Astronauts back after voyage around moon Artemis II astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch pose after splashdown and recovery operations in the Pacific ocean after a historic flight to the moon, the first by humans in more than 50 years, in San Diego, California. The fourmember crew landed safely on Earth on April 11 | pti dharmapuri l Sunday l April 12, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 28 l 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 Direct US-Iran talks get underway in Pakistan Araghchi warns of relaliation if attacked, US focus on freeing strait a g e n c i e s @ Islamabad e x p r ess r e a d Manivasan appointed as home secy by ECI Chennai: The ECI on Saturday transferred Tamil Nadu Home Secretary Dheeraj Kumar and appointed senior IAS officer K Manivasan as his successor ahead of the Assembly elections. Manivasan assumed charge the same day following orders issued by the state | P7 WITH THIS ISSUE Ballads and Bullets PLUS 12 P AGES AMERICAN and Iranian officials were holding face-to-face talks in Pakistan on Saturday, the most significant since the 1979 Islamic revolution as the foes try to end a war that plunged West Asia into violence and rocked the world economy . The direct negotiations were taking place with host Pakistan in capital Islamabad, a senior White House official said, a departure from recent practice where both sides held talks via a mediator while seated in separate rooms. Al-Jazeera reported that the talks had resumed after a dinner break. The US delegation was being led by Vice President J D Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the official said, making it the highest level of American contact since the Islamic republic was established. The Iranian delegation, composed of more than 70 members, was being led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, joined by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. They had earlier decided to begin talks with their US counterparts after meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to Iranian media reports. Iran and the United States outlined competing proposals Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, J P Nadda and Speaker Om Birla in Delhi Saturday| PTI Bonhomie as PM asks Rahul about Sonia’s health r a j e s h k u m a r t h a k u r @ New Delhi Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, left, shakes hand with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Saturday | AP ahead of the talks. Iran’s 10-point proposal called for a guaranteed end to the war and sought control over the Strait of Hormuz. It included ending fighting against Iran’s “regional allies,” explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah apart from, quite importantly, unfreezing of sanctioned Iranian day assets. The United States’ 15-point proposal includes restricting Iran’s nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. In a related development, Mohammad Reza Aref, Iran’s first vice president, said the peace talks could produce a deal if the American side worked in the interest of the US in sync 43 with President Donald Trump’s America First approach. “However, if we face representatives of ‘Israel First’, there will be no deal,” he said in a social media post. Iran doubled down on parts of its earlier proposal, telling Iranian state television it had presented some ideas as “red lines” in meetings with Sharif. Those included reparation for US-Israeli strikes and releasing Iran’s frozen assets. Aref cautioned that the world will face “greater costs” if there was no peace deal. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the American side has agreed to release Iran’s frozen assets. However, there is no confirmation yet. Political civility between netas of opposite camps in the Parliament complex isn’t as visible as it was in the past. But on Saturday, on the sidelines of a function at Prerna Sthal within the Parliament premises to mark Mahatma Jyotiba Phule’s 200th birth anniversary there was a , rare and interesting exchange. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had come to pay his respects at the event. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Minister J P Nadda, and several others were already present. So was Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. When the prime minister arrived and spotted Rahul in the gathering, he did not simply nod and move on. He walked over, greeted him, and asked about the health of his mother. “How is Sonia ji?” the prime minister was heard asking. Those standing nearby caught the exchange. Rahul apparently hadn’t expected the query There was a brief moment . of surprise. But he responded quickly apprising the PM about his moth, er’s health, her recent hospitalisation in Delhi, and how she was subsequent convalescence. Sonia was recently admitted at a D e l h i h o s p i t a l a n d re c e n t ly discharged. ‘AIADMK to form govt on its own’ E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday said there is palpable public anger against the five-year DMK rule under Chief Minister M K Stalin and the DMK itself is fully aware that it won’t be voted back to power. press In an interview with TNIE, the clusive former CM claimed that voters now regret choosing the DMK over the AIADMK in the 2021 elections. He expressed confidence that the ‘two-leaves’ symbol will emerge victorious with a clear single-party majority . Regarding his lowbrow criticism of DMK leaders in recent times, Palaniswami said that since 2019, M K Stalin, his son Udhayanidhi Stalin, and other DMK leaders have been heaping slander on him. “Therefore, left with no alternative, I am compelled to respond in a language they understand,” he added. He also reiterated his oft-repeated charge that during the past five years, due to the breakdown of law and order and corruption, many firms have relocated to other states.  FULL Q&A ON P5