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 ■ ■ COIMBATORE l tuesday l january 07, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE city EDITION Trudeau, Just-out of office J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Justin Trudeau on Monday announced his resignation as both the Prime Minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party, putting an end to days of speculation amid rising discontent with his leadership. “Over the holidays I had time to reflect,” he said before announcing that: “I intend to resign as party leader, as Prime Minister after the party selects its next leader.” He will remain in office until the Liberal Party selects a new leader. Pressure has been mounting on him from within the party and outside to step down. The resignation of close ally Chrystia Freeland as deputy prime minister and finance minister in December dealt a significant blow. Freeland’s departure was reportedly due to policy disagreements with Trudeau, particularly over the his approach to possible US tariffs under Donald Trump and his overall economic strategy In Septem. ber, his government was weakened after the New Democratic Trudeau picture Party led by Jagmeet Singh withdrew support. Under Trudeau, Canada’s relations with India soured over his government’s alleged support to Khalistani separatists and his claims of New Delhi’s involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani leader in Canada. He has held the prime minister’s office since 2014. Over the holidays I had time to reflect. I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister after the party selects its next leader... Last night I asked the president of the Liberal Party to start that process Justin Trudeau Governor walks Big Maoist strike in 20 mths, 8 jawans killed out of TN House in anthem ‘row’ E j a z k a i s e r @ Raipur Tamil Thai Vaazhthu recited first, nat’l anthem skipped: Ravi; it’s TN Assembly convention: Speaker T M u r u g a n a n d h a m @ Chennai The new year’s first session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly, which usually starts with the governor’s customary address, witnessed high drama on Monday with Governor R N Ravi staging a walkout after refusing to deliver the full address for the third consecutive year. The governor left the House within three minutes of his arrival and later, in a statement, cited ‘brazen disrespect’ to the national anthem and the Constitution as the reason for his walkout. He said only Tamil Thai Vaazhthu was recited at the beginning of the session and the national anthem was skipped. Stating that the House holds the national anthem in high regard, Speaker M Appavu and Leader of the House, Duraimurugan, later said that recital of the Tamil invocation song at the beginning of the session and the national anthem after the governor’s address has been the convention. Chief Minister M K Stalin called the governor’s walkout ‘childish’ and said it doesn’t befit his position. The governor entered the House at 9.29 am and right after the recital of the Tamil Thai Vaazhthu, Congress MLAs rushed to the well of the House and raised slogans. Thamizhaga Vaazhvurimai Katchi MLA T Velmurugan also joined them. Simultaneously, AIADMK MLAs also gathered at the well of the House and started raising slogans, holding some posters. The governor uttered a few words which could not be heard in the din. Meanwhile, the Congress MLAs staged a walkout and AIADMK continued shouting slogans. At 9.32am, the governor also walked out of the House and subsequently, Speaker Appavu ordered the eviction of AIADMK MLAs. Later, PMK and BJP MLAs also staged walkouts. The Leader of the House then said that the people of TN and the Assembly have great respect for the country and the national anthem. He moved a resolution to take only the approved version of the governor’s address, prepared by the state government, on the records of the House.  MORE ON P4 Security forces cordon off a crater at the blast site on the Bedre-Kutru road in Bijapur district, Chattisgarh | Express Eight District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel and a civilian driver were killed in a powerful blast triggered by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in strife-torn Bijapur district, about 400 km south of Raipur. The blast was carried out on Monday when a joint team was returning from anti-Maoist operations. This incident marks the first major attack by Maoists since April 26, 2023, when 10 jawans were killed in an IED blast in Dantewada. According to Sun- 5 HMPV cases: Much ado about nothing 2001 bug Nadda says no reason to worry; it was first identified in 2001 Virus is selflimiting and manageable, says Union health ministry Karnataka, TN, Delhi, Maharashtra issue advisories on prevention Suggest precautions like covering mouth and nose while sneezing/ coughing, washing hands, wearing masks in public places K a v i ta B a j e l i - D att @ New Delhi India reported five cases of the globally circulating human metapneumovirus (HMPV), which is seeing an outbreak in China, causing worldwide panic as it comes five years after the Covid-19 pandemic. While two children each tested positive for the virus in Bengaluru and Chennai, one such case was reported in Ahmedabad. In its pushback, the government emphasised that HMPV is self-limiting and manageable. Union health minister J P Nadda said it is not a new virus as it was first identified in 2001 and has been circulating in the entire world ever since. “There is no reason to worry he added. ,” Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Delhi issued guidelines for its prevention (See box). While two infants were detected with HMPV in Bengaluru, with no international travel history , one case was reported in Gujarat. Later in the day , two children tested positive for HMPV in Chennai. “The ICMR has detected two cases of HMPV in Karnataka. Both cases were identified through routine surveillance for multiple respiratory viral pathogens, as part of ICMR’s ongoing efforts to monitor respiratory illnesses across the country the government said in a statement. ,” WHO’s former chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on X, “According to @ICMRDELHI, #HMPV accounts for about 3% of respiratory pathogens detected in the lab network, testing ILI and SARI cases. Influenza A & B, SARSCoV2 & RSV are other circulating viruses.” Sullivan powers nuclear deal on his farewell visit JAYAN T H JACOB @ New Delhi THE US is in the final stage of removing all hurdles that kept the civil nuclear deal between the two countries a non-starter, outgoing US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said here on Monday . As part of the move, the US will remove Indian entities including the Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre from its restricted list. India and the US had decided to cooperate in civil nuclear energy in July 2005, following a meeting between then prime minister Manmohan Singh and US president George W Bush. The India-US civil nuclear agreement was signed in 2008. However, there was no tangible progress in the civil nuclear energy sector as India pushed a ‘liability law’ while the US kept Indian nuclear entities in its restrictive list. The US opposed India’s nuclear liability law, which held the supplier of N-plants also accountable for any potential nuclear accident, saying it deviated from the global norm of holding only the operator liable for mishaps. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (left) with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi, on Monday | pti Formal paper work soon, says US Sullivan said the formal paperwork to remove the long-standing regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation, will be done soon. “This will be an opportunity to create opportunities for entities that have been on restricted lists in the US,” he added Hic, hic, hurray Kerala CPI raises a toast to comrades K S SR E E JI T H @ T’Puram IN a pragmatic decision to adapt to changing times, the Kerala unit of the Communist Party of India (CPI) has freed its cadres from the age-old taboo over consumption of alcohol. It, however, comes with a rider — don’t overdo it. Party workers, and leaders, can drink in moderation as long as their high spirits don’t tarnish the reputation of the party . In a new code of conduct approved by the party state council, the CPI has advised its leaders and cadres to “refrain from habitual drinking” and “not to tarnish the reputation of the party by being in a drunken state in public places”. Till now, there was a blanket ban on CPI workers consuming alcohol. However, CPI’s fraternal organisation, the CPM, con- tinues with its rigid stand against alcoholism. The CPM expels cadres once it’s proved they have consumed alcohol. It was in its 1992 special national organisational conference held in Thrissur that the CPI passed its first code of conduct. The party has revised the stand after 33 years. The new code of conduct, in possession of this newspaper, however, clarifies that abstinence from alcohol is the CPI policy . If we take a tough stand against consuming alcohol, how will we get cadres? Times have changed. We can’t ban it; but we can control it and reduce its impact CPI leader darraj P, Bastar range inspector general of police, the IED blast targeted a vehicle carrying the security personnel, leaving a 15 ft wide and 6 ft deep crater. The explosion was so intense that it tossed the vehicle high into the air, ripping it into pieces. It is believed that the rebels had planted around 40 kg of explosives beneath the road. The DRG personnel were on their way to the base camp from Abujhmad to Dantewada via Bijapur in the ill-fated vehicle. It is believed that the Mao- ists were aware about the return of the forces along the route. Brigadier (Retd) B K Ponwar said, “It was not a cowardly attack but a guerrilla attack carried out at the weakest point of the security forces. It’s an unfortunate incident that was avoidable.” He emphasized that the basic rules of warfare should not be flouted, especially in a virtual war zone. Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai has ordered a probe. The state government aims to eliminate the influence of Maoists by March 2026. express read Former minister’s job scam case: HC transfers probe to CBI Chennai: The probe into the alleged job scam case registered by the Virudhunagar police against ex-minister K T Rajenthra Bhalaji of AIADMK has been transferred to the CBI by the Madras HC. Justice P Velmurugan passed the order on Monday after finding the district crime branch had failed to file the final report and obtain due sanction from the competent authorities for prosecuting Bhalaji | P2 Hooch deaths: HC quashes orders invoking Goondas Act Chennai: The Madras HC has quashed the detention of 18 accused under Goondas Act in the Kallakurichi hooch death case. The court cited the delay in invoking the Act, non-furnishing of documents in language the accused are familiar with, and long incarceration as the reasons for its order in the case in which at least 65 died | P2 Resignation may fuel calls for early polls Justin Trudeau’s resignation is expected to fuel renewed calls for an early election to put a government in place swiftly to deal with the incoming Donald Trump administration in the US. Trump has proposed a 25% tax on all Canadian goods entering the US. Going by opinion polls, the Liberal Party is likely to suffer a major defeat in the upcoming polls Special officers named for rural local bodies in 28 TN districts E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai A day after the expiry of the tenure of elected representatives of Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) in 28 districts across Tamil Nadu, the state government on Monday appointed special officers (SOs) to 9,624 village panchayats, 314 panchayat unions, and 28 district panchayats in these districts. Simultaneously, the government has issued detailed guidelines and instructions for the functioning of these officers who will be holding the office till July 5. Official sources said a bill in the current session of the Assembly is likely to be introduced for administering the Rural Local Bodies for next six months. The Block Development Officers (village panchayats) of the respective panchayat unions have been appointed as SOs of the respective village panchayats.  P5