HYDERABAD l Thursday l march 12, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION IPL 2026: Bengaluru to face Hyderabad in season opener First set of ties announced amid state polls With dates for Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam state elections yet to be confirmed, the BCCI has announced the fixtures of the tournament till April 12. In this announced set of fixtures, Guwahati and Kolkata will host three matches while Chennai will host two. The schedule for the rest of the season is expected once the election dates are made public The BCCI on Wednesday announced the first set of schedule for the upcoming season, which will begin on March 28. A look Chinnaswamy awaits committee nod ■ ■ While defending champs Royal Challengers Bengaluru are set to face Sunrisers Hyderabad at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the opener, the venue is yet to get final approval to host matches As things stand, all matches in Bengaluru are subject to clearance by expert committee which will be decided on Friday 20 tHe BCCI has announced fixtures for first 20 matches 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 P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi After nearly 10 hours of acrimonious exchanges between the Treasury and Opposition benches, the Lok Sabha on Wednesday rejected a no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla through a voice vote. The motion, moved by several Opposition parties accusing the Speaker of conducting House proceedings in a partisan manner, was declared defeated by the Chair amid loud protests and sloganeering by the Opposition over remarks made by Union home minister Amit Shah about Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Responding to the two-day debate on the motion, Shah launched a sharp attack on Rahul, making critical remarks about his conduct in Parliament. His comments triggered strong protests from Opposition members, who trooped into the Well of the House demanding an apology from the home minister. Amid the uproar, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who was presiding over the proceedings, announced that the no-confidence motion was defeated by a voice vote. The government was ex- Ramya death case: CID starts Red Corner notice process C h i t h a l u r i R e v a n t h @ Hyderabad Nearly 10 years after a road accident that killed three members of a family spanning three generations, the Telangana police have initiated the process to obtain a Red Corner notice against one of the accused. The accident occurred at Banjara Hills in 2016 and claimed the lives of 10-year-old Ramya, her uncle P Rajesh and her grandfather Madhusudhana Chary . A Hyderabad police official told TNIE on Wednesday that one of the accused, Kancha Vishnu Vineeth alias Vishnu, has been evading court proceedings after being released on bail. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) approached the CBI in February 2026 seeking issuance of a Red Corner notice against Vishnu Vineeth. Police said he allegedly fled to the United States during the investigation. The Banjara Hills police, through the CID, requested the CBI to approach Interpol to secure the notice and bring him back to India. The accident occurred at Nagarjuna Circle on July 1, 2016 evening when Ramya and her family were returning to their residence at Borabanda from St Ann’s School in West Marredpally A car travelling from the . opposite direction allegedly hit the divider, crossed to the other side of the road and rammed the vehicle in which the family was travelling. Police said the car was allegedly driven by R Shravil under the influence of alcohol. The car owner, K Vishnu Vineeth, who was also inside the vehicle, was named as the second accused in the chargesheet. Subhajit Bhattacharya, a representative of the Thank God It’s Friday (TGIF) pub at Banjara Hills where the accused allegedly consumed liquor, was named as another accused. Based on a complaint by Ramya’s mother Pammi Radhika, the Banjara Hills police registered a case and launched an investigation. Amit Shah Om Birla Cong given 157 hours to speak in LS: Shah In the 17th Lok Sabha, the Congress with just 52 MPs was allotted 157 hours and 55 minutes. In comparison, the BJP with 303 MPs was given 349 hours and 8 minutes. “Thus, the Speaker has ensured that the Congress received six times more time than the BJP,” Amit Shah said pected to defeat the motion comfortably with the NDA’s 293 , MPs in the House against the Opposition’s 238. Defending Birla, Shah said the Lok Sabha Speaker serves as a neutral custodian, representing both the ruling party and the opposition, and asserted that the House will be run by its own rules and not by the rules of a party . Shah accused Rahul of frequently skipping key parliamentary sessions including debates on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, the Union Budget, and important Bills, alleging that the Congress leader often travels abroad during such proceedings. “You can’t complain about the Speaker not allowing time as you are always on foreign trips during the session,” Shah said. Responding to the criticism about not filling the post of Deputy Speaker for the past seven years, he said: “The previous Congress governments always appointed their own persons for the post. And you are accusing us? We have at least kept it vacant for you.” Earlier in the day, Rahul interjected during the debate saying that he was stopped from speaking in the House on multiple occasions. Responding to BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad, who cited Parliamentary procedures to say that LoP should measure his words while speaking on national security, Rahul said the House does not belong to any party but the entire country . In a first, SC allows passive euthanasia for man in coma for 13 yrs S U C HITRA K ALYAN M O HANTY @ New Delhi th e S u p r e m e C o u r t o n Wednesday allowed the withdrawal of artificial life support to Harish Rana, 32, who has remained in a vegetative state for the past 13 years. The ruling by a bench of justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan marks the firstever passive euthanasia in the country . Passive euthanasia is the intentional act of letting a patient, who has remained in a vegetative state for a long period of time and has no chance of recovery, to die by withdrawing or withholding life support. Rana, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad pursuing his B Tech degree in Chandigarh, suffered a brain injury in August 2013 after falling from the fourth floor of his paying guest accommodation. He has since remained in a permanent vegetative state. The bench directed AIIMSDelhi to carry out the exercise of withdrawing life support system while ensuring his dignity is maintained. The court passed the order after considering various factors including doctors’ opinion and medical board reports that ruled out chances of a revival. The order allowing passive euthanasia is in line with the SC’s 2018 Common Cause judgment, modified in 2023, recognising the fundamental right to die with dignity . The court also noted that Rana’s family cared for him all these years and never left his side. “To love someone is to care for them not just in times of joy, but in their saddest and darkest hours,” the bench said while hailing Harish Rana’s parents for their selfless love towards their son. Before reserving the order on January 15, the bench had heard the detailed submissions of ASG Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Union government, and advocate Rashmi Nandakumar, representing the patient’s father Ashok Rana. India-bound ship bombed in Hormuz Israel, US keep up Iran offensive; global energy crisis balloons One Majesty reliance to invest in first u.s. oil refinery Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries will partner in building the first new oil refinery in the US in 50 years, US President Donald Trump said, calling it the “biggest in US history”. The new refinery will be located in Brownsville, Texas, and will run entirely on shale oil | P10 IRAN Strait of Hormuz India DUBAI Star Gwyneth saudi arabia Oman From DUBAI to Kandla PORT Three Ships targeted Thai-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree bound for India was targeted and damaged approximately 11 nautical miles north of Oman iran will not be part of fifa world cup Iran’s sports minister said their men’s football team is not likely to participate in the 2026 World Cup. “Given that this corrupt government has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances do we have appropriate conditions to participate in the World Cup,” Ahmad Donyamali said Pakistan Gujarat LS rejects Oppn’s no-trust motion against Speaker Earlier, the Japan-flagged container ship One Majesty sustained minor damage from an unknown projectile Star Gwyneth, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai Mayuree Naree D ay ’ s d e v e l o p m e n t s Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not spoken or been seen in public since his appointment during the weekend, had a fractured foot and facial lacerations from the first day of war In the backdrop of rising crude prices, the 32 members of the International Energy Agency agreed to their largest-ever release of oil reserves, in an effort to calm markets The Paris-based organisation said it will make 400 million barrels of oil available from its members’ emergency reserves. India is not a member of IEA, so it can’t tap into the new source of energy. However, if oil prices cool, it would benefit all. Besides, India already has a deal with Russia 400 million barrels of oil translates to what the world consumes in just four days. That is also the volume of oil that normally flows through the Strait of Hormuz in 20 days U.S. behemoth Citi and UK’s Deloitte evacuated offices in Dubai, while PwC, another British consultancy, closed offices in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait after IraN said American financial institutions and banks in the gulf are targets US President Donald Trump signalled there could be a swift ending to the war, saying there is little left in Iran for US forces to attack a g e n c i e s @ Tehran / Tel Aviv / Dubai / Washington IRAN attacked its neighbours and commercial ships on a whim and fancy on Wednesday across the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz and targeted Gulf allies of the US, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oil-rich region as global energy concerns mounted while US-Israeli airstrikes pummelled the Islamic Republic. The Iranian military said it regarded any ships in the Strait of Hormuz belonging to the US, Israel or their allies as “legitimate targets”. To this, US President Donald Trump warned that doing so will only escalate the US-Israel war effort. Earlier in the day an Iranian projectile hit a Thai cargo ship off , the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, setting it ablaze. It was on its way to Kandla in India. Authorities are searching for three missing crew members from the Mayuree Naree after 20 were rescued by the Omani navy The ship was hit after departing Kha. lifa port in the UAE. Iran, late on Wednesday warned it was ready for a long war of , attrition that would “destroy” the world economy. This came hours after Trump said the war is nearing its end. Iran also announced it would target financial institutions in West Asia. That would put Dubai at risk as it is home to many international financial institutions, as well as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Several fintech behemoths like PwC, Deloitte and Citi began to shutter operations in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, beginning Wednesday for at least a week, AFP reported. The UN Security Council was to vote later Wednesday on a resolution sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council demanding Iran stop attacking its Arab neighbours. Israel and the US said they had launched a new “wide-scale wave of strikes” across Iran and Lebanon. Kuwait said its defences downed eight Iranian drones and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted five heading toward the kingdom’s Shaybah oil field. World oil prices rose, with international benchmark Brent North Sea crude jumping more than five per cent in early trade before gains eased, while world markets traded mixed. The US also warned Iranians it considers civilian ports in the Strait of Hormuz to be legitimate targets, alleging Tehran was using them for military operations. “Civilian ports used for military purposes lose protected status and become targets under international law,” the US military said. LPG shortage sparks panic refilling at CNG stations K h yat i S h a h @ Hyderabad Panic buying set in among auto-rickshaw drivers in Hyderabad on Wednesday, with long queues forming outside CNG stations amid concerns that the disruption in LPG supply could extend to CNG supplies. Since early morning, dozens of drivers were seen waiting at CNG dispensing points at petrol bunks across the city Many . said the sudden rush had increased waiting times, forcing them to spend hours in queues to refill their vehicles. Fuel station operators said the surge in demand appeared linked to uncertainty over LPG cylinder availability . “We have been seeing unusually long lines since the morning,” a staff member at a Bhagyanagar Gas Limited station told TNIE. “People are trying to refill CNG in advance. As of now, we still have stock that can last three to four days, but if demand continues at this level, supplies could be exhausted much sooner,” he added. Meanwhile, auto drivers are appealing to the public to voluntarily pay `20 to `30 extra per ride, saying they are struggling after the CNG price rose from around `70 in December 2025 to between `95 and `97 as of Wednesday . “We cannot take chances,” said Mohammed Rauf, an autorickshaw driver waiting in line at a petrol bunk in Khairatabad. “Our entire daily income depends on our vehicle running throughout the day If fuel runs . out, we have no way to earn.” Fuel station operators told this newspaper that if fresh supplies do not arrive in the next few days, they may be forced to temporarily suspend CNG distribution.  continued on P2 Auto-rickshaw drivers queue up to refill at a gas station in Hyderabad on Wednesday | Vinay Madapu State to buy only EVs from now on Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday instructed officials to ensure all departments purchase, or lease where required, only electric vehicles (EVs) henceforth. He also asked officials to prepare plans for a modern bus terminal near the proposed high-speed rail corridor hub in the vicinity of the RGIA, Shamshabad. AI Express hard lands at Phuket, loses nose wheels S i d d h a r d h a G at t i m i @ Hyderabad taking charge Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy greets Shiv Pratap Shukla who was sworn in as the fifth Governor of Telangana, at Lok Bhavan in Hyderabad on Wednesday | P4 Speaker rejects disqualification pleas against Danam, Kadiyam | p4 Close shave for Farooq as man opens fire at wedding | p8 A major aviation incident was narrowly averted on Wednesday after an Air India Express flight from Hyderabad made a hard landing at Phuket International Airport in Thailand, resulting in the detachment of the aircraft’s nose wheels and forcing the temporary closure of the runway . The aircraft (IX938) from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to Phuket bounced during touchdown. On the second contact, both nose wheels reportedly detached, leaving the aircraft stuck on the runway and prompting authorities to halt flight operations. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737 MAX 8 with regis- Video grabs of the incident involving the Air India Express airplane on Wednesday tration number VT-BWQ. It departed Hyderabad at 6.42 am and arrived in Phuket at 11.24 am, ahead of its scheduled landing time of 11.40 am. According to sources, there were 133 passengers, including two infants, and seven crew members on board at the time of the incident. No injuries were re- ported and passengers were safely deplaned and taken to the terminal building. A video of the landing, which quickly went viral on social media, shows the aircraft bouncing once after touching down before making a second, harder contact. The impact caused both nose wheels to de- tach, leaving the aircraft immobilised on the runway . Airport authorities shut down the runway and began efforts to tow the aircraft to the bay The closure triggered dis. ruption at the busy tourist hub, with several flights either cancelled or diverted to nearby airports.  continued on P5