mangaluru l saturday l august 01, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Hamas agrees to disarm, accepts Trump’s peace plan for Gaza Hamas on Friday threw up a surprise, saying it will disarm and accept a deal announced by US President Donald Trump to end its war with Israel Israel wary, No official reaction yet Concessions to save Gazans, says Hamas Israel is yet to officially comment, but sources said there will be no withdrawal of Israeli forces from their current lines untill the disarmament is genuine and total. “A lot needs to fall in place for this to work,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. “Verifying Hamas’ compliance will be a challenge. Israel would need to eventually withdraw from Gaza,” he said ■ ■ Trump says “complete disarmament” by Hamas is a critical step toward a new Palestinian government in Gaza Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’ negotiating team, said the movement was making “concessions for the sake of our people in the Gaza Strip, to save them from killing and displacement” | P11 4-page plan for Hamas disarmament and gradual Israeli withdrawal 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 Mega allocation for offshore oil & gas exploration Spain Strait of Gibralter Ceuta Morocco Cabinet clears `84K-cr Samudra Manthan plan to strengthen long-term energy security Risky business Drilling in ultradeepwater areas could cost up to `2,400 crore per well. Plus, there is no certainty that the investment will result in a discovery or production increase Floating solar projects To boost India’s solar power generation, the government approved the Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana, a `5,070-crore scheme to set up 5,000 MW (5GW) of floating solar power projects over the next five years. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India currently has 0.7 GW of installed floating solar capacity Morocco R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi IN a bid to increase domestic oil and gas production, the government on Friday approved the `84,000-crore Samudra Manthan scheme to accelerate deep-sea exploration. According to the petroleum ministry, the scheme will add 600 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MTOE) to India’s hydrocarbon reserves. It is projected to increase annual domestic oil and gas production by 10-15 MTOE, with the potential to reach 20 MTOE at peak production. The biggest share of the scheme—`43,200 crore—has been earmarked to support the drilling of 60 deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration wells. The government will provide financial support to staterun ONGC and Oil India as well as private exploration firms to encourage drilling in deepwater areas where exploration is expensive and highly risky . The support comes after the government opened nearly 99% of the offshore areas that were earlier classified as ‘no-go’ zones due to defence and space-related restrictions. Another `28,500 crore has been allocated for large-scale 2D and 3D offshore seismic surveys and advanced data processing using technologies such as artificial intelligence. The surveys will help create detailed maps of the seabed and identify promising locations for drilling. The scheme also provides `10,000 crore to build common offshore infrastructure for developing stranded discoveries in basins such as Mahanadi and Kutch, where high evacuation costs have made projects commercially unviable. Shared infrastructure is expected to reduce project costs and bring these discoveries into production. In addition, `2,000 crore has been allocated for setting up an Oil and Gas Manufacturing and Services Zone to promote domestic manufacturing of oilfield equipment and services under the Make in India initiative. The government expects the move to reduce import dependence and strengthen the domestic supply chain. India currently imports more than 88% of its crude oil requirement. The scheme will help cut dependence on imported crude. The move follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of the National Deep Water Exploration Mission, named Samudra Manthan, during his Independence Day address on August 15, 2025. Algeria Mauritania Mali As Cauvery protests intensify, DKS postpones his meeting with Vijay E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Bengaluru Amid tensions in the state over the Cauvery issue, Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar postponed talks with his Tamil Nadu counterpart C Joseph Vijay, scheduled to be held on August 3. The decision was taken because of ongoing protests in the Cauvery basin by Kannada activists and farmer organisations against the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) order to release water to Tamil Nadu. The activists had warned Shivakumar against holding the talks. Shivakumar on Friday requested Vijay, who had proposed the talks first, to defer their meeting till the situation returns to normal. Shivakumar, when he was DCM and water resources minister, had proposed that then Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin visit the state, but the latter had declined the offer, he said. “After the elections in Tamil N a d u , t h e g o ve r n m e n t changed. Vijay said he would come with his team, but protests do not give us confidence. We should resolve this with goodwill. The situation is not good now. So, I request the Tamil Nadu CM to defer the meeting. I will ask him to choose another date. If they want to protect their state’s interest, we want to protect ours. We are discussing whether this can be resolved amicably he said. ,” The decision is the fallout of Shivakumar holding a meeting of ministers and officials after the CWMA order. The conference hall at Vidhana Soudha had been decked up to host Vijay . It is inevitable for Karnataka to adhere to the CWMA order, said sources. If talks with Vijay coincide with the release of water, it would project Shivakumar in bad light. That was the reason he postponed the meeting, the sources said. Shivakumar also wanted to discuss the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project as the Centre, citing the Supreme Court order, had clarified that the state need not take the consent of the neighbouring state to build the dam, provided it adheres to the water sharing agreement. Shivakumar has now prioritised holding an all-party meeting on Sunday and cabinet expansion on Monday  . MORE: P4 BJP leaders and workers protest at the gates of the Krishna Raja Sagar reservoir in Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya district on Friday | Udayashankar S Decision to move SC at all-party meet: CM Karnataka bandh on August 13 Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the state government will make its next move on the Cauvery water issue after getting the advice of legal experts and discussions with opposition parties during the all-party meeting on Sunday. “Officials and legal experts will brief the allparty meeting before a decision is taken. BJP MPs and central ministers have cooperated with us. We will not take any decision without the advice of Delhi legal experts and without consulting opposition leaders,” he said | P4 Kannada outfits on Friday announced a statewide bandh from 6am to 6pm on August 13 to protest against the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s (CWMA) directive. The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, Associated Managements of English Medium Schools in Karnataka (KAMS), Karnataka Unaided School Managements’ Association and Adarsha Auto and Taxi Drivers’ Union among others have extended support to the bandh | P4 U D AYA N K IS H O R E @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Bengaluru historic gold rush Asmita Dey celebrates her gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Friday. Coming from a humble background, the judoka from a small town in Tripura became India’s first gold medallist. Later, Harsh Singh added another gold to tally | PTI I P13 A Delhi court on Friday awarded life imprisonment to former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and four others for killing Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Delhi riots. Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh awarded the minimum punishment prescribed for murder under law, saying the prosecution was not able to prove that the convicts were not beyond reformation. The judge said the case did not fall within the “rarest of rare” category warranting the death penalty . Weak monsoon IMD forecasts deficient rain in Aug-Sept J IT E N D R A C H O U B E Y @ New Delhi Delhi riots: Ex-AAP leader, 4 others get life term for IB officer’s murder Karnataka to ban junk food around schools The Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) will begin enforcing a ban on the sale, free distribution, advertisement and promotion of High Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS) food products in schools, colleges and within a 50-metre radius of educational institutions from Saturday health minister UT Khader , announced on Friday . The move aims to promote healthy eating habits among children and adolescents and curb the growing consumption of junk food. At a press conference on Friday, the minister said school and college managements have been directed to ensure that only safe, balanced and nutritious food is made available on campuses in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and Balanced Diets for Children in School) Regulations, 2020. Institutions have also been instructed to establish fixed meal timings, provide free access to safe drinking water and conduct regular awareness programmes to educate students on healthy food choices and the harmful effects of excessive consumption of foods high in fat, sugar and salt.  P7 Migrant Tsunami Over 48,000 migrants returned to Morocco from Spain’s Ceuta after an estimated 60,000 of them crossed the frontier into its north African enclave in recent days. At least 43 migrants died during the crossing. The influx came after Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants stopped at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla, another Spanish exclave, cannot be summarily returned to Morocco | PTI Former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain being escorted by police | PTI “I find myself unable to agree with the SPP (special public prosecutor) that the convicts are beyond reformation, or have such a fiendish character that their continued existence, even in prison, will be a menace to society the judge said. ,” Hussain and other convicts – Nazim, Kashim, Anas, and Javed – were present before the court while the order was pronounced. The convicts were brought before the court in tight security . The judge said the State had not brought anything on record to establish that any of the convicts had any violent disposition or propensity to crime.The convicts had urged the court to show mercy, claiming that the offence did not fall under the category of “rarest of rare”. IB officer Sharma was killed by the accused persons on February 25, 2020. THE India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday forecast below-normal rains during the second half of the southwest monsoon season (AugustSeptember), raising concerns about the prospects of kharif crops, which heavily depend on rainfall for their water needs. The first half of the monsoon season (June-July) recorded 13% deficit of the long-period average rainfall, leading to a 5% fall in kharif crop sowing. The IMD estimates that August and September will receive 422.8 mm of rainfall, which is considered below normal. However, parts of eastern Peninsular India, some areas of northwest and central India, and isolated regions in the east and northeast could receive normal rains. In its monthly forecast released on Friday, the IMD said rainfall in the next two months is estimated to be less than 94% of the long period average (LPA). It cited the presence of El Niño in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which it said could strengthen in the second half of the monsoon season leading to above-normal daytime and night-time temperatures. El Niño is a phenomenon characterised by the warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean, which is associated with a weaker monsoon in India. E x p r e s s Re a d 10 killed as building collapses in Thane Thane: At least 10 people were killed and three others injured after a four-storey residential building, tagged as ‘dangerous’ in 2020 by the local civic body, collapsed in Bhiwandi town of Maharashtra’s Thane district late on Thursday night. Around 9 pm on Thursday, residents heard “loud cracking sounds” emanating from the building, an official said. Locals immediately helped evacuate many families. However, while some occupants were still making their way out, the ‘B’ wing of the building caved in | P10 SC to end 16-yr dispute, dissolve Omar, Payal marriage Murder case: K’taka HC stays S U C H ITR A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi PUTTING a lid on a long legal chapter of matrimonial dispute spanning over 16 years, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to dissolve the marriage of J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Payal Abdullah after noting their joint position that they have “embraced freedom”. “We will make it a part of our order and will dispose it of in terms of that ... will pass a formal order later,” said a bench of justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the National Conference leader, on Friday informed the bench that an application under Article 142 of the Constitution, seeking dissolution was filed as the matter was “settled between the par- ties.” “Both of them have embraced freedom. It’s all settled. (Article) 142 has been filed in the case. Your lordships may grant divorce,” he contended before the court. Sibal added that all other matters will be withdrawn as it was set out in the application. The court was hearing two petitions, including Omar’s plea seeking divorce on grounds of cruelty The cou. ple had got mar- ried on September 1, 1994. In July 2024, the court sought Payal’s response to Omar’s challenge to a Delhi High Court order that dismissed his appeal and upheld the 2016 family court decision denying divorce. After his plea was dismissed by Delhi HC, Omar moved the apex court. Before the HC passed the order, the family court on August 30, 2016 had dismissed the plea, ruling that Omar failed to prove cruelty or desertion. life term of Vinay Kulkarni E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru The Karnataka High Court on Friday stayed an order passed by the trial court, which had convicted former minister Vinay Kulkarni and 16 others in a case of murder of a BJP leader in 2016, and suspended the life sentence imposed on him. The HC granted them bail with the condition that they execute a bond of Rs 5 lakh each with two sureties of the like sum during the pendency of the appeal filed by them challenging the conviction order and sentencing on April 17. Kulkarni had been disqualified as MLA after his conviction. The interim order will allow revocation of his disqualification by the Assembly Speaker.  CONTINUED ON: P7