kozhikode l sunday l march 22, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 36 l city EDITION Believers offer prayers amid fog on the occassion of Eid ul-Fitr at Jama Masjid in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI 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 Loaded message in Iran attack on Diego Garcia a gencies @ London, Tehran, Tel Aviv WITH THIS ISSUE Two Tales of One City PLUS 12 P AGES Assembly elections Overturning Muslim alienation key to LDF’s assembly fortunes I P4 Manjeshwar gears up for yet another cut-throat showdown I P5 IRAN was “unsuccessful” in targeting the joint UK-US Indian Ocean military base at Diego Garcia, a UK official source confirmed to AFP on Saturday , after the Wall Street Journal reported that Tehran fired two ballistic missiles at it. Die go Garcia, which is around 4,000 kilometres from Iranian territory, is one of the two bases the UK has allowed the US to use in this war. The launch suggests that Tehran has missiles with longer ranges than previously thought. Iran has “always had missiles of that sort of range that we’ve known about, maybe not declared”, former UK Royal Navy commander and defence expert Tom Sharpe told AFP . The US military said on Saturday it had taken out an Iranian bunker housing weapons threatening oil and gas shipments in the Strait of Hormuz. The standoff has sent crude oil prices soaring, with a barrel of North Sea Brent crude up more than 50 percent and now more than $105. Iran’s atomic energy body said US-Israeli strikes hit the Natanz nuclear facility but “no , leakage of radioactive materials” was reported. The Revolutionary Guards said they “struck” an Israeli F-16 over Iran. Shortly after, Russian president Vladimir Putin said “Moscow remains Tehran’s loyal friend.” iraq Tehran Iran Saudi arabia The big picture Sending missiles to Diego Garcia, a strategic UK-US base in the Indian Ocean about 4,000 km away from Tehran, sent a loud message that Iran could even reach the US. This was the first time Iran fired missiles beyond 2,000 km range INDIA Cannon Point Peacekeeper Inn (PK) Sunset View Park Diego Garcia Nsf Point Marianne day 22 Commercial LPG supply The petroleum ministry on Saturday increased the allocation of commercial LPG by an an additional 20% to states and UTs, taking the total allocation to 50%. the ministry said the enhanced allocation would support restaurants and hotel industry. indian ocean Diego Garcia Protect shipping routes, Modi urges Pezeshkian j aya nt h j a c o b @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday stressed the urgency of protecting global shipping routes and critical infrastructure during a phone call with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian. In a post on X, Modi said, “Spoke with President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian ... condemned attacks on critical infrastructure in the region, reiterated importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and secure,” the post said. The PM said uninterrupted maritime movement is vital for global commerce. Fitness policy Shape up or ship out, Air India tells its cabin crew S l a l it h a @ New Delhi Air India has given its cabin crew a shape up or ship out warning. Under its new ‘Cabin Crew Health and Fitness Compliance Policy’, cabin crew members who are found underweight, overweight, or obese could be derostered or even placed on loss of pay . Those who are obese will be given 30 days to shed weight or face further action. A BMI reading of 18 to 24.9 will be considered desirable. Those with BMI above 30 will be marked obese, bracketed as ‘Non Acceptable Range’. Crew members with a BMI of 18 or less will be considered underweight while those with a reading between 25 and 29.9 will be viewed as overweight. Crew members who are underweight and overweight will be derostered and sent for a complete medical evaluation and functional assessment test at the Air India Training Academy “If cleared, then . they will be allowed to fly. If not, they will be placed on loss of pay,” an aviation expert said. The action will be swift for those in the obese category “Obese crew . will be instantly grounded and placed on loss of pay Within seven . days, the crew must undergo certain medical tests including getting their glucose tolerance and lipid profile checked. They will be given 30 days to report back with an acceptable BMI,” the expert said. If after further follow-ups, they have not lost weight, then a letter of final warning will be issued. Convict in Dr Vandana murder sentenced to life E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Kollam A court in Kollam on Saturday sentenced the convict in the murder of Dr Vandana Das to life imprisonment, nearly three years after the brutal incident shocked the state. Dr Vandana Das According to the judgment, the convict, G Sandeep, will have to serve a jail term of 32 years as punishment given for various other offences charged against him, and the life imprisonment will commence after he serves that period. In effect, the accused will be in jail for his whole life, said public prosecutor Prathap G G Sandeep Padikkal. Dr Vandana, a house surgeon, was stabbed to death by Sandeep, a resident of Koduvattoor, at the Kottarakkara taluk hospital when he was brought there by the police for medical examination on May 10, 2023. The Additional District and Sessions Court in Kollam had on March 17 convicted Sandeep of multiple offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including murder and ● More on P6 destruction of evidence.