source: nasa THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l wednesday l march 20, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Asteroid bennu has building blocks of life, say scientists Bennu’s sample show presence of glycine, the simplest amino acid, and a crucial ingredient of proteins, according to a report in Live Science water minerals found in the sample The sample also has other water-bearing minerals such as carbonates, sulphites, olivine and magnetite, leading to a tangible evidence that Bennu’s parent body witnessed multiple water-related episodes before fragments coalesced into the asteroid, the report says. Scientists also found a reservoir of magnesium phosphate, a rare find in astromaterials ■ 700 mn Did earth get water from outer space? ■ Scientists have found abundant water-altered compounds called phyllosilicates, which may have been the cradles for organics, water that scientists suspect were delivered to Earth early in its history Sample of Bennu was brought by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in a protected capsule in 2023 and kept in Houston where study is on years ago bennu could have broken off from a larger asteroid 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 SC gives govt 2 weeks to respond to pleas seeking stay on CAA Directs Union government to file its reply by April 2; matter to come up before the court again on April 9 tioners sought a stay on the grant of citizenship under CAA to persons beThe Supreme Court on Tuesday de- longing minority communities from clined to stay the Citizenship (Amend- Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghaniment) Rules sought by a batch of peti- stan, who came to India before Decemtioners, but directed the Centre to file ber 31, 2014. The petitioners say CAA its reply by April 2. discriminates against Muslims and “We are not expressing violates Article 14 of the any prima facie view. We Voting rights Constitution. have to hear the petitionSenior advocate Indira ers, we have to hear the When senior advocate Jaising, also appearing for Ranjit Kumar, other side,” said the bench the petitioners, said the headed by Chief Justice D appearing for a Hindu gover nment should not immigrant from Y Chandrachud. grant any citizenship unSolicitor General Tushar Balochistan, wondered der the rules while the mathow will anyone be Mehta initially sought four ter is pending before the affected or anyone’s weeks time to reply and Supreme Court. clarified that the law “does rights be violated if his Sibal concurred, saying client is granted not take away citizenship that under international citizenship, senior of any person”. law, “once citizenship is Senior advocate Kapil advocate Indira Jaising granted, you cannot take it said: “Because they Sibal, appearing for the Inback”. will get the right to dian Union Muslim League, Advocate Nizam Pasha, vote.” questioned the urgency to appearing for AIMIM chief notify the rules four years Asaduddin Owaisi, said after CAA was passed. Muslims left out of the National RegThe Act was passed in December ister of Citizens (NRC) will be 2021 but the rules giving effect to the prejudiced. law were notified only on March 11, Mehta strongly objected to this, say2024. “We are not expressing any ing: “An effort was made earlier outprima facie view in the matter,” the side this court to mislead people that bench said, while posted the matter to they will be ousted. The NRC is not an April 9. During the hearing, the peti- issue before this court.” S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi show of strengtH Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets BJP supporters during his roadshow in Palakkad on Tuesday as part of the Lok Sabha election campaign. BJP state president K Surendran, Palakkad LS candidate C Krishnakumar, and Ponnani candidate Nivedhitha Subramanian are also seen | A Sanesh Four die, 11 injured as TN tourist van falls into gorge Cong urges EC to change Friday poll in Kerala E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @Idukki Four persons, including a one-yearold child, died and 11 others were injured when a van carrying a group of tourists from Tamil Nadu fell into a gorge along the Mankulam- Anakkulam road near Adimali on Tuesday . The incident occurred at the Pemaram curve on the stretch around 4.30pm when the tourists were heading to Anakkulam. According to local residents, the driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating the curve at Pemaram and it plunged 100ft into a gorge on the side of the road. The deceased have been identified as Gunasekharan, 70, of Chinnamannoor in Tamil Nadu; Abhinash Moorthy 30, , of Theni, his one-year-old son Thanvik, and P K Sethu, 34, a resident of Erode. Apart from the driver, there were a total of 14 tourists — dealers of a private cooking range company in TN and their family members — in the vehicle. Following the accident, local residents and passengers of other vehicles conducted the rescue operations. All the passengers were taken out of the van after nearly half-an-hour-long rescue operation. The injured were then rushed to the Taluk Hospital in Adimali. Local residents said the vehicle that fell into the gorge got stuck between a rock and a tree, preventing further fall. Police sources said the team had set off E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ T’ Puram The van that plunged into a gorge near the Mankulam- Anakkulam road from Tamil Nadu for a leisure trip two days ago. After staying in a private resort in Munnar, they were on their way to Anakkulam for sightseeing when the accident happened. According to local residents, the spot is an accident-prone area. “The steep road and hairpin bends make the drive difficult on the stretch for tourists -- especially those from other districts and states,” Sunny Joseph, a resident said. The injured, including the van driver, have been admitted to the private hospitals in Adimali and Thodupuzha. Echoing the sentiments of prominent Muslim organisations, the state Congress has urged the Election Commission (EC) to reschedule the Lok Sabha election date in Kerala as it falls on a Friday . In a joint letter to the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Congress state acting president M M Hassan and Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan have requested a change in the polling d a t e, f r o m t h e scheduled April 26. The Congress’ move came close on the heels of 19 prominent Muslim org anisations demanding a change in the polling date citing inconvenience to believers. This is seen as a deft move from the part of the Congress leadership as they do not want to take any chance when facing the crucial election. Also, they did not want to be left behind when the IUML leadership has already approached the EC in this regard. In the email sent to CEC , Hassan and Satheesan highlighted the importance of Friday for the ● More on P4 Muslim community . LS polls to witness CPM’s do-or-die battle to retain national party status ARUN M @ Kochi With its citadels in West Bengal and Tripura crumbling down just like the Kremlin collapse of 1991, the CPM is at a risk of losing its national party status and sees the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as a litmus test. Though there are different criteria to be classified as a national party, the one that is handy for the party currently is securing 11 Lok Sabha seats from three states. However, the CPM leadership is convinced that it’s easier said than done and hence is leaving no stones unturned in its desperate attempt to retain the recognition as a national party Besides . Kerala, its sole remaining bastion, and Tamil Nadu, where the party hopes to pillion ride on its ally DMK, the CPM is finding it difficult to get its nominee elected from any other state, though it is hoping against hope to get at least one seat from its erstwhile stronghold West Bengal. What it takes Being recognised as a state party in four or more states According to the Election Commission’s Political Parties and Election Symbols handbook of 2019, a political entity can achieve national party status thus: Or, by having its candidates garner at least 6% of the total valid votes in any four or more states during the previous Lok Sabha or Assembly elections, along with having at least four Members of Parliament from the last Lok Sabha polls. Keeping that in mind, the CPM has gone all out to boost its vote share in Kerala in the general elections and has fielded all its candidates, including independents it backs, under the official party symbol - the sickle, hammer, and star. The party’s nominee for Idukki Joice George, who contested on other symbols in 2014 and 2019, has opted for the CPM symbol this time. Former IUML leader K S Hamsa, who is the CPM candidate for Ponnani, is also contesting on the party symbol. Alternatively, a party can attain national party status if it has secured at least 2% of the total seats in the Lok Sabha, that is 11, from no fewer than three states. Kerala, being the lone state where the party is now in power, the CPM is aiming to win the maximum seats here and increase the vote share, according to political observers. The CPM, which has only three members in the current Lok Sabha, garnered only 1.75% votes nationally in the 2019 LS polls. “The increase of vote share is crucial to maintaining the national party status. Hence the CPM is attempting to expand its vote share by fielding more candidates on its official symbol,” said political analyst ● More on P4 J Prabhash. Ramdev in SC cross-hairs as bench orders his presence S u c h i t r a K a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved managing director Acharya Balkrishna to appear before it during the next hearing as the company failed to file its reply to an earlier notice on violating an undertaking on misleading advertisements and hauling it up for contempt of court. Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Patanjali and Ramdev, strongly objected to the observations and remarks by the bench. “How does Ramdev come into the picture in the case,” he asked. Rohatgi claimed that the violation of the law (by the contemnors) was not contempt of court and what was being relied on in open court has to be recorded in the order. But the two-judge bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah passed the order for personal appearance of Ramdev and Balkrishna in the next hearing, which could most likely be in April first week. Paras exits NDA, but BJP draws Sita Soren, ex-US envoy Sandhu Ramashankar and MUKESH RAN J AN @ Patna/Jharkhand A day after announcing its seatsharing formula for Bihar, the NDA lost an ally though it had already accommodated the rival faction. There were rumblings within the JD(U) as well as its as its general secretary put in his papers. Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras on Tuesday resigned from the Union ministry as the rival LJP led by Chirag Paswan was given five seats in the NDA, including the prestigious Hajipur, for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Bihar. Paras accused the BJP of doing injustice to his LJP faction by excluding it from the seat-sharing deal. Tej Pratap Yadav, elder son of Pashupati Kumar Paras Sita Soren RJD chief Lalu Prasad, offered to accommodate Paras in the opposition alliance. “We will be the first to welcome him (Paras),” he said. Paras though was cautious. “We will seek the opinion of party workers before taking the call on a new pre-poll alliance,” he said. As for the JD(U), national general secretary Mohammad Ali Asaraf Fatmi resigned from all posts of the party. He is likely to join the RJD on Wednesday and could be fielded as candidate either from Madhabani or Darbhanga. In Jharkhand, Shibu Soren’s daughter-in-law Sita Soren resigned from the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and joined the BJP . Sita represents Jama in the state assembly. She alleged the at the JMM was isolating her and hatching a conspiracy against her family members. Sita is the widow of Durga Soren, the eldest son of Shibu Soren. The BJP’s acquisitions continued with former Indian ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, joining the party amid buzz on fielding him in the LS polls from Amritsar in Punjab. E X P RE S S RE A D Hit by stray rock from lorry, dental student dies Keltron bags orders worth L1,076cr from TN Lokpal orders CBI probe against Mahua Moitra ‘China’s claims on Arunachal absurd’ T’Puram: A 24-year-old dental student died after a rock from a lorry, that was transporting stones to the Vizhinjam port, fell on him on Tuesday. Ananthu Ajikumar of Mukkola was on his two-wheeler when the rock fell on him. The impact caused him to lose control of his scooter and it crashed into a fence. P5 T’Puram: The state-run Keltron has bagged three work orders from the TN government, together worth Rs 1,076 crore. The competitive tenders were floated by the TN Textbook and Educational Service Corporation. The work order worth Rs 519 crore is to establish 8,209 hi-tech IT labs in 7,985 schools. P4 New Delhi: The Lokpal has asked the CBI to investigate the cashfor-query allegations against TMC leader Mahua Moitra and submit its findings within six months. After evaluation of material on record, the allegat-ions against Moitra are extremely serious in nature and a deeper probe is required, Lokpal’s order said New Delhi: India has rejected China’s claims on Arunachal Pradesh, terming it absurd. “Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India,” said Randhir Jaiswal, MEA spokesperson. P7 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express n e w v e r t i ca l Zomato’s exclusive fleet to tap pure veg market E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai online food delivery company Zomato on Tuesday announced the launch of a vegetarian-only delivery service to cater to those who prefer ordering from pure-veg restaurants. The Pure Veg Fleet will have green delivery boxes instead of the standard red ones. Zomato’s CEO Deepinder Goyal cited feedback from customers as the reason for the launch of the new service. He said the new vertical is for customers who follow a 100% vegetarian diet. The pure veg vertical will handle orders from restaurants that serve only pure vegetarian food and will exclude those serving non-veg food items. “This means a veg meal served by a non-veg restaurant will never go inside the green delivery box,” said Goyal. Most online food delivery platforms including Zomato already have a filter to search ‘pure veg’ restaurants, from where customers can order veg food. However, there have been instances of wrongful delivery of non-veg food to vegetarian customers, embarrassing the online platforms. “Why did we need to separate the fleets? Because despite everyone’s best efforts, sometimes the food spills into the delivery boxes. In those cases, the smell of the previous order travels to the next order, and may lead to the next order smelling of the previous order. For this reason, we had to separate the fleet for veg orders,” Goyal said. While some users welcomed Zomato’s move, many others termed it casteist. Goyal said the veg fleet will not discriminate on the basis of the delivery partner’s religion or dietary choices. He said he would roll back the service if there are negative repercussions, such as residential societies allowing only the pure-veg fleet inside their premises.
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