vijayawada l sunday l january 04, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l late city EDITION NCC to train 10,000 cadets to deal with cyber attacks National Cadet Corps will train a group of 10,000 ‘cyber warriors’ who can contribute to bolstering India’s digital defence mechanism special hubs for training in the offing cadets to be linked to national database NCC has also planned to train one lakh cadets as first responders in the wake of natural disasters, Director General, NCC, Lt Gen Virendra Vats said at a press conference on the NCC’s Republic Day Camp 2026 in New Delhi. NCC has started work on raising four to five hubs across the country where select cadets can be trained on drone and counter-drone aspects trained and linked with the national database, so that the services can be used by the nation in case of need in future, Vats said ■ NCC plans to increase its strength from 17 lakh to 20 lakh in a phased manner, and is looking to achieve this goal by 2028 ■ These cadets will be known as Yuva Apda Mitras, and they will be 40% of the ncc’s total current strength comprises girls 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 U.S. snatches maduro Venezuela President, wife being taken to New York in dramatic coup; US will run it for now A G E N CI E S @ Caracas SC order on Khalid’s bail tomorrow S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court will on Monday pronounce its order on the bail petitions of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and five others in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case. They were booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the masterminds of the riots. A two-judge bench comprising just i c e s A ra v i n d Kumar and N V Anjaria had res e r v e d their verdict on December 10. The verdict comes in the wake of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani writing a note to Khalid, recalling his words on ‘bitterness’ and the importance of not letting it “consume one’s self ”. Parallelly eight American , lawmakers wrote to Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra on December 30, urging a fair and timely trial for Khalid and others in accordance with international law and bail for the duration of the court’s proceedings. A videograb of a blaze in Caracas on Saturday after US bombing; and President Trump releases the first photograph of Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima en route the US | X/AP The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and whisked him out of the country in a brazen and surreal military operation early Saturday that plucked a sitting leader from office. President Donald Trump said US will “run” Venezuela until a political transition takes shape, and he would tap Venezuela’s gigantic oil reserves to sell to other countries. The action marked the culmination of an escalating Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American country that consisted of months of strikes on boats that officials said were smuggling drugs to the US. Behind the scenes, US officials tracked Maduro’s behavioral habits, including what he ate and where he slept, in pre- ripple effect kkr drop bangladesh player, focus shifts to T20 World Cup ties E x p r e s s N e w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai Amidst the rising criticism over signing Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman, Kolkata Knight Riders released the player from their IPL 2026 squad following instructions from the cricket board. On Friday Shah Rukh , Khan and his franchise came under severe attack from certain quarters for buying the Bangaldeshi bowler. The BCCI on Saturday said that it has instructed the franchise to release the Bangladesh player citing current situation in the country . What seems to be even more interesting is that Bangladesh would be playing four matches in India — three in Kokata, one in Mumbai — during the T20 World Cup starting next month. Bangladesh Cricket Board has already called for an emergency meeting on Saturday night. If the matches do get affected, then the entire World Cup schedule might have to be rejigged. Pakistan, which re- fused to play in India because of security reasons, will play in Sri Lanka. As for KKR, it confirmed “that the BCCI/ IPL, as the regulator of the IPL, has instructed it to release Mustafizur from the squad ahead of upcoming IPL season. The release has been carried out following due process and consultations.” KKR had signed Rahman for `9.2 crore in the auction last month — the only Bangladeshi player to get picked — but had come under criticism on social media and from political parties owing to tur moil there. Shortly after BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that they have asked KKR to release Rahman, the franchise confirmed the development. The BCCI said that KKR would allowed a replacement. “Due to the recent developments that are going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh,” Saikia told a news agency . paring for the stunning regime change. The ‘extraction’ in Caracas, codenamed ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’, took months of rehearsal and more than 150 US aircraft, including F-18, F-22 and F-35 fighter jets, B-1 bombers and drones, top US General Dan Caine said. In a series of fast-moving events, Caracas was rocked by seven explosions, accompanied by sound of attack helicopters, 2 am local time (11.30 am IST). The strikes, which targeted a avoid travel, says mea advisory The Ministry of External Affairs urged Indians to avoid all non-essential travel to Venezuela. It asked Indian nationals to contact +58-412-9584288 in case of an emergerncy major military base and an airbase, among other sites, continued for nearly an hour. Trump described Maduro as being “highly guarded” in a presidential palace that was “like a fortress.” Maduro had nearly made it to a safe room inside it, Trump told reporters, although “he was unable to close it.” American forces were armed with “massive blowtorches,” which they would have used to cut through steel walls had Maduro locked himself in the room, Trump said. “It had a safety space, where it’s solid steel all around,” Trump said. “He didn’t get that space closed. He got bumrushed so fast that he didn’t get into that. We were prepared.” Trump said Maduro and his wife were flown by helicopter to a US warship and would go to New York to face charges. He later posted on Truth Social a photo of Maduro in a gray sweatsuit, protective headphones and blindfold. Trump scotched any expectation that Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado herself should emerge as Venezuela’s new leader. She doesn’t have “support or respect” there, he said. Trump indicated he could work with Maduro’s deputy, vice president Delcy Rodriguez, saying “she’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great P11 again.”  Crisis and Opportunity WITH THIS ISSUE PLUS 12 PAGES Jammalamadugu MLA’s son held in Hyd after drug test E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Jammalamadugu BJP MLA Ch Adinarayana Reddy’s son, Sudheer Reddy was , apprehended on Saturday for allegedly consuming drugs at a villa in the Financial District in Hyderabad. The Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) conducted a raid following information that ganja was being consumed on the premises. Three persons were tested, and Sudheer Reddy tested positive for ganja. Sudheer Reddy reportedly behaved in a very rude manner with police personnel during the operation. He was later handed over to his family doctor, who has made arrangements for treatment at a de-addiction centre. However, police said Sudheer Reddy has no prior record of similar offences. No case has been registered in the matter. There was no immediate response from the Jammalamadugu MLA on the matter. In five years, more tigers died outside protected reserves J i ten d r a Chou b ey @ New Delhi INDIA’s tiger conservation success story has a flip side. More big cats are dying outside protected reserves than inside them. Latest data from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) shows that of 166 tiger deaths in 2025 in India. 88 deaths or 53 per cent were recorded outside a protected tiger reserve. (see table). In all, around 51% of 725 recorded fatalities in the last five years occurred outside tiger reserves, driven by the fact that about 30% of the country’s ti- gers now roam freely outside notified protected areas and exposing them to risks like human conflict, road accidents, electrocution and poisoning. A senior NTCA officer, who asked not to be named, pointed to severe staffing shortages. “We’re stretched thin in the field. Our forensic labs are understaffed too, which delays sample analysis and slows our response. That’s partly why poachers aren’t caught and prosecuted quickly enough.” The backlog tells the story. While 24 tigers were confirmed killed by poachers in 2019, five Tiger deaths outside protected forest areas Total % of total Year Mortality Outside mortality outside 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 166 126 182 122 129 88 65 100 52 64 53.01 51.58 54.94 42.62 49.61 cases from that year remain under investigation. The pending cases have shot up: from 37 in 2020 to 58 in 2021, 51 in 2022, 64 in 2023, 67 in 2024, and 140 in 2025. The latest State of Tiger report confirms one in five staff positions remain empty across tiger reserves. Some locations are missing 40% or more of required protection personnel. Twenty reserves reported inadequate anti-poaching staff. The rising number of tiger deaths outside protected areas prompted the Environment Ministry to launch a pilot to manage human-tiger conflicts across 10 states, with an allocation of `88 crore. “This pilot scheme doesn’t address the core issue of staff shortage,” said the officer. 3/4 of all tigers in india India hosts 75% of the world’s tiger populace. As per All India Tiger Estimation 2022, India’s tiger population is 3,682. India has 58 tiger reserves NTR Vaidya Seva spending goes up by 60%: Minister E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Services Pvt Ltd took over operations under stricter tender rules. The NDA government has sigAmbulances now reach panificantly scaled up spending tients within a stipulated timeunder the NTR Vaidya Seva frame. In urban areas, they arScheme, raising monthly ex- rive within 18 minutes of penditure to `310 crore from making a call with only a 37 `193 crore during the previous second average delay; in rural regime, Health Minister Y areas, within 23 minutes with a Satya Kumar Yadav said. 13 second delay; and in tribal The 60% increase in spend- regions, often two minutes earing amounts to an adlier than required. ditional `2,124 crore Presently, 95.58% per annum for the imof patients are transplementation of the ported to hospitals scheme, highlighting within 65 minutes, the NDA gover ncompared to just 15% ment’s commitment during the previous to strengthening pubregime, when delays lic healthcare averaged nearly two delivery . hours, the Healath According to the Minister elaborated. Health Minister, the Meanwhile, 104 monumber of beneficibile medical units aries under the will soon conduct 41 NTR Vaidya Seva, scheme has also risen types of diagnostic 108 ambulance sharply. While the tests at patients’ doorservice, and 104 earlier Aarogyasri mobile medical units step, expanding prescheme served an av- have become critical ventive healthcare erage of 96,205 pa- lifelines for people of access across the tients per month, the the State as the NDA State, as per the diVaidya Seva supports government has laid rectives of Chief 1 , 1 6 , 6 2 4 p at i e n t s, emphasis on delivery Minister N Chanm a r k i n g a 2 1 % of quality medicare drababu Naidu, growth. Satya Kumar conSatya Kumar, Minister In just 19 months, cluded that continuthe coalition governous monitoring and ment has spent `6,530 crore for stricter accountability have implementing the scheme, al- brought visible improvements ready accounting for 56% of in public healthcare. He dethe total expenditure incurred scribed the in five years by the previous reNTR Vaidya Seva, 108 ambugime, he explained. lance service, and 104 mobile Satya Kumar highlighted re- medical units as “critical lifeforms in the 108 ambulance lines for the people of Andhra service, which has undergone a Pradesh,” urging officials to major transformation since maintain vigilance and ensure June 2025, when Bhavya Health quality service delivery . @ Vijayawada