KOCHI l Wednesday l February 19, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE city EDITION Russia, U.S. to name negotiators to end Ukraine war, sans Kyiv US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) at the meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Tuesday | AFP won’t accept outcome of talks: Zelenskyy No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed his nation’s exclusion from the Riyadh gathering, which lasted more than four hours. He said that any talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war should be “fair” and involve European countries, including Turkey — which had offered to host negotiations Russia and the United States will name teams to negotiate a path to ending the war in Ukraine, leaders of both nations said on Tuesday in Riyadh need concessions from all sides, says U.S. ■ ■ Beyond Ukraine, the meeting attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov focussed on improving relations between the two superpowers | P11 Rubio said ending Russia’s war in Ukraine would need concessions from all sides and that Europe would be a part of the talks $52 bn The size of the European union’s military assistance for ukraine 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 After Modi-Amir talks, Qatar ties in strategic zone Aim to double bilateral trade from $14 bn in five years, enhance energy, trade partnership J ayanth J a c o b @ New Delhi India and Qatar elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership on Tuesday, agreeing to double their annual trade from $14 billion in five years and focusing on enhancing cooperation in energy, investments and the technology sector following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Both sides signed agreements and five memorandums of understanding (MOUs), including a revised double taxation avoidance pact. India already has strategic ties with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “Had a very productive meeting with my brother, Amir of Qatar H.H. Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, earlier today . Under his leadership, Qatar has scaled new heights of progress. He is also committed to a strong India-Qatar friendship. This visit is even more special because we have elevated our ties to a Strategic Partnership,” Modi said on X. “Trade, investment and energy were among the major topics of discussion between the two leaders today,” said Arun Chatterjee, Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. @ Karwar/Ankola The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Akshay Naik and Vethan Tandel from Karwar and Ankola on Tuesday for allegedly leaking crucial information about the Kadamba naval base to agents from Pakistan. The two worked on a contract basis at the naval base, and were found to have sent images of warships and aircraft carriers to the agents. The raid on Tuesday follows a two-year probe by NIA sleuths, who recovered incrim- Videograb of a Delta Airline plane upside down at Toronto Pearson Int’l Airport on Tuesday. The jet landed amid strong winds and snow, leading to it crashing and flipping over. Its right wing was missing. All 80 on board survived Rahul, Tharoor thaw on TNIE col PREETHA NAIR & K S SREEJITH @ New Delhi/T’Puram Pic: Shekhar Yadav Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugs Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday Qatar is also a major investor in India, with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) holding around $1.5 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) across sectors like retail, power, IT, education, healthcare and affordable housing. Both leaders identified a number of areas in which the QIA can increase investments. This is the Amir’s second visit to India after Modi came to power. Regarding a Navy official who is still in Qatari jail Chatterjee said: “I would like to just mention that his matter still remains sub judice in the local courts in Qatar. And as I mentioned, the prime minister appreciated the work that Amir and his government is doing in the protection and the welfare of our Indian citizens.” NIA arrests two for leaking naval info to Pakistan agents S u b hash Chan d ra N S On a wing and a prayer as Delta flips inating information, photographs, and gadgets from the two contract workers. NIA was closely watching the duo’s movements since they were interrogated in August 2024. Their involvement was revealed by Deepak, who was arrested in Visakhapatnam. The case is linked to a broader espionage ring involving employees of Shivam Marine Corporation and Ultra Marine Corporation, which supply skilled workers to the naval base. NIA has been investigating this case since June 5, 2023, and has made several arrests. The Congress high command, regardless of the stiff opposition from the Kerala unit, has decided to stand with Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor. The half-an-hour- long, oneon-one discussion Tharoor had with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday evening is learnt to have ended on a positive note with the former convincingly explaining his stand on the article that appeared in TNIE which triggered the controversy. Both leaders have agreed to meet more frequently , said sources in the Congress high command. The climbdown by the high command is seen as a blow to Rahul Gandhi the state leadership. The top brass of the state unit — Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, his predecessor Ramesh Chennithala and senior leader K Muraleedharan — had, burying their differences, united to condemn Tharoor. UDF convener M M Hassan had even asked him to resign from the Congress Working Committee. Significantly, AICC general Apex court grants bail to extradited middleman in AgustaWestland case s u c hitra ka lyan m o hant y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the `3,600-crore AgustaWestland case being probed by the CBI. A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed James was in custody for the past six years while the investigation in the matter by CBI was still underway . James, however, cannot walk out of jail as he faces another money laundering case in the Delhi High Court. “The petitioner was extradited in 2018 and has been in custody for more than 6 years. According to the CBI...the investigation is still on. We are inclined to grant bail,” said the bench. It said given the speed, the trial would not conclude in 25 years. The scam relates to irregularities in purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland. James is one among three middlemen in the case. Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa are the other two. The CBI chargesheet alleged a loss of `2,666 crore to the exchequer due to the deal signed on February 8, 2010. ‘ w h ea t n e w f a v o u r i t e ’ Consumption of rice declining in Kerala as food habits change Man o j V is w anathan @ Kochi Keralites’ love for rice seems to be fading with changing food habits. Over the past decade, there has been a sharp decline in the consumption of rice in the state. As per the household consumption data issued by the Ministry of Statistics, per head rice consumption in rural Kerala, which stood at 7.39 kg per month in 2011-12, declined to 5.82 kg in 2022-23. In urban areas, it declined from 6.74 kg to 5.25 kg during the period. However, rice mill industry insiders said the demand for rice has declined by 50% in the state over the past 10 years. According to them, people who used to consume rice and rice products thrice a day are now choosing wheat for breakfast and dinner. Considering the change in food habits, rice mills have begun diversifying. “While the consumption of rice has declined, the intake of wheat Rice consumption per head in Kerala (kg/month) Percentage of food expenditure in Kerala in 2023-24 (Per head, per month) Year Rural Urban 2011-12 7.39 6.74 Region Cereal milk veg fruits egg & beverages & others fresh meat processed food 2022-23 5.82 5.25 Urban 8.12 9.49 8.27 12.41 21.30 Rural 23.33 8.34 9.71 9.49 10.94 Drop Rice mill industry sources said in rice the demand for rice has declined demand by 50% over the past 10 years products has increased among Keralites. Nowadays, many youngsters prefer two vadas or egg puffs for lunch instead of meals,” said Keerthi Nirmal rice managing director Johnson Varghese. “Among those who consume rice, there has been an increase in the number of people opting for matta variety. The sale of matta rice has gone up even in Tamil Nadu. We are exporting matta rice to the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand. We ex- Shashi Tharoor 25.19 15.22 21.12 17.07 (Source: Ministry of Statistics Survey on Household Consumption 2023-24) port around 20 containers of rice to the UK per month,” said Johnson Varghese. Meanwhile, doctors say the consumption of unhealthy food like fried items and fritters has also increased among Keralites. “Though people have reduced rice consumption, the trend shows we are not opting for healthy food. Rice raises glucose and lipid parameters, which cause obesity,” diabetologist Dr Jothydev Kesavadev.  ● More on P4 secretary K C Venugopal was not part of Tuesday’s meeting, though he was present on the premises. Venugopal had, even on Tuesday morning, come down heavily on Tharoor’s article lauding the Kerala government for improving the Ease of Doing business. After the meeting, Venugopal told reporters that Tharoor shares the party’s views. When asked if any disciplinary action will be taken, he said, “The meeting was between Rahul Gandhi and Tharoor. All is well in the party Tharoor is on the . same page with the party on the issue. He is very much with the party .” Meanwhile, Tharoor declined to divulge the details of the meeting. “It was a long-pending request I had made for a meet- ing to discuss various issues. No additional comment. Since it was a meeting where only the two of us were present throughout, it would not be appropriate for me to say anything more,” he said. Later, Rahul and Tharoor visited Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence. However, no interaction took place between Tharoor and Kharge. The meeting between Rahul and Tharoor is reportedly happening after a gap of three years. “Tharoor has been trying for an appointment with Rahul ever since the latter contested for the post of Congress president in 2022. It took an article for that to happen,’’ a close confidant of Tharoor said, half ● More on P4 in jest.  EXPRESS READ Cyber fraud: 2 Taiwan nationals in custody Alappuzha: Two Taiwan nationals were taken into custody from Gujarat on Tuesday in a cyber fraud case in which a doctor couple from Cherthala was duped of J7.65 crore after being promised a huge profit on web-based share trading in last year. P5 7 booked for ragging junior student T’Puram: The Kazhakoottam police have booked seven students of Government College, Kariavattom, allegedly affiliated with SFI, in connection with ragging of a junior student and torturing him in the college. P4 18 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express