Three wings of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Sunday held a protest march to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka vijayawada l monday l december 09, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late 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—­ eportedly to Russia. r 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 | P7 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 SECI deal: DISCOMs expecting 1k MW in Jan S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Even as the State government is yet to take a decision on the deal with SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India), a public sector company, power distribution companies in Andhra Pradesh (APDISCOMs) are set to go ahead with the agreement. While explaining the energy status in the State, APDISCOMs in its Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) and Tariff Proposal for the Retail Supply Business for financial year 2025-26 to Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) mentioned about the State govt power supply from SECI. Uncertainty prevails over the deal conyet to take a decision sidering the controversy surrounding the agreement that was signed by the previous The State govt YSRCP dispensation, led by YS Jagan Mois taking time han Reddy. There has been an increasing to take a demand by Opposition parties and people’s decision on the organisations to scrap the deal, citing seSECI deal as vere burden on the people of the State as scrapping it prices of solar energy are expected to drop can attract a in the coming years. penalty of The State government is taking time to anywhere take a decision on the matter, given the fact between that not honouring the deal can have seri`2,500 crore & ous consequences on the cash-strapped `2,800 crore State. If the government decides to scrap the deal, it has to pay anywhere between `2,500 crore to `2,800 crore to SECI. It might also send a wrong message to potential investors. To supply free power to the farming community, reduce power procurement costs and subsidy burden on the government, the three DISCOMs had entered into a Power Sale Agreement (PSA) with SECI on December 1, 2021, for the procurement of 7,000 MW in three tranches. While 3,000 MW each in two tranches was to be procured in October 2024 and P4 2025, 1,000 MW was to be procured in October 2026.  express read Govt to reconstitute SIT probing illegal export of PDS rice 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 Vijayawada: The government has decided to reconstitute the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted to probe the illegal export of Public Distribution System (PDS) rice, following allegations against three of its members. The allegations involve DSPs T Ashok Vardhan, M Balasundara Rao, and R Govinda Rao, raising concerns over their impartiality. The DSPs are likely to be replaced by SP-rank officers | P4 Gaganyaan astronauts to get training at INS Garuda M a n o j V i s w a n at h a n @ 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. While ISRO and DRDO are pioneering the space flight, the Navy is tasked with recovering the crew module from sea on its return to earth after the three-day mission. The module is expected to land in the Indian Ocean and the Navy will position its vessels in the region. ISRO has marked the waters for landing with 48 backup spots. Upon landing, the astronaut will open the module’s hatch and jump into the water. He will then inflate the personal safety pack and wait for the recovery team’s arrival. WSTF’s training is essentially to help the 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 training at the facility. “This is our first attempt. Navy, in coordination with ISRO scientists, has prepared a standard operating procedure on recovering the crew. The recovery team has been trained to ensure safe extraction of the astronauts even in harsh weather conditions,” Captain Shinodh Karthikeyan, officer in-charge of WSTF, told this paper. 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 ■ ■ India to soon have comprehensive anti-drone unit, says Amit Shah M u k es h r a n j a n @ 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 Pakbased 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 gun-mounted” mechanism have been encouraging, adding that cases of drone neutralisation and detection, have gone up from 3% to 55% along the IndiaPakistan 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 coun- try 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.