THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l tuesday l july 15, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Shubhanshu Shukla, Axiom-4 team on return path to earth After an 18-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS), astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others set off for return on Monday will splash down off U.S. at 3.01 pm today spacecraft will be exposed to 1,600°C Shukla, the second Indian astronaut to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 odyssey, boarded Dragon spacecraft at 2 pm IST and embarked on the return journey two hours later. “Undocking from ISS is scheduled for 4.35 pm IST,” Axiom Space said earlier. After a 22.5-hour journey, the crew will splash down off California at 3.01 pm IST on Tuesday ■ ■ Final preparations include detaching the capsule’s trunk and orienting the heat shield ahead of atmospheric entry, which will expose the spacecraft to temperatures nearing 1,600 degrees Celsius Parachutes will deploy in two stages — first stabilising around 5.7 km altitude followed by main parachutes at roughly two km A550 cr was paid by isro for Shukla’s travel to the ISS 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 Time to address de-escalation: EAM to Wang Yi People must know value of freedom of speech: SC S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi Observing that citizens must know the value of freedom of speech and expression, the Supreme Court on Monday said people should observe self-regulation. The bench said it would consider issuing a set of guidelines to regulate offensive posts on social media. “Citizens must know the value of the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression. The state can step in, in case of violations. Nobody wants the state to step in,” said a two-judge bench comprising justices B V Nagarathna and K V Viswanathan. The court made these observations after hearing a plea filed by Wazahat Khan, booked in several states, including West Bengal, for his objectionable posts on X against a Hindu deity Justice Nagarathna said . divisive tendencies on social media needs to be curbed, adding it did not mean censorship. “There should be fraternity among citizens,” she said. Khan had filed a police complaint against another social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli for allegedly making communal remarks in a video. On June 23, the court had granted Khan interim protection from coercive action till July 14. The bench on Monday extended the interim protection till the next date of hearing in the case. The court asked Khan’s lawyer to assist in dealing with the larger issue of self-regulation of freedom of speech and expression. Jaishankar meets his Chinese counterpart, urges lifting of restrictive trade practices J ayanth J aco b @ New Delhi England players celebrate after India’s final wicket (Mohammed Siraj) falls in the third Test at Lord’s on Monday | PTI oH lORD’S: tail comes good but falls 22 SHORT F iro z M ir z a @ London IT was as if the final day was on slow burn. It was cooking, but slowly; one run at a time across one over after another. Runs were coming in ones. The boundaries had dried up. Yet, the capacity crowd kept egging the players. This was Test cricket garbed in its finest orb. It was getting increasingly irritating for Ben Stokes and Co as Ravindra Jadeja and Nos. 10 and 11 — Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj — were trying to enact one of modern cricket’s greatest heists. What looked improbable at lunch looked promising by tea. It is not always that a crowd cheers a leave or a forward defensive. Not always do tail-enders play over 80 Proud of the way team played: Shubman LONDON: Shubman Gill said he was proud of the way team put up a fight. He felt that one fifty partnership and Rishabh Pant’s first innings run-out made the difference. “Extremely proud it was as close a Test match... I was pretty confident of our chances with plenty of batting left. We needed a couple of 50-run partnerships but we weren’t able to get that,” Gill said | P11 balls. On Monday they just , did that and brought India closer to England’s target of 193. While Bumrah and Siraj were being cheered loudly for their defence, the Bharat Army were chanting ‘Oh Ravi Jadeja’, a song to the tune of the ‘Seven Nation Army’ they have composed for the all-rounder. Jadeja played 181 balls for his unbeaten 61 while Bumrah (5) and Siraj (4) faced 54 and 30 balls. All together, they played 212 legal deliveries. Like the Test, even the end was slow. Siraj blocked a Bashir’s delivery but the revs on the ball took it to the leg stump. A feather touch dislodged one bail. Jadeja looked on helplessly from the other end. The hosts, exhausted and forlorn until then, erupted in joy Just like they had done at . the same venue six years ago when England were crowned world champions by the barest of margins. At the centre of that win was Ben Stokes. The England skipper was the beating heart of this latest win as well. On the evidence of London, Manchester could P11 be another cracker.  Last-ditch efforts on to save Nimisha’s life jayanth jaco b @ New Delhi AS the execution date of nurse Nimisha Priya draws near, intense efforts are under way to convince the victim’s family to accept blood money, the only legal route to saving her life under Yemeni law. Nimisha is reportedly scheduled to be executed on July 16 for the alleged 2017 murder of her Yemeni business partner Talal Abdo Mahdi. “All efforts are on to save Nimisha Priya,” her lawyer Subhash Chandran told TNIE. “In the latest efforts, through the intervention of influential e x p r e s s r ea d Student brutally assaulted by seniors Kozhikode: A Plus-I student at a government school in Kozhikode was allegedly assaulted by a group of PlusII students. Muhammed Amin was reportedly targeted by his seniors who forced him to sing and dance. When he refused, they allegedly dragged him into the middle of the road and beat him mercilessly | P5 Guest houses not to host adalats, sittings T’Puram: Saying that rise in number of participants in adalats and public hearings was inconveniencing guests, the government has directed not to hold such events at guest houses. Other public events with limited attendees can be held as before | P5 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express Sunni Muslim cleric Kanally and is making “all possithapuram AP Aboobacker ble efforts” to open a channel Musliyar, we have reached out of reconciliation. He has held to one of the family members, talks with religious authorias well as some local ties in Yemen, who in authorities and relitur n are in contact gious leaders. We are w i t h t h e v i c t i m ’s trying our best so that family . the family accepts the “Right now, the only blood money and the hope is that the family Kerala nurse is spared accepts the blood monfrom death row,” he ey said a source famil,” Nimisha Priya said. iar with the developAccording to sources ments. While there are close to the negotiations, Musstill “grey areas”, the negotialiyar — who holds the title of tion team is working with the Grand Mufti and is officially understanding that July 16 known as Sheikh Abubakr Ahcould be the execution date. mad — has stepped in personAn office has been opened at ‘Chairman’ out, govt for ‘chairperson’ in offices E x p ress N e w s S er v ice @T’Puram ‘Chairman’ is out. From now, it’s only ‘chairperson’. Continuing with its efforts towards addressing gender discrimination, the Personnel and Administrative Reforms (Official Language) Department has issued a circular directing use of ‘chairperson’ instead of ‘chairman’ in administrative fields. The decision was taken based on the recommendation by a panel of language experts. Welcoming the move, gender experts said it was part of an ongoing effort to ensure gender neutral terms. Demands to use such terms mostly came from women occupying the chairperson posts in different local self-government administrative bodies. In the past, the gov- ernment had introduced the term to denote female applicants along with male applicants in all forms. “Since then, we have been talking about bringing in gender neutral terms. The term ‘chairperson’ was suggested by women elected as people’s representatives. Even now, they are called ‘chairman’. It’s high time we change it. Now, women are in power; they occupy positions with decision making capacity, and ought to be accorded respect,” said T K Anandi, the gender consultant of the state government. She said such a change should come in legislation too, including the POSH Act. “One thing we can suggest is to introduce a ‘He/She’ or ‘Her/His’ wherever possible,” ● More on P4 she said.  Musliyar’s headquarters in Kerala to coordinate these efforts. However, there has been no official confirmation from the victim’s family . Earlier today the Centre in, formed the Supreme Court that it has limited diplomatic levers to intervene in the matter. Appearing before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, Attor ney General R Venkataramani said, “the government is trying its best...” The fate of Nimisha now hinges on the willingness of the victim’s family to accept the blood money offer. In a firm and forward-looking message during talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that lasting peace along the India-China border remains the bedrock for restoring strategic trust and advancing bilateral relations. Jaishankar, who is in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers meeting, told his Chinese counterpart that recent progress in resolving border friction and maintaining tranquility helped ease tensions, laying the groundwork for broader normalisation. “We have made good progress in the past nine months for the normalisation of our bilateral relations. It is a result of the resolution of friction along the border and our ability to maintain peace and tranquility there. This is the fundamental basis for mutual strategic trust and for smooth development of bilateral relations,” he said. “It is now incumbent on us to address other aspects related to the border, including de-escalation,” Jaishankar said. “Our bilateral relationship requires that we take a far-seeing approach to our ties,” Jaishankar said. The minister, who is visiting China for the first time after the 2020 border clashes, said over the past year, both sides have made tangible progress toward nor malising ties, thanks to resumed dialogue and increasing high-level engagement. “In recent times, the two of us have had several opportunities to meet at international events and carry out strategic communication. It is our expectation that this will now become a regular feature and take place in each other’s countries,” he said. j&k cm scales burial gate to pay tribute External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi Need to maintain momentum in ties Jaishankar referred to the 2024 meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, saying “Since then, the relationship has been gradually moving in a positive direction. Our responsibility is to maintain that momentum.” Jaishankar highlighted the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations that the two countries are marking this year. He also acknowledged the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after a five-year pause, expressing gratitude to China for its cooperation. Touching on trade and people-to-people engagement, Jaishankar called for the removal of barriers that hinder mutual growth. “Measures towards normalising people-to-people exchanges can foster mutually beneficial cooperation. It is also essential that restrictive trade practices and other roadblocks are avoided,” he said. Certain export control measures have caused unease in India in recent times. Temporary V-Cs Guv loses HC battle; Ciza, Sivaprasad on way out E x p ress N e w s S er v ice @ Kochi/T’Puram In a major setback for the governor, a division bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday rejected his appeal challenging a single bench verdict that had rendered as legally untenable the appointment of temporary vice-chancellors of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the Digital University . The court said temporary V-Cs could be appointed by the governor, in his capacity as chancellor, only for a period not exceeding six months. The chancellor has no power to appoint person to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the V-C of the Technological University or the Digital University, until further orders, it said. “In such circumstances, the single judge cannot be found at fault for declaring the notifications as not sustainable in law,” said t h e d iv i s i o n bench comprising Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice P V Balakrishnan. The bench held that the chancellor as well as the state government will have to act proactively to ensure regular appointments are made to the V-C post in universities, without any further delay . A dvo c at e G e n e r a l K Gopalakrishna Kurup submitted that the chancellor cannot appoint any person to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the V-C unless the name is recommended by the government. Tuesday’s HC order implies that Ciza Thomas and K Sivaprasad step down as V-C of the Digital University and Technological University, respectively, and the governor appoint re gular V-Cs for both universities from the list provided by the state govern● More on P4 ment.  A defiant Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday scaled the gates of the Naqshband Sahib graveyard to pay tribute to 22 people killed by the Dogra army in 1931, and said he was subjected to “physical grappling” but was not to be stopped or deterred | P8 F i r s t i n I n d ia Kerala goes US way with college sports league M anisha V C S @Kochi Kerala will host India’s first-ever ‘Sports League’ centered around colleges in the state, in an initiative that aims to revolutionise campus sports. The first season of College Sports League-Kerala (CSL-K), organised by the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs and Sports Kerala Foundation will be inaugurated on Friday July 18. , Modelled like popular collegiate sports leagues in countries like the US, specific league competitions will be held for sports like football and volleyball in the inaugural season, with more games like cricket, basketball and kabaddi being added in the coming years. “It came to our notice that students tend to move away from sports at a high rate after they graduate from schools. Through CSL-K, we aim to develop a competitive and interesting sports environment in colleges, an environment in Inaugural season Football league at Calicut University campus: July 17 to 26 60 colleges short-listed Volleyball league at MG University in August 3-tier events from next yr 168 district-level league featuring top teams from 14 districts 48 matches in zonallevel league featuring district champs and wild card entries State-level league with knockout rounds leading to grand finale to decide the champs which more and more students will be drawn to sports. We have constituted specific sports councils in almost all colleges which will take the charge of conducting the league in their campuses,” said Sports Minister V Abdurahiman. “Through active college leagues, students will get direct exposure to the professional ecosystem of sports more easily. Right now, we have professional events like ISL, IPL and more in several states across the country. It will also help promote sports as a career opportunity he ,” said. The inaugural season’s events will kick off with football league compe- titions at Calicut University campus from July 17 to 26, featuring 60 teams from all UGCapproved colleges in the state. The teams have been selected on the basis of criteria including previous performance and team strength. The volleyball league will take place on the MG University campus next month. “We expect that once we launch the initiative, people will get captivated by the system. We aim to give the country a strong team at least by the 2036 Olympics. The project is being implemented using `60 lakh set aside for college sports. We expect it to become self-sufficient financially in the coming years. A lot of companies like Decathlon besides several banks have already approached us for sponsorships and endorsements,” Abdura● More on P4 himan said.