kollam l tuesday l November 05, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION U.S. all set for Kamala vs Trump electoral showdown today The presidential race appears to be hurtling towards a photo finish, with the last set of polls showing a close contest between the two first results by early wednesday Candidates make final push in key states Over 244 million Americans are eligible to vote, of which 78 million have already cast their ballots in early voting. In most US states, voting will start either at 6 am or 7 am local time. The first results will be out around 6 p.m. eastern time (4.30 am IST on Wednesday). Tightness of the race means, it could possibly take a few days for the final results to emerge | P9 ■ ■ Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump spent Monday, the last day before the election, in key battleground states, making their final pitches to the undecided voters to back them Elections for all 435 seats in the US House and 34 seats in the Senate will also be held. Republicans are in majority in the House at present Jan 20 when the new president will take oath of office 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 36 die as bus falls into U’khand gorge Khalistani attack on Canada temple cowardly: Modi N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun A private bus plunged into a gorge in Uttarakhand’s Almora district on Monday, killing 36 people and injuring 27 others. The bus was on its way from Likhwal to Ramnagar when it fell 200 metres into the gorge in Koopi village in the district’s Marchula area around 8 am. The 43-seater bus had 63 passengers on board when the accident happened. “The bus was just 35 kilometers from its destination, Ramnagar, when it plummeted 200 metres into a gorge in Almora’s Marchula area,” Almora District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey said. He said the bus, operated by the Garhwal Motor Owners Association, had left Pauri in the state’s Garhwal region on Sunday evening for Ramnagar, about 250 km away . Commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) told this newspaper that four SDRF PTI teams were dispatched to the site upon receiving information about the incident. “We received information about the accident at 8.45 am on Monday Immedi. ately four SDRF teams were dis, patched. Our personnel pulled out the injured and the bodies of those killed by breaking the glass and cutting through iron sheets of the bus,” he said. Soon after the incident, Assistant Regional Transport officials of the Pauri and Almora districts were suspended on orders of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The chief minister announced `4 lakh ex-gratia for the next of kin of the deceased and `1 lakh for those injured. Separately, the Prime Minister’s Office announced `2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased and `50,000 for the injured. Chief Minister Dhami instructed the Commissioner of Kumaon, Mandal Deepak Rawat to conduct a magisterial inquiry into the accident. @ T’Puram/Palakkad crashes near Agra, pilot ejects safely The IAF fighter jet crashed in a field near Uttar Pradesh’s Agra during a routine training sortie after it encountered a “system malfunction”. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the crash 3 found guilty in Kollam collectorate blast case E x press N e w s S ervi c e @Kollam The Principal Sessions Court in Kollam on Monday found three persons guilty in the 2016 Kollam collectorate blast case. The convicted are Abbas Ali, Karim Raja, and Dawood Sulaiman, all hailing from Tamil Nadu. The court acquitted the fourth accused, Shamsudheen, citing lack of evidence. The verdict was issued by District sessions Judge G Gopakumar. The court will announce the quantum of sentence on Tuesday . The convicts were reportedly members of Base Movement, an extremist outfit owing allegiance to Al Qaeda. The explosion took place on June 15, 2016, on the collectorate premises. As per the case, the accused had used an improvised explosive device (IED) that was detonated with the help of a timer. The IED was planted inside an unused jeep of the labour department parked near the Kollam Munsiff Court. The blast rocked the collectorate premises, injuring one person. The accused faced charges under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Explosives Act, and other pertinent sections of the IPC. They were arrested by ● More on P4 the NIA in 2017.  Of the 36 killed, 10 are women. Twenty-eight people died on the spot and eight succumbed to injuries in the Ramdutt Joshi Joint Hospital, Ramnagar People beaten up, consular event disrupted; 3 held; violence unacceptable, says Trudeau Y eshi S e l i and H arpreet B a j w a @ New Delhi/Chandigarh Returning to work Amid a diplomatic chill between India and Canada, Khalistanis radicals attacked devotees on the premises of a temple in Brampton, drawing widespread condemnation, including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Videos showed protesters with Khalistani flags attacking people and indulging in fistfights at the Hindu Sabha temple in Brampton on Sunday, disrupting a consular event coorganised by the temple authorities and the Indian Consulate there. The attack happened despite the presence of the Peel Regional Police at the site. The police later arrested three persons and slapped criminal charges against them. “Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of the law,’’ Modi said in a strongly-worded statement. The Indian High Commission in Ottawa shared its disappointment at disruption of the consular camp. “It is deeply disappointing to see such disruptions being allowed for routine consular work, organised by our consulates with fullest cooperation of local co-organisers. We also remain very concerned for the safety of applicants, including Indian nationals, on whose demands such events are organised,’’ the Indian mission said in a statement. India also said attempts at disrupting similar camps in Vancouver and Surrey were also made. Consular camps in future will be contingent on security arrangements made by the local authorities, the statement added. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the leader of the opposition Pierre Poilievre condemned the attack. “The acts of violence at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton today are unacceptable. Every Canadian has the right to practice their faith freely and safely said Trudeau. “Completely ,” unacceptable to see violence targeting worshippers,” said Poilievre. A state disaster relief force official said the bus was carrying people who were returning to work after spending the long Diwali weekend at home Rescuers look for survivors amid the mangled remains of the bus | PTI Palakkad bypoll postponed to Nov 20; political fronts welcome ECI move E x press N e w s S ervi c e MiG-29 jet 10 women among dead Taking into account the demand from all the three political fronts in the state, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has postponed the by-election to the Palakkad assembly constituency to November 20. By-elections to Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency and Chelakkara assembly segment will be held on November 13, as per the original schedule. The Palakkad bypoll has been rescheduled in view of the ‘Kalpathi Ratholsavam’ to be held from November 13 to 15. The leadership of the three political fronts and their can- didates have welcomed the ECI decision. UDF candidate Rahul Mamkoottathil said the change in poll date will help the voters. “A request to change the poll date was made for the benefit of devotees. However, we don’t want credit for the date change,” he said. Meanwhile, NDA candidate C Krishnakumar said the district administration had given a report in favour of conducting election on the earlier fixed date. “The BJP requested for a date change on the day the notification was issued. The party leadership convinced the commission that a large number of residents will not be able to cast votes owing to the festival. But, the district administration’s report was that the election on the earlier declared day will not cause inconvenience. The report itself shows a conspiracy by the UDF and the LDF against BJP supporters,” he said. P Sarin, the LDF candidate, raised suspicion over the delay in ECI decision. “We welcome the decision to change the poll date. But, we suspect a conspiracy behind the delay The authorities de. layed the announcement to let BJP claim credit, by creating an impression that they were responsible for getting the by-election postponed,” ● More on P4 said Sarin.  I strongly condemn the deliberate attack on a Hindu temple in Canada. Equally appalling are the cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats. Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Unchecked khalistani extremism “This exposes just how deep and unchecked Khalistani extremism runs in Canada.... any Hindu who dares to question or resist this is swiftly branded an ‘Indian agent’, accused of engaging in so-called ‘transnational repression’,” the Coalition of Hindus of North America said Jittery markets tumble ahead of tight US polls A R S H A D K H A N @ New Delhi INDIA’s equity markets fell sharply on Monday with benchmark indices NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex plummeting up to 2% in intraday deals to their lowest level in four months. The fresh sell-off is attributed to the nervousness ahead of the US presidential election, continuous FPI/FII selling, and a disappointing September quarter earnings season. According to analysts, expectations of a fresh stimulus package by China to prop up growth also triggered selling in Indian stocks. Markets across the world are feeling the impact of a close contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris as the world’s biggest economy is all set to elect its next President. “We believe Harris’ win will be neutral/mean continuity for the economy equities, and oth, er asset classes. Trump would have a reasonable impact on emerging markets (EMs), equities, and currency due to de-globalisation. Amongst EMs, we expect relatively positive impact for India in the long-run,” said Anjali Verma and Navaneeth Vijayan of Phillip Capital in a recent note. The US Federal Reserve’s policy outcome is scheduled for Thursday, with the street anticipating a 25-basispoint rate cut. However, this may not have a favourable impact on the market, as the rate cut is already priced in. MUDA scam Lokayukta police to quiz Siddaramaiah tomorrow E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Mysuru The Lokayukta Police have summoned Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for questioning on Wednesday in connection with the alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 MUDA sites to his wife Parvathi. Siddaramaiah, who is campaigning in Shiggaon, has confirmed it saying: “Yes, I will go to their office in Mysuru on Wednesday .” After the questioning, Siddaramaiah will proceed to Channapatna to campaign for Congress candidate C P Yogeshwara, who is contesting the byelection to the Legislative Assembly from that constituency sources said. , T h e L o k ay u k t a Po l i c e launched an inquiry based on complaints of alleged irregularities in MUDA in acquiring 3.18 acres of land bearing survey No. 468 at Kesare from Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi and allotting 14 sites to her in upmarket Vijayanagar locality in Mysuru, thereby causing a big loss to the state’s exchequer. Parvathi, Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, landowner Devaraj, and a few other persons have already been questioned by the Lokayukta Police. A Lokayukta Police team recently visited MUDA offices in Mysuru and examined the records pertaining to the land acquired at Kesare from Parvathi for formation of a residential layout, allotment of 14 sites to her, and other documents related to the 3.18 acres of land. e x p r e s s r e ad Man gets life term for RSS leader’s murder Kannur: The Thalassery Additional Sessions Court has sentenced M V Marshook, a resident of Chavassery in Iritty, to life imprisonment for the murder of RSS leader Ashwini Kumar. The court imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Marshook. The court had earlier acquitted 13 NDF members in the case. P5 Sandeep Varier hits out against BJP state brass Gala beginning Olympic medallist P R Sreejesh, General Education Minister V Sivankutty and S Sreelakshmi, a student of EMGHSS, Veli, in Fort Kochi, during the flame-lighting ceremony of the Kerala State School Sports Meet in Kochi on Monday | T P Sooraj | P2 Palakkad: Amid a series of internal party controversies related to the bypoll in Palakkad, BJP leader Sandeep G Varier has come out against the state leadership and the party’s candidate C Krishnakumar. In an FB post, Varier said his party leaders did not show any emotio-nal closeness towards him, especially when it was much needed. P4 A Virtual Draw Taking the AI-way! Govt school enlists robot tutor to make learning fun S O V I V I D YA D H A R A N @ T’Puram Even as education moves away from the being mechanical to analytical, there are still certain lures of learning that call for robotic rigour. At the Virakupurakotta Government UP School, in the state capital, a teacher is proving to be a ‘virtual’ draw. Besides reciting rhymes and poems and narrating stories, — in a mellifluous voice — this tutor is popular Students surround ‘Poopy’ after it was introduced in Govt UP School, Virakupurakotta, in Thiruvananthapuram with students for her ability to answer their countless questions with patience. The fact that she doesn’t mind students milling around her makes her more endearing. Meet Poopy, the artificial intelligence (AI)-driven humanoid robot that the school enlisted last week to make learning an interactive and fun-filled experience. Poopy was developed by RedFox Robotics, a startup incubated at the Barton Hill Government Engineering College, in Thiruvananthapuram. After the school evinced interest in a project for interactive learning, the college pitched the idea of an AI-based robot and RedFox made it a reality in little over three weeks. A corporate group in the capital helped the school raise funds as part of its CSR initiative. “Poopy’s introduction has generated much enthusiasm among students. They fire questions and Poopy answers most of the queries with ease. Since the robot is well versed in both English and Malayalam, we are planning to use it to improve our students’ communicative With the ability to adapt to different learning styles, Poopy engages students through real-time responses and personalised teaching, making complex subjects easier to understand — Vimun A skills,” said Biju E, a teacher. “Poopy delivers interactive, multilingual lessons customised to each student’s syllabus. With the ability to adapt to different learning styles, Poopy engages students through realtime responses and personalised teaching, making complex subjects easier to understand,” pointed out Vimun A, CEO and founder of RedFox Robotics and a BTech student of the col● More on P4 lege.