kannur l saturday l October 17, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION elon Musk unveils Tesla’s ‘flying’ car adept at barrel roll During a livestreamed event at SpaceX facility, Musk revealed his new Roadster car with cold gas thrusters and a multi-mode suction system 0-96 kmph in less than a second! production won’t begin till 2028 “Turns out the future does have flying cars,” Musk, Tesla’s CEO, wrote on his social media platform X shortly after the launch. Beyond quick jumps and flips, Tesla also said the car can accelerate from zero to 60 miles (96.6 km) an hour in less than a second. The launch came after years of delays around the Roadster — and Tesla shares climbed up slightly in early trade ■ ■ Musk said production for consumers won’t begin until 2028. Tesla also didn’t immediately set a price tag on its latest electric vehicle There are ample regulatory hurdles for flying vehicles across the globe. The fine print of the Roadster’s “rocket” feature on Tesla’s website notes: “Not approved for public road use” $1.1 billion is net income of tesla in the second quarter of this financial year 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 No US levy seen on Russian buy P U S H PI TA D E Y @ New Delhi Student groups & CJP supporters with Tricolour as security forces look on in Delhi on Friday | Parveen negi Pvt teachers can be roped in as Census enumerators e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e Sea of Tricolour as Dipke, Bora detained Both held on way to Tiranga rally amid heavy security cover @ New Delhi THE Centre on Friday amended the Census Rules, 1990, permitting state governments and Union Territory administrators to appoint teachers from aided and unaided private institutions as enumerators. A gazette notification issued by Registrar General of India Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan said eligible personnel include teachers of government, local authority , and aided or unaided private institutions, as well as clerks and officials of central and state governments, public sector undertakings, banks, companies and trusts. The amendment follows a petition by the Haryana Progressive Schools Conference in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging the state’s move to requisition teachers from private unaided schools. It argued that the government lacked statutory authority under the Census Act, 1948, or the rules framed under it, to requisition teaching staff from private unaided schools for census work. The HC on October 8 stayed two Haryana government communications seeking details of available teachers. U D AYA N KIS H OR E & A N U P V E RM A @ New Delhi Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and AISA’s Neha Bora were detained on Friday even as thousands of people, holding Tricolours, banners and raising slogans, held a march to Connaught Place circling around the Central Park amid a thick security blanket. The was the latest in a series of protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities. Dipke and Bora were detained while on their way to join the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga (unfurl the Tricolour)’ gathering called by the CJP Dipke was de. tained from NCP (SP) spokesperson Anish Gawande’s house in Jhandewalan while Bora was at Mandi House. Dipke was taken to Jafarpur Kalan police station after being detained. Hundreds of CJP supporters and members of student organisations, including those from AISA, AISF (All India Students’ Federation), and SFI (Students’ Federation of India), held a series of flash protests in CP and Mandi House in the evening. At one such march at around 6 pm, the protesters walked through the inner circle of CP, around the Central Park — which remained closed and protected by paramilitary forces. While the rally held a large Tricolor, several of its members carried smaller national flags, banners and placards as they raised slogans against Kumar. Security personnel cordoned off the park, forming a human chain along its metal railings. Just before the CJP protest at 5 pm, people gathered between Palika Market and the Central Park, as over 6,000 Delhi Police personnel, 220 companies of Central Armed Police Forces conducted flag marches and manned Metro station gates. Security ar rang ements around CP, Rajiv Chowk, Central Park, Jantar Mantar, Palika Bazaar, nearby Metro stations and other sensitive locations in Lutyens’ Delhi were tight, with additional personnel being mobilised from other districts to prevent any law and order situation. The forces also monitored the crowd through an expanded CCTV network. Teargas and Vajra vehicles were stationed outside the park, while Rapid Action Force personnel did the rounds. Traffic police were deployed to regulate movement along the inner and outer circles of CP . CJP’s Abhijeet Dipke (top) and AISA’s Neha Bora being detained on the way to the rally on Friday | PTI 6K police, 200 CAPF companies About 6,000 Delhi police personnel and 220 companies of CAPF were deployed in and around Lutyens’ Delhi while additional forces were mobilised from other districts 3 Keralites among 4 killed in K’taka accident E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kozhikode Four persons, including three from Keralam, died and 14 others were injured after a private sleeper bus heading to Kozhikode from Bengaluru collided with a Mysuru-bound truck on the stretch between Periyapatna and Kampalapura in Karnataka early morning on Friday . Sajesh Ullattilparambu, 38, from Pokkunnu in Kozhikode, Althaf Hisham, 22, from Naduvattam East in Kozhikode, and Shibil Adam, 32, from Pookottumpadam (Nilambur), besides Sunil from Mysuru died in the accident that took place around 3.45am. Sunil was the driver of the The mangled remains of the truck and private sleeper bus involved in the accident bus owned by Kaveri travel agency, while Sajesh was the cleaner. There were 36 passengers on board. Of the 14 injured, eight suffered serious injuries. The injured persons were rushed to medical facilities in Periyapatna and Mysuru. Some were taken to hospitals in Wayanad for advanced care. Preliminary inspections by the Periyapatna police and rescue officials suggest the collision occurred when the truck swerved to the right to avoid hitting a tree that had fallen on the road in the overnight rain. Local residents, police personnel and volunteers from the local Malayali association rushed to the accident spot and launched rescue operations. As the bus was severely damaged in the collision, rescuing passengers trapped inside proved challenging. The emergency exit of the bus was opened to evacuate the passengers. Court ruling on ‘Khula’ Woman told to return gold, gift to ex-husband Shya m P V @ Palakkad In a rare ruling concerning ‘khula’, a form of divorce initiated by a woman under the Muslim Personal Law, a family court in Palakkad has ordered a woman to return 11 sovereigns of gold ornaments to her former husband, including the mahar and gifts given to her at the time of their marriage in 2008. The Ottapalam Family Court directed the woman, a native of Thiruvegappura, to return the five sovereigns of gold received as wedding gifts and six sovereigns of gold ornaments (mahr) given by her husband at the time of marriage within 30 days of judgment. It also ordered that the amount could be recovered from her property in the event of non-compliance. As per the Muslim Personal Law, while talaq is a divorce initiated by a man and takes effect by pronouncing the word ‘talaq’ to his wife in the presence of the witnesses, khula is a divorce initiated by the wife upon the return of mahr or any other conditions as may be prescribed. “While khula is practised by women to get divorce from husband, this is a rare instance where a man approached the court to get back the mahr and other valuables gifted by him at the time of marriage. The court has passed the verdict in his favour,” said advocate Shahul Hameed P T, who appeared for the petitioner. The case began in 2021 after the woman, following a breakdown of the marital relationship in 2019, invoked her right to seek separation through khula and issued a notice dissolving the marriage with her husband, a native of Perinthalmanna. Though the husband accepted divorce through khula, the woman did not return the mahr. He subsequently approached the Ottapalam Family Court, filing a petition against his former wife and her mother, contending that the gold ornaments given as mahar and gifts should be returned following the dissolution of the marriage through Khula. The petitioner’s side has described the verdict as an exceptionally rare one for husbands. “While khula is being practised commonly these days, many Muslim men are not much aware about the rights associated with it that are defined in the Muslim Law,” said Shahul Hameed. THE US is unlikely to penalise India under the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which authorises President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil and gas, official sources said on Thursday Asserting that the government is confident that . India will remain protected from US sanctions, sources pointed out that New Delhi has clearly communicated to Washington India’s position. “From what we sense, the US Talks with government will not put sanctions Rubio on on India. We have been in touch Oct 20 with the US team and India’s standpoint has already been conExternal Affairs veyed regarding the challenges Minister (EAM) that could arise because of that,” S Jaishankar will a government official said. hold talks with The clarification came a day afUS Secretary of ter US Ambassador to India Sergio State Marco Gor said Trump would soon decide Rubio on October on the sanctions under the new 20 during the law. He indicated the US adminislatter’s visit to tration may adopt a pragmatic apMumbai, proach towards India rather than MEA said. demand a halt to its purchases of Russian energy . Indian officials said the country had previously avoided US sanctions despite purchasing the S-400 Triumf missile defence system from Russia under a deal worth more than $5 billion. “Even previously, there was a threat of US sanctions when India bought Russian weapons a few years ago, but we didn’t get sanctions for buying S-400 Triumf missile system. The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act doesn’t say that just because it has been signed by President, the US government needs to apply it,” another official said. E x p r ess Re a d ED summons Pinarayi for questioning Kochi: The ED on Friday issued a summons to former CM Pinarayi Vijayan for interrogation in CMRL-Exalogic money laundering case, directing him to appear at the agency’s office in Kochi on October 23. Meanwhile, Pinarayi, Veena T and Mohammed Riyas have moved petitions through their appeals before the Supreme Court challenging the HC’s order directing registration of an FIR against them in the CMRL case. P4 Guv sanction sought to book ex-sports min T’Puram: The government on Friday sought the nod of the governor to arraign former sports minister V Abdurahiman as an accused in the case pertaining to alleged irregularities surrounding the failed proposal to bring Lionel Messi and Argentina football team to the state. The file was sent from CM’s office seeking the governor’s sanction, which is required under Section 17 A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. P4