swine flu Spurt not due to new strain, says ICMR No new strain of H1N1 has been identified and there is no cause for panic, sources at the Indian Council of Medical Research said on Sunday THRISSUR l monday l august 24, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION The clarification comes amid a rise in swine flu cases in Delhi and other parts of the country. The Delhi government has issued a health advisory urging people to follow respiratory hygiene, avoid crowded places and seek timely medical advice. It has recorded over 1,777 H1N1 cases this year till Friday. The strains currently circulating are “well matched with the vaccine strains recommended for the Northern Hemisphere”, ICMR sources said 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 Doval heads to Beijing ahead of Xi’s India visit NSA to reach China on Monday to take part in crucial border talks JAYA N T H JAC O B @ New Delhi National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is set to travel to Beijing on Monday and Tuesday for the 25th round of talks between India and China’s Special Representatives on the boundary question, ahead of a possible visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to New Delhi next month for the BRICS summit and bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines. Doval, India’s Special Representative for the boundary negotiations, is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart, Politburo member and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on Tuesday Beyond . the long-running border issue the talks are expected to take stock of the broader bilateral relationship, the efforts by both sides to stabi- Boundary question Doval’s meetings with Wang will help advance dialogue on the unresolved boundary question and create political space for political reset ahead of BRICS summit. Both nations have set in motion a series of steps to rebuild trust, which includes improving connectivity and people to people ties lise ties and the likely visit of Xi to India next month. The timing is significant. Doval’s Beijing visit comes just weeks before India hosts the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. While Beijing and New Delhi have not officially confirmed Xi’s participation, officials are hopeful that the Chi- nese president will attend the meet, which will provide an opportunity for a bilateral meeting with Modi, possibly on the day of Xi’s arrival for the BRICS summit itself. This would be Xi’s first trip to India in seven years and would carry considerable diplomatic weight following years of strained ties after the 2020 military confrontation in eastern Ladakh and amidst efforts to normalise and stabilise the relationship between the two neighbours. The Special Representatives’ mechanism was established in 2003 to pursue a political framework for resolving the boundary dispute along the approximately 3,488-km India-China border. Several rounds of talks have yet to produce a final settlement, but the mechanism remains an important channel for managing one of the most sensitive aspects of the relationship. CM: Will examine demand for separate Muvattupuzha dist E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi The government will seriously examine the demand to make Muvattupuzha a separate district and will bring in a delimitation commission to consider the matter, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said on Sunday He was speaking at the Thriveni . Onam celebrations organised by the Muvattupuzha 1984 municipality . when the last Saying though he was district was saddened by the possibility created in of Muvattupuzha being Kerala. separated from his own dis- Kasaragod trict, Satheesan asserted was formed that the demand would be on May 24, considered by the delimita- 1984, by tion commission and that carving out a concerns of the people of major portion Muvattupuzha would be from addressed. erstwhile Speaking earlier, Muvat- Kannur tupuzha MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan alleged that the region had been neglected during the 10-year rule of the LDF government and raised the demand for a separate Muvattupuzha district. Muvattupuzha is currently part of Ernakulam district and is located close to the ● More on P4 Idukki district border.  Destroyed in Op Sindoor, JeM HQ rebuilt after 15 months Institutional support The reconstruction at Bahawalpur has renewed concerns in India over the restoration of terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan despite the military action carried out during Operation Sindoor. Intelligence officials view this as institutional support for JeM m u k e s h r a n j a n @ New Delhi THE Jaish-e-Mohammed’s key base, Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur, has been substantially rebuilt 15 months after it was destroyed in India’s Operation Sindoor, intelligence sources said on Sunday The sources said the Paki. stan government, allegedly with ISI assistance, provided `25 crore in installments for reconstructing the JeM facility, of which around `11 crore was spent for restoring the central hall. “The renovated hall has undergone major refurbishment. Walls have been freshly plastered and painted, new marble flooring installed, and the premises thorough- ly cleaned. The restoration suggests the facility is again being prepared for regular activity,” a source said. According to intelligence officials, signs of reconstruction emerged in early 2026, when heavy machinery, bricks, steel and other material were reportedly moved to the site. EXPRESS READ Record weddings at Guruvayur Thrissur: A record 416 weddings were solemnised within just over seven hours at Guruvayur temple on Sunday, the first of the Malayalam month of Chingam. It broke the temple’s previous single-day record of 334 marriages set on September 8, 2024 | P2 Ex-DGCA director booked for graft New Delhi: The CBI has booked former director of flying training at DGCA, Anil Gill, and several aviation-related firms for alleged abuse of official position, extending undue favours to select flight training organisations and suspicious aircraft transactions.