hubballi l friday l august 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION French President Macron dials Prime Minister narendra Modi The two leaders on Thursday discussed efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine and Gaza conflict, apart from bilateral relations review of indo-france bilateral ties call for peaceful resolution of conflict The two leaders reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation, including in trade, defence, civil nuclear cooperation, technology and energy. “They reaffirmed joint commitment to strengthen India-France Strategic partnership and mark 2026 as ‘Year of Innovation’ in a befitting manner,” the PMO said. The call was initiated by the French side ■ ■ Macron was among a host of European leaders who accompanied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his talks with US President Donald Trump this week in Washington DC Modi reiterated India’s consistent support for peaceful resolution of the conflicts and early restoration of peace and stability, PMO said 2026 is when india gets presidency of brics and france of g7 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 China firmly with India on trump’s unfair trade squeeze Ambassador Xu Feihong says silence only emboldens the US bully Xu’s unusually direct comments come at a time of heightIn a striking show of solidarity ened global trade tensions and , Chinese Ambassador to India just weeks ahead of PM NarenXu Feihong on Thursday con- dra Modi’s visit to China for the demned the US’ recent tariff Shanghai Cooperation Organihike on Indian goods, calling it sation Summit. “bullying” and pledging that The Chinese envoy framed China “will firmly stand with the US-India tariff row as an opIndia” against what he described portunity for Beijing and New as unfair trade practices. Speak- Delhi to close ranks, urging ing in New Delhi, Xu said both Asian powers to Beijing “fully opposes” move beyond competithe US move, noting that tion and build “strategic tariffs on Indian goods mutual trust”. “India could soar to 50% if and China are not riWashington follows vals, we are partners. through on its 25% penWe must manage our alty for importing Rusdifferences through diasian oil and further escalogue and strengthen lation could still be on Xu Feihong, cooperation,” Xu said. Chinese envoy the table. Pointing to the global “… the US has long implications of their rebenefited greatly from free trade lationship, Xu added: “India but now uses tariffs as bargain and China are the double enchips to demand exorbitant gines of economic growth in prices from various countries. Asia. Our unity benefits not The US imposed tariffs of up to only Asia, but the world.” 50% on India, and has even He also emphasised the need threatened for more. China for both countries to play a leadfirmly opposes it. In the face of ing role in shaping a more equisuch acts, silence only embold- table global order. “India and ens the bully China will firmly China have a responsibility to . stand with India to uphold the promote a multipolar world. multilateral trading system Unity and cooperation are the with the world trade,” he said. only way forward,” he said. J ayanth J a c o b @ New Delhi Snehamayi accuses Sujatha, others of false murder claim E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Mangaluru Activist Snehamayi Krishna from Mysuru on Thursday lodged a complaint at Dharmasthala police station against Sujatha Bhat, activists Girish Mattannavar, Mahesh Shetty Timarodi and YouTuber MD Sameer, accusing them of making false claims that MBBS student Ananya Bhat was murdered in Dharmasthala, and filing a false complaint. In his complaint, Krishna alleged that Sujatha Bhat did not have a daughter named Ananya Bhat. Sujatha, Timarodi, Mattannavar, MD Sameer and others made false claims that Sujatha had a daughter Ananya who was pursuing MBBS, and she was allegedly murdered when she visited Dharmasthala temple with her friends.  CONTINUED ON P4 No rationale behind penalty levy, says Jaishankar J ayanth J a c o b @ New Delhi In a pointed diplomatic signal amid escalating US pressure, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday reinforcing India’s strategic ties with , Moscow even as Washington doubles down on tariffs and warnings over New Delhi’s energy trade with Russia. The meeting, part of a broader effort to finalise President Putin’s visit to India year-end came hours after Jaishankar held wide-ranging discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The talks focused heavily on boosting bilateral trade and shielding their energy partnership from potential US penalty At a joint press briefing with . Lavrov, Jaishankar publicly questioned the rationale behind recent US tariffs and criticism targeting India’s oil purchases from Russia. “We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil; that is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG; that is the S Jaishankar, European Union. We are not the country which has foreign minister the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; I think there are some countries to the South,” he said. The US recently imposed a punitive 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, along with an additional 25% duty specifically targeting India’s Russian oil purchases. “We have done everything asked of us in the past to stabilise the global energy market, including buying oil from Russia,” Jaishankar noted, pointing out that India also imports significant volumes of oil from the US. “We believe that relations between India and Russia have been among the steadiest of the major relationships in the world after the Second World War,” Jaishankar said. NDA allies JDU, TDP cagey on bills to remove arrested ministers PR E E T H A N A IR @ New Delhi The National Democratic Alliance’s key allies Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) appears to be treading cautiously on the three bills that seek to remove prime minister, chief ministers, and ministers under arrest for 30 consecutive days on serious charges. The bills have been sent to a Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) comprising 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha for further scrutiny When asked about the . party’s stand on the contentious bills, JDU MP Sanjay Kumar Jha declined to state its position. “The party is yet to discuss the issue. I cannot give an official statement now,” he said. Another JDU leader said the party will discuss the issue as it has been referred to the JPC. While the Opposition parties allege that the bill is to keep allies Nitish Kumar and N Chan- drababu Naidu in check, the TDP dismissed such claims. When asked about the bill, TDP leader and Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the bill will be studied at the JPC and the concerns will be addressed, if there are any . During introduction of the bills in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Congress member KC Venugopal said the intent is to target allies. “When Vote Chori is on everyone’s minds, When RahulGandhi ji’s Yatra is getting unparalleled support, When Opposition Governments need to be targeted, When allies like Chandrababu Naidu garu and Nitish Kumar ji need to be threatened… The Home Minister brings this dangerous Bill that strikes at the heart of the Constitutional principles of federalism,” he posted on social media. Echoing the view, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said that the government is proposing the bill to oust NDA allies. RS approves motion to send bills to JPC The Rajya Sabha on Thursday adopted a motion to concur with the Lok Sabha’s decision to send the three bills providing a legal framework for the removal of arrested ministers to a Joint Parliamentary Committee | P9 beneath the blue Samudrayaan aquanaut eyes world record in solo deep sea diving B a l a Cha u han @ B e n g a l u r u ‘Samudrayaan’ mission test pilot and former Naval officer Jatinder Pal Singh (38) has his eyes set on creating a world record in solo deep diving in the Mariana Trench -- the deepest oceanic trench on the Earth, located in the Pacific Ocean. Singh is the first Indian to have dived deepest into the ocean (North Atlantic) at 5003 metres -- maximum so far by an Indian -- on August 6 as the test pilot of ‘Samudrayaan’. A project of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), ‘Samudrayaan’ will be the first manned deep sea venture, scheduled for 2027 in ‘Matsya 6000’, an indigenous submersible developed by the NIOT. The hull or human sphere of ‘Matsya’ is being developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The manned ocean expedition is being implemented as part of the Rs 4800-crore ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ (DOM) by the Na- ‘Samudrayaan’ mission test pilot Jatinder Pal Singh tional Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai. NIOT is an autonomous society under the MoES. Singh (38), from Tanda village in Akhnoor in Jammu & Kashmir, hails from a defence background. He joined the NIOT in January 2024 as a test pilot of ‘Matsya 6000’. He, along with four other ocean scientists from the Chennai institute, were sent to France this month to participate in deep-ocean human scientific expedi- tions onboard the submersible NAUTILE developed by the French marine institute IFREMER. Singh and Ramesh Raju, deputy project director, ‘Matsya 6000’, NIOT, took the deep dive in the Atlantic in preparation for ‘Samudrayaan’ on August 5 and 6. Raju went up to 4025 metres and Singh dived up to 5003 metres the next day Both, in the company of a . NAUTILE pilot and co-pilot. Narrating the around 12-hour-long deep sea exploration in the Atlantic Ocean, where the two Indian aquanauts hoisted the Tricolour in the depths of the ocean, Singh said it was an unforgettable and thrilling experience. “I now wish to create a world record in solo deep diving as a tribute to my country,” said Singh. The record is currently held by American explorer Victor Vesovo. In 2019, Vesovo piloted the deepest solo dive ever made, at 10,928 metres inside the Mariana Trench.  P5 Oppn’s Sudershan Reddy files papers V-P election PR E E T H A N A IR @ New Delhi THE battle lines for the upcoming Vice Presidential election were drawn on Thursday when the Opposition’s pick former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy filed his nomination papers. In a show of strength, several top Opposition leaders, including Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, SP leader Ramgopal Yadav, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, TMC’s Satabdi Roy, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut and CPI(M)’s John Brittas accompanied Reddy during the filing of nomination papers. The elections will be held on September 9, where Reddy will face NDA candidate Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan. After filing his papers, the retired judge said if elected, he would discharge the role with impartiality, dignity, and a B Sudershan Reddy files his nomination papers in Delhi on Wednesday as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar look on | PTI Justice Reddy’s judicial career is very inspiring... such a person will be helpful for the vice-president’s post, and I request everyone to vote for him, keeping party affiliations aside — Arvind Kejriwal, AAP steadfast commitment to dialogue and decorum. Later in the evening, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal called on Reddy at his Delhi residence and said his party will support his candidature. The electoral college for the vice presidential election comprises members of both Houses of Parliament. Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha can also cast their votes. The effective strength of the electoral college is 781 and the majority mark is 391. express read Bike taxis are back on Bengaluru roads after HC hearing GoM favours Centre’s GST rejig, Opposition states want to see maths Bengaluru: App-based transport platforms Uber, Rapido and Ola have resumed bike taxi services here after a two-month ban. Operations were resumed a day after the Karnataka High Court adjourned hearings on appeals to September 22, directing the government to review the matter on Wednesday. New Delhi: A panel of ministers from different states on Thursday in principle approved the Centre’s proposed sweeping GST reforms through rate cuts, but some opposition-ruled states wanted to know the revenue loss from the move and how that would be bridged. P9