BHUBANESWAR l monday l june 17, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION T20 World Cup 2024: The who, why and when of Super 8s With the group stages coming to an end on Monday, a look at the teams that have progressed, what lies ahead and more... How are the groupings made? Who will face India and when? While the top two teams from each group advanced, their seedings in Super 8s will be based on initial grouping. For example, Afghanistan will remain C1 even if they finish below West Indies in Group C as the former will be replacing New Zealand in the original grouping made by the global cricketing body before the tournament | p11 ■ ■ India, who will be A1, are up against Australia (B2), Afghanistan (C1) and either of Bangladesh/Netherlands (D2). They will begin their Super 8s journey against Afghanistan on Thursday The other Super 8s group will feature England, both the tournament hosts — West Indies, United States — and South Africa Three matches were abandoned due to rain during group stages so far 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 Shah seeks Kashmir-like zero-terror plan in Jammu Says Centre committed to rooting out terrorism from the region M U K E SH RA N J A N @ New Delhi UNION Minister Amit Shah on Sunday asked security agencies to replicate their success in tackling terrorism in the Kashmir Valley in the Jammu division as well. Noting that the fight against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is in its decisive phase, Shah directed security agencies to implement ‘area domination’ and ‘zero-terror plans’ in Jammu like they did in Kashmir. Chairing a high-level meeting to review the prevailing security situation in Jammu & Kashmir in the wake of recent terror attacks, Shah directed the security agencies to work on a mission mode and ensure quick response in a coordinated manner, officials said. Reiterating the Centre’s ‘zero-tolerance policy’ against terrorism, Shah said the government will root out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir. The gover nment’s efforts have yielded great results in Kashmir with significant reduction in terror-related incidents and improvement in the law and order situation, which is “reflected in the record inflow of tourists in the Valley”, he added. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Home Minister Amit Shah during a high-level meeting to review security situation in Jammu & Kashmir and preparedness for Amarnath Yatra, in New Delhi on Sunday | PTI Manoj Sinha, Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Army Chiefdesignate Lt General Upendra Dwivedi, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka, CRPF Director General Anish Dayal Singh, BSF Director General Nitin Agarwal, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police R R Swain and other top security officials attended the meeting, which was held in the wake of terror attacks in Reasi, Kathua and Doda districts. The attacks came within a span of four days last week, killing nine pilgrims and a CRPF jawan, and leaving several others injured. Later on Sunday, Shah chaired another meeting to review the preparations for the Majhi reviews Rath Yatra preparedness, stresses smooth conduct of festival CM Mohan Majhi in discussion with senior officials in Bhubaneswar on Sunday E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e ernment is fully committed to protect all traditions and rituals of the festival. Cooperation from Chief Minister Mohan Charan all is required for smooth and Majhi convened a high-level p e a c e f u l c o n d u c t o f t h e meeting on Sunday to review festival. preparedness for Rath Yatra. Responding to a query on the The chariot festival is scheduled inconvenience faced by the devoto begin on July 7 this year. tees after opening of all the Seeking cooperation from all gates of Srimandir, Harichandepartments concerned, Majhi dan said, “There has been heavy laid emphasis on smooth con- rush of devotees at Shri Jaganduct of Rath Yatra and Snana nath temple in Puri due to four Purnima without causing hin- days (government) holidays but drance to devotees. no problem has been witnessed. Taking to X, the Things will be more chief minister wrote, streamlined in the “Had a discussion coming days for which with law minister, everybody should supThe discussions chief secretary, direcport the system.” mostly centered tor general of police around performing Chief secretary Praand other senior officdeep Jena said the the rituals in a ers on the great festi- disciplined manner chief minister took val that represents and a hassle-free stock of the prepareddarshan of Lord Jagannatha’s ness of the car festival innumerable longing to reunite and he was apprised devotees of the with His dear devoon all aspects. “The Trinity tees. The discussions chief minister was mostly centred around briefed about the instiMohan Charan Majhi, performing the rituals tutional arrangements Chief Minister in a disciplined manincluding security ner and a hassle-free darshan of measure to be taken. Since this innumerable devotees of the year’s Rath Yatra is unique as Trinity .” three major rituals need to perLaw Minister Prithiviraj formed in a single day, the CM Harichandan told mediapersons was informed that a similar octhat the chief minister was casion is being witnessed after briefed on various aspects linked 53 years,” he said adding, only to the festival and progress so two rituals Rath Yatra and far achieved. Another meeting Snana Purnima will be perwill be held with servitors and formed on July 7. other stakeholders for smooth Jena further informed there conduct of the rituals. He said will be two review meetings, one the chief minister will take a fi- chaired by the Law minister and nal review before Rath Yatra. another by the chief minister He further said the state gov- before the festival. @ Bhubaneswar annual Amarnath pilgrimage, which is scheduled to begin on June 29. During the deliberation, the minister was given a thorough briefing on the measures taken to ensure a safe and peaceful Yatra, officials said. During his interaction with the law enforcement and security agencies, the Union home minister appreciated them for the successful conduct of the Lok Sabha elections in the Union territory, which witnessed record voter turnout compared with past elections. On Thursday Prime Minister , Narendra Modi had reviewed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and directed the “deployment of the full spectrum” of “counter-terror capabilities” P8 in the region. express read Diphtheria spreads tentacles, 15 affected Why teach riots? NCERT’s spin on lesson cuts E x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi Amid furore over the omission of references to Gujarat riots and Babri masjid demolition in the Class 12 syllabus, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) director Dinesh Prasad Saklani sought to justify it saying such topics won’t benefit students. Such content can create ‘violent and depressed citizens’, he said in an interview to PTI. “Should we teach our students in a manner that they become offensive, create hatred in society or become victim of ha- tred? Is that education’s purpose? Should we teach about riots to such young children,” he said, adding that hatred and violence should not be the focus of school textbooks. The comments come at a time when new textbooks have hit the market with several deletions and changes. The revised Class 12 political science textbook does not mention the Babri masjid but refers to it as a “three-domed structure”. It has pruned the Ayodhya section from four to two pages and deleted details from the earlier version. It instead focuses on the Supreme Court judgement Dinesh Prasad Saklani, director of NCERT | PTI that paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the site where the disputed structure once stood before it was torn down by Hindu activists in December 1992. The changes in textbooks have triggered a controversy Centre has taken note of NEET lapses, Israel pauses guilty to face serious action: Pradhan fighting during E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar AMID nationwide outrage over the NEET-UG fiasco, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said the Centre has taken note of two incidents of lapses in the test and those found guilty will face serious action. Pradhan also said that the Centre is mulling necessary reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA), an autonomous agency under the Education Ministry, tasked with conducting the nationwide medical entrance exam. “Two incidents of lapses pertaining to NEET has come to fore. Initial information was that some students were upset for getting less time in the exam and awarded grace marks. However, the government rejected it Dharmendra Pradhan and on the recommendations of the Supreme Court, ordered a retest of 1,563 candidates in six centres,” he said. He also said some irregularities have come to light at two places. “I assure students and parents that the government has taken serious note of it. All these matters will be taken to their logical conclusion and accountability will be fixed on those found guilty for the laps- es,” he said. “No matter how senior official of NTA someone is, if lapses are found they will face strict action,” he added. The Union Minister said the NTA also needs a lot of improvement. “The NTA is an autonomous organisation. However, it needs reforms and the government has taken this into consideration,” he said while reassuring the students that the guilty will not be spared and will get the harshest punishment. Notably, allocation of grace marks and allegations of question-paper leak in the NEET-UG exam has muddied the testing system that selects students for the medical colleges. After the Supreme Court’s observation, the NTA has revoked grace marks awarded to the 1,563 students and has announced a retest on June 23. Bhubaneswar: The diphtheria outbreak in Kashipur area of Rayagada district continues unabated with one more child being detected with the bacterial infection on Sunday. With this, the number of patients has touched 15. The disease has so far claimed the lives of five children in Manuspadar village. While one case has been clinically confirmed, the rest four are suspected as their bodies were cremated before their samples could be drawn and sent for test | P3 India opts out of Ukraine communique New Delhi: India did not sign a joint communique at Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland on Sunday. The Ministry of External Afairs said India will engage with all stakeholders to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Eighty countries jointly called for the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine to be the basis for any peace agreement to end Russia’s two-year war. The joint communique capped the summit at Burgenstock in Switzerland | P9 with critics accusing NCERT of promoting saffronisation of the school curriculum. Rejecting such notions, Saklani said: “If something has become irrelevant ... it will have to be changed. Why shouldn’t it be changed? I don’t see any saffronisation here. We teach history so students know about facts, not for making it a battleground.” Claiming that the NCERT’s curriculum is based on facts and evidence, Saklani said, “If we are telling about iron pillar in Mehrauli and saying Indians were way ahead of any metallurigical scientist, are we saying wrong?” Festival designs A girl getting henna applied on her hands on the eve of Bakrid, in Kozhikode on Sunday | E Gokul daytime along key aid route Palestinian children collect food aid in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip | AFP A g en c i e s Amid warnings about dire shortages of food and other essentials in the Gaza Strip, Israel on Sunday announced it will pause fighting during daytime along a route in the southern part of the Strip to facilitate aid deliveries. “A local, tactical pause of military activity for humanitarian purposes will take place from 8.00 am (0500 GMT) until 7.00 pm (1600 GMT) every day until further notice along the road that leads from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Salah al-Din road and then northwards,” a statement by the Israeli military said. Overland access restrictions and the closure of the key Rafah crossing with Egypt since Israeli forces seized it in early May have made it tough to get essential supplies to those in need. The “tactical pause,” which applies to about 12 kilometers of road in the Rafah area, falls far short of a complete cease-fire that has been sought by the international community, including Israel’s principal ally the United States, , AP News reported. The United Nations welcomed the Israeli decision. “We hope this leads to further concrete measures by Israel to address longstanding issues preventing a meaningful humanitarian response in Gaza,” UN aid agency OCHA’s spokesman Jens Laerke P9 said in an email to AFP. If TDP puts up Speaker candidate, INDIA bloc to back it, says Sanjay Raut P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi SHIV Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the INDIA bloc will support the Telugu Desam Party if it fields its candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker. Election to the post of the LS Speaker is slated for June 26. Talking to reporters, Raut claimed the TDP wants to field its candidate. “If that happens, INDIA bloc partners will discuss the issue and try to ensure that all the INDIA alliance partners extend support to the TDP he said. ,” Raut alleged if the BJP gets the Speaker’s post, it will break the TDP JD(U), and the outfits , Rijiju meets Kharge Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju met Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday, in what was termed a courtesy call. The first Parliament session will begin on June 24 during which new MPs will take oath and Speaker elected of Chirag Paswan and Jayant Chaudhary “We have the expe. rience that BJP betrays the people who support it,” Raut said. TDP spokesperson K Rammohan Rao told this newspaper that the NDA partners will sit together and decide the candidate, adding that there are no cracks in the alliance and it is stable. “All the partners of the NDA will have a meeting and a consensus candidate will be decided. Our leaders will take a call,” said Rao. However, the TDP leader was noncommittal whether the party demanded the Speaker’s post. “Whether we claimed the post or not, I can’t say he said, adding that ,” his party will support the decisions taken by the NDA government. The TDP’s position is at odds with the JD(U), which pledged to support the candidate nominated by the BJP. Speaking to this paper, JD(U) leader K C Tyagi said that by convention, the ruling party has the right to nominate the Speaker because its number is also the highest. “The statement by INDIA bloc leaders is intended to create confusion among the NDA partners,” said Tyagi. NDA allies are set to meet on June 23 to decide their candidate. N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP with 16 seats and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) with 12 are crucial to the governmentt, as the BJP failed to secure the seats to form government on its own. Rahul calls EVM ‘black box’ after Musk stirs fresh row Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in India are a “black box” that nobody is allowed to scrutinise | P7
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