BHUBANESWAR  MONDAY  APRIL 14, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  JEYPORE EDITION TRUMP FULLY FIT TO DON ROLE OF COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF: DOCS Test reports of Donald Trump said he has dropped 20 pounds since his last physical test in 2020. He now weighs 224 pounds UNDERWENT COLONOSCOPY, EYE SURGERY In July 2024, according to the report, Trump had a colonoscopy that found a benign polyp and a condition called diverticulosis. It’s a common condition in which the walls of the intestine weaken with age. It can lead to inflammation, though most people with it never experience any problems. Trump also had cataract surgery ■ 62 FACES RISK OF ELEVATED BLOOD PRESSURE ■ Trump’s cholesterol levels have improved over time, helped by the medications rosuvastatin and ezetimibe, the report said His blood pressure was 128 over 74. That is considered elevated, and people in that situation are likely to develop high blood pressure unless steps are taken to control the condition BEATS PER MINUTE IS THE HEART RATE OF DONALD TRUMP AS PER REPORTS 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 NIA seeks voice AIADMK’s induction gives NDA majority in the RS samples of 26/11 co-conspirator RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi Probe team also plans to take Tahawwur Rana to Kochi to confront ‘mystery witness’ MUKESH RANJAN @ New Delhi IN a bid to corroborate call recordings in possession of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the probe team is looking to collect voice samples of Tahawwur Rana, the extradited co-conspirator of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. The agency is also preparing to take him to different places across India, including Kochi, which he had visited multiple times before and after the terror attack on November 26 that year, sources said. Before taking his voice samples, investigators would need Rana’s consent. If he refuses, the NIA team can approach the special court. Once the court’s permission is obtained, experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory will be roped in to collect the voice samples, they added. The voice samples could then be used for matching with Rana’s call records to figure out if he was on the phone giving instructions to the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai from November 26 to 28. According to sources, a ‘mystery witness’, who is in NIA custody, belongs to Kochi and investigators plan to take Rana to the southern city to confront him. The ‘mystery witness’ had helped Rana and David Coleman Headley, another accused in the case, in arranging logis- Trump tariff fiat gives India 20% advantage over China R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi INDIA’S exports of iPhones and other electronics items — such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets — to the United States will be 20% cheaper compared to those from China, according to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA). While the US has exempted reciprocal tariffs on electronic imports from most countries, Chinese electronics — particularly iPhones and related devices — continue to face a 20% tariff. India and Vietnam — two major iPhone manufacturing hubs — now benefit from zero tariffs on exports of iPhones, smartphones, laptops, and tablets to the US. The US had said reciprocal tariff on Indian electronics exported to the US was set at 26%, while China faced a 145% tariff and Vietnam 46%. A week later, the US postponed the imposition of these tariffs for 90 days, excluding China. On Friday, the US Customs and Border Protection published a notice stating that electronic items — including smartphones, computer monitors, and other gadgets — would be excluded from the reciprocal tariffs announced by the Trump administration. This included the removal of the 26% tariff on Indian products and the 145% tariff on Chinese goods. CONTINUED ON P5 tics. It is learnt that at least two officers of the NIA Kochi unit are part of the team of 12 investigators questioning Rana. Investigators are also examining if Rana was connected to Dawood Ibrahim or his criminal network based in Dubai. Rana is being questioned not just for his role in the Mumbai attacks, but also to see if he was involved in planning similar terror attacks in other cities, sources said. Keeping this in mind and to retrace events that took place 17 years ago to unravel the conspiracy, the sources said, the NIA probe team may take Rana to several other locations across the country . Besides informing the NIA team about his origins in Pakistan, family, education, immigration to Canada with his wife and opening a travel agency in Chicago, Rana largely remained uncooperative, sources said, adding that he has so far claimed his inability to recall the chain of events but confirmed his presence in Mumbai one week before the attack. 7 MONTHS ON, LAW COMMISSION MAY GET NEW HEAD According to highly placed sources, former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Dinesh Maheshwari is likely to head the law panel | P5 WITH the AIADMK joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) a few days ago, the ruling alliance now has a comfortable majority in the Rajya Sabha. “The addition of four AIADMK MPs has solidified the NDA’s support in the Upper House. Our aim is to get the One Nation, One Election (ONOE) and other important bills passed in the House as soon as possible,” said a senior Rajya Sabha member of the BJP, requesting anonymity. While the Rajya Sabha has a total of 245 seats, nine of them are vacant and are expected to be filled through nominations in the coming days. “In effect, the working strength of the Rajya Sabha now is 236, and the simple majority stands at 119. That was where the NDA Ex-BJD MLA attacked in Jajpur dist, Naveen says citizens are no more safe in the state E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Jajpur/Bhubaneswar BJD leader and former Dharmasala MLA Pranab Kumar Balabantaray was attacked and his car vandalised by some miscreants at Aruha village in Jajpur district on Sunday Balaban. taray who escaped unharmed, was going to at, tend a religious ceremony at the village when the incident took place. According to reports, the former legislator was heading in his SUV to take part in the Hingula Yajna at the village. When he was about to reach the venue at around 1 pm, some clubwielding youths, intercepted his vehicle and started attacking it. The former MLA escaped unhurt as he was rescued by locals, said to be his supporters, who rushed to the spot seeing the commotion. But his vehicle was severely damaged by the armed group. The incident has sparked ten- Supporters of sion in the area. Even as Bala- the local MLA attacked my bantaray accused local MLA vehicle. They Himanshu Sekhar Sahoo of be- had been ing behind the attack, he did not plotting to kill file any complaint saying he had me by using no faith in Jajpur police. “I was armed goons invited to the Hingula Yajna at for the last Aruha village. When I reached couple of days. there, supporters of the local They had come with bhujali and MLA attacked my vehicle. They swords to had been plotting to kill me by attack me using armed goons for the last couple of days. They had come Pranab with bhujali and swords to at- Balabantray, t a c k m e , ” B a l a b a n t a r ay BJD leader alleged. BJD president Naveen Patnaik condemned the attack on Balabantaray stating that it was a , reflection of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. In a post on social media platform X, he said,”If public representatives are unsafe, it raises serious concern about the CONTINUED ON P5 safety of common citizens.” stood before it stitched up an alliance with the AIADMK. The AIADMK has four members in the Upper House — C V Shanmugam, M Thambidurai, N Chandrasegharan and R Dharma. Its induction raised the NDA ’s count to 123.” Add to that the support of seven other MPs — six nominated and one Independent. That takes the effective strength to 130. Then there is Andhra Pradesh, where one Rajya Sabha seat is vacant. It was earlier held by the YSR Congress. With the party routed in the assembly elections, the seat is likely to go to the ruling TDP, which is a key NDA ally. Four seats remain vacant for nominated MPs, which the BJP may want to pocket. Four other seats are vacant from J&K. The BJP hopes to take at least one of them whenever polls are held, given its strength of 29 MLAs in the 90-member J&K assembly. If things pan out as expected by the BJP, the NDA’s strength could reach around 140. It would be the first time since 2014 that the NDA would have a clear majority in both Houses of Parliament. “If that happens, the NDA would easily be able to get important bills like the ONOE passed in the Rajya Sabha comfortably,” remarked noted political analyst Dr R K Verma. Four murders in four days: Rourkela city descends into chaos, brazen lawlessness E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Rourkela THE steel city on Sunday woke up to another horrific murder - totalling four in as many days - as a man was found dead with his neck slit, behind a makeshift mutton shop a few metres away from the permanently closed STI levelcrossing under RN Pali police station here. Initially, it was a blind case. However, a five-year-old child gave vital lead to the crime. The identity of the deceased was ascertained and police arrested the alleged murderer Bikash Gochhayat (24) of Angul. The knife used in the crime was also recovered from the accused. Sources said, the butcher had come to open his shop in the wee hours in view of the Sunday rush. When he went behind the shop, he hit the body in the darkness and fell on it. He panicked and informed the police immediately . The deceased has been identified as Amrit Mahakud, a native of nearby Chandiposh area, who was working as a daily earner and staying at a slum near the level-crossing. The accused Gochhayat who lived in the same locality was known to Mahakud. Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani said preliminary investigation re- vealed that Gochhayat and Mahakud had a quarrel on Saturday night. Gochhayat then brought a knife from his house and slit the throat of Mahakud. The SP said the crime took place over personal enmity and investigation is underway to ascertain the reason. “While the locals were silent, a small kid who had seen them quarrelling gave description of the accused leading to solving of the case,” he said. Gochhayat was produced before the court on charges of murder and the knife used in the crime along with blood-stained apparel CONTINUED ON P5 were seized.