vijayawada l wednesday l february 18, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION 3-member supreme court bench does not know about vanuatu A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday said there is no country called Vanuatu, while hearing a bail plea in a cheating case compares it to fictional kailasa allows petitioner to withdraw plea A bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria was hearing a plea by the man challenging a Calcutta High Court order denying him bail. “You are a citizen of which country?” the bench asked. When the lawyer said the petitioner was a citizen of Vanuatu, the bench said, “There is no country like that. We also know a ‘country’ called Kailasa” ■ ■ The counsel argued that the petitioner was already granted bail in four other cases. The bench then asked the lawyer for West Bengal, “How much time will you take to conclude the trial?” The state’s counsel said it was likely to conclude within six to eight months. The SC permitted the petitioner to withdraw the petition 80 islands, spread over 1,300 km in pacific ocean constitute vanuatu 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 5.6 lakh new voters added to Guj draft electoral rolls The world is going through a period of uncertainty. In such an environment, the India-France partnership is a force for global stability. We are combining France’s expertise and India’s scale D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad AFTER a three-and-a-halfmonth Special Intensive Revision drive, Gujarat’s final electoral roll was published on Tuesday revealing net addition , of 5.60 lakh voters even as 3.95 lakh names were deleted. The exercise digitised over 4.34 crore voter forms and reshaped district-wise electoral patter ns, with Ahmedabad leading in additions and Surat topping deletions. Before revision, Gujarat’s electoral base stood at 5.08 crore voters. Post-draft publication, the count rationalised to 4,34,70,109, signalling largescale removal of ineligible or duplicate entries. By the time the final roll was sealed, the voter base rose to 4,40,30,725. The arithmetic is revealing: after corrections and claims, Gujarat registered a net addition of about 5.60 lakh voters compared to the draft roll an indicator that new eligible voters, especially youth and migrants, successfully entered the system after scrutiny . Ahmedabad alone added 1,53,234 voters a significant surge pointing to rapid urban expansion and fresh eligibility . Surat added 1,01,578 voters, reinforcing its dual identity as both a high-migration and highregistration district. Rajkot (53,517), Vadodara (47,070) and Bhavnagar (40,074) also registered strong growth, signalling population consolidation in urban and semi-urban corridors. About 3.95 lakh voters were removed for death, migration or duplication. Chief Electoral Officer Harit Shukla credited statewide participation, cooperation from voters, media, political parties and the civil society. In all, 34 district election officers, 182 voter registration officers, 855 assistant voter registration officers, 50,963 booth level officers and many volunteers par ticipated in the exercise. express read 14 former captains to Pak govt: Treat Imran with dignity Chennai: In a moving gesture, 14 former captains from different nations are rallying behind Imarn Khan, who is struggling with illhealth. Expressing deep concern over the jailed cricketer-turned-politician’s deteriorating condition, the captains including Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have written a letter to the Pakistan government appealing for adequate medical attention and dignified conditions in line with international standards for him. Even former captains like Sourav Ganguly supported it. Narendra Modi PM Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron during a car ride, in Mumbai | PTI Spl global strategic partnership deal done with France J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi India and France on Tuesday elevated their bilateral ties to a “Special Global Strategic Partnership,” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing the relationship as a “force for global stability” amid rising geopolitical turbulence after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai. Following comprehensive talks in Mumbai during Macron’s three-day visit, the two sides announced 21 outcomes spanning defence, critical minerals, high technology, renewable energy, health, skilling, startups and advanced materials. “The world is going through a period of uncertainty In such an en. vironment, the India-France partnership is a force for global stability . We are combining France’s expertise and India’s scale,” Modi said. He added that the two nations share a “very special relationship” built on trust and shared democratic values. “Together with President Macron, we have given this strategic partnership unprecedented depth and energy. Based on this trust and shared vision, today we are establishing our relationship as a ‘Special Global Strategic Partnership’,” he said. A key highlight of the visit was the virtual inauguration of the Air- bus H125 helicopter final assembly line at Vemagal in Karnataka. The facility set up by Airbus in collabo, ration with Indian partners, is expected to strengthen India’s aeronautical manufacturing capabilities, boost workforce skilling and generate employment. “Today’s inauguration of the helicopter assembly line in India is another shining example of this deep trust. We are proud that India and France will jointly manufacture the world’s only helicopter capable of flying to the heights of Mount Everest. And we will also export it to the entire world,” Modi said. “In other words, the India-France partnership knows no boundaries; it can reach from deep oceans to the tallest mountains.” The agreements signed include enhanced defence cooperation, collaboration in critical minerals and advanced materials, and expanded engagement in clean energy and health sectors. Both sides also launched the ‘India-France Year of Innovation’ initiative to deepen people-to-people and startup linkages. Macron described India as one of France’s most trusted partners and underlined the expanding defence relationship. “From Rafale jets to submarines, we are expanding defence cooperation,” he said. India and France have decided to elevate their strategic partnership to the level of a Special Global Strategic Partnership. In diplomacy, that is a big deal Emmanuel Macron H 125 assembly line 1 Both leaders virtually inaugurated a final assembly line in Karnataka to build Airbus H125 helicopters. It will enhance India’s aerospace manufacturing capabilities 2 Referring to global flashpoints like Ukraine, Wasia and the IndoPacific, Modi said both nations support a multipolar world 3 The ModiMacron meeting, included a joint drive through Mumbai in a show of personal rapport Anthropic AI pact with Infy after rattling the IT sector Pa d m i n i D h r u v a r a j @ Bengaluru A fortnight ago, the launch of US-based Anthropic’s AI tool had given Indian IT majors the jitters, raising questions about their future. On Tuesday how, ever, Infosys announced its partnership with Anthropic to develop advanced artificial intelligence solutions for businesses, aiming to bridge the gap between AI models that perform well in demonstrations and those that can operate effectively in highly regulated industries. The two companies plan to help organisations in tightly regulated sectors adopt AI more effectively Telecommuni. cations, financial services, manufacturing and software development are expected to be the key beneficiaries. Shares in Infosys climbed nearly 3% to about `1,407 on Creating customised AI agents for clients Anthropic’s Claude AI models will be combined with Infosys’ Topaz AI platform. Together, they aim to create customised AI agents capable of handling complex tasks. To begin with, a dedicated Anthropic Centre of Excellence will be set up for the telecom sector Tuesday following the announcement and closed the session with 2% higher. “There’s a big gap between an AI model that works in a demo and one that works in a regulated industry – and if you want to close that gap, you need domain expertise,” said Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder of Anthropic. Missing seven-year-old girl found murdered Exp r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Tirupati A 7-year-old girl who went missing in Madanapalle of Annamayya district was found murdered on Tuesday sparking , widespread shock and anger among residents. S Rishika Priya, daughter of handloom worker Gopinath, went missing at Neerugattuvaripalli around 4.30 pm on Monday . Her family lodged a complaint soon after, prompting police to launch a search operation under the supervision of DSP Mahendra. CI Mohammed Rafi and his team examined the CCTV footage in the area, and identified one Kulavardhan as the accused. He allegedly murdered the girl, and concealed her body in a drum. According to the police, the accused behaved inappropri- ately with several women in the locality earlier. The incident triggered tension in Madanapalle. Demanding stringent action against the accused, locals staged a sit-in on the National Highway bring, ing vehicular traffic to a grinding halt for several hours. They withdrew the protest following an assurance given by the district SP K Dheeraj that the accused would be brought to book. Madanapalle MLA Shahjahan Basha expressed deep anguish over the incident. The MLA, who is attending the Budget Session of the Assembly said he spoke to the victim’s , parents over the phone, and assured them of full support from the government. The MLA said he had taken the issue to the notice of Chief Minister N Chandrababu P4 Naidu, seeking justice.  Prez to review fleet today; foreign navies to take part in event U s h a P e r i @ Visakhapatnam Droupadi Murmu, President of India, arrived in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday to attend the International Fleet Review 2026 (IFR) being hosted by the Indian Navy . She was received at INS Dega by S Abdul Nazeer, Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Konidela Pawan Kalyan, Deputy Chief Minister, and senior officials. Later in the evening, the President hosted a Presidential Banquet for chiefs and representatives of friendly foreign navies, formally marking the commencement of the F leet Review. On Wednesday in her capac, ity as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the President will review the naval fleet off the Visakhapatnam coast.  The waters off Visakhapat- Indian Navy conducts full-scale rehearsals The waters off Vizag came alive on Tuesday as the Navy conducted full-scale rehearsals for International Fleet Review (IFR) and the International City Parade, part of MILAN 2026 nam and the shores along Rama Krishna Beach witnessed extensive activity on Tuesday as the Indian Navy conducted final full-scale rehearsals for the International Fleet Review (IFR) and the International City Parade, part of MILAN 2026. At sea, participating warships carried out coordinated formation manoeuvres as part of preparations for the Fleet Review scheduled for February “Infosys has exactly that kind of expertise across important industries — telecom, financial services, and manufacturing. Their developers are already using Claude Code to accelerate their work and to create AI agents for industries that demand precision, compliance, and deep domain knowledge,” he said. The partnership focuses on building intelligent AI tools for enterprise use. “AI is not just transforming business — it is redefining the way industries operate and innovate,” said Salil Parekh, Infosys CEO. Early this month, Anthropic unveiled new automation tools for its Claude platform that can carry out tasks across legal, sales, marketing and data analysis functions. It triggered a bloodbath in Indian IT stocks, with the Nifty IT Index declining by 14%. President Droupadi Murmu being received by Governor S Abdul Nazeer and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan at INS Dega in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday | EXPRESS 18. Among the prominent vessels were INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier, and the sail training ship INS Tarangini. Submarines, along with naval aircraft and helicopters, rehearsed operational sequences over the Bay of Bengal, reflecting the three-dimensional nature of naval operations. Along the beach front stretch from The Park Hotel to the Coastal Battery rehearsals for , the International City Parade drew residents and visitors. Marching contingents from the Indian Navy, Indian Army, Indian Air Force, Indian Coast Guard and Sea Cadet Corps practised in coordination for the February 19 event. Bands from the services and educational institutions, including the Korukonda Sainik School Band, performed.  P4 Anantapur turns green with bounty of water C P V e nu g o pa l @ Anantapur After battling decades of drought, the erstwhile united Anantapur district is witnessing prosperity with bountiful of water. Once synonymous with water scarcity the region compris, ing Anantapur and Sri Sathya Sai districts, is now brimming with water inflows from the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, aided by major irrigation projects. The Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi Project and the High Level Main Canal (HLMC) have played a pivotal role in enhancing water storage levels in reservoirs, canals and tanks in the two districts. Over the past eight months, the canal system has delivered 107.557 TMC of water, with current storage in reservoirs, tanks and groundwater sources standing at 63.667 TMC. Rainfall has also been near normal this season. Anantapur district had recorded 456.4 mm against the normal rainfall of 462.7 mm, while Sri Sathya Sai received 503.9 mm against its 529.2 mm average. Together, the two districts received an estimated 323 TMC of rainwater, and of which nearly 39 TMC percolated into the ground, strengthening groundwater reserves, which are now P4 put at 33.010 TMC.