HYDERABAD l saturday l february 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION blockbuster weekend as arch rivals face-off in CT Heavyweights England and Australia play on Saturday in Pakistan before the marquee India-Pakistan clash in Dubai on Sunday Ryan Rickelton’s century helps South Africa beat Afghanistan in Karachi | AP One-sided contests fail to grab eyeballs Old foes look to reignite rivalry If New Zealand beating Pakistan came as a spoiler for the local fans, on Friday, South Africa overpowered Afghanistan to establish their standing in Group B. In an event where one bad loss could ruin a team’s chances, both Black Caps and Proteas seem to have consolidated their net run rate. This weekend could well decide the semifinalists ■ ■ Both Australia and England are run down by injuries and the tournament needs the two teams to rise to the occasion and put on a show to stay in the reckoning for the knockout round The subcontinental contest hasn’t been the same but the hosts Pakistan need a win to keep their hopes alive | more on p11 2021 The last time Pakistan beat India at an ICC event 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 $21 mn for ‘voter turnout’ deeply troubling: India Trump labeling controversial USAID fund as kickback scheme sparks BJP-Cong sparring Musk posted on X a list of funds disbursed by USAID, which inIndian authorities are inves- cluded $21 million allocated for tigating “deeply troubling” re- voter turnout in India. ports raising “concerns about “Relevant authorities are US government interference in looking into, and hopefully we India’s internal affairs,” fol- can come up with an update lowing President Donald subsequently Jaiswal said. ,” Trump’s suggestion Trump, addressing a that a US agency spent gathering of state Govmoney to influence ernors from his Repubelections. lican Party, opined: “I On Thursday Trump , would say in many casreiterated his criticism es, many of these casof the $21 million US es, anytime you have government funding no idea what we’re p rov i d e d t o I n d i a talking about, that through USAID during means there’s a kickWe have seen the Biden administraback because nobody information on tion for ‘voter turnout’, has any idea what’s gocertain US calling it a “kickback ing on there.” He also activities and scheme” and adding: questioned grants of funding. These are “What the hell do I deeply troubling $ 2 9 m i l l i o n t o care about it? We got “strengthen the politiRandhir Jaiswal enough problems (of c a l l a n d s c ap e ” i n our own).” Bangladesh. “We have seen information Building on Trump’s “kickthat has been put out by the US back” remark, BJP’s Amit administration regarding cer- Malviya and Pradeep Bhandari tain USAID activities and fund- alleged that the $21 million had ing. These are obviously very been used to support “deep deeply troubling. This has led state assets” in India, accusing to concerns about foreign inter- Rahul Gandhi and the “Conference in India’s internal af- gress ecosystem” of benefiting fairs. Relevant departments from the funds. and agencies are looking into The Congress hit back, allegthis matter,” External Affairs ing the CIA had paid RSS to Ministry spokesperson Ran- destablise the Congress govdhir Jaiswal said on Friday . ernments in the past and deThe Department of Govern- manded a white paper on USment Efficiency headed by Elon AID funds in the past decade. J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi E x p r e s s Re a d AI, ML to be part of core engineering branches Hyderabad: The TGCHE on Friday revised the syllabus for B.Tech course, incorporating emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, data science and cyber security into core engineering branches. The new curriculum is set to be implemented from academic year 2025-26 | P3 Govt slams Erdogan’s Kashmir take on Pak trip New Delhi: India lodged a strong protest with Turkey over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent remarks on Kashmir during his visit to Pakistan last week. “We reject such objectionable comments on matters that are internal to India. Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said | P8 Amid cross-border firing, Both sides agree to honour truce F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar INDIA and Pakistan held a Brigade Commander-level flag meeting along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Friday in an ef, fort to de-escalate tension after several recent incidents of crossborder firing and an IED attack. The flag meeting took place in the Chakkan-Da-Bagh crossing point area, with both sides highlighting the need to maintain peace along the border. At the 75-minute-long meeting that started around 11 am, the Indian army delegation lodged a strong protest over recent instances of unprovoked cross-border firing, apart from infiltration attempts by terrorists and smuggling of narcotics and weapons. The meeting took place in a congenial atmosphere and both sides agreed to honour the ceasefire agreement in the larger interest of peace along the border, sources said. “Pakistan army officials were warned of a befitting response in case of cross border firing,” sources said. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah welcomed the flag meeting, saying it’s a good thing as it aims to reduce tension without using force. Revanth’s dare to blunt Oppn charge E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad The chief minister performs bhoomi puja for Indiramma houses in Narayanpet on Friday Stop water drawal by AP from Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar projects with immediate effect, Telangana requests KRMB | P5 Amid bird flu fears, chicken shops in Adilabad down shutters for 10 days E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Adilabad/Hyderabad With bird flu concerns leading to a sharp decline in sales and restrictions on chick transportation from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, chicken shop owners in Adilabad have decided to close their businesses for 10 days, starting Friday . Mohd Mohsin, a chicken shop owner, said that prices have dropped from `220 per kg to `150, yet demand remains low due to fear of the virus. Many are struggling to pay wages to their workers, prompting the temporary shutdown until March 1. Owners claim that despite it being peak wedding season, customers are hesitant to place bulk orders due to virus fears and misinformation circulating on social media. As a result, consumers are opting for mutton and fish instead, driving mutton prices up from `600 per kg to `800 per kg. Meanwhile, the government has set up checkposts to restrict vehicles transporting chickens from Maharashtra to erstwhile Adilabad. 2,500 chicks die in Wanaparthy Around 2,500 chickens, meanwhile, died in Konnur village in Wanaparthy district. Officials have sent samples of the dead chickens for tests and are waiting for the results. As bird flu cases have been reported from neighbouring AP of, ficials directed shop owners not to sell chicken in the village. Chicken Melas The Poultry Breeders Coordination Association on Friday organised melas in Hyderabad where chicken and eggs were distributed free of cost. The aim is to create awareness among the public that properly cooked chicken and eggs are safe for consumption, the association said Rescued from lift, 6-yr-old remains critical E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e s @ Hyderabad/Warangal A six-year-old boy, who was trapped in a lift at an apartment complex in Shantinagar, Masab Tank on Friday remains , critical in Niloufer Hospital after being rescued by Disaster Response Force (DRF) personnel. Elsewhere in Warangal, a 40-year-old man sustained a fracture on his leg when the lift he was repairing came crashing down on him. DRF personnel said that the boy fell into the gap between the lift chamber and the ground. Hearing the boy’s screams, locals alerted the police and the DRF personnel around 2 pm. The rescue teams cut the grills of the lift using gas cutters while ensuring a continuous supply of oxygen to DRF personnel rescue the six-year-old stuck in a lift at Masab Tank on Friday keep the boy conscious. After two hours of effort, the boy was rescued and rushed to Niloufer Hospital. Niloufer Hospital superin- Ceasefire violations along the border of Jammu and Kashmir have been uncommon since February 2021 when the two countries decided to strictly adhere to the November 2003 border ceasefire agreement. On February 10, an IED blast along the LoC in Akhnoor triggered by militants killed an army captain and a jawan. Another soldier was injured in the explosion. The extent of damage on the Pakistani side in the retaliatory action was not known immediately but officials had said the enemy forces also suf fered “heavy casualties.” tendent Dr Ravi Kumar said that the compression injury on the abdomen and chest reduced the supply of oxygen to the brain, eventually causing the boy to lose consciousness. Elsewhere, Anji, a resident of Hanamkonda, was hospitalised after the hotel lift he was repairing came crashing down on him. Warangal District Fire Officer KV Satish Kumar said that Anji entered the lift shaft at ground level when the chamber crashed. The buffers at the bottom of the lift shaft prevented Anji from getting crushed. The hotel staff informed the Intezargunj police and the fire department, who rushed to the spot and rescued Anji after an hour-long operation. He is undergoing treatment at the MGM Hospital. ACP: No visible injuries Saifabad ACP Sanjay Kumar told TNIE that it took over two hours for rescuers to cut open the grill and save the boy. While there are no visible injuries, the doctors were yet to reveal if the boy sustained any internal injuries due to the weight of the lift, the DCP disclosed. Setting the campaign tone for the upcoming local body elections, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday challenged BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao and BJP state president G Kishan Reddy to an open debate on the 12 months of Congress rule, the 10 years the BRS was in power and the 12 years of the BJP regime at the Centre. Responding to the allegations levelled by the Opposition that the Congress in the state has not delivered on its promises, Revanth accused opposition leaders of turning a blind eye to the development activities in the state. “I challenge Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay, KCR and KTR to an open debate over the 12 years of Modi rule, 10 years of KCR rule and 12 months of my government. I, along with Damodar Rajanarsimha, will come for the debate. You decide the date and place, if you are ready to debate what you have done,” the chief minister thundered. He was addressing a public meeting in Narayanpet district after launching several development projects, including the Indiramma Housing Scheme, the inauguration of a petrol bunk run by Mahila Samakya, a medical college, a nursing college and an integrated school. Targeting KCR, Revanth accused his predecessor of not completing any of the projects in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district.  continued on P4