BHUBANESWAR  THURSDAY  JULY 24, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION ICJ: COUNTRIES HARMED BY CLIMATE CHANGE ENTITLED TO REPARATIONS The International Court of Justice said affected countries can claim reparations but what they are owed could be determined on a case-by-case basis U.N. COURT’S LEGAL OPINION, BUT NON-BINDING FAILURE TO PROTECT PLANET A WRONGFUL ACT In its first ever opinion on climate change, the ICJ said the consequences of climate change are far-reaching as they affect both natural ecosystems and human populations. “These consequences underscore the urgent and existential threat posed by climate change,” said judge Yuji Iwasawa while reading out the opinion, which is advisory in nature and non-binding | P9 ■ ■ “Failure of a state to take appropriate action to protect the climate system... may constitute an internationally wrongful act,” he added After years of efforts by vulnerable island nations who fear they could disappear under rising sea waters, the UN General Assembly asked the top UN court in 2023 for an advisory opinion on climate change 130 COUNTRIES BACKED THE CASE, BROUGHT BY THE PACIFIC ISLAND NATION OF VANUATU 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 Shah sets Justice Varma Now, tourist visa to Chinese nationals impeachment ball rolling DECISION AFTER JAISHANKAR’S VISIT J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi Meets Birla, Harivansh; Speaker to set up statutory probe committee P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi DAYS after the abrupt resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, the government set the ball rolling for the impeachment of Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma with Union minister Amit Shah holding high level meetings with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh on Wednesday . Sources said while Birla and Harivansh held a meeting at Parliament to discuss the proceedings, Shah met them later. According to people familiar with the development, the Lok Sabha Speaker may now initiate the process to set up a statutory committee to examine the charges of corruption levelled against the judge. The committee comprising a senior judge of the Supreme Court, a sitting chief justice of a high court and a distinguished jurist will then probe the charges against him and submit its report in three months. If the committee finds him guilty, the inquiry report will EXPRESS READ Student consumes poison after jilted lover leaks photos Umerkote: A 21-year-old nursing student of Raighar block in Nabarangpur district is battling for life after consuming poison over circulation of her private photos by a youth who was allegedly in a one-sided love with her. The victim, a BSc student in Jeypore town of Koraput, was shifted to AIIMSBhubaneswar on Wednesday while the accused youth, 22-year-old Satyajit Sarkar, has been arrested by police | P4 At UNSC, India tears into Pakistan over cross-border terrorism New Delhi: At a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting chaired by Pakistan, India issued a scathing rebuke of its neighbour, calling for a “serious cost” on nations that sponsor cross-border terrorism. India’s permanent representative to the United Nations P Harish described Pakistan as “steeped in fanaticism and terrorism” and a “serial borrower” from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) | P7 LS Speaker Om Birla and RS deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh RS notice now active “A notice was given in RS on Justice Varma which he acknowledged and almost admitted it. When the chair has pronounced his ruling that it has fulfilled the stipulated requirement, it’s an order,” an RS member said be tabled in Parliament, followed by a discussion in both Houses after which there will be voting on the motion for the removal of the judge. The meeting of the presiding officers assumes significance as the impeachment process of Justice Varma reportedly led to the resignation of Dhankhar. Though there was no official word on the reason behind his exit, sources say it is linked to Dhankhar’s acceptance of a notice sponsored by the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, which went against the government’s plan to lead the offensive. While a total of 145 Lok Sabha and 63 Rajya Sabha MPs submitted notices to the presiding officers for the removal of Varma on Monday, Dhankhar took cognisance of the Opposition notice and made a statement in the Rajya Sabha. Speaking to this newspaper, a senior Rajya Sabha MP said that the notice is active as the Chairman has pronounced it as an order. In his statement in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Dhankhar said, “I direct the secretary general to find out whether a similar motion has been moved in Lok Sabha... If the motion is presented in the two houses on different dates, then the motion which is presented in the House first, that alone is taken into consideration and the second motion gets non-jurisdictional,” he said, citing the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. Divya creates history, storms into WC final pawns in a rook endgame, she was threatening to queen her b DIVYA Deshmukh was so visi- pawn. The engines said she was bly spent she had no energy. within 20 moves of checkmate. When asked to reflect, all she That’s when Zhongyi resigned managed was a tired smile. For handing the Indian her biggest the previous five hours and victory till date. Even before change — the second tie of her the Chinese shook hands, Deshwomen’s World Cup semifinal mukh, who used to travel to against Tan Zhongyi — and a Chennai for classes as a child, 100+ moves, she had gone was overwhelmed by what was through the whole gamut of about to happen. Like she had emotions. She was losdone a few times over ing. She was winning. the last week in BatuShe was winning commi, a tear or two espletely She had missed . caped her eyes. several chances. Then, It’s only logical beat the very end, the cause the last three former world champiplayers she took down on, Zhongyi, had made includes Zhu Jiner, D one too m a n y Divya Deshmukh H a r i k a a n d n o w inaccuracies. Zhongyi. Beating three This time, the 19-year-old, established GMs back-to-back still only an IM, capitalised. By in a course of a week can be an virtue of this win, she has also immense challenge for any IM, qualified for the next edition of especially someone as young as the women’s Candidates in 2026 her. She now has the chance to as well as earning a GM norm. rest for a couple of days before She’s one of the youngest play- the final where she will either ers to qualify for the Candi- face compatriot Koneru Humpy dates in decades. Up a few or China’s Lie Tingjie. S W A R O O P S W A M I N AT H A N @ Chennai INDIA will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals from July 24, in a significant move aimed at normalising strained ties following the deadly 2020 border clashes. The Indian Embassy in Beijing confirmed the decision on Wednesday, marking the first time in five years that Chinese tourists can apply for Indian visas. The embassy announced that Chinese citizens may now submit applications online and visit Indian Visa Application Centres in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou with the required documents. Tourist visas were suspend- The decision to lift the curbs came after foreign minister S Jaishankar visited China on July 14–15, where he held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and Vice President Han Zheng ed in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, but the freeze remained in place due to ongoing tensions along the eastern Ladakh border. The resumption of tourist visas is part of a broader series of confidence-building measures between the two countries. Last month, India and China also resumed the Kailash Ma- nasarovar Yatra after a fiveyear gap. The thaw began late last year, after Indian and Chinese troops disengaged at key friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), paving the way for diplomatic reengagement. China welcomed India’s visa announcement. “It is a positive move,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun. “Making cross-border travel easier serves the interests of all parties. China stands ready to maintain communication and coordination with India to keep facilitating peopleto-people exchanges between the two countries.” Tourist visas for Indian nationals remained suspended until March, when both sides agreed to restore direct air connectivity. After a meeting between a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Russia last October, ties have steadily improved, marked by high-level engagements and confidence building measures. Engineering UP POLICE RAID WESTARCTICA grad held EMBASSY, ARREST ‘AMBASSADOR’ with LSD in capital DIPLOMATIC COUP N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow IN what may look like a plot straight out of a Bollywood flick, the Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police busted a fake embassy in Ghaziabad and arrested a man who ran the fake diplomatic mission posing as the ambassador of non-existent countries. The arrest was made on Tuesday when the STF’s Noida unit raided KB 35, Kavingar, where the accused had set up the ‘Embassy of Westarctica’. Westarctica is a self-proclaimed micronation in Antarctica founded by a former US Navy officer. It is not recognised by any government. “The accused, Harshvardhan Jain, had been operating an illegal diplomatic mission from a rented house in Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar,” additional director general (law & order) Amitabh Yash said on Wednesday . Police said Jain posed as the ambassador of the fictional nations of Westarctica, Saborga, Poulvia, and Lodonia. He moved around in luxury vehicles bearing fake diplomatic number plates and had morphed his photographs with prominent figures, including the Prime Minister and the President A S I S H M E H TA @ Bhubaneswar Luxury cars bearing fake diplomatic number plates in front of the illegal embassy in Kavinagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Inset: Fake diplomat Harsh Vardhan Jain | ANI to impress and mislead people. According to officials, Jain engaged in brokering deals by falsely promising job placements for companies and individuals in foreign countries. “Investigations revealed Jain’s past connections with Godman Chandraswami as well as international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi,” Yash said. In 2011, Jain was found with illegal satellite phones and a case was registered against him at the Kavi Nagar police station, the ADG added. During the raid, the STF ECI BEGINS PROCESS TO ELECT NEW V-P INSIDE Sports Governance Bill tabled in Parliament | P11 seized over `44 lakh in cash and foreign currency of several countries. Besides, four vehicles with diplomatic number plates, 18 diplomatic number plates, 12 diplomatic passports of micronations, forged documents with the seal of the Ministry of External Affairs, two fake PAN cards, 34 seals of various countries and companies, two fake press cards, and documents of various companies were also recovered from the house of the accused. An FIR has been lodged at Kavi Nagar police station, and further proceedings are underway the STF said. , Poll panel takes cognisance of the vacancy, starts prep. Formal schedule for the Vice Presidential poll will be announced soon THE Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested an engineering graduate in the capital and recovered six blots of Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) from his possession. The central agency suspects the youth had reportedly procured the drugs from trafficking network operating on the dark web and based out of European countries. The central agency had information that the youth received the contraband through courier services and he was under their scanner since the last 12 to 15 days. On Tuesday, NCB of ficials carried out a raid at the house of the 23-yearo l d yo u t h , identified as Aryaman Patnaik, in Maitri Vihar a r e a here and seized six blots of LCD. Patnaik completed his engineering from a college in Noida and had returned to Bhubaneswar earlier this year. NCB will examine his digital devices to ascertain more details about the drug racket in the state and other parts of the country . Investigation is continuing to ascertain if the youth had procured the drug for consumption or sale at higher prices, said sources. The network operates on the darknet and buyers mainly procure LSD from European countries or the US by making payments using cryptocurrencies. SC agrees to hear plea against construction plans in Satkosia TR CM okays two more OISF S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Cour t on Wednesday agreed to hear next week a plea seeking quashing of the provisional no objection cer tificates (NOCs) issued by district collectors of Angul, Nayagarh, Boudh and Cuttack for development works inside and around the Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Odisha. Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal mentioned the matter before a three-judge bench of the top court, headed by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai who agreed to listing and hearing the matter next week. Bansal -- raising serious concerns over the alleged proposed constructions inside the Satkosia TR -- questioned the directions passed by the col- lectors, as to how the officers issued such permissions for construction of eco tourism spot. The bench, also comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi, said, ‘we would take it up for hearing next week.’ Bansal, in his plea, a copy accessed by The New Indian Express, said that the series of actions undertaken by the state of Odisha poses an imminent and irreparable threat to the ecological integrity and statutory sanctity of Satkosia Tiger Reserve, an ecologically fragile and legally protected area. “Critical safeguards under forest, wildlife and environmental law are being actively undermined by state agencies through unauthorised constructions, ultra vires approvals and a tourism-led develop- ment model that disregards established conservation mandates,” he highlighted in his plea. Bansal argued that the order passed by the collectors was without jurisdiction and in violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Seeking quashing of the provisional NOCs by the collectors of A n g u l , N aya garh, Boudh and Cuttack for development works inside and around Satkosia Tiger Reserve, the petition said that the tiger reserve, notified in 2007, is a critical ecological and legally protected area spanning 1,136.70 sq km. “Recognised as a Ramsar site, it supports rare aquatic and avian biodiversity In 2016, . a fishing ban was imposed to protect Gharials, demonstrating its fragile ecosystem. However, the absence of a notified EcoSensitive Zone (ESZ) leaves it vulnerable to external Critical safeguards under forest, wildlife and environmental law are being actively undermined by state agencies through unauthorised constructions, ultra vires approvals and a tourism-led development model that disregards established conservation mandates – petitioner threats,” he added in his plea. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) mandated a minimum 1-km ESZ around Tiger Reserves in 2018 but Odisha’s draft ESZ proposal for Satkosia includes stretches with ‘zero’ buffer zones, notably near the Satkosia Gorge, endangering aquatic species, the petition added. “The proposal also permits commercial hotels and resorts, contradicting conservation goals. Additionally a high-lev, el bridge over Mahanadi river is being planned without environmental clearances, exploiting the lack of an ESZ. The district collectors have illegally issued NOCs for tourism infrastructure within the reserve, bypassing statutory authorities like the Chief Wildlife Warden and NTCA,” said the plea. CONTINUED ON P5 battalions for industrial infra EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar IN a major push towards creating better industrial environment through improved security, the state government on Wednesday approved creation of two more battalions under the Odisha Industrial Security Force (OISF). Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi ratified the proposal to form two more battalions of OISF, taking the total strength to four. The 3rd and 4th battalions will have 1,944 regular posts and 136 outsourced positions with a total manpower of 2,080. The OISF initially had one battalion with 1,807 personnel. In April, the chief minister approved formation of a second battalion, increasing the total strength to 2,847 personnel. With the recent creation of the third and fourth battalions, the total number of posts in OISF has now reached 4,927. The state government is prioritising industrial growth and taking steps to attract new industries. With the resounding success of Utkarsh OdishaMake in Odisha 2025 summit attracting investment intent of more than `4.5 lakh crore, the pace of industrialisation in the state has got a boost. The state also attracted another `1.4 lakh crore of investments in the first quarter of the current financial year. Given the importance of securing industrial establishments and commercial hubs, the CM approved formation of two additional battalions for OISF.