visakhapatnam l friday l december 06, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Bitcoin’s value tops $1,00,000 after 50% rise in one month Bitcoin crossed the $100,000-mark on Thursday amid a massive price rally sparked by the election of Donald Trump as US president Trump names crypto advocate to chair SEC Experts divided on potential for more gains Bitcoin surged on Thursday after Trump said he intends to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins as the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), signalling a lighter regulatory approach to the crypto industry. The current SEC chair Gary Gensler has cracked down on the industry, penalising many firms for violating securities laws ■ ■ Bitcoin was trading at $69,374 on the day of US elections. Two years ago, it fell below $17,000 after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX While some experts are bullish, others have warned of risks given the recent surge. Lighter regulation from the coming Trump administration, while a good news for the crypto industry, could mean less guardrails 2009 when bitcoin was launched, making it the oldest cryptocurrency 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 aus vs ind Rohit makes bold call, to bat in middle at Adelaide G o m esh S @ Chennai And there it was. About 24 hours after KL Rahul told the media in Adelaide jokingly that he had been informed about his batting position but asked not to reveal it, captain Rohit Sharma cleared the air by announcing that he will be moving down the order to pave way for the 32-year-old at the top in the second Test against Australia beginning Friday . “Yes, he (Rahul) will be opening the batting. I’ll bat somewhere in the middle,” Sharma told reporters on the eve of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide. Leaders are known or recognised for the choices they make, especially for them and the team. Sharma acknowledged that it will not be easy in the middle, but for the greater good of the team this was the best solution. “Not easy for me, but it’s the best for the team,” he said. The significance of this call — to have Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top after their success in Perth — cannot be understated, especially in the Indian cricketing context. Barring the occasional tactical moves, captains or top-order batters, have rarely opted to sacrifice their positions. With Rahul and Jaiswal combining into a potent force in the first Test, Sharma did not want to tinker with it. “We want success. Those two guys at the top, just looking at this one Test, they batted brilliantly I was . at home with my newborn in my arms and I was watching how KL batted. It was brilliant. Maybe, in the future things will be different. I don’t know. Based on what has happened and what KL has shown outside of India, he probably deserves that place at this point in time,” Sharma said. Fadnavis back as Naidu urged not Maharashtra cm to share seats WITH TWO DEPUTIES r a j ya s a b h a e l e c t i o n e x p ress ne w s ser v i c e @ Vijayawada Shinde, Pawar deputy CMs; no other ministers sworn in This team is a blend of experience and dynamism, and it is due to its collective efforts that Mahayuti got a historic mandate Narendra Modi, PM I will extend all possible cooperation and backing to the chief minister. We will work as a team Eknath Shinde, Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis after taking oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister | X S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday took oath as Maharashtra chief minister for the third time, marking the BJP leader’s return to the top post after a gap of five years. Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy chief ministers. No other ministers were sworn in. The cabinet is likely to be expanded next week, ahead of the winter session of state legislature in Nagpur. Fadnavis said portfolio allocations have been more or less finalised but a few more rounds of consultations with coalition partners are pending. An announcement will be made later, he said. “The posts may have changed among them, but the direction of work will remain the same. We will also hear out the Opposition if they bring the relevant points. The Speaker’s name will be decided on December 9. Maharashtra will have a very stable government in next five years,” Fadnavis said. Before taking the oath, Fadnavis visited the Siddhivinayak temple and also took the blessing of his mother. That Shinde would join the government as deputy CM was confirmed only hours before the swearing-in ceremony amid the protracted political drama over his reported reluctance to accept the post. Shinde invoked late Balasaheb Thackeray and his Guru Anand Dighe while taking the oath. Over 42,000 people gathered at Azad Maidan to witness the swearing-in ceremony Prime Minis. ter Narendra Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, J P Nadda, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan besides chief ministers of various states were present at the ceremony . Also in attendance were cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, and Janhvi Kapoor. From the business world, Mukesh Ambani and Kumar Mangalam Birla attended.  P8 There is no doubt that the grand coalition government will take the state to new heights on the path of development Ajit Pawar, Dy CM Portfolio sharing formula Sources said out of the total 43 portfolios, 24 will be kept by BJP as the single largest party with 132 MLAs, while 10 will go to Shinde-led Shiv Sena that has 57 MLAs, and nine to Pawar-led NCP that has 41 MLAs A group of scientists recently discovered a new glacier in Uttarakhand that was found to be rapidly expanding in size. The glacier is located in the Niti Valley close to the India-Ti, bet border. Stretching about 10 km in length, the new glacier that is yet to be named lies adjacent to the Randolph and Rekana glaciers and spans approximately 48 sq km. The curious discovery was made by glaciologists Manish Mehta, Vineet Kumar, Ajay Rana, and Gautam Rawat of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology Dehradun. Their , study, Manifestations of a Glacier Surge in Central Himalaya Using Multi-Temporal Satellite Data, was done using satellite data. Their findings show the glacier is currently ‘surging’. “A glacier surge refers to the sudden and rapid increase in the size of a glacier. While it’s challenging to physically access the area, satellite data suggests three primary reasons for this phenomenon,” Mehta, who is a senior geologist at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology said. , One reason for this curious phe- nomenon, Mehta said, could be hydrological imbalance, which occurs when the porosity of water causes the ice layers to weaken and lose stability This, in turn, leads to the ice . sliding downwards. Another reason could be thermal contrast. “The surface beneath the glacier becomes smooth and slippery , increasing the lubrication between the upper and lower layers of the glacier,” he said. The third reason could be sedimentary terrain. “The mixture of water and soil creates a slippery surface, causing the glacier’s layers to slide over each other.” CM attends fadnavis’ swearing-in ceremony in mumbai Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu attended the swearing-in ceremony of Devendra Fadnavis at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Thursday. He congratulated Eknath Shinde for taking charge as Deputy CM and also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah during the programme Uproar in LS over Oppn-Soros link P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi A rapidly growing new glacier discovered N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun With just a few days left to file nominations for the three Rajya Sabha seats, several TDP leaders have demanded the high command not to share the seats with its alliance partners — BJP and JSP The elec. tions have been necessitated after three YSRCP MPs resigned from the Upper House of Parliament. Nominations can be filed from December 8 to 10, while the deadline for withdrawals is December 13. Even as the yellow party is yet to finalise the candidates, there is speculation that Beeda Masthan Rao, who resigned from the YSRCP and joined TDP , might be nominated for one of the three seats. It may be pertinent to note that the TDP has no representation in the Upper House of Parliament currently Considering this, party leaders have been . requesting TDP supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu not to share the seats. So far, neither the saffron party, nor the Jana Sena have made any requests for the seats. However, they are likely to seek one seat. Meanwhile, there have been reports suggesting that the TDP may share one seat with the BJP to nominate prominent BC leader R Krishnaiah. But even sources close to Krishnaiah say they have no clue on the issue. Nonetheless, they are optimistic that the BJP high command will use his experience wherever it benefits the party . LOK SABHA proceedings were on Thursday disrupted after the Opposition and Treasury Benches clashed over the latter’s allegation linking Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other leaders with US-based multi-billionaire George Soros. Chaos erupted during the zero hour after BJP member Nishikant Dubey cited reports in a publication based on findings of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which had alleged links to Soros. Dubey said an international conspiracy was hatched to derail India’s success story under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also alleged that the Congress had sought to halt Parliament on various issues published by OCCRP, including the Pegasus Rahul Gandhi with other opposition MPs at a protest during the Winter session | PTI spying row, questioning the efficacy of Covid vaccines developed in India, and the Hindenburg reports. Dubey said several Opposition leaders raised the issues flagged in media reports, many of which were published on the eve of Parliament sessions in India. As the House witnessed massive uproar, the Speaker called Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi to raise the issue of violence in Sambhal. Gogoi tried to counter the allegations levelled by Dubey leading to a ruckus. The House was adjourned for the day after the Speaker adjourned it twice at 2 pm and 3 pm. Later, Congress MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and demanded that Dubey must apologise for his remarks. Meanwhile, in an unusual protest, leaders of opposition parties wore black jackets with stickers reading ‘Modi Adani Ek Hai’ and ‘ dani Safe Hai’ on them and raised A slogans on the Parliament premises to demand a joint parliamentary probe into the Adani issue. Rahul Gandhi put the sticker on his trademark white T-shirt. Govt sanctions `35 cr to erase Jagan’s name on survey stones S G u r u S rikanth @ Vijayawada The State government on Thursday accorded administrative sanction of `35 crore to replace Bhu Hakku Patrams and erase the name of former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy from the land resurvey stones.   The Chief Commissioner of Land Administration and the Director of Survey Settlement and Land Records have been entrusted with the task. While the cost for erasing Jagan’s name from the stones is estimated to be `12.50 crore, `22.50 crore is required for the replacement of Bhu Hakku Patrams, which also had the YSRCP chief ’s photo and party symbol. It has been learnt that sandpaper will first be used to smoothen the sur- face of the resurvey stones and then a machine will be used to remove the top layer up to 1 mm. Speaking to TNIE, Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) RP Sisodia said the process of erasing names on the survey stones has already commenced. “The cost comes to around `15 - `16 per stone. The entire process will be completed in three months,” he added. Further, he explained that the replacement of Bhu Hakku Patrams will commence shortly after the new documents are printed. “These documents will have a QR code, through which information about the land parcel, including the ownership and other details, will be saved digitally and can be accessed P4 easily  .” express read MoU with Google to foster AI advancements Vijayawada: The government has inked an MoU with Google to foster advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Google will conduct skill development programmes in schools and colleges to prepare students for AI-driven opportunities. It will also offer AI training for startups, and small businesses | P4 Vijayasai Reddy to file defamation case on CM Vijayawada: YSRCP national general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP V Vijayasai Reddy said he will file a defamation case against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and KV Rao for making false and baseless allegations against him regarding Kakinada Port and KSEZ transactions | P4 from graphics to reality Naidu’s blueprints take shape as green corridor along Seed Access Road picks pace K K a lyan K rishna K u m ar @ Vijayawada At one time, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was severely criticised for only presenting blueprints and plans for the construction of the Amaravati capital city following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.   He had received backlash for not delivering on the promise to develop the Green Field City within five years after the bifurcation. Now, with the TDPled NDA back in power, works to develop the green corridor along the Seed Access Road in Amaravati, envisioned by the Chief Minister, have picked pace. Works for developing green cover, cycle track and pedestri- A stretch of the walking track along the Seed Access Road in Amaravati; the green corridor plan | Prasant Madugula/ express an pathways along both sides of the Seed Access Road have commenced. The aim is to provide a safe, dedicated space for residents to exercise, while improving the city’s ecological balance. Speaking to this newspaper, Amaravati Development Corporation (ADC) Chairperson and Managing Director D Lakshmi Pardhasaradhi said the project will be completed within 10 to 15 days. Describing it as a small project worth around `1 crore, she explained that once construction of roads in the capital limits is completed, green cover will be developed immediately. Each project will be designed with unique concepts to attract the public and improve P4 air quality she added.  ,