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 ■ ■ kozhikode l monday l july 15, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Trump survives assassination bid Major security lapse as ex-US president shot in the ear at campaign rally; gunman killed a G E N CI E S FORMER US president Donald Trump survived an attempt on his life when a gunman fired multiple shots at him during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday evening (US time), gracing past his right ear. While the 78-year-old presumptive Republican presidential nominee was left bleeding, the shooting killed one attendee and critically injured two spectators. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Trump was the target of the attack, which is being investigated as an attempted assassination. Trump was standing on a stage and addressing his supporters at the packed outdoor election rally in Butler town when bullets started flying. Video footage showed the former president grabbing his ear as he ducked to escape bullets. Trump was seen with blood on his ear and cheek as he was rushed off the stage by Secret Service agents. Secret Service snipers who were guarding Trump returned fire and killed the suspected shooter, who attacked from the rooftop of a building about 100 metres away from rally venue. While the motive of the attack is not clear yet, the FBI has identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The attack raised questions about the robustness of the security for the ex-president. That the shooter was able to reach an elevated platform with a gun, bypassing all security has baffled officials. , “It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country It was God alone who pre... vented the unthinkable from happening,” Trump said in a social media post. US President Joe Biden termed the attack “sick” and spoke to Trump afterwards. He also cut short a weekend at his vacation home and flew back to Washington to deal with the crisis. Efforts to trace a sanitation worker who went missing in the Amayizhanchan canal stretch that passes underneath the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station failed to yield results for the second consecutive day . With joint efforts by the scuba divers of the Fire and Rescue Services and NDRF personnel hitting a dead end owing to the huge pile of waste accumulated in the tunnel underneath the tracks, all eyes are now on a six-member team of the Navy . They joined the search operation late on Sunday . Joy 42, a resident of Marayi, muttom, who was cleaning the canal along with other workers, went missing after he was caught in strong currents around 11am on Saturday . On Sunday morning, the rescue operation resumed amid efforts to remove the waste and mud in the canal to facilitate a search through a manhole between the railway tracks. Scuba divers inspected the manhole at platform number 3, covering the first 60m of the E X PRESS READ Film producer-director Aroma Mani no more T’Puram: Film producer and director M Mani aka Aroma Mani passed away on Sunday. The 65-year-old had over 60 films to his credit that were produced under the iconic banners Aroma Movie International and Sunitha Productions. P5 Kodikunnil Suresh is Cong chief whip in LS New Delhi: Gaurav Gogoi will be the deputy leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha and eight-time MP from Kerala Kodikunnil Suresh will be its chief whip, said AICC general secretary K C Venugopal. 117m canal in two phases: from platform one to Powerhouse (40m), and from Powerhouse to Thampanoor (20m) on day one. On Sunday, the search continued for the remaining 57m. Despite extensive efforts, the scuba divers, operating in buddy pairs, returned without success due to poor visibility and thick waste accumulation. “The waste is so thick that we can’t go deep after a certain point. There is also a strong smell of petrochemicals,” said Vijin, a ● More on P4 scuba diver.  NDRF personnel clean the head of a scuba diver after he emerged from the garbage-filled Amayizhanchan canal in Thiruvananthapuram | B P Deepu The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast widespread rain across Kerala until July 18. The northern districts are expected to receive heavy rain on Monday with red alert issued , for Malappuram, Kannur and Kasaragod districts, indicating potential rain of up to 20cm in 24 hours. The Met department has sounded orange alert for Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode, and Wayanad. Yellow alert has been declared in Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz beat Serbia’s Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to defend his Wimbledon title on Sunday | ap Welcome to the Era of Alcaraz S w a r o o p S w a m i n at h a n @ Chennai THIRTEEN minutes into the men’s Wimbledon final, the contest promised to live up to the occasion. Carlos Alcaraz may have broken Novak Djokovic but the first game was taut with tension. Every point had a lot riding on it. There were 20 points, seven dueces, uncharacteristic errors from both, multiple second serves... a typical fare to open proceedings. That game was one of the few times this match remotely had the feel of a contest. In one of the great beatdowns of a bonafide legend in the Open Era, the Spaniard zoomed past Djokovic. The 37-year-old, vying to become the sole owner of most number of Majors across genders, was surprisingly flat. His siege mentality was missing and the Spaniard didn’t need a second invitation to defend his crown on grass. The Serb launched a fightback in the third set but it only delayed the inevitable. The near flawless third seed pushed it to a tie-break before one jaw-dropping drop-shot winner set P11 him on his way to paradise land.  Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Idukki districts, with up to 11 cm of rainfall forecast. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services has issued high wave alert in Kannur and Kasaragod. On Sunday, several parts of the state experienced heavy rain and strong winds. Ayyankunnu in Kannur recorded the maximum rainfall of 12cm on the day Kollam, Munnar, Vadakara . and Mananthavady recorded ● More on P4 6cm rainfall each. Holiday today In view of the incessant rain, the district administrations of Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod have declared a holiday for all educational institutions on Monday. harnessing power of genomic data Kerala turns to genome sequencing for dengue, sickle cell anaemia treatments R a j e s h Ab r a h a m @Kochi In a path-breaking move that would help Kerala in pandemic preparedness, the state government is going for human genome sequencing to find clinical solutions for diseases such as sickle cell anaemia and dengue. The Kerala Genome Data Centre (KGDC), a high-capacity facility to enable the harnessing of the power of genomic data, will store and conduct the analysis and management of genomic data for sequencing. The data centre — coming up in Thiruvananthapuram — is expected to be commissioned by November. “The Union government has announced a project to eradicate sickle cell anaemia. In Kerala, the disease is widely prevalent in Wayanad and At- The AR-15, the gun used by the attacker, is one of the most popular guns in the US and has been used in some of the country’s worst mass shootings. It is a semi-automatic weapon, meaning a user can fire multiple shots in quick succession. The gun fires high-velocity bullets that can travel at three times the speed of a handgun round, are accurate over long distances, reports said. It is affordable and easy-to-use Y e s h i s e l i @ New Delhi Rain intensifies, red alert in Kannur Malappuram and Kasaragod today E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram AR-15: gun behind mass shootings Who fired the shots and why  20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks lived in Pennsylvania’s Bethel Park, an hour’s drive from the rally site  He was registered to vote as a Republican, but had donated $15 to a Democratic-aligned political action committee  Public Pennsylvania court records show no past criminal cases against Crooks  Motive remains unknown Donald Trump, ex-US president There is no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow this to be happening. I’m grateful to hear that he’s (Trump) safe and doing well Joe Biden, US president Deeply concerned by the attack on my friend, former President Donald Trump. Strongly condemn the incident. Violence has no place in politics and democracies Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Lured with job offer in Malaysia, Lucknow youth held captive, tortured in Myanmar Heaps of garbage pose hurdles as efforts to locate missing worker continue E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram Former US president Donald Trump is rushed offstage by Secret Service agents moments after shots were fired at him in Butler, Pennsylvania | AFP In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united, and show our true character.... remaining strong and determined, and not allowing evil to win Data centre Kerala Genome Data Centre — to come up in Tvm — will store and conduct analysis and mgmt of genomic data for sequencing Genome sequencing is a process for analysing DNA sample taken from blood. It is used to determine the entire genetic makeup of a specific organism or cell type. tappadi. Through genomic sequencing we will find out if there’s any difference among patients in south India, and how we can provide personalised treatment,” said Dr Raju Rhee, project head of KGDC. Another genome sequencing project undertaken by KGDC is in dengue treatment. “This year, we have seen a spike in dengue cases. There are four variants of the dengue. We are doing a sequencing in a set of patients to find out how the variations are taking place. While in some years, it’s variant 1 and 2, and this year it was another variant. When a patient reports with dengue, we now carry out symptomatic management. When the platelet count decreases, we give more platelet. Through sequencing, we can create antibodies depending on the variations. That’s our larger goal,” explained Dr Rhee. Genome sequencing is now globally accepted as a more affordable form of clinical care in this era of precision medicine, and this is where KGDC will play a critical role in Kerala, experts pointed out.  ● More on P4 There have been numerous reports about Indians being lured with fake job offers abroad and forced to work for a cybercrime racket based in Myanmar and Cambodia, but survivor accounts detailing the scale of horror have been few. This newspaper spoke to a youngster who ended up in Myanmar after being lured by an IT job opportunity in Malaysia. He managed to escape from the racket’s clutches after arranging a ransom for his freedom. “We got to know of IT sector jobs in Malaysia through a friend. We gave an online interview and within a few days, three of us got visas and tickets and were headed to Malaysia,” 25-year-old Sagar Chauhan from Lucknow told this newspaper. Sagar, Ajay and Rahul left India on over to men in uniform who claimed to be from the Myanmar Army . They eventually ended up at a Megalahpo well-appointed facility (which Sagar says was named Chuangishan), which had over 5,000 workers of difMyanmar ferent nationalities including Sri (Burma) Lanka, Pakistan and China. Sagar Sagar Chauhan said their boss was Chinese and spoke through an interpreter. Their March 27. They were to land in Thai- job was to convince rich people land’s Bangkok, which was a transit around the world to invest in various point. However, on reaching Bang- fraudulent schemes. “Those refusing kok, they were booked into a hotel, to work would be brutally beaten up and later that day, taken and kept in a dark room. for sightseeing. The folWhile Ajay and Rahul press lowing day, they were Saclusive relented, I didn’t,”was ordered to get into a vegar added. Sagar hicle and were driven tortured. But a few days towards Myanmar. After about eight later he was told he could go home if hours of driving, they reached the he transferred `8 lakh. He reached Myanmar border. In Megalahpo on India on April 14. Ajay and Rahul are the Myanmar side, they were handed still there. Moei River