mangaluru l wednesday l june 17, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION El Nino to hit 12 states severely, govt calls for contingency plan The impact of El Nino weather phenomenon, linked with a weaker monsoon in India, is likely to be “severe” in 12 states, including UP and TN weak monsoon across majority of states reliable inputs critical for farmers El Nino is a climate phenomenon linked to weaker monsoons. As per IMD, El Nino conditions are present over the equatorial Pacific Ocean and expected to strengthen during the southwest monsoon season. Other states likely to be impacted are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, MP, Jharkhand and Maharashtra ■ ■ Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan directed states to identify vulnerable districts and prepare crop-wise contingency plans so that farmers can be provided with options, advice and assistance Chouhan said the government’s priority is to ensure farmers receive “reliable, and solution-oriented messages based on scientific inputs” 20% cut in Mumbai water supply for commercial usage due to low storage 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 G7 Summit Israel’s war on Lebanon has gone too far, says Trump A g e n c i e s @ Evian-les-Bains (France) A day after the US and Iran announced an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday panned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his aggressive military campaign in Lebanon causing civilian casualties, urging him to be “more responsible” in the way he fights Hezbollah. “You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody There are lots of . people in those apartments… and they’re not all Hezbollah,” he said. Speaking to reporters in France at the G7 Summit, Trump said Israel’s war with Hezbollah has gone too far and “too many people are being killed.” Without the According to United Iran, the peace States, there deal includes would be no Israel. Israel’s exit from Lebanon. Without me, Israel’s contin- there would be no Israel, ued attacks on because no Lebanon could other jeopardise the president pact, which is was willing scheduled to be to do what I did signed in Switz e r l a n d o n Donald Trump Friday . Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday said Israel’s continued occupation of southern Lebanon would violate the deal. Netanyahu, who is under tremendous pressure ahead of elections in October, has rejected the peace deal saying Israel is not part of it. Cautioning Netanyahu against defying his directions, Trump said: “Without me, there would be no Israel… no other president was willing to do what I did. Israel would have been blown up a long time ago, had I not gotten involved.” Terming Hezbollah threat ‘minor’, Trump described the Iran-backed militant outfit in Lebanon as “the little pinprick out there that constantly rears its head”. Israel invaded southern Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles during the first week of the war. Since then, it has been striking targets deep inside Beirut.  P9 PM plain speak Monsoon delay slows kharif sowing in on trust deficit, Karnataka, only 20% of area covered lack of respect for global law A s h w i n i M S r i pa d @ B e n g a l u r u J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told G7 leaders that global partnerships can succeed only when they are founded on trust, stressing that the world today suffers not from a shortage of resources but from a shortage of trust. Calling for renewed international solidarity in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world, Modi said mutual trust is the most important strategic asset and warned that disregard for international law remains the biggest obstacle to building global cooperation. He highlighted that dialogue and diplomacy must be prioritised to ensure peace, stability and stronger international partnerships. The remarks came shortly after Modi was seen exchanging a handshake and a brief conversation with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the summit. The interaction, ahead of a scheduled bilateral meeting between the two leaders on Wednesday, drew attention amid ongoing discussions on trade, technology , security and geopolitical challenges. Addressing the Outreach Session on “Forging New Partnerships and Rebuilding International Solidarity ,” Modi, seated next to Trump, said that while global interdependence has increased, confidence among nations has eroded. “In a world that is getting more interconnected and interdependent than ever before, this subject becomes all the more vital. But partnerships can succeed only when they are founded on trust,” Modi said. A major focus of Modi’s address was the need to redefine engagement with developing countries and the Global South. He said nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America were looking for equal partnerships rather than traditional aid arrangements. “The Global South has immense expectations from the world. More than support, it seeks partnership. We must move beyond the donor-recipient mindset and work as equal partners. We must walk together and not merely alongside one another. Partnerships must be linked to dignity not dependency he said. , ,” Modi identified the “lack of respect for international law” as the biggest hurdle to building international solidarity. “We, in India, view the world as one family. Our experience shows that development is most effective when it is connected to the aspirations of people.” Strategic asset “Mutual trust is the most important strategic asset today. But, sadly, today, the world does not suffer from a shortage of resources — it suffers from a shortage of trust. And the future of our partnerships depends on rebuilding this trust,” PM Modi said sowing has been completed on 5.86 lakh hectares of irrigated land against a target of 24.43 lakh hectares. In rainfed areas, it has been carried out on only 11.23 lakh hectares out of the targeted 59.68 lakh hectares. Overall, it is 17.09 lakh hectares out of the total kharif target of 84.10 lakh hectares, which is around 20%. During the same period last year, sowing had crossed 40% and by July it had hit 61% of the targeted area. “We may not reach that level this year due to rainfall deficit in north-interior Karnataka, Malnad and coastal Karnataka,” a department official said. Telegram app banned till NEET-UG re-exam to curb cheating, rumours Rake s h K u ma r @ New Delhi THE government on Tuesday temporarily restricted access to the Telegram messaging app ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination on June 21, with the National Testing Agency (NTA) saying the measure was aimed at tackling cheating rackets and misinformation. Interestingly, the government has directed Apple and Google to remove the messaging app from their app stores rather than merely disable it. This means users will not be able to download Telegram from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store until further orders. Indians top users of app Founded by Pavel and Nikolai Durov in 2013 and headquartered in Dubai, Telegram is used by roughly 40 million Indians, accounting for about 10.4% of the platform’s global user base NTA Director General Abhishek Singh said the restriction on Telegram till June 22 was part of efforts to ensure that the June 21 re-test is conducted without malpractice. “We will not let anything go wrong,” Singh told PTI. According to NTA, some channel administrators allegedly misused the message-editing feature and inserted actual question papers while retaining the original timestamp, thereby creating misleading “evidence” of pre-exam paper leaks. Industry experts see the move as an attempt to shut down Telegram. According to the Internet Freedom Foundation, “switching off Telegram is a deflection from repeated failures, which will continue while media attention is directed towards the ban.” E x p r e s s Re a d LPG crunch may not ease soon, warns govt official New Delhi: Despite a ceasefire on the offing between the US and Iran with the assurance of reopening Strait of Hormuz soon, uncertainty over availability of LPG is likely to continue, said a government official. There is still no clarity on the damage caused in the production sites of the gas in the Gulf, he said. P12 Guj farm stir collapses as Cong, AAP clash Ahmedabad: A farmers’ agitation that remained at the centre of Gujarat’s political discourse for several months came to an abrupt end on Tuesday, exposing a rift between the Congress and the AAP. The agitation was attended by thousands of farmers. P10 Govt bans sale of cough syrups without prescription K A VITA B A J E LI - D ATT @ New Delhi Howdy trump Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with US President Donald Trump before the plenary session at the G7 summit in France on Tuesday | AP Odisha ‘steals’ Soudha, Hampi from Karnataka Sudarsan Maharana @ Bhubaneswar From an image of the iconic stone chariot at Hampi’s Vijaya Vittala Temple being used in place of the Konark Sun Temple to a picture of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly replacing the Odisha Assembly, the Odisha government has come under scrutiny for more than 1,600 errors in textbooks prescribed for Classes I to VIII this academic session. The new textbooks, revised and published in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, have been found to contain a significant number of errors, including grammatical mistakes, incorrect identification of landmarks, wrong tribal nomenclature and geographical inaccuracies. Hurdle to solidarity Delayed monsoon has slowed kharif sowing in Karnataka which could impact production. Agriculture Department officials said sowing has covered only around 20% of the targeted area. With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting below-normal rainfall and sowing activities already affected, production is likely to face setbacks this season. Experts said a prolonged delay could force farmers to shift from longer-duration crops to shorter-duration varieties, that again could affect the yield. As per data from the Agriculture Department, available with The New Indian Express, Some districts are at a lower level than the state average – Ballari (6%), Chitradurga (5%), Kalaburagi (9%), SHivamogga (7%), Vijayapura (4%) and many more. Prof MB Rajegowda, agrometeorologist and former registrar, University of Agriculture Sciences, told The New Indian Express that sowing has been less this year and hoped it would pickup. “We have told farmers to take up short or medium-duration crops and not long duration. It will lead to lesser production for sure, but if farmers opt for long-duration crops, they will face distress,’’ he warned. “The rainfall pattern follows an eight-year cycle,” Rajegowda said. P7 THE Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has amended rules to prohibit sale of cough syrups without a doctor’s prescription. The decision comes months after contaminated cough syrups caused deaths in India and abroad. “The measure is expected to promote responsible distribution and sale of cough syrups while ensuring greater compliance with regulatory standards,” officials said. Welcoming the gover nment’s decision, Dr Kuldeep Kumar Grover, associate direc- tie, tie... let’s go: Big upsets draw attention This World Cup has thrown quite a few early surprises with lower ranked teams showing more resistance and spunk than their more illustrious counterparts. Though 5 days and 16 matches of football until June 16 morning, underdogs are the flavour of the week. Here are a look at some talking points... 0-0 2-2 1-1 A photo of Vidhana Soudha used in a school textbook in Odisha A total of 1,678 factual and typographical errors have so far been detected in textbooks for Classes I to VIII at the elementary level, with Class VIII textbooks accounting for the highest number of inaccuracies at 705. Among the blunders, a picture of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Hampi has been featured in place of Odisha’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Konark Sun Temple.  P7 The biggest win (figuratively) of all saw Cape Verde managing to thwart Spanish attack and secure 0-0 draw. Spain are ranked 2 and are considered as one of the favourites while Cape Verde are ranked No 67 New Zealand, at No 85, are the lowestranked team out of the 48 qualifiers, but they held No 20 Iran to a draw 4 Cough syrups will no longer be sold over the counter | p RAVIKUMAR tor, pulmonology and critical care at CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram, said: “A cough can be a symptom of other serious Ronaldo in action Cristiano Ronaldo will be in action, his sixth World Cup, late on Wednesday when Portugal takes on Democratic Republic of Congo. They are in Group K along with Colombia and Uzbekistan. England, one of the favourites World Cup, will open campaign against Croatia. No 61 Saudi Arabia held No 16 Uruguay 1-1 No 29 Egypt tied No 9 Belgium 1-1 All four matches on Monday/Tuesday (India time) ended in draws -the most in a single day of men’s WC play since 1958 Today’s matches (IST): Group L: England vs Croatia (1:30AM); Ghana vs Panama (4:30AM). Group K: Portugal vs DR Congo (10:30 PM); Uzbekistan vs Colombia (7:30AM). New Zealand players celebrate with teammates after scoring his team’s second goal during Group G match against Iran at Los Angeles Stadium conditions, such as infections, asthma, and allergies. Prescription-based access encourages proper evaluation, accu- rate treatment, and safer medication use.” Dr Mohsin Wali, senior consultant and head of preventive cardiology at Pacific One Health, said some African countries reported deaths due to cough syrups from India that contained industrial solvent. “This brought a bad name to our country he said. ,” Dr Meena J, senior consultant, paediatrics and neonatology at Aakash Healthcare, Delhi said making syrups prescription-only will encourage parents to consult a doctor before giving their children medicines. Filling potholes rocket science, KBG asks GBA E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru Is filling potholes rocket science? Can’t we build roads without potholes? Why do newly laid roads develop potholes? These were the questions raised by Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda to Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) engineers in his maiden meeting on Tuesday. He also raised concerns over the exclusion of Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) and Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) from his portfolio. Ridiculing the pothole-filling exercise, the minister remarked that while the old potholes were filled, new ones were emerging like mushrooms after each rain. He sought to know from the engineers the problems in building quality roads without potholes. “I understand that a few works are difficult, but these (pothole filling) are basic works. Is building quality roads more difficult than rocket science?” Gowda asked. He said Bengaluru has earned a bad reputation as a “pothole city”. Gowda said the neighbouring states have the best roads despite receiving heavy rainfall. “If their roads can be free from potholes, why can’t ours be the same?” he questioned. He told the officials and engineers that if the work is done properly, it would solve many problems. Later, the minister told the media that his priority is to improve the quality of life of 1.5 crore residents of Bengaluru.