kollam l wednesday l june 25, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION five hundreds to india, 1st test match to England Despite Indian batters scoring five hundreds in the two innings, they lost the first Test against England by five wickets at Leeds Ben Duckett (left) and Joe Root help England beat India on Tuesday | AP Duckett, Root guide England home India prefer batting depth to bowling As he ever so often does, Ben Duckett came to the fore for England with a sensational second innings hundred. He smashed a stellar 149 and, along with Zak Crawley set up the chase before Joe Root took over. Even as wickets kept falling at other end, Root held fort (53 n.o from 84 balls) to take England over 371-run target with five wickets in hand ■ ■ In what was one of the driest springs in England, India’s team management decided to go with Shardul Thakur as their fifth bowler instead of adding one more spinner — Kuldeep Yadav It backfired and India did not use Thakur enough in both the innings. The second Test will be begin on June 2 | More on P11 Seven india have now lost seven of their last nine test matches 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 From July, rail fares may go up r a j e s h k u m a r t h a k u r @ New Delhi THE Railway Ministry is considering increasing fares of non-AC class in Mail/Express trains by 1 paisa and AC classes by 2 paise per kilometre from July 1, 2025, officials said on Tuesday . There is no fare hike being planned for suburban trains and monthly season tickets in the interest of daily commuters. “There is a strong chance of no fare hike for ordinary second class tickets for journeys up to 500 km... after crossing 500 km, the railways may charge half-paisa per km,” a well-placed source said. He added that the slight increase of 1 paisa per kilometre being considered for non-AC classes, and 2 paisa per kilometre for all AC classes is being done keeping in mind passen- tribute to guru Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering floral tributes at the picture of Sree Narayana Guru during the centenary celebrations of the historic meeting between Guru and Mahatma Gandhi, at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday. Sivagiri Mutt president Swami Satchidananda is also seen | PIB | P5 Govt says not enacting black magic law, HC asks if it endorses practice ‘No sindoor immunity’: SC in dowry case Express News Service @ New Delhi Noting that serving in ‘Operation Sindoor’ does not give him immunity, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed a Black Cat Commando to surrender in a case relating to dowry death linked to the killing of wife over 20 years ago. He was convicted in the case under Section 304B of the IPC (dowry death) and had approached the court with an exemption plea that he had served in Operation Sindoor and worked as a commando for the last 20 years. A division bench was hearing a petition filed against a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that had dismissed the convict’s appeal and upheld the sentence of rigorous imprisonment of 10 years. When the petitioner said, “I am a participant of Operation Sindoor. For the past 20 years I am a commando posted in Rashtriya Rifles,” the bench retorted, “That doesn’t give you immunity from committing atrocity at home. This goes to show how physically fit you are, and the manner in which alone you could have killed your wife, strangulated your wife.” mahaECI polls kosher: ECI writes to Rahul Gandhi rejecting all allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls | P7 Trump bristles at violation of peace pact Shaky start to Trump ceasefire as Iran, Israel hold off for now Agencies The dramatic ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday had a rocky start as both Iran and Israel traded attacks and blamed each other for flouting the truce pact. Trump later claimed the truce pact was operational. T r ump’s unilateral announcement came a day after Iran fired a handful of interceptable missiles at a US military base in Qatar, without harming anyone or damaging anything, in retaliation for the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday . Shortly after Trump announced the peace deal through his social media platfor m Truth Social, Israel’s air defence systems were activated to intercept missiles from Iran. The Israel Defense Forces said two missiles were shot at the country’s north around 10.30 am, three hours after the ceasefire ought to have begun. Israel retaliated by striking an Iranian radar installation near Tehran but backed out from further attacks after Trump expressed displeasure at the ceasefire violation. An angry Trump used an expletive on live television when reporters asked him about the fresh flare-ups. Speaking to the media at the White House before leaving for The Hague to attend a NATO summit, he said the two countries have been “fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f**k they’re doing”. Castigating both Iran and Israel for violating the ceasefire, Trump said he is even more unhappy with Israel for its reckless behaviour. Later, he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Following this, I’ve got to get Israel to calm down... as soon as we made the deal, Israel dropped a load of bombs the likes of which I’ve never seen before Israel “refrained” from further strikes after a call between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu If the Zionist regime (Israel) does not violate the ceasefire, then Iran will not violate the peace agreement either US President Donald Trump Netanyahu’s office Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian Israeli soldiers from the Home Front Command unit work at the site struck by an Iranian missile, in Beersheba on Tuesday | ap Trump stated: “ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt.” Rejecting Israel’s accusations, Iran said it did not launch any attack after the ceasefire was announced, adding that it will stand down as long as Tel Aviv respects the peace pact. Iranian officials said their immediately priority is rebuilding the residential areas and public infrastructure damaged in the air strikes. “We witnessed attacks on residential areas, as well as on scientific centres, research institutes, healthcare facilities and civilians... We are facing a major task ahead in terms of reconstruction,” government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told state TV . As for Israel, Netanyahu said all of his country’s war goals have been achieved. These include removing the threat of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, taking out Iran’s military leadership, and having control over Tehran’s skies. He categorically added that Israel will “respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire”. Meanwhile, there are concerns that the ceasefire may not hold for long due to trust deficit between Tehran and Tel Aviv. It took hours for Israel and Iran to even acknowledge they had accepted the ceasefire which Trump claimed to have brokered. Also, Israel has only promised to scale down their air strikes against Iran, not wind up the operation. Trump said he is not interested in toppling the regime in Iran. “Regime change takes chaos and ideally we don’t want to see chaos,” he told reporters on board Air Force One heading to the NATO summit. Curious trend M S V i d ya n a n d a n @ T’Puram Parenthood is generally viewed as a deeply fulfilling experience, but it is not on the priority list of a good number of people in Kerala! In a curious trend that may not go down well with the older generation, newly married couples in the state are increasingly postponing parenthood, presumably influenced by factors such as career aspirations and financial stability . Over a five-year period between 2019 and 2023, couples who had their first child within four years of marriage came FIRSTBORNS (%) Years of marriage 0-4 90.29 86.19 5-9 7.59 Couples who had their first child within the first four years of marriage dropped from 90.29% in 2019 to 86.19% in 2023 10.57 10-14 1.41 2.17 15-19 0.36 0.56 20-24 0.10 0.18 down from 90.29% to 86.19%, showed data with the economics and statistics department. Of the total 3.93 lakh children born in 2023, 1.70 lakh were firstbor ns, of whom 86.19% were born within four According to experts, the shift towards higher education and career aspirations is leading to delayed marriages and parenthood years of marriage. The year 2019 saw 4.80 lakh child births in the state, including 2.17 lakh firstborns. Of the first children, 90.29% were born in the first four years of marriage. Couples who had their first No alternative to talks, India ready to play its part: Govt J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi India on Tuesday welcomed the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, expressing deep concern over recent hostilities and reiterating its readiness to “play its part” in promoting dialogue and long-term stability in the region. Acknowledging the role of the US and Qatar in securing the truce, the External Affairs Ministry emphasised that diplomacy remains the only viable solution to the multiple conflicts that confront West Asia. “We have been following developments overnight relating to the conflict between Iran and Israel, including the US action against Iran’s nuclear facilities and Iranian retaliation against US military bases in Qatar,” a statement issued by the MEA said. “While we remain deeply concerned about the prospects for overall and sustained regional security and stability we , welcome reports of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel and the role played by the US and Qatar in bringing it about,” it added. India also stressed the importance of diplomatic engagement over military escalation. “We wish to reiterate that there is no alternative to dialogue and diplomacy in order to address and resolve the multiple conflicts in the region.” Meanwhile, 594 Indian nationals have been safely evacuated from Israel so far under Operation Sindhu, amid escalating tensions in the region. Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft played a key role in the evacuation ef forts, transporting stranded citizens via Jordan and Egypt. These Indian nationals had crossed over from Israel into these neighboring countries by land before being airlifted. Two flights from Iran too landed in Delhi today . E X P RESS RE A D Priorities change, Kerala couples delay parenthood 2023 The state government told the Kerala High Court on Tuesday that it has decided not to enact a legislation banning evil practices, including sorcery and black magic, prompting the court to ask whether it endorsed such practices. In an affidavit filed before the HC, the government said the state cabinet had considered the Kerala Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices, Sorcery and Black Magic Bill in 2023, but a decision was made not to enact it. It was a policy decision and might not be interfered with by the court, the affidavit said, adding that a writ of mandamus will not lie against the legislature directing it to legislate on a particular subject. Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking enactment of a law against evil practices on Tuesday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji observed orally “Is the state endorsing , these evil practices? There may not be enactment, but that does not mean the government should do nothing. Assuming there is no legislation, how does the state proceed against such practices?” The court said the government did not mention in the affidavit that it endorsed such practices and does not wish to eradicate them. “We expect a more detailed affidavit,” the bench said, urging the state to clarify its position and efforts in curbing such harmful practices despite the absence of specific legislation. The Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham, Thrissur, had sought a directive to the state government to take a decision on the recommendation of the Law Reforms Commission report, 2019, submitted by Justice K T Thomas on the Bill’s enactment. The plea filed in the wake of the murder of two women as part of human sacrifice in Pathanamthitta’s Elanthoor village in 2022, alleged that the government was reluctant to take steps to enact such laws despite the reporting of several such incidents. Explosions in Tehran as Israel hits radar station 2019 E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @Kochi ger interests. This hike, if implemented, would be the first since the pandemic and could generate additional annual revenue of around `10,000 to `12,000 crore. According to sources, the hike is being planned to ensure it does not cause a burden to passengers. “The revision for the slightest addition in the fare is likely to come as part of the Railways’ ongoing efforts to manage operational costs without burdening passengers, especially regular commuters and those travelling short distance,” said the senior official, suggesting an formal notification may be issued soon. On average, 2.5 crore passengers travel daily on more than 13,000 trains, including 4,111 Mail and Express trains, covering 69,000 kilometres, managed under 17 zones and 69 divisions. child in 5-9 years of marriage rose from 7.59% in 2019 to 10.57% in 2023. First-time parents in the 10-14 year category too increased from 1.41% to 2.17%. “Women are increasingly prioritising education and career over early motherhood. This shift towards higher education and career aspirations is leading to delayed marriages and parenthood. Also, urbanisation has brought about increased exposure to modern ideas, career opportunities and financial independence, causing couples to delay parenthood,” said Sandhya R S, pro- fessor and Head of the Sociology Department of Kerala University (KU). More and more men are giving importance to their partner’s career goals and bodily autonomy, opined Bushra Beegom R K, assistant professor at Kerala university and president of the Kerala Sociological Society . “A range of factors, from globalisation to social media, has widened the horizon for youths. Many women are focused and have a plan for the future. Childbearing would not be on top of their bucket list,” she ● More on P4 said.  PFI’s hit lists with over 950 names recovered Kochi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is probing the anti-national activities of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) has recovered multiple hit lists containing names of over 950 persons in Kerala from the accused persons. P4 State bids emotional adieu to Ranjitha Pathanamthitta: In an emotional farewell, the last rites of Ranjitha Gopakumaran Nair, a 39-year-old nurse who lost her life in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, were performed in her hometown, Pullad, in Pathanamthitta on Tuesday. P5