South korea put under martial law MADURAI l wednesday l december 04, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE city EDITION Hours after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law— to protect the country from North Korea’s ‘communist forces’—the country’s parliament voted to lift it. It’s unclear what effect the vote will have, though the president is obliged to comply. In the picture, soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul on Tuesday after the declaration of martial law | AFP | P11 Yoon Suk Yeol, S Korean Prez 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 Improvement in India-China ties, says EAM CM announces rain relief package `2,000 cash for families in three districts, `5L for kin of those who lost their lives E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai PR E E T H A N A IR @ New Delhi the conclusion of disengagement in Eastern Ladakh, achieved through a step-by-step process, will allow both countries to pursue other aspects of bilateral engagements in a calibrated manner, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday . Making a statement on India-China ties in the Lok Sabha, Jaishankar said the restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas would be the basis for the relationship moving forward. Jaishankar’s statement in Parliament, the first since the India and China reached an agreement to disengage from the two friction points of Depsang Plains and Demchok, came a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia’s Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. Prior to the meeting, both countries had firmed up an agreement on patrolling by their militaries along the We are clear that Line of Actual Control. The minister also said that in his the maintenance recent meeting with Chinese forof peace and tranquillity in eign minister Wang Yi, they reached border areas is a an understanding that the Special prerequisite for Representatives- and the Foreign the development Secretary-level mechanisms will be of our ties convened soon. With disengagement complete, he S Jaishankar said the next priority is de-escalation, which would address the massing of troops along the LAC. India is committed, he said, to engaging with China “through bilateral talks to arrive at a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable settlement”. Underling the three key principles that must be observed under all circumstances, he said both sides should strictly respect the LAC, neither side should attempt to unilaterally alter the status quo, and agreements reached in the past must be abided by in their entirety . Tiruvannamalai landslide death toll went up to seven on Tuesday with two more bodies recovered from site | Express rain situation: PM speaks to CM Chennai: The PM spoke to CM M K Stalin to inquire about the flood situation and assured all possible support. DMK leader Kanimozhi told reporters in New Delhi that DMK MPs had sought an audience with the PM to personally explain the situation| P4 INSIDE Politicians, officials face wrath | P4 Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday announced a comprehensive relief package for people affected by Cyclone Fengal in Villupuram, Cuddalore, Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts, including cash relief of `2,000 each to the affected families, based on ration cards, in Villupuram, Cuddalore and Kallakurichi districts. Chairing a meeting at the secretariat in Chennai on Tuesday, the CM directed officials to extend `5 lakh compensation each to the families who lost relatives due to the cyclone or floods. The government will also provide `10,000 as compensation for damaged huts, prioritise BJP weighs proposal to split home cake to appease Shinde S u d h i r S u r ya w an s h i @ Mumbai Medical test Eknath Shinde underwent a medical test on Tuesday at a hospital in Thane. Doctors said all parameters were found to be normal Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday called on aggrieved caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at the latter’s official residence to res o l ve t h e d e a d l o ck ove r portfolio allocation ahead of the swearing in ceremony of the Mahayuti government in a couple of days. In 2019, Fadnavis missed the bus to become CM as he dithered in calling up the undivided Shiv Sena’s leader Uddhav Thackeray to iron out wrinkles in their alliance. By the time he came around to doing so, Uddhav had hardened his position and refused to take the call. Fadnavis tried to avoid that misstep this time around. As per the current plan, Fadnavis would retain home while the finance portfolio will go to Ajit Pawar and urban development to the Shiv Sena. The BJP will also hold revenue. But since Shinde is particular about home, the BJP is weighing options of bifurcating it so that both parties get a share of the powerful portfolio. the construction of houses under the Kalaignar Kanavu Illam (housing scheme) for completely damaged huts, and provide `17,000 per hectare to standing crops damaged up to 33% and above (irrigated crops including paddy). Additionally `22,500 per hectare for , perennial crops and trees (damage up to 33% and above), `8,500 per hectare for rain-fed crops damaged up to 33% and above, `37,500 for cattle (buffalo, cows), `4,000 for the loss of a goat or sheep, and `100 for the loss of a chicken. The CM directed the district administrations to conduct special camps for reissuing lost documents like voter ID, Aadhaar, and family cards, and to provide new textbooks and notebooks to affected students.  P5 express read Minister rejects complaint over release of dam water Chennai: Rejecting allegations about water being released from Sathanur dam without warning, minister Duraimurugan said if 1.8 lakh cusecs of water had not been released at the right time, it would have led to a catastrophic tragedy | P4 HC clears deck for closure of Manjolai tea estate Chennai: The Madras HC dismissed petitions challenging the VRS scheme announced for Manjolai workers clearing the decks for the winding up of the tea estate and eviction of hundreds of workers | P2 B’desh raps India envoy over Agartala vandalism Ye s h i Se l i @ New Delhi Bangladesh on Tuesday summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma in Dhaka to register its protest over a mob breaching the premises of its Assistant High Commission in Tripura’s Agartala the previous day . The country also suspended all visa and consular service at Agartala with immediate effect. The development marked an new low in ties between the two nations after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina from power. India has already arrested seven individuals and suspended three police personnel in connection with the vandalism in Agartala. Verma met Bangladesh’s Acting Foreign Secretary Riaz Hamidullah in Dhaka and later described the interaction as routine. “We have wide ranging relationship, multi faceted relationship. We want to build positive, stable, constructive relationship. We have so many inter dependencies,” Verma said after the meeting. Meanwhile, bail was denied to jailed ISKCON priest Chinmoy Das. Since no lawyer appeared for him, the next date of hearing date was set as January 2. Das’ supporters claimed that his advocates were under threat.