hyderabad l thursday l december 18, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Homebound in Oscar shortlist for best international feature The much acclaimed Bollywood drama by Neeraj Ghaywan is among 15 films shortlisted in the best international feature category at the Oscars 4th Indian Film to Compete in This Category final five Nominations on january 22 Homebound will compete alongside films like Argentina’s Bel’n, Brazil’s The Secret Agent and French drama It Was Just an Accident. The film stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor. The award for best international feature has so far eluded India. Only three films—Mother India, Salaam Bombay and Lagaan—have received nominations so far ■ ■ After a film is shortlisted, it competes for a place among the final five official nominees, which will be announced on January 22 Homebound, which portrays the childhood friendship between a Muslim and a Dalit as they pursue a police job, counts Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese among its executive producers Mar 15, 2026 when The award ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre in L.A. 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 VB-G RAM G Bill today Lok Sabha clears nuclear bill amid Oppn walkout P REET H A NAIR @ New Delhi THE Lok Sabha on Wednesday cleared the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill to open up the nuclear sector for private players. The bill was passed by voice vote amid a walkout by the Opposition members, who raised the issues of public safety and liability in case of a nuclear disaster. Dramatic scenes are likely on Thursday as well, when the contentious VB-G RAM G Bill is expected to be taken up for passage in the House. The SHANTI Bill was passed after a four-hour debate, setting the stage for opening up the tightly controlled civil nuclear sector for private participation. Opposition MPs, barring those from the Trinamool Congress, staged a walkout during the bill’s passage after the government refused to refer it to a Joint Parliamentary Committee or a Standing Committee. While replying to the discussion on the SHANTI Bill, Union minister Jitendra Singh said the tough provisions of India’s nuclear liability laws led to “silent phobia” in the industry prompting the govern, ment to bring a new comprehensive bill to address concerns. Congress MP Manish Tewari said by removing nuclear equipment suppliers’ liability the govern, ment was putting citizens in harm’s way . “The government will deal only with the operator; it is upon the operator to deal with the supplier,” said Singh, Minister of State in the PMO, who oversees the Department of Atomic Energy . He said the operator’s liability has been rationalised through graded caps linked to reactor size. Meanwhile, a heated midnight debate set the stage for the passage of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill on Thursday Moving the bill on Wednesday Union . , Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said it will ensure all-around development of villages and make them poverty-free. Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh said the new bill will break the back of states like Kerala.  P7 Security oversight Safety norms, security controls over fissile material, spent fuel and heavy water, and inspections will remain under govt oversight, govt said Misstep, says Cong Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the bill is a “dangerous leap into privatised nuclear expansion” with no respect for public safety Speaker junks disqualification pleas against 5 MLAs It’s all in the House B K a r t h e e k @ Hyderabad L egislative A s s e m bly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar on Wednesday dismissed five of the 10 disqualification petitions filed over alleged defections, following an open court hearing held at his office. The Speaker pronounced orders rejecting the petitions against MLAs Dr Tellam Venkata Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy T Prakash Goud, Gudem , Mahipal Reddy and Arekapudi Gandhi. Petitions against Kale Yadaiah, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Sanjay Kumar, Danam Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari are yet to be decided. The MLAs concerned were accused of joining the ruling Congress. The petitions were filed in 2024 soon after the alleged defections. When the BRS pressed the disqualification pleas, most of the respondents claimed that they continued to remain members of the pink party, from which they had been elected.  Petitions against Dr Tellam Venkata Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T Prakash Goud, Gudem Mahipal Reddy and Arekapudi Gandhi rejected Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar at the open court where he dismissed the disqualification petitions filed against five out of 10 MLAs on Wednesday | VINAY MADAPU The Speaker conducted proceedings as a Tribunal under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution in connection with the 10 alleged defections. In a statement, Legislature Secretary Dr V Narasimha Charyulu said the Speaker had considered the material placed on record and followed principles of natural justice by providing adequate opportunity of hearing to all parties. The statement said the decision was taken in accordance T G N a i d u @ Hyderabad @ New Delhi Pakistan’s most powerful military chief in decades is facing a critical test of his newly consolidated authority as the US is pressing it to contribute troops to a proposed international stabilisation force in Gaza, a move analysts say could trigger strong domestic backlash, Reuters reported. Field Marshal Asim Munir is expected to travel to Washington in the coming weeks to Justice B Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday declined to grant interim relief in a batch of writ petitions challenging the delimitation of wards in the GHMC. The court also directed the authorities to place ward-wise population details and authenticated ward-wise maps in public domain within 24 hours. The court further said that once the information is uploaded, the petitioners and members of the public may submit Insurance FDI 100% The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill to raise FDI in insurance to 100% from the current 74%. LS had passed it on Tuesday meet US President Donald Trump, Reuters said. The meeting would be Munir’s third in six months and is likely to centre on Washington’s push for Pakistan’s participation in the Gaza force. The proposed deployment is a key pillar of Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, which calls for an international force to oversee a transition period focused on reconstruction and economic recovery in the Palestinian Presidential welcome Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka receives President Droupadi Murmu as Governor Jishnu Dev Varma looks on, at the Air Force Station, Hakimpet, in Hyderabad on Wednesday territory, devastated by more than two years of war. Under the first phase of the plan, a fragile ceasefire took effect on October 10, with Hamas releasing hostages and Israel freeing detained Palestinians. The US officials view the stabilisation force as central to moving the plan into its next phase. For Munir, analysts say, the decision carries significant political risks. Any deployment of troops to Gaza could provoke public uprising in a country where support for Palestinians is strong and overseas military commitments remain politically sensitive. “Not contributing could annoy Trump, which is no small matter for a Pakistani state that appears quite keen to remain in his good graces — in great part to secure US investment and security aid,” said Michael Kugelman, senior fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council. Pak extends ban on Indian flights in its airspace Pakistan on Wednesday extended its airspace ban for Indian aircraft by another month till Jan 23. Islamabad closed its airspace in April after the Pahalgam terror attack. The previous extension was to expire on Dec 24 B’desh envoy summoned amid security worries J aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi Lucknow AQI @ 400, 4th T20I Fogged out India all-rounder Hardik Pandya wearing a mask during training for the fourth T20I versus South Africa at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday. The match was delayed for two hours due to “excessive fog” with the Air Quality Index at 400+ (hazardous). Eventually, the match was called off at 9.30 pm without a ball being bowled. Ticket holders will get full refund | pti | P11  The MLAs were accused of joining the ruling Congress; most respondents maintained they continued to be BRS members  The Speaker conducted proceedings as a Tribunal The Speaker’s decision is anti-democratic and unconstitutional. Congress has persistently been mocking the Constitution at every step KT Rama Rao, BRS working president No stay on delimitation, HC wants ward data made public Munir in pickle as Don wants Pak troops in Gaza Express News Service with the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and the Members of Telangana Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1986. It may be mentioned here that the Supreme Court fixed a timeframe for disposal of the petitions and warned the Speaker of contempt action in case of non-compliance. The matter is tentatively listed for hearing on December 19 in the Supreme Court.  Continued on P4  Pleas against Kale Yadaiah, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Sanjay Kumar, Danam Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari yet to be decided India on Wednesday summoned Bangladesh’s High Commissioner Riaz Hamidullah and lodged a strong protest over what it described as plans by extremist elements to create a security situation around the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. Hamidullah was called to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and served a formal demarche expressing India’s “serious concerns” over the deteriorating security environment in Bangladesh. It came after certain groups announced plans to stage protests near the Indian mission in the Bangladesh capital. In a statement, the MEA said India “completely rejects the false narrative sought to be created by extremist elements regarding certain recent events in Bangladesh”. Hamidullah was summoned by B Shyam, Joint Secretary in charge of the Bangladesh-My- anmar division at the MEA, and was specifically apprised of concerns over threats to Indian diplomatic premises. “His attention was drawn, in particular, to the activities of some extremist elements who have announced plans to create a security situation around the Indian Mission in Dhaka,” the MEA said. People familiar with the developments said one trigger for the summons was a controversial speech earlier this week by National Citizen Party leader Hasnat Abdullah, who claimed Bangladesh could shelter separatist forces from India and potentially sever its seven northeastern states. India expects interim govt to ensure safety of missions — MEA Visa centre shut Indian Visa Application Centre in Dhaka was closed on Wednesday due to security concerns additional objections, if any, within two days. The judge was hearing three writ petitions filed by Ponna Venkat Ramana and two others against the preliminary notification issued by the GHMC Commissioner on December 9, 2025, proposing the division of the civic body into 300 wards. The petitioners said that the notification was issued without following procedure prescribed under the Telangana Municipal Corporations (Delimitation of Wards) Rules, 1996, making it illegal.  continued on P3 under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution  According to Legislature Secretary Dr V Narasimha Charyulu, the Speaker considered all material on record and followed principles of natural justice  The decision was taken in accordance with the Tenth Schedule and the Telangana Assembly Disqualification Rules  The Supreme Court had fixed a timeframe for disposal of the petitions and warned of contempt action in case of delay Speaker’s decision was not unilateral but based on merits. Everybody has to abide by the decision; the BRS is free to approach high court if it wants Aadi Srinivas, Government Whip 260+ve wada Dope test results India tops for 3rd yr in a row NADA tested 7,113 samples, including 537 of that of blood, in 2024 and reported 260 adverse analytical findings (AAFs) at 3.6% Page 11