Sanju Samson thanks the heavens after helping India win on Sunday | Debadatta Mallick Surya & CO seal semifinal berth, face Eng on March 5 Defending champions defeat West Indies in a virtual quarterfinal of T20 World Cup in Kolkata on Sunday. Sanju seizes the moment Brought in to support Abhishek’s poor run in Chennai, Sanju Samson saved his best for the must-win clash Samson set the tone, and continued to pile on while wickets fell around him. The Kerala batter smashed an unbeaten 97 from just 50 balls, taking India past the WI total of 195 | P11 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l monday l march 02, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late 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 War escalates after US-Israeli airstrikes kill Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei; Tehran goes on the offensive, hits US allies in Gulf; leaders urge restraint 350 flights of Indian carriers cancelled New Delhi: Airlines from India announced cancellation of all flights to the region. The Civil Aviation Ministry said 350 flights operated by Indian carriers stood cancelled on Sunday. Airlines have announced full refund or rescheduling of all tickets booked until March 5 or 7, a source with DGCA said | P7 India braces for economic impact D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi Keralites in Gulf on alert as conflict rages Videograb combo shows the sequence of large-scale strikes on “the headquarters of the Iranian terror regime” in Tehran on March 1 (right) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | PTI Dangerous escalation a g e n c i e s @ Tehran/Tel Aviv IRANIAN Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated by Israel and the United States in a major attack on Iran, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of protracted regional instability . News agency IRNA announced the 86-year-old’s death on Sunday after a joint US- Israeli aerial bombardment targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. US President Donald Trump threatened that the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week. The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Major General Mohammad Pakpour, was also declared dead in airstrikes. Smoke billows in Dubai after an Iranian strike. Hundreds of drones and missiles targeted UAE and other Gulf allies of the US after Khamenei’s death | AFP Also killed was Ali Shamkhani, long a figurehead within Iran’s security establishment, IRNA said. Among the other top officials who died in the strikes were Iran police intelligence chief Gholamreza Rezaian and the chief of armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi. The Israeli army announced “large-scale” strikes targeting the “heart of Tehran” for the second day running. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said Khamenei’s killing was a “tur ning point”.Iran formed an interim leadership council to take over. Sources said Ayatollah Alireza Arafi was part of it, along- Blast at explosives plant in Maha kills at least 17 S u d h i r S u r ya w an s h i @ Mumbai At least 17 people were killed and 18 others critically injured in a major explosion at an ammunition manufacturing company near Nagpur on Sunday morning. A powerful blast occurred at 7.00 am, triggering massive flames in the Nonal crimping plant area, which spread to adjoining sections of the facility located in Raulgaon village, approximately 25 km from Nagpur city. Sources said 35 workers and two supervisors were present at the time of the incident. A new shift had begun at 6 am. The bodies were charred beyond recognition. Samples of the family members were being taken for DNA testing, the police said. The factory belonged to a major manufacturer of industrial explosives, including materials used for mining and infrastructure projects, such as detonators and explosive cartridges. The incident comes a day after a blast at a cracker unit in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada district claimed 21 lives. 15 Indians evacuated from oil tanker T’Puram: Thousands of Malayali families across the Gulf spent sleepless nights as Iran continued its retaliatory attacks against the joint US-Israel strikes on Tehran. “In just a day, everything changed. We heard sirens, but there was no clear information,” said Aadithya, an Alappuzha native in Bahrain | P5 New Delhi: An oil tanker carrying 20 crew members, including 15 Indians and five Iranians, and an Omani port near the strategic Strait of Hormuz were targeted in strikes on Sunday, marking the first reported attacks on Oman since Tehran launched retaliatory operations side President Masoud Pezeshk i a n a n d C h i e f Ju s t i c e Mohseni-Eje’i. The body will rule until a new leader is selected. In retaliation, Iran fired missiles across Middle East and Israel, while Israel conducted fresh strikes on Tehran. In Israel, at least nine people were killed as Iranian missiles hit a synagogue in Beit Shemesh. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the killing of Khamenei was a “declaration of war against Muslims”, vowing vengeance. Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani vowed to hit the US and Israel with “a force never seen before.” In the UAE, the defence ministry said three people had died and 58 wounded since Iran’s strikes began on P7, P9 Saturday  . AS the war between Iran and US-Israel escalates, India is bracing for a range of macroeconomic adversity Crude oil . prices, which had already been firming up amid rising tension, shot up from around $65 per barrel to $72-73 per barrel over the past few days. At the heart of the economic concern is the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20% of global petroleum liquids and a fifth of global LNG shipments transit. India, which consumes 5.5 million barrels of crude oil per day and imports more than 80% of its requirement, is particularly exposed. Around 1.5-2 million barrels per day of India’s crude imports pass through this narrow corridor. Any disruption — or even the perception of risk — can inject a geopolitical premium into oil prices.