Specialist team from UK examines ailing Khaleda Zia A four-member UK specialist medical team arrived in Bangladesh on Wednesday to assist in the treatment of the former prime minister Will help chart treatment plan UK specialists led by Dr Richard Beale of King’s College London reviewed 80-year-old Zia’s condition and assessed the treatment by local medical team. They will work with local team to help formulate an advanced treatment plan. Zia was admitted to a private hospital in Dhaka on November 23 | p11 kozhikode l thursday l December 04, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION 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 Massive chaos as over 200 IndiGo flights cancelled A R S H A D K H A N @ New Delhi The government on Wednesday withdrew its order directing phone makers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app, following strong backlash from opposition parties, digital rights activists, and manufacturers including Apple and Google. The reversal came a day after the telecom ministry clarified that the state-run cybersecurity app is not mandatory and that users may activate or deactivate it. “Given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance, Government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers,” a statement by the ministry read. Sources said this is the first time phone makers have been asked to pre-install a government-owned app. The mandate also meant operational difficulties for phone makers. Earlier in the day, communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia sought to dispel privacy concerns saying the Sanchar Saathi app neither enables nor allows snooping. Russia’s MAX Russia is the only country where phone makers need to preinstall a state-run app. MAX, a state-backed messaging service,must be installed by default on all phones and tablets Re in free fall, slumps below the 90-mark Insiders attribute it to Emirates’ hiring spree Govt blinks, rolls back Sanchar Saathi order The rupee’s freefall deepened on Wednesday, breaching the 90-per-dollar mark for the first time, hitting a new low of 90.29 in the morning trade after opening flat at 89.96. It closed the day’s session at an all-time low of 90.15. Wednesday marks the sixth consecutive day of fall for the rupee as traders bet the subdued trade and portfolio flows will keep Asia’s worst performing currency under pressure, while analysts project the next level for rupee at 9293. However, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran sought to downplay the slide, saying it has had no impact on inflation and the currency will recover in 2026. “Right now, it’s not hurting our exports or inflation. I am not losing my sleep over it. If it has to depreciate now probably is the right time,” he said at an event in Mumbai. With Wednesday’s fall, the rupee’s value eroded 5.7% so far this year, putting it on track for its steepest annual decline since 2022, and making it the worst-performing Asian currency The fall also . underscores a divergence in the domestic and external macroeconomic position of the nation. While GDP growth has been stronger-than-expected, punitive US tariffs and weak capital flows have piled pressure on the rupee. La l itha S @ New Delhi Show of force Navy personnel stage a high-intensity rescue and combat demonstration off Shankhumukham beach in Thiruvananthapuram as part of Navy Day celebrations on Wednesday. It was the first time Kerala was playing host to the marquee event, which offers a glimpse of the multi-domain combat capabilities and battle-readiness of the Indian Navy | B P Deepu | P2 Cong veterans want Rahul out, but differ over timing K S S R E E J I T H @T’Puram The developments in the Rahul Mamkootathil issue have left the Congress state unit divided. Despite mounting pressure, the leadership remains split on the timing of any action against the Palakkad MLA. While senior leaders including V M Sudheeran and K Muraleedharan have called for Rahul’s immediate expulsion from the party veterans includ, ing Ramesh Chennithala say the leadership would take a call after the court’s verdict in the case. For its part, the AICC leader- ship has passed the buck to the state unit. Besides the former KPCC presidents, senior leaders Ajay Tharayil and former MLA Shanimol Usman have openly sought Rahul’s expulsion. “The issue concerns both legal and political morality said Sudheer,” an. “Rahul has lost the right to continue in the Congress. He should be expelled. He also has no right to continue as MLA. I hope the leadership will take stern action,” he said. Emphasising it is time for severe action, Muraleedharan said those entrusted with the responsibility of serving people must act morally ● More on P7 . ‘Told Shafi about Rahul’s behaviour’ E x p ress N e w s S ervice @Kozhikode Lending a new dimension to the Rahul Mamkootathil issue, Youth Congress leader M A Shahanas on Wednesday said she had informed Shafi Parambil about an embarrassing incident involving Rahul when the Vadakara MP was Youth Congress president.. Shahanas told reporters that during the farmers’ agitation a few years ago, Rahul, upon learning of her journey to Delhi to participate in the stir, said they could have ● More on P7 travelled together. Thousands of fliers across airports in the country on Wednesday had a harrowing time as crew shortage at IndiGo resulted in cancellation of at least 200 flights besides delaying many others. This was the second consecutive day that IndiGo failed to operate a large number of flights. A massive recruitment drive by an international airline at Delhi and Mumbai this week is a key reason for it, said multiple sources. IndiGo attributed the disruption to multiple reasons, including unforeseen operational challenges. The shortage is of both the cockpit and cabin crew, the sources stressed. At Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport alone, 67 flights were cancelled, of which 37 were departures. Flights to Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Srinagar were among those that were nixed. Over 70 flights were cancelled from Mumbai and Bengaluru air por t until Wednesday evening. The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad witnessed irate scenes after 13 flights were cancelled to various cities apart from 18 incoming flights. Airline sources said, “Emirates has been having a recruit- Irate fliers at the Delhi airport | X ment roadshow in Mumbai and Delhi the last two days and IndiGo crew have been making a beeline for it.” An aviation source blamed it on IndiGo mismanagement, which, however, attributed part of the problem to the DGCA’s revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) that kicked in from November 1. Increased weekly rest for pilots from 36 hours to 48 hours and limiting night landings by pilots to two instead of six are part of the revised FDTL mandate. Later in the day, the DGCA said IndiGo had cancelled 1,232 flights in November, of which 755 were due to the FDTL, adding it is probing the current cancellations. The Federation of Indian Pilots blamed the ongoing disruption on “IndiGo’s prolonged and unorthodox lean manpower strategy across departments, particularly in flight operations.” B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai