TIRUNELVELI l sunday l may 04, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l CITY EDITION Australia PM Anthony Albanese wins a second three-year term Albanese’s steady leadership resonated at a time of global tumult, with voters deserting hard-nosed opposition leader Peter Dutton housing crisis, healthcare sway voters dutton’s praise for trump a costly error US President Trump cast a long shadow over the six-week election campaign, sparking keen global interest in whether his tariff-induced economic chaos would influence the result. Albanese has promised to embrace renewable energy, tackle a worsening housing crisis and a creaking healthcare system, while Dutton wanted to slash immigration ■ ■ Some pre-vote polls showed Dutton leaking support because of Trump, who he praised as a “big thinker” on the global stage Albanese’s government has embraced the global push towards decarbonisation, warning of a future in which iron ore and polluting coal exports no longer prop up the economy | P11 36 day campaign was a largely staid affair, with a few exceptions 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 Committed to take firm, decisive action against terrorists and their ecosystem, says Modi Further squeeze Addl structure on Indus will India stops direct & indirect Pak imports, draw attack: suspends mail services, denies port access Pak minister J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi north goa Six dead, 80 injured in temple fest stampede S u d h i r s u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai AT least six people died while 80 sustained injuries in a stampede that broke out at a temple festival at Shirgaon in North Goa early Saturday morning. The state government ordered a magisterial inquiry , headed by Revenue Secretary Sandeep Jacques, into the tragedy at Shirgao village, and transferred five officials including the district collector and superintendent of police. The stampede occurred at around 3 am when thousands of devotees thronged the narrow lanes leading to the temple of Goddess Sree Lairai Devi for an annual festival, police said. The village is located 40 km away from Panaji. “At least 30,000 to 40,000 people had gathered, and some were standing on a slope. A few persons fell, causing others to tumble and fall on each other,” DGP Alok Kumar said. About 50 people fell on the slope, and the stampede was confined to that spot, he added.Thousands of devotees from Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka had congregated to attend the annual festival. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish over the tragedy “Saddened . by the loss of lives due to a stampede in Shirgao, Goa. May the injured recover soon,” the PM wrote on X. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced `10 lakh solatium for the family members of every deceased and `1 lakh to the injured. Express News Service Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday vowed unwavering and decisive action against terrorists and their backers, condemning terrorism as the gravest threat to humanity, after his meeting with visiting Angola’s President Joao Lourenco here. Meanwhile, as part of continuing economic and diplomatic measures following the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, including a Nepalese citizen, India halted all imports from Pakistan, suspended mail services, and denied port access to Pakistani vessels with immediate effect. “Government of India has decided to suspend the exchange of all categories of inbound mail and parcels from Pakistan through air and surface routes,” Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister for Communication said. India also imposed a ban on both direct and indirect imports from Pakistan and barred Pakistani ships from accessing Indian ports. A newly introduced provision in the Foreign Trade Policy said that “the direct or indirect import or transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan is prohibited with immediate effect until further orders.” The notification said the provision was imposed in the interest of national security An. other order from the Directorate General of Shipping said that any ship flying the Pakistani flag will be prohibited from vis- Amid escalating tensions over the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned on Friday that Islamabad would “strike” if India built any structure on the Indus River, violating the Indus Waters Treaty . Speaking to Geo News, Asif said that building any infrastructure on the river would be considered an act of “Indian aggression”. The warning came after India held in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty as part of its broader response to the terror attack in Pahalgam. Asif emphasised that any attempt by India to build o n t h e r ive r would be met with strong opposition. “Cer- Khawaja Asif, tainly, if they Pak def minister attempt to build any structure, we will strike it. Aggression is not just about firing cannons or bullets; it has many faces. One of those faces is (blocking or diverting water), which could lead to deaths due to hunger and thirst.” Asif added: “If they make any architectural attempt, then Pakistan will destroy that structure.” However, Asif said for now, Pakistan would take the issue to the appropriate for u m s, a n d t h e r e l ev a n t stakeholders. The Indus Waters Treaty was , signed on September 19, 1960, between India and Pakistan. @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi with J&K CM Omar Abdullah in New Delhi | PTI Pak test-fires Abdali missile Lanka searches Chennai flight Pak wife draws CRPF wrath Pakistan conducted a successful training launch of the Abdali surface-tosurface missile with a range of 450 km. India saw it as a blatant act of provocation Sri Lankan police searched a flight arriving in Colombo from Chennai after being tipped off that a suspect linked to the Pahalgam attack could be on board. The flight was later cleared. No one was arrested The Central Reserve Police Force sacked its jawan Munir Ahmed for concealing his marriage with a Pakistani woman, as his action was found to be detrimental to national security, official sources said iting Indian ports. Although trade volumes are low, it has become a casualty following the terror strike, as India began imposing economic costs on Pakistan due to the cross-border links involved in the attack. Direct trade had already sharply declined after India revoked Pakistan’s Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status following the Pulwama attack in 2019. India’s imports from Paki- CM felicitated If guv can block CM’s action, what is the use of polls? E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai Hot cat A leopard drinks water on the International Leopard Day, at the Jhalana Leopard Safari Park in Jaipur on Saturday | PTI e x p r ess r e a d BJP using coercion to control AIADMK: CM No films depicting Sikh guru using AI: Akal Takht Chennai: The DMK alleged that the centre is misusing ED to make the AIADMK to sign up for an alliance with the BJP. “The BJP has gained control over the AIADMK through coercive tactics,” Stalin said | P4 Chandigarh: Akal Takht’s officiating Jathedar has barred film-makers from making movies using AI on historic Sikh figures, citing violations of principles of Sikhism | P10 Mosque in Shimla to be brought down Ha r p r e e t Baj w a @ Chandigarh THE Shimla Municipal Corporation Commissioner’s Court on Saturday ruled that all five floors of the disputed Sanjauli mosque are unauthorised, and ordered the demolition of the entire structure. A section of residents of Sanjauli and Hindu outfits had launched an agitation to press for the demolition of the mosque, claiming that it was unauthorised but no action was taken by the Corpora- stan have been minimal in recent years, with some goods routed through third-party ports like Dubai, Singapore, and Colombo to bypass trade restrictions. In 2023-24, India imported just USD 3 million worth of goods from Pakistan. However, with India halting all trade, Pakistan, heavily reliant on India for pharmaceuticals, is now urgently seeking alternative sources for its pharmaceutical requirements. tion during the past 15 years. The court had on October 5, 2024, ordered the demolition of the top three “unauthorised” floors and asked the Waqf Board to produce documents of sanctioned plans of the remaining two floors. This decision follows the Waqf board failing to present the mosque’s revenue records during the court hearing. The lawyer of the Waqf board argued that the mosque originally existed before 1947 and was rebuilt after demolition. But the court of Commissioner Bhupender Kumar Attri ques- tioned why necessary permissions, including architectural plans, were not obtained from the municipal corporation for the reconstruction. Commissioner Attri ruled that the mosque had been built without necessary permissions, including a building permit, a no-objection certificate and a sanctioned map. He ordered demolition of the lower two floors in addition to the three floors that were ordered to be demolished last year. E a rl i e r, t h e H i m a c h a l Pradesh High Court had directed the municipal commissioner to decide the case by May 8. Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday said the judgment setting time limit for President and governors has resolved a long-pending issue in light of the Constitution. The two-judge bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had belled the cat, the CM said. Stalin was addressing students and educationists at Nehru Indoor stadium in Chennai on Saturday at an event organised by universities and colleges’ federation to felicitate him on the historic SC judgment over governors withholding bills passed by the state assembly indefinitely . Criticising the governor, the CM said, “If the goverM K Stalin, nor, who is here on a tempoChief Minister rary stay and is an agent of the Union government, can block the schemes drafted by the CM, then what is the point of holding elections? What is the value for people’s votes?” Pointing to those questioning the ruling, Stalin asked, “If the President were to take away the rights of the Prime Minister, would they remain silent?” Speaking at the event held under the title: ‘Felicitation for the Hero of State Autonomy Stalin said, “I am not the hero of .’ state autonomy The people of Tamil Nadu . who voted us to power are the real heroes.”  P5 WITH THIS ISSUE Fatal Medicine PLUS 12 PAGES Two of the injured fishers being treated at the Nagapattinam GH | express 23 Nagai fishermen injured in mid-sea attack by SL pirates Express News Service @ Nagapattinam A total of 23 fishermen from Nagapattinam who ventured into the sea in four groups were attacked by suspected Sri Lankan pirates late on Friday. At least 16 men were involved in the attack, sources said. The pirates attacked the TN fishers with iron rods and other weapons, and decamped with motors, GPS device, other equipment and the catch. The fishers reached the coast after paddling for hours. While five of the injured fishermen are undergoing treatment at Nagapattinam GH, 12 of them are being treated at Nagapattinam Medical College Hospital. Six were treated as outpatients. The first group of five fishermen from Akkaraipettai— Anand (37), Murali (38), Saminathan (30), Vetrivel (38), and Anabarasn (36) — was fishing 30 nautical miles off Kodiyakarai coast on a fibre boat on May 2 when it was attacked by six men who came in two Sri Lankan boats. The attackers decamped with two mobile phones, a walkie-talkie and GPS equipment. The injured fishermen who reached the Nagapattinam fishing jetty on Saturday were admitted to Nagapattinam Government Medical College Hospital for treatment. The Nagapattinam Marine Police have registered a case. Four fishermen from Arukatuthurai —Thangadurai (44), Jagatheesan (44), Arun pandian (42), Mahesh (43) — were fishing on Friday at 15 nautical miles off the coast of Arukatuthurai.  P5 Sebimore regulations chief’s take on More regulations do not necessarily mean better and effective monitoring, says Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey | P12