kottayam l tuesday l September 24, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION At least 274 killed, 1,024 injured as Israel bombs Lebanon cities Thousands of people in southern and eastern Lebanon fled their homes after Israel military’s evacuation alert, congesting all roads to Beirut 300 targets hit, Hezbollah hotbeads next The Israeli military said it was going after Hezbollah weapons sites, adding that it hit 300 targets on Monday. It said the next wave of airstrikes would include Bekaa Valley, which runs along the Lebanese-Syrian border, where Hezbollah has long had an established presence. It is where the militant group was founded in 1982 with the help of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards ■ 21 children Hezbollah’s rockets hit Rafael factory ■ Some Israeli strikes hit residential areas. One strike hit parts of Byblos in central Lebanon, which is 130 km from the border north of Beirut | P9 Meanwhile, Hezbollah claimed it has stepped up its attack on Israel, firing dozens of rockets at an Israeli military post in Galilee. It also targeted the facilities of the Rafael defence firm, headquartered in Haifa and 39 women killed, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad 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 Mpox in India Malappuram man +ve for fast-spreading Clade 1b strain K AVITA B A J E LI - DATT @ New Delhi INDIA on Monday reported its first case of mpox Clade 1b variant in Malappuram district in Kerala, officials sources confirmed. Clade 1b is the fastspreading and severe viral strain that has been declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization. The patient, a 38-year-old man, had recently returned from the United Arab Emirates and was admitted to the government medical college hospital after he tested positive for mpox last week, officials said. Official sources added that the patient, who is stable, has not been discharged from the hospital. “This is the first case of the current strain that led to the WHO declaring mpox a public health emergency last month for a second time,” they said. The state authorities are monitoring the situation and contract tracing all individuals who have come in contact with the patient, officials said. Kerala Health minister Veena George said those returning from abroad, if they have any symptoms, should inform the health department and seek treatment at the earliest. “Isolation facilities have been established in all districts. Surveillance has been strengthened, including at airports,” she said. This is the second case of mpox in India. The earlier case of mpox that emerged in the national capital was a 26-year-old resident of Haryana’s Hisar, who tested positive for the West African Clade 2 strain. He was admitted to Delhi’s Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital on September 8 and was discharged on September 21. Mpox infections, which manifest with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes, last two-to-four weeks, and patients recover with supportive medical care. “It is a self-limiting disease and cannot be compared to Covid,” officials said. P4 express read Pooram report will be released: CM Thrissur: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said the report on the probe into the disruption of Thrissur Pooram will be released soon. The CM’s assurance comes amid charges by the Opposition that there was a conspiracy and external interference in the incidents that led to the fiasco. “It seems that the report has been submitted to the DGP by September 23. I will examine it on Tuesday when I reach the office. However, many assumptions have already been made regarding the contents of the report,” he said, and wondered what would happen if all these assumptions go wrong. Storing, watching child porn a crime: SC 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 Monday held that storage or watching of child pornographic material constituted an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act). Setting aside a Madras High Court order, which held that merely downloading and or watching child porn on one’s electronic device did not amount to an offence under the POCSO and IT Acts, the bench said, “The High Court committed an egregious error in passing the im- pugned judgment.” A bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala suggested that the Centre bring an ordinance to replace the term “child pornography” with “Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM)” so as to reflect more accurately the reality of such offences. The POCSO Act could be suitably amended by Parliament subsequently it , said. The bench also ordered all courts not to use the “child pornography” term hence- Says reform is key to relevance forth in their judicial orders. Justice Pardiwala, reading the verdict for the bench, said: “Section 15 of the POCSO provides for three distinct offences... It is in the nature and form of an inchoate offence which penalizes the mere storage or possession of any pornographic material involving a child when done with a specific intent prescribed thereunder, without requiring any actual transmission, dissemination etc.” The bench also stressed the need to address misconceptions around sexual health and added that promoting a comprehensive understanding of the benefits of sex education was essential for reducing the incidence of sexual crimes in the country . “Implementing comprehensive sex education programs that include information about the legal and ethical ramifications of child pornography can help deter potential offenders. These programs should address common misconceptions and provide young people with a clear understanding of consent and the impact of exploitation,” the bench suggested. CALLS FOR HUMAN-CENTRIC DEVELOPMENT Modi’s message of humanity in Summit of Future Y E S HI s E LI @ New Delhi AMID raging global conflicts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday stressed the need for collective efforts to bring peace and stability. “Success of humanity lies in our collective strength, not on the battlefield,” Modi said while speaking at the UN Summit of the Future. The Summit of the Future followed by the annual General Assembly high-level week comes in the midst of the Israel-Hamas conflict and the Ukraine war as well as challenges of climate change, inequality and deep geopolitical divides. Modi also called for urgent reforms in global institutions including the UN for the collective betterment of the world and highlighted the success of India’s human-centric sustainable development model. Subtly pointing to the absurdity of the world’s largest international organisation excluding the world’s most populous country, Modi said his voice carries the weight of 1.4 billion Indians constituting one-sixth of the total world population. India has been pushing for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council, pointing out that the powerful global body does not at all reflect the current geopolitical realities. India last sat at the UN high table as a nonpermanent member in 2021-22. Stressing the need for global reforms, Modi said: “Reform is the key to relevance. Global reforms are required. India has partnered with the Global South as we want to be more inclusive. We also included the African Union in the G20 hence proving that reform is the key to relevance.” In his five-minute address to world leaders from the iconic podium of the UN General Assembly hall in New York, Modi highlighted India’s human-centric approach to sustainability through food security and health initiatives. “Sustainable development can be successful. We in India have been able to help 250 millions come out of poverty relaxation in devpt curbs State CRZ mgmt plan gets Centre’s approval E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Kochi Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at Summit of the Future at the UN on Monday | PTI Meets Palestine president abbas When we are discussing the Global Future, we must accord the highest priority to a humancentric approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and expressed deep concern at the humanitarian situation in Gaza, reaffirming India’s support for early restoration of peace in the region Accepts Oli’s invite to visit Nepal Modi also met Nepal Prime Minister K P Oli, who is on his maiden foreign visit to attend the UN session. “Our talks focused on energy, technology and trade,” Modi said in a post on X. Modi accepted Oli’s invitation to visit Nepal through our sustainability efforts, sustainable development can be successful,” he said. Modi also emphasised the need for balanced regulation at a global level, for the safe and responsible use of technology “We need . global digital governance, which ensures that national sovereignty and integrity are upheld,’ he said, adding: “Digital Public Infrastructure should be a Bridge, not a Barrier”. World leaders have consistently lauded India’s digitalisation drive which has helped alleviate poverty and bring millions of people into the formal economic system. (With inputs from agencies) In a huge relief to residents of coastal areas, the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Climate Change on Monday approved the draft Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Management Plan submitted by Kerala based on the 2019 Coastal Zone Regulation notification. The new plan will reduce the no development zone in urban areas. As many as five corporations, 36 municipalities and 66 town panc h ay a t s w i l l b e n e f i t f r o m t h e relaxations. However, green activists have opposed the dilution of restrictions alleging that it will lead to a construction spree in the of 245 coastal areas jeopardising the ecology . panchayats As per the 2011 CRZ notification, Kerdesignated as ala had five corporations, 36 municipaliurban areas ties and 245 grama panchayats under and categorised CRZ. The corporations and municipal as town areas having tidal influence were categopanchayats rised under CRZ II, with a no developunder CRZ II, ment zone of 50m. The 245 grama panreducing the chayats were categorised under CRZ III, restriction zone where development activities were refrom 200m to stricted to a distance of 200m from the 50m. high tide line. Under the new management plan, 66 of the 245 panchayats have been legally designated as urban areas and categorised as town panchayats under CRZ II, reducing the restriction zone from 200m to 50m. The new management plan has divided coastal areas and panchayats around inland water bodies into CRZ IIIA and CRZ IIIB based on density of population. If a panchayat designated under CRZ III has a population density of 2,161 per sq km, it will be categorised under CRZ III A and the no development zone will be only 50m. The cardinal difference between the CRZ notifications of 2011 and 2019 is the reduction of no development zone. ● More on P4 66 High drama over donating Lawrence’s body to MCH E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @Kochi Dramatic scenes unfolded at the Ernakulam Town Hall when the mortal remains of veteran communist leader and former CPM central committee member M M Lawrence, 95, were kept for public homage on Monday . A minor scuffle broke out after his daughter Asha, along with her son Milan, opposed the plan to hand over his body to the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) in Kalamassery . The situation became tense when Asha and Milan arrived at the Town Hall by 3pm. As Asha broke down standing beside her father’s body, the scheduled transfer of the body to the medi- CPM leader M M Lawrence’s daughter Asha raises objection as her father’s mortal remains were about to be taken to the medical college in Kalamassery | A Sanesh cal college mortuary was delayed. Women activists began raising slogans in support of the CPM while Asha, hugging her father’s body chanted ‘CPM , Murdabad’ (down with CPM) several times, insisting that the body not be taken away . As Milan too got involved in the tussle between Asha and the activists, a further confrontation ensued with volunteers present there. Amid a heated exchange, Asha fell, and attempts were made to manhandle Milan. As the situation threatened to escalate, CPM members stepped back and other relatives, including Lawrence’s daughter Sujatha, intervened. Asha and Milan blocked the shifting of the body, but they were eventually removed by the police and the CPM workers. The other family members too helped manage the situation. The body was later transferred to the MCH as per Lawrence’s previously stated ● More on P4 wishes. Hear daughter’s objections: HC Kochi: Disposing of a petition filed by Asha Lawrence, daughter of veteran CPM leader M M Lawrence, the Kerala High Court on Monday directed the principal of the Government Medical College, Kalamassery, to consider the objections raised by the petitioner on handing over her father’s mortal remains to the college for medical research. P4 Academy Awards And now, we choose ‘Laapataa Ladies’ for the Oscars Su d h i r S r i n i vasa n W hat constitutes the perfect submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film? It’s a question that haunts not only the Film Federation of India jury respon, sible for announcing our official submission, but also our filmmakers and cinephiles alike. We argue and we try and we choose, and yet, the answer eludes us every year. Why else has it been 23 years since Lagaan became the last Indian film to make it to the final shortlist for nominations? A cautious answer to this question would be, “Whatever captures the fascination of the Oscars jury .” But what exactly does? Ultimately, it’s about catering to the tastes and whims of the Western imagination—it’s their award, af- ter all. This isn’t simply about selecting what we believe to be the best film we have made during the year. Instead, it’s about identifying which film we think has the best shot at getting nominated—setting aside, for now, the question of actually winning. Take last year, for instance. SS Rajamouli’s RRR sparked a frenzy of Western interest—a momentum we might have been wise to ride. Yet, we chose Chhello Show by Pan Nalin, a charming film, yes, but one whose theme is rather familiar to Wester n audiences. And now, we place our hopes in Laapataa Ladies, a delightful film co-produced by Aamir Khan, the actor in our last Foreign Language Oscar-nominated film. The second directorial of Kiran Rao, this film gently places us in the heart of rural India with an undistracted gaze on its women—the lives they are expected to lead, the subjugation they endure, and the fleeting moments of respite they may or may not receive. It’s a narrative of sadness wrapped in humor; harsh realities pres e n t e d palatably . Filmmaker Kiran Rao during an interview 2 die as car falls into river near Kumarakom E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @Kottayam Two persons, including a 27 year-old woman from Maharashtra, were killed when the car in which they were traveling plunged into river Kaippuzha at Kaippuzhamuttu near Kumarakom on Monday night. The deceased have been identified as James G e o r g e, 4 8 , and Sayli Rajendra Sarje, a native of Kulgaon in Thane district. According to the police, the accident took place around 8.30 pm. A Fire and Rescue team from Kottayam, along with local residents, quickly retrieved the car from the stream and took the victims to the Government Medical College Hospital in Kottayam, but their lives could not be saved. It is learnt that the passengers were travelling from Kumarakom to Ernakulam when the accident occurred. Authorities suspect that the victims may have been relying on Google Maps for direction, leading them astray and causing them to veer off the road and into the river.
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