vijayawada l sunday l june 28, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION cape Verde celebrate their greatest sporting night A small group of islands off Africa’s west coast continue World Cup fairytale; advance into knockout stage after 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia Cape Verde players rejoice after the match against Saudi Arabia on Friday | AP Meeting with Argentina awaits newbies Knockout rounds from today Nobody gave them a prayer when they qualified for the World Cup but the debutants, paired with former champions Spain and Uruguay as well as Saudi in Group H, equipped themselves well over their three group games. Players and support staff became heroes. A reward for finishing second in the group is a meeting in the first knockout tie against holders Argentina ■ ■ The first of the knockout ties will be held on Sunday night (IST) when hosts Canada face South Africa in Los Angeles Two-time champions Uruguay, meanwhile, lost to Spain and bowed out of the tournament at the first of asking. Belgium advanced after big win over New Zealand while Iran await fate | P11 1974 France first team to have 2 players on 4 or more goals in group stages since 1974 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 It’s official, Ram temple Trust gen secy & VHP V-P Champat Rai quits Pressure built up after RSS gen secy Hosabale questioned Rai over the alleged donation swindle Trust to meet on July 7 n a m i ta b a j pa i @Lucknow Teachers’ test now put off after Maha paper leak S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Weeks after the leak of N E E T- U G e x a m p a p e r kicked up a political firestor m, the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), scheduled for Sunday , was abruptly postponed after the police found leaked question papers during a raid at a hotel in Thane district on Saturday . The Maharashtra State Examination Council said the TET 2026 exam, scheduled for June 28 at 1,028 centres across the state, has been postponed to maintain the transparency and integrity of the examination process. Acting on a tip-off, the police conducted a raid at the Diamond Hotel in Bhiwandi, where they found certain individuals in possession of TET question papers. Three persons have been arrested. The Maharashtra State Examination Council officials were called to verify the material. After a close inspection, it was confirmed that several questions in the leaked paper matched those in the actual question paper. WITH THIS ISSUE Teaching No Lesson n India reat he G Education t Crisis PLUS 12 P AGES THE Shree Ram Janmabhumi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Saturday confirmed the resignations of general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Dr Anil Mishra following allegations of embezzlement of temple donation funds and valuables. In a letter released to the media, Trust treasurer Mahant Govind Giri said both leaders had submitted their resignations, which would be formally taken up at the next meeting of the Trust. Expressing shock and hurt over the allegations, Govind Giri emphasized the Trust’s commitment to a fair and transparent probe. “The temple trust assures devotees who have donated sil- Champat Rai ver bricks, ornaments and other valuables in the service of Lord Ram that their offerings are safe,” he stated. The resignations came on the heels of a Special Investigation Team unravelling mismanagement in donation collection in its preliminary report to the UP government. Based on its findings, the police filed an FIR and VHP chief Alok Kumar said on Saturday that the Ram Temple Trust will meet in Ayodhya on July 7 to decide on the next course of action following the resignation of the two senior Trust functionaries. He said he hopes that a chief executive officer is appointed to manage the affairs of the temple. arrested eight persons. Though neither Rai nor Mishra was named in the FIR, their role in not reporting the matter on time came under scrutiny The eight arrested include . Rai’s former driver, who allegedly held the keys to the ‘hundi’ without authority. Rai is also VHP’s vice president. Highly-placed sources said the twin resignations followed intense pressure after a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) meeting in Haridwar on June 18-19. RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale reportedly questioned Champat Rai and others over alleged irregularities. Even during Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s visit to Ayodhya on June 19, Champat Rai was kept away from official programmes. On Thursday night, he received calls from RSS and VHP leaders advising resignation to contain the controversy . On Friday morning, both Rai and Mishra submitted their resignations to Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das at Mani Ramdas Ji’s camp. The Trust and VHP maintained silence through Friday evening. Fresh strikes by Iran, US amid Hormuz row Iran unleashed a drone assault on Bahrain and a ship was attacked in Hormuz on Saturday, hours after the US struck Iran over ‘truce violation’ | p9 India out, Bangla hands Mongla project to China in a major policy shift E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Bangladesh’s decision to hand over the development of an economic zone at Mongla Port to a Chinese state-owned company marks a significant shift in Dhaka’s strategic and economic engagement with China in the wake of the justconcluded visit by Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to Beijing. The project will be developed on around 110 acres of land adjacent the Mongla Port in Bagerhat, land that was originally earmarked for an Indian economic zone but was later delisted under the Muhammad Yu- CM Chandrababu Naidu inspects the Veligonda Project feeder canal works in Markapur district | Express Veligonda Project oustees get `300 cr under R&R package IVNP P r a s a d B a b u @ Ongole Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inspected the progress of feeder canal works of the prestigious Pula Subbaiah Veligonda Reservoir Project near Gantavanipalle in Yerragondapalem constituency of Markapur district on Saturday . Naidu interacted with farmers and Veligonda project oustees in the agricultural fields near Gantavanipalle. The Chief Minister handed over a cheque for `300 crore to the displaced families towards Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R). Several farmers became emotional, saying, “We are grateful to the Chief Minister for his commitment to completing the Veligonda Project, which has been our three-decade-old dream.” They urged Naidu to set up food processing units in Markapur for improving their P4 livelihoods.  Proj Phase-1 by July 31 By July 31, under Phase-1 of the Veligonda Project, we will supply irrigation water to 1.19 lakh acres and drinking water to 4 lakh people, the Chief Minister said Needless secrecy over PSLV failures: Scientists B o s k y k h a n n a @ Bengaluru Lack of clarity THE Ministry of Science and Technology’s refusal to publicly share the Failure Analysis Committee (FAC) report on the back-to-back PSLV-C61 and C62 mission failures has sparked concern among space scientists and private industry players. Union Minister Jitendra Singh recently said the report was out and anomalies were detected, but that they cannot share it on a public platform. Singh also acknowledged that experts were working on resolving it. But scientists said such secrecy is counterproductive at a time when the government is actively seeking private sector participation in India’s space programme. Sources in Indian Another ISRO scientist said PSLV twin failures raised questions if diagnosis done during C-61 mission was right and if solutions listed were addressed in C-62 National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (INSPACe) said the policy push includes Expression of Interest for transferring Launch Vehicle Mark-3 ( LVM-3) technology to private hands, following similar moves for PSLV and SSLV . A senior space scientist, speaking anonymously, said the industry was invited because ISRO demonstrated its strength and was prepping to focus on advanced projects. “But when basics go wrong and information is withheld, why would companies invest?” he asked. The PSLV-C61 mission on May 18, 2025 failed due to a pressure drop in the third-stage motor chamber, preventing the EOS-09 satellite from reaching its intended 534 km Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit. “The C-61 mission was not successful because of nozzle throat failure. The material was not right. Graphite was imported for the nozzle throat. This was changed to a carbon-composite component for C-62, which also did not succeed. The question which arose was whether it was fully ready for industrial use or not,” the scientist said. When the basics are not right, why will some other company invest? Just as accuracy, quick technological advances and safety, transparency is also important —ISRO scientist nus-led administration as India-Bangladesh ties deteriorated. Mongla, Bangladesh’s second-largest and second-busiest port after Chittagong, lies close to the Sundarbans, giving it considerable strategic heft. Sources familiar with the development said plans include setting up manufacturing industries, warehouses and storage facilities in the economic zone. The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. Beijing sought to downplay any geopolitical implications of its growing partnership with Dhaka.