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 ■ ■ 38 BHUBANESWAR  THURSDAY  DECEMBER 26, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  JEYPORE EDITION KILLED IN KAZAKH JETLINER CRASH The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground near Aktau airport | AP dar24 said in an online post that the aircraft had faced ‘strong GPS jamAT least 38 people were killed after a ming’ which ‘made the aircraft transpassenger jet flying from Azerbaijan to mit bad ADS-B data’, referring to the Russia crashed near the city of Aktau information that allows flight-tracking in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, accord- websites to follow planes in flight. Rusing to Kazakhstan officials. There were sia has been blamed in the past for jam67 people on board, including five crew ming GPS signals in the region. members. Both pilots of Reuters reported that the the flight were also report- ‘BAD WEATHER’ crash came shortly after edly killed in the accident. drone strikes hit southern A total of 29 survivors, in- Speaking at a news conference, Russian areas near AzAzerbaijani President Ilham cluding two children, have erbaijan and Kazkahstan Aliyev said that it was too been hospitalised. and the nearest Russian soon to speculate on the The plane was originally airport on the plane’s flight reasons for the crash. “The scheduled to travel from path was closed on Wednesthe Azerbaijani capital of information provided to me is day morning. FlightRathat the plane changed its Baku to the Russian city of dar24 data showed the aircourse due to worsening Grozny in the North Caucacraft making what weather conditions and sus. According to Azerbaiappeared to be a figureheaded to Aktau airport, jan Airlines, its Embraer eight once nearing the airwhere it crashed on 190 aircraft made an emerport in Aktau, its altitude landing” Aliyev said. gency landing 3 km from moving up and down subAktau. Reports said the pistantially in the last lot may have chosen to divert to Aktau minutes. after a bird strike on the aircraft led to Footage circulating online appeared ‘an emergency situation on board’. to show the aircraft making a steep deThe airline said 42 passengers were scent before smashing into the ground Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian na- in a fireball. Other footage showed part tionals, six Kazakhstani, and three of its fuselage ripped away from the Kyrgyzstani citizens. wings and the rest of the aircraft, lying Flight-tracking service FlightRa- upside in the grass. AGENCIES Russia targeted Ukraine’s power infrastructure with more than 180 missiles and drones in a massive Christmas Day attack on Wednesday | P9 MODI SWIPE ‘Cong ignored Ambedkar’s contributions’ E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhopal AMID the Congress’ protests against Union home minister Amit Shah’s remarks on B R Ambedkar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday sought to turn the tables on the grand old party accusing it of denying Baba Saheb credit for his contribution to the development of water resources in the country . “Baba Saheb was the first to understand the importance of river... He was a visionary... contributing to creation of dams,” Modi said while addressing a gathering in Khajuraho, after laying the foundation of the Ken Betwa river linking project. Without naming India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Modi said: “Out of intoxication of giving credit to just one individual the Congress never gave credit to Baba Saheb for his water conservation efforts and visionary thinking that led to creation of big dams.” Referring to the development projects carried out by the government of late EXPRESS READ Manipur CS is new higher edu secy New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday appointed Vineet Joshi, chief secretary of ethnic violence-hit Manipur, as the higher education secretary, while senior IAS officer Arunish Chawala has been appointed the revenue secretary. Pharmaceuticals secretary Arunish Chawla has been appointed revenue secretary; Amit Agrawal, CEO of UIDAI, will be the new pharmaceuticals secretary. Textiles secretary Rachna Shah has been appointed secretary, Department of Personnel and Training | P7 PROJECT POSES THREAT TO TIGER RESERVE: CONG AGENCIES New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday said the Ken-Betwa river linking project poses a serious threat to the biodiversityrich Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. In a social media post, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the project will submerge the core area of tiger reserve, destroy vulture habitats, and a large number of felling of trees Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who envisioned the national river-linking initiative in 2002, Modi said Vajpayee was a teacher for many. Modi also released a commemorative postal stamp and coin to mark Vajpayee’s birth centenary . Noting that the Ken-Betwa project will open gateways of prosperity and development for the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, Modi alleged Vajpayee’s efforts to address water related challenges were side-lined after 2004 by the Congress. PM Narendra Modi during foundation stone-laying ceremony of Ken-Betwa River Linking Project, in Khajuraho on Wednesday | PTI It was Dr Ambedkar’s vision which guided the major river valley projects in the country and the Central Water Commission was established due to his efforts Prime Minister Narendra Modi HUMAN TRAFFICKING Canadian colleges under ED scanner M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing the alleged role of some Canadian colleges as well as Indian entities in a money laundering case linked to the trafficking of Indians into the US through the Canada border, officials said. The ED took up the probe after a four-member Indian family hailing from Gujarat froze to death while trying to cross the Canada-US border in January 2022. The ED case is based on an FIR by Ahmedabad Police against main accused Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel and others, who allegedly arranged student visas Taliban vows to hit back after Pakistani strikes kill 46 in Af for those willing to enter the US illegally . A senior ED official said the racket charged `55-60 lakh per person. As part of the probe, the ED conducted searches in Mumbai, Nagpur, Gandhinagar, and Vadodara. It found an entity based in Mumbai and another in Nagpur were offering admission for Indians in foreign universities on a commission basis. The ED said about 25,000 students are being referred by one entity and 10,000 students by the other to various colleges outside India every year. Over 150 Canadian colleges have an agreement with one entity and 112 with another. Their involvement is being probed, the ED said. AFGHAN Taliban on Wednesday said 46 people were killed in Pakistani airstrikes in Barmal in eastern Afghanistan and vowed to retaliate. Pakistan carried out rare airstrikes inside Afghanistan on Tuesday, which Islamabad said targeted members of the Pakistani Taliban. Pakistani security officials said the strikes were on “terrorist hideouts” and at least 20 terrorists of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were killed. But the Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed most of the dead were children and women. Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Pakistani envoy and lodged a protest. The Afghan Defence Ministry vowed to retaliate, saying, “The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered.” The strikes come after the TTP claimed a raid on a Pakistan army outpost that killed 16 soldiers. A Pakistani official said the attack was “a significant trigger” for Tuesday’s strikes, which also come amid a rise in the number of TTP attacks in Pakistan, especially in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. ADIEU M T VASUDEVAN NAIR Legendary Malayalam writer and Padma Bhushan awardee M T Vasudevan Nair, 91, passed away on Wednesday | P5