THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l Saturday l December 21, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION Google trims its top team by 10% to improve efficiency Google has cut the number of top management roles by 10% in its push for efficiency, the US firm’s CEO Sundar Pichai told staff in a meeting Move to simplify company structure Some roles changed to non-managerial According to a Business Insider report, Pichai told staff the process to trim the company’s top team has been going on for the past two years, adding the larger goal is to simplify the company structure by reducing layers of managers that hinder growth. The report quoting Pichai said the efficiency push included a 10% cut in managers, directors, and vice-presidents ■ The efficiency push has coincided with AI rivals such as OpenAI ■ A Google spokesperson said some of those roles were changed to nonmanagerial positions while others were eliminated entirely unleashing new products that threaten Google’s search business ■ In 2022, Pichai had said he wanted Google to be 20% more efficient 12,000 Number of jobs Google eliminated in January 2023, biggest in its history 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 Session ends, discord doesn’t B R Ambedkar issue set to resonate in the forthcoming Delhi and Bihar assembly elections P r eet h a N a i r @ New Delhi Firefighters douse the fire at the site of the accident on the Jaipur-Ajmer Highway, in Jaipur, on Friday. Inset: A charred vehicle | pti Toll may go up as many are critical The injured were rushed to the SMS hospital in Jaipur in more than 25 ambulances. A total of 43 people were brought to the hospital, seven of whom are on ventilator support, Dr Deepak Maheshwari, Principal, SMS Medical College, said. Some people with minor injuries left the hospital after dressing. Officials at the spot indicated that the casualty count may go up Flames engulf 300-metre stretch People reported witnessing flames from nearly 1 km away as thick black smoke filled the sky. The crash initially affected a nearly 300-metre stretch of the highway, leading to a long queue of vehicles. The traffic thickened with time and by afternoon choked the arterial road, leading to diversions 11 killed, 40 injured as LPG tanker hits truck and explodes Ra j e s h A s nan i @ Jaipur AT least 11 people were killed and over 40 others seriously injured when an LPG tanker exploded after colliding with a truck near Bhankrota on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway on Friday morning. Over 20 of the injured suffered more than 50% burns. Sources said they fear the toll could go up as the condition of many of the injured is very serious. The Bharat Petroleum LPG tanker was going from Ajmer to Jaipur when the accident happened. At around 5:45 am, the tanker was attempting a U-turn near Delhi Public School on the outskirts of Jaipur when another truck rammed into it. Sushant Kumar Singh, deputy general manager (fire and safety) of GAIL India, said five nozzles on the tanker broke in the impact of the collision, releasing liquid LPG all over the area. The leaked gas ignited due to a spark, leading to a massive explosion that left the entire vicinity in flames. The fire spread across a 300-metre radius, reducing dozens of vehicles to ashes. Among the destroyed vehicles were 29 trucks, two passenger buses, two gas tankers, three cars, three motorcycles, and two pickup vehicles. A nearby pipe factory and a sleeper bus were also severely damaged. Eyewitnesses reported seeing massive flames that were visible from miles away, trapping many individuals in their vehicles. Over 30 fire engines were rushed to extinguish the flames. To prevent further escalation, the LPG gas pipeline beneath the highway was shut off. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma visited the injured in hospital. He also announced financial assistance of `5 lakh each for the families of the deceased and `1 lakh each for the injured. The winter session of Parliament, which saw unprecedented clashes between the Opposition and the ruling BJP, came to a close on Friday with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar cautioning the members to maintain dignity and decorum of the Houses. Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die amid protests by the Opposition and treasury benches over the alleged insult to B R Ambedkar and directions by Speaker Om Birla to members against holding protests at any gate of Parliament. While Lok Sabha’s productivity was 57.87% in 20 days, passing four bills, the corresponding figure for the Rajya Sabha was 40.03% in 19 days and the passage of three bills. The session may perhaps go down in parliamentary history for setting a grim record for several reasons — from an ugly scuffle between the NDA and INDIA bloc members and a noconfidence motion by the Opposition against Upper House chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to a bitter discourse on Constitution and daily disruption of the House proceedings by both ‘Malu’ wins top honour as IFFK concludes Brazilian filmmaker Pedro Freire’s film wins Golden Crow Pheasant award. ‘Feminichi Fathima’ wins FIPRESCI award for the best film in int’l competition and NETPAC award for the best Malayalam film | P2 Cops turn to ‘sorcery’ to get murder confession T o b y A nt o n y @Kochi A police station hosting a ‘sorcery session’ to get a confession from an accused in a murder case! That is exactly what happened at the Kothamangalam police station as part of the probe into the death of a six-year-old girl. In a sorcery-like session held at the Kothamangalam police station on Friday, the girl’s stepmother, Aneesha, 23, a native of Uttar Pradesh, confessed to murdering the child. Following the confession, which was video-recorded, police arrested the woman, who is five-month pregnant, for allegedly smothering her stepdaughter, Muskhan, to death at their rented house at Iramalloor late on Wednesday . The girl was found lying motionless on her bed on Thursday morning, and was later confirmed dead at the hospital. The postmortem report revealed that Muskhan was smothered to death. Later, police took her father, Ajaz Khan, 32, and Aneesha into custody . Muskhan’s mother separated from Ajaz, a carpenter, two years back, following which he married Aneesha. This was also the second marriage of Aneesha. She has a child from her first marriage, who stays with them in Iramalloor. During interrogation, Aneesha claimed that she does not remember how the child was killed as the act was done by “an evil spirit inside her”. Ajaz told police that Aneesha often turned hysterical and that she was treated by a sorcerer, Noushad, who is also from Iramalloor. Ernakulam Rural Police Chief Vaibhav Saxena, a native of Uttar Pradesh, was at the police station to help the probe team as the accused spoke only Hindi. “The SP realised that the ac- The sorcery method was adopted as the woman was trying to conceal the truth by blaming evil spirits. We could not put her under any pressure as she was pregnant. It is not that we used sorcery to solve the case — Vaibhav Saxena, Ernakulam Rural Police Chief Thrissur: The government on Friday released its first ranking of universities and colleges in the state under the Kerala Institutional Ranking Framework (KIRF). Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) took the top honour among universities. It is the first time in the country that a state government has ventured into ranking its higher education institutions. P4 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express special team of police to handle Rahul case A special team of the Delhi Police is expected to take over the probe into the FIR filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly ‘assaulting’ BJP MPs, sources said. Given the conflicting claims, the team plans to call MPs present during the scuffle to piece together the sequence of events. The police will examine CCTV footage and speak to the injured MPs | P7 sides — to name a few. The main highlight of the session — a two-day debate on the 75th year of Constitution snowballed into a major point of confrontation between the BJP and the Congress over Union home minister Amit Shah’s comment on Ambedkar in Parliament. During his speech on the Constitution, he said, “It has become the new fashion to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar’. Had they chanted God’s name as many times, they would have found a place in heaven.” The scuffle outside Parliament on Thursday led to an FIR against Leader of Opposition R e c k l ess c l a i m mea ticks off Yunus govt for aide’s remarks India has lodged a strong protest with Bangladesh over a now-deleted social THE government on Friday media post by a key aide of informed the Lok Sabha that Dhaka’s interim govern2,200 cases of violence ment claiming certain areas against Hindus and other of Indian territory should minorities were reported be part of Bangladesh. from Bangladesh this Mahfuz Alam, year up to December known for his pro8. Minister of State vocative comments, for External Affairs had also posted on Kirti Vardhan Singh Facebook earlier a gave the information m ap p u r p o r t e d ly in a written response, showing parts of citing data from miMuhammad Yunus West Bengal, Tripura nority and human and Assam as parts rights organisations. of Bangladesh. He He said the Indian deleted the post later. High Commission in Alam is a de facto Dhaka is closely We would like minister in the Muto remind all monitoring the situahammad Yunus-led concerned to tion, adding that New be mindful of interim government Delhi has raised the of Bangladesh. their public issue with Dhaka. “We would like to comments “The Government remind all concerned of India has ex- Randhir Jaiswal, to be mindful of their pressed its concerns MEA spokesperson public comments. about such incidents, While India has reincluding the demolition of peatedly signalled interest the Jagannath Temple in in fostering relations with Bangladesh, the attack on a the people and the interim Puja mandap in Tantibazar, government of Bangladesh, Dhaka, and the theft at the such comments underline Jeshoreshwari Kali temple the need for responsibility in Satkhira during Durga in public articulation,” MEA Puja 2024,” he said. s p o ke s p e r s o n R a n d h i r In another development, Jaiswal said. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Wah chai EXPRESS READ Govt rankings: Cusat tops varsities in state cused was trying to deceive them by placing the entire blame on ‘evil spirits’. So the investigation team decided to bring Noushad to the station. Noushad admitted that Ajaz and Aneesha visited him twice,” said a police officer. “As instructed by the officers, Noushad performed sorcery at the station. He recited some prayers and sprinkled water on Aneesha’s face. Soon, Aneesha became hysterical and her voice tone changed. The woman then revealed how she killed the girl,” the officer said. After the ‘rituals’, Aneesha claimed that the demon left her body. The police then showed her the video. Following this, she confessed to committing ● More on P4 the crime.  Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other INDIA bloc MPs during their protest against Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks on Ambedkar | Shekhar yadav Your cuppa is healthy, US food, drug regulator finally agrees P r a s anta Ma z u m d a r @ Guwahati With the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognising tea from the Camellia sinensis plant is a healthy beverage, the North Easter n Tea Association (NETA) raised a toast to it. On December 19, the FDA issued a rule to update the “healthy” nutrient content claim to help consumers identify foods that are particularly useful as the foundation of a diet that is consistent with di- etary recommendations. “Fantastic news for the tea industry,” said Peter F Goggi, the president of Tea Association of the USA. “Tea is now officially recognized as a healthy beverage and tea can now claim this descriptor,” he added. Bidyananda Barkakoty, adviser to NETA and former vice chairman of Tea Board of India, too expressed joy “We are . extremely happy to know that tea derived from Camellia sinensis has got this recognition. Research worldwide has found Express Illustration the health benefits of drinking tea,” Barkakoty said terming it a “wonder drink”. Rahul Gandhi after the BJP filed assault charges against him for causing injury to two of its MPs. With both the Congress and the BJP escalating the issue outside Parliament, it is bound to gain more traction and dominate the narrative in the forthcoming Delhi and Bihar assembly elections. Most part of the 25 day-long session revolved around two tycoons. While Opposition members demanded a debate on the US indictment of businessman Gautam Adani, the treasury benches sought to counter it with the alleged links between the Gandhi family and US billionaire George Soros. Battle lines were also drawn over INDIA bloc’s impeachment motion against Chairman Dhankhar for his alleged partisan conduct in the House. Though it was rejected by deputy Chairman Harivansh, it was the first time that such a motion was made against an RS presiding officer. The Lok Sabha also saw the introduction of the important ‘One Nation, One Election’ legislation, amid fierce protest by the Opposition. But the bill didn’t get two-thirds majority at the introduction stage. Subsequently, it was sent to a 39-member JPC for vetting. The NETA urged the Centre to promote tea as a “healthy, lifestyle and wellness” beverage. Dipanjal Deka, secretary of Tea Association of India, Assam branch, said, “Ours is camellia assamica (Assam bush). I think the recognition is for tea in general. It is a good thing for us. In any case, it is scientifically proven that tea has health benefits,” he added. The FDA in a statement said, “We agree that tea is derived from the plant Camellia sinensis…We previously recognized that green tea is made from Camellia sinensis in our response to a qualified health claim petition regarding the relationship between green tea and certain cancers.” “At this time, we do not have sufficient information to determine whether herbal infusions should automatically qualify for the ‘healthy’ claim. We, therefore, extend automatic qualification for the ‘healthy’ claim to tea—derived from Camellia sinensis—and not to herbal infusions.” MT’s condition remains critical, says hospital E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kozhikode Jnanpith laureate M T Vasudevan Nair, who was admitted to the Baby Memorial Hospital, Kozhikode, continued to be in critical condition, hospital sources said late Friday night. The renowned writer suffered a heart attack and is battling multiple health issues, including respiratory and cardiac complications. Doctors have reported significant deterioration in the functioning of other vital organs, the sources said. The 91-yearold was admitted to the hospital on December 15 following breathing difficulties. Despite intensive treatment, his condition remains critical, they said. His blood pressure fluctuated alar mingly late Thursday night, the sources said. A team of experts is attending to him. He is currently on oxygen support, said M N Karassery, who called on him at the hospital. MT’s elder daughter Sitara and family had visited him at the hospital earlier. His younger daughter and family is currently with him at the hospital. Ministers Mohamed Riyas and A K Saseendran visited the ailing litterateur in hospital. In a message, Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai said everyone’s prayers are with MT. Aswathy and Karassery are by his side at the hospital. MT’s literary contributions have left an indelible mark on Malayalam literature and cinema, and his critical health condition has sparked widespread concern among his admirers and well-wishers.