Countries ask citizens to leave Lebanon amid war fear Many countries including the US, UK and France have asked their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible The advisories come amid fears of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah following last week’s killings of high-profile Hamas and Hezbollah leaders by Israel MANGALURU l Monday l AUGUST 5, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l CITY EDITION Several Western airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon and other airports in the region. The US urged its citizens to use ‘any ticket available’ to get out of Lebanon Amid tensions, Hezbollah said it fired a barrage of rockets at Israel’s north on Saturday night August 1 India issued an advisory asking its citizens to leave Lebanon 545 people killed in Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza. At least 115 are civilians | P7 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 ■ ■ Bill to overhaul Wakf Act likely on Aug 9 or 12 Govt sources say the move is to bring in more transparency and gender diversity board’s portal. While no official statement has been issued so far, top THE Centre plans to bring a sources said the bill would be bill to overhaul the Wakf Act in aimed at ensuring “transparthe ongoing Budget session of ency, efficiency and accountaParliament, government sourc- bility” in the functioning of es said on Sunday. It is learnt Waqf boards. that the Cabinet meet held late In all, there are 30 Waqf on Friday evening cleared the boards functioning across InWakf amendment bill. Sources dia. “Waqf boards hold huge claimed the government’s move numbers of moveable and imis in line with demands from moveable properties across the the Muslim community itself country which are neither doc, for refor ming the umented nor audited ‘Unlimited Wakf boards. with the government powers’ The bill, which machinery. The Bill proposes 38-40 major According to sources, may propose a propamendments to the one of the objectives er audit and verificaWakf Act, is likely to of the bill is to check tion of property and be introduced in Parassets, declared as the “unlimited liament either on owned by the WB in powers” of Wakf August 9 or 12 (the order to ensure boards, which can last day of the Budgtransparency,” a top even bar plaintiffs et session). In case it from seeking justice government source could not be introsaid in an informal from the Judiciary. duced in this session, chat with the media Also, there are then it would be prehere on Sunday . complaints of the sented in the next “The proposed bill boards usurping Parliament session, property by misusing is aimed at seeking sources told this benefits to poor Musthe Wakf Act paper. lims, women and With many states are gearing children, and ensuring fair parup for elections this year and ticipation of women in the the next, the move could spark boards. The bill is not aimed at heated debates and become a grabbing land from Muslims by potential political issue for the the government nor is to give Opposition. such land to non-Muslims,” the Among the major changes government source added. proposed in the bill is the man‘The benefits of Wakf propdatory registration of all move- erties are strictly for the welable and immoveable property fare of the community, and under Waqf boards with the not meant for any individuals. district collectors concerned. The bill will put a check on Plus, all registered properties any such malpractice,” remust be uploaded on the Wakf marked a source. R AJESH KUMA R T HAKU R @ New Delhi 100 killed in deadliest day of b’desh protests Y e s h i S e l i @ New Delhi Protests calling for Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation escalated on Sunday with at least 100 people killed in fierce clashes between demonstrators and the police. The violence took a communal turn with miscreants attacking the temples and houses of Hindus. A Hindu councillor from Rangpur, Kajal Roy, was shot dead. Devotees ran for cover as miscreants stormed ISKCON and Kali temples. Authorities have cut off mobile internet and an indefinite curfew was imposed at 6 pm. Among the dead are at least 14 policemen. “It was a bloody Sunday Social media sites like . Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are blocked,” Professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, a political commentator in Bangladesh told this newspaper. Many buildings were set ablaze during the protests. This Hasina huddles top security brass Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called a meeting of the National Committee on Security Affairs to review the sitaution, local media reported. It was attended by the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the police We would want the students to carve out a future for Bangladesh. A revolution has already begun Pinaki Bhattacharya, exiled Bangladeshi activist includes the house of Sheikh Sohel, a cousin of Hasina, and the office of Beximco Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh. In the Rajbari district, a statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was vandalised. “These kinds of protests are 2 more bodies found, 200 still missing in Wayanad Ar u n M @ Chooralmala Amid the continuing search for those missing in the devastating landslides in Wayanad, bodies of eight unidentified victims were laid to rest at a mass burial site at Puthumala near Meppadi on Sunday, the sixth day following the calamity . Around 30 burial pits have been arranged at a 64-cent burial ground at Harrisons Malayalam Estate in Puthumala. The bodies were buried after official procedures under the Disaster Management Act. Meanwhile, the hopes of finding those still missing in the landslides at Chooralmala and Mundakai are fading with each passing day. With around 200 people yet to be traced, the state government has initiated a DNA matching process for the uni- Volunteers carry out a search operation in Chooralmala on Sunday, six days after the tragedy struck Wayanad district in Kerala | TP sooraj dentified bodies and body parts with the family members of those missing. DNA samples of the unidenti- CID starts probe into PSI’s death People participate in a rally demanding justice for people killed in recent clashes with the security forces | AP fied bodies and body parts are being preserved before burial. A medical team will collect blood samples from the relatives of the missing persons to compare with the DNA samples of the unidentified bodies and body parts. Despite extensive efforts in the landslide-affected areas and along a 40km stretch of river through the forest, only two bodies and 10 body parts were recovered on Sunday . The official death toll in the calamity stands at 221, including 97 men, 87 women, and 37 children. However, there are reports the number of deceased exceeds 300. On Sunday the search operations , continued at Chooralmala and Mundakkai, with more personnel and equipment being deployed in areas having a higher likelihood of recovering bodies. Advanced radars, drones, and heavy machinery are being used by the rescue teams. Forty teams are conducting search operations across six zones.  P5 R a m a k r i s h n a B a d s e s h i @ Yadgir, Kalaburagi unprecedented in Dhaka,” a source based in the Bangladesh capital said. The protesters are demanding that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resign. A call has been sent out to students across the country to participate in a march to Dhaka on Monday. This march was earlier planned for Tuesday . Hasina, meanwhile, said those protesting are not students, but terrorists. “I appeal to the countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a firm hand,” she said. Bangladesh Army chief vowed to restore normalcy in two days. Protests began last month over a 30% job quota that critics said favours those loyal to the prime minister. The Supreme Court last week gave a verdict restricting the quota to 5% but fell short of protestors’ demand to quash the quota entirely Pro. tests resumed on Friday after a brief lull. The protesters have rejected Hasina’s offer of talks. A team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sleuths arrived at Yadgir on Sunday and took up the investigation into the suspicious death of Police Sub-Inspector Parashuram, who died under suspicious circumstances at police quarters on Friday evening. The CID team, led by DySP Punit, visited the offices of Yadgir DySP and circle inspector and collected information, sources said. Though the police believe that Parashuram died of heart attack, the postmortem report which is expected in 2-3 days will confirm whether he died of heart issues or committed suicide, as alleged by his father. Parashuram was rushed to hospital on Friday night after blood was seen coming out of his mouth and nose, the father has told the police. Parashuram’s wife Shweta has stated in her police complaint, based on which the FIR has been filed, that her husband was being pressurised by Yadgir MLA Chennareddy Tunnur and his son Pampanagouda to pay Rs 30 lakh to continue as PSI in the Yadgir Town police station. Parashuram, who was transferred from Yadgir Town police station to CEN police station, died after attending his farewell party on August 2.  CONTINUED ON: P4 Express read 9 children die as house wall collapses in MP Sagar (MP): Nine children, aged 10 to 15 years, were killed and two others injured when a wall of a dilapidated house collapsed in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday. The victims were a religious programme near the house | P8 waking up early Kodagu identifies 104 landslide-prone areas E x pr e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Madikeri Exercising caution after massive landslides in Wayanad in Kerala, the Kodagu district administration has identified 104 landslideprone areas, based on the reports submitted by the Geological Survey of India. Anticipating heavy rainfall this month, the administration has issued notices to 2,995 families located in these vulnerable regions to move to safer areas. These regions have been identified based on previous disaster reports and surveys. The sensitive and highly sensitive areas were identified and the families to be relocated were finalised. The relocation could happen soon, sources said. The administration has set up 14 relief centres, where over 200 residents are sheltered. It has also marked the locations to open 95 relief centres in these possible disaster areas. “Steps will be taken to relocate residents from vulnerable regions depending on the rainfall forecast,” said DC Venkat Raja. The district has received 24% excess rainfall this year and more rain is expected this month. Miracle on Turf: In a corner of Paris, Indian hockey rises from the beyond A L F R E D Te n ny s o n’s 3-2 win against Australia was words aptly surmise the historic, what they did on the emotional high of blue turf at Yves du Manoir the men’s hockey on Sunday was more than team. TNIE @ olympics just a miracle. It belongs in The English the realm of fantasy. They poet’s words “... someone now have the chance to uphad blundered, Theirs grade the bronze they had not to make reply, Theirs won in Tokyo. With and the Indraneel Das not to reason why, Theirs romance associated with Paris but to do and die, Into the hockey will grow. valley of Death, Rode the The miracle did not come 10 men...” easy Two minutes into the sec. It is the Olympics. If India’s ond quarter against Great Brit- ain, India were down to ten. What followed the next 43 minutes was a lesson in ‘you shall not pass’. India’s nine outfielders and PR Sreejesh did the improbable as they held out till the shoot-out where they won 4-2 (1-1 after end of 60 minutes). By the time it began, GB looked shattered. India were buoyant. Their body language was positive. The entire Indian team yelled and after Rajkumar Pal found the net, the fourth In- Indian players celebrate after the shoot-out win over Great Britain | AP dian to do so. Just before this, Sreejesh saved from Phil Roper, GB’s second miss. From coach Craig Fulton to every single player, they all ran towards the man who stood behind India and defeat. Sreejesh. Though exhausted, they still had enough in their bodies to celebrate. Their resilience resulted in one of the greatest escape acts in Olympic history.  p11 Kodagu couple lose their son in Wayanad P r a j n a G R @ Madikeri Unable to find daily wage work in Kodagu due to heavy rain, a woman labourer from Kodagu left for Wayanad nearly three weeks ago. She had taken her son too along as schools in the district had been ordered shut due to incessant rainfall. But tragedy struck the poor family and the woman lost her son when the landslides struck Meppadi in Wayanad district on Tuesday . The woman, Kavitha, and her husband Ravi are settled in Kodagu. While Ravi is from Tamil Nadu, Kavitha was born and brought up in Kodagu. The couple have two sons and one daughter.  CONTINUED ON: P5 With this issue 4 PAGES Exclusive Supplement