Saudi to buy $142 bn worth arms from U.S. “The united states and saudi arabia signed the largest defence sales agreement in history,” the white house said | P9 vijayawada l wednesday l may 14, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Major developments 3 terrorists killed in J&K Normal flight ops from Thu Pak spy expelled Three Lashkar-eToiba terrorists, including its top commander Shahid Kuttay, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Tuesday, officials said As disruption in flight operations continues, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said airlines would resume their normal operations to the 32 closed airports from May 15, when the NOTAM ends India on Tuesday declared an official at the Pak High Commission in New Delhi persona non grata. The staffer — not an not officer — has been ordered to leave in 24 hours for being caught for spying Modi makes Adampur point to call out Pak propaganda Visits airbase Islamabad claimed it had destroyed along with S-400 battery Never discussed trade with the US during Op Sindoor: Foreign office RA J E SH K UMAR THA K UR @ New Delhi Clearly exposing Pakistan’s lie that it destroyed Indian Air Force’s Adampur airbase in Punjab, which houses the S-400 air defence system, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday visited the airbase and interacted with the soldiers. “What you have achieved is unprecedented, unimaginable and amazing,” Modi told the airmen in his first speech to the armed forces since Operation Sindoor, with an S-400 missile defence system in the backdrop. Pakistan had claimed it had inflicted significant damage on the Adampur airbase and destroyed the S-400 air defence system there. The PM’s presence at the airbase debunked Pakistan’s tall claims. Upon arriving at the airbase in the morning, Modi engaged with air warriors and soldiers in full public view. He walked near fighter jets ready for deployment, with the S-400 system on standby within , a fully operational and normallooking base. “He came, walked openly on airbase, interacted with the air warriors and conquered their hearts,” said a senior official. express read CM targets `1,34 k cr revenue collection Vijayawada: Observing that the growth in State Revenue is possible with deep analysis, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed the officials to prepare plans based on the revenue trends of the past 30 years. Naidu fixed a target to achieve `1,34,208 crore in the present financial year | P4 Govindappa arrested in AP liquor scam Vijayawada: In a significant breakthrough in the AP liquor scam case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) apprehended key accused Govindappa Balaji, Director of Bharathi Cements, on Tuesday. The SIT detained Balaji near Mysore and brought him to Vijayawada | P3 J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi | pti ‘No place in Pakistan is safe for terrorists’ In a dire warning to terrorists, Modi said, “There will be only one consequence of killing innocents: destruction, total annihilation”. Terrorists may have Pak army protection, but there’s no place where they can feel safe, he added The prime minister’s visit, a day after his address to the nation, delivered yet another powerful message to the international community—laying bare Pakistan’s falsehoods while cautioning it against any future misadventures. “Interacted with the air warriors and soldiers at AFS Adampur. Their courage and professionalism in protecting our nation are commendable,” Modi later wrote on X. The external affairs ministry asserted on Tuesday that trade was never discussed with the US during Operation Sindoor, where the might of Indian armed forces compelled Pakistan to seek a ceasefire, and that India will suspend the Indus Waters Treaty until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “Now, as per the Cabinet Committee on Security There is now a (CCS) decision of 23 April, In- new normal. The sooner Pakistan dia will keep the Treaty in abey- gets used to it, ance until Pakistan credibly the better and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism. Randhir Jaiswal, Please also note that climate MEA spokesperson change, demographic shifts and technological changes have created new realities on the ground.” As for the issue of trade, it did not come up in any of the discussions with the US, Jaiswal said rebutting claims made by President Donald Trump of how he had used the issue of trade as a leverage to broker a ‘full and immediate ceasefire’ between India and Pakistan. He reiterated that it was Pakistan which had approached India for a ceasefire after it was rattled by the force of Indian strike at its air bases. Now, India plans to strike US with retaliatory tariffs D i pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi INDIA has notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) about its plans to impose retaliatory tariffs on select US metal imports in response to Washington’s protectionist tariffs on steel, aluminium and related products. India’s decision to end concessions for the US will effect an increase in import tariffs on selected products originating in the US. The countermeasures could come into effect as early as June 8, 2025, unless consultations are initiated or the US withdraws its safeguard tariffs. The notice was filed on May 12 under Article 12.5 of the WTO Ag reement on Safeguards, which allows retalia- tion when a member imposes safeguard measures without adequate notification. India has estimated the US tariffs have affected $7.6 billion in Indian exports, resulting in an additional $1.91 billion in duties. It, therefore, now plans to impose retaliatory tariffs. India’s move targets US duties that have been in place since 2018, and recently extended via presidential proclamations on February 10, 2025. Although imposed under the guise of national security, India argues these tariffs are de facto safeguard measures that violate WTO rules. It further contends the US failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 12.3, which mandates prior consultations. Goyal to visit US for trade talks Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead a team of officials to Washington starting May 17 for talks with US on the proposed bilateral trade agreement academic excellence V’wada region emerges top in CBSE exams K K a lya n K r i s h n a K u m a r @ Vijayawada The Vijayawada region, comprising Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, has topped the CBSE Class X and Class XII results announced on Tuesday It . recorded the highest pass percentage among all regions for both examinations, reaffirming its academic excellence on the national stage. Girls continued to outperform boys in overall results. Following Vijayawada, the Trivandrum, Chennai, and Bengaluru regions secured the next top spots in terms of pass percentage. In the Vijayawada region, which covers both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 49,556 boys and 38,360 girls passed the Class 10 exams, totalling 87,916 successful candidates. For Class XII, Vijayawada region saw 10,584 boys and 9,630 girls clear the exams. In Class X, Vijayawada region achieved a remarkable 99.79% pass rate, with girls outperfor ming boys. Andhra CBSE 2025 - performance overview Exam Class X Class XII Students Appeared 36,579 11,852 Students Passed 36,482 11,794 Boys Girls Pass % Pass % 99.73% 99.65% 99.85% 99.51% 99.45% 99.58% Pass % Pradesh alone registered a pass percentage of 99.73%, with girls securing 99.85% and boys 99.65%. Out of 36,579 students who appeared from the state, 36,482 cleared the exam. In Class XII, Vijayawada region led the country with a P4 99.60% pass percentage. 14.9L clear Class X A total of 14.96 lakh students cleared the CBSE Class X exam across the country Trump and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also signed a host of bilateral pacts 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 ■ The deal was inked during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi, the first foreign tour in his 2nd term Trump and Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman | ap/pti After interacting with the 39-year-old crown prince, Trump said: “I really believe we like each other a lot” ■