kozhikode l friday l January 12, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Google lays off hundreds in hardware, voice to cut cost Google has laid off hundreds of employees working on its hardware, voice assistance and engineering teams as part of cost-cutting drive Augmented reality hardware jobs gone LAYOFFS NEEDLESS, says Alphabet union The cuts come as Google looks towards “responsibly investing in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead”, the company said in a statement. “Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organisational changes, which include some role eliminations globally,” it said. Most jobs gone are in augmented reality hardware team ■ ■ The Alphabet Workers Union described the job cuts as another round of needless layoffs. “We won’t stop fighting until our jobs are safe!” Besides Google, Amazon and Meta have already fired thousands of staffers. Meta’s stock price zoomed after it took away 20,000+ jobs. Last month, Spotify said it was axing 17% of its global workforce 12,000 or 6% of employees WOULD BE LAID OFF, gOOGLE SAID LAST 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 PM to hold second roadshow in Jan to ‘Modi’fy Kerala INDIA seat-sharing on rocks in Bengal, done deal in Bihar E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi TMC refuses to meet Congress negotiators, says its offer of 2 seats final; Bihar pact soon, claims Nitish PR E E THA N AIR a n d RAMASHA N K AR @ New Delhi / Patna THE Opposition-led INDIA bloc’s talks for seat-sharing among alliance partners hit a roadblock in West Bengal, while negotiations for Bihar are in final stage with a pact likely to be reached soon, according to sources. Dealing a major blow to the seatsharing talks for Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress said on Thursday that its offer of two seats for the Congress is final and that it “doesn’t feel the need to travel to Delhi to bargain further”. TMC has offered the same two seats the Congress won in 2019 — Malda Dakshin and Baharampur. However, the grand old party is keen to contest 8-10 seats in the state, said a leader. Bengal has 42 LS seats. The development comes as the Congress’s national alliance committee led by Mukul Wasnik has made headway in seat-sharing talks with the AAP, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP SP and RJD. , , On Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar claimed there were no differences govt study GM mustard yield flat as against normal ones J i t en d r a C h o u b ey @ New Delhi Contrary to the Centre’s stand on making India selfsufficient in edible oil production through rapid cultivation of the controversial genetically modified (GM) mustard variety, the government’s own study shows the GM crop has no yield benefits over traditional hybrid varieties. The documents also reveal that the government neither tested the impact of GM mustard on honey bees and other pollinators, nor did it have any expert in its committee to assess the crop’s fallout on health. The Centre on Thursday submitted documents re l at e d t o field trials of GM mustard seeds — Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 or DMH-11 — to the Supreme Court. The report shows that the yield of a non-GM hybrid variety is actually marginally higher than the GM one. The non-GM hybrid DMH-1 yielded 2,195 kg per hectare, which was 0.09% more than the GM DMH-11 variety In oil . yield, DMH-1’s output was a kg more than DMH-11’s 837 kg per hectare. Another popular non-GM hybrid variety produced 24 kg more oil that DMH-11. It has long been argued that the genetically modified technology could have unintended health impact on humans and other living beings. However, the documents show no health expert was part of the committee that monitored the trials. As for the failure to do systematic trials on honeybees and pollinators, the panel said they couldn’t be done due to time constraint. among allies on distribution of seats in the state for LS polls. “Everything will be settled on time,” he said, hinting that the six constituents of the grand alliance are inching closer to a pact. There are 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. In 2019, NDA had clinched 39 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats when Nitish was part of the NDA. JD(U), which joined hands with grand alliance in August 2022, has already made it clear it will not make any compromise on its sitting 16 seats, leaving RJD, Congress, and Left parties with 24 seats. Senior RJD leader and MLA from Maner Bhai Birendra, considered close to the party chief Lalu Prasad, also claimed seats among the grand alliance constituents have already been distributed and a formal announcement will be made soon. Bihar Congress chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh said seats would be distributed among allies after ‘kharmas’ (inauspicious period) ends on January 14. “We are adopting a flexible approach. We will meet after January 12 to discuss the issue,” he added. lead on, good shepherd Mar Raphael Thattil after being anointed as the new Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church at Mount St Thomas in Kakkanad, Kochi, on Thursday. Church administrator Mar Sebastian Vaniyapurackal stands beside him | A Sanesh | P4 EAM calls Blinken, discusses Red Sea Y e s h i Se l i @ New Delhi EXTERNAL Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday spoke to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the phone and discussed maritime security challenges in the Red Sea. “I had a good discussion this evening with my friend Secretary Blinken. Our conversation focused on maritime security challenges, especially the Red sea region,” Jaishankar said. “I appreciated his insights on the ongoing situation in West Asia, including Gaza. We also exchanged perspectives on developments pertaining to the Ukraine conflict. Looking forward to realising our extensive cooperation agenda for 2024,’’ said Jaishankar. Attacks on ships at the Red Sea by rogue elements in Yemen in the last few months after the Israel-Hamas war, has impacted trade and jacked up the cost of transportation. The Houthi militia targeted merchant ships heading to In- e x p r e ss r e a d Ram temple Indians’ pride, says Vellappally PFI leaders helped Savad evade NIA: Report Alappuzha: SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan on Thursday said Lord Ram was the symbol of unity and the Ayodhya temple was the pride of all Indians. He called on devotees to light lamps in their homes on January 22, the day of the temple consecration. P4 Kochi: The NIA in its report has maintained that Savad, the prime accused in the 2010 palm chopping case, remained underground all these years with the support of the now-banned Popular Front India (PFI). Meanwhile, NIA has approached the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court to conduct the Savad’s identification parade. P4 At K5,608cr, MVD’s revenue sees 18% increase Kochi: Revenue collection by the motor vehicle department (MVD) seems to be keeping the state exchequer’s registers ringing in an otherwise tepid year. According to latest figures, tax and other charges collected by the MVD touched Rs 5,608 crore in 2023, a robust increase of nearly 18% from Rs 4,753 crore registered in 2022. This represents an Rs 883-crore increase in absolute terms. P5 dia as well. There is growing concern among nations on ways to tackle this menace. The US seems to be trying diplomatically to calm down the situation. Blinken just finished touring West Asia, meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. “The immense human toll of this conflict is one of the main reasons that we are working urgently to forge a path of peace and security in the region,’’ said Blinken on Wednesday He added that the civilian . toll in Gaza is way too high, especially among children. He pushed for to reach Gaza more effectively . Before calling Blinken, Jaishankar dialed Senator Penny Wong of Australia. “Had the first conversation of 2024 with Senator Wong. Exchanged views on the state of the world and discussed our cooperation for the year, including through Quad,’’ Jaishankar said. Signalling BJP’s resolve to overturn its history of electoral reverses in Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold a second roadshow in the state within a fortnight of the mega event in Thrissur in which he captivated thousands who thronged the venue with his oratorical mastery . Modi’s two-day visit will see him taking out a roadshow in Kochi on January 16 and attending the marriage of actor Suresh Gopi’s daughter at Guruvayur the next day The PM . is also scheduled to address BJP’s Shakti Kendra in-charges at Marine Drive, Kochi, on the second day of his visit. The roadshow will commence from Maharaja’s College Ground at 6pm and wind up in front of the Ernakulam Guest House, passing through Hospital Road. Around 50,000 party workers will participate in the roadshow, BJP Ernakulam district president K S Shaiju said. “Nearly 7,000 Shakti Kendra in-charges will attend the meeting to be held at 11am the next day he said. ,” Buoyed by the success of Modi’s spectacular show in Thrissur on January 3, and the positive response to the party’s C h r i s t i a n o u t r e a ch p r o gramme, the BJP is optimistic about bettering its performance in the coming Lok Sabha Wooing the state  PM’s 2-day visit will see him taking out a roadshow in Kochi on Jan 16  He will attend the marriage of Suresh Gopi’s daughter at Guruvayur the next day  Modi is also scheduled to address BJP’s Shakti Kendra in-charges at Marine Drive, Kochi, on the second day elections in the state. Modi attending the marriage of Suresh Gopi’s daughter is, in fact, a calculated political move. It’s obvious that the actor will be the BJP candidate in Thrissur where he lost in 2019, finishing third despite putting up a valiant fight. BJP’s vote share went up from 11.5% in 2014 to 28.2% in 2019. With the prime minister attending the wedding, the event is sure to be transformed into a campaign platform of the actor for the coming election. The whole idea is to bank on Modi, and boost the chances of Gopi. In his speech at the Thrissur rally Modi listed vari, ous development and welfare schemes initiated by his government. games high india set for biggest-ever shooting team in olympics Shooter Rhythm Sangwan won India’s 16th Olympic quota in shooting with a bronze medal effort in the women’s 25m pistol event in the ongoing Asian meet in Jakarta. India had sent 15 shooters during the Tokyo Olympics | P11 MT recalls EMS’ legacy to attack ‘authoritarianism’ E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kozhikode Communist leader E M S Namboodirippad had tried to demolish the notion that some people were destined to be leaders and the rest remain as followers forever, writer M T Vasudevan Nair has said. Delivering the keynote address at the inauguration of the Kerala Literature Festival being organised by DC Books in Kozhikode on Thursday, MT said this was the reason why E M S n eve r ap p rove d o f sycophancy . Many derided EMS when he confided that he committed mistakes in his earlier stand on literature. “Now no leader in Writer M T Vasudevan Nair, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas at the inauguration of Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode the socio-political and cultural world is ready to admit the mistake he committed. I see it (EMS’s efforts) as an attempt to overcome the self and accept others’ perspective,” MT said. MT read out his prepared speech, which was laced with attacks on authoritarianism, in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who inaugurated the function. Pinarayi’s detractors have seized the opportunity claiming that MT’s speech was against the CM’s style of functioning, which, they allege, is marked by arrogance and autocracy . The writer said becoming a member of the assembly or Parliament is seen as an opportunity to attain power. “We have buried the notion that being in power means an opportunity to serve the people. This notion was forgotten in Russia where the Tsarist rule was overthrown through a historic revolution,” he said. “The people who participated in the revolution were a crowd. You can easily provoke or convert them as fans or war● More on P4 riors,” MT said.  40% of govt offices say ‘no’ to k-FON, want free access K r i s h n a c h a n d K @ T’Puram Eight months after its launch, the state government’s muchhyped K-FON (Kerala Fibre Optical Network) seems to have ‘lost connect’ with a section of government offices. In what could be a major setback to the project, around 40% of the government offices that were enlisted as users have refused to continue with the project. They have switched off their ONTs (modem), stating they would accept the K-FON connection only if it is given free ‘Issues to be addressed’ Connect lost? K-FON managing director Santhosh Babu told TNIE that he has communicated the issue to the state government. “I discussed the matter with Chief Secretary V Venu last week. He has promised to resolve the issue,” Babu said.  Currently, K-FON connection is available in 19,800 government offices. of charge. At the time of its inauguration last June, K-FON had proposed to give connections to 30,000 offices in the state. Currently, it is available  Of these, 11,800 govt offices use the connection while the rest are reluctant to use the service in 19,800 government offices. Of these, 11,800 offices use the connection while the remaining are reluctant to use the service, according to sources. K-FON provided free connections to government offices in the first four months of its launch. However, it started issuing bills from the fifth month. When K-FON officers approach the offices with consumption bills, several of them refuse to pay citing they were al, ready paying other operators such as BSNL, Airtel, and Asianet, for their existing connections. Sources said a total of 8,000 government offices in various districts demanded free con- nection when field officers of K-FON visited them to resolve the technical issues it faced initially . “When we approached these offices, they told us that they were paying for private broadband operators. The officers said that they are ready to use the K-FON connection if it is given free of cost. We were ready to upgrade our plans. Unfortunately, many of these government officers are non-cooperative with K-FON,” an officer said. How- ever, the state secretariat and district collectorates are exceptions to this as they continue to use K-FON connections. When K-FON was launched, all gover nment of fices were asked to use it as the primary network, and others including BSNL as the second connection. So, many government offices still have connections of BSNL and other private Internet service providers. That is why a section of government offices are not ready to pay the bills or switch off the modems, ● More on P4 the source said.