Austria-Algeria 3-3; sixth goal for Messi On a manic final day of the group stages of the World Cup, AustriaAlgeria served up a feast before advancing at Iran’s expense. Elsewhere, a Lionel Messi freekick meant the Argentine scored a sixth goal of his campaign already Today's matches chennai l monday l june 29, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l vellore EDITION Lionel Messi scored for a 7th straight WC game as Argentina beat Jordan 3-1 | AP Brazil vs Japan 10.30 PM; Germany vs Paraguay 2.00 AM*; Netherlands vs Morocco 6.30 AM* *IST Tuesday 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 Let’s make Indian Ocean an ocean of opportunity: Modi in Seychelles Pacts on security, extradition, maritime cooperation, digital payments, and health signed India extends `1,250 cr credit line to Seychelles J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India envisions the Indian Ocean as an “ocean of opportunity” where maritime security goes hand-in-hand with economic prosperity, as India and Seychelles elevated their strategic partnership by signing nine agreements, including an extradition treaty . Addressing a joint press meet with Seychelles President Patrick Herminie after the wide-ranging talks, Modi said the Indian Ocean was a shared space whose security and prosperity depended on cooperation based on mutual trust. “Our vision is to make the Indian Ocean an ocean of opportunity,” Modi said, adding that its “security sustainabili, ty and prosperity are our shared responsibility .” He said the approach formed the core of India’s MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and The two countries signed an umbrella line of credit agreement for `1,250 crore between the Export-Import Bank of India and the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning, Trade and Investment of Seychelles, according to the Ministry of External Affairs Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives the ‘Guardian of the Blue Horizon’ from Seychelles President Patrick Herminie in Seychelles on Sunday | PMO via PTI Photo Growth Across Regions) vision. “The defence and security of India and Seychelles are integral to each other.” The two sides signed nine agreements on security, connectivity, health, agriculture, digital payments, maritime cooperation, space and capacity building. The key pact was an extradition treaty aimed at strengthening cooperation against cross-border crime. On economic cooperation, Modi said both countries would continue exploring new opportunities for industry and investment while improving connectivity. “Work will also be done to enhance connectivity between India and Seychelles,” he said, adding India would share its experience in digital public infrastructure. President Her minie said maritime security remained central to bilateral ties, with both countries reaffirming commitment to combating piracy drug trafficking, etc. , Earlier in the day, Modi was conferred Seychelles’ highest honour for a foreign dignitary , the Special Presidential Distinction “Guardian of the Blue Horizon”, in recognition of his leadership on sustainability, the Blue Economy, climate action and ocean governance. E x p r ess Re a d Four days after home birth, Tiruppur woman dies in hospital 9-yr-old boy found dead in pond in Pudukkottai, juvenile arrested PDS staff flag transit leakage, seek e-weighbridge at godowns Coimbatore: Four days after a home birth assisted by her husband, a 32-year-old woman from Tiruppur died at a hospital on Sunday. Sasikala, who went into labour on June 23, suffered postpartum haemorrhage. A case has been filed against the husband | P4 Pudukkottai: A nine-year-old boy was found dead with injuries inside a dry pond near his home at Karukakkurichi East in Pudukkottai on Saturday. A 17-year-old juvenile has been arrested and further inquiry is under way to ascertain the motive behind the crime | P4 Chennai: The lack of a scientific weighing mechanism at TNCSC godowns has allegedly led to transit leakage of PDS goods, causing `200-crore annual loss. Claiming that manual entry of weight enables the leak, PDS staff have sought e-weighbridges at godowns | P4 West asia flare-up Iran attacks Bahrain, Kuwait after US strikes A g e nc i e s The renewed flare up in the Gulf showed no signs of easing on Sunday with Iran launching drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait hours after United States airstrikes hit the Islamic Republic. Iran and the US have both accused the other of violating their fragile ceasefire, straining negotiations meant to end the war that began on February 28. The US military said it had struck multiple targets in Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction, adding “Iran had a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement” but “elected not to” when its forces attacked the oil tanker Kiku with a one-way drone. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it carried out strikes against Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for US attacks, warning any further aggression would be met with a “crushing response”. The Guards “destroyed eight important US military facilities at the Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait and at the Fifth Fleet naval base in Port Salman in Bahrain,” they said in a statement. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s direct oversight sparked the crossfire. A multinational maritime body overseen by the US Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman for both inbound and outbound traffic. Iran’s top diplomat warned any attempt to bypass the Strait of Hormuz routes agreed with the US would “increase tensions” in the West Asia. Gulf security framework Iran on Sunday proposed a security framework that includes all Gulf states, without any interference from outside countries A building in Bahrain damaged in Iranian drone attack | X Lebanon attacked Israel renewed its strikes on Lebanon on Sunday, Lebanese state media reported Lawyers refuse to defend Ram temple fund scam accused N am i ta B ajpa i @ Lucknow While the Ayodhya police conducted raids on the houses of eight accused in the Ram temple donations case on Sunday several lawyers in the tem, ple town have refused to represent the accused. Local sources said there is a growing sentiment within the Ayodhya le g al frater nity against taking up the case to defend the accused. The issue is expected to be formally discussed, and a final decision will be taken at a general body meeting of the Faizabad Bar Association on Monday . Bar Association president Kalika Mishra said the unanimous refusal to represent the accused would be put before the Bar Association’s general body meeting and a decision would be taken. Sources claimed the legal fraternity is angry over the alleged theft of offerings at the temple and has united in the demand for ster n action against all eight accused. “Stern action should be taken against these accused by adopting the bulldozer policy ,” senior advocate Rajendra Chaudhary said. Bar Association secretary Shailendra Jaiswal said people’s sentiments were hurt by the theft of temple offerings.