kochi l wednesday l November 13, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l 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 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 ■ Zhuhai Attacker seriously injured, hospitalised ■ 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 | P9 15th China Int’l Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition kicked off on Tuesday Expressions & Impressions The ‘Navarasas’ of Kathakali maestro Kalamandalam Gopi recreated on canvas by artist Mopasang Vallath adorn the walls of Business Jet Terminal of the Kochi airport | P2 HC quashes case under Waqf Act against ex-postal staff E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @Kochi The Kerala High Court has quashed a case registered against two former postal department officers on a complaint by the Waqf Board that they illegally took possession of Waqf property on which a post office was located. The officials had not obtained its sanction, the board alleged. The court said the department of posts was in possession of the property prior to the insertion of Section 52A in the Waqf Act. The post office was functioning from 1999 onwards. Section 52A was inserted in the Act in 2013. Hence, the prosecution against the petitioners was unsustainable, the court said. The Section states that whoever alienates or purchases or takes possession of, either permanently or temporarily, any movable or immovable property being a Waqf property without prior sanction of the board shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years.  ● More on P4 16 pages, including 4 pages of kochi Express Two MeitEis charred to death, six missing Muivah said armed miscreants had attacked the Borobekra police staThree Meitei women and as many tion and also at a nearby CRPF camp children from the same community at Jakuradhor on Monday afternoon. have been missing from restive Ma- “The militants were using RPGs and nipur’s Jiribam since Monother sophisticated weapKuki fiat day’s gunfight in which 10 ons such as AK, INSAS, Kuki ‘militants’ were SLRs. A CRPF jawan was Protesting the gunned down by the Cen- “inhumane actions” of injured in the attack and tral Reserve Police Force CRPF, Kuki Students’ evacuated to Assam for (CRPF) and the police. Organisation issued a treatment,” Muivah said. In Imphal, 13 organisaThe CRPF retaliated and “notice” saying “no tions jointly announced a CRPF personnel shall the firing stopped after 24-hour total shutdown in about 45 minutes. “About be allowed to leave the Imphal valley from 6 their camp premises.” 10 militants were found pm of Tuesday seeking dead. Two elderly persons government intervention were found burned to death to secure the release of the six while three women and three minor individuals. children were found missing,” the Talking about the Jiribam gun- IGP said. The two elderly persons fight, Inspector General of Police I K were from the Meitei community . P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati 8.43 7.43 6.94 4.87 3.65 Meat and fish Snacks, sweets Cereals and products Pulses and products Fruits Oils and fats Food and beverages Personal care 42.18 10.99 9.69 9.51 Egg What’s driving the price rise 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 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 MONIKA YADAV @ 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. Food prices in rural areas increased 10.7% in the month under review, 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.