MANGALURU SUNDAY JULY 07, 2024 `12.00 PAGES 26 CITY EDITION REFORMIST MASOUD PEZESHKIAN WINS IRAN’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Pezeshkian scored over other hardline candidates by promising to reach out to the West, ease enforcement on headscarf law NEW LEADER COMES WITH NO EXPERIENCE WILL NOT HAVE SWAY OVER FOREIGN POLICY Pezeshkian secured 53.3% of the votes polled while his nearest hardline rival Saeed Jalili got 44.3%. Pezeshkian is a heart surgeon and a member of Parliament. He is considered inexperienced as he has never held any sensitive post before. After the victory, he tweeted, “The difficult path ahead will not be smooth except with your companionship, empathy, trust” ■ Mostafa Khoshcheshm, a Tehran-based analyst, told Al Jazeera he was not expecting strategic changes to Iran’s foreign policy, which is decided by the entire establishment, the supreme leader and the Parliament | P11 ■ PM Narendra Modi tweeted, “Looking forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our warm and long-standing bilateral relationship ... ” 30m voters THE LOWEST TURNOUT FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL POLLS HISTORICALLY 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 DECISION TIME FM to present full yr budget on July 23 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi FINANCE minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the government’s first full year budget of Modi’s third term on July 23 in Lok Sabha. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted on Saturday that the budget session of House will be held between July 22 and August 12. Expectation about the budget are running high as President Droupadi Murmu in a joint address to Parliament said that it will be marked by many historic step, adding the budget will highlight major social and economic decisions. Only an interim budget was presented in February due to the Lok Sabha polls. The first session of Parliament after the for mation of 18th Lok Sabha was stormy with the Opposition, armed with more numbers in the Lower House, clashed with the government over a range of issues including NEET-UG examination paper leak. NDA’s key ally Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met Modi on Thursday and sought the Centre’s handholding to pull the state out of the financial black hole it was pushed into by the previous government. Other important ally Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also wants special status for his state. The finance minister has been taking inputs from industry leaders for the last few days for the budget. The buzz in political circles is that the budget may focus on the rural population. Starmer ready for FTA that works for both Modi speaks to his new British counterpart, invites him to make an early visit to India Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Soft line on Kashmir On Kashmir, Starmer has said his party was committed to eliminating any extremist views that could strain UK-India relations. He also promised a stricter handling of anti-Hindu hate crimes in the UK. While visiting Swaminarayan Mandir in Kingsbury, he had said there was absolutely no place for Hinduphobia in Britain PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke with his new British counterpart Keir Starmer, invited him to visit India, and suggested the early conclusion of a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that has been under negotiation for over two years. “Pleased to speak with Keir Starmer. Congratulated him on being elected as the PM of UK. We remain committed to deepening Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and robust India-UK economic ties for progress and prosperity of our peoples and global good,” Modi said in a post on X. He also suggested that Starmer schedule an early visit to India. Downing Street said Starmer returned the compliment by congratulated Modi on his third consecutive term as PM. “Discussing the importance of the living bridge between the UK and India and the 2030 roadmap, the two leaders agreed that there was a wide range of areas across defence and security, critical and emerging technology and climate change for the two nations to deepen their cooperation,” the Downing Street spokesperson said. As for the FTA, Starmer said he stood ready to conclude a deal that “worked for both sides. The leaders hoped to meet at the earliest opportunity the spokesperson said. Both sides have ,” been working towards clinching the FTA since January 2022, when Boris Johnson was PM. “Appreciating the positive contributions of the Indian community in the social, economic and political development of the UK, the two sides agreed to continue to promote close people to people ties,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. The Labour’s manifesto had said: “We will seek a new strategic partnership with India, including an FTA, as well as deepening cooperation in areas like security education, tech, nology and climate change.” New British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said he wants to ‘finish the job’ on the FTA and plans to visit India within the first month of being elected. Main accused gives up, Baba expresses grief over stampede hoped strict action would be taken against the culprits. WHILE Devprakash MadhuSpeaking from his Mainpuri kar, the main accused of Hath- Ashram, Bhole Baba urged the ras stampede, surrenbereaved families to dered to the Delhi have faith in the judiciPolice late on Friday ary. “I am deeply sadnight and was taken dened. May God give us into custody by the UP the strength to bear Police, the self-styled this pain. Please keep godman Bhole Baba faith in the governalias Narayan Sakar ment and the adminisHari alias Suraj Pal, Devprakash tration. I have faith expressed grief over Madhukar that anyone who crethe tragedy at an event ated the chaos would at his Satsang Sabha in not be spared,” he said. Hathras. An FIR was lodged in the Four days after the stam- matter on July 2 under various pede, the preacher on Satur- sections of the Bharatiya day told a news agency he Nyaya Sanhita. However, N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow K’taka records 1st suspected Zika death this year EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru/Shivamogga A 74-year-old man died of suspected Zika virus infection in Shivamogga on Thursday This . is the first suspected death due to Zika virus infection in the state this year. However, the health department maintained that the Zika positive case is only an ‘incidental finding’ and PRESS INTAKE Siddu followers may hold rally to boost his image | P4 Reservoir levels below normal | P9 Soldier, 4 ultras killed in J&K encounters |P10 NEET-UG counselling by third week: Ministry E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi Fire personnel search for Hemanth (inset) who fell into a drain after ramming his bike into the road median in Bengaluru on Saturday | VINOD KUMAR T Search on for biker who crashed into B’luru drain EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru A 26-year-old biker, who fell into a stormwater drain after hitting a road divider near RR Nagar Gate on Friday, is yet to be traced. The victim has been identified as Hemanth, a porter, who hails from Bapuji Nagar. A police officer told TNSE that the accident took place near RR Nagar Gate around 11 WITH THIS ISSUE SMALL IS THE NEW BIG PLUS 12 PAGES pm when Hemanth was returning from Jnanabharathi campus. After hitting the median, he fell into the four-foot wide stormwater drain. A search was launched immediately after a passerby alerted the police. However, fire and rescue services personnel could only recover the bike. Hemanth’s father works as an auto driver, while his mother is a government employee. JULY 6 was a contentious date in all NEET-UG case hearings before vacation benches because that was when the National Testing Agency had told the Supreme Court it intended to start counselling for admission to medical courses. The court had rejected all petitions demanding a stay on counselling till the case on the alleged malpractices in NEET-UG is disposed of. Even requests for a two-day stay till July 8, when a threejudge bench led by CJI D Y Chandrachud will begin hearing a batch of petitions demanding scrapping of the exam, were turned down. July 6 came and went but the counselling didn’t start. Turns out that it hasn’t even been notified yet by the Medical Counselling Committee. The counselling schedule for NEET-UG and PG is announced by MCC, under the Directorate General of Health Services, after the completion of the exam process and the finalisation of the seat matrix by the National Medical Commission (NMC). In 2021, 2022 and 2023, the counselling for UG seats commenced on 19/1/2022, 11/10/2022 and 20/7/2023, the ministry stated. For this year, NMC communicated its schedule for finalisation of the seat matrix for UG and PG seats in June last week, indicating it will finalise the UG seat matrix by July third week and PG seat matrix by mid-August. MCC will then notify the counselling schedule. Somanna goofs up, mourns Advani E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Tumakuru UNION Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti V Somanna on Saturday made a faux pas by paying tributes to BJP patriarch LK Advani at a public meeting at Gubbi near here. “Our loving BJP leader LK Advani is no more,” he announced at a BJP-JDS workers’ meet. Somanna made this announcement after a local BJP leader informed him that Advani passed away . Initially, Somanna got confused after hearing the news. Instead of getting it con- Bhole Baba was not named in the FIR. Dev Prakash Madhukar, the mukhya sevadar of Bhole Baba, is the only accused named in the FIR. Hathras SP Nipun Agarwal said Madhukar was arrest from Delhi and brought to Hathras to be presented in court. In a recorded message, Madhukar’s lawyer A P Singh said that his client had surrendered in Delhi, where he was under treatment. “Today, we have made Madhukar, who has been called the main organiser in the FIR in the Hathras case, to surrender after calling the police.” firmed from his officials, Somanna went by the information given by BJP leaders. He, however, blamed it on BJP leader AN Lingappa. Later, when Somanna was informed that Advani was discharged from a hospital, he apologised for his faux pas. Meanwhile, Bengaluru Rural MP Dr CN Manjunath reportedly mourned the death of Advani at Kunigal near here. Along with BJP-JDS workers, Manjunath observed silence for a few minutes. Later, he regretted the mistake and attributed it to some people spreading false news on social media. the man died due to Multi-Organ Dysfunction Syndrome (MODS) and breathing difficulties. The patient, who hailed from Gandhi Nagar in Shivamogga, was under treatment for cold, cough and fever from June 19. He tested positive for Zika virus on June 21. According to a statement from the health department, the patient’s WBC count ZIKA VS DENGUE Zika and dengue are vector-borne diseases. However, dengue is considered more dangerous and fatal. With Zika, most people experience no symptoms or only mild ones like fever, rashes and joint pain. dropped gradually and there were indications of secondary bacterial infections, including Sepsis, which resulted in MODS. He was discharged from a private hospital against medical advice on July 4 and died the same day . Fever surveillance and source reduction measures have been taken up at Gandhi Nagar ward. No fresh fever cases have been reported. The situation is under control, the statement said.
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