harmanpreet & Co seek their first World Cup trophy The BCCI announced the squad for the Women’s ODI World Cup to be played in India. One of the key debates in the lead up to the selection was whether opener Shafali Verma will get a place. However, her lean run in the T20I series vs England and with India A in Australia meant Verma did not make the cut. Seamer Renuka Singh Thakur returns | P11 TIRUNELVELI l wednesday l august 20, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city 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 INDIA bloc picks ex-judge Reddy The Opposition believes that Reddy’s candidature is a ‘masSETTING the stage for a keen terstroke’ as it will blunt the contest for the upcoming Vice NDA‘s move to upset the ruling Presidential election, the Oppo- DMK government in Tamil sition INDIA bloc on Tuesday Nadu. The DMK was in a tight named former Supreme Court spot after the NDA picked Radjudge B Sudershan Reddy as its hakrishnan, a seasoned BJP joint candidate to face NDA leader from Tamil Nadu with nominee Maharashtra Gover- an RSS background, as its VP nor C P Radhakrishnan candidate. on September 9. An Opposition leader Calling the election said Reddy’s nominafor the country’s secondtion will unsettle the highest office as an ‘ideChandrababu Naidu-led ological battle’, ConTelugu Desam Party, a gress President key ally of the BJP at Mallikarjun Kharge , the Centre. “Though the while announcing Red- Sudershan Reddy TDP has already exdy’s candidature, tended support for the termed him as one of India’s NDA candidate, the party will most “distinguished and pro- be under pressure as Sudergressive jurists”. Before his ap- shan Reddy commands goodpointment to the Supreme will in the state,” said a leader Court, Reddy had served as adding that the former Judge Chief Justice of the Guwahati also has also worked closely High Court and as a judge of with the previous TDP the Andhra Pradesh High government. Court. He retired as a judge of Reddy’s candidature has also the Supreme Court in 2011. put fence sitters such as K p r e e t h a n a i r @ New Delhi India, China signal cautious reset amid trade, border talks J AYANTH J A C O B @ New Delhi Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge with other INDIA bloc leaders in New Delhi on Tuesday | EXPRESS Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party in dilemma, said a senior leader. “It will be difficult for the BRS and Jagan Mohan Reddy to go against our candidate now,” he said, adding that INDIA parties will reach out to these neutral players. The YSRCP, however, has already declared its support for the NDA nominee. He is a propoor man, in many of his judgments... he favoured the poor and protected the Constitution —Mallikarjun Kharge express re a d Bill on Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation in LS today ‘BEST’ case scenario: Commuters are stranded as a couple of BEST buses break down near Kurla in Mumbai on Tuesday due to the downpour | PTI Beijing to resume key industrial, agri supplies to India Mukesh Ranjan @ New Delhi: The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, which will have a new provision for removal of the Chief Minister or a minister who is arrested and detained in custody on account of serious criminal charges. The amendment bill will only be introduced and scheduled to be sent to a joint committee of the Parliament for scrutiny. The amendment in the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 was required as there was no provision of a legal framework for removal of the Chief Minister or a Minister in such cases, sources said. IN a sign of thaw in India-China ties, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday assured External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that Beijing will resume critical exports to India, including fertilisers, rare earth minerals, and tunnel boring machines, addressing three long-pending Indian demands. The move, seen as a confidencebuilding gesture, came just ahead of the 24th round of India-China border talks in New Delhi and was followed by Wang’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jaishankar is learnt to have underlined the expectation of stable, uninterrupted supply chains for essential inputs during the discussions, which he had raised with the Chinese side earlier as well. Sources said Wang responded positively, committing to facilitate these vital goods. After the visiting Chinese foreign minister called on him, Modi said the relations between the two countries have improved. Modi “welcomed the steady and positive progress in bilateral ties since his meeting with President Xi in Kazan last year, guided by mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity, including the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra,” an Indian readout said, adding that Modi “reiterated India’s commitment to a fair, reasonable and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi with Prime Minister Narendra Modi | X mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question.” Accepting the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s invitation to attend the upcoming SCO Summit in Tianjin, Modi said he looked forward to meeting Xi again. “Stable, predictable, and constructive bilateral ties will contribute significantly to regional and global peace and prosperity he said. ,” National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Wang held the 24th round of border talks under the framework of the Special Representatives mechanism. Amid the renewed diplomatic exchanges, sources clarified there was no change in India’s position on Taiwan. “India has always maintained a relationship with Taiwan focused on economic, technological, and cultural ties — that has not changed,” a source said. India has been supporting the one-China policy thought its reflection in joint statements remained by and large absent since 2008. Virudhunagar 134 dead in cracker unit blasts since ’22 S V K RI S HNA C HAITAN YA @ Chennai Since 2022, 134 people have lost their lives and 89 others have been injured in accidents at firecracker manufacturing factories in Virudhunagar district, according to official data submitted before the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday. The fresh figures lay bare the extent of safety failures in the industry . In his report, Virudhunagar Collector N O Sukhaputra said that, at present, the district is home to 320 manufacturing units licensed by the district ma gistrate (DM) and nearly 800 units licensed by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), a department controlled by the union government. Official data shows that the majority of accidents are reported from the PESO-licensed units. The district, which is India’s fireworks hub, recorded 89 accidents between 2022 and mid2025. Of this, PESO licensedunits accounted for 78 accidents, 123 deaths and 87 injuries. In contrast, district magistrate-licensed units saw just 11 accidents, 11 deaths and two injuries. Year-wise data indicates worsening trends. In 2022, 18 people died — 12 in PESO-licensed units and six in DM-licensed units.  P5