coimbatore l wednesday l august 07, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Kamala Harris picks Minnesota Guv Tim Walz as running mate The US Vice President has also secured the presidential nomination from the Democratic Party, the first woman of colour to do so Nomination with eye on swing states a ‘liberal extremist’, quips Team Trump “I’m all in,” said Walz, 60, accepting the Harris’ nomination for V-P. A military veteran, former public school teacher and six-term congressman, Walz is now serving the sixth year of his eight-year stint as governor of the midwestern US state. Harris expects Walz, a popular leader known for his middle-path approach, will help her win the swing states that can decide the poll outcome ■ Walz is expected to appeal to the left for championing popular Democratic policies including cannabis legalisation, increasing worker protections, safeguarding abortion rights, and supporting tighter firearm restriction | P9 ■ In its response, Trump’s campaign officials termed Walz a “dangerously liberal extremist” who could double down on the “Marxist” policies of Harris 99% Of Democratic National Committee delegates voted for Kamala Harris 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 1 2023: Face of protests; 2024: Face of Indian sport 2 I 3 1. The Zabir International Hotel run by an Awami Party leader on fire after an arson attack in Joshor district of Bangladesh. As many as 24 people were burnt to death in the blaze. 2. A burnt car stands in the vandalised house of former-PM Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka. 3. A student controls traffic as police went on strike in Dhaka | X/AP/AFP Nobel face to heal riot-torn nation Muhammad Yunus to be roped in as head of the interim govt At least 100 people killed in violence after Hasina fled the country Worry over the safety of Indians in Bangladesh Y ES H I SELI @ New Delhi Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, hours after protesting student leaders set a deadline for the president to do so. The move paves the way for an interim government to be formed. Shahabuddin met the key coordinators of the student movement at Bangabhaban (presidential palace) in the evening to discuss the current situation and the shape of the interim government, media reports said. In a video posted on social media on Tuesday , Nahid Islam, one of the key coordinators of the student movement, said they want Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as the head of the interim government. “No government other than the one proposed by the students will be accepted... no military government, or one backed by the military will be accepted,” he said. ... Yunus, 84, is currently in Paris. He has agreed to take up the responsibility AFP reported. The , microfinance pioneer, is credited with lifting millions out of poverty and is widely respected. “If action is needed in Bangladesh, for my country and for the courage of my people, then I will take it,” AFP quoted Yunus as saying. Meanwhile, violence continued in Bangladesh on Tuesday a day after the country’s long, est-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India follwing protests demanding her ouster. According to local media, at least 100 people were killed between Monday and Tuesday taking the total toll since , July 16 to 440. A number of temples, households and businesses were vandalised, women assaulted, and at least two Hindu leaders of Hasina’s Awami League party were killed, PTI reported quoting sources in Dhaka. In Delhi, government sources told this paper that Hasina will be allowed to stay in the country “as long as she wants”. Officials said all Indian students studying in Bangladesh have returned, but there is concern about the safety of the nearly 500 Indian officials (and their families) attached with the Indian High Commission in Dhaka and missions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet, and Khulna. Muhammad Yunus Maj Gen Ahsan sacked In a major Army reshuffle, Maj Gen Ziaul Ahsan, D-G of National Telecom Monitoring Centre, was sacked and Maj Gen ASM Ridwanur Rahman appointed in his position, local media reported ‘Hasina shouldn’t have fled’ Many people in Bangladesh are unhappy with Sheikh Hasina’s sudden exit. “A leader’s foremost responsibility is to stand by their people during times of adversity,” said Professor Tanvir Abir from Dhaka Girl threatened for talking to friend, cop faces Pocso case Ex p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Coimbatore A head constable attached to the Kovilpalayam police station in Coimbatore district was arrested on Monday in a Pocso case for assaulting and sexually harassing a 14-year-old schoolgirl and attempting to extort `1 lakh from her. The accused had spotted the girl speaking to a fellow student and threatened to reveal her alleged ‘relationship’ to her parents. The policeman was arrested by the Karumathampatti allwomen police after the girl’s father filed a complaint with the purported audio recording of the accused blackmailing his daughter. The accused, Ravikumar (39) of Sulur, lives with his wife and 10-year-old daughter, police said. According to sources, Ravikumar was transferred to the Kovilpalayam station from Coimbatore city a year ago. On Saturday evening, the accused spotted the Class 8 schoolgirl speaking to a fellow student in the locality He then alleged. ly beat them up and chased the boy away threatening to in, form their parents of their ‘relationship’ if they meet again. Later that evening, Ravikumar allegedly went to the girl’s house demanding `1 lakh for not disclosing the relationship, but the girl sent him away saying that her parents were present at the time and the issue cannot be discussed, sources added. Subsequently, on Sunday evening, when Ravikumar was heading to the station at 5 pm, he once again spotted the two conversing, sources said.  P5 Concerned over B’desh law & order; Hasina sought to fly in for a short time: Govt Indexation benefits for property back P r e e t h a N a i r a n d RA J ES H K UMAR T H A K UR @ New Delhi Amid continuing political uncertainty in Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that the situation is still evolving and the government is in close and continuous touch with the Indian community through diplomatic missions. He said the government remains deeply concerned about the law and order situation there. In suo moto statements in Parliament, Jaishankar said former prime minister Sheikh Hasina had on Monday sought approval to ‘come for the moment to India’ at a very short notice. “On August 5, demonstrators converged in Dhaka despite the curfew. Our understanding is that after a meeting with leaders of the security establishment, prime minister Sheikh Hasina apparently made the decision to resign. At very short notice, she requested approval to come for the moment to India. We simultaneously received a request for flight clearance from the Bangladesh authorities. She arrived yesterday evening in Delhi,” he said. He added that the government is in regular touch with the authorities in Dhaka. “I N 2023, Vinesh Phogat wanted to throw all her medals into the Ganges and walk away for good. The public face of a protest against one of India’s biggest politicianturned-sporting administrators — Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh — for over the last 18 months, Phogat has now completed the set. Asian Games? Tick. Worlds? Tick. Olympics? Tick. It’s not for TNIE @ olympics n o t h i n g t h at sports stories evoke a strange feeling of joy . Win or lose, Indraneel Das it’s always beauParis tiful. It can be cathartic too. This story goes beyond the triumph of an underdog. Considering the last one and a half years of turmoil, this is a story that can be exhibited at the Louvre. For a wrestler who decided to shift weight categories from 53kg to 50kg, this victory owes a lot to her belief. It started in the first bout itself, when she faced Japan’s Yui Susaki, a bout where winning was not even considered External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar making a statement in Rajya Sabha | PTI seek the understanding and support of the House in regard to sensitive issues regarding an important neighbour on which there has always been a strong national consensus.” The bulk of the 9,000-odd Indian students in Bangladesh returned home last month. “In addition to the High Commission in Dhaka, we have Assistant High Commissions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet. It is our expectation that the host government will provide the required security protection for these establishments.” Jaishankar said the government is keeping a close tab on the situation with respect to the minorities there. “There are reports of initiatives by various groups and organisations to ensure their protection and well-being. We welcome that,” he said. Advani in apollo Veteran BJP leader and former deputy prime minister L K Advani was on Tuesday admitted to the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals in Delhi. His medical condition is stable, hospital sources said e X PRESS n E W S s ERVICE @ New Delhi FACING backlash from investors and property owners, the Centre has decided to give a major relief to real estate investors by allowing them to opt for either a 12.5% long-term capital gains tax rate without indexation or a 20% rate with indexation for property purchased before July 23, 2024. The respite has been given only to resident individuals and Hindu Undivided Families. For non-resident individuals, companies, partnership firms, and LLPs, the indexation benefit won’t be available. This change has been included in the amendment to the Finance Bill 2024. “In the case of transfer of a long-term capital asset, being land or building or both, by an individual or Hindu Undivided Family (HuF), which is acquired before the 23rd day of July, 2024, the taxpayer can compute his taxes under the new scheme [@12.5% without indexation] and old scheme [@20% with indexation] and pay such tax which is lower of the two,” it says. In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the tax on LTCG was cut to 12.5% without indexation from 20% with indexation. That meant the indexation would not be available on real estate transactions for assets bought after 2001 was axed. Vinesh Phogat could become the first Indian woman to win Oly gold | pti (coming into the tournament, the Japanese had an 82-0 streak and had never been beaten by a non-Japanese). She had won gold in Tokyo without losing a point. To put the story into context, this is like India beating West Indies in 1983. Vinesh wrote a eulogy to herself, and set her own narrative on the mat at the Champs de Mars arena. It is more than just poetic that the face of protests against alleged sexual harassment (the case is ongoing) is now the face of Indian sports. Just one year ago, she was out on the streets, being manhandled. She was broken. She missed out on international competitions for almost the whole of last year. Scarred and bruised mentally, she started to pick up the pieces of whatever was left of her career. On Tuesday the wres, tling hall was stunned to silence. They had come to see Susaki win. The Japanese camp looked dazed. Susaki was looking around the hall, trying to digest a nightmare. For Vinesh, this is what she had been waiting for. A chance. And she capitalised. When she enters the hall for the final on Wednesday, she will begin a new chapter. This is her moment and she will not let this go. She’s now six minutes away from becoming India’s first woman to strike Olympic gold. In Hindu mythology, Ganges has cleansing powers. She will now hope that her statement wins on Tuesday — and with it, an assured silver — has those same kind of restorative benefits to a sport suffering from a crisis. Singapore firm buys TN tech park for $264 mn Ex p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai Singapore-based global asset manager Keppel Limited has acquired the One Paramount 1 tech park in Porur, Chennai, for $264 million. Spread across 12.6 acres of land with 2.4 million square feet of leasable space, the prime office asset is owned by the RMZ Corporation — one of India’s largest familyrun alternative asset owners — and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments). The asset comprises of three modern office towers, boasting of spacious floor plates, complemented by support retail and amenities. It also features a diverse tenant mix including global industry leaders like DOW Chemicals, Nielsen IQ, UPS, Maersk, Bechtel and VMware, among others. Arshdeep Sethi, president of RMZ Real Estate, said, “The divestment of One Paramount 1 reflects our commitment to efficient capital management, allowing us to reallocate resources into newer, high-growth opportunities within our portfolio. This transaction not only reflects strong investor confidence in India’s commercial real estate sector but also emphasises RMZ’s commitment to unlock immense stakeholder value. Keppel’s acquisition of One Paramount 1 reinforces investor appetite for Grade A office assets in the top office markets of India.” As part of their partnership, RMZ and CPP Investments will continue to hold stakes in an additional 12.5 million square feet of core and under-development commercial assets spread across five Indian cities.  P5 express read CM asks panel’s help to improve adminstration Ranganayaki elected as Coimbatore mayor Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday, while addressing the fifth meeting of the State Planning Commission, urged the panel to recommend ways to improve the financial resources of TN and suggest administrative reforms to ensure that benefits of various state schemes reach all without any delay | P4 Coimbatore: Coimbatore city councillor R Ranganayaki of the DMK was elected unopposed as the mayor of the corporation on Tuesday, as no other councillor filed nomination papers. But several DMK councillors questioned the party’s candidate choice at a meeting helmed by ministers ahead of the poll | P4 5 0 y rs a f t e r g ra duat i o n IIT-M alumnus makes single largest donation of `228 crore Ex p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai Krishna Chivukula with Prof V Kamakoti at the event on Tuesday | ashwin prasath More than 50 years after he graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, alumnus and businessman Krishna Chivukula has donated `228 crore to the institute. Chivukula, who completed his MTech in Aerospace Engineering with a focus on Jet Propulsion in 1970, is the chairman and founder of INDO US MIM Tec, a company specialising in the manufacture of metal injection molding (MIM) components. During an event on the IIT campus on Tuesday, the institute named an academic block in his honour- the Krishna Chivukula Block. The donation made by the businessman, one of the largest ever made to an educational institution in the country, will support various initiatives including scholarships for international students, the research excellence grant programme, an undergraduate fellowship program for freshers, sports scholar programme, development of the Shaastra Magazine, and the maintenance of the Krishna Chivukula Block, among others. After rising to the rank of Group President and CEO of Hoffman Industries, Krishna Chivukula left to start his own company In 1997, Chivukula in. troduced the state-of-the-art engineering manufacturing technology called Metal Injection Molding (MIM) in India when the technology was still in its nascent stage in the US.  P5