EcsTAsY&AGONY chennai l Wednesday l July 08, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION Messi leads great escape vs Egypt S w ar o o p s w aminathan @ Bengaluru THE world has never seen anything like him. The world will never see anything like him ever again. So, honestly even if , you have never supported him, it’s never too late. For the vast majority of the last 20 years, it has been an utter privilege to be wowed by the magic of Lionel Andres Messi. There is no saying how much longer he has in the world game. It could end in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. It very nearly ended in the last 16 in a fever dream of a game against Egypt in Atlanta. On an increasingly fraught afternoon for the world champs in Atlanta, The Pharaohs were up 2-0 and coasting to one of the great shocks in the history of the tournament before the 39-year-old dragged the team to his level. First was an assist, a clipped cross from the right-hand side which was headed home by Cristian Romero. In the 83rd minute, all that tension among the masses had evaporated in an outpouring of joy as Messi drilled a first-time left-foot shot home from close range. Inside 300 seconds, one of football’s greatest created as well as scored for yet more records. With their tails up, Argentina threw men forward as they had the momentum. And the game’s winning goal promptly came thanks to a blistering counter; Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez combining to create it for Enzo Fernandez to score the late winner (3-2).  P15 ronaldo’s wc chapter ends in round of 16 Cristiano Ronaldo walked off the pitch after his final World Cup match for Portugal with a stoic look on his face. The sixth and final World Cup for the 41-yearold ended with a 0-1 loss to Spain in a Round of 16 tie. 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 India, Indonesia expand strategic partnership Landslip at Wayanad tunnel road site kills 3 L e sly J o s e ph @ Meppadi a landslip at the twin-tunnel road project near Kalladi Meenakshi Bridge in Wayanad on Tuesday claimed three lives, left at least seven persons missing, and ignited a political and legal storm. While heavy monsoon rains triggered the initial slope instability, residents and local representatives termed it a “man-made disaster”, blaming corporate negligence and a complete failure of regulatory oversight. The victims have been identified as Chandra Ban, an operator from Madhya Pradesh; Bikash Kumar, a civil foreman from Bihar; and Anmol, a worker from Jharkhand. T he collapse occur red around 11 am, sending a mas- Jakarta to procure two batteries of BrahMos cruise missile system, Astra air-to-air missile Screengrabs from a CCTV footage showing people running for their lives as the landslide strikes Wayanad on Tuesday | Express A bus stuck in debris after falling into a rivulet near the Meppadi tunnel project site at Kalladi in Wayanad, where the massive landslide struck | Vincent Pulickal sive torrent of liquefied mud, rocks and construction debris crashing onto the Meppadi– Chooralmala road. The deluge buried the Meenakshi Bridge, engulfed a private bus and flattened a roadside eatery where workers had gathered. Nine labourers were pulled from the sludge and rushed to “I had a miraculous escape. I saw the soil sliding down and ran for my life,” said local resident Hamsa Manthikkara. Chief Minister V D Satheesan said several official warnings were issued to the contractor but they were ignored. “On June 20, the district collector directed the contractor hospital. Two of them are in critical condition. At the heart of the growing outrage is the dumping of tens of thousands of tonnes of excavated earth by the tunnel project’s contractor, Dilip Buildcon, operating under the supervision of the Konkan Railway Corporation. to remove the excavated soil. The disaster management authority issued a similar order, and the PWD minister also instructed the contractor to clear the soil,” the CM said. The Konkan Railway Corporation has ordered an inquiry . Dilip Buildcon said all norms were complied with. HC upholds death for 38 in DMK withdraws plea after pushback from SC Ahmedabad serial blasts case Karur stampede S UC H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea filed by the DMK that sought directions to restrain the chief minister and others from making public comments on the Karur stampede. The plea, which was later withdrawn by the DMK, alleged that visit to Karur by the accused could interfere with the investigation. Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay is expected to visit the families of the stampede victims in Karur on July 10. “How can the Supreme Court implead a political opponent in a case? Is this a well-thoughtout petition? What will be the consequence? Instead of fighting it out outside, you are turning the court into a political arena,” Justices KV Viswanathan and Alok Aradhe said. The DMK’s plea referred to re- express read US revokes order lifting sanctions on Iran oil sale Dubai: The US has revoked a license that had authorised the sale of Iranian oil. The Treasury issued the 60-day license last month, waiving sanctions on Iranian oil as part of an interim agreement. It did not explain why the license was revoked. ports that the chief minister is scheduled to visit Karur to distribute government orders on compassionate appointments and other benefits to the families of the deceased and injured victims.The bench asked the DMK — represented by senior advocate Ranjit Kumar — how visiting victims amounted to influe n c i n g w i t n e s s e s, a n d questioned the party as to how could the court regulate the visit of the executive head. Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi, submitted that the accused in the Karur incident are trying to create a particular image or narrative. “They are trying to create an impression as if they are providing compensation. Despite the court having barred comments in the media, they are making statements,” he told the judges.  P7 stake sale by centre expedited The government will raise `2,000 crore following its 5% minority stake sale in Cochin Shipyard. It’s the latest disinvestment process for the current financial year | P14 Online regn must for first sale of flats from Aug 17 Chennai: In the first step to introduce ‘Anywhere Registration’ of properties across TN, the state has made online registration must for the first sale of plots and flats from August 17. Minister D Logesh Tamilchelvan made the announcement on Tuesday | P4 TVK seeks guv’s nod for univ V-C search panels Chennai: Minister for Higher Education P Viswanathan on Tuesday said that the TVK-led government has sought the governor’s approval to constitute five-member search-andselection committees for the appointment of vice-chancellors to state universities | P4 D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad THE Gujarat High Court on Tuesday upheld the Ahmedabad Sessions Court’s ruling in the 2008 serial bomb blasts case, confirming the death sentence for 38 members of the banned Indian Mujahideen and life imprisonment for 11 others. A division bench of Justices A Y Kogje and Samir Dave rejected the appeals filed by the convicts against the capital punishment awarded by the lower court in February 2022. The HC directed the Gujarat government to pay `10 lakh to the family of every deceased victim, `5 lakh to each seriously injured survivor, and `1 lakh to those who suffered minor injuries. The compensation must be paid before March 31, 2027. The verdict comes 18 years after 21 coordinated blasts at 20 locations ripped through Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, killing 56 and injuring more than 200 people. The case remains one of India’s biggest criminal prosecutions. Out of 78 accused who faced trial, the trial court convicted 49 persons, acquitted 29, sentenced 38 to death, and awarded life imprisonment till natural death to 11 convicts. The probe into the serial blasts was unprecedented in scale. Police registered 35 FIRs, filed 548 charge sheets, produced around 6,000 documentary and material exhibits, and examined 1,163 witnesses. The Sessions Court’s judgment ran into nearly 7,000 pages, while the complete paper book exceeded 7.88 lakh pages, making it one of the larg est criminal case records in India. Lawyers representing the accused said they would challenge the HC’s decision in the Supreme Court after reviewing the full judgment. J ayanth J a c o b @ New Delhi India and Indonesia on Tuesday expanded their strategic partnership, with Jakarta agreeing to procure two batteries of India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system in a deal worth about $200 million, alongside Astra air-to-air missile systems, as the two countries unveiled an ambitious roadmap covering defence, maritime security critical min, erals, technology, digital connectivity and supply chains. The agreements were announced after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta during the first leg of Modi’s three-nation Indo-Pacific tour, which will also take him to Australia and New Zealand. The defence component marks another milestone in India’s push to become a major exporter of indigenous military hardware. A BrahMos battery typically comprises four launchers and 12 ready-to-fire missiles, along with commandand-control systems, support equipment and specialised vehicles, though configurations vary depending on whether the system is deployed for land attack or coastal defence. Sources said Indonesia has also decided to procure India’s Astra beyond-visual-range airto-air missiles following their Tasmac staff get 25% salary hike, ESI med cover EX P R E S S N EW S S E R V I CE @ Chennai In a major relief to over 23,000 employees of the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac), the state government on Tuesday announced a 25% salary hike for them from next month. The happy news came with a fresh warning to the employees as the government said that those selling liquor above the maximum retail price (MRP) would face stringent disciplinary action, including dismissal from service, for repeated violations. Making the announcement at the secretariat, Prohibition and Excise Minister K Vignesh said the wage revision was ap- Pay revision will entail `110 crore additional annual expenditure for exchequer | file pic proved after Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay accepted the employees’ long-pending demand. With the wage hike, the monthly salary of assistant salesmen will increase from `14,340 to `17,925, salesmen’s pay will rise from `15,530 to `19,413, and that of supervisors from `17,850 to `22,313. Noting that the highest wage revision ever granted to Tasmac employees in the past was only around `2,000, Vignesh said the government has now decided to provide a substantial increase considering their representations. The revision would impose an additional annual burden of `110.74 crore on the state exchequer, taking the total annual salary expenditure for Tasmac employees to `553.72 crore, he added. Vignesh also announced that the government has accepted another long-pending demand for Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) medical coverage, which had remained unresolved for nearly 20 years. Tasmac employees and their family members will now be covered under the ESI medical insurance scheme, he said.  P7 Pension fund access Jharkhand bank’s KYC delay kills ailing 75-yr-old M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi IN a tragic incident that has s p a rk e d o u t r a g e a c r o s s Jharkhand, a 75-year-old ailing man died after being repeatedly denied access to his own pension money due to pending KYC formalities at a rural bank. Ratan Lakra, a resident of Bargarh village in Garhwa district, passed away on Monday after struggling for months to withdraw funds from his account at the Bargarh branch of Jharkhand Gramin Bank. The money, primarily his government pension, was needed for urgent medical treatment. His family maintained Lakra had been making repeated trips to the bank for three months just to complete the KYC process. Even after he was brought to the branch in an auto-rickshaw, officials allegedly turned them away. His daughter-in-law, Phoolmani Lakra, said that on one occasion, the manager ordered a peon to drag them out. “My father-in-law was ill and could not get the required treat- ment because the rural bank didn’t give him his own money she said. ,” She alleged that the family had requested the bank’s regional manager to complete the DC assures actions Garhwa DC said strict action would be taken against anyone found guilty after the investigation and assured that all assistance due under government rules would be extended to Lakra’s family e-KYC process to enable withdrawal of the pension for Lakra’s treatment. “On the manager’s intervention, the e-KYC was completed, but the money could not be withdrawn, and my father-inlaw died on Monday,” she claimed. A bank official, however, said that after the e-KYC process was completed, no one from Lakra’s family came to the branch to withdraw the pension money . Heartbroken family members and villagers staged a pro- test on Tuesday by placing Lakra’s body at the bank’s entrance, refusing to cremate him until action was taken. Chief Minister Hemant Soren ordered an investigation. In a post on X, he directed the Garhwa Deputy Commissioner to “promptly investigate the matter, take strict action, and inform.” Deputy Commissioner Pashupati Nath Mishra directed the Sub-Divisional Magistrate to conduct a detailed probe, and warned of action against those found guilty . Pic: PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi being conferred Indonesia’s highest civilian honour by President Prabowo Subianto operational performance during Operation Sindoor. The agreements also envisage wider collaboration in defence manufacturing and technology transfers, reflecting a shift from a buyerseller relationship towards longterm industrial ties. Addressing a joint media interaction, Modi described the outcomes as a golden chapter in bilateral ties. “The growing trust between our two countries has strengthened cooperation in defence, security and the maritime domain,” he said. The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to a free, open and rules-based IndoPacific. President Prabowo echoed the sentiment. The two countries also agreed to jointly develop the strategically located Sabang Port near the Strait of Malacca and expand cooperation in maritime infrastructure. Accessible care TN govt hosp welcomes first IVF twin babies S ind u ja J an e @ Chennai A 32-year-old woman became the first mother to give birth through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment done at a government hospital in Tamil Nadu. The successful procedure was performed at the Centre for Assisted Reproduction at the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Government Hospital for Women and Children in Egmore, Chennai. Opened in 2024, the centre is the state’s first government facility of its kind. It was launched to provide accessible IVF treatment to couples from lower-income families who may otherwise have to depend on private hospitals that charge several lakhs for the procedure. The couple was married for five years but did not have children. Doctors at the facility first transferred the embryo to the woman’s uterus in the first week of December, 2025, and she delivered twin babies — a boy and a girl — in the 31st week through caesarean section on June 23. Dr MS Manicka Devi, professor and nodal officer IVF, Centre for Assisted Reproduction, said the mother delivered preterm babies. The doctors had to deliver them in a C-section as the mother had premature rupture of membrane.  P7