kochi l tuesday l april 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Russia announces unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine next week Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a 72-hr ceasefire from May 8 midnight to May 10 midnight to mark Victory Day Ukraine dismisses it as ‘window dressing’ The Kremlin said the truce was on humanitarian grounds. “Russia believes the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” the Kremlin said, adding its forces will respond in kind if Ukraine violates the ceasefire. Dismissing Putin’s move as ‘window dressing’, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said: “If Russia truly wants peace, it must cease fire immediately.” ■ May 9 Need permanent ceasefire, says Trump ■ The development comes after US President Donald Trump expressed doubts about Putin’s interest in ending the war. The White House said Trump wanted a permanent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine This is the second unilateral truce offer by Putin, following a 30-hour Easter ceasefire that saw each side accusing the other of violating it Is celebrated as Victory day to mark Soviet Union’s victory in World War-II 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 Omar Abdullah says he will not use the Pahalgam brutality to demand statehood Shaji N Karun (1952-2025) Rajnath meets Modi; Pak says incursion imminent Master auteur bids adieu An i l S @ T’Puram H IS array of frames captured the poignancy of pain, be it the pathos of an unending wait, eter nal search for the unknown, heartfelt silence, a deep sense of solitude or an intense yearning. Master auteur Shaji N Karun, who chose to tread his own path, often defying norms of both popular and parallel cinema, is no more. The 73-year-old, who was battling cancer breathed his last at his residence in Vazhuthacaud, Thiruvananthapuram, on Monday The funeral will be held at . Santhikavadam on Tuesday . A cinematographer-turnedfilmmaker who brought global acclaim to Malayalam cinema with a brilliant kaleidoscope of films spanning over a five-decade-long career, bid adieu hardly two weeks after receiving the JC Daniel Award. Shaji has the rare achievement of three back-to-back films making it to Cannes — Piravi, Swaham and Vanaprastham. Pain was ever the leitmotif — the pain of the unspoken, solitude and yearning that lingers on. He chose to portray them through a brilliant interplay of silence and the cinematic medium. “Politics has its base in pain. See, my movies document pain and its myriad portrayals. That’s how political my movies are,” he once said. Often he chose a narrative interpersed with long silences and pauses that conveyed so much better than loud frames and ponderous dialogues. His stories were subtle yet tinged with prophetic vision. In his directorial debut, Piravi, which tracks the gruelling pain of a father’s wait, the compelling narrative left the audience speechless and overcome with an ache that defied description. The movie serves to be a caustic pointer to the disturbing saga of custodial deaths. Swaham too depicts waiting, but of a different kind. Vanaprastham, which elicited one of the career-best performaces from Mohanlal, too was another sketch of yearning — this time that of a Kathakali artist, who goes through the myriad hues of love, life, isolation amid a complex societal structure. Shaji was an extremely selective filmmaker when it came to his cinematic creations. He was immune to the glitter of the industry. Even the well-established norms of arthouse movies failed to woo him. He was someone who refused to remain stagnant.  ● ● More on P4 101 38 take a bow! Runs 11(6s) & 7(4s) balls Feels great. It feels like a dream to score a century in the IPL — Vaibhav Suryavanshi, RR opener Only 14, Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest to smash an IPL ton. He hit the second fastest 100 (35 balls) behind Chris Gayle (30) | sportzpics | P11 KSEB to revive Athirappilly hydel project India may let China invest via JV route M a n o j V i s w a n at h a n @ Kochi R a k e s h K u m a r @ New Delhi Struggling to meet the peak-hour power shortage in the state, the KSEB has decided to revive the 163MW Athirappilly Hydro Electric Project which was put on hold a decade ago following protest from environmental activists and tribal community . According to an order issued by KSEB on April 24, the Centre for Environment Architecture and Human Settlements (CEarth) had made a presentation on the development of tourism at Malankara dam, Idukki dam and Banasurasagar dam before top officials of the board on January 17, 2025. During the meeting, a proposal was made to modify Athirappilly power project as a tourism project and to prepare a master plan for development of amenities including tribal school, tribal hamlet and primary health centre. The proposal was presented by the Director (Generation) before the Director Board on March 8, and the meeting of full-time directors passed a resolution on March 19 to accord sanction to remodel the Athdirappilly project. The KSEB has appointed a chief engineer to study the proposal made by C-Earth. A meeting held at the KSEB headquarters on April 28 discussed the issue. KSEB Chairman Biju Prabhakar, in a statement, said the KSEB is conducting a viability study on implementing the Athirappilly hydel project as the first Integrated Tourism and Power Generation Project ● More on P4 in the state.  In a move that could allow Chinese equipment manufacturers to operate in India, the Centre is considering permitting Chinese companies to invest under the Electronics Component Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme through joint ventures with Indian firms. According to industry sources, the government is mulling allowing Chinese companies to own up to 26% in JVs for specific critical electronics components, while maintaining a 10% equity cap for most other categories. In all cases, the management and control of the JV will re- main with the Indian partner. Additionally, such JVs will need to secure approvals under the FDI norms. The latest move comes after Chinese companies agreed to most of the terms and conditions, including the transfer of technology to India. India-China relations touched their lowest point in April 2020 after the Galwan clashes. Subsequently India man, dated that FDI from entities or individuals based in countries sharing land borders with India would need prior government approval. The government allowed Chinese firms to operate in India only through partnerships with Indian firms. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi J&K MLAs, including CM Omar Abdullah, pay homage to the victims of the Pahalgam attack, in the assembly on Monday | PTI Assault on Kashmiriyat: J&K House resolution F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar A special session of the J&K assembly on Monday passed a unanimous resolution describing the April 22 terror attack on tourists at Pahalgam as a direct assault on Kashmiriyat, the Constitution and the spirit of unity, peace and harmony. As many as 25 tourists and a local resident were slaughtered in the attack. But what caught the eye was a contrite Omar Abdullah admitting he had failed in his capacities as chief minister and tourism minister to protect the lives of tourists. Participating in the debate, he added that he will not use the Pahalgam incident to demand statehood. “How can I use the Pahalgam incident to demand restoration of statehood from the Centre? I do not believe in cheap politics... Curse on me if I go to the Centre and tell them that 26 peo- ple have died and now give me statehood.” Omar described the massacre as the beginning of the end of terror in Kashmir and cautioned against taking any step or action that “distances people from us and hurts this spontaneous protest”. He was alluding to the recent demolition of houses of terrorists and mass arrests. “This was not just an attack on people from one state — it was an attack on the very soul of India. The victims hailed from across India, from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat, from Kerala to J&K. The whole country has been affected by this attack,” he said. “I fully know that J&K’s security is not the responsibility of the elected government but as CM and tourism minister I had invited them to visit here and as a host it was my responsibility to ensure the safety of tourists, but I failed to do so,” the Omar said. J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi The United States on Monday said it is closely monitoring rising tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and called upon the two neighbours to pursue a “responsible resolution” to the crisis. “The United States encourages all parties to work together towards a responsible resolution,” a State Depart- ment spokesperson said. The spokesperson reiterated that that Washington “stands with India and strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Pahalgam”, echoing recent remarks by President Donald Trump and Vice President J D Va n c e . B o t h leaders had expressed solidarity with express read Rapper Vedan, 8 others nabbed with ganja Kochi: Hiran Das Murali, popularly known as ‘Rapper Vedan’, was nabbed for possession of cannabis on Monday. The Hill Palace police nabbed Vedan and eight members of his music band, with around 6g of ganja in a raid at his residence in Tripunithura. P5 Obscenity on OTT platforms: SC notice to Centre New Delhi: The SC served notices on the Centre and others on a plea seeking to ban the streaming of sexually explicit content on various OTT and social media platforms. “We issue notice to respondents. Let Netflix, etc., be here; they have a social responsibility,” court said. P7 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express M aya n k S i n g h @ New Delhi Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh with other officials during the signing of an Inter-Governmental Agreement for the procurement of 26 Rafale aircraft | PIB via PTI ment for the existing Rafale fleet of the Indian Air Force,” the statement added. Sources said the delivery of the first Rafale-M aircraft is expected to be delivered by May 2028 and the 26th aircraft by New Delhi: The govt blocked 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly disseminating “false, provocative and communally sensitive content” about India. It also objected to the BBC’s reportage on Pahalgam Rana’s Nia custody extended by 12 days New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday extended by 12 more days the NIA custody of 26/11 Mumbai attack accused Tahawwur Rana. The special court extended his custody on NIA’s request after his previous 18-day remand got over Man held for window damage at mission London: An Indian-origin man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly smashing the windows of the Pak High Commission here following protest over the Pahalgam massacre. Ankit Love, 41, was charged with criminal damage Work towards a responsible resolution, says US India, France ink `63,000-cr deal for Rafale-M India and France on Monday for mally concluded the `63,000-crore ($7.4 billion) deal for 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets, in a move aimed at significantly enhancing the Indian Navy’s maritime combat capabilities. According to the contract, French military aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation will deliver 22 single-seater jets and four twin-seater trainers. “The agreement includes training, simulator, associated equipment, weapons and performance-based logistics. It also includes additional equip- 16 Pakistani Youtube channels blocked Amid heightened security activity in J&K as India weighs it options following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him on the ongoing operations. The closed-door meeting lasted around 40 minutes. Earlier in the day Rajnath , was given a detailed briefing by Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on the ground situation in J&K. Rajnath Singh, The meet- defence minister ing came on a day when Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told news agency Reuters that a military incursion by India was imminent. “We have reinforced our forces because it is something which is imminent now,” he said, adding some strategic decisions have been taken. Asif said Pakistan would only use its arsenal of nuclear weapons if “there is a direct threat to our existence”. Meanwhile, the Line of Control remained active with Pak Army indulging in small arms fire in the Kupwara and Poonch sectors. 2030, with the crew undergoing training in France and India. “There would be aircraft-specific inspections to check and validate Indian Navy specific enhancements,” they added. Rafale-M jets will operate from Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya. The agreement includes transfer of technology for integration of indigenous weapons in India. It also includes setting up of a production facility for Rafale fuselage as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities for aircraft engines, sensors and weapons in India. The Indian Air Force already operates 36 Rafale combat jets. The new contract is for 26 naval variant of the Rafale combat jets. This newspaper had reported on April 9 that Cabinet Committee on Security had cleared the Rafale-M deal. New Delhi following the April 22 assault, which left 26 dead, with Trump describing it as a “bad one” and acknowledging the deep-rooted tensions over Kashmir. “This is an evolving situation and we are monitoring developments closely. We have been in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan at multiple levels,” a US State Department spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. The statement said that the US administration is in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan at “multiple levels”. The United States encourages all parties to work together towards a responsible resolution — US State Department spokesperson Husband, mother-in-law sentenced to life for starving woman to death over dowry E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kollam A court in Kollam on Monday sentenced the husband and mother-in-law of a 28-year-old woman to life imprisonment for starving her to death over dowry in 2019. Kollam Additional Sessions Court judge S Subhash also imposed a fine of `1 lakh each on the convicts, Chandulal, 36, and Geetha Lali, 62, who were found guilty for murdering Thushara, a native of Karunagapally Chandulal’s . father Lal, 67, the third accused, was found dead on the banks of the Ithikkara river six months ago. The court observed that this is an unprecedented case in Thushara the country. The prosecution argued that the murder was carried out according to a plan. At the time of her death, Thushara weighed only 21 kg. The postmortem report revealed that there were no traces of food in her stomach. Thushara died on March 21, 2019, in Oyoor. After being informed about her death, Thush- Chandulal Geetha Lali ara’s father and family members rushed to the Kollam District Hospital around 1am and found her body in a deteriorated state. The postmortem, which was conducted based on a complaint lodged with the Pooyappally police, revealed the shocking details of the “murder”. Chandulal married Thushara in 2013. According to the prosecution, after the engagement, the accused forced Thushara to sign an agreement stating she would pay the shortfall of `2 lakh in dowry within three years. However, just three months into the marriage, the accused began subjecting Thushara to physical and mental torture, demanding ● More on P5 the dowry  .