CS team satisfied with games venues A three-member Commonwealth Sports team led by its president Donald Rukare visited all the sporting infrastructure to assess preparation. CS chief Rukare said that all the venues were inspected and was satisfied with preparation for 2030 Games. Rukare said that “From what we saw yesterday and the day before, it’s very clear that with the facilities that are available, India is ready to put on a show.” tirupati l saturday l april 11, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur 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 Tehran hardens its stance ahead of key talks with Vance A g e n c e i s @ Washington/Islamabad Vrindavan tragedy Rescue personnel in the Yamuna River after a boat capsized near Kesi Ghat, Vrindavan, in Mathura district, on Friday. At least 10 people, from Punjab, were killed and several others remain missing. The accident happened when the boat moved into deeper waters and hit a floating pontoon | pti Marco Rubio to come calling in May J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit India in May, the United States announced, signaling renewed momentum in ties between New Delhi and Washington after recent strains over trade issues. The visit comes as both sides are preparing to revive negotiations aimed at sealing an interim trade agreement, indicating a shared push to their economic engagement. The announcement followed a “productive meeting” between Rubio and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri at the White House, where both sides reviewed key pillars of the bilateral relationship, including trade, critical minerals, defence coop- eration, and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who attended the meeting, confirmed the upcoming visit in a post on X. “Secretary Rubio looks forward to visiting India next month,” Gor said. They envoy said that discussions with Misri focused on strengthening cooperation across strategic sectors. During his three-day visit to Washington, Misri also met US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. According to the State Department, the two sides “reaffirmed the close partnership” and exchanged views on global and regional developments, including the situation in the Persian Gulf. Separately US Under Secretary , of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker emphasized expanding cooperation in security and economic domains. “We are finding practical ways to make both Americans and Indians safer and more prosperous, including through the Quad,” Hooker said. The Indian Embassy in Washington said that discussions also reviewed progress since the last Foreign Office Consultations in December and covered recent developments in West Asia and other areas of mutual interest. Rubio’s upcoming visit is expected to inject momentum to the India–US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Colonel Shrikant Embattled Justice Varma puts in his papers Purohit promoted drashekhar and Senior Advocate Vasudeva Acharya. Varma’s resigAmid initiation of impeachment nation rendered all proceedings proceedings in the Lok Sabha fol- by the probe panel infructuous. lowing sacks of burnt currency The case stems from a fire on notes found at his residential com- March 14, 2025, in the storeroom plex in New Delhi last year, Justice of Varma’s official residence in Yashwant Varma resigned on Fri- Delhi, where police personnel day with immediate effect. found wads of partially burnt curIn his letter dated April 9, he con- rency notes in gunny bags. Photos veyed his ‘deep anguish’ and videos of them burnto President Droupadi ing were outed by the Murmu, while saying he then Chief Justice of Indid not wish to burden dia Sanjiv Khanna, who her office with the reaadvised Varma to quit sons for his decision. By after a in-house probe doing so, he escaped the panel pointed the finger ignominy of becoming of suspicion at him. Varthe first member of the ma refused and was rehigher judiciary to be patriated to the AllaYashwant Varma sacked by Parliament. habad High Court Varma was due to retire without assigning judion January 5, 2031. cial work pending inquiry . Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla By putting in his papers, the had recently shared that a three- judge hopes to have dodged the member in-house probe commit- bullet to protect his pension. Had tee had been reconstituted under he been impeached, he would have the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, lost not just pension and other reagainst Varma. The committee tirement benefits as well. The comprises Supreme Court judge burning question though is the Arvind Kumar, Bombay High source of those smouldering curCourt Chief Justice Shree Chan- rency notes caught on camera. Na m i ta Bajpa i @ Lucknow to Brigadier rank J A V A RI A R A N A @ New Delhi Nearly two decades after the Malegaon blast case derailed his career, Army officer Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit has been promoted to the rank of Brigadier. He was acquitted in the case last year. Col Purohit, who was a Lieutenant Colonel when he was named in the case in 2008, rose to the rank of Colonel through time scale promotion during the course of the trial. He was acquitted in 2025 by a special NIA court after a 17-year legal ordeal. He was due to retire on March 31, 2026 as 54 years is the retirement age for Colonel, but the Armed Forces Tribunal put his retirement on hold, keeping him in service and within the promotion pipeline. Col Purohit had moved the tribunal following his acquittal. The retirement age for Brigadier is 56 years and the promotion effectively extends his service till 2028. Army sources said the tribunal’s intervention was key as continuity in , service is a prerequisite for consideration by promotion boards. Heatwave conditions prevail across State U s h a P e r i @ Visakhapatnam Several parts of Andhra Pradesh are experiencing intense heatwave conditions at the very start of April, with maximum temperature already crossing the 44 degree Celsius mark in some regions. On Friday the highest temperature , of the season was recorded at 44.1 degree Celsius in Karapa of Kakinada district, followed by 43.6 EX PR ES S ILL US TR AT IO N degree Celsius in Kadapa. Temperatures above 40 degree Celsius were reported in as many as 22 districts across the State. According to official data by the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), 67 mandals recorded temperatures exceeding 41 degree Celsius. Kadapa district accounted for the highest number with 19 mandals, followed by 11 in Nandyal, seven in Markapuram, and four in NTR, among others. Among other high readings, Poduru in West Godavari recorded 42.9 degree Celsius, Varadayapalem in Tirupati 42.8 degree Celsius, Moguluru in NTR 42.6 degree Celsius, and Pedaparupudi in Krishna and Banaganapalli in Nandyal 42.3 degree Celsius each. Dharmajigudem in Eluru and Kommipadu in Nellore recorded 42.1 degree Celsius, while Tummikapalli in Vizianagaram touched 42 degree Celsius. Tovi in Kurnool registered 41.5 degree Celsius, with several other locations including Anantapur, Markapuram, Palnadu, Polavaram, Parvathipuram Manyam, Prakasam and Sri Sathya Sai districts reporting temperatures in the range of 41 to P4 41.4 degree Celsius.  AS the Pakistan-brokered limited ceasefire between the US and Iran appeared to hold for the fourth day on Friday, US Vice President J D Vance left for Islamabad to hold talks with Iranian negotiators on Saturday morning local time. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff are day part of the US team. Iran’s delegation led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was expected to reach Islamabad on Friday evening, but has not. Indicating the possibility that Tehran could pull out of the talks, Ghalibaf said a ceasefire must take hold in Lebanon before talks can begin. The US, Iran and Pakistan have given conflicting accounts of whether Israel’s strikes on Iran-backed 42 Hezbollah in Lebanon are part of the ceasefire agreed on April 7. Iran and Pakistan claim Lebanon is part of the deal; US says it is not. Even if the talks take place as scheduled, no immediate breakthrough is expected on Day 1. Negotiations with Iran are known to be time-consuming and complex. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has indicated that the talks could continue for 15 days, which means the 15-day ceasefire would be extended. The truce pact is already facing pressure with both the US and Iran flagging violations of the ceasefire agreement announced on April 7. Israel has stepped up its attack on Lebanon. As for Iran, it continues to control the Strait of Hormuz and has not been allowing free movement of vessels through it, drilling holes in Trump’s claim that the he got Iran to open up passage. Cabinet clears major electronics and IT projects S Gu r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada The State Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the Secretariat on Friday, approved investments worth thousands of crores, paving the way for tens of thousands of new jobs. After the Cabinet meeting, I&PR Minister K Parthasarathy briefed the media on the decisions, highlighting the State’s aim to emerge as a national leader in IT, electronics and quantum technologies. In the IT and electronics sector, the Cabinet approvals included Adani Infra’s AI Data Centre in Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli, Credence Realty’s `386 crore IT Park, and Feuji Software Solutions’ `425 crore IT/ ITeS campus. Sritech Data Ltd was cleared to establish a `1,800 crore cable landing station, while PG Technoplast received approval for a `1,305 crore consumer electronics unit. Speciality chemicals and semiconductor projects were also cleared, including NPSPL’s `2,550 crore LiB materials unit in Chittoor and RRP Electronics’ `10,239 crore OSAT and fabrication facility in Sathya Sai. P4