hubballi l wednesday l november 20, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION In a first, Kyiv fires LONG-RANGE u.s. missiles into Russian region Russia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine fired six US-made missiles into Bryansk, five of which were shot down and one damaged Ukraine yet to confirm the escalation Putin lowers nuclear use threshold Fragments from a missile fell on an unspecified military facility, the Russian ministry said, adding that the falling debris sparked a fire but didn’t inflict any damage or casualties. The announcement comes shortly after Washington lifted curbs on Ukraine using US-made longer-range missiles to strike Russia. Ukraine didn’t immediately confirm the news | P10 ■ ■ Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday lowered Russia’s threshold for using nuclear weapons. According to the revised nuclear doctrine, a conventional attack on Russia by any adversary nation that is supported by a nuclear power, will be considered a joint attack And, such an attack could trigger a nuclear response from Russia 300 km range of the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) used against Russia 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 India: Set new finance goal on climate justice S V Krishna Chaitanya EXPRESS IN BAKU W ith COP29 negotiations reaching a critical stage, India on Tuesday demanded clear answers from developed countries on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance. Delivering the national statement, Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, said all NCQG decisions for climate finance must reflect the principles of climate justice and equity . He called for ambitious and unambiguous outcomes that address the evolving needs of developing countries, including adaptation, mitigation, and loss-and-damage funding. Singh reminded developed nations of their responsibility under the Paris Agreement to provide suf ficient financial resources to enable the Global South to meet its development goals while addressing climate challenges. The next round of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) is due in 2025.  Continued on: P10 Visa relaxation, resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra on the cards India, China look to resume direct flights, dialogue Ye s h i Se l i @ New Delhi BUILDING on the recent progress made on de-escalating border tension, India and China on Tuesday sought to stabilise the relationship and take it to the next level. T h re e m a j o r d e c i s i o n s emerged during the meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio, Brazil: to resume special representativelevel talks on boundary issues, direct flights between India and China, and the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. The other steps discussed include data sharing on trans-border rivers and media exchanges. The meeting was the first high-level engagement between India and China after the completion of the disengagement process in Depsang and Demchok along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh last month. According to the MEA, Jaishankar and Wang agreed that the disengagement in border areas contributed to peace and tranquility. “The discussions E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi OVER 100 Delhi-bound Air India passengers faced a harrowing three-day ordeal in Phuket after the flight, originally scheduled to depart on November 16, was cancelled due to operational and technical setbacks. The disruption left travellers stranded, sparking outrage and criticism. The trouble began when the crew exceeded their flight duty time limitations on November 16, leading to the flight’s cancellation. Efforts to resume operations the next day with another crew failed when the Airbus A320 experienced technical issues midflight, forcing it to return to Phuket after two-and-a-half hours in the air. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has since demanded a detailed report from Air India. Meanwhile, 80% of the stranded passengers have reportedly been flown back to India on alternative flights on November 17 and 18, airline sources said. The remaining 31 passengers are also scheduled to depart. “Air India regrets the inconvenience to passengers of Flight AI377... While our staff made effort to minimise their inconvenience, providing all on-ground assistance including hotel accommodations and meals, some guests were also re-accommodated on available flights. Passengers were also offered options for full refunds,” said an airline official. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with China’s foreign minister Wang Yi | PTI India, UK to resume FTA talks in 2025 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said trade talks with India will relaunch, following his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit. The UK will seek a new strategic partnership with India, including a trade agreement and cooperation in various areas Modi, Albanese meet in Rio, hold talks Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday released the state’s first Global Capability Centre (GCC) Policy 2024-29 at the 27th edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit, with an aim to create 3.5 lakh jobs by 2029. The policy is an outcome of inputs and suggestions given during the previous tech summit, where the government committed itself to framing guidelines to shape the growth of the state. The policy aims at establishing 500 GCCs initially and achieving the target of 1,000 by 2029 and at generating an economic output of $50 billion by 2029. The three-day summit on ‘Flying man’ Issa Kalfon from United Kingdom at the inauguration of the Bengaluru Tech Summit on Tuesday | Allen Egenuse J the theme, Technology Unbound, aims to connect with 50 global investors and create an investment fund of $17.5 billion. MoUs with six countries, including Switzerland, Finland and Israel, will be signed along with a Letter of Intent with Sharjah Innovation Authority (UAE). Siddaramaiah said that to take the policy forward, the government will establish three dedicated global innovation districts in Bengaluru, Mysuru and Belagavi. P2 all-party meeting on November 24 Modi met Australian PM Anthony Albanese in Rio. “PM Albanese has accepted India’s invitation to attend the Quad summit next year. We spoke about partnership in defence, critical minerals, space. PM Albanese has assured us in protecting interests of our students in Australia,” Modi said Ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament, the Centre has scheduled an all-party meeting on Nov 24. Some Opposition parties are reportedly unlikely to attend | P7 one of two Naxal teams, in Karnataka. He hailed from Karkala taluk. The ANF was backed by 75 KSIF personnel from Bengaluru and 25 from Shivamogga, and Udupi district police. A judicial inquest will be done as part of the investigation, after which the body will be sent for post-mortem at a private hospital in Manipal, she said.  Naxal activities in Karnataka are on the decline. In May, the state government intro- duced a revised surrender policy aimed at encouraging Naxals to surrender, Roopa said. Gowda joined the Maoist movement in the late 1990s when he worked as a “courier” for the group. He then participated in protests, notably against the Kudremukh National Park project. By 2002, he went underground and became a fullfledged member of the Maoist movement. For the past 22 years, he was on the most-wanted list of Karnataka Police. In Karnataka, Saket Rajan, who led the naxalites from 2001, was killed in an encounter at Menasinahadya in Koppa taluk of Chikkamagaluru district on February 6, 2005. From 2006 to 2011, BG Krishnamurthy led the naxalites in the state. After his wife, naxal Hosagadde Prabha’s health deteriorated, he remained  dormant. Gowda took over the Naxal leadership in the state during 2011. P5 Security personnel deployed to maintain law and order amid curfew, in Imphal | PTI PC post gives Biren Naxal leader Vikram Gowda killed in ANF encounter  ammo to rap Cong E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Udupi AI flight leaves flyers stranded in Phuket for three days focused on the next steps in India-China relations,” it said. In the meeting, Jaishankar told Wang that India is against unilateral approaches to establish dominance and it does not view its relationships through the prism of other nations. “On the global situation, the external affairs minister noted that India and China have both differences and convergences,” MEA said. For his part, Wang proposed visa relaxation to encourage people-to-people interaction. Noting that the next year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two Asian giants, the Chinese minister said both countries should plan commemorative activities and encourage visits in various fields and at different levels. Direct India-China flights and the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic. The 22nd round of special representative-level talks were held in New Delhi on December 21, 2019. India’s representative for the dialogue is NSA Ajit Doval while the Chinese side is headed by Wang. K’taka’s GCC Policy aims to create 3.5l jobs by ’29 Naxal leader Vikram Gowda, 46, was killed in an encounter with Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) personnel at Pithubail in Nadpalu village of Hebri taluk in the Western Ghats on Monday night. Sources, however, said that the encounter might have taken place late Monday night or early hours of Tuesday . IGP (Internal Security) Roopa D, who visited the spot along with senior police officers, told reporters that Gowda, who had 61 criminal cases, including murder and extortion and 19 cases in Kerala, against him, was killed in the ANF operation. Describing him as Karnataka’s most wanted and dreaded Naxal, she said he was warned to surrender, but he did not pay heed to it. The ANF, under the Internal Security Division (ISD), launched the operation led by SP Jitendra Dayama on Novem- ber 10. “We received important leads on the presence of Gowda in the region. DGP (ISD) Pronab Mohanty visited the region recently and supervised the operations in the forests and provided strategic guidance,” she said. Terming the encounter a shot in the arm for ANF , she said it was the fourth successful one after the force was established in May, 2005. Around six Naxals are still active in the state, she added. Gowda led Kabini Dalam-2, Dr G: Three Naxals managed to escape Bengaluru: Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara said on Tuesday that police stepped up vigil after spotting a few Naxals last week. “Naxals Raju and Latha were spotted last week and combing operations were launched. During the combing operations on Monday night, the Naxals opened fire after seeing police personnel. Naxal leader Vikram Gowda started firing at police personnel. He died when police personnel returned fire. There were three others with Gowda during the encounter, but they managed to escape,” Dr Parameshwara said. P r a s an ta Ma z u m d a r @ Guwahati A social media post by Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday gave embattled Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh some ammunition to blame the grand old party for the ongoing crisis in the state. The Congress distanced itself from Chidambaram’s post on X, now deleted, calling it his personal remarks. Chidambaram said, “Rushing 5,000 MORE central armed police jawans is not the answer to Manipur crisis. ...It is more understanding: that the Meitei, the Kuki-Zo and the Naga can live together in one State only if they have genuine regional autonomy .” Singh wasted no time in hitting back. “He (Chidambaram) is the root cause of Manipur crisis and the Congress is the creator of what we are seeing in the state today When he was the Un. Woman dies in EV store Road accidents, fatalities, injuries blaze on birthday eve double in Bengaluru in four years E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru A 26-year-old woman, who was to celebrate her birthday today (November 20) was charred to death, and three others suffered minor burns when a major fire broke out at an electric vehicle showroom here on Tuesday evening. Around 25 electric scooters were destroyed in the blaze at MY EV Store near Navarang Junction on Dr Rajkumar Road. The deceased has been identified as Priya from Ramachandrapura in Srirampura. She was an accountant in the showroom. Dileep, Yuvaraja and Vedavathi suffered minor burns. Police said preliminary investigation revealed that the fire broke out around 5.30 pm at the showroom due to an electric short circuit. As the fire spread, EV batteries exploded. Six employees were in the showroom and five managed to escape. Three of them sustained minor burns. Priya got trapped in a cabin, where she is suspected to have suffered difficulty in breathing as there was thick smoke and died of asphyxiation and burn injuries. Five fire tenders, including an SDRF van, were pressed into service and people from neighbouring buildings and shops were immediately evacuated. DCP-North Saidulu Adavath told reporters that the showroom did not have proper fire safety equipment. “We have registered a case against storeowner Punith Gowda and the manager,” he said. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru “The number of road accidents and deaths due to them has doubled in four years in Bengaluru. One of the major causes for road accidents is over-speeding,” said Additional Director General of Police (Recruitment) and Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety KV Sharath Chandra. “In 2020, 1,928 road accident cases were reported,  and in 2024 till October 31, 3,969 cases. The number of road accident cases has more than doubled. Also in 2020, 344 fatalities were reported, which in 2024 increased to 723,” he said. Sharath Chandra said Bengaluru tops Karnataka with the highest number of road accidents, injuries and fatalities, followed by Tumakuru. Stating that the state govern- ment has taken many steps to prevent road accidents, Sharath Chandra said, “Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras have been installed on highways, and integrated traffic management solutions introduced. However, road accidents continue to happen and two-wheelers top the list.” He said the state reported 34,178 road accidents with 9,720 deaths in 2020 to 43,440 acci- dents with 12,321 deaths in 2023. He called for a change in the attitude of people, who think accidents happen to others and not to them. With awareness, good road engineering and strict enforcement of rules, the number of accidents can be reduced. He was speaking after launching the Karnataka State Road Safety Authority’s campaign, ‘Motorcycle Reconstruction’, organised here on Tuesday with technical support from Vital Strategies, a global public health organisation, under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety . Road safety expert Dr G Gururaj, former director and professor, NIMHANS, said, “Even a slight difference in speed can decide the chances of an accident, its severity, and whether you will live or die.” ion home minister during the then Congress government and O Ibobi was the chief minister here, they brought a Myanmarese foreigner Thanglianpau Guite, who himself admitted in one of the interviews that he contested an MP election in Myanmar. That person is the chairman of Zomi Revolutionary Army which is banned in Myan, mar,” Singh said. Worried over Chidambaram’s statement on regional autonomy Ibobi said he spoke to party , chief Mallikarjun Kharge. “I told Kharge Ji it could be his (Chidambaram’s) personal views but this will create a lot of misunderstanding in Manipur. After Kharge Ji spoke to Chidambaram Ji, he deleted the post,” the ex-CM said. Meanwhile, hundreds of Kuki-Zos took out a rally in Churachandpur carrying empty coffins in solidarity with 10 tribals killed on November 11. express read Wine merchants call off strike after meeting CM Bengaluru: Wine merchants, who had called for the shutdown liquor shops on Wednesday, withdrew the protest, following a meeting with the CM | P4 10-day Winter Session in Belagavi from Dec 9 Belagavi: The Winter Session of the State Legislature will be held at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi for 10 days from December 9 | P4 BJP gen secy in the dock in ‘cash-for-votes’ case Mumbai: Police on Tuesday registered two FIRs against BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde, party candidate Rajan Naik and others in connection with the alleged distribution of cash to voters at a hotel in Palghar a day before the Maharashtra elections, officials said on Tuesday | P8