IMF: Global economic uncertainty a concern The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest World Economic Outlook reveals a stark reality: economic uncertainty has surpassed levels seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report attributes this uncertainty to the unpredictable nature of the US tariff policy under President Trump, which have created an environment of fear and volatility chennai l Monday l April 28, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l vellore EDITION 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 heads-up: chief of defence staff meets rajnath singh Navy conducts war drills in arabian sea NIA takes over probe; Navy all set m aya n k s i n g h & m u k e s h r a n j a n @ New Delhi IN the wake of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives and the possibility of an Indian retaliation against Pakistan-backed terror groups, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday to brief him on key military decisions taken after the attack. The Indian Navy on Sunday conducted successful multiple antiship firings, showcasing its readiness for long-range precision strikes. “Indian Navy stands combat ready, credible, and future-ready in safeguarding the nation’s maritime interests anytime, anywhere, anyhow,” the Navy said in a statement. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have taken a hit, after the Cabinet Commit- ‘zero tolerance for terrorism’ New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday dialled his British counterpart David Lammy and spoke about India’s policy of “zero tolerance” for terrorism while discussing the Pahalgam terror attack, three days after UK PM Keir Starmer spoke to PM Modi tee on Security (CCS) met on April 23 followed by India withdrawing its Defence, Navy and , Air Advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, reducing the overall strength of the high commission to 30 from 55. The Indus Waters Treaty functional since , 1960, has been suspended, and the only operational land border crossing at Attari has been shut down. Diplomatic ties with Pakistan have been downgraded, prompting Pakistan to shut its airspace to Indian airliners and suspend all trade with India. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the Pahalgam terror attack, intensifying efforts to collect evidence and identify perpetrators. NIA teams are examining eyewitnesses, analyzing videos, and scrutinizing entry and exit points to piece together the se- Navy ships undertake multiple anti-ship firings in Arabian Sea to demonstrate its readiness for long range strikes | PTI quence of events. Intelligence agencies have traced the attack’s digital footprints to safe houses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi, suggesting a clear Pakistan hand, sources said. A local videographer, who was there to film reels for tourists in Baisaran, has now become one of the key witnesses for the NIA, as a senior official said, “The photographer in a bid to save his life climbed a tree, but he continued videographing the incidents that unfolded there.” Meanwhile, Sunday was the last day for Pakistanis having short-term visas in 12 categories to leave India. A long queue of vehicles was seen at the Attari-Wagah border crossing. As many as 537 Pakistani nationals, including nine diplomats and officials, left India in four days from the border point since April 24 after the government announced the visa revocation the previous day, officials said. PM vows ‘harshest punishment’ for conspirators rajesh kumar thakur @ New Delhi prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that the families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir will receive justice, and the perpetrators will face the harshest response ever imagined. In his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’, Modi expressed anguish over the attack that claimed 26 lives. “The whole world stands with 140 crore Indians in our fight against terrorism,” Modi said, adding that the unity of the country and solidarity of its people is the biggest strength in the war against terrorism. He accused the terrorists and their masterminds of trying to push Kashmir back into turmoil, by executing a major con- spiracy. The PM criticized the patrons of terrorism for their desperation and cowardice, stating, “This attack in Pahalgam shows the desperation of the patrons of terrorism; displays their cowardice.” He urged the nation to demonstrate strong willpower in the face of terrorism, and said, “Today the world is watching ... the whole country speaking in one voice.” China calls for restraint, backs impartial probe JAYAN T H JA C O B @ New Delhi Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, China on Sunday urged restraint by both sides. Beijing also backed Islamabad’s demand for an ‘impartial investigation’ into the Pahalgam terror attack, adding that it is ‘closely monitoring’ the situation. “Conflict is not in the fundamental interests of India and Pakistan, or conducive to regional peace and stability… Both countries should exercise restraint, meet each other halfway and promote the cooling of the situation,” Chinese state media quoted Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi as saying during a phone call with Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Sunday . During the telephone call, Dar briefed Wang on the latest developments and the latter offered support for Pakistan’s “legitimate security concerns and its efforts to uphold sovereignty and security interests”. Reaffirming Beijing’s support for Islamabad, Wang said that China has always supported Pakistan in its resolute antiterrorism actions. “ a staunch As friend and all-weather strategic partner, China fully understands Pakistan’s reasonable security concerns and supports Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty and security interests,” the Chinese foreign minister told Dar. Hackers steal data from labour dept’s sites twice in 2024 PAN details of employers, their phone numbers and addresses. The hackers also personal information of accessed documents related lakhs of employers and to the addresses and other their staf f from across personal details of several Tamil Nadu has been stolen t h o u s a n d s o f t h e i r from the state government’s employees. labour department portal The stolen data belongs twice in the last year. The to employers and their emstolen details belong to em- ployees as registered under ployers and their employ- various labour laws, inees in shops and business- cluding the Tamil Nadu es, industries and private Shops and Establishments firms, and also Act, Tamil comprises Nadu Induspress sensitive data trial Estabclusive lishments (Naincluding bank account tional Festival details of and Special guest workers in the state. Holidays) Act, Motor TransThe data was stolen twice port Workers Act, Interin May and November 2024 State Migrant Workmen by two separate hacker Act and Beedi and Cigar groups who, according to Workers (Conditions of an FIR registered on No- Employment) Act, among vember 14, 2024, claimed to others. have hacked the entire daApart from the labour detabase from the labour de- partment portal, data from partment portal and the the department’s Interinter-state migrant work- State Mig rant Workers ers’ portal for sale on the MIS—which was launched dark web. The database in 2023—has also been stocontained the Aadhaar and len.  P5 NIRU PAMA V IS W ANAT HAN @ Chennai ministers senthil balaji, ponmudy resign from TN cabinet Ministers Senthil Balaji and K Ponmudy stepped down from the cabinet on Sunday, with their portfolios being assigned to three other ministers | P5