BENGALURU l Monday l November 04, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION India, China made some progress in disengagement, says Jaishankar India and China have made ‘some progress’ in disengagement, the foreign minister said, while interacting with the Indian diaspora in Brisbane It opens up possibility for other steps: EAM India has big role to play in west Asia “In terms of India and China, yes, we have made some progress,” he said, adding that the disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh, agreed by India and China, is a welcome step. S Jaishankar said it could open up the possibility that “other steps could happen” that would improve the ties further. He arrived in Australia on Saturday and will fly to Singapore later ■ ■ Jaishankar said India is “trying to do something” to bring peace in both Ukraine and West Asia. In case of the latter, India is one of the few countries that can mediate between Israel and Iran to stop a wider war He said there’s genuine goodwill and desire among nations to work with India. “We see a sentiment overall for India to succeed,” Jaishankar said Fourth Indian consulate in Australia to be inaugurated in Brisbane by Jaishankar 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 12 injured as terrorists lob grenade on Srinagar crowd CRPF vehicle was the target; L-G asks forces to crush terror outfits F AYA Z W A N I @ New Delhi A day after Srinagar witnessed the first encounter in two years, militants on Sunday carried out a grenade attack at the crowded flea market in the city injuring , 12 people, including two women. The condition of one person is critical. After the attack, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha directed security officials to use full force and crush the terror outfits. Sources said militants lobbed a grenade towards a vehicle of paramilitary CRPF at Sunday Market near Tourist Reception Centre. The attack happened in the afternoon when the place was crowded with people thronging the flea market to buy woollens and other items. “The grenade missed the intended target and exploded on a road. It caused splinter injuries to those present on the spot,” a police officer said. The injured were evacuated to nearby SMHS hospital, where doctors attended to them. Medical Superintendent Dr Tasneem Showkat told TNIE that of the injured, one is in critical condition, while the rest are stable. Forensic team collects samples from the attack site in Srinagar on Sunday | PTI The grenade attack caused panic in the area with the people running helter-skelter. The grenade attack took place a day after an encounter in Khyanyar of Srinagar in which a top Lashkar commander was killed. There has been a surge in militant violence and attacks in J&K after the civilian government led by Omar Abdullah J&K Assembly session starts today The Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will meet for a five-day session on Monday. NC leader Abdul Rahim Rather is set to be the Speaker New study: King cobra has 4 variants, not just 1 A m i t S U pa d h y e @ Hubballi In ground-breaking research, well-known wildlife biologist P Gowri Shankar from Agumbe has proved that king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) — the longest venomous snake in the world, has four different species. The discovery comes 185 years after it was first described in 1836. The king cobra has so far been considered as a single species. Gowri Shankar, who is known for his work on king cobra conservation, has led the study that spread across several countries in South and South East Asia and took 10 long years. Gowri Shankar looked at widespread distribution of king cobras and hypothesised that king cobras could have multiple species. Many scientists had proposed similar hypotheses earlier, but could not establish them and this led to Gowri Shankar’s PhD research. In 2012, he teamed up with various organisations and universities to plan and execute his study . Under the supervision of Dr Kartik Shanker from IISc, Dr SK Dutta (Prof. Emeritus) and Prof Jacob Ho glund from Uppsala University, Sweden, he collected tissue samples of king cobras in different habitats to establish the different variants.  P5 took charge as chief minister on October 16. “The last few days have been dominated by headlines of attacks and encounters in parts of the Valley . Today’s news of a grenade attack on innocent shoppers... is deeply disturbing. There can be no justification for targeting innocent civilians,” Omar said. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha spoke to DGP Nalin Prabhat and senior security officials. “Terrorists targeting citizens will have to pay a very heavy price for their actions. You have full freedom to crush terror outfits and leave no stone untur ned to complete this mission,” Sinha told the senior security officials. Will implement UCC, tribals to be exempt: Shah M U K ESH R A N J A N @ Ranchi Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that the BJP will implement the Unifor m Civil Code (UCC) in Jharkhand if it wins the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, but would keep the tribals out of the law’s ambit. “Uniform Civil Code will definitely be introduced in Jharkhand, but the tribal community will be kept out of its ambit,” Shah said. “They (The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Congress) are INDIA did not have any tangible answer to New Zealand’s, what seemed like, an infinite variety of cricket. If the hosts perished to some immaculate pace bowling under overcast conditions, almost England– like in Bengaluru, and later, on turning tracks in Pune and Mumbai, the batters scratched their heads like students struggling to find solutions to multiple problems. Only Risabh Pant stood among the ruins. The ending seemed inevitable on Sunday After all, for the . nine days of cricket India and New Zealand have had in this series, the visitors outperformed India in almost every single one. The tenth day (of the three-Test series) was no different either as New Zealand became the first team to beat India in three consecutive Tests at home. While Tom Latham’s side was spot on in every move, captain Rohit Sharma’s every move seemed to have backfired. He admitted as much after the loss here. “Something like this will be a low point in my career. I fully take responsibility for that as a captain. I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. With the bat, I have not been good enough,” Sharma said. It all began in Bengaluru when Sharma misread the pitch and opted to bat. The chances of recovery were slim after the 46 all out in the first innings. In search of a win, India opted for a surface that would assist spinners in Pune. However, it was Mitchell Santner who outfoxed the host batters. The second Test loss exposed the struggles of the most experienced batters against spin. In Mumbai, on another rank turner, India went into self-destruct mode. PREETH A N A IR @ New Delhi THE winter session of Parliament is likely to commence on November 25 and will continue until December 20, according to sources. During the session, the government will introduce the contentious One Nation One Election and Waqf bills. The results of the Jharkhand and Maharashtra assembly elections, which will come on November 23, will also have a significant bearing on the session. Still smarting from the Hary- Director Guruprasad found hanging in city E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Bengaluru Renowned Kannada movie director, 52-yearold Guruprasad was found dead in an apartment complex in Madanayakanahalli police limits on the outskirts of the city on Sunday . The decomposed body of the director was found hanging from the ceiling fan hook. He is suspected to have died by suicide. He was staying in a flat at Tata New Haven apartment in Dasanapura for the last eight months. The incident came to light around 11 am on Sunday after a security guard, who sensed a foul smell, put out a message in the apartment WhatsApp group. Initially it was suspected that , the smell was from the garbage. But later it was confirmed that it was from the director’s flat. One of the guards, using a ladder, checked the director’s flat and found him hanging. Guruprasad’s birthday was on November 2. Guruprasad, who hailed from Kanakapura, directed five movies, including actor Jaggesh-starrer ‘Mata’. The director, who was arrested in a cheque-bounce case in January 2023, is suspected to have taken the extreme step due to financial issues. After a dispute with his first wife, he had married again. He was reportedly staying alone at the flat. The police suspect that he might have died a few days ago.  P3 On Sunday, too, the collapse began with Sharma’s miscued pull against Matt Henry. They slumped to 29/5 and eventually fell short by 25 runs while chasing 147. India are in transition where the seniors, including Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin, are in the November of their careers. India’s last home series defeat came 12 years ago. The dominance that followed and the fall in the last three weeks would make this one of the lowest phases in the history of Indian cricket.  P11 land already grabbed by them.“If the BJP forms government, we will make a law to return the land to the innocent tribals of Jharkhand,” Shah said. Training his guns on Soren, Shah said the CM insulted Champai Soren by unceremoniously removing him from the post of CM to satisfy his lust for power. Reacting to Shah’s promise to implement the UCC, Soren vowed that neither the UCC nor the National Registry of Citizens will be implemented in the Winter session likely from Nov 25, Centre may introduce Waqf bill Gone with the spin in less than 10 days: Why India crumbled against Kiwis G o m e s h S @ Mumbai spreading rumours that if the UCC is introduced in the state, the art and culture of the tribal population will be ruined,” he said. Releasing the BJP’s manifesto, ‘Sankalp Patra’, for the upcoming elections in Jharkhand, Shah alleged that the JMM-led state government has failed to protect the tribal land from ‘intruders’. He said if the BJP forms government in the state, it will bring laws to prevent the transfer of tribal land to infiltrators and take back the New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel (3L) and Devon Conway (L) shake hands with India’s Virat Kohli (2R) and captain Rohit Sharma (2L). Ravindra Jadeja is also seen in the picture (extreme right) | AFp ana defeat, the Congress and its allies in the Maha Vikas Aghadi are pinning their hopes on wresting power in Maharashtra while retaining the Hemant Soren-led gover nment in Jharkhand. The results will dominate the tone and tenor of the session. Sources said the government may also pass a resolution to grant full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, a crucial step towards reinstating constitutional rights and safeguarding the unique identity of the region’s residents. Re- cently J&K CM Omar Abdullah , met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to discuss the issues related to the UT, including early restoration of statehood. According to sources, a special joint sitting of both Houses will be held on November 26 to mark the 75th anniversary of adopting the Constitution. If the government introduces the One Nation, One Election Bill in Parliament, it will face stiff resistance as several opposition-ruled states are opposed to the proposal, saying it is against the Constitution. state. Senior BJP leaders including Jharkhand election incharge Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Assam CM and co-election incharge Himanta Biswa Sarma attended the function to launch the ‘Sankalp Patra’. Shah said BJP will launch ‘GoGo Didi Yojna’ in the state if elected. Under the scheme, `2,100 will be transferred to poor women on the 11th day of every month.Free LPG cylinders will be given to poor households on Diwali and Raksha Bandhan, he said.  P8 express read Waqf row: Politics behind BJP stir, says CM Bengaluru: CM Siddaramaiah said that the protests by BJP at taluk offices on Monday over the Waqf issue was politically motivated. He said his government has ordered the withdrawal of notices issued to farmers P4 Naxals attack 2 cops in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma Sukma: Two Chhattisgarh police constables were injured when Naxalites, dressed as civilians, attacked them with sharp weapons at a weekly market in Sukma district on Sunday. The Naxalites also took away the service rifles of the cops