photo: ap THRISSUR l monday l October 07, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION T20 World Cup: India women get the job done against pak After an upset loss against New Zealand, Harmanpreet & Co. enjoy relatively smooth sailing against neighbours on the back of a clinical bowling performance.... Up against Sri Lanka and Australia next Arundhati, Shreyanka excel on bowling day It’s likely that India need to win both their remaining games to guarantee their progression to semis. They face Sri Lanka, who beat India in Asia Cup final, on Wednesday and Australia on Sunday. The No. 3 spot remains a musical chair for India. Harmanpreet was one drop in the first match. On Sunday, it was Jemimah Rodrigues’ turn | P11 Pakistan opted to bat first in Dubai but Renuka Singh and Deepti Sharma were on the money in the powerplay. The pacespin combo of Arundhati Reddy and Shreyanka Patil kept up the pressure, restricting Pakistan to 105/8. India got across the line but lie in fourth place thanks to a vastly inferior NRR. -1.217 India’s Net Run-Rate after the Pakistan match 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 Beirut sees its ‘worst day’ as Israeli attacks intensify Iran grounds flights amid threat of Israeli strike; 25 killed in Gaza A gen c ies Iran on Sunday cancelled all flights till Monday amid concerns of Israel’s immediately retaliatory strike on Tehran’s October 1 missile attack on Tel Aviv. While Iranian media quoting officials said the flights have been cancelled due to operational restrictions, Tehran had earlier implemented restrictions on flights when it fired nearly 200 missiles at Israel. Meanwhile, Israel on Sunday intensified its bombardment of southern Beirut and northern Gaza, killing at least 50 people. The day also saw IDF unleash its heaviest bombardment on the Lebanon capital since it escalated its campaign against Iran-backed group Hezbollah last month. With October 7 marking the first anniversary of Iran-backed Hamas’s gruesome attack, West Asia watchers believe Israel is likely to step up its attacks to target the outfit’s sponsor Iran. Israeli officials have given ample indications in recent days that they are planning a “significant strike” on Iran, possibly targeting its oil installations or nuclear sites, apart from military infrastructure. Israel has been pounding Lebanon and Gaza since Saturday night. Powerful explosions rocked Beirut’s southern sub- Bangladesh Hindu group to hold Durga Puja indoors amid security threats Yeshi se l i @ New Delhi With anti-minority sentiments running high in Bangladesh, a prominent Hindu organisation has decided to hold Durga Puja celebrations inside an auditorium. “Considering the volatility of the present situation, Durga Puja in Ramakrishna Mission will be held inside the auditorium as hardliners have issued warnings against making sound,” a senior activist for minorities in Dhaka told this newspaper. The activist said Hindus are living in a state of fear in Bangladesh after recent incidents of targeted attacks on them and other minority groups. Though the present government has assured protection for puja pandals, none of those accused of attacking the homes and properties of the Hindus have been arrested, the activist said.“We feel the present regime doesn’t want any minorities to exist in Bangladesh. Hindus are being falsely implicated in criminal cases,” the activist said. ADGP Ajith Kumar removed from Law & Order E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @T’Puram Under pressure from various quarters, including CPI, and concurring with the findings in the report of the high-level team that probed the allegations against ADGP M R Ajith Kumar, the state government has stripped him of the Law and Order portfolio. The decision is seen as a preemptive move to thwart the UDF from cashing in on the controversy as the assembly session commences on Monday Sources said Ajith Kumar . will be allowed to remain as ADGP (Armed Battalion) -- a post he has been holding as an additional charge. Intelligence chief Manoj Abraham has been posted as the new Law and Order ADGP . Manoj’s posting is considered to be a stop-gap ar rangement as he will be promoted to the rank of DGP in January . The move to shift Ajith Kumar out of the powerful post of the Law and Order ADGP gained momentum after the high-level team filed its re- port to the government on Saturday The report had adverse . remarks against the ADGP fol, lowing which Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan convened a meeting —attended by his personnel staff, including political secretary P Sasi — on Sunday morning to decide the fate of the officer. However, the CM’s Office dubbed the meeting as “routine”. Sources said State Police Chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb was to be present in the meeting, but he did not turn up MLA Jaleel’s call for ‘fatwa’ against gold smuggling sparks row E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ Malappuram Flames and smoke rise from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut on Sunday | AP urbs after midnight on Saturday, killing at least 23 people, Reuters reported. A BBC correspondent in the city described the night as “Beirut’s worst” since Israel started bombing the country two weeks ago. In Gaza, an Israeli strike on a mosque early on Sunday killed at least 21 people, Palestinian officials said. Displaced people were sheltering at the mosque that was struck near the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah. Another group of four persons were killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced people near the town, AP reported. “We are in a new phase of the war,” the Israeli military said in leaflets it dropped over areas in northern Gaza. “These areas are considered dangerous combat zones,” it said.  P9 NCB, Gujarat ATS bust Bhopal drug factory A N U R A A G S I N G H & D i l i p S ingh K shat ri ya @ Bhopal/Ahmedabad IN a joint operation, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Delhi have busted a drug factory in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and seized mephedrone (MD) and raw materials worth `1,814 crore, authorities said on Sunday . According to sources, the joint team raided a factory in the Bagroda Industrial Area on the outskirts of Bhopal on Saturday and seized 907.09 kg of the banned drug following specific inputs from a person who was recently detained in Surat. A process was underway to manufacture a large amount of the contraband when the raid was carried out, sources added. Two per- sons identified as Amit Chaturvedi (57) from Bhopal and Sanyal Prakash Bane (40) of Nashik, Maharashtra were taken into custody . Bane was earlier arrested in 2017 in a MD drug seizure case in Maharashtra and served five years in jail. After his release, he conspired with Chaturvedi to manufacture and sell MD to make quick money . The factory was subsequently taken on rent and nefarious operations star ted a few months ago. The joint raid by the Gujarat ATS and NCB also led to the seizure of around 5,000 kg of raw materials, including chemicals used for manufacturing MD. A preliminary probe suggested that the illegal unit had the capacity to manufacture 25 kg of MD per day officials said. , Anvar praises Stalin, tears into Pinarayi E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ Manjeri LDF MLA K T Jaleel’s remarks that a majority of those involved in gold smuggling at the Karipur airport are Muslims and that Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal should issue a fatwa (religious directive) urging the Muslim community to distance itself from such illegal activities have triggered a major controversy . IUML leaders, including national organising secretary E T Muhammad Basheer, state general secretary P M A Salam and Muslim Youth League general secretary P K Firos, have demanded an apology from Jaleel for ‘dragging a whole community’ into the gold smuggling issue. Salam wanted to know as to what is the stand of CPM state secretary M V Govindan on the issue. IUML leaders feel that Jaleel was trying to give credence to what Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said about Malappuram district and the illegal activities. “Jaleel, who is totally sidelined in the CPM, is trying to appease the party bosses. Even the BJP and RSS didn’t do what Jaleel has done now,” Salam said. Congress leaders A P Anilkumar, Rahul Mamkoottathil and Shafi Parambil also condemned Jaleel’s remarks. Shafi said India is not a theocratic state to counter criminal activities with a fatwa. “India is a democratic country, and here, illegal activities should be countered legally,” he said. Mamkoottathil said CPM is not restraining Jaleel because he is speaking on behalf of the party too. Senior BJP leader V Muraleedharan also came out against the MLA’s ‘fatwa’ saying it’s an insulk to the Constitution. Jaleel, however, was unmoved by the criticism and reiterated his stand on Sunday . ● More on P4 Seeking to put the CPM on the defensive further, MLA P V Anvar tried to juxtapose the ‘principled and strong anti-Sangh Parivar stand’ of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu with the ‘clandestine deal’ between the CPM and the BJP in Kerala. Addressing a public meeting in Manjeri on Sunday, the Nilambur MLA, who fell out with the CPM recently, said the DMK did everything to block the attempts of the BJP to win at least one seat from Tamil Nadu. He said the party gave its sure seat at Dindigul to the CPM and took the Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency when it was known that the BJP was eyeing the seat. “DMK is the most secular and democratic force in the country I had gone . to meet the party leaders in Chennai. Where else can I go? Should I go to the RSS headquarters? If I had gone there (RSS centre), the government would have given me full support,” he said. Anvar alleged that the LDF government had tried to sabotage his meeting with DMK leaders. “A secretary in the government flew to Chennai on Sunday and tried to meet Chief Minister M K Stalin, who was attending the airshow by the defence department. He wanted Stalin to issue a statement against me,” Anvar said. He alleged that a secret deal has been struck between the CPM and the BJP for the ensuing byelections in the Palakkad and Chelakkara assembly new cub on the block Jahnvi, a leopard, with her male cub born on August 25 at the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo. Another female leopard, Harshini, had delivered twin cubs eight days ago and they are yet to open their eyes. With the birth of twins, the total number of leopards in the zoo has gone up to nine | B P Deepu Kerala to screen children below six to detect hearing impairment In a possibly first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, the Kerala government will conduct a screening for children below the age of six to detect, prevent, and reverse hearing impairment among children. The pilot project of ‘Kaathoram’, under the Department of Social Justice and the Kerala Social Security Mission (KSSM), will be launched in the facility is available only in government hospitals and a few private hospitals. We are missing out on the other three lakh children. According to studies and experts, hearing loss can be completely reversed and treated if detected before the age of three. The screening aims to identify children with hearing impairments and provide them treat- The policies of P V Anvar’s new organisation, Democratic Movement Kerala, were unveiled at the public meeting in Manjeri. They include creation of a new district after bifurcating Malappuram and Kozhikode districts, implementation of caste census, voting right from non-resident Keralites and ensuring justice for the Malabar region. constituencies. “As per the agreement, the CPM will vote for the BJP in Palakkad and in return, the party candidate will get BJP votes in Chelakkara,” he said. He reiterated his charge that it was Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who paved the way for the BJP’s victory in Thrissur in the Lok Sabha elections. Thrissur Pooram was disrupted with the intention to turn the people against the government, he said. Anvar said he went to Chennai to seek the blessings of Stalin and the people of TN, “who successfully blocked all ways for BJP”.  ● More on P4 P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Vayalar award for Ashokan Charuvil Thrissur district in November. It will be extended to other districts next year. H Dineshan, director of the Kerala Social Security Mission, told TNIE that the project will be implemented with the help of the local selfgovernments and anganwadis. “Around five lakh infants are born in the state every year. However, only around two lakh children undergo hearing screening after birth as Malappuram, Kozhikode dists’ bifurcation in policy Lobbying starts in Cong even before results E X P RE S S REA D T’Puram: Writer Ashokan Charuvil has been chosen for the 48th Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Award for his novel ‘Kattoorkadavu’. The award, which includes a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a certificate of merit, and a memento, was announced by the Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Trust on Sunday. P4 Nilambur MLA P V Anvar addressing a public meeting in Manjeri on Sunday | Express nEXT hARYANA CM ‘Kaathoram’ project A nna J o se @ Kochi reportedly due to the media glare. According to a source, the report has adverse remarks against Ajith Kumar regarding his secret meetings with RSS national leaders. It mentioned that the meetings damaged the reputation of the force and that the officer’s action was an infringement of the service rules. It also said the officer did not inform the state government about the meetings and it was only after the Special Branch’s report that he apprised the government about it.  ● More on P4 ment and assistance,” he said. According to Dineshan, the project being implemented under the Anuyatra scheme of KSSM is the first-of-its-kind in the country “We selected . Thrissur and identified 1.58 lakh children below six there. With the help of the local bodies, we intend to bring these children and parents to the anganwadis for screening,” he said, adding that `28 lakh has been allotted by the state government for the project. “We are training our staff at the National Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, under the social justice department, to screen the children,” he said. According to an official with the KSSM, the first phase of the project, once implemented, will be completed in three months. “It will be easi- er for us to conduct screening once the first phase is completed. We can also make changes in the procedure accordingly while implementing it in other districts. The association with other departments can help in screening, identifying, and treating children,” said the official, adding that a district-level committee has been constituted for the implementation of the project. With less than 24 hours left for the Haryana assembly election results to be announced, the Congress party hopes to celebrate an early Diwali, going by the exit polls. However, it has an uphill task at hand —to nail down a chief minister’s name from among multiple contenders and to contain the party’s problem of infighting. The exit polls on Saturday forecast a smooth win for the Congress with most pollsters predicting 55 of Haryana’s 90 seats - comfortably ahead of the halfway mark of 46. Even as the exit polls were out, hectic parleys began in the Congress camp to decide the next Chief Minister. Among the CM hopefuls are Rajya Sabha MP and ex-Union minister Kumari Selja, former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, his son and Lok Sabha MP Deepender Hooda, Rajya Sabha MP and AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, and state Congress chief Udai Bhan, a Hooda loyalist. Bhupinder Singh Hooda left for Delhi on Sunday evening where he will hold a meeting with the party leadership. On Monday, the veteran leader is likely to meet the senior leadership before he returns to his Rohtak residence in the afternoon.