DHARMAPURI l saturday l june 14, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION India abstains from voting on DRAFT Gaza ceasefire resolution in U.N.G.A. The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to adopt the resolution seeking an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza Motion also demands release of hostages Dialogue is the only solution, says India The resolution, introduced by Spain, got 149 votes in favour. Twelve members voted against it while 19 nations, including India, abstained. The resolution also demanded release of hostages, return of the remains of those killed, exchange of Palestinian prisoners, return of civilians to their homes in Gaza, and full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip India has earlier abstained on resolutions on Israel-Palestine. “Our vote today is in continuation of this in the belief that there is no other way to resolve conflicts but through dialogue and diplomacy," he said ■ India is concerned at the deepening humanitarian crisis, he added ■ India’s Permanent Representative to UN, Parvathaneni Harish, said U.S. Had vetoed a similar resolution at the U.N. Security Council last week 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 Black box found, Modi visits crash site and chaired a high-level review meeting with senior officials to assess the ongoing resA day after a horrible plane cue and relief efforts. “Visited crash killed at least 260 people the crash site in Ahmedabad here, probe agencies recovered today The scene of devastation . the Digital Flight Data Record- is saddening,” he posted on soer (DFDR) or black box, which cial media. is expected to throw up clues He also met the lone survion India’s worst air tragedy in vor of the crash and the other decades. injured persons. “Assured The Aircraft Accident Inves- them that we are with them tigation Bureau and their families that scoured the dein this tough time. bris, said it recovThe entire nation ered the black box is praying for their from the rooftop at speedy recovery .” the crash site — Modi also paid possibly of the BJ tribute to former Medical College Gujarat chief minhostel, which the ister Vijay Rupani, London-bound Air who was among India aircraft the passengers who slammed into lost their lives in shortly after takethe ill-fated flight. off from the Sardar “It is unimaginable Vallabhbhai Patel that Vijaybhai is Relatives of a victim Airport. The black mourn at a hospital in not in our midst,” Ahmedabad on Friday box recording will he said. “We worked offer vital data on together, shoulder the final moments of the flight. to shoulder, including during While the DFDR is housed in some of the most challenging the tail section, the Cockpit times. Vijaybhai was humble, Voice Recorder (CVR) is usu- hardworking, and firmly comally located within the cockpit. mitted to the party’s ideology .” Both DFDR and CVR are bet- The Directorate General of ter known as black boxes. Till Civil Aviation (DGCA), orthe time of going to press, dered Air India to go in for enthere was no word on finding hanced safety checks, includthe CVR. ing a review of take-off Prime Minister Narendra parameters of its Boeing seModi visited the accident site ries of flights from June 15. Insurance firms urged to ease settlements Di l i p Si n g h K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad Multiple strikes on Tehran IRAN ISrael A residential apartment in Tehran that was damaged in Israeli strikes on Friday | AP Natanz: Uranium enrichment plant strikes near Military, Nuclear, Residential sites Israel takes out Iran’s military brass, nuke sites Over 100 military facilities destroyed in airstrikes; India calls for de-escalation Ag e n c i e s @ Jerusalem / Dubai / Washington We expect to be exposed to several waves of Iranian attacks Benjamin Netanyahu With this crime, Israel has set itself for a bitter and painful fate Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left... JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE Donald Trump IN a major escalation of tensions in West Asia, Israel on Friday launched a barrage of strikes across Iran, targeting nuclear and missile sites, and taking out its top military leadership. Iran responded by launching a swathe of drones. Israeli military said it intercepted 100 drones. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel of a “bitter and painful” fate, signalling further escalation. Late in the evening, Israel launched a second wave of attacks specifically targeting Tehran. Among those killed in the early-morning strikes were the country’s highest-ranking military official General Mohammad Bagheri, commander-inchief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps General Hossein Salami, deputy commander-inchief of the armed forces Gholamali Rashid, and Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who ran the missile programme. Iranian media put the total toll at 18. Israel said it deployed 200 aircraft to hit 100 targets, including Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz. Dozens of missile launchers and radar installations in western Iran were also destroyed in the attack, in which drones smuggled into the country were also used. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ruled out Washington’s involvement, while President Donald Trump blamed Iran for not taking the off-ramp he offered by restricting its nuclear programme. “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to make a deal... Today is day 61,” he wrote on Truth Social. The Wall Street Journal quoted Trump as saying he was aware of Israel’s plans to attack Iran. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the situation. “Received a phone call from PM @netanyahu of Israel... I shared India’s concerns and emphasised the need for early restoration of peace and stability Modi wrote on X. ,” P9 (With inputs from Jayanth Jacob in New Delhi) 4 court staff die, judge injured as car rams truck Express News Service @ Thoothukudi Four court staffers died and the principal district judge of Thanjavur and another staff member sustained severe injuries after the car they were travelling in rammed a truck from behind at Melakaranthai on the Thoothukudi-Madurai National Highways on Friday mor ning. The accident occurred when the car, which is believed to have attempted to overtake another vehicle, rearended a gypsum truck en route to Ariyalur, sources said. While advocate S Dhananjeya Ramachandran (55) of Pudukottai, personal security officer D Navin Kumar (28) of Tiruchy, and record clerk K Vasu Ramanathan (33) of Pudukottai were crushed to death on the spot, junior bailiff CA Sridhar Kumar died on the way to Aruppukottai Gover nment Hospital. Thanjavur principal district judge K Poorana Jeya Anand (56) and staff K Udhayasuriyan (34) of Thanjavur, who sustained grievous injuries, were initially rushed to Aruppukottai GH.  P5 Rajnath set to visit China on June 24-25 J AYANTH J ACOB & RA J ESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi AS India and China work to stabilise relations and rebuild trust, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to the neighbouring country on June 24-25 — the first high-level Indian ministerial visit since the 2020 border standoff in Eastern Ladakh. This signals renewed momentum in India-China engagement, following disengagement along the Line of Actual Control and continuing efforts to normalise ties. Singh will take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers’ meeting, where he may hold talks with Chinese defence minister Admiral Dong Jun. This will be Singh’s first visit to China as defence minister, though he had previously travelled there in his capacity as home minister. Singh had last met Admiral Dong in Vientiane, Lao PDR, in November last year on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus. gamechanger Thirst for pace drives ‘iDreamer’ Esakkimuthu G o m e s h S @ Chennai iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans pacer A Esakkimuthu remembers the first time he held a cricket ball in his hand. It was the U16 selection trials in Tirunelveli, and Esakkimuthu, a class tenth student from Kalakudi, a small village in Tirunelveli, had asked his father, who runs a school van service from the neighbourhood villages to Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai, for a white T-shirt and pants. He borrowed “Bata shoes” from a school-going kid. He had only played with a “stumper” (rubber) ball and had never touched a cricket ball before. In the trials, he hit a few big shots before beating the bat with his pace and got selected. However, because of financial situation at home, he could not continue. “My dad had met with an accident. The situation was not good. In all this, I could not even think of cricket. You need money to play and train,” he recalls. “Veri” (fury) is the word he keeps repeating. When he got a chance to play for Urumu Dhanalakshmi Arts Col- lege (Tiruchy), he gave his everything. Esakkimuthu impressed an opposition batter, Yuvaraj from Bishop Heber College, who would take him under his wings. He shifted colleges for his PG (Library Science) and continued to train with Yuvaraj. He was introduced to a senior pacer Senthil Nathan, Veeraraghavan Ramachandran of Alchemy Academy and trainer Michael Anton. Cricketing expense were taken care of, and Esakkimuthu did what he was meant to do — run through batting line-ups. That “veri” became “pasi (hunger)”. Esakkimuthu returned to Tirunelveli and claimed 14 wickets in five games during the 2024 SS Rajan Trophy. The pacer was selected for a TNCA camp, and soon a third division opportunity followed. Today Es, akimuthu is a TNPL player and is making a mark. There have been nights I could not sleep, I cried. I have not cried for anything in my family or anything else. When it comes to cricket, I could not control it A Esakkimuthu Di pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the site of the plane crash on Friday | PTI Lone survivor found some space, escaped “Luckily, the portion where I was seated fell on the ground floor of the hostel after the crash. When I saw that the door broken, I saw an opportunity to escape,” says Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the lone survivor | P8 The government has instructed insurance companies to ease the process of claim settlement for family members of the deceased in the air crash. A senior finance ministry official said instructions were sent to the insurance companies on Thursday night itself. “Right now it is time for mourning, and no one is thinking about the money However, the . claim settlement process will begin in 5-6 days,” he said. He, however, declined to give an exact estimate of the claims. “This is not something that we can estimate — individually passengers would have all kinds of insurance policies, therefore, it is difficult to make an insurance claims estimate,” said the official. The industry is looking at $150-200 mn in claims. “The hull agreed value of the aircraft would be roughly around $75-80 million, which will be covered under the Hull All Risk part of Insurance,” says Hitesh Girotra of Prudent Insurance Brokers.