vijayawada l sunday l march 29, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION Nepal’s ex-pm oli arrested over 2025 Gen Z protest crackdown Nepal’s former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli was arrested on Saturday over the brutal crackdown of anti-government protests last year start of justice, says new home minister oli, Lekhak faces up to 10 years in jail Oli was arrested at the Gundu area of Bhaktapur district, 12 km east of Kathmandu, early Saturday morning, the police said. “We have taken under control former Prime Minister K P Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak. This is not a revenge against anybody, just the beginning of justice,” Nepal’s Home Minister Sudhan Gurung wrote on social media | P9 ■ ■ A probe panel had recommended legal action against Oli and Lekhak under criminal offence over their involvement in the crackdown Nepal’s new government, led by Balendra Shah, in its first cabinet meeting on Friday, decided to immediately implement the panel’s recommendations, which includes three to ten years of jail sentence 76 people killed during the crackdown on gen-z protests in September 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 Red Sea worry as Houthis Amaravati will remain join conflict for first time as sole capital of AP: CM Turkmenistan Caspian Sea Turkey Afghanistan Syria Israel a Se ed eR Th 2nd chokepoint The Bab al-Mandeb Strait is a narrow waterway that controls traffic toward Suez Canal Bab al-Mandab Strait NoidA airport opening Strait of Hormuz Arabian Sea Yemen Gulf of Aden Ethanol blend eased fuel crisis pressure: Modi a gen c i e s @ Tehran YEMEN’S Houthi rebels entered the West Asia war on Saturday by launching a ballistic missile towards Israel, as the world struggled to contain the economic damage of a conflict on verge of entering into its second month. The intervention of Iran’s Yemeni allies into Tehran’s conflict with Israel and US raised concerns about disruption to Red Sea shipping, with trade from the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz alday ready choked off. With no end to the conflict in sight, despite US President Donald Trump’s optimism Iran that US forces have obliteratskeptical ed Iran’s military, a spokeson talks man for the Houthis issued a Iran is skeptical video statement declaring about recent that the group had launched diplomatic ballistic missiles at Israel. efforts to stop Israel’s military said it had the war in the intercepted a missile. During Middle East, its Israel’s recent war on Gaza, Foreign Minister the Houthis, claiming solidarAbbas Araghchi ity with the Palestinians, attold his Turkish tacked shipping in the Red counterpart in Sea and Gulf of Aden. But, a phone call until Saturday, had sat out Saturday | P9 this conflict. Experts warn that the Iran-backed Houthis have the potential to create a disastrous economic shock around the world. If the Houthis ramp up their role in this conflict by targeting vessels in the narrow Bab elMandeb Strait off the Red Sea, it would not only further push up oil prices but destabilise “all of maritime security,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, a research institution. WITH THIS ISSUE S L a l i t h a @ Noida Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Centre was taking all possible steps to ensure that the ongoing West Asia conflict does not impact the common man. After unveiling the first phase of the Noida International Airport at Jewar, Modi commended sugarcane farmers for reducing India’s dependence on crude oil by helping scale up ethanol production. “Without the increase in ethanol production and its blending with petrol, India would have had to import an additional four-and-a-half PM speaks crore barrels, approximately 700 crore litres of crude oil anto Saudi nually,” he said. “The hard Prince work of our farmers has given Prime Minister the country enormous relief Narendra Modi during this time of crisis.” spoke to Crown Ethanol has not only benefited Prince and PM the country but also the farmof Saudi Arabia, ers, with approximately `1.5 Mohd bin Salman, lakh crore worth of foreign on the ongoing exchange being saved, he conflict in West elaborated. Asia and agreed Stating that he discussed on the need to ensure freedom of the West Asia crisis in detail in Parliament as also as with navigation all chief ministers the previous day, he appealed to the people to face the situation with a calm mind and remain patient. “What is in the interest of Indians and in the interest of India, that alone is the policy and strategy of the Government of India,” he said. He expressed confidence that all political parties would back the country’s efforts. As for the Noida airport, he said it is the symbol of a developed UP as it will connect North India to the entire world. 29 The Grey Emergency PLUS 12 P AGES Scare in the air for IndiGo flight after engine failure S l a l i t h a @ New Delhi An IndiGo flight from Visakhapatnam to New Delhi, carrying 160 passengers, was forced to make a full emergency landing at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday after one of its engines failed midair. All passengers and crew were evacuated safely from the Boeing 737 aircraft upon landing. Flight 6E 579 departed from the Visakhapatnam International Airport at 8.48 am. A full emergency was declared at 10.39 am after one of the engines failed. The pilots requested the Delhi Air Traffic Control for priority landing. “As soon as the message was received, Runway 28 was allotted for priority landing for the aircraft. Emergency was declared there from 10.45 am to 10.55 am. All necessary protocol was followed with fire and medical teams kept on standby,” an airport official said. The plane landed safely at 10.54 am, the official said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu and others, during the inauguration of the Noida International Airport, in Jewar on Saturday | PTI Assembly seeks amendment to Section 5 of AP Reorganisation Act Y B r a h m a j i @ Vijayawada The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Saturday unanimously passed a landmark resolution seeking statutory recognition for Amaravati as the capital of AP . Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu moved the resolution during the sixth session of the Assembly urging the Union , Government to amend the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 to remove ambiguity surrounding the State capital. The resolution was passed after an extensive debate for nearly five and a half hours. The Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister, Ministers and several legislators participated in the discussion, reflecting the broad political consensus on the capital issue. The resolution requests the Government of India to amend Section 5 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 by including the words “at Amaravati” in sub-section (2), explicitly designating Amaravati as the capital of AP. Further, it proposes adding a clarification in the explanation to Section 5 stating that “Amaravati includes the capital city areas notified under the And- Gwalior: In a boost to the Army’s firepower, a defence major on Saturday delivered the first batch of 2,000 ‘Prahar’ LMGs manufactured under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The 7.62 mm-calibre weapon is manufactured by Adani Defence Minister promises revival of FiberNet Vijayawada: Minister for Investments and Infrastructure BC Janardhan Reddy directed officials to take concrete measures to deliver improved and expanded services to the public through the AP State FiberNet Limited (APSFL) | P4 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Minister for Transport Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy on Saturday said the RTA had cracked a whip on private travels in the State to ensure road safety following the Markapur bus fire, in which 14 passengers were burnt alive. He announced stringent measures to curb road accidents, emphasising that passenger safety remains the government’s top priority Special . inspection drives targeting ve- Bodies of bus fire victims handed over to families Ongole: The district authorities handed over the mortal remains of all the 14 victims of the Markapuram bus fire to their family members and sent them to their hometowns in ambulances with government escort on Saturday | P3 make in india Next-gen captains in focus as league enters new era s w a r o o p s w a m i n at h a n @ Bengaluru WHEN Ishan Kishan was appointed interim captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise in the lead-up to the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), it was a small but significant in the competition’s history. It meant captains of all franchises would be Indians, at least to begin the season. Taken in isolation, it may not mean a lot. But pull back the curtains a little bit and analyse it at the macro level. It suggests several things. Mainly, the league, firmly in its adulthood from this year, is willing to experiment in terms of how they appoint captains. Earlier, captains and experience went hand in hand. Captains and the The 11 seats reserved permanently at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in remembrance of lives lost during the stampede at RCB’s IPL celebrations in 2025 | Kevin nashon biggest overseas stars of those teams went hand in hand. Not anymore. Some franchises are beginning to get smarter. It’s not a surprise because this is how leagues evolve, mirroring the format’s international growth, penchant for data and the need to keep pushing the boundaries wherever possible. N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister hra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014,” thereby extending the capital’s legal scope to the entire CRDAnotified region. After the passage of resolution, it was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Copies of the resolution were also sent to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha RTA cracks down on unsafe pvt travel buses express read Army gets 1st batch of ‘Make in India’ LMGs Amaravati is being developed as a self-sustaining project and will emerge as a growth engine, generating employment and economic opportunities and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, seeking consideration of the proposed amendment during the ongoing Parliament session. Assembly Speaker Chintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu forwarded the resolution to the Union Home Minister, while the Assembly Secretary General sent the copies to the Union Home Secretary and the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh. Speaking on the resolution, the Chief Minister said, “Amaravati will remain as the sole and permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh and no one can touch or shift it even by an inch.” “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured that the Centre would take responsibility for the construction of Amaravati, reinforcing its commitment to the capital project,” he said. Naidu lauded Amaravati farmers for voluntarily parting with their lands, stating that they have not just given land, but the future of the State. “Amaravati is being developed as a self-sustaining project and will emerge as a growth engine, generating employment and economic opportunities,” P4 he asserted.  Of course, this doesn’t mean any Indian player will be considered for the post of captain but now Indians are more likely to be named as captains when compared to earlier. Then, there used to be a demand in franchise cricket to spend extra for the purpose of picking a captain. It’s why, over the last few seasons, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Axar Patel and, recently Rajat Patidar (Royal , Challengers Bengaluru) and Kishan were handed the gigs. Outside Gill, none of them were the biggest names of the side when they were given the job for the first time. This is an intriguing development for a league which was infatuated with its biggest stars. But after 19 years, it doesn’t need hand-holding anymore. hicles operating without proper documents were launched. “The joint operations are being carried out in coordination with the Roads and Highways and Fire Services departments,” he said. The Transport Minister revealed that enforcement teams started carrying out checks at 16 key locations across the State to ensure unsafe buses go off the road. “The State government aims to significantly reduce road accidents through proactive measures and coordinated efforts,” he asserted. Cases registered against 236 buses During a statewide drive, RTA officials inspected a total of 1,036 buses. Violations were detected in 236 buses, leading to the registration of cases and imposition of fines. Two buses were seized in Palamaner for serious violations, Mandipalli said