kozhikode l tuesday l june 24, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Kirsty Coventry: First female IOC president takes charge Out-going International Olympic president International hands over key of Olympic House to Coventry Olympic in Lausanne during Handover Ceremony Committee breaking glass ceiling, ushering in new era troubled times but promise in horizon Coventry has quite a few first on Monday after taking charge of the IOC. Besides being the first female, she is the first African, youngest at the age of 41 and first from a developing nation (Zimbabwe). The multiple Olympic medallist is supposed to bring in freshness and usher in a new progressive era in IOC. She also served in Zimbabwe govt as sports minister ■ ■ She will walk into a world that’s politically charged with war and conflict raging in quite a few regions. Hosting 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles in Trump era will be a challenge as well She said she would collaborate and govern. “I believe you get more collective if everyone feels that they’ve at least had a say...” Eight the number of years she will be in office 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 Shoukath prevails, but Anvar steals the show First Iran attack on US bases in Qatar and Iraq a G E N CI E S UDF candidate Aryadan Shoukath greets jubilant supporters gathered in Nilambur town after his victory in the by-election on Monday | E Gokul nilambur stats M Swaraj (Ldf) Aryadan Shoukath (udf) 66,660 77,737 total votes polled 1,75,989 Margin 11,077 Mohan George (NDA) P V Anvar (Ind) 8,648 19,760 vote share UDF: 44.17%, LDF: 37.88%, Anvar: 11.23%, NDA: 4.9%, Others: 1.81% AAp wins two seats New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won from Gujarat’s Visavadar assembly constituency and also the Ludhiana West seat in Punjab in the assembly by-elections conducted on June 5. The ruling BJP in Gujarat retained the Kadi seat, while the Trinamool Congress maintained its hold on the Kaliganj seat in West Bengal’s Nadia district. INSIDE E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Malappuram In an apparent dampener on the CPM’s ‘Pinarayi 3.0 Loading’ campaign, UDF’s Aryadan Shoukath romped home beating LDF’s M Swaraj with a comfortable margin in Nilambur bypoll, the result of which was announced on Monday. However, it was independent candidate P V Anvar who stole the show with a stunning performance, bagging around 20,000 votes. This is the first time that the LDF has lost a sitting seat in a by-election after the second Pinarayi government assumed office. Anti-incumbency factor was loud and clear in all segments of the constituency giv, ing heartburn to the CPM that was boasting of the achievements of the LDF government. Shoukath secured lead in almost all the local bodies, except Karulayi panchayat. UDF secured lead right from the first round and steadily increased it as the counting progressed. Anwar, who was forced to jump into the fray after being driven to the wall by the UDF, succeeded in securing votes of both the UDF and the LDF, and came second in booth number one of the Vazhikkadavu panchayat. With this performance, Anvar has once again opened the discussions over his entry into the UDF, which was blocked reportedly by Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan. Midway through the counting, Anvar knocking on UDF door again? bjp taps Christian votes but ends up losing ezahava support Flight with nose damage: ‘Pilots had no clear plan’ s l a l i t h a @ New Delhi IndiGo pilots on a Delhi to Srinagar flight last month, which suffered extensive nose damage due to a heavy hailstorm, did not have any clear plan to handle the situation, aviation regulator DGCA said in its report. The Air Traffic Control, too, faulted the pilots for their decisions. On May 21, 227 passengers on board had a miraculous escape with the nose of the flight suffered extensive damage. The pilots managed to land the flight in Srinagar. In its 29-page report, the DGCA pointed out that the forecast presented in the brief to pilots did not specify any significant weather changes. But the whether changed enroute. “The crew started taking deviations from the planned route to avoid weather in co-ordination with the three ATCs — the one at Delhi Airport, the Alpha Pilots had valid licences The probe by DGCA said that the cockpit crew (pilots) had valid licences and the flight duty times of both the crew members was within the specified time limit. The aircraft too had a valid Airworthiness Review Certificate, the DGCA probe found Control for J&K and the Northern Control of the Air Force just before it reached the waypoint ASARI,” it said. “The cockpit crew were proactive in indentification of the weather. However, the actions and decisions which preceeded it indicate that the crew were not having a clear plan on the next course of action.” On convective weather systems, it said, “Pilots are advised to navigate such areas laterally than climbing or descending.” The DGCA advised pilots to take a conservative approach to decision making during adverse weather conditions. KPCC president Sunny Joseph hinted that the issue is not a closed chapter. IUML state president Panakkad Syed Sadiqali Shihab Thangal quipped that though Anwar had missed the UDF train from the Nilambur station, he can board from any other station. Among all the constituents of the UDF, the IUML will be happier with the result as there were concerns about possible erosion of its votes as Shoukath was not in the good books of the party But through systematic . work at the grassroot level, the IUML ensured Shoukath’s victory and proved the party’s strength in Malappuram district, its home turf. Equally happy would be Satheesan, who took all the crucial decisions beginning from selecting the candidate to accepting the votes of the Welfare Party , the political ar m of the Jamaat-e-Islami. The result has boosted his position in the party and among the possible contenders for the chief minister’s post in the event of a UDF victory in the next Assembly polls. Meanwhile, the CPM’s strategy in the election didn’t pay the expected dividends. The party was successful in deciding the agenda in the initial phase and cleverly diverted the focus from the anti-incumbency factor. But the results proved that there were no buyers for the party’s misplaced fear of the ‘dangers of the Jamaat-e-Islami’, which has a negligible presence ● More on P4 in Nilambur.  happy we could win back P4 nilambur, says Shoukath Identity verification For US visa, set social media to public visibility E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi In a major overhaul of its visa screening process, the US embassy has advised all applicants for F, M, or J non-immigrant visas to set their personal social media accounts to public visibility, effective immediately The policy, aimed . at strengthening national security protocols, is designed to enhance identity verification and assist consular officers in determining applicants’ admissibility under US immigration law. F visas are intended for academic students attending US colleges, universities, or lanVISA guage training programmes; M visas cover non-academic or vocational study; and J visas are reserved for individuals participating in exchange programmes, including, research scholars, and cultural exchange participants. The US Embassy in India posted on X: “Every visa adjudication is a national security decision.” Making social media accounts public became mandatory for vetting processes since 2019. Officials reiterated that all available information, including online presence, is used in visa screening to detect potential threats. IRAN fired at least 10 missiles against a US military base in Qatar on Monday a day after the US , hit its nuclear facilities. Separately one missile was fired at a , US base in Iraq. This is the first time that Iran has launched a direct attack against US assets and marks a dangerous escalation in the ongoing conflict. Reports said multiple explosions were heard in Doha as missiles flew and interceptors fired, lighting up the sky. Qatar’s airspace was closed amid fears of an Iranian attack. Qatar is home to a large number of expatriates, many of them Indians. “In view of the ongoing situation, Indian community in Qatar is urged to be cautious and remains indoors,” an advisory by the Indian embassy in Qatar read. The Al Udeid Air Base, located near Doha, is the largest US military installation in the region, which is also the home to US Central Command’s forward headquarters. It hosts around 10,000 US troops and also in- Israel Syria Iraq Iran India braces for Strait choke R a k e s h K u m a r @ New Delhi Saudi Arabia Qatar US military bases in the Middle East cludes UK military personnel on rotation. Qatar condemned the attack, saying it “reserves the right to respond directly in a manner equivalent with the nature and scale of this brazen aggression”. The Foreign Ministry of Qatar issued a statement late on Monday saying Qatari air defences “thwarted the attack and successfully intercepted the Iranian missiles,” with no injuries or deaths reported. Some reports said Iran had informed Qatar in advance to minimise casualties. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes continued in Iran on Monday, targeting multiple sites, including Fordo, which was hit by the P9 US on Sunday  . India is staring at a possible energy crisis if Iran goes ahead and closes the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. Even though the government has said oil supply to India remains intact and that it will take all necessary steps to ensure the stability of crude oil supply energy experts and ana, lysts think otherwise. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday said India has enough oil supplies to last for weeks. He said India has diversified sources of crude oil, and out of the 5.5 million barrels of crude oil that India consumes daily 1.5-2 million come through the , Strait of Hormuz. However, data sourced from Kpler SAS—a global trade intelligence provider —shows 85% of India’s oil supplies come from the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has repeatedly threatened to close if attacked by the US. Brent crude oil prices are already hovering around $75 a barrel, up from below $70 a month ago. Puri said it is difficult to speculate on the price of crude oil.