BHUBANESWAR l thursday l july 09, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l JEYPORE EDITION Heavy monsoon rains disrupt normal lives in delhi, Mumbai Building collapses in Pune, 16 feared trapped Heavy monsoon rains battered large parts of the country on Wednesday, triggering flash floods and widespread disruption to rail and road traffic One dead, at least five missing in Delhi Many parts of Maharashtra continued to grapple with the monsoon fury. In Pune’s Pimpri-Chinchwad, at least 16 people were feared trapped after a huge mound of garbage crashed onto a three-storey building, causing it to collapse. Mumbai too reported no respite after days of heavy rainfall. Local train services were delayed and at least 9 city-bound flights were diverted ■ ■ In Delhi, one person died and five to six others were feared trapped after an under-construction building collapsed in the Rohini area. Incessant rains left many areas waterlogged, causing traffic snarls The IMD has issued a flash flood alert in parts of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and the Konkan region 61. 1 mm rain in Mumbai’s island city during 48 hours till Wednesday 8 a.m. 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 Markets tank as Trump says Iran peace deal ‘over’ Following a rest day, the last-eight stage of the World Cup gets underway with France taking on Morocco at Boston Stadium. A look... All eyes on Mbappe 79,000 change: -1,677.12 (-2.15%) 78,000 76,503.60 Prev. Close 78,180.72 11 am 1 pm 3 pm 4 pm Day’s close 76,503.60 Kuwait with missiles. The fresh escalation spooked global equity markets and spiked oil prices, while the rupee came under selling pressure. Indian markets on Wednesday lost most of the gains made since a peace deal was brokered between Iran and the US, with the Sensex and Nifty tumbling over 2%. The two indices had gained 2.5% since the announcement of the ceasefire on June 15. The Nifty declined 517 points, or 2.12%, to settle at 23,882 while the Sensex fell 1,677.12 points, or 2.15%, to close at 76,503.60. Investors lost more than `8 lakh crore as the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms came down from `480.20 lakh crore to `472.02 lakh crore. Meanwhile, Brent crude price surged more than 6% to $79 per barrel while the rupee declined around 0.71% to 95.50 per dollar. Global markets were under pressure, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures falling 1% after key Asian markets including Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi falling 2% and 6%, respectively . I don’t want to deal with them (Iran) anymore… it’s a waste of time. I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don’t see it. I don’t like these people — US President Donald Trump FRRO offices in all states soon: Shah Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) offices must be made operational at the headquarters of all states in the country by 2027 | P7 Saturday | 6:30 AM* (*IST Sunday) Lionel Messi & Co barely managed to survive against Egypt and they’ll face yet another tricky tie when they face an upbeat Swiss side, who will be looking to make history by booking a spot in the semis for the first time No Delhi angle in Nijjar case as US indicts Bishnoi, Brar JPC report on single higher edu regulator bill before Parl session H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh PR E E T H A N AIR @ New Delhi The US Justice Department on Tuesday indicted gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Satinderjeet Singh a.k.a Goldy Brar for commissioning the sensational murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Canadian gurdwara in November 2023, an assassination that had fractured Ottawa-New Delhi relations. Called Operation Hard Ball, the years-long federal investigation involved law-enforcement agencies in the US, Canada and Europe. Though the then Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau had blamed India for the hit job, investigators found no evidence linking Indian government officials to Nijjar’s murder, said Lisa Moreland, Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Bishnoi is in a high-security prison in Gujarat while Brar is on the loose in the US. The FBI has announced a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to Brar’s arrest. As many as 24 gangsters of Indian origin have been arrested under Operation Hard Ball — 14 of them were in the US, three in Canada and one in Spain, while others were already in custody . Hardeep Singh Nijjar Lawrence Bishnoi Goldy Brar Punjab SHO named in extortion racket The FBI has accused Tanda SHO Gurinderjit Singh Nagra of acting on the behest of gangster Bhagwanpuria to extort $4 lakh from a family in the US by threatening to implicate them in a false murder case in India. Punjab Police shifted him to the police lines pending inquiry The biggies among the other gangsters include Rohit Godara and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria. The impact of the trans-national crime syndicates was especially felt by the Indian diaspora, the Justice Department’s statement said. Law enforcement is looking for 10 fugitives — seven in the US, two in India and one in Europe. In all, 37 gangsters were indicted, including two who ran their global criminal syndicates from Indian jails. Bishnoi, the indictment said, projected an image of himself Urbanisation, land degradation fuel surface heating; thermal hotspots grow across Odisha E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar A map shows the expanding thermal hotspot for Khurda district highlighted the growing influence of land-use change and urbanisation on Odisha’s thermal landscape. The findings showed rapidly urbanising and industrial districts such as Khurda, Ganjam, Cuttack and Sundargarh have witnessed a steady rise in extreme land surface temperatures, with thermal hotspot coverage expanding by between 2 pc and 9 pc annually in several coastal districts. Khurda, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Angul and Jharsuguda recorded the highest concentration of hotspots over built-up areas, where impermeable surfaces such as concrete and asphalt, along with dense infrastructure, retain more heat and raise daytime temperatures. The study found that increasing heat is no longer confined to urban centres. Interior and western districts, including as a patriot, nationalist and deeply religious individual on social media, but presided over a sweeping criminal enterprise that spanned multiple continents. He personally directed political assassinations, murders, shootings, extortions, kidnappings, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and other crimes from jail cell through smuggled mobile phones. Bishnoi operated through lieutenants Brar in North America, Rohit Godara (37) of Rajasthan in Europe and Sukhraj Singh Kang (58) of Punjab. “Both Brar and Godara effectively spoke for Bishnoi… and used violence to cultivate a climate of fear, in particular in India and among Indian diaspora communities worldwide,” for extortion, it stated. As for the Bhagwanpuria gang, it operates as a transnational criminal syndicate headquartered in India with members across the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. This group has more than 1,000 members and associates worldwide; more than 100 of them in the US alone, the statement said. If convicted, many of the accused could face a mandatory minimum prison sentence between 10 years in federal prison and life imprisonment. The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025 is set to adopt the report ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, paving the way for the government to table the legislation that seeks to establish a single higher education regulator. The proposed regulator will replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education, and the National Council for Teacher Education. According to sources, the 31-member Parliamentary panel headed by BJP MP Daggubati Purandeswari is likely to adopt the draft report at its next meeting on July 17. The government is expected to introduce the Bill during the upcoming Parliament session after incorporating the committee’s recommendations. The VBSA Bill, introduced during the last winter session, was sent to the JPC after protests from the Opposition. Sources said opposition members will formally record dissent notes and seek deferment of the report’s adoption, saying several provisions could significantly change the structure of the higher education system and undermine institutional autonomy . During an eight-hour meeting on Tuesday the commit, tee held a clause-by-clause examination of the Bill. Opposition MPs proposed multiple amendments, raising concerns over excessive centralisation of powers, encroachment on the role of states, bureaucratisation of higher education, dilution of the UGC’s consultative mandate, and the absence of funding mechanism. Unlike the UGC, the proposed commission will not be responsible for disbursing grants to universities. Funding decisions will rest with the Ministry of Education. Some MPs sought a mechanism for state participation and safeguards on quality standards and fee transparency for foreign universities and operating in India. According to the government, the bill is aimed at reducing overlaps among multiple bodies. Next cabinet meet to take Accused shot decision on PESA: Min dead by cops Minor gangrape heat index Land surface ther mal hotspots are expanding rapidly across Odisha, with some districts recording annual growth of up to 9 per cent, said a new study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar, explaining the rising heating trends in the state. The study attributed the trend to rapid urbanisation, industrial expansion and the degradation of natural landscapes and warned that rising surface temperatures are increasingly affecting both cities and rural areas. Published in Environmental Science: Advances, a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the research analysed two decades of satellite data to map the evolution of thermal hotspots across all 30 districts of the state. Conducted by Dikshika Mahapatra and Dr Debadatta Swain of the School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences at IIT Bhubaneswar, the study Argentina vs Switzerland Today’s match: France vs Morocco @ Boston Stadium | 1:30 AM* (*IST Friday) 77,000 76,000 9 am Saturday | 2:30 AM* (*IST Sunday) Two of the best No 9s in the world — Harry Kane and Erling Haaland — will go head-to-head when England face Norway. This tie promises to be an epic one Les Bleus begin their final push towards a third World Cup crown when they face Morocco. Kylian Mbappe, who’s in the race for the Golden Boot with seven goals, will once again be the man in focus. Morocco, the sole surviving African side in the competition, are known to be a disciplined unit and they’ll be hoping to cause an upset | P11 BSE SENSEX in a dramatic escalation that further strained the fragile truce in West Asia and sent shockwaves through global markets, US President on Wednesday said the interim ceasefire pact with Iran “is over” and ongoing peace negotiations are “a waste of time”. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit at Turkish capital Ankara on Wednesday, Trump also threatened to strike Tehran’s infrastructure and seize the Kharg Island—Iran’s principal oil export terminal that handle 90% of the country’s crude exports. When asked whether the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran was over, Trump said: “It’s a very interesting question. I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them... As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time.” The comments came a day after the US launched a series of strikes against Iran in retaliation for Tehran’s attacks on three commercial vessels in Oman’s territorial waters on the southern half of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday Iran has been warn. ing ships against using the newly announced maritime corridor near the Oman coast. Responding to US strikes, Iran’s military said on Wednesday that it hit back by targeting US bases in Bahrain and Norway vs England Friday | 12:30 AM* (*IST Saturday) While La Roja haven’t hit the dizzying attacking heights of France, they will fancy their chances of navigating a Belgium side who have slowly built momentum over the course of the tournament stars ready for eight-lifting Sensex and Nifty tumble over 2% each, crude oil prices soar 6% as West Asia crisis deepens A r s h a d K h a n @ New Delhi Spain vs Belgium Bargarh, Balangir, Kalahandi and Nuapada, have also experienced a rise in thermal hotspots over non-built-up areas due to the expansion of barren land, fallow agricultural fields and forest degradation. Sundargarh emerged as a unique case, recording high hotspot concentrations in both urban and non-urban landscapes, reflecting the combined impact of industrialisation and environmental degradation. Among all districts, Rayagada recorded the highest persistent thermal hotspot coverage at 92.09 pc, followed by Gajapati (86.16%), Nayagarh (76.05 %), Balangir (75.02 %), Nuapada (66.14 %), Kandhamal (62.56 %) and Kalahandi (60.87 %). In contrast, Balasore, Bhadrak, Koraput and Nabarangpur reported relatively low hotspot coverage. The study also found that population exposure to thermal stress was highest in Ganjam, Sundargarh, Khurda and Cuttack owing to their large populations and rapidly expanding urban Continued on P5 footprints.  E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Panchayati Raj minister Rabi Narayan Naik on Wednesday announced that the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) will be implemented in the state soon and the proposal for its implementation will be discussed in the upcoming state cabinet meeting. The minister said extensive discussions have been held with all stakeholders for the implementation of the Act. Opinions of tribal representatives, panchayat leaders, district administration officials and experts have been taken. The state government wants the law to be convenient and suitable for everyone, especially the tribals and rural population of scheduled areas, he said. Naik said, once implemented, the Act will empower the gram sabhas in the scheduled areas to take decisions on development and welfare in their areas instead of depending on higher authorities. “The government’s goal is to ensure that the PESA is not passed on paper, but is implemented effectively on the ground,” he said. The PESA gives special powers to gram sabhas in scheduled areas on control over natural resources like land, water, forest produce and minor minerals, approval for development projects affecting tribal villages, management of local markets, money lending, social customs and protection of tribal culture, traditions and self-governance. While the PESA was enacted by the Centre in 1996 and Odisha amended its parent Odisha Grama Panchayats Act in 1997, the administrative r ules required to operationalise it on the ground have been delayed for nearly three decades. As a result, Odisha remains the last of the 10 Fifth Schedule states in India that has yet to officially notify the final PESA Rules. Meanwhile, national president of All India Adivasi Congress Vikrant Bhuria criticised the state government for the delay and said it is extremely unfortunate that the Act has not yet been implemented in tribaldominated Odisha. SUB H E N DU MAITI @ Kolkata One of the prime accused in the gangrape and murder of a 12year-old girl in Baruipur in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district was shot dead by the police during an alleged encounter on Wednesday . Sources said the police shot Prabhas Mondal after he allegedly snatched a revolver from one of the policemen accompanying him, and opened fire in an attempt to escape from custody . Meanwhile, Mondal’s mother refused to claim his body, saying he has received the punishment he deserved. “The little girl died after suffering from immense pain. My son got what he deserved for what he did,” Sadhya Mondal said. “I told them (police) I would not go to collect his body and nobody from the family will either. I do not want to see him,” she said, adding that her son never obeyed her and was a drug addict. His wife Chanpa Mondal also refused to defend him. “I cannot say whether he committed this crime. After our marriage, I saw his behaviour. When his name surfaced in the case, I felt he was capable of doing something like this,” she said.