BHUBANESWAR  SATURDAY  FEBRUARY 22, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION BLOCKBUSTER WEEKEND AS ARCH RIVALS FACE-OFF IN CT Heavyweights England and Australia play on Saturday in Pakistan before the marquee India-Pakistan clash in Dubai on Sunday Ryan Rickelton’s century helps South Africa beat Afghanistan in Karachi | AP ONE-SIDED CONTESTS FAIL TO GRAB EYEBALLS OLD FOES LOOK TO REIGNITE RIVALRY If New Zealand beating Pakistan came as a spoiler for the local fans, on Friday, South Africa overpowered Afghanistan to establish their standing in Group B. In an event where one bad loss could ruin a team’s chances, both Black Caps and Proteas seem to have consolidated their net run rate. This weekend could well decide the semifinalists ■ ■ Both Australia and England are run down by injuries and the tournament needs the two teams to rise to the occasion and put on a show to stay in the reckoning for the knockout round The subcontinental contest hasn’t been the same but the hosts Pakistan need a win to keep their hopes alive | MORE ON P11 2021 THE LAST TIME PAKISTAN BEAT INDIA AT AN ICC EVENT 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 $21 mn for ‘voter turnout’ deeply troubling: India Trump labeling controversial USAID fund as kickback scheme sparks BJP-Cong sparring Musk posted on X a list of funds disbursed by USAID, which inINDIAN authorities are inves- cluded $21 million allocated for tigating “deeply troubling” re- voter turnout in India. ports raising “concerns about “Relevant authorities are US government interference in looking into, and hopefully we India’s internal affairs,” fol- can come up with an update lowing President Donald subsequently Jaiswal said. ,” Trump’s suggestion Trump, addressing a that a US agency spent gathering of state Govmoney to influence ernors from his Repubelections. lican Party, opined: “I On Thursday Trump , would say in many casreiterated his criticism es, many of these casof the $21 million US es, anytime you have government funding no idea what we’re p rov i d e d t o I n d i a talking about, that through USAID during means there’s a kickWe have seen the Biden administraback because nobody information on tion for ‘voter turnout’, has any idea what’s gocertain US calling it a “kickback ing on there.” He also activities and scheme” and adding: questioned grants of funding. These are “What the hell do I deeply troubling $ 2 9 m i l l i o n t o care about it? We got “strengthen the politiRandhir Jaiswal enough problems (of c a l l a n d s c ap e ” i n our own).” Bangladesh. “We have seen information Building on Trump’s “kickthat has been put out by the US back” remark, BJP’s Amit administration regarding cer- Malviya and Pradeep Bhandari tain USAID activities and fund- alleged that the $21 million had ing. These are obviously very been used to support “deep deeply troubling. This has led state assets” in India, accusing to concerns about foreign inter- Rahul Gandhi and the “Conference in India’s internal af- gress ecosystem” of benefiting fairs. Relevant departments from the funds. and agencies are looking into The Congress hit back, allegthis matter,” External Affairs ing the CIA had paid RSS to Ministry spokesperson Ran- destablise the Congress govdhir Jaiswal said on Friday . ernments in the past and deThe Department of Govern- manded a white paper on USment Efficiency headed by Elon AID funds in the past decade. J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi EXPRESS READ 6.41L Olive Ridleys lay eggs at Rushikulya 60-year-old father looks for son in Jharsuguda jail Bhubaneswar: A staggering 6.41 lakh Olive Ridley turtles have laid eggs at Rushikulya rookery so far in the current nesting season setting a record for the mass breeding site along Ganjam coast. PCCF Wildlife Prem Kumar Jha said Rushikulya had never seen such large congregation of the endangered species, at least in the last decade. The previous highest nesting of 6.37 lakh was recorded in 2022-23 season | P2 Jharsuguda: A 60-year-old man’s desperate search for his missing son has taken him across Odisha over the last two years and on Wednesday, the father landed up at Jharsuguda jail. Shiv Kumar Jha from Chhattisgarh’s Raipur has been going from pillar to post since the past two years in search of his son, Bhavesh Kumar Jha (25). His search at Jharsuguda jail didn’t yield any leads either | P4 Amid cross-border firing, India-Pakistan agree to honour truce F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar INDIA and Pakistan held a Brigade Commander-level flag meeting along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Friday in an effort to , de-escalate tension after several recent incidents of cross-border firing and an IED attack. The flag meeting took place in the Chakkan-Da-Bagh crossing point area, with both sides highlighting the need to maintain peace along the border. At the 75-minute-long meeting that started around 11 am, the Indian army delegation lodged a strong protest over recent instances of unprovoked cross-border firing, apart from infiltration attempts by terrorists and smuggling of narcotics and weapons. The meeting took place in a congenial atmosphere and both sides agreed to honour the ceasefire agreement in the larger interest of peace along the border, sources said. “Pakistan army officials were warned of a befitting response in case of cross border firing,” sources said. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah welcomed the flag meeting, saying it’s a good thing as it aims to reduce tension without using force. Ceasefire violations along the border of Jammu and Kashmir have been uncommon since February 2021 when the two countries decided to strictly adhere to the November 2003 border ceasefire agreement. On February 10, an IED blast along the LoC in Akhnoor triggered by militants killed an army captain and a jawan. Another soldier was injured in the explosion. The extent of damage on the Pakistani side in the retaliatory action was not known immediately but officials had said the enemy forces also suffered “heavy casualties.” Spent 58 pc of 2024-25 budget in just six months, says CM countering Oppn charges EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar CHIEF Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday said the concerns of the Opposition on low budget expenditure were misplaced as 58 per cent of the funds allocated in 2024-25 budget has already been spent by January-end, and all the departments will improve utilisation before the start of the new fiscal. Replying to the discussion on budget 2025-26 in the Assembly, the chief minister said in the first three months of 2024-25, election code of conduct was in force and ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ Govt slams Erdogan’s Kashmir take on Pak trip EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi INDIA has lodged a strong protest with Turkey over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent remarks on Kashmir during his visit to Pakistan last week. “We reject such objectionable comments on matters that are internal to India. We have lodged a strong protest with the Turkish ambassador. Such unwarranted statements on India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are unacceptable. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. Last week, Erdogan following his talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said: “The Kashmir issue should be addressed according to the UN resolution through dialogue and keeping in mind the aspirations of the people of Kashmir... our state and our nation, as in the past, stands in solidarity with our Kashmiri brothers CONTINUED ON P5 today .” there was no expenditure on new schemes and projects. “I am not blaming the previous government also because elections were going on at that time. So, apart from routine expenditure, there was hardly any development work,” he said. The chief minister said that after the full budget for 2024-25 was placed in July, the government got got just six months till January to implement the budget proposals. Despite these constraints, the government has been able to finance more than 58 per cent of the budget estimates by the end of January, which is only one per cent less than the corresponding period last year. He also informed the members that the government’s programme budget allocation has increased by about 11 per cent as compared to last year, while the total budget allocation has increased by about 10 per cent. Majhi said he has reviewed the expenditure of all departments and directed the ministers to take necessary steps to ensure full utilisation of the CONTINUED ON P5 budget. NEP fight: Pradhan asks TN to rise above politics; don’t provoke Tamils, retorts CM KAVITA BAJELI-DATT & BAGALAVAN PERIER @ New Delhi / Cuddalore THE language war between the BJP-led union government and the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu intensified on Friday. While Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accused the state government of turning ‘progressive reforms into threats for politics’, Chief Minister MK Stalin dubbed the National Education Policy (NEP) as a tool to promote Hindi and not education. “I urge the union government not to provoke Tamil people again. Do not throw stones at a beehive. You cannot enter as long as I and the DMK are here,” Stalin said. In his reply to a letter sent by the CM to the PM seeking the release of funds held back by the centre over the implementation of NEP, Pradhan There is no question of imposing any language on any state or community What will they do if we refuse to pay the taxes collected from Tamil Nadu? - Dharmendra Pradhan - MK Stalin slammed Stalin for his opposition to NEP 2020 and schemes linked to it, accusing him of having a “myopic vision”. There is no “question of imposing any language on any state or community,” Pradhan said in his three-page letter to Stalin. Speaking at an event in Cuddalore on Friday evening, the CM lambasted Pradhan for calling the state’s opposition to NEP as politics. “The union minister claims Tamil Nadu did not receive `5,000 crore because we did not implement NEP schemes. What will they MISTAKEN IDENTITY Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Hamas of violating the ceasefire deal by handing over the body of a woman from Gaza instead of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas | P9 do if we refuse to pay the taxes collected from Tamil Nadu? Federalism is based on mutual cooperation, which is the foundation of our constitution. Unfortunately those who , do not understand this philosophy are ruling the country today .” Stalin reiterated that NEP was introduced not to develop education but to promote Hindi. “As people would oppose direct implementation, they are trying to introduce it gradually. The union minister claims they are developing regional languages, but we know how to develop Tamil. Ask those who lost their mother tongues due to Hindi imposition. Tamil does not need their support for its growth,” he said. The CM also faulted the centre for withholding funds from Tamil Nadu. “Through GST, they take all the state’s revenue and refuse to return the rightful share. They are not announcing any new schemes for the state and are even denying funds for joint schemes. Despite these obstacles, we have managed to grow, which has irritated them. Now, they are trying to block our progress by creating new laws,” the CM said.