Three wings of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Sunday held a protest march to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka SAMBALPUR l monday l december 09, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION Assad flees as Syria falls to rebels Regional security key for India, says Jaishankar AGENCIES The Syrian government on Sunday fell to a lightning rebel offensive that seized control of capital Damascus, ending the 24-year rule by president Bashar al-Assad and forcing him to flee the country . Syrian state television stated Assad had been overthrown. Rebel group Hayat Tahrir alSham (HTS) claimed it released all prisoners from Sednaya prison, where political opponents were said to have been tortured by the Assad regime. Syrian prime minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said the government would turn its functions over to a transitional government. Jalali will supervise Syrian state institutions until they are handed over, HTS chief Abu Mohammed al-Golani said, Manama: Addressing the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday highlighted the importance of West Asia for New Delhi and spoke about the need to improve the security situation there and prevent conflicts from spreading further Syrians welcome opposition fighters in Damascus on Sunday | AP signalling the Islamist group prefers an orderly transition. Seizure of Damascus comes a day after opposition forces took the central city of Homs, as government forces abandoned it. There were few casualties as government forces withdrew or surrendered without trying to Comprehensive anti-drone unit to combat UAVs: Shah M uk e sh r an j an @ New Delhi Union home minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that India will soon have a comprehensive anti-drone unit to deal with the ever-increasing menace of unmanned aerial vehicles being used by Pak-based elements to drop weapons and drugs along the western frontiers. Speaking at an event to mark the Border Security Force’s 60th Raising Day in Rajasthan’s border district of Jodhpur, Shah said the initial results of a “laser-equipped anti-drone gunmounted” mechanism have been encouraging, adding that cases of drone neutralisation and detection, have gone up from 3% to 55% along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab. “The drone menace is going to get more serious. We are tackling this issue with a ‘whole of government’ approach with the defence and research organisations and the DRDO joining hands,” Shah said, adding: “We are going to create a comprehensive anti-drone unit for the country in the coming days”. As per recent government data, more than 260 drones have been downed or recovered from India’s border with Pakistan this year as compared to about 110 in 2023, most of them in Punjab. Shah said the ongoing Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) for securing India’s borders with Pakistan (2,289 km) and Bangladesh (4,096 km) is a work in progress. “We have had an encouraging response from the CIBMS deployed along the riverine borders in Assam’s Dhubri (India-Bangladesh international border) but some improvements are required,” he said. express read Wall collapse kills worker in CMC drain on course Liren blunders, Gukesh takes lead India’s D Gukesh took a giant step towards becoming the youngest world champion in history after winning game 11 of the FIDE World Chess Championship. He currently leads 6-5 in championship| P11 Cuttack: A worker engaged in construction of a drain was killed and another suffered critical injuries after the portion of a boundary wall collapsed on them at Bidanasi here on Sunday. Sources said the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) is constructing a drain near Bidanasi square. The contractor tasked with the project had engaged five workers in the construction work. On the day, the drain when boundary wall of an adjacent residential house collapsed on them | P3 Gaganyaan astronauts to get training at INS Garuda M an o j V is w anat han @ Kochi the four astronauts selected for India’s inaugural human space flight programme, the Gaganyaan, will undergo rigorous training at the Indian Navy’s water survival training facility (WSTF) at INS Garuda in Kochi on how to survive in water after landing in the sea. While ISRO and DRDO are pioneering the space flight, the Navy is tasked with recovering the crew module from sea on its return We train aircrew to earth after the three-day mission. The how to survive in module is expected to land in the Indian rough sea... how to come out of Ocean and the Navy will be positioning its the aircraft and vessels in the region. The ISRO has marked survive in case of the waters for landing with 48 backup ditching at sea. spots. Out facility gives Upon landing, the astronaut will open the real-time module’s hatch and jump into the water. He experience and will then inflate the personal safety pack removes fear and wait for the recovery team’s arrival. WSTF’s training is essentially to help the Capt Shinodh Karthikeyan crew survive in rough sea for about six hours till help arrives. Gaganyaan’s recovery team comprising naval divers and marine commandos has already undergone one round of Continued on P5 training at the facility  . put up much of a resistance. There was no immediate comment from Iran, Assad’s staunchest supporter, while close ally Russia said Assad ordered a “peaceful transfer of power” and left the country . Israel, another key player in the region, moved quickly to de- ploy its forces in a demilitarized buffer zone in Golan Heights, established in 1974 by a ceasefire agreement with Syria. While Syrians largely welcomed Assad’s fall, the sudden onset of events portend regional instability due to the shift in P9 balance of power.  Today Bangladesh’s BNP party members march to Indian high Commission Protesters slam attack on B’desh mission Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will visit dhaka. He will raise India’s concerns over the attacks on hindus Thousands of BNP members took part in the march. Leaders of the three wings were allowed to proceed to the IHC to submit a memorandum, protesting the attack on Bangladesh’s mission in Tripura on December 2 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 ■ ■ Majhi keeps his word, starts input subsidy disbursement from Sohela M AYA N K B H U S A N PA N I @ Bargarh Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday kickstarted input subsidy disbursement of `800 to farmers over and above the minimum support price (MSP) of `2,300, fulfilling another major election promise of the BJP here at Sohela. Flanked by a host of ministers and legislators, Majhi hailed the day as historic for the state. “Especially for the farmers, this day will be etched in golden letters. Today, the gover nment has reached out to provide appropriate price for your hard work,” he told a packed meet- CM Mohan Majhi along with Dy CM KV Singh Deo and Revenue minister Suresh Pujari, at Sohela in Bargarh on Sunday | express ing at Icchapali in Sohela. Recalling that the decision was taken in the first cabinet meeting of the BJP government on June 12, Majhi said, the input subsidy was one among the four important promises discussed and approved. “To free farmers from exploitation by middlemen who were being protected by the previous regime, our government took the decision the very day it came to power in the state. And now within less than six months, the farmers are being disbursed the promised assistance,” he said. More than 21,500 farmers were handed out the input subsidy on the day Taking a . dig at the previous BJD government led by Naveen Patnaik who had announced a bonus of `100 per quintal of paddy at Sohela itself in 2016, the CM said, the assurance made eight years back was a false one.  Continued on P5