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 tuesday l april 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION LGBTQ+ part of his outreach Allowed women vote at Vatican 3-day state mourning Francis made it easier for married Catholics to get an annulment, allowed priests to absolve women who had had abortions and let priests bless samesex couples He let women vote alongside bishops in some Vatican meetings. It was a revolutionary change. However, he had a ‘closed door’ policy on women’s ordination The Indian govt declared a three-day State mourning till Wednesday. An additional day of mourning will be observed on the day of the Pope’s funeral adieu, progressive pope P NICO L E WIN F I E L D @ Vatican City Gold hits 1 lakh per 10gm in B’luru, 99K in Delhi Gold of 99.5 purity in Bengaluru cost L1,02,000 per 10 grams Gold of 99.9% purity in New Delhi: L99,800 per 10 grams So far this year, the yellow metal’s prices have risen H20,850, or 26.41% per 10 grams D ec e mb e r 17, 1 93 6 -A p r i l 2 1 , 2 0 2 5 ope Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change, passed away on Monday He was 88. . “At 7.35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church,” said Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, who takes charge after a pontiff ’s death. Flags flew at half-mast in Italy and crowds , gathered in St Peter’s Square. In his condolence message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Deeply pained by the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis. In this hour of grief and rem e m b r a n c e, my h e a r t f e l t condolences to the global Catholic community .” Francis, who suffered from chronic lung disease, was hospitalised on February 14 for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days there, the longest hospi- There has been increased buying among ETF investors, while upcoming festive demand is fueling additional support Globally, gold futures breached the Pranav Mer, V-P, psychological USD 3,400-mark for the first time JM Financial ever, rising USD 80 per ounce, or 2.4 per cent. Services ex-DGP’s murder wife arrested, named first accused Pallavi and daughter Kriti have been booked based on the complaint filed by former Karnataka state police chief Om Prakash’s son Karthikesh | P5 talisation of his 12-year papacy . He made his last public appearance on Easter Sunday — a day before his death — to bless thousands of people in St Peter’s Square, drawing wild cheers and applause. From his first greeting that night — a remarkably normal “Buonasera” (“Good evening”) — to his embrace of refugees and the downtrodden, Francis signaled a very different tone for the papacy stressing hu, mility over hubris for a Catholic Church beset by scandal and accusations of indifference. The Argentine-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio brought a breath of fresh air into a 2,000-year-old institution that had seen its influence wane during the tenure of Pope Benedict XVI, whose surprise resignation led to Francis’ election. But Francis soon invited troubles of his own, and conservatives grew increasingly upset with his progressive bent, outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics and crackdown on traditionalists. His greatest test came in 2018 when he botched a notorious case of clergy sexual abuse in Chile, and the scandal that festered under his predecessors erupted anew. Francis’ death sets off a week- Four Indians with voting right to elect successor Kochi: Four Indian cardinals, including two Keralites, are part of the 120-strong College of Cardinals who will attend a secret conclave to choose the next pope. The Indian cardinals eligible to vote in the conclave are Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, 72, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman and Patriarch of the East Indies; Thiruvananthapuram-based Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, 64, the Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church; Cardinal Anthony Poola, 63, Archbishop of Hyderabad and the first Dalit cardinal in history; and Changanassery native Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, 51, who had been coordinating Pope Francis’ foreign trips since 2021. P4 1 2 3 4 Cardinal Anthony Poola Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad slong process of allowing the faithful to pay their final respects, first for Vatican officials in the Santa Marta chapel and then in St. Peter’s for the general public, followed by a funeral and a conclave to elect a new pope. Francis was elected on a mandate to reform the Vatican bureaucracy and finances but went further in shaking up the church without changing its core doctrine. “Who am I to judge?” he replied when asked about a purportedly gay priest. The comment sent a message of welcome to the LGBTQ+ community and those who felt shunned by a church that had stressed sexual propriety over unconditional Modi, Vance hail progress in trade talks UDF entry: ‘To be, or J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President J D Vance on Monday hailed the significant progress in the ongoing talks for a fair and forward-looking bilateral trade agreement. They also acknowledged the growing cooperation between the two nations in key sectors such as energy defence, , advanced technologies, and other strategic areas, during a meeting marked by personal warmth and a shared commitment to strengthening the India-US partnership. The meeting took place on the first day of Vice President Vance’s four-day visit to India, with Second Lady Usha Vance, their three children, senior members of the US administration, and top Indian officials in attendance. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with US Vice President J D Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance and their children, in New Delhi on Monday | PTI Doval were also present. Reflecting on his January visit to Washington, Prime Minister Modi recalled his “fruitful discussions” with President Donald Trump, which laid the foundation for a close and growing partnership between the two nations. Modi Under excise lens 16 women among 497 repeat drug offenders 8,104 8,160 Kollam NDPS cases registered by Excise dept 6 3 Kottayam 2 Thrissur 2 Kozhikode 1 Kannur 1 Kasaragod Total 1 16 6,116 Palakkad emphasised that the shared visions of “Make America Great Again” and “Viksit Bharat 2047” would continue to drive bilateral cooperation forward. An official readout of the meeting said: “The leaders welcomed the significant progress in the negotiations for a mutu- past few years to closely track down those repeatedly caught with ganja and synthetic drugs,” a senior excise officer said. “Though there are fewer women than men in the list, many are being used as carriers by drug rackets. Our teams frequently contact these individuals, monitor their residence and verify their current occupation,” the officer ● More on P4 said. ally beneficial India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement focused on the welfare of the people of the two countries. They also acknowledged the continued efforts to enhance cooperation in energy defence, strategic tech, nologies, and other areas.” Prime Minister Modi also conveyed his warm greetings to President Donald Trump and expressed his eagerness to host him in India sometime later this year. During their meeting, both leaders exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. They agreed that dialogue and diplomacy should remain central to resolving international challenges. “The two leaders also exchanged views on various regional and global issues of mutual interest, and called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward,” the readout of the meeting said. express read Padmakumar dropped from CPM dist secretariat Pathanamthitta: CPM district secretariat in Pathanamthitta was reconstituted on Monday. Notably, veteran leader A Padmakumar, who had publicly voiced dissatisfaction over his exclusion from the state committee recently, was dropped from the district secretariat. Hate to be in court, says boy caught in divorce fight Kochi: A nine-year-old child, caught in the middle of a divorce and custody battle between his parents, has submitted before the Kerala High Court that he abhors going to court and even hates the judges for having summoned him. The child said he feels dehumanised and stigmatised, being paraded in front of people as a virtual chattel in the dispute between his parents. P4 3,667 3,922 With increasing reports of women’s involvement in drug peddling across Kerala, the excise department has intensified surveillance on 16 women included in the list of repeat offenders in narcotics cases. They have been placed under regular monitoring as part of a broader crackdown on habitual offenders under the NDPS and Abkari Acts. According to excise officials, a total of 497 individuals across the state are currently in the repeat offenders list for multiple violations of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Among them, 16 are women, each involved in two to 11 drugpeddling cases. The highest number of NDPS cases has been registered against a woman from Palakkad. “We have been maintaining this list for the Repeat women offenders in NDPS cases 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 T o b y A n t o n y @Kochi The pope will always be remembered as a beacon of compassion, humility and spiritual courage - Narendra Modi, prime minister not to be TMC’ is the question before Anvar are chances the meeting would be postponed. Though TMC is P V Anvar has to make a part of the INDIA bloc, the choice soon — to keep his Tri- Congress does not share good namool Congress (TMC) tag, relations with either the party or discard it. With the tag in- or its boss, West Bengal Chief tact, it would appear the Minister Mamata Banerjee. former Nilambur MLA will Mamata has been a critic of have little chance of a smooth the Gandhi family on various sailing into the UDF. issues and has also questioned Things have become more the Congress’s leadership role complicated for Anvar after in the INDIA bloc. the Congress high “They have poached command expressed many of our MLAs in strong reservation Tripura and other against accommodatnorth eastern states,” ing the TMC in the an AICC leader said. front. Two top leaders “They are insignifiof the state Congress, cant in Kerala and Leader of Opposition there is no need to acV D Satheeshan, who commodate them in is also the UDF chairthe UDF,” he said. P V Anvar man, and CWC memBeing the lead partber Ramesh Chenner in the UDF, the nithala will convey to Anvar Congress wields crucial influthe Congress’s misgivings in ence in the front’s decisions, admitting TMC into the UDF. which will leave Anvar with Anvar, who is the state coor- little options to seek. “Anvar dinator of TMC, however, as- has to either form a separate serted that he would stick with party like the Kerala Demothe Trinamool. cratic Party led by Mani C Ka“Let the Congress present ppan, or join any other politiits arguments. Then we will cal party which is already part present our counter argu- of the UDF,” a senior leader ments. I will stand with the said. Many UDF partners like TMC,” he told TNIE. the Congress and the Muslim The Congress leaders are League are unhappy with the scheduled to meet Anvar on way Anvar has been intervenWednesday. However, as the ing in the front’s candidate separty has declared mourning lection in Nilambur, even for three days following the though he is not part of the Pope Francis’ demise, there UDF. K S SR E E J I T H @T’Puram love. “Being homosexual is not a crime,” he said in 2023. Stressing mercy, Francis changed the church’s position on the death penalty, calling it inadmissible in all circumstances. He also declared the possession of nuclear weapons, not just their use, was immoral. In other firsts, he approved an agreement with China over bishop nominations that had vexed the Vatican for decades, met the Russian patriarch and charted new relations with the Muslim world by visiting the Arabian Peninsula and Iraq. He reaffirmed the all-male, celibate priesthood and upheld the church’s opposition to abortion, equating it to “hiring a hit man to solve a problem”. But he added women to important decision-making roles and allowed them to serve as lectors and acolytes in parishes. He let women vote alongside bishops in periodic Vatican meetings, following long-standing complaints that women do much of the church’s work but are barred from power. Still, a note of criticism came from the Women’s Ordination Conference, which had been frustrated by Francis’ unwillingness to push for the ordination of women.  AP IAF officer alleges assault, biker arrested e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Bengaluru IN a shocking case of road rage, an Indian Air Force wing commander was allegedly attacked by a biker at Byappanahalli in Bengaluru on Monday The in. cident took place around 6.30 am while Wing Commander Shiladitya Bose and his wife Squadron Leader Madhumitha Dutta were on their way to the bus stop near Gopalan Mall on Old Madras Road in their car. Wg Cdr Bose was supposed to fly to Kolkata to admit his father to a hospital. He assaulted the biker in “self defence”. Police have arrested the biker based on Sqn Ldr Wg Cdr Bose D u t t a ’ s complaint. The biker was identified as Vikas, 20, from Babusaab Palya. He works in a call centre. The incident came to light after Wg Cdr Bose shared two videos on social media. “After seeing the DRDO stickers on the car, the biker continued to abuse me and my wife. I could not bear it. When I stepped out of car, he took his bike keys and hit me on my forehead. When I tried to stop, he hit my head with stone,” Wg Cdr Bose said. However, CCTV footage shows him charging at Vikas, assaulting him, which he claimed he did in “self defence”. feasibility study soon Kochi Metro push to Goa’s water taxi network project K r i s h n a K u m a r K E @ Kochi The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) is set to help the Goa gover nment implement its long-pending water taxi project. As part of it, an expert team from Kochi is slated to visit the coastal state next month. The move is part of the KMRL’s ongoing efforts to conduct feasibility studies and help in replicating the Kochi Water Metro project — the country’s first — in 17 locations across India. “The aim is to complete the feasibility studies of the 17 locations and submit reports in six months. We will try to implement a system that’s most suitable to the particular region, based on requirements. Our team will visit Goa next month to study the feasibility of the water taxi network,” said Kochi Water Metro | Express Sajan P John, chief operating officer, Kochi Water Metro Ltd. The Goa government had identified four key routes for the water taxi project — Panaji-Divar- Old Goa, Panaji-Chorao Island, Vasco-Margao-Cortalim, and Calangute-Baga-Candolim. The KMRL team will assess potential routes, infrastructure requirements and operational models across the inland water bodies of Goa, a popular tourist destination. The report will be submitted within three months, said sources. The Inland Waterways Authority of India had entrusted the KMRL with preparing the feasibility report on the proposed urban water transport system in 17 locations across the country. Sources said the Union government is set to add another seven cities to the list. The KMRL team has already conducted site visits to Prayagraj, Varanasi and Ayodhya, all in Uttar Pradesh, as part of conducting feasibility studies ● More on P4 there.