellow cards — most in a World Cup game since the 2010 final. The Swiss team will face Portugal next