Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth appointed as next army Chief 2021 chennai l sunday l june 14, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l late city EDITION When the Supreme Court opened the NDA route to women Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth will succeed Gen Upendra Dwivedi as the Chief of the Army Staff, the defence ministry announced on Saturday | P9 Historic permanent comm for 14 women In a first, a batch of women joined the armed forces with permanent commission from Day 1 through the National Defence Academy route ■ 9 joined the Army and five joined the Air Force. Till now, women have entered the forces through SSC and became eligible for permanent commission years later | P9 ■ CBC 17101/13/0010/2627 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 Officers among 5 It’s time for Modi-Trump killed in IAF crash Iran counters US, Pak view, says date to sign MoU yet to be decided peace deal talks on Wed Age n c i es @ Dubai/Islamabad WITH THIS ISSUE What is the Price of a Life in India? Zero PLUS 12 P AGES J aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi THE United States and Iran could put to bed an agreement to end the Middle East war within as little as 24 hours, with US President Donald Trump saying on Saturday the deal with Iran would be signed on Sunday and that the strategic Strait of Hormuz would be “open to all” immediately afterwards. The momentum came despite new skirmishes in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, which has been at the centre of the war that has roiled the global economy . Trump’s comments came hours after Pakistan indicated that the United States and Iran were in the final stage of negotiations and that an electronic signing ceremony for the agreement was scheduled for Sunday. However, there is no immediate comment from Iran on the reported timeline. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, said the date to sign the deal was yet to be decided, “though it will not be on Sunday”. The warring parties have released conflicting information about the contents of the deal. Tehran has insisted on its right to enrich uranium and maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier Saturday the US said it downed multiple , Iranian drones over the Strait of Hormuz. PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump are set to hold a bilateral meeting on June 17 on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France, with discussions expected to focus on economic growth, supply-chain resilience, artificial intelligence, investment partnerships and global security challenges. “This is the 8th consecutive G7 Summit to which India has been invited. At the G7, India will not only speak for itself, but it will also give voice to the aspirations of the Global South,” Modi said in a statement ahead of his visit. The meeting with Trump, confirmed by the White House, will take place ahead of a working lunch involving G7 leaders, outreach partners and technology executives. A senior US administration official said: “President Trump will meet with G7 leaders to address key issues of shared importance, including economic growth and development, supply chain resilience, illegal immigration, and Artificial Intelligence.” The Modi-Trump meeting will be their first in person meeting since “Operation Sindoor” against Pakistan last year, although the White House did not provide details on the agenda. Jitendra Shar ma, Agniveervayu Khemaram Kumawat and Agniveervayu Five Indian Air Force (IAF) Danish Alam. A co-pilot surpersonnel were killed and one vived with injuries. A court was injured when of inquiry has been How it an An-32 transport ordered to ascertain happened aircraft crashed afthe cause of the ter landing at the accident. Sources said the Air Force Station in “Deeply anguished aircraft lost control Jorhat, Assam on upon touchdown and by the loss of five Saturday. The inci- skidded off the Jorhat Air Warriors in the runway. It hurtled dent took place An-32 accident,” deacross the parallel around 10 am at fence minister RaRowriah airbase in taxiway, snapping into jnath Singh posted Jorhat. The aircraft two segments before on social media. being engulfed in had taken off from T he crash has flames, they added the same base for a once again drawn atroutine sortie. tention to the SovietThe deceased personnel are era An-32 fleet, which remains Squadron Leader Prashant one of IAF’s most important Singh, Flight Lieutenant transport assets despite being Shubham Kumar, Sergeant in service since the 1980s. J a v a r i a r a n a & P r a s a n ta m a z u m d a r @ New Delhi/ Guwahati Today's matches Group E: Germany vs Curacao (10:30 PM); Ivory Coast vs Ecuador (4:30 AM* ). Group F: Netherlands vs Japan (1:30 AM*); Live on Sweden vs Tunisia (7:30* AM) Unite8 Sports *IST Monday morning & Zee5 E x p r ess Re a d TN man held for rape, filming of women Salem: A grocery shop owner was arrested by Salem police for sexual assault after a woman filed a complaint accusing him of recording intimate videos of her and several other women, and sexually exploiting them | P6 Pollution notice to Tata’s Hosur plant Chennai: TNPCB has issued a show-cause notice to Tata Electronics’ Hosur plant, which produces components for Apple’s iPhones, for allegedly violating wastewater norms and contaminating local water sources | P7