hubballi l tuesday l july 07, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION India’s crude basket at lowest level since start of west asia war India’s crude oil basket averaged $67.88 per barrel so far in July, below the $69.01 per barrel recorded in February, before the start of the West Asia war Down sharply from $113.49 per barrel in mar July purchase price lower than fy26 avg Crude oil prices had surged sharply during the West Asia conflict that began on February 28, with the crude oil basket averaging $113.49 per barrel in March. It moderated to $106.23 per barrel in May and further declined to $83.22 per barrel in June. It has averaged $67.88 per barrel in July, the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) data showed | p12 ■ ■ According to the PPAC data, India’s average purchase price of crude oil so far in July is lower than the FY26 average of $70.99 per barrel Though the crude purchase price has fallen, a cut in fuel prices is unlikely to happen soon with the government indicating prices must be stable at the pre-war level for months before that can happen $62.20 per barrel in December was the lowest purchasing price in fy26 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 Lift on Balogun ban sparks outcry USA’s Folarin Balogun was set to play the last 16 tie against Belgium despite being sent off in 2-0 win against Bosnia thanks to “phonecalls,” before Brazil got eliminated. A look... Belgium appeal rejected FIFA has dismissed Belgium’s challenge over the eligibility of Balogun after they decided to suspend his one-game ban. “The RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and, has no standing to appeal the decision.”FIFA statement. i started this process, says Trump US President Donald Trump said that he called FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to review red-card decision on Balogun. Then, FIFA stated that his red card has been lifted and instead ordered a probationary period of a year under Article 27 of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code After family rejects wedding proposal, man attacks minor EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Mangaluru A 17-y A 17-year-old girl was brutally attacked with a machete by her relative after her family rejected his marriage proposal, at Monthimarupadpu near Manchi in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada on Monday morning. The victim, a second PU student, was waiting at a bus stop to board a bus to her college when the accused, Mohammad Jawar (28), attacked her around 8.45 am. Jawar, who runs a grocery shop near the bus stop and lives in the same locality as the victim, was waiting for her with the machete he had brought from his shop. The accused repeatedly attacked the girl with the weapon in full public view, leaving bystanders shocked. As people screamed and rushed towards the spot, Jawar fled, the police said. The girl, who was bleeding profusely, was shifted by local residents to a hospital at Deralakatte. She sustained multiple injuries but is out of danger, the police said. Jawar later surrendered before the Bantwal Rural police. The accused has been booked under various sections of BNS, including attempt to murder and aggravated criminal intimidation as well as the POCSO Act. According to the victim’s relative, Mohammad Iqbal, Jawar had been pursuing the girl for marriage for some time and had proposed to her on two or three occasions before formally approaching her family . The family rejected the proposal as the girl is a minor and also warned him against pursuing her further. Iqbal alleged that Jawar nursed a grudge after the proposal was turned down and attacked the girl with the intention to kill her. He claimed the accused first attempted to slit her throat before striking her on the head and other parts of the body, inflicting seven deep injuries. E x p r e s s Re a d 2 Assam Rifles men die in Manipur ambush Guwahati: Two Assam Rifles personnel were killed and several others injured after suspected militants ambushed a patrol in Ukhrul district of Manipur on Monday, triggering a counteroperation by security forces | P10 Ceasefire deal: Hamas dissolves govt in Gaza Dier Al-Balah: Hamas on Monday said it has dissolved its government in Gaza and is preparing to transfer power to a technical committee backed by the United Nations as part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal | P11 Can’t police videos: Meta, Google to HC Early exit for Selecao A late brace from Erling Haaland against Brazil sealed Norway their first quarterfinal spot with a 2-1 win. Following elimination, superstar Neymar announced his international retirement. Haaland and Co will face England in the quarterfinals, who beat a strong Mexico side at the daunting Estadio Azteca in Mexico City | p13 PIL against sharing court proceedings and recordings on social media Today’s matches (Round of 16): Argentina vs Egypt | 9.30 PM; Switzerland vs Colombia | 1:30 AM* ( *IST Wednesday) u d ayan k ishore @ New Delhi Express exclusive ‘AI won’t kill jobs, only professions’ J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi I NDIA is yet to meaningfully benefit from the global ‘China+1’ supply chain shift and remains a difficult place for foreign investors to do business, according to Ruchir Sharma, chairman of Rockefeller International. Speaking to TNIE in a wide-ranging interview, he said the world risks overestimating the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI). “We are in an AI bubble,” said Sharma, adding that and one of the biggest misconceptions about AI is that it will ‘kill jobs’. “Technology doesn’t kill jobs. It kills professions,” the prominent global investor and author said. “Every technological revolution destroys certain professions but creates entirely new ones. We tend to focus on what’s b e i n g d e s t r o ye d rather than what’s being created.” He pointed to historical technological shifts Five years from now, the belief that the entire world order is going to be built solely on AI will look wrong Ruchir Sharma, chairman, Rockefeller Int’l and the Jevons Paradox— technological progress increases efficiency and so over, all consumption goes up rather than decreases —as reasons to believe AI will create new forms of work even as it automates existing roles. “I don’t believe the world is going to be defined by an ‘ I or A bye-bye’ mindset.” He then clarified: “I am a huge believer in AI as a technology It is go. ing to be transformative. But the current view is far too unifocal.” On India’s AI ambitions, Sharma said partnerships with countries from France to Japan are impor tant but can’ t quickly bridge India’s infrastructure gap. “The winners are the count r i e s p ro ducing AI infrastruc- ture (from semiconductors to data centres)”, he said. While India’s strength has been “software, not hardware,” AI leaders invest 3-4% of GDP in technology and R&D, compared with about 1% in India. On manufacturing, Sharma offered a blunt assessment of India’s performance in attracting global supply chains. “The big beneficiaries of China+1 (a supply chain strategy where companies keep part of their manufacturing operations in China but move some production to another country) have been Vietnam and South Korea. We have not seen anything really on that front in any meaningful way .” He said India’s biggest obstacle is the domestic business climate. “At the end of the day , India is a very tough place to do business,” Sharma said, citing coordination challenges across different levels of gover nment. He also war ned against complacency . “There is this underlying attitude that ‘where else will the money go?’ It has to come to India because the market is so large. I think that prevents the most efficient policymaking.”  (Edited excerpts of interview on op-ed page on Thursday) YouTube is a dynamic platform where millions of videos are uploaded every hour. It is impossible to proactively monitor the videos uploaded on the platform Google, in Delhi HC Behind the petition Lawyer Vaibhav Singh had filed the PIL against the unauthorised sharing of the court proceedings on April 13 by several Opposition leaders and journalists, in which Arvind Kejriwal had sought recusal of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in the liquor policy case. The other respondents in the case include Congress leader Digvijay Singh, AAP leaders Sanjeev Jha, Mukesh Ahlawat, and Jarnail Singh, and journalist Ravish Kumar SOCIAL media behemoths Google and Meta on Monday informed the Delhi High Court that they cannot be burdened with an obligation to police millions of videos uploaded on their platforms worldwide. They submitted that they were only intermediaries and neither create nor control third-party content, and cannot be “compelled to proactively monitor their platforms for unlawful content”. While Google said it was impossible for it to proactively monitor “millions of videos uploaded on the YouTube every hour throughout the world”, Meta said there were over 2.9 billion users of Facebook, and more than 115 billion users of the Instagram Service worldwide and it was “impracticable (if not impossible) for Meta to locate or identify the contents posted on them without URLs.” The submissions were made in affidavits filed by the social media companies before a bench of justices V Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora in a PIL concerning circulation of videos of hearing in Arvind Kejriwal’s recusal plea on April 13. The court had earlier ordered takedown of the video from YouTube and Facebook/Instagram, owned by Google LLC and Meta respectively, which was complied with. The petitioner later moved the court alleging that the video in question was resurfacing on the platforms, and sought a direction to prevent their recurrence. Both Google and Meta opposed the submission, claiming that YouTube and Facebook/Instagram were merely intermediaries under the IT Act, and that the liability if any “rests with the publisher , , or uploader of the content”. Meta in its submission termed monitoring of content on Facebook or Instagram as “impracticable”. The bench deferred hearing on the petition till August 27. Pahalgam chargesheet: Saeed named accused E xpress N ews S ervice @New Delhi The National Investigation Agency (NIA) named Lashkar-eTaiba chief Hafiz Saeed as an accused in a supplementary chargesheet filed over last year’s Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, the agency said. In the chargesheet, filed before the NIA special court in Jammu, the agency charged Pakistan-based Saeed in his individual capacity and as head of the banned Lashkare-Toiba and its proxy group, The Resistance Front (TRF). He has been charged under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, including waging war against India and hatching a conspiracy from across the border. The chargesheet, filed in continuation of the original 1,597-page chargesheet, provides details of Pakistan’s conspiracy, Saeed’s role, and supporting evidence collected by the NIA in the case, the agency said in a statement. Twenty-six people were killed when terrorists opened fire at tourists in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. There has been some relief across the state as rain, delayed by over one-and-a-half months after the onset of monsoon, lashed many parts of the state over the last few days and water started flowing into major reservoirs. Inflows into the Almatti dam across the Krishna finally started on Monday after heavy rain in the Western Ghats, with the inflows recorded at 1,239 cusecs. The dam’s capacity is 519.60 metre with a storage of 123 tmcft. The rain in Malnad areas also boosted inflows into major reservoirs in Shivamogga on Monday. The Bhadra dam received 4,135 cusecs, while the level stood at 139.6 ft against its capacity of 186 ft. The Linganamakki Reservoir recorded 1,751.60 ft at 8 am, N a m ita B ajpai @ Lucknow THE Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Monday accepted the resignations of Champat Rai as its general secretary and member Anil Mishra in the wake of alleged embezzlement of donations. Trustee Krishna Mohan has been named as interim general secretary . Trust Treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri announced the decision after a crucial meeting on Monday and named trustee Krishna Mohan as interim general secretary. Both leaders had resigned on June 27 following allegations of theft of Ram temple donations. Krishna Mohan, 74, a former Indian Forest Service officer and RSS’s eastern UP Kshetra Sanghchalak from Hardoi, had filed the police complaint that led to the FIR and arrests. Giri said the temple Trust would meet again on July 22 to decide on the appointment of a new trustee. He also announced the formation of a three-member panel to identify a CEO for the Trust, comprising retired judge Pramod Kohli, retired Lt Gen Vishnukant Chaturvedi and trustee Suresh Haware. Meanwhile, special invitee Gopal Rao Nagarkotte, who has been in the eye of a storm over the theft controversy, was debarred from the Trust. Giri described the donation theft as a matter of “deep embarrassment” for the Trust, saying the controversy had cast a shadow over a temple built after a centuries-long struggle. However, he rejected claims of missing valuables, and said detailed records of donated items exist. “Some people claimed that many valuable items donated have disappeared. We have registers of about 2,800 donated items. These records are available, and we are prepared to show them,” he said. Bengal gone with the rain Debris blocks a newly-opened section of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway following a landslide amid heavy rainfall in Pune and neighbouring districts on Monday. The weather office issued a ‘red alert’ for the district, warning of further rains ahead | PTI | P10 With heavy rain, dams start filling up across state @ Vijayapura Rai resignation okayed, interim gen secy named 12-yr-old’s rape, murder: Main accused nabbed monsoon manna E xpress N ews S ervice Trust president Nritya Gopal Das (R) on his way to the meeting in Ayodhya| PTI an increase of 1.75 ft over the previous reading. It had an inflow of 18,486 cusecs and an outflow of 507 cusecs. The Tunga Reservoir also witnessed substantial inflows, taking its level to 587.86 metre, close to its capacity of 588.24 metre. The reservoir recorded inflows of 21,747 cusecs and outflows of 23,784 cusecs. Inflows into the Hemavathi reservoir in Gorur near Has- san increased slightly because of the incessant rainfall in catchment areas over the last two days. The water level in the reservoir stood at 2,894.6 ft against the capacity of 2,922 ft. The inflow on Monday was 6,924 cusecs. Inflows into the Harangi Reservoir too picked up as catchment areas of Harangi and Cauvery river received good rainfall. The dam level rose to 2835.92 ft against the capacity of 2852.34 ft. Three persons, including the key accused Ananda Sardar, have been arrested by police. Meanwhile, another body was found in the same pond where the 12-year-old girl was found dead | P10 Man kills wife, sis-in-law The couple has three children. Shama was reportedly staying at her parental home in ChintaA man killed his wife and mani for the past three her sister with a sharp months following her mothweapon at JJ Colony in er’s death. Ezaz arrived on Chintamani early on Sunday and a bitter verbal Monday morning. duel broke out early on MonThe accused, Ezaz (34) Shama and day morning. Ezaz then at-- a resident of Gulpet Re- Reshma tacked Shama and Reshma hmanth Nagar in Kolar with a weapon, killing them -- murdered his wife Shaon the spot, the police said. ma (30) and her sister Ezaz later went to Kolar Reshma (19) at his inalong with the three chillaws’ home in Chintamadren and surrendered beni, Chikkaballapur Su- Ezaz fore the police. He was perintendent of Police brought to Chintamani later, Kushal Chouksey said. Chouksey said. E xpress N ews S ervice @ Chintamani (Chikkaballapur)