US pulls out last of its aircraft carrier in Asia USS Abraham Lincoln BENGALURU  SUNDAY  AUGUST 16, 2026  `12.00  PAGES 24  LATE CITY EDITION The new warship is expected to relieve USS Abraham Lincoln in West Asia amid growing concerns about the mental health of its sailors. The announcement of USS George Washington’s departure from the western Pacific comes a day after President Donald Trump downplayed concerns about the situation aboard USS Abraham Lincoln. There have been reports of sailors trying to jump off the ship. 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 PM seeks help on women’s quota RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi WITH THIS ISSUE THIRST AID PLUS 12 P AGES EXPRESS READ Karnataka hikes rates of pollution checks Bengaluru: Karnataka has revised fees for Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates, citing rising operational and maintenance costs, from Saturday. Only computerised testing centres will be allowed to collect the revised charges, which are applicable only to emission testing. P3 PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reiterated his call to all parties to support reservation for women in legislatures, called for stronger youth participation in nation building, announced a clutch of skilling schemes, and lit into what he called were the “dimagi Naxals” or people with a Naxalite mindset. Highlighting women’s growing participation in public life in his address from Red Fort, he said, “Let us step forward to ensure that our mothers and sisters secure 33% representation in the Assemblies and Lok Sabha soon.” He said armed Naxals had been eliminated, but “dimagi Naxals” seek opportunities to create anarchy and violence. “We must identify those with a Naxal mindset, isolate them and steer the nation’s youth toward the mainstream effort of transforming India into a developed nation,” he said. The prime focus of his 75-minute address was the youth; he referred to them more than 50 times. He described them as the driving force and the greatest beneficiaries of ‘Viksit Bharat’. “We must take forward the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by connecting it with the aspirations and participation of our youth,” he said. Modi spoke about various initiatives to empower the youth, including Skill India, opening the space sector, the National Drone Policy, Khelo India and the National Education Policy The government, he . said, would train one crore young people in AI skills over the next year and establish a free online coaching network for competitive exams. He also highlighted a `1 lakh crore Innovation Fund to support yo u n g i n n ovat o r s a n d entrepreneurs. The PM also urged the youth to participate actively in the ongoing Census by helping their families understand the forms and ensure that information submitted is accurate. Filling vacant posts govt’s priority: DKS EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Bengaluru Narendra Modi hoists the Tricolour at Red Fort during the 80th Independence Day event in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI CHIEF Minister DK Shivakumar announced on Saturday that he will soon launch the ‘Chief Minister’s Jobs Mission’, under which vacant posts in government departments will be filled on priority . He stated this during his maiden Independence Day speech as chief minister at Manekshaw Parade Grounds in Bengaluru. He said the government has already begun the process of filling 72,000 key vacancies, and in the next six months, a notification will be issued to fill the posts. Targeting the youth and students, Shivakumar said that a new initiative, ‘Yuva Udyoga Setu’, will be launched and a comprehensive digital platform developed to connect youngsters with employment opportunities in the private sector. He also announced ‘Udyoga Nidhi’ to provide incentives to entrepreneurs for creating new emP4 ployment opportunities. Row over full Vande Mataram rendition at Cong HQ P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi THE national song, Vande Mataram, was sung in full during the Congress’s Independence Day celebrations at its Indira Bhavan headquarters in the capital on Saturday marking a , departure from its stated posi- tion that only the first two stanzas should be rendered. The event sparked a row after a video on social media appeared to show Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge gesturing to workers to stop the rendition beyond the first two stanzas. While BJP accused Sonia of objecting to singing the full version, Congress said there was no attempt to do so. Sonia was only asking for a chair for Kharge, as he was standing for a while, said Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh. The national song has been at the centre of a debate, with PM Narendra Modi repeatedly targeting Congress for truncating the song. Congress has traditionally supported the rendition of its first two stanzas, with objections historically being raised to the religious imagery in the remaining stanzas. Foresters shoot, kill three ‘poachers’ KARTHIK KK @ Mysuru TENSION gripped Hanur in Chamarajanagar district after three men were killed inside the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary on Saturday morning. The incident occurred in the Holemuridatti forest area near Shagya in Hanur taluk in the early hours of Saturday. The deceased have been identified as Antony Swamy, Peter and Kumar, residents of Thomiyarpalya and neighbouring villages in Hanur taluk. Forest Minister Ramalinga Reddy said there were four men and one escaped. Two died on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries at hospital, he added. Assistant Conservator of For- CM orders inquiry by a magistrate Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday said a magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the deaths of three alleged poachers in an exchange of fire with forest personnel. P3 ests, Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary Mariswamy said forest per, sonnel received information that a group of men had entered the sanctuary illegally and were allegedly hunting wildlife and butchering the meat inside the forest. When the team rushed to the spot and asked them to surrender, they opened fire, triggering the shootout, he said. P3 Small window to disclose foreign assets opens today D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi THE Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers – Disclosure Scheme, 2026, which gives eligible taxpayers a one-time window to voluntarily disclose undisclosed foreign assets and income by paying tax or a prescribed fee, will come into effect on Sunday The scheme, announced . in the budget, will remain open until Dec 31, 2026. The valuation date for assets declared is March 31, 2026. The process will be online. The scheme covers two broad categories. The first will be undisclosed foreign assets or foreign income not offered to tax. The second covers foreign assets already offered to tax or acquired when the taxpayer was an NRI, but were not reported in the I-T return. For the first, the aggregate value of the undisclosed foreign asset and income must not exceed `1 crore. Taxpayers will have to pay tax at 30% of the value of the asset or income, with an additional amount equal to the tax payable, taking the total to 60%. For the second, the value cannot exceed `5 crore. A flat fee of `1 lakh will be payable.