BELAGAVI  WEDNESDAY  NOVEMBER 13, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 14  LATE CITY EDITION 35 KILLED, 43 INJURED AFTER MAN RAMS HIS CAR INTO CROWD IN CHINA Police said the 62-year-old driver, surnamed Fan, had been “triggered by (his) dissatisfaction with the division of property following his divorce” PEOPLE AT ZHUHAI SPORTS CENTRE TARGETED ATTACKER SERIOUSLY INJURED, HOSPITALISED According to police, the disgruntled man drove his small SUV into a crowd of people exercising at a sports centre in the Chinese city of Zhuhai, which is hosting a major international military airshow this week. Terming it a “major vicious incident”, local police said the horrific incident occurred at 7:48 pm on Monday. The attacker tried to flee but the police nabbed him ■ ■ Responding officers found Fan in his vehicle attempting to self-harm with a knife. They swiftly intervened and sent him to hospital Fan is still receiving medical treatment as he was unconscious due to severe injuries to his neck and other areas and is not yet fit to be questioned by the police, state-run Xinhua news agency said | P11 Zhuhai 15TH CHINA INT’L AVIATION & AEROSPACE EXHIBITION KICKED OFF ON TUESDAY S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai A day after he accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of being selective in its searches, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said he was subjected to checks for the second straight day on Tuesday, when he arrived in Latur district to campaign for the November 20 assembly polls. Thackeray said of ficial searched his luggage, like they did on Monday after his helicopter landed at Wani in Yavatmal district. Tuesday’s inspection was carried out by the election officials after the former Maharashtra CM’s chopper arrived at a helipad in Ausa of Latur ahead of his rally scheduled to be held in Kasar Shirshi village. According to a video posted on X, Thackeray is heard asking the election staffers why he was being singled out for such searches. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged cash is being exchanged for votes at the behest of BJP-Sena-NCP leaders but the EC is not acting. EC officials later confirmed that nothing objectionable was found in Thackeray’s bags. EXPRESS READ B’desh seeks Interpol help to arrest Hasina DHAKA: A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Tuesday asked Interpol to issue a red-corner notice for the arrest of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in connection with the deaths of hundreds of protesters during the mass uprising against her. Hasina had fled to India on August 5. In a 1st, govt approves all-women CISF battalion NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday announced that it has approved a first-ever all-women CISF reserve battalion comprising more than 1,000 personnel, keeping in mind the burgeoning duties of the force at airports and similar installations of strategic and national importance. P9 P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati Given the kinds of weapons recovered and the clothes they wore, we can say that they were either armed militants or armed miscreants I K Muivah, IGP KUKI FIAT No CRPF personnel shall be allowed to leave their camp premises till they apologise, a Kuki student outfit said THREE Meitei women and as many children from the same community have been missing from restive Manipur’s Jiribam since Monday’s gunfight in which 10 Kuki ‘militants’ were gunned down by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the police. In Imphal, 13 organisations jointly announced a 24-hour total shutdown in the Imphal valley from 6 pm of Tuesday seeking government intervention to secure the release of the six individuals. Talking about the Jiribam gunfight, Inspector General of Police I K Muivah said armed miscreants had attacked the Borobekra police station and also at a nearby CRPF camp at Jakuradhor on Monday afternoon. “The militants were using RPGs and other sophisticated weapons such as AK, INSAS, SLRs. A CRPF jawan was injured in the attack and evacuated to Assam for treatment,” Muivah said. The CRPF retaliated and the firing stopped after about 45 minutes. “About 10 militants were found dead. Two elderly persons were found burned to death while three women and three minor children were found missing,” the IGP said, adding the police are trying to trace the six missing persons. The two elderly persons were from the Meitei community . Protesting the “inhumane actions” of CRPF in Jiribam, the Kuki Students’ Organisation issued a “notice” stating that “no CRPF personnel shall be allowed to leave their camp premises.” It demanded a thorough and courtmonitored probe into the “fake encounter”. MEAT AND FISH SNACKS, SWEETS CEREALS AND PRODUCTS 7.43 6.94 4.87 3.65 3.17 Figures are inflation rates (%) of the items for October 2024 Inflation heat breaches RBI’s top tolerance level Retail inflation shoots up to 6.21% in October, dashes rate cut hopes M O N I K A YA D A V @ New Delhi IIP TURNS POSITIVE THE spectre of inflation has come back to haunt the economy as retail inflation shot up to 6.21% in October, marking the highest level in 14 months, driven by a sharp spike in food prices. This surge was noted in the prices of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and cooking oils. Food inflation rose considerably to 10.87% in October, the highest in 15 months, up from 9.24% in September and 6.61% in the same month last year. In October, the rate of price increases exceeded the Reserve Bank of India’s upper limit for acceptable inflation (6%). Rural areas experienced a significant rise in inflation at 6.7%, while urban consumers faced a lower rate of 5.6%. The latest inflation numbers dash any India’s industrial production grew 3.1% with all three key sectors— mining, manufacturing, and power generation—demonstrating positive trends in September. This is a notable improvement as factory output had dipped to (-) 0.1% in August hope of an interest rate cut by the RBI during its monetary policy review in December. In October, food prices in rural areas increased 10.7%, while urban food inflation was even steeper at 11.1%. Meanwhile, inflation for vegetables surged from 36% in September to a five-year high of 42.2% in October. Additionally edible oil , prices rose 9.5%, the biggest jump in two years. Fruit prices rose 8.4%, while inflation for pulses decreased to 7.4%, ending a 17-month streak of double-digit price increases. On the other hand, spice prices fell 7%. Additionally in October, households , experienced an 11% increase in the costs of personal care products and services, up from 9% in September. For experts, core inflation remaining below 4% for 11th consecutive month is a big positive. “The surge in vegetable prices was due to uneven rains. Data for November suggests some moderation in vegetable prices. This, in addition to a favourable base, can lend some downside to vegetable inflation,” said Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist, CRISIL. Truck mows down 2 arguing over accident EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru TWO drivers, who were arguing over a road accident standing on the busy Kempegowda International Airport Road, were run over by a cement bulker truck involved in the accident, after a BMTC Volvo bus rammed it. The accident occurred on Monday around 11.25 pm on Bengaluru-Ballari Road flyover opposite Legacy Apartment in Yelahanka traffic police limits. The deceased have been identified as Jagadish, 40, driver of an SUV and Kuldeep Kumar, 42, driv, er of the cement bulker truck. Police said that around 11.20 pm, the truck rammed the SUV from behind. Drivers of both the vehicles entered into an argument after parking their vehicles in a dangerous manner on the flyover. The BMTC Volvo bus driver, who was proceeding towards the airport from Hebbal, could not apply the brakes due to poor visibility and rammed the cement bulker truck from behind. The truck, which moved forward, mowed down both the drivers. The drivers were standing between the truck and the SUV . Kuldeep died on the spot, while Jagadish died on the way to a nearby hospital. Carbon market deal done? Experts wary S V KRISHNA CHAITANYA Yalchin Rafiyev EXPRESS IN BAKU T HE United National Climate Conference (COP29) presidency has claimed early success with the adoption of standards for carbon credits, referred to as Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, a long-debated framework designed to help nations collaborate on reducing carbon emissions. But, critics say it was pushed without adequate scrutiny and would lead to greenwashing as there are not enough safeguards. Yalchin Rafiyev, COP29 lead negotiator, told the media, “This will be a game-changing GAME-CHANGING TOOL: COP29 “This will be a game-changing tool to direct resources to the developing world and help us save up to $250 billion a year when implementing our climate plans,” said Yalchin Rafiyev, Azerbaijan’s Dy foreign minister and COP29 lead negotiator tool to direct resources to the developing world.” However, Harjeet Singh, Global Engagement Director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, disagreed. “Fast-tracking carbon market rules at the start of COP29 sets a troubling precedent. Rushed rules open the door to weak, false ‘solutions’ that will only delay real climate action,” he told this paper. Article 6, offers two options for trading: countries can enter into bilateral agreements and set their own rules, or participate in a United Nations-supervised market open to all. This UN supervised carbon market, in which the credit price will be fixed by the market players but embedded with third party accreditation, has several loopholes. Critics argue that the benefits of Article 6 are far from guaranteed, as they could result in potential human rights abuses and ‘greenwashing’, in which polluters can claim environmental progress without genuinely reducing emissions. However, Martin Hession, Vice-Chair of the Article 6.4 of the Supervisory Body told this , newspaper, “there are enough safeguards to thwart greenwashing. Third party verification is integral. But, individual countries must also ensure the quality of credits. We are setting high quality standards.” On Article 6, India expects to conclude the deal. It hopes COP29 would be able to agree to a mechanism which uses market-based instruments (such as carbon credits) to incentivise low-carbon development. Victoria Hospital, 1 in South to adopt Virtopsy 8 officials raided, `22.5 cr assets found R A K S H I T H G O W D A @ Bengaluru THE Lokayukta police on Tuesday conducted simultaneous raids on 37 places of eight state government officials across the state and found assets to the tune of Rs 22.5 crore disproportionate to their known sources of income. The assets included sites, houses and land worth Rs17.84 crore, Rs 66.7 lakh in cash, jewels worth Rs 1.66 crore, and vehicles worth Rs 1.44 crore. The accused are Vittal Shivappa Dhavaleshwar, Village st VICTORIA Hospital here will soon adopt Virtopsy, also known as virtual autopsy to ex, amine bodies without cutting them open. Virtual autopsy uses scanning technology espe, cially a CT scanner, to scan the body The images are then proc. essed to a 3D visual representation of organs. Victoria will become the first government hospital in South India to adopt this technology Cur. rently AIIMS in New Delhi and , NEIGRIHMS in Meghalaya perform virtual autopsies. St John’s Medical College Hospital in the city is the only private hospital to have this facility in South India. A top official from Victoria Hospital said that the process of adopting this technology is nearing completion and the Department of Medical Education is keen on introducing virtual autopsy. Over 3,000 postmortems are conducted in Victoria Hospital every year. Virtual autopsy helps in examining the bodies faster. In the initial phase, virtual autopsy will be used in road accident and accidental fall cases as they typically have bone fractures. PULSES AND PRODUCTS FRUITS 42.18 10.99 9.69 9.51 8.43 EGG WHAT’S DRIVING THE PRICE RISE OILS AND FATS TWO MEITEIS CHARRED TO DEATH, 6 MISSING FOOD AND BEVERAGES DAY AFTER PERSONAL CARE High drama as Uddhav’s bags checked again by EC officials Vegetables 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 “Also, in most road accident cases, people will be under treatment before succumbing to injuries. In such cases, generally there won’t be any foul play, which needs a detailed examination to find out the reasons for the death,” the official said. However, murder, suicide and dowry death cases require conventional autopsy methods. “As technology has improved and there is accuracy in virtual autopsy we can adopt it even to , examine murder and suicide cases,” the official said. A source said in the past, there was opposition to body incisions as some religious beliefs do not support them. However, doctors have to perform autopsies as per law. This technology can make the process less traumatic for families of the dead. Additionally, virtual autopsy can help in research and doctors are in favour of it, he added. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru Administrative Officer, Revenue Department, Bore Gaon, Nippani taluk of Belagavi district; Venkatesh S Majumdar, Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Commercial Tax Department, Koramangala, Bengaluru; Kashinath Buddappa Bhajantri, Assistant Engineer, Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Sub-Division, Hirekeruru, Haveri; Kamal Raj PH, Assistant Director, Commerce and Industries Department, District Industrial Centre, Karuru, Davanagere; Raveendra Kumar, Deputy Director (Deputy Tehsildar), Dis- trict Training Centre, Bidar; Nagesh D, Public Relations Officer, Mysuru City Corporation, Mysuru; Prakash V Divi, sional Mechanical Engineer (retired), KSRTC, Ramanagara; and Govindappa Hanumanthappa Bhajantri, Assistant Secretary Karnataka Industri, al Areas Development Board, Lakkamanahalli, Dharwad. Prakash owned assets worth Rs4.26 crore. They included immovable assets worth Rs3.97 crore, including 8 sites, 6 houses, 6 acres land, and movable assets worth Rs28.17 lakh, including jewellery worth Rs15 lakh. Poll officials leave the mustering centre at JMJ High School in Shiggaon on Tuesday | X Bypoll today: Women have a say in Sandur, Ch’patna A S H W I N I M S R I PA D @ Bengaluru WOMEN voters will play a crucial role in deciding the fate of the candidates in two of the three Assembly constituencies in the state, where byelections will be held on Wednesday. For, their numbers are much higher than male voters. Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm. According to data from the State Election Commission’s office, Channapatana constituency has 1.20 lakh women voters as against 1.12 lakh men. Sandur has 1,18,437 women as against 1,17,939 men. However, Shiggaon has more male voters. In the 2023 Assembly elections, Union Minister and former CM HD Kumaraswamy contested against CP Yogeshwara (then BJP candidate) and won by a margin of 15,000 votes in Channapatna constituency With 8,000 more . women voters than men, Congress is hoping that they will back the party based on its guarantee schemes. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who is in-charge of Ramanagara district, expressed confidence that the Congress government’s Gruhalakshmi, Shakti, Annabhag ya and Gruha Jyothi schemes have helped women manage their finances well. P4 British era mining tunnel unearthed in Sandur forests A M I T S U PA D H Y E @ Ballari The tunnel that was discovered recently in Sandur forests of Ballari district A team of experts involved in tracing early human habitations in the forests of Sandur in Ballari district recently stumbled upon a 200-year-old one-km tunnel of the British era. There are many big and small caves in the forests of Sandur and the team launched its study sometime ago. The team led by Prof Ravi Korishettar, honorary director of Archeological Pre-History Museum, and noted wildlife experts Samad Kottur and Santosh Martin from Ballari discovered the tunnel. The team is assisted by officials from the forest department. Local forest guards were aware of an opening of a tunnel-like structure, but did not venture into it. On Sunday the team managed , to cover about 100 metres inside the tunnel. According to the team, as one proceeds, the height of the tunnel decreases and it is close to four feet at some places. There is a large opening at the entrance to the tunnel, which looks like a cave. “Not much information is available locally on the tunnel, which is atop the Devadari Hills. It’s possible that the tunnel was made during the British regime to explore iron ore. Experts in the mining field may throw more light on it. It is interesting to see the tunnel at 900 metres above the sea level,” a team member said.