tadepalligudem l tuesday l april 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Russia announces unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine next week Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a 72-hr ceasefire from May 8 midnight to May 10 midnight to mark Victory Day Ukraine dismisses it as ‘window dressing’ The Kremlin said the truce was on humanitarian grounds. “Russia believes the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” the Kremlin said, adding its forces will respond in kind if Ukraine violates the ceasefire. Dismissing Putin’s move as ‘window dressing’, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said: “If Russia truly wants peace, it must cease fire immediately.” ■ May 9 Need permanent ceasefire, says Trump ■ The development comes after US President Donald Trump expressed doubts about Putin’s interest in ending the war. The White House said Trump wanted a permanent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine This is the second unilateral truce offer by Putin, following a 30-hour Easter ceasefire that saw each side accusing the other of violating it Is celebrated as Victory day to mark Soviet Union’s victory in World War-II 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 make pm’s visit to amaravati a grand success: cm to NDa E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu called upon the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders from the State to not only give a rousing welcome to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is visiting the State on May 2 to relaunch the development of Amaravati capital city, but also make it a resounding success. During a teleconference with the NDA leaders on Monday, the Chief Minister said that Amaravati is a symbol of the self-respect of all the Telugus. Naidu also asked all the NDA leaders to see to it that no inconvenience is caused to those who are attending the public meeting to be addressed by the Prime Minister. “How a family dreams of having a decent house to live in, similarly the State too should have a capital that its people can proudly claim. As decentralisation of development is the policy of the NDA, all the Central educational institutions have been located in North Andhra, Coastal and Rayalaseema districts since 2014. We will develop all the regions in an equal manner,” Chandrababu Naidu said. Pointing out that Telangana is getting 70 percent of revenue from Hyderabad, Karnataka from Bengaluru and Tamil Naidu from Chennai, the Chief Minister said that the State too would get similar revenue after the development of Amaravati. He termed Amaravati as the soul of the State. Observing that the farmers had voluntarily donated their lands for building the capital, the Chief Minister said that, besides constructing the capital on these lands, the government is allotting residential and commercial plots to them after proper development.  P4 tirupati mishap Five killed, two injured in road accident E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Tirupati A horrific road accident on Monday afternoon in Thotapalli village, Pakala Mandal, Tirupati district, claimed the lives of five individuals and left two others injured when their car crashed into a container truck. The victims, residents of Bengaluru in Karnataka and Hosur, Tamil Nadu, were travelling in a Maruti Ertiga (TN 70 AH 2745) when the accident occurred on a national highway . According to Chandragiri DSP Prasad, the car was following a container truck (KA 51 AK 6158) when it veered underneath the larger vehicle, resulting in a catastrophic impact. The car was crushed beneath the lorry, and the lorry driver, unaware of the collision, continued driving briefly before stopping. The deceased were identified as Vijayalakshmi (50), Sahana BS (34), Rajani SR (27), R Lekhan Gowda (11), all from Bengaluru, and Thiagarajan (48), the driver from Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The injured, Geethamma (51) from Hasan, Karnataka, and Krisvin (15), son of Thiagarajan, from Hosur, were rushed to the SVR Ruia Government General Hospital in Tirupati for treatment. Tirupati SP V Harshavardhana Raju, who oversaw rescue operations at the site, attributed the accident to the car driver’s negligence and rash drivP4 ing.  The badly damaged car that rammed into container truck in Tirupati district claimed fives on Monday | Express Canada votes to determine its next PM Canadians will decide whether to extend Mark Carney-led Liberal Party’s decade in power or hand control to the Conservatives, led by opposition leader Pierre Poilievre | P9 balayya’s big day President Droupadi Murmu presents Padma Bhushan in the field of Art to Nandamuri Balakrishna at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi | express Omar Abdullah says he will not use the Pahalgam brutality to demand statehood Rajnath meets Modi; Pak says incursion imminent E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi J&K MLAs, including CM Omar Abdullah, pay homage to the victims of the Pahalgam attack, in the assembly on Monday | PTI Assault on Kashmiriyat: J&K House resolution F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar A special session of the J&K assembly on Monday passed a unanimous resolution describing the April 22 terror attack on tourists at Pahalgam as a direct assault on Kashmiriyat, the Constitution and the spirit of unity, peace and harmony. As many as 25 tourists and a local resident were slaughtered in the attack. But what caught the eye was a contrite Omar Abdullah admitting he had failed in his capacities as chief minister and tourism minister to protect the lives of tourists. Participating in the debate, he added that he will not use the Pahalgam incident to demand statehood. “How can I use the Pahalgam incident to demand restoration of statehood from the Centre? I do not believe in cheap politics... Curse on me if I go to the Centre and tell them that 26 peo- ple have died and now give me statehood.” Omar described the massacre as the beginning of the end of terror in Kashmir and cautioned against taking any step or action that “distances people from us and hurts this spontaneous protest”. He was alluding to the recent demolition of houses of terrorists and mass arrests. “This was not just an attack on people from one state — it was an attack on the very soul of India. The victims hailed from across India, from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat, from Kerala to J&K. The whole country has been affected by this attack,” he said. “I fully know that J&K’s security is not the responsibility of the elected government but as CM and tourism minister I had invited them to visit here and as a host it was my responsibility to ensure the safety of tourists, but I failed to do so,” the Omar said. 16 Pakistani Youtube channels blocked ment spokesperson said. The spokesperson reiterated that that Washington “stands with India and strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Pahalgam”, echoing recent remarks by President Donald Trump and Vice President J D Va n c e . B o t h leaders had expressed solidarity with New Delhi following the April 22 assault, which left 26 dead, with Trump describing it as a “bad one” and acknowledging the deep-rooted tensions over Kashmir. “This is an evolving situation and we are monitoring developments closely. We have New Delhi: The govt blocked 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly disseminating “false, provocative and communally sensitive content” about India. It also objected to the BBC’s reportage on Pahalgam Rana’s Nia custody extended by 12 days New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday extended by 12 more days the NIA custody of 26/11 Mumbai attack accused Tahawwur Rana. The special court extended his custody on NIA’s request after his previous 18-day remand got over Man held for window damage at mission London: An Indian-origin man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly smashing the windows of the Pak High Commission here following protest over the Pahalgam massacre. Ankit Love, 41, was charged with criminal damage Amid heightened security activity in J&K as India weighs it options following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him on the ongoing operations. The closed-door meeting lasted around 40 minutes. Earlier in the day Rajnath , was given a detailed briefing by Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on the ground situation in J&K. Rajnath Singh, The meet- defence minister ing came on a day when Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told news agency Reuters that a military incursion by India was imminent. “We have reinforced our forces because it is something which is imminent now,” he said, adding some strategic decisions have been taken. Asif said Pakistan would only use its arsenal of nuclear weapons if “there is a direct threat to our existence”. Meanwhile, the Line of Control remained active with Pak Army indulging in small arms fire in the Kupwara and Poonch sectors. India may let China Work towards a responsible resolution, says US invest via JV route J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi R a k e s h K u m a r @ New Delhi In a move that could allow Chinese equipment manufacturers to operate in India, the Centre is considering permitting Chinese companies to invest under the Electronics Component Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme through joint ventures with Indian firms. According to industry sources, the government is mulling allowing Chinese companies to own up to 26% in JVs for specific critical electronics components, while maintaining a 10% equity cap for most other categories. In all cases, the management and control of the JV will remain with the Indian partner. Additionally, such JVs will need to secure approvals under the FDI norms. The latest move comes after Chinese companies agreed to most of the terms and conditions, including the transfer of technology to India. India-China relations touched their lowest point in April 2020 after the Galwan clashes. Subsequently, India mandated that FDI from entities or individuals based in countries sharing land borders with India would need prior government approval. The government allowed Chinese firms to operate in India only through partnerships with Indian firms. The reason for allowing Chinese firms into India is China’s existing strength in component manufacturing infrastructure and scale. The government views Chinese investment as key to building a strong component ecosystem in India and raising value addition in smartphones and consumer electronics from the current 15–20% to 30–40%. India has been also accelerating visa clearances of Chinese technicians involved in PLI scheme and electronic manufacturing projects. The United States on Monday said it is closely monitoring rising tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and called upon the two neighbours to pursue a “responsible resolution” to the crisis. “The United States encourages all parties to work together towards a responsible resolution,” a State Depart- express read 16 Pakistan YouTube channels banned in India New Delhi: In the backdrop of the Pahalgam terror attack, the government on Monday announced the banning of 16 YouTube channels in Pakistan, including that of several leading media houses of that country, such as Dawn, ARY News, Geo News, Razi Naama, GNN and Irshad Bhatti, officials said. 68 killed in US’ airstrike on Yemen, say Houthis Dubai: Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Monday alleged a US airstrike hit a prison holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others. Houthis’ al-Masirah news channel showed what appeared to be dead bodies and others wounded at the site. India, France ink `63,000 cr deal for Rafale-M M aya n k S i n g h @ New Delhi India and France on Monday formally concluded the `63,000crore ($7.4 billion) deal for 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets, in a move aimed at significantly enhancing the Indian Navy’s maritime combat capabilities. According to the contract, French military aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation will deliver 22 single-seater jets and four twin-seater trainers. “The agreement includes training, simulator, associated equipment, weapons and performance-based logistics. It also includes additional equipment for the existing Rafale Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh with other officials during the signing of an Inter-Governmental Agreement for the procurement of 26 Rafale aircraft | PIB via PTI fleet of the Indian Air Force,” the statement added. Sources said the delivery of the first Rafale-M aircraft is expected to be delivered by May 2028 and the 26th aircraft by 2030, with the crew undergoing training in France and India. “There would be aircraft-specific inspections to check and validate Indian Navy specific enhancements,” they added. Rafale-M jets will operate from Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya. The agreement includes transfer of technology for integration of indigenous weapons in India. It also includes setting up of a production facility for Rafale fuselage as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities for aircraft engines, sensors and weapons in India. The Indian Air Force already operates 36 Rafale combat jets. The new contract is for 26 naval variant of the Rafale combat jets. This newspaper had reported on April 9 that Cabinet Committee on Security had cleared the Rafale-M deal. been in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan at multiple levels,” a US State Department spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. The statement said that the US administration is in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan at “multiple levels”. The United States encourages all parties to work together towards a responsible resolution — US State Department spokesperson FSSAI lab to check laddu quality For the first time, TTD is collaborating with FSSAI to setup an exclusive laboratory for testing the quality of laddu ingredients, including ghee, sugar, cashews, almonds, dry grapes, Bengal gram dal flour, sugar candy, cardamom, & raw camphor The lab aims to eliminate substandard supplies and maintain the laddu’s purity and shelf life This state-of-the-art facility will standardize procurement processes, ensuring only the finest ingredients are used TTD is introducing advanced Germanmanufactured machinery to the temple’s potu (kitchen). These machines will inspect ingredients, detect foreign contaminants, and reject any substandard materials TTD produces 3.5 lakh laddus daily, with a buffer stock of 25,000. The output peaks to 3.75 lakh per day during festivals etc TTD aims to bring ‘divine taste’ back to Tirupati laddu b m u r a l i @ Tirumala The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is undertaking unprecedented measures to elevate the quality of its iconic Tirupati Laddu, a sacred prasadam cherished by millions of devotees worldwide. Revered as a divine offering that symbolizes a sweet connection to Lord Venkateswara, the laddu has long been a highlight of the Tirumala pilgrimage, particularly adored by children and infants. However, recent criticisms regarding ingredient quality and concerns about the Anna P r a s a d a m c a n t e e n h ave prompted TTD to launch a transformative initiative to restore the laddu’s sanctity and excellence. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, during his recent visits to Tirumala and a comprehensive review at the state headquarters, emphasized the need to restore TTD’s glory by prioritizing the enhancement P4 of the laddu’s quality  .