Canada and U.S. begin campaign On the second day of the tournament, the other two hosts begin their campaigns. Canada take on Bosnia & Herzegovina in Toronto. Meanwhile United States of America face Paraguay in their first game of the tournament in Los Angeles. The two co-hosts will look to leave a mark. KOttayAM l friday l june 12, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Today's matches (IST) (Jun 13) Group D: Paraguay vs USA (6.30AM) Group B: Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina (12.30AM) Brazil's Vinicius Junior trains at Morristown Columbia Park training facility, New Jersey, on Thursday. Brazil play Morocco on June 14 (June 15, 3.30 am IST) | AFP 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 All 3 missing seafarers dead Two bodies recovered; another vessel with 20 Indian crew members comes under attack Jayanth Ja c o b @ New Delhi All three Indian seafarers who had been reported missing after the US attack on the Palau-flagged tanker MT Settebello off the coast of Oman have been confirmed dead, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said on Thursday . The tanker, carrying 24 Indian crew members, was struck by the US military earlier this week, triggering a search-andrescue operation involving Indian and Omani authorities. In a post on X, Sonowal described the development as “deeply unfortunate”, confirming that the three crew members initially reported missing had lost their lives. “Sadly, three Indian seafarers initially reported missing are now confirmed dead after two bodies were recovered,” the minister said. Calling the deaths a “profound loss to our maritime family”, Sonowal said the government stood firmly with the bereaved families and would give all necessary assistance. Will take total control of Iran’s oil: Trump US President Donald Trump threatened to launch major strikes on Iran and seize control of its oil industry. Trump said in a social media post that the US would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and would “assume total control” of Iran’s oil and gas industries, including the vital Kharg Island oil terminal The minister added that officials had been instructed to facilitate the immediate repatriation of the 21 rescued crew members and ensure the swift return of the deceased sailors’ mortal remains. On Wednesday India strong, ly condemned the attack on the commercial vessel and formally lodged a protest with the US by summoning Jason Meeks, the US Chargé d’Affaires in New Delhi. Meanwhile, crew members of a Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel identified as MT Jalveer, carrying 20 Indians, were evacuated on Thursday after the vessel came under attack off an Oman port. This is the third instance of a ship with Indians coming under attack from the US military in the recent past. Tap youth power for growth: PM P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi E x p r e s s Re a d ED set to reschedule Veena’s questioning Kochi: The ED is set to reschedule the questioning of Veena T in the CMRL-Exalogic financial transactions case after she requested for an alternative date. P4 Go for FDI, PM tells states PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asked states to tap into India’s 70-crore youth population and convert this unique demographic dividend into a development divid e n d f o r t h e c o u n t r y ’s progress. “Creating the right ecosystem for our youth through quality education, demand-driven skilling and employment opportunities must remain a priority Empowered youth will be . the driving force behind our journey towards,” the prime minister said while chairing the 11th Governing Council Meeting of Niti Aayog, attended by chief ministers, Lt governors and administrators repre- The PM asked states to aggressively court foreign investments from nations with which India has signed FTAs PM Narendra Modi during 11th meeting of Governing Council of NITI Aayog | PTI senting 28 States and five Union Territories. This was the first time chief ministers of all 28 states participated in the gover ning council meeting of NITI Aayog. The meeting primarily focused on human development As new technology comes, we have to adapt. We cannot get stuck in 1990s or 2000 technology Ashok Lahiri, VC, Niti Aayog index and creating alternative energy sources In India. Governing council members debated pushing rooftop solar energy on residential buildings, schools, hospitals, and government properties to reduce household dependence on grid electricity . Kozhikode man tests positive for Nipah, 77 contacts identified P o o j a N ai r @ Kozhikode The state health department has stepped up surveillance and containment preparedness in Kozhikode district after the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, confirmed Nipah virus infection in a 43-year-old man from Ramanattukara. This is the 11th episode of Nipah infection reported in Kerala since the outbreak was first detected in the state in 2018. The patient, a resident of the fifth division of Ramanattukara municipality, has been admitted to a specially arranged Nipah isolation facility at the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital, and he remains in critical condition. Doctors said the patient is on ventilator support and is being monitored continuously by a team of specialists. He was shifted to the hospital after testing positive in a preliminary examination conducted at the MCH’s Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL). Following confirmation from NIV Pune, health authorities have begun extensive contact tracing, with the district administration identifying Shigella number of confirmed cases rises to 20 in state on high alert 15 of the 77 contacts have been classified as priority. Of these, two are in the highest-risk category and 13 in the high-risk category 58 in the contact list are healthcare workers The patient’s immediate family members, including wife, two children, father and mother, have been placed under quarantine 77 people who had possible exposure to the infected person. The contacts have been categorised based on the level of risk. District Collector M S Madhavikutty said none of the identified contacts are currently showing symptoms, and there is no immediate need to declare a containment zone. She said among the 77 contacts identified, 15 have been classified as priority Of these, . two are in the highest-risk category and 13 are in the highrisk category The remaining 58 . contacts are healthcare workers who were exposed while providing treatment to the in● More on P4 fected person. As many as six cases of bacterial infection reported in T’Puram, three in Kozhikode, two in Kollam and nine in Wayanad recently | P4 Court poser on Bengal LoP recognition su b hendu m aiti @ New Delhi THE Calcutta High Court on Thursday questioned the legality of West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindranath Bose’s decision to recognise expelled Trinamool MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the Opposition (LoP) without the consent of the political party . Justice Krishna Rao raised the question while hearing a plea against the Speaker’s decision to recognise Banerjee as LoP and Akhruzzman, another rebel MLA, the Chief Whip at a time when the party leadership had already expelled the former. The Trinamool leadership led by Mamata Banerjee had expelled Banerjee, MLA from Uluberia Purba, and Sandipan Saha, another legislator from Entally for anti-par, ty activities. Veteran MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay from Ballygunj in Kolkata, who was selected by the party leadership as the LoP in the House, moved the High Court on 8 June challenging the Speaker’s decision to recognise Banerjee as LoP . Trinamool MP and senior lawyer Kalyan Bandyopadhyay , appearing for petitioner, submitted that the Speaker’s decision hits the basic structure of the Constitution. However, Ritabrata dismissed the allegations and said “all norms have been followed.” The court adjourned the matter to June 16.