Coimbatore l Monday l July 07, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION in snub to Trump, Elon Musk forms new political party Tech billionaire Musk has formed a new political party “to give Americans their freedom back”, after a fallout with Trump Registering ‘america party’ the next step musk’s party likely to be fiscally prudent “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Musk said in a post on X. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said. To legally form the party would require Musk to register it with the US Federal Election Commission ■ ■ Musk first raised the prospect of forming a party during his public feud with Trump, which saw him leave his role in the administration’s DOGE and engage in a vicious public spat with his former ally The world’s richest man has indicated he wants a party that is fiscally conservative and reins in spending, without more details 2024 Musk was the largest donor to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign 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 After Bihar, poll panel now plans revision of rolls in Bengal, Delhi EC says Bihar draft list would contain names of voters whose enumeration forms were received MUK E SH RAN J AN & A s h i s h S r i v a s ta v a & RAMASHANKAR @ New Delhi/Patna NOTWITHSTANDING the raging controversy around the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar electoral rolls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is now preparing to launch and initiate a similar exercise in West Bengal and New Delhi sometime in August this year, sources in the poll panel told this newspaper on Sunday . The last time the ECI verified electoral rolls in West Bengal and New Delhi was in 2002 and 2008, respectively. “As the assembly elections will be due in West Bengal after Bihar, we are preparing for the exercise in advance,” a source said. For New Delhi, the Chief Electoral Officer has notified the cut-off date for the revision mahua, RJD move supreme court Trinamool Congress leader and Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court challenging an order of the Election Commission of India for special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. “ECI has introduced it to deprive bonafide young electorate of Bihar. Later, they will target Bengal,” Moitra told a news agency. In her plea, Moitra sought a direction to restrain ECI from issuing similar orders in other states of the country. The RJD and an NGO have also moved the top court as March 16, 2008. This means that all voter names added to the rolls after this date will now be subject to verification. Individuals falling in this category will be required to furnish documentary proof of citizenship to retain their names on the electoral list. The ECI said the revision exercise in Bihar has been going on smoothly and the initial phase of it has been completed. In an official statement, the ECI said, “It is reiterated that SIR is being conducted in Bihar as per instructions issued on June 24 and there is no change in the instructions. The draft electoral rolls that will be issued on August 1, 2025 will contain the names of persons whose enumeration forms are received.” It said electors can submit any one of the 11 specified documents anytime before July 25, 2024. “After publication of Draft Electoral Rolls, if any document is deficient, EROs can obtain such documents, from the electors whose name appears in the draft Electoral Roll, during scrutiny in the claims and objection period,” it noted. “The new directive has provided a great relief to people, as they have been given a relaxation of nearly 45 days to submit required documents,” said a senior official posted at the Bihar CEO office in Patna. Highlighting the need for the SIR in the country Chief Elec, tion Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar told this newspaper that during the past four months, “all 4,123 EROs, all 775 DEOs and all 6 CEOs have held nearly 5,000 meetings with 28,000 political party representatives”. “ECI has invited all recognised political parties for interaction. No one was satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for one reason or the other.” The deadline for submission of forms is July 26. under scrutiny As authorities launch one of the largest search-andrescue efforts in recent Texas history, they have come under scrutiny over preparations and why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted or told to evacuate | P9 E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e BRICS leaders on Sunday condemned the Pahalgam terror attack “in the strongest terms” and flagged the dangers of cross-border terrorism. “We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025, during which 26 people were killed,” the BRICS leaders declaration said. In his hard-hitting address at the BRICS Summit at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called out countries that support terrorism, saying they “must pay the price.” He urged BRICS to take a clear stand for overcoming terrorism, saying there is no room for double standards. “We reaffirm our commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing, and safe havens. We urge to ensure zero tolerance for terrorism and re- E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram/ New Delhi Indian players celebrate the wicket of Jamie Smith along with Akash Deep in Edgbaston on Sunday | AFP MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM AT EDGBASTON E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai @ Coimbatore Three unidentified persons allegedly assaulted a head constable attached to the Coimbatore Q branch with a sickle and robbed his wife of gold ornaments, after waylaying their car on the outskirts of Coimbatore city on Saturday night. The incident occurred around 11.50 pm at a secluded road near the L&T Bypass in Sulur, when the couple was driving home after having dinner at a restaurant. According to police sources, V Parthiban (45), a driver with the Coimbato r e Q Branch, and his wife P Revathi, residing in Chinniyampalayam, had gone to V Parthiban a restaurant near the L&T Bypass on Saturday night. After dinner, Parthiban took a shortcut through a dirt road, 3 km from the L&T Bypass road, in a bid to reach home quickly . While the couple was on their way three unidentified individ, uals waylaid their car, brandishing sickles and knives. As a shocked Parthiban got out of the vehicle, the trio attacked him with a sickle and snatched six sovereigns of gold ornaments, including a thali chain and rings, from Revathi, before fleeing the place, sources said. “Revathi immediately alerted the Sulur police about the incident, and cops rushed to the spot,” sources said.  P5 J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva upon his arrival in Brazil | pti ject double standards in countering terrorism,” the BRICS leaders’ declaration said. The declaration called for the swift adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism under the United Nations framework and demanded concerted global action against all UN-designated terrorists and entities. Making a sharp geopolitical statement, the BRICS leaders condemned the recent Israeli airstrikes on Iran and expressed alarm over escalating violence. “We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025, which constitute a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and express grave concern over the subsequent escalation of the security situation in the Middle East,” the declaration read. In his address to the 17th BRICS Summit’s session on Reform of Global Governance,” Modi made a clarion call for an inclusive world order led by meaningful institutional reform. “The Global South has often faced double standards. Whether it’s about development, distribution of resources, or security-related matters, the interests of the Global South have not been given due importance,” Modi said. British team arrives to fix stranded F-35B fighter jet texas officials’ response Kovai head constable, wife robbed at knifepoint BRICS slams Pahalgam attack, demands urgent UNSC reforms Five days ago when India captain Shubman Gill was probed by Michael Atherton during the toss on the Playing XI (then) that looked defensive on paper, an Indian win seemed to be still in the realm of a beautiful dream. In the real world, however, even before a ball was bowled in the second Test, the balance was tilted in favour of hosts England. They successfully chased a record total in the first. India had decided to rest ever-dependable Jasprit Bumrah despite a nine-day gap between the two games. The captain Gill is just one Test old. On top of that India decided to go ahead with all-rounders rather than bolster their bowling. Things looked even more grim when India were 211/5 and were staring at another likely collapse after tea on Day One. Well, that was the last moment India seemed lost. But the one-Test old captain batted, batted and batted, and in the company of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, broke one record after another on his way to a marathon 269. India stopped at 587. The total seemed to have done the trick. If the first innings seemed an ab e r r at i o n , t h e s e c o n d seemed like highlights with fours and sixes peppered around the ground. Morally, England were crushed on the fourth day . Inspired by the captain’s innings, Akash Deep and Mo- hammed Siraj did what India bowlers struggled in the first Test – take 20 wickets in the two innings. ‘No Bumrah, no problem’. The duo shared all ten wickets between them as India gained a 180-run lead and Gill decided to make sure the target was beyond the hosts with another strokeful hundred (161). It was only a matter of time before India levelled the series with ease, thanks to Akash Deep’s 6/99 in the second innings. For the record, this is the biggest margin (336 runs) of win for India away from home and this is their first win at Edgbaston. In sports, dreams do turn into reality. Over to L o r d ’s w i t h h o p e a n d hoopla. THE f-35B fighter aircraft of the British Royal Navy strand, ed in the Thiruvananthapuram international airport for the past three weeks, was on Sunday moved out from the tarmac. The aircraft was towed by a team of British engineers, who arrived from the UK on Sunday, using special equipment necessary for the movement and repair process. The 14-member team arrived aboard a Royal Air Force Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft, carrying specialist equipment. The jet, stranded since June 14 due to a hydraulic system failure, was moved to a designated hangar space provided by Air India. The development came after the UK accepted the offer of a space in the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport. British Royal Navy fighter jet F-35B being towed to hangar at Thiruvananthapuram airport. Inset: UK’s Atlas ZM417 that brought aviation engineers and equipment | pti Passengers cheer as S Rly advances chart preparation E x p r e s s Ne w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai Southern Railway on Saturday began preparing reservation charts eight hours ahead of a train’s scheduled departure. As a result, rail passengers with waitlisted tickets on intercity trains such as the Kovai Express, Vaigai, Pallavan, Brindavan, Madurai Tejas, Lalbagh Express, as well as Vande Bharat and Shatabdi Express, departing between 5.40 am and 7.30 am from their respective originating stations, will now receive their ticket status by 9 pm to 9.30 pm on the previous Passengers waiting to board train at Chennai Egmore railway station | file picture day So far, passengers received . this information only four hours before departure, often between 1 am and 4 am. The zonal railway imple- mented this revised charting policy following a directive from the Railway Board. The move is intended to give passengers more time to plan their “The UK remains very grateful for the continued support and collaboration of the Indian authorities and airport teams,” British High Commission stated. This newspaper had earlier reported that F-35B Lightning II fighter would be repaired at its present location, for which a team would be flown in from the UK. The F-35B fighter jet made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram on the night of June 14, 2025 as it faced adverse weather conditions and low fuel. The aircraft was unable to return to HMS Prince of Wales as it was caught in adverse weather conditions. A Royal Navy helicopter had flown in an additional pilot and engineer the next day but early , repair efforts were unsuccessful. Towing the aircraft was deemed too risky, prompting the UK to send a full engineering crew. travel and to ease overcrowding in unreserved coaches, which often results in unreserved passengers occupying reserved compartments. Rail enthusiasts said the passengers with waitlisted tickets on overnight trains such as Pandiyan, Cheran, and Nilgiri Express, scheduled to depart between 9.15 pm and 10 pm, will now know their ticket confirmation status by 1 pm. This gives them enough time to explore alternative train services heading to Madurai or Coimbatore, if their overnight tickets remain unconfirmed.  P5 The car damaged in the collision | Express Three of family die as car rams scooter in Nagai E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Nagapattinam Three members of a family, including a seven-year-old child, were killed after the scooter they were travelling on was hit by a speeding car near Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam on Sunday evening. The deceased were identified as A Arulprakash (28), his wife Periyanayagi (25), and daughter Nitchaya, all hailing from Maruthapattinam in Tiruvarur. Their pet dog was also killed in the accident, sources said. Sources added that Arulprakash, along with his family was , travelling to Tiruthuraipoondi on Sunday evening when a speeding car coming from the opposite direction hit their vehicle near the public health centre located at Neermulai village on East Coast Road (ECR). All three were grievously injured and rushed to Tiruthuraipoondi Government Hospital, where Periyanayagi and Nitchaya were declared dead. Arulprakash, who was referred to Tiruvarur Government Medical College Hospital, was also declared dead. The Thalaignayar police have registered a case and are on the lookout for the car driver who fled after the accident. express read 1 dead, 5 hurt in cracker blast in Virudhunagar Virudhunagar: One worker died and five others were injured in an explosion at a firecracker unit in Vetrilaiyurani near Sattur on Sunday. The blast occurred inside the pellet manufacturing shed of Hindustan Fireworks, around 8.40 am, when the workers were allegedly handling chemicals | P5 RTO, wife end life over ‘fight with daughter’ Namakkal: A regional transport officer and his wife allegedly died by suicide in Namakkal on Sunday. RTO K Subramaniyan (57) and his wife S Parimala (55) were found dead near the railway track in Vagurampatti. Police said their death could be due to a quarrel with their daughter | P4 Sandeshkhali violence: CBI takes over probe New Delhi: The CBI has taken over the probe into the killing of three BJP workers—Pradeep Mondal, Devdas Mondal, and Sukanta Mondal— during the 2019 post-poll violence in Sandeskhali, West Bengal and registered an FIR against prime accused and former TMC leader Sahajahan Sheikh, officials said on Sunday | P8