kOCHI l wednesday l july 16, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION DGCA data shows 641 bird/animal hits at 20 airports in 5 months delhi airport most hit, ahmedabad second DGCA data shows 1,633 bird/animal strikes in 2022 in these airports. It soared to 2,269 in 2023 and dipped to 2,066 in 2024. Delhi bore the brunt and averaged 400-plus incidents annually in the last three years. It had 442 strikes in 2022, 616 in 2023 and 419 in 2024, data shows. In 2025, it has recorded 95 hits. Ahmedabad is the second most affected airport | P7 A whopping 2,000 bird and animal hits on aircraft have been recorded annually in last two years across 20 busiest airports in the country consistency in reporting hazards needed ■ ■ To tackle the menace, the first meeting of the National Wildlife Hazard Management Committee was recently held in New Delhi where representatives from all airports and airlines took part The meeting called for enhancing efforts to identify wildlife species and urged operators and ATCs to consistently report wildlife hazards 201 cases of bird hits were recorded at ahmedabad airport last year 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 Big relief as Yemen temporarily halts Nimisha’s execution follows Musliyar’s efforts to reach out to the victim’s family , THE execution of Indian nurse a necessary step under Yemeni Nimisha Priya, scheduled for Sharia law, which allows clemJuly 16 in Yemen, has been tem- ency through the payment of porarily halted, providing a blood money, a legally-sanccrucial lifeline for the 37-year- tioned form of restitution. old Palakkad woman. “It’s a big relief,” Subhash The reprieve comes after in- Chandran, Nimisha Priya’s tense behind-the-scenes efforts lawyer and a member of the acinvolving humanitarian activ- tion council working for her ists, legal representatives, and release told this paper. “We a timely intervention by worked tirelessly, and Sunni leader KanMusliyar’s intervention thapuram A P Aboohelped establish the backer Musliyar. long-needed contact Official sources conwith the victim’s immefirmed the postponediate family .” ment, saying: “Local auAccording to those fathorities in Yemen have miliar with the negotiaNImisha Priya postponed the executions, the next phase tion scheduled for July hinges on securing a 16, 2025.” collective statement from the Nimisha Priya, a trained victim’s heirs expressing their nurse, was convicted in 2017 for willingness to accept blood the murder of her Yemeni busi- money. Without this consent, ness partner, Mohammed Me- the execution could still go forhdi, whom she allegedly inject- ward at a later date. ed with a sedative. Her family The nurse was sentenced to insists she acted in self-defence, death in 2020, and her final apciting abuse and confinement peal was rejected in 2023. She during Yemen’s civil unrest. remains jailed in Sanaa, YemHuman rights advocates have en’s capital. Sources said Indialso raised concerns about the an government has made confairness of her trial, which was certed efforts to seek more time conducted entirely in Arabic, for the nurse’s family to reach without the aid of a translator. a mutually agreeable solution The stay of execution also with the other party . j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi From left: Parachutes of the Dragon Grace spacecraft carrying crew members of the Axiom-4 mission deploy before splashing down off California; the Dragon Grace spacecraft; Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla greets as he reaches Earth | PTI Splashdown Axiom-4 Space Mission successful, pilot Shubhanshu Shukla back after 20 days BOSKY KHA N N A @ Bengaluru THE Axiom-4 Space Mission’s Dragon spacecraft, Grace, with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla (call sign Shux) as its mission pilot, made a textbook splashdown at 3.02 pm (IST) on Tuesday off the US’ Pacific coast of California near San Diego, marking the end of a 20-day space sojourn, of which 18 were spent on board the International Space Station (ISS). The Ax-4 crew traversed 12 million km while making 282 orbits around Earth while aboard the ISS during their stay there. With the Ax-4 Space Mission, Shux is the first Indian to visit and safely return from the ISS and the second to go to space after Sqdn Ldr Rakesh Sharma, 41 years ago as a part of Soyuz T-11 crew in April 1984. The splashdown happened after Grace’s Earth-orbiting free flight lasting nearly 22 hours and 30 minutes. Grace Samagra Shiksha State to explore legal options over delay in central funds had undocked from the ISS at 4.50 pm IST on Monday before , the crew embarked on the deorbiting procedures to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on Tuesday afternoon to position itself for a safe splashdown at the predetermined location. The capsule was recovered by SpaceX’s recovery teams, and Shux and his crewmates—mission commander Peggy Whitson from the US, and mission specialists Sławosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary—were extracted. After de-orbiting procedures began at 2 pm, the final speed of Grace was reduced from 563.27 km/hour to 24.14 km/ hour before when two Drogue parachutes opened 2.55 minutes before splashdown to stabilize the capsule hurtling towards Earth. Its four main parachutes opened 2.30 minutes before the splashdown. Amid cheers, Shux slid out of the capsule at 3.52 pm, helped by NASA members, and took his first steps in gravity after 20 days, walking towards the medical centre on the Shannon ship, on which the capsule was carried after the four crew members exited the capsule. Shux and his crewmates were checked for their vital health parameters before being put into a seven-day quarantine, during which they will undergo a series of tests to ensure their well-being. Medical experts will assess their physical and mental stability, and changes in biomass and bone density . “Shux was checked for dizziness, orientation, consciousness, and stability. His pulse and cardiovascular tests were also done. ISRO will take no chances in assuring his health and safety,” a senior ISRO scientist told this paper. Time to check out the Tesla —Asha Shukla, mother of Shubhanshu Shukla Moment of pride and joy: Family Splashdown after 5-minute ‘blackout’ Shubhanshu Shukla’s mother Asha Shukla and father Shabhu Dayal Shukla said they were happy and relieved that their son returned safely. They are now eagerly awaiting his return to India Around seven minutes before splashdown, there were a few tense moments during ‘blackout’ —a fiveminute period during which the spacecraft loses communication with the command centre due to intense heat and high velocity re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere Shubhanshu’s parents Shambhu Shukla and Asha | pti Tesla drove into India via the import route on Tuesday with its Model Y ready to compete against high-end EVs from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi | P10 base price of two variants Tesla makes India debut with mid-sized electric SUV Model Y at its first experience centre in Mumbai Comes as a completely built car from its Shanghai unit in China Model Y was once the world’s bestselling car A59.89L A67.89L Rear-wheel drive (500 km range on single charge) Stage now set for Gaganyaan mission Shubhanshu Shukla’s space odyssey has set the stage for India’s own ambitions of human spaceflight ‘Gaganyaan’ in 2027 on a home-built rocket and a crew capsule that is at an advanced stage of preparedness Kerala, which is praised for its robust healthcare system, is now facing a troubling trend: a steep surge in preterm births. The number of preterm newborns in the state jumped from 6,916 in 2017-18 to 26,968 in 202324, a staggering 289% increase over seven years, according to data from the Health Management Infor mation System (HMIS). The rise comes even as the total number of live births has declined — from 4.93 lakh in 2017-18 to 3.74 lakh in 2023-24. Also, the increase has been steady Preterm births climbed . to 13,077 in 2018-19, marking an 89% increase in just one year. Since then, the upward trend has continued. 26,968 preterm births recorded in Kerala in 2023-24 Alarming trend Health experts link the rise mainly to deteriorating lifestyle patterns, which have led to a rise in conditions such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes among women of reproductive age Health experts link this alarming increase to deteriorating lifestyle patterns, which have led to a rise in conditions such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes among women of reproductive age. According to long-range rear wheel drive (622 km range) Deliveries to start in the third and fourth quarter of 2025 respectively for the two variants Initial registration, delivery at Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram express read Revised school timings to stay, says Sivankutty Kannur: General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Tuesday ruled out any change in the government’s stand in revising the school timings. The revision applies only to classes 8 to 10, the minister said, noting that the number of students who attended religious studies in these grades was very low. The top priority is to protect the educational rights of students, reiterated Sivankutty. P5 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express Nipah 675 on contact list across state Of these, 178 people are contacts of the second Nipah-positive patient from Palakkad, who died on Saturday night | P4 289% jump in 7 years: preterm births on the rise in Kerala R a h u l R @ Kollam A s w i n A s o k K u m a r @ T’Puram The state government will explore legal options regarding the denial of central funds to the tune of `1,466 crore to Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) for nearly two years, allegedly due to non-implementation of the National Education Policy . Senior education department officials will meet Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup on Thursday to discuss the issue, sources said. A decision has been made to approach the court. “The officials will meet the AG to finalise the appropriate legal platform,” said a senior official. The denial of funds for two years has left the students in a lurch. Distribution of orthopaedic equipment for children with disabilities, textbooks, uniforms and travel allowances have been pending for long. The Union government has not released funds to SSK since the second half of the 2023-24 academic year. No reason has been cited for the delay . The SSK, however, is conducting therapy for autistic children and other basic activities through funds from the state and local self-governments, sources said. But nearly everything else has come to a ● More on P4 standstill.  I am speechless. My son has safely returned. I thank God experts, advancements in neonatal care technology have made preterm births more acceptable to both doctors and patients. However, they caution that while such interventions can save lives, they come with significant risks. “Preterm births, especially those that are iatrogenic (medically induced) have become far more common for reducing maternal complications. This reflects a worrying trend where pregnant women are increasingly affected by lifestyle diseases, which, in turn, lead to complications during pregnancy said Dr Lalithambica, sen,” ior gynaecologist and former head of the department at Government Medical College, Alap● More on P4 puzha.  TDP: Voter list revision needs enough time E x p re s s N e w s Ser v i c e @ Vijayawada The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Tuesday became the first NDA ally to emphasise that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has no authority to adjudicate on citizenship, a position hitherto taken by opposition parties in Bihar following the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls there a few months before state polls. At an all-party meeting convened by the ECI in New Delhi, the TDP urged it not to hold SIR in Andhra Pradesh within six months of any major polls. Citing the Supreme Court’s landmark Lal Babu Hussein judgment (1995), the party reiterated that the ECI is not vested with the authority to adjudicate on citizenship and emphasised that the burden of proof lies with those raising objections — not with voters themselves. The party also suggested f ar-reaching electoral reforms to safeguard the sanctity of the voter list. The TDP delegation emphasised the importance of procedural transparency, legal adherence, and technological innovation in the electoral roll revision process. cold response State’s heli-tourism dream struggles to take off S h a i n u M o h a n @ T’Puram Kerala’s ambitious heli-tourism initiative has run into rough weather even before take-off as the tourism department continues to struggle to attract helicopter service providers. With not many bidders in sight, the department has extended the deadline for Expression of Interest (EoI) for the third time. According to official sources, so far, just one operator has responded to the EoI floated in May. “If we don’t receive at Representational image least one more valid proposal, the entire initiative will be adversely affected. We are waiting as there’s a possibility of another bidder showing interest. Only if the proposal matches the requirements can we go ahead,” an official with the tourism department told TNIE. The official said if the proposal is not viable, EoI will be invited once more. “If the result is the same, we will inform the government, which will decide whether to proceed or abandon the initiative,” the official added. The plan is to enlist certified helicopter service operators and aggregators to provide regular, safe and convenient aerial transport linking key tourist destinations such as Kochi, Thekkady, Munnar, Kumara- kom, Vagamon and Bekal. According to industry experts, Kerala Tourism should offer more to woo helicopter operators to the state. “Private players need business and the government should invest in the segment to make this initiative a success. Ideally, the government should invite tenders and bring operators by assuring minimum flying hours,” said Anil Narayanan, accountable manager of Chipsan Aviation, a helicopter service provider operating in the state for ● More on P4 the past 12 years.